Conspicuous among those former residents of Cleveland who have passed away and left only a pleasant memory behind them, is John Long Severance, who died about ten years ago, mourned by a wide circle of friends, whom his many lovable qualities had brought around him.

Mr. Severance was born in 1822, his father being Dr. Robert Severance, of Shelburne, Massachusetts. His parents dying within a few months of each other, when he was but nine years old, young Severance was adopted by the late Dr. Long, of Cleveland, who gave him every advantage in the way of education that could be procured in the city. A college course was intended but his delicate health forbade this, and in his sixteenth year he was taken into the old Commercial Bank of Lake Erie, and then into the reorganized institution, remaining there twenty years.

His health, never good, broke down entirely under the fatiguing duties of the bank, and he was compelled to resign his connection with that institution and seek a restoration of his wasted vigor by a voyage to Europe. At Southampton, England, he died on the 30th August, 1859, at the age of thirty-seven, surrounded by every attention which kind friends and sympathizing strangers could bestow upon him.

Mr. Severance was a man of many rare and sterling attractions. His social qualities, passion for music, and love for little children, as well as sincere attachment to a large circle of friends, caused general mourning for his death. He was one of the founders of the Second Presbyterian church, and by the members of that body his loss was keenly felt. He had always felt a deep interest in the prosperity of the church, contributing largely through his rare ability as a musician, both in the choir and in the Sunday schools, to the welfare of the congregation, until he was obliged to abandon those services on account of advancing disease. With rare energy and many reasons for desiring to live, he was slow to believe that he must fall in early manhood before the destroyer. And while he was not afraid to die, and expressed a firm confidence in God in whatever event, he felt it to be his duty to struggle for a longer life, and no doubt prolonged his days in this manner. He was consistent, uniform, earnest, stable, both in faith and practice; always punctual in the discharge of his business and Christian duties, his attendance in the church, and his labors in the mission and Sunday schools. His last letter before death, written to an intimate personal and business friend, said: "I feel quite sure the disease is making rapid progress, but this gives me no uneasiness or alarm, nor have I experienced any feeling but that I am hastening home. The prospect would be dark indeed with no hope in Christ, no deep and abiding trust in God's pardoning love. This trust in him has sustained me through every trial, and this hope in Christ and his all-atoning blood grows brighter every day, taking away the fear of death, and lighting up the pathway through the dark valley, through which so many of my loved ones have already passed."

[Illustration: D. Sanford]