By Rev. GEORGE MOULTON ADAMS, D.D., of Auburndale, Mass.

EZRA HOYT BYINGTON was born in Hinesburg, Vermont, September 3, 1828. He was the son of Stephen and Sarah (Hoyt) Byington. Stephen Byington was a farmer in moderate circumstances, a man of decided literary tastes, and for a time associatejudge of the county court. He was accustomed to spend an hour each day in the study of the Bible. He was a member of a Shakespeare Club, and of the Hinesburg Literary Society, which maintained for years weekly vigorous discussions of important questions, and presented to full audiences original papers. In all this literary work Judge Byington bore his full share. He was conservative in his tendencies, a true son of the Puritans, hiding a deep tenderness of affection under sternness of outward bearing. He had a rich vein of humor, which, however, he kept well in restraint. Sarah Hoyt Byington had enjoyed more than ordinary advantages of education. She was a woman of gentle, sensitive nature, in some respects the complement of her husband, by her earnest and attractive Christian character moulding the lives of her children. Stephen Byington was the son of Jared Byington, who, in 1807, removed from Waterbury, Connecticut, to Hinesburg. Jared was a skilful mechanic. He received a patent for using steel in making pitchforks, which previously had been clumsy iron affairs. He also invented the first machine for cutting nails. He was a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Jared's father was David Byington. The earlier ancestry has not been traced.

Ezra Hoyt. Byington, through his earlier years, labored on the farm in the busy season, and attended school in the autumn and winter. He was the oldest son in the family, "a fact which he never lost sight of, or allowed his brothers and sister to forget. He was always a leader among his companions. After the beginning of his Christian life, at the age of twelve, he used to gather the

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younger children of the family and of the neighborhood in a little prayer meeting. When the young people formed a juvenile literary society he was always the president. He was fitted for college at Hinesburg Academy, where he also completed the studies of the first year and a half of the college course, entering the sophomore class of the University of Vermont in March, 1850. His father was in full sympathy with his desire for a liberal education, and rendered him such assistance as was in his power; but, for the most part, the young man had to rely upon his own exertions. He was resolute and ambitious; and though the pecuniary struggle was a difficult one, he would entertain no thought of giving way. A college classmate* says of him: "He was a close student, seeking clear sight of the truth, and an understanding of the underlying principles of the subject in hand. He had great regard for the masters in thought, but he was never satisfied till he knew for himself the truth."

Another college friendt says: "I remember him as seeming to hold himself a little in reserve, as mixing a little less freely than the majority in the sports and fellowships of college life. He stood always well on his own ground, and required a good deal of proof and persuasion before surrendering his personal views and plans. His cast of mind was serious and practical, and is fairly reflected in the course of reading upon which he entered. The first volume. drawn by him from the college library was the Koran; the second, Abbé Marigny's History of the Arabians. Both tend to showwhat was the fact that he had been reared in a household of exceptional intelligence and thoughtfulness. His outlook was wider and his interests more serious than those of the average student."

After his graduation from the University, in 1852, he was for nearly three years Principal of the Academy in Underhill, Vermont. This was the home of his classmate, Kingsbury, who says: "He gave his whole heart to this work. He lectured on education in all the towns in the region. Pupils came from a distance, attracted by the rising fame of the institution. The roll of his scholars includes a large number of men and women who have become leaders in the professions and in business and in society,-who will always be prompt to acknowledge their indebtedness to the teacher who gave them the first ideal of what life should be. As a teacher he was thorough, sympathetic, original in method, quick in illustration and suggestion, and full of inspiration. He laid the foundations of character solidly, he held before the pupil the highest aims, and mingled with all, the truth of the Bible, and led to the strong purpose of loyalty to truth and goodness and of obedience to God."

Soon after the commencement of his work at Underhill, he came to the final decision to devote himself to the work of the Christian

Rev. John D. Kingsbury, D.D.

Prof. John E. Goodrich, D.D.