The Portland daily press., 1885-01-02
FuueraI Of can. .Eo,,n - CO...

the Portland Steam Packet Company as well as
the officers, the International Steamship Com
pany, and Maine Steamship Company officers
and directors, the representatives. of the Boston
q Maine, Maine Central, Eastern, Grand
Trunk, Portland & Rochester and Portland &
Ogdensburg Railroads, and of the Portland,
Bangor & Machias Steamboat Company were
present. The ex-Mayors OF Portland were all
assembled, besides very large representation
| OF the business men Of the city.
The remains were enclosed in an elegant
casket which was placed in the west parlor and
literally covered with superb floral offerings.
Among them was magnificent floral steam
boat, some three feet in length by one and a
half in width ,andlone and half in height com
| posed of the rarest flowers and the gift OF the
employees OF the Portland Steam Packet Com
| pany. On the paddlebox in purple flowers
were the letters "P. s. P. Co.. There was
| beautiful cross and crown from Portland
| Conmandery, g large cross from the Interna-
tional Steamship Company, pillow of white
roses bearing the word ''Rest" from the family
| and sheaf of wheat.
| The services commenced with the reading of
! the beautiful Episcopal burial service by Rev.
| Mr.. Dalton OF St Stephens church, of which
Mr.. Coyle was so long vestryman. At its
close Mr. Dalton made soma feeling remarks
in reference to the deceased, but stated that
he should preach memorial service at his
church next Sunday. Tbs quartette composed
OF Mrs. Chase, Mrs. Cloudy, Messrs. Stock
bridge and Shaw then sang exquisitely the
chant 81 would not live always" followed by
Rev. Mr.. Berry Of Woodfords, who paid
feeling tribute to Capt. Coyle, closing with
| prayer. The quartette than sang ~ am going
home to die" one of Capt Coyle's favorite
hymns, Rev. DR.. Bashford Of Chestnut street
then spoke as follows:
After referring to the selection which the
| choir had just rendered as particularly appro-
| pirate because it was a great favorite with
| Capt. Coyle and embodied so fully his senti-
| ments the past few weeks, he said that the
number OF cergymen taking part and the 9th
| or services to follow presented as full tribute
| rs the subject demands. He was therefore all
| the more thankful for the admirable sketches
which have already appeared in the PRESS. He
| avaied himself therefore OF the sketches that
l have already appeared only supplementipg
! them in regard TO the late religious life of
| Capt Coyls, and dwelling rather upon the
| traits of his character than upon the incidents
| oflhis life. The key to Capt. Coyle's character
| may DO found in his deliberate adoption and
| haps from his Scotch-Irish ancestry. He was
| a Puritan in principles, but his Puritanism was
made winning BY the warm hearted and gen
circus nature Of the Celtic race. A high rever-
| ence for religion, strong moral convicLonand
life long devotion TO duty coupled with as great
| heart which bound everybody to him and gave
| him boundless circle of friends are the lead
| ing traits in his character. Doubtless his kind
disposition was largely inherited and many
generous act resulted from impulse so that his
| goodness impressed his friends as spontaneous
| rather than cultivated. But his manly quail
ties were not more the result of natural good
ness than of deliberate choice. He was indeed
| industrious by nature. But he also worked
from principle many and many time when
he felt like resting. His plainness of dress and
| simplicity OF speech were natural for he lack
ed vanity and was instinctvely humble man.
But the simple manners OF Capt. Coyle and
| wife were not more the result of natural taste
than of deliberate choice; because beginning
their married life on less than $500 a wear they
saw that self denial was necessary
if they would secure advantages
people. Capt. Coyle's life Yves thus o rare
combination of principle aud impulse. The
principles which governed him too were of the
highest. Like all human beings he had his
temptations to evil as we'll az his inspirations
| toward goodness. 1t was the latter only that
he chose and made the deliberate purposes of
his life. He may have felt the temptation OF
| every successful business man to amsss per-
sonsl wealth. But his son who has been long
| Ia business with him says he cannot remem-
| Der father ever speaking OF an enterprise or
| an Improvement in the business from the
| standpoint of personal gain. The convenience
of the, pnblic, the advancement of the enterprise
or the success OF the stockholders who had
| placed confidence in him were ever upper
most. still clearer illustration of his lofty
principle ia seen in the incident mentioned by
| Rev. Mr.. Dalton at Mrs Coyle's funeral. At
time when every boat line in the country
had public bar, when the business was ex-
| tremely profitable to the company and public
sentiment demanded it, Capt. Coyle became
| convinced that any connection with intoxi-
| eating liquors was wrong With his own con-
| victions and his wife's approval back OF him,
| he defied public sentiment and would net
listen to the stockholders but banished liquors
wholly from his boats, and fer thirty years he
| ran them without the sale of glass of liquor
or the loss of boat. He told me recently
that more thsn half the credit for this act be-
| longed to his wife and her good Methodist
training upon the temperance question. But
his humility does not lessen his honor in the
transaction. 1t was noble act for the hus-
band to give heed to his wife's convictions, to
| ponder them until they became his own aid
then to carry them out in defiance of public
| sentiment, It was such high devotion
| to duty which made him not simply
one of the founders Of the steam
| boat business ia the United States, bat which
| won him the far higher title, which Brother
4 g
! nobemen."
This life of rigid adherence to duty did not
harden in old age into intolerance and self
assertion. 1t rather blossomed with age into
| rich spiritual experience. Forty years ago,
| friend tells me, Capt. Coyle often sat with the
singers at the old Chestnut street church, and
| aided the music aud enjoyed the services. He
| did the same at st, Stephens church. for he
loved the faith of his mother, But while he
| hired a pew and became an officer in both
/ nhurnhaa he r6fUapd tn no al in bo
| one or TO join the other because he was not
| converted. But his firm adherence to
| duty proved a schoolmaster to bring
hiRl INTO Christ. His spiritual nature grew
| with years, end inc 1875 he experienced re-
| ligion aud united with the Chestnut street
NJ. e. church. He had long been one of our
| most generous suppoi ters and now became
true pillar in the church, spiritually as we'll as
! financially. Those of you who have heard his
| tender testimonies In the prayer meetings
| since the death OF his wife know how rich was
| his spiritual communion. | am glad that after
| joining, as his sympathies were so broad and
/ his reverence for his mother SO great, he
retained his office of vestryman and continued
| 10 pay his paw rent at st. Stephens church.
l 1t is one of thoss unusual Catholic acts which
1 are sure to become more common as time goes
| on and at last TO break down onr exclusive
| denominatonsl barriers.
| Perhaps the most touching trait in the lives
| of this father and mother was the unity of
| their lives and their realization of the ideal of
marriage and home. This unity did not
consist in honeyed words they knew not how
! to use these, but in the underlying purposes of
/ their lives. Capt. Coyle never entered his
home without asking for his wife, il she was
not present to greet him. The oneness of their
| lives and their fifty years of communion made
| it impossible for either TO live without the
| other. 0ne of the daughters told me that had
| father died first, mother would not have sur-
| vived him q week. You all remember how
| strong and vigorous he has been this fall He
felt fully reconciled to her loss; told Is again
| and again that it was sill right; that God had
been good in sparng her so long, and that he
! would not call her back. But as he told of his
reconciliation to his loss, tears would roll
| down his cheeks and he expressed the home
| sickness which wGs breaking his heart, in his
| cry to Brother Berry last week: "Ob, am
| lonesome without her." And so the great
| heart broke and he was taken homo 10
haven.
Rev. Mr. Dalton then pronounced the bene-
| dictiop, and Ancient Landmark Lodge OF
| Masons, next took charge of tina remains. The
quartette sang the beautiful hymn "Holy Spir-
| it, faithful guide," after which the Masonic
burial service was performed. The auartetts