was a subject which I had investigated considerably; but I still lacked some one thing in regard to it. Precisely what that was I did not know; but he seemed to furnish just what I wanted to acquire.

We ought, Mr. President, to cherish the memory of such a member as Mr. Thayer. We ought to endeavor to imitate his virtues, and follow his example as a conscientious, devoted, earnest, enthusiastic, and most useful teacher and educator. The resolutions were then adopted.

D. B. Hagar, of Jamaica Plain, Mass. The duty has been assigned to me of offering resolutions in memory of our deceased brother, William D. Ticknor. It is, sir, a sad, and yet a pleasant duty; and I beg to say, before I read what I have written, that I have weighed carefully the words which I have used, intending to say just what I might say, sincerely and truly. I do not believe in lying epitaphs or lying resolutions. I offer the resolutions that I now present, believing that the words I shall read express a fair opinion of the merits of Mr. Ticknor:

It having pleased God to summon from this world to the spirit-land our former associate, Mr. William D. Ticknor, we desire to place on record an expression of our high appreci ation of his services as a member of this Institute, and of his many estimable qualities as a man: therefore

Resolved, That we acknowledge with profound gratitude the services of Mr. Ticknor as treasurer of this Institute, and as publisher of its proceedings, services cheerfully, generously, and most efficiently given without interruption through a period of thirty years. That to his long-continued labors in conducting the financial interests of our association much of its prosperity is justly attributable; and that to his faithful adherence to an agreement made many years ago, and sometimes observed at pecuniary loss to himself, the world is

largely indebted for an unbroken series of volumes, filled with the wisdom of the best educational minds of our country.

Resolved, That we recall with sad pleasure the many noble and charming personal qualities and acts of our deceased friend; his cheerfulness, his genial companionship, his fidelity to his friends, his faithfulness in keeping his word, his unblemished integrity, his tender devotion to his beloved family, his kindness to his neighbors, his outspoken loyalty to his country.

Resolved, That we sympathize most deeply with the wife and children whose husband and father was so sadly removed ́while far away from the cherished endearments of home, and that we would fain mingle our tears with theirs over the grave of our lamented friend.

I do not deem it necessary to add many words to what I have here expressed. I think that those who knew Mr. Ticknor best will most heartily assent to the sentiments I have uttered. I think that his presence at our meetings for so many years will not soon be forgotten. Whoever had the pleasure of taking him by the hand, and knowing how hearty the grasp of that hand always was, will never need be told what Mr. Ticknor was as a friend, as a companion. It has been my privilege to know him intimately for many years. He was for years my next-door neighbor; I knew him, therefore, not merely as a member of this Institute, but as a citizen, as a man, as a friend, as a neighbor, in all the manifold relations of life; and in saying what I have said in these resolutions with regard to Mr. Ticknor, I have spoken from personal knowledge, and I deem it, sir, a personal loss to myself, as I know it is a loss to all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance, that he has been taken from us.

Nathan Hedges, of Newark, N. J. When I first knew this Institute, Mr. Ticknor was one of its most active officers. As some of you know, since my first connection with the

Institute, I have been a regular attendant at its meetings, and on no occasion was Mr. Ticknor ever absent. I very early learned to esteem him for his zeal for the best interests of this institution; for his great care of its financial interests; for the suavity of his manner; for the many private friendships that he found among our number; for the strong attachment that I found existed among the younger members towards him, an older one; and when I heard of his death, I felt that the American Institute had lost one of its best friends, and an officer whose place will not soon be so well filled. He served this institution with his time and with his money; and for one, I feel deeply his loss, and I have no doubt that those who lived near him, and knew him better, feel even more deeply than I do this bereavement.

Samuel W. Mason, of Boston. It is my mournful privilege to offer resolutions in relation to the death of our brother

Allen:

Whereas it has pleased an All-Wise Providence to remove from us by death our much esteemed friend and associate, George Allen, Jr., Master of the Hancock School, Boston: therefore

Resolved, That, in the death of Mr. Allen, the American Institute of Instruction has lost one of its most valuable and efficient members.

Resolved, That as a scholar, a teacher, a Christian gentleman, a friend of the oppressed and ignorant, a most zealous advocate of liberal culture, Mr. Allen stood prominent among the noblest and best educators of our country.

Resolved, That by his faithful, conscientious devotion to duty, his untiring endeavors to improve himself and others, his unselfish ambition to accomplish something for the good of man, by his character as a man, husband, father, friend,

patriot, and Christian, Mr. Allen has left a shining record, worthy the emulation of us all.

Resolved, That we tender to the bereaved family of our departed brother our deepest sympathy in this their irreparable loss, and while with them we mourn the death of one so good and true, we would confidently commend them to Him in whom our brother trusted, who is the widow's God and a father to the fatherless.

Mr. President, I desire to say but a word or two upon the subject brought before us by these resolutions. I do not presume to speak here because I have known Mr. Allen long; other members here have known him longer, much longer, than I have; and these gentlemen, I trust, will, as they can, pay a far more fitting tribute to his memory than I can.

I say I have not known Mr. Allen long — only a few years; but those have been years of intimacy. No one has known him more intimately; no one has prized his friendship higher, or admired his character more. In the providence of God, we have been located near each other; we have seen and conversed with each other daily; our labors as teachers have been in the same locality—he for a quarter of a century educating, really, truly educating, the daughters of the North End, Boston, while I have been humbly endeavoring to instruct the boys. Having the same Christian faith, we worshipped at the same altar; politically we sympathized with each other; and I have been wont to look up to him as to a father, and he has led me as with the hand of an elder brother. Therefore it is my privilege to say a word in regard to him to-day, and to bear testimony to the admiration in which he was held, in the community in which he lived, and by those who knew him, and none ever knew him but to respect and to admire his noble, generous, manly character.

Mr. Allen was my friend. And when I say he was my

friend, gentlemen here know that it was no cold and formal friendship that he gave. He was one of the truest, firmest, strongest friends I ever knew. I have known him in almost all the relations of life. I knew him when sorrow and trouble were mine; it was when he could administer comfort and consolation to others that his whole character shone with almost divine benevolence. I knew him when sorrow and suffering were his; and never have I known one so submissive, so patient, so appreciative of sympathy, as he. It was my melancholy privilege to be with him much of the time during his last sickness, and as far as I could to soothe his spirit and calm his mind as his manly soul wrestled with decaying nature. Though he had much to live for, much that he wished to accomplish for the good of others, yet that hope which had cheered him in life was his consolation in the hour of death. Surrounded as he was by kind friends and an interesting family, and with much that would cause him to desire to live on earth, yet, when he knew his days were numbered, calmly he exclaimed, "Not my will, but thine, O Lord, be done!"

Mr. Allen, I say, was my friend. As has been suggested by brother Hagar in regard to Mr. Ticknor, there was something in the grasp of his hand, in the intonations of his voice, in the light of his eyes, that spoke a pure, disinterested friendship. Standing as he did among the best educators of our land, having gained an enviable reputation as a teacher, and occupying a prominent position, like a true gentleman, as he was, he took pleasure in conversing with and encouraging the young and inexperienced. No one, however humble or obscure, ever asked advice from that man that he did not give it kindly and willingly. He desired and delighted to do good. Always improving his own mind and powers, he was as constantly imparting to others. He was a most thorough