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[31] boys. Finally a number of the class, considering themselves equally guilty with those who were punished, determined not to receive their degrees; and accordingly, when their names were called, agreeably to ancient custom, on Commencement day, they were not to be found. At a later period, when the pamphlet and the causes which led to this youthful act of quixotism were forgotten, most of these recusants received their degrees, and were welcomed back to the bosom of their Alma Mater; but Dr. Wheelwright's absence on his professional duties, and some unavoidable delays, prevented him from being included in their number, as he had expected. Since his death his friends and classmates have regretted that the list of the Class of 1834, in the Triennial Catalogue, does not contain the name of one who was, to say the least, as much loved and appreciated in College and in after life as any whose name it bears. There is a Catalogue, however, of at least one society in College, where his name is enrolled. This society is an ancient one, of a social character, composed at that time mostly of intimate friends, and his name appears as its presiding officer from 1833 to 1834. He was also Adjutant of the Harvard Washington Corps, a military company composed of the students of Harvard University, but now long extinct. Shortly after leaving college, his taste for chemistry and other kindred studies induced him to select medicine as his profession; and he entered the office of the late Dr. George C. Shattuck, and became a member of his household. In 1837 he received the degree of M. D. from the Medical Department of Harvard University; and his father's property having become much reduced, if not entirely lost, he now stood ready to begin life with that advantage which his excellent preceptor, Dr. Shattuck, thought so important, and which in his peculiar style he was wont to term ‘the healthy stimulus of prospective want.’ He decided to enter the Navy; and having first attended a course of medical lectures in Philadelphia, he was examined and commissioned as Assistant Surgeon, October 17, 1839.
Sever and Francis, 1866.
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