I was led to his book from reading Saltonstall's Lewis Perry of Exeter. Tommy Lamont was a longtime President of the Trustees at Exeter while Perry was Principal, and it was Perry who urged Lamont to write of his childhood on the Hudson Valley and of his schooldays.
I procured the book via inter-library loan from Emory's Divinity School Library.
Reared in an age of innocence, Lamont points out that the previous era is always viewed as "the age of innocence."
But what sets Lamont's narrative apart from others is that he was bitten on the lips while sleeping in his dorm room. 1885, the winter term of his lower mid year:
The product of proven success was heralded in song three years before:
Lamont was a very hard worker, made excellent grades, was a natural athlete, and recovered sufficiently to excel in debating at the end of his eventful first year away from the Parsonage.
Of course, Exeter was a boy's school.
December, 2018