Page:Samuel F. Batchelder - Bits of Harvard History (1924).pdf/417

 wreck, he went straight forward. He knew he was on the right course. And a few others knew it, among them the illustrious band of assistants he had gathered around him. The fearless, sagacious President of the University knew it, and steadfastly upheld the hands of this new prophet. The case-system, far from being abandoned, was improved and extended. For a time, recent graduates of the School had been employed as private tutors to tide over the laggards from the old channels to the new. But this proved insufficient to attain the standard upon which Langdell’s heart was fixed, and the prospectus for 1878 announced that the regular course would thereafter require three full years.

The library meanwhile, as the source of all law, was jealously fostered. A skilled and enthusiastic librarian had already been appointed. Langdell himself, like Story of old, deposited his own rare collections there. The administration of the School became a marvel of economy, foresight, and judgment. Not in vain had its Dean so dearly learned the lessons of thrift and method. The average ability of the student body was vastly increased by the requirement that either a college degree or a special examination should be necessary for entrance. The graduates of the new system began to take