of the School, taking part daily in the class discussions, for such they had come to be under the method of teaching introduced by Professor Langdell. In fact, this being the first class to have a three-years course, it was small, and the discussion was almost wholly carried on by a group of a dozen men, for the most part members of the Pow Wow Club. Not caring for a degree he left the School after two years, spent a year in the office of Charles P. Greenough, and then he and I set up our shingle together. Neither of us had the art to attract clients, and we did not acquire a considerable practice, even after we were joined in 1891 by Frederic J. Stimson who had fared better than we had. Not a man to be idle, Frank Lowell, as he was usually called, occupied his spare time with energy in three quite different fields: literature, Harvard University, and politics. His first book was a novel entitled 'Simply a Love Story.' It had something of the quality of Jane Austen; but it was published anonymously, and, whatever its merits, it did not attract attention enough to have any considerable sale. He then turned to a subject on which he had long been greatly interested, the history of Joan of Arc. He ransacked everything to be found about her, and in 1896 published an excellent biography. Except for articles in magazines he was able for many years to do little more writing owing to heavy duties cast upon him at this time. Towards the end of his life he was again at work on historical studies, no doubt with a view to publication, but death came before he had made much progress. His interest in Harvard University had always been strong, and at Commencement, 1886, he was elected for one year to fill a vacancy on the Board of Overseers. Reëlected in 1887 for the full term of six years, he served until it expired in 1893. According to the custom that had been universally followed since their election by the alumni in 1866, that Overseers should not be renominated immediately after their first two terms, he was not again elected to the Board until 1894. The next year, much to his own surprise, he was chosen a member of the Corporation, and continued there throughout the rest of his life, a period of sixteen years. The duty of an Overseer may be considerable; that of the Fellows is exacting. Recognizing that the essential work of a university is done by its professors and students, he expressed his views of the function of the Governing Boards when at a meeting of the Associated Harvard Clubs in 1908, taking the place of President Eliot who was kept at home by a cold, he said, in allusion to the seven deacons of the Apostolic church, that he was one of those who served tables. Public life had a powerful attraction for him from childhood, and as a boy his ambition had been the Senate of the United States. Beginning, as a good citizen, at the foot of the ladder, he sat for three years in the Common Council of Boston soon after he entered the bar. Later he went to the Legislature of the Commonwealth: a more congenial place, where he soon made himself the most weighty member of the House, exerting a quiet but decisive influence on much of the work done. He served there during the years 1895-97, and became one of the notable figures in the Republican party. Although not much gifted with the expansive art of the local candidate, he was particularly qualified for success and usefulness in the higher grades of public life, for he had an obvious integrity, good judgment, and an open mind which inspired confidence in all men with whom he came in contact. He seemed likely to go far, and in fact he had already been mentioned as a future candidate for Governor. When, therefore, in the summer of 1898 he told me of the proposal to appoint him United States District Judge, it seemed doubtful whether he would be wise to accept. But he had no question himself, and was appointed in the autumn of that year. His wide knowledge of the law, his sound sense, his courtesy and patience fitted him well for the bench, and he proved to be a model judge. Following the steps of his cousin, and great-great-grandfather both named John Lowell - who had held the same place before him, he was, like them, promoted in due time to be a Circuit Judge. This came in 1905, and he filled the position until his death. Some of the questions that came before him involved much more than legal principles; and in the Halladjian case he made an elaborate study of ethnology to determine whether Armenians were included in the term 'white' as used in the statute limiting naturalization; a question which he decided in their favor. Thorough in all his work, painstaking in his opinions, considerate of counsel, Ezra Thayer said of him, at the meeting of the bar held after his death, that he wanted never to go into that court room again since Judge Lowell was no longer there. Firm in his own convictions, and with a belief in working through existing institutions, he was an active Unitarian in religion and a Republican in politics. In fact, he once remarked that if Emerson had been more of a conformist by nature he would have remained in his church. But he was extremely tolerant, fair minded and respectful, nay even sympathetic, towards those who differed from him in these things. His serene and friendly nature made him think well of those with whom he worked even when he had not previously esteemed them so highly. Affectionate to his friends, just to all, his temperament was, indeed, a happy one for himself, as well as for his family, his associates, and the community he served. His marriage, in 1882, with Miss Cornelia Prime Baylies, of New York, who survived him, held a vital place in this fortunate career. His philosophy of life was an unobtrusive optimism. He never fretted over what could not be helped, or worried about his own past actions. He had done what he believed to be right at the time, with the knowledge he then had, and that was enough. Full of information on many subjects, ready to express his views and not averse to argument, he was an agreeable companion on all occasions. Yet modern as were his knowledge, his attitude, and his interests, he bore about him something of the spirit of the older worthies who made New England what it is. It might be said of him as he said of the grandfather for whom he was named, that he had the fortunate combination of a strong will and weak appetites. The strength never deserted him, and his calm fortitude remained through many months of increasing weakness from anæmia that ended in his death on March 6, 1911. A. LAWRENCE Lowell |