Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-07-25
Correspondence Of the Free Press and Times.
Funeral Of Judge Steele.
HARrLANp. VI. July lst

HAKrLAND, W., July 18th.
The remains of the late Benjamin H.
Steele were buried here this afternoon. A
cold dripping mist that shrouded the village
during the funeral ceremonies, added gloom
to the mournful occasion. A short prelim-
mary service at the late residence of Judge
Steele was conducted by Rev. DR.. J. G.
Hubbard of Claremont, n. H., after which,
family and friends formed in procession and
passed to the little church near by, where
the deceased had formerly been a worshipper.
The pall-bearers were Messrs. Herman
Holt, G. ii. Fletcher, A. B. Nelson, George
d. Wyman, W. d. Boardman, W. II.
Sturteyant. All but two of these gentle
men had been students at law in the Office of
Judge Steele.
After appropriate religious exercises in
the church, sermon was preached by Rev.
j. Q. Bittinger, of Hartland, some time
since pastor of the Congregational Church
in St. Adams. Mr. Bttinger was class
mate at Dartmouth fudge Steele and knew
him intimately, both in his youth and in his
mature years. The discourse was devoted
to eulogistic but discriminating sketch of
the life and services of the deceased, draw
ing attention to the main events in his brief
but brilliant career and TO his salient quail
ties as scholar, lawyer and a man. Judge
Steele, according to the speakers estimate,
was man of keen and vigorous intellect,
a man of broad and generous culture and
man of positive though liberal religious con-
victions. Asa politician, he was high minded
and honorable and never retained any feeling
| OF personal emnity toward political oppon-
ents. Ofhis social qualities as neighbor
and friend. 1t was enough to say that his
death brought sorrow to every household in
Hartland
The emotion 50 generally manifested by
the listeners to the discourse gave evidence
that the people Of this neighborhood snf-
fered a real bereavement in the death of
Judge Steele.
The remains were laid to rest in church
ward which oyerlooks the winding Connec-
ticut and broad and varied landscape of
hill and valley.
Had it not been for the uncertainty as 10
Just where the funeral was to take place,
there would have been larger attendance
upon the ceremonies to-day. As it was, the
trains brought in considerable number of
the Windsor county bar and other gentle
men of prominence in the State. Among
them | noticed Judge Luke p Poland
Col Roswell Farnham Of Bradford; Hon
c. B. Eddy of Bellows Falls; Major Grout
of Barton; Colonel j. B. Mead OF Ran
dolph, Edward Conant, Principal Of the
State Normal School at Randolph, Dr. J. II.
French. Secretary the Vermont Board of
Education, Col. ) E. Pingree, and Col. j.
d. Denison, Secretary Of Civil and Military
Affairs.
Although Judge Steele had been hopeless
ly i'll for long time, yet his death coming
50 soon as it did, was a sudden and unex-
pected blow to his friends. In fact the sick
man lived on by sheer force ofwill - longas
he had the slightest physical basis to sup
port him Suddenly this fell away and
death followed from simple exhaustion. \
short time before he died he called in
a physician from whom he learned that
he could not, by any possibility, recover.
lie then inquired if he had left untried any
remedy that might have effected his cure
The physician told him that be had done all
that he could have done. and that nothing
would have saved him. Judge Steele re-
piled that having done his best to preserve
his life for the comfort Of friends, he could
but congratulate himself, now that he had
failed; and in this spirit Of philoSophic com
posure, be passed away. L.