The Portland daily press., 1891-12-02
rngLArE DR.. nILL.
Mee,ing of the Natural History
society Last evening.
Or. woods Tribute and the Formsl
Resolutions.

society Last evening".
Or. woods Tribute and the Formsl
Resolutions.
A special meeting of the Natural History
Society was held last evening for the npr-
pose Of taking action upon the death ~ Tho
late DR.. HILL DR.. Wood. president of the
society, addressed the meeting as follows.
This special me citing Of the society hos |
neeh calleo ior the purpose of taking ar |
pTopflate notice OF the deplorable eyent
the sad at1i,ction that has befallen II sinns,
It's last meeting, La the usual coursa of
aiIalrS tnat meeting would have hean al
dressed, as IL ottsn has been, bv him Who
will speak to us no more: whose han,ns
countenance we shall never again behold
ut Is with inexpTessible grief and enr.
row that am under the necessity of an
nouncing to you the death of nnr heiovad
and hon0red associate, Rev, Thomas uiIi
d. d., LII. D.,which occurred on Satnrday'
Nov Il, 1891. His loss comes to us ali veyv
Unexpectedly. Although for the last few
weeks we nave recelved portentous tidines
of falling health we have been nnwI,lIps qiIes
TO accept them as verities, having faith te
believe that such a man cnnl5 49, ~ ~
spared so soon and that in some vay bis
valuable llie would be saved, TO continue
stln longer lis benetactiOn to mankind
Dus sh9 sau event has occurred and
profound silence would seem to he naturai
ly the most expressive OF our ereat aff,Ic.
tloD, ana we are inclined TO Yield 10 n Rnt
duty compels us at this, the fitting lime
and on this occasion to give utteranae ~ :
lew humble expressions of cur sense Of the
great loss we nave sustained, and of our
esteem and veneration for the denarsed
one, so beloved by us all and indeed hv oil
who had the good fortune of acquaintance
with him.
His whole character was. altoetrher
lovely. Inc sacred profession to which he
has consecrated his life hsrmOnized with IL
at every point, and his daily life was hnt
an Illustration of the deep, Religions feeis
ing which evidently gnided him in the per-
formaDce OF every duty. His convprsa
ss.ssaauef, paS tseyel tlsSxsa 1i,,.g
,isI iicuieso oI MS wisdom, and was eygr-fasc;-
natlnS 10 al, whether old or vonng
Through 1t all there was ALWAYS shjninc
ray That revealed more or less clearly the
central guiding power of all his actions r.
was ever visible In all his scientific ESSAYS
and ln all of his public addresses; In fine
y y ai%ays exercised a controlling influence
in az tie duties OF his truly Christian life,
he honored our society by joIning IL as
an ecNve member October 18th, 1875. and
oy taxing place soon after in our council
board, TO which he has been annnallv
elected. to the date of his decease. His
aIIu9us duties In other directions debar
Ieu MN from taking an active part In the
woik Of the library or cabinets. thonoh he
ever manifested deep interest I'm their in
crease. But In the literary exercises ~
the society he divided with others the Ia
Aor required to maintain them. Even the
slDail numoer OF bis lectures thar have
bss bsen puull, ,ned, snow clearly the force Of
nls arguments upon some of the more
Intricate topics Of natural historv
though they lose some of the ADVANTAGES
OF Deing Illustrated, as they often were hv
apparatus and drawings, made for the Or
casion uy ms own hands. They demon
stLaseu clearly MS ability to present new
truths III clear light and more than ali
else nls earnest anxiety that ali should he
enaoleu 70 comprehend them. Possessed
uI the highest talent for abstrnse and re-
cendite studies whether in phIlosonhv
mathematics or natural science, he never
seemed 70 De aware of any mental superb
eIl.y, anu treating every one as his equal.
was ready at all times to impart of the
rich treasures Of his knowledge to ali WIN
eppfoached hun, seemingly unconscious Of
their great value. "a
TO US as a society his loss seems well
hlsh irreparable, ana we shall every miss
MN d. IN our councils and our lecture room
we nave reason to rejoice that man of
such emlnence and profound attainments
was Wiling to be regarded as one of our
associates, ana TO ard us in all onr efforts
10 promote the cause of education among
cur citizens. This, indeed, was ALWAYS one
q the earnest objects Of his life, one of
ms inost heartfelt desires, and he was ever
zea.ous IN doing all that would advance II.
We have met with many sad reyerses
III the comparatively brief history of this
society, but feel that this is the saddest
loss OF them all. Fully believing that He.
VINO doeth all things right. hath for some
mysterious purpose afflicted us and this
whoie community, not willingly, but for
the accomplishment of some end. that wa
may not be able to fathom, We bow in
humble Submission TO His will. trusting
tnat In some way, at present utterly incom-
ptsnenslDle. 1t may work for the good of
az; az, put AZ present al is dars, aud this
aililction calls upon us for the expression
OF aur most profound sorrow and grief.
"A committee consisting OF the three
following persons, Rev. Edwin G. Bolles.
ID. D., MeSsrs PreDtiss G. Manning and
Joseph Z. Thompson, has been appointed
10 draw up resolutions to this effect, and
we are now ready to receive their report.
This report was as follows:
Whereas, The Portland Society of Natural
hlstory mas learned with profound sorrow that
tne earthly lie OF Rev. ar. Thomas Hill has
closed, and whereas it desires to put on record
It's grateful appreciation aud remembrance of
fore
&tcoOtCc@, IL 4udb ny HIS SOulu learning, no.
bic character and lifelong devotion, his service
to the Christian church has placed him among
the foremost In his profession and make the
years OF his ministry especially rich iu labors
for the lncT ease OF public and private virtue.
2. That he has been recognized as an enthu.
slastic leader in education. and that both from
his honorable connection with great Institutions
and from what be has contributed to The inn
pr0vemeDt of the modern art OF teaching, he
VIII be counted beneactor bv all who rejoice
Ia the prosperity of the schools and univers-
ties OF his native land
3. That among our most eminent men nf
science, he has held place in the first rank
tne acknowledged equal Of the best interpreters
OF nature and life, aud that besides the posses
sion of unique genius in the field of matheDat-
les and wonderful powers Of observation aud
reasoning in the world OF natural history, he
mad the rare gift OF willingness TO bring his vast
attalnments To the instruction and help OF the
world about him, unse flShly sharing his choic
est treasures with all who might enjoy or profit
by them.
A. That to this society he has been stead
fast and invaluable friend, making its humble
attempts to inspire love OF science in this
community more excellent and successful and
tnat the society feels its pride in the association
OF his name with its own only exceeded by its
grief at this bereavement and its painful sense
mat q vacant place, which can never entire ly
De nlied IS left In its councils and Its work,