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Life of Thomas Eddy

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traits which gained for him an extraordinary shareof fond esteem and confidence, wherever he wasknown. He belonged to the religious denominationof Friends, and in the modest simplicity of his toneand habits, and the directness, equanimity, and toler-ance of his spirit, as well as by the absolute useful-ness of his pursuits and studies, he seemed to realizethe picture which William Penn himself sketched, as that of a genuine disciple, and a true Christian, inhis interpretation of Christianity. There are few, we believe, of the splendid internal improvements, of the foundations of social charity,or the plans for the amelioration of public moralsand education, that have signalized, during the pre-sent century, the judgment, benevolence, and enter-prise of New York, with which the name of ThomasEddy is not connected, with more or less originaland acknowledged merit. He was among the firstprojectors and promoters of the Grand Canal; hetook a principal part in the establishment and admin-istration of hospitals, penitentiaries, high schools, andhouses of refuge; he entered into all their detailswith equal zeal and intelligence; he read, he wrote,he travelled, almost without intermission, for pur-poses of common good or special humanity:—heunited the bias and exertions of a Howard and a Bene-zet, to those propensities and inquiries which imme-diately advance the trade, agriculture, and gene-ral comfort and beauty of a state. This is a rarecombination of tastes and endeavours, and in him itwas not in the least ostentatious or officious, butwore a natural, easy, unobtrusive air, suitable to hiswhole mien and style, and never failed to prove effi-cient, when it had scope and encouragement. Sobeneficent a being is now enjoying a rest happierthan that of any of his race, who worshipped atshrines of false glory, and wearied their powers inseeking or achieving the triumphs of ambition, vanity,or avarice. We have seen men of stout hearts, but