86 MEMOIR OF HON. W. W. SEATON. 



of schools Las increased until their scholars now amount to twice as many thou- 

 sands as there were hundreds at the time of his inauguration. Among the 

 many beneficent acts of his official life this will stand pre-eminent ; and among 

 the many friends in whose hearts his memory will be longest cherished, there 

 vill be thousands who, but for his efforts, would have been denied the blessings 

 )f education, and the manifold benefits resulting from that mental and moral 

 ulture which the children of all classes of our fellow-citizens nave since en- 

 ^ oyed by means of the liberal and enlightened system he so opportunely intro- 

 duced and established." 



This rapid sketch would be culpably deficient did we not endeavor to convey 

 some idea of the rare personal gifts and virtues of Mr. Seaton, in the sphere 

 where they naturally shone with a more benign lustre — his home ; and this we 

 prefer to do in the words of one who knew and loved him well : " The centre of 

 all household thought ; obeyed by his inferiors with a service of love recalling a 

 patriarchal age ; it was at home, in the daily amenities of domestic and social life, 

 that he was supreme. Who can forget Mr. Seaton as host ? In the gatherings about 

 his generous board mingled the cordial welcome and that air of an older and 

 better school which constantly distinguished him— the kindly and reassuring at- 

 tention, unaffectedly bestowed on the least distinguished guest, the colloquial 

 charm, which extended the fame of his hospitality far beyond the sphere of its 

 exercise. His conversation was indeed of an exalted character, lighted up by a 

 quaint humor and ready wit, enriched with varied and solid information derived 

 alike from men and books, marked also by originality of thought, by an utter 

 absence of self-assertion or dogmatism, by a delicate tact in shielding others 

 from the wound which a thoughtless or unkind word might inflict, and in drawing 

 forth to the best advantage the talents and attainments of each. Doubtless, no 

 unimportant part of the charm exercised by Mr. Seaton resided in his engaging 

 presence — in the winning smile, the bright eye, the gentle voice, the benignity 

 of a countenance upon which a long life of manly effort and kindly purpose had 

 left its impress. In recalling these characteristics some idea may be conveyed 

 of an attractiveness which was not only widely recognized among ourselves, but 

 acknowledged by foreigners, especially the diplomatic representatives of other 

 governments, solicitous of obtaining from his lips an explanation of our involved 

 politics and those views of public measures which have been known on several 

 noted occasions to have materially influenced the deliberations of foreign cabi- 

 nets and determined their international policy." 



We know not how we can better close this account of the life and character 

 of a lamented colleague than by quoting the following passage from a discourse 

 delivered on the occasion of his death : " One of the finest intelle'cts of this 

 country, and of the most devout, almost austere, evangelical faith, has repeat- 

 edly said, ' that of all the men he had ever known Mr. Seaton was nearest 

 perfection and most ready to enter God's presence.' One of the texts on 

 which the deceased sometimes dwelt as being to him exceedingly suggestive 

 was, ' As a man thinketh so is he ;' and this might be termed the key-note to 

 his own character ; without guile, trusting all, believing in all, his wide mantle 



