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That surnirls, despatched Williarand tour of Europe, which turned out to be a great success for both of thee barriers, found a beautiful girl in every major European capital - love, he assured William, was an international commodity
William secured introductions to a director of most of the major European banks - money, he assured Mattheas also an international co men left a trail of broken hearts and suitably impressed bankers When they retumed to Harvard in September, they were both ready to hit the books for their final year
In the bitter winter of 1927, Grandhty - five, and William wept for the first time since his mothees death
’Co with Wiffiaood run and waited a long time to find out whether God was a Cabot or a Lowell’
William randed a funeral which she would have been proud to attend Al though the great lady arrived at the celed contraptions - over my dead body’, but, as it turned out, under it), this unsound mode of transport would have been her only criticism of William’s orchestration of her departure Her death drove Willia that final year at Harvard He dedicated hi the tx)p mathematics prize in her memory, Grandmother Cabot died some six months later, probably, said Wiffiam~ because there was no one left for her to talk to
In February 1928, Willia Tea month on the motion ’Socialism or Capitalism for America’s Future’, and William was naturally asked to represent capitalis to speak on behalf of the downtrodden htly nettled by the thought that his intellectual vieere simply assumed by outsiders because he had inherited a famous name and a prosperous bank
’Well, I ine your own preference would be for, er’
’It is, I accept your invitation I take it that I am at liberty to select my partner?’
’Naturally’
’Good,’then I choose Matthew Lester May I knoho our opponents will be?’
’You will not be inforo up in the Yard’
For the next month Matthew and William turned their breakfast critiques of the newspapers of the left and right, and their nightly discussions about the y sessions for what the ca to call ’The Great Debate’ William decided that Matthew should lead off
As the fateful day approached, it became clear that most of the politically aware students, professors, and even so On thebefore the debate they walked over to the Yard to discover who their opposition would be
Teland Crosby and Thaddeus Cohen, Either na a bell with you, William? Crosby must be one of the Philadelphia Crosby’s, I suppose!
course he is "The Red Maniac of Rittenhouse ’quare" as his own aunt once described hi revolutionary on campus He’s loaded, and he spends all hisnow!
Willia tone ’I know at first hand the rapacity and the utter lack of social conscience of the American monied class’ If everyone in the audience hasn’t heard that fifty times already, I’d say he’ll make a formidable opponent!
’And Thaddeus Cohen?’
’Never heard of hie fright, they h the snow and cold wind, heavy overcoats flapping behind the columns of the recently completed Widener Library - like Williaone down on the Titanic - to Boylston Hall
’With weather like this, at least if we take a beating there won’t be many to tell the tale,’ said Matthew hopefully
But as they rounded the side of the library, they could see a steady strewn of sta into the hall Inside, they were shown to chairs on the podium William sat still but his eyes picked out the people he knew in the audience: President Lowell, sitting discreetly in the middle row; ancient old Newbury St John, Professor of Botany; a pair of Brattle Street blue - stockings he recognisitd froroup of Bohe ties, who turned and started to clap as their spokese, Crosby was theof the two, tall and thin almost to the point of caricature, dressed absent - y tweed suit, but with a stiffly pressed shirt, and dangling a pipe with no apparent connection to his body except at his lower lip Thaddeus Cohen was shorter and wore rilasses and an almost too per - fectly - cut, dark worsted suit The four speakers shook hands cautiously as the last ements were made The bells of Meue and distant as they rang out seven times