VOL. XIII.
No. 12.
BOSTON.
DECEMBER, 1901.
THE FIRST EDITOR OF "THE GREEN BAG." BY CHARLES C. SOULE. WHEN Mr. Fuller gave up the editorial charge of this magazine, a year ago, he appeared to be in such excellent health— he had settled into such a serene routine of domestic life, unruffled by business cares or financial anxieties, with a circle of congenial comrades to keep him bright, and a fondness for outdoor exercise to keep him invigorated —that his friends expected him to outlive them all. It was with a painful shock, there fore, that the news reached them of his sudden death. While the grief of his passing away belongs especially to his intimate friends, it will be felt also by the readers of THE GREEN BAG, who shared for twelve years the literary feast which he set forth every month for their entertainment. Horace Williams Fuller was born in 1844, at Augusta, Maine. His father was Benja min Apthorp Gould Fuller, by profession a lawyer, who was for several years on the bench, and his grandfather was also a law yer. His mother's maiden name was Har riet Seiden Williams. After getting an education at the Augusta High School and Phillips Academy, Exeter, he came to Boston in 1861, and for several years devoted himself to business, beginning as a clerk in the office of Page, Richardson & Company. Later the legal instincts of the family pre vailed (the present Chief Justice of the United States was his cousin), and after reading law in the office of Henry W. Paine, and taking a course of instruction at the Boston University Law School, he was ad mitted to the Suffolk bar in 1876. He never
appeared much in the courts, his business (so long as he continued to follow it) being mainly office practice and trusts. In 1877 he married Emily Gorham Carter, of Roxbury, and shortly afterwards made his home in Brookline—a suburb of Boston—where he has since resided. Although Mr. Fuller never took a univer sity course, he was such a constant student throughout his life that he attained a culture so broad and thorough that many readers of this article will be surprised to learn that he did not hold a college degree. He had an especial fondness for French literature, writing in his leisure hours, and contributing anonymously to magazines and the press, spirited translations from that language. His only acknowledged work in this line was a small volume entitled "Noted French Trials, Impostors and Adventurers," published in 1882. When THE GREEN BAG was projected, its publishers, knowing Mr. Fuller's literary aptitudes, offered him the position of editor. This offer, fortunately for the undertaking, was accepted. He threw himself into his new duties with characteristic vigor, and for many years was not only editor, but also, to a great extent, business manager. Al though he relinquished the latter part of his duties after the first few years he kept up the literary portion with unflagging devotion. To the excellence of his work the twelve bound volumes of THE GREEN BAG, from 1889 to 1901 inclusive, will stand as a per manent monument. To sustain the tone of
