94 



both active and eloquent in the great cause of education, and in the 

 support of scientific institutions. 



In the autumn of 1841 — after a residence of nearly a quarter of a 

 century in West Chester — Mr. Dillingham returned to Philadelphia, 

 where he passed the residue of his days: but, in retiring from Ches- 

 ter County, he by no means ceased to be interested in the concerns 

 of that venerable bailiwick. In all the movements of her people, de- 

 signed to elevate the pursuits of agriculture, and to promote a taste 

 for the refinements of horticulture, be manifested a lively interest. 

 When, in 1847, the Chester County Horticultural Society were pro- 

 jecting their spacious hall — the second edifice, dedicated expressly to 

 Flora and Pomona, in these United States — Mr. Dillingham cheered 

 them on, in their generous purpose, by a remarkably able, learned, 

 and persuasive address, which convinced them that in the vocabulary 

 of a people embarked in such an enterprise, in such a region, there 

 should be no such word as fail. 



It might be supposed, that by merging himself in our vast and 

 growing metropolis, after so long an absence, he would be lost to 

 public view : but not so. His qualifications were justly appreciated, 

 and his services speedily secured by various and important establish- 

 ments ; such as the direction of the Public Schools — the Institution 

 for the Blind — for the Deaf and Dumb — the Schuylkill Navigation, 

 &c. 



In July, 1843, he was elected a member of this Society; and justi- 

 fied the choice, by his zeal for its prosperity, and his anxiety that it 

 should continue worthy of the great names associated with its early 

 history. 



In the latter years of his life, Mr. Dillingham gradually withdrew 

 from the active duties of his profession, though he served as counsel 

 for the Bank of Pennsylvania, from 1846 until 1852 ; when the feeble 

 state of his health, induced by a slight paralytic affection, caused him 

 to resign. His infirmities continued to increase, attended with great 

 nervous excitability — though still retaining his mental faculties, and 

 his literary predilections, in their wonted activity — until the 11th of 

 December, 1854, when he suddenly departed this life. The writer of 

 this has a letter from him, dated December 8, and received after his 

 decease, in which — remarkably enough he refers with peculiar in- 

 terest, to the "proceedings of the American Philosophical Society," 

 and invites attention to "those graphic and very interesting sketches 

 of character, in the number for January and June last." 



Although the published and avowed productions of his pen arc not 



