THE RETROSPECT OF THE YEAR. 191 



"Although he held no political position, he was called 

 upon to perform important duties in the business commu- 

 nity. For a long time he was a Director of the Naum- 

 keag Bank, from which he retired five years ago. He 

 retired from the Presidency of the Naumkeag Steam Cot- 

 ton Company at the annual election in January last, but 



remained upon the board of directors. 



****** 



"With his natural characteristics and surroundings, he 

 could not have failed to be an ardent anti-slavery man, 

 going to the farthest extremes in his outspoken anger 

 against what he considered 'the sum of all villanies' ; but 

 retaining cordial good will and intimate relations with old 

 friends who could not, till years afterward, sympathize 



in his position. 



****** 



"For several years the health of Mr. Waters had been 

 failing, and those who had seen him of late have thought his 

 end could not be distant. For a year past he had been sub- 

 ject to sudden attacks of dizziness which instantly brought 

 him insensible to the floor or ground. On Wednesday 

 morning last he had been,, as usual, to his barn, to take a 

 look at his cattle, and, after returning to his house, he was 

 seized with a paralytic attack, and continued unconscious 

 till 11 o'clock on Thursday, when his life ended. In giving 

 to a friend the date of his birth, Mr. Waters added these 

 words 'Grateful to God for unnumbered mercies and a 

 most happy life at home and abroad, I await Divine Prov- 

 idence with cheerful hope and confidence for the future as 

 I have done in the past.' " 



