to worthy actions; and the latter so far as it checks the native ardor of the soul, and ties it down to inglorious pursuits. But the same means will correct both. A larger commerce with the world, and a frequent viewing ourselves through a more impartial medium, compared to others of equal or greater merit, will bring down the one, and raise the other, to its just and proper standard. What was pride before, will then be converted into a sense of honour, and proper dignity of spirit; and what was timidity or self-distrust, will be turned into manly caution, and prudent fore-sight. Time will not permit me to add more. Happy shall you be, if, by attending to such maxims as these, you can pass your days, though not with the highest approbation of others, at least with full satisfaction to yourselves! Happy, if in the eve of life, when health and years and other joys decline, you can look back with conscious joy upon the unremitting tenor of an upright conduct; framed and uniformly supported to the last on these noble principles-Religion without hypocrisy, generosity without ostentation, justice tempered with goodness, and patriotism with every domestic virtue! Ardently praying that this may be your lot, I shall take leave of you in the words of old Pollonius to his son The friends you have, and their adoption try'd, Of each new-hatch'd unfledg'd comrade. Beware Of enterance to a quarrel Give every man your ear, but few your voice. Take each man's censure, but reserve your judgment. This above all-to your own-selves be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, You cannot then be false to any man.-SHAKSPEARE. These things I have sketched for you as the outlines of your duty. I pretend not to go farther. It is not my present business to offer a perfect plan for the conduct of life. Indeed my experience in it has been too small for such an arduous work. And I hope to be judged rather by what I have said, than by what could not properly be said, on such an occasion. As for the rest, I shall commit you to the best of masters. Be sure, in all things, to learn of Christ. In following him you cannot err. And to do so will be your interest, and your greatest glory, at a time when human wisdom shall fail, and of the things that now are, virtue— immortal virtue-shall be the great and chief survivor! Farewell! my blessing season these things in you.-SHAKSPEARE. This charge was published in a pamphlet at the time. Appended to it was an oration in Latin, by Paul Jackson, a tutor in the College. The pamphlet had the following preface: * Whether the Partiality of Private Friendship has made the Author of the following Charge too Sanguine in favour of the young gentlemen to whom it was delivered, Time will best shew. He has annexed a Latin oration by one of them, which will be a sufficient Specimen of the Gentleman's abilities who composed it. Other specimens might also be produced, which would redound greatly to the credit of the other young gentlemen, were any thing farther necessary than the ample Testimony they have already received from an institution which 'tis hoped will never prostitute its Honours to the Undeserving. The eyes of the country were at this date-April 5th, 1757turned to the forces under General Stanwix, who, after the dreadful defeat of General Braddock, were assembled to go to the defence of our frontier towns and settlements, then bleeding under the devastations of the French and their savages. It was expected that they would go directly against Fort Duquesne on the Ohio, but they were obliged to act only on the defensive for this year. A great part of them, however, were present at the reduction of the place in the year following, under Brigadier-General Forbes. They were a noble body of men, equally brave and humane, and with a noble commander. Having happily got possession of Fort Duquesne in November, 1758, General Forbes sent a part of his army to Braddock's field, some twenty miles away, on the banks of the Monongahela, to bury the sad remains of the dead that had lain there upwards of three years. This solemn scene was made yet more solemn by the tears of the soldiers, many of whom had lost their fathers, brothers, and dearest relatives in that fatal spot. Just before their march, Dr. Smith, at the request of General Stanwix, preached to them, in Christ Church, a sermon, from Luke iii. 14, on "The Christian soldier's duty, the lawfulness and dignity of his office, as a servant of the public, for the defence of his country, and for the maintaining and asserting true religion and liberty." It was a fine, showy discourse, with something of the * The title reads thus: "A Charge Delivered May 17th, 1757, at the First Anniversary Commencement in the College and Academy of Philadelphia, to the Young Gentlemen who took their Decrees on that Occasion, by W. Smith. To which is added an Oration in Latin, by Paul Jackson. 12mo. B. Franklin and D. Hall, Phila. 1757." trumpet's sound; such as might be expected on an occasion so much calculated to rouse indignation, pity, and patriotism. It was immediately printed and widely circulated. The following letter, from the admirable collection of autographs owned by Mr. F. J. Dreer, shows that the ardor of Dr. Smith in the cause of his country did not cease with the delivery of his discourse. Dr. Smith to Governor Sharp, of Maryland. PHILADELPHIA, April 27th, 1757. SIR: I have taken the Liberty to enclose a Composition of mine for your Excellency's Perusal, and shall think myself happy if I shall appear to have been sufficiently animated with the sublime and interesting Subjects it treats of. My ambition is to acquit myself zealously for promoting the King's Cause, in the Estimation of the Discerning Few, among which Number M. Sharp will always be one. If, after Perusal, your Excellency shall think that 10 or 12 copies might be of use among your Provincial Officers for kindling that noble Enthusiasm, that unconquerable Passion for Liberty and the Protestant Faith, mentioned in the sermon as the true Principle of a British Soldiery, I shall, on having the Honour of a Line from your Excellency, send that, or any other number, either to your Excellency, or to Mr. Green. I have some Hopes of seeing Annapolis this summer, & have the honour to be Your Excellency's most obed' humble S', WILLIAM SMITH. HIS EXCELLENCY, GOVERNOR SHARP. Among the graduates of this year we have mentioned John Morgan. He went, it would seem, almost at once into service in the army; at this time, of course, in some other capacity than the medical; one in which he afterwards became eminent, and indeed one in which he served, for a short time, even in the then existing war, but towards its close. Dr. Smith to Mr. Morgan.* PHILADELPHIA, May 1st, 1757. MY DEAR SIR: We long impatiently to see you down here. It was thought best by Mr. Peters, Mr. Young, & your Friends here, that you should obtain your Leave from Major Burd than apply to the Governor, as all the other officers have been down occasionally on the same Footing. M. Peters writes to the Major, & you may come down * For this letter, as for the last, I am indebted to my kind friend, Mr. Ferdinand J. Dreer. either by Leave, or as a recruiting officer, which last M'. Peters thinks best, as you will be less hampered in Point of Time on that Plan. In whatever shape you come, pray come soon if the Service should not suffer, which I think it cannot. I am Yours, W. SMITH. In the midst, however, of all the stirring scenes of this epoch, we find Dr. Smith intent upon the great work of education. The following letter-an answer to one given supra, pp. 141-5-shows this fact. It appears from it too, that Dr. Smith had sent copies of his different discourses to Dr. Bearcroft. Dr. Bearcroft to Dr. Smith.* CHARTER-HOUSE, July 1st, 1757 REV'D SR: Your letter by Mr. Acrelius, a very worthy Divine, hath been maturely considered by the Society; † and after consulting Mr. Penn, who professes to approve of the Education of Indian Children in your College, & promises, what in him is, to countenance and help forward that design as much as the present turbulent times in Pennsylvania will admit, the Society are come to the Resolution of advancing as far as 100 sterling per annum, by way of trial for the Education of as many Indian Children as that sum will maintain in the College, if their parents will consent to put them under your care and Direction; and the particular Regulations concerning them are left to you; taking along with you the approbation of the Trustees of the College. I much approve of your courage in bearing a Publick Testimony against those Quaker Doctraines that are subversive of all order and Society, in spite of all the obloquy malice hath and will throw out against you for it; and you may depend upon my best endeavours to do you Justice; if I meet with any thing of that nature here. I am glad Mr. Barton has proved himself so worthy a Missionary, and so very proper a one for the dangerous time and place in which his Mission is. The Society are most sensible of his good conduct, and to give him a substantial proof of it, they have given him a Gratuity of £20, as they have likewise to Mr. Acrelius, 30, for the many good services done by him during his residence in Pennsylvania, to the members of our Church. Mr. Robert McKean, who came over with him, is appointed Missionary to the Church of New Brunswick, in New Jersey, and will be the bearer of this. *From the original MSS. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. I cannot conclude without particular thanks for the Entertainment I received from your Epilogue, and the account of the College Exercise; and that you may go on, and prosper, and bring much fruit to Perfection, is the hearty wish of, Mr. Provost, Your very faithful, humble servant, PHILIP BEARCROFT. To the Rev'd Mr. SMITH, Provost of the College for the Education of Youth, in Philadelphia. Soon after his arrival in Philadelphia Dr. Smith became acquainted with Mr. William Bradford, distinguished from his grandfather of the same name, by whom the art of printing was introduced, A. D. 1684, into our middle colonies, and from his accomplished son William, Attorney-General of the United States under Washington, as "Colonel Bradford." Colonel Bradford was, at this time, the largest bookseller, printer, and publisher in Philadelphia; and probably the largest in the middle colonies. He was also owner, editor, and publisher of the Pennsylvania Journal. He was an enthusiastic, active and efficient man in whatever he undertook; and his enterprises were numerous. Sincerely devoted through a long life to the honor of his country in every department, and fertile in such resources as would advance it, he had been for some time contemplating the establishment of a monthly periodical. His uncle, Andrew Bradford, had begun one, A. D. 1741, but the time was not then ready for it, and like a rival enterprise undertaken by Dr. Franklin in the same year, it was discontinued after a short experience. The difficulty for any new work had been to find a suitable editor. That, indeed, was the difficulty with the old one. Although Bradford had long known Dr. Smith, their relations, till of late, had not been intimate. Franklin as well as Bradford was a bookseller, printer and publisher; and the Provost's earlier relations of business had been with him. However, in the matter of the defence of the country and of the doings of the Assembly of Friends, Bradford was the strong supporter of Dr. Smith. In truth Dr. Smith was now fighting, A. D. 1757, in the New French war, a battle which Bradford had begun, A. D. 1744, in the Old one; for Bradford was one of the earliest and most active of the "Philadelphia Associators" of that day; a Lieutenant in a company which assisted to build and man its battery. Indeed, from youth to old age, he had but |