Kinsley Twining

The Rev. Dr. Kinsley Twining was so well known in The Century for his keen and varied interest in all that contributes to the intellectual life of the Club, and maintained to the last a bearing of such unusual vigor, that his death was a painful surprise. Certainly he had none of that valetudinarianism that is said to be a guaranty of longevity. Born at West Point, N. Y., in 1832, he was a graduate of Yale in the famous Class of 1853. For some twenty years after his graduation he ministered to Congregational churches in Cambridge, Mass., and in Providence, R. I. Later, for nearly a quarter of a century, he was the literary editor of The Independent, and for the last three years of his life held a like position on The Evangelist of this city. He was in his earlier years an extensive traveller, passionately fond of out-door life, and, before mountaineering skill was as common as now, he was an Alpine climber of no mean order. In his travels and in the pursuit of his editorial calling, Dr. Twining formed a wide acquaintance with scholars, and with others of mark in the world of letters and of affairs. One branch of his study to which he devoted much time and patient labor was military history, of which subject he was accepted as an authority, some of the best work that has been done in this field being hidden in his reviews in the columns of The Independent. This interest brought him into close relations with many of the distinguished soldiers of our day, in this and in other countries, and his conversation was never more attractive than when it turned in this direction. As a reviewer, his characteristic was an intelligent generosity, and he was always happy when he could honestly give encouragement to writers of relatively unknown merit. With a memory richly stored by study and experience, he maintained a singularly open mind and an almost youthful eagerness for new facts and new impressions. In public as in private life his ideals were high and pure, and his enthusiasm for the good was constant, courageous, and hopeful.

Edward Cary
1902 Century Association Yearbook