The Portland daily press., 1885-07-01


masses is foundlin the disposition he has made
of his estate. Men craving the praise of those
who are able to perpetuate a mans name in
literature, would have given thousands to place
creation of art in some centre of wealth and
culture. Not so with him. He turned to the
common people from whom he sprang, and
gave his wealth to promote their temporal and
spiritual welfare. TO open wide to the poor
the fountains Of knowlege and culture so that
all who will, may drink, he has given hun
dreds of thousands. To do his part to atone
the outrage which for generations had been
written with the lash on dusky backs, he has
given thousands until they were hundreds. That
the unfortunate poor may have an asylum, he
has become the Good Samaritan, leaving a
well filled purse to the end that oil and wine
may be poured into bodies hurt and minds
diseased. Realizing that the only means bv
which the influence of religious truth can be
made potent in the sparsely inhabited portions
of his own State, is by the preaching of the
Gospel by cultured and earnest men, whom
those living in such localities cannot support,
he wisely gave tens of thousands to infuse new
life into scores of languishing churches, and to
break the bread of life to thousands who might
otherwise famish. To bring the benighted in
distant and dark lands into the light of Chris
tan civilization through the teaching of the
Word, he gave many thousands. Not one
dollar for self glorifeation, or to raise a mon
ument to cause his achievements to be remem-
bered. Every one of his public requests is
dying testimonial of his sympathy for unfor-
tunate humanity and his love for the common
people.
The money which Gov. Coburn devoted to
small private charities, to clothe and feed the
needy and to relieve and comfort the suffering
fbn IL
In this benefcent work, he never sounded a
trumpet before him, nor did his left hand know
what his right hand did. But for private
cash book in which he kept his personal ex-
penditures, we should have no clue to the ex-
tent of his bounty. This book shows that
during the last four years of his life he gave
in small sums, $4,000 to relieve the needy
and the suffering. Meagre indeed, would this
recital appear if it should be followed by the
reading of few of the pathetic letters which
the thankful hearts of the recipients of his
generosity have dictated.
In the most significant sense of the term.
Governor Coburn was a Christian. He &C.
cepted the teachings of revelation as self evil
dent truths. The precepts of the gospel were
written on his heart and the Sermon on the
Mount was the law Of his life. The true
secret of that serenity which characterized his
mature years and gave dignity and power and
which sudden disaster did not rufie must
have had its seat in his unwavering faith in
God. He never spoke of religious topics to
his every day associates, but they always felt
when in his presence that sacred things must
be reverenced to be courteous to him.
am permitted by the writer to introduce
as a just estimate and tribute to the charac-
ter of Governor Coburn, letter received from
one of his most esteemed friends, few days
after his death:
Washington d. c., Saturday.
DEAR COLONEL SMITH,-Your telegram brought
me sad Intelligence. Though long anticipated the
death of Governor Coburn seemed at last to be
very sudden. had hoped to see him once more
and sincerely regretted that the pressure of my
engagements the past summer and autumn had
deprived me of the pleasure of his society and
compromising, which | had enjoyed for many
years.
Governor Coburn was altogether remarkable
man. With only rudimentary training in early
life, he has proved our most liberal and discrim.
mating patron of classical education. With no gift
for public speaking, he has constantly exerted a
wise and Observation-Disclosures on public opinion. He
was, if humanity can ever attain perfection an
absolutely just man in all his dealings. And be-
yond the demands of justice, he was ALWAYS
kind and ever generous to his felloWmen Sin
gularly quiet and unobtrustve, the world around
him had little knowledge of the constant flow of his
charity, Of the numberess good deeds which
adorned his daily life.
He was altogether modest and disliked everything
which sayored of prelension or show. His life
was indeed, model of simplicity. The large for
tune which his industry aud sagacity had enabled
him to accumulate was, in his own view ssa trust
fund.- which he held for the benefit of mankind
and the disposition of which was with him n mat
ter of conscience. He never had dollar to waste
but he always had thousands for a worthy cause.
In thirty years of personal intimacy with Gov
ernor Coburn, l never saw anything in his life and
conversation that was not praiseworthy He was
never impatient nor fault-finding nor reyengeful
His only form of censure was silence and his
friends came to know how much that meant on
certain occasions, respecting certain persons.
10 those whom he called friends, he
deyotedly true. But he never made
professions of attachment and was never effusive
In his crisp and pointed correspondence no mat
ter what the degree of intimacy with the person to
the stiff CDR. SIR Of oden times and signed him
self "Resp'y' or 'struly yours" But with this
undemonstrative and formal manner, there was as
kindly heart as ever beat in human breast, and
with it hand as helpful ever came to friends
relief. Very sincerely
JAMES G. BLAINE.
Years hence, when the history of Maine
shall be written by discriminating and i'm
partial hand, it will say of this man, she
IGNORED his native State by his briliancz-
the House ;~of that one, "he was di sim
guished for ripe craftsmanship in the SEM tie p
that another was renowned f io1 Is ri9e learn
ing and wisdom as iurist; another for his
eloquence and power in the pulpit; but OF
Abner Coburn he will write: "He honored
his State by great enterprises for the public
good and by becoming the greatest benefactor
of its people,"
o-day we miss this venerable and veneer
ated man. His entrance upon that real exist
ence of which what is called death is the portal
has left a void in the places where men OF
affairs meet. To-day the trustees Of this in
stitution have beheld with sorrow his vacant
seat at their council board. No more viii his
familiar presence pass up and down this beau
| tiful valley, its benign repose seeming bene-
! diction; yet he is not dead Such men will
never die. He will live in that arterial sys-
TEN of the State to which he has contributed
SO much, along which pulsates the life blood Of
enterprise and industry, the vital
forces of a higher civilization; he will
live in the enlarged comforts and re-
| fnement which this system brings to thous-
ands of humble homes because it has doubled
the rewards of every toiler; he will live in the
asylums for the unfortunate which his bene-
| factions have enlarged; he will live in the
| better lives of thousands in the by-ways and
hedges to whom he has caused the gospel to
| be preaehed looking down from the canvas
to be hung in this hall, already consecrated to
| heroic martyrs, upon generation after genera
| tion of young men and women, he will live a
reminder and an inspiration to higher aims
and nobler achievements; he will live in the
| ever widening influences which will radiate
from his Christian benefcence when the cen
turtles shall have grown old and the stars shall
become dim with age.
In that "Garden of God" near the spot
where eighty odd years ago he first saw light
the golden mists these summer days float
above new grave in which he lies beside the
brother he loved 81 much, and, shimmering in
the sun, seem to make ladder through the
shining air whereon the Angels Of the Lord
descend and ascend.
LOST AND FOUND.