and bowing her adieux. The sarcasm is changed to a regret at the bad taste of appropriating unmeaning emblems. LETTER TO THE EDITOR. COMMENCEMENT ANNIVERSARY. GEORGETOWN COLLEGE. THE DINNER, &c. Wednesday morning.-Would that some one who had Charles Lamb's art of putting les petits morales in picturesque lights, would write an essay upon the mo- My dear White :--As the appropriate vehicle of such inforralities of a watering-place! Essays have been written mation, beg to ask you to devote a page or two of the demonstrating that the most common extravagance interesting, intellectual, and social treats it has ever been my Southern Literary Messenger to the record of one of the most consisted in the thoughtless expenditure of hours and good fortune to partake of. I allude to the Annual Commenceshillings. Is there not a similar waste from carelessness ment of the Georgetown College, which took place on the 24th of those lesser moralities, which make up the sum of July, 1839. You and your work were remembered both in the most people's virtues? There are few (certainly few college, and at the festive board, upon that occasion, and in a women,) born to "point a moral or adorn a tale"-few manner, too, which would have given you much pleasure and pride to hear. Charlotte Cordays or Elisabeth Frys; but all, by The literary exercises were, in the main, highly respectable economising small but abundant opportunities of pro-to the students who had parts. Where all was so good, it would ducing, not great good, but agreeable sensations, may add materially to the sum of human happiness. At a watering-place, for example, if a gentleman, instead of casting a doubtful or sarcastic glance at a newly arrived stranger, bestow some trifling courtesy-if it be but a bow or a word of kind greeting, enough to express we are fellow-beings"—especially if the new comer happen to be not fashionable, not comme il faut, and the saluter be so—it will be seen that a sunbeam has fallen across the stranger's path: and who can estimate the value of a sunbeam, a moral sunbeam? be invidious, perhaps, to particularise; yet I must say a few words with regard to the performances of the four graduates, and one or two of the undergraduates, who had exercises, for prizes and premiums. Of those who graduated, young Doyle of New York, and Green of Washington, had the first parts. The valedictory of Doyle was very well written, but delivered very badly, on account of the imperfectness with which it had been committed. Another part, by the same young gentleman, in defence of Natural, as compared with Moral Philosophy, as a science, was far more creditable to him, both in matter and manner, and was, as well as the oration of Green, upon Ancient and Modern Republics, a very good specimen of youthful composition and eloquence. The latter was perhaps too strongly imbued with a sectional political feeling,-a fault, which the obAll the world are purveyors of pleasure for the vious good sense and judgment of the talented young author will fashionable and beautiful; but there are at all watering- most surely correct, whenever he finds it obtruding upon more places, unknown, unattractive and solitary beings, who practical efforts, hereafter. I would here remark, that it seemed are cheered by a slight courtesy expressing the courtesy to be the general impression that Green was entitled, all things of the heart. An invalid may be relieved of weary mo- honor, instead of Doyle. Young Ford took up the defence of considered, and so far as those present could judge, to the first ments by a patient listener to his complaints: this is Moral, against the oration of Doyle in favor of Natural Phiperhaps weakness, but never mind; let the weak losophy, as a science, and produced a very creditable essay, in profit by the strength of the strong, and an easy obe-point of composition. The manner of treating it was somewhat dience will be rendered to the great precept, " Bear ye one another's burdens." An old man may be gratified (at small expense,) by the offer of precedence at table, or a privileged seat on a sofa. I have known ladies, long disused to such courtesies, brightened for half an hour by a courteous picking up of a dropped pocket-handkerchief. There are small sins of commission, as well as of omission, thoughtlessly enacted. For instance, a wretched dyspeptic complained to me this morning that he lost his two hours' sleep (all the fiend allows him,) by reason of one of his neighbors taking a fancy to walk the gallery half the night in creaking boots. And at this moment half a dozen lawless children are shouting and screaming in the gallery adjoining the room of an invalid who is vainly trying to sleep. Are not these violations of the laws of humanity? and should creaking boots be worn by any but the confessed enemies of their race? and is it not enough to make a misanthrope of a Burchell, to have the music of children's footsteps converted into such an annoyance ? Ah when shall we see the principle of brotherhood, that informs the great operations of philanthropists, brought to bear upon the common charities of life upon the social relations in these summer resorts, where people "most do congregate ?"-How it would annihilate distances between man and man, bring down the loftiness of the lofty, and exalt the depressed!-How it would kindle up the evening horizon of the aged, and disperse the mists from the dawn of the young! common-place, however. Luckett of Maryland produced quite a sensation by his vigorous, spirited, and admirably delivered argument against the senseless practice of duelling, and gave promise thereby, of future distinction, if his life be spared, and his present ambition holds, in the councils of his country. As he has now stepped but a single pace upon the stage, will he parhints as to manner? His style is very fine and effective, but he don an admirer of his talents for suggesting to him one or two speaks far too rapidly; a fault which was remarked also in the performance of Green, which, beautiful as it was, was yet greatly marred by the extreme indistinctness consequent upon the rapidity with which he spoke. Mr. Luckett must alter his present mode of pronouncing those familiar words in our language, which terminate in ore, before he can become a finished speaker. He invariably gave that termination the sound of simple o or oe; as stoe for "store," befoe for "before,"-and the like. I cannot forbear to add to this notice an expression of sincere and earnest hope that Mr. Luckett will carry out with him, from the University into the world, the same stern Roman sentiments with regard to the absurd custom of duelling, which he so eloquently and forcefully denounced in this oration. While on the subject of verbal criticism, I will notice a common mispronunciation of one other of the most familiar words Green's performance. It is an error into which members of in the language, which struck my ear during the delivery of congress, in both chambers, are continually falling, but derives from that fact, no good philological sanction. I allude to the pronunciation of "inalienable" as if spelt inaleenable, with the emphasis on the third syllable. Walker's Johnson gives the sound of this word thus: in-ale-ye-nable; which is certainly not only much easier to articulate, but is also a great deal more euphonical to the ear. There were several performances from the pen of young Lewis (an undergraduate) of Tennessee, which promise very brightly for the future poetical fame of the precocious author. He seems to have adopted the heroic measure as his forte, and gave some very pretty paraphrases of passages in Grecian and Roman history, somewhat in the manner of Pope and Dryden. But he has originality of genius enough to vary this style off white man. This was a very pretty episode, and went off with composition; and if he would turn his attention to the lighter much eclat. and more popular measures, he might make his verse the seed of greener and broader laurels than now deck the brows of many a modern poet. Cuyler gave us a very good syllabus of American authors, with a clever running sketch of the growth and achievement of American literature. But I am at a loss to perceive the force of that criticism which concedes the palm of preference over all our writers to Mr. N. P. Willis, and places Bryant, Halleck, Percival, Irving, Cooper, and the rest, in a lower niche. The prizes and premiums were awarded by Archbishop Eccleston of Baltimore, with much imposing ceremony, and the parts assigned to the recipients were all very creditably performed. There was very fine music by a well-conducted band interspersed among the exercises, and, at about noon, the large audience separated with great apparent satisfaction with the treat they had been enjoying. Wm. B. Lewis, Esq., being called on for a toast, gave the health of the Archbishop of Baltimore,' the President of the Day, who happily replied,-and offered a sentiment in honor of the Order who had founded and reared the Institution, in whose halls the company were partaking of the pleasures of cordial hospitality. To this the Ex-Rector of the College responded appropriately, and gave the health of William Joseph Walter, Esq., of England--one of the guests present, a literary friend and brother; who, in his turn, gave "The sons of St. Ignatius; the great promoters of enlightened education, and the firm upholders of truly liberal opinions, throughout the world." Alexander Dimitry, Esq. of Washington,-late of Louisiana, and a distinguished Alumnus of the College,--being alluded to in a highly complimentary toast, proposed the health of "James F. Otis, Esq. whose contributions to the Southern Messenger have rendered good service to the advancement of that literature, of which that periodical is the able organ." To this toast Mr. Otis briefly responded, and closed with the following sentiment: "Georgetown College. In these classic shades may many an American scholar yet find his Academe, many a future poet his Castaly, and many a statesman his Egeria." After taking a view of the fine prospects which are to be seen from every point of view about the college, and having examined the well-ordered arrangements for the comfort, convenience, health and happiness of the students, I had the honor of sitting down, with other invited guests, at one of the most sumptuous and social banquets it was ever my happiness to partake of. The venerable Archbishop of Baltimore presided, with much dignity and urbanity, over the festive board, around which were seated citizens from every part of the District, with several from different states in the Union, without distinction of religious sect. It was truly delightful to witness the proofs of attachment and devotedness to the prosperity of their Alma Mater evinced by several of the Alumni, who were present,-dents of that Institution were fitted by the course of study there while the invited guests, generally, with that liberality which is the sure promoter of socialness and good-feeling, were by no means backward in bearing their parts in the festivity of the occasion. The first sentiment, after the cloth was removed, was given by the Rev. Mr. Mulledy, late principal of the college. Premising that it was a custom of the Institution to give a parting dinner to the graduates, annually, he said that he was reminded of the origin of the word "graduate,"—which came from Gradior, gradi, gressus,-to walk. His sentiment should be, May our graduates "walk" as they have been taught. To which Mr. Doyle happily replied; expressing the hope, that the graduating class of that day might realize the wish of the reverend ex-president, by emulating the example, as well as remembering the teachings, of their instructors. Mr. Lynch of Maryland was next toasted, in appropriate and flattering terms, as one of the Alumni of the Institution, who had, by his recent contributions to the Southern Literary Messenger, reflected great credit upon his Alma Mater. Among other happy things said in this connection was that from one of the faculty, in allusion to the article in the July number of the Messenger, upon the Influence of Romance upon Morals;' "Lynch-law to immoral writers!" This sally was received with much applause; but nothing would draw out the subject of it his modesty was found to be indomitable, and nothing was heard from Mr. Lynch. Sed pennâ loquitur. Mr. George Washington Park Custis, of Arlington, being complimented by the president of the day, as a steady friend of the Institution, and an ever-welcome guest at its festive board, entertained the company with a very interesting anecdote of General Washington and an Indian prophet, who, in the old war, had eloquently foretold the future greatness of Pater Patria. This was followed by the sentiment, "The Oratory of Nature: the only true Eloquence." Mr. Mulledy here volunteered to bring in a proof of the correctness of this sentiment of Mr. Custis; and, having retired for a moment, soon returned with a very good "counterfeit presentment" of an Indian chieftain, "All painted and plumed in his savage array,"and smoking the long pipe of peace. This character was sus tained with great effect by a distinguished sculptor of the District, who has lately been making it his study for professional purposes. He [Mr. Pettrich] delivered a very clever defence of the fine arts, and sculpture particularly, in the characteristic style of the red man, (a gentleman present acting as interpreter ;) and maintained that the arts were the objects of admiration and delight to the sons of the forest, as well as to the Mr. Hoban of Washington, one of the Alumni, having been complimented in a toast, by one of the graduates of the day, addressed the table with fine effect for a few moments; during which, in a strain of eloquence which reminded me of what I had heard of the style of Curran, Phillips and Shiel, he dwelt upon the variety of professions for which, in after life, the stu. pursued. It was a beautiful tribute to his Alma Mater, and 1 regret that I was unable to jot down some notes, as he spoke, from which to present your readers with a better idea of the whole thing. Mr. Haxtun of Washington, being called on for a sentiment, indulged the company with a fine specimen of badinage, intended, obviously, as a humorous burlesque of the common style of addressing public assemblies. It was a piece of mock-heroic eloquence, which convulsed the audience with laughter, as well by the cleverness of the conception, as by the irresistible drollery with which it was delivered. It closed, characteristically, with a toast to "The memory of Julius Cæsar!" This was a bit of fun worthy of "Boz" himself. The Marine Band of Washington, (who were in attendance during and after dinner,) were appropriately toasted by one of the Vice Presidents of the table, as "an annual source of plea. sure to the residents and visiters of Georgetown College." Whereupon the band played a brilliant overture, which was rapturously applauded. Rev. Mr. Ryder of Philadelphia, an Alumnus, was called out by a complimentary sentiment, offered to him, as an ex-presi dent of one of the literary associations of the college, by one of the present members. His response was brief and appro priate, and closed with an allusion to Mr. Otis of New England, one of the guests: to which the latter responded, and took the occasion, as a native of Massachusetts, to pay a well-deserved tribute to the memory of the late Cardinal Cheverus; whose ministrations at Boston had won for him the universal respect and affection of the whole of that enlightened community, without any sectarian exceptions. This allusion was received with much satisfaction, and was feelingly acknowledged by the venerable president of the day, the Archbishop of the diocess. Several other sentiments were offered, some songs were sung, and then, the hour being yet early, the table was dismissed,the whole assembly separating with many a pleasing recollection to be called up hereafter, of a day so socially, intellectually and happily spent. Yours, my dear White, FLATTERY. An elegant writer observes, "The coin that is most current among mankind is Flattery; the only benefit of which is, that by hearing what we are not, we may be instructed in what we ought to be." SCIENTIÆ MISCELLANEA. BY A. D. G. No. III. DEFINITIONS IN NATURAL HISTORY. same sense appears to be possessed, to an almost equal extent, by the sensitive plant (Mimosa sensitiva.) If you touch the oyster, it gives evidence of the possession of feeling, by closing its shell. Touch the sensitive plant, and immediately its leaves shrink, and, together with the branches, bend down towards the earth, as if in this way to escape further molestation. This same difficulty meets us in attempting to draw a dividing line between the mineral and vegetable kingdoms. The light floculent substance which often Plato is said, on a certain occasion, to have defined man to be "a featherless biped." The next day Diogenes, having plucked a chicken, placed it upon the philosopher's desk, with this label "Plato's man." | appears upon the surface of decaying fruit (commonly This mistake arose, not from a want of acuteness on the part of the Grecian philosopher, but from the intrinsic difficulty of his subject. One would be led to believe, from the language of natural history, as well as from that of common society, that there existed in the world of created things well defined lines of distinction, separating between the different genera, classes, &c. But when we come to search a little more closely for these lines, they are nowhere to be found. Even the three great kingdoms of nature, animals, vegetables, and minerals, at their extremities, run so much into each other, that naturalists have puzzled themselves in vain to fix upon the exact boundary of each; some placing a species in one kingdom, which others have placed in another. In distinguishing the more perfect species of one kingdom from those of another, this difficulty does not exist; and I would by no means be understood as saying, that we could not easily point out a difference between a man and a tree, or between a tree and a rock. It is in distinguishing between the more imperfect species only, the extremities of the several kingdoms, that this difficulty is met with. It would seem, at first thought, to be an easy matter to distinguish an animal from a vegetable. But let us examine this matter a little more minutely. Wherein does this difference consist? What characteristic feature is there which may serve to distinguish between them? One of the first which suggests itself, is the possession of a power of locomotion. Yet many testacea and all zoophites, (which are universally classed among animals) are found fastened to the rocks near the sea-shore, and spend their whole lives in the self same place where they were born;-whilst the sea-weed moves about continually upon the surface of the ocean, deriving nourishment from its waters. The ability to move some of their parts by a power inherent in themselves, might seem characteristic of animals. Yet there are some vegetables which possess this power to a very considerable extent; whilst in some animals, it seems to be almost entirely wanting. A good instance of the possession of this power, by a plant, is afforded in the Venus flytrap, (Dionea musipula) a plant indigenous to the Carolinas. Its leaves are jointed and furnished with two rows of strong prickles. The upper surface of the leaf is covered with a sweet liquid, very tempting to flies. But no sooner does an unwary fly attempt to rob it of its treasures, than the two lobes of the leaf instantly rise up, the rows of prickles lock into each other and squeeze the poor captive to death. The possession of some one or all of the senses, might seem characteristic of animals. Naturalists allow to the oyster only one sense, that of feeling. This called mould,) is classed with vegetables;-whilst the substance, precisely similar to it in appearance, which is found upon the walls of damp cellars, is certainly a mineral (nitrate of potassa, or saltpetre.) These difficulties have deterred most modern naturalists from attempting to run the boundary line between the three kingdoms of nature. Linnæus attempted it. His distinction was: "minerals grow; plants grow and live; animals grow, live and think." This distinction would seem at first thought correct enough, yet it will not bear examination; in fact, it only removes the difficulty a step further off, and the inquirer may turn upon his instructer with the questions: "what is it to live? what is it to think?" But even supposing these last mentioned inquiries answered, how many thoughts have ever entered the—I cannot say head of an oyster, for it has none; neither can I say brain, for this is also wanting;-have ever entered the body of an oyster. There is an absurdity in the very form of the question. No one, I suppose, ever attributed thought to an oyster. This gradual passage into each other, which characterizes the three great kingdoms of nature, is observable also in their subdivisions. The leather-winged bat is a connecting link between beasts and birds; lizzards between beasts and reptiles; reptiles themselves, between beasts and fishes. So in the vegetable kingdom, ferns and mosses, whose seeds are evident, serve as a connecting link between the more perfect plants and the numerous class of fungi, the most imperfect of vegetables. So also in the mineral kingdom. The numerous specimens, which assume a regular form by cleavage, serve to connect those which appear as rude and unshapen masses, with those which are presented to us, possessed of the high polish and all the beautiful regularity of form which characterize the perfect crystal. An observation of these facts, probably gave rise to the "progressive theory," by which some philosophers have attempted to trace back the descent of man himself, through an indefinite line of ancestry, to simple organic mud. From so humble an original, they have, in imagination, seen him "Rise each generation one key, To Adam, who was but a monkey." At any rate, it is on such observations they have founded some of their most plausible arguments in support of their strange fancy. No. IV. DEVELOPMENT OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE. There are few pages in the general history of our race, which more strikingly display the powers of the human mind, than those which are devoted to the hisVOL. IV-73 own. nature it is found to act a more or less important part. Go to the botanist, and he will tell you, that in the bursting of a seed, and in the growth of a plant, he can trace its agency: go to the natural philosopher, and he will tell you, that in the lightnings of heaven, in the aurora which cheers the long night of polar regions, in the directive power of the magnetic needle, (for even the mystery of the earth's magnetism is at length satisfacto rily solved,) he acknowledges its power: go to the geologist, and he will point you to the volcano, as lighted by its magic touch-to the metallic ores, as disposed in continuous veins by its agency: go to the chemist, and he will tell you, that in the course of a few years it has changed entirely his whole science, proving that many substances before considered simple, are in fact compounds, separating their elements and presenting them for examination in a tangible form; that it has pointed tory of its achievements in the department of physical | under the earth," are full of it. In every department of science. Moral and religious truth man has received by special revelation;-political knowledge, whilst much of it is the result of experience and observation, yet its great principles have been learned from the pages of inspiration ;--physical science is entirely man's Who that has made himself acquainted with the wide extended and accurate knowledge of some important subject, which is now in our possession, and has traced it back to its origin in some insignificant and now almost forgotten observation, has noticed with what untiring perseverance the clue thus obtained has been followed; has observed how, at each step, nature has been forced to yield up her choicest secrets, in answer to the well directed inquiry of the philosopher;-who is there that has observed all this, and has not found his conceptions of the powers of the human intellect greatly exalted above that which they were before? The history of no particular branch of natural science presents out to him one of the simplest and most beautiful systhis subject in a better point of view than that of elec-tems of classification; and that, so far as he can see, it tricity. The progress of our knowledge respecting is likely yet to prove to be that which binds the ulti this agent, may be fitly compared to that of a stream mate particles of matter together,—the very cement of whose fountain head is in some wild, sequestered spot, the universe. uninhabited and uninhabitable, but which in its course, It is at once the perfection of human science, and the receiving its tributaries on the right hand and on the glory of the human intellect, to be able to determine the left, swells at length into a mighty river, bearing upon manner in which the Creator has put this world toge its bosom the commerce of distant nations, and in a ther; and man may fearlessly appeal to it, as evidence thousand ways blessing mankind. The knowledge of of the greatness of the powers of the human mind, when electricity possessed by the ancients, appears to have those powers are properly developed. But how much been confined to one solitary fact. They knew that superior must be the power of that eternal mind, which when amber had been rubbed with a warm cloth, it could not only determine, but contrive and execute this would attract straws, or other light bodies to itself, and wondrous plan; could not only discover the same agent having held them in contact for a few moments, would in such a vast variety of forms, but could cause it to as repel them. sume such forms; could fill the world, and even the When after a long period of ignorance, the attention human body, with the lightning of heaven, and yet of mankind was again turned to the study of natural keep it under such perfect control, that for centuries science, and they began to search among the records of man lived, and acted, and thought, and yet never dis antiquity for that which had been known to the old phi-covered its existence. In intellect, as well as in stature, losophers, this fact was all they found respecting elec-man may be said to stand tricity. The question might then have been asked, with "Mid-way from nothing to infinity." much apparent good reason,-why notice so insignifi- When we feel that our intellectual powers are no cant a fact as this?—of what importance can it be to thing, it is good to look beneath us; when we feel as if investigate the nature of so feeble an attraction ?-what they were every thing, it is good to look above us. light can possibly be thrown upon the laws which govern matter, by ascertaining how it is, and why it is, that amber attracts a piece of straw? Notwithstanding the unpromising appearance of electrical science at its first entry into the world, it has received no inconsiderable share of the attention of philosophers; and as the DOCTOR WILLIAM CAREY. consequence, facts have been developed, surprising alike to the simpleton and the sage. Perhaps no discoveries This work was published in 1836, but it never fell have exerted a more powerful influence in directing at- under the notice of the writer till within a few days tention to this study, than that of our countryman past. It is not my purpose to review this production, Franklin, in which he ascertained the identity of light-because a great portion of the review would necessarily ning and the electric fluid; and that of Sir Humphrey be inappropriate to a literary work. The policy of Davy, in which, by means of electricity, he discovered the East India Company-the improvement of agrithe compound nature of the alkalies. These have culture in the British possessions-and the question given a new impulse to the zeal with which this study whether the religious code of the Hindoos should has been pursued; and now, that agent which the be supplanted by an ecclesiastical establishment from savage knows only as the lightning flash, and beholds England, are subjects which have been elaborately only to tremble before it, we can trace in the perform-discussed. For this reason, we have no desire to enter ance of a thousand works of mercy;-that attraction into any speculations of the kind. Allow me further which was first made known to philosophers, in the motions of pieces of straw, is found to pervade all nature; "the heavens above, the earth beneath, and the waters MEMOIRS OF to say, that we are far from undervaluing either the sacred character or the missionary enterprise of the individual who is the subject of these memoirs. But an essay is prefixed to the work, from the pen of President | egress upon the glowing vehicle of language. But into Wayland, in which justice is done in these respects to this eminent missionary, and with the estimate given by the essayist, we perfectly coincide. tious to cast its chains over such a noble captive. And this was all his education. The same remarks will apply to Goldsmith. He was a native of Lishoy, in Ireland, and in his circumstances scarcely above the condition of the Scottish ploughman. It has been aptly remarked of Goldsmith, that when literature took him, it robbed no other service. He could write, and that was all. Dr. Johnson said of him, "It is astonishing how little the man knows;" but he might have added, what a power does he possess of employing what he knows. The artisan need not care so much about the abundance of his materials, provided he be able to work into valuable fabrics the materials already in his possession. And this statement is pre-eminently true of Goldsmith. Durability is impressed on his works, and this cannot be said with truth of all the works of Johnson: when men are searching for the soft and winning pictures of life, they will be apt to turn towards that canvass which was spread out before the pencil of Oliver Goldsmith. We have drawn our own chair before that canvass more than once, and have gazed on the interesting objects with which it is filled. We have accompanied the solitary traveller as he was passing the Alps, and been cheered by the recreations of the smiling village, and have felt sad when that village went down into total declension. We have sympathised in the trials, and exulted in the prosperity of his Vicar. We have likened his "Animated Nature," to a kind of folding place for flocks-or a mental park, in which the deer can gracefully recline-or to some meadow, in which the bee can carry on his flowery toils. We have seen Chinese customs diversify the scene, and English monarchs rising successively to view-and clas sic Greece, in the distance, whose heroes he portrayed, that vehicle he placed objects humorous, pathetic, or sublime, at his pleasure. When this untutored peasant appeared in the capital of his country, philosophers Dr. Carey, it appears, from the views he entertained wondered and rhetoricians were baffled, because he of himself, from the estimate of Wayland, from the possessed that by nature, which they could not acquire statement of his biographer, and from the concession of by art. As he reclined by the hawthorn bush, the verall his admirers, was not what we call a man of genius. nal season unfolded its successive pages before him; In the structure of his mind, the imaginative faculty and as he stirred his cottage fire, the leafless winter was absent; and without some portion of this faculty read to him its lessons. The vale opened its green lap, the mind must always remain imperfect. By the ab-inviting him to repose; and the mountain was ambisence of it, Dr. Carey escaped some sorrows; but lost at the same time many pleasures. His mind, in this respect, bore a resemblance to that of Scott, the commentator, who expresses his gratitude that his Creator had not made him a poet. He is willing to employ, for useful ends, the poetry of others; but not willing to contribute so much as a flower to the stock, in which men tal ornament prevails over sheer utility. Imaginative men have acted on more generous principles. They have pursued their own devious thoughts; but have not forgotten at the same time to contribute a vast dea! to plain common sense. This might be evinced by mentioning the names of a hundred poets; but Shakspeare is in himself an host. Dr. Carey was a remarkable example of what can be accomplished by industry without inventive powers. If diligence alone could bring to pass the results which this great man achieved, what might not genius accomplish, if combined with equal industry and the same attachment to objects judiciously selected? The talent of acquiring languages, does not imply the power of invention; because, in at tending so closely to what has been created, it is natural to lose the desire to create. The accounts which tradition, rather than history, has preserved of the admirable Crichton, amount to an exaggerated fiction. If such a person ever lived, he might have been profound in a few of his attainments; but in many of them he was superficial. We are not acquainted with a more uninteresting writer than Professor Lee of Cambridge; and though skilled in a score of languages, he has not yet learned to compose in his vernacular tongue. The learning of Ross, a native of Scotland, was various as that of Professor Lee; but his premature death has deprived us of the power of estimating his amount of originality. Lord Teignmouth states the number of and all the prospect enlivened by rivers more captivalanguages with which Sir William Jones was acting quainted, at twenty eight; but we know of nothing "Than the lazy Scheld and wandering Po." that Sir William wrote of which it can be said, this We agree with President Wayland, that this biogranever existed before. He could translate into English phy of Dr. Carey is defective. The memory of such a the thoughts of Persian and Italian poets; but the man deserved a better momument. There is a painful question never can be solved, whether he would have destitution in the work. We do not allude to a destiexecuted successfully the epic poem which he meditated tution of facts. The locomotiveness of this great miswriting before his death. The writer is incompetent to sionary is sufficiently well described. But there is no judge of his essay on bailments; but the views of that history of his mind. In the life of Dr. Scott this is the work are conveyed in graceful terms. It is equally capital excellence. It matters but little that the comtrue, that a man of small attainments may possess un- mentator lived at Olney; that he was chaplain to the common powers. A peasant once rose in Scotland, who Lock Hospital in London, or rector of Aston Sandford, could read and write, and was partially acquainted with Buckinghamshire; but the progress of his mind is what arithmetic. This man said of himself, with an elo- lends interest to the book. We associate our feelings with quence rarely equalled," The muse of Scottish poetry those of the commentator. We enter into his labori found me at the plough, and threw over me her inspi-ous vigils, and rejoice when he leaves his sheepfold in ring mantle." Burns has produced not one, but many Lincolnshire, to go forward to that moral and intellec things new and original. If they ever rose to the tual elevation for which he was designed. Had the minds of other men, it is certain that they never found Rev. Robert Hall been living at the time that Dr. Carey |