WOODEOW WILSON 543 ing into public life. And now there appeared a more at- tractive avenue to the same goal ; namely, that of the student. But before reentering upon the life of a student, he did claim from the South a permanent contribution to his life's success and happiness. Miss Ellen Axson (herself a de- scendant of a line of Southern preachers) who had been a childhood playmate, now appeared again as a visitor at the home of his relatives in Rome, Georgia. A brief renewal of the old acquaintance was enough to settle the domestic fate of the unsuccessful aspirant for legal honors. Their engage- ment took place immediately before Wilson 's departure from the South. But before the marriage could occur he must establish him- self in his career. He entered Johns Hopkins University for a period of two years* study. Here he found the congenial atmosphere of what was at that time the leading postgraduate institution of the country. During the last year he held the Historical Fellowship, an indication of his intellectual rank in a group of exceptionally strong men. His work was in the field of the interest that had claimed him from the first year of his undergraduate days, political science. In the early part of the year 1885 he published his first piece of work to claim general recognition from scholars. Congressional Government^ * * a study of government by Com- mittee.** This publication meant much in many ways. It gave him a recognized place among thinking people. It in- sured his degree from Hopkins, since it was to be received for the doctor's thesis. It brought opportunities for teach- ing that made marriage possible. In June of the same year Miss Axson and he were married, after he had accepted a position as associate professor in History and Political Econ- omy in Bryn Mawr. The three years at this young college for women furnish little that is different from the first three years of any college professor's life. The life was pleasant and agreeable and the connection of the college with Johns Hopkins insured the maintenance of scholarly standards. The fact that the
