STEPHEN Bo WEEKS CLASS OF 1686; PH. D. THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSTTY UK3 1835A UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 00036720450 This book must not be token from the Librory building. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://www.archive.org/details/orationonlifechaOOande fk OltAifOn LIFE AND CHARACTER REV. JOS, CALDWELL, D. D, lATE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IVORTH-CAROtllVA t DEtlVETlED AT THE RE(iIJEST OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, BEFORE THE TRUSTEES, THE FACULTY AlfB THE STUDENTS, IN PERSON HALL, On tlie 24tli of June, 1S35, BY WALKER AJN^DERSOl^, A. M. ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF NATURAL AND MORAL PHILOSOPHYj IN THE SAME UNIVERSITY. PRIIfTED BY J. GALES & SOIft 1835, ^ iTION. *»»e® Gentlemen of the Board of Trustees, aud of the Faculty, and young Gentlemen of the University^ It was ao annual custom of the ancient Spar- tans, fraught with tlie most wholesome iniiuences, to assemble tlieir youth around the tomb of Leoni- das, and in rendering honors to the shade of the illustrious dead, to kindle into a flame, the patri- otick emotions, w hich the time, the place and the occasion, were so well calculated to inspire. Over the ashes of his self-devoted King, the young Spar- tan learned the lessons of devotion to his country, which formed the principle of his future life, and in the eventful scenes of his warlike career, a re- currence to the solemn ceremony that had so deep- ly impressed his youthful bosom, would nerve his arm with new strength for the field of battle, and prepare him to shed his heart's blood in the ser- vice of his country. With the reverence and love which drew those stern people to the tomb of their martyred soldier, are we assembled to pay our lieart's tribute to the memory of one, whose life has been spent in promoting our highest and most siicred interests. We come, as a band of brothers, to tlo homage to tliat parental love, of -which all of us — the old as well as the young — have been the objects, and by communing with the spirit of our departed father, to enkindle those hallowed emotions, which are the fittest offeiing to iiis memory. But why needs the living speaker recal to your remembrance, the venerated and beloved being whose loss is fresh in the living memories of all who hear me? We stand not, it is true, over his grave, as the Spartan over the sepulchre of his King, but his memorials present themselves to the eye on every side, and are felt in every throbbing bosom. The shady re- treats of this consecrated grove, the oft frequented halls of this seat of learning, the sacred edifice in which we are assembled, and the very spot on which I stand, are memorials to awaken the busy and thronging recollections of many a full heart. ^^ Qiiocumque ingredimuTj in aliquam historiam vestigium 'ponimus.'^ I look around this assem- bly and see monuments of his love and of his la- bours, such as can never grace the memory of the warrior, and which throw contempt on all the sculptured memorials of Kings. I look at the eyes beaming Avith intelligence ; I contemplate the re- fined intellects ; I see their rich fruits, in publick and honourable employment. I recall tlie memo- ry of otliers who are far distant,but whose thoughts arc minglingwith ours on this occasion,who have car- ried with them the seeds of virtue and wisdom which they gathered here, and, in other lands,have brought forth the noble results of usefulness aud honour- able consideration. I revert too^ to those wliose bright career is ended, and who preceded their guide and instructcr to the abodes of the bless- ed. I think of all this, and feel tliat you need not the voice of the speaker, to arouse your grate- ful recollections. These ennobled intellects, these refined tastes, these virtuous hearts, tliese active energies,those happy spirits, Mhich, tliough gone, have left behind them, " the vich relicks of a well spent life y^ — these are the monumental trophies of our departed benefactor — and,though his vener- ated form is mouldering in the dust, his spirit, by a species of transmigration more noble than that of Pythagoras, beams from e^i^ry eye and beats iu every bosom around me. Let us then not consume the few moments allotted to the sacred recollections of this occasion, in eulogies, whose utterance can never express the fulness of the love and rever- ence of our hearts, but let us with the mournful, but proud interest of children, trace the career of our lost benefactor and friend, from its earliest daAvn, through all its vicissitudes of usefulness and beneficence, to that solemn hour, when it clos- ed,amid the shadows of mortality it is true, but leav- ing to his weeping friends,the rich promise of a bright and glorious morrow. We may not expect to meet with the stirring incidents that disfigure the annals of the Warrior or the Statesman; but to iis^ every thing will be surrounded witli an interest hallow- ed by the most endearing associations. *' A-iillum est sine no/ithie saxiun.'' W The mati'Viiai ancestry ol' the late President of tiie Universit}^ may ]m trctced to one of those nu- nicTous exiles, who, upon the revocation of the edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in 1684, were compelled to leave their country, and seek protcc • tion and a liome, in other lands. One of tlie emi- grant families who thus abandoned their house- hold divinities and the sepulchres of their fathers for conscience sake, wasLovELi,. They passed first into Ensjland, wiiich offered a more ready asylum to the persecuted Huguenots; but, after re- maining a short time in that country, whose chari- ty to the exile and the unfortunate, entitles her to the gratitude of the world, the head of the Lovell family concluded to transplant himself to the Bri- tish Colonies in North America. With the means which he possessed and w Lich were far from be- ing inconsitlerablc, he purchased an extensive pro- perty near tlic western extremity of Long Island, in the present state of New York. The fertility of the soil, and the capital, industry and enterprise of the proprietor, soon surrounded Isim with all the necessaries and comforts of life, and even those supcrfiuiiit 5, whicii w^ere then, as now, considered essential to the respectability of tlio station wdiich he occupied in society. He w^as a man of strong mind, and, as may be sup- posed from his history, of devoted l)iety; though this latter quality partook somewhat of the stern- ness, which characterized the Puritans and Hu- guenots of that age. Ho brought up his chikUcu to 7 habit* of indnslry. pioly aiul ecoiioniy: Ixit llioii2;h he licUl the reins of doinej^tidc £;ovcrnmeiit uilh a steady hand, a spirit of hnrmony and atfectioii, constantly pervaded the circle. The grandmo- ther of Dr. Caldwell was a member of this high- ly favored family; and she appreciated and richly repaid the fostering care of her venerable parent. From the great iniinence exercised by this excel- lent woman npon the yonthful character of her grandson^, as appears from some notices left by liim of conversations Avith her in very early child- hood; we may look to the domestickscliool of this pions Huguenot for the gevms of much of that ex- cellence which belonged to the character of our late President. \Quickness of decision, promp- titude in action, perseverance in duty and heart- felt piety, characterized the venerable exile, as iti these latter days we have seen them in his lament- ed descendant. Many details are recorded in the memoranda to which we have referred, of tlie do- mestick disciplina of this exemplary father, which are deeply interesting, as revealing tlie sources of those useful principles which have been prolifick of so much good to us in this remote generation, and as forcibly illustrating tlie influence,which one faithful man, in the humble and diligent discharge of the duties of his station, may be unconsciously exerting on the destinies of an unborn race. But we have been detained too long already perhaps, and must pass on to a later date. The dau.^iiter ah-eady mentioned, Uachkl La- ' 8 • VELL, "was married to the Rev. Mr, Harker, a Minister of the Presbyterian denomination of Christians, who afterwards settled with his fami- ly, in the State of New Jersey: Mr.HARKEK was a man of much consideration in the neighbourhood in which he resided, and was regarded with high estimation and confidence by his congregation. His daughter, Rachel HARKER,was married ear- ly in life to a Physician, who was also young, and just commencing the practice of his profession. — He was the son of a farmer who had emigrated from the northern part of Ireland, and his name was Joseph Caldwell. Of three children born of this marringe, tlie one who bore the name of his father, was the youngest. Dr. Caldwell, the father, in consequence of the rupture of a blood- vessel in his lungs, sunk into an early grave, after a few months illness, and before his eye had ever rested on liis youngest child. He died on the 19th of April, 1773, was interred on the 20th, and on the 21st, Joseph Caldwell, the subject of oui'n memoir, was born to tlie afflicted widow. The woes of that period to the young motlier,must have been felt by her to have reached an awful con- summation, through alarms often renewed, hopes disappointed and sorrows protracted for months, before the trying events in which they terminated. Mrs. Caldwell was still in early life, and just at the season when the prospects of her husband, herself, and her young family Avere brightening, a terrible cloud suddenly settled upon them, and 9 left her in sorrow and widowhood. But the ex- cellent principles Avhich her mother had imbibed from the venerable Huguenot had been faithfully instilled into the bosom of the daughter, and the disastrous circumstances in which she was now placed, instead of repressing her energies, only served to develope the excellencies of her char- acter. She took her stand among tlie Cornelias of her age, and transmitted unimpaired to her children, the lioly legacy she had derived from her pious progenitors. The death of her husband and the birth of her youngest son occurred at Lamington in New Jersey, near Black River, a branch of the Raritan. It will be recollected that, a very few years subsequent to the date of these oc- currences, this particular locality became the scene of some of the stirring incidents of the Revolution- ary contest; and the influence of ^^the pomp and cir- cumstance of glorious war"' upon the young mind of Joseph Caldwell, was such as we might rea- dily conceive from the ardour which characterized even his maturer years. He describes himself as gazing with transport and a tide of impetuous feel- ing on the martial array of the armed hosts, and drinking in with excited passions the musick of the shrill fife and tlie rattling drum. But we may suppose these scenes were more congenial to his inexperienced mind, than they were to the feelings of bis widowed and unpro- tected mother ; and we find that she soon retired from the confusion and exposure of the maritinie £ 10 country to tlte move secluded village of Amwelly in the same State. Her son was at tliis period en- trusted for some time to the care of his grandmo- ther, now far advanced in years ; and in her life and conversation he found the Christian precepts of his maternal roof exemplified and enforced. — He hears affectionate testimony to ^^the fidelity of both his mother and grandmother in training liim to the knowledge of God and the Scriptures, to pious sentiments and religious duties.*' After the close of the war,the family removed to Bristol, on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware, and the younger son was here for the first time sent to school. It was fortunate for the results in after life, tliat the teacher secured the affections of his young pupil in a very eminent degree, without at all abating any thing from his requisition of close diligence and attention to the business of the school. More than half a century subsequently. Dr. Cald- well recurred to the kindness and fidelity of this his first instructer, with tlic liveliest emotions of grateful recollection, and observed that, ^^ thouo-h lie was never kept closer to business, his lieart reverted to the period as amongst the happiest of'' his life.'' Under this faitliful teacher, lie was initiated into the study of Arithmetick: and, though he met with the perplexities and difficulties which usually embarrass the Tyro, and which, in his case, seem to have been near producing aversion, he was encouraged by the affectionate assiduities of his preceptor to fresh determination an4 II courage, iiiilil hn had suiniountcd every ob- stacle. Few of my hearers need to be reminded, that here he had entered the vestibule of that sci- ence — the pure jSIathematics — which was the pas- sion of his maturer years ; and we cannot avoid being struck with the magnitude of the influence, which a faithful and diligent teacher exerts,ia the formation and direction of the intellectual charac- ter. The circumstance, however, which marks this period of his life with tlic most interest, is, that he began to turn his thougiits with great seri- ousness to the subject of Ilcligion. A narrow es- cape from drowning, whilst engaged at play on a Sunday, without Ids mother's knowledge, and contrary to every precept of his domestick educa- tion, made on his mind a deep impression after lie recovered from the physical effects of the acci- dent ; and the forbearance of his judicious mo- ther, in refraining from adding by reproaches to the remorse which his own ingenuous heart prompt- ed, made a lasting imjjression on his affections. — For her sake, as well as for his own, he set a stricter watch upon his future conduct; and from this period, we discover the first developments of those religious sensibilities, which, though some- times damped by the thoughtlessness of his early youth, were never afterwards wholly subdued, and finally took possession of and gave character to all the faculties and affections of his nature. — Some time after this event, the family removed to Princeton, the subject of our memoir being then eleven years of age. The fondness he had shewn for books, and the counsel of friends, here deter- mined Mrs. Caldwell to allow her son to enter upon the prosecution of a liberal course of educa- tion, notwithstanding the slenderness of her resour- ces, which alone induced any hesitation on the sub- ject. In those primitive days, the seat of Nassau Hall did not at all times, nor just at this time, af- ford that essential requisite for the young scholar, a, Latin Grammar; and we may well imagine that the disappointment and delay consequent on this circumstance, heightened the eagerness and stimu- lated the zeal of the youthful votary. At length a student from South-Carolma offered one that was nearly Avorn out, which, after some hesitation, w as accepted, and became the bond of a long and pe- culiar friendship. The Grammar was instantly and eagei'ly commenced, and as eagerly prosecuted till tinished. Corderius and other elementary Looks, Caesar and Virgil, the Greek Grammar and Testament, and some other books, followed in as quick succession, as intent application could com- pass them. The Grammar School at Princeton was, at that time, made an object of special regu- lation and personal attention by Dr. Witherspoon, the distinguished head of the College, and it pos- sessed singular advantages in comparison with otlier Academies. Of this, our young student was made sensible by the necessity of a change in con- sequence of the removal of his mother to Newark. Here his studies were continued under the direc- 1^ tionof Dr. McWiiouTEu,who^tlioiigIi uiidoubiedly ail able man, liad adopted the slight and superficial method of instruction, which has since unhappily succeeded in almost externiinatiiig tlic more ri- gid system introduced by Br. Witherspoox and other Scotch teachers. The acquisitions he had made at tlie Princeton School, indelibly impressed on his memory, placed him so far ahead of his Newark classmates, as to induce a relaxation of his exertions, and much valuable time seems, in conseciuence, to ha.ve been lost. Another Provi- dential escape from a violent and terrible death at this time, gave consistency and stability to those religious principles whicli were fast gathering around his heart, and manifesting themselves in the sobriety g,nd correctness of his deportment. — ■ Into the details of his religious experience, I do not purpose entering. An abler hand than mine has undertaken the pious task. To him I resign it, and pass on to other topics. In spite of the dis- couragements attending the commencement of his academical career at Newark, his fondness for learning and mental occupation was followed with the usual results. He soon learned to sup- ply the deficiences of his instriicter,and made once more a rapid progress in the acquisition of the languages. He never experienced any thing like reluctance or dissatisfaction in relinquishing amuse- ment for study; and,tliough full of the vivacity and ardour of youth, was always gratified when the hour for recitation arrived. These are his own II words, and he adds: V' though I have seen mucli of the indisposition of youth to prosecute knowl- edge, when it was put in their power, and they had nothing else to do, I liave never had such a comprehension of aversion from it, as their ex- perience would probably convey. '5 Again the studies of this ardent votary of learning were in- terrupted, by the removal of his mother to Eliza- bethtown; where all thought seems to have been relinquished, for a wliile, of advancing his educa- tion. This, doubtless, Avas the consequence of Mrs. Caldwell's narrowed pecuniary resources; as so intelligent a mother must have already dis- covered her son's aptness for learning, and, witli her principles, nothing but necessity would have hindered her from placing within his reach, those advantages which he so much coveted,and so well improved. When a year or two had passed in this man- ner, wholly wasted as to all important acquisition in knowledge or culture, Dr.WiTHERSPOON, who had known him — and must have known him favour- ably — at Princeton, passed througli Klizabethtown, and took occasion to mention to Mrs. Cald- well, the subject of continuing her son's edu- cation. He pressed her to do so, and proffered to aid in removing, what seems to have been the only impediment, the want of pecuniary means, by be- coming the young student's patron, and sustaining him through a collegiate course. AVe do not know whether in the result it was found necessary to is take advantage of the good Dot tor's kind and ClnJ^ - tian oflPer, but we are doubtless indebted, under God; to his intcrposition,tliat the further progress of young Caldwell in the prosecution of a liberal education, was not arrested at this stage. His mother, while^ at Elizabethtown, determined to place him in a Printing office to be brought up to that business; and the son was so much captiva- ted with the plan, and urged it with so much per- suasion, that it seems difficult to account for the failure of the project, ( since the Printer of the town had agreed to take him into his Office) except by referring it to Providential direction. He re- garded the occupation of Printing as connected with Literary pursuits, and as contrasted too, just at that time, with his existing state of perfect idle- ness which galled his active and vigorous mind ; and he indulged in visions of an enlarged and lib- eral prosecution of his profession. When all pre- liminaries had been adjusted, and no obstacle seem- ed to oppose the consummation of the plan, Mrs. Caldwell's feelings revolted from the project, though it had originated with herself; and,iu spite of her son's arguments and remonstrances and ex- planations of the comprehensive schemes he hoped to push to success, she could not be reconciled, and, the plan was relinc[uished. Some other occupation however, would doubtless have soon offered, and probably have diverted him forever from the fur- ther prosecution of that career of literary acquisi- tion which he had commenced so auspiciously. had not the offer of Dr. Witiierspoon already mentioned, providentially interposed, and given a decided direction to the tenor of his future life. He had just completed his fourteenth year, when, in the Spring of 1787, he went to Princeton, and after spending a few months in the Grammar School, entered the Freshman class of the Col- lege, in the Autumn of the same year. He refers, in after life, to the period immediately suhsequent to this, as being more productive of happiness than any other within his experience ; and we can well realize the rich enjoyment it afforded to a mind so anxiously intent upon learning, and so well fitted by previous culture for a full appreciation of its benefits. In the memoranda which relate to this portion of his life, he is careful to state,that he owes no part of the enjoyments of a College life to violations of the laws, or to a departure, in any respect, from the strictest rules of morality. His experience, (which we may presume was slender) of the effects arising from such violations, led him to pronounce them destructive alike of happiness and of character — to be avoided by the mere selfish seeker of present enjoyment, as well as by the conscientious moralist. '^ If there was any pleasure'' he says, " in the moments of clan- destine acts of mischief, it Avas so mixed in my bosom with the agitations of apprehended discove- ry and dread of the consequences, that I should be far from recommending it, on the score of en- joyment. In all such cases, and I thank God, 17 they were not numerous^ as soon as they were over, the gloomy cloud wli'ich they brought upon uiy feelings, and wliich they kept hovering around me for many days, was enough to decide most unequivocally, that much was to be set down on the page, not of profit, but of loss. The miseries more or less, which, in compliant:e with solicita- tion, I sometimes consented to inflict on myself, were only a portion of the consequent suffering. — They have never returned upon me, but with pain and mortification, their unfailiisg retribution when they have been resuscitated in my remembrance." Such testimony from one whose departures from College discipline, if we may form any opinion from his previous life, must have been of small moment, is calculated to sink deep into the minds i)f the young; and doubtless, for their sakes, lie recorded it. Under that impression, I have not hesitated to repeat it. here, as aiding in the fulfil- ment of his benevolent purpose. During the whole period of his College life, his habits were marked with diligence, punctuality, and the good will of his Teachers, with the habitual satisfaction which is the necessary consequence of them. His feel- ings towards tlic Faculty of the College, as indi- cated by his exterior deportment, were habitually respectful and ingenuous, and with his fellow stu- dents, he seems to Iiave been held in high estima- tion and regard. While residing at Princeton, he was, on two occasions, in immiueut hazard of death by drowning ; having in one case exposed him- 18 self to the danger, in attempting to save the life of a friend with whom he was bathing. Allusion is made to these and to other similar escapes, because they were regarded by himself as Providentially sent,to keep ever before him a sense of the uncer- tainty of human life, and to preserve alive in his licart that sensibility to llcligious obligation which so early distinguished his character. Tiie danger to which his Christian principles were exposed at this time, arose from the absorbing delight with Avhich he prosecuted his studies ; but his watch- fulness was nearly commensurate with the strength of his temptations ; and the startling Providences to which we have alluded, carried him through this ensnaring period of his life, if not without the oc- casional misgivings of his sensitive conscience, cer- tainly without any obvious departure from the Christian propriety, which had now distinguished him for several years. His intercourse witli all around him was characterized by manly and Chris- tian principles, and the delight which he took iu his studies,the pleasures of growing knowledge,and the gratification of success in his recitations and the public examinations, acted upon his ardent and vivacious temperament, so as to produce in his general deportment the outward indications of the highest degree of contentment and happiness. After a connexion of four years and a half uith the Institution at Princeton, Mil. Caldwell was graduated in the Autumn of 1791, being then iu the 19th year of his age. Among the exercises ap- 1*J pointed for his class at the Coiumcticemeut; tlie Salutatory Oration in Latin^ was assigned to iiim. The first moments of his discnthralment from the rules and responsibilities of a College life were, as perliaps is always the case, moments of rich en- joyment and gorgeous anticipation ; but the circum- stance of having no definite object before him to give direction to his movements^ and that he had to rely solely on his own energies for the means of sup- port^as well as for honorable distinction in the world, soon checked the excess of his delight and indu- ced a feeling approaching to despondency. Such a natural bond is there between true merit and mo- desty, that we see this vigorous and active mind, accustomed to success in all its previous pursuits and well stored with all the elements of future tri- umph in its collisions with the world, shrinking at the view of those prospects which his approach- ing manhood was opening to him, A year or two was lost in this state of indecision and timidity, aftcrv/ards deeply regretted, as a lost opportunity of adding to those stores of wisdom so highly prized, and, in a later day, so prolific of happiness to him- self and of usefulness to the v\^orld. After spend- ing some time in idleness or little better with his mother, to whose house he had returned, he grew weary of it, though still at a loss in what occupa- tion to engage. His mother having removed to Black River and settled or a farm which had be- longed to his grandfather, he found himself cutoff from society congenial to his cultivated tastes, and 30 being fitted for none of those Liborious employments ill which all aronnd liim were engaged^ lie felt as if he had become a burden to his friends. Under this state of feeling, he readily embraced a suggestion made to hiuij to take charge of the education of a few boys in tlie neighbourhood, Avho wanted in- struction in the languages. Though he regarded the employment as an humble business, he gladly undertook it as a refuge from the irksomeness of total inaction and the apprehension of uselessness, so oppressive to his sensitive mind. In the dis- charge of tlic duties of this obscure, but honorable occupation, he returned with renewed dellglit to liis communion with the Classick Authors, and as is ever the case with the true worshipper at their shrine, took unceasing satisfaction in unfolding their beauties to the expanding minds of his young pupils. He felt however that the sphere in which he moved was not commensurate with his powers, or with the expectations of his friends, and he did not lose sight of a more extended field of usefulness. At length, after some months devo- tion to the fulfilment of the duties of his humble employment at Black lliver, an intimation readied him that his services as an Assistant Teacher would be accepted at Elizabethtown. No hesitation was felt in accepting the invitation, and he entered im- mediately upon his new engagements. At Eliza- bethtown his studies were continued, and the op- portunities of a polished community and literary society were relished more exquisitely, after the tedious seclusion he liad suiTorcd. Tlie privileir^cs of living under a Ministry and in a congregation "where Religion was higlily estimated and its im- pressions deeply felt;, proved the means of turning his thoughts and affections witli more intensity on that subject; and the result was, that the question of aProfessioUj which had never yet been decided, terminated in a conclusion to commence a course of studies for the Sacred Ministry, "With much diffidence and apprehension, Mii. Caldwell en- tered on the prosecution of those subjects un- der the direction of the Hev. David Austin, the Pastor of the Presbyterian Congregation in the Town. He refers to the personal kindness and encouragement received from Mr. Austin, *^^with feelings of the deepest and most affectionate grati- tude.-' Some months after his commencing the study of Theology, it was proposed to him to undertake the instruction of an Academy at Springfield. He was inclined to close with the proposition, and was l)reparing to do so, when a letter reached him from Dr. Smith of Princeton, offering him the appoint- ment to a Tutorship in the College at that place. AYith the full approbation of the gentlemen at Springfield with whom he was in negotiation, though they regretted their own disappointment, he concluded to accept the invitation to Princeton, and accordingly entered upon the duties of his Tu- torship in April 1795, having then just comple- ted his 22d year. Upon removing to the College, he instantly began to feci the vast difference be- tween t!ic privileges of a Student in a place where science and literatnre were the professional occu- pation of all aronnd him, and those of one abroad in the world;, where the prosecntion of those objects was nnsupported by a commnnity of feelings and interests. We can well conceive;, how his active and enquiring mind luxuriated in the advantages which his situation now^ afforded. 13ent upon ac- quiring as great attainments as he could compass and qualifying himself liberally for his profession, he was happy in expatiating upon classick ground, and desired nothing beyond the privileges he en- joyed. His time was principally occupied in giv- ing critical perfection, as far as possible, to his knowledge of the Classical Authors, in which it was his business to give instruction. This was at once his duty and his delight ; but it is not to be supposed that he was unmindful, even at this early period, of other duties appertaining to the station he occupied. The part of a Tutor's of- fice, which consists in aiding the government of the College, was to him the occasion of much so- licitude and trial of feeling ; but with that consci- entious rectitude which marked his whole life, he did not shrink from what was right because it was painful. To us who have known him at a far later day, when authority sat upon his brow as on its native seat, it is difficult to conceive the reluctance and disgust which accompanied his first essays in this department of his office. His feel- 93 ings were delicate and sensitive, aiul received ma- ny an acute wound, while lie faithfully acted u[> to his sense of duty. Forbearance, cordial soli- citude for the real welfare of the young whose tuition was entrusted to him, and unremitting fi- delity to the obligations binding him to the In- stitution, distinguished him through the whole term of his service at Princeton, securing the ap- probation and esteem of all his associates, and fit- ting him for that more extended field of usefulness upon which he was soon about to enter. We have now arrived at the period when the inci- dents of Mr. Caldwell's life assume to us a mor6 interesting character, from the relation they have to ourselves. A very brief notice of the early cir- cumstances of the University of North Carolina^ may not be misplaced or deemed impertinent licrc, as Mr. Caldwell's connexion witli it began in its infancy. The act of Corporation was past in 1789; but little efficient aid was given by the Le- gislature of the State towards the accomplishment of the undertaking. Grants of escheated property and of certain monies due to the State, and subse- quently,of all confiscated property, were made; but of tliis latter source of revenue, the Trustees were soon afterwards divested, and the others were ne- ver very productive, except in Western Lands, the value of which remained for a long time little more than nominal, though at this day constituting a splendid endowment. Private munificence com- pensated the tardiness of the publick benefactions. S4 Gov. Benjamin Smith made a donation of 20,000 acres of land ; Major Cmx\.rles Girard hequeath- ed 13,000 acres, and numerous contributions in money were made tlirougliout tlie State, which en- abled the Trustees to commence the buildings ne- cessary for the accommodation of the students. — But all these resources together were not com- mensurate witli the magnitude of the enterprize; and the College struggled tlirough a very feeble in- fancy for several years, until a development of its resources and the zeal and energy of its friends, brought it to a condition of more maturity and sta- bility. The labours and constantly increasing reputation of Mr. Caldwell, were instrumental, in no small degree, in effecting this result ; and he was permitted to live to see our Institution rising from the humble condition of a mere Gram- mar School, progressively through all the succes- sive gradations of usefulness and respectability, to the high and honorable station which it now occu- pies among the Universities of the land. May I be pardoned for adverting here to one article in the Act of Incorporation, which seems to have been nugatory, from the limitation as to the time annex- ed to it, but the purpose of which might still be partly carried into effect in perfect consistency with its original design. It was enacted that six of the Halls, attached to the College precincts, should bear the names of the six individuals who, within four years, should be the largest contribu- ims to the funds of the institution. It is proba- 2S ble, that with the exception of Gov. Smith's, tliere were not within that period any benefactions of such an amount as to warrant the Trustees in giv- ing effect to this provisional act of gratitude; but the magnitude of one subsequent benefaction, at least, may Avell redeem it from the penalty annex- ed to its tardiness. Of the five buildings consti- tuting our present accommodations, the one in which we are assembled does honor to tlie name of one contributor, and an unfinished building, de- signed also for a Chapel, serves as a monument to tlie memory of another. The others are yet un- appropriated, and, as we shall presently see, we are indebted for the largest of them,to funds accu- mulated from individual donations by the active exertions and persevering industry of our late la- mented President. He has been our most munifi- cent benefactor, and to him should be awarded the liighest meed of honour. The business of Education in the University of North Carolina Avas commenced in the early part of the year 1795 ; Mr. Hinton James of Wil- mington, the first Student, having arrived here on the 12th day of February of that year. The first Instructer was the Rev. David Kerr, a Graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, assisted by Mr. Holmes, in the Preparatory Department. Very shortly afterwards, the Professorship of Mathe- maticks was filled by the appointment of Mr. Charles Harris, of Iredell County, and a Gra- duate of the College of New Jersey, It was not 4 so the intention of Mr. Hakris to eng^age permanent- ly in the business of Instruction, his views being directed to the Profession of the Law; and when he accepted tlie Professorship, it was with the un- derstanding that he was to relinquish it at tlie ex- piration of one year. Mr. Hakuis, while at Prince- ton, had formed an acquaintance with Mr; Cald- well, but their personal intercourse was so slight, that the latter scarcely remembered that he had ever seen him. His recommendation of Mr. CALDWELL,therefore, as his successor, is a proof of the high estimation in which the latter was held by all who had an opportunity of knowing him, and is a forcible illustration of the influence wliich undeviatiug rectitude and close attention to the du- ties of their station exercise over the future desti- nies of the young. To the penetration of Mr. Harris, and his agen- cy in filling the Professorship vacated by himself, with so competent a successor, the present and fu- ture generations of Nortli Carolinians will owe an eternal debt of gratitude. The letter to Mr. Caldwell, enquiring Avhether he would accept the Professorship of Mathematicks, reached him while engaged in the discharge of his Tutorship at Princeton, and employing such a portion of his time as could be spared from his more immediate business, in fitting himself for the Ministerial of- fice. The invitation, being unsolicited, was unex- pected, and found hiinwlioUy unprepared with an answer. The question was referred to his friends, wlio wvYC. supposed I)y him to be better judges than himself. They advised liim to accept the offer; and, as it was flattering to his own feelings, and presented a prospect of a respectable and perma- nent income, he yielded to their advice^^and accor- dingly signilicd to Mr. Harris his determination to accept the Professorship, if it should be offered liim by the Trustees of the College. The appoint- ment was made by an unanimous vote of the Board, and Mr. Caldwell, after being admitted to the Ministry in the Presbyterian Church, left Prince- ton in the beginning of September 1796, for his journey to tlie south. While passing through Phil- adelphia, he was invited to preach in the pulpit of J)r. AsHBEL GrREEN, and made so favorable an impression, that inducements were held out to him to remain in the City, Avith a view of taking charge of a Congregation there. By the advice of Df. Oreen, he at once rejected the proposal and pur- sued his way to North Carolina. At the time that Mr. Caldwell became connected with the Uni- versity, its pretensions were very luimble. h% consecpience of the slender patronage extended to it in its infancy, it was more than five years, as we liave seen, after the act of incorporation was passed, before the business of Instruction was com- menced. A single building of two stories, was the only edifice, and that was occupied in part by the Preparatory ^School. Two Instructors only were employed, and the sca.le of studies was exceeding- ly contracted when considered as the course pre- scribed by a University. Throughout the whole establishment, there was much to try the feelings and exercise the patience of those to wliom was entrusted the task of maintaining its discipline and communicating instruction. The population of the country was in general rude and uncultured, to a degree of which one, who has not marked the pro- gress of the change, will find it difficult to conceive. TJie young men,bringing to this place the sentiments and manners which they had received from the as- sociates of their earlier days,were but ill-prepared for that quiet devotion to the pursuits of litera- ture and science, without which, the apparatus of Professors and Libraries and other facilities for acquiring knowledge, can be of little avail. Among the early associates too of Mr. Caldwell, were some of loose principles and correspondiug habits, who threw additional obstacles in his way. For these reasons, the early part of his connexion with the University was to him a scene of severe suffer- ing and trial ; and he seems at first to have been ready to yield to the promptings of his natural in- clination,and to have retired from the turmoils and perplexities of his situation, to the less responsi- ble and arduous, though hiiuibler station he had left. A record is found on the Journal of the Board of Trustees at that period, of the resigna- tion of his appointment ; but he was induced to withdraw it immediately, and to continue at Iiis unpleasant, but honourable post. He tlien nerved himself with fresh resolution to encounter the dif- d0 ficulties wliich lay in liis patli, aiul, by the exer- cise of ail untiring devotion and unshaken fideli- ty, aided by a resolution and decision of charac- ter, which, though not wholly natural, could not be daunted, lie at length brought the unformed mass to a degree of order and respectability, which none can fully appreciate but the associates and successors to his labours. In the formation of his character as the presiding Officer of an Insti- tution in which were thus met the wildest elements of insubordination, we sec a striking illustration, of the effects of an unwavering determination to walk in whatever path duty may point out. To us, who have witnessed the exercise of this char- acter in its full vigour and efficiency, it is scarce- ly credible, how much it was a formation of the cir- cumstances of his situation, united to a conscien- tious resolution to make himself useful and hono- rable in the station he occupied. Yet we have the best reasons for knowing, that, in incipient manhood, he shrunk from every thing like stern- ness and the rigid enforcement of authority, and was much in the habit of looking to others to de- termine for him in difficult emergencies. His ca- reer at Princeton, it is true, had somewhat bro- ken in upon this gentleness of disposition; but the situation of a subordinate officer of a Ions es- tablished College, was Avidely different from that of the head of an Institution such as ours was in its infancy, and called for the exercise of very dif- ferent principles. After seeing and clearly esti- 30 mating what his new station demanded of him, he shook oif every opposing habit and feeling, and gave himself up with a noble resolution, to a faith- ful and diligent discharge of its duties. How well he has fulfilled this resolution, will be attested by many a grateful heart in this assembly, and many a sympathizing bosom throughont our State. During the first nine years of its existence, no one of the officers of the University was distin- guished by the title of President. In 1804, Mr. Caldwell, who had for some time been the pre- siding officer, and who at all times subsequent to liis introduction into the Faculty, had been its master spirit, was elected to the Presidency. He liad then been recently married to Miss Susan Motvany of whom he was deprived three years af- terwards by deatli, as well as of an infant daugh- ter, the only fruit of the marriage. He was again married in 1809, to Mvs. Hooper, who survives him. The limits prescribed me on this occasion, would not admit of any extended detail of the incidents of the period of Mr. Caldwell's life subsequent to his elevation to the Presidency, if indeed it were necessary; but they are best known from their re- sults, so lichly scattered over the whole face of ' our land, and so manifest in the circumstances in which our Institution now stands, as contrasted with its feebleness and immaturity when first con- fided to his fostering care. After the first few years of his Presidency, the reputation of the Uni- versity, continually advancing, attracted so many students, that the want of enlarged means of accom- modating them became very urgent; and the build- ing now known as the South buildingj much the most spacious of all we have, and containing the Library rooms and other Publick Halls, Avas com- menced and prosecutcd,for some time,with vigour. But the Legislature having witlidrawn the bounty it had before extended, and divested the Trustees of some of the sources of revenue originally assign- ed to the use of the University, left them under the necessity of suspending the prosecution of this work, and leaving it in a condition unfit for any useful application. Two years longer the incon- venience of narrow accommodations was submitted to ; but the still increasing number of students caused the want of the additional building to be- come more and more pressing. At lengtli Mr. Caldwell, whose interest in the Institution was never confined to the faithful discharge of the du- ties of his peculiar office, requested of the Trus- tees permission to make an appeal to the liberali- ty of the friends of education throughout the State. Nor did he appropriate to this business, any por- tion of his time required by his more immediate duties. During the six weeks vacation of the sum- mer of 1811, he visited such parts of the State as were within his reach, and having headed the sub- scription list with his own name and a liberal do- nation, he obtained the sum of 812,000. TJiis liberal contribution enabled the Trustees to push tlie work on to completion and thus to secure that >€» patronngCjV.iiic li in all likclihood.Avould have been soon witlulrawnj in consequence of actual want of room. This well timed relief gave a new impulse to the progress of tlie Institution in puhlick favour, until additional buildings were once more needed for the reception of students. But the resources of the Trustees had then become more ample, and more sufficient to provide all the required accom- modations. Having removed this impediment wliich so seriously threatened the prosperity, if not the very existence of the University, and having seen it guoAV up from the humble condition in which he found it to respectability and usefulness, Mr. Caldwell thought that,without hazarding the in- terests of the Institution, he might now yield to the inclination which had never left him, of devoting more time and attention to study than the duties of the Presidency allowed him, and accordingly, in 1812 lie resigned his situation, and returned to the Mathematical Chair. Apart, however, from the preference which he felt and thus indulged, of de- voting himself to the task of instruction rather than of direction and discipline, he was contemplating the execution of a Literary labour in which he took much interest, and which remains as a monument of his skill in adapting the details of an abstruse science to the comprehension of the young. I al- lude to his work on Geometry, which, though not published for some years afterwards, engaged much of his attention and time during the interval which elapsed between his retirement from the Presiden- cy and his reluctant resumption of it in 1817. The subject is one which, in the ablest hands, does not at the present day admit of much that is strict- ly original. The most skilful mathematician who underlcakes a work of this kind, must content him- self with moulding into new forms the materials handed down to him by writers of other times, and with iutroduciiig occasionally a demonstration that is new, more lucid, or more direct and brief. The object proposed by Mr. Caldwell in this publi- cation, was to produce a system less extended and tedious than that of Euclid^ but comprising all the capital propositions of that Geometer, and retain- ing,throughout his strict and rigid methods of de- monstration — an object which he will be allowed by all competent judges to have well and liappily accomplished. Upon his resignation of the Pre- sidency, Dr. Robert Chapman was selected by the Trustees as his successor. After holding the office for five years, Dr. Chapman retired in 1817, and Dr. Caldwell was induced to resume the si- tuation, which he continued to hold during the re- mainder of his life, thongh not without making ef- forts to resign it. The distinguished success which attended his labours did not fail to attract attention from abroad, as it excited the admiration and gratitude of the friends of the University at home. In 1816, the Trustees of the College of New Jersey, his alma mater, conferred on him, by an unanimous vote, the degree of Doctor of Divinity. And subsequently inducements were held 5 out to him by at least two respectable Colleges to change his situation ; but he clung to our College ■\vitli a paternal devotion, commensurate with the obligations it owed him; and, with a determination which appears to liave been formed very soon after his first connexion with it, he resisted every attempt to draw liim to a more lucrative appointment. After his re-appointment to the Presidency, he pursued the even tenor of his way, dispensing in- tellectual and moral good tlirough all our borders. One event, with its auspicious consequences, will detain us a few moments, before we come reluc- tantly to til at solemn period, when the shadows of the grave began to gather over liis bright and be- iiificent career. The Trustees having determined to add to the facilities for improvement already en- joyed by the students of the University, a Philo- sophical apparatus and additional volumes for the Library, Dr. Caldwell, entrusting the tem- porary supervision of the College to the Senior Professor who deservedly possessed his and the publick's entire confidence, visited Europe, in or- der to direct in person the construction of the ap- paratus, and the selection of the books. He sail- ed from this country in the Month of April 1824, and landing at Liverpool, proceeded immediately to London to accomplish the object of his voyage. After having put the business in a train that pro- mised to lead to its speedy completion, he passed over into France ; and traversing that country, by the route of Paris and Lyons, after visiting the 35 LoA\ ci- Alps, passed llirougli the Western part of Switzerland into Germany, and proceeded down the lihine as far as Frankfort, wiience he return- ed to London. Subsequently, he visited Scotland; and at length returned t.o tiiis country, after an ab- sence of ten montlis. The fidelity and skill with which he discharged the trust confided to liini by tlie Trustees, are abundantly attested by the ex- cellence of the apparatus winch now occupies our Lecture rooms, and by the value of the addition made to our liibrary. But far tlie most interest- ing result of liis visit to Europe, was the strong feeling excited in iiis mind on tiie subject of Inter- nal Improvement — a subject, which perhaps en- grossed more of his thoughts during some of the last years of his life, than any thing else connect- ed with this world. The sound practical views which he entertained on the introduction of this system into our own State, and which arc ably and clearly set forth in the numbers of Carlton^ have commanded the admiration of every enlight- ened citizen ; and the zeal with which he advo- cated it on every suitable occcasion, and long after disease had impaired the enej'gies of his body, must secure him the lasting gratitude of every true friend of his country. It is well known, that the magnificent project of a Kail-road to reach from Beaufort to the mountains, originated with him, and was advocated with such ability as to have rendered it a favorite measure of State policy with some of the most enlightened and devoted patriots of our land. S6 The first access of the disease by which J)r. Caldwell's life was finally brought to a close^ occurred in 1828 or '29; after which period, as he states in a note made in 1831, he was never in the enjoyment of good health. Nearly the whole of the six or seven years wliich elapsed before the termination of his sufferings, was a period of un- remitted uneasiness ; durir.g a considerable part of it, his bodily sufferings were severe, and often, he "was the victim of excrutiatingpain. He seldom spoke on the subject even to his most intimate friends; and having a singular power of subduing and controlling his emotions, he would of(en wear upon his countenance a calmness and serenity, that indicated to a stranger, an enjoyment of the blessings of existence; wlien, to those better ac- quainted with him, it would be revealed by some involuntary movement,that this appearance of ease and comfort, was not maintained witliout a power- ful struggle. But the triumph which disease was thus achieving over the body, did not, till the very last hours of his existence, extend to the fa^culties of his mind, or impair, in the slightest degree, the devotedness of the interest with which he cherish- ed the Institution, that for so many years had been the object of his fostering care. It is true, that within the last two years of his life, when acute and unceasing suffering disabled him from taking his wonted share in the business of instruction, he proffered to the Trustees the resignation of his of- fice of President; but it was under an apprehension 37 that lie was becoming an i-icuuibrance io the Col- lege, and would not be able to make a full return of service for the salary attached to his station. That honourable body, with a liberality and feel- ing of gratitude worthy of them and of him, resist- ed the attempt made by him to surrender tiie trust he had received from tlieir predecessors. But to re- lieve him from the task of instruction, and to secure to him the leisure and tranquility wliich his n?-?, and infirmities demanded, tliey established an Ad- junct Professorship, to prc.vitlefor hi3 entire wiili- drav. al from the labours of his station. The indi- vidual selected by Dr. Caldwell himself to fill this Professorship, however unfitted in other re>5- pects he may have been, brouglit to the filial task, a heart full of veneration and love, and a resolu- tion to fulfil to the nttermost the pious purpose of the Trustees. But thougli provision was tlius made, by the character of the Professorship and the disposition of its incumbent, for the entire re- lease of Dr. Caldwell from the business of in- struction, he could not be induced to avail himself of the indulgence to the extent proposed, but re- solutely persevered, till witliin three days of his death,iu xierforming as much labour as his fast de- clining strength was equal to. One half of the ordinary duties of his Professorship he reserved to himself, and manifested a settled purpose to abide by this arrangement, by assigning to his adjunct, in addition to the other half,a portion of the gener- al business of the College. Though Iiis frame was f>J racked with unremitting pain^ and worn and wast- ed by sleepless and tortured nights, yet on no oc- casioU; except during an attendance on the Pres- bytery to which he belonged, and a visit to Phila- delphia in a fruitless effort to find relief from his increasing sufferings—on no other occasion, did he devolve these reserved duties on his associate, though often and earnestly intreated to do so. '' Sepulcliri immemor, stridt doinoa.^^ On tlic Saturday previous to his death, he retired from the lecture room to his bed, from which he never rose again, but under the impulse of his mortal agonies. The religious character of Dr. Caldwell was not the formation of a day, nor the hasty and im- perfect work of a dying bed. His trust w^as an- cliored on the rock of ages, and he was therefore well furnished for the terrible conflict that await- ed him. We have seen that lie had made lleli- gion the guide of his youth ; it beautified and sanc- tified the labours of liis well spent life ; nor did it fail him in the trying hour,which an all-wise but inscrutable providence permitted to be to him pe- culiarly dark and fearful. The rich consolations of his faith became brighter and stronger, amidst the wreck of the decaying tabernacle of flesh; and, if the dying testimony of a pure and humble spirit may be received, death had for him no sting — the grave achieved no triumph. In any frequent and detailed account of his religious feelings, he was not inclined to indulge— the spirit that walks most 3d closely with its God, needs not the sustaining influ- ence of such excitements — yelafew weeks previous to his death. afriend from a distant part of the State calling to see liim, made Inquiries as to the state of his mind^aud had the privilege of hearing from him the calm assurance of Iiis perfect resignation and submission to the w ill of God. His hope of a hap- py immortality beyond tlie grave, was such as be- longs only to the Christian, and by him was mod- estly and humbly but confidently entertained. It was to him a principle of strength that sustained liim amidst tlic conflicts of the dark valley, and to iis,Avho witnessed the agonies of his parting hour, a bright radiance illuming the gloom which mem- ory throws around the trying scene. On the even- ing of the 24th of January, his terrible disease made its last ferocious assault, with such violence, that he knew that bis hour of release was at hand. He gratefully hailed the anxiously expected pe- riod, and his house having long since been set in order, he withdrew his thouglits from eartlily ob- jects, and calmly looked upon that futurity to whose verge he was come. By the exercise of prayer and other acts of the holy religion which he pro- fessed, he strengthened him for the last conflict, and spoke words of consolation and hope, to his sorrowing friends. But death was yet to be in- dulged with a brief triumph, and for three days his sufferings w^ere protracted with such intensity, that his vigorous and well balanced mind sank be- neath the contest. We willingly drop the veil 40 over the bitter recollections of that hour, and take refuge in those high and holy hopes, which were the last objects of his fading consciousness, and ^vhich had lent to the long twilight of his mortal career, some of the light of tliat heaven to which they had directed his longing gaze. To no one liere, need I tell of the universal and heartfelt sor- row, with which the intelligence of Br. Caldwell's deathvras received tlsroiighout our State, multitudes there were, who felt that they had been deprived cf a personal benefactor — of one, Avhose kindness and the value of whose services to them, are more and more valued, as increasing experience points out the worth of those labours which the young can never fully appreciate. The Trustees of theUniver- sity,more than one half of v/hom had been students of the Institution while under his charge,becamethe organs of the public sentiment, in the expression of the general grief, and, it is in obedience to their commands, that 1 stand here before you this day. Some of them, with alumni and others from abroad, mingled in the train of tlie bereaved oflBcers and members of the college, in committing to the dust all that remained to us of our departed Father. — All that remained, did I say ? I look around me, and stand rebuked for the desponding murmur. The labours of a useful life, to use the thought of an old stoick, are like things consecrated to God, over which mortality has no power. ^^ II^c est pars iemporis nostri, sacra ac dedicata ; quam non inopa^ non mcUis, non morhorum incursus 41 cxagitat.-' The pure and patient spirit iias va- cape 1 its narrow and tempest-stricken prison iiouse, tlie wasted form is resting from its sore conflict, in (lie blessed liope of a joyful resurrection, but those consecrated acts of Jiis useful life remain with us, to spread their beneficent influence through suc- cessive generations. It is a trite remark to speak of the ever renewed effects ofsuch an influence; but calm observation and reflection abundantly sanc- tion the warm effusions of our grateful admiration. The benefits received from a faithful instructer and guide of our you f Is, are not only transmitted to our children, but through our vvliole lives exert a diffusive influence throughout the sphere in which we move. We may say, therefore, without the fear of contradiction, that the whole present gene- ration of the citizens of North-Carolina owe to the memory of Dr. Caldwell, gratitude as well as admiration; and that we are indebted to his agency, directly or indirectly, more than to any other indi- vidual, for the very remarkable change that has ta- ken place in tlie moral and intellectual character of our State within the last forty years. I speak not only of the fruits of liis labours, as a faithful instructer and ripe scholar, though it Avere not an easy task to estimate their extent ; — I claim not for his tomb, only the sphere and the cylinder which decoratetl that ofJirchimedesi — I speak of the whole moral influence of his life and labours — as a christian minister, an enlightened and active pa- triot — as one who conscienciously fulfilled all the 6 49 duties binding liim as a man and a Cliiistian;^ — I claim to write upon his tomb the proud but safe defiance — "UJi lapsus?- ■ The relation in which our deceased friend stood towards a great part of my audience, as well as that which the speaker occupies, will justify me in inviting the attention of my younger hearers to a brief consideration of the principles of that moral strengtli, which Dr. Caldv/ell exerted with such salutary power on all who came within his influence, and in endea- vouring to draw from thence some lesson of wis- dom or motive to exertion. In allusion to the lit" tie knowledge whicli we possess of the early stu- dies of the illustrious Newton, i^o?i;fe)7eZ/e applied to him the idea of the Ancients respecting tlie un- known source of the river Nile — ^' No one has ever looked upon the Nile in its feebleness and in- fancy." But we, my young friends, have kcre been more favored. That magnificent stream which has fertilized and blessed our borders for so many years, we have just been tracing up to its young- est and freshest fountains, and it is permitted us to draw from thence, new draughts of instruction and delight. As in his maturer years, your de- parted friend was your guide and governor, let him, in his youth, be your example. Learn that it was in his early life,that his character,in its great outlines, was irrevocably fixed; that the honest, candid, generous and open-hearted boy ^^ fore- showed the man" who brought to the engagements and occupations of after life, the same ennobling 43 principles. His example confirms, what the ex- ample of thousands who went]>efore him lias taught you, that it is not by sudden and solitary acts of volition that men prepare themselves to become conspicuous, in either good or evil; but by a dis- cipline conimeiicing in childhood, and continuing tlirough youth far into maturer life. If it may be permitted me to look into the elements of that mighty intellect which has been prolific of such momentous results—into tlie ^'altse penetralia men^ iis^' before which we have long bowed with such reverence and admiration — I would say, that Dr. Caldwell was not indebted in any extraordinary degree, to the bounty of Nature, for the extent and perfection of his large mental acquirements. To pa- tient and persevering industry his youth was indebt- ed for that wide and solid foundation, on which the patient and persevering industry of manhood rear- ed so noble a superstructure. But that which I have ever esteemed the great primary element of his in- tellectual excellence, and which I am desirous of indicating to you, the more particularly as it seems to be a quality but little esteemed in these days of hurried and superficial learning, was the perfect accuracy which he gave to his every mental acqui- sition. However slow, a strict regard to this fun- damental quality might make his progress appear, it was never sacrificed to the whispers of indolence, nor to the murmurs of impatience. Whatever pro- gress was made, though it were slow and painful at first, the ground was thoroughly conquered,and 41 every outpost full}' occupied ; nothing was leftuii- iinished to annoy him by the necessity of constant retrospection, nor to impede his onward march by a sense of insecurity and doubt. Nor is the even- tual flight of a mind, thus solicitous about the ac- curacy and perfection of its first movements, less rapid or less elevated than the towering, but une- qual essays of what is sometimes called genius. — The latter may at times soar to the highest heavens; but it has often to stoop to earth to repair the de- ficiencies of its early preparation ; while the for- mer, having once surmounted the difficulties and dull delays of its lower flight, thenceforward moves in a purer sky — Heaven's sunsliine on its joyful way, And freedom on its wings. Learn then, my young friends, this lesson from the bright example that is left you — -take it as a rich legacy of a dead father, so that the precepts of wisdom which you have so often heard from his living lips, may be perpetuated now that those lips are closed forever. Whatever you attempt, learn accurately and thoroughly. Accjuire the habit of giving perfection to every thing, however humble, tiiat you undertake, and it will furnish you with tluB weapons best fitted to secure you an honourable triumph, in the arduous confliclb that await you in the world. Nor, while thus presenting his intel- lectual character to your imitation, Avould I have yon lose sight of the great moving principle of iiis moral character. In one word, the JReligiou of 45 Jesus Clirist gave tliiectioti and officiLMicj to all liis varied Avorks. To its claims he sacrificed every conflicting passion and propensity of early youth, and it became the easy habit of iiis manhood and old age. Its legitimate fruit, " The !ove "Ofiuiman race, the large ambitious wish "To make them bli?st," was the rule of his life in all his intercourse with the world ; and an unfaltering trust in the promi- ses of his Saviour, was his stay and consolation through his arduous pilgrimage, and enabled him, at the last,to give up his body with uncomplaining patience to the bitterest pangs of mortality, and his undying spirit, with confidence and joy, to its Maker and Kedeemer. It has been supposed by some, that the dignity of manner, sometimes approaching to sternness, which characterized Dr.CALDWELL's intercourse with the students of the University was the result of a corres- ponding sternness of temper. This injurious thought might be easily repelled by the testimony of those who were admitted to the high privilege of social companionship with him, and who could bear wit- ness to the kind and courteous, though still digni- fied demeanor, which marked all his intercourse with them. Circumstances easily understood, im- parted to his manner, when brought into contact with those under his charge, a certain degree of reserve; which, however, was greatly misunder- stood, if regarded as indicating a want of sympathy 46 with their youthful feeUngs,or a wish to repel them from communion with him. The brief glance w hich we have taken at the early condition of our Col- lege, and its tempestuous elements, which then needed a master-spirit to subdue and control them, reveals to us the necessity there was for tliat au- thoritative dignity and decision of character, which, after that period, so eminently distinguished Dr. Caldwell. In obedience to the law which was the rule of his life — the fitting himself to fulfil in the best possible manner the duties of the sta- tion in which Providence had placed him — ^lie moulded his temper and deportment to the de- mands of his peculiar situation ; and, if in more quiet times he did not entirely recede from the manner which circumstances had forced upon him, something must be forgiven to the inflexibility of habits acquired upon principle, and continued from necessity througli many successive years. — But who are they who bring this charge of stern- ness against his memory? Those who judge has- tily and superficially, not those who have had the best opportunities of knowing him. They who have been brought into the closest contact with him, will tell you, that, though hardened vice w^as ever frowned upon with severity, yet, when ingenuous and honorable contrition was excited, his brow was the first to relax, and his tongue the first to drop the balm of kindness and encouragement. They will bear the grateful testimony, that his "Authority in sliow, <' When most severe, and mustering all its force. '* Was but the graver countenance of love, " Whose favour, like the clouds of Spring, mia,ht lower *' And utter now and then an awful voice <' But had a blessing in its daikest frown." Iq his general iutercoiise, Dr. Caldwell was accessible and courteous, and though in his usual habits much devoted to study, he relished in a ve- ry high degree the pleasures of intellectual society. In the various domestick relations of life, he ex- hibited thekindest and gentlest traits of character; and, with a heart and hand open as the day to melting charity, he was the beloved benefactor of the whole circle in which he moved. I have thus, in obedience to commands which I might not disregard, endeavoured to trace.tliough with a feeble hand, the incidents of a life so dear to us all, and to unfold some of the traits of that character which has been so long our pride and admiration. I have departed, though not unde- signedly, from the usual tenor of such Addresses, by dwelling chiefly on passages best calculated for examples to the young, and on intellectual and mO' ral traits most suited for lessons of instruction and encouragement to the more youthful part of my hearers. I trust that for this, no apology is ne- cessary. If, on the tomb of the Scythian Prince, who, when living, took delight in the abasement of all around him, it was thought a meet sacrifice to immolate his courtiers and flatterers — if the fu- neral pile of the more polished, but blood-thirsty lloman, was stained by the blood of gladiators and captives — and, if the image of a Lion w as engra- 4S veil on the tomb of the devoted Thebaii wlio per- ished for his country ; tlien is it a becoming sacri- fice to tlie spirit of the great and good man whom we have lost^ to endeavour to light up a spark of vir- tuous resolution in the bosoms of those who were^, but so lately, the objects of his crre and love. If that beatified spirit is permitted to mingle with us, his sorrowing friends and children, this day — to revisit this, the scene of his affectionate cares, his oft-recurring anxieties — to look, with such so- licitude as the blessed may feel, into the hearts of us all-think you, it will value any tribute, like the earnest determination of a virtuous heart, to walk after the bright example he has set before us ? As for me, I know that ia endeavouring to excite you to this noble resolution, my feeble effort will be acknowledged by that blessed spirit, as the fittest offering of filial love ; and, if my labour be not wholly fruitless, our communion of this hour will not be forgotten,'"'\Vfreri'oz^r bodies, like his, are slumberins; in thd ihacei^ious dust.