Putnam patriot., 1912-02-09

Much as l admired her as the Histo- rian, I knew her as well in her ordina- " life, especially in my earlier years, and respected her most highly. She was my first Sunday School teacher, and that too here in this church. Those Of you who are of my generation may remember, perhaps, that my own mother died when was a little less than three years old, and that I re. mained a motherlesS boy until some four or five years later, when my fa- ther married again. lt was during that interval that l first came under Miss Larned's teaching in the Sunday 1 School. As l look back today upon that period, 1t seems to me that she may have been somewhat more tender of me because of my motherless condi- tion. She was, indeed, kind and ten | der to all the boys in her class, which was of boys alone. l love to remem- | Der that 1t was from her lips that l 1 learned the great precepts of morality | her Sunday School boys;-wherever he went, her interest and affection went with him. Whenever, in my career, whether at school, college, or in profess sional life, there was anything which | to her partial fancy seemed to be sue cess, her kindly words of congratula. | tion were never wanting;-whoever | else in the old town might forget, she remembered. A year ago last sum- mer, after an absence of twenty years, 1 came back to Thompson upon a l quest of old records to aid in the prepa- ration of family history. l called upon her, and, though her eyesight was then failing, she knew me at once. i l had recently delivered an address upon historical occasion of some in- terest in my adopted State, and sent a copy of it to her. She at once, of her l own accord, spoke of il and said, with gleam of her oldtime humor, that she had had il. read to her by young l kinswoman of mine; and she was pleased to commend my effort, no doubt far beyond it's deserts. Doubt less the fact that I had engaged in some work along historical lines ap' | peaIed to her, Her mind was then as | keen and her memory as perfect as ever before. From the abundant store house of her materials she made valu- able contributions to my researches.
 saw her last in life one Sunday morning about the first of last Au- gust. The evening before 1 had come to Putnam to meet a cousin, a lady ol about my own age, in matter of fam fly consultation. That morning my cousin proposed that we drive to Thompson Hill SO that she might once more enter this old church and sit in the pew where her mother and she used to sit long years ago. It was ( beautiful morning, about half an houl before church time, when we drove uI this street here, which to me at least is always quaint and charming beyond expression. The peace of the Sabbath day was in the air,-not the Sabbath day of the great city or its noisy sub urbs, but the New England Sabbatt day of nay boy hood and of my father time. As we passed slowly by Mis-
 Larned's house 1 saw her sitting or the porch, upon one of those side board benches or seats; and in her laI lay book, which looked very like anC which it pleased my fancy to believe was the identically same copy of th, Bible from which, more than half { century before, she had taught me. A, we passed l raised my hat to her al most in reverence, but her failing sight was not sufficient to enable hel to notice my salute or passage. looked full in her face and, as long as consciousness shall last to me, 1 shal
 remember her as she then appeared The peace of that New England Sab bath day was upon her face, illumina ting il with that light of sanctitcation which such peace may bring to such $ nature of the old Puritan stock
 She was one of the last of the living links which bound me to the Thomp son of my childhood; and so, as best l may, from out the fullness of my heart
 I pay this tribute, albeit inadequate
 to her memory;-to her, my teacher
 my mentor, my friend, and the histo
 rian of my race.