480 FRANCIS CABOT LOWELL. 



ful illness, connected Avith a chronic inflammation of the stomach, and 

 parts adjacent thereto. , 



As the Academy honored itself when he was chosen a member, so 

 the Academy may well mourn his loss; for there is no one, at present, 

 who can worthily fill his place. 



FRANCIS CABOT LOWELL. 



" Francis Cabot Lowell was born in Boston in 1802. He was 

 the son of Francis C. Lowell, whose name is associated with the cotton 

 manufacture as first successfully pursued in New England, and brother 

 of John Lowell, Jr., the founder of the Lowell Institute. 



He was a member, with Ralph Waldo Emerson and other eminent 

 men, of the class that was graduated at Harvard College in 1821. 



After some years of foreign travel Mr. Lowell became a merchant, 

 devoting himself to the study of the principles that regulate commerce. 

 These he mastered so thoroughly that he was appealed to, through life, 

 as an authority on all questions of political economy and finance. 



That with these endowments, added to his calm judgment and ex- 

 quisite courtesy, he would have attained, had such been his ambition, a 

 high rank in any sphere of public activity does not admit of a doubt. 

 But neither his health nor his inclination permitted such aspirations. 

 He was of too lofty and serene a temperament to descend into the 

 struggles of the arena. He could not flatter a constituency or submit 

 his fortunes to the caprices " popularis aurte." He preferred the inde- 

 pendence of a private station. 



He was successively Treasurer of the Amoskeag and of the Merrimac 

 Manufacturing Companies, and Actuary of the Massachusetts Hospital 

 Life Insurance Company, — trusts of high responsibility and requiring 

 very varied powers. Few men, perhaps, could have so satisfactorily 

 discharged the duties of all three ; fewer still would have had the phil- 

 osophy to retire voluntarily from each, in the meridian of their powers 

 and with the halo of success. 



Equanimity, dignity, and decision marked his character. Fearless 

 by nature, he had the courage of his opinions. Yet such was the 

 sweetness of his manners, that, though outspoken, he never gave oifence. 

 To those who had claims on his sympathy he was the most steadfast 

 friend, the wisest counsellor. 



These qualities, so rare in their union, could not foil to impress 

 themselves on his demeanor. A distinguished British professor 

 writes of him : " His look and presence Avere noble in the extreme, 

 and bespoke the gentleman of the old school. I never saw dignity 



