He was prudent
without being timid, and zealous without being rash; eminently
practical, though possessing a love of ideal beauty, and a cultivated
and sensitive taste, and as far removed from formalism on the one side
as from fanaticism on the other. Dignified and courteous in manner, he
was highly respected by all his acquaintances, and while a pastor,
greatly esteemed and beloved by his people. His fine natural qualities
were marred by few blemishes, and his religious character was steadily
and constantly developed year by year. Grave, sincere, earnest, he
went about his labors as one mindful of his responsibility, and as
seen under his 'great Task-master's eye.' Indeed his anxieties outran
his strength, and he was obliged to leave undone much that was dearest
to his hopes. The disease to which he finally yielded had more than
once 'weakened his strength in the way,' before he was finally
prostrated by it. The consequent uncertainty of life had perhaps
imparted to him more than usual seriousness, and a deep solicitude to
work while the day lasted. He performed the duties of a professor in
college but a single year, and that with some interruptions. No better
account of the general impression of his life on those who knew him
best can be given than in the language of a sermon preached at his
funeral by the Rev. Dr. Lord.

"'What his private papers show him to have felt in the presence of his
God was made evident, also, in his social and official intercourse.
Intelligent, grave, dignified; conscientious in all his relations,
from the student upwards to the teacher, the pastor, the professor;
nothing empty as a scholar, nothing unsettled or inconsistent as a
divine, nothing vague or groundless as an instructor; sincere,
generous, honorable, devout; keenly sensitive in respect to the
proprieties and charities of life; warm in his affections, strong in
his attachments, stern in his integrity; above the arts of policy, the
jealousies of competition, the subserviency of party spirit, and
simply intent upon serving God, in his own house, and in all his
official ministrations, he was one of the few who are qualified to be
models for the young, ornaments to general society, and pillars in the
church of God.'

"Hoping, dear sir, that this hasty and imperfect sketch may be of some
trifling service in commemorating a good man, who deserves something
much better,

"I am very truly your obedient friend and servant,

"S. G