1802.] g5 [DunglLson 



and near midnight, "in an effort to change him to a more comfort 

 able position," says Dr. Haslett, "his head dropped, one spasmodic 

 struggle, and all was over." 



Such is an inadequate notice of an accomplished member, whose 

 loss this Society, in company with the world of letters, deplores, and 

 whose merits it has determined to hold in memorid. 



Iiitus et in cute the writer knew him, ardently did he admire him, 

 and most cordially can he adopt the sentiments, so well and so con- 

 cisely expressed in a touching and eloquent "Tribute" to his mem- 

 ory, by a friend and colleague in the pastorate, the Rev. Alexander 

 R. Thompson,* of New York, who equally knew and revered him. 



"God does not often suffer us to look on such a man, in whom 

 centre at once such qualities of heart and head, and in such exquisite 

 balance. Born in the faith of Jesus, of pious ancestors; nurtured 

 in the truth and love of the Gospel; early consecrated; early called 

 to the service of the sanctuary; with the clear head of a logician; 

 thoroughly skilled in the dialectics of the schools; enjoying every 

 advantage of culture; with an exquisite taste, and a keen eye for 

 the beautiful; with wit that could strike like chain-lightning, or that 

 could sparkle like a star; admiring scholar of the great and good of 

 all time; adept in the languages of the ancients and of the moderns; 

 drawing to himself the friendship of men of eminence and worth, 

 and recognized by them as among his peers; a poet born; a giant 

 in forensic effort; a Christian gentleman; a man in energy and 

 power, with the love of a woman, with the heart of a child; con- 

 S'^crating everything that God had given him to the Savior of his 

 love; an incomparable preacher, who could play on the heartstrings 

 of little children; generous and genial; a lover of nature; true to 

 the interests of the church at whose altars he ministered, but a lover 

 of good men of every name; with whom patriotism was a passion, 

 and whose love for the land of his birth was rooted in his very life; 

 who, for nearly forty years, preached, not himself but Christ Jesus 

 the Lord, with eloquence and power and characteristic success. We 

 may thank God that he ever gave us such a man. His life is his 

 testimony." 



The remains of Dr. Bethune, in accordance with one of his last 

 requests, were brought to New York ; and, on the 3d of Septem- 

 ber, were buried with unusual honors in the cemetery of Greenwood, 

 by the side of the mother whom he loved so well. 



* A Tribute to the Memory of the Rev. George W. Bethune, D.D., Ac, &c. 

 New York, 18fi2. 



