He was a man of quiet dignity,
and of modest bearing. He appeared rather awkward when he
walked, as if there were some want of strength in the feet
or ankles. He heard the classes in my time in Jouffroy and
Cousin and in Butler's "Analogy." His method was to require
the boy to get into his mind some account of a system or special
course of reasoning of the author and to state it at considerable
length in his own language. I think all that I got out of
college that was of much use to me came from this training
in James Walker's recitation-room, except that I think I got
some capacity for cross-examining witnesses which was very
useful to me afterward from reading Plato's dialogues and
getting familiar with Socrates's method of reducing a sophist
ad absurdum. But Dr. Walker's throne was the pulpit of the
College Chapel. He used to preach four Sundays in each of
the two terms. He had a beautiful head, a deep but clear
voice, a deliberate manner and a power of emphasizing his
weighty thoughts which I have never seen surpassed by any
orator. He had a small and beautiful hand of which it is
said, though such a thing is hard to believe of him, he was
somewhat vain.
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