you the revolution of the present year, the events of this day cannot fail to render it singularly memorable; for the tie which hath so long united us in daily intercourse is now to be dissolved, and the mutual obligations of duty resulting from the relative situations of tutor and pupil are now to be cancelled. Hence, on my part, a sincere solicitude for your future welfare, a due respect for your parents and guardians, and a just regard for the interests of this Institution, which has, for so many years, experienced the most liberal patronage and approbation, induce me to solicit your attention to a brief valedictory address, in which I shall endeavour to indicate the objects worthy of your future regard and pursuit, and to suggest such precepts as are essentially necessary to form the Scholar, the Gentleman, and the Christian. To this combined excellence of character, I trust the laudable ambition you have hitherto evinced, will ever impel you zealously to aspire. As Scholars, you will render yourselves useful and ornamental to society as Gentlemen, by the urbanity of your deportment you will conciliate the affections, and command the respect of all with whom you associate—and as Christians, you will not only be enabled to withstand the innumerable temptations with which you will be assailed, but, to support with dignity and true fortitude the privations and disappointments you may be called upon to experience here-and to secure for yourselves "A good provision against the time to come," viz. eternal happiness in Heaven hereafter, where the painful and pleasing vicissitudes of mortality shall be absorbed and forgotten in the full fruition of celestial and eternal bliss. By the adoption and cultivation of these characters, therefore, you will promote and establish your best and most unequivocal interests both in this world and in the next, that retributive and “untried state of being" to which we are all rapidly advancing, and in which our condition will be inconceivably happy or miserable, "according to the deeds done in the body." With respect to the first of these characters, the Scholar-though the different professions and avocations of mankind require a considerable degree of information peculiar to each, yet there are certain general principles of science, and branches of knowledge, which pertain indiscriminately to all who would desire to be distinguished under that denomination. The marked variety of character among men, the unequal possession of intellectual powers, the diversity of human genius, and the versatility of human taste, necessarily direct the attention to various professions and pursuits, each of which has its peculiar dogmas to be studied or principles to be investigated, before either usefulness can be effected, or celebrity obtained. Any observations upon these peculiarities would be foreign to my present intention: they will of course be presented to you when your choice of a profession is determined. My object is to suggest to you those general principles of knowledge which every Scholar, every Gentleman, and every Christian should acquire, in addition to those professional or technical attainments which are necessary to qualify him for the exercise of his favourite occupation, by which he is to be distinguished in society. And this I shall endeavour to do as briefly as possible, the indulgent attention of this respectable audience having, I fear, been already trespassed upon by the length and variety of the preceding exercises. The foundation of that character which is to elevate a man above the drudgery of the mechanic arts, and to render him a polished as well as useful member of society, is formed in an elementary school, and completed in a college or university. He is there taught the principles of classical literature, and general science, which are to be afterwards expanded, and applied by his own industry and taste, to those various objects of intellectual pursuit, the cultivation of which will refine and dignify his mind; improve, adorn, and invigorate his understanding; give acuteness, activity, and precision to his judgment; and enlarge and strengthen the capacity and retentive powers of his memory, to such a degree, as will render him "a burning and a shining light" the torch of knowledge not only illuminating the devious and often dreary paths of " the world's wilderness;" for the pilgrim who is blessed with the possession of it, but attracting by its splendor, and animating by its genial influence, all who are fortunate enough to come within the sphere of its radiance, and are thereby rendered either his casual or constant companions in the journey of human life. While at school, under the discipline and direction of teachers, he is instructed (particularly in this Institution) in Grammar, the cornerstone of every literary superstructure, in Composition, Elocution, Natural History, Geography, Logic, Arithmetic, and the arts of Reading, Writing, and Public Speaking-due attention being also paid to the improvement of Morals, and a general knowledge of the Christian Religion. If he wish to become acquainted with the higher gradations of science, he enters a college or university, where he is taught the Greek and Latin languages, the various branches of the Mathematics, Natural and Moral Philosophy, Metaphysics, and those other general principles of classical literature which are necessary to qualify him for receiving the honours of the seminary. Thus informed, he makes choice of a profession; and, after the usual course of study, steps forward upon the stage of active life, to exercise its duties for the mutual benefit of himself and his fellow men. But during the course of these preparatory exercises, as well as after his introduction into society, the energies of his mind must be directed to many subjects of Belles Lettres and scientific research, of the wide-extended range of which he must have a general, and of many of them an intimate acquaintance, before he can be entitled to the truly honourable appellation of an accomplished scholar. The most prominent and necessary of these, I shall now, therefore, as briefly as possible, point out to you. The first subject then which should engage your attention as a relaxation from the severer pursuits of professional studies, is History, both ancient and modern, in its several departments of Ecclesiastical, Civil, and Natural, together with Voyages, Biography, and Travels. Here the acquisition of knowledge will be rendered easy and delightful, by the high degree of entertainment which such interesting and authentic narratives must afford, while a delineation of the variòus vicissitudes of human affairs, and the various operations of passion and intellect in the mind of man by recording the errors of Ignorance, the miseries of Vice, and the Follies of Indiscretion, must serve as beacons to caution you against danger, at the same time that they operate as incentives to virtuous industry, by animating examples of the benefits resulting from the exercise of fortitude, perseverance, and piety. Let the versatile powers of the human imagination occasionally range at large in the diversified and magic fields of Fancy, and evoke the enthusiasm of Genius, and the animating glow of Sensibility through the fascinating and flowery paths of Poetry, at the same time cultivate an acquaintance with the other liberal arts of Music, Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, a sufficient knowledge of the principles of which may easily be obtained, to enable you to judge of the real merit of productions in each, without entering upon those minute criticisms which could only be expected from a profest artist. Nor let the important sciences of Botany and Chymistry be neglected, for by the former you will be enabled to distinguish between the various plants and flowers which the benevolent Author of nature has designed either for medicinal, culinary, or ornamental purposes from the invigorating or poisonous vegetable which flourishes unnoticed and unknown in the bosom of the forest, to the fragrant woodbine which blooms in the garden's alcove, or the variegated and gaudy tulip, which decorates its gay parterre. By the latter, viz. Chymistry, the instructive volume of nature is elucidated and enlarged, by analyzing com pound substances, ascertaining their various properties, and by the ope ration of heat and combination producing many wonderful and useful résults. The structure of the human body, its wonderful organization, the arrangement and harmony of its various parts, together with some of the general principles of Anatomy, demand an carly and serious attention. What subject of art or science can be more interesting than the nature and mechanism of our own bodies? by even a partial acquaintance with which, we may be taught to avoid much pain, and guard against and alleviate many diseases. In addition to these subjects of scientific research the general scholar will obtain some information with respect to the principles of Commerce, and the relative connexion of one country with another, as it regards an interchange of productions and commodities. As Geography will inform him of their topographical situation, History will acquaint him with their customs, manners, government, and laws; and the principles of Commerce with the nature of their exports and manufactures. And to obtain this kind of knowledge in an ample and satisfactory degree, he will find it necessary to make himself acquainted with some of those living languages which the commercial intercourse of his country may call into action, particularly those generally used in the commercial world, the French, Italian, Spanish, and German. And to the scholar who hath been well instructed in the grammatical institutes of his native tongue, those of other languages will be easily ac÷ quired, the radical principles of all languages supporting a close analogy with each other, notwithstanding some idiomatic peculiarities which may distinguish them. You, therefore, gentlemen, who have so long, and so successfully studied the best and most copious grammar of your own language, will find no difficulty in obtaining the instruction which is to be conveyed by those of others. Language is the expression of thought, and Style the peculiar manner in which thought is communicated. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that you should endeavour to convey your ideas in the most polished and expressive form. This the scholar will always studiously observe when subjected to the formality of written language, though frequently regardless of both in common conversation;-a degree of negligence highly censurable; nothing having a more powerful tendency to engage attention and conciliate respect, than a well selected choice of words in the familiar communication of sentiment. Be, then, particularly assiduous to cultivate the colloquial powers, or the Art of Social Converse, by which correct and vigorous thoughts are adorned with the captivating charms of nervous and splendid diction. To recommend the acquisition of this important accomplishment, it will surely be sufficient to observe that the refined imagination of a Chesterfield, and the profound erudition of a Johnson were habitually tasked to convey their thoughts in the most polished and expressive terms: hence the one fascinated and enchained, and the other arrested and compelled the attention of every hearer. I trust, therefore, that you will, on all occasions, so carefully select and arrange your expressions that it may be said of each of you, he communicates his sentiments ing. -"in such apt and gracious words, "That aged ears play truant at his tales "So sweet and voluble is his discourse." The same ease, gracefulness, and energy, should be supported in your Epistolary intercourse; that being conversation reduced to writyour most attentive investigation. Those principles of government The science of Legislation is a subject which merits and demands which, according to the situation and local circumstances of a country, happiness of its inhabitants should certainly be well understood by all are essentially necessary to preserve the association and promote the who think or converse about the interests of civil polity. Though there are certain abstract principles, the operation of which, under any state of society, are indispensable to its welfare, yet there are others, the propriety of whose application depends upon the national character, the designation of ranks, the accumulation of wealth, and the dissemination of knowledge among the people. That form of government which would be sufficiently energetic for the firm, moderate, and enlightened Englishman or American, or even for the phlegmatic German, would certainly not possess sufficient activity for the turbulent Turk, the suspicious Spaniard, the licentious Italian, or the gay and volatile native of France. And as the experience of ages has incontestibly proved that no one of the simple forms of government can afford all those privileges and benefits, which would result from a well organized combination of the advantages, and a rejection of the imperfections, peculiar to each, the great point of political wisdom lies in properly arranging those restraints, and in enacting laws accommodated to the character and condition of the people governed. Another and very interesting subject of attention for him who would be an accomplished scholar, is, the cultivation of a correct and graceful Elocution in public addresses. The elementary principles of this branch you have carefully studied in this seminary, with what success, the exemplifications you have just exhibited will most effectually testify. You have only, therefore, to apply those principles, and to expand their influence by the frequent exercise of reading aloud, and of recitation either in private or before others, to make yourselves masters of an accomplishment which must always render you agreeable compa |