132 THE NATURAI^IST OF THE ST. CROIX 



his methodical habits while its practice no doubt con- 

 tributed to such habits, to his promptness and to his love 

 of order. 



Mr. Boardman was a man of domestic tastes and social 

 temperament. The centre of his life was his home and 

 he ever believed in its abiding influence for good. He 

 always remained young and among his friends was at 

 seventy what he was at forty — simple, alert, frank, 

 bright, full of wit and story, quick at repartee, or serious 

 in conversation if the occasion demanded it. His force 

 and purity of character, his genial disposition and his 

 winning smile always created an atmosphere in what- 

 soever company he entered. His presence never sup- 

 pressed fun or light talk, while the gayest welcomed his 

 coming and to the young he was a companion, while his 

 tone was always pure, elevated and refined. At the same 

 time he was sensitive to the feelings of others and to the 

 conditions about him. To his wife he always turned 

 with perfect confidence for sympathy and support. Speak- 

 ing of his mother and of his recollections of home one of 

 Mr. Boardman' s sons writes : 



My mother — the inseparable companion of my father for more 

 than fifty years — was one of those sterling New England women 

 of advanced ideas for her time, a model housewife, interested with 

 father in the advancement of the educational facilities in the vil- 

 lage, and perhaps no other person was more instrumental in the 

 founding and maintenance of the beautiful cemetery at St. 

 Stephen, in which lovely spot both she and father have a 

 sepulchre. She was very fond of flowers and had for many years 

 one of the most beautiful rose gardens in that part of the country. 

 Unlike father she had none of the Celt in her composition, but 

 always regarded life as a serious proposition. She lived at a time 

 when lai-ge families were the rule instead of the exception. There 

 were eleven of us children, ten boys and one girl, six of whom 



