"Of his scholarship, others can speak more fitly than I. All remarked that he was pervaded by that which is beautiful in the wonderful language and literature he taught, as ever a vase by the perfume of its flowers.
"But it is his character on which I love to dwell. Ever after I had become well acquainted with him, he was a delightful illustration to me of the power of love to foster diverse and even opposite elements of character. He had feminine traits, and yet he was thoroughly manly; the gentleness and tenderness of a true woman were his, and so were the dignity and courage of a true man. He could speak, and was wont to speak, and preferred to speak words of kindness the most winning; but he could administer a rebuke longer to be remembered than most men's; though more, perhaps, because it came from him than for any other reason. The union in him of fastidious taste and of uncritical temper was very marked. No man was more sensitive than he to all the proprieties of the occasion; and one might at first fear lest himself should say or do what would jar upon that delicately attuned spirit, for whatever he said or did was perfect in its manner. And yet no one—no one—would listen with more simple enjoyment to the plainest, crudest utterances of others. He had not one word of criticism to offer. He seemed to see—I am confident he did see—only what was good and attractive in them. But one thing could offend him, that which indicated a want of sympathy.
"More than any man I ever knew, he saw the good in every person, and the bright in everything. It was wonderful, it was delightful, it rebuked one, and it quickened one, to note the manifestations of this temper. Nothing, seemingly, could occur that did not present some occasion for gratitude. After the fearful disaster which hurried his life to its close, his message home was—how characteristic of him all who knew him will at once recognize,—'Tell them to thank God for our deliverance!'
"I must not say much more. His friends need no reminders of his innocent, sunny playfulness, or his abounding, sparkling—but never trenchant—wit. As one of them has said of another, 'What bright, graceful conceits often fell from his lips, his soft, dark eye smiling at his own unexpected thought!' And yet, such was his gracious nature that he was the delight of the house of prayer as much as of the friendly circle, the one who would be chosen alike to share our hours of gayety, and to extend to us the sacramental cup. In fine, his qualities were refined, blended, and crowned by love—love which often suggested to others the name of St. John.
"No notice of him would be adequate that did not at least refer to his wife,—fitting companion to such a man. A daughter of Prof. William and Mrs. Sarah Chamberlain, she inherited both the attractive and the sterling traits of her parents. 'Lovely and pleasant in their lives, in their death they were not divided.'"
Esthetic and solid culture have very rarely had a more nearly perfect union in any American scholar than in Professor Putnam. Whether in the privacy of his home, in the recitation room, or before a large audience, his words were always chosen with a marked regard for fitness and beauty. His knowledge of the minutest points of every theme which he discussed was so exhaustive and complete that any attempt to improve would have been almost like carrying light to the sun.
The graces of his heart corresponded with those of his person and mind. His earnest piety was marked and felt by all who came within the sphere of his influence. Few Christian teachers have passed away, at the age of forty, more highly esteemed than Professor Putnam. He died on the return voyage from Europe, near Halifax, October 22, 1863.
In 1851, the chair of Mathematics was rendered vacant by the death of Professor Chase, and he was succeeded by John Smith Woodman, a member of the Rockingham County Bar. He was the son of Nathan and Abigail H. (Chesley) Woodman, and was born at Durham, N. H., September 6, 1819.
Extended experience as a teacher in the South, and foreign travel, had given valuable expansion to Professor Woodman's naturally capacious mind. He was a careful, patient, laborious teacher of the Mathematics. He did not exact excellence from every student, for he fully realized that a lack of native fondness for the studies of this department rendered it impossible for some to appear in the recitation-room, with as full preparation as others. But he strove to have each do the best in his power, and his kindness induced many to put forth earnest effort, who would have been less inclined to do so under a different teacher.