CONCLUSION

1904-1908

S all matters of routine or of a business character, pertaining to this brief span, have been com

prehended within the last chapter, it is fitting to terminate the long narrative in a more personal vein. In these few years several serious inroads have occurred in the ranks of the Trustees. In October, 1906, came the regretted resignation of Edward King, sometime Chairman, in the twenty-second year of his term. A former president of the Stock Exchange and a notable figure in financial circles, he proved himself, in his services as chairman of the "King Committee" in the recent panic, a worthy scion of his patriotic father, James Gore King, the banker, and of his illustrious grandfather, the Hon. Rufus King, one-time Trustee of the Library.

The other changes have been due to the inexorable leveler. Charles B. Curtis, who died in March, 1905, had served for over twelve years, long holding the secretaryship, and was Chairman at his death. He ranks as an author of note, his book, "Velasquez and Murillo,” winning him an international reputation; while he often contributed to standard periodicals, chiefly on genealogical and art subjects. Two months later died Frederic J. de Peyster, nephew of Frederic de Peyster, a lawyer by

RECENT DEATHS OF TRUSTEES

529

profession, whose wide interests made him active in numberless literary, social and charitable movements. His thirty years of service caused his associates to regard him "as one of the pillars of our edifice, and the absence of his name from our roll makes our meetings seem like those of another and strange body." On the other hand, after but a brief trusteeship, S. Franklin Stanton died in June, 1907, a retired member of the Stock Exchange, a man "conservative in taste and habit, in marked contrast to the general trend of sentiment during the later years of his life."

In

In November, 1907, there passed away that accomplished and knightly soul, whose name had so long adorned the head of the trustee roll-Frederick Sheldon, Gentleman, in his thirty-seventh year of service. these discriminating words of tender and affectionate regard for "the Nestor of our body," Mr. Baldwin gave apt expression to the general sentiment of loss and appreciation:

Mr. Sheldon was possessed of unusually fine literary tastes, and his power of criticism, though delicate, was searching. His style of writing was of the purest, and his sense of humor enabled him to delineate characters with a pen, which, while he was too kind to wound, developed traits in the subject of his criticism, which a less trained and capable mind would have failed to discover. . . A courteous gentleman and an accomplished scholar has passed from our midst, and the record of his association with us is a story of most valuable influence and is most fragrant in the recollection.

Scarcely three months were vouchsafed to Mr. Baldwin as ranking Trustee, his wide-felt death occurring in February, 1908, after nearly twenty-five years of devoted ministration to the Library. He had served as Secretary

for eleven years, as Chairman for four, and as a member of the Library Committee during all his term, its chairman for the last decade. Though he was identified with innumerable literary and social organizations, the Society Library ever held first place in his affections. The annual report for 1908 says: "His long service to our institution in many capacities, his legal and literary knowledge and practical common sense made him an invaluable member of the Board, and the loss is felt more deeply as the days go by." At a special meeting of the Trustees immediately after his obsequies, which despite a furious storm were attended by a noteworthy assemblage at the Marble Collegiate Church, there was adopted this minute, prepared by Chairman Foster in phrases notable not alone for choice diction but for their ring of genuine feeling, a tribute the most beautiful recorded throughout the history of the Library:

In the ripeness of his age, at the summit of his useful career, George Van Nest Baldwin, our associate and friend, has passed from among the living, to receive, as we reverently believe, the eternal reward of a life well spent and worthy.

A lawyer, learned, accomplished, sagacious, a man of rare social qualities, endearing him to a multitude of friends, he was also by choice and natural predisposition a man of letters, knowing clearly and loving always the wondrous charm of literature. And so it came about that to this institution, the object of his literary devotion, he gave without stint or reserve his intelligent and affectionate interest. In duration of service the oldest member of our Board, and for years its Chairman, every day of his long trusteeship has added to the Library's debt of gratitude to him for work well done and faithfully. The last effort of his life, put forth when the shadows were already gathering, was for us and for our well-being.

And therefore remembering the man who is gone, and his