was elected president of an Insurance Company in Salem. In this, he acquired such a reputation for superior judgment and discretion, that, in 1823, large inducements were offered him to remove to Boston, and take charge of the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company. This proposal he accepted, and continued in this station till his death. Upon this institution, which was the child of his affections, he bestowed the most unwearied care, patience and industry. His conduct, indeed, furnished the model which may be well followed by those who are charged with similar trusts. Courteous in his manners, he was at the same time vigilant, fearless, and decided. He was well rewarded by the success of the institution, and the implicit confidence of the public.

In 1807, Mr. Bowditch had completed a survey of the harbors of Salem, Marblehead, Beverly and Manchester, the result of which was a chart, alike remarkable for its beauty and exactness. At intervals of leisure, he wrote various essays, chiefly upon mathematical topics, and which were communicated to the public through the scientific periodicals of the day. These all display talent, and some of them evince powers of the highest order. In 1815, he commenced the translation of the Mechanique Celeste of La Place, four volumes of which were completed in three years. The fifth volume, published by La Place, twenty years after the others, he did not live to complete.

The translation he had thus made was published by Dr. Bowditch in four volumes, quarto—and in a style of great beauty-during the latter period of his

life. The first appeared in 1829, the second in 1832, the third in 1834. The fourth and last was not quite finished at his death. It is not easy to overrate this prodigious effort. The work of La Place, discoursing of the sublimest science, was the production of the greatest mathematical mind of modern times; and such was its reach of science, that probably very few men in the world were fully competent to master it. Dr. Bowditch's work was not a mere translation. "I regard it," says M. Legendre, "a new edition, augmented and improved, and such a one as might have come from the hand of the author himself, if he had consulted his true interest." "It is a proud circumstance for America," says Mr. Babbage, in a letter to the translator, "that she has preceded her parent country in such an undertaking, and we in England must be content that our language is made the vehicle of the sublimest portion of human knowledge, and be grateful to you for rendering it more accessible." It was to a great extent an original work, and showed that the author was not behind his great original. It was a task which few other living individuals could have performed. It excited the amazement of the learned of Europe. It did not abate their wonder, that such a work should appear in America, and that it should be the production of a shipmaster.

The ability of such a man as Dr. Bowditch could not be concealed or unacknowledged. So early as July, 1802, and while his ship was lying wind-bound in Boston, he received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Cambridge College, and from the same institution he subsequently received the degree of

Doctor of Laws. In all this, the institution rather received, than bestowed honor.

We cannot enumerate the various honors bestowed upon the subject of our memoir. It must be sufficient to state, that he became president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in the year 1829, being the successor of John Quincy Adams. He became one of the corporation of Harvard College, and president of the Boston Mechanics' Institution. He was admitted a member of the Royal Society of London, the Royal Academy of Berlin, and of various other scientific institutions, in this country and in Europe. He was the active friend of literary, scientific and charitable institutions, and especially of the Athenæum and Museum of his native town.

It is impossible, without a detail quite beyond the compass of this volume, to give an adequate idea of the amount of useful labor performed by Dr. Bowditch. His methodical habits, his activity, his untiring industry, enabled him to accomplish almost incredible results. It must be remembered that the great productions which have given him fame throughout Christendom were the works of his leisure hours. In the mere fragments of his time, he has done more than most other men of genius accomplish in their lifetime.

In 1834, Dr. Bowditch was called to endure a heavy calamity. His amiable wife, the mother of several children, had long been suffering from that disease which seems to delight in blasting the fairest flowers. She gradually wasted away, and finally died peacefully in the midst of her family. It was a

scene "too serene for sorrow, too beautiful for fear." Seldom has the sad thought of the poet, that "death loves a shining mark," been more touchingly realized. She was a tender mother, a devoted wife, a pious Christian, a graceful woman. Every duty which was laid upon her was discharged, and with a serenity and cheerfulness that shed a constant light around her path. She appreciated the exalted character of her husband, and found gratification in his extending fame. It was with her consent, and partly through her urgent counsel, that the Mechanique Celeste was published, involving a heavy expense, and many privations to the family.

Dr. Bowditch did not long survive his amiable partner. In January, 1838, his health began to decline. By slow degrees, he tranquilly descended to the tomb. He suffered occasional pain, but his mind was clear, and his bosom peaceful. With his children around him, he seemed happy still. On the 26th of March, he took an affectionate leave of his children, all of whom were gathered around his bedside. Soon after, he said, "Oh, sweet and pretty are the visions that rise up before me. Now let thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." A few hours passed, a few trembling sentences were uttered, and the spirit departed.

The withdrawal of such a luminary of science could not pass unmarked. Various public notices of the death of Dr. Bowditch took place. Dr. Young delivered a sermon upon the occasion, in which he has drawn a lively and pleasing picture of the great man's life. Other eulogies were pronounced. We have

chiefly derived the materials of this sketch from an affectionate memoir drawn up by one of his sons, and prefixed to the fourth volume of the Mechanique Celeste.

The character of Dr. Bowditch has been set before

the reader by his acts. In person, he was under the common size. His hair, originally of a light color, was gray at twenty-one, and became silvery white in after years. His forehead was remarkably high and capacious; his eye was deep-set and penetrating. The upper portion of his countenance was stern; but the expression was qualified by an ineffable sweetness about the mouth. The play of his somewhat pallid features, wrought by the vivid intellect within, was rapid as the sunlight upon the wave. He possessed great bodily activity, as well as the highest mental vigor. Late in life, he might be seen gliding with rapidity along the streets, with a short, rapid step, imitating the quickness of youth. He expressed his emotions of delight by rubbing his hands together, and springing to his feet. His manner of speech was impressive, and his censure was appalling. Though he so deeply loved mathematics, he seldom made them a topic of conversation.

He seems to have taken no delight either in logic or natural philosophy. The pure abstractions of his favorite science, its stern, inflexible truths, he pursued with delight, but his mind was embarrassed with metaphysical subtleties. The great truth of human accountability he settled upon the instinct found within every human bosom. Though he preferred works which treated of matters of fact, he had still a