xlii 
A FEW MEMOIRS OF 
plete work, one of the most splendid books produced by 
the arts of printing, engraving, and binding,—acknowl¬ 
edged to be the best work of the kind in the world, 
and the most successful publication of its class by sub¬ 
scription,—was presented to Mr. Sherman as the most 
appropriate and acceptable gift they could select, and the 
presentation was acconppanied by a spirited and suitable 
letter from Mr. F. W. Ricord, chairman of the committee 
having the matter in charge. The Rev. Henry B. Sher¬ 
man’s letter of acknowledgment does him great honor; 
and the whole proceedings show that both national feel¬ 
ing and Christian sentiment were warmly enlisted on be¬ 
half of the unfortunate deceased, notwithstanding his 
many eccentricities. Let it not be said on either side of 
the Atlantic, for it is not true, that Americans ever failed 
to reward the talents of Frank Forester.” 
What was Herbert is now “ Frank Forester,” for ever, 
in American literature. The latter was not exactly “ the 
Persian rose ” but “ the flower that grew beside it,” and 
now we can hardly tell which most attracts the admira¬ 
tion of the world. 
There is a grand moral to be drawn from Herbert’s 
untimely fate. It teaches us that if even he, out among 
the fields with his dog and gun, or cantering along the 
road with a free-breathing courser, or tickling the trout 
out of their native streams, even he—the all-conquering 
“Frank Forester”—must succumb to consuming cares 
and hopeless passions, how requisite it is for all of us to 
be on our guard against falling into a similar abnormal 
state, by patronizing a due share of field sports, or at least 
some stated relaxations from business by the aid of travel 
and agreeable society. To professional and literary men, 
especially, Herbert’s case is full of warning, and their 
matrimonial partners would do well to learn that society 
has “ rights ” as well as individuals. A more conserva- 
