though the importance of man's religious duties was acknowledged in a report of the Rector and Board of Visitors, written by Mr. Jefferson, and although the invitation was given by the Board to the various religious denominations in the state, to establish schools of theology on the grounds of the University, yet because, in the anxiety to shut out the control of any particular sect, no provision was made for religious instruction by the University itself, very many believed that it was designed altogether to exclude religious influence from the institution. A plan, however, was adopted early in the history of the University, whereby the services of religion are regularly performed in a chapel furnished by the Board of Visitors, yet without invading the principle of religious equality. By this plan it was provided that a Chaplain should be appointed by the Faculty every year, from the prevailing religious denominations of the state, taken in rotation, Subsequently the appointment was made for two years. The salary of the Chaplain is provided by the voluntary contributions of the professors, students, and other residents. He holds divine service twice every Sabbath, and daily morning prayers in the chapel. These services all the students are invited to attend; but they are not compelled to be present. As many as attend deport themselves with invariable order and reverence. Besides these services, the students have their own public prayer-meeting, and a society for missionary inquiry, and conduct the Sunday school connected with the chapel, and others in the neighborhood. Nowhere, it is said, is more respect paid to the solemn services of the Christian religion, and in no community is more effectually extinguished the spirit of sectarian Ligotry.

5. A fifth peculiarity relates to the discipline. Only one point can be noticed, namely the permitting of students to answer or not, as they may choose, in their own case; the not compelling them to testify against themselves or against each other; and, generally, the assuming that they are incapable of falsehood, and treating them accordingly. The result is, that, as a rule, hardly admitting an exception, no student can venture to speak falsely. He may decline to answer, when charged with an offence against the laws, although he very rarely does; but if he answer, the public sentiment, if not his own sense of moral obligation, will oblige him to speak truly.

For carrying into execution the plan of a University which he had projected, Mr. Jefferson considered it wisest to rely upon men as little as possible wedded to the prevalent system, and not likely to be cramped by its routine. A reform in regard to the extent as well as the mode of instruction, could be had only by seeking men of marked ability in their several departments, and who had either enjoyed the advantages of the foreign universities of most repute, or won distinction by their talent and attainments. To this view was owing the selection from abroad of a majority of the original corps of professors. This policy, naturally enough, excited some prejudice; and although justified by the necessities of the case, as far at least as a reform in the course of instruction was concerned, was attended by its

own difficulties touching the important point of discipline. It was not intended to be continued beyond the present exigency, and has not, in fact, been followed in the subsequent appointments to chairs in the University, although it is admitted to be consistent with the interests of the institution to employ the best talents and attainments, wherever found conjoined with the other necessary qualifications. Of the eight original professors, five were from abroad, one from New York, and two from Virginia. Of the present fifteen professors and other instructors, ten are Virginians and alumni of the University of Virginia, and only two from abroad.

The first professor of the school of Ancient Languages was Mr. George Long, of England, a Master of Arts and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. A man of marked ability and attainments, thoroughly trained in the system of his college, having a mind far more than most men's scrupulously demanding accuracy in the results of inquiry, and scouting mere pretension, he aimed and was fitted to introduce something better than what then passed current as classical learning. Although he had as yet little knowledge of comparative philology, and could hardly be said to bave cultivated the science of language with the enlarged spirit of philosophy which pervades his writings; his uncompromising exactness, and his masterly knowledge of his subject, inspired his pupils with the highest conceptions of a true scholarship. After three years' service he resigned, in order to accept the professorship of Greek in the London University. His contributions to philology, Roman law, criticism, biography, &c., have been large and valuable, and have obtained for him a place among the most eminent scholars of his country.

He was succeeded by the present incumbent of the chair, Gessner Harrison, M.D., one of his pupils, who has published an "Exposition of some of the Laws of the Latin Language.”

The first professor of the School of Modern Languages was George Blaettermann, LL.D., a German, at the time of his appointment residing in London, and who came recommended for his extensive knowledge of modern languages, and for his ability. He occupied the chair until 1840, and gave proof of extensive acquirements, and of a mind of uncommon natural vigor and penetration. In connexion more especially with the lessons on German and Anglo-Saxon, he gave to his students much that was interesting and valuable in comparative philology also, a subject in which he found peculiar pleasure. His successors have been Charles Kraitsir, M.D., who has published some curious and learned works on philology, and M. Schele de Vere, LL.D., the author of a work on Comparative Philology, and of a Spanish Grammar and Exercises.

The first professor of Mathematics was Mr. Thomas Hewett Key, of England, a Master of Arts of Trinity College, Cambridge. Besides his ability as a mathematician, he had the advantage of good classical and general attainments, and by his earnest manner, his clearness of illustration, and his rare power of anticipating and removing the learner's difficulties, succeeded to a remarkable degree in gaining the attention and exciting the interest of his hearers. He resigned at

buting to the periodicals of the day, as he has done since his retirement, important articles on questions of political economy, etc. To moral philosophy and the other subjects originally assigned to the chair, he caused rhetoric, belles-lettres, and political economy to be added, and gave them their proper value in the course of study in the school. Bringing to the discharge of his duties a mind remarkable for clearness and accuracy, great industry and thoroughness of research, and an extensive knowledge of men, and of books in almost every department of learning, he allowed no topic to pass under review without investing it with the interest of original and searching investigation. Hence his pupils derived not only profit directly from his instructions, but an impulse in the direction of self-culture of the utmost value.

He was succeeded, upon his resignation in 1845, after a service of twenty years, by the present incumbent, the Rev. William H. McGuffey, D.D., LL.D., a native of Pennsylvania, but for many years a popular professor in different colleges of Ohio.

The first professor of Law, that entered upon the duties of the chair, was John Tayloe Lomax, Esq., of Virginia, who, after some five years, resigned the chair to accept the office of judge of the Circuit Court of Virginia. He is the author of works of much labor and value, entitled a Di"gest of the Law of Real Property and the Law of Executors and Administrators,

He was succeeded by John A. G. Davis, Esq., of Virginia, who met an untimely end by the hands of a murderer, in the person of a student, in the year 1840. He was the author of a work on the criminal law, and was distinguished alike by his legal attainments and ability as a lecturer and by his virtues as a man.

The chair of Law was next filled by Judge Henry St. George Tucker of Virginia, who had long occupied with distinguished ability the place of president of the Court of Appeals of the state, and was as remarkable for the elegant graces of his well stored mind as for his learning and acumen in his peculiar province of the law, and for the polish and charm of his life and manners. was the author of two volumes of Commentar.es on Blackstone, etc.

He

The present incumbents of the two chairs of Law, into which the original school has been divided, are John B. Minor, LL.D., and J. P. Holcombe, Esq., both of Virginia, and both alumni of the university. The latter is the author of a work on Equity.

TRINITY COLLEGE.

THE charter of Washington (now Trinity) College, in Connecticut, was obtained in 1823. It was given at the request of members of the Protestant Episcopal Church. At several intervals in the earlier history of the state, application had been made to the Legislature for a charter without success. It was requisite that thirty thousand dollars should be subscribed as an endowment. Fifty thousand were readily obtained, "by offering to the larger towns the privilege of fair and laudable competition for its location, when Hartford, never wanting in public spirit and generous outlays,

gained the victory over her sister cities." The college buildings were commenced at Hartford in June, 1824, and recitations were held in the antumn of the same year. The first president of the institution was the Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Connecticut, Dr. Thomas C. Brownell, who held the station for seven years, till 1831. On his retirement he was succeeded by the Rev. Dr. N. S. Wheaton, who presided over its fortunes for five years, till 1837. The Hobart Professorship of Belles-Lettres and Oratory was endowed at this time in the sum of twenty thousand dollars, subscribed by members of the Episcopal Church in New York. In 1835 more than one hundred thousand dollars had been raised for this institution, ninety thousand of which had been given by individuals. The state made a grant of eleven thousand dollars. The next incumbent of the presidency was the Rev. Dr. Silas Totten (now professor of William and Mary), who at the time of his choice was professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in the college. His administration lasted twelve years, during which the endowment of the Seabury Professorship of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy was completed and Brownell Hall erected. In 1845 the title of the college was changed, by an act of the legislature, to Trinity College. In this period statutes were enacted by the trustees, modelled after a feature in the English universities, "coinmitting the superintendence of the course of study and discipline to a Board of Fellows, and empowering specified members of the Senatus Academicus, as the House of Convocation, to assemble under their own rules, and to consult and advise for the interests and benefit of the college."* The object of this general external organization was to secure the co-operation and counsel of the alumni of the institution, all of whom are members of the House of Convocation, which includes the president, fellows, and professors. The Board of Fellows is composed of leading men in the church specially interested in the welfare of the college. They are the official examiners, report on degrees, and propose amendments of the statutes to the trustees. There are also a chancellor and visiter, who superintend the religious interests: an office which has been thus far filled by the bishop of

the diocese.

Dr. Totten, on his retirement, was succeeded in 1849 by the Rev. John Williams, a descendant of the family which gave the Rev. Elisha Williams as a president to Yale. Two years after Dr. Williams was elected assistant bishop of the diocese of Connecticut.

In 1854 the Rev. Dr. Daniel Rogers Goodwin, formerly professor of modern languages at Bowdoin, succeeded to the presidency.

Many eminent men have been connected with the institution as professors and lecturers. The Rev. Dr. S. F. Jarvis held a professorship of Oriental Literature; Horatio Potter, now bishop of the diocese of New York, of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy-a professorship held also by Mr. Charles Davies, author of the extensive series of mathematical text-books generally in use throughout the country. The Rev. Dr. Thomas W. Coit, the learned author of Puritanisın, or a

Beardsley's Historical Address, p. 17.

Churchman's Defence against its Aspersions by an Appeal to its Own History, has been professor of Ecclesiastical History; and the Hon. W. W. Ellsworth, professor of Law.*

THE UNIVERSITY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.

THIS institution, owes its origin to the exertions of a few gentlemen of the city of New York, among who were the Rev. J. M. Mathews, afterwards Chancellor of the University, and the Rev. Jonathan M. Wainwright, of whom we have already spoken. A pamphlet was prepared after several conversational discussions of the plan, which was printed with the title, "Considerations upon the Expediency and the Means of Establishing a University in the City of New York." This was read at a meeting of the friends of education, held on the sixth of January, 1830, in the building since known as the New City Hall, and adopted as an expression of the views of the assembly. A charter of incorporation was obtained in 1831, by which the government of the University was confided to a Council of thirty-two members, chosen by the stockholders of the institution, with the addition of the Mayor and four members of the Common Council of the city. The University commenced its instructions in October, 1832, with seven professors and fortytwo students, in rooms hired for the purpose in Clinton Hall. The first class, consisting of three students, was graduated in 1833, and the first public commencement held in 1834 in the Middle Dutch Church in Nassau street.

Steps were immediately taken for the erection of a suitable edifice, and the edifice was commenced in July, 1833, and so far completed as to be occnpied in 1836. It was formally dedicated "to the purposes of Science, Literature, and Reli

The University of the City of New York.

gion," on the twentieth of May, 1837. The building occupies the front of an entire block of ground, facing the Washington Parade Ground, and was the first introduction, on any considera

We are indebted for the materials of this notice of Trinity College to the excellent Historical Address pronounced before the House of Convocation of Trinity College, in Christ Church, Hartford, in 1851, by the Rev. E. E. Beardsley, rector of St. Thomas's Church. New Haven, and from time to time in the Churchman's Almanac.

ble scale, of the English collegiate style of architecture. It contains, in addition to a large and elaborately decorated chapel, and spacious lecture halls, a number of apartments not at present required for the purposes of education, a portion of which are now occupied by the valuable library of the New York Historical Society and the American Geographical Society. The erection of this building, and the period of commercial depression which followed its commencement, weighed heavily on the fortunes of the young institution. By the devotion of its professors, however, who continued to occupy their respective chairs at reduced salaries, its instructions have been steadily maintained. Various appeals to the public for pecuniary aid have been liberally responded to, and by a vigorous effort on the part of the present Chancellor, the Rev. Isaac Ferris, the long pressing incubus of debt has been entirely removed.

The foundations of the institution were laid on a broad and liberal basis, contemplating instruction in every department of learning, with the exception of a school of theology, this omission being made to avoid any charge of sectarianism. A large number of professors were appointed, among whom the institution has the honor of numbering S. F. B. Morse, whose early experiments in the departments of science which have since given him a fame as enduring and extended as the elements he has subjected to the service of his fellow men, were made during his connexion with the University. The course of instruction has, however, thus far, with the exception of a Medical School, been confined to the usual undergraduate collegiate course.

He

The first Chancellor of the University was the REV. JAMES M. MATHEWS, D.D., who, for many years preceding his appointment, had occupied a prominent position among the clergy of the Dutch Reformed Church in the city of New York. He rendered good service to the institution by his unwearying labors in the presentation of its claims to public attention, and bore his full share of the difficulties attending its early years. was succeeded by the Hon. THEODORE FRELINGHUYSEN, now president of Rutgers College, in which counerion he has already been spoken of in these pages. After his removal from the University to Rutgers in 1850, the office he had filled remained vacant until 1853, when the present efficient and respected incumbent, the REV. ISAAC FERRIS, a clergyman of the Dutch Reformed Church, and at the head of the Rutgers Female Institute, was appointed.

In the list of the first professors we meet the names of the Rev. Charles P. McIlvaine, at present Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Ohio, Henry Vethake, and the Rev. Henry P. Tappan, both of whom are now at the head of important seats of learning, and the Rev. George Bush, all of whom have received notices at an earlier period of our work. With these were associated for a short time, the distinguished mathematician, David B. Douglas, LL.D., and Dr. John Torrey, one of the most eminent botanists of the country, and a leading member of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York, the American Association of Science, and other similar Institutions.

Lorenzo L. Da Ponte was at the same time appointed Professor of the Italian Language and Literature, and retained the office until his death in 1840. He was the son of Lorenzo Da Ponte, an Italian scholar, forced from his native country on account of his liberal political opinions, and author of an agreeable autobiography, Memorie di Loren20 Da Ponte Da Ceneda, published in New York in three small volumes in 1823. Professor Da Ponte was a man of liberal culture and great amiability of character, and author of a history of Florence and of several elementary works of instruction on the Italian language.

In 1836, Isaac Nordheimer was appointed Professor of the Hebrew and German languages. He was a man of great learning, and author of a History of Florence and of a Hebrew Grammar, in use as a text-book in our theological Seminaries. He continued his connexion with the institution until his death in 1842.

The Rev. Cyrus Mason was appointed Professor of the Evidences of Christianity in 1836, and occupied a prominent position in the Faculty and business relations of the Institution until his retirement in 1850.

In 1838 Tayler Lewis was appointed Professor of the Greek Language and Literature, and the Rev. C. S. Henry of Moral Philosophy. The first of these gentlemen has already been noticed in relation to his present sphere of labor at Union College.

tion of Sir William Hamilton and other leading philosophers.

Professor Henry is also the author of The Elements of Psychology, a translation of Cousin's examination of Locke's Essay on the Understanding, with an introduction, notes, and appendix, published at Hartford in 1834, and New York in 1839; of a Compendium of Christian Antiquities, and of a volume of Moral and Philosophi cal Essays. He has also published a number of college addresses, mostly devoted to the discussion of his favorite subject of university education. The style of these writings, like that of his instructions, is distinguished by energy, directness, and familiar illustration.

During the years 1847-1850 Dr. Henry offciated as rector of St. Clement's Church, New York. Since his retirement from the University, he has resided in the vicinity of the city, and has been a frequent contributor to the Church Review and other periodicals of the day.

Benjamin F. Joslin, M.D., was appointed in 1838 Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. He resigned his appointment in 1844. He is the author of several valuable papers on philosophical subjects, which have appeared in Silliman's Journal. He has also written frequently on medical topics, and is a prominent advocate of the system of Hahnemann.

In 1839 Dr. John W. Draper was appointed Professor of Chemistry. Dr. Draper is a native of England. He came to the United States in early life, and was graduated as a physician at the University of Pennsylvania in 1836. His inaugural thesis on that occasion was published by the Faculty of the institution, a distinction conferred in very few cases. Dr. Draper soon after became Professor in Hampden Sidney College, Virginia. He still remains connected with the University, and has contributed in an eminent degree to its honor and usefulness, by his distinguished scientific position, and the thorough

ber of which appeared in March, 1837. He conducted this periodical until 1840, when it passed into the hands of Dr. J. G. Cogswell, who had been associated in its conduct during the previous twelvemonth.

Professor Henry remained at the University until 1852. During this period, in addition to the active discharge of the duties of his chair, he published in 1845 an Epitome of the History of Philosophy, being the work adopted by the University of France for instruction in the colleges and high schools. Translated from the French, with additions, and a continuation of the history from the time of Reid to the present day.*

The original portion of this work is equal in extent to one fourth of the whole, and consists, on the plan of the previous portions, of concise biographies of the leading philosophical writers of modern Europe, with a brief exposition of their doctrines. Professor Henry has executed this difficult task with research and exactness. His work is a standard authority on the subject, and has received the commenda

2 vols. 12mo.

much attention to the study of the action of light, and was the inventor of the application of the daguerreotype process to the taking of portraits. He is the author of text-books on Chemistry and Natural Philosophy, of a large quarto work on the Influence of Light on the Growth and Development of Plants, of a large number of addresses delivered in the course of his academic career, and of numerous articles on physiological, medical, optical, and chemical subjects, which have appeared in the medical journals of this country and in the London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine. These papers, it is estimated, would, if collected, fill an octavo volume of one thousand pages. Several have been trans