MEMOIR OF MR. FOOTE.

ENRY WILDER FOOTE was born at Salem, Massachusetts, June 2, 1838, the second of six children, three of whom died in infancy. His descent, on father's and mother's side alike, was from the sturdy New England stock, which braved the dangers and hardships of our early settlement in defence of strong conviction. and earnest thought; nor was it without a fair degree of culture.

Pasco Foote, his paternal ancestor, came from England to this country in 1634, and was one of the first settlers of Salem; while his maternal ancestor, William White, was one of the founders of the town of Haverhill. Henry's great-grandfather, Caleb Foote, was prize-master in a privateer in the Revolutionary War; was captured and imprisoned two years in England, and died in the West Indies, May 19, 1787. A journal kept during his service in the navy and subsequent imprisonment was printed in 1889, and is full of interest in its quaint portraiture of a life of energetic and patriotic devotion. His son, Caleb Foote, was born July 15, 1778, and was lost at sea. The Hon. Caleb Foote, third of the name and Henry's father, was born Feb. 28, 1803, and now survives at Salem in a vigorous and honored old age. He was early apprenticed in the printingoffice of the "Salem Gazette," a paper of excellent standing in Salem, and afterward became editor and proprietor, giving to the paper great abilities and a discriminating judgment, which rendered it valuable, not only as a vehicle for the current news of the day, but for its careful selection of articles of scientific and literary importance. He also at different times served. the State with credit as a member of the Governor's Council and of the Legislature. Oct. 21, 1835, he married Mary Wilder, the second child of the Hon. Daniel Appleton White and Mary [Wilder] White, of Salem. Daniel Appleton White was a man of rare literary attainments, and widely known and respected. He was born in Methuen, Mass., in 1776, graduated at Harvard College in 1797, was for some years a member of Congress,

afterward Judge of Probate, and in all the positions which he filled eminent for his breadth of view, his scholarship, his conspicuous ability, and for his attractive social qualities. His house was open, in the generous hospitality of the day, to a wide circle of men distinguished in political and literary quarters; and his interest in the religious questions and controversies of his time gave him an extensive acquaintance and most intimate relations with profound scholars and teachers of the Liberal faith.

With such an ancestry, combining in rare degree ardent love of liberty, unusual literary taste, high aspirations for religious truth, and quick and ready sympathies, it was not strange that at a very early age Henry manifested great decision of character, a love for books, a strong abhorrence of meanness or deceit, and a frank, open, merry nature. His manner was tender and affectionate, and his considerate thoughtfulness of others and happy disposition rendered his childhood one of great sweetness and promise. A diary of his mother yet remains, faithfully kept for many years, in which she recorded in touching phrase her pride in the boy's youthful growth, her ardent satisfaction as she watched his development, and her constant anxiety that his every instinct should be pure and truthful. It is not permissible to quote here words too sacred for the public gaze, but they present a delightful picture of that happy home life. We follow in the mother's words her prophetic hopes and fond affection; we witness the gradual unfolding of a precious life; and as we read, the thought comes to our mind how unconsciously her pen reproduced her own beautiful character in the portrayal of qualities of mind which had adorned her own rare womanhood, with something added of the sterner stuff befitting a manly life to come of active and extended influence.

As the boy matured, and habits of reading and study were slowly acquired, no pains were spared by both father and mother to guide and encourage. The home was made the centre of influence and affection; instruction was given, but nothing was lacking of healthy, childish amusement. Children's tales and histories were read together by the fireside, poetry was committed to memory and repeated, selections from religious books and the best of modern authors were studied and discussed, the boy's youthful enthusiasm and interest were stimulated and fostered, and he was led by gradual steps to the acquisition of correct taste and judgment.

At the age of eight Henry entered the Hacker Grammar

School in Salem; and the result of these home influences was early shown in his uncommon powers of application, and in an ability to concentrate his thoughts, unusual in one so young. After a few years at this school, he was placed in the Fiske Latin School in the same city, in which he was fitted for Harvard College under the excellent instruction of Mr. Oliver Carlton, entering the latter institution with great credit in the summer of 1854.

He was a thoughtful boy, usually quiet and somewhat retiring, sensitive by nature, and not easily excited unless upon questions of moral right and wrong; remarkably even-tempered, but of such joyous temperament that the love and confidence of his schoolmates were quickly gained. With it all was great fixity of purpose and determination; the stream flowed quietly but strongly, with few ripples upon the surface, but ever moving on with steadily increasing power.

While at school, much of his leisure time was spent in his father's printing-office, poring with boyish delight over the mass of books and papers naturally accumulating in a place which was of itself a small library of current literature. He familiarized himself with setting type, with all the processes of old-fashioned printing, and to a certain degree with the names and personality of the public men of the neighborhood frequenting what was in those days a sort of literary headquarters. Doubtless by this experience his mind was broadened, and he acquired a deeper insight into human character and into the motives which influence men's actions. It is difficult now to realize the importance of the local editor of a prominent paper at that time in such a place as Salem, especially when, as in the case of Caleb Foote, he represented in a large degree the culture and social importance of the town. The printing-office was the centre of a large political and literary influence. From its presses went forth a power far beyond that exerted by the numerous local journals of the present day; and the columns of the newspaper were the means of imparting information, of guiding conduct, and of extending knowledge. The telegraph. and the steam-engine had not then made the newspaper chiefly a vehicle for the news of the world, with its unhealthy sensational disclosures and trivial personalities; it was a real moulder of public opinion, and a powerful controller of public thought and taste.

At the age of twelve, for the sake of obtaining a coveted collection of coins, Henry undertook to deliver the "Gazette"

upon one of the largest routes of the city; and for three years, through all seasons and all weather, he devoted the early hours of the morning, with his accustomed zeal and energy, to the laborious task. His father writes of this period: "He entered at the age of twelve upon the duties of a carrier of his father's newspapers, and continued them for three years. They occupied about two hours in the early morning, obliging him to leave the house in winter at five o'clock, in summer at four; and he never once, whatever the weather, shirked the hardships of the business, or neglected to answer on the instant the stroke of his alarm-clock. It was the verdict of all in the printingoffice that the paper never had a more faithful and efficient carrier." In after life Henry was fond of dwelling upon the value of this experience, upon the habits of punctuality and method he thus acquired, the knowledge he obtained of the life of the poorer classes, and upon the depth of sympathy it aroused in his heart for struggling manhood. Things like these, trivial in themselves, often leave a lasting effect upon an impressionable and receptive nature; and we have his own testimony to his appreciation of their value.

The antislavery movement was at its height during his boyhood and later youth; and Henry, impressed by his parents' teachings, and proud of the patriotic achievements of his ancestors, entered zealously into all the discussions of the day, devoted himself with all the ardor of his nature to the defence of human rights, and became a deep student of the political and moral bearings of the great contest. This love of country and interest in all that concerned its intellectual and moral growth increased with his years; and, midst all his engrossing duties, a large part of his time was always given to instilling patriotic duty, and to helping forward efforts to elevate and dignify the nation's life. His profession later seemed to him to forbid active participation in political life; but he was a close observer and clear thinker, and regarded American citizenship as a sacred A partisan he could not be. Parties were to him but convenient instruments for conducting the affairs of the country, and the only guide to personal action was ever to secure in the highest degree the real welfare of the country by honest methods and through agents worthy of trust.

Beginning his college life in 1854, his extensive reading and classical knowledge easily gave Mr. Foote a high rank in his class. Whatever he undertook he worked out thoughtfully, with a genuine love for study. His rare mental poise and the

enthusiasm of his nature made him beloved and respected by all who knew him. At this time his mother wrote of him: "Harry came home to spend Christmas. I did not know there could be such unalloyed felicity got out of life as he succeeds in getting. He looks all the time as if he had that minute heard some crowning piece of good news." This is a sunny picture of the young collegian, yet just as true in after years; for the happy, winsome manner never left him, however great the cares and anxieties of life.

His modesty and retiring disposition probably lessened in some degree the number of his intimate friends in college; but to many of his classmates he was bound by the closest ties of affection, and especially to those with whom he sympathized in love of the classics and modern literature. Few among them read more or with more discrimination, and very few possessed his retentive powers and rare conversational faculty. His memory was remarkable; and his familiarity with poetry, with Shakespeare, and with the best of classical authors ancient and modern, was illustrated by a wealth of ready quotation and by keen and clear criticism. He was a student of books and a student of men as well, an excellent judge of character, and charitable in his estimates as was to have been expected from a nature so generous and forbearing.

The college years passed happily for him until his senior year, when a long and dangerous illness from typhoid fever interrupted his studies; and though he was able to rejoin his class before its graduating exercises, the precarious state of his health forbade continuous application, and prevented his attaining the high rank otherwise secure to him. The loss of his mother at this time, who worn out by the cares and anxieties of his illness died from the same dread disease, added to the sadness of his last year in college. With her his relations had ever been of a peculiarly intimate and confidential character, and her death was a surpassing grief to him. To her religious nature and teachings was largely due his own high spiritual nature; and it is more than probable that the sadness of this experience turned his thoughts more closely to the choice of his sacred profession. Apart from his college friends at this time, Mr. Foote's closest intimacy was with the valued friend of his grandfather, Judge White, ― Dr. James Walker, then President of Harvard College, and a man of singular wisdom and learning. At his house he was a frequent and welcome visitor, and to no one in after years did he render a deeper feeling of gratitude. Dr.