in Saginaw and in the little town of Peterboro, New York, are monuments of stone and iron erected by him in memory of the comrades with whom he served during the civil war.

The first interruption of the governor's activities came near the close of his first term and when he was residing in Lansing. Lagrippe struck him a deadly blow and for days his life fairly trembled in the balance, but his sturdy constitution apparently won for him then as it had on other occasions as far as could be seen. The ensuing campaign and the challenge to political combat roused the old fighter as nothing else could have done and he went from a sick bed to the thickest of one of the hottest contests of his career. He did not falter once and when the Detroit convention had resulted in a decisive victory, he appeared before the convention and pledged his best efforts for the common welfare, little thinking that he was to be a passive spectator during most of the campaign. The weakened heart was not equal to the demands made upon it and held the governor in his home. He was not a well man during the greater portion of his second term, but so firmly did he conceal his condition that only a very few realized the difficulties under which he labored and I verily believe that sometimes he deceived even himself as to his health. He was just as devoted to duty, as considerate and kindly as ever, and not until the last task was completed, did he give way in the stern struggle. After he was once more established in his home in Saginaw and surrounded by the scenes to which he had been accustomed, he appeared to recover his strength and it was there, on the occasion of his 68th birthday anniversary, occurred what was one of the most pleasant experiences of his life, the presentation to him of a silver loving cup by the members of his military staff during his term as governor.* The men who assembled in his home that evening to testify their love and admiration, little dreamed that for him the close of life was so near. The first summons came at Flint, August 31, 1905, when enroute to the national encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic at Denver, he was stricken with apoplexy. A special train carried him back to Saginaw, where his devoted brother, Dr. L. W. Bliss, began his tireless vigil and the unequal contest with the "reaper whose name is Death." At times the governor was well enough to attend to business matters that required special consideration, and at others the failing tide of life sank so low that even the tireless brother-physician abandoned

This loving cup and many souvenirs of his gubernatorial office were given by Mrs. Bliss to the State of Michigan and placed in the Museum of the Historical Society.

hope. An iron will bore up the governor and he was sustained by the determination that had never yet failed. Trips were made to various parts of the country in a vain effort to find relief from the ever present danger, but the end came finally at the Sacred Heart Sanitarium in Milwaukee, Sunday, September 16, 1906.

Then came the day of sorrow. The love and esteem in which Governor .Bliss was held turned the thoughts of the commonwealth to the home in Saginaw, where under the flag he loved so well he lay on a couch sleeping the last dreamless sleep. The soldiery of the state waited at the portal of that home the while ministers of God brought the last consolations of religion to the family that were to give up their loved one. The casket was borne to the stately hall of the Masonic Temple, where it was banked with flowers and wrapped in the folds of Old Glory. Soldiers kept watch o'er the silent form while the people of Saginaw, yes the people of Michigan, by thousainds took one last look upon the countenance of him who more than anything else during life had desired the love of mankind, and had not wearied in well doing. Side by side with the faltering comrades of the civil war were the chief men of the state, governor and commoner; there were widows and little children who had known of the tenderness of him who lay there, and so through the long hours of the day walked the good deeds of the man who was gone and which had risen up to call him blessed.

Words of eulogy from men who had known him many years of his life, glad words of comfort and cheer, song and prayer, the uniforms of Templar and soldier, the tense faces of the multitude that waited in the streets, were but the beginning of the panorama that rolled to the very gates of Forest Lawn cemetery, where opened the doors of the granite walled chamber of sleep. And when he was lain therein, and the smoke of three volleys had floated above him, and taps had spoken to him the solemn words of the soldier's farewell, the last rays of the sinking sun penetrated through the western clouds and rested in benediction above his resting place.

HIRAM R. MILLS, M. D.

BY COL. GEORGE H. TURNER.

On the 29th of November last, while dressing for a "Thanksgiving Dinner" at the Hotel Pantlind, Grand Rapids, Assistant Surgeon Hiram R. Mills was suddenly stricken by heart disease, and in the company of

his wife and friends, died in less than half an hour. He was born in Saline, Washtenaw Co., July 11th, 1837, and enlisted as private in "H" Co., 20th Michigan Infantry, Aug. 7th, 1862, and was detailed for service in the Camp Hospital at Jackson, in which capacity he served until Sept. 19th, 1863, when he was made Hospital Steward of the Regiment. March 29th, 1865, he received a Commission as Assistant Surgeon of the Eighth Michigan Cavalry Regiment. He served as such until honorably mustered out of the service Sept. 22nd, 1865. The Twentieth Regiment. was assigned to service in the Ninth Army Corps, which it joined at Sharpsburg, Md., soon after the battle of Antietam, and Dr. Mills followed its fortunes through all the campaigns of that noted corps, including Fredericksburg, Kentucky, Vicksburg, Jackson, the return to Kentucky and Tennessee, including the battle of Campbell Station, the siege of Knowville, and the fearful winter campaign succeeding, known as the "Valley Forge of the Civil War." Back to the army of the Potomac in May, 1864, participated in the frightful battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Court House, North Anna, Bethseda Church. Cold Harbor, to Petersburg, and its long siege of ten months. Just before Lee's surrender he was promoted to be Assistant Surgeon of the Eighth Michigan Cavalry, which regiment he joined at Pulaski, Tenn., and where he served until mustered out with that regiment. Immediately after the war he was stationed at Mackinac Island as Surgeon of that Post, and several years later removed to Port Huron, engaging in private practice. April 11th, 1903, he was appointed Surgeon of the Soldiers' Home, Grand Rapids, which difficult position he filled with great ability, and to the comfort and welfare of the feeble veterans under his kind supervision.

LIEUTENANT COLONEL GEORGE H. HOPKINS.

A Sketch of His Public Career.

BY JOSEPH GREUSEL.

At the outset it may be well to give you the estimate of the character of Lieutenant Colonel George H. Hopkins by two citizens whose names will attest their worth. They had known him long and intimately. Their judgment was formed from contact with the man under circumstances of war and of peace, and in many phases of public and private life.