4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



fidelity and a firmness which secured him the esteem and confi- 

 dence both of those whom he represented and of those with whom 

 he acted. 



He was a gentleman of varied accomplishments, of liberal culture, 

 of generous impulses, and of the highest moral principle. He was 

 eminently a practical and useful man, always ready to render a service 

 to his friends, or to the public, wherever he could find or make au 

 opportunity. Entei'ing upon commercial pursuits during the latter 

 years of his life, he met the reverses which unexpectedly befell him 

 with Christian courage and resignation ; and proved himself entitled 

 to the respect which he ever enjoyed, in adverse as well as in pros- 

 perous fortune. 



Many more years of usefulness and honor might have been hoped 

 for him by his friends, might have been anticipated by himself: but 

 he lived long enough to secure an enviable remembi'ance among his 

 fellow-men, and to lay up treasures beyond the reach of reverse or 

 accident. 



The name which comes next in order upon our annual obituary 

 record is that of an aged associate, who, although for more than fifty 

 years a Fellow of the Academy, so long ago retired from our meetings 

 that his venerable form was to some of its younger members probably 

 unknown. 



The Hon. Richard Sullivan was born at Saco, Maine, June 17th, 

 1779 ; was graduated at Harvard College in 1798 ; was admitted to 

 the Suffolk bar in 1801; and died, December 12th, 1861. Although 

 his life was marked by no brilliant epochs, and although he has left 

 no monuments of fame, yet if purity and integrity, a generous culture 

 and refined tastes, urbanity of manners and dignity of mind, gentleness 

 in prosperity and fortitude in adversity, uniform benevolence and a 

 consistent faith, constitute a just title to respect, his character is worthy 

 of honorable notice, and his name is an ornament to the roll of the 

 Academy. His services on behalf of the institutions and interests of 

 education, literature, philanthropy, and religion were as efficient as they 

 were unostentatious. To him, as much as to any individual, this Com- 

 monwealth is indebted for that advancement of agricultural knowledge 

 and taste which has contributed so much to the productiveness of its 

 soil, the embellisliment of its scenery, and the comfort and enjoyment 

 of its people. The Massachusetts General Hospital, of which he was 

 one of the founders, — the College, his Alma-Mater, of which he was for 



