In Admiral Sampson, the boy was father to the man. From boyhood his was
a life of unneglected opportunities. Born of very humble parents, by the
hardest of work and the most sincere endeavors he succeeded in obtaining
his appointment to the Naval School. His mind, naturally studious, turned
to the beginnings of the new profession with avidity, and so fine was his
mind even then that, without trying himself unduly, he easily distanced
his entire class and took first honors for the course.
His classmates say that he was studious, but they do not say that he
applied himself so closely to the work that he shut himself off from
the diversions or recreations of the rest-hours. On the contrary, he was
foremost in most of the sports of the day, and was, in his own way, one
of the best athletes in his class.
He was then, as he is now, an “Admirable Crichton,” but his versatility
did not diminish for him the serious aspect of any of the things he
attempted. Some of his classmates called him cold, as his contemporaries
out in the service do now, but when they wanted advice on any subject
which seemed to require a reasoning power entirely beyond their own,
they said, “Ask Sampson.” He was not only high in his class councils,
but dearly beloved, as he is to-day, by every man in it and every man
who knew him. If people thought him cold then it was because they did not
understand him. If they think him cold to-day it is because he does not
care to be understood by the men with whom he has no interest or sympathy.
If arrogance begins to be a virtue, then repression born of modesty is a
crime.
To those men he cares for--now as in his youth--he has always a warm
handshake and an open heart. His eye is calm, sympathetic, penetrating,
stern, as the humor dictates, anything you please,--sometimes cold,
but always hypnotic. If he wants the friendship of man or woman he is
irresistible. To-day he is the authority on naval ordnance, an expert on
explosives, a capital seaman, a famous tennis-player,--the best-equipped
man in the service for any work--or play--that can be put before him.