A Disciple of Hugh Quoil Tarries Briefly in New Haven

Hugh Quoil, soldier of Waterloo, came to New England in 1823 and by some chance found himself settled on the shores of Walden Pond some two miles from where Henry Thoreau had his abode during one phase of his study of nature. Quoil lived a life of peculiar pattern, defying colonial conventions and fostering his own notions as to what would make for his welfare. His ideas were essentially two: the first of these was never to pass beyond a supply of Concord rum; the second was always to take advantage of any opportunity to go fishing. These ideas afforded Mr. Thoreau a great deal of interest, but they imposed such severe restrictions upon Quoil's physical constitution that he succumbed before he could found a school of philosophy based on his fundamental, individualistic beliefs. Through such slight contact with Thoreau has Quoil's name found a place in history. Thus, it became a matter of mere chance that Quoil found a kindred soul who, under similar circumstances, might well have adopted his point of view-certainly with respect to his basic tenets. Perhaps some thoughts along these lines may serve to explain the more inscrutable behaviorisms which characterized the brief stay with us of Peter ...