In 1902, shortly after completion of the building work, Brown died during a mountaineering holiday in Switzerland. This clearly had a profound effect on the people of Ellon as was proclaimed by his close friend, Rev. James Coutts, minister of Ardallie, who edited a book titled 'In Memorandum, James H Brown' dedicated to him. This was published 1903 and the first chapter titled 'Biographical Sketch' written by the minister has been reproduced on this page.

 Donated to the Victoria Hall by Louis Thomson

In Memorandum

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

of

JAMES HAMPTON BROWN, J.P.,

BY HIS FRIEND

THE Rev. JAMES COUTTS, MA.,

Minister of ARDALLIE

JAMES HAMPTON BROWN was born at Stonehaven on 4th April, 1851, the fifth of a family of three sons and five daughters. His father, in partnership with a brother, carried on an extensive business as a wood merchant, and was a man held in high esteem by his own family and by the community, as evidenced by the fact that for some time he was a member of the Parochial Board of Fetteresso and the Town Council of Stonehaven. A man of a kindly heart and of considerable intelligence, he sought to identify himself with the interests of his children, and to develop their minds by reading aloud, in the family circle, the newspapers and the books which he found interesting to himself. His rich, sympathetic voice seems to have made a deep impression upon the listening household, and his children in after years recalled with pleasure the memory of many evenings thus happily and profitably spent. His mother, in addition to the true womanly qualities of head and heart which make a mother dear to her children, was possessed of business talent of a high order; and so, from both of his parents, James inherited something of the traits of character for which he was afterwards distinguished. For his parents he had a very warm affection while they lived, and long after their death, in hours of quiet meditation, his thoughts often turned to them with ardent love. It was his often expressed wish that when his own death came he might be laid side by side with them, and throughout his life his earnest hope was that he might be worthy to meet them again in the Better Land.

One feature of his boyish years deserves to be mentioned, as honourable in itself and as illustrative of his nature all through life. On Saturdays, while a boy at school, of his own free will he went to the wood yard and worked at barking trees. By way of encouragement, his father gave him a few pennies in name of wages, and he never went home on the Saturday evening without buying with these pennies some small present for his mother.

Till he was fourteen years of age he attended the Free Church School in Stonehaven, taught by Mr. Cameron, afterwards the highly esteemed parish schoolmaster of Dunnottar. Then, for a short time he went to the West End Academy, Aberdeen. Without showing any special brilliance, he prosecuted his studies with characteristic diligence and faithfulness. As a schoolboy it may be noted, that he manifested a fondness for committing to memory and reciting passages of poetry, and here again “the boy was father to the man.”

At the age of 15, he was apprenticed to Mr. Scott, agent for the North of Scotland Bank in Stonehaven. Mr. Scott was a man of outstanding character, and exercised a stimulating influence upon his young clerk, who learned to esteem his master at his true worth, and held a warm regard for him while he lived.

During James’s apprenticeship, his father gave up the wood yard, and took a lease of the farm of Criggie, near Stonehaven. This change had no little influence upon the lad. It brought him, for the first time, into touch with the agricultural interests with which his future business career was to be so closely associated, and, to some extent, it tended to foster the ardent admiration he had for Scotland’s national poet, Burns, whose grandfather had at one time occupied the farm adjoining Criggie. His admiration for Burns was, however hereditary, as his father was a diligent reader and enthusiastic lover of Burns’ poems, in days when the Burns’ cult was less developed than it is in our time.

Having in due course completed his apprenticeship with credit to himself, he was transferred to the Head Office of the Bank in Aberdeen. He had evidently soon impressed the officials there with his energy, ability, and business tact, for, at the age of 20, he was sent to be accountant in the branch office, Ellon. The agent at Ellon, Mr. Thomas Milne, was by this time well advanced in years, and the business of the Bank was only of moderate extent. He ·soon saw that the young accountant was eminently fitted for his work, and he gave him a free hand in developing the Bank’s interests. Young Brown threw himself heart and soul into his work, for, as he privately records, he had chosen as the motto of his business life the counsel of the wise man - "What soever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” But he soon found, if he was to develop the business to any extent, he must also develop his own powers. His education was by no means perfect, as he well knew. In fact, he used jocularly to remark that he never understood the multiplication table, till he became a banker. He went, accordingly, to Rev. John Davidson, then and for many years, the distinguished parochial schoolmaster of Ellon, and got private lessons from him. Mr. Davidson took a great interest in his pupil, and evidently wisely gauged alike his character and abilities, and the possibilities of the Bank in Ellon, for it is related that he said to Brown, “You have come to a modest business here, but it will be your own fault if you do not make it a good one". The lad probably laid the words to heart, and took care that no fault of his should hinder the progress of the Bank; and no doubt, in after years, the old teacher rejoiced to see that his opinion was amply justified.

While devoting himself to the Bank and to his own studies, he, nevertheless, found time to take part in the recreations and other interests of the youth of Ellon. In the Mutual Improvement Society he took a warm interest, and he also for a time gave valuable assistance in the Parish Church Sunday School. While a boy in Stonehaven, he had been drawn to this by the influence of the then Parish Minister of Fetteresso, whom he regarded with the warmest affection and marked appreciation and it may be remarked that this warm regard and appreciation were mutual, for, till the day of his death, the old minister turned to him with confident assurance that the sympathy and affection of his kind heart would not be asked in vain, when the clouds were overshadowing him and true friends were few.

The Bank, however, had the first claim on young Brown’s energies, and he put forth all his ability and enthusiasm in developing the business. And this he did, not so much for the sake of any benefit that might accrue to himself, as from that strong sense of duty and loyalty which was so characteristic of the man. In 1878, Mr. Milne gave up the agency. By this time Brown had won for himself, by his business tact and by his personal character, such a high place in the esteem of the community and in the confidence of the customers of the Bank, that a petition was spontaneously presented to the Directors of the Bank, requesting that the agency should be conferred upon him. So influential and so enthusiastic were the petitioners, that the Directors, contrary to their intentions, felt compelled to give the appointment to Brown. Doubtless, there had been misgivings on the part of some, as to the wisdom of appointing so if young a man to so responsible a position. He was then only 27 years of age, and was for long the youngest agent in the Bank’s service. But youth, when sup-ported by ability and character, is no bar to success, and the event proved the wisdom of the appointment. The Directors never had cause to regret the step then taken, for, from that day forward, success, unqualified success, crowned the efforts of the young agent in all departments of the Bank’s interests.

With a deep sense of the responsibility laid upon him, Brown entered upon the duties of his office, and by his indefatigable energy, by his sound business habits, by his tact, and above all, by his own personality he succeeded, in spite of keen competition, in making the Ellon Branch one of the largest and most profitable agencies of the North of Scotland Bank. To his honour, be it said, in accomplishing this he won more and more the confidence and esteem of his customers and Directors; in fact, at his death, the Directors of the Bank took the almost unprecedented step of passing a special minute of appreciation and regret regarding him.

Along with the work of the Bank, Brown carried on a very extensive and lucrative business as an agent for the Northern Assurance and the Scottish Employers’ Liability Insurance Companies. So successful was he in this branch of his work, that he was reported to have been the best agent connected with the Northern Assurance Company. In carrying on these two important businesses, he was naturally brought into very intimate relations with a large number of people throughout a wide district, with the result that he became a trusted confidential adviser, and was called upon to act as factor, curator, and executor for an ever-increasing number of estates. These difficult and delicate duties he discharged with a tact, prudence, fidelity, and considerateness which gained for him the confidence and warm esteem of the parties interested. If, as he sometimes wished, he had been qualified to act as a law agent, this department of his work alone would have brought him a competency, so frequently was his advice asked by the public, who had implicit confidence in his judgment; and it may be added that his advice was freely given, without consideration of personal interest, and no pains were s-pared by him to gain reliable counsel in matters regarding which he did not feel himself justified in I giving an opinion. In this connection, perhaps, his loss was most severely felt by hundreds who had come to trust their affairs implicitly in his hands, assured that all was right so long as they could turn to Brown.

Deeply interested in Education himself, he found a fresh outlet for his energies in the working of the Education Act, and for many years he gave valuable assistance to the School Boards of Ellon, Logie Buchan, and Ardallie, for which he acted as clerk and treasurer. His intimate knowledge of the Act itself and of the various Codes promulgated by the Department, added to his long practical experience, made his aid and counsel invaluable to the members of the Boards, while his courtesy and readiness to oblige made him highly esteemed by the various teachers with whom he was brought into contact. Naturally reluctant to have to resort to the extreme measure of prosecution, by his own personal influence and by his sympathetic dealing with parents, he smoothed over many difficulties and reconciled not a few to yield to the law without the necessity of putting the compulsory clause of the Act into force.

Ever warmly interested in the prosperity and development of Ellon, Brown took an active part in the movement for the Incorporation of the Burgh, and was elected a member of the Council and held the office of junior Baillie till his death. As a public spirited citizen, a loyal subject and ardent admirer of our late gracious Queen, he was the prime mover and most active agent in the effort to secure a Public Hall for Ellon, which would, on the one hand, supply a long felt want, and, on the other, be a notable ornament to the Burgh and a worthy memorial of Queen Victoria and her long and beneficent reign. Into this task he threw himself with all his energy and enthusiasm, and by his generosity, his untiring efforts, and by his inspiration he had the satisfaction of seeing a triumphant conclusion to his work. One of the happiest hours in his life was on the last night of the bazaar held at the opening of the Hall, when it was known to be so successful that the heavier burden of the debt then resting upon it was wiped out, and the handsome grant of £475, which he had been instrumental in securing the promise of from Mr. Carnegie, was secured. The Hall, built at a cost of some £3000, is a very handsome edifice, admirably adapted for its purpose, and is indeed a worthy memorial of Queen Victoria, whose name it bears. Alas! that we must say it is now also the memorial of him who was the moving spirit in its erection, and whose name will be associated with it for all time. As evidence of the deep interest he took in the Hall, it deserves to be mentioned that by a codicil, added to his ·will on the day before he set out on his last expedition, he left the handsome legacy of £250 to pay off half the debt at that time still a burden upon it.

When, after his death, his numerous friends and warm admirers felt that such a life deserved some permanent memorial, a large and influential committee was appointed to secure this object. At first, the idea was to obtain a portrait of Brown by a talented artist, to hang in the Victoria Hall, a memorial which it was known would have been in accord with his own wishes. It was found, however, that it was almost impossible to secure a posthumous portrait which would be a true likeness of the deceased, and the idea had to be given up; and, instead, it was resolved to complete the tower on the Hall and place in it a public clock, and to hang an enlarged photograph of Brown in the Hall. Subscriptions were readily obtained from far and near, and the Brown Tower and Clock will permanently associate his name with this deeply cherished scheme, and will bear testimony to the esteem in which he was held by all who knew him.

While Brown gave his first thought and his fullest energy to his immediate work and the many duties laid upon him, he did not allow these to so absorb his time and interest as to lead him to neglect the cultivation of his intellectual powers, the claims of society, or the needful recreation for so strenuous a life. A man of decidedly poetic temperament, he found great pleasure in reading and committing to memory the best of our best poets. Our national poet, Burns, was first favourite. His poems he knew thoroughly, and, as there were not a few points in common in the nature of the two men, his sentiments were heartily appreciated by him. At Burns’ anniversary gatherings he was in his element, and his whole soul was stirred within him as he paid his tribute of honour to Burns’ immortal memory or recited some of his more famous poems. No one present on such occasions could fail to be infected by his enthusiastic admiration and fervour.

Shakespeare and Byron, too, he greatly admired, and many a friend will long remember the animation with which he recited Byron’s well known “Lochnagar", a poem which naturally had a special interest for one who knew and loved “Dark Lochnagar" so well. Scott, Dickens, and Thackeray were his favourite novelists, the patriotism of Scott appealing strongly to his own patriotic heart. Of prose writers, perhaps, none impressed him more than Carlyle, whose sterling honesty of purpose, his independence, and his contempt for all shams, made him a man after his own heart. He was, too, a faithful and thoughtful reader of the Bible, and among his private comments on the books he read, none are more suggestive of appreciation and wise discrimination than those on his favourite passages in the Book of Books.

In later years his knowledge and love of Art rapidly developed, and he became the possessor of not a few really valuable paintings and engravings works of Philip and Landseer. With the love of Art naturally came intimacy with artists, and he numbered among his most valued friends the late A G. W. Johnston, R.S.A., and a rising Aberdeen artist, Mr. John R, Greig. As a proof of his growing interest in Art, it was his desire that a picture gallery should be formed in connection with the Victoria Hall, and he left a legacy to buy a picture or pictures by his friend Greig to form the nucleus of the collection. This he did, not that any glory might accrue to himself, but that the love of Art might be fostered in the community, and that in the coming years the people might have the opportunity of seeing something of what the best painters could produce. Though he had no natural talent for Music, he was very fond of it, and by his hearty appreciation greatly encouraged those who had the gift.

While no one enjoyed more thoroughly the pleasures of social intercourse, or was more ready to promote the happiness of his friends in this way, his favourite recreations were in outdoor exercise and sports. Here it may be remarked of all his recreations that they were never allowed to be other than recreations, and, while anxious to do his part well in whatever exercise or game he engaged, he did so not that he might be first in them, but that they might be a recreation to himself in the true sense and afford him the opportunity of associating with his friends and promoting their pleasure.

Riding, Cycling, Croquet, Curling, Golf, were all heartily enjoyed and taken part in as circumstances permitted. On Newburgh, and latterly on Cruden Bay golf courses he spent many a pleasant Wednesday and Saturday afternoon with his friends. For several years he spent a short holiday about Easter time, usually at Machrihanish, with a company of congenial friends, business and professional gentlemen from Aberdeen, Dundee, and Edinburgh, when one of the happiest weeks of the year was spent with golf by day and song and sentiment, wit and wisdom, in the evening hours. Of these gatherings Brown was always one of the leading spirits. In this connection a little incident is worthy of being recorded, as very illustrative of the nature of the man. On the occasion of the last of these annual reunions at which he was present, the weather happened to be unsuitable for golf, and the caddies had to hang about the hotel all day, shivering in the cold and waiting in vain for employment. Doubtless those within doors found means to while away the time comfortably, and thought little of the miserable company without. One afternoon Brown disappeared for a time and gave no explanation of his absence, but afterwards if it was discovered by chance that he had taken pity on the waiting caddies, and at his own expense had entertained them to a hearty tea in the hotel. It was by such little acts of kindness as this that he did so much to prove what he was at heart, and endeared himself to all.

Walking was undoubtedly his favourite recreation. From boyhood he was accustomed to take long walks alone, or along with some congenial friend. If alone, he felt himself in company with Nature, and he was a keen and sympathetic observer of all the sights and sounds which mark her operations and distinguish the seasons. Land, water, and sky alike were full of suggestiveness, and as a true lover the common places of Nature teemed with interest, instruction, and pleasure to him.

The following extracts, taken at random from his private records, in which he was wont to note down some of the impressions made upon him during his rambles, are given to show what a walk meant to him:-

"Strayed in the afternoon down the Braes of Waterton. While reclining on the green sward was much entertained by watching the reflection of the sun’s rays on the river. It is impossible for me to describe the brilliant silvery gems of light as they sparkled and ever flitted on the gentle ripples of the stilly flowing waters. Happy, soothing, hallowing thought! Whatever may betide me through the week, at its close, Sunday, calm, resuscitating Sunday never fails to come round, when man enjoys a freedom all his own. He can resort to communion with his Maker within the sanctuary, wander at will through the variegated beauties of Nature, listen to the carols of the feathered songsters, and drink in the invigorating air of heaven."

"To-day I had a pleasant walk to the seaside, along the river and through the sands of Forvie. The river was actually teeming with aquatic birds - the wild duck, heron, seagulls, etc. A pair of wild duck with flock of young ducklings rose on my way. The peewit are very numerous. The lark was unusually jubilant all my journey through, and his sweet notes are ringing in my ears still. On watching his flight, the words of Burns came to my memory:-

"See the woodlark charm the forest,
Telling o’er his little joys,
Hapless bird a prey the surest,
To each tyrant of the skies"

I saw many wild birds that I had never noticed before, and a better acquaintance with which I mean to cultivate in the future".

"I had a pleasant walk along the sea—shore. There was some swell on the sea, and just as I was leaving for my return journey the sun broke through and reflected his rays upon the restless waters, which gave one some idea of ‘the crystal sea’ spoken of in the Bible."

These diaries show that, in the course of his rambles, he practically traversed every foot of ground in the neighbourhood of Stonehaven and Ellon. When out on these excursions, if he had not planned to call at some friend’s house when tired, his custom was, with characteristic simplicity of taste, to enter some crofter’s or cottar’s house by the way and ask for “ a bowl of brose,” homely fare which he enjoyed more than the luxuries of the rich man’s table. The bairns of the household were sure to look with satisfaction on such visits, for they were not forgotten on his leaving.

It was only natural that he should gradually extend his excursions further afield. A lover of Nature in all her moods and in all her works and. scenes, possessed of the physical strength, the keen eye, the cautious spirit, mountaineering was the ideal hobby for him. Year by year the love of the hills grew upon him, and from the hills in his own immediate neighbourhood if there was a hill near where he happened to be, he would be at the top of it if time permitted he extended his rambles to the mountains of Scotland, and latterly the Grampians were as familiar to him as the country round Ellon. Summer or winter, he was at home on Cairngorm or Lochnagar. Twice he had visited the Continent; once to the Forests of Germany, once to the smaller peaks of Switzerland. But growing experience as a member of the Cairngorm Club, and association with mountaineers who had scaled the Alpine heights, intensified his desire to visit some of the great mountains of Switzerland. At length he was able to arrange for the mountaineer’s ideal- a holiday in the Alps. He had found a congenial friend, an experienced climber, his comrade on many a tramp in the Grampians, to accompany him. All his plans were carefully laid, and everything was done that experience could suggest to make the holiday of August, 19O2, the holiday of his life. Never surely had eagerly anticipated pleasure more melancholy ending! His comrade on that fatal expedition tells graphically and sympathetically the story of the tragedy that ended a noble life, and brought sorrow unspeakable and a sense of utter desolation to those near and dear to him, and to the wide circle of those who felt it an honour and a privilege to be his intimate friends, and to the still wider circle of those who knew him and esteemed him because they knew him.

Rarely, indeed, has death called forth more remarkable tribute to a man’s personal worth, more striking testimony to the universal esteem in which he was held by his fellowmen. For days it seemed as though a cloud over shadowed the community, and sorrow and sadness were in every home. In their bitter hours o-f grief, it was a great consolation to his relatives to know that they did not sorrow alone. From far and near, from young and old, rich and poor, came many a touching tribute of sorrow and sympathy, and, to the honour of the dead, be it said, none mourned him more sincerely than the young and the poor. To them he was ever kind, considerate, and helpful. To the young he made the joy of life brighter, and, for the poor, he helped generously and sympathetically to lighten life’s burdens.

This universal sorrow was not due either to the suddenness of the death or the circumstances in which it occurred, though these were appalling and melancholy to the full - a strong man, in the vigour of his manhood, struck down without a moment’s warning, far from home and kindred, while in the enjoyment of an innocent, long-anticipated, and well-earned holiday. Rather every one sorrowed because a noble and useful life seemed ended all too soon, and with it there had passed away one who was the personal friend of all, a friend whose place could never be filled. Appropriately did that friend express the general feeling who said, “We shall easily get another man to fill his offices and do his work, but we shall never get another James H. Brown in our time." It was the personality of the man - and his was a distinct personality - which won for him that peculiar place in the confidence and esteem of those who knew him, and that personality can never be restored; and so all felt that, henceforth, life would be emptier because he was not.

Though it is difficult to reconcile the mind to death, especially sudden death, when life was so valued and seemed so indispensable, it may be said that, in some respects, the time and place of Brown’s death were not unfitting. To one of his active temperament, to one to whom life was ceaseless work and strenuous energy, it would have been no small trial, now that the meridian of life was passed, to face the inevitable decay of the powers that had sustained him in his activity, and to find himself getting less fit for the work that was so much of life to him. No doubt, like most men, he had his visions of how he would like to spend the evening of life, visions of that small estate he could call his own, where, with Nature, in the rural life which comes nearest to Nature, he could enjoy well- earned retirement. This was a vision which might have been realised in due course, but Heaven decreed it otherwise, and he entered into the true rest while his eye was not dimmed and his natural force was not abated, leaving behind him a record of work accomplished such as all might be proud to own and such as very few attain.

In this connection, the entry made in his diary on his fortieth birthday is very suggestive:- “I may count on my journey being about half over now, but I should have a ten years of active life before me yet.” Prophetic estimate! Eleven years and four months of active life were granted, and then rest.

When one thinks of Brown’s love for the hills, and the peculiar influence they exerted upon his body and his mind, it may be he would have thought a if deathbed on the mountains the most of all to be desired. Daily, in his later years, he might have said with the Psalmist, “I will lift up mine eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help.” Over and over again he used to say, when feeling a little fagged, “Three days upon the hills and I will be all right again”! And with that devout feeling characteristic of the man in his solemn hours, he likewise declared that “nowhere did he feel so much in the presence of his Maker, as when he stood in the awe-inspiring silence and majesty of the eternal hills." Where, then, could he have more appropriately met his Maker face to face, than on the mountains which to him were so eloquent of God? From the heights of the Wetterhorn to be permitted a Pisgah view of the of the glories of God’s world here below, and then to pass, in a moment, into the glories of the greater world above, was surely to such a life, to such a man, no unfit end.

"Not his the common doom, to stand and shrink,
Upon the death’s mysterious river-
One moment saw him on the fatal brink,
The next beheld him with his God for ever.

There with the great and good if every clime,
And every age, renowned in earthly story,
With a sphere eternal and sublime,
Well may we trust he lives in endless glory."

Considering, too, the spirit of his life and the deep sense of the uncertainty and the responsibility of life which he had, it may be said that few were more ready to meet death in a moment than he. Though many were much impressed by some of his sayings and doings preparatory to his leaving on the last fateful journey, seeing in them evidence that he had a premonition of death, those who were privileged to know something of his inmost thoughts knew that he lived and laboured every day with the full consciousness that death might come at any moment, and some have heard him speak, again and again, as impressively and suggestively of the possibility of death as he then did. That he should leave all his affairs in such order that everything could go on without hindrance, whether he returned or not, that he should speak of the possibility of death, was characteristic of the man rather than suggestive of special premonition.

It is worthy of mention, that Brown held very decided views regarding death and the hereafter. Death was not to him a something to be dreaded, and the future life seemed scarcely less real or natural than the present. He was perfectly assured of happiness in that future life to all who had proved themselves in any degree worthy of it, and t·o be worthy of that happiness was the great desire of his own heart. He believed, too, that in the future life he would meet again and recognise and be in fellowship with all who had been his friends on earth. Nothing is more beautiful or touching than some of his references to death, especially in the case of his own father and mother. As examples of his hopes and aspirations, the following may be quoted from his diary:-

"Living well is the secret of being able to die well."

"How can l better show my respect for their memory and kindness, than by striving to be more loving and more helpful to the living?"

"Oh! to be worthy thus to meet them again!"

"Surely it is well to live for a life beyond the grave. After all, it is no more mysterious than the present life is."

Having lived well he surely, in that brief moment between time and eternity, found it easy to die well, and penetrating that mystery he has found every hope abundantly fulfilled.

When his friends gathered in their hundreds from far and near on that beautiful August day to lay his body, according to his oft-expressed wish, side by side with his dearly beloved parents, beside “the Auld Kirk of Fetteresso " - an ideal God’s acre, fair, peaceful, sacred - amid manifest tokens of deep sorrow and regret, there was this consolation that he, who had lived faithful to such high ideals, had much to “front eternity” with.

If it be asked how Brown won that peculiar place in the esteem and affection of his fellowmen, if it be asked what was the secret of his popularity, the best answer can perhaps be given in the words of his favourite Burns:-

"The heart’s aye,

The part aye,

That keeps us right or wrong."

If ever man was right at heart, Brown was, and following the natural impulses of his heart in all his relationships with mankind, in all simplicity and sincerity, humility and charity, he made all feel that he was a true man and brother. Intensely human himself, he could put himself into touch with all sorts and conditions of men and make them feel he was one with them. His own failings, for he was not perfect, and no one was more conscious of imperfection than he, made him more considerate and more lenient in his judgment of others. He tried always to think the best o-f his fellows, and to appreciate what was good in them, and his own goodness of heart ever appealed to what was best in them. If he had a hard thought for any, it was for those who in their life and conduct manifested a spirit of pride and affectation, deceitfulness, meanness, unscrupulousness, or underhand dealing - qualities which were altogether foreign to his own nature.

His kindly heart ever went out in full sympathy towards the suffering. The widow and the orphan, the crying child, the wounded on the battlefield, yea, the very tramp by the wayside, made an irresistible appeal to him, and by his words of tender sympathy and cheer, as well as by his generous gifts, he eased the burden and soothed the sorrow of many a stricken heart. What he did in this way for his fellow-men, the world will never know half. If his labours were blessed with considerable prosperity, he remembered his duty to others, and every year gave away unostentatiously in charity one-tenth of his income. He died less rich perhaps in this world’s goods than he might have been, but he had this reward that many of his needy brethren did rise up and call him blessed.

Though he made no parade of religion, he was a man of devout spirit and deep religious feeling, and his whole life and conduct were marked, as few lives are, by that true charity which is the very essence of Christianity. Imbibing the great truths of Christianity from his father and mother in his youth, all through life, warmly as he loved and dutifully as he honoured them, so did he love and honour his God, and his religious life may be summed up in this, even as his whole life may be - He did justly, he loved mercy, and walked humbly with his God.

Over the grave where now he rests from his well-spent and laborious life, so fruitful of good, his friends may well say of him what he himself said over the grave of a dear friend as a parting tribute:- "He has left us an inheritance we may well be proud of, the example of an honest life, a life that never willingly caused a sigh to his fellow-men."