PrefaceAuthor(s): Edward J. YoungSource: Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Second Series, Vol. 2, [Vol. 22 ofcontinuous numbering] (1885 - 1886), pp. v-viiPublished by: Massachusetts Historical SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25079634 .

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PREFACE.

The present volume comprises the monthly transactions

of the Society from March, 1885, to May, 1886, inclusive, the meetings in July, August, and September having been omitted.

Besides the regular proceedings which are recorded,

there are seven Memoirs, ? that of Mr. Nathaniel

Thayer, by Dr. George E. Ellis ; that of the Hon.

Stephen Salisbury, by Colonel John D. Washburn ; that of Ralph Waldo Emerson, by Dr. James Free

man Clarke ; that of the Hon. David Sears, by Mr.

R. C. Winthrop, Jr. ; that of the Rev. William S. Bart

let, by the Rev. Edmund F. Slafter ; and those of Rear

Admiral George H. Preble and Mr. John Langdon

Sibley, by Dr. Andrew P. Peabody. The longest paper which is here printed is that com

municated by the late Mr. Charles C. Perkins,? whose

loss is widely mourned by the lovers of music and art, ?

and it has a special interest as its preparation was the

last literary labor which he performed before he was

suddenly taken away.

For the illustrations which add to the attractiveness of this book, the Society is indebted to several friends. The portrait of Mr. Thayer is a gift from his family ;

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VI PREFACE.

that of Mr. Salisbury is from his son ; that of Mr. Emerson is from Dr. Edward W. Emerson ; the likeness

of Governor Dudley has been presented by Mr. R. C.

Winthrop, Jr. ; and that of Mr. Sears has been furnished

by Mrs. William Amory. The representation of the

Flag which wras carried by the minute-men of Bedford

into the Concord fight ?

procured through the efforts of Mr. Jenks ? is striking in itself, and interesting for

the historic associations that cluster about it.

The past year has been made memorable in the his

tory of the Society by the munificent bequest which has been left to it by one whose portrait, given by his wife, is rightfully placed as the frontispiece to this volume, and

whose Memoir appropriately closes the book. Endeared

to those who knew him by his sterling qualities of char

acter, he has accomplished what no one ? not even

himself ? ever believed possible. The story of his life is a romance. It seems almost incredible that a poor

boy, wrhose father was scarcely able to afford him an edu

cation, should have become a distinguished benefactor

of the academy which he entered as a beneficiary ; and

that, while devoted wholly to scholarly pursuits, he

should likewise have been by far the most liberal donor

to an Historical Society which has had many men of

wealth among its members, since he has given to it

more than seven times as much as the largest contrib

utor to its resources. Reluctant to be known for his

deeds of kindness while he lived, he has left the world without permitting any one to thank him for what he has now bestowed. But, though not one of the living will see the full benefit which will accrue from his noble bequest, this Society, which he has selected as the depositary of his literary materials gathered

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PREFACE. Vil

by painstaking labor through half a century, and which he has endowed with his entire fortune, will faithfully execute its trust, and will ever hold in honor and

grateful remembrance the name of this conscientious,

patient, persevering, disinterested man, biographer, and

antiquary.

EDWARD J. YOUNG.

Cambridge, September 27,1886.

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