Gilbert was to de- liver the address of welcome I thought of the fact that he is the honored pastor of the Lutheran congregation in this city, in which church building, standing in the year 18 10, the Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania and adjacent states, the Mother Synod of the Lutheran Church in America, held its annual meeting.
On the list of lay-delegates appears the name of J. Schantz, White Hale, my grandfather. Pennsylvania-Germans here assembled in that year had no idea that in the year a Pennsylvania-German Society, that would preserve the history of ancestors, would meet in this city, that the pastor of the first Lutheran congregation would deliver the address of welcome and that a grandson of one of the 14 The Pennsylvania- German Society, lay-delegates at the synodical meeting would respond to such address.
When at Gettysburg, , the theological semi- nary, a number of students were regarded as English.
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I always included student Gilbert in said number. As I had come from a county east of the Schuylkill bounded on the north by the Blue Mountains I was not included in that number. Soon after entering the seminary I re- ceived an anonymous letter advising me to study Web- ster's Dictionary daily. To-day student Gilbert, now the Rev.
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Gilbert as I learned this morning, a descen- dant of Bernhard Gilbert, of Gettysburg, a German , and I both rejoice in being members of the Pennsylvania- German Society. The friends at Harrisburg have kindly welcomed the Pennsylvania-German Society. We feel deeply grateful.
I have no doubt that after all the program promises has been delivered, the friends at Harrisburg will be so much pleased with the Society, that they will say: Komt bold wieder und bleibt net so lang " and we will ask: The annual address of the President, Prof. The constitution prescribes as part of the regular ex- ercises of the Annual Meetings of the Society an address by the President.
This has been placed first on the regu- lar order of business. The selection of a subject has been left to him out of the wide range of those that may be of general interest to the membership or promotive of the purposes of the organization. Hardly anticipating the boundless resources in this line that have been developed from the membership of the Society, not even a suggestion of limitation on the time to be taken in any case has been made. But it was soon discovered by those who were honored by a call to this position that this need not be an onerous requirement, and accordingly brevity soon became a characteristic of these addresses.
The rich program provided for this meeting renders compliance with this custom almost a duty. Standing at the close of the first decennium of the Society, in the city in which it held its first annual meeting, a retrospect of the past and its accom- plishments has a very natural fascination, but there are events of the year just passed that first call for a more than passing notice. William Henry Egle, A. President Thomas Conrad Porter, D. The Executive Committee coupled with the announcement to me of the honor of this position a request that I would embody as part of my address a eulogy of Dr.
Egle, and a statement that Rev. Dubbs would speak in memory of his friend Dr. A life so useful, so honorable, and so broad and varied 1 6 The Pennsylvania- German Society, in its activities as that of Dr. Egle would require in the consideration merely of its most salient features all the time that may be given to this address, and it will have for us an additional interest that it will incidentally carry us back to the early days of this Society, to its inception and organization, and along its life, and the conduct of its sub- sequent years to its present assured position, in all of which he could justly have said magna -pars fui, with the assent of all.
Egle was to me more than an esteemed personal acquaintance, I confess to some embarrassment in speaking of him, of his life and his work in the city where so large a part of his active life has been passed, where he went in and out as a friend and a neighbor, and an associate in many public enterprises.
For more detailed and precise biographical data than the time of the speaker will permit to give, reference is made to the biographical sketch by the Secretary, published in Vol. Egle was of Swiss descent, in the fifth American generation. This might not at first sight, necessarily, qualify him for membership in a Pennsylvania-German Society. But with Arndt, the constitution of this Society regards as German land everywhere so weit die deutsche zunge klingt.
The family seems to have been Italian, French and German, by residence at least, at different times. That the American ancestors of Dr. Egle, though only Pennsylvania-Dutch, were liberty-loving, patriotic and even intelligent, may be inferred from the fact that he was a member of most of the hereditary patriotic organi- zations from the Society of the Cincinnati to that of the War of 2. Born in Harrisburg, here he passed the whole of his life, except when absent in the discharge of public duties. Early left an orphan, he has expressed himself as deeply indebted to the tender care of a faithful and loving grandmother.
Educated in the public and private schools of Harris- burg, the last two years being spent at the Harrisburg Military Academy, then of high repute, he passed from the schools to the printing office, that higher school of so many eminent Americans. It is hardly necessary to state that neither of these ventures proved a success, finan- cially at least. The one was abandoned by advice, with the sixth number, and the other was merged with an existing paper. Besides editing the magazine, it is interesting to know that he furnished the poetry for its columns.
Indeed he had previously published a small volume of poems, under the nom de flume of Lilian May," some of which i8 The Pennsylvania- German Society, at least had sufficient merit to be reprinted in a collection of poems by American poets. He was also for a time teacher in a boys' school in Harrisburg, and mailing clerk in the post-office.
These details of his early youth and manhood, although triffing in themselves, exhibit the traits of character that grew with his growth, and explain much of subsequent mature life. He was a typical American youth, a Pennsylvania-Dutch Yankee, if that can be re- garded as more complimentary, or, perhaps more justly, a Yankee with all the substantial German qualities of head and heart superadded.
He finally concentrated on medi- cine as a profession, and was graduated M. His services in the field, from Antietam to Appomattox, and subsequently on the Texas frontier, recognized by advance- ments at different times, and frequently in very responsible positions, were highly honorable, and creditable to him professionally. Whilst near the line he was frequently called in consultation by the generals of the Mexican Liberal Army, who had the highest opinion of his profes- sional ability.
With resumption of practice after the war, he, at the same time, conducted an extensive drug busi- ness. He was also connected with the National Guard of Pennsylvania from its organization, and at one time was its senior medical officer, by reason of twenty-six years of President's Address, 19 continuous service. But, in spite of professional demands and those of an extensive business, the early fondness for literary pursuits asserted itself, and the fascination of his- torical research took hold of him, and commanded his best efforts, we may say almost dominated his life, and elicited his best work, certainly that of most permanent value, if not of most pecuniary profit to him.
How often, if not how generally, the world gets its very best work for practi- cally nothing. The publication of the first edition of his History of Pennsylvania" made a very favorable im- pression, and Governor Hartranft, recognizing the pecu- liar value of his services to the State, appointed him one of the editors of the 2d Series of the Pennsylvania Archives. His fortunate intimate association with John Blair Linn in the preparation of the first twelve volumes, was but pre- paratory to his independent editorship of the succeeding thirty-four volumes of this magnificent series of State records, for which, with painstaking care, he copied pages of documents himself, and read every page of proof, a work that, owing to the unquestioned character of the man, will remain unquestioned authority when many of the records themselves shall have faded into illegibility.
His reputation as an author, but perhaps more than that, his peculiar and thorough knowledge of the history of the State, and of the books that ought to constitute its State Library, led to his appointment as State Librarian by Gov- ernor Beaver. He was reappointed, without regard to his politics, by Governor Pattison, and again by Governor Hastings, and was promptly confirmed in each case, and recognized as most fitting for the place by historical students throughout the State, and outside of it.
The position at the time was not one of great emolument, not a petted one surely, by the State, nor even of commanding eminence, 20 The Pennsylvania- German- Society , but he seemed to realize the importance of it, and the great possibiHties in it of usefulness to every citizen of the com- monwealth, and he left it a position of high importance, and with a trend that it will not be likely to outgrow.
As the years roll on his work in this connection will suffice to fix his name in the history of the State as a man of unique usefulness and influence. He was a Pennsylvanian to the core, by birth, by life- long residence, by service in the field. His sympathies were not only with her every interest, but he was proud of her, and he felt his pride ever growing with fuller knowl- edge of her history.
It was natural then that his ideal of a State Library of Pennsylvania, whatever else it might contain, was such a collection as might be expected of the State, and in a great measure could only be made by the State, of authentic data of its own history, and the history of its people, and of such works as would facilitate the study and investigation of its history, and thus stimulate an interest in all who were active in the making of the State, and foster in its citizens a proper pride in the grand old commonwealth.
Seeteufel: Abenteuer aus meinem Leben by Graf von Felix Luckner
But he was not only alert in the collection of articles of historic value. He was not possessed by a collection fad. His motto was not simply juvat collegisse. He took equal pleasure in working over his data. His addresses were always thoughtful and filled with well-digested matter. The proper utilization of many classes of facts required peculiar adaptation to the work, and certainly unlimited patience as well as industry. Altogether his pub- lished works of historical records relating to Pennsylvania would form more than seventy volumes. He was a public- spirited man, as well as a man of many-sided activities.
As a man of initiative he was active in every good work. The Young Men's Christian Association of the city and its public Hbrary were greatly indebted to his interest in them at the beginning, an interest continued to the last. He was one of the founders of the Dauphin County Historical Society, and its President at the time of his decease. He had an equal interest in many other local organizations. He was an honorary or active member of many historical and literary societies, European as well as American.
To those who knew him best, and among them may be numbered many members of this Society, he will be re- membered, not only as a treasury of much desired informa- tion, but as accessible and communicative. No intelligent and thoughtful seeker after information ever applied to him in vain. Yet, knowing him as I did, as a very busy man, realizing fully the value of time, and what a thief of time investigation of every kind is, I can readily conceive that he might have manifested impatience at waste of time with the simply curious, or in helping the pot to boil for some penny-a-liner.
The greatest aid rendered, however, was not always in the direct information imparted, but rather in the clues given that saved time and facilitated in- vestigation, and often led out far beyond the original in- quiry. His life has thus been an encouragement and stimulus to historic investigation in individuals that will long be felt. But nothing that could be further said of him by me would add to the high estimate of his work, or to the 22 The Pennsylvania- German Society, affectionate regard for him of those I address.
Had we the control, we would be disposed to keep such a man as he was on the tread-mill of life forever, working unself- ishly for the good of all. But a higher One has taken him from among us, and we can only sadly call to our friend and former associate our final: Now but a few words, that seem pertinent, in regard to the origin and progress of our Society. Everyone who had given the matter any serious consideration was im- pressed with the very limited information in regard to the part played by the German element in the making of our great commonwealth.
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No one was quicker to feel the injustice of statements of blundering historians," as he termed them, than the one whose life we have just been considering, to say nothing of the feeling toward the space- writers, who felt that they had always a safe field in the German districts of Pennsylvania. Although the records bristled with names of unmistakable German origin, yet, controlled by a slowness to believe that any good could come out of that Nazareth, writers, without the least con- sideration, credited much that belonged to the Pennsyl- vania-Dutch elsewhere. Especially was this the case when intermarriage with some one of other national de- scent had obscured German participation.
One of the most notable cases in point is that of Molly Pitcher, the heroine of the battle of Monmouth. She was a genuine Pennsylvania-German heroine, and yet she has been cred- ited again and again, by Lossing among the rest, to the Irish, simply because one of that nationality, by name Macauley, had the good judgment, and good taste to win her for his wife. A surviving granddaughter, who re- Presidents Address, 23 membered Molly very well, when her attention had been called to a statement that her grandmother had been Irish, said indignantly: It is greatly to be regretted that the inscription on the stone erected over her grave, a few years ago, in the old graveyard at Carlisle, does not con- tain the words Geboren Ludwig," according to the good old German custom that keeps alive the maiden name of a woman even on to the tombstone.
In the winter of , as the result of a correspondence between Mr. Diffenderffer, of Lancaster, and Dr. Egle a meeting was held in Lancaster with a view to the formation of an organization having for its aim the col- lection and preservation of all landmarks and records relat- ing to the early German and Swiss immigrants to Pennsyl- vania, to develop a fraternal and friendly spirit among all united by the ties of a common ancestry.
The name Pennsylvania-German " was adopted after the fullest discussion and to the members of this Society has acquired a clearly defined meaning. Outside of the Society, however, even after the lapse of ten years, there seems frequently to be a persistent misapprehension of it. To these the meetings seem to be a sort of Stork's feast, which they may freely attend, but can not enjoy. In conversation recently with persons generally well informed, it has been tacitly assumed that such would be the case, and even that I, with my Ger- many-German, might not get everything that was good served up in Pennsylvania-German.
It is to be hoped that it will come to be understood in time that these meet- ings are enjoyable by all, that the bond of union is Ger- man descent, not German language. Whilst all the mem- bers of the Pennsylvania-German Society speak English it is true that some are fortunate enough, perhaps I should say intelligent enough, to speak nearly as fluently, and quite as effectively, Pennsylvania-German as well. The only difference between the two kinds of membership is that the associates " can not vote and hold office. But it is true that there are Pennsylvanians of German descent who use a sort of German dialect as their vernacular, pretty exclu- sively, and there is a felt need in some portions of the State of a term for differentiating these from more recent acces- sions from the Fatherland.
I know of no better one than that used by an excellent Scotch-Irish lady, for whom I had great respect, for she was my mother-in-law. There are many eligible to membership in this Society, by reason of early German descent, and who would make excellent members, who have never given the matter a thought, be- cause of their entire ignorance of German, or Pennsylvania- German dialect. The first annual meeting of the Society took place in this city in the October following the organization at Lancaster. Egle, as President, made the prescribed address, and was reelected for the full year following.
These meetings have been held regularly since for ten years, without inter- mission, and with increasing interest from year to year. It may be asked, what has been the outcome? To say that the number interested, deeply interested, in their German ancestry has increased from year to year, would be to say that the Society has been in a great measure a success.
But looking over the whole decade, without minifying the importance of anything else, the measure that seems to me to stand out as of the most pronounced importance, only second to the founding of the Society itself, a departure from the usual custom of societies of a similar character, was that taken at the close of the fifth year, at the suggestion of the Secretary, Mr. The Society, without hesitation, resolved to do what had not yet been attempted, and like Germans they have car- ried it out, in a manner and upon a scale that has been a surprise even to themselves.
The Narrative and Critical History of the German Influence in the Settlement and Development of Pennsylvania " is an admitted authority, as far as it has been completed, not only in our own State and country, but in the German homes from which these auswanderers came, as well. It is characterized by Ger- man minute, painstaking research and exhaustiveness.
German and American sources of information have been ransacked, and floods of new light have been cast on great historical questions. The preparation of it, however, it is but proper to say, has not in any way or to any degree, impaired the quantity or the quality of other papers and addresses at the disposal of the Executive Committee for these meetings. This connected narrative is not only val- uable in itself, but it will serve as a thread around which facts of other papers as they come before us, may arrange themselves and crystallize.
It reveals more fully than has ever been comprehended before the causes and character of the great migration, and the reasons why Pennsylvania became the place of concentration of the many-creeded, lib- erty-loving men. Whatever other impelling force there may have been, these men came to establish homes, not simply houses to live in, nor acres to till, but, as the full Presidents Address, 27 account of their domestic life shows, homes pervaded by a beautiful domestic life, homes that afterwards schooled the plowboy for the governor's chair, and the most responsible positions in life.
The fact that more than half the governors of the State — all good governors, too, and advanced advocates of public education — came from among the Pennsylvania- Germans can not be fully explained without this home in- fluence and education before the period of public educa- tion. In these homes, too, the girls were regarded as fit to go to the same schools with the boys before New Eng- land had waked up to coeducation. That they were not without aesthetic feeling the fine models of old furniture that are turning up to-day in these old German homes, in out-of-the-way localities, plainly show.
Many were simply un- fortunate, perhaps Redemptioners by accident, or by the knavery of those whom they had good ground to trust, but at all events the well-to-do English inhabitants of the col- ony frequently sought among them for teachers and clerks, as well as for artisans and tillers of the soil, and found them, too; and the descendants of the employer and em- ployed of that time have, in some cases, to-day changed places.
To sum it all up, these Germans did not come as a herd without cohesive force, but with a common culture of their own, a culture conversant with many phases of human activity, and certainly not inferior to that with which it came in contact here. They came with their preachers, their Bibles and their hymn-books and cate- 28 The Pennsylvania- German Society.
They were indifferent to outside opinions, they were not easily moved by a vis a tergo, but responded promptly to a force of conscience or of judg- ment from within. They were possessed in a supreme de- gree by a disposition to mind their own business, a quality generally regarded as contributive to success. They were slow to be drawn into the quarrels of others, a quality which often leads to mistrust and abuse by both parties.
It was this community of culture that, more than language, kept the Germans massed, and weakened impressions from the outside, and that more than language kept them a community apart, if indeed it was not a prominent factor in the preservation of the language in the degree of purity it shows at the present time. A foreign language simply would, under the circumstances, have disappeared by at- trition, and the absorption of those speaking it. I am not insisting that the retention of the language, in itself, has been an advantage.
It has, perhaps, rather been the re- verse. The acquisition of the English language by many of the Germans or their descendants rendered these inde- pendent of the German printing presses and opened up the wider field of mental activity around them. It was to be expected, under such circumstances, that the demand for the product of the German printing presses would fall off in character and quantity, and that the Pennsylvania-Ger- mans who adhered to that dialect exclusively, would fall short of the literary resources or influences of their fathers, especially in comparison with the outside world.
Had political conditions been different, there might have been in it a menace to the supremacy of the English language. Facts such as these have been stated from time to time, but the volumes of this Society, thus far published, established them so clearly that they can be restated now without any of the hesitation that might formerly have been felt, and there can be no excuse in the future for any one to be ignorant of them, or to ignore them. There is one respect in which these publications are so unique, so far beyond anything that has been attempted in similar publications, that it merits at least a passing re- mark.
I allude to the part of up-to-date, modern pho- tography in the illustration and enrichment of the volumes. To one interested, as I have been for many years in the applications of photography, in aid of the art preservative, as well as its purely scientific phases, these volumes repre- sent not only enthusiastic, intelligent work, but the high- est technical excellence, and are a feature in which we 30 The Pennsylvania- German Society.
Before closing these remarks, that have gone beyond my original intention, I would merely add that a question arises just here, not haphazard, but as the result of careful consideration, whether even more could not be done in furtherance of the objects of the Society, by the systematic cooperation of members of this Society skilled in photographic practice. There is doubt- less much photographic energy among Pennsylvania-Ger- man amateur photographers running to waste, which by proper direction might be turned to great service in the way of fixing old landmarks, that are rapidly disappear- ing, and also in fixing characteristics of to-day that will have an historic interest fifty years to come.
In England, the National Photograph Records Association, organized a few years ago, has already accomplished a great deal. In this country I know of no organization that has care- fully and systematically considered the possibilities of photography in this respect. The Franklin Institute of Philadelphia is making arrangements, through one of its sections, to carry on such work. This from the character of that organization may be expected to have a scientific and industrial trend, though provision is made for photo- graphs of a general historical character.
Possibly a com- mittee of this Society on photographic records might meet the case, as far as it is concerned. I am inclined to think, however, that the formation of a Pennsylvania-German Photo-Records and Exchange Club, composed exclusively of members of this Society, might answer equally well, without placing upon the Society or any of its officers any responsibility or burdens. Modern photography has so far outgrown the restrictions of but a few years ago as to time of exposure in the camera, local illumination, time of day or night, effect of color, etc. Convenient depositories for such photographs could be selected, so as to render them readily accessible to all, and by the exchange feature suggested, members having collections could easily enlarge them.
Aside from the direct results of such an organization, the stimulus im- parted to search for objects of historic interest, capable of photographic record, might be of great value. I will add but a word of suggestion to those already at work in this field as to the unique value of stereoscopic pictures in many cases, especially where distance, form, or luster are im- portant features.
Although the trade in stereographs in America alone runs into millions of dollars annually, the value of stereoscopic representation, especially for the pur- poses indicated, is not as generally appreciated as it should be. These necessarily hurried suggestions are submitted with the belief that something further can be done by members of the Society along the lines indicated, which may be promotive of the worthy objects in which we are all so much interested as Pennsylvania-Germans.
In view of the suggestion, made by the President with regard to photographic work, the following resolution was offered by W. Resolved That steps be taken to carry out the excellent suggestions of the President with regard to Pennsylvania-German photo-record work, and, as preliminary thereto, that the Secretar ' be requested to obtain the names of members who are practical photographers, or who may be spe- cially interested in this work.
Thomas Conrad Porter, D. For the first time in our history we mourn the loss of a presiding officer, called away from earth in the midst of his term of service. Even at the time of Dr. Porter's elec- tion, it is true, we were not without a certain premonition of the affliction that might possibly befall us. Porter was physically feeble, for the weight of years rested heavily upon him ; but his mind was clear, and the power of his will enabled him to manifest much of the energy of former years.
We hoped that he would be spared us at least another year ; and it was felt withal that election to the Presidency of this society — especially at a meeting held in the city of his residence — would indicate our grateful appreciation of his labors for the literary, scien- tific and religious advancement of our people. Porter highly appreciated this honor and re- sponsibility need hardly be intimated. It came to him as a surprise, but I venture to say that if he could have been permitted to choose a fitting conclusion for his career it would have been in close connection with the work of this Society.
Few men of letters are suffered to round out their career in a manner so thoroughly satisfactory. It often happens that before the end there are years of neg- lect when it seems as if a younger generation had forgot- ten its teachers, and names once distinguished have be- come meaningless and insignificant. Porter bore the Eulogy of Late President Porter, 33 weight of many sorrows, but that he was spared this crowning affliction may have been partly due to the honor conferred upon him by this Society, and we are, therefore, not surprised that he thoroughly appreciated it.
We have not forgotten his interest in our meetings, and that at our banquet he remained with us until its close. On that festive occasion it was my privilege to sit at Dr. Porter's side ; and as he was precluded by imperfect health from partaking of the viands that were set before him, he conversed concerning his life and work with the utmost freedom. His discourse was almost a monologue; and, now that he has passed away, it almost seems as if he had counted up the results of his life and labor.
First he spoke of his ancestry and of his peculiar rela- tion to the two races which have accomplished the greatest work in the making of Pennsylvania. That he revered his forefathers was greatly to his credit ; for, as Dr. Har- baugh once said: Porter was born on the 22d of January, , at Alexandria, in Huntingdon County — a place where the Germans and Scotch-Irish met, imparting to the commu- nity many of the best qualities of both these vigorous races. His father was a Presbyterian elder, and through him he was descended from one of the sturdy pioneers of central Pennsylvania.
Porter was proud of his paternal an- cestry, and no one could have more highly appreciated the heroism and devotion of the Ulster-Scots whose name and fame will live forever in the annals of our State. Under these conditions it may appear strange that from early youth his affections turned more decidedly towards the Germans, who were his mother's people. Bucher, it will be remembered, was a native of Switzer- land, and had been thoroughly educated at Marburg and other German universities. He had proposed to enter the ministry, but for some now forgotten reason enlisted in the army of Holland and was afterwards transferred to the British service.
Having been sent to America he rose to the rank of captain, distinguishing himself in several ex- peditions against the Indians. It was while he was in command at Carlisle, Pa. Subsequently he was or- dained to the ministry and founded the Reformed Church of Carlisle. He was also pastor at Lebanon and other places, and served as a chaplain in the American Revo- lution. Porter's mind associated me with his mother's people, so that whenever we met he told me how marvelously his German ancestry had influenced his life and thinking.
He was graduated, you remember, at Lafa- yette, took his theological course at Princeton, and then served for one year as pastor of a Presbyterian church at Monticello in Georgia ; but he was restless until he went home to labor among the German people of his native State. He was at once recognized as a brilliant preacher ; his sermons were ad- Eulogy of Late President Porter, 35 mired for their exalted thought and splendid diction ; but their greatest charm consisted in brilliant illustrations drawn from the kingdom of nature.
He had the mind of a scientist and the soul of a poet ; and in every budding flower he had learned precious lessons of the wisdom and goodness of God. No doubt, he had gained some reputation as a naturalist before he received the call. It was probably for him a serious question whether he ought to leave a people whom he loved, to become a teacher of rudimentary science in the little college at Mercersburg.
The prospect was certainly not inviting, for the college was as poor as can well be imagined ; but the work had to be done, and in his own denomination there was no one as well qualified as he. There were others who could occupy his pulpit, and the invitation to become a teacher of his favorite sciences was no less a call from God than his introduction to the sacred ministry.
Porter was not a man who could be satisfied to teach in a mechanical way, studying no more than was needed to keep him well in advance of his students. For years it was his duty to give his pupils some idea of several of the natural sciences, and with earnest and self-sacrificing labor he traversed an enormous field. He was, however, wise enough to know that the human mind is not suffi- ciently comprehensive to grasp the sum of all the sciences ; and, though not a specialist in the modern sense of the term, he held closely to the science which he loved best and thus achieved the highest distinction.
In this charming pursuit no labor was too great, and he could endure priva- tions that might have undermined a weaker constitution. When Marshall College was consolidated with Franklin, in , Dr. Porter removed to Lancaster, and there con- tinued his botanical researches. It is said that no one since the days of Henry Ernest Muhlenberg has made himself so thoroughly familiar with the flora of Lancaster County. In those days many more or less apocryphal stories con- cerning his courage and perseverance were repeated and believed. How somewhere in the West he had lost his way in the woods and lived for days on roots and fungi ; how once, late in autumn, he swam across a stream to secure a rare plant while his companions stood shivering on the bank.
More worthy of record, as being better authenticated, are the accounts of extensive labors which he performed in behalf of his favorite science. Early in his career he planned the preparation and publication of a complete work on the Flora of Pennsylvania, and in pur- suance of this purpose he personally explored almost every part of the State. His great herbarium was injured in at the incendiary burning of Pardee Hall ; but the literary work was practically complete, and it is a satisfac- tion to be informed that it is to be published under the editorship of his nephew, Dr. Merely to mention several of Dr.
Porter's botanic ex- cursions, in he explored northern Georgia in company with Dr. Joseph Le Conte, of Philadelphia ; from to actively interested in the United States Geo- logical and Geographical Survey of the territories, and his reports were published by the government. While engaged in this study he visited the Rocky Mountains in company with his friend. His Synopsis of the Flora of Colorado," origi- nally published as a part of Hayden's Survey," was long the only hand-book for botanists in that region.
He was, however, by choice a cooperator in the work of other students ; and Britton suggests Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club," July, that his tendency to help others, his almost over-generous nature, militated against his own original work becoming as prominent as its importance warranted.
Porter when he was puzzled, and in many instances the material thus secured was subsequently appropriated with- out acknowledgment. Sometimes, I know, Dr. Porter was justly indignant when his correspondents plowed too freely with his heifer. In the class-room Dr.
Full text of "Bibliography of bibliographies on chemistry and chemical technology, ;"
Porter was always interesting, sometimes eloquent. He was fond of lecturing, and many of his former students remember his animated description of the carboniferous era, when the ferns which are now a foot or eighteen inches high were fifty or sixty feet high, as high as the tallest oak. It is certain, however, that after such an experience, we never forgot what the pro- fessor desired us to remember.
As a literary critic Dr. Porter was no less clear and 38 The Pennsylvania- German Society, keen. In its earliest issue the poem begins: Porter first read these lines in Dr.
Weaver at his loom is sitting — is that Jim Weaver or Bill Weaver? Harbaugh was indignant, and under protest explained the purpose of his lines. Harbaugh took the hint, and it is thus that the poem appears in his published volume. A year ago I pleaded with Dr. Porter to prepare a bib- liography, giving the titles of his most important writings.
He fully intended to do this, but the work was never accomplished, and now we are partly left in the dark with regard to the extent and order of his literary productions. Augus- tine," and a Life of Zwingli," from the German of Hot- tinger. Porter was an accomplished translator is evi- dent from the almost innumerable versions which he pro- Eulogy of Late President Porter, 39 duced. No one in this country could equal him in repro- ducing the lyrics of Riickert, Geibel and Lenau, and in some instances his versions have been declared by com- petent judges to be equal to the originals.
The main cause of his success — apart from his poetic nature — was the fact that he regarded translation as a fine art, and spared neither time nor toil in the reproduction of the minutest shades of meaning. His versions of German and Latin hymns — contributed to Schaff's Christ in Song " and to several hymn-books — are among the best that have been published. Porter's literary work, however, was by no means limited to translation. In the earlier volumes of the Mer- cershurg Review I have counted no less than twenty articles from his pen. It was in that Dr.
That Indian Edda," as its author termed it, had but recently appeared, and had everywhere been greeted with extravagant laudation. It was supposed to be original in substance, form and meter, and had been declared the crown and glory of American genius. Porter was examining Professor Koeppen's library, and there he found a recent German version of the Kale- Tvala, the national epic of Finland. How great was his surprise when he discovered that not only the form and meter of Hiawatha, but many of its most striking incidents were unquestionably derived from the ancient Finnish poem.
Becoming interested in the subject Dr. Porter im- ported the book, and his convictions were strengthened by studying it in its original language. Hiawatha was not a plagiarism — he never said it was — but it was decidedly an imitation of the song of Kalewala. It was this view that Dr. Please follow the detailed Help center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
Der Umfang dieses Buchs entspricht Taschenbuchseiten. Ritt zum GalgenAlfred Bekker: Lady in BleiAlfred Bekker: Virginia City ShowdownAlfred Bekker: Die Todesfalle von PuentePete Hackett: Verdammt in PericoPete Hackett: Verzeihen ist nicht der einzige. Was will ihnen der bekennende Atheist mitteilen? A Study In magic And Religion: The Golden Bough, Part 7. I Balder The Beautiful, Vol. Wie komme ich in den Himmel? Band 2 - Barrakuda Band 2. Barbara Blomberg, Volume 1. Barbara Blomberg, Volume 3. Barbara Blomberg, Volume 6. Barbara Blomberg, Volume 7. Barbara Blomberg, Volume 8.
Barbara Blomberg, Volume 9. A simple approach Basically incomplete. Bebuquin oder die Dilettanten des Wunders Bec becareful what you wish for Because a lie shattered our world Because death is nearer than you think because everything was real. Voices from Goa's Press Behind the News: Bei Risiken und Nebenwirkungen Beichte eines Hoflakaien Beichtgeheimnis? Being loved or not? A Short Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of St. The Church of St. A Tale of the Christ Ben-Hur: Ordens der Schwestern der Perpetuellen Indulgenz Berlin e. An African Romance Benita Title: Richtig vererben unter Ehegatten inkl.
Bess're Zeiten Besser als Best Friends for ever? Betrayed to my husband Betrayed: