WILLIAM LEWIS WHITTEMORE XIII 



college ever claimed his service, or gave him its degree. 

 He was left to comparative obscurity, and his buried 

 talents largely went to waste. It was not wholly the 

 fault of those about him. To those who knew him well 

 there was no more kindly or companionable man or 

 interesting character, but he was by nature and tem- 

 perament shy and retiring if not reserved. He was 

 too modest for self-assertion, and perhaps too sensitive 

 for successful contact with the world. His tastes 

 were the tastes of the scholar, for study, which leads 

 to seclusion, and in his advancing age the hermit 

 habit grew upon him until his life became almost sol- 

 itary. He was never a " mixer," much less a "hus- 

 tler" ; indeed in his time these valued products of 

 our own day had not appeared. He always felt the 

 duty of service, but he never would put himself for- 

 ward. He could easily have been drawn into the 

 public activities for which he had such superior gifts. 

 He had only to be asked, and he was not asked. 

 With an unsurpassed knowledge of schools and edu- 

 cational systems, he was but once, I believe, made a 

 member of the school committee. Familiar with 

 books, and thoroughly understanding the educational 

 and other uses of the public library, he was never 

 placed upon the library board. A few years ago he 

 made the town a generous offer of contribution to a 

 street improvement near his premises, for which there 



