Swarthmore College - Halcyon Yearbook (Swarthmore, PA)

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may be indebted, perhaps, to his Welsh ancestry. Third, his evenness of temper and unfailing kindness. I never knew a man so remarkable in this particular. Fourth, Dr. Jones has been a hard student ever since I have known him, and he has been informed in regard to the subjects he has attempted to teach. The summer of 1889 Dr. Jones spent in Europe, and in 1891 he went abroad with his family. They made a home in Oxford, Heidelberg, Munich, and Dresden, and traveled, to some extent, throughout the conti- nent. In July, ' 93, Dr. Jones took the degree of Ph. D. at the Univer- sity of Heidelberg, and became Professor of English Literature at Swarth- more in January, 1894. Under Dr. Jones, literature is not merely a collection of literary mas- terpieces, but is a criticism of life, it is a record of life ' s struggles, its vic- tories and failures. It affects every student ' s view of life, and the study of literature is thus not a diversion for idle hours. As President Cook has said. Dr. Jones is informed upon the subject which he teaches, and he requires his classes to think deeply, to think broadly, and to think exactly. He pos- sesses, to a peculiar degree, the power to interest his classes, and he rarely fails to arouse their enthusiasm over whatever selections of literature he takes up with them as a study. He is ever ready to advise, to explain, to help, but he requires work. This summer of 1895, Dr. Jones spent in European travel, and visited many distinguished university men of England and Germany. From the home of Lord Tennyson he brought an ivy for the Class of ' 97. His writings comprise The Ethical Element in Literature, published in 1891 ; The Growth of the Idylls of the King, a scholarly and valuable record of the development of Tennyson ' s masterpiece, published in 1894; and articles written, from time to time, for American, English, and Ger- man magazines. This is a mere sketch of the beginning of a man ' s life. Dr. Jones accomplishes what he attempts ; he is a man of character, ability, and influ- ence ; his life is before him, and we may well believe that the world will be richer and better because of his life. 9

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A Sketch of the Life of Dr. Richard Jones. the age of fifteen Dr. Jones became teacher of a public school, where many of the pupils were older than himself. After two terms of teaching he entered the Grinnell Academy, where he won the medals for scholarships both years he was there. Next he attended Iowa College at Grinnell, Iowa. While there Dr. Jones won the Shakespeare prize, and also oratorical prizes. In ' 78 he was graduated from the classical course, and in ' 81 took the degree of A. M. For seven years Dr. Jones was principal of a high school in Iowa. Four years after his graduation from college, he was offered the presidency of a college just founded and now in a flourishing condition, but he was not free at the time to accept the proffered promotion. The summer vacations during the early part of his career, Dr. Jones spent in traveling in the West, and he has visited nearly every State in the Union. In 1 88 1 he was married to Miss Carrie Grinnell, the youngest daughter of the Hon. J. B. Grinnell, founder of the city, a friend of Horace Greeley, Wendell Phillips, John Brown, and other active Abolitionists. His home was a station on the underground railway for the fugitive slaves. Dr. Jones prizes highly a bed upon which John Brown once slept, and a book-case, a wedding gift of Wendell Phillips. In 1887 he was elected Professor of English Literature in the Illinois State Normal University, where he remained four years. His success there may be judged from the extracts from a letter written by President John W. Cook, of the Illinois State Normal University, intended only to hint to you my estimation of this most admirable and attractive man. President Cook writes: Few men that I have ever known could so succeed in arousing an interest in literature. . . . The qualities that rendered Dr. Jones so successful are : First, his absolute sincerity and sympathetic devotion to the interests of his pupils. Second, his enthusiastic nature, for which he 8

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Swarthmore College, SWARTHMORE, Pa. INCORPORATED BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS, 1864. First Class Graduated 1873. COLOR— Garnet. Cheer: ' Rah, ' rah! ' Rah, ' rah, ' rah! ' Rah, ' rah! ' Rah, ' rah, ' rah! Swarthmore ! 10