as if the people had been merely hoisting in a boat, or the unfortunate man himself had been a log of wood. I think I see your logical brain at work now; and seem to hear you ask how the commander of a ship of war could have the effrontery to read, or cause to be read, an article of war, which alludes to the sentence of a courtmartial, and yet punish so severely a fellow being, without trial, and without sentence. In your happy country, my dear H., this may justly raise a sentiment of indignation, because your institutions are all founded on the experience of the past, enabling you to reject all that appeared bad, and to adopt or to modify whatever seemed expedient. But the British system, founded in barbarism, and having its root spread over ages past, makes it more difficult to eradicate evils there, than to plant good here.-The article of war, to which I have alluded, might, if it stood alone, be more than enough for the assurance of the bashaw of a man of war's quarter-deck ;— but, it was customary in the English service, to read the whole of the articles of war to the seamen on the first Sunday of every month; and there was to be found a sweeping clause-an article which, like the rod of Moses, swallowed up all the others. This important clause intimated that, "for all offences not capital, and for which no punishment was here prescribed, the offenders were to be dealt with after the custom of his majesty's ships and vessels of war."-Thus, therefore, custom became law, and the will of the powerful became the legal rule of conduct. This arbitrary law, though not repealed in the British service, is now however very much discontinued, and the general orders of the British Admiralty, which make it imperative on the commander of a vessel of war, to state to the board fully, the offence for which any one has been punished— together with the exact nature and extent of the punishment, has been a very effectual check upon cruel or unnecessarily severe conduct.-These reports, I have reason to think, are very narrowly scrutinized; and where punishments are more than usually frequent, or appear to have been inflicted upon occasions apparently slight, the removal of the officer from his command was the immediate consequence. It is not my purpose to harass your feelings with the continuation of such descriptions as these, but there is one more, peculiar to the service, of which my horror and detestation are so great, that I could not leave the subject without making it thus far public, as I consider it the consummation of baibarism, as well as of cruelty; and though that also is now almost discontinued, there is still neither law nor order against the practice.-I mean the punishment of flogging through the fleet, than which there can be nothing more repugnant to every feeling of humanity.-Murder I conceive to be venial as compared with it; for it lacerates the victim-robs him of energy and manly feeling-leaving him but his life, with a degraded spirit, a broken strength, a ruined, utterly ruined character, to drag through a few, and but a few years of wretched existence, after having had almost the very bones of his trunk laid bare under the tremendous scourges of the officials, whose misfortune it was to inflict them. I will detail this, and then, adieu to the subject. DIVINITY, LAW, AND PHYSIC. If not to some peculiar end assign'd, A chase for sport alone, and not for game. YOUNG. THE learned professions, as they are with great justice termed, present to the superficial eye, appearances which are fallacious; because the various members, feeling themselves in the class of gentlemen, and aware that they must at all times exhibit those external marks of superiority, which the state of society has rendered necessary for securing respect and confidence, present an exterior so prepossessing, and perform duties so apparently easy to the unreflecting many, that they are thought to be peculiarly fortunate, and the reward of their toils is frequently yielded with grudging and dissatisfaction, as being scarcely earned-and this, because the result of such labors seldom appears in a tangible shape,-bringing its effects to the mind er to the health, rather than to the purse. A very little reflection, however, will show the fallacy of such conclusions, notwithstanding that the wisest and best of men do occasionally give way to them; and it would perhaps be doing some service, both to the members of those learned bodies themselves, and to society in general, to endeavor to raise the veil which hides their real labors from the world, and convince ourselves that it is by painful watching, intense study, great expense, patient investigation, and sometimes by appalling circumstances, that such men qualify themselves to be the efficient teachers, advisers, protectors, and benefactors of their fellow creatures. It is true, that the 66 midnight oil" is consumed by men of these professions throughout the whole of their lives,-but it is to the younger members that we should chiefly turn our eyes in the investigations before us,—the rise and progress of whom it will be curious and not unedifying to follow. It would be difficult perhaps to point out that profession or occupation in life, which has not its real or imaginary hardships. In whatever path we select as the high road to fame and fortune, the thorns, impediments, and perplexities, which are concealed from the distant view, are made sensible to us as we advance. Mankind are all too apt to suppose, that they who have succeeded in life, and enjoy the rewards and blessings of industry and prosperity, have attained to their eminence by means which can easily be pursued by others, and by themselves in particular. The nature of the employment is seldom fairly weighed, nor the consideration of due qualification; but the enjoyment or the advantage it seems to afford to the fortunate, is the spur to similar attempts, and the envy of fore-gone success, induces incompetent adventurers upon the same voyage. The candidates for professional celebrity are, on account of their youth and inexperience, frequently influenced in their choice of a profession from external causes, sometimes arising from the hope of prosperity by easy means, sometimes from sheer vanity, but nearly always without having duly pondered on its duties, and on their own qualifications. Advantages VOL. 1. 28 and disadvantages appertain to all occupations, but that they are equally distributed, is a position that will admit of dispute,—at least of pause. It will, therefore, be the purpose of this paper to draw a comparison between the professions of Divinity, Law, and Physic.-Not as regards their respectability,-not as regards their utility;-either of such inquiries would be invidious as well as absurd, in a world where their claims to both these characteristics is, in the highest degree, deservedly established, but specially relative to their students and junior members; and with a view to point out the comparative labors of each, in preparation for the after exercise of their professions, and the relative difficulties and disadvantages in the progress to celebrity. Let the hypothesis be, that the members of all the professions are equal in physical force, in mental energy and acquirements, and in station and respectability; and let these be kept constantly in view. Divinity claims the first notice.-Without agitating the question of fact, it must be assumed, that to the study of Divinity there must be a vocation,— a decided bias and attraction;-and with such a motive, every thing subsequent becomes comparatively easy. In the investigation of the holy scriptures, and the researches after its important truths, the student is not compelled, as is the case in so many other pursuits, to undergo the labor of first acquiring a science or art peculiarly applicable to it, before he comprehends its laws and its technicalities;—his approach to the ever verdant regions of truth and faith is clear and unimpeded, however mazy the course may be after he has entered them. He has the preconsciousness that they lead to everlasting life, and that by looking constantly to that end, he has the assurance that he shall find it. The study of Theology and Divinity is one also which every person of natural abilities and perseverance can comprehend. Every additional inlet of divine knowledge also, gives additional proof of the divine benevolence,-gives additional warmth in the pursuit of that knowledge, which "maketh wise unto salvation," and tends to capacitate him to communicate to those around him "the bread of life.” He is already reaping his reward.-He reaps daily, constantly, and by anticipation, both in the prospect of his being useful in his generation, and in the gratification afforded to his own soul, as he imbibes higher and more sublime information of "the ways of God to man," and delights himself with the idea that he himself may be made the humble, but honored instrument of "snatching a brand from the burning." Moreover, the study of Divinity, above all others, has the tendency to limit the desires and affections after worldly matters; it breathes into the lief and actions a holier feeling, withdraws the heart from those anxious aspirations after riches, fame, and the honors of a mutable and unstable state of things, sets his "affections on things above,"-afflictions themselves are viewed by him as benefits, or wholesome chastisements;-he feels himself indeed in the condition expressed by the poet As some tall cliff that lifts its awful form, Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm; In the process of qualification for his high and all-important calling, there are points which are no doubt abstruse and mysterious. Points which require care, circumspection, and inquiry, to enable him to adjust and har monize apparent discrepancies, and to reconcile circumstances which at first sight may be deemed contradictory. He is of course bound to satisfy himself fully on these points, that he may with the more boldness, as well as clearness, advance the sacred cause in which he has enlisted himself.But then, be it observed, in these points he is not obliged to be deeply versed at his outset in the ministry. If he understand and can expound the broad truths of the religion he professes,—if he can illustrate its precepts by example, and show it forth in his own conduct, the more profound acquaintance with dogmata, and with the acute principles of his faith, will become gradually more and more familiar to his understanding, and he will find himself conversant in them quite as early, as congregations will be found to give him their confidence in such matters. Suppose him then ordained ;—and now what are the advantages and opportunities of bringing himself to notice, in order to exercise the duties he has taken upon himself? Opportunities are continually occurring, of performing the service for a sick or absent brother. On such occasions, without giving way to the mere worldly motive of advancing his temporal interest, he remembers, or he has a right, that he is not to "hide his candle under a bushel":—the same motive which led him to the sacred calling ought to weigh with him to bring himself into notice therein, and his talents, his eloquence, his address, every means by which he hopes to advance the kingdom of his Master, now finds a fair field for exercise, and in a reflecting community those means are not lost to the observation.-There is little to fear then for a young man of talent and zeal in a country where the great motto-truly and generally acted upon is-"a fair field and no favor." The clergyman's wishes it has been before said are bounded; the religion he professes has taught him "to mortify the flesh, with the affections and lusts," therefore his competency is more easily attained than that of persons whose pursuits are of a more worldly nature; and hence the cavils of those disappointed persons who have taken up the profession of the ministry merely as means of emolument must fall to the ground, for such deserve the fate that may overtake them in their pursuits. The Law comes next under consideration.-And here we find ourselves brought back to earth again. The law, it is true, is a noble and a liberal profession when viewed in its true light; but it is devoid of that sublime elevation of soul which is the actuating power in the breast of the Christian minister. It contains nevertheless, within it, motives which attract to the study of it, of a highly important and interesting character. In the legal student we trust we see the future legislator, who shall contribute effectually to advance the security, the welfare, the civilization, and the moral progress of his native land,—for it would be confining our view of the study of law to very narrow bounds to suppose it to consist merely in the attainment of its technicalities and forms, the knowledge of its precedents and existing rules, the application of statutes and customs to the particular cases in the courts. On the contrary, from the consideration of existing laws in his own country, he will carry his ideas back to the past and the obsolete, he will compare the whole with those of other communities,-he will view the great compact called the law of nations,—he will enter into reflections upon the nature of law itself, as an abstract subject. Thus he will strengthen arguments on individual cases, by general principles, and thus, though he may never reach the high privilege of being instrumental to save souls, he may still be greatly useful in his generation as the protector of the property of his fellow-citizens, or as the defender of their rights. But as his labors are more directly of this world, than are those of the divine, so necessarily must be his rewards;-to qualify himself to obtain which, there are many subsidiary acquisitions to be attained. He must be not only a careful and methodical reader, but the store-house called the memory must be kept in due order, so that the multifarious lore which is there to be treasured up for use may be grasped without mistake, according to circumstances. There is not in fact any profession, from the highest to the lowest, in which the quality of ORDER is more essential than in that of the lawyer and jurisconsult. The quibbles of a brother at the bar,-the difficulties of a half forgotten and "time-worn" statute, the occasional and casual misdirection of a judge,-the promptness to catch an advantageous point for the client, or to avail himself of a weak one on the part of the adverse side, all of which may, even with moral propriety, be made available to the advocate,-render it of the utmost importance that he be clear headed, imperturbable in temper, zealous in action, though cautious in counsel. Constantly guarded in the belief that his antagonist watches not only his words but his very motions, he must be guided by the determination to exhibit an undeviating, unshaken front, for it is due to his client to bring him victorious, if possible, from the field-whatever may be his private feelings and impressions. The legal student having gone through his courses, kept his terms, and made the usual preparations is admitted; and now what are his opportunities of pushing himself forward in his profession?-Not so great as those of the divine it must be acknowledged ;-for such is the carelessness of mankind with respect to their great interest, and their cupidity in regard to every thing of a temporal nature, that they will place the direction of the former into the hands of any one who, by the caprice of fancy, may please them, but the latter they entrust only to such as come recommended by well-tried skill and judgment. The young lawyer, then, must exhibit deep research, he must understand human nature, he must have an acute eye, an eloquent tongue, he must possess something more than a smattering of arts, sciences, mechanics, and even of technical information; for as in the course of his career he must expect to come in contact with all, and more than all, of these, he would be found a bad pleader who should be found ignorant of any thing that he was to attack or to defend.-The interests of society require, and justly, that the advocate shall not refuse to act on any case, unless he is previously retained on the other side; and, as the springs of human action are frequently hidden from the most acute of mankind, who see only from without, he is obliged to furnish arguments, if possible, in favor of the client who failed to adduce them himself; he must study to make the " worse appear the better reason," and must strive to bring him triumphantly out of the ordeal, even against his private judgment.-This is a difficult task for a young man ; and how shall he turn the public eye upon himself-how shall he attract the public eye, and turn the public confidence towards himself, in cases where interests, generally so valued, are at |