⭐⭐⭐⭐ Goes Out of His Way to Be Helpful
I have for several days past been quite unwell with the Measles, but am now recovered. Mr. & Mrs. Newman treated me with much care, and I staid at their house while I was sick.
Nathaniel Hawthorne to his mother, Nov. 13, 1821
⭐⭐⭐ Lacks the Respect of Students
S. P. Newman, our professor of languages, in not more than 22 or 23 years old. He is a good scholar, and at present, very pleasant to the students. When he was first chosen professor, he was rather too arbitrary to suit the higher classes. The the present senior class, then junior, pretty effectually humbled him….One morning he found his windows broken, and a barber’s pole pushed through. – The government tried, in vain, to discover the author of this, but never succeeded. – Since this scrape, Newman has been very assiduous to please all the students.
Gorham Deane to his brother, Nov. 10, 1821
⭐⭐⭐ A Rat
He was courteous, refined, and scholarly; yet he was swift-footed and prompt to detect and bring to grief innocent lads enjoying their little amusements, such as lighting bonfires, smashing tutors’ windows, burning powerder in various ways, etc.
Horatio Bridge, Personal Recollections of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1893)