Page:The life of Rev. Thomas M. Eddy.djvu/24

Rh For these and other reasons I was gratified to learn that the life of my friend, the Rev. Thomas M. Eddy, D.D., was about to be published; that the materials had been carefully collected and arranged, as a work of love, by Mrs. Eddy, who from his youth up had not only shared his sorrows and his joys, but had sympathized with him in all his efforts — who had ever co-operated with him by her affectionate tenderness and her wise counsels. I was also pleased to learn that the preparation of the work had been confided to the Rev. Dr. Sims, whose earlier life had been spent in the same State, and who had been identified with many of the interests for which Dr. Eddy, in his earlier years, had labored. Prepared by such hands, I have no doubt the work will be a valuable one; not only portraying the characteristics of our departed friend, but so exhibiting them as to exercise an influence which shall linger about us for years to come. It is one of the properties of the atmosphere that, by its refractive power, it gives us a view of the sun after it has passed below the horizon So by these sketches the images of loved ones and the memory of their virtues remain with us after they have passed beyond the boundaries of life. I was for many years acquainted with the father of Dr. Eddy, who was one of the prominent members of the Ohio Conference, and who was subsequently transferred to Indiana. He was a man of more than ordinary stature and physical power; he enjoyed excellent health, had traveled extensively on circuits and districts, and had also filled a number of the most prominent stations. His voice was clear and melodious, his manner was persuasive and oftentimes deeply pathetic, and he was