P 84 
 .P67 
 Copy 1 
 
 HISTORICAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL LABOR 
 
 II<I,USTRATED IN THE WORK OF 
 
 ELISHA REYNOLDS POTTER, 
 
 i;ATE JUDGE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF RHODE ISI^AND. 
 
 AN ADDRESS DEI,IVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 
 
 JULY 11, 18S2. 
 
 BY 
 
 SIDNEY S. RIDER. 
 
 providence: 
 
 , , ' THE FRANKWN press COMPANY. 
 
 ^4^ I90I. 
 
HISTORICAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL LABOR 
 
 II,I,USTRATED IN THE WORK OF 
 
 ELISHA REYNOLDS POTTER, 
 
 I<ATE JUDGE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF RHODE ISI^AND. 
 
 AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 
 
 JULY 11, 1882. 
 
 BY 
 
 SIDNEY S. RIDER. 
 
 providence: 
 the franklin press company. 
 
 1901. 
 

 
MINUTK 
 
 ENTERED ON THE RECORDS OF THE RHODE ISLAND 
 HISTORICAL SOCIETY, JULY ii, 1882. 
 
 A distinguished member of this Society has been removed 
 by death since our last quarterly meeting, whose constant and 
 valuable labors in aid of our local history, as well as his public 
 services, deserve special recognition. 
 
 The Honorable EHsha Reynolds Potter, of South Kings- 
 town, died at his home, April 10, 1882, in the 71st year of his 
 age. 
 
 Born at Kingston, June 20, 181 1 ; endowed with the prestige 
 of his father's name; prepared for college at the academy in 
 his native village; graduated at Harvard University in 1830; 
 he entered upon the study of law and was admitted to the bar 
 of this State October 9, 1832. The taste for historical pursuits 
 was developed in his early life, and in him we have the 
 remarkable instance of a young man hardly twenty-four years 
 old gathering the scattered and perishing memorials of the 
 settlement of the ancient King's Province, which, in 1835, 
 under the title "Early History of Narragansett," he gave to 
 this Society for its third vo'lume of collections. In 1837, as the 
 result of diligent research and careful study, he prepared and 
 published an account of the paper currency of Rhode Island, 
 which was reprinted by Mr. Henry Phillips, Jr., in his "His- 
 torical Sketches of the Paper Currency of the American Col- 
 
4 HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 
 
 onies," and again reprinted, enlarged and revised by Mr. Rider 
 in his series of Rhode Island Historical Tracts. Besides these, 
 in frequent addresses and papers, in legislative speeches, and 
 newspaper articles, in numerous genealogies and even in notes 
 to judicial opinions, he has added largely to our historical 
 literature and preserved much valuable information which 
 might otherwise have been lost. 
 
 The greater part of his life was devoted to public service, 
 at dififerent times in the General Assembly of the State ; during 
 one session in Congress ; for five years as Commissioner of 
 Public Schools, and, for the last twelve years, on the bench 
 of the Supreme Court. In private life he was a kind neighbor, 
 a true friend, a wise counsellor and an honored citizen. He 
 was admitted a resident member of this Society July 19, 1832, 
 and from 1850 to 1855 held the office of Vice-President. For 
 love of his native State ; for honorable public service ; for faith- 
 fulness to duty ; for patience in endeavor ; for variety of learn- 
 ing ; for purity of character ; for abounding charity, and for 
 that crowning glory of man's life — the earnest effort to make 
 others wiser, happier and better — his memory will long be 
 cherished and his beneficent example held in grateful honor. 
 
THE ADDRESS. 
 
 Mr. President and G€ntlemen : 
 
 Brought by the nature of my avocation into almost daily 
 contact with the most carefully and highly educated men and 
 women in Rhode Island, it has become almost a passion to 
 recall and consider the memories of some such men and women 
 who once were, but are now no longer my contemporaries. 
 Among these men and women were Thomas Allen Jenckes, 
 Dr. Isaac Ray, Albert Gorton Greene, Robinson Potter Dunn, 
 J. Lewis Diman, Elisha Reynolds Potter, and, notwithstanding 
 anachorism, I now include the names of Mrs. Anna A. Ives, 
 Mary E. Potter and Elizabeth Francis. With the minute 
 placed upon our records to preserve the memory and attest our 
 respect for our late learned associate, Elisha Reynolds Potter, 
 I am heartily in accord. Moreover (I speak with all due 
 courtesy). Judge Potter was my personal friend. I can give 
 no better reason for this friendship than my own appreciation 
 for the integrity of his historical labors ; for them I have only 
 admiration. Made at a time so early, when research among 
 dusty manuscripts was so difficult, and when historical accur- 
 acy was considered of secondary importance, not only in Rhode 
 Island, but elsewhere in New England, Mr. Potter's works 
 stand forth with increasing brilliancy ; they marked an epoch. 
 There can be no better way of giving emphasis to these opin- 
 ions than by giving an account of Mr. Potter's work along 
 these lines. These rehearsals may be as household tales retold 
 
6 HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 
 
 to you ; nevertheless bear with me a few moments while I set 
 them before you. Little has since been discovered that Mr. 
 Potter failed to find, and not a single fact that he mistated or 
 misrepresented. 
 
 The earliest work, in print, by Mr. Potter is a report pre- 
 pared for the Committee on Religious 'Corporations of the 
 R. I. General Assembly and made to that body in January, 
 1834. Mr. Potter was not a member of the committee, nor, 
 indeed, of the Legislature, but he was employed by the com- 
 mittee to write its report. He was less than 23 years of age. 
 The report is exhaustive in its examination of the powers 
 granted by the General 'Assembly to religious corporations, 
 and he who wishes to understand this subject can rely upon 
 its statements with perfect safety. He will find discussed in 
 the report the question of taxation of church property and 
 the necessity of statutes of mortmain. 
 
 The following year, 1835, Mr. Potter issued his second 
 work, the "Early History of Narragansett." This society 
 purchased a number of copies and made it the third volume 
 of their Collections. The period covered by this book is from 
 the earliest notices of these lands by the fi.rst settlers in New 
 England, to about the year 1730, just a century. The book 
 is more in the form of annals than of a digested story. In the 
 appendix the author gathered many documents which had, un- 
 til that time, been unpublished. This was the pioneer work on 
 the subject. It has always been, and now continues the chief 
 authority. When we consider the difficult nature of the gather- 
 ing of such scattered historical material for the first time, 
 the exhaustiveness and the accuracy of the work, and the 
 
HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 7 
 
 yoitthfulness of the author at the time the work was done, it 
 is apparent that all must concede it to be a marvellously ex- 
 cellent production. 
 
 The copy of this book in the collection which I have gath- 
 ered is a presentation from the author to Albert G. Greene, 
 9th December, 1835. It now contains notes of errors, citations 
 of authorities, and other historical notes by myself. The book 
 is in chronological order. There are eight typographical er- 
 rors in date; for instance, p. 47, 1647 appears as 2647; PP-55"6, 
 1658 appears three times as 1758, etc. On page 109, under the 
 date May, 1701, a "Deed of Potowomut" is mentioned. In the 
 R. I. Col. Rec, V. 3, p. 439, this document is mentioned as a 
 "Deed of Portsmouth." The error is in the Colonial Records: 
 Mr. Potter is correct. I have spoken of eight typographical 
 errors in dates, and given but four instances ; since it may help 
 others I note the others : At p. 58 the date 1658 appears as 
 1668; at p. 60 the date 1659 appears as 1639; ^^ P- 77 ^^e date 
 1658 appears as 1657 ; at p. 107 the date 1687 is printed 1787. 
 
 The use of the word "thickest" by Mr. Potter affords me an 
 opportunity to still further illustrate his accuracy by a curious 
 note. In the year 1641 he states (page 31) that Richard 
 Smith purchased land and built a house among the thickest 
 of the Indians." Mr. Potter does not cite his authority, but I 
 will cite it: Mass. Hist Soc. Coll., ist Ser., v. 5, p. 216, and 
 it is correctly used by Mr. Potter. On page 166 of his appen- 
 dix Mr. Potter prints a letter written by Roger Williams in 
 which the phrase occurs : Smith "put up in the thickest of ye 
 barbarians ye first English house." Where Mr. Potter made 
 his copy of this letter he does not state, nor have I discovered. 
 
8 HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 
 
 Mr. Backus (Hist. New Eng. Baptists, v. i, p. 421, 1777) 
 also prints this letter, in which this word "thickest" is printed 
 "thickets." These two copies are verbally very different. In 
 1834 Mr. Knowles (Memoir of Roger Williams, 349) reprints 
 the letter, but where Backus printed "thickets" Mr. Knowles 
 prints "thickest." In 1874 the 6th volume of the Narragansett 
 Club Publication was printed, and this letter was again taken 
 from Backus and precisely the same error was made — "thick- 
 ets" was printed "thickest." It is thus easily shown tbat Mr. 
 Knowles and Mr. Bartlett, who edited the I, II, Narr. Club 
 were both in error ; but I cannot yet show which was correct, 
 Mr. Potter or Mr. Backus, in Mr. Williams' use of the word 
 thickets or thickest. Not an error do my notes disclose, and 
 but few citations of authorities in support, or of additional 
 facts of material consequence. 
 
 In 1886 this volume was reprinted, and at the end of the 
 volume the "Notes and additional matter in illustration of the 
 preceding portion of this volume" was added, covering upward 
 of a hundred pages. 
 
 In May, 1823, Elisha R. Potter, Sen., with eight other men, 
 procured from the General Assembly a charter of incorpora- 
 tion for the Pettaquamscut Academy. These gentlemen stated 
 that "for some years past they had supported a grammar 
 school at Little Rest in South Kingston, and now desired in- 
 corporation. In June, 1823, certain Pettaquamscut land 
 which a century and a quarter before had been bequeathed for 
 educational purposes, was ordered sold by the General As- 
 sembly and the proceeds devoted to the uses of this Academy. 
 In May, 1826, the name was changed to Kingston Academy. 
 
HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 9 
 
 With this institution Elisha R. Potter, Jr., was connected in 
 many ways. He was there a student, a classical teacher, a 
 trustee, and president. He prepared the catalogues, in which 
 are the names of students who became most prominent men 
 in years afterward. Mr. Potter, as president, prepared a state- 
 ment in relation to the funds of the academy which contains 
 historical information not easily accessible elsewhere. It was 
 printed in 1836. 
 
 In 1837 Mr. Potter issued his third work, a brief account 
 of emissions of paper money made by the Colony of Rhode 
 Island. This was a pamphlet of fifty pages. It was, like its 
 predecessors, a work of original research, covering a period 
 from 1710 to 1786. It was reprinted by Mr. Henry Phillips, 
 Jr., in his Historical Sketches of the Paper Currency of the 
 American Colonies, but without note or comment. This was 
 about 1863. It has since been re-written and published in the 
 series Rhode Island Historical Tracts, with an index and 
 many fac similies. The inherent interest of the subject, stimu- 
 lated by the very high price which the little pamphlet reached 
 at the various auction sales throughout the country, suggested 
 its re-publication. It may with propriety now be stated that 
 the price of the Tract itself has already more than doubled, 
 although the book has been published less than two years. 
 
 In 1839, Mr- Potter, being a member of the R. I. House of 
 Representatives, wrote a report concerning the affairs of the 
 Narragansett tribe of Indians (Jan. Acts & Resolves, R. I. 
 Gen. Assem., p. 28), covering their land titles and the en- 
 croachment of their white neighbors upon their lands. Severe 
 punishments were suggested by Mr. Potter, but never put into 
 execution. 
 
lo HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 
 
 In 1842, at the close of the poHtical troubles resulting in the 
 formation of the present constitution of Rhode Island, Mr. 
 Potter published his fourth work. He called it "Considera- 
 tions on the Questions of the Adoption of a Constitution and 
 Extension of Suffrage in Rhode Island." The author says in 
 his preface that altogether military force was no longer to be 
 feared, yet civil agitation will doubtless long continue. The 
 present constitution had not been adopted. He pretends to no 
 originality of thought in the presentation of his subject, but 
 frankly states that he has gathered from many authors what- 
 ever appeared to him to be common sense, and when it was 
 stated in strong and forcible language, incorporated it into his 
 argument, of course giving credit for the_ same, preferring 
 rather to lose the reputation for originality for himself and 
 gain in weight of authority for the opinions which he advo- 
 cated. The pamphlet is of the greatest value. It is essentially 
 historical, and like all its predecessors, a book of original re- 
 search. It is a complete and perfect epitome of the political 
 history of the Colony and State of Rhode Island from the 
 earliest times. It was printed in Boston in 1842. The edition 
 soon became exhausted, but the continuous demand upon its 
 author for copies from all parts of the country induced him in 
 1879 to reprint it without change, but in a note 'he frankly 
 says that having been printed so long ago it requires some little 
 knowledge of Rhode Island history to understand its allusions 
 and references and therefore recommends the politicians of the 
 present day to take a slight preparatory course in that study 
 before undertaking it. It was while Mr. Potter was a member 
 of the national House of Representatives, in 1844, that the 
 
HISTORICAL RESEARCH. ii 
 
 Democratic members of the Rhode Island General Assembly 
 sent to the House a memorial asking the House to inquire 
 into the conduct of the President of the United States in rela- 
 tion to the late troubles in Rhode Island. A select committee 
 was appointed, to whom the memorial was referred. Mr. 
 Burke, of this committee, moved for power to send for per- 
 sons and papers. Mr. Cousin, of the same committee, moved 
 that the select committee be discharged from further considera- 
 tion of the subject. Mr. Potter addressed the House, urging 
 his reasons why the first of these motions should not prevail 
 and the subject be not further acted upon. 
 
 His argument was unsuccessful, the committee was contin- 
 ued and two reports came from it. A majority report now 
 known as Mr. Burke's and minority report as Mr. Cousin's, 
 much less in size and much less known than the former. 
 
 Mr. Potter now became deeply interested in the subject of 
 popular education, and for the succeeding ten years he gave 
 his entire time to the gathering and dissemination of ideas 
 relating to the subject. Laws were lacking. Mr. Potter 
 entered at once into the work, and laws were made. There- 
 upon he prepared for popular use Remarks on the Provisions 
 of the School Laws and on the Duties of the different officers 
 and bodies under them. These he followed by a set of forms, 
 or precedents for proceedings in the administration of the 
 system, and still further by a specimen of rules and regula- 
 tions for adoption by the school committees of the several 
 towns. 
 
 The object of all this work was, of course, to explain to 
 the people the laws which had been made, and to prepare their 
 
12 HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 
 
 minds to receive and execute them. The use of the forms was 
 to assist the people in the execution of the laws, while the 
 regulations proposed were to assist school committees in the 
 prosecution of their duties. Very much of this work still re- 
 mains in active use throughout the State. 
 
 His services in this preliminary work, and the wisdom he 
 exercised in the preparation and adaptation of a new system, 
 so that it would enter upon its work not only with the least 
 possible friction, but with positive satisfaction, a system so 
 intimately connected with the social life of every individual 
 must be conceded by all to be the consummate art of the states- 
 man. With all these good works I must claim for my friend 
 the most intimate personal connection. 
 
 Mr. Potter continued these labors in the cause of popular 
 education by the careful selection of books for village libraries, 
 leading the way by the establishing of such an institution in 
 his native town at his own personal cost and free to everybody. 
 He printed catalogues for gratuitous distribution among the 
 people, teaching them how to select good books, and these he 
 followed by little tracts which he called "Hints on Reading." 
 So modest was he in his work that none of these things bear 
 his name, and few knew him to be connected with their issue. 
 For the purpose of interesting his ,townspeople in the studies 
 which he loved so much, he prepared and delivered before a 
 lyceum there an essay, which he called "A Brief History of 
 the English Language, and of the Principal Changes it has 
 Undergone." This essay commanded the admiration of the 
 best educators of the time. It was reprinted at length in the 
 Massachusetts Common School Journal, thereby reaching an 
 
HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 13 
 
 audience much larger than that for which Mr. Potter intended 
 it. 
 
 In 1849 ^^- Potter became Commissioner of Public Schools, 
 following Mr. Barnard, who retired from ill-health. This 
 office Mr. Potter held until October, 1854, his last report being 
 made to the General Assembly at that session. The subjects 
 discussed by Mr. Potter in these annual reports well illustrate 
 the labors which he performed and the intelligence which he 
 brought to bear upon them. The following are some of these 
 subjects: The Object of Education, The Studies, The Means 
 of Improving the Public Schools, Lyceum Lectures, Grades 
 and Qualifications of Teachers, The Arrangement of Districts, 
 The Education of Children in' Factories, Moral Education, 
 The Relation of Education to the Prevention of Crime, The 
 Establishment of a Normal School for the Education of Teach- 
 ers, The Proper Place of Colleges in the Educational System, 
 Objections to Education Considered, The Fundamental Prin- 
 ciples of a Public Educational System, Of Prayer and Relig- 
 ious Exercises in Public Schools, and the Connection of these 
 Schools with Religion, The Use of the Bible in the Public 
 Schools, and many kindred matters. 
 
 On the subject of Religious Instruction in the Public 
 Schools he published a report of upwards of two hundred 
 pages, embodying his own views, sustained by the opinions of 
 the best classes of English writers upon the subject. His re- 
 search in this case was very great, and his report is a complete 
 encyclopaedia upon the subject. He sums up the case by say- 
 ing there are two principal versions of the Bible. One the 
 Douay used by Roman Catholics, and the other the King 
 
14 HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 
 
 James used by Protestants. The Roman Catholic objects to 
 having his children obliged to read from the King James ver- 
 sion. Thereupon Mr. Potter asks the Protestant, were he to 
 move into a neighborhood where the Roman Catholic influence 
 prevails in the schools, would he like that his children were 
 obliged to read the Douay Bible? and then he refers them both 
 to the golden rule : "Do unto others as ye would that others 
 should do unto you." 
 
 In February, 1851, Mr. Potter delivered an historical address 
 before this society. It was subsequently published. It pre- 
 sented some considerations respecting the history of education 
 in this State, with refernce to the causes which prevented, dur- 
 ing the earlier years of the settlement, the establish- 
 ment of a system of public instruction. It sets forth in a 
 clear light the persecutions of the first settlers by surrounding 
 colonies, the causes which led them here and in a general way 
 the results which followed the bringing together of incongru- 
 ous elements. The address having long been out of print, 
 a second edition was published in 1875. It was unchanged, 
 save by the addition of a single historical note concerning 
 slaves and slavery in Massachusetts and the other New Eng- 
 land States. 
 
 In January, 1852, Mr. Potter began the publication of a 
 monthly educational magazine. It was sustained mainly by 
 his own contributions, and such selections from contemporary 
 English and American writers as he saw fit to include. Mr. 
 Potter continued this publication until and including August, 
 1853, when it expired. The searcher among the leaves of this 
 unpretending little magazine will find them enriched with 
 
HISTORICAL RESEARCH. I5 
 
 some of the choicest bits of English literature which the lan- 
 guage affords. Educational topics are discussed with that 
 brevity and plain common sense which characterizes all the 
 work of this laborious scholar. 
 
 The work done by Mr. Potter upon the map of Rhode Island 
 made by H. F. Walling in 1854 and republished in 1855 is one 
 of the most valuable historical works ever done by him. On 
 these maps are indicated the localities of all known purchases 
 of land from the Indians, and the Indian names are affixed to 
 all localities which Mr. Potter could discover ; it is indeed a 
 mine of Indian nomenclature. 
 
 The Rhode Island Normal School was opened at Providence 
 in May, 1854. The delivery of an address at the opening 
 devolved upon Mr. Potter in his capacity of Commissioner of 
 Public Schools. He presents in a clear and concise way the 
 purpose for which the school was established, warns both 
 teachers and pupils of the dangers which he thinks beset the 
 enterprise, and urges all to work together for the common 
 good. He entered heartily into the work, notwithstanding 
 he had been in favor of another plan. He thought that Brown 
 University, being possessed of the necessary appliances, could 
 more cheaply and better prepare and supply the common 
 schools with teachers than a new institution standing alone 
 by itself could do. 
 
 In August, 1861, Mr. Potter being a Senator from South 
 Kingsto^vn, offered in the Senate the following resolution: 
 "Resolved, That in the present crisis of our public affairs 
 there ought to be a full and sincere union of all parties in 
 support "of the constitutionally elected government of the 
 
i6 HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 
 
 United States, and that this General Assembly pledges to the 
 President of the United States the best exertions of the gov- 
 ernment and people of Rhode Island and its entire resources 
 for the preservation of the Union." This resolution Mr. Pot- 
 ter supported in a speedi, which was subsequently printed. 
 The speech was delivered just after the first battle at Bull 
 Run. In it is this paragraph : "And to such a war, an anti- 
 slavery war, it seems to me we are inevitably drifting. It 
 seems to me hardly in the power of human wisdom to prevent 
 it. * '^ Compromise is for the present out of the question. 
 Since the last battle the South will not, and the North cannot 
 with self-respect offer tenns of peaceable re-union." This was 
 two years in advance of the Emancipation Proclamation. 
 
 In August, 1862, Mr. Potter, still a member of the Rhode 
 Island Senate, prepared a report upon the "Right of a Legis- 
 lature to Grant a Perpetual Exemption from Taxation." The 
 question was as to the repeal of that portion of the charter of 
 Brown University which exempted the property of the Presi- 
 dent and professors from taxation. A repealing act was pro- 
 posed, and many cases cited in support of the position that 
 the General Assembly did not possess the power to grant such 
 exemption. But the corporation consenting, an act limiting 
 the amount of such exemptions to ten thousand dollars was 
 passed, so that the principle contended for in the report was 
 not acted upon by the Legislature. 
 
 In March, 1863, Mr. Potter offered, in the Rhode Island 
 Senate, the following: "Resolved, That in the opinion of this 
 General Assembly it is desirable to effect a settlement of our 
 present national difficulties upon the basis of a restoration of 
 
HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 17 
 
 the constitutional rights of all the States, as soon as it can 
 honorably be done." This resolution Mr. Potter supported 
 in a speech of great vigor and characteristic research, but the 
 resolution failed of a passage, and on the same day the As- 
 sembly adjourned. 
 
 One of the most laborious efforts in Mr. Potter's life was 
 his deposition in the copyright case Lawrence vs. Dana. This 
 labor was nothing less than the careful examination, page 
 by page, even line by line, of two books, one of them nearly 
 1200 pages and the other nearly as many. About a hundred 
 thousand printed lines were examined with a minuteness and 
 carefulness unequalled in such cases hitherto. This was ac- 
 complished in 1867. As a printed document it covers above 
 a hundred and fifty closely printed pages, and is indeed a liter- 
 ary curiosity. 
 
 The last published work of Mr. Potter was a Memoir con- 
 cerning the French settlements in the colony of Rhode Island. 
 Tlie outrages perpetrated upon this little colony were men- 
 tioned in his historical address in 1851. In this memoir they 
 are vividly set forth in detail. The genealogies of several 
 Rhode Island families appear in this tract. Genealogy was a 
 study to which Mr. Potter had given much attention. 
 
 In this sketch I make no mention of the judicial opinions 
 of Judge Potter, which may be found in their proper places 
 in the Rhode Island Reports; nor of the great research and 
 labor, the work of his hand and mind in the "History of the 
 Narragansett Church," tracings of which appear on almost 
 every page. 
 
i8 HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 
 
 These comprise all the printed works of JMr. Potter so 
 far as my present knowledge extends. Allusion has been 
 made in a recent biographical notice to a report on abolition 
 petitions, but no copy of it has fallen under my notice. 
 
 Great as was the labor and research required in these va- 
 rious works, they are as nothing wben compared to the work 
 done by Mr. Potter in the books in his library at Little Rest. 
 Here every book shov^^s tracing of his examination. Let us 
 take ever so secluded a walk in his library, we shall find the 
 fingermarks of this indefatigable scholar. 
 
 Possessed of a knowledge of surveying, scarcely a farm in 
 the Narragansett country is there which he had not meas- 
 ured, and its metes and bounds examined. He knew the his- 
 tory of every land title from the advent of Richard Smith to 
 the day when he died. Possessed of a knowledge of botany, 
 not a fiower was born, and grew, and died that he had not 
 learned its pedigree. Possessed of a knowledge of forestry, 
 not a tree nor a shrub grew in the south counties oi which he 
 knew not its story. Virgil was his favorite Latin author, but 
 his library is filled with the classics in many editions, both 
 ancient and modern. He could read Dante and Tasso in 
 their mother tongue, and with French he was as familiar as 
 with English. Passionately fond of the terse and sententious 
 sayings of men, he had a large book case filled with what we 
 now term Ana, every book of which shows his handiwork. 
 In some former time of his life he had given much time to 
 the history of religion, and no man among us possessed a 
 greater knowledge. In a knowledge of matters concerning the 
 laws and history of Rhode Island, few men were his equals, 
 and none his superior. 
 
HISTORICAL RESEARCH. 19 
 
 Mr. Potter was an immense collector of books, but he was 
 more than that ; he was an immense reader of books, and which 
 were read for the purpose of acquiring knowledge. A fact 
 which he had once read never after escaped from his tenacious 
 memory, but years afterwards he could at once recall it for 
 immediate use. 
 
 Unnumbered times have I had occasion to test his memory 
 in this way, and I can remember no occasion when he kept 
 me waiting an answer. His knowledge was ever present, and 
 ever free to every seeker who sought for it in the right spirit 
 and had good cause for his inquiries. 
 
 Thus then stands forth the character of my friend. 
 He was the friend of the poor. He was among the earliest 
 and strongest friends of education free to all people. He was 
 the careful and laborious student of the State for the good of 
 the State. He was the staunch supporter of the State and of 
 the general Government in their times of extremest peril. 
 He was the first among us to establish at his private cost free 
 public libraries— a project which the State now fosters and 
 men emulate. If these things are virtues, then, indeed, was 
 my friend virtuous. 
 
Jj^BRARY OF CONGRESS 
 014 075 549 7^