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 http://archive.org/details/addressonfiftietOOwest_0 
 
AN ADDRESS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 Fiftieth Anniversary 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CLASS OF 1832, 
 
 Pakts of which were read at a Class Meeting at 
 Union College, June 27, 1882. 
 
 CHARLES E. WEST. 
 
 Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci 
 Lectorem delectando pariterque monendo. 
 
 —Horace. 
 
 BROOKLYN, K Y.: 
 
 TREMLETT & CO., PRINTERS, 826-330 FULTON STREET. 
 1882. 
 
Copyright. 1883, 
 By CHARLES E. WEST. 
 
c 
 
 \ 3 &K 
 
 APOLOGY. 
 
 Of what value is a book without a preface f And what is a 
 preface but a postcript f In a letter, it forms its conclusion and is 
 put last ; in a book, it is the introduction, notwithstanding it is the 
 afterthought, used either in the way of explanation or of apology. 
 It is here used in the latter sense. 
 
 When I sat down to prepare this class-paper, I little thought 
 that it would reach its present dimensions ; or, that its publication 
 would be solicited. The compliment, I fear, comes from an undue 
 partiality, and is an undeserved honor. 
 
 Our last meeting at the college was one which will never be 
 forgotten. To look into the faces of classmates we had not seen 
 in fifty years and observe the changes time had wrought ; to grasp 
 by the hand the companions of our boyhood ; to listen to the tales 
 of those who had returned to their Alma Mater, perhaps, for the 
 last time ; to pass in review the incidents of each others' lives ; to 
 recount the virtues and achievements of those who had passed 
 away, and drop a silent tear in affectionate remembrance ; to fore- 
 cast our own departure which is so near at hand ; to walk about 
 the college grounds and think that fifty classes had come and 
 gone ; to realize that the most of the men we knew in our college 
 days had joined the long, silent procession and had forever disap- 
 peared from human vision ; to realize all this, seemed like an 
 unreal dream—shadows in the shadow-land. But, after all, we 
 felt sure that we had not lost our personality, — that we were the 
 same sentient, thoughtful, active beings, as in days of yore. We 
 could laugh and cry. Our sympathies were as keen and fresh 
 
iv. 
 
 as ever. Naught had grown old but the caskets of the living 
 spirits. Time, thank God, had naught else he could work upon ! 
 We had reached a mature manhood, and could look back over the 
 track we had pursued and see the dangers we had escaped and the 
 conquests we had won. We could look across the narrow chasm 
 before us and see the shining gates of pearl. It was a pentecostal 
 season. The Divine protection was invoked that our steps might 
 be guided in the future as they had been in the past. 
 
 After finishing what I had to say of classmates and of the 
 President and Professors, I was tempted to take a survey of the 
 wonderful panorama of events of the last half century ; but I soon 
 found that I was sailing on a mare incognitum, and that if I ever 
 wished to make port again, I must turn the prow of my vessel and 
 sail homeward. 
 
 Pardon me for the great length of my manuscript. As it is for 
 private eyes and not for the public, I feel sure that your criticisms 
 will be charitable. I shall be happy if I have interested you by 
 calling attention to some of the mile-stones which have been set up 
 in the grand march of civilization in our day. It has been a great 
 privilege to live and witness the marvellous development in every 
 department of human thought and enterprise. To the preparation 
 of this address, I lay no claim to originality. I have drawn from 
 the accumulation of scientific and statistical materials of the past 
 half century. 
 
 I regret that I have not been able to learn about some of our 
 classmates, whose names are not starred in the triennial catalogue. 
 If living, their residence and occupation are unknown to me. 
 
 I am sorry that I had not the materials for sketches of many 
 classmates who achieved honorable positions in their several pro- 
 fessions and spent their lives for the benefit of society. Many of 
 them were bright and shining lights. 
 
 It was a great disappointment that some of our brethren whom 
 
V. 
 
 we had expected failed to come. Their letters of regret explained 
 the reasons of their absence. 
 
 From our first Class-circular, we learn that the honor of organ- 
 izing a Glass Association belongs to the Class of '32. I know not 
 whether our example has been followed by any other Class or not. 
 At any rate, it has been a source of great pleasure to us who have 
 participated in it, and we can recommend it to other Classes. Such 
 meetings are also an advantage to the college. 
 
 We would be wanting in courtesy not to acknowledge our 
 obligations to the college authorities, and especially to Professor 
 Lameroux, who secured rooms for us at the hotel and accommoda- 
 tions for our meeting at the college. 
 
 Grateful, dear Classmates, for the privilege of attending our 
 recent meeting, and for the pleasure your presence and words 
 afforded me, 
 
 I am sincerely yours, 
 
 CHAELES E. WEST. 
 
 Brooklyn Heights Seminary, 
 October, 1882. 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 Classmates of '32 : 
 
 By a resolution of the Class, at its last meeting in 1802, a 
 committee consisting of Charles E. West, Hamilton W. Robinson 
 and A. P. Cumings, was appointed to publish a corrected catalogue 
 of the Class, with an address, and the minutes of that meeting ; 
 and they were also authorized to call a meeting in 1867. 
 
 Unfortunately, there has been no meeting of the Class for the 
 past twenty years ; and, as my associates of the committee have 
 passed away, it has fallen to my lot to discharge this official duty 
 alone. 
 
 Our first meeting was in July, 1842. After an absence of ten 
 years, it was a pleasure to return to our Alma Mater and renew 
 the friendships of early days. It was a joyful occasion. Our 
 fraternal greetings were sincere and hearty. "We had seen some- 
 thing of the world. Man}- of us had entered upon professional 
 life. Large spheres of usefulness were opening to our ambitions. 
 The world seemed bright. Many an hour was spent in telling our 
 experiences. Some had married and their firesides were made 
 musical with the prattle of children. Our venerable President 
 was living and in active service. It was delightful to meet again 
 the " Old Man Eloquent " and receive his benediction. Many of 
 our professors were actively' engaged in college work. The 
 Mohawk valley was unchanged — the quiet river still pursued its 
 placid waj T . " Dump " itself, although a University city, had not 
 undergone such commercial alterations as to obliterate its old 
 land-marks and make it unrecognizable ! We readily found our 
 way from the railway station to the college grounds, but missed 
 some of the familiar signs, as Clute's and Duncan's, on Union 
 street. The college buildings had not undergone a particle of 
 change. The same massive walls — the same brick-paved halls — 
 the same old stair-ways with balustrades substantial enough for a 
 
2 
 
 military fortress — the same unique rooms with the doctor's anthra- 
 cite stoves — parlor, bed-room and store-room all in one. In front, 
 the same beautiful panorama of landscape and sky, spreading far 
 to the west. In the rear, the college gardens, lilled with evergreens 
 and sweet-scented bushes, especially "Captain Jack's" garden, 
 which was a new creation and has since become so celebrated. 
 Being a farmer's son, I remember the questions he used to put to 
 me as to the best modes of planting and sowing of seeds, for he 
 commenced his gardening during our college course. How warmly 
 he greeted us on our decennial return ! He was nature's noble- 
 man and commanded the love and veneration of all his students. 
 
 Yes, the college buildings and the instructors were as in days 
 of yore — but, in all other respects how changed! Among the 
 students we saw no familiar faces! Classes had come and gone! 
 We were strangers and received no tokens of recognition ! We 
 had had our day, and had gone out into the great world never 
 again to be summoned to college duties ! We felt isolated and 
 alone; and with closed doors we shut ourselves in and communed 
 with each other. It was a precious season. The absent, the living 
 and dead, were enquired about; many had gone to the silent 
 land, qui fuerunt, sed nunc ad astra. Our poet, John W. Brown, 
 read an elegiac poem commemorative of the fifteen deceased 
 members. He took as a motto to his thanatousion the inscrip- 
 tion upon Hinmaiis monument, in the college grounds, who 
 was the first to die : — 
 
 " Etsi procul a propinquis. 
 
 " In morte quiescit. 
 
 " Aniici plurimi, non sine lacrymis. 
 
 "Sepulchrum revisent." 
 
 The introductory verse of his hymn is as follows : 
 " From the world's crowded scene of toil and strife, 
 
 From various paths through which our steps have sped 
 With various fortune in the race of life 
 
 We come these classic halls again to tread 
 To greet the living and to mourn the dead — 
 
 Ten years of stern or bright vicissitude 
 Have passed in action big with hope or dread, 
 
 And now we stand again where oft we stood 
 
 In those remembered days, a youthful brotherhood." 
 
Four decennial anniversaries have passed since that memorable 
 meeting of "tfie seventeen" eleven of whom have since gone to the 
 spirit-land; and of these is our sweel poet Brown, who sang for 
 others — but now for himself as well : 
 
 " Many are gone, whose morning hours were blest 
 
 With promise of a bright and glorious day ! 
 Some gentle souls sank quietly to rest 
 
 As the departing sunlight melts away 
 
 'Mid the delicious bloom and balm of May. 
 Some lie on distant shores, and virtuous deeds 
 
 Have made their memory holy, and the ray 
 Of blest example to the gloom succeeds, 
 Cheering the heart that o'er the loved and lost ones bleels. 
 
 " Fair, fair in memory's moonlight are they all, 
 
 The young, the bright, the noble. It is true 
 The silent grave returneth not our call ; 
 
 Our voice wakes not their slumber ; from the voice 
 
 Of living men, from 'neath that arch of blue, 
 From this fair earth forever are they gone ; 
 
 Yet be it ours to pay the tribute due 
 To noble hearts, not with unmanly moan 
 But in that worthy grief which hallows sorrow's tone." 
 
 You will pardon me for recalling some of the departed with 
 whom I was on terms of intimacy during our college course and 
 afterwards. And first, Butler Goodrich, Jr. By consent of his 
 classmates, he was regarded, I think, as the most accomplished 
 scholar in his class. Our acquaintance began in the winter of 
 1825-6 at the old Pittsheld Academy, and was continued at the 
 Berkshire Gymnasium, a celebrated school in Western Massachu- 
 setts. 
 
 My acquaintance at that time with young men from different 
 parts of the country and from foreign lands, was of immense 
 value to me, some of whom have become distinguished in society, 
 — as Arthur Cleveland Coxe, Bishop of Western New York; 
 Franklin Clinton, son of De Witt Clinton, who entered the U. S. 
 Navy and died young; Thomas Allen, Member of Congress from 
 St. Louis; Henry Shaw, the eccentric "Josh Billings;" Mariano 
 Yaldez, the revolutionist, of Peru, South America. 
 
4 
 
 But, of all the young men in the gymnasium with whom I 
 was most intimately associated, was my townsman, Butler Good- 
 rich. He was modest and gentle in disposition. He had an 
 analytic mind, was fond of mathematics and abstract science, 
 had great fondness for the Latin and Greek languages— was untir- 
 ing in his application to study. His masterly scholarship soon 
 attracted attention, and the highest rank was unanimously awarded 
 him. We were poor boys, and found it difficult to break away 
 from business to attend school. It was in the retirement of our 
 bed-room, we passed a sleepless night in maturing our plans for 
 obtaining an education at whatever sacrifice it might cost us. I 
 shal] never forget that night. It was in the month of April, 1828. 
 When the morning light broke, our ears were saluted by the songs 
 of robin and blue-bird. Our plans were formed, and we arose 
 from our beds as happy as the birds. For nearly ten years we 
 were as one — our intimacy was perfect. We could not bear to be 
 separated in vacation, but passed it at each other's houses. We 
 entered Union College in 1830, and graduated two years later — 
 the year of the terrible Asiatic cholera. 
 
 In the fall of 1833, Goodrich came to Albany, and passed a 
 year as a teacher in the Albany Female Academy. I had preceded 
 him and established a school for boys. We were together once 
 more. We attended Rev. E. N. Kirk's church — had heard him 
 preach in the college chapel. In religion Goodrich was skeptical. 
 But he liked the earnest and devout eloquence of Mr. Kirk. 
 During a religious awakening in his church, we became interested 
 in a series of religious services. They were novel to us ; and, at 
 first, we attended them more from curiosity than from a desire of 
 gaining any personal advantage, till at last we began to feel that 
 there might be something in religion worthy of attainment. We 
 had many misgivings. We did not like the methods. They 
 seemed mechanical. Submission was mortifying to manly pride. 
 Night after night we fought against it ; till at last, our conviction 
 of the necessity of personal religion led us, after many struggles, to 
 sign the following pledge : 
 
 " We solemnly pledge ourselves that we will attend to the 
 subject of religion immediately; and, if permitted to attend 
 
5 
 
 meeting to-morrow evening, we will do everything in our power 
 for the salvation of our souls. 
 
 "Charles E. West, 
 " B. Goodrich, J r. 
 
 "Albany, February 17th, 1834." 
 
 What memories crowd upon my mind as I copy these few lines 
 which had such a practical bearing upon our destiny. 
 
 Many years after, Dr. Kirk sent me the following note and a 
 " Pastors Sketch :" 
 
 " My dear West : 
 
 " It just occurred to me to put in print our memorable 
 interview, because the statement of it has been beneficial to other 
 persons. I shall make No. 2 handle the difficulties about com- 
 munity with three persons and one essence. 
 
 " Your affectionate friend, 
 
 "Edw. N. Kirk. 
 
 "Boston, April 2, 185(3." 
 
 The sketch, entitled, "Intellectual Difficulties in Reli- 
 gion," No. 1, " The Being of God," I give in full : 
 
 " There are such difficulties ; and it is very desirable that they 
 be removed so far as explanation and suggestion can do it. And 
 it is equally important to guard against an advantage the enemy of 
 the truth often takes by making it appear that these difficulties are 
 peculiar to religion; and that, therefore, persons who have not 
 leisure for much study are excusable for not attending to religions 
 doctrines. 
 
 " Now, it should be noticed that the higher any subject rises in 
 intrinsic grandeur or permanent importance to man, the more does 
 it lie out of the ordinary range of thought, and the more does it 
 require of the employment of those powers which are not most 
 frequently in exercise. 
 
 " Man is made to be conversant with spiritual just as mnch as 
 with material objects ; and yet the daily and hourly exercise of the 
 senses makes man more familiar with the latter than with the 
 former ; and thus our susceptibility to impressions and to evidence 
 depends upon our habits. A mere mathematician becomes exceed- 
 
6 
 
 ingly keen in his perceptions of mathematical evidence ; but he is 
 exposed to overlook a kind of evidence immeasurably more 
 important for him. 
 
 " I once knew two young men who were distinguished as 
 mathematical students. They had formed the habit of requiring a 
 diagram of any object to be presented to the eye before they could 
 form a definite conception of it, and then a mathematical proof was 
 required before they would believe anything not palpable to the 
 senses. 
 
 " In this state of mind they were both awakened to a conscious- 
 ness of guilt and depravity in the sight of God. Under the pressure 
 of this load, they retired from a religious meeting to pray alone. 
 When they met each other the next morning, they found that each 
 had encountered the same obstacle, and had yielded to it. They 
 agreed to go immediately to their pastor and seek his aid. The 
 substance of the conversation I will now give : 
 
 " Pastor — What is it, my young friends? 
 
 " Student — I went to my room and kneeled by the chair to 
 give myself to God. The chair was there, the wall, the furniture ; 
 and I was there ; but there was no one else. And it seemed to be 
 absurd for me to beat the air with vain words, so I arose from my 
 knees discouraged; and, meeting my friend B. this morning, I 
 found that he had passed through the same process ; so we have 
 come to seek your aid in the case. 
 
 " Pastor — Most happy am I to meet you at any time, but 
 particularly under such circumstances. Your difficulty is not an 
 uncommon one. It arises from many causes which are common 
 to us all as compound beings, partly sensuous, partly spiritual. 
 But I deem it not improbable that in your case it has been 
 aggravated by your disproportional development of the mathe- 
 matical powers. So far, however, as the difficulty is mainly 
 intellectual, you may easily be relieved. 
 
 " To you both it seems as if you do not and cannot believe in 
 the existence of mere spirit. But, however common, it is an 
 egregious mistake. You believe in spirit just as much as in 
 matter, and you know as much and even more about it. It is not 
 important now to prove the latter point. But I would suggest the 
 
7 
 
 ground of the assertion. Matter, you know, by a foreign t sstimony, 
 broughl to the spirit, but with spirit you are acquainted by the direct 
 action of the knowing faculty ; by that purest, profoundest, clearest, 
 most indisputable of all modes of knowing — consciousness. 
 
 " But, to leave that Imagine, now, that while we are conversing 
 together, I should fall dead before you. Mark now the change in 
 your whole mental action. In an instant, supposing the fact 
 settled, that life Las irrevocably passed away, you would begin 
 to conceive and speak of me as gone. But how is that ? Who am 
 I? All that you ever saw or heard of me is still there. The 
 diagram is there before your eyes, and yet you begin to think and 
 speak of me as gone — all my qualities you discuss, speaking of 
 your regard for me and my friendship toward you. But of whom 
 are you speaking? You never saw my spirit, its size, form or 
 color. And yet so perfect is your belief of the existence of that 
 invisible being of which even your imagination can make no 
 picture ; and not only of its existence, but also of its being all 
 you ever thought of as constituting my personal existence, that you 
 follow it in thought to unknown worlds and refuse to talk to that 
 visible body any longer. 
 
 " You believe in spirit, in God. Now return to your rooms and 
 meet God there as you meet me here. Kneel and speak to Him as 
 you now sit and speak to me. He hears you, He sees you ; and, 
 if a doubt of his existence or presence comes over you, look at 
 your hand and ask who contrived it ; lay it on your heart and ask 
 who keeps it beating. 
 
 "They retired. The next interview with their pastor was a 
 joyful occasion. One of them in a few years went to heaven from 
 the midst of his successful labors as a student of theology. The 
 other still lives to honor the cause of his Saviour and train the 
 youthful mind to the knowledge of divine and human things. 
 
 "E. K K." 
 
 In July, 1834, Goodrich resigned his position in the Academy 
 and entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton. On the 18th 
 of November he wrote me : "I have been already several days 
 within the walls of a theological seminary. It is not in the power 
 of pen and ink to describe my feelings as I left Albany. It was 
 
8 
 
 beyond my cool philosophy to check the tears that would, unbid- 
 den, drop from my eyes. Was it leaving Albany and my friends 
 there that caused this flow of melancholy ? No ; I think I could, 
 without one regret, wave all the pleasures and advantages that I 
 enjoyed there even for an unknown and precarious enterprise. I 
 love Albany, not for its excellences, but for its welcome associations 
 to my mind. If I am ever so happy as to enter the regions of the 
 blessed, I shall regard Albany as the sacred spot where I first met 
 my Saviour, and He took me by the hand and pointed me to 
 heaven. At the time I left you, a thousand mixed emotions in 
 rapid succession moved my mind ; but what touched me most of 
 all was the greatness of my enterprise, and the fact that I must 
 leave you, who have stood by me in almost every undertaking in 
 life, behind." 
 
 During his connection with the seminary, he often wrote me of 
 his work and of the interest he felt in his preparation for the 
 ministry — the loftiest ideal of Christian service that could be 
 conceived. He was grieved that I did not join him in his studies. 
 His cousin, Rev. David White, afterward a missionary to Africa, 
 was with him during his last illness and death, and wrote me that 
 he died in the triumphs of faith. " It was indeed good to a pious 
 heart," he said, "to be present with him in his last and dying 
 hours. His views of eternal things were so clear, so elevated, so 
 heavenly — his confidence in the Redeemer so firm and unwavering 
 — his estimation of his own works so low — his exhortations in the 
 service of his blessed Master so pathetic and forcible — his whole 
 appearance so unlike to mortality and corruption — that we 
 seemed to be looking upon and listening to an inhabitant of that 
 world ' where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are 
 at rest' 
 
 " On the Monday previous to his death, he enjoyed several 
 lucid hours. He had been informed by Dr. Alexander that his 
 physicians considered him beyond the reach of medicine, and, to all 
 human appearance, very near his end. He received the intelligence 
 with calmess and resignation, and said, ' I wish the Lord's will to 
 be done.' Shortly after, when all had left him but myself and 
 another brother, he discoursed a long time — of death and dying — 
 
9 
 
 of bis prospects- of his hopes. Ee made disposition of his effects, 
 arranged all his business with his usual exactness and order, scut, 
 messages to all his particular friends, and made presents to several 
 of them, among whom yon were one. Be requested me to give 
 you the following message: 'Tell West the world has many 
 allurements. I believe that he has struggled hard to live above 
 their influence ; but still there is danger of living away from the 
 path of Christian duty, or hindered in his progress. Tell him to 
 live near to Christ 1 As a token of his dying remembrance and 
 affectionate regard, be requested me to present you with his 
 valuable flute. 
 
 " It may not be improper here to say that Butler often spoke of 
 Mr. Kirk, and at one time remarked, ' I have not time nor strength 
 to speak of the gratitude I feel for the interest which he has taken 
 in me. I remember him with much affection.' 
 
 "His funeral was attended yesterday (February 14) in the 
 chapel of the seminary. Though none of his father's family were 
 here to follow his remains to their long home, they were attended 
 by a numerous concourse of sympathizing friends. He was borne 
 to the grave by his college acquaintances. He will rest in peace. 
 His memory is blessed. " David White. 
 
 " Pklnceton Theological Seminary, 
 " February 15, 1836." 
 
 He died at the Seminary, February 12, 1836, in the 27th year 
 of his age. The first bereavement of my life ! 
 
 A committee of his class, of which Rev. E. D. G. Prime, D. D., 
 was chairman, was appointed to prepare a memoir of him, and I was 
 requested to furnish the materials, and did so. His death was 
 deeply lamented by the professors and students. In 1868, I 
 obtained permission from the cemetery corporation to remove his 
 remains to my lot in the Pittsfield Cemetery. His grave is on the 
 bank of his loved Housatonic River, on the opposite side of which, 
 and at a short distance, is the house where we spent the night to 
 which reference has been made. To conceal my thought from the 
 ignoble crowd who wander in cemeteries like ghouls and desecrate 
 the soil which covers the precious dust of the dead, I wrote the 
 following Latin inscription for the marble which marks his grave : 
 
10 
 
 Hie sepnltiv /<><•<■/ reliquuu mei amiciqui e terra ad astra translatus 
 fait PI lit rima '> sunt causce cur ilium semper amabo. Viator, sta et 
 si flere vis, tecum revolve adolescentis mortem qui si vixisset 
 omamentum ecclesiai et societatis insigne bene esse promisit. 
 
 Another, and perhaps the most brilliant man of his class, was 
 Alexander W. Bradford, who died November 5, 1867. 
 
 I was appointed by the American Ethnological Society of New 
 York to prepare a minute of his life, services and death, which 
 were entered on its records, as follows : 
 
 That in testifying to our respect for the ability, attainments, 
 character and usefulness of the deceased, we do not feel inclined 
 to indulge in empty panegyric, or enter into lengthy discussion of 
 the combination of excellences which formed his manhood and 
 made him conspicuous in his professional and private relations, as 
 councillor, scholar, Christian and friend. Mr. Bradford was born 
 in Albany, N. Y., February 21, 1815. He was the third son of 
 Rev. John M. Bradford, D. D., pastor of the North Dutch Church 
 in that city, and received his preparatory education in the Albany 
 Academy, then under the care of that accomplished scholar 
 T. Romeyn Beck, M. D. — an institution which then took rank 
 with the foremost colleges of the State. Here Mr. Bradford 
 gave an earnest of the success which was to follow him in the 
 arena of professional life. At the age of 15, he entered Union 
 College and was the youngest member of his class. In college, 
 he was distinguished for acuteness of intellect and diligent appli- 
 cation to study. He was particularly fond of mathematics, 
 making marked attainments in the higher analysis and in its 
 application to mechanics and physical astronomy. In this connec- 
 tion, I remember him with pleasure, as an opportunity was afforded 
 of witnessing his inventive power on this higher plane of intellec- 
 tual discipline. Selecting the legal profession, he was admitted to 
 the bar, in 1838. In 1843, he was elected Corporation Attorney, 
 and in 1848 was chosen Surrogate of the City and County of 
 New York, holding the office till 1858. 
 
 It is not my province to pronounce judgment upon the 
 
1 1 
 
 industry or the value of his services in this department of labor. 
 This must be dou^ by his legal peers and associates. Bere, it is 
 sufficient simply to refer to his voluminous reports which were 
 prepared with great labor and research, and unite an equitable 
 interpretation of the well-established rules of jurisprudence. His 
 decisions will command respect in the arbitrament of all di (lieu It 
 cases of probate, and upon them will rest his reputation as a 
 scholar and jurist. 
 
 After the close of his office as Surrogate, he served one term 
 in the Legislature and then resumed the practice of law in New 
 York, which he continued until his death. 
 
 For his learning and integrity, Mr. Bradford received numerous 
 testimonials of respect. His Alma Mater, in 1852, conferred 
 upon him the degree of LL.D., and elected him a trustee of the 
 college. He also served as trustee of Columbia College. He was 
 a member of various literary and historical societies of the country ; 
 also of the Royal Northern Antiquarian Society of Denmark. 
 Ethnology was a favorite study, and had he devoted himself to 
 research in this department, he would have achieved honorable 
 distinction. As it was, he became a pioneer in American 
 Archaeology. His work, entitled "American Antiquities," was 
 prepared when a young man, and at a time when scarcely any- 
 thing had been written upon the subject, and is characterized by 
 diligent research and careful deductions from the mass of facts 
 which lay in chaotic confusion— a digest, which will continue to 
 be a valuable reference to the student of history. 
 
 But, in estimating the character of our friend, we should be 
 wanting in fidelity to him did we neglect to speak of what is 
 better than talent, or genius, or learning, or professional reputation 
 — did we forget those noble qualities of justice and humanity — 
 that regard for truth and moral excellence — that love of God and 
 man which characterized his life, and made him an example 
 worthy of imitation. He has gone, leaving a record which will 
 grow brighter and brighter in our recollections of him ; and, as we 
 journey to the same bourne, let us be grateful that it has been our 
 privilege to know him and receive inspiration from his words and 
 example. 
 
12 
 
 Rev. John 1L Raymond, LL.D., was bora in New York in 
 1814. In 1828, lie entered Columbia College ; and, after remain- 
 ing there for three years, he joined our Class at Union. In 1838, 
 he completed his theological studies at Madison University ; was 
 appointed professor in Rochester University in 1851 ; was called 
 to the Presidency of the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute in 18'53 ; 
 and, in 1804, he was chosen President of Vassar College for young 
 women. 
 
 For fourteen years he presided over that institution, and was 
 permitted to witness its great success, and to confer the diploma 
 of the college on more than 360 graduates. On August 14, 1&78, 
 he died in the full maturity of his powers. His great work in. the 
 establishment of Vassar was done. To its success he had brought 
 an organizing mind, a finished education and a large experience in 
 the management of institutions. Great wealth was put at his 
 disposal with which to organize and equip the several departments 
 of instruction. Costly and well arranged college buildings had 
 been erected. The question in regard to woman's ability to 
 grapple with the higher mathematical and abstract sciences had 
 already been determined b}^ Rutgers Female College of New York, 
 which is the mother of all the colleges for the higher education of 
 women in the United States. 
 
 Dr. Raymond was an accomplished Christian scholar. He was 
 distinguished for great symmetry and beauty of character, 'for 
 lofty ideals of human perfectibility, and for an unreserved conse- 
 cration of himself to the moral regeneration of society. He has 
 impressed his pure and noble character upon his generation, and 
 left a record more enduring than that of marble in the affection of 
 those for whom he toiled. 
 
 Do you remember our classmate Lathrop ? He was poor and 
 had to struggle hard for his education. He prepared his own 
 meals, and occasionally made buckwheat cakes. He studied 
 mathematics under Captain Jackson. At a recitation, one 
 morning, on Osculating Curves: "Well, Lathrop," said Jackson, 
 with his legs dangling over the arm of his chair, " how are the 
 buckwheats?" "First-rate," was the reply. "And how is the 
 
L8 
 
 lesson? Do you understand osculating curves ?" " The theoretical 
 part, professor, 1 have not mastered," said Lathrop; "but, if you 
 will give me a girl with sweet, pretty lips, I will show you my 
 proficiency m the application of the theory!" 
 
 Lathrop studied law, came to New York to pass his examina- 
 tion, was admitted to the bar, and, on his return home, so 
 overpowering was his joy in winning the goal of his ambition, 
 he lost all control over himself, and died at Albany in the wildest 
 delirium. 
 
 Lincoln B. Knowlton was an odd character. He was regarded 
 by some as a great genius. He had the reputation of getting his 
 lessons without study — would frequent students' rooms during 
 study -hours, and boast of his intuitive superiority to the plodding, 
 painstaking drudgery to which his classmates were subjected. It 
 was said, however, that he passed the midnight hours in hard and 
 patient study. In personal appearance he was careless, dressed 
 shabbily, and took pride in it. 
 
 He liked to amuse himself and others in various ways, and did 
 queer things. He was annoyed, as we all were, with the cimex 
 lectularius, and how to keep the pest out of our beds was a serious 
 problem. Knowlton hit upon the following scheme : He laid the 
 mattress on the floor, and put a wall of coal-ashes around it ; then? 
 between the bed and the ashes, a circle of molasses was drawn. He 
 reasoned that, if the vermin scaled the ash-entrenchment, he 
 could not get through the molasses. But, in this he failed, and 
 the failure has ever since been a college conundrum. The only 
 solution ever proposed was that the varmint ran up the walls, over 
 the ceiling, and came down like a vulture to do his bloody work. 
 
 Knowlton studied law and settled in the West. Farnham told 
 me that, on his way to the Pacific Coast, he saw Knowlton 
 presiding as a police justice in a log-house in Illinois, and that 
 he looked just as he did at recitation, or sitting on a college fence. 
 He died in 1854. 
 
 Judge Hamilton W. Kobinson died after a year's illness, April 
 7, 1879. I attended his funeral. A large number of his legal 
 
acquaintances were present. Rev. Dr. John Hall officiated, and 
 delivered an appropriate address to the members of the bar on 
 their duties to themselves and society, urging the importance of 
 personal religious consecration of themselves to the Great Judge 
 of all. He spoke in kindly terms of the deceased, and of his 
 confidence in his Christian character. 
 
 He was early associated in business with John Van Buren. I 
 entered their office as a law student, and continued till I was 
 admitted to the bar, in 1844. Robinson was profoundly read in 
 the law, and used to prepare the cases, while Van Buren did the 
 talking in court. 
 
 I also attended the funeral of John McClelland, M. D., one of 
 the distinguished physicians of New York ; and also that of the 
 Hon. D. R. Floyd Jones, the successful politician, and at one time 
 Lieutenant-Governor of this State. McClelland died April 12, 
 1876, and Jones, January 9, 1871. 
 
 The practical business man of the Class while a student, was 
 A. P. Cumings, who supported himself in college by getting sub- 
 scriptions to the New York Observer and other publications, in his 
 vacation excursions in the country on horseback. After gradua- 
 ting, and studying theology at Princeton, he was taken into the 
 Observer firm as a partner, where he remained for life, contributing 
 his financial skill in establishing one of the most influential and 
 useful religious papers in the country. He was the oldest man in 
 his Class, and was on the most intimate terms with Dr. Nott, who 
 had great confidence in his wisdom and integrity. He was boin 
 in Dover, Dutchess County, N. Y., July 4, 1803; graduated from 
 Princeton College in 1835 ; was licensed by the Presbytery of 
 New Brunswick, October 21, 1835, and was Editor of the New 
 York Observer from 1836 to 1871. While traveling in Europe in 
 1870-71, lie was attacked by paralysis at Nice, France, and died 
 within a few days, May 13, 1871, and was buried in that city. 
 
 Mr. Cumings was very active in Christian and benevolent 
 work in New York, was a prominent director of the American 
 Bible Society, and served for many years on some of its im- 
 
15 
 
 portanl committees. 1 1 < " was a friend of education, and of every 
 good cause 1 for ihe improvement and happiness of man. 
 
 A loving friend writes: "The circumstances of his death and 
 burial were in keeping with his humble, retiring life. In an upper 
 chamber of a hotel, at the hour of midnight, attended only by 
 his wife and a young friend, with two Italian men, the end came 
 to him. Nor was his progress to the grave, far from kindred and 
 home, marked by any funeral pageant. But in the pleasant 
 British Cemetery of " Caucada," on a hill overlooking the Medi- 
 terranean — amid a flora of unrivalled beauty and surrounded by 
 olive groves, there the American traveler, visiting that lovely 
 region for health or pleasure, may find a stone inscribed, " Abijah 
 P. Cumings, of New York, U. S. A., aged 68." 
 
 " The tears of children (not his own) whom he has educated — 
 of the widows and orphans he has befriended — of the strangers he 
 has "taken in" — of the "sick and in prison" he has comforted — 
 of the servants of his own household, will not fall upon that 
 grave. But the remembrance of such a man will live in a multi- 
 tude of hearts." 
 
 One of the ablest and most useful men of the Class was Eev. 
 James M. McDonald, D. D. He was bom in Limerick, Maine, 
 May 22, 4812. He pursued his theological studies at Yale 
 College. In 1835 he was settled pastor of the Congregational 
 Church in Worthington, Conn., and in 1837, of the Church in 
 New London — was called to the Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, 
 L. L, in 1841 ; and in 1850, to the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian 
 Church of New York; and two years later, to the Presbyterian 
 Church in Princeton, N. J., where, for more than twenty years, he 
 continued to preach the gospel with great success. 
 
 He was a voluminous writer. The following are the titles of 
 some of his publications : " Credulity, as illustrated by successful 
 impostures in Science, Superstition and Fanaticism; " "Key to the 
 Book of Kevelation ; " " History of the Presbyterian Church of 
 Jamaica;" "My Father's House, or the Heaven of the Bible;" 
 " The Book of Ecclesiastes Explained ; " and " The Life of St. 
 
16 
 
 John." He was a frequent contributor to the Princeton Review 
 and the Bibliotheca Sacra. 
 
 He was a man of fine personal appearance, of genial and 
 attractive manners, of large and varied learning in his profession. 
 He was prudent in speech, wise in counsel, positive in his convic- 
 tions, and earnest in his advocacy of the truths of religion. He 
 died, sincerely lamented, April 19, 1876. 
 
 J. T. Farnham, although not a graduate, was a member of our 
 Class. The college afterward conferred a degree upon him. In 
 some respects, he was a remarkable character. Tall, and of com- 
 manding personal appearance, he was sure to attract attention. 
 Eestless in spirit and fond of adventure, he cound not be confined 
 to any ordinary pursuit, and at a very early day after leaving 
 college, he set out on the perilous undertaking of making his way 
 across the continent, an account of which he published under the 
 title of "Travels in the Great Western Prairies." He afterwards 
 published a sequel to the first, entitled "Life, Adventures and 
 Travels in California." In his preface to the latter work, he says, 
 "I wrote my 'Travels in the Great Western Prairies,' with little 
 belief that they would excite any attention beyond the circle in 
 which personal friendship would in some sense link the reader 
 with the events narrated. I did not comprehend the extensive 
 interest felt in journeying over the wild and barren' realms of 
 uncultivated nature. I did not suppose that the dim outline 
 which words could give of the snow-clad peak, the desert-vale, 
 and the trials and dangers which crowd about the pilgrim on the 
 western deserts and mountains, could be made sufficiently distinct 
 to conve}^ even a satisfactory shadow of their sublime, fearful 
 nature. But the very unexpected favor with which that work has 
 been received, has led me to conclude that such matters, related as 
 far as they may be at all, with fidelity, are valued as useful 
 knowledge. Indeed, we may learn much from the pulseless soli- 
 tudes — from the desert untrodden by the foot of living thing — 
 from the frozen world of mountains, whose chasms and cliffs 
 never echoed to aught but the thunder tempests girding their 
 frozen peaks — from old nature, piled, rocky, bladeless, toneless — if 
 
17 
 
 we will allow its lessons of awe to react the mind and impress it 
 with the fresh and holy images which they were made to inspire" 
 In his first work, "] left," he says, "my readers off the mouth of 
 Columbia. River, in sight of the green coast of Oregon. Lower 
 Oregon! A verdant belt of wild loveliness! A great pack of 
 (lowering shrubs, of forest pines, and clear streams! The old, 
 unchanged home of the Indian; where lie has hunted the moose 
 and deer, drawn the trout from the lake, and danced, sung, loved, 
 and warred away a thousand generations." 
 
 I have been unable to obtain any information in regard to the 
 time or circumstances of his death. His widow was, for some 
 time, Matron of the prison at Sing Sing, and did much for the 
 moral improvement of the prisoners. In 1844, I sent her a set of 
 wall maps for the benefit of the convicts. In acknowledging 
 their receipt, she wrote: ''They are of the greatest service in the 
 course of instruction we are now pursuing. Half an hour each 
 morning is spent in a lesson on the early history and discovery of 
 this Continent, and these maps add incalculably to the interest 
 which dull minds feel in the mere narration. Every act of 
 liberality like this lightens our labors, and inspires hope and self- 
 respect in the unfortunate beings whom we are, in our humble 
 way, seeking to make better and happier. Our success, thus far, 
 has been commensurate with our highest hopes." 
 
 Mrs. Farnham was the author of several volumes. 
 
 Eliphalet Cramer completed his academic studies preparatory 
 for college at the Berkshire Gymnasium in 1829. It was at the 
 gymnasium that I first met him. At that time he was but 
 fifteen years of age. Everybody liked "Lif" Cramer, as he was 
 familiarly called. He had a kind heart and a kind word for 
 everybody. My intercourse with him was intimate. For four 
 years, we were constant companions. We were members of the 
 same College societies — the Philomathian, the Kappa Alpha, and 
 the Phi Beta Kappa, The title of his paper, at the graduating 
 exercises, was "National Degeneracy." 
 
 I don't remember of having met him after we parted on Com- 
 mencement day. 
 
18 
 
 From an obituary sketch which lias been furnished by his 
 daughter, I have gained the following particulars : He was the 
 eldest son of Hon. John Cramer, a distinguished citizen of Water- 
 lord, N. Y. ; was born, June 18, 1813 ; studied law and was admit- 
 ted to the bar ; removed in 1837 to Milwaukee, Wis. ; engaged in 
 mercantile pursuits, and was largely interested in real estate ; was 
 one of the organizers and first President of the State Bank of 
 Wisconsin ; was one of the earliest members of the Plymouth 
 Church, a deacon and one of its most liberal supporters ; was a 
 large contributor to the funds for establishing Beloit College and 
 the Chicago Theological Seminary ; was proud of his adopted 
 city and invested largely in its real estate ; was in active business 
 until two years before his death ; amassed a large fortune, which 
 was used for the benefit of society. He died, September 19, 1872, 
 deeply lamented by all classes of society who had shared in his 
 benefactions. He had contributed to the rapid and marvellous 
 growth of his adopted city and had seen it a mere hamlet of a 
 few pioneers and backwoodsmen, rise to the dignity and wealth of 
 a large commercial city. During his long residence there of more 
 than thirty years, he was honored with many evidences of respect 
 from his fellow citizens by the offices of trust and responsibility 
 committed to his keeping. 
 
 His memory is lovingly enshrined in many hearts. 
 
 The telegraph brought the sad news from Washington, April 8, 
 1882, of the death of Thomas Allen. 
 
 Allen was my life-long friend. As boys, we began our Aca- 
 demic career together. Our fathers were farmers and lived in 
 distant parts of the town ; so that in early childhood, we rarely 
 met. His father was a leading citizen, and took a prominent part 
 in public business. In this way, I early came to hear of Jonathan 
 Allen, the father of our classmate. 
 
 The Allen family was distinguished among the yeomanry of 
 the town and State. The grandfather, the Kev. Thomas Allen, 
 was the first settled minister of Pittsfield, and took an active part 
 in the American Revolution. He fired the first gun, on the Colo- 
 nial side, at the battle of Bennington ; was instrumental in arousing 
 
19 
 
 the patriotism of the people in Western Massachusetts, and was 
 among the foremost by speech ;ui<l pen in achieving our national 
 independence. After the war, he took an active part in politics. 
 His pulpit was the arena for the examination of the great under- 
 lying principles of Republican institutions. He espoused and 
 warmly advocated the political doctrines of Thomas Jefferson, lie 
 hated the dogmas of the Federalists, as taught by John Adams 
 and Alexander Hamilton. The party lines were sharp and de- 
 cisive. Jefferson's opposition grew out of his hostility to Mr. 
 Hamilton. They were rivals. Hamilton had devised the Fund- 
 ing System, which was one of the great measures which distin- 
 guished Washington's administration. The system of revenue 
 adopted under General Washington was also the work of this 
 distinguished financier ; and so perfect was it found to be in prac- 
 tice amid all the changes and violence of party, and under the 
 administration of those who were originally opposed to its adop- 
 tion, that they severally found it necessary when placed at the head 
 of the Government, to continue the system which he had devised. 
 Even Mr. Jefferson himself, during the eight years that he held 
 the office of chief magistrate, never ventured to adopt a new sys- 
 tem of finance ; but adhered in all its essential particulars to that 
 devised by Hamilton. 
 
 " The fighting parson " hated Federalism in politics as much as 
 he did Armenianism in religion. His church was split into fac- 
 tions, which darkened the close of a long and useful life. He was 
 generous, warm-hearted and sympathetic ; he was the friend of the 
 poor and sorrowing. His funeral discourses, many of which were 
 published, were remarkably tender and affectionate — a literature 
 which has almost entirely passed away. On marriage and festive 
 occasions, he was the life of the company. All could approach 
 and share in his genial nature. But, mention the subject of pol- 
 itics, during a Presidential campaign, and his whole nature was in a 
 blaze. In the political struggles of our own times, we have hardly 
 anything to match it. But, in it all, he was thoroughly honest 
 and disinterested. 
 
 I present the foregoing historical data as a background to the 
 portrait I would draw of our democratic classmate. He was a 
 
20 
 
 worthy scion of the old Berkshire parson. Honest, but never 
 offensive, in the maintainance and declaration of his opinions, he 
 rarely excited antagonisms such as we have noticed in respect to 
 his grandfather. He was born in Pittsfield, August 29, 1813. 
 Passing his childhood and youth on his fathers farm, and attend- 
 ing the village academy and the Berkshire Gymnasium under 
 that accomplished teacher, Prof. Chester Dewey, he fitted himself 
 for and entered college in 1830. Neither in the gymnasium nor 
 the college did he attain the highest rank for scholarship. His 
 standing was respectable. He was popular with the faculty and 
 the students. His preferences in study were natural history rather 
 than mathematics or the ancient classics. He excelled in English 
 composition. In manners he was dignified and genial, was kind 
 and true in his friendships. He was an ardent lover of nature — 
 was fond of rural sports. His rod and his gun were his constant 
 companions during vacation. He loved to throw the fly to 
 the speckled trout, and chase the fox over hill and valley. He 
 was a close observer of the peculiarities and habits of wild 
 animals. He studied birds, and used to dissect them for instruc- 
 tion and amusement. Had he been under the tuition of Audubon, 
 he would have ranked high as an ornithologist. He had an eye for 
 form and color, and would have shone as an artist. His tempera- 
 ment was delicate and in sympathy with the aesthetic and beautiful 
 rather than the abstract in speculative philosophy. We boys 
 knew each other — our tastes, our trials, our aspirations. We 
 dreamed and speculated about the future. We built air castles 
 and filled them with precious treasures. What young man don't 
 do this? 
 
 Before leaving college, he chose the law for his profession. 
 With twenty-five dollars, the only patrimony his father could 
 give him, he set out for New York, in the Fall of 1832, and 
 entered upon the study of law. From that city he wrote me in 
 the Spring of 1833. A few extracts from his letter I will give, 
 to show the character of the young man who had not reached his 
 twentieth year. 
 
 In speaking of the choice of a profession, he says: "I have 
 long been of opinion it is best for a man to follow nature. He 
 
2 1 
 
 should examine himself, and ask where he can shine with 1 he most 
 honor and profit Can he command an army or a fleet? Has he 
 the art of a Courtier? Has he those qualities of mind, manner 
 and speech which will make him shine at the bar? Or, has 
 nature fitted him for the clerical or medical profession? Once 
 settled, lie should choose without delay. Let everything be 
 sacrificed, except, of course, those finer qualities of the heart 
 without which man is a brute, and no profession should, or does, 
 exclude their cultivation. 
 
 " Now, then, if you are after money, there is none more profit- 
 able on that point than the law. If honor, lay hold of the law. If 
 political eminence, lay hold of the law. As a science, none goes 
 beyond it in dignity or extent. As a study, you will find channels 
 of amusement and instruction that extend into every department 
 of Mfe. 
 
 " Now, then, for a location. If you mean to depend upon the 
 pure practice of the profession you choose, of all places in this 
 country this is the one, the city of New York. I found when I 
 came here, with all my college pedantry and imaginary knowledge 
 I just knew nothing at all. Our college life put trammels upon 
 us which it is difficult to throw off. Those very trammels are on 
 you now. You are dreaming, refining, fearful, apprehensive, 
 undecided ; but such a man will find no sympathy with the world. 
 You must come out and take an active and decided part. Men 
 of the world are all in action, contending with each other, face to 
 face, for honor and independence. You must come out ; and, if 
 you would do as other, and perhaps as the most successful are 
 doing, you must hambug the people. The science of humbug is 
 getting to be the most profitable of all sciences. We have been 
 humbugged long enough. Let us take our turn and humbug, too. 
 
 " I have had a sneaking notion of going West ; and, if I 
 should get a good offer, I may go yet. The chances for political 
 eminence are greater there than anywhere else. 
 
 "But the practice of the law there must be rather slim. Lands 
 are so cheap that there is every chance for profitable speculation, 
 inasmuch as they are increasing very fast in value. If you should 
 go there, you might ultimately find yourself an extensive land- 
 
22 
 
 owner, and, having grown np witli the country, be revered as one 
 of its patriarchs. You might be a Governor, a Judge, or a 
 Congressman ! " 
 
 Sagacious youth ! All this he realized in himself ! In the 
 boy we see the promise which has been signally fulfilled in the 
 man ! 
 
 Mr. Allen went West and amassed a colossal fortune. Such 
 success would have upset the mental equilibrium of many a man. 
 But it did not serve to disturb his. By wise and judicious 
 management he secured the object of his ambition, and it required 
 all his thought and skill to keep and maintain it. His burdens, 
 great as they must have been, seemed to rest lightly upon his 
 shoulders. In conversation with him, no one would have thought 
 that he had any cares. He was always calm and self-possessed. 
 He put on no airs. In manners, he was courteous and affable, 
 kind and thoughtful of others. His charities were large, but 
 without ostentation. Among these was the founding of a pro- 
 fessorship of Mining and Metallurgy in Washington University of 
 St. Louis, and the building of a costly public library for his native 
 town. He purchased his grandfather's estate in Pittsheld, and 
 erected a costly residence for his family. Here he passed his 
 summers in cultivating an extensive farm and rearing a choice 
 breed of Jerse} T cattle. It was returning to the rural scenes and 
 occupations of his boyhood. It was refreshing to drive with him 
 over his well-cultivated acres, and witness the interest he took in 
 all the details of his well-managed farm. Every cow's milk was 
 weighed, night and morning, and a record of it made. The 
 arrangements for butter-making were excellent. He took great 
 pride in showing his friends what a busy man could provide in 
 the way of relaxation and amusement. Allen lived like a prince, 
 but without ostentation. He had his private palace-car, fitted up 
 with every convenience for housekeeping, which he was privileged 
 to order hitched to any train on any of the great railroad lines, and 
 traverse the Continent at his pleasure — a contrast between this and 
 the old stage-coach we used to travel in, in our college clays, when, 
 in the muddy season, he and I had to carry rails to pry it out of 
 the mire ! 
 
23 
 
 Tn contemplating such a career, we find much to admire. If 
 measured by human standards, it is one of signal success. It meets 
 the ideal of this age of materialism. With the multitudes, success 
 in the accumulation of wealth is the only passport to greatness. 
 The Goulds and the Vanderbilts are the heroes of this generation. 
 Great intellectual abilities, great literary or scientific acquisitions, 
 unattended by wealth, are insignificant trophies in the battle of 
 life! 
 
 A man is measured by his outward possessions rather than by 
 his culture and moral wealth. But it is true of Allen that he 
 alwaj^s cultivated a love of the beautiful in nature and art. The 
 accumulation of wealth did not deaden his assthetic sensibilities or 
 moral instincts. He was simple and temperate in his habits. The 
 coarseness and vulgarity which are often associated with men of 
 hastily accumulated fortunes were never seen in Allen. He was 
 too great a man for that. He had lofty ideals of human greatness. 
 He was familiar with the great names of antiquity. He worshipped 
 the patriots, orators and statesmen of his own country. These had 
 greater charms for him than the tinsel of wealth. He was a man 
 of culture, and had an extensive knowledge of men and institutions. 
 
 I need not do more than recite the steps in his successful 
 career. That he was admitted to the bar in 1835 ; that, soon 
 after, he took an interest in the politics of the day ; that, in 
 1837, he established the Madisonian, a political newspaper, in 
 "Washington ; that he was, soon after, elected printer to the House, 
 and afterward printer to the Senate ; that, in 1842, he went from 
 Washington to St. Louis to reside ; that he there took an active 
 part in connection with public improvements; that, in 1848, he 
 prepared an address in favor of the construction of the St. Louis 
 and Cincinnati Railway ; that he built the first railway west of the 
 Mississippi ; that he was instrumental in securing a railroad to the 
 Pacific ; that he was for many years a railway president ; that he 
 projected and built over 1,000 miles of railroad ; that, in 1867, he 
 bought the Iron Mountain Railroad and Cairo & Fulton Railroad, 
 and completed them in two years ; that he was a member of the 
 Missouri Senate from 1850 to 1854 ; that, in 1880, he was elected 
 
24 
 
 to the 47th Congress as a Democrat, and that, soon after, he sold 
 li is railway interests and retired from active business. 
 
 These are some of the rounds in the ladder of his successful 
 career. He had gained all that this world could afford of wealth, 
 honor and position ; he had reared a large and interesting family ; 
 he had secured the confidence and respect of a large circle of 
 acquaintances ; he had nearly reached the limit of human life; he 
 hoped to spend its evening in the enjoyment of his accumulated 
 treasures ; to receive the congratulations of friends for many years 
 to come ; to cany into execution cherished plans for the advance- 
 ment of collegiate education ; to witness the deepening shadows of 
 a slowly descending sun, and to sink at last, without pain and 
 without regret, into the bosom of his loving mother— earth ! 
 
 But, while standing in the council chamber of the Nation, with 
 the possibilities of making an honorable reputation in parliamentary 
 practice, the death-struggle sharp and fierce, came suddenly upon 
 him, and summoned him into another Presence and other 
 occupations ! 
 
 As I stood, the other day, by his newly-made grave, on which 
 the floral offerings of affection were withering in the morning sun, 
 emblems of all earthly objects, I felt that, after all, there remained 
 something over which Death had no control — and that was the 
 imperishable character of such a spirit as his! That abides! The 
 flowers may fade ; the winds may sing their requiem and die 
 away ; the carol of birds may be heard at noon and eventide ; but 
 the night cometh when no song of thrush or robin is heard ! The 
 green-leafy robe of June puts on its many-tinted autumnal colors, 
 and all is changed. So with this mortal life of ours. It passes 
 away as a shadow, but the spirit abides ! 
 
 In conclusion, I wish to put on record this interesting testimony 
 to his trust in Divine Providence. In his last illness, he said : "I 
 know not how it is with other men, but I have been a man 
 of prayer all my life. I have always, before important decisions, 
 sought guidance from God." In the excruciating agony he 
 suffered, toward the last, he had the most convincing evidence of 
 God's presence and revelations of God to Ins soul, as he joyfully 
 expressed it. His joy was full ! 
 
25 
 
 The usual Congressional honors were paid to his memory by 
 Mr. Dawes of the Senate and Mr. Cockrell of the House. Brief 
 funeral services were held in Washington, at which there was a 
 large attendance of Senators and Eepresentatives. A Congressional 
 Committee accompanied his remains to Pittsfield. Funeral services 
 were held in the Congregational Church. The Eev. J. L. Jenkins 
 officiated, preaching from the text, "Samuel died, and all the 
 Israelites gathered together and lamented him, and they buried 
 him in his house at Ramah." 
 
 To relieve my paper of its sobriety, perhaps I should say, of its 
 dullness, permit me to tell a college story, the points of which were 
 given me by an eye-witness, Wells S. Hammond, of the Class of 
 1833 ; also by Prof. Averill. 
 
 Do you remember the Callithumpian Society ? It was a curious 
 association. It operated at night. It visited the rooms of novices 
 and weak-minded students, and spent the night in discussing all 
 sorts of questions. One of its rules was that every member 
 should speak two hours without stopping. In that way the hours 
 of the night were spent and their host victimized. 
 
 On one occasion, the consent of Rockwood, who was in the class 
 below us, was obtained to hold their meeting at his room. 
 Rockwood, understanding the character of his guests and the 
 object of their meetings, supplied a very liberal quantity of beer 
 for their entertainment, which he was wicked enough to drug with 
 ipecac. On reaching the short hours of the morning, he informed 
 his guests that it was time for refreshments ; and, going to his 
 closet, took a bottle of beer and asked them to help themselves. 
 They all cried out, "It isn't good, is it?" Well, on drawing the 
 cork to his bottle, which he had not drugged, he said, " You can 
 do as you please; I'm going to have some." Then there was a 
 general scramble for the bottles, and the beer was drunk in 
 complimentary toasts in honor of their liberal host. 
 
 The debate was resumed. Soon a member quietly left the 
 room, and then another, and another, till Rockwood and his 
 friend Hammond, who had shared the good beer, were left alone. 
 It was a quiet, beautiful night. The stars looked down from their 
 
26 
 
 azure heights. The good people of the college and vicinity were 
 soundly sleeping. There was naught to disturb the quiet of this 
 peaceful night till these midnight debators went forth in all 
 directions and poured out, in flowing streams, the most impassioned 
 eloquence, not from their tongues, but from organs more deeply 
 seated and more acutely sensitive to the ravishing power of 
 stimulants. 
 
 After enjoying the fun of this midnight concert, the wicked 
 Rock wood and his friend returned to their rooms and slept out the 
 balance of the night. There were no Callithumpians at the next 
 morning prayers. They were even absent from class-room duties. 
 Where are they ? it was asked. The secret leaked out. Every- 
 body soon knew it. The professors were delighted. The students 
 said it was a good joke. In fact, everybody was pleased except 
 the Callithumpians, who had taken more stock than they could 
 carry, and were obliged to visit their parental abodes for the 
 invigorating influences of diet and rest. 
 
 When we entered Union College, in 1830, Dr. Nott was in the 
 zenith of his popularity, and was regarded by many as the greatest 
 of college presidents. The largest classes were graduated from 
 this institution. Many came from other colleges to pass their 
 senior year and receive the instruction of Dr. Nott in Kame's 
 Elements of Criticism. The government of the college was 
 administered by him.' No case of discipline was entrusted to the 
 professors. That he might exercise constant supervision over the 
 young, he took up his residence at the college. His government 
 was parental. By kindness, he was able to guide the most way- 
 ward and refractor}^. Such was the power of his appeals, the most 
 hardened and erring would relent and listen to the voice of 
 wisdom. Many a promising young man was thus saved to his 
 family and society. There is no written record, but here is to be 
 found the great moral value of the life and services of Dr. Nott, — 
 he saved young man. Who of his pupils does not remember his 
 eloquent appeals in behalf of temperance and morality and of 
 immediate consecration to Christ? In seasons of great religious 
 < \\(-itement, which frequently visited the college, the scoffing and 
 
27 
 
 profane were silenced, and induced, in many cases, to enter upon 
 the Christian life. 
 
 Dr. Nott was the father of the Common School system of 
 education in this State. He saw that colleges could not flourish 
 without the general education of the people — that common schools 
 would feed the academies, and the academies the colleges — that 
 they were essential parts in a system of universal education, in 
 which every man, woman and child had an interest. While he 
 was seeking from the Legislature an endowment for his college, he 
 introduced, at the same time, a bill for the appropriation of the 
 sales of the public lands for the support of common schools. Both 
 bills met with bitter opposition ; but, by judicious management on 
 the part of Dr. Nott, they both passed and received the signature 
 of the Governor, Morgan Lewis. The Doctor was generous enough 
 to have all the colleges of the State share in the college appropria- 
 tion. The sum asked for Union College was only $45,000, and 
 this was to be raised by the license of lotteries. The grant was 
 increased to $80,000. After completing the stone college building 
 with moneys thus appropriated, it was found that the college site 
 in the heart of the city was undesirable ; and Dr. Nott, on his own 
 responsibility, purchased some three hundred acres of land on the 
 outskirts of the town and erected the college edifices now in use. 
 This was in 1812. Two years later, the Legislature passed an act 
 for the further endowment of the college, which put it upon a firm 
 financial basis. What is very remarkable in this negotiation of all 
 the collegiate interests of the State, which were left, by consent of 
 Columbia College, in the hands of Dr. Nott is, that that institution 
 came into possession of its great wealth through the good manage- 
 ment of the Doctor. I have no space for this interesting history, 
 and must pass it. By forecast and wisdom in the management of 
 these great educational interests, the memory of Dr. Nott ought to 
 be kept green in all time to come by the people of this State. 
 
 While Dr. Nott was not a man of profound learning, he was 
 an orator of commanding eloquence. It was not so much the 
 matter of his discourse as the manner in which he said it. There 
 was a freshness and sparkle in his style which captivated his 
 hearers. Although his blade was double-edged and trenchant, he 
 
28 
 
 could Wreath it with flowers and play with his antagonist; or, if 
 necessary, he could send it crashing through helmet and cuirass. 
 
 The oration which gave Dr. Nott a national reputation was 
 his eulogy on the death of Alexander Hamilton, delivered at 
 Albany in 1804. Hamilton was the idol of the American people. 
 He had been of great patriotic service in securing our national 
 independence. He was Washington's right-hand man, the gallant 
 officer, the distinguished patriot, the great financier. He had fallen 
 in an ignoble duel with Aaron Burr. The nation was in tears, as it 
 was, last year, by the tragic death of Garfield. Funeral orations 
 were pronounced from forum and pulpit, in all the leading cities of 
 the land. It was a great theme. An immense audience of the 
 citizens of Albany, without regard to party, assembled to hear the 
 great clergyman. Dr. Nott was in sympathy with the occasion. 
 He was a warm personal friend of Hamilton and admired his 
 genius. From a few hastily prepared notes to guide his thoughts, 
 he poured forth one of the most masterly orations of his life. 
 The effect was electric. The audience was convulsed. Indigna- 
 tion and sorrow alternated — sorrow for the nation's loss, and 
 indignation toward the assassin. The system of duelling was 
 denounced, the value of human life exhalted. A friend of mine 
 was present, and such, said he, was the effect upon him, that he 
 hardly knew whether he was in the flesh or out. 
 
 The Doctor, afterward, wrote out his oration for the press. It 
 was a mistake. It is the skeleton, without the animating pres- 
 ence' of the orator. The Doctor, it is said, afterward regretted its 
 publication. 
 
 Dr. Nott could never call a student by name ; but yet he 
 knew every man by his walk ; and one man he knew by his run. 
 Lathrop had been down to the hotel to see some friends, and re- 
 turning late in the evening and passing by the Doctor's door, was 
 surprized by the Doctor's suddenly coming down the steps. Lath- 
 rop started upon a run and the Doctor set out in pursuit. Turn- 
 ing round the corner by the south colonnade, they had it " nip and 
 tuck." Down the walk to the garden they went at a break- 
 neck pace. Lathrop was muscular and long-winded ; but by the 
 dexterous use of his longer legs, the doctor was evidently 
 
29 
 
 gaining upon his competitor, when Latlirop put into the garden, 
 and running among the evergreens, escaped. The next morning, 
 Latlirop was summoned to the Doctor's study. " Well, my son,' r 
 said the Doctor, " we had a nice race, last night." " Yes," said 
 Latlirop, " I didn't know, Doctor, there was so much speed in the 
 old horse ! " An explanation followed, and Lathrop was advised 
 never to run without cause. 
 
 Many instances of Dr. Nott's power over masses of excited 
 men might be given. One must suffice. Soon after our leaving 
 college, a serious difficulty sprung up between the college students 
 and the roughs living in the suburbs of the city. Some of the 
 bo} T s had been roughly handled. The spirit of retaliation was 
 aroused ; and what, at first, was but a spark, soon kindled into a 
 flame. War was declared. The students taking advantage of the 
 absence of Dr. Nott, armed themselves with guns, clubs and pis- 
 tols, and formed themselves into line in front of the college build-, 
 ings in readiness to march on their bloody fray. The professors 
 expostulating in vain, finally ordered them to their rooms. This 
 only kindled their ire and stimulated their courage. Disperse 
 they would not, tight they would. Becoming turbulent and in- 
 sulting to the college authorities, they set out upon their perilous 
 march to avenge their insulted honor. Dr. Nott, who was in Al- 
 bany, had been notified of the condition of things, and taking the 
 first train, arrived in time to meet the belligerents on their way to 
 the battlefield. Expressing no surprise, he quietly asked what was 
 up ? We are going to fight the " niggers," said the captain ; they 
 have insulted us, and we'll stand it no longer. Entering at once 
 into sympathy with their plan, he told them they were right ; that 
 it would be cowardly and degrading to submit to such repeated 
 instances of provocation ; but at the same time informed them that 
 there was policy in war, that he would espouse their cause, pro- 
 vided they would listen to his advice. Yielding a ready com- 
 pliance, they asked him to take the matter into his own hands. 
 With ten of your party, I can whip an army of roughs. " Do it, 
 do it," was the ready reply. 
 
 Selecting the leading spirits of the party and giving their arms 
 to the other boys, he said " take these weapons back to college and 
 
30 
 
 go to your studies." Doing as they were bidden, they marched 
 back, while the Doctor taking command of his little unarmed band 
 went to the spot where were gathered the opposing host ready for 
 the fray. In confronting them, the Doctor made one of his charac- 
 teristic speeches, calling attention to the smallness of his party, 
 that they had not come to do them harm, that it was a misfortune 
 that any unkind feeling should exist between them and his boys, 
 that it was a mistaken idea if they thought the college boys would 
 fight the citizens of Schenectady — they would do no such thing. 
 He then drew a graphic picture of their importance to society, that 
 the foundations of the business world rest on their shoulders. 
 He pointed out the folly of neighborhood quarrels, the value of 
 peace and good order, ridiculed the idea of throwing mud and 
 brickbats. So completely did he obtain the mastery over them, 
 they set up a shout of applause and declared that they were will- 
 ing to live in peace. Congratulating them on their good resolu- 
 tions, the Doctor and his party retired — the chasm was bridged — 
 a bloodless victory won. 
 
 Dr. Nott was profoundly skilled in diplomacy. He was a 
 born ruler of men. For years the State Legislature was under his 
 control. I don't know that he ever abused this power, unless it 
 was in the instance I am about to relate. He was a trainer of 
 politicians. William H. Seward, John C. Spencer and many 
 others were instructed by the Doctor in statescraft. He was 
 always consulted in cases of political emergency. When the 
 Trustees of Union College tried to get a little official power, for 
 the Doctor had it all, for the sake of keeping it he circumvented 
 the Trustees by introducing a bill asking the Legislature to con- 
 tinue to the Trustees all the power they ever had. It was a 
 lengthy document and most skillfully drawn up. It was mostly 
 devoted to the importance of opening a street in the suburbs of 
 Schenectady, and toward its close, the jewelled sentence that the 
 Trustees of Union College have the same power they always had 
 had (which was none at all), was hidden in the voluminous mass. 
 The members of the Assembly had tired of the reading and were 
 willing that the street and fifty others if desired, should be opened, 
 and so passed the bill, and the little Trustee-clause with it. 
 
31 
 
 Dr. Nott, in one of his lectures on Kame's Elements of Criti- 
 cism, said to us, " Young gentlemen, never yield to anger. When 
 a boy, I learned the folly of that weakness. I was trying to drive 
 some unruly cattle, and became greatly enraged and vented my 
 wrath in very unbecoming language. On looking around, I saw 
 some of my young lady acquaintances who were enjoying the fun 
 at my expense. I was mortified, and vowed that I would never 
 make a fool of myself again. It will not do in any department 
 of professional life to lose your temper ; for by so doing, you put 
 a weapon into the hands of your adversary, and your power is 
 gone." 
 
 As a presiding officer over popular assemblies, Dr. Nott had 
 no superior. Dignified in person, and courteous in manner, he won 
 the admiration of all. His sympathies were always with the 
 unfortunate. He leaned to the side of mercy. In the famous trial 
 of Hooper Cumming, before the Presbytery of Albany, in 1817, 
 for intemperance and plagiarism in having preached one of Dr. 
 Channing's sermons, Dr. Nott was Moderator. But, notwithstand- 
 ing the provocation he had received from Mr. Cumming, who had 
 preached two of the Doctor's sermons in Schenectady, the Doctor 
 being present, he did what he could at the trial to diminish the 
 prejudice against the accused and save the eloquent preacher. Dr. 
 Nott was interested in several mechanical enterprises, invented a 
 stove for the burning of anthracite coal, also a new form of steam 
 boiler for the propelling of boats. But in the latter, he met with 
 no very great success. In his management of young men, there 
 was this peculiarity in his instructions. He would preserve every 
 man's individuality. Each thought and acted for himself, so 
 that on all public occasions there was a charming variety of in- 
 dividuality in their orations. 
 
 The following item was obtained from a little book written by 
 a lady : " On his seventy-sixth birthday, June 25, 1849, a com- 
 mittee of the senior class waited on him, requesting permission to 
 have a general college celebration of his birthday. At this, he 
 seemed much surprised, and asked, ' ' How in the world did you 
 learn that? " " Really, I did not know it myself; but if it be so, 
 boys, that I am another year older, and you wish to celebrate it, 
 
32 
 
 you must do it in the way I am going to — work with all your 
 might'' But, said they, "we would like to illuminate the col- 
 lege." " Illuminate the college!" said he, " why, what an idea ! 
 such a thing was never done." "Why, yes," said the students, 
 " the first year you came here it was illuminated." " Not hardly," 
 said the Doctor, " for I remember rightly, we had no college to 
 illuminate." But, said they, "they hung the lamps in the trees, 
 which meant the same thing." So the dialogue went on, and at 
 last terminated by the Doctors consenting to let the senior class 
 come to his house in the evening, for an informal levee, specifying 
 that they should all go home precisely at 10 o'clock. Many pres- 
 ents were sent in. The professors and their ladies, the tutors and 
 other officers of the college were present at the party. The Doc- 
 tor was in fine spirits, entertaining the groups who thronged about 
 him with vivid delineations of the master spirits of the last gen- 
 eration, with most of whom he was intimate. 
 
 Just before the company dispersed, the venerable Doctor re- 
 ferred in a touching manner to the separation that would soon take 
 place between the teachers and the class before him, and besought 
 them to live in constant reference to the judgment day, to prepare 
 for which all other days are given. And thus in behalf of all 
 present, offered an effecting and solemn prayer to the Father of all 
 mercies. 
 
 The most notable event in Dr. Nott's connection with the col- 
 lege was the fiftieth anniversary of his presidency, which was 
 celebrated with great interest by the Alumni, July 25, 1854. 
 Many of Union's most distinguished sons took part in the festival. 
 An Historical Address was delivered by Wm. W. Campbell; 
 then, a discourse of great power by Francis Wayland, President 
 of Brown University, on " The Education demanded by the 
 people of the United States ; " then followed an address of great 
 tenderness by Dr. Nott, in his best manner. It was replete with 
 reminiscences of the past. 
 
 " Surely," said he, " our lives have fallen in pleasant places, 
 we have a goodly heritage." "But where are the actors in these 
 scenes of glory? — the men who achieved these semi-centennial 
 triumphs ? — especially those of the Empire State ? — where are the 
 
statesmen? — where is Jay, and Clinton and Hamilton — statesmen 
 of imperishable memory ? " 
 
 " Where are the jurists? — where is the stern and incorruptible 
 Spencer, the erudite, guileless Kent, and the eloquent and per- 
 suasive Van Ness ? " 
 
 "Where are the inventors and the patrons of inventors? — 
 where is the liberal and enlightened Livingston ? — the ingenious 
 and successful Fulton? — and above all, where is the unhonored 
 and forgotten Fitch, the real and unrivalled author of steam- 
 navigation ? " 
 
 "Where are the men that presided over this institution in its 
 early infancy ? — where is the devout and impassioned Smith ?— 
 the acute and polemic Edwards ? — and where the elegant and 
 accomplished Maxey ? " 
 
 " Where the teachers that constituted its faculty ? — where is 
 the profound Van Der Huval ? — the beloved Taylor ? — the devoted 
 Yates? — the learned Allen, and the venerated Davis? " 
 
 " Where are the men that constituted its Board of Trustees ? 
 — where is Van Eensselaer, and Banyar and Henry, and Outhout 
 and Yates and Duane ? and especially where is Romeyn and Coe 
 and Blatchford ? — venerable names. Where ? Gone — all gone ; 
 and I stand here alone to-day among you, beloved pupils, the last 
 remaining relic of a former age, as the leafless, storm-stricken forest 
 tree stands amid trees of younger growth, still spreading around 
 their branches, beating the storm and rejoicing in their strength." 
 
 Venerable old man ! " The leafless forest tree " has fallen ; 
 its ashes have mingled with the dust of other centuries ; but the 
 memory of its departed glory remains, a joy and benediction 
 forever. 
 
 The standard of teaching in the college was low. With few 
 exceptions, the professors were easy and inefficient. All the life 
 was in two of the younger men — Chester Averill and Isaac W. 
 Jackson. Averill was a man of uncommon promise. Fie was 
 tall and beautiful in person, clear and comprehensive in intellect, 
 diligent and untiring in study, lofty and aspiring in his ideals of 
 perfected manhood. In 1836, in the midst of his scholarly career, 
 he was cut off and consigned to an early grave. 
 
34 
 
 Prof. Jackson died in 1877. He was a man of rare mental 
 abilities, of large mathematical culture, of broad and comprehen- 
 sive views, of quick and delicate sensibilities, and of noble and 
 generous impulses. 
 
 In this connection, I should not omit the name of Bishop 
 Alonzo Potter, who had joined the college faculty during our last 
 year and wished to reform the lax discipline of class-instruction ; 
 but did little before our graduation. The task of moving the 
 inert mass was too herculean for a man of even his acknowledged 
 power and reputation. 
 
 Dr. Nott did not rely so much upon book-learning as upon the 
 knowledge of human nature. He cared little for libraries and 
 cabinets of natural history; with him, book-worms and pedants 
 were at a discount. He would have every man rely upon his 
 genius and not consume his strength with the wasting midnight 
 oil. He liked readiness and not a 'plodding scholarship. Here r 
 there was no encouragement of painstaking fidelity to scholastic 
 duties. The boys were left to follow their own inclinations, and 
 these in the average student are not of a very elevated character. 
 
 The Doctor said in class, one day, that he was not afraid to 
 meet a man in argument who had read all the books of a large 
 library, but he did fear him who had read but one. He advised 
 us to confine our reading during senior year to Shakespeare and 
 the Bible. 
 
 In our class of seventy -five graduates (there were then eighty 
 in attendance), twenty-seven became lawyers, twenty-three clergy- 
 men, six physicians, four teachers, the rest farmers and business 
 men. For intelligence, usefulness and success in life, it will chal- 
 lenge comparison with any class which has left the college. And, 
 I think it may be said with truth, that the graduates of Union 
 College will bear favorable comparison with those of any of the 
 leading institutions in the country. The triennial catalogue pre- 
 sents an array of distinguished names in every department of 
 human learning. I have selected a few ; among lawyers, John 
 Savage, Egbert Bensen, Francis Van Yecten, John C. Spencer, 
 Kobert J. Breckenridge, William H. Seward, William Kent, 
 Richard M. Blachford, Ira Harris, John A. Lott and Alexander W- 
 
35 
 
 Bradford. Among clergymen, are Thomas C. Brownell, Thomas 
 McCauley, Thomas T. De Witt, Alonzo Potter, George W. Doane, 
 Horatio Potter, Leonard Woods and Iehabod S. Spencer. Among 
 teachers and college presidents, are found T. Romeyn Beck, 
 Francis Wayland, Taylor Lewis, Stephen Alexander, Henry P. 
 Tappan, John W. Raymond, Silas Totten, John B. Beck, Amos 
 Dean, Lawren P. Hickok, Lewis C. Beck, George W. Eaton, 
 Chester Averill and I. W. Jackson. Many others might be named. 
 
 Do you remember how inexpensive our education was? The 
 whole expense of mine was $342.61, and I lived like a prince ! 
 The best of board for $1 to $1.50 per week. The greatest expense 
 was for tuition, $18.50 per term ; for repairs and damage, 62J 
 cents. The whole annual expense for tuition was $57. 37 J! 
 Compare this with the present scale of prices for college tuition. 
 But money had a greater value in those early days of the Repub- 
 lic ; and of course, had a greater purchasing power. The mines 
 of California had not been discovered ! 
 
 Time has wrought many changes. The Republic has laid 
 aside its swaddling clothes and reached a vigorous manhood. 
 We have witnessed its unfolding greatness. We. have joined the 
 long procession in its triumphant march. 
 
 Fifty years have passed ! What changes have been wrought 
 in human society ! No fifty years in the world's history have 
 witnessed such mighty revolutions ! Turn your thoughts upon 
 our country. The population of the United States in 1835 was 
 14,786,000. In 1880, it was 50,155,783. In 1832, there were 24 
 States ; in 1882, there are 38 States and 7 territories. In 1830, 
 there were only 23 miles of railway ; in 1882, there are more than 
 107,000 miles! The first railroad in the United States was at 
 Quincy, Mass., running from the quarries to the Neponset river by 
 horse power. The first railway in the country on which steam 
 power was used was a short line built in 1827 by the Delaware 
 and Hudson Coal Company, from their mines to Honesdale, Pa. 
 This road was used for traffic and not for passenger trains. In 
 1829, Horatio Allen, of the Novelty Works, New York, brought 
 from England the first locomotives, one of which was used on the 
 
36 
 
 Delaware and Hudson railroad, but was taken off because it was 
 too heavy for the rails. This engine was built by George Stephen- 
 son, the English engineer, who was not the originator of the 
 railway, nor the inventor of the locomotive. The first railroad, of 
 which I can find any account, was the Darlington road, built in 
 1818 by Mr. Pearce, which run from the river Tees to the collier- 
 ies, west of it. After a hard struggle, an act of Parliament was 
 obtained for it. The road at first was only 30 miles long ; it was 
 afterwards extended 130 miles, but was not open for use till 
 September, 1825. 
 
 It is said that the first American locomotive was built by Peter 
 Cooper, in 1830, called " Tom Thumb," which was placed on the 
 Baltimore and Ohio railroad ; but was too small to be of any 
 practical service. The object of its construction was to demon- 
 strate the practicability of turning short curves. But, in the same 
 year, 1830, a locomotive was made at the West Point Foundry for 
 the South Carolina road, called the " Phoenix ; " a second, was 
 called the " West Point." In the spring of 1831, the third one built 
 for the Mohawk and Hudson railroad from Albany to Schenectady, 
 was called the "De Witt Clinton." 
 
 While we were in college, the Mohawk and Hudson Eailway 
 was built ; and, in our afternoon excursions, we used to visit the 
 grounds and witness the progress of the work. This railway was 
 begun in August, 1830, and finished in September, 1831. Sur- 
 veys were first made by Mr. Fleming in 1829, who was succeeded 
 by Mr. Jarvis in 1830. Passengers were taken upon this road in 
 coaches drawn by horses and by the locomotive engines, the 
 " DeWitt Clinton," to which reference has just been made, and the 
 " Robert Fulton," an English engine. The coaches were built like 
 the common post coaches of that day, and would carry inside and 
 out about twenty passengers, each. We were among the very first 
 to make a trip to Albany and rode on the outside ; the cars being 
 drawn by horses. These engines as compared with the mammoth 
 locomotives which now run over the same road, were mere philo- 
 sophical toys. The "De Witt Clinton" was only about eleven and 
 a half feet in length, and mounted on iron wheels of four feet 
 eight inches diameter. There were two cylinders, one on each 
 
37 
 
 side of tlic engine, of five inches and a half diameter and 
 sixteen inches stroke. The power of the engine was about ten 
 horses. As it stood on the rails it could be easily moved by a 
 single hand. Its weight was 6, 758 J pounds. The "Robert Ful- 
 ton " weighed 12,742 pounds, of which 8,745 pounds rested on one 
 pair of wheels. The former was as long as that of the "De Witt 
 Clinton," and was mounted on wooden wheels, strongly bound with 
 iron. Mr. Stephenson said of it :" As to the power of this engine, 
 it would take twenty tons without difficulty ; but with twelve, it will 
 be much better. The small inclination of one foot in two hundred 
 and twenty-five, will affect the motion of the engine very little." 
 These were days of small things ! It was impossible to draw a 
 train of cars with this engine up the slight grade at Schenectady. 
 A stationary engine did that work, which with the one at Albany 
 ate up the profits of the road [ 
 
 The comparative merits of English and American locomotives 
 may be seen in the following reference. On the railroad between 
 Alexandria and Suez, there were four locomotives in 1858, two of 
 which were English and two American, made at Taunton, Mass. 
 The American engineer told the Pasha that instead of being weak, 
 as the English had said, he would haul as many loaded cars as would 
 reach from one end of the road to the other. The Pasha, to try it, 
 had all the cars he had, seventy-five of them, heavily loaded and 
 his own car hitched behind. The American locomotives hauled the 
 whole of them two hundred miles to Suez in twelve hours, stopping 
 for fuel and water. This done, the Pasha cried, " God is great — 
 a Yankee is very near perfection." After that, the Pasha used the 
 Taunton engines altogether. 
 
 The first railway built in Spain was between Barcelona and 
 Mataro, and it was opened in 1848. Now, Spain has 4,841 
 miles of railway, 1,310 in course of construction, and 1,008 miles 
 authorized. 
 
 At the present time, the United States has two or three thou- 
 sand miles more railway than all the countries of Europe combined 
 can show. 
 
 The capital stock of all the railroads in the United States were, 
 January 1, 1881, $2,553,734,117. All parts of the Union have 
 
38 
 
 been linked together with iron bands ; the Atlantic and Pacific 
 Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico and the great Lakes of the North, 
 have been indissolubly united. 
 
 An enormous increase has been made to the territory of the 
 United States. The acquisition of New Mexico, nearly all of 
 Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah and part of Colorado was due 
 to the war with Mexico which ended in 1848. That portion 
 of Arizona lying south of Gila river was bought of Mexico in 
 1853 ; and the purchase of Alaska from Kussia in 1867, was the 
 last addition to the territory of the Eepublic. 
 
 The mining of coal, iron, lead and the precious metals has 
 reached since our graduation, an unprecedented degree in the scale 
 of values. On this topic, I have only time to say, that it was 
 estimated by the director of the Mint for the year ending June 30, 
 1880, at $80,167,000; of which $33,522,182 was gold; $40,005,- 
 364 silver; $5,742,390 lead. Prior to the discovery of California, 
 the total product of gold and silver was very small. But in 1848, 
 the working of the California mines began, and from 1861 the 
 quantity of precious metals has been constantly increasing. At 
 present, the United States produces a larger quantity of those 
 metals annually than any other country of the world. 
 
 In this connection, I will call attention to one of our cereals — 
 wheat. The wheat crop of the United States for 1880, was 153,- 
 252, 795 bushels, which was valued at $190,546,365 ; more than 
 twice the value of all the gold, silver and lead, for the same year, 
 while the money value of the hay-crop of the United States is 
 many times that of the wheat-crop. 
 
 The following table will show the marvellous growth of some 
 of our American cities, during the past fifty years : — 
 
 Census of 1880. Census of 1830. 
 
 New York, . . 1,206,590 .... 202,589 
 
 Philadelphia, . . 846,984 161,410 
 
 Brooklyn, . . . 566,689 .... 15,396 
 
 Chicago, . . . 503,304 A prairie. 
 
 Boston, .... 362,538 61,392 
 
 St Louis, . . . 350,522 6,694 
 
39 
 
 Baltimore, . . . 332.190 80,621 
 
 Cincinnati, . . . 255,708 24,831 
 
 San Francisco, . . 238,956 .... Not settled. 
 
 New Orleans. . . 216,140 48,310 
 
 Cleveland, . . . 160,142 . In 1840 r . 671 
 
 Pittsburgh, . . . 156,381 12,668 
 
 Buffalo, .... 155,137 8,653 
 
 Washington, . . 147,307 18,827 
 
 Newark, .... 136,460 10,955 
 
 Louisville, . . . 123,645 10,341 
 
 Jersey City, . . . 120,728 1,025 
 
 Detroit, .... 116,342 2,222 
 
 Milwaukee, . . . 115,518 . . . Settled in 1835.. 
 
 Providence, . . 104,850 16,832 
 
 Albany, .... 90,903 24,238 
 
 Kochester, .... 89,363 ...... 296 
 
 Alleghany, Pa., . 78,681 .... Not settled. 
 
 Indianapolis, . . . 75,074 Not settled... 
 
 Richmond, . . . 63,003 16,062 
 
 New Haven, . . . 62,782 10,180 
 
 Lowell, .... 59,485 6,474 
 
 Worcester, . . . 58,295 4,172" 
 
 Troy, .... 56,747 11,405 
 
 Kansas City, . . . 55,813 Not settled. 
 
 I must not dwell longer on this national growth and prosperity. 
 The intellectual, moral and aesthetic progress of the Republic, 
 though not commensurate with her amazing material development, 
 has, nevertheless, been creditable. The cause of education has 
 made rapid advances. The Common School system, which originated 
 in New England, has been successfully introduced into the South- 
 ern and Western States. More than 7,000,000 children attend the 
 free schools and are taught by more than 200,000 teachers. Many 
 thousands attend private schools and academies. There are in the 
 country 369 colleges, 93 theological seminaries, 88 medical schools, 
 28 law schools, 81 normal schools, 235 female seminaries, and 1251 
 academies. Of the colleges, Ohio has 34 ; Illinois, 28 ; Calif ornia r 
 
40 
 
 12 ; Massachusetts, 7 ; New Jersey, 4 ; Maine, 3 ; Vermont, 2 ; 
 Rhode Island and New Hampshire, each 1* Of the female semi- 
 naries, Kentucky leads, she has 23 ; Tennessee, 17 ; Virginia, 14 ; 
 Massachusetts, 10 ; Maine, 2 ; New York, 15 ; Ohio, 12 ; Vermont, 
 1. From the greater comparative number of institutions in the 
 West, a stranger might conclude that the enlightenment is greater, 
 or the ignorance of the people is denser, than in the East. The 
 multiplication of colleges in a State is a mistaken policy. One or 
 two well-endowed colleges serve the cause of the higher education 
 of the people better than a score of feeble and half-equipped 
 institutions. 
 
 Excuse a personal reference. It was in 1839, at Rutgers In- 
 stitute, I began my labors as a teacher of girls. Ample means 
 were placed at my disposal to organize a system of female educa- 
 tion such as had not been attempted in this or any other country. 
 I was young and ready for work. Little had been done for the 
 higher education of woman. Nothing of a public character. It 
 was a prevailing opinion that woman could not master the abstract 
 sciences. True, Maria Gaetana Agnesia had published her " In- 
 stituzinoni Analytiche," and in consequence had been installed 
 professor of mathematics in the University of Bologna; Mary 
 Somerville had published her 'first work, a summary of the 
 Mecanique Celeste of La Place under the title of " Mechanism of 
 the Heavens; " Miss Carolina Herschel had aided her father and 
 distinguished brother in their astronomical researches ; but these 
 were exceptional cases. In our most distinguished schools for 
 girls, it was thought sufficient if the elements of algebra and 
 geometry were taught. Little was done in chemistry, or physics. 
 Emma Willard, of Troy, had organized a popular seminary which 
 was the model school of the day. But, it was confined to ele- 
 mentary instruction in common school branches, belles-lettres, and 
 music. It attempted nothing higher. It was a school of polite 
 learning for the drawing room. It taught the graces and accom- 
 plishments of refined society. All admirable in their way and 
 deserving of imitation. It is absurd to regard learning and good 
 breeding as incompatible. Coarse manners and ignorance usually 
 go together. Mrs. Willard's was a pioneer school and did a good 
 
II 
 
 work. Id many quarters, this limited system of instruction was 
 thought sufficient ; thai it was idle to attempl anything higher. 
 
 The question with me was, can anything better be done? Can 
 girls be taught to grapple with the difficulties of abstract science? 
 Can they study the higher mathematics? Can they comprehend 
 a long sustained argument in ethics or philosophy? I laid my 
 plans which required time to mature. I prepared an extensive 
 curriculum with the exception of the Greek classics, a college 
 course. Its introduction was difficult. My teachers and pupils 
 were not prepared for it My teachers' knowledge was limited to 
 the elements of algebra and geometry. By degrees, I introduced 
 the study of solid and analytical geometry, plain and spherical 
 trigonometry and the higher algebra. The pyramid was finally 
 crowned with the differential and integral calculus. The course, 
 in fact, was similar to that of the military academy at West Point. 
 In consequence of the undisciplined minds of my pupils, at the 
 beginning, it took several years for the perfect running of the 
 system. Success was finally attained. My classes were examined 
 by college professors of mathematics, whose printed reports are a 
 guarantee of all I claim, viz., that woman can and did excel in the 
 higher walks of learning. 
 
 The wisdom of such an education for the majority of girls may 
 be questioned. I have since modified the course by leaving out 
 the calculus and adapting it to the requirements of what will be 
 more useful, substituting the study of the Fine Arts — their history 
 and philosophy — giving thereby a more symmetrical education to 
 the future women of Society. 
 
 For teaching practical chemistry, a laboratory furnished with 
 expensive apparatus was built. The young ladies put on their 
 aprons, and experimented for themselves — a novel sight in those 
 days! A valuable library and cabinets of natural history were 
 collected. But I need not enlarge. The point I wish to establish 
 is this, that Rutgers Female College of New York is the originator 
 of the college system of education for women in this country. 
 
 Much has been written on the history of education. One of 
 the most voluminous writers was Prof. D. Buddingh, of the Royal 
 Academy of Delft. But, as his works in many volumes were 
 
42 
 
 written in Low Dutch, they are little known. The time, I think, 
 has not yet come to write the philosophy of education. The views 
 of educators are so diverse, their systems of instruction so varied, 
 it will be necessary to wait before the true philosophy can be 
 written. Herbert Spencer published an interesting treatise on the 
 subject. He begins with the enquiry, " What knowledge is most 
 worth ? " Under this head, are the following topics : "The orna- 
 namental precedes the useful. " " The need for a standard of value." 
 "The purpose of education." "Classification of our activities." 
 " The order of subordination of subjects." " The rank of aesthetic 
 culture." "The fine arts based on science." "Science itself 
 poetic." "Studies best adapted to discipline." "Eeligious in- 
 fluence of science." 
 
 We have not space for even a summary of what he says on each 
 of these topics. His conclusion is, that science is of most value — for 
 the maintenance of life and health — for that indirect self prepara- 
 tion which we call gaining a livelihood — for the due regard of 
 parental functions — for that interpretation of national life, past and 
 present, without which the citizen cannot rightly regulate his con- 
 duct — for the most perfect production and present enjoyment of art 
 in all its forms, and for purposes of discipline — intellectual, moral 
 and religious science is the sine qua non. 
 
 He concludes by saying : " Science is the household drudge, 
 who, in obscurity hides unrecognized perfections. To her has been 
 committed all the work ; by her skill, intelligence and devotion, 
 have all conveniences and gratifications been obtained ; and while 
 ceaselessly ministering to the rest, she has been kept in the back- 
 ground, that her haughty sisters might flourish their fripperies in 
 the eyes of the world. The parallel holds yet further. For we 
 are fast coming to the denouement, when the positions will be 
 changed; and while those haught}^ sisters sink into merited neg- 
 lect, science, proclaimed as highest alike in worth and beauty, will 
 reign supreme." 
 
 The public press has become a powerful engine in society — a 
 power in forwarding civilization and elevating man, which is in- 
 creasing every year. The number of periodicals issued in the 
 United States, is about 6,000. There are 548 papers which print 
 
43 
 
 more than 5,000 copies each issue, and eleven which print more 
 than 100,000 copies. The whole number of copies of newspapers 
 printed annually exceed one billion. The number of hooks pub- 
 lished in the United States averages 3,000 a year. Among the 
 great editors and pioneers, were William L. Stone, James Watson 
 Webb, William Cullen Bryant, Horace Greeley, Henry J. Ray- 
 mond, James Gordon Bennett, Thurlow Weed, and many others. 
 There are a large number of public and private libraries, some of 
 which contain from 50,000 to 100,000 volumes, each. Many of 
 them are rich in manuscripts and printed books, embracing the 
 entire range of universal learning. The fine arts have received 
 praiseworthy attention. Although our architecture has not 
 reached the high standard of the European rennaissance, yet 
 there has been a progressive improvement in fitness, convenience 
 and comeliness. The art of music has made the greatest advance. 
 In no country in Europe is there a greater interest taken in orches- 
 tral, operatic and sacred music than in this country. It has 
 become an essential accomplishment in a refined education. The 
 pictorial and plastic arts are largely cultivated. Large sums of 
 money are expended by our citizens of wealth in forming art 
 galleries of paintings and statuary. Large and numerous col- 
 lections of engravings and etchings are found iu private dwellings, 
 as well as cabinets of costly ceramics of all countries. Cooking 
 has, to some extent, become a fine art. A more refined civilization 
 in the matters of food and clothing is seen in our households. 
 The only danger is, that it may run into extravagance and dissipa- 
 tion. But, if kept within proper limits, it will add much to the 
 longevity and happiness of our people. The stomach and brain 
 are sympathetic. The former supplies the material for the gener- 
 ating forces of the latter. They are automatic. 
 
 Allusion can only be made to the following great historical 
 facts of the half century : 
 
 Daguerre's Discovery in 1839. Talbots paper photography, 
 same year. Unveiling of the interior of Africa by Livingstone 
 (1840), Speke, Stanley and others. War of the United States 
 with Mexico (1846). Mormanism established in Utah, 1847. 
 
44 
 
 Discovery of gold in California in 1848, and the consequent 
 settlement of States on the Pacific Coast. The settlement of 
 Australia by English speaking people in 1850. Discovery of 
 the Northwest Passage lyy McClure, 1851. Opening of Japan, 
 1853. Crimean War in 1854, and death of Nicholas, March 
 2, 1855 — Serf-Emancipation of 23,000,000, by Alexander II. 
 and the Russian Liberals, in 1861. The great American Civil 
 War, 1861. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, 1863. The 
 Franco-Prussian War, 1870 — The Unification of Italy, and the 
 end of the Pope's Temporal Power, 1870. Russo-Turkish War, 
 1877. The Circumnavigation of Europe and Asia by Nordenskiold 
 in the Vega, 1879 — Discovery of Oxygen in the Sun, by Henry 
 Draper, 1877. On the 23d of April, 1838, the steamship " Sirius " 
 arrived at New York, the first ocean steamer from England. A 
 few hours later of the same day, arrived the " Great Western,' 7 
 which had left Liverpool four days after the "Sirius." 
 
 The excitement caused by the arrival of these steamers was 
 very great. Multitudes went to see them. Two or three years 
 later, I saw Daniel Webster and his daughter leave for Europe on 
 board the " Great Western." A great advance had been made in 
 steam navigation. Fulton's first boat began running between New 
 York and Albany, 1807. Three years after, a writer living in a 
 country house on the Hudson, wrote : 
 
 * * * " One of the curiosities that we daily see pass under our 
 windows is the steamboat, a passage vessel with accommodation 
 for near a hundred persons. It is moved by a steam-engine turn- 
 ing a wheel on either side of it which acts like the main wheel of 
 a mill and propels the vessel against wind and tide at the rate of 
 four miles an hour. As soon as it conies in sight there is a general 
 rush of the household to watch and wonder until it disappears. 
 They don't all know what to make of the unnatural monster that 
 goes steadily careering on with the wind directly in its teeth as often 
 as not. I doubt that I should be obeyed were I to desire any one of 
 them to take a passage in her. When first this vessel appeared in 
 these waters it excited great consternation. Some of the simple 
 country folks were pretty well frightened out of their wits, sus- 
 pecting, I am told, it was some diabolical conveyance that had 
 
brought his Satanic Majesty from the lower realms to visit the 
 United States. I am inclined to look with favor on this applica- 
 tion of the propelling power of steam. Not improbably it is 
 destined at no distant day to produce incalculably great and bene- 
 ficial changes in our mode of voyaging." — Notes and Queries. 
 
 I cannot pass in silence the marvellous scientific discoveries 
 which have been made since we left college, nor can I do them 
 justice in the limited time at my disposal. 
 
 The purely scientific knowledge we possess was discoverd 
 almost entirely by means of original research. It is either by 
 observing matter and its forces under new conditions or from a 
 new aspect, that nearly all discoveries are made. Some discoveries 
 are made by observing the phenomena of bodies placed under 
 special conditions by those operations of nature over which we 
 have little or no control. All our knowledge of astronomy and 
 much of that of geology and physiology, was acquired in this 
 way. Nearly all modern discoveries of importance in physics or 
 chemistry, require long and difficult investigations to be made, in 
 order to completely establish their truth. Scientific discovery is 
 the most valuable in its ultimate practical results when it is 
 pursued from a love of truth as the ruling motive, and any 
 attempt to make it more directly and quickly remunerative by 
 trying to direct it immediately to practical objects, decreases the 
 importance of its results, diminishes the spirit of enquiry, and 
 sooner or later reduces it to the character of invention. The 
 greatest practical realities of this age had their origin in a search 
 after important truths, entirely irrespective of what utilities they 
 might lead to. 
 
 Many persons scarcely know the difference between science 
 and art ; a still greater number cannot readily distinguish between 
 a concrete science and a pure one ; and nearly all persons confound 
 discovery with invention. A science may be conveniently defined 
 as a collection of facts and general principles which are to be 
 learned ; an art as a collection of rules which are to be followed. 
 Art therefore is applied science ; and every art also has a basis in 
 science, whether that basis has been discovered or not. Scientific 
 
46 
 
 principles underlie not only manufacturing processes, but also 
 sculpture, music, poetry and painting. 
 
 When Oersted first observed a magnetic needle in proximity to 
 a body through which a current of electricity was passing, had a 
 tendency to place itself at right angles to such body, or more 
 strictly speaking to rotate round that body ; and when Henry and 
 Sturgeon discovered that if currents of electricity pass around a 
 bar of soft iron, the iron becomes temporarily magnetic ; and when 
 in that magnetic condition it powerfully attracts to it any pieces of 
 soft iron which may be near it ; and when by the discoveries of 
 Carlisle, Nicholson and Davy, that when a current of electricity 
 passes through certain chemical substances, those substances are 
 thereby decomposed, or new compounds are found, each made a 
 scientific discovery. But when Morse applied those discoveries in 
 the construction of his telegraph, which he first set up between 
 Baltimore and Washington, he made an invention. In discovery, 
 we search for new phenomena, their causes and relations ; in in- 
 vention, we seek to produce new effects, or to produce known 
 effects in an improved manner. 
 
 "There is nothing on earth so small that it may not produce' 
 great things." The most abstract and apparently trival experi- 
 ments in original research have in some cases led to inventions and 
 results of national and even world-wide importance. The con- 
 tractions of a frog's leg in the experiments of Gralvani, and the 
 movements of a magnetic needle in those of Oersted, have already 
 led to the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars in laying 
 telegraph wires all over the earth, and to an immense extension of 
 international intercourse. But the original experiment of Oersted 
 was not discovered without labor; it was only arrived at after 
 many years of research. 
 
 The laws of the mechanical action of conductors conveying 
 currents upon magnets and upon each other were investigated by 
 Ampere in a series of experiments, which were at once conclusive 
 and exhaustive. 
 
 Michael Faraday discovered magnetic electricity in 1831. 
 His valuable contributions to physical science, in his researches 
 
47 
 
 into the phenomena of electricity and magnetism, will always be 
 acknowledged. 
 
 Previously to the experiments of Faraday, the induction of 
 electric currents was unknown. Faraday, in the first series of his 
 experimental researches, describes an experiment in which a copper 
 disc was made to rotate between the poles of an electro-magnet, 
 while one electrode of a galvanometer was connected with the axis 
 of the disc and the other with a wire which was held in contact 
 with the edge of the disc, which edge was amalgamated to secure 
 a good connection On spinning the disc, a current was imme- 
 diately obtained, the direction of which was reversed with that of 
 the rotation. This experiment may be regarded as the starting- 
 point of the dynamo machines of Wilde, Gramme, Siemens and 
 others, which seem destined to play so important a part in the 
 civilized life of the future. 
 
 Faraday also showed that where two circuits are placed near to 
 one another, if a current be started in one circuit, there is an 
 instantaneous current produced in the opposite direction in the 
 neighboring circuit: while, on stopping the primary current, a 
 transient current in the same direction as the primary occurs in the 
 other or secondary circuit. This experiment was the origin of the 
 now well-known induction coil. Again, when the current was 
 flowing steadily in the primary circuit, if the secondary circuit 
 were brought near to it, a current was induced in the secondary in 
 the direction opposite to that in the primary, and continued during 
 the approach of circuits. On removing the secondary circuit, a 
 transient current was set up in the same direction as that in the 
 primary. 
 
 The telephone is a beautiful example of the application of this 
 law of induced currents. Every movement of the magnetic disc in 
 front of the pole of the magnet alters the number of magnetic lines 
 of force passing through the coils of wire surrounding the pole, and 
 hence induces a current in one direction or the other in the coil, 
 which current, increasing or diminishing the strength of the 
 magnetism in the receiving telephone, causes a corresponding 
 motion in the iron disc of the receiver, which, therefore, emits 
 sounds similar to those incident upon the receiving instrument. 
 
48 
 
 The determination of the laws of self-induction in electric 
 currents is another of F&r^day's man)' contributions to electrical 
 science. If the poles of an electro-magnet be joined by a wire of 
 great resistance, as well as by the battery, when the battery is 
 removed, a considerable current will flow through the wire. This 
 current Faraday called the ex^ra-current. It is more generally 
 referred to as the self-induction current. 
 
 There is a well-known experiment of Faraday, in which a 
 specimen of his heavy glass, or borate of lead, was placed between 
 the poles of a powerful electro-magnet, and a beam of plane 
 polarized light was passed through the glass in the direction of the 
 magnetic force. Faraday found that, when the light passed from 
 the north to the south pole of the magnet, the plane of polarization 
 was turned through an angle in the same direction as a right- 
 handed screw would rotate if piercing a solid and advancing with 
 the light, When the light passed in the opposite direction, the 
 rotation of the plane of polarization was in the same direction with 
 respect to the magnet, and therefore reversed with respect to the 
 path of the light. In this respect, the heavy glass under the 
 influence of the magnet behaved differently from a solution 
 of sugar, which always turns the plane of polarization of the light 
 in the same direction with reference to its direction of transmission. 
 This was the first experiment which showed any relation between 
 light and magnetism, and indicated that the medium which serves 
 as the vehicle of light — the luminous ether — must at least be 
 affected by the presence of magnetic force, though the fact that the 
 presence of ponderable matter is necessary to the production of this 
 rotation, and that the direction of the rotation depends on the 
 nature of the matter, renders it doubtful how far magnetic force 
 affects the ether directly. 
 
 All transparent solids and liquids exhibit the same action on 
 light in different degrees. If a tube of water, with plate glass 
 rods be placed within a coil of wire through which an electric 
 current is passing, and plane polarized light be transmitted through 
 the tube, the plane of polarization will be turned through an angle 
 in the direction in which the current circulates, and this angle can 
 be proportional to the current 
 
 i 
 
49 
 
 Id 1846, Faraday received the Royal and Kumford medals for 
 his discourses on dia-magnetism and on the influence of magnetism 
 upon light, respectively. In 1847, he declared the magnetic 
 character of oxygen and the magnetic relations of flame and gases. 
 
 In this same line of investigation we find our own countryman, 
 Joseph Henry. In 1827, he began his investigations in electricity. 
 In 1838, his "Contributions to Electricity and Magnetism" were 
 published. His scientific papers were published in The American 
 Philosophical Transactions, iSillimans Journal, and the Journal of 
 the Franklin Institute. 
 
 He made several thousand original investigations in electricity, 
 magnetism and electro-magnetism, which were never published. 
 He is the undisputed inventor of the electric telegraph. In 1825, 
 Mr. Barlow of the Koyal Military Academy declared that the 
 telegraph was impossible. In 1830, Prof. Henrv had a telegraph 
 in working order of a mile and a half in length. It is to be under- 
 stood, however, that the telegraph is the result of many scientific 
 laborers from Oersted through a long series of years ; and that 
 Henry supplied the missing link in the perfected chain by first 
 rendering it applicable to the transmission of mechanical power, 
 and by first actually magnetizing a piece of iron at a distance, 
 and by it to deliver telegraphic signals. He also showed what 
 kind of battery must be employed to project the current through 
 a great length of wire, and what kind of coil should surround the 
 magnet used to receive the current and do the work. 
 
 The following are the main points in the order of discovery 
 which led to the electro-magnetic telegraph. They are condensed 
 from Prof. Henry's statement before Congress. 
 
 1819-1820. Oersted showed that a magnetic needle is deflected 
 by the action of a current of electricity passing near it. 
 
 1820. Arago discovered that while a galvanic current is 
 passing through a copper wire, it is capable of developing 
 magnetism in soft iron. 
 
 1820. Ampere discovered that two wires through which 
 currents are passing in the same direction attract, and in opposite 
 directions repel, each other; and thence he inferred that magnetism 
 consists in. the attraction of electrical currents revolving at righ t 
 
50 
 
 angles to the line joining the poles of the magnet, and is produced 
 in a bar of steel or iron by induction from a series of electrical 
 currents revolving in the same direction at right angles to the axis 
 of the bar. 
 
 1820. — Schweigger produced the galvanometer. 
 
 1825. — Sturgeon made the electro-magnet by bending the bar, 
 or rather piece of iron wire, into the form of a horse-shoe, covering 
 it with varnish to insulate it with a helix of wire, the turns of 
 which were at a distance. 
 
 1829-1830. — Henry, in accordance with the theory of Ampere, 
 produced the intensity or spool-wound magnet, insulating the wire 
 instead of the rod or bar, and covering the whole surface of the 
 iron with a series of coils in close contact. He extended the 
 principles to the full by winding successive strata of insulated wire 
 over each other, thus producing a compound helix formed of a 
 long wire of many coils. At the same time he developed the 
 relation of the intensity magnet to the intensity battery, and their 
 relations to the magnet of quantity. He thus made the electro- 
 magnet capable of transmitting power to a long distance, demon- 
 strated the principle and perfected the magnet applicable to the 
 purpose, was the first actually to magnetize a piece of iron at a 
 distance, and to demonstrate and declare the applicability of the 
 electro-magnet to telegraphy at a distance. Using the terminus 
 short circuit magnet of quantity and the armature as a signaling 
 device, he was the first to make by it acoustic signals, sounding 
 a bell at a distance by means of the electro-magnet. 
 
 1833. — Weber discovered that the conducting wires of an 
 electric telegraph could be left without insulation except at the 
 points of support. 
 
 1833. — Grauss ingeniously arranged the application of a dual 
 sign in such a manner as to produce a true alphabet for telegraphy. 
 
 1836. — Daniell invented or brought into use a constant gal- 
 vanic battery. 
 
 1837. — Steinheil discovered that the earth may form the 
 returning half of the circuit, and that a single conducting wire 
 suffices for telegraphy. 
 
 1837. — Morse adopted, through the agency of Dr. Leonard 
 
51 
 
 Gale, the principle of the Henry electro-magnet, and made 1 of the 
 armature a recording instrument. 
 
 1838. — Morse devised his "dot and dash" alphabet, a great 
 improvement upon the Gauss and Steinheil alphabets. 
 
 1844. — Morse suggested and brought into use the system of 
 relay-magnets and relay-circuits, to reinforce the current. 
 
 The last is the most valuable contribution made by Prof. 
 Morse. This system of reinforcing the electric current improved 
 by Thompson and others, is necessary for the transmissing of 
 messages over great distances by land or sea. We are ready to 
 accord all due honor to Morse for his courage and success in 
 introducing the best system of telegraphy, surpassing in value all 
 the European systems. Still we must remember that he who first 
 exalted the quantity magnet of Sturgeon, from a power of twenty 
 pounds to a power of two thousand pounds, was the absolute 
 creator of the intensity magnet ; and that the principles involved in 
 this creation, constitute the indispensable basis of every form of 
 the electro-magnetic telegraph in existence. This great honor 
 belongs to Henry. Besides this, he was the inventor of the 
 chronograph, of the electro -magnetic engine, and was an independ- 
 ent discoverer of magnetic-electricity. 
 
 It is true of both Faraday and Henry, that they cared little for 
 the application of their scientific discoveries to the useful arts. 
 Their chief aim was to interpret the laws of nature without 
 regard to any higher reward than what comes from the satisfaction 
 of enlarging the boundaries of human knowledge. Both pos- 
 sessed little of this world's goods, and died poor. 
 
 During nearly of the whole of Henry's scientific career, I had 
 the honor of a personal acquaintance with him. While at Prince- 
 ton, he often wrote me on scientific subjects. In 1842, he made 
 in my laboratory in New York, a series of experiments on atmos- 
 pheric electricity. Some of the apparatus he there contrived, is 
 still in my possession. 
 
 Among the greatest of American electricians must be placed 
 in imperishable letters, the names of Franklin aud Henry. 
 
 I wish to put this minute on record, to show the noble 
 character of Prof. Henry. When Morse applied to Congress, in 
 
52 
 
 1837, for an appropriation to enable him to make a trial of 
 his telegraph, he became the butt of ridicule, and was fairly driven 
 out of Washington. He went to Europe, and, returning in 1339, 
 renewed his importunities. The shafts of ridicule flew thicker and 
 faster. In the estimation of Congress, he was the greatest joker of 
 the century. Dr. John Torrey, returning from Washington, said, 
 " It is of no use ; Morse is the laughing stock of Washington ; he 
 will have to go back to portrait painting." 
 
 At this time, John C. Spencer was Secretary of War. And, 
 wishing to know whether there was anything in Morse's invention, 
 visited Princeton to see Henry. Henry assured him that the 
 telegraph was practicable, as he could show himself by an examina- 
 tion of the short line he had set up in the college campus. Spencer 
 was satisfied, and, returning, communicated his opinion to the 
 leading men in Congress ; and, as a result, the bill appropriating 
 $30,000 was passed, securing the honor of Morse's world-renowned 
 telegraph to the United States, through the services of Spencer and 
 Henry. 
 
 In 1851, the submarine telegraph cable was laid between 
 Dover and Calais; in 1866, the Atlantic cable between Europe 
 and America. The transmission of messages over such great 
 distances required more delicate apparatus than had been used in 
 communicating between stations on land. Sir William Thompson 
 was successful in improving the apparatus. Until eight or nine 
 years ago, the Morse system, with its printing attachment, was the 
 only thing known. The first important improvement was the 
 Wheatstone automatic instrument, by which greater speed was 
 obtained by the use of chemicals. The capacity of a single wire 
 was also doubled by the ingenuity of Stearns, of Boston. An in- 
 teresting and valuable invention, chiefly due to the researches of 
 Edison, is widely used, by which two messages can be sent in the 
 same direction and at the same time, over one wire. It is also 
 true, that two messages can be sent simultaneously on the same 
 wire in opposite directions, while by the employment of the du- 
 plex system, the capacity is again doubled, thus furnishing the 
 quadruple system now in general use on all the main lines of 
 
telegraph in this country. To invent a cheap system of telegraphy 
 has led to the introduction and trial of a great number of other 
 systems with which the names of Hayes, Edison, Casselli and 
 Mayer are associated. Later came the so-called harmonic tele- 
 graphs of Eeis, Varley, La Cour, and Gray. When Whcatstone, 
 Siemens, Halskie and Edison sought to do away with the Morse 
 operation, real progress was made. The system of telegraphy as 
 now carried on by the American Rapid Telegraph Company is the 
 nearest approach to high speed and cheapness yet devised. By 
 means of perforated paper which works automatically, the trans- 
 mitting operation is gotten rid of, and at the other end, a ribbon 
 moistened with chemicals does the work of the receiving opera- 
 tor. We are, I think, on the eve of a great revolution in tele- 
 graphy by the ingenious contrivances of Mr. Parcelle, of Boston. 
 His system is called " Harmonic, Automatic Telegraphy," and 
 differs from that in use by the Rapid Telegraph Company in two 
 important points. The first is an improved and abbreviated con- 
 struction of the alphabet. The second is the employment of a 
 system of sympathetic resonance, by which, with the use of a 
 single wire and unskilled operators, the same amount of work 
 which is now done by ten wires and skilled labor can be accom- 
 plished. Thus, for the first time in the history of telegraphy, the 
 Morse alphabet and system are done away with, as are also the 
 translating and transcribing by receivers. Instead of requiring the 
 ordinary handling and delay, the message, be it long or short, is 
 rapidly prepared in a perforating machine fed into the transmitter, 
 and is instantly reproduced in clear Roman letters on sheets of 
 paper ready to be sent by a messenger to the party addressed. The 
 actual number of words sent, on an average, by the American 
 Rapid is from 600 to 700 per minute, while the lowest computa- 
 tions made from results obtained from an instrument only partially 
 completed, shows a speed by the new method of 5,000 words per 
 minute. A great advantage, too, is that, being sent over a single 
 wire, the matter comes consecutively, and is, therefore, free from 
 liability to error, as is often the case, where several wires are used 
 for the sending of a single dispatch. 
 
 A new application of photography in connection with the 
 
54 
 
 science of telegraphy has been made by Mr. Parcelle, in which he 
 has succeeded in producing a combination whereby, on land 
 lines, messages can be transmitted by electricity and recorded by 
 photographic action. This can be done successfully at the rate of 
 about 1,400 words per minute; the words being distinctly tran- 
 scribed in plain Koman in folio form. A feature of this device is 
 that it requires so little current, that it is as easily operated at a 
 distance of 5,000 miles as 5 feet without relays. It is entirely 
 automatic, and requires no supervision. The Atlantic cable is 
 now operated by Thompson's galvanometer, by which only 13 
 words per minute can be sent, and requires not less than two 
 operators at the receiving end, and even then there is great lia- 
 bility to mistake. The cable rates are now fifty cents per word. 
 The new system will easily transmit and record, automatically, 
 300 words per minute, and the result can hardly fail of being an 
 important reduction in the present tariff. 
 
 According to the estimates of a French statistician, the total 
 length of all the telegraph wires at present laid is sufficient to 
 reach forty-six times around the earth. The estimated total length 
 of all the submarine telegraph cables in the world is 62,100 miles? 
 and their money value is $200,000,000. 
 
 The Telephone and Microphone are recent inventions, by which 
 the human voice is transmitted through an electric conductor 
 from one station to another, so that a conversation can be carried 
 on at great distances apart. This is one of the recent marvels. 
 Edison, Bell, Hughes, Dolbear and others, are the inventors. 
 
 The Electric Light is another gift to society. Although it has 
 not been so perfected as to be introduced into our dwellings as 
 economical!}' as gas, it is believed that through the labors of 
 Siemens, Gramme, Edison, Weston and others, success will be 
 finally won. 
 
 Photography, with its development and applications, is a sub- 
 ject of marvellous interest. 
 
 The first attempts at fixing images by light were published in 
 
55 
 
 the Journal of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, in June, 
 1802. They were made by Wedge wood and Davy. 
 
 In 1814, M. Miepce and M. Daguerre took up the subject. In 
 1829, they entered into partnership. The discovery of the 
 Daguerreotype was reported to the world in January, 1839. It 
 was at a memorable public seance in the Palais Mazarin, on the 
 19th of August, 1839, that Daguerre, in the presence of all the 
 great authorities in art, science and diplomacy, who were then in 
 Paris, illustrated his process by experiment. An Act had been 
 passed by the French Government, which gave to Daguerre an 
 annuity of 6,000 francs, and to M. Isodore Niepce, the son of 
 Daguerre's partner, an annuity of 4,000 francs, with one-half in 
 reversion for their widows. 
 
 Arago declared that " France had adopted this discovery, and 
 was proud to hand it as a present to the whole world." 
 
 In January, 1839, six months previous to the publication of 
 Daguerre's process, Mr. Fox Talbot, of London, made known to 
 the Royal Society his discovery, and the next month published his 
 process of fixing the camera image on paper, which was called the 
 " Talbot-type." Talbot secured a patent, for which he was severely 
 criticised. From his process is derived the beautiful Paper 
 Photography, as now practiced, and the still more beautiful process 
 for positives on glass. The Daguerre process has been superseded by 
 that of Talbot. Daguerreotypes are no longer found in the market. 
 
 Daguerre taught a large number of persons from all parts of the 
 world the process. Sachse of Berlin, a dealer in art, was initiated 
 into Daguerre's discovery on the 22d of April, 1839, and was 
 appointed Daguerre's agent in Germany. On the 22d of September, 
 four weeks after the publication of the discovery, Sachse had 
 already produced his first picture, at Berlin. In October, the 
 earliest Daguerrean apparatus was sold in Berlin. 
 
 The first objects photographed by Sachse were architectural 
 views, statuary and paintings, which, for two years, found a ready 
 sale as curiosities. It was in 1840 that he first represented groups 
 of living persons, and, in this way, photography became especially 
 an art of portraiture. 
 
 Daguerre's first pictures needed an exposure of 20 minutes, too 
 
56 
 
 long for taking portraits. He, therefore, stated that living objects 
 could not be photographed — they could not keep still long enough. 
 
 The publication of the discovery produced the liveliest interest 
 in scientific circles. Pamphlets describing the apparatus and the 
 process were issued from the French press. The first to reach 
 New York was brought from London by Mr. Seger of New York. 
 As the packet ship on which he sailed was leaving her dock, one 
 of Daguerre's pamphlets was thrown on the deck by a friend of Mr. 
 Seger, who, immediately on his arrival in New York, took it to 
 Prof. Morse, of Telegraph fame. Morse was quick to see that a 
 new Held of art-industry would be opened. He took it to his 
 instrument-maker, George W. Prosch, and said, " Make the appa- 
 ratus as soon as you can." In a few days it was done, and the first 
 trial was a picture of the Old Brick Church (Dr. Spring's) and the 
 City Hall, with a hack, horses, and driver who was sleeping on his 
 box. Prosch's shop was in the basement of the old Morse Build- 
 ing, 142 Nassau street. The camera was placed on the steps leading 
 to the basement. This was the first photograph taken in this 
 country. It was in October, 1839, less than a month after Segers 
 arrival. 
 
 As Prosch did work for me, I was in his shop almost every 
 day, and knew all that was going on. Prof. Morse, Dr. James R 
 Chilton, chemist, G. W. Prosch, Dr. John W. Draper and myself 
 entered with great zeal into the practice of the new art. The first 
 thing of importance was to get an accurate lens which could give 
 the best result ; and the next, chemicals more sensitive than iodine 
 to the action of light. Draper, the accomplished chemist and 
 afterward the renowned physicist, was successful in employing an 
 acromatic lens, which he has described, and in mixing bromine 
 with iodine or their salts, thereby reducing the time for the light 
 to act upon the plate, and, as a consequence, obtained the first 
 portrait of a living human face. 
 
 Draper, in his Scientific Memoirs, page 215, in a Historical 
 Note on the taking of portraits from life by photography, published 
 in the London Philosophical Magazine, September, 1840, says: 
 " This Memoir contains the first published description of the 
 process for taking daguerreotype portraits. That it was possible 
 
57 
 
 "by photogenic processes, such as the daguerreotype, to obtain 
 likenesses from life was first announced by the author of this 
 volume in a note to the editors of the Philosophical Magazine, 
 dated March 31, 1840, as may be seen in that journal for June, 
 1840, page 535. The first portraits to which allusion is made in 
 the following memoir were produced in 1839, almost immediately 
 after Daguerre's discovery was known in America, 1 ' 
 
 In the Edinburgh Review for January, 1843, there is an 
 important article on Photography — in that, the invention of the 
 art of taking photographic portraits is attributed to its true source 
 > — the author of this book. It says* : " He was the first, we 
 believe, who, under the brilliant summer sun of New York, took 
 portraits by the daguerreotype. This branch of photography seems 
 not to have been regarded as a possible application of Daguerre's 
 invention, and no notice was taken of it in the reports made to the 
 legislative bodies of France. We have been told that Daguerre 
 had not at that period taken any portraits ; and, when we consider 
 the period of time — twenty or twenty-five minutes —which was 
 then deemed necessary to get a daguerreotype landscape, we do not 
 wonder at the observation of a French author, who describes the 
 taking of portraits as " Toujour s un terrain un peu, fabuleux pour le 
 Dag u erreotype. ' ' 
 
 " Very soon after M. Daguerre's remarkable process for 
 photogenic drawing was known in America, I made attempts to 
 accomplish its application to the taking portraits from the life. 
 M. Arago had already stated, in his address to the Chamber 
 of Deputies, that M. Daguerre expected by a slight advance to 
 meet with success, but as yet no account had reached us of that 
 object being attained. 
 
 " In the first experiments I made for obtaining portraits from 
 the life, the face of the sitter was dusted with a white powder 
 under an idea that otherwise no impression could be obtained. A 
 very few trials showed the error of this, for, even when the 
 sun was only dimly shining, there was no difficulty in delineating 
 the features." 
 
 Unless a prior date can be shown in favor of some other 
 photographer, Draper's claim must stand. 
 
58 
 
 Proscli opened a daguerrean gallery at the corner of Broadway 
 and Liberty street. The light of the sun was thrown directly in 
 the face of the sitter by means of a mirror, which was suspended 
 out of the window. All the portraits, as a consequence, did not 
 show the eyes, which gave the features a ghostly look. I was one 
 of the first to sit to him. These early specimens, for I had many, 
 I used to exhibit in my lectures on photography. But, 
 unfortunately, after a few years 1 exposure, they faded out, for the 
 process of gilding was not yet known which makes the picture 
 permanent. 
 
 About this time, or soon after, many others went into the 
 business, and among the most successful was A. S. Wolcott, 
 it mechanician, who opened daguerrean rooms in the granite 
 building, No. 273 Broadway, corner of Chambers street. I 
 immediately made his acquaintance and sat for my portraits. 
 Several of these are still in my possession. 
 
 A fuller history of photography has been given than would 
 have been necessary had not the priority of taking portraits been 
 questioned. Some twenty years ago, an attempt was made in the 
 American Institute of New York to take the honor from Draper 
 and give it to A. S. Walcott. A committee was appointed to 
 investigate the claim. Dr. Draper was called on, who furnished 
 the committee with a written statement, which was substantially 
 the same as that published in his Memoirs. The friends of 
 Walcott refused to make a statement in writing, and, as a 
 consequence, the matter was dropped. Morse, I think, had a 
 better claim than Walcott, who photographed his daughter on the 
 top of a house in Broadway in 1839, but he never set up the 
 claim of priority to Draper's. 
 
 One of the most valuable instruments of modern research is 
 the Spectroscope, which was invented by Kirckhoff, of Berlin, in 
 1859. It has interpreted the dark lines of the solar spectrum. 
 It has solved the most delicate problems of chemical and micro- 
 scopical investigation which seemed inscrutable before this method 
 of research had been invented. It has penetrated the heavens 
 and revealed the composition of the sun, stars and nebulas. It 
 
59 
 
 has shown the presence of several terrestial elements in the solar 
 atmosphere, thereby proving that the Universe of worlds is com- 
 posed of similar elementary matter. 
 
 One of the most striking operations of spectrum analysis is the 
 application' of it, devised by Dr. Huggins, to the determination of 
 the rate of motion of the stars, to or from the solar system. 
 Light of any color is due to quicker vibrations than light of a 
 color nearer the red end of the spectrum. Dr. Huggins observed, 
 that in the spectra of some of the stars, the dark lines were at 
 exactly the distance apart that they would be if they were pro- 
 duced by known gases, but that they were all displaced out of 
 their true positions on the spectrum. He therefore was led to 
 believe that when the lines are displaced towards the blue end of 
 the spectrum, the star is moving towards us ; when towards the red 
 end, it is moving from us. Knowing the wave length of light of 
 every color, and knowing the velocity of light, he was able to 
 estimate by measuring the displacement, the rate of motion of the 
 star. 
 
 Of all the heavenly bodies, that of whose constitution spec- 
 trum analysis has taught us so much, and that which is the most 
 important to us, being the source of all the heat and light and life 
 of our system, is the Sun. During a total eclipse, we can see 
 much of him which is ordinarily obscured by his glare. He 
 appears to consist of several concentric spheres of different sorts of 
 matter. Outside all, is the zodiacal light which, on the nebular 
 hypothesis, consists of uncondensed nebulous matter. Inside this, 
 but surrounding the sun to a distance about equal to his diameter 
 and with streamers issuing from it to a much greater distance, is a 
 bright glare called the corona. Inside this again and close round 
 the sun, is a rose-colored envelope called the chromatosphere, from 
 which prominences issue occasionally to a height of more than a 
 third of the sun's diameter, and inside all is the bright surface 
 of the sun, which is ordinarily visible, and which is called the 
 photosphere; on this are dark spots which look like holes opening 
 into unknown, depths. 
 
 Spectrum analysis tells us that the zodiacal light is reflected 
 sunlight ; that the corona shines mainly with reflected sunlight 
 
60 
 
 but that it also contains a self-luminous unknown gas ; that the 
 chromatosphere with its prominences consists almost entirely of 
 incandescent hydrogen, though occasionally other gases appear in 
 it ; the photosphere gives the ordinary solar spectrum, and there- 
 fore must consist of incandescent solid or liquid, or gas at an 
 intensely great pressure. 
 
 We learn, then : 1. That the temperature of the sun is so high 
 that the metals are in a state of vapor. 2. That we know nothing 
 of the central parts of the sun. 3. That the photosphere, or 
 brilliant disc of the sun, is probably gaseous ; is the seat of violent 
 commotions, transcending all terrestrial cyclones ; is covered with 
 flame-like granules; that it contains two regions of spots, one lying 
 to the north, the other to the south of the solar equator ; that the 
 spots revolve at different speeds, depending upon their latitude ; 
 that the speed in the northern zone are greater than those in 
 corresponding latitudes in the south ; that the spots are variable in 
 duration; that they come and go in a cycle of about 11.07 years; 
 this cycle influences terrestrial magnetism, temperature, rainfall 
 and other phenomena; the cycle depends upon the planetary 
 positions ; the spots are comparatively cool regions, caused by a 
 down-rush of vapor ; the motion of the vapors is cyclonic ; in the 
 neighborhood of the spots bright facula3 occur; around the 
 photosphere is a region of glowing vapors, chiefly hydrogen, called 
 the chromatosphere, which is the seat of violent commotions ; yet, 
 plains and heaped prominences recording their existence, some of 
 which is irruptive, others cyclonic. 
 
 In 1877, Professor Henry Draper of New York, in his 
 spectroscopic experiments, discovered oxygen in the sun. He 
 found that it gave bright lines on the solar spectrum in contrast to 
 the dark lines given by the metallic bodies. For this reason, it 
 had escaped notice, for it is more difficult to see bright lines on a 
 bright spectrum than dark ones. This discovery of Draper proves 
 the existence of certainly one of the metalloids in the sun. It 
 also shows that the solar spectrum must be regarded as continuous, 
 with both bright and dark lines, and that the bright lines are in all 
 probability those of the metalloids. His brilliant discovery affords 
 
61 
 
 strong grounds for the hope that metalloids may be detected 
 almost as readily as metals. 
 
 Another fascinating study of which we knew nothing in our 
 college course is the polarization of light. By the use of the 
 polariscope, adulterations of many articles of commerce can be 
 detected ; the existence, in many tissues, of differences of density 
 which would be inappreciable under ordinary illumination ; beautiful 
 appearances in all irregularly laminated cells. In a word, the 
 polariscope is useful for displaying the minute structure of many 
 substances, in some of which it cannot be detected in any other 
 way, and frequently causing crystals to present a most gorgeous 
 array of colors. 
 
 In 1858, Helmholtz published his interesting investigations in 
 molecular mechanics. It is a mathematical discussion of what he 
 calls ring- vortices in a perfect, frictional fluid, and that they possess 
 an eternal perpetuity, although passing through endless transforma- 
 tions. The element of the new physics is not an atom or congeries 
 of atoms, but a whirling vapor. All we know of matter is its 
 presence and its motion. The modern science of Acoustics is also 
 due to this great German philosopher. 
 
 In 1849, Fizeau, and, in 1862, Foucoult, undertook the 
 determination of the difficult problem of the velocity of light; 
 according to the former 180,000, according to the latter 185,000 
 miles per second. The difference in their results is only about 
 six per cent. The arithmetical mean of the two values comes 
 very near to the astronomer's estimate of the velocity of light. 
 By these experiments, which were conducted on entirely different 
 methods, the science of optics is placed on an independent basis. 
 
 METEOKOLOGY. 
 
 This science is of recent development. Lieut. Eeid and Col. 
 Fitzroy of England, and Kedfield and Espy of this country, made 
 a series of observations on the laws of storms which were published 
 in Silliman's and other journals ; but nothing practical was under- 
 taken till a system of observations was established by the Regents 
 of the University of New York, under the patronage of the 
 
62 
 
 Legislature, in 1825. The colleges and academies of the State 
 were selected as the proper agents to carry out the purpose of the 
 Regents. A large accumulation of observations was made, but 
 owing to the want of a proper method of conducting the observa- 
 tions, with uniform instruments, the labor was to a very large 
 extent lost. 
 
 In 1849 and 1850, another appropriation was made to establish 
 a new system of observations. The Regents at Albany employed 
 Prof. Arnold Givyot, of Neuchatel, Switzerland, a student long- 
 devoted to science, a pupil of Carl Ritter, and author of a valuable 
 work on Physical Geography, and since known as the learned 
 professor at Princeton College, to take charge of the stations. 
 
 The following note was received from the Secretary of the 
 Board of Regents : 
 
 " Albany, November 24, 1849. 
 
 " Charles E. West, Esq. : 
 " Dear Sir, — 
 
 "I send this merely to say that Rutgers Female Institute 
 has been selected as one of the meteorological stations. Prof. 
 Guyot will visit you some time next month and make all necessary 
 arrangements. " Yours truly, 
 
 "T. Romeyn Beck." 
 
 In accordance with the Secretary's instructions, Prof. Guyot 
 visited me and arranged the apparatus. Observations at definite 
 hours and three times a day were made, while I remained in New 
 York, and afterward at Buffalo. 
 
 In 1850, a general system of meteorological observations was 
 established at Washington under the direction of Joseph Henry of 
 the Smithsonian Institution. A Weather Bureau was established 
 by the United States Government, and General Albert Meyer, an 
 army officer, was appointed Superintendent. Under his arrange- 
 ment, the system was perfected, the advantages of which to 
 commerce and the general industries of the country are of 
 incalculable importance. 
 
 One of the most extraordinary feats of intellectual power during 
 the half century was the calculating engine of Charles Babbage. It 
 
63 
 
 furnishes demonstrative evidence that the whole of the develop- 
 ments and operations of analysis are now capable of being executed 
 by machinery. There are various methods by which these 
 developments are arrived at: 1. By the aid of the Differential 
 and Integral Calculus. 2. By the Combinatorial Analysis of 
 Hindenburg. 3. By the Calculus of Derivatives of Arbegast 
 
 A new science is "Kinematics," or what Prof. Willis called the 
 "Science of pure Mechanism," and Eankine the "Geometry of 
 machinery," and "Recoleaux Kinematics." 
 
 Every department of Natural History has been enlarged and 
 enriched. Mineralogy, geology, paleontology, botany, zoology, 
 entomology, etc., are newly created sciences. Our countrymen 
 who have labored in these departments come in for their share of 
 the honors. By legislative enactment, large sums of money have 
 been expended for geological surveys. North Carolina took the 
 lead in 1824 and 1825, under Prof. Olmsted; South Carolina 
 under Prof. Yanuxum : Massachusetts, under Hitchcock, in 1830 ; 
 Maine, in 1836, under C. F. Jackson. New York, Connecticut and 
 other States have followed, and a large mass of valuable informa- 
 tion has been gained for the benefit of the miner, the farmer and 
 the political economist 
 
 In biology, in animal and vegetable physiology, the microscope 
 has opened up new sources of information. In the study of cell- 
 development, the labors of Fallopius in 1562, Borellus in 1656, 
 Haller in 1757, Wolf in 1759, and, many years later, Schleiden 
 and Schwann, have been continued by Huxley, Bastian, Haeckel, 
 Wallace, Yerchow and others. Huxley, " On the Physical Basis 
 of Life," observes that the existence of the matter of life depends 
 on the pre-existence of certain compounds, namely, carbonic acid, 
 water and ammonia. Withdraw any one of these three from the 
 world, and all vital phenomena are at an end. They are related to 
 the protoplasm of the plant as the protoplasm of the plant is to 
 that of the animal. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen are 
 lifeless bodies. Of these, carbon and oxygen unite in certain 
 
64 
 
 proportions and under certain conditions, to give rise to carbonic 
 acid ; hydrogen and oxygen produce water ; nitrogen and hydrogen 
 give rise to ammonia. These new compounds, like the elementary 
 bodies of which they are composed, are lifeless. But when they 
 are brought together, under certain conditions, they give rise to a 
 still more complex body — protoplasm — and this protoplasm 
 exhibits the phenomena of life. Subsequently, cells are developed, 
 but they are mere cavities and not independent entities ; organiza- 
 tion is not affected by them ; they are the visible results of the 
 action of the organizing power inherent in the living mass, or what 
 Wolf calls the vis essentialis, and Bastian " Spontaneous genera- 
 tion." Then comes the free cell development of Schleiden, which 
 he divides into two distinct methods of cell growth, one of which, 
 the so-called-" exogenous free-cell formation," must be regarded as 
 a true creative art, while the other, " endogenous cell formation," is 
 a mere continuance of the process, or cell formation. In the midst 
 of a perfectly structureless, clear, transparent fluid, which he calls 
 blastema, cyto-blastema, granules are first seen, some of which 
 increase in size and assume the form of a minute visicle, the 
 nucleus of the future cell. On the addition of water to this, 
 granules become apparent in its interior, and one of these, larger 
 than the rest, appears to be the nucleolus. Around the nucleolus, 
 the cell membrane is developed and the cell is completed. 
 
 In 1858, the doctrine of spontaneous evolution was revived by 
 Pouchet of France. Pasteur of the French Academy repeated 
 Pouchet's experiments and found them of no value. Bastian of 
 London declared that he was justified in "believing that living 
 things may and do arise, de novo." In his " Beginnings of Life," 
 he declares that monads, bactrias, torulas, vibrios, liptothrix, 
 filaments, fungus, spores, etc., are developed from solutions of 
 organic and saline substances absolutely destitute of living germs ; 
 hence they must originate de novo. 
 
 Here we have among these naturalists, what may be called the 
 battle of the Cell ! The question comes, Wliat is Life ? Ah ! 
 That is the question of questions! No chemical analysis is subtle 
 enough to determine that ! No penetrating power of the sunbeam, 
 however skillfully used, can pierce that inscrutable secret of the 
 
65 
 
 Almighty ! He who made the elementary matter which combines 
 in certain well-known proportions lias simian, his creative power, 
 but chosen to conceal that impalpable, subtle something, which 
 vitalizes the vegetable and animal organism which we call life! 
 The secret of his working lies outside of the domain of philo- 
 sophical investigation. 
 
 There is an unwillingness on the part of many scientific men to 
 admit a Power acting on matter "from without," a God who 
 "orders the Universe from a position outside it all." Tyndall, 
 while treating of and explaining the methods of Nature, entirely 
 drops out of thought the Power which works along these methods. 
 " The very story of saline crystals and ice-stars, and fern fronds and 
 human birth," he asks, "What else is there here than matter?" 
 Much ! The movements of matter, with their disposing and 
 formative power, the attracting and repelling energies, which, 
 dealing with molecules and cells, are not molecules and cells. 
 Science deals only with sequences and succession of phenomena — 
 not with causality. Science cannot tell us what it is that does the 
 work — what it is that produces these movements of matter. 
 
 Evolution cannot account for the origin of things, nor can it 
 explain the general laws of Nature. There never was and never 
 can be any evidence that inanimate matter can produce mincl, or 
 that mechanical action can produce mental activity. There is not 
 even the semblance of the presence in the original atoms scientists 
 talk about, of the life, mind, feeling, consciousness, power of judg- 
 ment, discernment and reasoning that subsequently make them- 
 selves manifest. 
 
 Scientists generally agree that "force can neither be created nor 
 destroyed," and that "the quantity of force in nature is just as 
 eternal and unalterable as the quantity of matter." 
 
 Dr. Barnard, in his address before the Scientific Association in 
 1869, says : " Organic changes are physical effects, and may be 
 received without hesitation as the representative equivalents of 
 physical forces expended. But sensation, will, emotion, passion, 
 thought, are in no conceivable sense physical. 
 
 " The philosophy which makes thought a form of force, makes 
 thought a mode of motion, converts the thinking being into a 
 
66 
 
 mechanical automaton, whose sensations, emotions and intellections 
 are mere vibrations produced in its material substance by the play 
 of physical forces, and whose conscious existence must forever 
 cease when the exhausted organism shall, at length, fail to respond 
 to these external impulses. 
 
 " Thought can not be a physical force, because it admits of no 
 measure. A thing unsusceptible of measure cannot be a quantity, 
 and a thing that is not even a quantity cannot be a force." 
 
 In this connection, allow me to introduce a few passages from 
 the famous ''Discourse on Molecules," delivered before the British 
 Association at Bradford, in September, 1873, b}^ James Clark 
 Maxwell : " In the heavens we discover by their light, and by 
 their light alone, stars so distant from each other that no material 
 thing can ever have passed from one to another; and yet this 
 light, which is to us the sole evidence of the existence of these 
 distant worlds, tells us also that each of them is built up of 
 molecules of the same kind as those which we find on earth. A 
 molecule of hydrogen, for example, whether in Sirius or Arcturus, 
 executes its vibrations in precisely the same time. 
 
 " Each molecule, therefore, throughout the universe has im- 
 pressed upon it the stamp of a metric system as distinctly as 
 does the metre of the Archives at Paris, or the double roj^al cubit 
 of the temple of Karnac. 
 
 "No theory of evolution can be formed to account for the 
 similarity of molecules, for evolution necessarily implies continuous 
 change, and the molecule is incapable of growth, or decay, of 
 generation or destruction." 
 
 None of the processes of Nature since the time when Nature 
 began have produced the slightest difference in the properties of 
 any molecule. We are therefore unable to ascribe either the 
 existence of the molecules or the identity of their properties to any 
 of the causes which we call natural. 
 
 On the other hand, the exact equality of a molecule to all others 
 of the same kind gives it, as Sir John Herschel has well said, the 
 essential character of a manufactured article, and precludes the idea 
 of its being eternal and self -existent. 
 
 Thus we have been led along a strictly scientific path, very 
 
67 
 
 near to the point at which science must stop. Not that science is 
 debarred from studying the interna] mechanism of a molecule 
 which she cannot take to pieces, any more than from investigating 
 an organism which she cannot put together. But in tracing back 
 the history of matter, science is arrested when she assures herself, 
 on the one hand, that the molecule has been made, and, on the 
 other, that it has not been made by any of the processes we call 
 natural. 
 
 Science is incompetent to reason upon the creation of matter 
 itself out of nothing. We have reached the utmost limits of our 
 thinking faculties when we have admitted that, because matter 
 cannot be eternal and self-existent, it must have been created. 
 
 It is only when we contemplate, not matter in itself, but the 
 form in which it actually exists, that our mind finds something on 
 which it can lay hold. 
 
 That matter, as such, should have certain fundamental properties 
 —that it should exist in space and be capable of motion — that its 
 motion should be persistent, and so on — are truths which may be, 
 for anything we know, of the kind which metaphysicians call 
 necessary. We may use our knowledge of such truths for 
 purposes of deduction, but we have no data for speculating as to 
 their origin. 
 
 But that there should be exactty so much matter and no more 
 in every molecule of hydrogen is a fact of a very different order. 
 We have here a particular distribution of matter — a collocation — 
 to use the expression of Dr. Chalmers, of things which we have a 
 difficulty in imagining to have been arranged otherwise. 
 
 The form and dimensions of the orbits of the planets, for 
 instance, are not determined by any law of nature, but depend 
 upon a particular collocation of matter. The same is the case with 
 respect to the size of the earth from which the standard of what is 
 called the metric system has been derived. But these astronomical 
 and terrestrial magnitudes are far inferior in scientific importance 
 to that most fundamental of all standards which forms the base of 
 the molecular system. Natural causes, as we know, are at work, 
 which tend to modify, if they do not at length destroy, all the 
 arrangements and dimensions of the earth and the whole solar 
 
68 
 
 system. But though in the course of ages catastrophes have 
 occurred, and may yet occur, in the heavens, though ancient 
 systems may be dissolved and new systems evolved out of their 
 ruins, the molecules out of which these systems are built — the 
 foundation-stones of the material universe — remain unbroken and 
 unworn. They continue this day as they were created — perfect in 
 number and measure and weight; and from the ineffaceable 
 characters impressed on them, we may learn that those aspirations 
 after accuracy in measurement and justice in action, which we 
 reckon among our noblest attributes as men, are ours because they 
 are essential constituents of the image of Him who in the beginning 
 created not onl} T the heaven and the earth, but the materials of 
 which heaven and earth consist. A scientific conception of the 
 universe must embrace the three mysteries — Matter, Life and God. 
 
 We need not trouble ourselves with anxieties about questions 
 which Science may suggest ; we feel sure, as Graham remarks, 
 "that there is in the Universe an existence over and above all 
 phenomena, whether viewed as unconditional existence with Kant ; 
 as infinite substance with Spinoza; as inscrutable Power with 
 Spencer ; a transcendent Something, of which matter and mind are 
 alike merely phenomenal manifestations or modes which are far 
 from being exhaustive of its whole nature. There is an Ultimate 
 Reality, vaster and deeper than all we know or dream of matter, 
 grander than all we can think of or imagine, in mind. There is a 
 mighty living and universal Power which lives and moves in the 
 universal being and essence of all persons — a Power, resistless but 
 beneficent, of which matter and energy, life and light, thought and 
 volition, are but forms ; a Power, too, whose exhaustless life and 
 energy are but slightly drawn upon by all the various demands 
 made upon it in our little earth, working, as it does, simultaneously 
 as one and the same power in each of the myriad stellar systems 
 disposed through infinite space. In the most distant orbs, from 
 which Science, by her searching analysis and improved methods of 
 observation, has recently brought back her spectroscopic, supple- 
 menting here telescopic, reports; the same Power is displayed in 
 the composition of matter and in the maintainance of law as at 
 home on the earth ; and probably in many of those distant 
 
no 
 
 spheres it works in the production of life, while probably also T 
 nay somewhere certainly; and whether working by other and 
 superior art, or working, as here, by natural selection chiefly, it has 
 attained to grander and more excellent results than the choicest 
 terrestrial things — to a truth more clear and free from error, to a 
 beauty more pervading, to a happiness less fugitive and more 
 unalloj^ed, to a virtue superior to our poor earthly product." 
 
 This Ultimate Power "is no more representable in terms 
 of human consciousness than human consciousness is representable 
 in terms of a plant's formation." While man remains subject to 
 the limitations of consciousness, he cannot compass in thought an 
 existence transcending all consciousness, and man must be forever 
 subject to these limitations. 
 
 This Ultimate Reality in the universe is God. 
 
 There is a Power behind phenomena, which produces them ; a 
 substance one and the same at the bottom of the universe and of 
 our thought, which preserves them both in law and order; a 
 Power whose existence is our only final guarantee that the 
 physical universe will not resolve itself into chaos before our eyes 7 
 and that the universal reason will keep steady on her throne. This 
 Power removed — if we could or dare suppose it — anarchy in the 
 atoms, universal chaos within and without, in the brain and in the 
 cosmos, is conceivable ; this Power present and eternally support- 
 ing all is our guarantee to the contrary. And, once more, this 
 final support and Power, is God. 
 
 In looking over Newton's Principia, I came across this 
 memorable utterance, which shows that his intuitive powers 
 brought within the range of his vision the philosophies of 
 our time. 
 
 "The world is not God, as the Pantheists affirm. It did not 
 exist from eternity, as the Peripatetics taught. It was not made 
 by Fate and Necessity, as the Stoics said. It did not arise 
 from a fortuitous concourse of atoms, as the Epicureans asserted, 
 nor from the antagonism of two rival powers, as the Persians and 
 Manicheans affirmed ; nor was it made by angels, or by incarnations 
 of aeons, as some of the ancient Gnostics held ; nor out of matter 
 co-eternal with God, as Hermogenes said; nor by spontaneous 
 
70 
 
 energy and evolution of self-developing powers, as some have 
 affirmed in later days; but it was created by One, Almighty, 
 Eternal, Wise and Good Being — God." 
 
 That which caused the integration of the earth and the 
 production of light and heat, was energy. Energy may be defined 
 as the power of doing work. There is always a tendency, in every 
 transformation of energy, to pass from a higher to a lower form ; 
 indeed, all the energy in the universe is passing on to the lowest 
 and final form of equally diffused heat. This, the dissipation of 
 energy, is by no means well understood. There can be little 
 question that the principle concerns the whole theory of thermo- 
 electricity, of chemical combination, of allotropy, of phosphores- 
 cence, etc., and perhaps, matters of a higher order than common 
 physics and chemistry. In astronomy, it shows us the material of 
 potential suns in the process of formation, in vigorons youth, in the 
 phase of habitation for life, and in every other stage of lingering 
 decay. It reveals to us every planet and satellite as formerly a tiny 
 sun. It carries forward our thought to a time when the materials of 
 present systems shall be component parts of future larger suns and 
 planets. Finally, it conducts us to that necessary future, if 
 physical laws remain unchanged when the present glittering show 
 of life will be dark and cold and dead. It also reminds us of a 
 beginning, a state beyond which we are totally unable to penetrate, 
 a state produced by other than now visibly acting causes, by that 
 transfer of energy from the Unknown of which the universe and 
 all material phenomena are memorials. 
 
 The elementary atoms, possessing their own shapes and powers, 
 arrange themselves into molecules of manifold combination and 
 exceeding variety of vibrations. When raised to incandescence, or 
 white heat, and their lights are tested by spectrum analysis, the 
 glowing vapors indicate by luminous lines the different elements 
 which are in combustion; thus we are learning of what materials 
 the sun and stars are composed. 
 
 Heat and light are the product of a transfer of energy. 
 Transfer of energy, through a solid body, is effected simply by 
 /ibration of the solid body ; through air, by setting it in motion at 
 
 own period of vibration ; through what we call a vacuum, by 
 
71 
 
 the magnetic medium — that which Clark Maxwell gives reason to 
 believe is the medium which conveys light and radiant heat. 
 Vibrations occurring less frequently than sixteen times in a 
 second, produce in us consciousness of a succession of noises. 
 Vibrations occurring oftener than 16, but less than 30,000 times 
 in a second, produce in us the consciousness of musical notes, 
 varying in pitch with the vibrations. Vibrations occurring oftener 
 than 30,000, but less than 458,000,000,000,000 times in a second, 
 do not affect us through the ears ; but the more rapid ones, acting 
 through the nerves of the skin, produce in us the consciousness of 
 heat. Vibrations at the rate of 458,000,000,000,000 in a second 
 affect us through the eyes, and produce our consciousness of red 
 light. As the vibrations increase, corresponding shades of color 
 appear, until, at the rate of 720,000,000,000,000 in a second, we 
 have the consciousness of violet light. Higher rates produce no 
 definite state of consciousness in us. Thus, by one and the same 
 external agency — vibrations among particles of matter — are sensa- 
 tions caused, as sound, heat, light. 
 
 In sound waves, the particles of air vibrate back .and forward 
 in the direction travelled by the sound. If by another sound we 
 raise such undulations as fill the depressions in the waves of the 
 former sound, this adding of sound to sound will cause silence. 
 Light and heat travel at a rate of about 186,000 miles a second; 
 the direction of the vibration is across the direction in which they 
 move. Two sets of rays may be made so to interfere with one 
 another as to be mutually destructive. The two rays of light 
 produce darkness, and the two rays of heat cause heat to dis- 
 appear. Passing a beam of solar or electric light through a 
 prism, we obtain the beautiful colors of the spectrum. At one 
 end is the red, at the other the violet, the remaining prismatic 
 colors lying between. Ked is the hottest of the colors, and 
 beyond it are the invisible rays called the heat rays. Violet is 
 the coldest, and beyond it are the actinic or chemical rays, also 
 invisible. In the three — heat, light, actinism — reside the miracu- 
 lous generative energy, which fills the earth with warmth, life and 
 splendor. Concerning their nature, whether we call it vibration, or 
 heat, or light, or actinism, we affirm nothing and know nothing. 
 
72 
 
 To a certain extent we can give a mechanical explanation of 
 heat and light, as the products presented to our consciousness of 
 a perpetual tumbling, or swaying to and fro of the invisible atoms 
 of which visible bodies are composed ; but when the explanation 
 is connected with the linked purpose of the whole, we are con- 
 scious of wisdom and might exceeding all our thought. Light, 
 wonderful and mysterious, is but a single point in the vast scheme 
 of nature. It is passed through ether by means of transversal 
 disturbances or vibrations. Several optical phenomena indicate 
 that a disturbance partaking, if such be possible, of the nature of 
 compression, would be transmitted with a velocity almost infinitely 
 great in comparison with the existing velocity. 
 
 The medium actually used, ether, is specially fitted for the 
 transmission of the small waves which constitute light. The 
 waves are so small, that from forty to fifty thousand are required 
 to occupy the breadth of an inch, and trillions enter the eye 
 during a few seconds. The red wave has a length of the 
 to oVo 1 oo o tn P art °f an i ncu - I R one second 458,000,000 of 
 vibrations occur. At the line H, in the violet, the length of the 
 wave is yo.oVVW o^ 1 P art °f an inch, and the number of vibrations 
 is 727,000,000 the second. The optic nerve is not conscious of 
 the heat in the hot rays, nor of waves larger than the red, nor of 
 those smaller than the violet. The eye is only able to see 
 different proportions of the three primaries — red, green, violet ; 
 therefore our sight may be fairly considered as rudimentary. 
 Every one of these is capable of innumerable different degrees of 
 sensation; one, two or three primary colors. What a manifold 
 undeveloped system of signs and images we have within us. 
 
 Again, I would allude to the microscope, and in connection 
 with it, to the scientific labors of Ehrenberg and Bailey of West 
 Point. 
 
 A few words in respect to the microscope. Its history would 
 require a treatise. It is one of the most important instruments in 
 modern research. I have seen its development from the ordinary 
 magnifying glasses of the shops, to the magnificent lenses of 
 Tolles, Spencer, Wales, Miller, Powell and Lealand, Koss, Beck, 
 Hartnach, Zeiss, Gunlach, and other makers of first-class object- 
 
73 
 
 ives. I have in my collection the finest English, French, German 
 and American achromatic lenses, varying in focal distance from 
 five inches to the fiftieth of an inch. My best lenses are American. 
 Among these are Tolles' tenth, twenty-fifth and fiftieth ; Wales' 
 thirtieth ; Miller's eighteenth and fortieth, and Spencer's fourth. 
 The latter is the most remarkable lens in my collection of fifty 
 objectives. It was made by the younger Spencer. It will resolve 
 the Amphipleura Pelucida, Nobert's nineteenth band, which are 
 among the most difficult tests of the resolving power of objectives. 
 I have not time to speak of microscopical stands and their 
 accessories which have been carried to great perfection. The 
 microscope, for its perfectability of workmanship and for its 
 marvelous revelations, rivals the telescope, great as has been the 
 improvement of the latter during the past fifty years. 
 
 Although the science of microscopy is of comparatively recent 
 origin, it has taken equal rank in value and importance with its 
 sister science, telescopy. In practical, every - day life, the 
 microscope is of far greater value to society than the telescope. 
 Its range, it is true, is limited to the objects of earth. It acquaints 
 us with the structure and functions of organism, which are 
 altogether too minute to be seen by ordinary and unassisted vision. 
 It enables us to revel in a world of beauty. The stranger to the 
 microscope can form no conception of the delicate forms and 
 picturesque groupings which everywhere abound in the micros- 
 copic world. God's marvelous and exquisite handiwork is more 
 fully revealed in these tiny microcosms, than in the grosser forms 
 with which in ordinary life we are familiar. 
 
 Every child should be taught the use of the microscope. A 
 few shillings will put him in possession of an instrument that 
 will introduce him into a new world, and make his life richer and 
 happier. 
 
 Its practical use in the arts is not to be estimated. In the 
 investigations of the physiologist and anatomist, it is indispensable, 
 for to what else but to this instrument, does histology owe its 
 origin and development? Some glimpses of organic" 1 structure had 
 been obtained by the earlier observers, Leenwenhoek, Malpighi, 
 Hooke and others ; but these, for the most part, consisted of 
 
74 
 
 unconnected observations, from which it was impossible to educe 
 any of the general laws of formation and development. But now r 
 through the researches of such earnest and devoted histologists as 
 Bichat, Schwann, Reichert, Vogt, Kolhker, Schleiden, Quekett 
 and Carpenter, we are made acquainted with the minute tissues of 
 animal and vegetable bodies. The tissues have not only been 
 examined in their healthy but also in their abnormal diseased 
 condition, so that we have not only a microscopic physiology, but 
 a microscopic pathology. 
 
 But there is not time to speak further of the uses of the 
 microscope. Of its construction and of those who have dis- 
 tinguished themselves in developing this almost perfect instrument, 
 we would like to devote an entire paper. A few words in regard 
 to the most important part of the microscope — the objectives. In 
 the construction of these, lies the- maker's skill and the value of 
 his reputation. For the last thirty years, the improvement in 
 lenses has been marked and progressive. Such is the perfection 
 of the immersion lense of to-day, that it seems impossible to add 
 anything more to its value. All the mechanical difficulties have 
 been overcome. The excellence of a lense depends upon its 
 freedom from chromatic and spherical aberration, and upon the 
 magnitude of its angular aperture, definition resulting from the 
 former and penetration from the latter. The advantages claimed 
 for immersion lenses are : greater working distance between the 
 object and objective, increase of light and superior definition and 
 clearness in the optical image, which image is obtained by much 
 simpler illuminating apparatus, and with less manipulative skill than 
 that considered indispensable in using high-power dry objectives. 
 
 " It is not difficult to see," says Mayall, " that Amici's system of 
 connecting the objective with the cover glass by a film of water, 
 very much diminishes the reflection which necessarily takes place 
 on the incidence of oblique light when the dry objective is used. 
 The limiting angle of refraction in water being about 48 degrees, 
 it follows that, whatever is the degree of obliquity in the incident 
 light on the object, the immersion objective never has to do with 
 rays of greater obliquity than 48 degrees. To this, in great measure, 
 is due the greater clearness and precision of the image obtained." 
 
75 
 
 Great perfection has been reached in the preparation of micros- 
 copic objects. The Dams and Germans lead in this department. 
 The mounting of diatoms by I. D. Miller, of Wedel, is beyond 
 all competition. This Diatomaceen Typen-Platte, as lie terms it, 
 has under cover four hundred diatoms, without counting the 
 Eupodiscus Argus, sixteen in number, which he has placed at the 
 •corners of the four squares in which he has grouped his specimens. 
 These he has catalogued and arranged under seventeen orders, 
 according to the classification of A. Gurnow, of Vienna, the Epith- 
 emieae, Meridioneae, Diatomeae, Tabellarieie, Surirelleae, Nitzs- 
 chieae, Amphipleureae, Cocconeidea?, Achnantheae, Cymbelleaae, 
 Gomphonemeae, Navieulacea&, Isthmeae, Biddulphieae, Eupodisceae, 
 Melosireas and Chaetocereae — ninety-nine genera and three hundred 
 and eighteen species — a complete cabinet of diatoms, and all on 
 one slide. 
 
 Of injected animal tissues, those of Prof. Tiersch, of the 
 University of Leipsic, are of unequaled perfection and beauty. 
 There are in my cabinet more than four hundred of them. Edward 
 Bicknell, of Cambridge, and I. Bourgogue, of Paris, have done 
 admirable work in this line. 
 
 But I wish to speak of Ehrenberg and his microscopic labor. 
 Researches in this extremely difficult branch of science began one 
 hundred and fifty years before Ehrenberg entered upon his 
 successful career. He was bom in Dehbisch, Saxonia, April, 
 1795. He entered the University of Leipsic in 1815, and received 
 his medical diploma in 1819. His thesis was " A New System of 
 Moulds," which, on publication, created a sensation in the scientific 
 world. He described in this pamphlet 240 different forms of 
 microscopical plants, which, before his researches became public, 
 were taken as Infusoria. It attracted the attention of the Prussian 
 Academy of Science, and in consequence, he was recommended 
 for similar investigations which were intended to be made in 
 Egypt. The Prussian government sent him, at its expense, to 
 that country, and extended its period after two years of his stay 
 there, to six years. The result of his labors were published on 
 his return in his "Symbolae Physicae ; " "On the Corals of the 
 Red Sea," and its Akoliphia. 
 
76 
 
 Although these coral banks were known to Pliny and Strabo, 
 nothing definite could be said of them; they were believed to be 
 plants which putrify on reaching the surface of the water. 
 
 Ehrenberg classified and described one hundred and fifty 
 species of these animalculae, of which the lives of centuries are 
 required to increase in a small degree the height of these banks. 
 
 On his return from Egypt, he received from the Prussian 
 government the Professorship of the University of Berlin, and a 
 few j^ears later, he was invited to accompany Humboldt and Kosc 
 to Asia to make investigations in natural history, which he 
 accepted. 
 
 They returned in 1839. In 1853 his great works, " The 
 Infusoria as Perfect Organism," and " Microgeology," were pub- 
 lished, which were illustrated by excellent drawings made by 
 himself. These works are now rare and exceedingly costly. 
 
 Microscopical life was the great and wonderful subject which 
 he undertook to investigate. For this purpose he travelled in 
 Europe, Asia and Africa, corresponded with scientific men, and 
 was supplied with infusorial specimens from all parts of the world 
 — from the arctic regions as well as from the tropics ; from the 
 highest mountains to a depth of 12,000 feet below the surface; 
 from the source of rivers as well as from the coasts of lakes. 
 These microscopic beings, living and fossil, he examined and 
 showed their forms to be infinite. 
 
 Not only existing forms of infusoria were found by him, but 
 those also of thousands of years ago. He made forty microscopic 
 analyses of each specimen sent him, from which it may be inferred 
 that his observations were reliable and highly esteemed. He 
 gained the admiration of the scientific world, and was made an 
 honorary member of their learned societies. Cuvier said that 
 Ehrenberg s labors would make him immortal. Like most of 
 great men, he was amiable, humble and unpretending. 
 
 A contemporary of Ehrenberg in microscopical analysis of 
 Infusoria, was Prof. J. W. Bailey, of West Point, who was born 
 April 29, 1811, in Auburn, Massachusetts. He graduated from 
 the Military Academy, July, 1832. In 1839 he was appointed 
 Professor of Chemistry, Mineralogy and Geology, in the same 
 
77 
 
 A.cademy, and remained there till his death', in February, 1857. 
 His taste for science was very largely developed. Beginning with 
 botany and mineralogy, and passing from those to geology, chem- 
 istry and microscopy, he traversed a large portion of the field of 
 natural science. Bv his great skill with the pencil, he made 
 valuable drawings of vegetable and animal tissues, and later, of 
 diatoms, algae, etc. His microscopic and collecting bottles were 
 his constant travelling companions. 
 
 His published papers are numerous — more than fifty. They 
 are mostly to be found in Silliman's Journal of Science, and in the 
 Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, except one in the first 
 volume of the Transactions of the Association of Geologists and 
 Naturalists, which embodied his previous papers on the Infusoria 
 of the United States. 
 
 In March, 1839, he sketched a new diatom, to which Ehren- 
 berg gave the complimentary name Stauronema Baileyi. 
 
 His microscopical collection is an honor to American science. 
 The slides, five hundred and fifty in number, are arranged in boxes 
 in the form of octavos, consisting of twenty -four volumes. There 
 are more than three thousand objects fixed upon those slides, much 
 of which are described by him. The collection of algae is equally 
 complete. It consists of thirty -two portfolios, containing about 
 4,500 specimens — a remarkable collection ; few, if any, surpass it. 
 Prof. Bailey bequeathed these collections, his books on Botany 
 and Microscopy ; his Memoranda, and his Scientific Correspondence, 
 to the Boston Society of Natural History. 
 
 Bailey may well be styled the Ehrenberg of America, who has 
 made for himself a place by the side of the most eminent micros- 
 copists and algologists of the Old World. 
 
 The work of Ehrenberg and Bailey has been taken up by 
 others, and a general accumulation of interesting material has been 
 made. The study of Diatomacae has been pursued with most 
 fruitful results. 
 
 Prof. H. L. Smith, of Geneva, N. Y., has prepared an alpha- 
 betical series of diatoms on glass slides, which he terms " Species 
 Typicae Diatomacearum," which has been extended to several 
 hundred — a valuable contribution. 
 
78 
 
 Dr. Henri Van Heurck published in 1880, " Synopsis des 
 Diatomees de Belgique," in two Faseicules, or parts. 
 
 P. T. Clove and A. Grunow have published from the Stock- 
 holm press a work entitled, "Beitrage znr Kessentreiss der Arctis- 
 chen Diatomeen," and accompanying it, are five volumes of slides, 
 numbering in all 276. These were examined by M. Grunow, of 
 Vienna, who is a leading authority in this department of micros- 
 copy. These diatoms were selected with great care, and come from 
 all parts of the earth. 
 
 Mr. F. Habershaw, of New York, is publishing an exhaustive 
 catalogue of this family of Confervoid Algae. 
 
 Beside the use of dictotns for testing the resolving power of 
 lenses, Mr. F. A. Nobert of Barth, Pomerania, the late well-known 
 optical physicist, whose rulings of fine lines on glass have, for 
 many years past, been regarded as marvels of dexterity by the 
 scientific world, furnished test-plates for the microscope, particularly 
 the plate known as the 19-band plate, on which successive bands 
 of lines are ruled of increasing fineness of division from the rate of 
 1,000 to the Paris line to 10,000, equal approximately to 112,000 
 to the English inch. The frustule of Amphipleura Pelucida has 
 92,700 to 92,900 stria to the inch. It was Nobert's opinion that the 
 last four bands of his plate could not be resolved. In this he was 
 mistaken, for Dr. Woodward of Washington not only resolved the 
 19th band, but he also photographed it. It was this photograph 
 that convinced Nobert of his error in fixing a limit to microscopic 
 vision at the 16th band. 
 
 He then ruled a new plate of twenty bands of lines, varying 
 from 1,000 to 2,000 to the Paris line. The lines on the tenth band 
 in this latter plate correspond in processes of division to the 19th 
 band of the former plate. The makers of objectives have some- 
 thing to stimulate them in the future in making lenses that can 
 resolve, if possible, the more difficult lines of his new plate. He 
 died last year, without revealing the secret of his process of making 
 and adjusting the ruling points. It is, therefore, conclusive that 
 the limit to microscopic vision depends upon the excellence of the 
 objective ! It is a variable factor ! 
 
 Eutherford of New York, Kogers of Boston, and Fasoldt of 
 
79 
 
 Albany, have done fine line ruling on glass and metal, but I have 
 no time to speak of them as I would like. 
 
 John James Audubon has made most valuable contributions to 
 the study of Natural History. His great works are the "Birds of 
 North America," in four volumes, and the "Quadrupeds of North 
 America," in three volumes. Cuvier pronounced the former to be 
 " the most splendid monuments which art has created in honor of 
 Ornithology." Christopher North said of him, "He is the greatest 
 artist in his walk that ever lived." As an ornithologist and 
 ornithological painter, he never had his equal. It was my fortune, 
 forty years ago, to meet him at the seances of the Lyceum of 
 Natural History of New York. He was the most remarkable 
 man of my acquaintance. He had the keenest and most 
 penetrating eyes I have ever seen. 
 
 It is a pleasure to refer to the scientific labors of Louis Agassiz. 
 He came to the United States in 1846, at the commencement of 
 the great scientific awakening in this country. His European 
 reputation had preceded him, and his arrival was hailed with joy. 
 He was looked upon as the greatest authority in Paleontology. 
 His " Fossil Fishes " furnished a model of study in the investiga- 
 tion of the remains of extinct fauna. He was learned in Geology, 
 Zoology and Embryology. He was a fascinating lecturer on 
 these subjects. He studied the coral reefs of Florida, the fauna 
 and natural history of Brazil, S. A. He founded the Museum 
 of Natural History in Harvard College, and left as a monument 
 of his industry the " Fossil Fishes," published in 1834-44, in 
 five vols., 4to, with an atlas of nearly 400 folio plates, in which 
 1,000 species were wholly and 700 more partially, figured and 
 described. He was the founder of Fossil Ichthyology. In 1839, 
 he published his " Natural History of the Freshwater Fish of 
 Europe;" also "Descriptions of Echinoderms ;" 1847, "Systeme 
 Glaciere;" "Nomenclator Zoologicus," 1 vol., 4to; "Bibliographical 
 Zoological," 3 vols., 8vo ; "Twelve Lectures on Comparative 
 Embryology," 8vo; "Methods of Study in Natural History;" 
 "Geological Sketches;" " Life from the Egg — Twelve Lectures;" 
 
80 
 
 Contributions to the "Natural History of the United States," 4 
 vols., 4to, etc. 
 
 In 1861, he received the Copley Medal for his original 
 researches, from the Royal Society of London. He subsequently 
 received the Monthyon prize and the Cuvier prize from the 
 French Academy ; the Wollaston prize from the Geological Society 
 of London, and the Medal of Merit from the King of Prussia. He 
 was elected into all the Scientific Societies of Europe and 
 America, 
 
 He wrote with great facility in Latin, German, French and 
 English. He was an uncompromising defender of the Classifica- 
 tion of the Animal Kingdom by Cuvier, and had no patience with 
 the doctrine of Evolution. In writing an introduction to " Nott 
 and Gliddon's Types of Mankind," he was denounced as an infidel 
 by the clergy; but he outlived all those censures, and was regarded 
 by the clergy as the defender of the true philosophy. He once 
 spent a week with me in Buffalo, and complained bitterly of his 
 treatment, declaring that he was not an infidel, that his father was 
 an orthodox minister, and that he was brought up to believe and 
 did believe in the Christian system of religion. 
 
 I wish to record a little incident which occurred at that time. 
 Ex-President Fillmore was dining with us one day, when he said 
 to Prof. Agassiz, "I wish that you would explain to me what I 
 regard as one of the marvelous things of science. I have read 
 that by means of a single fossil fish-scale, you actually made a 
 drawing of the fish to which it belonged, giving its size and form, 
 and that the drawing and scale were deposited in the British 
 Museum ; and that years after, the fossil skeleton of that species of 
 fish was found and sent to the British Museum, and that the 
 drawing could not have been a more exact portrait of the object 
 than the one you made. Please tell me how you did it." "There 
 is nothing easier," said the Professor. "It was like putting into 
 the hands of a skilled engineer or architect, a single stone of an 
 arch, and asking him to make a drawing of the arch to which 
 it belonged. The angle which the faces of the stone made with 
 each other would determine the form and character of the arch." 
 
 Prof. Agassiz was a gentleman of pleasing manners, of great 
 
si 
 
 personal beauty, and of brilliant conversational powers. He was 
 the centre and charm of the social circle. At the meetings of the 
 Scientific Association, he is still remembered not more for his 
 great learning in the discussion of scientific subjects, than for his 
 urbane manners and brilliant conversation at the evening social 
 entertainments. 
 
 Prof. Agassiz was born May 28, 1807, in the Parish of Motier, 
 Switzerland, and died in Cambridge, Mass., December 14, 1873, 
 universally lamented and honored. 
 
 The establishment of the United States Coast Survey under 
 Hassler and Bache and Peirce, has been of the greatest utility. 
 Stations for tidal observation were established all along the Atlantic 
 Gulf and Pacific coasts. Self-registering tide-gauges have been 
 brought into extensive use. The character of the ocean currents 
 along our coasts have been determined and their causes elicited. 
 The exploration of the Gulf -stream commenced in 1844, was 
 vigorously prosecuted, its temperature at the several depths deter- 
 mined, and its structure and laws for the first time detected. The 
 cold wall of water between the Gulf-stream and the shore, as also 
 the division of the stream proper into alternate bands of warm and 
 cold water, were discovered and mapped out for the benefit of 
 navigators and the use of scientists. 
 
 Capt. M. F. Maury's "Physical Geography of the Sea" was a 
 valuable contribution to the navigation of the Atlantic Ocean. 
 
 The first reasonable explanation of earthquakes was given by 
 Dr. Thomas Young, by suggesting the probability that earthquake 
 motions are vibratory, analagous to those of sound. It was rather 
 a suggestion than an explanation, for he gave no demonstration. 
 This was in 1807. In 1846, Robert Mallet communicated to the 
 Royal Irish Academy a paper "On the Dynamics of Earthquakes," 
 in which is found this passage : " The transit of a wave or waves 
 of elastic compression in any direction, from vertically upwards 
 to horizontally, in any azimuth, through the crust and surface of 
 the earth, from any centre of impulse or from more than one, and 
 which may be attended with sound and tidal waves dependent 
 
\ 
 
 82 
 
 upon the impulse and upon circumstances of position as to sea and 
 land." 
 
 Thus was fixed upon an immutable basis the true theory of 
 earthquakes. It was incidentally shown in that paper that from 
 the observed elements of the movement of the elastic wave of 
 shock at certain points — b} r suitable instruments — the position and 
 depth of the focus, or centre of impulse, might be inferred. 
 
 In December, 1857, occurred the great Neapolitan earthquake, 
 which desolated a large portion of that kingdom ; and an oppor- 
 tunity then arose for practically applying to the problems of find- 
 ing the directions of earthquake shock at a given point through 
 which it has passed, and ultimately the position and depth of 
 focus. Mallet devised apparatus for measuring those movements. 
 Seismology has become a branch of exact science. An Observa- 
 tory has been established on Mt. Vesuvius by the Italian Govern- 
 ment, and self-registering instruments are used under the direction 
 of Prof. Luigi Palmieri. 
 
 This seismograph is a self-recording instrument, composed of 
 two distinct portions — one for record of horizontal, or rather of 
 what are called undulatory shocks ; the other for vertical shocks. 
 The instrument is of that class in which the wave movements are 
 indicated by the displacement, relative or absolute, of columns of 
 mercury in glass tubes. 
 
 The chemist has made great achievements. He has made a 
 new nomenclature for his science. He has liquified and solidified 
 carbonic acid ; and what is more wonderful still, he has liquified 
 oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen ! Out of coal tar, he has obtained 
 a most remarkable series of an aline colors (1860). He has discov- 
 ered a method of preparing a new explosive agent, nitro-glycerine. 
 By spectrum analysis, he has discovered new elementary bodies. 
 He has studied the molecular condition of the three states of 
 matter, the gaseous, the liquid and the solid. He has discovered 
 a method of storing electrical energy for mechanical purposes. 
 
 One of the most laborious and successful students of nature 
 was the late Prof. John W. Draper, whose scientific career has 
 
83 
 
 been passed in our midst. A profound thinker, an elegant writer, 
 a poet as well as a philosopher, he did much to advance the civiliza- 
 tion of the nineteenth century. His great scientific work was the 
 u Chemistry of Plants," published in 1844, an important treatise on 
 the forces which produce the organization of plants. He also 
 published a paper upon the experimental examination of the 
 distribution of heat and of the chemical force in the spectrum ; also 
 a treatise on "Human Physiology;" also "History of the 
 Intellectual Development of Europe " (1872), in which he under- 
 took to show that " social advancement is as completely under the 
 control of natural law as is bodily growth," and that "the life of an 
 individual is a miniature of the life of a nation." "Thoughts on 
 the Future Civil Policy of America," In this work, he emphasized 
 the influence of physical conditions, studied the effects of the 
 groupings of so many nationalities, and concluded that America 
 would become the theatre of a vast conflict of ideas, and that her 
 safety required the abolition of the " European method of govern- 
 ment through the morals and the adoption of an American method 
 of government through the intellect." His ruling ideas reappeared 
 in his " History of the American Civil War " (1867-70) ; " History 
 of the Conflict between Religion and Science " (1878). In 1878 
 appeared his " Scientific Memoirs ; or, Experiments Contributing 
 to the History of Radiant Energy," 
 
 His researches in spectrum analysis and in the endosmosis and 
 exosmosis of liquids were especially interesting. He was on the 
 verge of making the great discovery which has since conferred 
 scientific immortality on the German scientist, Kirchkoff, the 
 interpretation of the dark lines in the solar spectrum. Draper took 
 the first image of the human face by the photographic art. In 
 1840, he made the discovery of the curious phenomena of voice 
 fig ares, also known as Moser's images, which are formed when a 
 coin is placed upon a polished surface of glass, marble or metal, 
 and remain latent until brought out by the condensation of vapor 
 by breathing on it. This he showed me in 1843. 
 
 Dr. John Torrey was one of the ablest pioneers of American 
 science. April 16, 1873, I read a biographical sketch of him 
 
84 
 
 before the American Ethnological Society of New York, a few 
 extracts from which I will introduce. 
 
 John Torrey, M. D., LL.D., was born in New York, August 15, 
 1796, and died March 10, 1873. He was distinguished for his 
 great purity and probity of character, for his sympathy with every 
 worthy cause, and for his contributions to human learning. His 
 life-pursuits were chemistry, mineralogy and botany. When he 
 began his scientific career, these sciences were in their infancy. It 
 was his great pleasure to observe their gradual development, and 
 to take an active part with the scientific men of both hemispheres 
 in raising them to their present elevated position. 
 
 Graduating in Medicine in 1818, he was appointed, six years 
 after, Professor of Chemistry, Geology and Mineralogy in the 
 Military Academy at West Point. In 1827, he was called to the 
 chair of Chemistry in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 
 this city, which he filled with honor to the college, till 1855. From 
 1830 to 1853, he was Professor of Chemistry at Nassau Hall, 
 Princeton, and was associated with Joseph Henry, the Alexanders, 
 and other distinguished men of that Institution. In 1853, he was 
 appointed by the government Chief Assay er in the United States 
 Assay Office at New York. He was also appointed Professor of 
 Botany in Columbia College in this city, to which he has left his 
 immense collection of plants, which is probably one of the most 
 valuable in the world, especially in American botany. 
 
 The Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York, of 
 which he was one of its founders, show his industry in his early 
 scientific course. These are the titles of some of his papers : 
 "Description of some new and rare plants from the Kocky 
 Mountains," read before the Lyceum, September 22, 1823. 
 Another paper on the same subject, read December 11, 1826, in 
 which year he was elected President of the Lyceum. " Chemical 
 Examination of some Minerals, chiefly from America, by Thomas 
 Thompson, notes by John Torrey," read November 5, 1827. 
 "Discovery of Vauquelinite, a rare ore of Chromium," read April 
 27, 1835. " Monograph of North American Cyperaceae," read 
 August 8, 1836. The General Index of Silliman's Journal, first 
 series, gives a catalogue of papers from his pen, some of which 
 
85 
 
 are as follows: "On the Condensation of Carbonic, Sulphurous 
 and Chloro-chromic Acid Gases;" "On Staurotide ;" "On 
 Siderographite ;" "Number of [ndigenous Plants of New York 
 State;" "On West Point Minerals," &c, &c. 
 
 His more important and valuable contributions are the follow- 
 ing : " Catalogue of Plants to be found in a radius of thirty miles 
 around New York," published in 1819 ; " Flora of the Northern 
 and Middle States," 1824 ; "Flora of the State of New York," 2 
 vols., 1843-44 ; " Appendix to Dr. John Lindley's Introduction 
 to Botany," 1831. He also edited, with Dr. Asa Gray, "The 
 Flora of North America." His more important and valuable 
 papers are to be found in the Smithsonian Contributions, and in 
 the various government, railway and other explorations. 
 
 Dr. Torre y was an honored member of this Society. By his 
 gentle manner and pleasing conversation, he endeared himself to us 
 all. He had a magnetism which drew and a sympathy which 
 touched all hearts. Associated with De Witt Clinton, Albert 
 Gallatin, Samuel L. Mitchell and Gulian C. Yerplank in the early 
 history of the Society, he has indelibly impressed himself upon 
 the scientific thought of the American people. He has opened 
 mines of thought and influence which can be wrought in all time 
 to come. Let us cherish his memory and emulate his example. 
 
 One of the greatest lights of this century is Charles Kobert 
 Darwin. I cannot hope in the limited space alloted me to do more 
 than allude to the great work of this foremost man of science of 
 this or any other age. Born, February 12, 1809, and dying, April 
 19, 1882, he finished his renowned scientific career in one of the 
 most remarkable periods of human history. It is difficult to know 
 which to praise most in this great biologist, his methods or their 
 results. He was eminent in observing the habits of plants and 
 animals and their relations to each other. He studied the variations 
 of species under domestication and in a state of nature. He 
 studied hybridity and the effects of hereditary and growth force. 
 He did little in comparative anatomy and scarcely anything in 
 embryology. His method was the inductive. He relied upon 
 facts and not upon theoretical speculations. In 1859 appeared his 
 
86 
 
 great work on "The Origin of Species." The theory may be thus 
 stated : 
 
 Every kind of animal and plant tends to increase in numbers 
 in a geometrical progression. 
 
 Every kind of animal and plant transmits a general likeness, 
 with individual differences, to its offspring. 
 
 Every individual may present minute variations of any kind 
 and in any direction. 
 
 Past time has been practically infinite. 
 
 Every individual has to endure a very severe struggle for 
 existence, owing to the tendency to geometrical increase of all 
 kinds of animals and plants, while the total animal and vegetable 
 population (man and his agency excepted), remains almost 
 stationary. 
 
 Thus, every variation of a kind tending to save the life of the 
 individual possessing it, or to enable it more surely to propagate 
 its kind, will in the long run be preserved, and will transmit its 
 favorable peculiarity to some of its offspring, which peculiarity will 
 thus become intensified till it reaches the maximum degree of 
 utility. On the other hand, individuals presenting unfavorable 
 peculiarities will be destroyed. The action of this law of Natural 
 Selection may be represented by the expression, "Survival of the 
 fittest." 
 
 This conception of Mr. Darwin's is perhaps the most interesting 
 theory, in relation to Natural Science, which has been promulgated 
 during the present century. In a remarkable manner it groups 
 together a vast and varied series of biological facts, and even 
 paradoxes, which it appears more or less clearly to explain. By 
 this theory of "Natural Selection," light is thrown on the more 
 singular facts relating to the geographical distribution of animals 
 and plants; on the resemblance between the past and present 
 inhabitants of different parts of the earths surface. 
 
 His second great work, on " The Descent of Man," appeared in 
 1871. I have not time to speak of this work as I would like. It 
 produced a profound sensation among scholars. It was looked 
 upon as positively infidel in its teaching, and was condemned by 
 the clergy. It presented evolution in a new phase. It was said to 
 
87 
 
 teach that man, in the process of evolution, came directly Prom the 
 monkey. Mr. Darwin was caricatured. Pictures of him, with 
 caudel attachment, were put upon the market. But time lias 
 vindicated the reputation of the great scientist. Prejudice has 
 yielded to admiration. The clergy are of one accord in their 
 readiness to do him honor. His remains were buried in the great 
 mausoleum of Westminster Abbey. His pall-bearers were, James 
 R Lowell, the Duke of Argyle, Lord Derby, Professor Huxley, 
 Sir Joseph Hooker, Sir John Lubbock, Alfred R Wallace, Mr. 
 Spottiswood, President of the Royal Society, and Canon Farrar. 
 
 The English Church has shown great wisdom in thus honor- 
 ing this distinguished scientist. By giving his bones a resting 
 place in the most renowned of English sepulchres, they have 
 removed a strong and growing prejudice from the minds of that 
 large and influential class of scientific men who are doubtless the 
 leading thinkers and workers of this generation. It was politic to 
 recognize this class of men. The church needs the vitalizing 
 forces of thought and action that are outside of itself, to redeem 
 it from a species of monasticism which is sure to spring up in a 
 life of seclusiveness from the world. By this act of the church, 
 the interests of science and religion are conserved. The priest at 
 the altar and the scientist in his painstaking investigations, alike 
 honor the cause of truth. 
 
 This was once true of the Roman Catholic Church. If any 
 man became distinguished in science, arts or letters, he was 
 canonized at death, and admitted into fellowship with the saints. 
 So long as this was done the church maintained its supremacy ; 
 but when it became non-sympathetic and persecuting, it lost its 
 power. 
 
 The English Medical Press and Circular says : " There is but 
 one appropriate resting-place for the greatest naturalist in the 
 world — the founder of the modern school of biology, the most 
 illustrious scientific savant of the century — and that place is 
 amidst those who are, by right, regarded as the creators of our 
 intellectual superiority — in the national fane at Westminster." 
 
 "He was," said Canon Prothero, at Westminster Abbey, "the 
 greatest man of science of his day ; but was so entirely a stranger to 
 
88 
 
 intellectual pride and arrogance, that he stated, with the utmost 
 modesty, opinions, of the truth of which he was himself con- 
 vinced, but which, he was aware, could not be universally 
 agreeable and acceptable. Surely, in such a man, lived that 
 charity which is the very essence of the true spirit of Christ." 
 
 Canon Liddon, in his sermon at St Paul's, observed, "that 
 when Professor Darwin's books on the Origin of Species and on 
 the Descent of Man appeared, they were largely regarded by 
 religious men as containing a theory necessarily hostile to religion. 
 A closer study had greatly modified any such impression. It is 
 sure that, whether the creative activity of God is manifested 
 through catastrophes, as the phrase goes, or in progressive evolu- 
 tion, it is still His creative activity, and the really great questions 
 beyond remain untouched. The evolutionary process, supposing 
 it to exist, must have had a beginning: who began it? It must 
 have had material to work with : who furnished it? It is itself a 
 law or system of laws : who enacted them ? Even supposing 
 that the theory represents absolute truth, and is not merely a 
 provisional way of looking at things incidental to the present 
 state of knowledge, these great questions are just as little to be 
 decided by physical science now as they were when Moses wrote 
 the Pentateuch ; but there are apparently three important gaps in 
 the evolutionary sequence, which it is well to bear in mind. 
 There is the great gap between the highest animal instinct and 
 the reflective self- measuring, self -analyzing thought of man. 
 There is the greater gap between life and the most organized 
 matter. There is the greatest gap of all between matter and 
 nothing. At these three points, as far as we can see, the Creative 
 Will must have intervened otherwise than by the way of evolu- 
 tion out of existing materials — to create mind, to create life, to 
 create matter. But, beyond all question, it is our business to 
 respect in science, as in other things, every clearly ascertained 
 report of the senses ; for every such report represents a fact, and 
 a fact is sacred as having its place in the Temple of Universal 
 Truth." 
 
 The Observer says : " We may be asked, of course, what it is, 
 after all, that Darwin has done ? He has not invented an electric 
 
89 
 
 light, or a vacuum break, or thrown a viaduct across a valley, or 
 tunnelled under a strait, or discovered some marvellous method 
 by which to convert brewers' refuse into bread. He has done 
 nothing for which he could have taken out a patent, or have 
 started a joint stock company with limited liability. But he has 
 lived from the first in an air higher than that where money is 
 made, and professional chairs are given away. And living thus, 
 purely, simply and honestly, he has left his mark indelibly upon 
 human thought; the history of human thought being, for each 
 and for all of us, the history of the universe. Peerages and 
 decorations are conferred upon men who successfully conduct 
 negotiations in the sugar trade, or wage war, with the Martini- 
 Henry rifle, against naked savages. Darwin enjoyed no such 
 distinction. Certainly he never coveted it. He was never made: 
 commissioner of anything. His whole life was one continual 
 worship of truth for its own sake. He was incapable of jealousy, 
 ambition or self-seeking, and — though he himself knew it not — 
 the moral lesson of his life is perliaps even more valuable than is the 
 grand discovery which he has stamped on the world's history." 
 
 Sir. Charles Lyell, in his Antiquity of Man, quotes a saying 
 of Professor Agassiz, that whenever a new and striking fact is 
 brought to light in science, people first say "it is not true," then 
 it is contrary to religion, and lastly, "that everybody knew it 
 before." If a sermon delivered in St. Paul's by Canon Liddon 
 may be accepted as evidence, the theory of evolution has passed 
 through the two first stages of Agassiz' process, and is already on 
 its way to the third. From the extracts from his sermon, it will 
 be seen that the eloquent Canon accepts Darwinian theories only 
 with reservations. His remarkable words only need to be carried 
 to their legitimate issue, to indicate the basis on which the long- 
 looked-for reconciliation between science and religion will be 
 possible. 
 
 The following extracts from Continental papers may not be out 
 of place : 
 
 The Gaulois remarks " that Darwin will remain one of 
 the greatest glories of science. No other man has, during the 
 second half of this century, exercised a more decisive and fruitful 
 
90 
 
 influence on the progress of natural science. No one else has so 
 much honored science by the nobility of his character, by the- 
 primitive simplicity of his life and by his deep and sincere love of 
 truth." 
 
 The France observes : " Darwin's work has not been merely 
 the exposition of a system ; but, as it were, the production of an 
 epic — the greatest power of the genesis of the universe, one of the 
 grandest that ever proceeded from a human brain — an epic 
 magnificent in its proportions, logical in its deductions and superb 
 in its form. Darwin deserves not only a place by the side of 
 Leibnitz, Bacon, or Decartes. but is worthy to rank with Homer." 
 
 The Cologne Gazette says: "He was a man of science, who 
 made a mark upon his times in a manner unparalleled by any of 
 his contemporaries. He compelled every branch of science to 
 acknowledge his revolutionizing discoveries. The completion of 
 his gigantic system will give abundant occupation to the remotest 
 generations ; but the memory of the founder of this prodigious 
 scientific structure will remain imperishable to all time." 
 
 We cannot more fitly close this sketch than by quoting from an 
 article in Nature, by Prof. Huxley : 
 
 "In France, in Germany, in Austro-Hungary, in Italy, in the 
 United States, writers of all shades of opinion, for once unanimous, 
 have paid a willing tribute to the worth of our great countryman, 
 ignored in life by the official representatives of the kingdom, but 
 laid in death among his peers in Westminster Abbey by the will 
 of the nation. 
 
 "It is no secret that, outside that domestic group, there are 
 many to whom Mr. Darwin's death is a wholly irreparable loss. 
 And this not merely because of his wonderfully genial, simple and 
 generous nature, his cheerful and animated conversation and the 
 infinite variety and accuracy of his information, but because the 
 more one knew of him the more he seemed the incorporated ideal 
 of a man of science. Acute as were his reasoning powers, vast as 
 was his knowledge, marvelous as was his tenacious industry, under 
 physical difficulties which would have converted nine men out of 
 ten into aimless invalids, it was not these qualities, great as they 
 were, which impressed those who were admitted to his intimacy 
 
5H 
 
 with involuntary veneration, but a certain intense and almost 
 passionate honesty, by which all his thoughts and actions were 
 irradiated as by a central fire. 
 
 " It was this rarest and greatest of endowments which kept his 
 vivid imagination and great speculative powers within due bounds ; 
 which compelled him to undertake the prodigious labors of original 
 investigation of reading, upon which his published works are 
 based; which made him accept criticisms and suggestions from 
 anybody and everybody, not onty without impatience, but with 
 expressions of gratitude sometimes almost comically in excess of 
 their value ; which led him to allow neither himself nor others to 
 be deceived by phrases, and to spare neither time nor pains in 
 order to obtain clear and distinct ideas upon every topic with which 
 he occupied himself. 
 
 " One could not converse with Darwin without being reminded 
 of Socrates. There was the same desire to find someone wiser 
 than himself ; the same belief in the sovereignty of reason ; the 
 same ready humor ; the same sympathetic interest in all the ways 
 and works of men. But instead of turning away from the 
 problems of nature as hopelessly insoluble, our modern philosopher 
 devoted his whole life to attacking them in the spirit of Heraclitus 
 and of Democritus, with results which are as the substance of 
 which their speculations were anticipating shadows. 
 
 " None have fought better and none have been more fortunate 
 than Charles Darwin. He found a great truth, trodden under foot, 
 reviled by bigots and ridiculed by all the world ; he lived long 
 enough to see it, chiefly by his own efforts, inseparably incorporated 
 with the common thoughts of men, aud only hated and feared by 
 those who would ridicule, but dare not. What shall a man desire 
 more than this ? Once more the image of Socrates rises unbidden, 
 and the noble peroration of the Apology rings in our ears as if it 
 were Charles Darwin's farewell : ' The hour of departure has come, 
 and we go our ways — I to die and you to live. Which is the 
 better, God only knows.' 
 
 The following is the translation of a letter written by the late 
 Charles Darwin in answer to an inquiry from a young student at 
 
92 
 
 Jena, in whom the study of Darwin's books had raised religious 
 doubts : 
 
 " Sir — I am very busy, and am an old man in delicate health, 
 and have not time to answer your questions fully, even assuming 
 that they are capable of being answered at all. Science and 
 Christ have nothing to do with each other, except in as far as the 
 habit of scientific investigation makes a man cautious about 
 accepting any proofs. As far as I am concerned, I do not believe 
 that any revelation has ever been made. With regard to a future 
 life, every one must draw his own conclusions from vague and 
 contradictory probabilities. Wishing you well, I remain, your 
 obedient servant, 
 
 k 'Down, June 5th, 1879. Charles Darwin." 
 
 Mr. Darwin was not regarded as a Christian ; but he had the 
 greatest respect for all that was good in Christianity, and was 
 great enough to acknowledge it. This is the way in which he 
 answered some shallow critics of foreign missionaries: "They 
 forget, or will no.t remember, that human sacrifices, and the power 
 of an idolatrous priesthood ; a system of profligacy unparalleled 
 in am^ other part of the world; infanticide, a consequence of that 
 system ; bloody wars, where the conquerors spared neither women 
 nor children — that all these have been abolished; and that dis- 
 honesty, intemperance and licentiousness have been greatly 
 reduced by the introduction of Christianity. In a voyager to 
 forget these things is base ingratitude ; for should he chance to be 
 at the point of shipwreck on some unknown coast, he will most 
 devoutly pray that the lesson of the missionary may have 
 extended thus far." 
 
 It will perhaps be objected that the theory of descent has 
 already been sufficiently established by Darwin. It is true that 
 his newly-discovered principle of selection is of the very greatest 
 importance, since it solves the riddle as to how that which is 
 useful can arise in a purely mechanical way. Nor can the trans- 
 forming influence of direct action, as upheld by Lamarck, be 
 called in question, although its extent cannot as yet be estimated 
 with any certainty. The secondary modifications which Darwin 
 
93 
 
 regards as the consequence of a change in some other organ, must 
 also be conceded. But arc these three factors actually competent 
 to explain the complete transformation of one species into another? 
 Can they transform more than single characters or groups of 
 characters? Can we consider them as the sole causes of the 
 regular phenomena of the development of the races of animals 
 and plants? Is there not perhaps an unknown force underlying 
 these numberless developmental series as the true motor power — 
 a "developmental force," urging species to vary in certain direc- 
 tions, and thus calling into existence the chief types and subtypes 
 of the animal and vegetable kingdoms? 
 
 The theory of selection by no means leads, as is always 
 assumed, to the denial of a teleological Universal Cause and to 
 materialism. Mechanism and teleology do not exclude one 
 another ; they are rather in mutual agreement. Without teleology 
 there could be no mechanism, but only a confusion of crude 
 forces ; and without mechanism there could be no teleology, for 
 how could the latter otherwise effect its purpose ? 
 
 Von Hartmann correctly says : " The most complete mechanism 
 conceivable is likewise the most completely conceivable teleology." 
 We may thus represent the phenomenal universe as such a com- 
 pletely conceivable mechanism. With this conception vanish all 
 apprehensions that the new views would cause man to lose the 
 best he possesses — morality and purely human spiritual culture. 
 
 Let us take our stand boldly on the ground of new knowledge 
 and accept the direct consequences thereof, and we shall not be 
 obliged to give up either morality or the comforting conviction of 
 being part of an harmonious world, as a necessary member capable 
 of development and perfection. 
 
 Any other mode of interference b} r a directive teleolgical power 
 in the processes of the universe than by the appointment of the 
 forces producing them, is, however, at least to the naturalist, 
 inadmissible. We are still far removed from completely under- 
 standing the mechanism by means of which the organic world is 
 evoked ; we still find ourselves at the very beginning of 
 knowledge. 
 
94 
 
 Astronomical science lias been cultivated with remarkable 
 success. The Mechanique Celeste, by Pierre Simon Laplace, was 
 published in Paris (complete edition) in 1843. The object of the 
 author was to reduce all the known phenomena of the system of 
 the world to the law of gravity, by strict mathematical principles, 
 and to complete the investigations of the motions of the planets, 
 satellites and comets begun by Newton in his Principia. This he 
 accomplished in a manner deserving the highest praise for its 
 symmetry and completeness. A work which will be classed with 
 the Almagest of Ptolomy, the DeRevolutionibus Orbium Cceles- 
 tium of Copernicus and the Principia of Newton — the greatest 
 works on Astronomy. But Laplace was indebted to Leibnitz for 
 the instrument by means of which he was able to accomplish his 
 immortal work. I refer to the Differential and Integral Calculus 
 of Godfrey W. Leibnitz, which was published in the "Leipsic 
 Acts," third volume, in 1684, under the following title: "Nova 
 Methodus Pro Maximis et Minimis, itemque tangentibus, quae 
 nec fractas, nec irrationales quantitales moratur et singulare pro 
 illis calculi genus, per Gr. Gr. L." In the brief space of six and a 
 half pages is condensed this mighty instrument of mathematical 
 analysis. 
 
 Nathaniel Bowditch, of Boston, translated part of the Mechan- 
 ique Celeste with a commentary, in four volumes — the last volume, 
 in 1839. Additions to the original are so extensive and important 
 as to entitle him to be ranked in the first class of writers on the 
 higher mathematics. 
 
 M. Legendre, in 1832, wrote Bowditch : " Your work is not 
 merely a translation with a commentary; I regard it as a new 
 edition, augmented and improved, and such a one as might have 
 come from the hands of the author himself." M. Bessel wrote in 
 1836 : " Through your labors on the Mechanism of the Heavens, 
 La Place's work is brought down to our own time, as you add to 
 it the studies of geometricians since its first appearance." Lacroix, 
 Puissant, Babbage and others wrote similar letters of commen- 
 dation. 
 
 Benjamin Peirce, late professor in Harvard College, was a 
 prolific writer on mathematics. The most distinguished mathe- 
 
95. 
 
 matical school in this or any other country, is now in session 
 at John's Hopkins College, Baltimore, under the direction of 
 J. J. Sylvester, aided by Prof. Arthur Caley, of Cambridge, 
 England, two of the greatest living mathematicians. In 1858, 
 was published Sir William Kowan Hamilton's New Mathematical 
 Method, or Calculus of Quaternions. 
 
 To the Academy of Sciences at Paris we are indebted for 
 magnificent editions of the complete works of Laplace and of 
 Lagrange. The Government of Norway has given us the 
 celebrated Memoirs of Abel; the Academy of Gcettengen the 
 works of Gauss and Biemann ; the Academy of Berlin, editions 
 of the works of Steiner and Jacobi ; in England, the collected 
 mathematical works of Clifford, MacCullagh, Green, Gregory, 
 Leslie Ellis and of Macquorn Eankine ; and in our own country, 
 of Benjamin Peirce. The results of mathematical research are 
 usually found in the Transactions of Societies, or in periodicals 
 specially devoted to mathematical writings. 
 
 Speculation in pure mathematics resembles metaphysical spec- 
 ulation in this, that the whole universe of thought to which it 
 refers is so closely interdependent, that a clear-sighted and powerful 
 thinker cannot fix his mental vision (however keen his effort after 
 concentration may be) on any one region in it, without catching 
 glimpses of something that lies beyond, and without discovering, 
 more or less dimly, new relations to be examined, and new lines 
 of research, which may perhaps have no immediate relevancy to 
 the particular enquiry in which he is engaged. And these 
 glimpses, if recorded, or even if only half unconsciously indicated,, 
 in the account which he afterwards gives of his work, are not 
 unlikely to suggest a wholly new departure to some kindred spirit 
 in a future time. 
 
 One of the most remarkable triumphs of mathematical analysis 
 was achieved by two young men in 1845 and 1846 — John Couch 
 Adams of England and Urbain Jean I. Le Yerrier of France. 
 They formed a design of investigating the irregularities in the 
 motion of Uranus, in order to find out whether they might be 
 attributed to the action of some unknown planet, and thence, 
 if possible, to determine approximately the elements of its orbit. 
 
96 
 
 The extreme difficulty of the problem maj r to some extent be 
 appreciated when we remember -that it is the inverse of the 
 ordinary problem of perturbations. Given the positions and 
 movements of the planets, the great mathematicians of the last 
 century had found it sufficiently difficult to calculate the pertur- 
 bations ; but given the perturbations, it was a far harder problem 
 to rind the mass, the mean distance of the perturbing body, together 
 with the eccentricity and plane of its orbit, the direction of its line 
 of apses and the position, at a particular moment, of the planet in 
 its orbit. Mr. Adams' investigation was based on the observed error 
 in longitude of the motion of Uranus. M. Le Terrier's, on the 
 theory of Uranus, in which its perturbations were explained by 
 the attraction of a planet whose motion and mass were determined 
 to be the same as those found by Mr. Adams. 
 
 The problem was the solution of a series of simultaneous 
 partial differential equations with nine unknown quantities, 
 namely, the mass, mean distance, eccentricity, epoch, and perihelion 
 longitude of the working planet, and the corrections to the latter 
 four elements of Uranus. The smallness of the perturbations in 
 latitude showed that the inclinations and nodes might be neg- 
 lected, or, otherwise, the number of unknown quantities would 
 have been thirteen. It will be seen that the impossibility of 
 solving such a problem by any ordinary mathematical methods 
 and even the Planetary Theory, evolved by the genius of Laplace 
 and Lagrange, failed in application in consequence of the inverse 
 character of the problem. 
 
 These astronomers were unacquainted with each other and 
 knew nothing of each other's work. Adams was the first to 
 complete his computations, which was in September, 1845. These 
 were sent to the Greenwich Observatory for verification ; but, 
 unfortunate! v for Mr. Adams, the Astronomer Royal requested him 
 to make some further calculations, with a view of confirming his 
 results. While he was engaged on that, M. Le Verrier published 
 the results of his calculations on the 1st of June, 1846. As they 
 agreed exactly with those of Mr. Adams, Prof. Airy wrote to Prof. 
 Challis, of the Cambridge Observatory, requesting him to make a 
 careful search with the great Northumberland refractor. But it 
 
97 
 
 was too late. M. La Verrier had written to bis friend Dr. Gatle 
 of Berlin, to direct his telesoope to that point in the heavens which 
 his computations had suggested as the probable locality of his 
 hypothetical planet. The request was complied with, and on the 
 23d of September. 1846. a star of the eighth magnitude was 
 discovered, which was not found on any accurate map of the 
 heavens, including all the stars of that magnitude. The next 
 evening, the telescope was again directed to the star in question, 
 and it had swerved from its former position, in a direction and 
 with a velocity almost entirely accordant with the theory of the 
 French geometor. The planet Neptune was found ! 
 
 The Council of the Royal Society doubted whether their annual 
 medal was due to Mr. Adams or to M. Le Verrier ; but, ultimatety* 
 as there was no precedent in favor of bestowing a double medal, 
 they decided on conferring a testimonial on each claimant instead. 
 The testimonial reads : " For his researches in the problem of 
 inverse perturbations, leading to the discovery of Neptune," 
 
 This was an injustice to Le Verrier, who was fairly entitled to 
 the medal, which, in every case, is determined by priority of 
 publication. 
 
 In connection with the labors of these astronomers in relation 
 to Neptune, it is proper that I call attention to Sears C. Walker, 
 formerly of the United States Coast Survey, who determined the 
 orbit of Neptune, confirming the identity of Neptune and the star 
 of Lalande by an examination of Lalande's manuscripts, in Paris. 
 Benjamin Peirce made a searching investigation of the theory and 
 redetermination of the perturbations which gave Walker the means 
 of obtaining an orbit yet more rigorously exact. And thus by the 
 joint labors of these American astronomers, the theory of Neptune 
 was placed, within eighteen months after the discovery of the 
 planet, on a sure and accurate basis, which completes'the verification 
 of the true theory of physical astronomy, and is an addition to our 
 knowledge of formal astronomy. To this branch of the subject, 
 we have only to add the discovery of the fifth satellite of Saturn, 
 raising the wdiole number to eight, simultaneously made by Prof. 
 Bond and Mr. Lassell, on the 19th of September, 1848 ; the" dis- 
 covery of two more satellites to Uranus, by Lassell in 1-847; the 
 
98 
 
 discovery of a satellite to Neptune, by Lassell, in October, 1846 ; 
 the late discovery of two satellites to Mars, by Prof. Asaph Hall, 
 at Washington, in August, 1877. 
 
 So that round most of the planets revolve satellites in nearly 
 circular orbits. Of these the earth has one ; Mars two ; Jupiter 
 four ; Saturn eight besides a ring ; Uranus certainly four ; and 
 Neptune certainly one. 
 
 The logical consequence of the law of gravitation is, that the 
 planets and satellites ought to move in ellipses, with the primary 
 in a focus of each, according to Kepler's laws, and perturb one 
 another in a certain way, all of which agrees with observation. 
 But what its plane should be, which way the planet should move 
 in its orbit ; of these the law of gravitation tells us nothing. These 
 all depend in each case on the way the body was originally started 
 in its course. 
 
 Now, in all the bodies of the solar system, with the exception 
 of the satellites of Uranus and Neptune, we observe a very re- 
 markable similarity in these respects. The orbits of all the planets 
 and satellites are very nearly circles, and nearly in the same plane. 
 All the planets and satellites rotate on their axes and revolve in 
 the same direction. This seems to point to some common cause 
 of their original starting on their courses. Laplace calculated 
 that the odds against this being accidental — against, that is, each 
 body having had an entirely isolated and separate physical cause 
 of its original motion — was many trillions to one. It is, therefore, 
 practically certain that there must be some one physical cause of 
 the original motions of all the bodies of the solar system ; and 
 Physical Astronomy is not complete until we have discovered 
 what that cause is. 
 
 I present another astronomical problem which for years 
 interested Herschel — the determination of the great centre of our 
 siderial stratum. By examining the old charts, he found the stars 
 not fixed, but perpetually changing their places, and show, as the 
 change may be, the accuracy with which modern instruments 
 measure minute distances, enables the astronomer not only to 
 ascertain the rate of motion, but the actual direction in which the 
 object is moving. When Herschel found these changes going on, 
 
the idea occurred to him that probably the change was parallactic, 
 and that the sun, with all its planets and comets, was speeding 
 through space. He commenced his examinations to see if this 
 supposition was correct, when he arrived at a result, the most 
 astonishing that was ever unfolded by the mind of man. He 
 found that, if he was only permitted to accept the hypothesis that 
 the sun was sweeping toward a certain point in the constellation 
 Hercules, he could account for a large proportion of the changes of 
 the fixed stars all through the heavens. But when other astrono- 
 mers gave their attention to this subject and found it too difficult 
 for examination, the theory seemed to die away, doubts were east 
 upon its results, and astronomers finally rejected it. At length, it 
 was taken up in Russia, Argelander undertook the solution of 
 this problem. The grand object was this — to show how it was 
 that the grand point in the heavens, toward which the sun is 
 moving, was determined. 
 
 Argelander began his investigations by the observation of five 
 hundred stars, selected in different points in the heavens, which he 
 compared with the observations of the oldest astronomers. Let us 
 suppose, for the sake of illustration, that he finds the star selected 
 for observation, to-night, was located in a certain point in the 
 heavens one hundred years previous to his time; and that, at the 
 time he makes his observation, it is located here in another point 
 in the heavens. Now, the distance which the two points are 
 separated from each other being known, it is very easy to ascertain 
 the star's rate of motion. Now then, having accomplished this 
 with reference to every one of these stars, he finds them all 
 converging to a certain part of the heavens, as if that were 
 the point toward which the sun is moving. It must be that the 
 line of direction in which the star moves makes an angle with the 
 meridian, which is an observed angle. It is observed because it is 
 formed by the joining of two points, occupied by the star, when 
 observed by the ancient and modern astronomers. Now, inasmuch 
 as all these appeared to point at some spot toward which the sun 
 is moving, he adopted a point and said, "Now, if the sun is going 
 to that point, I can predict the line of direction in which every star 
 appears to move." He compared his computed angles with his 
 
100 
 
 observed ones in every instance ; and, if lie finds any discrepancy 
 between them, lie assumes a new point. And thus lie continued 
 to take one point after another, until all the conditions of the 
 problem were fulfilled, and he said, "There is the point." 
 
 The subject was then taken up by Struve, son of the celebrated 
 astronomer who was in charge of the great observatory at Pulkowa. 
 He wished to know the swiftness of the sun's motions through 
 space. In demonstration of his wonderful discoveries, and as 
 a result, he shows that the sun is actually moving at the rate of 
 200,000 miles per hour. These two points having been deter- 
 mined, ma}' not the sun be circulating around some grand central 
 orb? May not the fixed stars be whirling their endless cycles 
 round some grand point, the centre of the whole? 
 
 This was the problem that Maedler, the successor of Struve, 
 , undertook to solve. Is there a grand central orb? Is there .a 
 stupendous Globe occupying the centre of our Island Universe, 
 having the same proportion to the whole mass that the sun does 
 to our system. We can look out into space in every direction — 
 we can examine the stars and their motions — we can, therefore, 
 detect such a region- — we can detect the exact point where it 
 is located, if any such motions as we have described exist — and 
 the conclusion is that no such globe exists. 
 
 The next question is this : Is there no centre of gravity about 
 which all the mighty host of suns, stars and comets circulate 
 obedient to its laws. His answer was that there is ; and it was to 
 the solution of this problem that Maedler gave the energies of his 
 intellect. After long years of labor, after he had almost exhausted 
 the capabilities of analysis, after bringing to bear upon the problem 
 all the mighty influences of science and art, after ranging from 
 point to point in the heavens which he was compelled successively 
 to abandon, he turned his attention to the examination of the 
 beautiful group of stars called the Pleiades. After watching their 
 movements until he had computed the rates of motion of the 
 principal stars in this group, and the direction in which they were 
 journeying, he found to his great delight that they fulfilled all the 
 conditions of the problem, and the grand result was attained. 
 The truth came irresistibly upon his mind, that there is the 
 
101 
 
 centre, and that is the point about which al] the bright hosts of 
 heaven are sweeping, in periods which actually stun the human 
 mind. Maedler has computed the periodic time of our own sun, 
 which gives this astonishing result. It takes our sun 218,000,000 
 of years to complete its stupendous cycle 
 
 This was the result to which Maedler's studies brought him. 
 But, unfortunately, there is no proof that this view is correct. No 
 other astronomer at the present time holds to this doctrine of 
 Maedler. It is known that a great many stars are collected into 
 clusters ; but there is no evidence that the stars of these clusters 
 revolve in regular orbits, or that the clusters themselves have any 
 regular motion around a common centre. 
 
 But still, in addition to all the motions of the earth, its diurnal 
 rotation, its annual revolution round the sun, the rythmical 
 swaying of its axis, proved by the precession of the equinoxes, the 
 mutation or more rapid swaying which is caused by the attraction 
 of the moon, there is an enormous translating movement which is 
 dragging it through endless tracks of space in the train of the sun. 
 Not many years ago, as I have said, this motion was entirely 
 unknown to astronomers, and yet it is going on with an inconceiv- 
 able rapidity — a rapidity more than double that of the course of 
 the planet round its central luminary. In one second of time the 
 earth moves about forty-four miles toward the point of the heavens 
 where we rind the constellation of Hercules. During one year 
 only, she travels 1382 millions of miles in this direction (Bessel). 
 Does this enormous distance — which light itself would take two 
 hours and five minutes in traversing — form part of an ellipse 
 described by the whole planetary system round some centre of 
 attraction — a centre which Maedler has fancied that he had 
 discovered in Alcyone, in the midst of the Pleiades? Or is it, as 
 Cams supposes (Natur und Idee), a portion of an orbit which has 
 for its focus (like the curves of multiple stars) a centre of gravity 
 common to many stars — nothing but a mathematical point ever- 
 lastingly changing in infinite space? We cannot tell ; but certainly 
 this movement of the globe we live on, and its progress through 
 the unfathomable depths of space, hrust give us an idea of the 
 immense variety of the motions which make the heavenly bodies 
 
102 
 
 gyrate like particles of dust in a whirlwind. Our own little earth 
 itself is carried on from space to space, and never closes the cycle 
 of its revolutions. Ever since the time when its particles were 
 first grouped together, it has been describing in space the infinite 
 spiral of its ellipses, and thus will go on turning and oscillating in 
 ether until the moment when it will exist no longer as an 
 independent planet. For the earth, too, must have an end; like 
 every other body in the universe, it comes into existence and lives 
 only to die when its time comes. Already its annual motion of 
 rotation is diminishing in speed (Meyer, Joule, Tyndall, Adams, 
 Delaunay); certainly, this slackening of pace is not very observa- 
 ble, since no astronomer from Hipparehus to Laplace has yet 
 exactly defined it. But unless some cosmical force acting in a 
 contrary direction compensates for the loss of speed caused by the 
 friction of the tides against the bed and shore of the ocean, the 
 impetus of our planet will every century diminish. After various 
 catastrophes which it is impossible to foresee, the earth will 
 eventually completely change its course of action and lose its 
 independent existence, either uniting itself with, other planetary 
 bodies, or breaking up into fragments ; or it will perhaps terminate 
 its course by falling like a mere areolite upon the surface of the 
 sun. 
 
 In the winter of 1877, I visited Padre Secchi at his Observatory 
 in Kome, and saw the instruments with which he had clone so 
 much for astronomy. He had two refractors — one of 6 inch and 
 the other of 9J inch aperture. With the former, he had made all 
 his observations upon the sun's disc ; and, with the latter, his 
 spectroscopical examinations of some five hundred stars. He used 
 Kutherford's diffraction grating, of which he spoke in the highest 
 terms of praise. 
 
 I showed him Eaton's prism for direct light made of heavy glass 
 and of great dispersive power. He took it into a dark room and 
 let the sunlight through a slit in the shutter fall upon the prism, 
 and the dark lines of the spectrum stood out in bold relief. He 
 had never seen the like. So pleased was he with the prism, I gave 
 it to him. On my return to th'e city, he had it mounted and obtained 
 spectra of Sirius, Alpha Orion is. The dispersion was wonderful, he 
 
103 
 
 said, too great for spectroscopic work on faint, bodies. He gave me 
 his catalogue of the stars and drawings of his telescope. February 
 10th, he called and invited me to visit the observatory and meet 
 Dom Pedro of Brazil. I went and saw the spectrum of Sirius, 
 across which were two dark lines in the blue and one in the 
 yellow : saw the spectrum of Beltcgeuse, in which there were a 
 great many lines. 
 
 The study of the double and multiple stars has occupied the 
 attention of many astronomers. In 1861, Otto Struve began his 
 observations, and from year to year made careful and systematic 
 measures of the most important double stars, which have been 
 published in two volumes. 
 
 With an 8 foot equatorial, Admiral Smyth measured 680 stars 
 between 1830 and 1843, the results of which were published in 
 1844 ; and, in 1860, his " Speculum Hartwellianum," containing 
 later measures, was published. 
 
 Maedler, with the Dorpat refractor, measured a large number of 
 double stars between 1834 and 1845, and published the results in 
 1847 in an elaborate work. 
 
 Dawes published his great catalogue of double stars in 1867. 
 Powell and Jacob, at Madras ; Dembouski, at Naples ; Secchi, at 
 Kome ; Duner, at the Lund Observatory ; Stone, at the Cincinnati 
 Observatory ; Burnham, of Chicago ; Dr. Peters, Director of the 
 Litchfield Observatory of Hamilton College, and many others, 
 have published catalogues of these interesting objects. The siderial 
 charts of Peters, on which he has labored for a period of twenty- 
 two years, will be of immense value to future astronomers. His 
 maps include many thousands of telescopic stars — stars which are 
 found on no other charts — stars of the fourteenth magnitude. 
 
 Many other obser /ers in this department of astronomy might 
 be mentioned, but time fails. 
 
 These observations could not have been made, had it not been 
 for the wonderful improvement in the construction of refracting 
 telescopes. Among the most noted of these instruments may be 
 mentioned, the Dorpat, made by Fraunhofer; Dawes' Equatorial, 
 by Alvin Clark & Sons, aperture 8 £ inches; Northumberland 
 Equatorial Cambridge, objective by Cauchoix, aperture 11| inches, 
 
104 
 
 Observer, Challis' ; Cambridge (17. S.) same as Poulkowa refractor, 
 aperture 15 inches, Observer Pickering ; Greenwich, object glass 
 by Merz k Son, has an aperture 12J inches; Cincinnati, begun by 
 Fraunhofer, and finished by Merz & Mahler, aperture 11 inches ; 
 Chicago, Dearborn Observatory, refractor made by Alvin Clark, 
 aperture 18 \ inches. The great refractor at Washington, the 
 glass by Chance, makers Alvin Clark & Sons, aperture 26 inches, 
 focal length 890 inches. Observers, Newcomb, Hall and Holclen. 
 
 It was with this magnificent refractor that Prof. Asaph Hall 
 discovered the moons of Mars. On the 11th of August, 1877 
 he found the outer satellite: on the 17th he saw it again, and 
 soon after the inner one came out. 
 
 The first college astronomical observatory in this country was 
 established at Williams College in 1838, under the direction of 
 Prof. Albert Hopkins. Another was erected at Hudson, Ohio, in 
 1889. In 1840, an observatory was added to Girard College in 
 Philadelphia. In 1843, an observatory was commenced at Cin- 
 cinnati by Prof. O. M. Mitchell, and completed in 1845. In 1844, 
 the Cambridge Observatory at Harvard University was erected on 
 Summer Hill. 
 
 Since that time, almost every college of any importance has 
 its observatory and astronomical instruments. 
 
 The Litchfield Observatory of Hamilton College is under the 
 direction of Prof. C. H. F. Peters, who is one of the most success- 
 ful discoverers of the smaller planets. 
 
 It is remarkable that the Greenwich Observatory has never, 
 Ave believe, r.nnounced a single discovery of a planet, nor indeed 
 proposed such an object for its great work. It is the faithful, 
 exact and long continued series of observations of the moon and 
 the larger planets and fixed stars, made by this observatory, 
 which, in connection with those of other observations, has already 
 done so much for the great purposes of navigation. 
 
 Dr. B. A. Gould, who organized the Dudley Observatory at 
 Albany, founded at Cordova, under the auspices of the Argentine 
 Republic, a splendidly equipped observatory. In his " Uranometry 
 of the Southern Heavens," he has included all stars visible to the 
 naked eye, the magnitude of each star being determined by not 
 
105 
 
 less than four independent observations. His great telescopic 
 work has been done with Tolles 5-inch teleseope. In speaking of 
 the star of Eta Argus, he says : " In the field of my small Tolles' 
 telescope of 5-inch aperture and 35-inch foeal length, it is a con- 
 spicuous object, and prominent by its ruddy color among the 
 cluster of which it forms a part." The magnificence of the 
 milky way in this vicinity is indescribable, surpassing the Pleiades 
 or the Praesepe in richness, and exhibiting numerous huge clusters, 
 the sight of which, through the Tolles telescope, evokes exclama- 
 tions of astonishment and delight from every beholder. 
 
 There are several valuable private observatories in this State 
 where admirable telescopic work has been done. The oldest and 
 not the least conspicuous is that of Louis M. Rutherford, Esq. , of New 
 York, who was among the very first to prosecute the subject of 
 celestial photography. With a specially constructed photographic 
 objective, he took, March 6, 1863, remarkably fine negatives of the 
 moon, the best ever taken. His ruling upon glass and speculum 
 metal for the diffraction of light has been turned to excellent 
 account in spectroscopic analysis of the stars and nebula?. 
 
 Dr. Henry Draper, of the University of New York, has a 
 private observatory at Hastings on the Hudson, and has been 
 successful in taking photographs of stellar and planetary spectra. 
 He has photographed the spectra of Venus. Mars and Jupiter, 
 and no difference can be detected between the spectra of these 
 planets and the spectrum of the sun. At Rawlins, Wyoming, July 
 29, 1878, he photographed the total eclipse of the sun, using a 
 Rutherford grating two inches square and a camera of large 
 aperture, and obtaining a photograph of the spectrum of the 
 Corona. The main part of the work of his party was to make 
 photographic, spectroscopic and thermo-electric observations, and 
 they were quite successful. He also photographed the comet of 
 1881. A photograph of its spectrum shows elements and colors 
 which the eye cannot discern in the visual spectrum. The tail of 
 the comet shows a continuous spectrum, indicating that the tail is 
 composed of solid or liquid substances. 
 
 Dr. Draper was the first to obtain photographs of the fixed 
 lines in the spectra of the stars — the first to get a photograph of 
 
106 
 
 the great Nebula in Orion. He took a photograph of the moon 
 near its third quarter of nearly four feet in diameter. The moon 
 is a difficult object to photograph, because she travels in an hour 
 over her own diameter. She don't stand still, and must be taken 
 on the wing. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that Draper has made his spectro- 
 scopic and photographic discoveries in the celestial bodies by 
 means of telescopes made with his own hands. He made two 
 silvered glass reflectors, which were equatorial ly mounted — the first 
 of l&J inches aperture, the second 28 inches aperture —marvels of 
 successful mechanism for an amateur instrument-maker. 
 
 Much is to be expected in the future development of the 
 physical constitution of the universe from this brilliant and hard 
 working young astronomer. 
 
 Another laborious and successful observer is Prof. Lewis Swift, 
 of Koch ester, who has done excellent work. 
 
 When we graduated, only four of the small planets had been 
 discovered. The first, "Ceres," by Piazzi, in 1801. Now the 
 number has been increased to two hundred and twenty ! Of these, 
 Peters of Hamilton College has discovered forty ! 
 
 The number of observatories at present known in the world, is 
 118 — 84 are in Europe, 2 in Asia, 2 in Africa, 27 in America, 
 and three in Oceanica. Of the European observatories, Prussia has 
 29 ; Russia, 19 ; England, 14 ; Italy, 9 ; Austria, 8 ; France, 6 ; 
 Switzerland, 4, Sweden, 3; Spain, Portugal, Holland and 
 Norway, each possesses two, while there is only one in Greece^ 
 Belgium and Denmark. The most ancient observatory in Europe^ 
 and in the world, is that of Leyden, having been founded in 1632 ; 
 then comes Copenhagen, founded in 1637 ; Paris, in 1667, and 
 Greenwich, in 1675. The Moscow Observatory is the oldest in 
 Russia, dating from 1750 ; Prussia, now the richest country in the 
 world in astronomical observatories, had none before 1805. 
 
 In 1872, Signor Schiaparelli received the gold medal of the 
 London Astronomical Society for his contributions to Meteoric 
 Astronomy. The theories of Schiaparelli are directly based on 
 observations and mathematical calculations which bring them un- 
 der the domain of the recognized logic of mathematical probability. 
 
107 
 
 lean onlv state the genera] results, which ;n - <' that the meteore 
 which we see every year more or less abundantly, and which 
 always appear to come from the same point in the heavens, are 
 there and thus visible because they form part of an eccentric ellip- 
 tical zone of meteoric bodies which girdle the domain of the sun; 
 and that our earth, in the course of its annual journey round the 
 sun, crosses and plunges more or less deeply into this ellipse of 
 small attendant bodies, which are supposed to be moving in regu- 
 lar orbits around the sun. 
 
 Schiaparelli has compared the position, the direction, and the 
 velocity of motion of the August meteors with the orbit of the 
 great comet of 1862, and infers that there is a close connection be- 
 tween them, so close that the meteors may be regarded as a sort of 
 trail which the comet has left behind. He does not exactly say 
 that they are detached vertebras of the comet's tail, but suggests 
 the possibility of their original connection with its head. 
 
 Similar observations have been made upon the November 
 meteoric showers, which by similar reasoning are associated with 
 another comet; and further yet, it is assumed upon analogy 
 that other recognised meteor systems, amounting to nearly two 
 hundred in number, are in like manner associated with other 
 comets. 
 
 If these theories are sound, our diagrams and mental pictures 
 of the solar system must be materially modified. Besides the cen- 
 tral sun, the eight planets and the asteroids moving in their nearly 
 circular orbits, and some eccentric comets travelling in long ellipses, 
 we must add a countless multitude of small bodies clustered in 
 elliptical rings, all travelling together in the path marked by their 
 containing girdle, and following the lead of a steaming, vaporous 
 monster, their parent comet. 
 
 We must count such comets, and such rings filled with attend- 
 ant fragments, not merely by tens or hundreds, but by thousands 
 and tens of thousands, even by millions ; the path of the earth 
 being but a thread in space, and yet a hundred or two are strung 
 upon it. 
 
 In 1851, Foucault made an experiment in the dome of the 
 Pantheon, at Paris, to show the actual rotation of the earth. He 
 
108 
 
 suspended a heavy spherical weight by a long thin wire, and set it 
 swinging as a pendulum. There is no reason why it should 
 change the direction in which it swings ; but, if the earth rotates, 
 carrying the room in which the pendulum swings round with it T 
 the position of the room will change with respect to the constant 
 direction in which the pendulum swings ; and to an observer in 
 the room who will be carried round with it, the direction in which 
 the pendulum swings will appear to change, exactly as it might be 
 if the earth rotated once a da} r . 
 
 It is generally understood that, at the pole of the earth, the 
 plane of vibration of a free pendulum remaining constant must 
 make an angle with the movable meridian of the place, which 
 angle, in consequence of the rotation of the earth on its axis, 
 continual^ increases, until it amounts to 360 degrees at the end of 
 twenty -four hours ; that is to say, that after a lapse of one day, the 
 plane of vibration returns to its original position. At the equator, 
 the plane of vibration remains always parallel to the meridian ; 
 while at all other points of the earth's surface, it makes an angle 
 with the meridian which depends upon the latitude of the place ; 
 and, at the end of twenty -four hours, has not yet amounted to 360 
 degrees. 
 
 The speculations of the French philosopher, Adhemer, based 
 on the precession of the equinoxes and the movement of the 
 apsides, are very curious. If the movement of the earth is com- 
 pared with that of the stars, it requires the lapse of 25,000 years 
 to bring the equinox to correspond with the same point in space it 
 now occupies; but the orbit itself being movable, this period is 
 reduced to about 21,000 years, which is called the Great Year, being 
 the measure or time before the winter solstice will again exactly 
 coincide with the perihelion, and the summer solstice with the 
 aphelion, and before the seasons will again harmonize with the 
 same points of the terrestrial orbit. 
 
 As the earth between the vernal and autumnal equinox 
 traverses a longer circuit than during the other half of the year, 
 and also experiences an accelerated movement as it draws near the 
 sun, the result is that the northern summer is longer than the 
 southern summer by about eight days; but, after the lapse of 
 
109 
 
 10,500 years, these conditions will be reversed. It was in the year 
 12-18, according to Adhemer, that the great northern summer 
 culminated, since which time it has continued to decrease, and that 
 decrease will go on until the year 11,748, when it will have 
 attained its maximum. 
 
 This compound movement, the precession of the equinoxes and 
 the shifting of the line of the apsides, it is claimed, exerts a marked 
 influence in the distribution of the earth's temperature. 
 
 Mr. Croll, an English physicist, has prepared tables, showing 
 the amount of the earth's eccentricity for the period of three 
 million of years, at intervals of 10,000 years for a greater 
 portion of that time, and 50,000 years for the remainder. He 
 infers that a glacial period occurs when the eccentricity of the 
 earth's orbit is at a maximum, and the solstices fall when the 
 earth is in perihelio and in aphelio ; and that only one hemisphere 
 has a glacial climate at the same time, which occurs when the 
 winter is in Aphelio. 
 
 Ohm's law of electrical resistance, showing the relation 
 between the current and the electromotive force in a wire or unit of 
 resistance, is of great interest. The exact measure in metres of the 
 column of pure mercury of one square millimetre cross-section at 
 0° centegrade, gives what is known as the ohm. Different values 
 have been obtained. Kohlrausch, 1.0593; Eayleigh, 1.0624; 
 Glazebrook, 1,0624 ; Weber, 1,0552; Rowland, 1.0572: Weber and 
 Zollner, 1.0552 ; and Dorlin, 1,0546. Mr. F. Weber, of Zurich, 
 gave, at a late Congress held in Paris, the figures 1.0471 as the 
 result of his work, and it was there resolved that the experimentors 
 be recommended to compare (1) their standards of resistance with 
 that produced by the French Government; (2) to compare the 
 induction lists by the Kohlrausch wire circuit method, and (3) to 
 give all attention to the Laurens method. Finally, it was urged 
 that all governments should support, as far as possible, what 
 national experiments were made for the determination of the ohm.. 
 
 The doctrine of the conservation of energy will always mark the 
 nineteenth century in the history of discovery, and is undoubtedly 
 one of the greatest and grandest generalizations of modern science. 
 
 It is well known that all of the physical forces, such as heat, 
 
110 
 
 light, electricity, or magnetism, are capable of being transformed 
 into each other, and also that each of them can be made to perform 
 mechanical work by the commnnication of motion to matter. All 
 these various manifestations of force are, however, only modes or 
 conditions of one universal energy, which underlies all the chang- 
 ing phenomena of .the universe. This energy may be active or 
 passive, it may be diffused or concentrated, it may assume unnum- 
 bered forms and guises, but it is one in its essential nature, and the 
 sum of alb the various forms of energy in the universe, when meas- 
 ured by their capacit} T to do work, is always a constant quantity. 
 
 It is in the ceaseless transmutation of energy from one form to 
 another that the myriad phenomena of the universe are manifested, 
 and in their fleeting passage we obtain the power which can drive 
 our machines and do our work. 
 
 Energy may be defined as the power to do work, quite inde- 
 pendent of the special form or mode in which it may be stored, or 
 the character of the manifestation which it will exhibit during the 
 performance of the work. Whenever energy changes its condi- 
 tions it always does work, and whenever work is done, whether it 
 is visible or invisible to the senses, an equivalent amount of energy 
 disappears. 
 
 Stored energy is always spoken of as potential energy. When 
 energy is liberated, and performing work, it is called kinetic, or 
 actual energy, because the force is no longer stored, but in the act 
 of being expended on work. These two states of energy, although 
 they are widely different in their character, are easily changed from 
 one state into the other, and all the phenomena of the physical 
 universe are really the result of the change which is continually in 
 operation. 
 
 A. Energy of Mass — Gravitation. 
 
 L Visible potential energy — A raised weight. 
 II. Visible kinetic energy — A falling weight. 
 
 III. Visible potential and kinetic energy — A swinging, or 
 
 vibrating pendulum. 
 
 B. Energy of Molecules, or Molecular Separation. 
 
 IV. Invisible potential energy — Any confined volume of 
 
 steam. 
 
Ill 
 
 V. Visible kinetic energy — Condensing steam, or the recoil 
 of a bent spring. 
 
 C. Thermo-Energy, or Absorbed Heat. 
 
 VI. Invisible potential energy — Latent heat. 
 VII. Visible potential energy — Expansion of bodies when 
 heated which can do work on cooling. 
 
 D. Electrical Energy, or Energy of Electrical Separa- 
 
 tion. 
 
 VIII. Invisible potential energy — A charged Leyden jar with 
 interrupted circuit. 
 
 IX. Visible kinetic energy — An electric current fusing a 
 
 wire, or driving an electro-motor. 
 
 K Chemical Energy, or Atomic Separation. 
 
 X. Invisible potential energy — A mass of gunpowder. 
 
 XL Visible kinetic energy — The burning of fuel, attended 
 by light and heat. 
 
 F. Radiant Energy. 
 
 XII. Invisible potential energy — Any heated or incondescent 
 body. 
 
 XIII. Visible potential energy — A ray of light. 
 
 Although the two states of energy — potential and kinetic — are 
 mutually interchangeable, so that potential energy of mass may be 
 changed into kinetic energy of motion of the mass, still there is a 
 physical limit to this change, because kinetic energy may be ex- 
 pended in the performance of molecular work where the motions 
 are too small to be recovered again as potential energy of mass. It 
 has been experimentally proved — and in strict accordance with 
 theory — that although it is quite possible to change all the stored 
 energy of mass of matter, when liberated by its motion, into heat, 
 it is not possible to reverse the process and change all the heat 
 back again into molecular motion. There is always a certain por- 
 tion of the heat frittered away, disappearing in the performance of 
 
112 
 
 work amongst the molecules of matter, and which cannot be recov- 
 ered by any means at present known to science. 
 
 The gradual concentration of the matter in the visible "uni- 
 verse, which is evident in the past history of our solar system, and 
 in the star clusters and nebula? in the far distant regions of space* 
 is therefore slowly changing all the potential energy which was 
 originally present in the universe into the kinetic form. This pro- 
 cess undoubtedly points to an end to all its phenomena, unless 
 there is some higher and exterior law in operation with which we 
 are not at present acquainted. The ultimate form to which the 
 kinetic energy of the universe tends is diffused heat, and when this 
 long-protracted diffusion will have been accomplished, so that all 
 matter will possess a uniform temperature, all motion and all life 
 will cease. Millions of years, countless as the sand upon the sea- 
 shore, will roll away before this end will come, but come it will, as 
 surely as a clock will run down if no exterior power raise the fallen 
 weight. 
 
 We may also point out that this same law also indicates a begin- 
 ning, because the sum of the potential and kinetic energy being a 
 constant and finite quantity, the phenomena of the universe cannot 
 have been exhibited from all eternity, or else the potential energy 
 would all have assumed the kinetic form. How distant the time 
 of the beginning may be, no computation can determine any more 
 than it can determine the time of the end ; but that there has been 
 a beginning, and that there will be an end, to the existing condi- 
 tion of the universe, is as certain a deduction from the present 
 knowledge of physical causes, as any knowledge which we possess. 
 
 The dynamical theory of matter opens a wide field for specula- 
 tion. It is sufficient to say that we are probably only on the 
 threshold of our knowledge of the physical universe and its laws? 
 and that each step which we take, while it may widen our know- 
 ledge, only reveals a still wider region, into which it is difficult, 
 but probably not impossible, to enter. Guided by the laws which 
 have been ascertained from rigid observation and experiments, we 
 may rest satisfied that each step forward will be followed by 
 increased power on the part of man to control the forces and reac- 
 tions of the material world, so that in the future, as in the past T 
 
LIS 
 
 the progress of science will be at once a cause and a proof of an 
 advance in civilization, and will thus confer measureless benefits 
 on mankind at large. 
 
 In concluding my remarks upon the scientific progress of the 
 half century, I would call attention to the discovery of the two 
 most comprehensive generalizations in physics and biology — the 
 law of the conservation of energy and the law of natural selection. 
 These laws furnish the most advanced scientific explanations of the 
 physical universe. 
 
 Herbert Spencer, in his new system of evolution-philosophy, 
 has given the most complete and philosophic statement of the 
 scientific faith ; and he has given it with special references to the 
 above-named highest laws. 
 
 On the question of the origin and future dissolution of our 
 earth and solar system, the most eminent physicists are in the 
 main agreed, however much they may differ on such philosophical 
 questions as the immortality of the soul or the existence of God. 
 They agree that a widely dispersed nebulous matter, closing to- 
 gether under gravitation, awoke the sun's fires and produced the 
 earth and planets originally at molten heat. They are farther 
 agreed in accepting Sir Wm. Thompson's doctrine of the dissipa- 
 tion of energy, with the consequent further dissolution of all the 
 systems of the universe. There is a consensus of opinion amongst 
 the foremost physicists as to the remote physical beginning and far- 
 off end of the material universe, though they differ widely as to the 
 nature and destiny of the human *soul. 
 
 I regret that time fails me to complete in outline a general 
 survey of what has taken place in the great circle of human 
 enterprise during this semi-centennial. There are many subjects 
 to which no allusion has been made, as pre-historic archeology, 
 which has dispelled the mist of ages and made the silent past to 
 speak — which has opened up a long vista through distant historic 
 periods to the remotest and darkest ages, and has been defined as 
 the history of men and things which have no history. The 
 decipherment of hieroglyphics by Champollion ; light thrown upon 
 the ancient Egyptian religion and civilization by Lepsius, Birch, 
 Hincks, Brugsch, Mariette, and others ; the publication of Egyptian 
 
1U 
 
 texts, as the collections of Champollion, Rosellini, Burton's 
 " Excerpta Hierogljphica," Sharpe's "Egyptian Inscriptions," the 
 magnificent " Denkmaeler " of Lepsius, the " Hieratic Papyri " of 
 the British Museum, and many other splendid publications ; 
 " Ninevah and Its Palaces," discoveries of Botta, Layard, George 
 Smith, and others, " Classical Antiquities ; " Fellow's "Discoveries 
 in Lycia;" Schliemann's "Troy and Its Remains;" Schliemann's 
 " Mycenae and Tiryns ;" Dennis's " Cities and Countries of Etruria," 
 etc., etc. Mines of wealth in Oriental literature have been opened by 
 such scholars as Max Muller and Prof. Whitney, in the "Sanscrit," 
 and Dr. James Legge, in " Chinese Classics." Bopp has written his 
 "Comparative Grammar;" Norris, his "Assyrian Dictionary;" 
 Renfey, his "Sanscrit and English Dictionary;" Winslow, his 
 "Tamil and English Dictionary;" Medhurs,t his "Chinese Dic- 
 tionary." 
 
 Such works as the "Rig-Veda-Sanhita," edited by Max Muller, 
 in 6 vols., 4 mo. ; "History of Assurbanipal," and "History of 
 Sennacharib " — both translated from Cuneiform inscriptions into 
 English by George Smith, are highly creditable to modern 
 scholarship. 
 
 I find no time for ethnology, social science, political economy, 
 and the fine arts, the study of which has become so universal. I 
 may have given unwarranted consideration to some of the topics 
 which have come under review, which is probably due to the 
 interest I have for many years taken in them. But there never 
 was such an intellectual awakening as we have witnessed. 
 
 The steamship and the electric cable have bridged the Atlantic. 
 The most intimate relations are springing up between people of 
 different nationalities. The great principles of international law 
 are studied. The arbitrament of disputes between nations will be 
 settled in the future by an appeal to reason rather than the sword. 
 England and the United States — one in origin, language, religion 
 and civilization — are vieing with each other in kindly acts of 
 comity. The royal purple is not soiled by contact with the 
 coarser fabrics of our American looms. Princess Louise, traversing 
 our vast continent, does not disdain to meet on friendly terms her 
 transatlantic cousins. Westminster Abbey, consecrated to the 
 
115 
 
 sepulture of the renowned men of England, 1ms admitted to its 
 sacred precincts America's greatest poet! Tlie marble bearing the 
 inscription Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, has been placed in 
 the Poets' Corner beside those of William Shakespeare and John 
 Milton ! All hail to English magnanimity ! The Universities of 
 Oxford and Cambridge are open to American students. England's 
 art accumulations for centuries, at South Kensington and the 
 British Museum, are open for the inspection and study of our 
 citizens. Her historians and scholars, her artists, theologians and 
 philosophers, visit our cities and speak in our lecture rooms and 
 pulpits. The bonds which bind the two nations are daily strength- 
 ening. Together, they form the mightiest power on earth, and 
 constitute the advancing army of the world's civilization. 
 
 But our generation has scarcely done more than enter the vesti- 
 bule of the temple of knowledge ! A grander future awaits the 
 generations which are to follow ! And yet how little, after all, can 
 man in his greatest achievements hope to attain of the vast stores 
 of knowledge which lie hidden in the Divine Mind ! " The highest 
 reach of human science," says Sir Wra. Hamilton, " is the scien- 
 tific recognition of human ignorance. — 
 
 " ' Qui nescit ignorare nescit scire. ' 
 
 " There are two sorts of ignorance. We philosophize to escape 
 ignorance, and the consummation of our philosophy is ignorance ; 
 we start from the one, we repose in the other; they are the goals 
 from which and to which we tend, and the pursuit of knowledge is 
 but a course between two ignorances, as human life is itself only a 
 travelling from grave to grave. This learned ignorance is the 
 rational conviction by the human mind of its inability to transcend 
 certain limits ; it is the knowledge of ourselves — the science of 
 man. * * * In fact, the recognition of human ignorance is 
 not only the one highest, but the one true knowledge ; and its first 
 fruit, as has been said, is humility. Simple nescience is not found ; 
 consummated science is positively humble. * * * But as our 
 knowledge stands to ignorance, so stands it also to doubt. Doubt 
 is the beginning and the end of our efforts to know; for it is true. 
 * * * A lie. dubitatj qui altius credit (the man who doubts much, 
 
116 
 
 is he who believes more); so it is likewise true, 'Quo mag is qu<M- 
 rimus eo magis dubitamus' (the further we carry our inquiries, the 
 more room shall we find for doubt and hesitation)." 
 
 But let us not forget the prodigious advance which has been 
 made in the industrial arts — the inventions, which have reduced 
 the burdens of human labor and turned it into new channels fo r 
 the elevation and improvement of the laboring classes. Think, for 
 example, of the improved methods of heating and lighting houses ; 
 of the lucifer match, which has taken the place of the old-fashioned 
 tinder-box, flint and steel, which we used in our college days ! It 
 was not till 1833 that phosphorus was used in the making of 
 matches. See what a new industry was created. In two estab- 
 lishments on the continent of Europe, more than twenty tons of 
 phosphorus are annually used, giving employment to six thousand 
 persons, and yielding the astonishing number of 44,800 millions of 
 matches as an annual revenue. 
 
 What an improvement in locomotion and transportation has 
 been effected ! The stage-coach and the canal-boat have been 
 superseded by the more convenient and rapid railway train ! Not 
 only has travelling been cheapened, and immensely increased, but 
 rendered more safe. In travelling by diligence in France, the 
 average number of persons injured was one in every 30,000 car- 
 ried, and in killed, one in every 335,000 ; but by railway, notwith- 
 standing the average length of the journey has greatly increased, 
 the former has been diminished to one in 580,000, and the latter 
 to one in five millions ! 
 
 Science is penetrating all our manufactures and occupations. 
 It tends to abbreviate mental and bodily labor. The philosophy 
 of matter is the foundation of all manufacturing arts and artistic 
 processes. By the introduction of the steam engine, the galvanic 
 battery, and machinery in general, the phj^sical toil of the work- 
 ing mechanic has been greatly mitigated by enabling him to direct 
 the labor, instead of actually performing it. Science has also 
 proved to be a great source of employment, as well as wealth. The 
 telegraph of the United States alone provides employment for 
 about 7,000 persons; and the railways of the world employ about 
 1,900,000 men. 
 
117 
 
 But, after all, scientific recearch can only be successfully pur- 
 sued by employing the highest motive, viz., a love of truth in 
 preference to all things. It requires less ability to apply knowl- 
 edge to new purposes, by means of invention, than to discover it. 
 The men we reward the highest are not those who discover knowl- 
 edge, but those who apply it. The most eminent discoverer, 
 Faraday, received for his scientific lectures at the Eoyal Institution 
 only £200 a year, and apartments, during many years ; and abso- 
 lutely nothing for his great discoveries ; while the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury receives £15,000 a year, besides the patronage of 183 
 livings, and a palatial residence and a seat in the House of Peers. 
 Prof. Henry lived on a small salary, about a third only of what is 
 paid to a city judge in New York. 
 
 So it has always been. The great thinkers, the great poets, the 
 great artists, the great leaders, who, like Moses, after all their 
 labors and sorrows for others, are permitted to come within sight 
 of, but not to enter , the promised land ! Dante was driven into 
 exile from his beloved Florence ; Plautus turned a mill ; Terence 
 was a slave ; Boethius died in prison ; Tasso died in poverty ; 
 Bentivoglio was refused admission into the hospital he himself had 
 erected ; Cervantes died of hunger ; Camoens ended his days in an 
 almshouse ; Yaugelas left his body to the surgeons to pay his debts, 
 as far as it would go ; Galileo was put in prison for expressing an 
 astronomical opinion ; John Bunyan wrote his " Pilgrim's Pro- 
 gress " in Bedford Jail ; and John Milton sold the copyright to his 
 "Paradise Lost" for £10 ! 
 
 I must no longer trespass upon your good nature, but bring 
 this protracted discourse to a close. Its preparation has been to 
 me a pleasure and a pastime. I hope it may prove not altogether 
 uninteresting to its readers. 
 
 My Dear Classmates : 
 
 We stand here to-day, like trees of some ancient forest, few and" 
 scattered ! The snows and tempests of many winters have swept 
 over us, leaving us witnesses of the solitariness which now sur- 
 rounds us! Many a stately trunk, with its broad spreading 
 
118 
 
 branches, lias been levelled with the dust ! Many a vigorous sap- 
 ling began to lift its graceful top heavenward, when, alas ! it fell, 
 no longer to lend its beauty to the leafy forest ! We are left 
 standing memorials of the past ! The } r oung sap no longer courses 
 in our veins ! The woody fibre is losing its tenacity ! We are 
 slowly dying ! Soon, not a tree in this beautiful forest of fifty 
 years ago will be left ! The earth will remain. Other forests will 
 throw out their branches to kiss the morning sun ! The dews of 
 heaven, in the coming years, will distil on many a plant and flower ! 
 The gleeful voices of children will be heard at morn and eventide. 
 The song of birds and the bleating of flocks will make glad the 
 hearts which have not yet begun to beat ! We shall be gone ! 
 Transplanted, it is to be hoped, on the banks of the River of Life, 
 in the Paradise of God ! All hail ! Blest Morn of the Resurrec- 
 tion, which shall shine forever upon those who grew here, in the 
 beauty of holiness, the trees of God's own right-hand planting. 
 Till then, farewell ! 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
This Appendix will consist of : 
 
 1. A reprint of the proceedings of the first meeting of the Class 
 
 in 1842, together with the catalogue of the Class, poem and 
 address. 
 
 2. The proceedings of the Class-meeting, in 1862. 
 
 3. The proceedings of the last Class-meeting in 1882, with a 
 
 revised catalogue, giving as full and detailed account of each 
 member as could be obtained. It is a matter of regret that 
 no information could be gained in regard to some ; and it 
 is not known to the compiler of this catalogue whether they 
 are living or dead. It would have been pleasant to have 
 given the salient steps in the life-work of every man ; but 
 this is an unwritten history, and can never be known. 
 
 4. Correspondence, etc., etc. 
 
Decennial Anniversary. 
 
 New York, June 1, 1842. 
 
 To 
 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 At a Meeting held in this City, on the 11th of May 
 last, at which several members of the Class which graduated at 
 " Union College " in 1832, were present : the Undersigned were 
 appointed a Committee to make the necessary arrangements for 
 calling a Meeting of the Class at Schenectady, at the next 
 commencement. 
 
 Upon comparing notes at the Meeting, we were able to 
 ascertain the residences of most of our Classmates ; and we shall 
 address to each of them, an invitation to meet us there ; which 
 we trust will be cordially accepted. From the accidental and 
 occasional interviews we have individually had with the Members 
 of the Class, both in and out of the City, they have expressed but 
 one wish on this subject. 
 
 The President and several of the Faculty have expressed a 
 desire that such a Meeting might take place, both on account of 
 the pleasure it will afford them to meet the Class, as well as the 
 lasting benefit it may be to the Institution to have so good a custom 
 established. Should such a custom be adopted in succeeding 
 years by the Alumni of the Institution, it will furnish us no 
 occasion of regret, that its origin should be identified with the 
 Class of 1832. 
 
 We have therefore, named Tuesday, the day before commence- 
 ment, as the time for such Meeting. It will then be ten years 
 
4 
 
 since we parted from each other and went forth into the world — 
 each upon his own errand — and before all those early recollections 
 of school-boy days have entirely faded from our minds, let us be 
 made ten years younger by renewing them. It will be delightful to 
 greet each other once more on the Classic grounds of our Alma 
 Mater, hallowed by so many agreeable associations. 
 
 We trust you will not fail to be present. We shall rely upon 
 your presence and cooperation to increase the pleasure of the 
 occasion ; and to contribute your share to the common fund of 
 experience and good feeling to be there furnished, which has been 
 accumulating during the last ten years. 
 
 Our intentions will be made known to the Faculty without 
 delay. 
 
 We are sincerely and truly yours, 
 
 G. McM. SPEIR, ] 
 J. C. SMITH, 
 
 A. P. CUMINGS, I Committee. 
 N. SHOOK, | 
 C. E. WEST, J 
 
 K. B. — The Eesidences of the following Members of the Class 
 are unknown to us — if you should know where they reside, will 
 you be kind enough to give them immediate notice of the above. 
 
 Daniel Branch, 
 Nelson Z. Graves, 
 William P. Maulsby, 
 Abram S. Marks, 
 Francis L. Upson, 
 Francis Welsh. 
 
5 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE DECENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 
 OF THE CLASS WHICH GRADUATED IN 1832. 
 
 At a meeting of Members of the Class which graduated at 
 Union College in 1832, held at the Philosophical Hall, Union Col- 
 lege, Schenectady, July 26th, 1842, the following were present: 
 
 William Austin, Walter R. Long, 
 
 Orlo Bartholomew, James M. MacDonald, 
 
 George Bowman, Merritt G. M'Koon, 
 
 John W. Brown, Edw t ard D. G. Prime, 
 
 Ethan B. Crane, Robert 0. Reynolds, 
 
 Jonathan Crane, Jr. Hamilton W. Robinson, 
 
 Abijah P. Cumings, Nelson Shook, 
 
 Ephraim S. High, Jesse C. Smith, 
 Charles E. West. 
 
 On motion, Abijah P. Cumings was called to the chair, and 
 Ethan B. Crane was elected secretary. 
 
 Upon motion, Messrs. M'Koon, MacDonald and Reynolds were 
 appointed a committee to make arrangements for the further pro* 
 ceedings of the meeting. 
 
 The meeting then adjourned to meet at the same place in the 
 evening. At which time and place such committee made a report 
 to the meeting, and upon their recommendation the following reso- 
 tions were adopted : 
 
 Resolved, That a catalogue of the Class be prepared containing 
 the names and residences of the members of the Class, together 
 with their respective occupations or professions, and such other 
 information in regard to each member as this meeting may procure 
 and shall deem proper to add to such catalogue. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee be appointed to prepare a class 
 letter or memorial. 
 
 Resolved, That some member of the Class be selected to write 
 a poem, as a tribute to the memory of our deceased classmates. 
 
 Resolved, That a Committee of Publication be appointed, whose 
 duty it shall be to cause the proceeedings of this meeting, together 
 
6 
 
 with the descriptive catalogue, circular letter, and poem, to be pub- 
 lished and sent to the several members of the Class. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee be appointed to call a meeting of 
 this Class five years hence, and address the members for that pur- 
 pose. That such committee select a member of this class to 
 deliver an address at such meeting ; and that they also address 
 circular letters of invitation to the members of the classes which 
 graduated the year previous and the year subsequent to this Class, 
 to meet with us at such meeting. 
 
 After some time passed in preparing the descriptive catalogue^ 
 accompanying these proceedings — 
 
 Messrs. Macdonald, West and Smith were appointed the com- 
 mittee to prepare the circular address to the members of the Class. 
 
 Kev. John W. Brown was appointed to write the poem to the 
 memory of the deceased members. 
 
 Messrs. Robinson, Shook and Austin were appointed the Com- 
 mittee of Publication ; and, 
 
 Messrs. Smith, Macdonald, Eobinson, Bradford, Brown, Rey- 
 nolds and M'Koon were appointed the committee to call the meet- 
 ing of the Class five years hence, wuth power to fill vacancies in 
 their number. (Signed) 
 
 A. P. CUMINGS, Chairman. 
 
 E. B. Crane, Secretary. 
 
 CATALOGUE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE CLASS 
 WHICH GRADUATED AT UNION 
 COLLEGE IN 1832. 
 
 * prefixed designates such of the members as have been married; \ such as 
 
 are deceased. 
 
 * Thomas Allen, Counsellor-at-Law, Washington, D. C, late editor 
 
 of the Madisonian. 
 William Austin, Counsellor-at-Law, New York City. 
 Roger Averill, Counsellor-at-Law, Salisbury, Conn. 
 
 * Rev. Orlo Bartholomew, Pastor of the First Congregational 
 
 Church, Augusta, Oneida County, N. Y. 
 
7 
 
 * Rev. Amos Beach, Rector of Zion's Church, Louisville, Otsego 
 
 Co., N. Y. 
 
 * Samuel Belden, Counsellor-at-Law, Amsterdam, N. Y. 
 Rev. Abraham L. Bloodgood, Utica, N Y. 
 
 George Bowman, Counsellor-at-Law, New York City. 
 
 * Augustus A. Boyce, Counsellor-at-Law, Lockport, N. Y. 
 f Lovell Brooks, died at Princeton, Mass., in 1833, 1834. 
 
 * Alexander W. Bradford, Counsellor-at-Law, New York City. 
 
 Author of "American Antiquities." 
 
 * John M. Bradford, Counsellor-at-Law, Geneva, N. Y. 
 
 * Rev. Daniel Branch, Ohio. 
 
 * Rev. John W. Brown, Rector of St. George's Church, and 
 
 Principal of the Astoria Female Institute, Astoria, Long 
 Island, N. Y. 
 
 f Robert T. Cameron, died on his journey to Charleston, S. C, in 
 1833. 
 
 Howard Chipp, Counsellor-at-Law, Kingston, N. Y. 
 f Rev. Erastus Craft, perished in the steamboat Pulaski, in 1838, 
 off Charleston, S. C. 
 
 * Eliphalet Cramer, Counsellor-at-Law, Milwaukie, W. T. 
 
 * Rev. Ethan B. Crane, Pastor of the First Congregational Church, 
 
 Saybrook, Conn. 
 
 * Rev. Jonathan Crane, Pastor of the 2nd Congregational Church, 
 
 Attleboro', Mass. 
 Samuel M. Crawford, M. D., Montgomery, Orange Co., N. Y. 
 
 * Abijah P. Cumings, editor of New York Observer, New York 
 
 City. 
 
 f William Dunn, killed in a duel, in 1833. 
 
 f Peter B. Eager, died at Montgomery, Orange Co., N. Y., soon 
 after graduating. 
 John T. Flournoy. 
 
 Ferris Foreman, Counsellor-at-Law, Yandalia, 111., late U. S. Dis- 
 trict Attorney for Illinois. 
 
 James Gardener, Counsellor-at-Law, Augusta, Ga. 
 f Butler Goodrich, Jr., died at the Theological Seminary, at 
 Princeton, N. J., in 1836. 
 
 * Harry A. Grant, M. D., New York City. 
 
8 
 
 * Nelson Z. Graves, Principal of Warrenton Female Seminary, 
 
 Warrenton, N. C. 
 
 * William EL Hadley, New York City. 
 
 t William Hemphill, died at Malta, Saratoga Co., N. Y., in 1833. 
 
 Kev. E. Scudder High, Elizabethtown, N. J. 
 f Nelson A. Hinman, died during senior year in College ; his. re- 
 mains were interred in the College burying-ground. 
 
 * John Howes, Counsellor-at-Law, Albany, N. Y. 
 George N. Jerolomon, left College in junior year. 
 
 * Eev. Charles Jones, Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church, 
 
 Kome, N. Y. 
 
 Hon. David K. F. Jones, Counsellor-at-Law, New York City. 
 John L. Kanouse, Merchant, Bouton Falls, N. J. 
 
 * Lincoln B. Knowlton, Counsellor-at-Law, Peoria, 111. 
 
 f Delos Lathrop, died at Albany, N. Y, in 1835, on his return 
 from New York, where he had just received his license as 
 Attorney-at-Law. 
 
 * Kev. John N. Lewis, Pastor Presbyterian Church, Truxton, 
 
 Cortland Co., N. Y 
 
 * Eev. Walter R Long, Pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian Church, 
 
 Troy, N. Y 
 
 * James J. Lowrie, Union Village, Washington Co., N. Y. 
 f William Mann, died at Watertown, N. Y. 
 
 William P. Maulsby. 
 
 John M'Clellan, M.D., Resident Physician at the Lunatic Asy- 
 lum, Blackwell's Island, New York City. 
 
 * Rev. James M. Macdonald, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church, 
 
 Jamaica, Long Island, 
 f Edward M'Geoch, died during sophomore year, 
 f Andrew D. M'Farland, died at Worcester, Mass., in 1835. 
 
 * Merritt G. M'Koon, Principal of Oxford Academy, Oxford, 
 
 Chenango Co., N. Y. 
 Henry L. Messier, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
 
 * Daniel T. Moseley, Counsellor-at-law, Skeneateles, N. Y. 
 
 * Rev. E. D. G. Prime, Pastor of the Church of Scotchtown, 
 
 Walkill, N. Y 
 f Henry C. Pathbun, Attorney-at-law, died in Florida. 
 
9 
 
 * Kev. J. H. Raymond, Professor in Hamilton Literary and Theo 
 
 logical Institute, Hamilton, Madison Co., N. V. 
 f Robert 0. Reynolds, Counsellor-at-law, Norwich, Chenango Co., 
 N. Y. 
 
 "* Hamilton W. Robinson, Counsellor-at-law, New York City. 
 
 * Cornelius L. Russell, Counsellor-at-law, Ohio City, Ohio. 
 Sidney Sawyer, M. D., Chicago, 111. 
 
 * Rev. Abishai Scofield, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Peters- 
 
 boro, Madison Co., N. Y. 
 f Nelson Shook, M. D , New York City. 
 
 * Jesse C. Smith, Counsellor-at-law, New York City. 
 
 * Gilbert McM. Spier, Counsellor-at-law, New York City. 
 
 * Rev. Ephraim Taylor, Jamestown, N. Y. 
 
 f John C. Taylor, drowned in the State of Alabama. 
 
 Rev. James L. Thompson, late Missionary to Greece, New York 
 City. 
 
 Francis L. Upson, 
 f James Walker, Engineer, Utica, N. Y. 
 
 Francis Welch. 
 
 * Charles E. West, Principal of Rutgers Female Institute, New 
 
 York City. 
 
 * Rev. Jahleel Wood bridge, Pastor of Presbyterian Church, L. I. 
 f Charles B. Woodburn, died at Spencertown, N. Y. 
 
 William Y. S. Wood worth, Teacher, Orange Co., N. Y. 
 
 Deceased Members 
 
 of the Class of 1832. 
 
 Lovell Brooks, 
 
 Delos Lathrop, 
 
 Robert T. Cameron, 
 
 William Mann, 
 
 Erastus Crafts, 
 
 Andred D. M'Farland, 
 
 William Dunn, 
 
 Edward M'Geoch, 
 
 Peter B. Eager, 
 
 Henry C. Rathbun, 
 
 Butler Goodrich, Jr., 
 
 John C. Taylor, 
 
 Nelson A. Hinman, 
 
 
 William Hemphill, 
 
 Charles B. Woodburn. 
 
10 
 
 THANATOUSION : 
 
 AN ELEGIAC POEM, 
 
 COMMEMORATIVE OF THE DECEASED MEMBERS OP THE CLASS GRADUATED 
 AT UNION COLLEGE IN JULY, A. D. 1832. 
 
 BY JOHN W. BROWN, A. M., 
 
 Author of " Christmas Bells," " Virginia," "Merchant's Daughter," "Julia 
 
 of Baise," &c, &c 
 
 Etsi procul a propinquis 
 
 In morte quiescit, 
 Amici plurimi, non sine lachrymis 
 
 Sepulchrum revisent.* 
 
 I. 
 
 From various paths through which our steps have sped, 
 From the world's crowded scene of toil and strife, 
 With various fortune, in the race of life 
 
 We come, these classic halls again to tread, 
 
 To greet the living, and to mourn the dead : — 
 Ten years of stern or bright vicissitude, 
 
 Have passsd in action, big with hope or dread, 
 And now we stand again, where oft we stood 
 In those remember'd days, a youthful brotherhood, 
 
 II. 
 
 Beneath our eye the same fair scene reposes, 
 
 The same bright sky is bending overhead ; 
 Greenly, as then, yon mountain belt encloses 
 
 The broad and peaceful plains around us spread ; 
 
 O'er dell and height the summer sunbeams shed 
 The same rich splendour, and the waveless breast 
 
 Of yon blue river, winding through the bed 
 Of these luxuriant valleys, lies at rest 
 Beneath the deep'ning splendors of the burning west. 
 
 * From the monument erected to the memory of Nelson A. Hinman, in the college ceme- 
 
 tery. 
 
] ] 
 
 m. 
 
 To tones, familiar ones, and ne'er forgot ; 
 Warm hearts are here, whose pulses bound again, 
 Warm hearts are here, unehang'd by joy or pain, 
 
 Ling'ring onee more round this our parting spot ; 
 
 The toil and change of life's eventful lot 
 Have left youth's chords unbroken, and the flight 
 
 Of time, the fell destroyer, darkens not 
 Our meeting with his shadows, for the light 
 Of other days brings back their old and calm delight. 
 
 IV. 
 
 'Tis well tliat thus undimm'd, unmarr'd should be 
 
 The golden links by early friendship wove, 
 When, nerved by hope, from rankling passion free, 
 
 In learning's toil, with virtuous zeal, we strove, 
 
 While generous emulation kindled love. 
 'Twere well, if ever in the girded race 
 
 Of life, the bold aspiring mind could move 
 Obedient to such impulse, and the trace 
 Of boyhood's pure ambition shine in manhood's sterner face. 
 
 V. 
 
 Familiar forms are gathered, but not all, 
 
 For many lov'd ones from our midst are gone ; 
 The ear of death is closed to friendship's call, 
 
 And the cold grave sends back no answering tone. 
 
 One sleeps 'neath yonder monumental stone, 
 Where our own hands did sepulchre his dust 
 
 When life's fair prospect most entioing shone 
 To every eye, ere hope had learned mistrust 
 Or her rich visioned gleams by disappointment crost. 
 
 VI. 
 
 One sleeps afar beneath a southern wave ; 
 
 One, by false honor's phantom light lured on, 
 Lies in his lone, unblest, and bloody grave, 
 
 Yet not unwept by those whose love he won — 
 A generous heart by passion's sway undone. 
 
 One fell ere young ambition's daring wing 
 Had battled with the storm, on which his eye 
 
 Uwblenched, through year of labor lingering. 
 Read promise of a triumph, pure and high ; 
 In manhood's proudest hour called suddenly to die. 
 
12 
 
 VI. 
 
 Many are gone, whose morning hours were blest 
 
 With promise of a bright and glorious day ; 
 Some gentle souls sank quietly to rest 
 
 As the departing sunlight melts away 
 
 'Mid the delicious bloom and balm of May. 
 Some lie on distant shores, and virtuous deeds 
 
 Have made their memory holy, and the ray 
 Of blest example, to the gloom succeeds 
 Cheering the heart that o'er the loved and lost ones bleeds. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Fair, fair in memory's moonlight, are they all 
 The young, the bright, the noble. It is true 
 
 The silent grave returneth not our call, 
 
 Our voice wakes not their slumber. From the view 
 Of living men, from 'neath yon arch of blue, 
 
 From this fair earth, forever are they gone. 
 Yet be it ours to pay the tribute due 
 
 To noble hearts, not with unmanby moan, 
 
 But in that worthy grief which hallows sorrow's tone. 
 
 IX 
 
 Bright be their memory ever, — sweet their rest ! 
 
 May we, when called from life's eventful race 
 To join their silent brotherhood, be blest 
 
 With hope of heaven, through Christ, our Saviour's grace. 
 
 Here, as we stand around the burial-place 
 Of a departed brother, let us learn 
 
 Life's solemn lesson, may no cares efface 
 Its salutary precepts as we turn 
 
 To the great world whose paths all end in death's sad bourne. 
 
 The Committee, to whom was assigned the duty of preparing a 
 Class-Letter, present the following : 
 
 In May last, a Circular was issued at New York, inviting a 
 meeting of the Class, which graduated in 1832, to take place at 
 this institution, at its approaching commencement. That circular 
 was sent to all whose places of residence could be ascertained. In 
 compliance with the invitation, we, whose names appear in the 
 Minutes herewith published, being assembled, have directed the 
 
13 
 
 undersigned to express our affectionate salutations to absent mem- 
 bers of the Class; and, for their information, to prepare a more 
 full account, than could be gathered from the Minutes alone of our 
 proceedings. 
 
 The intimacies and friendships that existed, during our resi- 
 dence at College, led us all to anticipate an agreeable interview. 
 After a separation, and an absence from our Alma Mater for 10 
 years, spent in different remote societies of the country, and in dif- 
 ferent pursuits, we should have been greatly disappointed not to 
 have found this an occasion of uncommon interest. The hope 
 expressed in the circular, which convenes us, has, in some de- 
 gree, been fulfilled ; we have felt ourselves made younger by the 
 opportunity of renewing personal intercourse, in these familiar and 
 endeared scenes of our early academical pursuits; and we shall 
 separate and return to our various callings in life, with, at least a 
 portion of the ardour and emulation with which we formerly bade 
 adieu to these classic shades. In a word, we have endeavored, 
 not without some success, to revive the feelings we had, when we 
 were scholars together at this seat of learning, and looked out 
 upon the great, busy, but as yet untried world. 
 
 In a familiar and unreserved manner, we have communicated 
 such facts, of a personal nature, as each one supposed would be 
 interesting to Classmates. Particular inquiry has also been made 
 respecting every member of the-Class; and with two or three ex- 
 ceptions, interesting statements have been elicited. And could the 
 remarks which have been made — and made in the kindest and 
 most fraternal spirit — be here recorded, they would doubtless im- 
 part more of the pleasure we have experienced in being present, 
 than would be possible in any other way. Some of you perhaps 
 would have preferred to answer for yourselves; it is our sincere 
 regret, as it is almost the only abatement to our enjoyment, that 
 you are not present to do so. Be assured that nothing but the 
 most hearty good- will has characterized every statement. It is a 
 source of pride and pleasure, that so many of our number have 
 already met with gratifying success, and enjoy prospects of exten- 
 sive and lasting usefulness and honor, among their fellow-men. 
 
 But although great cheerfulness has marked our present inter- 
 
14 
 
 course, we trust it has been duly chastened by those mournful 
 reflections, which it has not been in our power wholly to suppress. 
 Some are absent whom we shall meet no more. They were en- 
 deared to us. The} T all possessed their good qualities. Their 
 virtues, we will treasure ; their failings, bury in the dust. How 
 quickly perished all their hopes and aspirations ! But the task of 
 offering a suitable tribute to their memory, we will not forget, has 
 been allotted to other hands; and we know how faithfully it will 
 be performed. It is an affecting thought that more than a fifth of 
 our class have already been called from this scene of earthly 
 labor and trial ; and perhaps the chief duty, at future meetings, 
 will be, to take from the catalogue of the living, to increase the 
 catalogue of the dead. But this is not the place to indulge in 
 such forebodings, or to encourage gloomy views of life. Even 
 though our hearts, every moment "are beating funeral marches 
 to the grave," be it ours to fill up life with its appropriate work T 
 never unmindful that only 
 
 " That life is long which answers life's great end." 
 
 It is due from us to notice, in this communication, our very cor- 
 dial reception on the part of the Faculty of the college. We, of 
 course, did not do them the injustice of supposing that they would 
 regard our meeting with indifference, but the peculiar interest they 
 have been pleased to express, was wholly unexpected. The insti- 
 tution is highly favored in continuing to enjoy the paternal guar- 
 dianship of the venerable Dr. Nott. Dr. Proudfit, Dr. Potter, Dr. 
 Yates, and Professors Jackson, and Eeed, are still occupying their 
 various departments, with equal honour to themselves, and benefit 
 to the institution. Dr. Joslin now fills a chair of instruction in the 
 University of the City of New York. Professor Averill, who, 
 though one of the youngest of the corps of instructors, gave prom- 
 ise of being one of its brightest ornaments, has been called to an 
 untimely grave. Our kind reception has entitled our Alma Mater 
 if possible, to greater veneration and love, and demands that we 
 should cherish to life's latest moment, the lessons of wisdom and 
 piety we received under her fostering care. 
 
L5 
 
 While convened here it has been our privilege to attend a 
 numerous meeting of the Alumni, at which several of the older 
 graduates were present. His Excellency, the Governor of the 
 State, presided; and interesting remarks were made relative to 
 the importance of some concerted action to increase the College 
 Library. 
 
 A new Library Room has been fitted up with great elegance — 
 among the embellishments of which, as not the least, we were 
 pleased to notice a full length portrait of Dr. Nott — but the Li- 
 brary remains much as it was, when we were undergraduates, and 
 we must all know that it is far from being worthy of an institu- 
 tion which ranks so deservedly high. At the meeting above men- 
 tioned, a committee was appointed for the purpose of raising the 
 sum of $10,000, to be applied to the improvement of the Library 
 and Philosophical Apparatus, and such measures were taken, as it 
 is hoped will secure the success of the enterprise. 
 
 Classmates, you will notice in referring to the minutes of our 
 proceedings, that we propose to have a similar meeting, five years 
 hence. We are especially desirous that there should be, at that 
 time, a full attendance. We have felt grateful to Him who has 
 preserved us, during the interval of our separation — a period 
 which must constitute no small portion of our lives ; it is our 
 prayer, that the same beneficent Being would still watch over us, 
 and bring us together, not only with continued proofs of his good- 
 ness, but with more grateful hearts. 
 
 Classmates ! do not forget the proposed meeting at the Com- 
 mencement in 1847. 
 
 JAMES M. MACDOISTALD, ) 
 CHARLES E. WEST, V Committee. 
 JESSE C. SMITH, ) 
 
 Union College, \ 
 July 26, 1842. j 
 
Tricennial Anniversary. 
 
 New York City, July 8th, 1862. 
 
 To 
 
 Dear Sir : The undersigned, a Committee of the Class of '32, 
 have pleasure in informing you that there will be a meeting of the 
 surviving members of the Class, in connection with the approach- 
 ing anniversary of Union College, on Wednesday, the 23d inst, at 
 2 o'clock in the afternoon, in the Laboratory of the South College. 
 
 This being the thirtieth anniversary of our graduation, let us 
 come together to renew the friendship of survivors, and bring into 
 fresh remembrance the many who have deceased. 
 
 Our venerable President yet survives. 
 
 Eespectfully yours, 
 
 K B. — If you know any member of the Class whom you can 
 reach, by letter or otherwise, please urge his attendance at the pro- 
 posed meeting. 
 
17 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TRICENNIAL ANNIVERSARY. 
 
 At a meeting of the Class of 1832, held at Union College, July 
 23, 1862, were present Messrs. A. P. Cumings, C. E. West, H W. 
 Robinson, Henry L. Messier, D. R. F. Jones, Orlo Bartholomew, 
 J. C. Smith, Thomas Allen. 
 
 On motion, Abijah P. Cumings was called to the Chair, and 
 Thomas Allen was elected Secretary. 
 
 On motion, the Catalogue of the Class was called, and all were 
 accounted for as nearly as possible. Letters were read from E. B. 
 Crane and E. Taylor. 
 
 On motion, a Committee, consisting of Charles E. West, H. W. 
 Robinson, and the Chairman, was appointed to publish a corrected 
 Catalogue of the Class, together with an address, and the minutes 
 of this meeting. 
 
 On motion, it was resolved that the Class will meet again in 
 1867, and that the last named Committee will notify the same. 
 
 Meeting adjourned. 
 
 A. P. Cumings, Chairman. 
 
 Thos. Allen, Secretary. 
 
Semi-Centennial Anniversary. 
 
 Brooklyn, April 15, 1882. 
 
 Mr. 
 
 Sir: 
 
 At a meeting of the Class of 1832, at Union College, July 23d, 
 1862, there were present Messrs. A. P. Cumings, Chas. E. West, 
 H. W. Eobinson, H. L. Messier, D. R F. Jones, 0. Bartholomew, 
 J. C. Smith and Thomas Allen. 
 
 On motion, A. P. Cummings was called to the Chair, and 
 Thomas Allen was chosen Secretary. 
 
 On motion, the Catalogue of the Class was read, and such in- 
 formation given respecting its members as was in possession of 
 those present. Letters of regret were received from E. B. Crane 
 and E. Taylor. 
 
 On motion, a Committee consisting of C. E. West, H. W. Eobin- 
 son and A. P. Cumings, was appointed to publish a corrected 
 Catalogue of the Class, with an address, and the minutes of this 
 meeting. 
 
 On motion, it was resolved that the Class meet in 1867, and 
 that the Committee give notice of the same. 
 
 Above is the record of the meeting in 1862. There has been 
 no meeting of the Class since. As the Fiftieth Anniversary is so 
 near at hand, it is desirable that its observance should be duly 
 honored. It is thought that a larger meeting of the Class can be 
 had in New York than in Schenectady. The Committee, there- 
 fore, appoint a meeting to be holden at Delmonico's, Fifth Avenue, 
 New York, on the 15th day of June next, at 4 o'clock P. M., and 
 earnestly solicit your attendance. It is also desired that you will 
 forward, at your earliest convenience, any knowledge you possess 
 of your Classmates, living or dead, that your Committee may be 
 able to prepare a revised catalogue for publication before the meet- 
 ing. Please address, 
 
 CHAKLES E. WEST, Chairman, 
 
 138 Montague St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
1!) 
 
 Union College, April 26, 1882. 
 
 Dear Sir : In the President's absence, I would say that Com- 
 mencement occurs June 28th (Wednesday). 
 
 Class might meet in No. 4 South Colonnade. 
 
 It will give us all great pleasure to welcome here the veterans 
 of '32. Very truly, 
 
 Wendell Lamoroux. 
 
 Chas. E. West, Esq. 
 
 138 Montague Street, 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., May 5, 1882. 
 
 Mr. 
 
 Sir: 
 
 Circulars have been sent to the survivors of the Class of 
 1832, calling a meeting at Delmonico's, New York, to celebrate its 
 fiftieth anniversary. 
 
 Replies of regret having been received that the meeting could 
 not be held in Schenectady during Commencement week, it is 
 thought best to recall the former invitation and appoint the meet- 
 ing at No. 4 South Colonnade, Union College, June 27th, at 4 
 o'clock P. M., the day before Commencement. 
 
 CHAS. E. W EST, Chairman. 
 
 Union College, May 17, 1882. 
 
 Charles E. West, Esq., 
 
 138 Montague St., Brooklyn, K Y. : 
 
 Glad of change of Class Re-union from New York to Union. 
 Nothing like "home." Keys of rooms are at treasurer's office. 
 
 Wendell Lamoroux. 
 
20 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL 
 ANNIVERSARY. 
 
 Pursuant to a call made by circular, dated Brooklyn, N. Y., 
 May 5th, 1882, signed by Professor Charles E. West, chairman, 
 the following members of the Class of 1832 met at No. 4 South 
 Colonnade, Union College, Schenectady, on the 27th day of 
 June, 1882, at 4 o'clock, in the afternoon: Prof. C. E. West, of 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., Lieut. Governor Roger Averill, of Danbury, 
 Conn., Gen. Jesse C. Smith, of Brooklyn, Rev. Charles Jones, of 
 Syracuse, N. Y., Hon. Cornelius L. Russell, of Cleveland, Ohio, 
 Rev. Walter Long, of Wheeling, W. Ya., and John L. Kanouse, 
 Esq., of Boonton Falls, N. J. 
 
 Gov. Averill was called to the chair and J. C. Smith was 
 appointed Secretary. Prayer was offered by Mr. Jones. 
 
 Professor West read letters from William Austin, Esq. ; H. A. 
 Grant, Jr., for his father, H. A. Grant, M.D. ; Rev. Jahlell Wood- 
 bridge, A. A. Boyce, Esq., and Rev. Edward D. G. Prime. 
 
 The list of graduates of the Class was then read from the college 
 catalogue, and inquiries made from those present in reference to 
 their knowledge or information as to other members of the Class, 
 living or dead, and the residences of the living. 
 
 Professor West read sketches of the lives of the following 
 deceased members of the Class, to wit : Butler Goodrich, Alex- 
 ander W. Bradford, Jolin H. Raymond, Delos Lathrop, Lincoln 
 B. Knowlton, Hamilton W. Robinson, John McClelland, David 
 R. Floyd Jones, Abijah P. Cumings, James M, McDonald, and 
 T. J. Farnham. 
 
 The ages of the seven members present were taken and found 
 to range between 70 and 73 years. 
 
 The paper prepared by Protessor West to be read before the 
 Class included the history of the life of the Hon. Thomas Allen, 
 deceased, but as that part of it had been read at the meeting of the 
 College Alumni in the morning, its reading was omitted here, as 
 w as also the reading of that part of the paper written upon other 
 
21 
 
 subjects. But, on motion, Professor West was requested to pub- 
 lish the paper entire, at the joint expense of the members present, 
 with the assistance of Jesse C. Smith and the Rev. E. D. G. Prime, 
 and the meeting adjourned to meet at Griven's Hotel, in the even- 
 ing of the same day. At the informal meeting in the evening the 
 personal history of the members present was given, but it was 
 found, that one evening was altogether too short a time to sketch 
 even the smallest part of the lives of seven persons for a period of 
 fifty years, and so another adjournment was had to the next morn- 
 ing before the Commencement exercises of the college. On that 
 morning every moment of time was used to the best advantage, 
 and though but a faint outline of the personal experiences of each 
 member could be given, enough of enjoyment was had to fully 
 repay all who were present for the time and labor spent in coming 
 together. 
 
 J. C. Smith, Secretary. 
 
 REVISED CATALOGUE, 1882. 
 
 *Deceased. 
 
 * Allen, Hon. Thomas, LL.D. ; St. Louis, Mo. Lawyer, editor, 
 
 railroad builder, State Senator and Congressman. Died, April 
 8, 1882. 
 
 Austin, William ; New York. Lawyer. 
 
 Averill, Hon. Roger ; Danbury, Ct. Lawyer, State Senator, Lieut. 
 Governor, etc. 
 
 * Bartholomew, Eev. Orlo; Augusta. Died, March 7, 1864. 
 Beach, Rev. Amos B., D.D. ; Ithaca Rector of St. John's Church. 
 
 * Belden, Hon. Samuel ; Amsterdam. Lawyer, judge, surrogate. 
 
 * Bloodgood, Rev. Abraham L. ; Monroe, Mich. Presbyterian 
 
 minister. Died, May 26, 1879. 
 Bowman, George ; Redbank, K. J. Lawyer. 
 Boyce, Augustus A. ; Santa Barbara, Cal. Lawyer, clerk of 
 
 United States Court, Utica 
 
 * Brooks, Lovell ; Princeton, Mass. Died, 1834. 
 
22 
 
 Bradford, Hon. Alexander, LL.D. ; New York. Corporation 
 Attorney, author, lawyer, surrogate, member of the Legisla- 
 tive, Fellow of the Eoyal Society of Denmark. Died, Nov. 5, 
 1867. 
 
 Bradford, John M. ; Geneva. Lawyer. Died, 1861. 
 Branch, Rev. Daniel ; Chester, Ohio. 
 
 Brown, Rev. John W. ; New York. Rector of St. Georges 
 Church, Astoria; Principal Astoria Female Institute, Poet, 
 author of Julia of Baia, etc. 
 
 Cameron, Robert T. ; Green. Lawyer. Died at Charleston, S. 
 C, 1833. 
 
 Chipp, Howard ; Kingston. Lawyer. 
 
 Crafts, Rev. Erastus ; Hartwick. Perished in the steamboat 
 
 Pulaski in 1838, off Charleston. 
 Cramer, Hon. Eliphalet; Milwaukee, Wis. Lawyer, banker, 
 
 philanthropist. Died, Sept. 19, 1872. 
 Crane, Rev. Ethan B. ; Brooklyn. 
 Crane, Rev. Jonathan, Jr. ; Kalamazoo, Mich. 
 Crawford, Samuel M., M. D. ; Montgomery. 
 Cumings, Rev. Abijah P. ; New York. Editor of New York 
 
 Observer from 1836 to the time of his death, May 13. 1871. 
 Dunn, William ; Clinton, La. Killed in a duel, 1833. 
 Eager, Peter B., M.D. ; Montgomery. Died, 1833. 
 Farnham, T. J. ; Oregon. 
 Flournoy, John T. ; Hancock, Ga. 
 Foreman, Ferris ; Yandalia, 111. 
 
 Gardner, James ; New York. Editor of the Constitutionalist, 
 
 lawyer, banker, etc. 
 Goodrich, Butler, Jr. ; Princeton, N. J.. Died at Princeton 
 
 Theological Seminary, Feb. 12, 1836. 
 Grant, Harry A., M.D. ; Enfield, Ct. Practiced medicine in 
 
 Albany, New York and Enfield. 
 Graves, Rev. Nelson D. ; Middlebury, Vt. 
 Hadley, Rev. William H. ; Portland, Me. 
 Hemphill, William ; Malta. Died, 1833. 
 
 High, Rev. E. Scudder; Streats, 111. Congregational clergy- 
 man. Died, June, 1871. 
 
23 
 
 Ilinman, Nelson A. ; Pike. Died in college, senior year, 1832. 
 Howes, John ; Albany. Lawyer. Died, 1846. 
 Joralemon, George M. ; Somerville, N. J. Left college junior 
 year. 
 
 Jones, Rev. Charles ; Syracuse. Pastor of Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Jones, Hon. David R. F. ; S. Oyster Bay. Lawyer, member of 
 the Assembly, Senator, Secretary of State, Lieutenant Gov- 
 ernor. Died, Jan. 9, 1871. 
 
 Kanouse, John L. ; Boonton Falls, N. J. Merchant, commis- 
 sioner of Public Schools. 
 
 Knowlton, Lincoln B. ; Peoria, 111. Lawyer and judge. Died, 
 1854. 
 
 Lathrop, Delos ; Albany. Lawyer. Died, 1835. 
 Lewis, Rev. John N. ; Lodi. Died, Oct. 5, 1861. 
 Long, Rev. Walter R. ; Wheeling, W. Va. Presbyterian Bible 
 Agent. 
 
 Lowrie, James J. ; Greenwich. Lawyer and judge. 
 
 Mann, William ; Watertown. Died, 1839. 
 
 Maulsby, Hon. William P. ; Frederick City, Md. Chief Jus- 
 tice of Maryland. 
 
 Marks, Abraham ; Lafayette, La. Lawyer. 
 
 M'Clelland, John, M.D. ; New York. An eminent physician. 
 Died, April 12, 1876. 
 
 Macdonald, Rev. James M., D.D. ; Princeton, N. J. Pastor of 
 Presbyterian Church in Princeton, author. Died, April 19, 
 1876. 
 
 M'Geoch, Edward Died during sophomore year, 1830. 
 M'Farland, Andrew D. ; Worcester, Mass. A student-at-law. 
 Died, 1835. 
 
 M'Koon, Merritt G. ; Oxford. Principal of Oxford Academy. 
 Died 1854. 
 
 Messier, Hugh L. ; Fishkill. Agriculturist. 
 Moseley, Daniel T. ; Skeneateles. Lawyer. 
 Prime, Rev. Edward D. G., D.D. ; New York. Pastor, editor of 
 
 the New York Observer, author, etc. 
 Rathbun, Henry B. ; Florida. Lawyer. 
 
24 
 
 Raymond, Kev. John H., LL.D. ; Poughkeepsie. President of 
 Vassar College. Died, August 14, 1875. 
 
 Reynolds, Robert 0. ; Cortlandville. Lawyer. 
 
 Robinson, Hon. Hamilton W. ; New York. Judge of th e 
 Court of Common Pleas, New York. Died, April 7, 1879. 
 
 Russell, Hon. Cornelius L. ; Cleveland, Ohio. Lawyer, capi- 
 talist. 
 
 Sawyer, Sidney, M.D. ; Chicago, 111. 
 
 Sconeld, Rev. Abishai, Georgetown. 
 
 Shook, Nelson, M.D. ; New York. Died, 1854. 
 
 Smith, Gen. Jesse C. ; Brooklyn. Lawyer, Surrogate of Kings 
 
 Co., State Senator, 1862-3. 
 Spier, Hon. Gilbert McM., LL.D. ; New York. Lawyer, Judge 
 
 of Superior Court. 
 Taylor, Rev. Ephraim ; Akron, Ohio. Teacher and author. 
 Taylor, John C. ; Schenectady. Drowned in Alabama. 
 Thompson, Rev. James L. ; Astoria. 
 Upson, Francis L. ; Lexington, Ga. Lawyer. 
 Walker, James ; Utica. Civil Engineer. 
 Welch, Rev. Francis; Perry, Me. 
 Wells, Rev. Noah H. ; Peekskill. Author. 
 Wyman, Thaddeus L. ; W. Springfield, Mass. 
 Wiggin, Benjamin ; Boston, Mass. Lawyer. 
 WikofT, Henry ; Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Woodbridge, Rev. Jahleel ; Wessen, Miss. Pastor of Presby- 
 terian Church and teacher in Wessen. 
 
 Woodburn, Charles B. ; Spencertown. Teacher. Died, 1833. 
 
 Wood worth, William Y. S. ; Northampton. Teacher. 
 
 West, Charles E., M.D., LL.D.; Brooklyn. Principal of Rutgers 
 Female Institute, New York, 1839 to 1851 ; of Buffalo Female 
 Academy, 1851 to 1860 ; of Brooklyn Heights Seminary, 
 1860 to present time. Admitted as attorney to the Supreme 
 Court of New York, 1844 ; received the honorary degrees of 
 M.A. from Columbia College in 1844; M.D. from the Uni- 
 versity of New York, 1845, and LL.D. from Rutgers College, 
 New Jerse} r , 1851. Fellow of the Royal Antiquarian Society 
 of Denmark, 1849. 
 
25 
 
 THE LIVING MEMBERS OF THE CLASS IN 1882 AS 
 FAR AS CAN BE ASCERTAINED. 
 
 Austin, William, 
 Aveeill, Roger, 
 Beach, Amos, 
 Bowman, George, 
 Boyce, Augustus A., 
 Branch, Daniel, 
 Chipp, Howard, 
 Crane, Ethan B., 
 Crawford, Samuel B., 
 Forman, Ferris, 
 Grant, Harry A., 
 Graves, Nelson Z., 
 Hadley, William H., 
 Jones, Charles, 
 Kanouse, John L, 
 
 Long, Walter R., 
 Lowrie, James L 
 Maulsby, William P., 
 Prime, Edward D. G., 
 Russell, Cornelius L, 
 Sawyer, Sidney, 
 scofield, abishai, 
 Smith, Jesse C, 
 Spier, Gilbert McM., 
 Taylor, Ephraim, 
 Upson, Francis L., 
 Welsh, Francis, 
 West, Charles E., 
 Wiggin, Benjamin, 
 Wikoff, Henry, 
 :, Jahleel. 
 
 Total, 31. 
 
26 
 
 ORDER OF COMMENCEMENT IN UNION COLLEGE, 
 JULY 25, 1832. 
 
 Music and Distribution of Orden 
 PR A TER. 
 
 Sal. ad Gub. - 
 JSal. ad Curat. 
 Study of the Law, 
 Study of Hebrew, - 
 Study of Medicine, 
 The Theatre, 
 Natural Theology, 
 National Law, 
 Greek Literature, 
 The Civil Law, 
 Sacred Music, 
 The Study of Logic, 
 Influence of Russia, 
 Latin Oration, 
 African Colonization, 
 The Triumph of Greece, 
 French Oration, 
 New York, 
 
 Political Constitutions of Europe, 
 The State of the Press, 
 Italy, - 
 
 Mental Philosophy, 
 National Degeneracy, 
 Doom of Genius — a Poem, 
 
 Russia, - 
 
 The American Novelist, - 
 
 Military Glory, 
 
 The Times, 
 
 Decline of the Ottoman Empire, 
 The Fall of Warsaw, 
 The Progress of Mind, 
 Congress of Nations, 
 
 By C. E. West, 
 " S. Sawyer, 
 " J. L. Kanouse, 
 " C. Jones, 
 " A. W. Bradford, 
 " W. Austin, 
 
 " J. WOODBRIDGE, 
 " J. J. LOWRIE, 
 
 " J. L. Thompson, 
 " W. Mann, 
 
 E. B. Crane, 
 " D. Branch, 
 " L. B. Knowlton, 
 " E. D. G. Prime, 
 " P. B. Eager, 
 " J. M. Bradford, 
 " J. C. Taylor, 
 " W. Dunn, 
 
 MUSIC. 
 
 By D. T. Moseley, 
 " H. W. Robinson, 
 " N. Shook, 
 " J. B. Crane, 
 " E. Cramer, 
 " J. W. Brown, 
 
 MUSIC. 
 
 By W. R. Long, 
 
 " D. R. F. Jones, 
 
 " R. AVERILL, 
 
 " W. H. Hadley, 
 
 " J. Gardner, 
 
 " G. McM. Spier, 
 
 " O. Bartholomew, 
 
 " A. P. CUMINGS, 
 
 Degrees Conferred. 
 PR A TER. 
 
 Phil. Orat. 
 Class Orat. 
 
 Class Orat. 
 
 Phil. Orat. 
 
 Inst. " 
 
 Phil. '« 
 
 Inst. " 
 
 Inst. " 
 
 Adel. '« 
 
 Adel. " 
 
 Adel. «• 
 
Correspondence. 
 
 Danbury, Conn., April 18, 1882. 
 
 Dr. C. E. West : 
 
 My Dear Sir: Your letter of the 11th inst. has been received. 
 
 I had not forgotten that the fiftieth anniversary of our gradu- 
 ation at college is near at hand. I have many reminders that my 
 college days were a long, long time ago. 
 
 A few weeks since I met in Washington some gentlemen 
 from Schenectady who referred to the approaching anniversary of 
 the graduation of the Class of 1882, and expressed an earnest wish 
 that it might be appropriately commemmorated. In this I expressed * 
 my hearty concurrence. I am in no way committed as to the place 
 of meeting. I have not the means at hand to form an opinion as 
 to the number, or the present residence of our surviving class- 
 mates. If the attendance of a greater, or indeed an equal number 
 could be secured at a meeting to be held at Schenectady, I would 
 individually prefer the college to any other place. I will, how- 
 ever, endeavor to conform to any arrangement that you and those 
 about you whom you may consult may decide to make, and will 
 co-operate. 
 
 I know nothing of late of Dr. H. A. Grant. A few years ago 
 he resided in Enfield, in Hartford County, Conn. 
 
 Hoping soon to hear again from you on this subject, I remain, 
 Truly yours, ROGER AYERILL. 
 
 Syracuse, New York, May 2, 1882. 
 
 Prof. Chas. E. West : 
 
 My Dear Sir : I have had some correspondence with Mr. G. 
 M. Spier, of New York, as to a class-meeting at Schenectady next 
 Commencement. We left Union in 1832, a half century since, and 
 I have had an earnest desire for a reunion on the old college 
 grounds. This, to me, would be very pleasant. Where we used 
 
28 
 
 to see the memorable and most excellent President Nott — again 
 to gather and call to mind the past, for me would have a charm. 
 Time, place, and associations would have much to do with my 
 really enjoying a gathering. I have just received a few lines from 
 Mr. Spier, and on another page your printed words. At this stage 
 I think it would be quite impracticable for me to meet at Del- 
 monicos, Fifth avenue, New York city. This would accommodate 
 our Class who are in or near by New York. I think, however, it 
 would be fatal to any general gathering of our classmates who 
 may yet live and be scattered far and near. Please, however, 
 inform me, so far as you are able, how many and who may be 
 expected f 
 
 In 1872 I was at our Alma Mater and shall hope to be in 1882. 
 I can make no special report for any but myself. 
 With respect, yours sincerely, 
 
 CHAELES JONES. 
 (cpBK) 
 
 Address: Kev. Charles Jones, 
 
 146 West Onondaga /St. , Syracuse, N. Y. 
 
 Monroe, Mich., May 15, 1882. 
 
 Mr. Charles E. West: 
 
 Dear Sir : Your circular relating to the anticipated meeting of 
 the Union College Class of 1832 is received, and was mislaid, 
 which is my apology for not writing sooner. My father, Eev. A. 
 L. Bloodgood, went home May 26th, 1879. A statement of some 
 facts relating to his life was sent by request to Eev. Henry A. 
 Hazen, Auburndale, Mass., compiler of vital statistics for the 
 " Congregational Year Book," for publication in the same. 
 
 Not having a copy of the statement, I would respectfully refer 
 you to the above-named gentleman, should you wish for the facts 
 therein contained. Yours truly, 
 
 LYNOTT BLOODGOOD. 
 
 P. S. — Should you feel so inclined, I would be pleased to 
 receive a copy of the class catalogue when published. 
 
 Eespectfully, &c. L. B. 
 
29 
 
 Enfield, Conn., May 22, 1882. 
 
 Charles E. West, Esq., 
 
 Chairman of Com. of Class of '32 : 
 Dear Sir : Your circular to your classmate, my father, reached 
 him when he was confined to his bed by a long and dangerous 
 illness. Not thinking it would continue so long, he has deferred 
 answering till this time, hoping he might be present. He is now 
 very weak and no better, and has asked me to write you and say 
 how much he anticipated from being present at the reunion in 
 June, but that now he sees it will be impossible. Even if he 
 recovers from his present sickness, it will be many days after the 
 appointed one before he will be able to leave his room. As your 
 circular desires information of other classmates, living or dead, he 
 wishes me to tell you that his college chum, the Rev. A. L. Blood- 
 good, died at Monroe, Michigan, the summer of 79. 
 
 Yours truly, H. A. GRANT, Jr. 
 
 Santa Barbara, May 27, 1882. 
 
 Prof. Chas. E. West: 
 
 My Dear Sir: Your printed circular of 5th inst, inviting me 
 to meet my dear surviving classmates of 1832, at their semi-cen- 
 tennial gathering, the 27th of June next, at Union College, finds 
 me near 3,000 miles distant, and situated so that I find it quite 
 impossible to join the very interesting twelve named in your accom- 
 panying letter, viz. : " Allen, Averill, Grant, Smith, Prime, Austin, 
 "Boyce, E. B. Crane, Bowman, Russell, West, Maulsby." 
 
 And since you wrote it, poor Allen has been called to, as we 
 trust, a sphere where we may all hope to meet. 
 
 After a residence of over sixty years in my native State of New 
 York I was persuaded in 1875 to remove to this Pacific slope, to 
 spend the evening of my days under the mild and benignant 
 atmosphere for which this coast of California is so celebrated. 
 
 Trusting that I may get a full report of your proceedings, and 
 may yet meet some of my old classmates, 
 
 I remember, with sincere affection and esteem, yours, 
 
 ANSON AUGUSTUS- BO YCE. 
 
80 
 
 Wesson, Miss., June 21, 1882. 
 
 Dr. Chas. E. West : 
 
 My Dear Classmate: I shall not be able to be present at the 
 festival of June 29th, as I had hoped to be, and will write to you 
 a few words, which may not be unacceptable to you and the asso- 
 ciates of fifty years ago. Haud immemor, I shall be present in 
 heart to greet the boys. I see them very distinctly, and if the 
 years have left footsteps, or scattered frost, and if they are getting 
 to be old boys, I shall not see it. In my case, youth is immortal. 
 He was a young man even if he did sit near a sepulchre. 
 
 I have never had much to say about myself, because there are so 
 much better models and experiences to present to the world, which 
 I have, in my poor way, been trying to make better. But on this 
 occasion it will be proper to say something as to the course of a 
 life which started from old Union in the July of 1832. Would 
 that I could find a glass which would enable me to trace the path 
 of each of the fifty who on that day went forth from the halls to 
 meet the realities of the life which then were all sunshine. 
 
 Till '85 I spent at Princeton Theological Seminary. One year 
 I lived, riding much on horseback, in Maryland ; then went to 
 Mississippi, where I spent two years ; then to Louisiana, where I 
 remained fifteen years ; then to Kentucky fourteen more, and in 
 1871, necessitated to seek a northern climate by the illness of a 
 member of my family, returned to this State, and the place where 
 I now reside. That does not fill the entire fifty years ; but some- 
 times, in a Bohemian way, I gypsej^ed. Thus I spent 1870 in Mis- 
 souri, and perhaps should have been there till now, but for the 
 calamity in my family, which drove me Southward. At times 
 I have taught, usually in connection with preaching, which I 
 always considered my life-work. For several years I was chaplain 
 to the Louisiana penitentiary, and have acted in that capacity to 
 the Legislature occasionally. 
 
 My pastorates have been, Baton Rouge, La., fourteen years ; 
 Henderson, Ky., twelve; Wesson, Miss., ten. 
 
 I have seven children. Two are ministers of the Presbyterian 
 Church, of whom one, just through his theological course, is under 
 appointment as missionary to China. All are members of the 
 
31 
 
 church, two being ruling elders. My daughters, one sixteen, 
 another fourteen, are now at home for school vacation. 
 
 I have written no books, but have produced innumerable arti- 
 cles for the newspapers. I have been an omniverous reader, nor do 
 I see any signs of decadence in that respect. I believe that I live 
 in the present as much as I did at thirty, trying to keep along with 
 the age — which, I believe, we sometimes hinted in our college 
 days, is "remarkable." I have taken a pretty fair look at the 
 " advanced thought, " and " new departures," " new basis of mor- 
 als," et cetera, but the God of the Bible, and the Christ Jesus of 
 the Gospel, are as much realities to me as the physical universe. 
 
 I am sorry for the honor of Union that I cannot report myself 
 a great man. I have been blessed with warm friends, and in some 
 instances have been strong enough to make enemies. Now and 
 then I find evidences of advanced years, such as a disposition to 
 preach an hour and a quarter, and I doubt whether I should climb 
 the stairs of N. C. S. S. to No. 14 as I used to do, three steps at 
 once, were I to visit the classic shades. 
 
 Memory is very busy as I write these lines, but it is only what 
 the occasion will bring out more vividly at the reunion. Grand 
 old Dr. Nott ! Prosser with his " rather ! " 
 
 Beloved classmates ! Gratefully and hopefully I greet you, 
 and adieu. Even sunsets are glorious, and there are worlds beyond. 
 In kindest remembrance, your classmate, 
 
 JAHLEEL WOODBEIDGE. 
 
 [From the Chancellor of the Regents of the University.'] 
 
 My Dear Dr. West: Was not Hon. Thomas Allen a classmate 
 of yours, and will not you respond to the announcement of his 
 death at the Alumni meeting at the coming commencement at 
 Union College ? Can you suggest anything for the report ? 
 Please let me hear from you. 
 
 Yours very truly, H. E. PIEKSOK 
 
32 
 
 Union College, July 18, 1854. 
 
 My Dear Sir: Your letter, enclosing the resolutions of the 
 Alumni of Union College at Buffalo, has this day reached me 
 through the post-office. Though long in coming, this unexpected 
 testimony of respect from so many beloved pupils is not the less 
 acceptable on that account. Please accept for yourself, and present 
 to the other Alumni in j-our vicinity, my grateful acknowledg- 
 ments for the filial sentiments which said resolutions express. 
 That a good Providence may crown their lives on earth with bless- 
 ings, and that we may all meet eventually in heaven, is the prayer 
 of yours, affectionately, 
 
 ELIPHL NOTT. 
 
 Charles E. West, Esq. 
 
 [Letter from Padre Secchi] 
 
 Pome, July 27, 1877. 
 
 My Dear Mr. West : I have received to-day your very kind letter, 
 and I am very thankful to you for the good memory you have of 
 me. I have tried your prism with the stars and the sun, and it 
 works very well, but it weakened the light too much on account 
 of the great diffusion ; no doubt it would be the best where there 
 is great light, but for small stars the lines are difficult to be seen 
 for defect of light. I have also myself seen one of the spectro- 
 scopes of MacLean, but I found it rather poor for great stars — the 
 diffusion is too small ; for the small ones it follows that the sepa- 
 ration is so small that the lines cannot be seen. I think it is a 
 joujou for amateurs. One cannot have measures at all, not even 
 relative measures of the distances since the telespectroscope is con- 
 verted by it into a galilean combination. Besides, M. Browning is 
 not right when he says that several stellar spectroscopes have been 
 invented, but that all of them have been found unsatisfactory. Those 
 which I have invented since 1866 are the best used by me during 
 
33 
 
 these last twelve years and with the greatest satisfaction, and 
 nobody has found anything better. 
 
 The Count Castracane is not now in Kome, but in England ; he 
 will not come back until next winter. Then I will inform him of 
 what you have written to me. 
 
 I hope you are in very good health, and that you have been 
 very much pleased with your travels in Europe. 
 I am respectfully, truly yours, 
 
 P. H. SECCHI. 
 
 DIR. K DELL'OSS. COLL.° ROM °