taste. In Europe this residence would be called a palace, here it is
simply the home of a representative American citizen. Peculiarly happy
in his domestic relations his home is beautified and ennobled by the
virtues of domestic life. A generous hospitality is dispensed within its
portals, where on every hand are found the evidences of the cultured
refinement of its occupants. A tour of a few months in the Old World not
only gave Mr. Ames needed rest and relaxation from business cares, but
also furnished him with opportunities for observation which were most
judiciously improved. In his religious belief he is a Unitarian, and has
for many years been an active member of the Unitarian Society of North
Easton.

In his native town he is unusually respected and beloved, and with the
working-men in his factories he enjoys an unbounded popularity. This is
but natural, since he is himself a skilled artisan, an inventive and
ingenious mechanic, familiar through a personal experience with every
detail of the work in which they are engaged. This, coupled with his
native kindness of heart, and his unpretentious manners, makes him the
model employer.

The custodian of great wealth, he uses it in a spirit of wise
benevolence, and his public and private benefactions, while large, are
made without ostentation or affectation. Affable, approachable,
companionable, devoted and faithful in his personal friendships, it is
little wonder that some of them now and then impulsively speak of him as
"the best man in the world."

In the full vigor of a robust manhood, Mr. Ames attends to his vast
private business affairs, performs faithfully his official and public
duties, finds time for his favorite authors, and keeps fully abreast