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In the first place, the professors had no sufficient bond of union by which, in the business of instruction, their efforts might harmo- nize, and their strength operate to the greatest advantage by being exerted in one direction. With the exception of the pro- fessors of moral and natural philosophy, who divided the philo- sophical classes between them, each had his distinct school, which he managed at his own discretion, and the pupils of which had no other connection with the University than such as arose from the office held by their teacher. With such an organ- ization, the pursuit of any systematic course of instruction, if possible at all, must have been liable to continual interruptions, alike injurious to the scholar, and derogatory to the credit of the school. Another evil existed in the want of proper classification among the students. The distinction between the collegiate and aca- demical parts of the institution, which had never been sufficiently marked, was now scarcely perceptible. Almost every branch of knowledge considered essential in a course of education, from the lowest to the highest, was included in its scheme ; and if we except the two philosophical classes, the students of every grade were mingled together, not only under the same roof, but in the 84 HISTORY OF THE same apartment, and under the same teachers; so that the boy learning the simplest rules of arithmetic, or the first lesson in grammar, was neighbour to the young man engaged in the highest mathematical and classical studies. In this absence of discrimination, an impolitic disregard was exhibited to that strongest feeling of the youthful breast, the desire of distinction; which gives to the priority of a few years in age, or a slight superiority of attainment, a degree of importance, the influence of which we are apt, in manhood, to forget or undervalue. To be associated as pupils in the same establishment, even to be seen coming out of the same door with children but just out of their petticoats, was to the elder students, who began to look upon themselves as young men, a highly disagreeable neces- sity ; but to be mingled in the close fellowship of a school-room, was a degradation to which only the force of parental authority could induce them to submit. All whose own inclinations were consulted were naturally induced to prefer some other seminary, where their claims to a proper consideration would be respected; and numbers were thus directed away from the school of Phila- delphia, whom the advantages of proximity, united with their local attachments, would otherwise have connected with it. * Another circumstance contributed to the same result. It is the custom in most colleges for the students to pursue their studies in private, and to be collected together in the presence of the professors for a short time only each day, for the recital of the prescribed lessons, or to attend the lectures which are usually given. But, by the regulations of the University, it was required that the scholars of the higher as well as lower classes should be detained for several hours, both in the morning and afternoon, within the walls of the seminary, where they were compelled to attend to their several subjects of study under the immediate eye of their teachers, being considered as too young or too giddy to be trusted to their own private exertions, and as needing some UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 85 other incentive to exertion than the desire of applause, fear of shame, or sense of duty. From these causes it happened that the alumni of the Uni- versity were not only few, but often of an age better adapted to the commencement than to the completion of a course of the higher studies; and the institution came to be regarded as a seminary of inferior grade, which, however well it might have been adapted to those circumstances of a young community in accordance with which it was originally established, had not kept pace with the general march of improvement, and was now behind many others of which it had formerly enjoyed the un- doubted precedence. 86 HISTORY OF THE CHAPTER XIII. NEW REGULATIONS.--INSTITUTION OF THE PHILOMATnEAN SOCIETY.— IMPROVED STATE OF THE SCHOOL.--ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPART- MENT OF NATURAL SCIENCE. In the year 1810 a reformation was commenced by a complete separation of the seminary into two parts, the boundaries of which were distinctly marked, and their objects accurately de- •flned. The students of the College, arranged into three classes —the freshman, junior, and senior—were placed under a faculty composed of three professors, who filled respectively the chairs of moral philosophy, of natural philosophy and the mathematics, and of the languages. Of these professors one was the provost, and the second the vice-provost of the University. The term of study was confined to three years; and the course of instruction embraced, together with the Latin and Greek classics, all those higher branches of learning and science which are usually taught in colleges. By a special determination of the board it was pro- vided that, whenever punishments might be necessary, they should be directed exclusively to " a sense of duty, and the prin- ciple of honour and shame." From this it would appear, that the students might previously have been subjected to occasional bodily chastisement—a degradation to which high-minded young men could not be expected to submit; and the liability to which, if it really did exist, must have had a great effect in lowering the general standard of character and attainment in the school, and bringing down its reputation to that inferior level upon which it stood for many years. The resignation of Dr. Rogers gave the trustees an oppor- UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 87 tunity of abolishing the professorship of English and the belles- lettres; and the English school, which, from the foundation of the institution had constituted a part of it, was shortly after- wards dissolved. Under the name of the Academy, a grammar school was retained, in which were taught the various inferior branches of learning, necessary as a preparation for entering upon a collegiate course. Over this school was placed one or more teachers, without the title of professor, without any au- thority in the general management of the institution, and sub- ject to the superintendence and control of the collegiate faculty. The Charity Schools, which constituted a third division of the department of arts, were also placed under the care of the faculty ; so that the College, while in itself independent, was enabled to exercise over the inferior branches a degree of authority, suffi- cient to preserve them in accordance with its own interests, and to give the character of a regular system to all the operations of the seminary. Such were the first steps in the path of improvement. Further advances were gradually made, as the way became clearer, and experience began to demonstrate the safety if not expediency of the course pursued. To raise the character of the College, higher qualifications for admittance were made requisite ; and among these qualifications, a suitable age was considered essen- tial. Formerly, boys had not unfrequently been permitted to pass through and receive the honours of the institution, whose immaturity of years was, of itself, a sufficient evidence of their unfitness for these honours ; and men who beheld these unfledged alumni, could not but doubt the judgment and prudence of that alma mater, who had sent them forth from her bosom while yet so incompetent to their own intellectual management. It was resolved that no applicant should be received into the lowest class under the age of fourteen ; a time of life at which it was thought that the sense of honour might be sufficiently developed 88 HISTORY OF THE to serve as a motive for strenuous application, and the intellect sufficiently mature to render such application productive. With the view of exciting emulation among the students, greater care was taken to apportion the several grades of hono- rary distinction at the commencement to the merits of the candidates; while, in the mean time, they were taught to feel more strongly the influence of public sentiment, and to allow it more authority over their conduct, by occasional exhibitions of their skill in oratory before respectable assemblages of citizens. They were, moreover, encouraged to form among themselves an association, similar to those which exist in many other col- leges in this country, and the influence of which has been found highly beneficial, both to the young men who belong to them, and to the seminaries under the auspices of which they have been established. In these societies, the charm of secrecy has been employed to attract new members, and to maintain a stronger interest among the old ; while it is deprived of all mis- chievous tendency by the participation of the professors and other officers of the College. To be able fully to appreciate the importance of such institutions, we must revert to the period of our own youth, and call to mind the deep interest, the spirit at once of union and emulation, the kindly feelings towards each other united with the energetic determination to excel, inspired into us by their manlike exercises; and, while dwelling on these recollections, we shall experience in the love with which our hearts warm and expand towards the scene of our young efforts, and the vivid desire which arises to witness and contribute to its prosperity, a sure evidence of the lasting benefit which must flow to the seats of learning, from multiplying such sources of pleasant and affectionate association. The Philomathean Society of the University of Pennsylvania was founded in the year 1813, and still exists. The attention of the public is annually called UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 89 to it by an address, commemorative of its origin, delivered by some one of its older members, appointed for the purpose.* Notwithstanding all these changes, there yet remained, in the plan and arrangement of the seminary, some errors which it was important to rectify. The period of three years, to which the College term was restricted, was insufficient for the completion, without extraordinary talent and industry, of the prescribed course of studies; and the proper qualifications for a degree could not therefore be so rigidly insisted on, as if a due portion of time had been allotted. Nor was the number of professors proportionate to the task of instruction, embracing as it did almost the whole circle of the sciences. Some branches were necessarily omitted or imperfectly taught; and thus, to the want of time, was added another cause for insufficient preparation on the part of the student. It naturally followed from these cir- cumstances, that the requisites of graduation were considered lower, and consequently the honour of a degree less, in the Uni- versity, than in most of the prominent colleges of the United States; and, as the regulation requiring a long attendance of the students upon the professors remained unaltered, and the grammar school, though entirely separate in its government and conduct from the College, was still maintained in the same build- ing, and therefore frequently confounded with the higher depart- ment, the institution was not yet able to rise entirely out of that reputation of inferiority, which had been attached to it from the period of the revolution. The trustees, however, becoming sensible of these disadvan- tages, have recently made alterations, which, so far as regards the organization of the department of arts, leave little further to * Another society, of a similar character, has since been instituted among the students of the University, under the name of the Zelosophic Society. —January, 1834. 90 HISTORY OF THE be desired. The grammar school has been removed from the building in Ninth Street, and located in the old Academy; so that the collegians no longer incur the risk of being confounded with the inferior pupils, and are allowed to enjoy unalloyed the natural and salutary sense of importance belonging to their station. That other unsatisfactory regulation relative to the time of their attendance has also been altered; and in this re- spect they are now placed on a footing with the students of the highest and most respectable seminaries. The term of study has been extended to four years; another class has been added to the three previously existing; and the faculty has been aug- mented by the appointment of a tutor, and the institution of a fourth professorship. Time has not been allowed, since the adoption of these regula- tions, for the full development of those good effects which may reasonably be expected from them ; but the result of the changes which were made at an earlier period has been highly favour- able. Since the year 1810, the University has certainly taken a higher standing than it had previously enjoyed. Its operations have been conducted with greater regularity; the courses of instruction have been more complete and efficient; and the annual number of graduates, varying from seven to thirty-four, has exhibited an increase of reputation and popularity, which though by no means equal to the wishes of its friends, or to its just claims, gives us a cheering assurance that the later improve- ments, which are but just beginning to be carried into effect, will not be fruitless in the end. In the same spirit which originated the measures above de- tailed, the Board of Trustees, in the year 1816, determined to institute a new department in the University, to be devoted more especially to the advancement of those branches of science which could not be advantageously brought within the scheme of the seminary as it then existed. It was evidently impossible UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 91 during the regular collegiate course, to acquire an intimate and thorough acquaintance with all the diversified subjects of human knowledge. All that could be aimed at with discretion, was the communication to the young student of such varied elementary instruction, as might enable him, in his subsequent career, to pursue beneficially any particular subject of study to which his interest or his genius might incline him. But there are many branches of science, both ornamental and useful, which, even with the aid afforded by this elementary instruction, are still attended with so many difficulties, that the learner is apt to be discouraged at the threshold, and to turn away his steps towards some object of more easy attainment, but less honourable in the pursuit, and less advantageous in possession. These difficulties, consisting often in the want of practical and experimental illus- trations of the facts and deductions of science, may be removed or greatly diminished by courses of lectures, delivered by well qualified professors, with the assistance of extensive cabinets of specimens, and a suitable apparatus. This remark is particularly applicable to those branches of knowledge which are designated by the general title of natural science. As the means requisite for the proper illustration of these subjects are often beyond the resources of individuals, it was thought by the board that, by constituting a faculty of professors, and affording them such facilities in the prosecution of their several courses of instruction as might be within the power of the University, they would be contributing towards the public good, and at the same time ele- vating the character of the institution over which they presided. A department of natural science was accordingly created, em- bracing five professorships, which were immediately filled by the choice of men recommended either by their general talent, or by their peculiar fitness for the offices to which they were ap- pointed. The duty of the professors was to give annual courses of lectures to the public, for which their remuneration was to 92 HISTORY OF THE consist in the fees of the attendants; and the advantages which they derived from the University, besides the honour of the connection, were the gratuitous use of suitable apartments, and access to the apparatus belonging to the institution. • Though the rule demanding annual courses has not been exactly com- plied with by all the gentlemen who have accepted professor- ships in this department, yet on the more important and popular subjects lectures have been regularly given, in some instances, to numerous classes; and the general result, if not so favourable as might have been anticipated, has been such as fully to justify the original adoption of the measure, and to give rise to the hope that much good may flow from it hereafter. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 93 CHAPTER XIV. STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY IN THE YEAR 1827. In order to complete the view which it is the object of this essay to lay before the public, it will be necessary to give an account of the arrangement and condition of the several depart- ments of the University, as they exist at the present time.* If, in the execution of this task, some facts which are already familiar should be again brought into notice, it is hoped that the advantages to be derived from the integrity of the picture, will overbalance the irksomeness of the repetition. The institution is under the control of a Board of Trustees, composed of twenty-four citizens of Pennsylvania, together with the governor of the State, who is ex officio president. This board is perpetual; and, in the exercise of its authority, is subject to no other limitations than such as are fixed by the several charters under which it acts. For the transaction of business a stated meeting is held every month, and special meetings are occasionally called when any important matter demands immediate attention ; but, as in the management of so extensive an establishment, there are many objects which require a constant and vigilant superintendence, the board di- vides itself into standing committees, to each of which some particular province is ascribed for its especial charge. The * It will be recollected by the reader, that the period here alluded to was the year 1827, when this account of the University was prepared. In any instance in which material alterations have been made since that period, the fact will be stated in a note, with the present date.—January, 1834. 94 HISTORY OF THE duties of secretary and treasurer are performed by an officer appointed by the board, who is compensated by a regular salary and a small commission upon the revenues of the institution.* * The names of all those who filled the office of trustee, from the origin of the school to the period at which the College and University were united, have been mentioned in previous notes. Those elected since that period, whose places have been vacated by death or resignation, are the following:— Alexander James Dallas, Joseph B. McKean, Joseph Ball, Samuel M. Fox, Thomas M. Willing, Moses Levy, John T. Mifflin, John H. Brinton, John R. Coxe, Anthony Morris, Thomas M. Francis, William Tilghman, late Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, Rev. James P. Wilson, George Fox, Zaccheus Collins, Thomas Duncan, Rev. Jacob J. Janeway, Robert Walsh, Jr., Rev. Thomas H. Skinner, and Rev. Thomas McAuley. The following gentlemen, exclusive of the governor of the State, com- pose the board, at the date of this note:— 1. Rt. Rev. William White, D.D., 18. Charles Chauncey, LL.D., 2. William Rawle, LL.D., 14. Joseph Hopkinson, LL.D., 3. Benjamin R. Morgan, 15. Joseph R. IngersoU, 4. James Gibson, 16. Rev. Philip F. Mayer, D.D., 5. Horace Binney, LL.D., 17. Philip H. Nicklin, 6. William Meredith, 18. Rt. Rev. H. U. Onderdonk, D.D., 7. Benjamin Chew, 19. John C. Lowber, 8. Robert Wain, 20. James S. Smith, 9. John Sergeant, LL D., 21. Edward S. Burd, 10. Thomas Cadwalader, 22. John Keating, 11. Peter S.Duponceau, LL.D., 23. George Vaux, 12. Nicholas Biddle, 24. Rev. William H.DeLancey,D.D. The reader acquainted with the general history of the Union, and the particular history of this State, will have observed, that, at every period of the existence of the school, the Board\)f Trustees has been remarkable for the number of its members distinguished in politics, literature, science, and the liberal professions ; and a glance at the list of its present mem- bers will satisfy him that it has not degenerated. We may, indeed, be proud as Philadelphians, that our city has been able to afford so many UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 95 The University is nominally divided into five distinct depart- ments, those, namely, of the arts and sciences, of natural SCIENCE, Of GENERAL LITERATURE, of LAW, and of MEDICINE. 1. Department of the Arts and Sciences.—This depart- ment consists of three parts, the College, the Academy or Gram- mar Schools, and the Charity Schools. The College is under the immediate government of a faculty, composed of four professors and a tutor, to whom, besides the business of instruction, are committed the duties of administer- ing the general discipline of the seminary, and of representing to the trustees, in semi-annual reports, the exact condition both of the collegiate and academical classes.* The offices of provost distinguished names as are to be found in the catalogue of those who have at different times directed the affairs of the College and University. The office of treasurer and secretary is now occupied by James C. Biddle, who succeeded Joseph Reed, late recorder of the city.—January, 1834. * Some alterations have been made in the arrangement of the faculty of arts since the year 1827. The four professorships remain as before; but an assistant professorship has been added. The office of tutor, re- ferred to in the text, was also made an assistant professorship, which has, however, been recently abolished. In 1827, when this memoir was writ- ten, the members of the faculty were Rev. Frederick Beasley, D.D., pro- vost and professor of moral philosophy; Robert M. Patterson, M.D., vice-provost and professor of natural philosophy; James G. Thompson, professor of languages; and Garret Van Gelder, tutor. The professor- ship of mathematics, which was then vacant, was soon afterwards sup- plied by the election of Robert Adrain, LL.D. It is well known that, since the period above mentioned, great changes have taken place in the faculty, so that not one of those who then occupied chairs is now con- nected with the institution. The faculty of arts at present consists of the following members:— Rev. William H. De Lancey, D.D., acting professor of Moral Philoso- phy, and acting Provost of the University ; Robert Adrain, LL.D., Professor of Mathematics and Vice-provost of the University ; 96 history of the and vice-provost of the University are held respectively by two of these professors. It is the duty of the provost, and in his ab- sence of the vice-provost, " to visit and superintend the various schools and departments; to see that the rules and statutes of the trustees are duly carried into effect; and to advise and suggest such alterations and improvements as he may deem best calcu- lated to promote the welfare and usefulness of the institution." The compensation of the professors, if not ample, is at least respectable. Besides a fixed salary, which to the provost is one thousand dollars, to the vice-provost nine hundred, and to each of the other professors about eight hundred and fifty, they severally have the use of one of the houses belonging to the University, or an equivalent sum in money, and divide equally between them the proceeds of tuition. They are moreover en- titled to a small sum from every graduate in the arts; and the provost and vice-provost derive a considerable addition to their income from the fees which they receive upon affixing their sig- natures to the medical diplomas.* Rev. Samuel B. Wylie, D.D., Professor of the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin languages; Alexander Dallas Bache, Prof, of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry ; Henry Reed, Assistant Professor of Moral Philosophy. With the exception of Mr. Reed, these gentlemen immediately suc- ceeded those above mentioned, as filling the same offices. The prede- cessor of Mr. Reed, and the first assistant professor of moral philosophy was the late Rev. Edward Rutledge. Thomas McKinley and the Rev. Christian F. Cruse, successively after G. Van Gclder, held the place of tutor or assistant professor, now abolished. Dr. De Lancey has resigned his station in the University, but continues to occupy it temporarily, till a successor can be provided.—January, 1834. * The mode of compensating the professors has undergone some altera- tion since this was written. They now receive a fixed salary without any share of the tuition money.—January, 1834. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 97 The number of classes is four, distinguished by the usual titles of freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior. One year is ap- propriated to each class; so that the whole College term extends to four years. The requisites for admission into the lowest or freshman class are, that the applicant should not be under the age of fourteen ; that he should have been taught arithmetic, and the rudiments of geography ; and that he should have read, in the Latin language, Virgil, Sallust, and the Odes of Horace; in the Greek, the New Testament, Lucian's Dialogues, Xeno- phon's Cyropaedia, and the Grseca Minora of Dalzel. The course of study embraces the highest Greek and Latin classics, with Grecian and Roman antiquities ; the mathematics from algebra to fluxions; natural philosophy, chemistry, and geography in all its branches; ancient and modern history, grammar, rhetoric, logic, moral philosophy, and metaphysics. The students are also exercised in writing Greek and Latin, in English compo- sition, and in the art of speaking.* * Since the year 1827, considerable changes have been made in the course of instruction, which is believed at present to be as comprehensive as that pursued in any similar institution in the United States. The fol- lowing regulations are extracted from the Catalogue of the University, published by order of the trustees in January, 1834. "To be admitted into the Freshman Class, a student must be at least fourteen years of age. He must be qualified for examination on the fol- lowing subjects and authors:—Latin. Caesar, Virgil, Sallust, Odes of Horace.—Greek. New Testament, the Four Gospels, Acts, and the Epis- tles of Peter. Xenophon, first three books. Graeca Minora, or Jacob's Greek Reader.—Quantity and scanning in each language.—English. The elements of English grammar and of modern geography.—Arithmetic^ including fractions and the extraction of roots. " No student is admitted to advanced standing without the fullest preparation for the class into which he applies for admission. 7 98 HISTORY OF THE The pupils of each class are submitted to semi-annual exam- inations in the presence of a committee of the trustees; and "COURSE OF INSTRUCTION IN THE COLLEGE. "Freshman Class.—Mathematics. Algebra, including simple and quadratic equations, surds, cubic, and biquadratic equations. Approxi- mations, Converging series, &c.—Classics. Five books of Livy. Horace's Satires. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Selections from Herodotus. Latin and Greek exercises. Roman and Grecian Antiquities.—English. English Grammar (Lowth's English Grammar), and Geography reviewed. An- cient History (Lardner's Outlines of History). Readings in Prose and Poetry. Written Translations from ancient authors. Declamation. "Sophomore Class.—Mathematics. Elements of Geometry (Legen- dre's Geometry). Logarithms. Plane Trigonometry. Surveying, Men- suration, &c.—Classics. Cicero de Oratore. Terence. Cicero's Orations. Horace's Epistles. Selections from Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Lysias, Isocrates, Plato and ./Elian, Homer's Iliad, Latin and Greek ex- ercises.—Nat. Philosophy. Elements of Mechanics (Library of Useful Knowledge, or Lardner's Mechanics and Hydrostatics).—English. His- tory (Mackintosh's History of England). Rhetoric (Whately's Rhetoric). English composition. Declamation. " Junior Class.—Mathematics. Spherical Geometry and Trigonome- try. Perspective Geography, including the Use of the Globes and Con- struction of Maps and Charts. Analytical Geometry, including conic sections (Young's Analytical Geometry). Elements of the Differential Calculus, with applications (Young's Differential Calculus).—Classics. Art of Poetry. Juvenal. Quintilian's Institutes. Review of Selected Odes of Horace. Cicero de Officiis. Selections from the Odyssey, Hesiod Apollonius Rhodius, Sophocles, Euripides, Theocritus, Pindar, &c— Nat. Philosophy and Chemistry. General doctrines of equilibrium and motion. Equilibrium and motion of solids and fluids (Cambridge Mechanics). Theory and Construction of Machines (Application of Descriptive Geometry).—Heat (Turner's Chemistry). Electricity, in- cluding Galvanism. Magnetism. Electro-magnetism (Roget in Library of Useful Knowledge). Philosophy of Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry commenced (Turner's Chemistry).—English. History continued. Moral UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 99 those who do not acquit themselves satisfactorily, are not allowed to proceed. Punishments are confined to private or public admonition or reproof, degradation, suspension, dismission, and expulsion. All but the two last may be inflicted by order of a majority of the faculty:—these, as they are the most serious, and are liable to Philosophy. Logic (Whately's Logic). English compositions. Written discussions. "Senior Class.—Mathematics. Elements of the Integral Calculus, with applications. Variations of Lagrange. Analytical Mechanics (Young's Analytical Mechanics, and Lectures).—Classics. Former au- thors reviewed or completed. Longinus. Tacitus.—Nat. Philosophy and Chemistry. Astronomy (Gummere's Astronomy). Optics (Brewster's Optics). Steam-engine (Lardner on the Steam-engine and lectures). Inorganic Chemistry completed. Organic Chemistry (Turner's Chem- istry).—English. Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion. Intel- lectual Philosophy. Law of Nations and Political Law (Kent's Com- mentaries). English composition. Forensie discussions. " On every Saturday members of the Senior Class deliver original essays in the chapel. 11 French, Spanish, and German, may be pursued, if required by parents. " On each day of the week, except Saturday, there are not more than four nor less than three recitations of one hour each for every class. On Saturday each class recites once. " All the classes, except the Senior Class, recite both in the morning and afternoon. " The instructions of the College are conveyed in part by lectures, but principally by the study of the most approved text books, aided by the explanations of the professors. The diligence of the student is tested by rigid daily examinations. The character of each recitation is recorded, and the results communicated to parents or guardians in the middle or at the end of each term. At the end of each term, public examinations of the classes are held by the faculty; and the students are classed in the order of merit. 100 HISTORY OF THE affect injuriously the character and future prospects of the young man, require the sanction of the board. Between the punish- ments of dismission and expulsion there is this difference, that, after the former, a student may be reinstated by a vote of the trustees, while the latter totally disqualifies him for readmission into the institution, and for receiving any of its honours. The board, however, do not call upon other schools to exclude the students who may have been expelled from their own; nor, though more than once invited to come into an agreement to this effect, do they consider themselves bound to refuse admit- tance to those who may have incurred expulsion elsewhere; but reserving to themselves the privilege of judging of the circum- stances of each case, decide according to their own opinion of its merits. That disposition which would fix an indelible mark of disgrace upon the forehead of a young man, however guilty, and would shut up against him the path of repentance and returning honour, savours rather of revenge and persecution, than of that spirit of beneficence which chastens only for good ; and it is placing too much power in the hands of any set of men, other than the public tribunals of the country, to enable them, whether from a sense of justice, or from any worse motive, forever to cut off from the youth who may have incurred their displeasure, all access to the fountains of instruction, and thus perhaps to blast prospects which may have opened upon him with the fullest and brightest promise. The price of tuition in the collegiate classes is sixty dollars " Defective students are not allowed to proceed to a higher class and incompetent students are dismissed from the institution. " Negligent and indolent students are transferred to a lower class when unable to proceed with the studies of their own class." Instruction in the French, Spanish, and German languages, is given to those students who may desire it, by teachers appointed by the trus- tees.—January, 1834. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 101 for one year, more than five times the amount demanded by the College before the revolution.* Two scholarships have been founded upon the funds of the institution, the right of nomination to which belongs to the heirs of Thomas Penn. This arrangement originated in the conditions of the grant, made by that gentleman to the late College and Academy, of his fourth part of the manor of Perkasie. In the deed of conveyance, dated July 21st, 1759, it was provided that the trustees should never dispose of their interest in the estate, and that, when the income from it should amount to two hun- dred pounds per annum, they should educate, maintain, and clothe two persons of the nomination of the grantor or his heirs ; and it was also provided that, if these conditions should not be complied with, or in case of a dissolution of the corporation, the land should revert to the original owner, or to those who might represent him. The number of acres was about two thousand five hundred, and the rent at the period of the conveyance was forty-three pounds. In the year 1813 the rent is stated at more than six hundred bushels of wheat; an increase which strikingly exemplifies the great nominal rise in the value of property. It appears from the minutes of the Board of Trustees, that they had always been desirous of selling this land, as the sum which it would command might be invested so as to produce an income far greater in amount than any rent which could be obtained. But as the sanction of the proprietor was necessary before a sale could be made, and upon application from the trustees he expressed his unwillingness to give the desired permission, the design was dropped for the time, and the lands remained as be- fore. Several partial efforts were afterwards made, which either ended in the appointment of committees, or failed from a want * The price is now twenty-five dollars for each term, or seventy-five dollars a year.—January, 1834. 102 HISTORY OF THE of proper attention in the progress of the affair. At length, in the year 1816, the board determined to exert themselves for the attainment of the object; and, as a preliminary measure, passed a resolution pledging the income of the University for the edu- cation and maintenance of any two individuals at one time, and of an equal number forever, whom the heirs of the late pro- prietor might nominate. Thus originated the " Penn founda- tion," the establishment of which was merely the transfer of an obligation before attached to the possession of the Perkasie lands, to the general funds of the University; and wTas very properly considered by the board as a necessary proceeding on their part, before permission to sell these lands could be decently requested. Application being now made to John Penn, the descendant and heir of Thomas Penn, a release of the condition annexed to the original grant was readily obtained ; and in the year 1817 the whole estate was sold for the sum of sixty thou- sand five hundred dollars, a portion of which was paid in cash, and the remainder secured by bond and mortgage. It was men- tioned, on a former occasion, that the purchasers were unable to meet their engagements; and that much of the property has in consequence reverted to the University. Connected with the collegiate department of the University is a library, which, though not very extensive, contains many rare and highly valuable works. The donation of the king of France, and the bequest of Dr. McDowell, have already been alluded to. Presents for the library have been received from other sources, among which may be mentioned a number of Bengalee books from the Rev. Wm. Carey, Baptist missionary in India. Ap- propriations are occasionally made by the trustees for its in- crease ; and a standing committee, in whose charge it has been placed, are directed to purchase, as occasion may offer, such works as they may think suitable, "particularly all publications connected with the past and present condition of the United States." UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 103 There is also connected with the same department a philo- sophical apparatus, which has been gradually increasing since the foundation of the school, and is at present one of the most valuable and extensive collections of this kind, existing in America.* With all these recommendations, it might be reasonably ex- pected that the College would be crowded with students; but the new regulations, by which it has been placed on its present footing, are too recent to have produced any of those good effects which may be ultimately expected from them ; and the number of students, therefore, differs little from the average of the last ten or fifteen years, which may be stated at about fifty.f Of the Academy, which is the second division of the depart- ment of arts, it is necessary to say but little. Under this title are included two grammar schools—one in the charge of the Rev. James Wiltbank, located in the old Fourth Street Academy; the other, a seminary situated in the western part of the city, which has long been conducted by Messrs. Wylie and Engles, and has recently come into connection with the University. Over these schools a general superintendence is exercised by the faculty of arts, assisted by a committee of the board; and a course of instruction is pursued calculated to prepare the scholars for admission into the collegiate classes. The teachers are com- pensated by the proceeds of tuition, and receive from the Uni- * The apparatus has been considerably augmented since the period alluded to in the text. I have been assured that it is now at least equal to that of any collegiate establishment in the United States.—January, 1834. f Under the influence of the new spirit which has been infused into this department of the University within the last few years, the number of pupils has greatly augmented. According to the catalogue published in 1832, the members of the four College classes amounted to one hundred and twenty-six. The number at present is ninety-four.—January, 1834, 104 HISTORY OF THE versity no other advantage than the influence of its name, and, in the instance of the first-mentioned school, the use of a suitable room free from rent. The price of tuition is twelve dollars a quarter; and the number of scholars generally exceeds one hundred.* The charity schools are a highly interesting branch of the seminary. The circumstances of their origin, and the obliga- tions which bind the trustees to their continued support, have been already detailed. From the foundation of the Academy to the present time, two schools, one for boys, the other for girls, have been constantly maintained out of the general funds of the institution ; and the average number of scholars receiving in- struction in them has been about one hundred. In the year 1823, a third school was established under the following circum- stances. A citizen of Philadelphia, by the name of John Keble, upon his death in 1807, left the residue of a considerable estate to be applied to such charitable objects as might be appointed by the Right Rev. Bishop White, and other persons designated in the will. Conceiving that the promotion of education among the poor was the most effectual charity, and having full con- fidence in the stability of the University, and the uprightness of those who had the direction of its affairs; these gentlemen were convinced that they should best acquit themselves of their charge, by appropriating the property to this institution, in trust that it should be kept a distinct fund for the extension of the boys' charity shool. The appropriation was made in March, * The academical department at present embraces a classical and Eng- lish school, under the charge of a principal, who teaches the classics, an English teacher, and three assistants. The. present principal is the Rev. Samuel W. Crawford, who is assisted by Theophilus A. Wylie and Wil- liam Alexander. The English teacher is Thomas McAdam, and his assistant Thomas McAdam, Jr. The number of pupils at present in the Academy is one hundred and eighty-four.—January, 1834. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 105 1809, at which time the estimated value of the property was nearly ten thousand dollars. Most of it, however, being real estate, and not very productive, the income was deemed too small for immediate and advantageous application. The fund was therefore allowed to accumulate for several years, till, in 1823, it had become sufficiently ample to authorize the establish- ment of a new school, to be maintained exclusively out of its annual proceeds. Thus Originated the Keble Charity School, which is now in a flourishing condition, containing about fifty scholars. The income of the whole Keble fund is at present estimated at one thousand dollars. That portion of it which is not applied to the support of the school, is added to the principa/1, and thus made productive. All the charity schools are " subject to the inspection, super- intendence, and control of the professors of the collegiate de- partment and a committee of the board." The children who attend them, to the number of about one hundred and fifty, are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic; and the whole expense of their instruction, including the salaries of teachers, the rent of rooms, the cost of books, and other incidental charges, is little if at all short of two thousand dollars per annum. 2. Department of Natural Science.—The present condition of this department is by no means flattering. There are nomi- nally five professorships—those of natural philosophy, of botany, of natural history, of mineralogy and chemistry applied to agri- culture and the arts, and of comparative anatomy. A regulation of the department requires that annual courses of lectures should be publicly delivered by each of the professors; but it has been only partially complied with. We have been favoured with highly valuable courses from Dr. Patterson upon natural philo- sophy, from Dr. William P. C. Barton upon botany, and from William H. Keating upon chemistry and mineralogy; but the last of these gentlemen is now absent from the country, Dr. 106 HISTORY OF THE Barton has attached himself to another institution, and the pro- fessor of natural philosophy is at present the only efficient mem- ber of the faculty. It would be a source of great regret, should an establishment which promised so much honour to the Uni- versity, and so much good to the community, be allowed to fail. The public patronage, however, affords an insufficient compensa- tion for the labour and talents which are requisite for a proper performance of the duties of the several professorships; and it is hardly probable that this department will ever prosper, unless the trustees should be able, from their own funds, to supply the deficiency of public support, by salaries adequate to the services required.* In connection with the subject of natural science, it may be proper to mention that, by act of assembly, in the year 1807, a grant of three thousand dollars was made to the trustees of the University, out of the money due by them to the State, "for the purpose of enabling them to establish a garden for the im- provement of the science of botany, and for instituting a series of experiments to ascertain the cheapest and best food for plants, and their medical properties and virtues." A lot of ground suitable for such a purpose has been purchased, the care of which, and of the means necessary for its improvement, has been entrusted to a standing committee of the board. But the appropriation of the legislature was too small to be efficiently applied without the addition of a much larger sum; and, as the income of the University, absorbed in the support of its existing establishment, will admit of no further expenditure, the enter- prise, though not altogether abandoned, is necessarily suffered to languish.. At present, the public resources are so deeply in- * This department of the University, which the establishment of the Franklin Institute has rendered unnecessary, has been abolished.—Jan- uary, 1834. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 107 volved in the prosecution of measures vast in their extent, and rich in their promise of future prosperity to the State, that ob- jects of less importance are perhaps wisely overlooked. But when the promise of these measures shall have been fulfilled, we may reasonably hope that the overflowings of the public treasury will be largely directed iuto the fields of science, and that the botanic garden of the University will be among the first to feel their reviving and invigorating influence. 3 and 4. The Department of General Literature and the Department of Law are at present altogether nominal. Each of them contains a single professorship: but that of law is vacant by the recent death of Charles W. Hare; and that of general literature, though occupied by a gentleman whose quali- fications for the office might safely challenge a comparison with those of any other man in the country, does not afford sufficient inducements to call off his attention from more pleasing or more profitable pursuits.* 5. The Medical Department.—In this department the busi- ness of instruction is committed to six professors, occasionally assisted by adjuncts, who, like their principals, are appointed by the trustees. These professors constitute a faculty, to which, subject to the rules and statutes of the board, belongs the gov- ernment of the medical school, and the arrangement of all the affairs of the department. One of their number, with the title of dean, is appointed to perform the duties of secretary to the faculty, and to act as their organ of communication with the students. The medical professors receive no salary; but the profits of their lectures render their office highly productive. The following is a list of the several professors, with the chairs which they respectively occupy:— Philip Syng Physick, M.D., Professor of Anatomy; * Both these departments have been abolished.—January, 1834. 108 HISTORY OF THE Nathaniel Chapman, M.D., Professor of the Institutes and Practice of Physic, and of Clinical Medicine; William Gibson, M.D., Professor of Surgery; John Redman Coxe, M.D., Professor of Materia Medica, and of Pharmacy; Robert Hare, M.D., Professor of Chemistry ; Thomas C. James, M.D., Professor of Midwifery ; William E. Horner, M.D., Adjunct Professor of Anatomy; and - William P. Dewees, M.D., Adjunct Professor of Midwifery. Full courses of lectures, about four months in duration, are annually delivered upon each of these branches, with the single exception of the institutes of medicine, which, being attached to the subject of the practice, of itself the most copious in the whole round of the science, forms a burden too heavy for the powers of one individual, however expanded maybe his intellect, and vigorous his application. It is to be hoped, however, that means will be provided to supply this deficiency, either by the appointment of an adjunct, or by the creation of a new profes- sorship. It is indeed impossible, that in a system of instruction, in all other respects so perfect, one of the chief pillars upon which the science of medicine rests, should be long allowed to be wanting.* The degrees conferred in the medical department are those of Doctor of Medicine, and Master of Pharmacy. To be admitted to the former of these honours, it is required that the candidate * Since this account was written, Dr. Physick has retired from the school with the title of "Emeritus Professor of Surgery and Anatomy ;" and has been succeeded by his former adjunct, Dr. Horner. The defi- ciency noticed in the text, in relation to the institutes of medine, has been supplied by the appointment of Samuel Jackson, M.D., as assistant to the professor of the institutes and practice of physic and clinical medicine.— January, 1834. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 109 should have attained the age of twenty-one years; should have been three years engaged in the study of medicine, and at least two years of this period under some respectable practitioner; should have attended two full courses of lectures in the Uni- versity,* and one course of clinical instruction in the Pennsyl- vania Hospital or city Almshouse; should have written a dissertation on some medical subject, to be approved by the faculty ; and, finally, have undergone a satisfactory examination by the professors, as to the extent of his acquirements, and his fitness for the practice of the profession. Every medical student, upon entering the University, is obliged to pay five dollars as a matriculating fee. The price of admit- tance to the course of each professor is twenty dollars; and the aggregate cost of tuition for two years is two hundred and forty dollars, f The expenses of graduation amount to forty dollars, of which each of the principal medical professors receives five, the provost three, the vice-provost two, and five dollars are paid to the secretary of the Board of Trustees, which, after defraying the cost of the diploma, is appropriated to the increase and pre- servation of the anatomical museum. As young men of high natural endowments, and strong incli- nation to the medical profession, are often deterred from entering into it by their inability to bear the necessary charges, a propo- sition was very generously made by the faculty to the Board of Trustees, that a permanent provision should be made for the gratuitous education of six students, to be selected from among * With regard to this requisite, an exception is made in favour of those who have attended one or more courses in any respectable medical school in which the same subjects are taught as in the University of Pennsyl- vania. Of these it is only required that they should attend one full course of the medical lectures. f After attending two courses of each professor, the student has the privilege of being admitted to the lectures without charge. 110 HISTORY OF THE those who might appear most deserving, and most in need of assistance. A regulation to this effect was accordingly adopted, and has now been several years in force. A committee is an- nually appointed by the board, who give public notice that they will receive applications for gratuitous tickets of admission to the lectures; and at a suitable time previously to the commence- ment of the regular courses, the several applications which have been handed in are examined and decided on. In every instance, testimonials are required, that the applicant is of good moral character, and of studious habits; .that his literary attainments are respectable ; and that his circumstances are such as to render him a suitable object of the gratuity. The number of students attending the medical lectures in the University averages about four hundred and fifty ; and the annual number of graduates has for the last five years varied from ninety- six to one hundred and thirty-one.* The degree of Master of Pharmacy was instituted, a few years since, with the very laudable view of improving the profession of the apothecary, which in this city has assumed an import- ance far beyond what it possesses in other parts of the United States. Any person is entitled to the degree, who shall have served an apprenticeship of at least three years with a respecta- ble apothecary, and attended two courses of lectures on chemistry and materia medica in the University. Advantages would no doubt have accrued from this accession to the original plan of the medical department, had it not been superseded by the establishment by the apothecaries themselves of a distinct school, which, being under their own management, and directed to the * In the winter of 1824-5, there were four hundred and eighty-four students in the medical class. For the last seven years they have aver- aged about four hundred. The number attending the present course is four hundred and thirty-one.—January, 1834. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. Ill one object of advancing the usefulness and respectability of the profession, is naturally more popular, and at least equally efficient. Reference has been made, on a previous occasion, to the exist- ence of an anatomical museum, connected with the department of medicine. It is generally known among medical men, that the late Dr. Wistar was indefatigable in collecting together speci- mens and preparations both in healthy and morbid anatomy, with models and other representations of parts of the human frame, calculated to illustrate his course of anatomical lectures ; and they who have had the pleasure of listening to his instruc- tion well remember, how delightfully plain and lucid the most intricate and obscure parts of his subject were rendered by his sedulous efforts to demonstrate to the eye, what could not be well understood from description alone. After his death, his family presented to the University this extensive and highly valuable collection, which was thankfully received by the trus- tees, and, in honour of its distinguished author, as well as in commemoration of the liberality of the gift, was styled the Wistar Museum. A suitable apartment was provided for its reception; and appropriations of money were from time to time made for its preservation and increase. In the year 1824 it was greatly enlarged by the addition of the anatomical collection of the Pennsylvania Hospital, which the managers of that institu- tion, with an honourable liberality, transferred to the charge of the trustees of the University, under the impression that, in the medical school, it might be applied to more useful purposes than it could be, if retained in their own possession. The whole museum is placed under the immediate care of the pro- fessor of anatomy, wTho finds, in its diversified contents, the means of giving greater interest and increased efficiency to his lectures. 112 HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. In the foregoing account of the University, it is believed that all the facts, worthy of notice, have been embraced. The reader will have perceived that, in the composition of the whole memoir, nothing higher has been aimed at than simple and perspicuous narration: he will therefore be guided in forming a judgment of its merits, less by the manner in which it has been executed, than by the value of the matter it contains. Judged even upon this principle, it may be thought by some undeserving of the space which it occupies: but it pretends only to local interest; and, if it excite among the inhabitants of Philadelphia increased attention to the claims of an institution which is intimately con- nected with the honour and welfare of the city, it will have accomplished the chief object for which it was written.* * Since the year 1827, when this history was first published, many changes have been made in the University, some of which have been referred to in notes which were introduced on the occasion of its republi- cation in 1834. Still greater changes have been made subsequently to the last-mentioned date, of which those which concern the Medical Depart- ment will be found recorded in the history of that department, prepared a short time since by Prof. Joseph Carson, M.D., of the medical faculty, to which allusion has been already made. The author would have great pleasure in bringing down his narrative to the present times, which are likely to constitute an important era in the history of the school, in con- sequence of its contemplated removal to the recently purchased grounds in West Philadelphia; but he is compelled to forego this satisfaction, by his increasing age and infirmities, which render the necessary researches impossible.—Feb. 1872. II. HISTOEY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL; BEING AN ADDRESS DELIVERED JUNE 10, 1851, ON THE OCCASION OP THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE FOUNDING OF THE HOSPITAL. 8 HISTORY OP THE PEIn"E"SYLYAIn:IA hospital. Prefatory Remarks. The following address was prepared at the request of the managers of the Pennsylvania Hospital. _ Believing that the institution might be benefited by calling the attention of the community to its history and condition, and deeming the commencement of a new century in its existence a suitable opportunity for the purpose, the managers resolved to have a public address delivered, and applied to the author, as the senior prescribing physician of the institution, to perform this duty. In complying with the request, the author felt an interest beyond that of mere official obligation. He knew that there were many points in the history of the Hospital, calculated to excite attention, at least in our community, which it was desirable to have recorded in a con- nected form for preservation and reference. He believed that the exact condition of the establishment was not generally known, and that impressions prevailed to some extent in relation to it, which might, if uncorrected, have the effect of materially limiting its useful- ness. He was convinced that, if its history and present condition were placed clearly and impartially before the public, advantage might accrue to the institution, and, through it, to the general interests of (115) 116 PREFATORY REMARKS. charity. He, therefore, engaged in the work with zeal, and took much pains in the collection and arrangement of the materials; but, from the short space of time allotted, and from the pressure of other engage- ments, he cannot but fear that he has failed to do full justice to the subject. A considerable portion of what has been said in the dis- course is the result of his own personal knowledge; but he also de- rived materials largely from other sources, the most copious of which were the minutes of the Board of Managers, from the beginning to the present time, which were kindly placed at his disposal for the purpose. In several of the financial points he was greatly aided by a manuscript prepared from the official records with great care by George Roberts Smith, Esq., late one of the managers, and put by him into the possession of the board. He consulted the unprinted ofQcial reports, the works of Dr. Franklin, and various other publications, among which may be particularized an early history of the Hospital, prepared at the request of the Board of Managers by Dr. Franklin, and an account of the insti- tution drawn up by Mr. William G. Malin, the present steward, and published in 1831. Some valuable facts and suggestions were also communicated by different officers of the Hospital. Whatever may be thought of the value of the facts contained in the address, or of the manner in which they have been stated, it is believed that reliance may be placed upon their accuracy; and the author cannot but hope that they may operate favourably upon the general sentiment of the community in relation to the institution. Philadelphia, July 4th, 1851. ADDRESS. We have met to commemorate the establishment of the Penn- sylvania Hospital, now at the beginning of the second century of its existence. It is good thus to recur at stated periods to the past. Especially is it good, in the advancing life of society, to recall those occasions when the fresher sensibilities of its youth impelled it to generous exertion and sacrifice, under the excitement of great social wants. The parent lives over again his own early life in that of his children, and feels the disposi- tions and faculties, which had begun to stiffen with age, warmed into renewed and vigorous activity. Society, in like manner, looking upon the offspring of its earlier years, feels a return of its more unselfish impulses, and is prompted to an increase of benevolent effort. The occasion, then, upon which we are met together is not one merely of gratification; it is an occasion also of beneficence, I might almost say, of duty. It was towards the close of the year 1750, that the first step was taken towards the establishment of an hospital in Phila- delphia. The credit of originating the movement is due to Dr. Thomas Bond, at that time one of the most distinguished phy- sicians of the city. It is not improbable, however, that a want so obvious had occupied the thoughts of many reflecting per- sons, and that he who first brought it publicly forward was but the spokesman of a general sentiment, which had been gradually maturing in the community, and was now ripe for action. (117) 118 HISTORY OF THE Dr. Bond began by endeavouring to obtain subscriptions; and solicited the aid among others of his friend Benjamin Franklin, who, highly approving of the project, engaged heartly in further- ing his views. Franklin first prepared the public mind by writ- ing in the newspapers, and thus succeeded in increasing the number and amount of the subscriptions; but it was soon ascer- tained that the enterprise was beyond individual ability, and that legislative aid would be necessary to success. A memorial, therefore, was addressed to the Provincial Assembly, setting forth the urgent necessity then existing for an hospital, and asking for a charter to the contributors and for pecuniary assist- ance.* This was presented on the 23d of January, 1751. After some hesitation, especially on the part of the country members, a bill was finally passed, on the 7th of February, without a dis- senting voice, incorporating " the Contributors to the Pennsyl- vania Hospital," and appropriating two thousand pounds, cur- rency, towards the erection and furnishing of a building, to be paid when an equal amount should be subscribed by individuals to a permanent fund.f * The following persons signed the memorial:—William Plumstead, Luke Morris, Stephen Armitt, Samuel Rhodes, William Coleman, Ed- ward Cathrall, Samuel Smith, Samuel Shoemaker, Samuel Hazard, Samuel Sansom, Amos Strettell, John Arniitt, John Eeynell, Charles Norris, William Griffitts, William Attwood, Anthony Morris, Thomas Graeme, William Branson, Israel Pemberton, Joshua Crosby, William Allen, Joshua Fisher, Nathaniel Allen, Reese Meredith, Joseph Rich- ardson, Joseph Sims-, A. Morris, Jr., Jonathan Evans, Joseph Shippen, John Inglis, John Mifflin, George Spafford. f The private history of this transaction is somewhat curious. One of the objections made by the members opposed to the measure was that the cost of medical attendance would alone be sufficient to consume all the money that could be raised. This was promptly met by an offer on the part of Dr. Lloyd Zachary, and of the two brothers Drs. Thomas PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 119 The charter provided that it should be lawful for all who had contributed or might thereafter contribute ten pounds or more to- wards the Hospital, or any number of them, to meet, on the first Monday of May, yearly, forever, to elect twelve man- agers out of their own number, and a treasurer, and to make rules for the government of the institution, to be obligatory when approved by the Chief Justice, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Attorney-General. Further provisions of the charter were, that the Contributors to the Pennsylvania Hospital might hold real estate of the yearly value of one thousand pounds; that neither they, nor any persons acting under them, should employ and Phineas Bond, to attend the patients gratuitously for three years. But another and probably the real difficulty was, that the members from the country could not see clearly how the interests of their particular constituents would be promoted, and, thinking that the city was to be exclusively benefited, concluded that the inhabitants of the city ought exclusively to bear the expense. Thus it appears that legislators in those times were not more far-seeing than in our own; and a little manage- ment was not less necessary then than now. Franklin's sagacity found a remedy for the difficulty. He told the opposition members that two thousand pounds could be raised by voluntary contribution. This they refused to believe, considering no doubt two thousand pounds a very great sum of money. Then he proposed that they should make their grant conditional upon the subscription of that sum by the citizens. They seized upon the idea, and, willing to gain the credit of charity without expense, no longer hesitated to vote for the bill. But Franklin had another object in view. Should the citizens be assured of an abso- lute legislative grant, they would be apt to be content with this vicarious charity of their representatives, and might be indisposed to subscribe. The conditional character of the grant was therefore a great stimulus to their benevolence; and the consequence was that a subscription which had before dragged along slowly was now quickly filled up. Dr. Franklin says, in his Memoirs, that he remembers none of his political manoeuvres which at the time gave him more pleasure, or in which, after thinking of it, he more eu-ily excused himself for a little indirectness. 120 HISTORY OF THE the money or other estate expressly given or added to the cap- ital stock, in any other way than by applying its annual interest or rent towards the entertainment and care of the sick and dis- tempered poor; and that patients should be received from any part of the Province without partiality or preference. No sooner was this act published than its influence was felt in a great increase of the subscription list; and in a short time, considerably more than the amount required by the charter having been subscribed, a meeting of the contributors was held at the State House, and the first Board of Managers chosen. This board consisted of Joshua Crosby, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Bond, Samuel Hazard, Richard Peters, Israel Pember- ton, Jun., Samuel Rhodes, Hugh Roberts, Joseph Morris, John Smith, Evan Morgan, and Charles Norris. John Reynell was elected treasurer. In the present audience there are, I presume, few to whom most of these names are not familiar, as belonging to men prominent in our general or local history, or as repre- sentative of families among the most respectable and oldest in our city, many of whose descendants are still flourishing in the midst of us, and some probably are now listening to this brief allusion to the praiseworthy efforts of their forefathers. May the satisfaction, which the recognition of the good works of those whose blood flows in their veins cannot but yield to all of proper sensibility, serve as an inducement to hand down, with the in- heritance of their own blood, similar opportunities for self-con- gratulation ; and may those who are less fortunate in the recorded deeds of their ancestors be stimulated by the example to furnish such a day as the present to their own descendants one hundred years hence I Beneficence in the head and founder of a family is like the vapours exhaled by a genial sun from a mountain lake, which, after giving support and beauty to surrounding nature, return at more or less distant points, in refreshing rains, to swell the streamlets that issue from its bosom. PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 121 Very soon after their election, the managers transmitted to England, to Thomas and Richard Penn,* the proprietaries of the Province, an address, narrating what had been done, and sug- gesting that, as the assembly had granted a charter and a sum of money for the erection of a building, and the people had sub- scribed and were still subscribing largely towards a permanent fund, it might.please the proprietaries to grant a plot of ground on which to build ; so that all concerned in the Province might par- ticipate in the honour, merit, and pleasure of so good a work. In a letter to Thomas Hyam and Sylvanus Bevan, the managers bespoke their favourable intercession with the proprietaries, and pointed out, as a suitable place for the building, the unappropri- ated portion of the square on the south side of Mulberry between Ninth and Tenth Streets ; being a part of the city in which the value of land had not increased for several years, and which was not likely to be soon occupied. In reply to this application, the proprietaries sent out an elaborate charter emanating from them- selves, and an order to their lieutenant-governor, James Ham- ilton, to convey to the corporation, in the same instrument, a lot of ground lying on the north side of Sassafras Street, between Sixth and Seventh Streets, being a portion of the grounds now known as the Franklin Square ; under the condition, however, that, should there not be a constant succession of contributors, to meet and choose managers, the tract of land thus conveyed should revert to them or their heirs. But these grants did not meet the wishes of the managers. The charter was less liberal in its provisions than the one they had received from the assembly, and could not be accepted with- out a failure in respect towards the representatives who had so kindly complied with their requests. The provision in reference to the reversion of the lot was in itself an insurmountable objec- * Sons of William Penn. 122 HISTORY OF THE tion; as there might in time be a failure in the regular succession of contributors, and they could not consent to the diversion, which would take place in such an event, of all the future buildings from the original purpose of the charity.* The ground which it was proposed to grant, being low and damp, in the neighbourhood of brick-ponds, and better adapted for a burying-place, for which in fact a portion of it was used, than for any other purpose, was not considered as offering a proper site for an hospital; and, moreover, having been allotted with other adjoining grounds by the founder of the city for public uses, could not be accepted by the managers, under the instrument conveying it, without an implied acknowledgment on their part of the proprietaries' right to the remainder of the grounds. The managers, therefore, unanimously felt themselves constrained to decline the grant of the proprietaries; but were unwilling to surrender the hope of aid from them, and in another letter urged on them, through mutual friends, the plea of regard for their interest in the affec- tions of the people, and the justice of their participation in meas- ures calculated to promote the public good. In the mean time, in order to carry the benevolent design of the subscribers into immediate effect, a private house,f situated on the south side of Market, west of Fifth Street, was hired as a temporary hospital; and the managers took measures, jointly with the contributors, to prepare for regular operations, by- making rules in relation to the government of the institution, the management of its pecuniary concerns, the appointment and * It is right to state that the proprietaries disclaimed any wish to appropriate to themselves the buildings that might be erected, having merely had in view a restoration of the grounds, if they should cease to be applied to the purpose for which they were granted. f This was the mansion of Judge John Kinsey, and with its grounds occupied nearly one-third of a square. The rent paid by the managers yearly was forty pounds. PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 123 duties of the physicians, and the admission of patients. The physicians and surgeons first appointed were Drs. Lloyd Zachary, Thomas and Phineas Bond, Thomas Cadwalader, Samuel Preston Moore, and John Redman. The temporary hospital was opened in February, 1752, when two patients were received ; and it continued to be occupied for about four years. Despairing at length of the wished-for donation from the pro- prietaries, the board determined to purchase a suitable lot, and, after patient and diligent investigation, bought, in December, 1754, for five hundred pounds, the whole of the square on which the Hospital now stands, except a depth of sixty feet on Spruce Street, which, eight or ten years later, was granted by the Penns, together with an annuity of forty pounds. This lot was at that time far out of town, and was approached obliquely through the fields, the main streets not having been opened for use at so great a distance from the built parts of the city. The next object was to erect a suitable building; and a plan was prepared, calculated, with wise forethought, for a prosper- ous future ; but so arranged that a part sufficient for immediate wants might be built at once, and additions afterwards made, as occasion might require, without disturbing the general sym- metry. The plan was that of the present noble structure ; the portion at the time intended for erection was the east wing as it now exists facing Eighth Street. The corner-stone was laid on the 28th of May, 1755, with the following neat inscription, pre- pared by Franklin:— "In the year of CHRIST MDCCLV., GEORGE the Second happily Reigning (for he sought the happiness of his people), Philadelphia Flourishing (for its inhabitants were public spirited), 124 HISTORY OF THE This Building, By the Bounty of the Government, And of many private persons, Was piously founded For the Relief of the Sick and Miserable. May the God of Mercies Bless the undertaking."* The house was so far completed in December, 1756, that patients were admitted ; and the first regular meeting of the man- agers to inspect the wards took place on the 27th of that month. The hospital may now be considered as fairly under way. It will not be uninteresting to glance at the means by which, in a town containing less than 30,000 inhabitants, and as yet too young to have accumulated any considerable amount of capital, resources should have been found adequate to so important a result. The measure was extremely popular with all classes. The original contributions already referred to as exceeding two thousand pounds, were in sums varying from one pound to two hundred and fifty ; being, for the most part, from ten to thirty pounds.f In running the eye over the list of subscribers, it is interest- ing to meet with so many names with which we are now fami- liar, showing that, though Philadelphia receives all strangers with a hearty welcome into her brotherhood, she holds on tena- ciously to the families which have once taken root in her soil. * In the progress of the repairs now going on at the Hospital, it became necessary to dig an area in front of the east wing on Eighth Street; and, in doing so, the corner-stone alluded to was uncovered, and the inscrip- tion found perfect as given in the text. The stone is at the S. E. corner, and the face containing the inscription looks towards Eighth Street.— Note to the Address as originally published. f The subscription of two hundred and fifty pounds was by Wm. Allen, Chief Justice of the Province. PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 125 It will be readily understood that the sum originally subscribed was but a mere beginning, sufficient to set the enterprise on foot, but altogether inadequate to its continued support. The managers were not backward in letting the wants of the institu- tion be known ; and their appeals were always answered. New contributions flowed in every year, sometimes abundantly. The " rich widows and other single women," called on specially by the board in an emergency, showed by their response that benevolence in women is not an exclusive characteristic of our own times.* The celebrated Whitefield collected one hundred and seventy pounds for the institution, at one of his sermons. Tradesmen, mechanics, and even common workmen, deducted something from their prices or wages for the common cause. Holders of real estate sold to the Hospital for less than they would have sold in an ordinary bargain. Jury fines, contested sums of money, and residuary unclaimed sums, in the hands of trustees and assignees, were deposited in its treasury. The signers of the paper money for the Province gave the wages they were allowed by law. The curious paid willingly the fee for admission to the Hospital; and many a poor person received the blessing of Heaven, as he dropped his mite into the charity box. At the suggestion of Franklin, twelve tin boxes were * The subscription among the "rich widows and other single women" was set on foot with the object of raising money to pay for drugs which had been imported from London, and in the aggregate amounted to one hundred and fourteen pounds. Medicines were at first furnished gratui- tously by the physicians of the Hospital; but this was felt to be an unrea- sonable burden, especially as they were giving their professional services without charge. It was, therefore, determined to hire an apothecary to attend daily at the house, and prepare the medicines; and an allowance of £15 per annum was made him for his trouble. It consequently be- came necessary to supply the Hospital with drugs, and at that time they could be obtained of a reliable character only from Europe. 126 HISTORY OF THE provided, marked with the words "Charity for the Hospital," in gold letters, one of which was kept in the bouse of each of the managers. Though not very productive, they added some- thing to the funds. The fact is curious, as marking a character- istic trait of our great philosopher, statesman, and economist. With a mind powerful enough to grasp the lightnings of heaven, and to control the fate of an empire, " eripuit cazlo fulmen scep- trumque tyrannis," he yet had the microscopic faculty of per- ceiving the atoms out of which all aggregates are made, and in pecuniary concerns did not scorn to take care of the pennies.* As may be readily imagined, legacies soon came to be a fruit- ful source of income. Within the first thirty years, considerably more than five thousand pounds were received, in sums varying from twenty to more than a thousand pounds. Nor was the interest excited by the institution confined to the Province. Subscriptions were received from other Provinces, and from the West Indies; and large sums were contributed from the mother country, especially by members of the Society of Friends. It would be unpardonable to pass without notice the name of Dr. John Fothergill, of London, who was untiring in his good offices, not only subscribing largely of money, and making val- uable donations of books, anatomical models, drawings, etc., but freely giving his advice and service when requested, and exerting * Among the benefactions worthy of notice was a lot of ground lying north of the city, presented by a German named Matthew Koplin, with a letter in the language of his fatherland, stating that he desired to offer this gift to the Hospital because he thought it likely to be managed very differently from some in his own country, in which large sums collected as alms were appropriated by the governors of the charity to the enrich- ing of themselves and their friends, who were thus enabled to live in superfluity and voluptuousness, keeping their horses and coaches like rich people, and all at the expense of the poor and the needy. PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 127 his influence in England in various ways for the good of the Hospital* Among the important results of the interest felt in England was the receipt of a large sum of money, consequent upon the settlement of the concerns of a joint-stock partnership, denomi- nated the Pennsylvania Land Company in London. In the year 1760 an act of Parliament was passed, vesting in trustees the estates of that company in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland, in order that they might be sold, and the proceeds distributed. But, as it appeared probable that for a considerable portion of these proceeds no just claimant would be found, the insertion of a clause in the act was procured by the friends of the Hospital, granting to that institution all the money which might remain unclaimed in the hands of the trustees upon the 24th of June, 1770. Thomas Hyam appears to have been chiefly in- strumental in bringing about this important event for the Hos- pital ; and the counsel and aid of Dr. Fothergill and David * The donation of Dr. Fothergill alluded to, consisted of eighteen dif- ferent views of anatomical structure, in crayon and framed ; of three cases of anatomical models, and of another case containing a skeleton, etc. These were of considerable value, being estimated in the schedule of the stock of the Hospital, at £350. They must have been of much service to the student in the dearth of opportunities for anatomical demonstra- tion, and appear to have excited some curiosity in the community, as they were placed in a room by themselves, and a dollar was demanded from every visitor, for permission to inspect them. They arrived in August, 1762, about the time of the return of Dr. Shippen from Europe, and were made use of by him, with the permission of the board, for the illustration of a course of lectures on anatomy, which he delivered the following winter. But a pistole from each student attending the lectures was demanded for the privilege. In the following summer, Dr. Shippen volunteered to attend at the Hospital every other Saturday at 5 p.m., to explain the paintings, etc., to those who might attend, on the payment of a dollar to the Hospital. 128 HISTORY OF THE Barclay, in connection with Dr. Franklin, then in England, were very usefully resorted to in the ultimate settlement of the business. Nearly thirteen thousand pounds, or about thirty- four thousand dollars, accrued ultimately to the institution from this source, though the last portions of the sum were not received until after the close of the revolutionary war. A simple reference to a further grant of three thousand pounds, made by the Provincial Assembly in the year 1762, will close our account of the fiscal concerns of the Hospital anterior to the revolution. Purchases were made at different times, on reasonable terms, and for sums which would now seem extremely small, of the square of ground lying east, and of the half square lying west of the proper hospital lot. In April, 1776, according to a state- ment entered on the minutes of the Board of Managers, the whole capital stock, independently of the buildings and the lot upon which they stood, estimating the real estate at cost, was somewhat over twenty-one thousand pounds, or about fifty-six thousand dollars'; and the annual income from the productive capital was thirteen hundred and eighteen pounds, or about three thousand five hundred dollars. It would give me great pleasure, were time allowed, to refer to the various individuals who were most active in the early concerns of the Hospital, and most liberal in its support; to speak, in addition to those already mentioned, of the Joneses, the Griffittses the Foxes, the Roberdeaus, the Greenleafs, the Richardsons, the Mifflins, the Lewises, the Whartons, the Mor- rises, the Logans, and others who acted as managers in the Provincial times; of the Shippens, the Evanses, the Morgans, the Moores, who served as physicians and surgeons; of the Aliens, the Crosbys, the Dennys, the Emlens, the Hamiltons, the Norrises, the Neates, the Osbornes, the Pembertons, who, during the first ten years, contributed most largely to its funds. PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 129 But I must forego the satisfaction of further personal details. Where a whole community participates, it is impossible to name all; and it is highly probable that, were the attempt made to ascribe his due merits to each individual concerned, great in- justice at this distance of time might be done to the modest worth, which no doubt then, as now and always, sought rather to conceal than to blazon forth its good deeds.* It was undoubtedly a sense of the benefits it conferred which rendered the Hospital so popular. The insane, instead of wan- dering through town and country, to their own and the public injury, an offence frequently and terror to the community, or of languishing in confinement, perhaps in chains, with little sym- pathy and less restorative aid, were now comfortably accom- modated, often restored to health by judicious management, and, if incurable, were restrained from doing harm to them- selves or their families, whether in person or estate. The poor and houseless stranger, overtaken by sickness, or perhaps seek- ing relief for his infirmities from metropolitan skill, was no longer left to precarious individual charity, or, failing in this, to perish in the streets. The sick tenant of the cellar or the garret, without fuel in winter, and ill provided at any season with food, medicine, and advice, had now a refuge to shelter and save him. The victims of sudden accident, with broken limb or bleeding wound, instead of being left to the mercies of chance, maimed perhaps for life, or perishing from want of suitable aid, had now * In addition to what has been said of Franklin's services to the Hos- pital, it is proper to mention that he continued to take an active share in its concerns until he went abroad; was the first secretary of the Board of Managers and its second president; wrote, by the request of the board, for publication, an historical sketch of the institution, and in other ways employed his very efficient pen in its service; and, finally, during his official residence in London, continued to give attention to its pecuniary interests. 9 130 HISTORY OF THE ready access to the best skill, and all the necessary appliances to obviate the evil, so far as this could be effected by human agency. In fact, the beggar in the street, in reference to his restoration to health when diseased, was elevated to the con- dition almost of the prince in his palace. They who had wit- nessed the previous evil, and now beheld the operation of the remedy, blessed in their hearts the instrument of so much good, and freely gave of their substance for its support. But we are now accustomed to hospitals, and have little experience of the general evils they have abated. We have come to look on them as matters of course ; our feelings have cooled into indifference ; and there may be some danger that, as extremes are said to meet, we shall find ourselves, in the advanced stages of social progress, not far from the point at which we started. The number of patients admitted annually into the Hospital increased gradually from 53, in the second year of its operations, to 153 in the year 1760-61, 382 in 1770-71, and 435 in the year preceding the declaration of independence ; the average pro- portion of pay-patients throughout this period being only a little more than one-sixth. The average numbers in the Hospital at the same time, in the years mentioned, were respectively 17, 45, 117, and 89, the last number indicating some falling off conse- quent upon the revolutionary troubles. But, strange as the opinion may sound to most of the audi- ence, I have no hesitation in saying that the cure of the sick is but a small part, relatively, of the good that is done by a well- regulated hospital. The opportunities which it affords to the medical student of acquiring a practical acquaintance with dis- ease, contribute much more largely to the general benefit. It is universally admitted that the young practitioner, who has sought instruction by the bedside in institutions of this kind, is far better qualified for the duties of his profession, than if he had enjoyed no such advantage. The community which affords such PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 131 opportunities to those who are to have the future charge of its health, will reap the incalculable reward of a wiser supervision and more efficient management of all that concerns that inesti- mable blessing. This, then, is one of the charities that benefits, even in a worldly sense, as well the giver as the immediate recipient. But the good extends far beyond the community in which the hospital is situated. Young men from a distance are attracted by its proffered advantages, and carry home with them, each to his own neighbourhood, a portion of the knowledge and skill which he has seen exhibited. For every patient cured, or well treated, in an hospital, hundreds, perhaps, in the course of time, thousands, scattered through wide regions of town and country, may experience similar benefit. How the managers of institutions of this kind can reconcile to their moral sense the closure of this broad avenue to good, I find it difficult to under- stand. Assuredly this charge cannot be made against the Penn- sylvania Hospital. Clinical instruction has ever been a -promi- nent part in its scheme. Born with it in this country, it has grown with its growth, and, if I cannot exactly say is mature with its maturity, is probably as far advanced as circumstances will at present allow. Students were at a very early period admitted to the practice of the house, at first upon the payment of a fee of five pistoles, or about eight pounds currency, which was afterwards reduced to five pounds, and still later to ten dollars, at which it now stands. So early as 1766, Dr. Thomas Bond proposed to deliver a course of clinical lectures to the students, and, the proposition being approved by the managers, commenced in November with an Introductory Lecture, which was so highly thought of by the board, that it was copied into their minute book. From that time to the present, clinical lectures have been given more or less regularly in the Hospital, either in the form of remarks by the bedside as the students were conducted through the wards, or, when they have been too 132 HISTORY OF THE numerous, as of late, to be thus conducted, by regular lectures in the amphitheatre, to which the patients were conveyed. By these means the Hospital has long been a fountain from which streams of sanitary influence have poured forth through all parts of this far-extending land, spreading everywhere, along with its practical benefits, the reputation of this time-honoured institution. Another interesting event in the early history of the Hospital was the establishment of the medical library, at present one of its greatest boasts. This event followed directly from the sys- tem of clinical instruction. The managers having referred to the physicians and surgeons for consideration the subject of fees from medical students attending the Hospital, the latter met in May, 1763, and, after a conference upon the subject, agreed to propose that a fee should be demanded from every attending student, not an apprentice of one of the medical officers of the Hospital. As such fees were in European hospitals considered as a perquisite of the physicians and surgeons, they were of opinion that to them properly belonged the appropriation of the money thus received; and they proposed, accordingly, that it should be applied to the establishment of a medical library. This appropriation was virtually agreed to by the board ; and thus began that splendid collection of medical books, unequalled probably on this continent, and surpassed by few libraries, ex- clusively medical, in the world. The internal business of the house was superintended by a steward and matron; and the direct care of the patients, under the physicians, was entrusted to students or apprentices, living within the institution, who were supposed to derive from the experience acquired a full compensation for their services. At this stage of the history of the Hospital, the duties also of the apothecary devolved on these young men; for, though professed apothecaries were occasionally engaged for a salary, and one or PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 133 more were brought for the purpose from England, the plan was abandoned after the system of apprenticed students came fairly into operation. In relation to the patients, the rule was to admit as many on the poor list as the funds at the command of the managers would support, refusing those only afflicted with incurable or contagious diseases. The remaining space, after these were accommodated, was appropriated to the reception of patients who could afford to make some compensation; and, as the price demanded was much less than they would have had to pay out of the house, scarcely exceeding the absolute cost to the institu- tion, and whatever profits accrued went to the further extension of aid to the destitute, it follows that the charity of the Hospital was more widely diffused than if it had admitted only paupers. As to the insane, the same rules were not rigidly followed. The incurable of this class were admitted even upon the poor list; and from the richer patients, whose friends gladly availed them- selves of the benefits of the establishment, a higher board was demanded ; so that in fact this department became a source of profit, and aided in the support of the general charity. Such were the regulations and such the condition of the Hospital at the breaking out of the revolutionary war. It had been established on a firm foundation, had matured its arrange- ments by an experience of many years, and was in a condition to expand with the growing means of the Province, and the accu- mulation of material for its beneficent operation. It had passed its period of development, had escaped the dangers of infancy, and was in a vigorous youth, with every promise of a noble maturity. But it was now to stand a severe trial of its stability. A storm had been long gathering in the political atmosphere of the Provinces, which broke out at length into the fury of civil and revolutionary war. It swept over the whole land. Social habits 134 HISTORY OF THE and relations, with their beautiful verdure and bloom, were crushed to earth beneath the blast, or torn, and scattered by its violence; the arts and business of life, the noble erections of skill and industry, tottered upon their foundation, and stood roofless in the storm ; the deepest rooted institutions of science and benevolence were uptorn or broken, and the fragments of their tempest-tosfeed limbs strewn over the country. When the rage of contest had ceased, and peace again shone out upon the land, the people, recovering from their stupefaction, began to look around them, to examine what had escaped destruction, to gather up the scattered fragments of their institutions, and to restore the beauty and beneficence of order to society once more. What at this time was the state of our institution ? It had not come unscathed out of the tempest. In the excess of party bitterness, four of its most efficient managers were banished to the wilds of Western Virginia. The British army, upon enter- ing Philadelphia, took possession of its wards, appropriating the bedding, medicines, instruments, etc., to their own uses; and, though the building was restored by them to the managers, the mischief done was not repaired, and no compensation made for the losses inflicted. But vastly worse than either of these evils was the conduct of many debtors of the institution, who took advantage of the law enforcing the receipt of paper money, to discharge their mortgages and other obligations in a depreciated currency. While the capital was thus diminished, the income from the remainder, often paid in the same worthless paper, shrunk almost to nothing; and, as contributions came in no longer, and the increased cost of living necessarily augmented the expenses, it may be readily understood that the Hospital was greatly crippled in its means of doing good. On one occa- sion, it became necessary to beg the loan of a little specie to prevent its operations from being wholly suspended. It is true that, upon a representation being made to the legislature of the PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 135 condition of the charity, an act was passed granting the appa- rently munificent sum of ten thousand pounds; but such was the state of the currency at the time, March, 1780, that the value of the grant was estimated at the precise sum of one hun- dred and sixty-three pounds, eighteen shillings and eight pence; but little more than enough to pay the salary of the steward and matron. From a statement published by the board in the autumn of 1785, it appears that the loss of productive capital, consequent on the revolutionary troubles, amounted to up- wards of eight thousand pounds,* and that its expenses at that time, though very greatly reduced, doubled its fixed income. In the year 1788-89, such was its inefficiency that only seventy- seven patients were admitted into the house during the whole year, of whom not more than twenty-eight were on the charity- list; and the average number in the house at one time was forty-seven, consisting chiefly, in all probability, of incurable lunatics. This was the lowest point to which the institution sank. It had now seen its worst days. The sunshine of peace was in- vigorating all things around it, and, under the genial influence, its own trunkless roots began to send up a new and vigorous growth once more. The name of Samuel Coates was long associated with the rising prosperity of the Pennsylvania Hospital. He was elected a manager, July 25th, 1785 ; and very soon new vigour appears to have been infused into the proceedings of the board. An appeal to the community was published; and a committee, of which Mr. Coates was chair- man, was appointed to solicit subscriptions personally from the citizens. A considerable sum was thus raised ; renewed in- terest and pride in the institution were excited ; and legacies with various contributions again flowed into its coffers. The * Precisely £8,259 17s. Id. 136 HISTORY OF THE managers exerted themselves in every way; delinquent debtors were called to account; suspended annuities and subscriptions were claimed ; legacies which had escaped notice were looked after and recovered ; disputed claims were brought to a legal settlement; and, while in this species of beneficent foraging, no visible blade of grass was left ungathered, a watchful care was exercised over the consumption within, which allowed nothing to be wasted. One windfall is worthy of special notice. Two hundred pounds were sent to the board by an individual, as an indemnity for injury inflicted on the Hospital by the former payment of a mortgage in depreciated funds. It appears, however, that con- science in this case had been negotiating with self-interest, and, as so frequently happens, had the worst of the bargain. A com- mittee of the managers replied, that they were free to acknowl- edge that this was the first instance in which the least compen- sation had been offered for the great injury and injustice done to the poor, by the payment of money, borrowed equal in value to specie, in a currency known at the time to be so worthless. This, they said, however, was warranted by the law, upon which they were disposed to make no comment at all, leaving every man to reconcile his conduct to the law written in his heart. The present payment, they thought, was dictated upon a good ground; and they could not doubt that something fur- ther would spring from the same source, until the whole should be settled on the true principle of right; and, in order that this end might be attained, they sent a statement of the account, showing how much was yet wanting to make up the great loss. In consideration of the fact that legacies from persons at a distance had, in repeated instances, long remained unknown to the board, and of course unpaid, the managers applied in 1790 to the legislature for a law rendering it obligatory on the regis- ters of wills,, in the different counties, to give notice of such PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 137 legacies to charitable institutions. Whether any legislative action ensued I have not learned. In January, 1792, a new application was made to the legisla- ture for assistance. In a joint memorial from the managers, treasurer, and physicians, after a brief historical sketch of the institution from its foundation, showing how much it had in former times been favoured by the assembly, its present wants were set forth in an impressive manner, especially the want of space for the accommodation of the increasing number of luna- tics, who were now injuriously crowded, and, by filling the wards, excluded the due proportion of other cases from the house. What was now especially wished from the legislature was an appropriation for completing the Hospital buildings ac- cording to the original plan; as, if this were accomplished, it was thought that the increasing interest taken in the institution would insure the supply of means for its support through volun- tary contributions. The result of this application, supported as it appears to have been by the public sentiment, was an act of assembly granting to the Hospital the sum of ten thousand pounds out of the arrears due to the Commonwealth under the loan office act; and, in addition, the unclaimed dividends of bankrupts' estates, which yielded, in the end, nineteen thou- sand dollars. A further grant of twenty-five thousand dollars was made in April, 1796; so that the Hospital received alto- gether, on these occasions, through legislative action, a sum, applicable to the erection of buildings, somewhat exceeding seventy thousand dollars. At a meeting of the contributors early in 1794, it was de- termined to proceed at once with the building. The aim was to provide accommodations as soon as possible for the insane ; and the western wing, with the wards connecting it with the central portion, was first undertaken. This was so far com- pleted as to be opened for the reception of patients in 1796. In 138 HISTORY OF THE consequence of the great rise in the price of materials, and the slow incoming of portions of the legislative grant, the progress with the remainder of the house was less rapid than had been anticipated; and it was not till the year 1805 that the central portion was finished, and the original plan carried into full effect. It is scarcely necessary to allude to the several out- buildings which were at different periods suggested by the in- creasing wants of the Hospital, and erected out of its increasing means. From a representation made by the board to the legis- lature, it appears that the sum specifically granted for the building had been insufficient to meet the cost; and a further grant was requested : but the bounty of the assembly had been exhausted ; and from that period the Hospital has received no pecuniary aid from the State government. In looking over the minutes of the Board of Managers, I have found numerous records of incident, which, did time permit, might be referred to with interest on the present occasion, as in themselves curious, as bearing more or less directly upon the history of the institution, or as illustrative of the local history of the times. I will refer briefly to a few of them. It is generally known that the wife of Stephen Girard, whose name has now become inseparably connected with our city, was for a long time among the unfortunate inmates of the insane department of the Hospital; but it is not so generally known that a child was born to him within its precincts in May, 1791, by the death of which probably the orphans of Philadelphia became his heirs. Mr. Girard was always a friend of the Hospital, and repeated pecuniary contributions received from him are noticed on its records. The yellow fever, which committed such havoc in our city in 1793, and for many years afterwards continued to make oc- casional inroads in the summer and autumn, seems always to have been an object of great dread at the Hospital. The mana- PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 139 gers, as most others in those times, were decided contagionists, and were under constant apprehension lest the disease might be propagated in the house. They have placed on record a strong letter of remonstrance written by them to Dr. William Shippen, one of the physicians, in June, 1801, on the occasion of the inad- vertent admission into the Hospital of a patient, who turned out to be affected with the fever. In the summer of 1797, while the building was going on, their carpenter, David Evans, applied for permission to board in the house, as the yellow fever was pre- vailing in the vicinity of his residence. This was granted on the condition that he should hold no communication with the city; the Hospital being then considered, as appears, quite out of town. The managers seem to have taken some credit to themselves for keeping their patients free from the disease ; for though, with all their caution, a case would now and then appear within their walls, yet the immediate isolation to which it was subjected, was supposed to have prevented the spreading of the fever. It seems not to have occurred to them that this exemp- tion was in fact owing to the non-contagiousness of the disease, now almost universally admitted in this country, and to the fact that their rural situation placed them beyond the influence of that vitiated atmosphere upon which it depended. It was in the epidemic of 1793 that Dr. James Hutchinson fell a victim to the yellow fever. The managers, thinking it due to his memory to record their sense of his great services to the institution, speak of him in their minutes as "an able and eminent phy- sician," who had spent many of his youthful days as resident apothecary in the house, had afterwards served most acceptably as a surgeon for fourteen years, and was known, with others, to have effectually advocated the interests of the Hospital with the assembly and people, on all occasions, whereby many additional grants and donations had been secured. In 1799, a proposition was made to the board by George 140 HISTORY OF THE Latimer, the Collector of the Port of Philadelphia, to receive as inmates of the Hospital the sick and disabled seamen, both of the public and private service, for a suitable compensation to be paid by the government of the United States. This proposition led finally to the present arrangement, by which the seamen of the merchant service, entitled, in consideration of the hospital money deducted from their wages, to be cared for when disabled by dis- ease, are received into the house for a certain stipulated weekly board, and retained until restored to health, or removed by the collector.* In December, 1802, a proposition was made to extend the usefulness of the institution by the establishment of a lying-in department for poor and deserving married women. This was approved by the contributors in the following January, and the department went into operation accordingly. In connection with this subject may be appropriately mentioned the donation, by the First Troop of Philadelphia Cavalry, of a sum derived from their pay for services in the revolutionary war, which had been set aside for the establishment of a foundling hospital, but happily received a much more profitable direction to this partic- ular charity. The arrangement to this effect was completed in March, 1807. The contribution consisted of shares in the capital stock of the Pennsylvania Bank, and for many years furnished * I find on the minutes for December 28th, 1801, an incident worthy of record, showing an early movement on the subject of temperance in this city. It was the presentation to the Court of Quarter Sessions and Mayor's Court of Philadelphia, of a joint memorial from the Guardians of the Poor, the Inspectors of the City and County Prison, and the Man- agers of the Hospital, stating their alarm at the increase of the number of the objects of their care, attributable, they believed, mainly to intem- perance, and offering their earnest entreaties that the number of taverns and other licensed public houses in the city might be reduced. PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 141 an annual income for the support of the lying-in ward of between five hundred and six hundred dollars.* From an early period of the history of the institution, it had been the custom to attend to poor patients out of the house, as well as to those admitted. This duty was, I believe, mainly performed by the young men who were from time to time engaged as resident students, or apprentices as they were called. There was, however, little system in this department of the service until December, 1807, when a regular dispensary for out- door patients was established, and physicians were appointed to attend them at a small salary. Two or three physicians succes- sively received appointments under this arrangement; but, as the Philadelphia Dispensary, which had the same objects in view, had now come into efficient operation, it was not deemed worth while to persevere; and the whole system was abandoned in January, 1817. The history of the celebrated painting of Christ healing the sick is not unworthy of notice. In September, 1800, the man- agers wrote to Benjamin West, soliciting a contribution from his pencil. They said in their letter that the hospital building, than which none in this part of the world united in itself more of ornament and use, was then nearly completed, and, after a due compliment to the liberality of English contributors, and an appeal to the affection which he could not but feel for the place of his birth, concluded with the sentiment, that the works of an artist which ornamented the palace of his king, could not fail to honour him in his native land. This request received in the * At first, the duties of the lying-in department were attended to by the physicians of the house; afterwards a physician was appointed specially for the office; and finally it was deemed expedient to divide the duties between two, to attend alternately for six months. This last arrangement still exists.—Note to the Address made at the time of its original publication. 142 HISTORY OF THE following year a favourable answer from West, who suggested as the subject of the painting the text of Scripture, " And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them," than which certainly none could be more appropriate. In August, 1810, notice was received that the painting might be soon looked for; and expectation was on tiptoe not only among those especially interested in the Hospital, but in the whole community: but for the present it was destined to disap- pointment. The picture, when exhibited in England, excited such a glow of admiration, that English patriotism took the alarm, and nobles and commons, rich and poor, united in the determination to retain it in the country. West could not resist the various influences exerted, and was prevailed on to allow the painting to remain; but he immediately engaged in the preparation of a copy, which he resolved should exceed the original. Considering that he was occupied in this work at a time when the two countries were at war, and considering also his connection with the great of his adopted country, we may fairly ascribe to him the merit of extraordinary independence and liberality of feeling, as well as of attachment to the place of bis birth. It was not, however, until October, 1817, that the painting reached this country. It was immediately placed in a building which had been specially erected for its reception upon the hospital lot on Spruce Street, and, having been opened for exhibition, at the price of 25 cents for admission, attracted a throng of visitors, which yielded for several years a considerable income to the institution. The money received from the opening of the exhibition to the present time has been somewhat more than twenty-five thousand dollars; and, as the whole outlay on account of the picture was not equal to ten thousand dollars, the profit, deducting the cost of exhibition, amounts to about fifteen thousand dollars; no inconsiderable contribution from our coun- tryman, especially as it proceeded not from an overflowing PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 143 purse, but immediately from the work of his own head and hands.* A subject of much interest about this period attracted the attention and solicitude of the managers. From its foundation up to the year 1808, the thought seems to have occurred to no one of taxing the property of the Hospital. To the simplicity of those times it was so obvious that such a proceeding would be merely taking money out of one pocket to put into another, that it was not considered worth while to incur at once the odium, trouble, and cost of the process. It was well understood that, if the Hospital did not take care of the destitute sick, the charge would necessarily fall on the public ; and, as it is notori- ous that the concerns of this same public are carried on at greater cost than similar concerns in private hands, it seemed to our plain ancestors that money extracted from the charity-box of the Hospital would not only cost more than it would come to, but at the same time be less effective in its application ; that is, the poor would cost more and be worse cared for. But we have learned a new lesson in modern times. There is another class to be provided for at the public expense besides the poor. It is the class that has the management of our public concerns. The more money is collected, and the more distributed, the better for these; and as they are prominently the patriots of the day, they of course deserve support, even at the expense of that less profitable class, the destitute poor. Hence, it is now a favourite * At the request of the managers of the Academy of Fine Arts, the board has permitted this painting to be removed to that institution, with the understanding that it shall be returned when demanded; and as it is safe in the fire-proof building of the Academy, had ceased to yield any material profit to the Hospital, and in its present situation is seen by more than it would be if confined to its original position, this is probably the best disposition, for the present at least, that could be made of it.— Note to the Address made at the time of its original publication. 144 HISTORY OF THE theory with many that our charities should be taxed with every- thing else. It appears that in 1808 the property of the Hospital was assessed for the first time. The Board of Managers ap- pealed to the legislature, then sitting in Lancaster (January, 1809); petitioning for an act exempting their property from taxation; but were unsuccessful. They hereupon determined to decline payment, and to appeal to the law ; having, in the absence of any special enactment, long usage in their favour. In June, the collector sent in a bill of three hundred and eighty-one dollars and seventeen cents, for city, county, poor, and health taxes; and, not receiving payment, seized on the hay and the cows which he found in one of the lots. These were bought in on account of the board, who then instituted a suit for trespass. The cause was protracted till 1812, when it was lost; and nothing now remained for the managers but submission to the burden, or another appeal to the law-making power. They preferred the latter, but again failed; nor did they meet with better success in another attempt, made towards the close of the year 1814. They did not, however, despair. In their next essay they were wise enough not to place their dependence on the merits of their cause alone; but to act also on the political sensi- bilities of the law-makers, by giving to their application a broad popular basis. A memorial was prepared and circulated among the citizens for their signature. With this they presented them- selves once more at the door of legislation, backed this time not merely by reason, common sense, humanity, charity, and the various other common-place homely influences of the same kind, but also by the potential voice of many voters, much more easily heard, amid the din of politics, than the still, small voice within. Whether the result was due to their policy or to their persever- ance, certain it is that the decision was at length in their favour ; and, by a clause apparently smuggled into the close of another act having reference to the far-off city of New Orleans, as if the PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 145 legislators were really ashamed of this lapse into the weakness of charity, the Pennsylvania Hospital and the grounds around it were declared to be exempt from taxation so long as they should be employed for charitable purposes. It is proper to say that a subsequent assembly extended this exemption (March 19th, 1845) to the whole estate, real and personal, belonging to the institution. Alluding as we have done so often to benefactions conferred upon the Hospital, it is no more than just that we should men- tion an occasion in which the Hospital itself was the giver. The liberal present made by Dr. Fothergill of various anatomi- cal drawings and models to the institution, has been already referred to. These served as the basis of a museum, which was afterwards greatly increased (April, 1793) by the purchase from the executors of Dr. Chovet, an eminent, but somewhat eccentric physician of Philadelphia, of his collection of prepa- rations and wax models, then deemed master-pieces of art in that department. The museum thus created was considered at one time among the greatest attractions of the Hospital, and even added somewhat to its receipts. But losing at last its value in this respect, and occupying space which was wanted for the more important purposes of the institution, the managers very courteously made an offer of it to the University of Penn- sylvania, where it might be employed to greater practical ad- vantage. The purchased cabinet of Dr. Chovet was made an absolute gift; but the collection presented by Dr. Fothergill, as the managers did not conceive that they had the authority to alienate it, was merely placed with the University on deposit. The transfer was made in April, 1824, and the two collections at this time form a part of the Wistar Museum in the Uni- versity. An improvement of considerable importance was about the same time made in the internal medical arrangements of the 10 146 HISTORY OF THE Hospital. Originally, a single student or apprentice, bound to serve the institution for five years, was deemed adequate to the duties not only of attending to the sick, but also of putting up the prescriptions of the physicians. An additional apprentice was afterwards found necessary; and, by a very proper arrange- ment, to the older and more experienced were assigned the more responsible duties, while the younger took those which required less knowledge and skill. But with the rapidly extending busi- ness of the house, it became essential to obtain further aid ; and it was resolved, June, 1821, that a regular apothecary should be engaged at a salary, to reside in the house, and take upon himself all the strictly pharmaceutical offices. At the same time, instead of students or apprentices, it was determined that graduates in medicine should be employed, who, having already gone through a regular course of education, would not only be more competent to the duties of the station, but would also be able to devote their time more exclusively to these duties. Thus the two students were replaced by two resident physicians ; and the number of these has recently been increased to three. The experience and skill they gain during their period of service are deemed an ample compensation ; and they receive only their board while in the house. The station is eagerly sought for by the best educated among our young graduates. From the period of greatest depression, about the close of the revolutionary war, the pecuniary concerns of the Hospital rapidly improved, under the unceasing activity of the managers, and the smiles of popular favour. The liberal legislative grant has been mentioned. Individual contributions were numerous, and in the aggregate of large amount. Among the most con- siderable was one of thirteen hundred dollars, presented through Samuel Coates, by a person who was unwilling that his name should be known. The interest felt for the institution in Great Britain before the revolution still continued in some degree, as PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 147 evinced by donations and pecuniary contributions from Dr. Lettsom, William Dillwyn, and Robert Barclay. Various gifts were made of little pecuniary value, but highly acceptable from the associations attached to them. A marble bust of William Penn, supposed to be the first executed in this country, was presented by James Traquair, in June, 1802; and the leaden statue of the same great man which has long stood in front of the Hospital, was received as a gift from his grandson, John Penn, in September, 1804.* The legacies were also numerous. Among them may be particularized, as of greatest amount, those of Dr. Samuel Cooper, who left the greater part of his estate for the support of a carriage and horses for the use of the Hos- pital; of William West, amounting to upwards of two thousand dollars; of Charles Nicholes, exceeding five thousand dollars; of Paul Siemen, two thousand dollars; of John Keble, who, * In addition to these donations may be mentioned, as falling within this period of the history of the Hospital, the gift by Henry S. Drinker of the arm-chair of William Penn, which is said to have been used by him on the occasion of his audiences with the Indians who visited him at Pennsbury Manor, and which had remained in the mansion house at that place from 1683 to 1795. It was presented by Mr. Drinker, May 7th, 1810. In September, 1831, a marble bust of Benjamin West, executed by Chantry, was presented on the part of Major Gibbons, of Richmond, Virginia, and was placed in the room occupied by the celebrated painting of West. The portrait of Dr. Rush, which adorns the hall of the centre building at the Hospital, was painted after a family picture, by Thomas Sully, at the suggestion of the medical students, made in a letter to the board, May 31st, 1813, and at the expense of the fund derived from the fees of the students, under a resolution of the physicians and surgeons. About the same time, the full-length portrait of Samuel Coates, the efficient manager of the institution, which also adorns the hall, was painted by Mr. Sully, and presented by him to the institution. 148 HISTORY OF THE besides a considerable amount of real estate, left money and securities equivalent to not less than fifteen thousand dollars, which were received in July, 1809;* and, lastly, of Stephen Girard, whose legacy, amounting to twenty-nine thousand two hundred and fifty dollars, after the deduction of the collateral inheritance tax, came into the treasury of the Hospital in July, 1832. The productive capital, which, at the lowest period of its de- pression in 1783, was in round numbers twenty-seven thousand dollars, gradually increased, in the several decades after that year, to forty-five thousand in 1793, sixty-two thousand in 1803, one hundred and twenty-four thousand in 1813, one hundred and seventy-two thousand in 1823, and two hundred and sixty thousand in 1833, after which a new era in the history of the Hospital begins. The income from capital, during about an equal period, rose by corresponding gradations from one thou- sand dollars, its lowest point in 1796, to nearly fifteen thousand in 1835. The operations of the charity of course corresponded with the means; and the number of annual admissions increased from 78 in 1790, to 176 in 1800, 368 in 1810, 749 in 1820, and to 1130 in 1830, after which the average for several years was somewhat over 1000. The number in the house at one time, or, to use a technical phraseology, its average population, rose from 46 to 225. The proportion of pay-patients was, during this second period in the history of the institution, much greater than in the ante-revolutionary period, owing to the admission of the seamen of the merchants' service, and the increased numbers * By the will of Mr. Keble, eight hundred dollars were specifically left the Hospital, and the residue to be distributed by Bishop White and others, executors or trustees, for such charitable purposes as they might deem best. The share which accrued to the Hospital was estimated to have amounted altogether to the sum of $28,242, from which a small annuity was to be deducted. (Minutes, vol. ix. page 172.) PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 149 of the insane, whom the reputation of the Hospital attracted from all parts of the Union. It was necessary to regulate the number of poor admitted by the state of the funds, and from time to time the former was augmented by resolution of the board with the increase of the latter. Thus in 1807, 50 beds were allowed for poor patients, in 1823, 90, and in 1835, 120. Reference has already been made to the purchase of the two lots east and west of the Hospital. At various periods the managers were enabled to possess themselves also of one upon the southwest, and another opposite to the Hospital on the south ; so that, with their buildings all completed, and sur- rounded, on every side except on the north, with beautiful green fields, kept in the nicest order, they could boast of an institution, if not the largest, assuredly in all points of beauty, healthfulness, and general prosperity, unsurpassed upon this continent. A new era now begins in the history of the Hospital. A great question agitated the minds of the board, the contributors, and the thinking men of the general community. This question had reference to the insane. Their numbers had increased beyond the means of accommodation. New views in relation to the treatment of this class of patients had been developed, which could not be carried out in the existing space and arrangements of the house. The Pennsylvania Hospital, which had taken an acknowledged lead in this branch of practical medicine, was falling behind other establishments. They who had the im- mediate charge of the insane, and I happened to be one of them, felt themselves cramped in their curative efforts, and, seeing their way clearly to better things, were troubled and grieved at the intervening obstacles. There was no opportunity for proper classification, none for bringing duly to bear the vast remedial power of moral influences. It is true that, in our institution, under the enlightened supervision of Rush and others, correct views of insanity and of its management had prevailed and been 150 HISTORY OF THE carried into partial effect, at a very early period, and had un- doubtedly been one cause of its wide reputation and popularity. But in the march which we ourselves had been among the first to begin, circumstances were now compelling us to halt. This state of things could be tolerated no longer. Either the care of the insane must be abandoned, or we must conform with the improved views and methods of the day. But the reception and care of lunatics were among the very objects of the foundation of the Hospital. The first memorial to the Provincial Assembly refers, in its beginning sentence, to the increasing number of lunatics, as one of the great wants calling for relief. All the legislative grants, all the individual contributions and legacies, were made with the understanding that they were to be appropriated in part to this class of patients. In justice, they could not be abandoned. It was among the highest obligations of the institution to provide for their proper care and treatment. An extension, then, of the existing accom- modations was an imperative duty, I might almost say a neces- sit}~. But how, and to what extent, was this to be effected? Were we to be content with some enlargement of the means already in operation, with some patching of a system which had been outgrown, some repairs of an old edifice the very founda- tions of which were insecure ? This would have been a very short-sighted policy—a very selfish policy—shifting from our own shoulders to those of our successors the burden that properly belonged to us. No ! The true plan, the most efficient, in the end even the cheapest plan, was to begin anew; to desert the old grounds and the old building as insufficient, and as wanted, too, for other purposes; to adopt the good American system of migration when overcrowded ; and to seek a new site and new circumstances corresponding with the magnitude and importance of the object. But how was this to be accomplished ? Whence were the PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 151 funds to be obtained ? The productive capital of the Hospital could not be touched. The income from this som*ce was sacred. It did not belong to the " Contributors to the Pennsylvania Hospital;" it belonged under solemn pledges to the sick and destitute poor. There remained then but one alternative—an appeal to the public, or the sale of the beautiful but unproduc- tive lots around the Hospital. The former, it was well known, would, under the circumstances and to the extent desirable, be unavailing. The answer to every hint of such a recourse was— you are rich; you are overburdened with unproductive real estate; make use of your own means, and then if necessary apply to us. It is true that many regretted the loss of those grassy squares; hoped that they might be reserved as breathing places for the crowded city ; deprecated even the effect of their loss upon the probable health of the inmates of the Hospital; but they gave no money; they made no offers; they left the Hospital to its own resources. The sale of the grounds then became imperative. The Hospital had bought them with its own money, and had a full right to dispose of them. The contributors at different meetings were consulted upon this important business. At their meeting in May, 1831, they decided that a separate asylum for the insane was expedient, and instructed the managers to propose a suitable site at a future meeting. In May, 1832, and subsequently in 1835, they gave authority to sell the vacant grounds east, west, and southwest of the Hospital, in order to raise money for the new buildings. These lots had been purchased originally for about nine thou- sand dollars ;* they were sold as authorized by the contributors ; and their proceeds, before they were expended upon the new asylum for the insane, amounted, principal and interest in- cluded, to three hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. * Precisely $8917.27 152 HISTORY OF THE They had never yielded an income to the Hospital. In a pe- cuniary point of view, therefore, this was a pure gain. It was an exchange of unproductive property for the noble establish- ment which has arisen upon the other side of the Schuylkill, and which has restored to Philadelphia the proud rank she had nearly lost in this great onward movement of humanity. The question of a site for this new branch of the Hospital was one of great importance. Happily it was settled in favour of the country. I presume that at present there are scarcely two opinions upon the subject. If any one should still entertain a doubt, let him visit the beautiful spot now occupied by the insane under the charge of this institution, and he will return with all his doubts removed. It is hardly necessary for me to say, that the site selected was a farm extending from the Haverford to the West-chester Road, about two miles west of the city, containing somewhat more than 100 acres. The position was, I think, happily selected in reference to healthfulness, convenience, and future availability. A century hence, it is probable that our growing town will have reached these suburban grounds ; and that their increased value at that time will enable the institution to extend its beneficence in a de- gree proportionate to the inevitably increasing demands upon it. The corner-stone of " the Pennsylvania Hospital for the In- sane," as this establishment is properly styled, was laid June 22d, 1836 ; and the house was opened for the reception of patients upon the first day of the year 1841. The whole cost of it was sustained without any encroachment upon the productive capi- tal ; though the fact, that the profits accruing from the board of insane patients had added very considerably to that capital, might have furnished a plausible excuse for the appropriation of a portion of it, had such appropriation been necessary, to the completion of the new establishment. PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 153 A visit to the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane will amply repay any one who either loves the beauties of nature, or the still greater beauties of beneficence in orderly, efficient, and ex- tensive action. Around the house are pleasure-grounds, of more than 40 acres in extent, of finely diversified surface, adorned with grass, shrubbery, and trees, with a small wood enclosed, and from various points commanding agreeable rural views. Neat isolated buildings are seen here and there, intended for the amusement or employment of the inmates, or for other purposes connected with their well-being. In the midst arises a noble edifice, imposing by its magnitude, striking by its architectural character, arranged internally with every attention to health- fulness and comfort, where everything is exquisitely clean, everything in order, and a refreshing atmosphere of kindliness, cheerfulness, and all the gentler virtues, seems to breathe peace- fully through hall, saloon, and chamber. Scattered about the grounds, in the different apartments of the main building, or in the out-houses, you encounter persons walking, conversing, reading, or variously occupied, neatly* and often handsomely dressed, to whom as you pass you receive an introduction as in ordinary social life; and you find yourself not unfrequently quite at a loss to determine whether the persons met with are really the insane, or whether they may not be visitors or officials in the establishment. From this scene of comfort, of amending health, of cheering hopefulness, your minds wander back to the days of cells, prisons, chains, and the lash; when the eye was offended with rags and filth, the ear wounded by yells, screams, and imprecations, and the heart pained by the images of despair around it; and you thank Heaven that you have been permitted to live in these times ; you bless the hearts, the heads, and the hands which suggested, conceived, and executed all this glorious work of beneficence ; and you feel your own hearts swelling with a consciousness of the increased elevation and dignity of human 154 HISTORY OF THE nature itself. Surely no outlay of money is to be regretted which has led to such results. One of the important consequences of a transfer of the insane from the old Hospital to the new, was an increase of space in the former for the accommodation of ordinary medical and sur- gical patients. But the building was old and required much repair; and, besides, a large portion of it, having been originally arranged for the insane, was not adapted to ordinary purposes. A thorough repair, and to a certain extent reconstruction of the hospital in the city, became consequently necessary; and the question now came up for determination how this was to be ac- complished. The board were equally unwilling as before to encroach on the productive capital; one large lot, that, namely, lying south of the Hospital, remained to them; and an effort to obtain subscriptions for the alteration of the west wing, may be said to have failed before the fact that such a lot existed, as it produced only three thousand dollars, while thirty or forty thou- sand were requisite. It remained only that the square on Pine Street should follow the fortune of the others, and exchange its beautiful grassy covering for one of bricks and mortar. The alterations were commenced. The west wing was completely repaired, and remodelled, so as to adapt it for ordinary patients ; and may boast at present among its wards two of the neatest anywhere existing. I have never seen wards equal to them, in this respect, in any hospital either of this country or Europe. The east wing and the centre are at this very time undergoing similar alteration ; and it is probable that, before the end of the first year of the second century of our existence as a corporate body, we shall be possessed of an edifice in perfect repair, as substantial as if new, every way fitted for the use of the insti- tution, and likely to last yet another hundred years. I have now brought the history of the Hospital to a close. Had time permitted I could have dwelt with great satisfaction PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 155 on its relations with the prominent individuals who have in various ways been connected with it since the revolution, and have contributed to elevate it to its present prosperous condition. Especially should I have been gratified, from feelings of profes- sional pride and sympathy, to call to your recollection those great medical names which have honoured alike this institution, our city, and our whole country. But I forbear; and hasten to the end of this address, already I fear protracted somewhat be- yond your patience. It yet remains to offer you a very general view of the present condition, resources, and operations of the establishment; and to call your attention briefly to two or three points, in which justice requires that certain misapprehensions in relation to it should be corrected. The chartered body consists of all who have paid £10 to the in- stitution. These are called contributors. They elect the managers and a treasurer; and to their authority recourse is had when any important undertaking or change of regulations is contemplated. The Board of Managers consists of twelve contributors, who, with the treasurer, are chosen annually on the first Monday in May, and serve without compensation. They have, under the contributors, the whole control of the concerns of the Hospital, and, with the single exception of the treasurer, appoint all the officers. They also have the power to fill vacancies in their own numbers, occurring in the interval between the annual meetings in May. There are two great branches of the institution ; the Hospital in the city, intended for the reception of medical, surgical, and obstetrical patients, and the Hospital for the Insane, situated in the country. The domestic economy of each of these establishments is under the superintendence of a steward and matron. In the City Hospital, the patients are under the care of a board of medical officers, consisting of three physicians, three 156 HISTORY OF THE surgeons, and two obstetricians, all contributors, who serve without compensation. They divide the year between them ; but in such a manner that one of the physicians and one of the surgeons visit the Hospital daily. The visiting physicians and surgeons are aided by three resi- dent physicians, graduates in medicine, who are appointed for eighteen months, live in the house, and receive their board for their services. A resident apothecary, with a salary, superintends the prepa- ration and dispensing of medicines. Attached to this branch of the institution is a splendid medical library, containing more than 9000 volumes, many of them of great value, which, under certain regulations, are in constant use by students of medicine and physicians. A librarian with a salary, resides in the house, has charge of the books, and at the same time serves as clerk to the Board of Managers. The Hospital for the Insane is under the direct management, in all that concerns the medical, moral, and physical condition of the patients, of one physician, who receives a salary, and devotes his whole time to the establishment. The present very efficient occupant of that office has filled it from the foundation of this department of the Hospital. He is aided by a subordinate resident physician, who also receives a salary. vSuch is the machinery of the institution. The resources by which it is kept in operation consist of an invested productive capital, which, by contributions, legacies, etc., has been gradually increased to three hundred and seventy thousand dollars, yield- ing an income of about twenty thousand dollars. At the present time, the department for the insane very nearly supports itself out of the receipts from the pay-patients; the interest of the money expended in purchasing the grounds and erecting the buildings being left out of consideration. PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 157 And now let us glance at the results of the operations of the Hospital. In the hundred years which have elapsed since its foundation, it has received and treated 51,116 patients, of whom 29,863 were upon the poor list. Since the separation of the two branches, in 1841, 13,829 have been admitted to the City Hospital, of whom 9800 were poor; and 1878 into the Hospital for the Insane, of whom 466 were poor. In the year ending in May, 1851, the last year of the century, the number received into the City Hospital was 1935, of whom 14J 6 were on the charity list; and the average population of the house was 158, with 120 poor. In the Hospital for the Insane, 206 were admitted during the year, 53 of them poor; and the average population of the house has been 216.* * The following statistics in relation to the insane who have been treated in the Pennsylvania Hospital, extracted from the last report of Dr. Thomas S. Kirkbride, the very efficient medical superintendent of the department for the insane, will serve to complete the view here given of the operations of the institution. From the foundation of the Hospital in 1751, to the date of the report, January 1st, 1851, 6062 insane patients had been admitted and treated, of whom 1000 were on the charity list. In the ten years which had elapsed from the opening of the present buildings, 1806 patients were received, of whom 448 were indigent Pennsylvanians, who were sup- ported at the cost of $67,410.46 to the income of the Hospital, and most of whom would have remained without treatment but for this charitable provision. In addition to this number received without any charge, 666 were admitted at rates below the actual cost of their support; and those paying most largely had accommodations and advantages not procurable in private families, even at a much greater cost. When the new house was first opened, 94 patients were received from the City Hospital. This number was gradually increased, till at one time in the year 1850, 235 were under care; and the average number in the last year was 219, nearly filling the house at all times, and often crowd- ing it to its utmost capacity. In judging of the efficiency of the treatment of the insane by the sta- 158 HISTORY OF THE To complete this view of the beneficial operations of the insti- tution, it remains only to say that three hundred medical stu- dents have annually, for several years, been in attendance upon the practice of the house, and upon the clinical lectures delivered there, yielding a yearly revenue of three thousand dollars, and enjoying in their turn opportunities for improvement, the benefits tistical results, it is necessary to take into consideration the fact, that all classes of insane persons are received into the institution, without refer- ence to the duration or curability of the disease. It is obvious that a much smaller proportion of these will be restored to health than of patients admitted while the disease is still curable. This statement, however, refers only to the patients who pay more or less for their sup- port. The number of charity patients allowed to be in the house at one time has been fixed at 40, which is as many as the funds will allow. In relation to these the wise regulation has been adopted, to admit only recent and curable cases, and to retain them only for a limited period, or so long as there may be a reasonable prospect of benefit. By such a plan it is very obvious that incomparably more good is effected than if the number were allowed to be filled by incurable patients, who would re- main an indefinite length of time in the Hospital, each one probably ex- cluding many who might be restored to health. Of the 1806 patients received during the ten years from January 1st, 1841, to the date of the report, 213 remained, and 1593 had died or been discharged. Of the latter number the deaths were 176, the discharges 1417. Of the persons discharged, 843 were cured, 137 much improved, 234 improved, and only 203 stationary. Thus it appears that, upon an average of all the admissions, about 53 per cent, are perfectly restored, 61 per cent, either restored to health or greatly improved, and 76 per cent, either cured or in some degree improved ; which must be allowed to be a large proportion, when the character of the admissions is con- sidered, and strongly evincive of the favourable operation of the lenient mode of treatment adopted in the house. It is probable that, were recent cases only admitted, considerably more even than the largest percentage mentioned would end in perfect recovery ; a strong argument in favour of an early resort to hospitals in cases of insanity. PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 159 of which to themselves and the several communities in which they may practise their profession, are quite incalculable. The whole expense of supporting the institution, from its foundation, not including the cost of the buildings, has been somewhat over one million and a half of dollars; and the cost of each patient, on the average, has been thirty dollars; but it must be recollected that many chronic patients, especially of the insane, were in the house for months and years, and some for many years ; and that the comparatively large expenditures on some of the wealthy insane who could afford to pay, have con- tributed considerably to swell the general average. There is reason to believe that misapprehensions have pre- vailed to a greater or less extent in the community in relation to our institution, which have in some degree affected its popular- ity. Upon these I would say a few words before we part. In the first place, we not unfrequently hear it referred to as the Quaker Hospital; and a disposition has probably existed, in some degree, to leave the burden of its support to those who were supposed to enjoy the honour and advantages of controlling it. Now, if the fact that members of the Society of Friends have from its very embryo state cherished and sustained it, and have at all times freely contributed money and personal service to- wards its maintenance, entitles it to be considered as the Quaker Hospital, we must with all humilit}T submit to the sectarian des- ignation ; but that it is now or ever has been governed exclu- sively by Friends; that the peculiar views of this religious sect have ever been especially inculcated or its interests consulted; that members of that Society have beyond their fair share reaped any of the honours and emoluments connected with it, is not true. In looking over the minutes of the Board of Managers for a century, I do not remember once to have met with a refer- ence to the Society of Friends. Among the poor admitted to its charity from the foundation to the present time, unless perhaps 160 HISTORY OF THE a few of the insane, I doubt whether there has been a single Quaker. Of the physicians and surgeons, and all other profes- sional officers, by far the larger proportion has belonged to other sects; and, if a considerable number of the managers have al- ways been chosen from among the Friends, this has been owing to the confidence reposed in them by the contributors, who are of all sects, and all shades of religious sentiment. The truth is, that the institution is quite free from sectarian bias. It is open indiscriminately to all. Any one, whatever maybe his religious attachments, may become a contributor; the contributors may elect whom they please as managers; the managers are bound, in their selection of officers, to be guided by qualification and not by profession of faith ; and every patient in the Hospital may have recourse to the religious counsel or ministration of the clergyman of his own choice. It is to be hoped, therefore, if aid has ever been withheld from the institution upon this ground, that the feeling may operate no longer; and that the willingness to yield it support maybe as diffusive as its own charity. Another injurious impression is that the Hospital is indis- posed to receive the poor; the patients of this class find difficulty in gaining admission; that all chronic cases of the kind are ex- cluded; and that, in fine, it is a great boarding-house, managed with the view of making profit out of the sick rather than to assist the destitute. Nothing can be more groundless than this impression. The fact simply is, that the whole revenue from all sources is directly or indirectly applied to the support of the sick poor. It is well known that all recent accidents, if brought to the door within twenty-four hours from their occurrence, are admitted without question. All cases of disease, whether acute or chronic, are received, if it appears to the physician that they are susceptible of relief. The institution is not an asylum for the support of the destitute, but an Hospital for their cure when diseased. Patients who are altogether beyond the reach of PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 161 treatment are not admitted, because they would exclude others who might be benefited, and thus greatly narrow the bounds of useful action. The only restraints upon admission are those rendered necessary by the limited pecuniary means of the Hos- pital. The reception of pay-patients is certainly in no way in- jurious. On the contrary, it is an extension of the charity. They are charged little more than is expended on them ; and this little, whatever it may be, goes to increase the ability of the Hospital to receive the poor. The pay-patient is thus better accommodated than he would be at an equal cost in a private house ; and, at the same time, is contributing to the support of others who are able to pay nothing. The whole operation of the institution is beneficent. There is yet one other point to which I would call the attention of the audience. It is said that the Hospital is rich ; that it needs no further aid in the extension of its charity. This is a grievous error, and one calculated to do much evil if uncor- rected. Let me state the case as plainly as possible. The capital of the institution is a sacred fund, which cannot be encroached on without a virtual violation of the charter; with- out at least a violation of good faith towards those from whom that fund was derived; without a robbery of the future for the benefit of the present. It is only the income which can be justly expended. Well! that income is expended; all of it; and it is expended exclusively upon poor patients. Of these it supports about one hundred and twenty, exclusive of the insane; and it can support no more. Much unoccupied space has been gained in the Hospital buildings by the removal of the insane; and still more will have been gained when the alterations now in progress shall be completed. There is or will be room for one hundred and fifty additional charity beds. Now, is it not a duty to fill this empty space; to prevent so great a waste ? The expense of building has been incurred; the necessary interior organization 11 162 HISTORY OF THE has been effected; additional patients will cost only their food and medicine. It is a duty to supply this void, which is hung- ering and thirsting for the gifts of charity. But to whom does this duty belong ? To those, certainly, who can afford to give. I would press this matter on the consciences of all who hear me. Here is a mode in which bounty can be most efficiently be- stowed ; the greatest amount of good produced at the least possible expense. I do not ask for immediate contribution. But let the fact rest in your remembrance. When your hearts may warm to benevolence under the smiles of prosperity; when gratitude for the favours of Heaven may overflow in compas- sionate kindness for the unfortunate; let the voice of this opportunity whisper its claims to your conscience; and, whether disposed to give at once of your superfluity, or to leave memo- rials of a beneficent spirit behind you, do not forget the want that is here crying out for relief. In thus urging the claims of this institution, I would not be understood as in the least degree disparaging those of others whether in existence or in prospect. I know that there is a dis- position abroad for the establishment of other hospitals; and there is room for more. Happily it is one of the glorious quali- ties of benevolence that it expands the heart into which it is once admitted. The glow of satisfaction which follows a good deed prompts to its repetition. Most happily, too, the warmth of one bosom spreads a sympathetic warmth to others. While advocating, therefore, the interests of our Hospital, I feel that I am advocating also those of charity in general; and, that, if these remarks are fortunate enough to strike one spark into the bosom of benevolence, it may kindle a flame, which, by its genial warmth, may contribute to the bursting forth of the buds of other charities into flower and fruit. Finally, permit me to say ; I do not ask your countenance for the Pennsylvania Hospital upon any mere secular grounds • I PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 163 do not call upon your pride as citizens in an institution which has long been the boast of our town and State; I do not appeal to the associations which the very name must call up with the great and revered who have in various ways been connected with it; I do not ask for the gratitude which the inestimable services of a century to this community might seem to claim; I simply state that it affords you, at this moment, the opportunity of doing more good in proportion to the cost than can perhaps be done in any other way; that the streams of your charity, if directed towards this field of usefulness, will not be wasted through the poverty of the soil, but will find it well prepared to yield richly under their vivifying influence. SUPPLEMENT TO THE HISTORY OF THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL; CONTAINING A SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE INSANE. Being an Address Delivered, October 1,1856, at the Laying of the Corner-Stone of the New Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane. At each stage in the progress of important series of events, it is well to look backward, and trace from the starting-point the course already traversed. The contemplation of past suc- cesses yields new hopes and energy ; of past errors or failures, most valuable lessons for the future. You will, therefore, not deem it inappropriate to the present occasion, if I ask you to take with me a retrospective view of the institution in the in- terests of which we are here assembled, in order to witness the opening of what may be considered as a new era in its history. The idea of a refuge for the insane lay at the very foundation of the Pennsylvania Hospital. In the first clause of the charter establishing that institution, granted February 1, 1751, by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the objects are stated to be " the reception and relief of lunatics and other distempered and sick poor within the Province;" so that insanity would appear to have had priority to other forms of disease, in the thoughts and purposes of the founders of that great charity. Accord- (165) 166 SUPPLEMENT TO THE HISTORY OF iugly, arrangements for the accommodation of the insane were made at the opening of the Hospital, the second patient admitted was of that class, and this distinct object of the institution has been invariably kept in view from that time to the present. The Pennsylvania Hospital was the first chartered institution for the insane established in America; and it long continued to maintain that precedence in character and reputation which be- longed to it in point of time. Such was the estimation in which it was held, that patients were sent to it from all parts of the Provinces, and subsequently of the Union ; and, for a long series of years, the profits derived from wealthy inmates of, this class contributed to increase the capital of the institution, and conse- quently its means of annual outlay in the support and treatment of the poor. But, in the mean time, more enlightened opinions in relation to the management of the insane had begun to prevail; a wide interest was excited in the subject; and numerous establish- ments were springing into existence, based upon the new views. Formerly, it was customary either to neglect altogether the treatment of insanity, under the impression that it was pure dis- order of the mind, and therefore immedicable, or to employ energetic remedies for the cure of inflammation of the brain, in which the disease was supposed essentially to consist. Both of these courses were erroneous, and based upon erroneous opin- ions. Insanity is probably never purely spiritual; and though, in certain forms and stages, it may be associated with cerebral inflammation, it is generally altogether independent of this, or any other observable physical lesion. It is essentially a simple perversion of the sensorial functions, through which mind ex- presses itself. The brain acts wrongly, and the result is deranged intellect or feeling. What is the precise nature of the deranged action, thus evincing itself in mental alienation, no man can tell; because no man understands how the brain acts at all as the in- THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 167 strument of the mind. This much we know—for experience has taught us the lesson—that the disordered action is not of a nature to yield to mere physical agents. As it becomes sensible only through irregularity in mental phenomena, it is only through the medium of the mind that it can be reached and rectified. The great principle, therefore, in the management of insanity, when all signs of physical disease have been removed, or none have existed, is so to operate on the mind as to produce and maintain, as far as possible, normal trains of thought and states of feeling, by which healthful actions may be excited and kept up in the brain. The organ is thus, as it were, drawn off from its preceding irregular course of action, to which, under a continuance of the same influences, it has less and less dispo- sition to return, until at length its morbid tendencies are entirely superseded, and a cure is effected. But how is this object to be attained ? How are the insane to be treated, so that their minds may be led into regular, healthful action ? The consideration of this question brings us back to that new class of institutions, of which mention has been made as coming into existence after the establishment of the Pennsylvania Hospital. What is required is simply that the patient should be surrounded with circumstances under which the desired mental condition, whether active or passive, shall arise spontaneously, as a natural result. Agreeable and health- ful bodily and mental occupation, suitable social intercourse, a guarded exercise and indulgence of the aesthetic faculties and tastes, and the refined gratifications of sense; these, and such as these, are the required agencies ; while everything must be sedulously avoided, which can have any tendency to bring the mind back into its morbid state. To apply these agencies effectually, establishments are necessary in which there shall be ample space within and without, arrangements for varied labour and amusement, opportunities for the requisite social and medical 168 SUPPLEMENT TO THE HISTORY OF classification, sufficient personal attendance to carry each pur- pose into full effect, and the constant superintendence of one mind, capable of maintaining a consistent system in the working of the whole machinery. Such was not the condition of things in the Pennsylvania Hospital as origiually constituted ; nor, at the period of its foundation, was there probably, in the whole world, an estab- lishment in which the principle just elucidated could be fairly carried out. But, one after another, such institutions rose up, both in Europe and the United States, and very soon proved, by their success, the immense superiority of the new system of managing the insane. The department of our own hospital ap- propriated to the insane fell, consequently, from its former pre- eminence on this side of the Atlantic; and there was danger that, instead of contributing, as before, to the support of the other departments, it would become a burden upon the re- sources of the institution, and thus materially narrow the circle of its usefulness. Besides, it was no light weight on the consciences of those upon whom the responsibility rested, to receive and treat patients afflicted with this terrible malady, without the ability to afford them all those means of relief which experience had proved to be so efficacious. It became, therefore, incumbent on them either to abandon the treatment of insanity altogether, or to place the institution on a basis, in this respect, corresponding to the im- proved methods recently adopted. But the obligations of the charter forbade the former course ; and it only remained for them to pursue the latter, at least so far as might be compatible with the resources at their command. Happily, there was a reserved fund in the vacant grounds around the Hospital, which, origi- nally purchased at a trifling cost, had, in the progress of time and improvement, advanced so much in value as of themselves to afford the means for the attainment of this desirable end. It THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 169 was not only an act of duty in the managers, under the con- siderations mentioned, but it was also a wise forethought, on the mere point of expediency, to dispose of these grounds, and apply the proceeds to the purchase of the noble estate on which we stand, and the erection of that noble edifice within view, of which we all have so much reason to be proud. The first positive step in this direction was a resolution of the contributors, at their annual meeting in May, 1831, declaring that it was expedient to have a separate hospital for the insane. At subsequent meetings, in May, 1832 and 1835, authority was given to sell the vacant lots before referred to; and these were accordingly disposed of as opportunity offered. Early in 1836, the present site was purchased; and, on the 22d of June, of the same year, the corner-stone of the new edifice was laid. This was completed, and opened for the reception of patients on the first of January, 1841. Allow me to mention here a fact, which is the strongest pos- sible proof of the expediency of this change. In the insane department of the old Hospital, from the year 1752, when it was first opened, to March 1, 1841, when it was fully transferred to the new site, 4366 patients were received, of whom 1493 were cured, or a little more than one-third of the whole number. In the new building, from its opening in 1841 to the end of 1855, 2752 patients were admitted, and 1334, or somewhat less than one-half, were discharged cured. From these statistics it ap- pears, that not only has the extent of operation been vastly increased, so that, in the last fifteen years, considerably more than half as many patients have been treated as in ninety years under the old arrangement; but there has also been an increase in the ratio of cures form 34 to 48 per cent. It is pretended by no one that this greater remedial efficiency is ascribable to any want of skill or attention in the former treatment. The happy result is due solely to the superiority of the new arrangements, 170 SUPPLEMENT TO THE HISTORY OF which enabled the improved method of treating insanity to be carried into effect. No other fact is wanting to satisfy the most skeptical, that the managers were fulfilling a sacred duty, in separating the insane department from the ordinary medical and surgical departments of the Hospital, and in giving to the former a rural position, with all the requisite accessaries for the attainment of the ends proposed. It must be remembered, moreover, that the improvement has been made without diminution of the productive fund, the in- come of which is employed for the general support of the institu- tion. It has been merely an exchange of real estate, yielding nothing, in the vicinity of the old hospital in town, for the grounds and improvements here around us, which, independently of the buildings, will, ere long, probably far exceed in money value what was sold, and, besides, have been yielding, and will continue indefinitely to yield, an incalculable income of good to the community, in the cure and comfort of the insane. Another important consideration, in reference to the opera- tions of the institution, is that, out of the proceeds derived from the wealthy boarders, which are much less than the same accom- modations would cost in a private establishment, not only are the immediate expenses of this class of patients defrayed, but an excess remains sufficient for the support of a considerable number of poor patients who can pay nothing, and a still larger number of others in straitened circumstances, who are received for a charge less than the actual cost. Thus, in the fifteen years which have elapsed since the commencement of the pres- ent-arrangements, nearly 700 of the former class, and 1000 of the latter, have been admitted; and, to speak in round numbers, out of 110,000 dollars expended on the free patients, about 70,000 have been the earnings of the institution, and 40,000 have been drawn from the general income of the Hospital, or at the rate of nearly 3000 dollars a year. This amount is not more than the THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 171 poor insane may be considered as having a right to call for; and there is reason to hope that it may be considerably di- minished, if not reduced to nothing, in the future working of the establishment. According to the report for 1855, the defi- ciency to be supplied out of the general income of the Hospital was less than 2000 dollars. It is not my wish to pronounce a eulogy on the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane. It is before you in all its beauty, excellence, and usefulness; and you can judge of it for your- selves. I would merely observe that, by its establishment, if we have not regained the pre-eminence lost before it was under- taken, we have at least placed ourselves upon a footing with our contemporaries; and I can honestly declare that, among the many institutions for the insane which I have visited, whether in the United States, in Great Britain, or on the Continent of Europe, though there are not a few exceeding ours in magni- tude, aud the number of their inmates, I have seen none which, taking all points into consideration, the beauty of its site, the neatness of its internal and external arrangements, and the appropriateness of its various appliances to the end in view, has approached so nearly my notions of perfection as the one before us. But I have yet to speak of the particular purpose for which we are now assembled. Much less than one-half of the land purchased for the site of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane has been occupied for the special purpose of the institution. The wall surrounding it encloses only about forty acres; while more than seventy have remained unemployed except for farming. But the rapid ex- tension of the city has vastly increased the value of this, as of all other land in its immediate neighbourhood. It has become, then, a question, whether some immediate advantage might not be gained from this augmented value. Is it to be entirely 172 SUPPLEMENT TO THE HISTORY OF neglected, and a large capital of charity thus allowed to lie un- productive ? This would seem to be wasting a sacred fund entrusted to the keeping of the managers. Ought not these surplus grounds to be sold, and the income of their proceeds applied to the relief of the poor sick and insane 1 There are two objections to this course. In the first place, the property, if suffered to lie, will probably, at some future time, acquire a value far exceeding any amount that could now be obtained for it, even with the interest super- added ; and the managers might well doubt whether they would be justified in foregoing this prospective benefit. Secondly, the existence in a compact body of more than one hundred acres of ground, in the midst of the city, may serve hereafter the purposes of a great park, such as will probably not be otherwise secured. Nothing conduces more to the healthful- ness of large towns, than the influence of open spaces, clothed with a luxuriant vegetation. They are said to be the lungs of cities. They are something more. They not only, like the lungs, supply fresh air, and aid in throwing off that which is foul, in other words, perform the office of ventilation; but, through the agency of vegetable growth, serve positively to purify the atmosphere, by absorbing and converting into organized matter the noxious gases contained in it. The large extent of surface covered by the City of Philadelphia, compared with the number of its inhabitants, and the grassy plots, adorned with shrubbery and trees, which occupy, in countless numbers, the unbuilt interspaces, are probably one of the main causes of her extraor- dinary healthfulness. To retain this immense advantage, it will be necessary to obviate the inevitable concentrating effect of increased population and business, by seizing every opportunity incidentally offered of preserving large open spaces; and an admirable opportunity of this kind is here presented. To pre- vent disease is even better than to cure it; and by so occupying THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 173 these extensive grounds as to preclude a crowded population upon them, the Hospital will be acting in conformity with the spirit, if not with the literal purposes of its institution. It is even not an extravagant supposition, that more lives may be saved by the general salubrity thus secured, than by applying the proceeds of the sale of the land to the treatment of the sick. If, then, the land is not to be sold, what profitable disposition can be made of it, so as not to suffer the capital invested in it, which is its present pecuniary value, to lie idle and useless ? Happily the success of the first great experiment has suggested an application, conformable in all respects to the proper objects of the institution. The present Hospital for the Insane is full to overflowing. During the past year not less than fifty patients have been denied admission, from the impossibility of doing them justice in the crowded state of the apartments. Why not, then, extend the establishment? Why not appropriate the un- employed ground to the same purpose as that already occupied, and repeat upon the seventy remaining acres the experiment which has proved so successful on the forty now occupied ? Other considerations come to enforce this suggestion. From statistical reports it appears that, while in the State of Pennsyl- vania there are between 2500 and 3000 persons affected with one or another form of mental alienation, there is at present, within the same limits, a capacity in the various institutions for not more than 930. Again, experience has established the fact, beyond possibility of contradiction, that the treatment of the insane in hospitals, while it relieves families of a vast burden of suffering and responsibility, is also most effective. Of patients admitted at a sufficiently early period of the disease, there are grounds for believing that about 80 per cent, may be restored to reason; and, if the ratio of cure, as exhibited in the hospital reports, be much less than this, it is because a resort to such institutions is often postponed beyond the period at which a cure can be reasonably » 174 SUPPLEMENT TO THE HISTORY OF expected under any circumstances. Every day of detention at home, after an insane patient has become a proper subject for hospital treatment, is so much taken from the chances of an ultimate cure. Thousands, and probably tens of thousands, have been condemned to hopeless insanity by the impossibility of obtaining access to a suitable hospital, or the unwillingness of friends, through an unhappy prejudice, to take advantage of the opportunity when offered. This prejudice has been rapidly disappearing, under the cheering influences of the present modes of treatment; and the means of relief have consequently become inadequate to the demand. It would seem, therefore, to be a manifest duty to make further provision for patients so utterly incapacitated for the care of themselves. It may be said that this duty belongs to the public generally. This may be true. But, if neglected by the public, it no less remains incumbent upon all individually who are competent to its performance; and corporate bodies, created in part for this very object, are under a special obligation to let no favourable opportunity pass of promoting it. To condense this course of argument;—here are vacant grounds which can be applied to no other purpose so appro- priately ; the excellence of the plan already carried into effect has been fully tested; the demands for relief from the suffering insane exceed the capacity of existing arrangements; and the duty attaches undeniably to the corporators of the Hospital to extend its beneficent influence as far as possible. The inference is unavoidable that efforts should be made to establish a counter- part of the institution which has proved so efficient for good; and, that it should occupy preferably the present locality, follows not only from what has been already said of its peculiar applica- bility to the purpose, but also from the consideration, that the arrangements of the existing establishment may, in some degree, be extended over that proposed, with little additional cost. THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 175 Accordingly, both the managers and contributors of the Hos- pital have felt that this duty was incumbent upon them ; and, at the regular meeting of the latter in the spring of the past year, it was unanimously resolved at least to' make an attempt to carry such a project into effect. But how were the necessary funds to be raised ? Those at the command of the board were already fully occupied, and could not justly be diverted to another purpose. The State and the city were loaded with debt; and no aid could be reasonably expected from either of these sources. Nothing remained but an appeal to individuals. This was resolved on; and you all know with what promptitude and zeal it was made, and with what alacrity it has been answered. Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars were needed for the completion of the proposed hospital; and it was determined by the managers to do nothing until one hundred and fifty thousand should be subscribed, which it was believed would be sufficient to secure the ultimate accom- plishment of the object. Subscriptions to the amount of one hundred and seventy thousand have been already obtained. Upon this basis the work has been commenced; and we are now met to witness the laying of the corner-stone. Before we part, let me urge upon all who hear me, or whom these remarks may reach, some considerations in reference to the completion of the proposed amount of subscription. Eighty thousand dollars are yet required. Is it possible that, in a community so large, so wealthy, and so liberal as that of Phila- delphia, and the adjacent counties, which are not less interested than the city itself, so great a want, at so small a cost, should not be supplied ? What has been already contributed will, it is supposed, be sufficient to raise the walls of the edifice, and put it under roof. Will Philadelphians be content to let it stand at that point ? What one of us, with a dollar to spare, could pass by the unfinished building, wanting but a comparatively small 176 SUPPLEMENT TO THE HISTORY OF sum of money to render it a secure haven for the saddest form of human wretchedness, and not involuntarily thrust his hand in his pocket for that last dollar as a contribution? What one of us, passing with a stranger, and asked what meant that great unfinished and desolate structure, would not hang his head with shame as he answered, " That is an hospital for the insane, which awaits but a scanty liberality on the part of our citizens for its completion?" There can be no doubt that it will be ultimately completed. But time is precious in such an enter- prise ; and I would excite prompt action, in order that there may be no suspension of the work, and that the time may never arrive, when sheer shame will be the prompting impulse to our benevolence. I would appeal to your public spirit as Philadelphians. Is there one among us insensible to the honour which has accrued to our city from the Hospital already in operation, known credit- ably everywhere, resorted to by the afflicted from every section of our country, and eminent for its excellence among all that is most excellent of the same kind upon the earth ? Is it not incumbent upon us to do what we can to maintain this reputa- tion, nay, even to extend it, so that, in the great race of improve- ment, which is now, the world over, trying to the utmost the capacities of civilized communities, we may keep neck and neck with the foremost? Besides, it is not honour alone that we gain. Even in a mere business point of view, we shall probably be no losers by the required expenditure. The visitors and sojourners attracted to our city, and the disbursement, in vari- ous ways, on account of patients from a distance, would go far to counterbalance any pecuniary loss, and might even yield to the community in general a profit on the outlay. I would appeal also for aid to your sentiments of philanthropy and Christian benevolence. Simply remember that you are con- tributing to the relief of one of the greatest evils, if not the THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 177 very greatest, apart from crime, which can afflict humanity, and which can be so effectually relieved in no other way; remember, too, that the profit derived from the wealthy, through your lib- erality, will, in conformity with former experience, overflow in abundance to the needy and the destitute, and you will not, I trust, withhold your hand from the necessary offering. Finally, let me direct your attention to the personal interest which every one of us has in the success of the enterprise. We are all liable, in our own persons, or .in the persons of those near- est and dearest to us, to be attacked with this dire malady, espe- cially afflictive when confined to our own homes, where the authority, skill, and various appliances are wanting which are most conducive to a cure. Assuredly we must all desire, under such circumstances, the opportunities best calculated for our comfort and speedy relief; and these can be commanded, even by the most wealthy, only in great public establishments. We must also, in general, unquestionably prefer institutions in our own neighbourhood, with the character and management of which we are familiar, and where a friendly eye may always be over us, to those distant and unknown. Our own hospital already in operation meets, it may be said, these requisitions. But it is full to overflowing; and we can never be assured of prompt admission, when it may be most needed. We have, therefore, a private and peculiar interest in the provision of other facilities, and consequently in the speedy completion of the undertaking now begun. If every one would subscribe simply in proportion to this special interest of his own, the desired end would be attained. Fifteen cents for each inhabitant of Phila- delphia would amount to the requisite sum. But it is not to the poor that I would have recourse. I appeal only to the prosper- ous and the wealthy. Four hundred individuals have contrib- uted the whole amount already subscribed; assuredly there is a sufficient number left of the charitable, the liberal, and, I may 12 178 SUPPLEMENT TO THE HISTORY OF add, the just, to make up the deficiency: and may we not reason- ably hope, that they who have already given of their superfluity will have experienced so sweet a reward, in their consciousness of a good deed, as to be disposed to make a new investment at so high a usury ? Imagine some ten or fifteen years to have elapsed, and the plan, now in its inception, to have been carried into full and com- plete execution. Imagine that we are here again assembled, perhaps, to celebrate some anniversary of this very occasion, to look upon and enjoy the work of our own hands. What would be the vision presented? I can behold it now. Around us is a wide and picturesque expanse of more than one hundred acres, beautiful with groves, grassy lawns and meadow, and all the tasteful ornature of park and garden; secluded from the sights and sounds of the thronged city investing it, except that here and there, through breaks in the leafy screen, glimpses may be caught of house-top, spire, or distant column of smoke, serving but to render the sweets of the seclusion still sweeter by the contrast. In the midst of this rural beauty, two noble edifices arise, each with its subordinate structures, and surrounded by its own lawns and gardens; the one but partially visible from the other through intervening groves; and separated from each other, and from the outer world, by a protecting wall, so distant, however, and so situated in depressed sinuosities of the grounds, that it is scarcely seen by the inmates, and never so as to sug- gest to them the idea of restriction or confinement. Within these stately edifices are ample apartments; hall, drawing-room, chamber, and office, all suitably furnished, with neatness, clean- liness, and order reigning throughout; the buildings themselves massive and substantial, proof against fire, well heated, venti- lated, drained, and watered ; and yet with nothing visible of the hidden agencies—the furnace, the engine, the ventilating fan, the sewers, pipes, tanks, etc., by which these conditions, so pro- THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 179 motive of comfort and health, are brought about. Here and there in the grounds may be seen, in the one section women, in the other men, all respectably clad, walking, riding, driving, or perhaps engaged in horticultural labour, or other useful or amus- ing occupation. Within the buildings are numerous inmates, scattered or in groups, sometimes solitary in their chambers, sometimes socially gathered in the common apartments, reading, conversing, musing, or working, occasionally cheered with music, now circling in the dance, and now listening to lecture or recita- tion ; the whole to the eye a well-ordered family, with no ap- parent restraint, no hurry or confusion, yet all with a watchful care around them, ever ready to guard against irregularities, and to check every evil indication in the bud. Few, not in the secret, would imagine that here was a community of the insane; that all these internal and external fitnesses, beauties, elegancies, and varied appliances were but remedial means to correct or alle- viate the miseries of mental alienation; and that there was h;ere in slow but constant operation a course of treatment for this dread malady, successful beyond the conception of former times, and in most happy contrast with the strict confinement, the excessive medication, and the various other miseries which were then mistakenly deemed the surest avenues to health. Look on this picture, my friends, and ask yourselves whether its realiza- tion would not be much more than an equivalent for any pecuni- ary sacrifice you may be disposed to offer, and whether it would not yield to you more deep and heartfelt pleasure, than all the fleeting gratification of any purely selfish wish which the money might command, if withheld from this noble purpose.* * The following remarks, by Morton McMichael, Esq., made at the close of the ceremonies, are worthy of insertion here"— " The declining sun, the gathering shadows, the cool autumnal air, and the damp ground on which the company had already been too long 180 SUPPLEMENT TO THE HISTORY OF standing, admonished him not to detain them by any remarks of his; but, if it were otherwise, the opening statement of the President, the eloquent address of the Mayor, and the clear, precise, and forcible man- ner in which the whole subject of the Hospital for the Insane had been presented by Dr. "Wood, as well in its past history as its present condition and future prospects, had really left him nothing to add to what had already been so well expressed. Indeed, said 3Ir. McM., if the time and the place were propitious to further speaking, which they were not, the exposition given by Dr. "Wood of the character and importance of the institution had been so ample, his commentary on its value as a remedial agency had been so complete and judicious, and his appeal for additional aid in its behalf so earnest and touching, that he would feel inclined to say but little more than Amen to all he had uttered. There was one topic upon which Mr. McM. was glad to have the opportunity of saying a word, and that was the unexpected presence of one who, more than any other living person, man or woman, was entitled to be called the friend of the insane poor. He alluded to 3Iiss Dix, who had yesterday arrived from England, and, coming over to Philadelphia on a visit, had reached the city just in time to be present at the ceremony of laying the corner- stone of an institution, intended, in part, to promote the object to which she had so nobly dedicated her life. Mr. McM. was sure that all who heard him would unite with him in offering a cordial welcome to one who had given fresh dignity to the character of her sex, by showing what even a feeble woman, inspired by a holy philanthropy and a single- minded purpose to do good, could accomplish. There was one other observation which Mr. McM. desired to offer, and it was that, in his judgment, no institution, public or private, at home or abroad, had ever been better managed than the Pennsylvania Hospital. The very respect- able and highly intelligent gentlemen who compose its Board of Direct- ors, prompted by the purest and most unselfish motives, have devoted themselves to its interests with a zeal and vigour that merited the success they had achieved; and its medical staff—fitly illustrated by the distin- guished physician who had just addressed them—had always been pre- eminent for skill and fidelity. In this latter particular, the Insane Department had been singularly fortunate. Succeeding to a long line of able and accomplished, and, in some instances, illustrious men, whose memories survived in the good deeds they had wrought, Dr. Kirkbride, THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPITAL. 181 the present Superintendent of the Hospital, had brought to the discharge of his grave and delicate duties a liberally cultivated mind and thorough professional training; and these and other good qualities he had given to the service in which he engaged with a generosity that knew no stint, and an industry that nothing could tire. Mr. McM. spoke of that which he knew when he said that to the exertions which that gentleman had made—to the absorbing interest he felt in this paramount pursuit of his existence, and to the resulting labours which that interest had produced —to the enthusiasm in the cause, which had enabled him to pass through many trials and to overcome all difficulties—to the diligence, the faith- fulness, the conscientiousness, and the energy he had manifested at all times and under all circumstances, the community was largely indebted for an Hospital for the Insane, which, as they had just heard, on the most competent authority, had no superior, and probably no equal; and the same community would be still more largely indebted hereafter for the new structure, with all its attendant blessings and benefits, whose inauguration they had met to-day to witness and commemorate. " In conclusion, Mr. McM. congratulated the citizens of Philadelphia on the possession of an institution so wisely founded, so liberally endowed, so munificently supported, so ably administered, and so productive of unspeakable advantages as the Pennsylvania Hospital." It is well known to every Philadelphia that the appeal of the man- agers for aid did not prove unavailing; and, as the result, we now have in full effect the noble structure standing on the grounds where the citi- zens were gathered to witness the laying of the corner-stone.—Note to the present edition, March, 1872. III. HISTORY CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. HISTORY or CHRISTIANITY IE" INDIA. Prefatory Remarks. After graduating as a Doctor of Medicine, and entering, as I immediately did, upon the practice of my profession, I found myself, for some years, possessed of a good deal of leisure, a portion of which I devoted to literary pursuits. Among these nothing had so much attraction for me as the subject of the East Indies, especially of Hin- dostan, which I studied in all its relations, with an eagerness for which I could scarcely myself account. Every work upon which I could lay my hands, having reference in any possible relation to that portion of the world, I seized on eagerly, and perused with avidity, until little or nothing readily accessible in this country was left unperused. At length the idea occurred to me of myself writing a history of India; and I even went so far as actually to prepare a history of Christianity in India, beginning with its original introduction, and following it, in all ij£ vicissitudes, down to the time when the Protestants began to look on this region as a scene of missionary labour. At this point, I found myself so much occupied by increasing professional avoca- tions that I was compelled to decide between the two claimants on my devotion, literature and medicine; and as, from the beginning, I had (185) 186 PREFATORY REMARKS. resolved to give myself when necessary wholly to my profession, I had no hesitation in surrendering ray Indian fancy, and addicting myself exclusively to medicine. But this narrative was left upon my hands ; and it is now published, because I do not like that so much time and effort as it cost me should be quite thrown away. In reperusing it, on this occasion, after a period of fifty years, I find it, though not without errors and deficiencies of youthful authorship, for which I ask a kindly consideration, yet containing so many incidents more or less interesting, collected with much diligent research, that I may perhaps be justified in giving it to the public in this form. March, 1872. CHAPTER I. It is the fate of almost all our inquiries into the origin of those systems which have produced great revolutions in the senti- ments and conduct of mankind, to encounter the insuperable difficulties presented by deficient records, and obscure, uncertain, and often contradictory traditions. During the agitation of un- settled opinions, conflicting passions, and changing fortunes, our minds are too intently fixed upon immediate interests, to indulge even a wish for the gratification or instruction of posterity, much less to allow of that cool observation of passing occurrences, which is necessary to qualify us for the accomplishment of such a wish. If we consider that to these causes, which are equally operative in every age, were added, in ancient times, the pe- culiar difficulties then attendant upon authorship, we shall not be surprised that even the most important event which ever befell the human race, should have been left in partial obscurity. On the contrary, were we not assured that the authors of the Gospel records were influenced by the spirit of Him whose life and doctrines they proclaimed, we might wonder that, under the circumstances which attended the appearance of our Saviour, followed as He was by illiterate men, a history should have been handed down to us, containing all that is essential, either in example or precept, for our religious guidance. As regards those particulars in the life of Christ, and in the first propaga- tion of his Gospel among the nations, which, as matters simply of curiosity, have been left to the influence of all the causes which naturally operate upon the recording of historical trans- (187) 188 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. actions, our information is exceedingly deficient, and few facts have reached us which bear the stamp of authenticity. The obscurity which involves the rise and progress of Chris- tianity, in most of the nations to whom it was announced at an early period, rests with still greater darkness upon its introduc- tion into India. The authors, and period, and precise place of its first establishment are equally doubtful. A belief appears to have prevailed among the earliest ecclesiastical writers, that the Gospel was preached in this distant country by one or more of the immediate followers of our Saviour. We are informed by Eusebius that, in the distribution of the various parts of the known world among the twelve Apostles, India fell to the lot of St. Bartholomew ;* and it is stated by Jerome that St. Thomas, after preaching to many nations of Eastern Asia, terminated his labours with his life in an Indian city.f By most Protestant authors these statements are received with incredulity. Ac- customed to examine scrupulously, and reject, when unsup- ported by strong evidence, the numberless legends which the Catholic Church has adopted with a blind belief, and by which are justified many of the deviations from the original sim- plicity of Christian faith and practice of which she is accused, they run perhaps in some instances into an opposite extreme, and refuse to ancient traditions the credit which they really deserve. In the present instance, the great distance of India, and the numerous obstacles arising from the intervention of unknown * Eusebii Historia Ecelesiastica, lib. iii. cap. i. " Thomas (sicut nobis traditum est) sortitus est Parthos, Matthasus iEthiopiam, Bar- tolomseus Indiam Citeriorem.'" (Rufiino Aquileiensi Interprete.) f Thomas Apostolus, quemadmodum traditum est nobis, Parthi6, et Medis, et Persis, et Germanis, et Hyrcanis, et Baetris, et Magis praedi- cavit evangelium domini. Dormivit in civitate Calamina, quae est Indise. (Sancti Hyeronymi Opera, Paris edition; printed in the sixteenth cen- tury; vol. i. p. 90.) HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 189 and barbarous tribes, might appear to justify their disbelief, were we not acquainted with the fact, that a commercial com- munication subsisted between the frontiers of Syria and the confines of India, by which the peculiar and valuable com- modities of the latter country, were poured into the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.* It was to this commerce, in all probability, that Seleucia was indebted for its ancient wealth and glory, and that, at a subsequent period, Palmyra was enabJed to raise her magnificent temples in the midst of the desert. From Palestine to Seleucia on the banks of the Tigris the way was unimpeded ; this river and the Euphrates afforded an easy passage to the Gulf of Ormus ; and the same vessels which came from the Indian seas, freighted with silks, gems, and spices, may have borne, on their return, the messengers of the glad tidings of the Gospel. The holy character of the mis- sionaries, evidenced as well by their blameless conduct as by their gift of tongues, and power of working miracles, must have facilitated their journey among the most barbarous people ; and the zeal which, in after ages, conducted the Nestorians and Jesuits to the very extremities of Asia, must have animated, in a far superior degree, the immediate disciples and personal com- panions of their common Master. There is nothing, therefore, incredible in the statements of Eusebius and Jerome; and the existence of a tradition credited by men of their learning and talents, who moreover flourished so near the period of the sup- posed event, though certainly not conclusive evidence of its reality, is at least as strong as that upon which are supported many undisputed facts of ancient history. The first account of the existence of Christianity in India is that * Robertson's Ancient India, pp. 58, 59. Philadelphia edition, A.D. 1792. 190 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDTA. given by the learned and pious Pantaenus,* who was induced, by his zeal for the propagation of the Gospel, to relinquish a high station in the Church of Alexandria, and to brave the diffi- culties and dangers of missionary labour in this unknown and distant land. Upon his arrival, some time towards the latter end of the second century, he is said to have discovered a body of Christians who attributed the conversion of their ancestors to the ministry of St. Bartholomew, and in the possession of whom was a copy of the Gospel of St. Matthew, derived, as they re- ported, from the same Apostle. How far Pantaenus himself was successful in his design we are not informed; but it is highly probable that he augmented the number of the Chris- tians, and brought their society into a more regular form; at least he must have opened the way for succeeding missionaries ; for we find that, a little more than a century afterward, the Church of India had made such progress as to be represented by its own bishop in the celebrated Council office. It is true that by Sozomenus, an ecclesiastical historian, who wrote in the fifth century, the Indians are said to have received the rudiments of Christianity during the reign of Constantine; but this author probably derived his information from the works of Eusebius, and neglected to mention that a particular portion of India was referred to, more distant and less frequented by Roman subjects than the country visited by* Pantaenus, and dis- tinguished by the title of further India. Eusebius relates that the vessel of Meropius, a Tyrian philosopher, who, with two young relatives, his pupils, had ventured on an exploratory voy- age into the Indian seas, being attacked by the inhabitants of a port into which they were compelled to enter for supplies, the philosopher and the whole crew, with the exception of the two boys, were slain. These, preserved by the compassion of the * Euseb. Historia Ecclesiast., lib. v. cap. x. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 191 Barbarians, were conveyed to the sovereign of the country, by whom they were protected and cherished, and ultimately, when they had attained a mature age, were elevated to the highest offices of his government. One of them, named Frumentius, who was particularly distinguished by his talents and prudence, availing himself of the influence of his station, and of the assist- ance of those Christian merchants whe resorted to the coast, succeeded in spreading the true faith, and in collecting many con- gregations among the Barbarians. Departing at length, with his companion, from India, he hastened to Alexandria, then under the recent episcopal jurisdiction of Athanasius, and, having dis- closed the particulars already related, requested that a bishop should be appointed to govern the newly established churches. At the suggestion of the Alexandrian prelate, Frumentius him- self was selected for the purpose, and, being ordained, and con- secrated to the episcopal office, returned into India, where he long resided, and made numerous converts among the heathen. This account, which Eusebius declares that he received not from mere report, but from Edesius himself, the former companion of Frumentius, and subsequently an elder in the church at Tyre, does not appear, as relate to the general facts, to be wanting in authenticity; and I am disposed to believe that, in the congre- gations established by Frumentius, we are presented with the rudiments of that Christian church, which the Portuguese, nearly twelve hundred years afterward, discovered in a flourish- ing condition on the Malabar coast of Hindostan. It will be remembered that the congregations of Frumentius were in further India, but still within the limits of the Phoeni- cian and Egyptian commerce ; for it is stated that he encouraged those among the Roman merchants who professed Christianity, to provide and frequent places of worship, and thus afford him the assistance of their example in the extension of their religion. Now, there is every reason to believe that the Ports of Musiris 192 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. and Barace, to which the ancient navigators are known to have resorted in the time of Pliny, were situated on the Malabar Coast, somewhere between the modern towns of Tellichery and Goa;* and that the coast further to the south, though occasionally visited, was much less frequented and less known than that which extends northward and westward to the Gulf of Cambay and the mouths of the Indus. It is probable, therefore, that the southern provinces now recognized by the names of Cochin and Travancore, in which were situated the Christian congregations discovered by the Portuguese, were considered by the ancients as belonging to the further India; and thus the seat of the modern Malabar Church would be identified with the country in which Eusebius places the church founded by Frumentius. This opinion is entirely in accordance with the belief, that there was another body of Christians in India, who may have owed their original conversion to St. Bartholomew, who were visited before the end of the second century by Pantaenus, and whose bishop, in the year 325, was a member of the first general council of Christendom, and affixed his signature to its acts. That this bishop could have had no connection with the church of further India is shown by the fact, that Frumentius had not at that time received his ordination; for Athanasius, who con- secrated him to the episcopal office, was not himself elevated to the primacy of Alexandria till the year subsequent to the meet- ing of the Council. That he represented the church, the seed of which were planted by Bartholomew, and its germ discovered and fostered by Pantaenus, is indeed altogether conjectural; but, as no evidence is anywhere to be found of the existence of a third church at this early period, the conjecture is perhaps en- titled to some consideration. What was the precise locality of these primitive Christians it is impossible to determine. We are * See Robertson's Ancient India. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 193 informed that St. Bartholomew was appointed to the hither India; and, as the communication -between this country and the western nations was generally effected by a coasting voyage along the Arabian and Persian shores, and the Apostle and his successors were not in pursuit of commercial advantages, and therefore not inclined to proceed beyond the first Indian ports at which they might arrive, it is most probable that the banks of the Indus, or the coast of Guzerat, was the first seat of Christianity in India. That not a trace of its former existence in these re- gions has been discovered in modern times, affords no reasonable grounds for objection; for how many nations of the East are there, once blessed with the light of true religion, among whom that light has been long extinguished, and not a single ray now pene- trates the darkness of Mahometanism or idolatry in which they are enveloped! The Christians of hither India, yielding to the influence of example or the pressure of persecution, may have gradually melted away into the surrounding mass of paganism; or, hopeless of rest and safety in their native country, may have deserted their homes to join their more fortunate brethren who still maintained their religious independence among the hills and valleys of Southern Malabar. After all, however, it must be confessed, that the scanty infor- mation to be derived from ancient records, is wholly insufficient to form the basis of any certain and precise conclusions relative to the Christianity of India, during the first three or four centuries of our era. Of its existence within this period we can have no doubt; but the time, place, and circumstances of its origin are matters of conjecture; and the opinion before advanced, that the church of Frumentius is identical with that subsequently dis- covered on the Malabar Coast, must be acknowledged to rest solely on probabilities. More than two centuries elapsed after the ordination of Fru- mentius, before any further notice appears to have been taken, 13 194 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. by ancient authors, of the ecclesiastical affairs of India. During this period, the struggles of contending factions, and the warfare carnal as well as spiritual which orthodoxy was compelled to wage against frequent and widely spreading heresies, concen- trated the attention of the Christian world principally within the limits of the Empire. Those outposts which the zeal of the early missionaries had planted far in the wilderness of pagan- ism, were left with no other support than their own inherent strength, to maintain a conflict with the numerous inimical cir- cumstances by which they were surrounded. The Church of India, as one of the most remote and insignificant, seems to have been entirely forgotten. We again, however, catch a glimpse of it, during the reign of Justinian, sufficient to convince us that it not only survived, but even flourished under this neg- lect. About the middle of the sixth century, an Egyptian merchant, by the name of Cosmas, having made several voy- ages to India, and afterward exchanged his profession for that of a monk, found leisure and inclination, in the solitude of the cloister, to record the results of his observation while in active life. In a work entitled Topographia Christiana, written with the pious view of disproving the rotundity of the Earth, be takes occasion to mention, among other facts relative to India, that an organized Christian Church existed in the Island of Ceylon and in the interior parts of the continent; and that in Male, the country of pepper, which is evidently identical with the modern Malabar, there were numerous congregations under the control of a bishop who received his ordination in Persia. The exten- sive commercial intercourse, at this time subsisting between Persia and the ports of India, will readily account for the con- tinued existence and prosperity of Christianity in the latter country. We know that in Persia, at a very early period, numerous HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 195 converts had been made from the religion of the Magi; and the See of Seleucia is said to have been separated from that of An- tioch by the Nicene Council,* and erected into a distinct Patri- archate, which acknowledged no superior jurisdiction, and the authority of which extended over all the churches in the domin- ions of the great king. Connected at first with the Christians of the Empire by similarity of faith, the subjects of the Assyrian Patriarch regarded the enemies of their pagan sovereign with an affection little calculated to secure his good-will; and the jealousy excited by political considerations, was readily inflamed by the misrepresentation of their enemies, or their own indis- cretions, into violent animosity and consequent persecution. Under several of the Persian kings, the professors of Chris- tianity were afflicted with every variety of insult, oppression, and bodily suffering which the ingenuity of hatred could de- vise, and unlimited power inflict. As safety was to be found only in concealment or flight, great numbers must have aban- doned their homes, to seek for refuge in a more friendly country. The security which their Christian brethren enjoyed among the tolerant Hindoos probably attracted many families into India, where their permanent settlement must have contributed to the respectability of the church, and may have led to that depend- ence on the Bishop of Seleucia, which is known to have existed in the time of Cbsmas, and was found in full force nearly one thousand years afterward by the Portuguese. Another cause may have contributed to the increase of the Indian Christians. During the persecution which, in the fifth and sixth centuries, raged in the Empire against the disciples of the proscribed Nestorius, numerous Syrians fled for safety into Persia, where a conformity of sentiment on the part of the Patriarch and his clergy, united with the political sagacity of * See Michael Geddes' History of the Church of Malabar, p. 16. 196 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. the monarch to secure them a favourable reception. The former attachment of the Christians of Persia for their brethren of the Empire, which had withstood the jealous tyranny of their own sov- ereign, and had come forth unaltered from the fire of persecution, now gave way before an almost imperceptible difference of reli- gious opinion. The feeling of alienation which had arisen from this source, was fanned into hatred by the fierce passions of the fugitive Syrians. The Nestorian Church of Seleucia threw off the filial bonds which bad attached her to the Church of An- tioch, and henceforward stood independent and alone in her heresy. For the spiritual loss, however, which she thus sus- tained, a rich compensation was afforded her in the smiles of the Persian monarch, whose surprise must have equalled his joy at the discovery, that a slight disagreement in opinion, to him- self wholly unintelligible, had been raised by the magic power of passion into an iron wall of separation. Warmed into new life by the royal favour, and animated by the zeal which, as it is necessary for the support of new opinions, is ever found to accompany their adoption, the Christianity of Persia sprang forward with a rapidity of progress to which it had hitherto been a stranger. While the churches at home were erowded with increasing numbers of proselytes, the Gospel was successfully announced by numerous missionaries to the neigh- bouring nations, and throughout a vast extent" of territory con- gregations were established, which for many centuries continued to revere the name of Nestorius, and to acknowledge a spiritual allegiance to the Patriarch of Seleucia. India must have par- taken of the breeze which was thus swelling the sails of Chris- tianity among the nations of the East. The Nestorianism of the Malabar Christians in the sixteenth century affords some evi- dence that they had not been overlooked; and the existence among them to this day of families whose appearance declares them of foreign origin, and whose traditions point to Syria as HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 197 the land of their ancestors, would lead us to the belief, that a colony of the Nestorian exiles had sought, in these distant shores, a security of which they despaired elsewhere. After the time of Cosmas, the Christianity of India fell into the same oblivion from which it had been partially rescued by the visit of this enterprising traveller. The rise of Mahomet, and the rapid progress of his warlike successors, claimed the undivided attention of the Eastern empire. While province after province was swallowed up by this new deluge, the surges of which were beating, at the same time, against the walls of Constantinople, and the rocks of the Pyrenees, it is not to be wondered that Christendom, assailed as she was at the two ex- tremities of Europe, and struggling for her very existence, should have entirely ceased to remember a distant and insignifi- cant eolony, which, in the height of her prosperity, she had negleeted and despised. Afterward, when the violence of the contest had subsided, and the limits of the two religions were more definitely marked, the possession of Egypt, Persia, and Syria, placed in the hands of the Mahometans the gates of the East. The commercial jealousy of the Arabians, who monopolized the immediate traffic of the Indies, must have joined with religious bigotry to exclude Europeans from this rich quarter of the globe. The Venetians, who received in the ports of Egypt the precious commodities of the East, and dis- tributed them over Europe, were unable to penetrate into the In- dian seas; and the information which they might have derived from diligent inquiry, as it eould contribute nothing to the ex- tension of their commerce or dominion, was considered of too little value to be sought for, or, if obtained, to be published to the world. For many centuries, therefore, after the Saracen eonquest of Egypt, little more was certainly known by Euro- peans relative to India than the value of its products. The existence of Christianity within its limits may have been con- 198 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. jectured from the writings of the fathers or traditionary informa- tion ; and vague rumours of the fact may have reached a few whose mercantile pursuits connected tbem with the Mahometan traders. But their information must have been uncertain, and this subject partook, in a still greater degree, of that obscurity which concealed from the eyes of Europe even the precise distance and situation of this interesting portion of the earth. It is, in- deed, recorded in the Saxon chronicles, and the account is con- firmed by William of Malmsbury, that an ambassador, sent into India by the Great Alfred, with rich presents for the shrine of St. Thomas, arrived at the place of his destination, and returned safely to England. The astonishment which the historian ex- presses at the success. of the enterprise, may well be shared by those who partake also of his credulity. The mission, I suspect, is to be attributed rather to the sagacity than the piety of Alfred; for gems and spices, which, we are informed, accom- panied in abundance the return of the ambassador, are seldom the fruits of pilgrimage to the shrines of the saints. The pros- perity of Venice would naturally suggest to the sovereign of England, the experiment of a commercial expedition to Alex- andria ; and the cloak of religion would serve as the surest safe- guard against the jealous watchfulness of other maritime nations. Egypt was probably both the destination and the limit of the voyage. Had the ambassador of Alfred really accomplished the journey of which he enjoyed the credit, other adventurers would have been able to pursue the same path, and the Chris- tians of the Middle Ages would have been less ignorant of the condition of their Indian brethren, and the Church of Rome less indifferent to the orthodoxy of their faith. The first notice of the Indian Christians which modern Europe received from an actual observer, was probably that contained in the Travels of Marco Polo, a work of great celeb- rity, written near the commencement of the fourteenth century. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 199 The eventful life of this enterprising Venetian is well known to the general reader. His journey through the vast regions of Tartary; his long residence and high employments in the Chinese Empire, hitherto almost unknown to the Western nations; his homeward voyage along the whole southern shores of the Asiatic continent, had afforded him opportunities for ob- servation, which his active and inquiring spirit did not allow to pass away unimproved. It may be readily conceived that the traveller who first recorded all the wonders of nature, of art, and of society which these unexplored regions presented, must have staggered the credulity even of a credulous age; and, ac- cordingly, we find that his statements, though in most material points verified by subsequent experience, were treated by his contemporaries, and for centuries after his death, as highly ex- aggerated, if not altogether fabulous. He says very little of the subject before us, not more than sufficient to prove that the Christian religion was not extinct in India. In his account of this country and its inhabitants, he states that in the province of Malabar there was a small city, which contained the body of St. Thomas the Apostle, and on this account was reverenced and frequented both by Saracens and Christians. The shrine of this Eastern martyr was gifted with the same miraculous powers which continued to spread their glory around the tombs of saints in the West. From the spot which had witnessed the death and received the blood of the Apostle, portions of earth were devoutly collected by the pilgrims and carried away to their distant homes, where its employment in the cure of diseases, and the performance of other miracles, attested at least the faith of these simple Christians. This slight notice, enveloped as it was in a mass of new and highly interesting matter, attracted probably very little attention among the few who in that age were able and inclined to peruse the Travels of Polo; and, at all events, must have been regarded with that uncertainty into 200 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. which the apocryphal character of the work threw all the other statements of its author. Notwithstanding, therefore, the testi- mony of this eye-witness, the most intelligent Europeans re- mained in profound ignorance, not only of the condition, but of the very existence of the Indian Church ; and the discovery of the Malabar Christians when first announced by the Portu- guese, early in the sixteenth century, produced generally the strongest emotions of surprise, and among those interested in ecclesiastical affairs, a corresponding degree of gratification. CHAPTER II. Pedro Alvarez^de Cabral, celebrated as the discoverer of Brazil, and the first European, after De Gama, who conducted a fleet into the Indian seas, had the credit also of conveying to Europe the first account of the newly found followers of Christ. Putting into the Cochinese town of Rauganore, in the year 1501, and meeting with several individuals who professed themselves Christians, he was so much gratified by the intelligence which they communicated relative to the condition of their church, that he prevailed on two of them to accompany him on his return to Portugal. From the statements of one of these stran- gers, who had been conveyed from Lisbon to Venice, an imper- fect account of the Malabar Church was drawn up, and printed, • at the latter of these cities, in the Latin language.* When they first attracted the attention of the Portuguese, the Malabar Christians numbered more than one hundred congre- gations, dispersed here and there through that extensive tract of country, which stretches, in breadth, from the western Ghauts to the ocean, and in length, from the southern extremity of the Peninsula to the borders of Canara: but they were principally confined within the narrower limits of the two provinces, now * The particulars which follow, relative to the history and ancient con- dition of the Malabar Christians, were drawn from various sources. Most of them may be found in G-eddes' History of tho Church of Malabar, in the work of La Croze on the Christianity of India, and in an account of the St. Thome Christians, by F. Wrede, Esq., published in the seventh volume of the Asiatic Researches. (201) 202 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. designated by the names of Cochin and Travancore. Their dwell- ings, unlike those of their heathen neighbours, were grouped to- gether into towns and villages, which were variously situated, some in the vicinity of the ocean, others in the middle of the plain, others again in the valleys, and among the spicy groves of the.Ghauts. Their houses were moreover distinguished by a solidity of structure unknown to the habitations of the Nairs and Brahmins; and the village temples, built in the Syrian style of architecture, which had been adopted also in the churches of Europe, not only marked to the Christian stranger the site of the principal towns, but served as solitary mementos, amid new scenes and unaccustomed manners, to remind him of his own distant home. Husbandry and commerce were the chief occupations of these secluded Christians. While those of the interior cultivated the pepper-vine and the cardamom, and collected cassia among the mountain forests, their brethren in the maritime towns received and sold to foreign merchants the products of their labour. With these peaceful pursuits, regard for their safety compelled them to unite the cultivation of a warlike character. Accordingly, from earliest youth, they were trained to the use of arms, and, in the service of their pagan sovereigns, were furnished with abundant opportunities for acquiring those advantages, which are to be derived only from practice. Such, indeed, was their reputation for skill and courage, that the princes of Malabar con- sidered the strength of their armies proportionate to the number of their Christian soldiers. In that arrangement of society into distinct classes, by wThich the Hindoos are characterized beyond any other people, and to which they adhere, with the most obstinate pertinacity, under all changes of fortune, it is a matter of some surprise, that the Christians of Malabar should have been admitted to a station inferior only to that of the heathen priesthood. To this result HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 203 their wealth, numbers, and skill in arms undoubtedly con- tributed ; but other causes also must have operated; for the Europeans, who at this time are absolute masters of the Indian continent, and have in their hands the fortunes and lives of the inhabitants, are nevertheless despised by the higher orders of Hindoos, as an inferor race, utterly unfit to mingle in their society, and hardly on a level with the lowest grade of natives. It is probable that, in their first establishment in Malabar, the Christians held themselves aloof from their heathen neighbours, and were not therefore marked in the minds of the Hindoos with that indelible stigma, which is the invariable result of an intimate association with the inferior castes. They were thus left to assume a rank corresponding to their comparative wealth and influence; and the conversion of numerous Brahmins, who in their change of religion, still observed the rules of their class relative to cleanliness and diet, tended to give permanence to the high grade in which they were at first established. Hence the consideration with which they were regarded, and the privileges with which they were invested by their politic sovereigns, who thus secured in their interest a powerful body of men, without offending those inviolable rules, the observance of which was essential to the regard and submission of their pagan subjects. It seems that their privileges were granted by a formal instru- ment; for metallic tablets were exhibited to the Portuguese, covered with engraven characters, and affirmed by the Chris- tians to be the identical deed executed in their favour by Ceram- Perumal,* which they had preserved, with religious care, for many centuries, as the inviolable charter of their rights. These * The family name of those ancient sovereigns, who, under the title of Maharajah, great king or emperor, ruled over the kingdom of Malabar, before its separation into those petty sovereignties into which it was found divided when first visited by the Portuguese. 204 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. tablets, by some unaccountable neglect, were afterward lost; but plates of brass have recently been discovered, the antiquity of which is evinced by the unknown character engraven upon them, and which are believed by persons best capable of judging to be the same with those of which we have an account in the Portuguese writers. The security of their property, and the direction of their own internal affairs, were their, most important privileges; but others, which related to their rank in the state and in society, were cherished with equal fondness, and de- fended with equal resolution. To ride on elephants, and sit in the presence of princes, were rights which placed them on a footing with the proudest nobility of the land; and attempts to infringe them were supported with as little equanimity as acts which affected more immediately their property or personal safety. Their internal organization was simple, and well suited to the circumstances of a primitive people. Each congregation was governed by its priests and elders, and the whole were under the superintendence of a bishop, consecrated and ap- pointed by the Patriarch of Babylon,* and claiming the proud title of Metropolitan of India. The rulers of the church were also the judges of the people. Opinion invested them with * The Patriarch of Babylon was the regular successor of the ancient Bishop of Seleucia. As this city declined, Ctesiphon and afterward Bagdad became the seat of the Patriarch, and the vicinity of the ruins of Babylon gave rise to the title by which he was generally distinguished in the Middle Ages. At present there are three bishops who assert their legitimate succession to this ancient see. One of them only continues to profess the doctrines of Nestorius; and his followers, to the number of several hundred thousand, are the sole remnant of that church which once extended from the confines of Syria to the eastern limits of Asia» and was thought to equal, in extent and numbers, the united churches of the West.—(See Gibbon, chapter xlvii., on the Nestorians.) HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 205 power; obedience to their decisions was secured by the public disgrace which resulted to the contumacious; and, in such a state of society, the punishment of excommunication, which cut off from all the consolations of religion, and most of the com- forts of social life, must have been more than equivalent to the lash, or the prison, or perhaps even to the halter of modern justice. Disputes were thus settled, vices restrained, crimes prevented or punished ; and, though the rich and the powerful may often have transgressed with impunity, though corrupt propensities may often have vitiated the very fountains of jus- tice, and ignorance have led into unintentional error, yet the testimony of all unprejudiced witnesses concurs in represent- ing the moral character of the Christians, as infinitely superior to that of the debased heathen around them. Their regard for truth and chastity always honourably distinguished them from the lying and licentious votaries of the Brahmin idolatry. Governed internally as I have described, and connected to- gether by the ties of a common religion and a common interest, the congregations formed among themselves a kind of Christian republic, which, though it acknowledged the supremacy of a pagan sovereign, was yet possessed of sufficient strength to resist excessive oppression. During the long course of centu- ries which had gone by since their establishment in India, they must, in all probability, have experienced more or less of the ordinary vicissitudes of human affairs. Wise sovereigns had protected and cherished them ; the weak or wicked may have degraded and oppressed them. Distraction among their rulers must have occasionally opened to them the path to independ- ence, the possession of which, however, must have been again lost by their divisions,'or wrested from them by the recovered strength of their adversaries. Indeed, we have the evidence of their own records or traditions, that they had anciently been governed by a line of Christian princes, from whom the sceptre 206 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. had passed away only with the extinction of their race. The Portuguese, however, found them a subject, and probably a dis- satisfied people; for we are told that messengers were sent to De Gama, on his second arrival in India, requesting his pro- tection against the oppression of their pagan princes, and presenting the sceptre of their former kings, as a pledge of their submission to the crown of Portugal. Of the origin of the Malabar Christians, various opinions are entertained. With a vanity natural, and excusable in a simple, uncultivated people, they ascribe the conversion of their ances- tors to one of the twelve Apostles. The very port of Malabar is confidently indicated where St. Thomas first landed in India, and the scene of his martyrdom, on the Coromandel Coast, a league only from the city of Madras, has long been the resort of credulous pilgrims. Exercised as were the Catholics of the fifteenth century in the faculty of belief, no wonder that this simple legend appeared to the Portuguese stamped with all the characters of truth. The town of Meliapoor, where the Apostle is supposed to have suffered, received from them the name of St. Thome; and a cathedral speedily rose over the hal- lowed remains of the martyr, which a miracle had discovered and the identity of which was attested by the miraculous powers they long continued to exhibit. Though modern incredulity may hesitate to place implicit confidence in a tradition so re- mote, and so totally unsupported by written testimony; yet, referring to the statement of Jerome, which must have been the prevalent opinion of his age, that St. Thomas was the Apostle of the East, and had lost his life in India, and having before us undoubted evidence of the high antiquity of their church, we should not, perhaps, be justified in treating their belief as abso- lutely groundless. The probability, however, is that the tradi- tion relative to St. Thomas was carried by emigrant Syrians or Chaldeans into Malabar, where, taking root in the memory of HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 207 the Christians, and fostered by their ignorance and vanity, it may at length have grown into that form which was most flat- tering to their pride of origin. The opinion has been advanced, and is not without some appearance of truth, that a bishop or other influential personage of the name of Thomas, conducting a body of Christians into India, may have landed at Cranganore, may even have suffered for his faith at Meliapoor, the modern St. Thome, and, revered after death as a martyr by his fol- lowers, may have been confounded by their descendants with the Apostle of the East.* Reasons have before been given for the supposition, that the Malabar Church might have originated in the labours of Fru- mentius, during the reign of Constantine ; but it must be allowed that we have no positive testimony of its existence long before the middle of the sixth century, when it was visited and de- scribed by Cosmas. It is probable that, during the century which preceded this period, numerous Christian settlers arrived from the dominions of the Persian king, some possibly from Syria, bringing with them their language and modes of living, and communicating to the church those principles of faith and forms of worship by which it was characterized at the time of its discovery by the Portuguese. A tradition to this effect is to the present time prevalent among a remnant of the Nestorians of Persia, who, under the name of Chaldeans, still retain their * According to La Croze, the Thomas whose name stands so high in Malabar, was probably Thomas Cana, an Armenian, who must have landed in India with his followers, anterior to the sixth century. "In the year 822 two Nestorian priests from Syria, called Mar Sapor and Mar Paryes, went from Babylon to India, and landed at Coulan. The Indian princes granted extensive privileges to the Christians of Mar Thomas, and to the two priests from Babylon, by which they were raised above the Nairs or Malabar Nobility."—(See note by Forster to Bar- tolomeo's Voyage. London edition of 1800, chapter v. p. 91.) 208 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. religious faith, and a doubtful political independence, in the mountainous regions of the upper Tigris. The style of architecture among the Malabar Christians, their civil regulations, which in many respects differ materially from those of the Hindoos, their peculiarity of features and compara- tive fairness of complexion, are so many proofs of a foreign origin; while the name of Syrians by which they designate themselves, and the Syro-Chaldaic language in which all their copies of the Scriptures and other manuscripts are written, and which is uniformly employed in their church service, clearly in- dicate the country from which they sprang. It may, indeed, be objected to this conclusion, that the Syro-Chaldaic is only their learned tongue, confined altogether to the priests, and imper- fectly understood by many even of these, while the Malabar or Malayalim is the universal language of the people. But, con- sidering the comparative fewness of their numbers, their want of education, their constant association in war or business with their heathen neighbours, the frequent accessions they received from the Brahmin ranks, which though insufficient altogether to destroy the distinctive features of their race, must have mate- rially affected their modes of intercourse ; allowing to all these causes their necessary weight, is it to be wondered that their original language should have yielded to the influence of four- teen hundred years, and taken refuge, like the ancient Greek and Roman, in the sanctuary of the church ? Nevertheless, in the arrival of a colony from Persia, we have no positive evidence that their religion had not long preceded them; and it is not improbable that their course was directed to this particular por- tion of India, by the hope of finding a hospitable reception and a friendly home, among their brethren in the faith. CHAPTER III. We need not the testimony of history to convince us, that the Portuguese were highly gratified at meeting, in this remote corner of India, with a body of men who professed to revere the same God with themselves, and were ready to proffer the right hand of religious fellowship. But their first emotions of joy and surprise had not yet subsided, when they began to observe material errors both of faith and worship in their new friends ; and it soon became evident that, though nominally Christians, they were in fact little better than infidels. It is true that they gloried in Christ as the Son of God, their Saviour and Re- deemer ; but the holy father and supreme head of the church on earth, him whose judgment is infallible, and who holds in his hands the keys of heaven, they impiously degraded into the simple Bishop of Rome, a mortal weak and sinful as themselves. The sacred images of the Virgin and the saints they derided as idols; and refused to bow down before the crucifix itself. They believed in heaven and hell; but were willing to acknowl- edge no intermediate condition after death, from which the prayers of mortals, or the intercession of saints might free the souls of the guilty. • They ignorantly admitted only the two sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper; and ate the bread and drank the wine of the latter, without believing that they swallowed the body and blood of their Saviour. Matri- mony among their spiritual leaders they considered a less heinous crime than concubinage ; and their priests were per- mitted to marry not once only, but as often as death might de- 14 (209) 210 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. prive them of their partner. Shocked as were the Portuguese at these heretical opinions and practices, their eagerness after temporal advantages was at first too strong to admit of their interference; nor was their power yet sufficiently established to give such interference its full and necessary weight. For nearly half a century the Christians of St. Thomas were suf- fered to indulge in that delusive tranquillity of religious faith, which the indifferent and tolerating spirit of the Hindoo reli- gion, during more than a thousand years, had left undisturbed; but compassion for so many precious souls apparently devoted to perdition, and the dread of divine vengeance for neglecting so fair an opportunity of extending the dominion of the true church; these motives, supported, if the supposition be not uncharitable, by the prospect of that additional strength which 200,000 devoted proselytes would add to their infant empire in the East, were at length sufficient to rouse the Portuguese authorities, and to engage them heartily in the great work of conversion. It was first determined to employ the mild method of per- suasion. For the adoption of this plan the motives were suf- ficiently obvious, without reference to the want of power, which, if we give credit to an enemy of their religion, may have pre- vented a recourse, at this early period, to coercive measures. But the hearts of the heretics were hardened against convic- tion. In vain did the missionaries sound the alarm, and threaten eternal condemnation to their unbelief; in vain did they build churches, and establish schools for the education of youth in the language and doctrines of Rome;* in vain even did the * By the order of the Viceroy and of Don Joan D'Albuquerque, the first Archbishop of Goa, a college was erected at Cranganore in the year 1546, for the instruction of the Malabar youth. Some of the St. Thome Christians sent their sons, who were taught Latin, and ordained priests .according to the Roman rites. (Geddes, pp. 8, 9.) HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 211 Jesuits condescend to impart a knowledge of the true faith to the pupils in the Syriac tongue.* The sermons of the mission* aries and their scholars were heard with indifference; and the priests who had been instructed and ordained by the Jesuits, though willing to clothe the Roman liturgy in the language of the Eastern church, were permitted neither to preach against the aucient doctrines, nor to make the slightest alteration in the service, nor even to substitute in their prayers the name of the Pope, for that of their own Patriarch, the Bishop of Babylon. Reason and persuasion were thus found to be ineffectual in* struments. The disease had struck its roots too deeply to be removed by lenient applications. But was the soul, therefore, to be allowed to perish ? Heaven had favoured the extension of the Portuguese power; the seas were covered with their fleets, the coast resounded with their cannon, the fame of their courage and exploits had spread over all the East, and few of the native princes in their vicinity were bold enough to oppose their enterprises or dispute their commands. Were they not bound to employ the success which the Virgin and saints had granted them, in establishing the spiritual dominion of their benefactors; and if temporal evils should result to the enemies of religion, were they not merited, or should they not rather be considered as blessings, if conducive to their eternal welfare ? With such arguments the Portuguese may have convinced themselves, that violence in the propagation of their faith was not only excusable but commendable; and they hastened to * The Jesuits, under the impression that the use of the Latin instead of the Syriac by those educated at Cranganore was the sole cause of their want of popularity, instituted a college in a village near Cranganore, inhabited by these Christians, in which the youth were taught the Syriac language, but at the same time were educated in the Catholic doctrines. (Geddes, p. 10.) 212 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. deserve the smile of Heaven, by the infliction of suffering upon its creatures. But the Christians of St. Thomas were too numerous and warlike for the subjects of a crusade ; 50,000 armed men would not readily have submitted themselves to the alternative of ab- juration or death ; and the system of extermination corresponded too little with the policy of the Portuguese to permit them to re- gard the dictates of an intemperate zeal. The sword, therefore, was not in this instance appealed to as the instrument of conver- sion. They were contented with a safer, but perhaps not less effectual policy. Seizing the Indian Metropolitan, whom these simple Christians were accustomed to revere and obey as their spiritual father, and compelling him, as well by the terrors of a prison as by the hope of restoration, to abjure his errors, to adopt th« Catholic faith, and swear allegiance to the Roman Pontiff, they allowed him at length to return to his flock, after an absence of several years had weaned their affections, and another bishop had been sent by the Patriarch to fill the vacant see. The rival ecclesiastics were possessed of too little virtue or too much am- bition to relinquish, for the general welfare, their own hopes of power; the clergy and people arrayed themselves under the opposing banners of their chiefs; the before peaceful villages were disturbed with noisy discord, and resounded with the thunders of excommunication; attachment to their religious independence was swallowed up by the rancorous spirit of party hatred ; and the Portuguese beheld their hopes realized in the appeal which was made to their power by the weaker of the episcopal leaders. The condition of their support may be readily imagined ; the Bishop whom they had before compelled to swear allegiance to the Pope, saw himself freed from his opponents at the price of new promises and oaths; and a fair prospect seemed now to be presented of the permanent establish- ment of the Catholic faith. But the current of popular feeling HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 213 set so strongly in an opposite direction, that the Metropolitan was compelled, perhaps not unwillingly, to submit himself to its influence, and excuses were readily found for the violation of oaths, extorted in the first place by actual force, and afterward by the extremity of his condition. It would be an unprofitable task to follow the Portuguese in all the windings of alternate intrigue and violence which, for many years, characterized their intercourse with their Christian neighbours. Communication with the Patriarch was prevented by their command of the sea and the coast; obnoxious priests were inveigled into their power, or seized by force and thrown into prison; and several individuals of episcopal dignity are known to have expired in confinement or exile. Dissimulation, the weapon of the weak, became essential to the safety of the Syrian ecclesiastics; for, to use their own words, " the Portu- guese were over their heads, like the hammer over the anvil." Hollow professions of submission were made when danger was imminent; but no sooner was the pressure lightened or removed, than the quickness of the rebound evinced the former violence of restraint. The great mass of the people probably knew and cared little about the abstract doctrinal differences between the two churches; but in the more obvious circumstances of form and ceremony, which constitute the exterior modes of worship, and which in all ages have most strongly fastened upon the affections of the vulgar, the discrepancies were too numerous and glaring not to strike the most careless eye. In the simple minds of this uncultivated people, the adoration of images appeared little better than idolatry; and the claims of a foreign priest, of whom they had never before heard, to a lawful dominion over their church, were considered in the light of unwarrantable usurpa- tion. It is, therefore, no matter of surprise, that the great majority were uniformly inclined to favour those among their 214 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDTA. clergy who adhered most firmly to their ancient faith ; and that the surest road to popularity, was to withstand the allurements and resist the encroachments of the Portuguese. Still the influence and power of the Catholic clergy, combined with the slow and silent operations of the Jesuits, had not been entirely without effect; considerable numbers both of priests and people, some from motives of policy, others perhaps from honest conviction, had deserted the Assyrian Patriarch, and ranged themselves under the banners of Rome, and a party had been formed which might serve as a nucleus for the increase and permanent establishment of Portuguese ascendency. Fortu- nately for such a result, the Archbishopric of Goa, the Catholic Primacy of the East, was at this juncture occupied by an eccle- siastic, whose zeal in the cause of his church was seconded by a superiority of intellect, and an energy of character, which gave an almost irresistible weight to the powerful influence of his station. Menezes was not of a disposition to rest satisfied with inaction, when an enterprise was offered, so brilliant in its promise of fame among men, and of favour with Heaven, as the conversion of a whole church from the inveterate errors of a thousand years ; and, as the measures hitherto pursued bad not eventuated in success, he determined to employ the expedient of a personal visit to the heretical congregations, and from his own mouth to preach the true doctrines of Christianity among them. It was feared that a people, whose spiritual governors had so long suffered from the persecutions of the Portuguese clergy, might not be disposed to receive with kindness the leader of those whom they could not but consider as enemies; and the friends of the Arehbishop endeavoured to dissuade him from an enterprise, which they believed to be full of danger to his per- son ; but he persisted in his resolution, replying to their repre- sentations, that he felt but too well assured of safety, as he had yet done nothing which could entitle him to the honours of mar- HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 215 tyrdom. Fortified by this reflection, and still more strongly by an armed guard of his countrymen, he sailed from Goa to Cochin, and immediately entered upon his missionary labours. His first step was, by the authority of the native princes, to secure a peaceful, if not a favourable reception. The Rajah of Cochin, throughout whose dominions the greater number of the congregations were dispersed, was too much at the mercy of the Portuguese to venture any opposition to their demands; and with those princes who were less accessible to their power, the influence of their gold was perhaps quite as effectual. At the command of their pagan rulers, the Christians of St. Thomas opened the doors of their churches to the powerful missionary; everywhere multitudes were collected to listen to his instruc- tions, and witness the performance of the Romish ceremonies; and, though many brows were clouded, and murmurs of disap- probation were not always suppressed, actual violence was never offered, and resistance was confined, among the most ob- stinate, to a passive determination to reject the new religion which was pressed upon them. Had Menezes, however, confined his efforts to these offices of the Christian ministry, he might have returned, with all the credit, indeed, which is due to the undertaking of a hazardous enterprise ; but not with the greater honours of success. Other and more effectual measures were resorted to. By a conde- scending and affable deportment he sought the good-will of the multitude. By humane attentions to the sick whom he visited and relieved, by a liberal distribution of alms to the indigent, and by the gratuitous performance of all the ministerial func- tions, he laboured to establish a character for disinterested piety, while he contrasted the liberality of his church with the exactions of the native clergy. By the splendour of his wealth and power, before which the proudest Rajahs had humbled themselves, he threw additional brightness over his 216 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. deeds of charity and the Christian humility of his demeanour, and at the same time convinced the more worldly-minded that, under the shadow of his favour, they might expect not only pro- tection from the oppressive sway of their rulers, but actual profit and advancement. These influences were not without effect upon the feelings and opinions of the community, and large accessions were made from the inferior orders to the Catholic party pre- viously existing. To bring over the priests and the more influ- ential of the laity, no means were spared whether of fear, or bribery, or cajolery; and at length the Archdeacon himself, who in the absence of a bishop was their spiritual chief, dreading the desertion of his supporters, and beholding no refuge from the Portuguese power, was induced to bow to the wishes of the Primate, and to sign a recantation of his faith. To confirm this triumph by a public profession of the church, Menezes convoked a synod at Udiamper, in which, by the ordination of numerous priests from among the individuals of his party, and by other means which, however apparently in opposition to the precepts of the Gospel, were in his own eyes justified by the sanctity of the end in view, he contrived to secure a large majority of the members in his favour. His will was consequently the law of the Assembly; decrees drawn up by himself were passed and promulgated; and the close of the sixteenth century was signal- ized by the formal establishment of the Romish faith among the Christians of St. Thomas.* But, though the essential differences of doctrine, and worship, and church government were thus offered up at the shrine of interest and fear, no motives were found sufficiently powerful to induce a surrender of the ancient language of their religion; so apt is human nature, when unin- structed, to attach more importance to the shadow than the * The decrees of the Council of Udiamper were promulgated in the year 1599. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 217 substance. It was necessary, therefore to indulge them in this respect; and a dispensation was obtained from the Pope, allow- ing the performance of the newly adopted service in the Syriac, instead of the Latin tongue. Equal forbearance, however, was not extended towards the ancient Syriac manuscripts, many of which had been preserved with religious care for ages, and, if at present in existence, might serve to throw new light upon doubtful matters both of civil and ecclesiastical history. The work of conversion was considered incomplete, so long as these mementos of former religious independence were suffered to re- main ; and, with a barbarous policy unworthy of the age, yet but too closely allied to the spirit of the Romish Church, they were collected together, and consumed by fire. It is said that while the flames of this burnt-offering to bigotry were ascend- ing, the Archbishop walked in procession round the burning pile, chanting a song of triumph. Such were the services which by many were thought to entitle their author to canonization, and Menezes might perhaps to this day have been worshipped as a saint, had not the sub- sequent tenor of his life in Europe, indicated an attachment rather to the fleeting but certain honours of this world, than to the more doubtful glories of that to come. The same power which enabled the Catholics to effect the conversion of the Malabar Church, operated in preventing a secession ; and the price at which its members were allowed to enjoy their property, their personal liberty, and even their life, was a quiet acquiescence in the decisions of the Council of Udiamper. Many individuals, however, though conforming outwardly to the Catholic ceremonies, retained a secret but strong attachment to their ancient creed and ritual, and trans- mitted this attachment to their descendants. Others, with greater zeal, were willing to sacrifice their homes and wonted comforts to the liberty of an unrestricted exercise of their reli- 218 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. gion, and sought a refuge with those native princes whose inde- pendence had not succumbed to the arms or policy of Portugal. A few congregations, concealed among the secluded valleys of the Ghauts, or originally seated beyond the limits of the Portu- guese authority, continued without interruption their ancient modes of worship. But these nonconformists, comparatively few in number, unconnected by any common bond of religious government, and totally cut off from all communication with their Patriarchal head, were necessarily reduced to a state of extreme ignorance and depression, and presented only an imper- fect shadow of a free Christian Church. The great mass of the people submitted without resistance to the new arrangements. A Jesuit was appointed to fill the seat of their ancient bishops; and the archdeacon and inferior priests or cassanars, though selected in general from among the native Christians, were educated in the principles, and ordained according to the rites of the Romish Church. In this condition the Malabar Christians remained for more than fifty years. At length, however, irritated beyond endu- rance by the arbitrary conduct of the Portuguese, they assem- bled in a tumultuary congress, and decreed the independence of their church.* The Catholic bishop was expelled, and the archdeacon appointed to fulfil the duties of the vacated office, till a communication should be opened with their ancient Patri- arch. Soon after this event, the power of their oppressors, enfeebled already by their own inactivity and by the neglect of the government in Europe, gave way before the vigorous assaults of the Dutch, assisted as they were by the native In- dians, Christian as well as heathen, whom resentment for past injuries, and the prospect of freedom from a cruel bondage, had attracted to their standard. Religious bigotry is seldom a * A.D. 1653. See Bartolomeo's Voyage to the E. Indies. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 219 characteristic of mercantile communities, and the Christians of St. Thomas were allowed to regulate their own spiritual affairs, without interruption from their new and powerful neighbours. A supply of ecclesiastics was soon received from Mesopotamia and Syria ; the ancient Malabar Church rose again from its ruins; and the Chaldean Patriarch, so long reduced within the narrow bounds of the Tigris and Euphrates, beheld his authority once more acknowledged beyond the Indus, CHAPTER IV. Though the Christians of St. Thomas had thus severed the bond which connected them with the Church of Rome, yet the majority had been influenced less by hostility to the Catholic religion itself, than by that deep-rooted hatred of the Portu- guese, which had arisen from a long series of unprovoked in- juries, and was not the less cherished, because it had hitherto been concealed. Most of the cassanars or priests had received their education from the Jesuits, and were naturally attached to the creed in which they had been instructed. The splendour and variety of the Romish ceremonies were calculated to attract the admiration of an ignorant people; and the abuses of the church were such as coincide but too well with the natural propensities of uncultivated minds. When, in addition to these considerations, we reflect that, in the lapse of more than half a century, a new generation had arisen, whose feelings and pre- judices were enlisted in favour of the religion in which they had been brought up from their infancy, we may readily conceive that the mass of the seceders, notwithstanding their new inde- pendence, must have continued to cherish a strong individual attachment to the faith, which, as a body, they had deserted. Accordingly we are informed that a mission of Italian Carmel- ites, established at Verapoli, in the vicinity of Cochin, found little difficulty in effecting a reconciliation with a majority of the revolted congregations. A permanent separation into two distinct churches resulted, the one adhering to the ancient religion, and professing a spiritual allegiance to the Chaldean (220) HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 221 Patriarch ; the other adopting the Catholic faith and acknowl- edging the supremacy of the Pope.* The titles of Syrians, and Syrio-Romans, by which they are to this day distinguished, indicate at once their common origin, and the cause of their present division. The Syrio-Romans, who constitute about two-thirds of the whole number, are divided between the provinces of Travan- core and Cochin ; and dwell principally along the coast, or in the villages of the plain. The Syrians reside more among the mountains, and are almost exclusively subject to the Rajah of Travancore. The two sects, however, are in some places inter- mingled, and in more than one instance occupy the same church, performing their worship alternately, without any in- terruption to the general harmony, f An account of the con- dition and prospects of these remnants- of an ancient church will be indispensable to a clear exhibition of the present state of Christianity in India. The Syrians and Syrio-Romans, though differing widely in many important doctrinal points, have yet in common numerous customs, both civil and religious, which serve to distinguish them from the other Christians of Hindostan. In the per- formance of their worship, they both adhere to the ancient Syriac tongue, to which length of use has attached a venerable character, and which is rendered still more sacred in their eyes, as the language in which our Saviour spoke, and in which they * In this account of the Church, subsequently to the expulsion of the Portuguese, I have drawn the materials principally from the Travels of Bartolomeo, a learned Carmelite friar, who resided many years as a mis- sionary in Malabar, and, on his return to Rome, published an account of the country and its inhabitants. He remained in India from the year 1776 to 1789. f Buchanan's Christian Researches. 222 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. believe the Gospels were written. Of this language, however, the laity are entirely ignorant, and most of the officiating priests have such a knowledge only as enables them to go through with the appointed service; few being able to read and under- stand it Perhaps this very obscurity has contributed to throw around it a holy character, and a people so long resident in India might readily imbibe, from the pagan example, that kind of superstition which causes the Hindoo to revere the lan- guage of the Vedas. In their modes of worship, both sects exhibit a strong attach- ment to childish and idle forms, the lifeless representatives of a devotion which they do not feel, and of the necessity of which they seem to have but a very inadequate conception. To these ceremonies, before sufficiently numerous, the Catholics have added the adoration of images; and the simple cross of the Syrians has been displaced, in the churches of the Syrio- Romans, by crucifixes, and by the pictures and statues of the Virgin Mary and the saints. The agapae or love-feasts, still celebrated by the Christians of St. Thomas, may perhaps be considered as something more than an empty ceremony. The occasion is looked for with eagerness, and on the appointed day multitudes collect together from every quarter, and from a considerable distance. The churchyard is the appropriate scene of the solemn festival. From the door of the temple, the priest dispenses his blessing among the assembled people, who receive it with affection and reverence. They now arrange themselves in rows, each with his simple platter of banana-leaf before him, and await in be- coming silence the distribution' of the viands. The overseers of the church are the acting officers. Walking along the peaceful ranks, they give to every individual his portion of rice-cake and banana, and refuse not this pledge of Christian love even to the heathen spectators who may have come to HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 223 witness the scene. A spirit of order and solemnity pervades the whole assembly; and, even if no genuine emotion of thank- fulness or adoration is raised to the Divine Author of their religion, yet the feeling of brotherly affection and the general harmony which prevail, cannot be an unacceptable offering to Him whose command is that we love one another. It would be doing these people injustice, to omit noticing another of their customs, derived probably from the primitive age of the church, which exhibits their character in an amiable light. In every congregation, the female orphans who may have been left destitute are made the objects of peculiar care, and, when arrived at a marriageable age, receive from the church a suitable dowery, and are provided with husbands whose characters for industry and correctness of conduct are made the subjects of particular inquiry. The congregation thus acts the part of a father to the fatherless; and the real importance of their assistance to the orphan, in thjs particular portion of the parental office, can be understood only by those who are acquainted with the Indian feelings and opinions on the subject of matrimonial alliances. Most of the Protestant authors who have written from actual observation of the Syrian Christians, whether of the old or new sect, agree in regretting their deficiency in true vital religion. The general correctness of their moral conduct is always favour- ably contrasted with the habitual vices of the Hindoos. They attend their places of worship, observe the prescribed forms of their church, and profess a strong attachment to the truths of Christianity; but that deep sense of their own unworthiness, that expanded love of the whole human family, that devoted- ness of spirit to the will of Heaven, which characterize the truly regenerate, are said to be almost unknown among them. Reverence for their priests supplies the place of devotion to Heaven. The influence of their clergy extends over their tern- 224 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. poral as well as spiritual concerns; and the authority of the bishops, in their respective sects, sanctioned as it is by im- memorial usage and the consent of the ruling powers, is little inferior to that of sovereign princes.* Murder and robbery are the only crimes which do not come within their cognizance, and * " The clergy and elders settle all disputes which arise among the members of their respective congregations; excommunicate the contu- macious with the consent of the Bishop, and exclude them from the society of the faithful. Confession and the holy sacrament are denied to such persons; no priest dare enter their habitations; they can be married neither publicly nor privately, and are not allowed to be present at the festival of commemoration which is annually celebrated in remem- brance of deceased relations. The sentence of excommunication is never recalled till those who lie under it have made sufficient atonement for their sins, which must always be done before the judgment seat of the congregation. If the offender wishes to be again received into the bosom of the church, he must crave mercy on his knees at the church-door, on a Sunday or festival, when all the people are assembled to public wor- ship. The priests, the overseers, and the elders then assemble and ex- amine the conduct of the penitent, together with every concomitant circumstance, and likewise the state of his property and goods. If rich, he is required with one voice to pay a public fine. If he has no property, a large wooden cross is placed on his shoulders while he is kneeling at the church-door, a human skull is put into his hand, and in that manner he is made to creep round the church ; or he is sent to Maleatuo (Melia- pour or St. Thomas), where he must do penance at the foot of the holy cross, which is said to have been erected there by the Apostle Thomas himself. "When the penance is over, the bishop, missionary, or priest gives the offender absolution in the presence of the whole congregation." (Bartolomeo'''s Voyage to the East Indies, chapter viii.) The above account, though evidently referring to the Syrians attached to the Catholic Church, applies in general equally well to the independ- ent Syrians. It is interesting, as it serves to show the similarity between the practices among these remote Christians, and those which, during the Middle Ages, exhibited the power of the European priesthood. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 225 death the only punishment which they are not at liberty to inflict* The temporal condition of the Christians of Malabar, since the expulsion of the Portuguese, has varied with the power and disposition of their Hindoo rulers. Their religion has seldom been made the pretext of persecution, and they have generally shared in the same fortune with their pagan fellow-subjects. The treatment, however, which they received from the last Mahometan sovereign of Mysore, when the fortune of war placed their country in his possession, affords a memorable exception to the general correctness of this observation. In the bigoted mind of Tippoo, that inextinguishable hatred with which he regarded the European invaders of India was ex- tended also to their religion ; and the vengeance which fell harmless before the British bayonets, was wreaked with a bloody severity upon the unresisting and unprotected native Christians. But his short-lived dominion in Malabar speedily vanished before the fortunes of England. At present the con- gregations situated beyond the boundaries of Travancore are under the immediate government of the Bombay Presidency, * Speaking of the Bishop and missionaries at Yerapoli, Bartolomeo says, "Everything that relates to marriage, family quarrels, offences of the clergy, irreligious conduct, and even the oppressions which the Christians suffer from the pagans, must be brought before the tribunal of the Bishop and the missionaries. Their cognizance extended to everything except murder and robbery. For this reason the King of Cochin grants them the privilege of carrying a large umbrella of palm- leaves, and even sometimes a sword, to be borne before them, in order that both Christians and pagans may know that they are intrusted with the power of administering justice. When the missionaries are on good terms with their congregations, the pagan magistrates, so far from in- terfering with, stand in awe of them." (Voyage to the East Indies, chapter viii.) 15 226 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. and enjoy that protection which is afforded alike to tin so of all religions who act in obedience to the laws. The Catholic Syrians, since their reunion with the Church of Rome, have been governed by an apostolic vicar, assisted by a mission of Italian Carmelites, whose labours are extended also to the conversion of infidels. The episcopal jurisdiction ■of the vicar, and the civil authority necessarily united with it, have always been recognized by the Cochinese and Travancore Rajahs, at whose courts the Bishop and missionaries, by an adroitness of management not unusual in the servants of the Holy See, have generally been able to exercise considerable in- fluence. Indeed, Ave may collect from the representations of one of their own number, that this influence was sometimes of no little advantage in the maintenance of their authority over their Syriac congregations. In several instances it happened that the cassanars exhibited a disposition to throw off their depend- ence upon the apostolic vicar; and the exertion of other force than that of argument or persuasion was necessary to curb their rebellious inclinations. On such occasions the interference of the Rajah was sufficient to insure a return to obedience, and the conscience of a Catholic missionary would seldom permit him to neglect the measures necessary for procuring so efficient a sup- port.* Recently, however, many of the congregations, by the con- quest of the country in which they were situated, have come under the dominion of the British East India Company, whose principles of entire toleration have taken from the Bishop the * It is pleasant to observe the naivete with which Bartolomeo speaks on this subject: " In the year 1787 they (the cassanars or Syriac priests) made themselves independent of the apostolic vicar ; but as I went to the court of Travancore, as well as to Cochin, the rebels were punished and again brought into subjection." (Bartolomeo's Voyage, chapter viii.) HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 227 support of the secular power, and left him dependent for his influence, solely on the respect and affection of his flock. The present incumbent, an Irishman by birth, is said to be a man of liberal principles, desirous of promoting the welfare of those intrusted to his superintendence, and acquiescing, if not co-opera- ting in those efforts which the benevolent in Great Britain are now making, to extend to their fellow-subjects of Hindostan the benefits of increased knowledge and civilization. It deserves to be mentioned, as a proof of the enlightening and liberalizing spirit of the age, that a Catholic Bishop of India discourages the worship of images, and professes himself friendly to the establishment of schools, and the circulation of the Scriptures among his congregations.* The number of the Syrio-Romans is estimated at little short of one hundred thousand. According to the most unpre- judiced accounts, the great majority are sunk into a state of ignorance and superstition, which, but for their stricter ob- servance of the rules of morality, would reduce them almost to the level of the pagans. Even the clergy can boast of no great superiority of intelligence over their unenlightened countrymen. It is true that both by the Jesuits and their successors, the Carmelites, a school was maintained for the education of native Syrians to the ministerial office; and a college still exists at Verapoli, in which fourteen students are taught so much of the Syriac as may enable them to read the liturgy in that lan- guage, f But science and general literature are wholly neg- lected. Even the study of the Scriptures forms no part of the education of these candidates for the ministry; the standard of their morality is said to be little more elevated than that of their * See the "Tour of a Field-officer of Cavalry in South India," pp. 104, 105. f Ibid., p. 106. 228 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. intelligence; and they are indebted for their influence more to the ignorance and simplicity of the people than to their own cultivation of mind or purity of character.* We may, however, indulge the hope, that the spirit of beneficence which is now abroad in the world will visit these benighted professors of Christianity; that the light of knowl- edge will be made to break in upon their minds; and that favoured by the general tranquillity which the supremacy of the British power has established in India,, they may seize upon the offered advantages, and ultimately rise into the condition of useful citizens and enlightened Christians. * See Bartolomeo's Account of Missionary Affairs in Malabar t and Dubois' Christianity in India, pp. 22, 23, CHAPTER V. Upon the sect of the Syrians, the dawn of a brighter day is already breaking. The attention of the Christian public has been recently directed towards them with the happiest effects; and the success in which the labour devoted to their improve- ment promises to eventuate, affords, at present, one of the most cheering of those bright prospects which are opening amid the darkness of India. A sketch of their separate history will complete our survey of the Christians of St. Thomas. It will be remembered that their residence was chiefly in the hilly country of Travancore, where they were protected by distance and seclusion from the tyranny of the Portuguese inquisitors. When the power of Portugal ceased to be formidable in India, the same causes probably contributed to preserve their faith against the artifices and persuasions of the Roman missionaries, which had proved so successful among their brethren on the coast. Connected, by their spiritual necessities, with the mother church of Syria or Mesopotamia, they had little or no communication with the rest of the world; and for nearly a century remained unnoticed by European travellers, so that their condition came to be wholly unknown, and their very ex- istence, as a distinct people, to be doubted or forgotten. Secluded, however, as they were, it would appear from the imperfect records which have reached us, that discord found an entrance among them. By the long interruption of their accus- tomed intercourse with their spiritual chief, the ties of depend- ence had become weakened, if not broken; and when, by the (229) 230 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. triumph of the Dutch, the communication between India and the Gulf of Persia Avas restored, the Avay was open alike to the missionaries of Antioch, and to the messengers of the Chal- dean Patriarch. A struggle for their allegiance ensued, which resulted in their division into two parties; at least we are informed that, in the year 1714, the churches of the south were governed by a bishop of the Monophysite persuasion, while those of the north, under a rival prelate, still maintained the creed of Nestorius. How long this schism continued is not pre- cisely known. The wars and frequent revolutions of Persia, during the last century, shut up the Nestorians of Chaldea within the defences of their mountains; and their Patriarch, absorbed in the care of his own immediate flock, was either ignorant of the wants of these distant congregations, or unable to relieve them. The churches which had adhered to him, thus left Avithout support, sought a refuge from anarchy with their more fortunate neighbours; and, long before the close of the century, the two parties Avere again united under one Metro- politan, Avho acknoAvledged a dependence on the Jacobite Bishop of Antioch, and professed the Eutychian or Monophysite faith. His successors to the present time have continued to de- rive their ordination from the same source, and, though under the influence of the English missionaries, still maintain a nom- inal connection with the Church of Syria. A few casual notices had, about the beginning of the nine- teenth century, reached the Europeans in India, of this quiet and unpretending sect; but it was to the Rev. Claudius Buchanan that the credit was due of first decidedly calling the attention of the British public to their existence and condition, and of exciting its sympathies in their favour. In a tour through the Peninsula of Hindostan, undertaken Avith the view of promoting the interests of Christianity in that country, this learned and amiable divine Avas induced to visit the interior of HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 231 Travancore, by the hope that, in this solitary people, Avho, through the vicissitudes of so many years, had maintained an unshaken attachment to their primitive religion, he might find not only nn interesting subject of investigation, but also an in- strument for extending in the south of India, the true principles of the Gospel. It is impossible to peruse the simple but ani- mated narrative of this journey, without partaking largely of those delightful emotions and enthusiastic hopes which filled the breast of the author. The very passage from amidst the abominations of Hindoo idolatry, and the heartless selfishness of Hindoo society, into a land where the sight of Saracenic churches, the sound of bells summoning to Avorship, and the ap- pearance of both sexes mingled together in the streets of the villages, circumstances Avhich evinced to the traveller that he Avas among a Christian people, Avas calculated to produce the most cheering impression upon his spirits. Nor Avas this im- pression diminished, Avhen, upon mingling in their society, he found them professing a faith in all essential particulars identical with his own, and, in their intercourse Avith himself, eager to exhibit, by the cordiality of their attentions, the confidence with Avhich this religious affinity, united Avith his evident interest in their Avelfare, had inspired them. Aware of their former power and consequence, and of their present political debasement, he Avas prepared to witness both " in the churches and people an air of falling greatness;" and, considering their extreme poverty and long seclusion, Avas less disappointed by the ignorance of the great mass of the community, their want of religious fervour, and the cold formality of their Avorship, than gratified by the evidences which still remained among them of the antiquity and orthodoxy of their church, and by the disposition they exhibited to co-operate in whatever extraneous efforts might be made to- wards again raising it from its ruins. In their worship they employed the liturgy of the ancient 232 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. church of Antioch; and this, with the copies of the Syriac Scriptures which had escaped the ravages of time, and the flames of the inquisition, though in a language unintelligible except by the better instructed priests, had tended to preserve alive a spark of the true faith, which Avithout them would, in all probability, have been smothered by the oppressive atmos- phere of superstition and idolatry by which it Avas enveloped. Sensible of the vast importance of the Bible, yet unable, from their poverty, to sustain the expense of multiplying manuscript copies, they received with the highest gratification the intel- ligence, that, through the medium of the press, and by the aid of their religious friends abroad, they might obtain a supply equivalent to all their wants. Among the Syriac manuscripts in their possession, was one of the Old and New Testament of great antiquity, of uncommon beauty and perfection, and valued highly as a memorial of ancient splendour; yet this they gladly surrendered to their guest, with the hope that it might facilitate the acquisition of a printed edition of the Scriptures, which he gave them reason to expect might be received from England after his return. "Take it," said their Bishop; "it will be safer in your bands than ours: and yet we have kept it, as some think, for near a thousand years." The visit of Buchanan was made in the year 180G. His report excited both in India and Great Britain, an interest in the affairs of the Syrians, which soon evinced itself in active endeavours to ameliorate their temporal and spiritual condition. As they were situated Avithin the jurisdiction of an independent sovereign, the British government, even if inclined, could not, with propriety, have interfered in their affairs: but the para- mount influence of the company in Hindostan, gave their agents at the courts of the Indian princes an authority which was seldom disputed; and the resident in Travancore, Avbose personal qualities had united Avith his political station to insure HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 233 him almost absolute power in that state, might exercise, in his private capacity, a most beneficial control over the fortunes of the depressed and impoverished Syrians. Happily, Colonel Monro had not forgotten, among the pagans of the East, his own fellowship with the Christian Church ; and a body of his brethren whom fortune had thrown upon his protection, could not be regarded by him with indifference. His first efforts were directed to the improvement of their political condition. The subordinate agents of the native government were taught to restrain those arbitrary and oppressive exactions which an un- just impunity had before encouraged, and to treat with respect a people to whom the favour of their superiors had now given the means of redressing and avenging their injuries. But he did not confine his benefits to the assurance of protection. By opening to them the offices of the state, he restored their former equality of privileges with the higher classes of the pagans, and thus gave free scope to the exercise of their before cramped and broken energies. Three hundred of them were appointed to various public stations, and by their industry and probity justified a choice which might otherwise have been open to the charge of an impolitic, if not unjust partiality. Having thus afforded them incentives to exertion, he determined to open for them a new path of improvement, by placing within their reach the means of acquiring knowledge, and of extending through their whole community a thorough acquaintance with the re- quisitions of that religion, with the forms only of which they were now familiar. Through his influence, a grant of money and lands Avas made to them by the Queen of Travancore, for the support of a college, in which native Syrians might receive such instruction as to qualify them for the enlightened ministry of the Gospel. To assist the operation of the school, he con- templated the establishment of a printing-press; but was prevented, by retirement from his station, from carrying his 234 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. designs fonvard to completion. His successor, influenced by different feelings and opinions, declined all interference in the concerns of the native Christians, Avho were thus again left to the oppression of the Hindoo officers, rendered doubly severe on the part of their enemies, and less tolerable to themselves by the short period of respect and poAver which they had en- joyed. It is a fact, hoAvever, deserving of record, as a strong testimonial of their superiority in moral principle over their heathen countrymen, that, out of the Avhole number of indi- viduals who had been elevated to public stations, they only Avere not dismissed Avho Avere connected with the offices of the treasury. But, though in temporal concerns they had thus fallen back into their former state, a moral impulse had been communi- cated to them, the force of which was not allowed to slacken. Their poAverful friend had departed ; but others had become interested in their favour, not less zealous for their welfare, and perhaps more judicious in the means employed for their lasting good. Colonel Monro, on the occasion of the endow- ment of the college, well convinced that among the Syrians themselves there Avas too little knowledge and energy to render such an institution efficient, applied to the Madras committee of the Church Missionary Society for the assistance of as many clergymen in their employment, as could be spared from other important duties. Two missionaries were accordingly sent, who were soon followed by others; and the care of the Syriac Chris- tians became henceforward a permanent object with that great and praiseworthy association, which, though restricted within the pale of the English Church, is extending its beneficial influ- ence to the remotest regions of the globe. The conduct of its agents among the Syrians of Travancore Avas such as very soon to secure their confidence. Their labours met with the cordial approval and co-operation of the native clergy and their Bishop. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 235 An extensive system of instruction was adopted, and has been carried into complete effect; and already an improvement has been experienced, which affords evidence of the efficiency of the plan, and justifies the highest expectations from its continued operation. A favourable change has moreover taken place in the policy of the government; and representations at the court of Travancore have again placed the Christian upon the foot- ing of other subjects ; while the watchfulness of the Europeans resident among them, must have a tendency to restrain the commission of those disorderly and unauthorized acts of op- pression which the agents of despotic authority are ever ready to exercise. The Syriac congregations, scattered unequally over a tract of country extending one hundred and fifty miles from north to south, and at least thirty from east to Avest, number at present more than fifty thousand members. The whole diocese is divided by the missionaries into three districts, a northern, central, and southern, in each of which they have established a seminary, upon the plan of the free grammar schools of England, Avith the object of preparing youth for admission into the college. This institution, erected in the year 1815, chiefly at the expense of the Queen of Travancore, and liberally endoAved with lands for its support, is situated in the town of Cotym, in the central division of the diocese. It is calculated for the reception of at least fifty students ; and a course of study, and general system of management have been instituted, fitted to raise up an enlightened and respectable body of native clergy, which may supply ministers for the service of the Syriac churches, and missionaries for the further extension of the Christian faith. Besides these higher seminaries, parochial schools have been established in every part of the diocese, for the elementary in- struction of children designed for secular occupations; and by 236 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. the most recent accounts not less than one thousand scholar* were partaking of their benefits. The Syriac Scriptures have been liberally supplied by the Bible Society of England; and the New Testament has been translated by the missionaries into the Malayalim, the common language of the people. A printing press at Cotym serves as a powerful auxiliary in the great Avork of regeneration that is going on. The Bishop Dionysius,* who is represented as a man of good sense, a sincere and humble Christian, evinces by his deportment a deep interest in the success of the mission; the clergy and the Avhole body of the people heartily co-operate in measures which they clearly perceive are undertaken for their own good; and already the shadows of ignorance and super- stition which had for so many ages been gathering round the church, obscuring the beauty of its faith, and quenching the vigour of its spirit, are scattering before the powerful influence of knowledge and truth. To this spirit of good-will, harmony, and mutual co-operation, and to the most happy effects which are growing out of it, there can be no doubt that the general conformity of faith between the Syrian and English churches has greatly contributed; but much is also due to the moderation, wisdom, and patient perse- verance of the missionaries themselves, and to the firm convic- tion to Avhich their conduct has given rise, that no motive of self-aggrandizement is mingled with their devotedness to the cause in which they have engaged. Though the Travancore Syrians still maintain their connec- tion Avith the See of Antioch, whence their bishops receive ordination, there is reason to expect, from the extending influ- ence of the missionaries, and the gradual approximation which must take place in their mode of worship to that of the English * Since, I believe, dead. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 237 Church, the liturgy of which bears a close resemblance to their own, that an amalgamation with their benefactors may at no distant period be effected, and that as a constituent part of the church establishment in India, they will give and receive a sup- port, favourable to the general progress of truth in the widely extended dominions of Britain in the East. CHAPTER VI. ROMAN CATHOLICS IN INDIA A nation whose conquests from the infidels Avere made by the authority, and held by the title of a papal grant, must have strongly felt the obligation to establish, in their new dominions, an obedience to that spiritual poAver which they revered as the representative of Heaven. The monarch of Portugal may have been but half a hypocrite when he declared, that his intentions in prosecuting those splendid discoveries in the East Avhich ren- dered his reign illustrious, wrere to diffuse the Catholic faith, and to extend the jurisdiction of the Church of Rome.* Con- siderations of policy, in all probability, gave additional force to the suggestions of conscience; for it was a natural inference from the condition of Indian society, that they Avhose connec- tion with their countrymen might be dissolved by the adoption of a new faith, would rally around the authors of their conversion, and yield, by their devoted attachment, a powerful and perma- nent support. But whatever may have been the real motives which influenced the first Portuguese invaders of India, they certainly appear to have been actuated little more by the lust of conquest than by the spirit of proselytism. No sooner had they obtained a footing on the coast, than churches rose simulta- neously Avith their fortifications; and every inducement was held out to the native which their power could offer, to desert * Histoire Generale des Voyages, vol. i. p. 96. (238) HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 239 the symbols of his idolatry for the cross, the ceremonies of his heathen worship for the more splendid pageantry of the Romish service. In their zeal for converts, no station Avas thought too Ioav, no morals too depraved, no ignorance too profound for admission into the bosom of the church. It will be readily be- lieved, that the hope of safety under their protection, or of in- creased consequence in their fellowship, operated with no little force upon the oppressed and the humble ; and of such, with few exceptions, were all the proselytes Avho voluntarily adopted the ensigns of the new faith. At the extremity of the Peninsula, and on the neighbouring coast of Malabar, resided a body of fishermen, Avhose rank Avas among the loAvest of the natives, and their manners de- graded to the level of their condition. Living in villages by the sea-side, and dependent for support upon the produce of their fisheries, they had fallen an easy prey to the Mahometan adven- turers from Arabia, who, before the coming of the Portuguese, Avere masters of the Indian seas. Ground doAvn by an oppression which necessity alone could render supportable, they learned with pleasure the arrival of a people, whose invincible courage Avas equalled only by their zeal for the diffusion of their peculiar religious dogmas. For the Paravas, a superstition which made them the objects of contempt or abhorrence to their more happy countrymen, and presented an eternal barrier to any ameliora- tion of their social condition, could possess no charms ; and its abandonment Avas a price they Avere not only willing but eager to pay, for an escape from the injuries and extortions of their tyrannical masters. Application for assistance, accompanied by the promise of submitting to baptism, was made to the Portu- guese at Cochin: and the messengers, as an earnest of their sincerity, requested and received that sacrament on the eve of their return. The prospect of acquiring so many souls for heaven, and so many subjects for their king, afforded to men 240 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. who were little accustomed to put restraint upon their warlike propensities, an irresistible inducement to compliance with the petition thus presented. The Mahometans Avere soon dispos- sessed of their usurped authority ; the poor and oppressed fish- ermen Avere restored to comparative comfort; and though the whole nation did not immediately bow before the Cross, the baptism of twenty thousand converts was a result more than equivalent to the difficulties and dangers of the enterprise. It Avas so early as the year 1500 that this work of conversion Avas accomplished. We shall find that, at a later period, there Avas still room among the Paravas for the display of missionary zeal.* Wherever a military establishment was formed by the Portu- guese, motives such as those which influenced the fishermen of Malabar, were found sufficient to collect around them, out of the refuse of the population, a small body of native Christians; and a resort to force may have occasionally added to the number individuals of a more respectable rank, who, compelled by a power which they could not resist to violate the rules of caste, were thrown out of the circle of their former associates, and subjected to the alternative of living in a state of complete desertion, or of joining the new community. It is related of the famous Albuquerque, that, after his second conquest of Goa, desirous of securing within its walls an interest Avhich might strengthen its defence, he caused many of his soldiers to marry native women, and form a permanent settlement in the place. The females thus converted probably became good Catholics; and, in their increasing families, contributed effectually to the extension of the faith. * These facts relative to the Paravas may be found related in Xieu- hoffs Voyage, and in a letter of Father Martin, a Jesuit missionary, contained in Longman's Travels of the Jesuits, vol. i. p. 376. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 241 Notwithstanding these partial successes, nearly half a century elapsed from the first voyage of De Gama, before the Catholics of India attracted much attention from the Church in Europe. The efforts hitherto made were desultory, the result of an irregular zeal among the military adventurers, which was probably fanned into occasional fierceness by the monastic enthusiasts who accompanied the various expeditions, and then died away under the quenching influence of arduous and unceasing warfare. Before the year 1537, no ecclesiastical Catholic establishment existed in India ; and Goa, which was then made an episcopal see, Avas at first placed under the authority of the Metropolitan of Funchal in Madeira. But about the middle of the sixteenth cen- tury, Avhen the Portuguese dominion had been confirmed by innumerable victories, and idolatrous millions, who had bent the knee in temporal submission, seemed ready to yield up their spiritual independence at the voice of persuasion or authority, the attention of the various religious orders Avas strongly turned to this land of promise, and volunteers from a hundred convents hastened to enlist themselves in a crusade against the heathen- ism of the East. Franciscans, Jesuits, Dominicans, and Augus- tines vied with each other in devotion to the cause; the Pope and the Court of Portugal encouraged their zeal by smiles and favours; and the ports of India were soon swarming with eccle- siastics, eager to array themselves against the forces of Satan, and to assault him in his stronghold of Brahminical super- stition. Among the first of these missionaries, and beyond all com- parison the most renowned, was Francis Xavier, an early dis- ciple of Ignatius Loyola, and esteemed by the Jesuits as one of the greatest ornaments of their society. An energy which no opposition could repress, a courage which no dangers could alarm, an enthusiasm Avhich burned more brightly in the midst of difficulties, appear to have been the prominent traits of his 16 242 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. character. If his zeal was not always confined within the limits of moderation, if in his warfare against the powers of darkness he did not trust exclusively to spiritual weapons, the simple inference is, that he had not risen above the bigotry of his times, and believed, with all his contemporaries, that violence in the cause of religion was neither unjust towards man, nor unpleasing to Heaven. During nearly three years that he spent in India, he was employed in unceasing exertions to promote the conversion of the natives. He travelled through various parts of the continent from Diu to Malacca; visited the island of Ceylon; preached by means of interpreters to vast assem- blages of people; and, if we may credit the assertions of the Jesuits, and traditions among the descendants of his converts, attested by numerous miracles the sacred character of his mis- sion. It is affirmed that he healed the sick, cast out devils, and even restored the dead to life.* A Protestant may be permitted to wonder that, with such powers, he should not have possessed also the gift of tongues ; as this would have been an equal evi- dence of supernatural authority, and would, at the same time, have freed him from those embarrassments, in which his igno- rance of the native languages must have frequently involved him. Among the various tribes whom he visited were the fish- ermen, whose partial conversion has been already noticed. Left for many years without religious instruction, they had relapsed into their original idolatry; and, at the arrival of Xavier, little more than two thousand individuals acknowledged the Christian name. The success of his exertions, as well in * The flames even are said to have respected him. Father Martin re- lates that when Xavier was on his mission in Travancore, an attempt was made to destroy him by setting on fire a hut in which he lodged; but though the building wa» burned to the ground, the saint himself escaped unhurt. (Longman's Travels of the Jesuits.) HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 243 reclaiming those who had strayed, as in adding to the orig- inal numbers of the flock, is unparalleled in the annals of Chris- tian proselytism in India, and is adduced by the Catholics as a proof, that he must have exercised miraculous powers. To use his own expression, his arms were often fatigued with baptizing sometimes whole villages at once; and his voice and strength failed him from the frequent repetition of the articles of faith. The fruits of his labours, among this one people, are said to have been no less than forty thousand proselytes.* We are told that, in other places in the south of the Peninsula, many towns were by his ministry brought over in a body to the commuuion of the faithful; and to this day he is revered by the Catholics of Cape Comorin as the founder of their congregations, and the patron saint upon whose favour they may most securely rely.f In their times of prosperity, his festival was celebrated with peculiar splendour, and was attended by crowds from the dis- tance of many leagues. It would seem that even the pagans partake of this superstitious veneration; for about the middle of the last century there existed, and perhaps still exists, in the vicinity of the Cape an image of the saint, which was ranked among the gods of Hindostan, and received the adoration of heathen as well as Christian pilgrims.J But the converts of Xavier, like those of his martial predecessors, were from the dregs of the people, and carried into their new religion all the ignorance, and much of the superstition, by which they had been previously characterized. The objects rather than the nature of their devotion were changed. The Catholic clergy had assumed the place of the heathen priesthood; the images of the saints were substitutes for their former idols; and the church, instead of the temple, was the scene of their empty ceremonies and festal celebrations. Upon the higher classes * NieuhoflPs Voyage. f Abbe Dubois. J La Croze. 244 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. he soon found that little or no impression could be made. Their svstem of religion was so interwoven with all their habits and pursuits, had from their infancy so entwined itself around every thought and feeling, and was in all respects so identified with those social institutions upon which rested all their claims to rank and influence, that no eloquence or ingenuity of argument could convince them of its fallacy, no power short of omnipo- tence could wrest it from their affections. We can therefore readily credit the assertion, that among the Brahmins the suc- cess of Xavier was confined to one solitary convert.* He soon indeed discovered, that to subvert the religion of Hindostan was an enterprise infinitely beyond the powers of one individual; and, having obeyed his call in breaking the ground for that mul- titude of missionaries which was hastening from Europe to the same field of labour, he determined to push forward still deeper into the wilds of heathenism, even to lands upon which the light of the Gospel had never shone, and where, though bonds and death might await him, he would at least be untrammelled by those invincible prejudices which had closed the understand- ings, and hardened the hearts of the Brahmins. To trace each step of his extraordinary career onwards to its close, would be inconsistent with the objects of this history. A few facts, how- ever, may be given with propriety, as evincing the untiring zeal and complete self-devotion which he continued to exhibit to the last moment of his life. After leaving India, he threw off the European garb, and, assuming the habit and character of a priest of Japan, penetrated into the interior of that remote country, Avhere not only the substance, but even the name of Christianity was utterly unknown. Here he soon succeeded, by the novelty of his doctrines, and the contagion of his en- thusiasm, in collecting around him crowds of disciples, to the * NieuhofPs Voyage. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 245 number, we are informed, of three thousand during the first year of his mission. These he arranged into congregations, which in after times, by the continued exertions of the Jesuits, swelled into a magnitude and importance which attracted the admiration of the Christian world, and, by exciting the fears of a jealous gov- ernment, led to one of the bloodiest and most desolating perse- cutions recorded in the pages of history. Still listening to the ardent enthusiasm of a restless spirit, and mistaking its dictates for the voice of Heaven, he had but just beheld the seed which he had sown spring up into the promise of harvest, when, leav- ing to others the care of further culture, he turned his course towards the neighbouring continent, Avith the design of pro- claiming in new lands the first tidings of the Gospel. But while on his way to this enterprise, he was overtaken by death in a small island on the coast of China, being permitted only to lay his bones within the borders of that empire, to the con- version of Avhich he believed that God had called him. It was now that his glory began. Exalted to the honours of canoniza- tion, and dignified by the title of "Apostle of the East," he became the great prototype for succeeding missionaries of his sect, who, while prosecuting the works he had commenced, be- lieved that they were securing for themselves and their labours the favour of one powerful in heaven. To those Jesuits who afterwards devoted themselves to the introduction of Catholi- cism into China, the small and unfrequented island where he perished became a place of pilgrimage; and at the humble tomb which marked the spot where his remains were supposed to have been originally deposited, the fervours of spirit, the emotions bordering on ecstasy which they experienced, were evidence at once of the real saintship of the new apostle, and of his peculiar kindness to themselves.* But to have suffered * Longman's Travels of the Jesuits—Father De Premare's Letter. This Jesuit states that on the monument there was inscribed, in the 246 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. a body so sacred to remain in so remote a place, dishonoured by the sole contiguity of infidels, would have been a sacrilege of which the Catholic Church of India was incapable. The story is told that, fifty years after the death of the Saint, some pas- sengers in a Portuguese ship, which anchored in the neighbour- hood, going on shore, and finding the body in a state of entire preservation, conveyed it to Goa, then the centre of immense ecclesiastical wealth and power, where it was deposited in a costly shrine, and long continued to be publicly exhibited, pre- senting, in its utter incorruptibility, a standing miracle to the wonder and edification of the spectators.*' It has, however, long since disappeared, in punishment perhaps of the incredulity of the degenerate times; but the shrine still remains, one out of those numerous monuments in that celebrated city, whose mag- nificence has survived the power to which they owed their origin. The missionaries who now crowded the fleets from Europe, coming, as they chiefly did, from the slothful seclusion of a con- ventual life, were possessed of few other qualifications for their high office than the zeal which had prompted them to undertake its duties. Little conversant with human nature in general, and profoundly ignorant of those peculiarities in the religious system of the Hindoos which had stamped upon that people Portuguese language, the following simple sentence: " Here St. Francis Xavier Avas buried." * Hamilton's Account of the East Indies. He states that, at Goa, it would have been dangerous to express any doubts of the truth of this story. The body was deprived of one arm, which had been sent to Rome, and, by writing the name of Xavier in the presence of the Pope, plainly showed from whose frame it had been dissevered An iron railing sur- rounded the shrine, within which none but priests were allowed to enter. A priest attended weekly to shave the head and beard of the Saint. Hamilton considered the body " a pretty piece of wax-work." HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 247 modifications of character not to be found elsewhere, they ap- pear to have expected, from the idolatrous Indian, that implicit confidence in their assertions, and reverence for their station, to which they had been accustomed at home. Disappointed in this expectation, they attributed the opposition which they encountered to the influence of the false gods of the country ; and against these their zeal was directed with an indiscreet fury, which, by rousing the passions of the natives, added to their former disinclination to forsake their own religion, a rooted hatred for that which they were called upon to adopt. The favour of the Portuguese monarch, united with the poAver which the Catholic clergy of that age derived from the ignorance of the laity, and the peculiar institutions of the Church, gave to the missionaries a control over the councils of the vice-regal government at Goa, of which they failed not to avail themselves in the prosecution of their designs. In those places which acknowledged the immediate dominion of the Por- tuguese, they proceeded, under the protection of the military power, to overthrow the temples, to mutilate or destroy the idols, and to efface, as far as they were able, every vestige of the pagan worship. Having thus purified the land, they stocked it with churches, which they adorned with the images of saints, roughly executed, it is true, but still far superior to those hideous, misshapen, demonlike figures whose places they occupied, and whose favour with the people it was thought their greater at- tractions might supplant. It cannot be supposed that the natives looked on with indifference, when all that was most sacred in their eyes was thus trampled under foot. As they were wholly incapable of coping single-handed with the powerful foreigners, they were generally content Avith opposing a silent but inflexible resolution to their attempts at conversion; and repaid the violence offered to their temples, their gods, and not unfrequently to themselves, by cherishing a secret animosity, 248 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. which only waited for opportunities to display itself in the form of open enmity and bloody revenge. The territory of Goa, with the isles of Bombay and Salsette, were especially the scenes of this species of Gospel labour. The last of these places, a small, but populous and highly fertile island, lying upon the Malabar Coast, in the immediate vicinity of Bombay, was a favoured seat of the Hindoo priesthood, and one of the strongest holds of their idolatry. The conversion of its inhabitants presented advantages too obvious to be over- looked ; and, as the method of persuasion, which Avas first at- tempted, proved ineffectual, it became necessary to resort to stronger measures, which Avere adopted the more readily in this instance, as a personal affront had been offered to one of the Catholic clergy travelling in the island, and the double object might be attained of extending the boundaries of the Church, and of gratifying private revenge. The usual warfare was waged against the heathen temples, which to the number of twelve hundred were levelled with the ground, and their place supplied by churches, while the defenceless natives, controlled by a military force, Avere fain by submission to avert from them- selves the fate which had overtaken their deities. But the con- stant hostilities in Avhich the Portuguese were involved, soon afforded them opportunities for asserting their independence; and they not only overthrew the churches, and re-erected their ancient temples, but became the active auxiliaries of every power which dared to measure its strength with that of the vice-royalty of Goa. A return of leisure to their enemies resulted in a return of their submission; but repeated violence to their religious pre- judices still kept up a rankling hatred in their hearts which was ever breaking forth into open resistance. The missionaries at length, tired out Avith their obstinate propensity to idolatry, and believing that the measures hitherto pursued might have been too lenient, determined to try the efficacy of increased severity. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 249 At their suggestion a new expedition was fitted out, so powerful as to render opposition entirely hopeless. On this occasion, not content with destroying images, altars, and temples, they set fire to the toAvns and villages, reduced all the habitations to ashes, spread desolation throughout the whole island, and drove the despairing inhabitants to seek shelter and subsistence upon the continent. One of the fathers, in the frenzy of his zeal, is said to have mingled with the soldiers, wielding a huge club, with which he dealt destruction among the idols. The spirit of the islanders appeared now to be completely humbled. Having requested permission to return, and received it upon the condi- tion, exacted by the clergy, that they should erect no idolatrous temples, they turned their attention exclusively to the rebuild- ing of their bouses, and the cultivation of their lands; adopting in place of their former boldness a submissive mildness of de- portment, and treating the missionaries Avith a respectful defer- ence, which seemed to justify their policy in resorting to violence. But under this tranquil exterior Avere concealed emotions of de- testation and abhorrence, which, being increased in force by the very necessity that restrained them, were ready, upon any occa- sion of excitement, to burst forth in a terrible explosion. It was not long before such an occasion was offered. The island had so rapidly recovered its prosperity, and the disposition of the people, some of whom had become converts, appeared to be so excellent, that the design was formed of adorning the principal town with a splendid church. With the view of carrying this project into effect, several chiefs of the mission had entered the place, and were superintending the requisite preparations, which a crowd had collected to witness, when the voice of a Brahmin suddenly and fiercely calling out, " Now is the time to avenge your gods!" fell like a spark of fire upon the excitable passions of the multitude, and kindled them into flame. The passages on all sides were instantly closed, innumerable darts were hurled 250 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. at the devoted fathers, and their lifeless bodies were exposed to the insults of an exasperated rabble. One of their number, by the name of Pacheco, Avho had been among the sternest advo- cates of persecution, Avas suffered to survive his companions for a short time, in order that he might be made a more prominent victim. Placed as a mark to be shot at, he was pierced with so many arrows, that his mangled remains are said to have pre- sented no trace of the human form. Nor was the island of Salsette the only place in which insults offered to the religion of the natives were expiated by the blood of the missionaries. On a portion of the coast to the southward of Goa, where numerous small establishments had been formed by the Portuguese, a general attack was made upon them by the neighbouring tribes of Indians, and every priest who could be found Avas immediately put to death. It is true that this injury was not allowed to pass unrevenged; but the feeling of hostility was rather aggravated than subdued by the ravages of an in- vading army, and they who might have been conciliated by a decent regard to their prejudices, were converted into bitter and determined enemies. Even the existence of the Portuguese dominion in the East was endangered by that uncompromising spirit which char- acterized their policy in spiritual as well as temporal matters. The pagans under their jurisdiction, irritated beyond forbear- ance by religious persecution, were ever ready secretly to assist or openly to join their enemies; and independent sovereigns were driven into war, or at least were furnished with pretexts for hostile operations, by the violence employed in the conver- sion of their subjects. Such was the ostensible cause of that war with the Hidalcaon, a powerful Mahometan prince on the Malabar Coast, which occurred in the year 1570, and during the course of which Goa itself was besieged by a formidable army. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 251 The civil authorities seem at length to have become sensible of the impolicy of blindly lending themselves to that intemperate zeal, which, by creating constant sources of discord with the natives, was wasting the energies of the government, without approaching to the accomplishment of its own objects. Even the missionaries may have learned to turn a less prejudiced ear to the voice of experience, and to see, in the failure of their measures of coercion, a proof rather of erring judgment on their part, than of any preternatural interference of the infernal powers. At least, their system of forcible conversion was ex- changed for a more tolerant policy; the unchristianized Indians were allowed to enjoy their own religious belief Avithout the interference of the state; and even the people of Salsette, though their hands were yet red with the blood of the martyred priests, were punished simply by the deprivation of some trifling privi- leges, and were no longer disturbed by any violent efforts to conquer the stubbornness of their faith. But, though considera- tions of policy had thus restrained the general exercise of force in the propagation of the Catholic religion, we may still discover the existence of the same intolerant spirit in occasional acts of oppression, committed in places, and under circumstances, which insured perfect impunity. So late*as the year 1700, the govern- ment of Goa was in the habit of forcibly separating the orphan children of pagan parents from the relatives to whose charge they naturally fell, and of causing them to be educated in the profes- sion of Christianity. The operation of the Inquisition, moreover, afforded a stauding evidence of the bigoted feelings and persecu- ting principles of those who administered the government of the Church. It is true that the unconverted pagan was ostensibly without the limits of its jurisdiction; but, over those who by compulsion or choice had received baptism, its authority was absolute, and, in cases where the avarice of the inquisitors was tempted, or their displeasure provoked, was often exercised with 252 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. a refinement of cruelty, and a horrible protraction of torment, which one would suppose could have been invented only by the ingenuity, and inflicted only by the malignity of demons. The impolicy of this tribunal, if regarded as an instrument for ex- tending or confirming the profession of the Catholic creed among the people of India, was not less derogatory to the dis- cernment of its founders and supporters, than its cruelty Avas foreign to their character as declared ministers of the meek and benevolent Jesus. To have inflicted its punishments as the price of obstinate infidelity upon all the unconverted, was mani- festly impossible; and the attempt would have excited such a storm in the land as would, in all probability, have either driven away its invaders, or left it a desert to their occupation. The wildest of the missionaries could never have suggested this plan of making proselytes. To the heathen, therefore, who, while themselves comparatively secure, beheld their Catholic brethren accountable to this dreadful tribunal, its terrors must have held up a warning against conversion which few would be disposed to neglect, and which must have operated with peculiar force upon those who, residing in the neighbourhood of the Inquisi- tion, were frequent witnesses of its awful severities. Hence, out of the number of fifty thousand pagan inhabitants which Goa could boast towards the latter end of the seventeenth century, we are informed, by one of the Jesuit missionaries, that not more than one hundred proselytes were made annually, most of whom were orphans claimed by the viceroy as the property of the state, and educated under the superintendence of the clergy. The relaxation of those severities by which Christianity had been inculcated upon the idolatrous Hindoos, was followed by no diminution in the number of proselytes. On the contrary, the cause of the Church was perceptibly advanced; and even among the stiff-necked Salsettines, many whom the tempest of persecution had but induced to wrap their prejudices more HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 253 closely around them, were melted into submission to the Cross by the more genial influence of favour. So rapid, indeed, was now the growth of Catholicism in the island, that miraculous fertility Avas supposed to have been communicated to the soil by the blood of the martyrs. Part of the increased success Avhich was experienced not only in this place, but in many others where missions were established, was probably owing to the superior endoAvments and more enlightened views by which many of the ecclesiastics, who now arrived in India, were distinguished from the early missionaries. Among the Jesuits particularly, were men who by their knowledge and virtues would have adorned any age or calling, and Avhom the system of education pursued in the schools of the society in Europe, had admirably fitted for the pursuits to which they were devoted. A highly intelligent traveller,* who, in the middle of the seventeenth century, pene- trated to the Court of the Great Mogul, speaks in the most com- mendatory terms of the Capuchin and Jesuit missionaries who came under his notice. According to his report, which we have no reason to accuse of undue partiality, they gave instruction meekly, without indiscreet zeal or transport, treated with kind- ness the native Christians of all sects whether Catholics, Greeks, Arminians, Nestorians, or Jacobites; afforded refuge and com- fort to poor strangers and travellers; and exhibited in the extent of their knowledge, and their sober and exemplary life, a favour- able contrast to the ignorance, jealousy, looseness of conduct, and abuse of authority, Avhich too often characterized the teach- ers of Christianity in that country, and proved a stumbling- block in the way of religion. So favourable, indeed, was the change which had taken place in the constitution of the mission- ary force, that many individuals were held in high consideration, even by the natives, for their virtues and beneficent exertions. * Bernier. 254 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. When Surat was taken and given up to plunder by Sevagee, the famous founder of the Mahratta power, particular orders were issued, that the house of a Capuchin missionary who resided in the city should be respected ; " For," said this preda- tory leader, "I know that .the fathers from Europe are good men." To give an accurate account of the several missions, their localities, their peculiar modes of proceeding, their vicissitudes of good and evil fortune, would require more ample sources of information than are now attainable ; and, even were the neces- sary records in existence, would be to waste much time and labour upon an object of inadequate interest. Three of them, however, those namely of Agra, of Bengal, and of Madura, de- serve a particular notice, either for their real importance, or for the singularity of the circumstances which attended their origin and progress. CHAPTER VII. MISSION TO AGRA. Akbar, the wisest prince who ever swayed the Mogul sceptre in Hindostan, though professedly a Mahometan, was entirely free from the bigotry of his sect, and maintained throughout the wide extent of his dominions, not only a per- fect toleration, but an equal encouragement of all religions. His indifference to the Moslem creed was thought to be car- ried even to infidelity; and he is stated to have entertained the idea of founding a new sect, to which he might himself become an object of worship. He certainly did not repress those marks of homage, amounting to adoration, which the ex- hibition of his person always drew from the multitude ; but the probability is, that his design was rather to strengthen his authority by rendering it sacred in the eyes of his subjects, than to originate a new religion which should live after him, and add to the distractions of the empire. Thus destitute of sectarian feelings, and possessing a spirit of inquiry which found enjoy- ment in the acquisition of knowledge of all kinds, and from all sources, he no sooner heard that men, calling themselves Chris- tian priests, had come from a great distance to preach their doc- trines to the Indians, than, desirous of learning the nature of these doctrines, he invited missionaries from Goa to visit his Court, assuring them of a kind reception, and a safe return whenever they might desire it. An invitation so flattering to the hopes of the Church was eagerly accepted; and missionaries were soon on their way to convert the Great Mogul, or, at least, (255) 256 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. to take advantage of his favour for the dissemination of their opinions in the interior of that country, to the borders of which they had hitherto been confined. On their arrival at Agra, early in the year 1570, they were received by the emperor with every mark of attention and respect. Allowed a pension for their support, and treated with uniform kindness, they remained several years at his Court; and left it only when they found that no serious impression could be made either on the monarch, or on those around him. Their discourses on doctrinal points, and the frequent disputes with the Mahometan doctors which they were encouraged to hold in his presence, appear to have been considered by him more as sources of rational amusement, calculated to relieve the tediousness of unoccupied time, than as matters of serious moment, affecting the welfare of his soul. The Jesuits, from among whom the mission was chiefly or wholly supplied, have ever cultivated the art of pleasing ; and, in the present instance, the fathers had rendered themselves so acceptable to the emperor, that, soon after their departure, be- coming dissatisfied with their absenee from his Court, he sent a message to Goa requesting a new ecclesiastical embassy; and accompanied the request with such promises as were irresisti- ble to the proselytizing spirit of the Church. This second em- bassy was soon followed by a third; and a permanent mission was finally established. Although Akbar afforded the Jesuits no grounds for expecting his own conversion, and was unwilling to countenance their religion by peculiar or exclusive favour; he yet granted them permission to perform their worship pub- licly, to preach, and to make proselytes; and even allowed them a regular pension for their support, together with funds for the building of a church in Agra, and another in Lahore. In the reign of Jehan Guyre, the son and successor of Akbar, they continued to enjoy all their former privileges, and were even favoured with increased marks of royal munificence. The HISTORY OP CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 257 contempt with which this sovereign openly regarded the Ma- hometan law, the esteem which he professed for Christians, and the kindness of his demeanour towards themselves, led them to form the most sanguine hopes of a new and brilliant era in their mission, when the alliance of absolute power Avould give to their exertions an efficiency of which they had before been destitute. Heaven itself seemed to interfere in their favour; for, though their church and adjoining residence took fire and were con- sumed, the crucifix remained untouched by the flames; and they could now appeal to a miracle in support of the sanctity of their cause. The emperor, however, when informed of this wonderful event, was so unreasonable as to expect a repetition of the miracle in his own presence. He desired them to throw the crucifix in the fire, promising, should it not burn, that he would become a Christian; but the Jesuits, judiciously remark- ing that the Almighty chose his own time for the display of his power, and was not to be directed by the capricious will of mortals, declined the hazardous experiment. We are informed, however, that one of their number offered to attest his own faith in the reality of the miracle, by committing himself to the flames; but, as the monarch was not disposed to permit the sacrifice, it is impossible to say how far the zealous father may have counted upon the royal friendship or good nature, or whether his resolution Avould have proved equal to the occasion, had his offer been accepted. The circumstance which acted most powerfully upon the hopes of the Jesuits, and, by exalting them in the eyes of the multitude, contributed most to the increase of their flock, was the commission to their care of two nephews of the emperor, to be instructed in the Portuguese language, and in the principles of Christianity. It is true that the conduct of Jehan Guyre, in thus giving a Christian education to his relatives, is supposed to have had its origin in a jealous policy, which sought to 17 258 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. strengthen his authority, by rendering those who might one day assail it, hateful to all rigid Mussulmans, and consequently power- less in the state; but, if such Avas his motive, it Avas unknown alike to the missionaries and to the people, and could not, therefore, diminish the favourable effect which the measure Avas calculated to produce upon the concerns of the mission. Sir Thomas Roe, in the account of his embassy to the Court of the Great Mogul, alluding to this transaction, gives the credit of it less to the policy or the religion, than to the passions of the emperor. He relates that, after the young men had remained for some time under the tuition of the fathers, and had made considerable advance in their studies, they received from their uncle secret instructions to demand Portuguese women for their wives. It required much less sagacity than was possessed by the Jesuits, to discover, in this matrimonial proposition, a scheme of the emperor to enrich his harem Avith European females; and as they were unwilling to become panders even to imperial appetites, they were compelled to refuse compliance with the request. The consequences were that their pupils deserted them, and relapsed into Mahometanism; a school which they had established was broken up; and instances of conversion became much less frequent, if they did not altogether cease to occur. But they were not personally molested; nor was their situation, in any other respect, rendered less com- fortable. It appears from the statements of the most intel- ligent travellers, that Jehan Guyre was wholly indifferent to religious concerns, and addicted, above all things, to drinking and" diversion. He probably found amusement in the oc- casional company of the missionaries, and therefore permitted and perhaps encouraged their continued residence at his Court, though they had ventured to oppose their scruples of conscience to the gratification of his desires. The fathers reported, and may possibly have believed, that in his last illness he de- HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 259 spatched messengers for a priest, in order that he might die a Christian; but as the message never reached them, the whole affair was probably either a coinage of their own vanity, or an invention played off by some irreverent infidel upon their credulous simplicity. With the life of this prince Avere extinguished the last glim- merings of that splendid illusion by which the imagination of the missionaries had brightened their future prospects. His son, Shah Jehan, a zealous Mahometan, deprived them of their pension, overthrew their churches, and left them to struggle, without support, against the numerous difficulties by which, as strangers in the country, and active enemies of its religion, they were necessarily environed. During the long period of his reign, scarcely a ray of promise came to cheer their drooping hopes. Towards its close, indeed, when the ambition of his children Avas preparing a tremendous struggle for the throne, and each expectant was looking round on every side for sup- port, even the Christians were not thought too humble to be noticed; and a Jesuit is said to have obtained some influence in the councils of Dara, the eldest of the competitors.* But whatever hope may have sprung up from this circumstance, must have been soon crushed by the triumph of a younger and more crafty brother, whose bigoted devotion to Mahometanism, whether the result of conviction, or assumed as an engine of policy, was Avholly inconsistent with the encouragement of Christian missionaries. Still, though neglected, they were not persecuted, and in the reign of Aurengzebe, Jesuits continued to reside in Agra, where they superintended a congregation * The prowess of the Portuguese was well known ; and their numbers on the coast were large enough to give them some weight in the calcula- tions of strength, which each son of the emperor was under the necessity of making. 260 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. of from twenty-five to thirty Christian families, the only fruit which this barren soil had yielded to more than a century of assiduous labour. Even these were scattered or swept aAvay by the long-continued struggles which afterwards distracted and convulsed the empire; and the mission was at length abandoned, Avhen a hope of ultimate success could be no longer indulged. If it has occupied more of our attention than the importance of its results would appear to warrant, we may find an excuse in the circumstance of its connection with the rulers of a great empire, and in the illustration it affords of that indefatigable zeal which carried the Jesuits into every corner of the globe, and induced them to cultivate, with a persevering diligence, every opportunity for the diffusion of their tenets, which either accident presented, or their own skill was able to create. CHAPTER VIII. MISSION TO BENGAL. The mission of Bengal, like that of Agra, was commenced during the reign, and by the authority of Akbar. This prince, convinced of the importance of commerce, and desirous of encouraging it in his own dominions, granted permission to the Portuguese merchants who resorted to Bengal, to form a settlement in any spot which they might select upon the banks of the Hoogly, with the privilege of building churches, performing their worship publicly, and preaching the Gospel to the natives. Adventurers in search of money, and missionaries in search of souls flocked to this new scene of enterprise; the business of commerce and proselytism went hand in hand; and a Christian population was soon created, consisting partly of European settlers, partly of converted Hindoos, which, though obnoxious to the jealousy and ill-will of the local authorities, continued to prosper, under the imperial protection, throughout the reigns of Akbar and his son. The missionaries even succeeded in establishing themselves at Dacca, then the capital of Bengal, and penetrated into the adjoining province of Orissa. While the zealous fathers were peacefully propagating their opinions by argument and persuasion, a horde of pirates, who had planted themselves upon the confines of Bengal and Arra- can, contributed by rougher methods to swell the number of the faithful. These lawless freebooters, the offscouring of the Por- tuguese adventurers in all parts of India, endowed with a des- (261) 262 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. perate and ferocious courage, and possessed of a naval force which gave them the command of the neighbouring seas, Avere accustomed to issue from their marshy fastnesses, and, sailing up the numerous branches of the Ganges, to plunder and destroy the defenceless villages, lay waste the cultivated grounds, and bear off into slavery those of the inhabitants whom they did not put to the sword. So frequent and extensive Avere their preda- tory incursions, and so horrible the barbarities which attended their progress, that whole districts of country, deserted by the population, became utterly desolate; and a thick, marshy, pes- tiferous jungle, the haunt of tigers and other ravenous beasts, spread over the land, opposing, even when times of peace and security returned, an almost insuperable barrier to reneAved cultivation. But the merciless cruelty of these robbers was not incompatible with a fervent zeal for the Catholic religion. They might, indeed, have conceived that, in the execution of their savage projects, they were but the ministers of the wrath of God against unbelievers; at least, in the numbers whom they brought into the communion of the Church, they were probably convinced that they should find, in their final settlement, a mighty offset against their offences. It was their practice forcibly to make converts of their prisoners, by compelling them to violate the most sacred rules of caste, and thus cut- ting off irreparably the tie which bound them to their former associates. It was,, indeed, their boast, that " they made more Christians in one year, than all the missionaries in India made in ten." The Portuguese who were peaceably settled upon the banks of the Hoogly, had neither sufficient gratitude for the protection afforded them by the Mogul government, nor sufficient aversion for lawless violence when exercised upon infidels, to cause them to forego those mercantile advantages which resulted from an intercourse Avith the pirates. When, therefore, Shah Jehan HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 263 ascended the throne, justifiable ground was afforded him, in the conduct of the Christians of Bengal, for a severity of treatment which his religious zeal, though it might have suggested, would not probably, without such provocation, have induced him actually to command. By his orders, the principal Portuguese settlement was entirely broken up; and its inhabitants, men, women, and children, including the priests, were forcibly con- veyed to Agra. Of the females, they who possessed beauty were consigned to the seraglio of the emperor, the others were distributed as slaves among the Mahometan nobles; while the greater number of the men were either terrified by threats of death, or seduced by flattering promises into a renunciation of their faith. The few who remained firm were ultimately allowed to leave the place, and by the intervention of the Jesuits who resided in Agra, were enabled to reach Goa, or some other establishment of their countrymen upon the Western coast. Notwithstanding this rude check, the missionaries still main- tained themselves in Bengal; and in the time of Aurengzebe, there were no less than eight thousand families of Christians dispersed through various parts of the province. Since that period, little progress has been made. With the decline of the Portuguese power, and the subsequent overthrow of the society of the Jesuits, the most prolific sources from which Catholicism had flowed upon India Avere dried up. The Bengalese Chris- tians were chiefly committed to the care of native priests, who had acquired in the seminaries of Goa an acquaintance with the forms of their religion, but in all other respects were too igno- rant and debased to be able, even were they possessed of the inclination, to increase the numbers of the flock. But the same spirit of caste which had protected the ranks of the Brahmins against the assaults of the missionaries, served now to keep to- gether the descendants of the original converts, by closing 264 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. against them a return into the bosom of Hindoo society. The Catholics have therefore continued to maintain their ground, and most of the cities of Bengal, at the present time, can boast of congregations, which, if remarkable neither for virtue nor knowledge, are not on that account less zealous in their attach- ment to the Church. CHAPTER IX. MISSION OF MADURA. Of the innumerable missionaries sent out by the Catho- lic Church into all parts of the heathen world, the Jesuits, before the fall of their society, proved themselves, on all occasions, the most enterprising and successful. The implicit obedience exacted by their rules to the supreme authority, gave a unity to their efforts which could not but greatly promote the accomplishment of their purposes; especially as this obedience was not merely a cold assent of the judg- ment, nor a submission of weakness to power, but a sur- render of the whole heart and soul to the general welfare; so that each individual, while labouring in unison with his fellows, and by the command of his superiors, exerted himself with all that vigour and constancy, which ordinarily flow from self- interest alone. To the advantages which their cause derived from this uniform direction, and zealous display of their en- ergies, was added a peculiar adaptation of talent to missionary pursuits, acquired by a long course of study, to which their novitiate was usually subjected in the schools and colleges of the order. Their establishments in the interior of Southern India, which, for the sake of convenient description, are em- braced in this narrative under the general title of the Mission of Madura, exhibited in the principles upon which they were founded, and the manner in which they were conducted, an example of skilful policy, of courageous and persevering enter- prise, of assiduous, self-denying, laborious application, which (265) 266 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. required but the foundation of a purer faith, and perhaps more exalted motives, to rank with the noblest efforts ever made to ameliorate the condition of the human race. After long experience, and a vast expense of labour, the Jesuits of India had at length ceased to hope for the general reception of Christianity in those parts of the country, in which commercial or warlike intercourse had rendered the manners and habits of Europeans familiar to the natives. They had succeeded in making many converts in various places along the coast; but the number was small compared with the whole mass of the population, and, consisting almost exclusively of persons belonging to the lowest orders, or of outcasts from the higher, contained within itself the strongest impediment to its further extension. The prejudices of easte have an influence over the minds of the Hindoos which is almost inconceivable by those who have not dwelt among them. Even between those classes which most nearly approximate in rank, no intimate domestic inter- course can exist; and the two extremes of the scale are more widely separated than man from the inferior animals. Cows and monkeys are objects of respect if not of worship to the Brahmins ; but the miserable Pariah is their scorn and abhor- rence; his sight is loathsome; his touch is pollution; his so- ciety is degradation and eternal infamy. The sentiments of the Brahmins are shared by the other castes in a degree pro- portionate to their respective elevation. All regard the Pariahs as an inferior order of beings, to mingle with whom is to sink to their level, and to incur the contempt and avoidance of asso- ciates, friends, and even relatives. The pride, and worldly interests, and dearest affections of the Hindoos were therefore enlisted against a religion, which not only received this de- spised people into its bosom, but in its ordinances and promises made no distinction between them and the most exalted of their HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 267 countrymen. The Portuguese themselves, having, through igno- rance of the institutions of India, admitted the Pariahs into social as Avell as religious fellowship, became, in the minds of the natives, identified with this tribe ; and their habits of living, their disregard of the fantastic rules of cleanliness in- culcated by the Brahminical superstition, their worse than canni- bal fondness for the sacred flesh of the ox, contributed still further to their supposed degradation. It is true that their power rendered them terrible; but the dread which was thus added to disgust, served but to increase the aversion with Avhich their religion was regarded; as the reptile which is only loathed for its form, is shunned with horror for the venom of its fangs. Other Europeans had not been less inattentive, in their habits and associations, to the native prejudices, than the Portu- guese. All were therefore ranked in the same class; and the name of Ferinji,* though connected with superior skill and indomitable courage, was, among the pagans of Hindostan, another word for all that was sacrilegious in conduct and contemptible in manners. Convinced that these prejudices must constitute an insur- mountable obstacle to the general diffusion of their faith where- ever their real origin might be known, the Jesuits conceived the project of throwing off the European dress and character, penetrating into the interior provinces, and presenting them- selves to the natives as Brahmins of a new sect, come from the North to teach them the law of the true God. They might thus at once free themselves from all those embarrassments in which they had been involved by the injudicious conduct of their predecessors ; might claim, and, if their assumed character should be well supported, might receive the respect and observ- ance due to the most favoured caste ; and, having obtained full scope for the exercise of their peculiar powers in directing and * Synonymous with European. 268 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. controlling the minds of their fellow-men, might look forward without presumption to the establishment of their creed, and with it the permanent influence of their order throughout the country. This plan seems to have been formed about the middle of the seventeenth century ; and was carried into effect with all the cautious and insinuating, yet persevering policy, Avhich has ever been a prominent trait among the disciples of Loyola. The interior of the southern portion of the Peninsula, having never yet submitted to the Mogul power, was divided among a number of petty heathen princes, and preserved the institutions and customs of the Hindoos in greater purity than they were found in most other parts of India. As the inhabitants had little communication with the coast, and knew Europeans only by reputation, they were not likely to detect the proposed imposition, supported, as it was to be, by the skilful zeal of Jesuits. Madura was selected as the first scene of the enter- prise ; and the fathers who arrived at the station, singly, and at considerable intervals, were chiefly Portuguese; but when expe- rience had proved the practicability of the scheme, and the labour began to thicken on their hands, they were joined by recruits from France, Italy, and other Catholic countries of Europe; and the mission was gradually extended to the neigh- bouring territories of Marava, Mysore, and the Carnatic. As it was highly important that the missionaries should present themselves to the natives, with all those advantages of mind as well as of station which were calculated to command their respect, the individuals chosen for this work were men of respectable talents, skilled in the mathematics, astronomy, and medicine, and well acquainted with the language of the people among whom they were to reside. That their connection with Europeans might not be suspected, they were in the habit of setting out in the night from the stations on the coast, and HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 269 during their journey took every possible precaution to escape the notice of the people, avoiding even the lighting of fires in the dark, and thus exposing themselves to the danger rather of being devoured by wild beasts, than of incurring the risk of failing in their undertaking by an untimely discovery. Their dress and manner of living, and rules of social intercourse were conformable with their assumed character. Their only clothing were sandals to the feet, and a robe of linen round the body, of the yellow colour usually worn by the religious teachers of the Hindoos. On their foreheads they placed the characteristic mark of the Brahmins, made with a paste of sandal-wood. Their claim to the high rank of the priesthood was also main- tained by frequent public ablutions, by strict abstinence from all intoxicating drinks, and by the exclusive use of vegetable food, without even the addition of spices or other condiment. Their lodging was no less bare and wretched than their diet was meagre; and in all respects, as regarded bodily comforts, they led a life of mortification which served to exalt their repu- tation among the natives, by whom this species of self-denial is held in high repute. As the mortification of the flesh is equally meritorious among Roman Catholics as among Hindoos, the Jesuits needed no excuse to their conscience for conforming, in this respect, with the prejudices of the natives; but in the more equivocal compliances which this scheme exacted, they found it convenient to shelter themselves under the high ex- ample of St. Paul: "And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews." The petty despots in whose dominions they resided, sharing the religious sentiments of the people, were favourably im- pressed by the same conduct which gained the respect of the multitude; and as this friendly feeling was assiduously cher- ished by all those means which a subtle and experienced policy suggested, it seldom happened that the hand of power was 270 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. interposed to check or disturb their proceedings. The short imprisonment to which malicious misrepresentations of their wealth, acting upon the avarice of the princes, occasionally sub- jected some of their number was hardly to be accounted a mis- fortune ; as all the bodily inconvenience it occasioned was probably overbalanced by the consolation arising from the merit of the suffering; and a single instance of martyrdom, which occurred in the province of Marava, served more to rouse their enthusiasm by throwing a new glory around their enter- prise, than to depress their energy by the terrors of the example. To the respect derived from their assumed rank of Brahmins, from their self-denying life, and from their display of superior knowledge, was added a feeling of gratitude for the services which their medical skill often enabled them to render; and, as no disgrace was incurred by their fellowship, they soon suc- ceeded in making proselytes out of every class, from the lowest to the highest. Selecting the best disposed and most intelligent of their converts, they formed them into schools, and instructed them carefully in the principles and grounds of their newly adopted faith, so as to qualify them for acting the part of cate- chists, or subordinate teachers. After a sufficient course of religious education had been completed, the neophytes were taken into the immediate service of the missionaries, where they learned those rules of conduct and arts of insinuation in which their masters were so well skilled. Thus prepared, they were sent out as pioneers to clear the way for the more efficient labours of their superiors. Dispersing themselves through the villages and towns, they frequented places of public resort, and in the character of merchants or physicians, even penetrated into the interior of private houses without exciting suspicion. Wherever they went, they neglected no opportunity of entering into conversation, and provoking controversy on religious sub- HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 271 jects; and if an individual appeared disposed to listen, they returned to him again and again, till, having made some im- pression by their arguments, they prevailed on him to accom- pany them to the missionary, by Avhom the conversion was generally completed. Perhaps the schools of the catechists may have been the better frequented, and the teachers formed in them the more zealous and faithful in their work, as the funds which the Jesuits had at command, Avere employed less in their own frugal support than in the maintenance of their native assist- ants. This plan was found to be so effectual that it was con- tinued as long as the mission was deemed of sufficient import- ance to warrant the trouble and expense; and scarcely fifty years have elapsed since the schools were finally suppressed. In the employment of catechists care was scrupulously taken not to offend against the rules of caste, each of them being of the same rank with those to whose conversion his efforts were directed, the Pariah teaching the Pariah, the Brahmin only the Brahmin. But argument was not the only instrument of proselytism used by the Jesuits. They well knew the influence which show, splendour, and parade exert over the imagination and feelings of the ignorant; and, though personally plain and abstemious, were careful to give their religion all the advan- tages of these attractions. Their churches, built after the neatest architecture of the country, were embellished by pic- tures and statues; and, on great occasions, were decked out with the most showy ornaments which their invention could devise, or their finances provide. In the celebration of their festivals they vied even with pagan magnificence, lest their saints might suffer in comparison with the gods of the coun- try. Crowds Avere collected together, processions Avere formed, images decorated with garlands and false jewels were carried about in ornamented cars, the sound of bells and of musical 272 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. instruments Avas mingled Avith the shouts of the rabble, and a scene of glitter, bustle, and noise was presented delightful to the ignorant and frivolous natives, and well calculated, if not to amend and purify their affections, at least to fix them upon the externals of a religion which thus invited them to idleness and enjoyment. A people who needed such inducements to draw them within the pale of Christianity, could not be expected to comply at once with all the requisitions of their new religion, and to re- nounce entirely the habits and modes of thinking to which they had been accustomed from infancy. The Jesuits, who appear to have been at least as anxious to gain partisans as to make good Christians, suffered no unnecessary scruples to stand in the way of their success ; and many superstitious practices were overlooked in their proselytes, which it was hoped that a stronger growth in the faith might ultimately supplant. The prosperity of the mission corresponded with the zeal and policy with whioh it was conducted. The number of con- verts at the single station of Aoor, in Madura, was estimated, but a few years after the arrival of the first missionaries, at no less than thirty thousand. Father Borichet had found the place a small and miserable village: making it the centre of his labours, he built a handsome church, attracted crowds of people from all parts of the country, and lived to behold it a flourish- ing city. At the commencement of the last century, the native Christians connected with the several missions were reported to amount to more than two hundred thousand ; and their numbers were afterwards considerably increased. Had the Jesuits been permitted to pursue steadily the system which they had found so successful, it is not improbable that the mass of the people would have been induced to join them; and a powerful nation of Roman Catholics might have been established in the South HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 273 of India. But several circumstances intervened, at first to modify their plan, afterwards to counteract their influence, and ultimately to put an end to the mission. The friars of other religious orders, resident at Goa and Pon- dicherry, had from the commencement regarded their proceed- ings with an unfavourable eye. Blinded as they were to the remnants of heathenism which hung about the faith of their own immediate flocks, they could see with the keenness of an envious and jealous spirit, the shameful idolatry which con- taminated the congregations of their more fortunate rivals. Complaints against the Jesuits were carried to Rome, where their culpable indulgence to the native prejudices was por- trayed in no friendly colours; and it was even represented that, so far from bringing over pagans to genuine Christianity, they might be justly accused, from their conformity with the heathenish customs of the country, of having themselves be- come converts to the religion of the Hindoos. It was to no purpose that they defended themselves upon the grounds of policy; and adduced in their favour the concession of the apostles to the Jewish proselytes. They received a peremp- tory order from the Holy See to preach the Roman Catholic religion in all its purity, and entirely to suppress those un- christian practices of the neophytes, at which they had hitherto connived. Conceiving that the reasons for their conduct were not well understood, and their motives imperfectly appreciated in Europe, they ventured to disobey the order; and for more than forty years maintained a contest with their own Church, which must have added very greatly to the difficulties and in- conveniences peculiar to their situation. The affair had at length assumed so much importance, that a cardinal was sent out to India, as apostolic legate, to investigate the merits of the case, and report the result of his inquiries for the decision of his Holiness. The consequence Avas that a Papal bull was 18 274 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. issued, with all due formalities, forbidding the toleration of superstitious customs, and exacting an oath of the mission- aries that they would conform, without tergiversation, to the spirit and letter of the decree. No alternative was now left to the Jesuits. However disposed they might be to doubt the infallibility of a judgment so much at A'ariance with their own, they were compelled to submit to a power which they recog- nized as absolute. Their worst anticipations were justified by the event. Not only did instances of conversion become much less frequent; but many of those who had already joined the Church, not finding in the consolation of its promises, glorious as they were, a sufficient compensation for the new restrictions imposed upon them, relapsed into idolatry. While the mission was suffering under this severe blow, another and still greater misfortune threatened entirely to over- whelm it. The French and English had brought into India that enmity which had dyed so many other lands with their blood. The plains of the Carnatic became an arena for their tremendous struggle in arms; and the courts of the native princes were a no less busy scene of their intrigues and negoti- ations. As soldiers, as political agents, as merchants, Euro- peans in great numbers found their way into the interior provinces of the South ; and, wherever they went, carried with them those habits and manners which the native Hindoo had ever been taught to look upon with abhorrence and disgust. The missionaries could no longer conceal their connection with this detested race. Their persons and their religion became alike contemptible; conversions ceased altogether; and in sev- eral places an almost universal apostacy marked the alienation of their former friends. About this time the Society of the Jesuits was abolished; and most of the fathers, not unwillingly it is presumed, left a country which could present to their minds only recollections HI8T0RY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 275 of ineffectual care and toil, and the image of hopes now flown forever. The remnant of their flocks, reduced to less than a quarter of their former number, was intrusted chiefly to native priests, whose miserable religious education in the schools of Goa, had proved insufficient to eradicate the deep selfishness of their nature, and could not even secure them the respect of those of whom they had the spiritual charge. CHAPTER X. CONDITION OF THE CHURCH IN THE EARLY PART OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. In the preceding account of some of the most interesting of the Romish missions, a regard to the unity and distinct- ness of the several sketches required that the course of events should be hastily traced down to the present time; we return now to the general condition of the Church at that period, when, having attained its furthest limits, and being still sup- ported by the predominance of Portuguese power, it exhibited a degree of splendour, and exerted a weight of influence, of which they who view it only in its ruins can form but a feeble conception. The era of its highest glory may be con- sidered as extending over the first half of the seventeenth cen- tury ; for, though the military strength of the Portuguese had begun to decline before the commencement of this period, and the numbers of the Catholics were increased by missionary ex- ertion after its termination; yet, in the interval, the aggregate of that political power and spiritual dominion, upon the union of which the influence of the ecclesiastical establishment de- pended, Avas greater than at any previous or subsequent time. A rapid survey of the more prominent stations along the Indian coast, either held in absolute possession, or frequented for com- mercial purposes, in all of which the Catholic religion had more or less deeply taken root, will enable the reader to form some idea of the extent of the papal sway in the East. Commencing at the western extremity of continental India, we find a missionary station at Tatta, the chief city of Scinde; (276) HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 277 and to the southeast, on the coast of Guzerat, the strong Por- tuguese town of Diu, filled with a Christian population, and adorned with numerous churches. Passing by Surat, where a factory and a misskfn were established, we come to the fortified cities of Damaan and Bassaim, belonging, with a portion of their surrounding territory, to the vice-royalty of Goa, inhabited chiefly by Christians, and containing rich and spacious edifices appropriated to religious purposes. The island of Salsette, formerly the stronghold of superstition, the favoured residence of the Brahmins, and crowded with idolatrous temples, was now the seat of numerous Catholic congregations; and Bombay, in its immediate vicinity, was so much under the control of the priests, that, at a period somewhat later than that of which we are at present speaking, an order of the Viceroy directing the fulfilment of a treaty by which it had been transferred to Charles II. of England, as the dower of his bride, was at their instiga- tion for a time successfully resisted.* Nor were the dominions of the native powers in this neighbourhood destitute of Christian inhabitants; for we are informed by a highly respectable trav- eller, that, in the south of Canara, during the reign of Hyder Ali, there were eighty thousand Catholics, who had emigrated into that country from the Concan,f where their ancestors had been converted.J In the tract of coast intervening between * Hamilton's Account of the East Indies. f The name of the Concan is given to that portion of Hindostan which lies upon the Avestern coast, immediately to the south of Guzerat. J Dr. Buchanan.—He represents them as a poor, but an innocent people. At the time of his visit—a.d. 1800—they were under the pas- toral care of native priests, who had been instructed at Goa in the Latin and Portuguese languages. They had been invited into Canara by the princes of the house of Ikeri, by whom they were well treated ; and they were not disturbed by Hyder, when he conquered the country. They were, however, persecuted by Tippoo, who forced many of them to be- 278 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. Bombay and Goa were some minor establishments, which, if not politically important, served as so many centres for the dis- semination of the papal creed, and were each surrounded by a small body of proselytes. The metropolis of Portuguese India might have vied with many of the proudest capitals of Europe in the exhibition of ecclesiastical magnificence, and other ex- ternal signs of the power, extent, and prosperity of its estab- lished church. From a small eminence in the neighbourhood of the city, no less than eighty monasteries and churches might be counted,* many of them built at an immense expense, and with a solidity of architecture, which has defied the injuries even of the destructive climate of India. At the present time, the traveller, in passing through the streets of Goa, is astonished by the number and magnificence of these monuments of priestly dominion; and, amidst the poverty and desolation which sur- round him, is forcibly carried back to that golden age of the Church, when every cloister was teeming with inhabitants; every street was alive with croAvds of monks, and friars, and theological students; and the whole clerical fraternity was revelling in the possession of that power, and those means of luxurious indulgence, which entitled this city to the appella- tion of the paradise of priests, f From Goa to the southern ex- tremity of Hindostan, a quick succession of cities occurred, come Mahometans. After the overthrow of this tyrant, they generally returned to the profession of Christianity. They retained the language of the Concan. * Hamilton's Account of the East Indies. f Hamilton, whose account of India embraces the period between the years 1688 and 1723, says that he was informed that in the city of Goa and its districts, which extend about forty miles along the sea-coast and fifteen within land, there were no fewer than thirty thousand persons attached to the service of the Church ; and a Jesuit, Father Martin, states that there were as many priests and friars as European laity. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 279 under the sovereignty or immediate control of the Viceroy, in all of Avhich the Catholic religion flourished. Tellichery, Manga- lore, and Calicut could all boast of their congregations ; Cochin, the seat of the first house of worship built by the Catholics in India, had many convents and churches; and Coulan was little inferior in the display of these outward marks of devotion. Nor was Christianity confined within the fortified cities. Along the coast, the Cross had been adopted by the whole race of fishermen ; and in many parts of the interior, west of the great mountainous range usually called the Ghauts, the missionaries of the various orders had been labouring with more or less effect. In the single province of Malabar, there were not less than one hundred and fifty Jesuits permanently stationed. It was at this time, moreover, that the two hundred thousand Christians of St. Thomas, whose history has been already given, were connected with the Catholic Church. There was besides in the mountains of Travancore a body of Christians, converted through the in- strumentality of that same Archbishop by whom the Syrians had been induced to come under the papal government, and like them so far superior in rank to the common people of Malabar, that the proud Nair might suffer their contact without contamination.* Passing over from Cape Comorin to Ceylon, we find the whole maritime region of that large island in the possession of the Portuguese. As the institution of caste, though existing among the Ceylonese, was a much less prominent feature in their social organization than in that of the Hindoos, and was not essentially connected with their system of religion, which itself had comparatively but a slight hold on their affections, the spread of Christianity had met with less resistance than * They were called Malleans, and lived in scattered houses built of reeds. (Nieuhoff's Voyage.) 280 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. upon the continent; and great numbers of the people of all ranks had exhibited a willingness to secure the favour of their masters by becoming proselytes to their faith. There is reason to believe that a large proportion of the inhabitants of the con- quered districts Avere, about the middle of the seventeenth century, nominally Roman Catholics. The number at present of that communion is stated by a writer, Avhose reports are not accused of exaggeration, at no less than one hundred thousand; and there can be little doubt that a vast defection took place when, after the Dutch conquest, the adoption of Calvinism was pressed upon the islanders as the price at which political favour might be purchased. On the Coromandel Coast the arms of Portugal had made less impression, and her religion much less progress than on the opposite Coast of Malabar. One place, however, had attracted the early attention of the priesthood, and, throughout the period of their prosperity, was cherished with assiduous care. It was stated, on a former occasion, that in the vicinity of Madras is the site of the ancient Meliapoor, or City of Peacocks, which, aa the reputed scene of the martyrdom of St. Thomas, Avas held sacred by the Syrian Christians, and had always been the resort of pilgrims of that sect in search of bodily or spiritual health. The Portuguese found it desolate; but duty and policy called upon them to raise it from its ruins; for they were taught by their creed that external honour to the saints is grateful to Heaven ; and they knew that, among an ignorant and idolatrous people, their religion would make a much stronger impression by the splendour and variety of its accompaniments, than by its intrinsic excellence. They resolved, therefore, to re-establish the city in its former greatness; and in the year 1545 began to erect buildings.* Over the tomb of the Apostle, revealed to * NieuhofPs Voyage. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 281 them by the miraculous powers of the sacred relics it contained, they speedily raised a church, which they dedicated to St. Thomas, and which was afterwards adorned and enriched by the piety of wealthy pilgrims. The city itself, honoured by its new founders with the name of St. Thome, rapidly increased in extent, wealth, and importance ; and, at the beginning of the next century, might rank among the finest on the coast of India, both in the magnificence of its buildings and the number of rich inhabitants. Besides numerous churches and monasteries, it contained a college of the Jesuits, in which the children of the Portuguese, and of natives of rank, Avere educated in the Romish form of Christianity. With this brilliant exception, the Coromandel Coast exhibited no place of importance in which Catholicism had obtained a permanent footing. It will be remembered, however, that in the province of Bengal it had been introduced during the reign of Akbar, and by the combined efforts of the missionaries and their piratical coadjutors, had made no inconsiderable progress. Nor Avas India beyond the Ganges wholly unillumined. The towns of Pegu were familiar with the Portuguese as soldiers or as merchants, and could not be entirely unacquainted with their religion. In the Malayan peninsula, the rich city of Malacca, an early conquest of the renowned Albuquerque, was the see of a bishop, and could enumerate, among its establishments, a college of the Jesuits, several monasteries, and five parochial churches, one of which had been honoured as the scene of the miracles and apostolic labours of St. Francis Xavier.* Even the distant Moluccas acknowledged the religion of the Cross. The Portuguese had conquered them at a very early period, and in return for the rich spices which are their peculiar growth, had imparted the blessings of baptism and the Chris- * Nieuhoff's Voyage. 282 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. tian name. Amboyna counted among its inhabitants several thousand native Catholics, some of whose descendants still ad- here to the Romish Church, though more than two centuries have elapsed since their island was wrested from its former masters by the Dutch. From this hasty and imperfect survey, from which Ormus on one side, and Japan with Macao on the other have been ex- cluded, as without the bounds of India, it may be seen that the Romish Church in the East had grown to a magnitude which entitled it to be regarded as no mean scion of the mother stock from which it sprung. We are without the means of estimating, with even an approach to accuracy, the amount of population which recognized its authority ; but a million is probably within the truth.* The character of this population was exceedingly diversified. In the cities and their immediate vicinity, it consisted of a mixed assemblage of European settlers, converted Hindoos, negroes from Mozambique, and the descendants of these differ- ent races in every possible variety, from a perfect purity of blood, to the most complicated intermixture. In the several districts of country there was greater uniformity; and each * Dubois, who resided a long time as a missionary in the interior of Southern India, and in the year 1815 published a work, the chief object of which appears to have been to discourage any further efforts to Chris- tianize the Hindoos, estimates the present number of Catholics in Hin- dostan and Ceylon at more than six hundred thousand. This is probably no exaggeration. But when he informs us that they are at present not more than one-third of what they were seventy years before the time he wrote, we must receive his account with some allowance. He looked back with pleasure upon the former condition of the Church, and Avas disposed to contrast it strongly with the state of things which fell under his imme- diate notice. It is hardly probable that there were at any time one mil- lion eight hundred thousand Catholics in India. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 283 body of proselytes had preserved its character with compara- tively little alteration ; but as a whole, the rural population was not less diversified than |hat of the cities. Thus the Hindoo of the Concan, the Christian of St. Thomas, the fisherman of Malabar, the Buddhist of Ceylon, the Mahometan convert of Malacca and Amboyna, bore to each other almost as little re- semblance in nature and habits, as the European or African to either of them. They were all, however, bound together by the tie of a powerful ecclesiastical government, which in the prin- ciples upon which it acted was as unchangeable, as the mate- rials retained together by its strength were discordant and mutually repulsive. Two archbishops and three bishops, appointed by the Court of Portugal, administered the affairs of the Church. The former took their titles from Goa and Cranganore, where they respec- tively resided: Cochin, St. Thome, and Malacca were the seats of the latter.* The Archbishop of Goa was Metropolitan of India, and Primate of the East. His immediate jurisdiction embraced the greater part of the territory belonging to the Portuguese on the Malabar coast, and extended over the island of Ceylon. The Archbishop of Cranganore was the successor of the ancient Syrian Metropolitans, and directed the spiritual concerns of the Christians of St. Thomas, and of those numer- ous converts in the interior who, in civil matters, acknowledged the sovereignty of native princes. To the see of Cochin be- longed the congregations in the vicinity of that town; the whole Coromandel Coast, with the province of Bengal, was under the episcopal jurisdiction of St. Thome'; and the Bishop of Malacca had no rival aut.horitv in further India. * Goa was made an archbishopric in the year 1557, Cranganore about 1600. Cochin and St. Thome" were erected into bishoprics a.d. 1559, Malacca not till 1607. (Michael Geddes, also Histoire Generales des Voyages.) 284 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. At the command of these ecclesiastical chiefs was an array of priesthood, which, though composed of the most diversified elements, was in numbers greatly beyond a due proportion to the Avhole Christian population, and in influence over the opinions and fortunes of the laity perhaps unequalled, cer- tainly not surpassed in any other part of the Catholic world. Not to speak of emigrants and missionaries from Europe, the schools of Goa Avere constantly sending forth swarms of re- cruits, and every convent was a nursery in which crowds of laymen were trained up into soldiers of the Cross. Besides those who conscientiously sought in the offices of the Church the means of usefulness to their fellow-men, the ambitious entered them as the road to preferment, the timid as an asylum against danger, the idle as a refuge from labour, and the vicious as a shelter from the penalties of their irregular and illicit con- duct. Rank, nation, and colour were confounded together in the Eastern priesthood. The proud relative of European nobles, and the Brahmin of purest descent, were found by the side of the liberated African negro, and the Pariah from the dregs of the populace.* Notwithstanding this heterogeneous composition, the whole body Avas pervaded by one principle, the spirit of self-aggrandizement, Avhich leavened it into an almost perfect uniformity of feeling and opinion, and by giving a single di- rection to its united energies, rendered every movement irre- sistible. The influence of the clergy was indeed the most * These are extremes, and were perhaps not very frequent. It is certain that there were very few Brahmins in the Catholic priesthood. I recollect reading an account of a Jesuit in India who bore the name of a sovereign Italian family of which he was a relative. Captain Hamilton tells us that of the young slaves from Mozambique, those who exhibited signs of docility, and happened to fall into the hands of zealous masters, were frequently brought up to letters, and in the end became priests. " I have known," says he, " many coal-black priests about Goa." HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 285 striking lineament on the face of society in the Indian empire of Portugal. It was visible in the swarms of monks and friars which basked in the prosperity of every commercial port or military station; in the number, magnitude, and splendour of the ecclesiastical edifices which adorned the larger cities ; in the trembling observance yielded by all ranks to the dignitaries of the Church; finally in that deep, universal awe, Avhich per- mitted not a whisper to be uttered in derogation of the most trivial religious ceremony or dogma. The sources of this influence may be found, partly in the peculiar doctrines of the Roman Catholic religion, which seem to have been especially devised as yokes upon the necks of the people; partly in that profound ignorance which received as a voice from heaven every sacerdotal dictum; but above all in the operation of the Inquisition, that tremendous engine of priestly tyranny, by which rebellion was crushed not only in its first open act, but before it had assumed the form even of speech, while still lurking, almost unconscious of its own ex- istence, in the inmost recesses of the soul. It would be im- possible to form an accurate conception of the condition of the Church in India, without understanding the nature and modes of proceeding of this horrible institution, which, in these re- mote regions, free from the supervision of that secular power which in Europe might in some measure control its action, was left to fashion itself into the shape most accordant with the principles of its constitution, and then blindly abandoned as an implicit instrument to the lusts and passions of those in whose hands it was placed. CHAPTER XI. THE INQUISITION. The Inquisition was established at Goa so early as the year 1557. The whole of the Portuguese possessions beyond the Cape of Good Hope were placed under its superintendence; and every Christian subject, with the exception of the Viceroy or his substitute, and the Archbishop and his grand vicar, was amenable to its authority. Even these great dignitaries were not wholly exempt from its interference; but the consent of the Court of Portugal, and a secret order from the sovereign council of the Inquisition at Lisbon, were necessary to authorize their arrest. The direction of its affairs was intrusted to two inquisitors, the first of whom was a secular priest with the title of Grand Inquisitor, the second a member of one of the monastic orders. The Grand Inquisitor was held in greater respect and awe than even the Primate or the Viceroy; for clergy and laity were alike within his control, and, though destitute of that source of influence which exists in the ability to confer favours, he could perhaps more effectually command the minds of men by an almost unlimited power of inflicting injury. It was no mean stroke of policy in the Court of Portugal, thus to counterpoise the supreme civil authority; which, in these distant regions, and in the midst of a population the great mass of which was connected with Europe by no ties of sympathy or affection, might have sometimes forgotten, if left entirely without restriction, the obedience due to the royal will from which it (286) 'HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 287 derived its origin. By investing in the Grand Inquisitor the right, upon the receipt of instructions from Lisbon, to arrest the Viceroy, the King had placed a curb upon this powerful officer, which enabled him to check at once any disposition that might be evinced to run the race of independence; and the very existence of a separate influence, which, while its own passive nature was incompatible with the assumption of sovereign power, divided the respect of the Indians with their immediate civil government, was sufficient to prevent the attainment by this government of a dangerous ascendency. The inquisitors were assisted in the management of the insti- tution by numerous subordinate officers. Of one class it was the duty to witness and aid in the interrogation and trial of the prisoners; of another to examine the contents of books which might be brought into the country, and report for condemnation all such as were objectionable on the score of morals or religion; of a third to arrest the accused. These last were called famil- iars of the Holy Office, and were of every condition of life ; as it was customary to employ in the apprehension of the accused individual, a person of the same rank Avith himself. The station was deemed so honourable that the most exalted mem- bers of the community were not too proud to accept it; and the golden badge by which it was designated, was worn even by dukes and princes. Violence in the performance of the function Avas never requisite; for the haughtiest spirit bent at once in submissive meekness at the name of the holy tribunal. Besides these officers there were secretaries, a proctor, jailers, guards, and all those inferior functionaries which are necessary in the business of an immense judicial establishment. In every important settlement from Sofala to Macao, the Inquisition had an agent or commissary, by whom accusations were received, and the accused thrown into prison. Informers were spread over the East. In fact, every individual inhabitant was made a 288 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. spy upon his neighbours by a most iniquitous regulation, Avhich subjected to the penalty of excommunication all persons who should not declare, within the space of thirty days, whatever they might have heard or seen that came within the cognizance of this tribunal. The principle of self-preservation was thus placed in opposition to all the noble and kindly feelings of our nature; the strongest ties which bind man to man, the relation of friend, of brother, of child, and of parent, were dissolved by the terrors of a frightful punishment; and Avords that were uttered, or acts that were committed in the heat of momentary excitement, or in the freedom of unreserved confidence, were be- trayed without remorse; perhaps, for such is the influence of bigotry upon the mind, with a consciousness of desert. To attract the notice of the Inquisition, it was sufficient to show by word or deed the slightest disrespect for the Roman creed or worship; to be detected in any ceremonious observances, however trivial, which might imply a lurking attachment to a former faith abandoned for Catholicism ; to be concerned in the slightest degree in those practices, Avhich, under the name of magic and sorcery, were in that age regarded as unholy dealings with the powers of darkness. In a population consisting chiefly of ignorant converts from idolatry, or a corrupt Mahometanism, and having, even in its European portion many of that class of Portuguese, who, being descended from Jewish proselytes, were suspected of a secret adherence to the religion of their ancestors, it was impossible that frequent occasions should not be given for the exercise of the functions of the Holy Office; and there were few individuals whose lives were so well guarded as not to afford some ostensible ground for its interference. It is probable that, where no motives of a worldly nature were added to the zeal of the inquisitors, only the more glaring offences were subjected to punishment; but, like other men in power, they had their own passions and those of their friends and favourites HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 289 to gratify; and private animosity, envy, jealousy, revenge, and avarice had perhaps more numerous victims than the violated sanctity of the Church. Persons arrested by the authority of the Inquisition were considered by their friends, for a time at least, as much lost to them as if buried in the grave. No one, however closely con- nected by friendship or kindred, ventured to murmur at their fate. With regard to all their affairs a deep and awful silence prevailed, as though an omnipresent intelligence were ready to observe, and an omnipotent arm to punish the slightest irrever- ence in thought or speech. Confined at first in the prison of the place where they were seized, they were suffered to languish, sometimes for several months, amid all sorts of filth and cor- ruption generated by a hot climate in close and crowded apart- ments, without other food than such as the hand of charity might offer, doubtful of the fate which awaited them, and fre- quently ignorant of the very charge upon which they were to be tried. At length, when a convenient opportunity was offered, they were conveyed in chains to Goa, where they were im- mersed in the solitude of the Santa Casa.* This vast receptacle of misery was a magnificent but gloomy edifice, having three entrances in its front, two of which, to- wards the extremities, led to the private apartments of the inquisitors, and the third, in the centre, of larger dimensions, to the halls of the tribunal, and the deep recesses of the prison. The places of confinement were separate cells, amounting to at least two hundred in number. Of these one set were square, vaulted chambers, small, but neat and clean, lighted by grated windows, and communicating with a gallery by a double door, of which the outer was generally left open during the day for * Holy house, a title very erroneously given to the building appro- priated to the purposes of the Inquisition. 19 290 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. the sake of ventilation, and the inner, though always closed, was perforated by a small opening which admitted air, and through which food was introduced. The other cells were smaller, lower in the building, and without windows ; and were designed for the most criminal and obstinate of the prisoners, or for those to whom the inquisitors were most inimical. Immured in these cells, the wretched victims of priestly tyranny were left, without books or other means of amusement or occupation, to all the horrors of perfect solitude, aggravated by the most dreadful anticipations, or the most harassing uncer- tainty. The sense of dreary loneliness was heightened by the profound stillness which reigned throughout the edifice, inter- rupted only by the occasional groans and shrieks of those sub- * jected to torture, or by other equally fearful sounds, which, if they excited a momentary feeling of companionship, mingled with it emotions of sympathy, abhorrence, and alarm, even more agonizing than the desolation of soul to which they succeeded. The rules by which the judicial proceedings of the Inquisition were ostensibly directed, if we throw out of view the utter dis- proportion between the offence and the punishment, were appa- rently neither unjust nor severe. As declared by the judges, and understood by the community, they were even lenient towards the accused. Thus, individuals who, before being arrested, should confess their transgressions, and profess a due repentance, were promised pardon, and exemption from im- prisonment. No person could be seized unless upon the testi- mony of two witnesses, and the concurrent evidence of at least seven was requisite to a capital conviction. Nor, when the prisoner was condemned to death, was the Inquisition the execu- tioner of her own sentence. Content with the confiscation of his goods, she delivered his person to the civil power. In cases of confession, provided the criminal was now for the first time HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 291 pronounced guilty, like an affectionate mother, she interceded for his life, and saved him for once from the vengeance of the violated laws. Even when by a repetition of crime or an obsti- nate refusal to confess his guilt, he betrayed a hardness of soul upon which leniency would be thrown away, she surrendered him with regret to the secular arm, and, with a holy horror of bloodshed, exacted that he should suffer not by the axe nor the sword, but by fire.* The Inquisition was thus held up to the people as a merciful poAver, compelled, out of regard to the welfare and security of the Church, to be vigilant in the discovery of transgressions, but slow to punishment, and, under the most aggravating cir- cumstances, yielding reluctantly to the stern demands of justice. Nor was it possible for the public generally to discover the falsehood of these pretensions. Over all the interior transac- tions of the Holy Office an impenetrable veil of mystery was thrown. From every prisoner who escaped with life, an oath of secrecy was exacted ; and none ever ventured to encounter the terrible penalty of its violation. The sufferings of his own long imprisonment, and the horrors of the auto da fe which he had been compelled to witness at the time of his release, were ever too vividly present to his memory to admit of an indiscre- tion, which might again bring him within the grasp of the Inqui- sition. In the mind of the multitude, therefore, the dread excited by the unlimited power of the tribunal, was mingled with confi- dence in its justice, and affection for its benevolence. As its attributes seemed to approach those of Deity, it was regarded with a reverential awe such as men pay to Heaven; and they who incurred its displeasure, so far from deriving comfort or aid * It was, however, the custom to burn alive only those who refused to die in the profession of the Catholic faith. The others were first strangled, and their bodies afterwards committed to the flames. 292 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. from their fellow-Christians, found the public sympathies enlisted against them. But happily there were countries where its secrets might be revealed with safety; and the bond of an extorted oath Avas not always found sufficient to restrain the liberated captive, Avhen beyond the sphere of its influence, from gratifying a feeling of revenge, or complying Avith a conviction of duty, by reciting the story of his wrongs. The mask by which its true features were concealed was thus torn off, and each hideous trait developed in all its blackness and deformity. Could the fallacy of its specious professions, and the mass of iniquity which they covered, have been rendered equally evident to the people among whom it Avas established, it would have been as universally hateful to the most bigoted Catholics as, even Avhen most honestly adminis- tered, it was, in its very constitution, oppressive, tyrannical, and utterly abhorrent to the principles of genuine'Christianity. The regulations before mentioned by which innocence appeared to be effectually protected, afforded in reality not the slightest barrier against the passions or interests of the inquisitors. It was to no purpose that an individual, exposed to their ill-will, thought to shelter himself from the consequences of any indis- cretion by complying with the rule which promised forgiveness to those Avho might voluntarily confess their errors; the very act from Avhich he expected security, was made the instrument of his ruin. He could not, it is true, be committed to the flames of the auto da fe; but they who have the uncontrolled command of dungeons and fetters, are never without the means of gratify- ing their malignant propensities; and the inquisitors had this singular advantage, that they might inflict the most cruel and unjust punishments, and yet not only stop short of the guilt of murder, but, without injury to their reputation, even venture to indulge a late compassion by allowing their prisoner liberty as well as life. His fears secured them against his complaints. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. 293 Two witnesses were necessary to an arrest, and seven to con- viction of a capital crime ; but the testimony of no one, what- ever might be his character, was rejected; not even of those who were interested in the condemnation of the accused. Ac- complices were also allowed to give evidence ; and, if the number of witnesses was still deficient, the rack was a never-failing source. In the agony of torture, prisoners confessed whatever they thought might bring relief; and often not only declared themselves guilty of crimes they had never committed, but in- volved others equally innocent with themselves. When required to mention their accomplices, they either named individuals at random, or gave such a list as they knew would be acceptable to their tormentors. Witnesses thus procured were considered unexceptionable ; and it seldom happened that the number re- quired to satisfy the letter of the law could not be sooner or later obtained. Should a prisoner, therefore, marked for con- demnation, either from a love of truth, or regard to reputation, or a stubborn pride of character, pertinaciously maintain his innocence equally against exhortation, the wearisomeness of long and close confinement, and the uttermost severity of tor- ture, he would still find all his fortitude insufficient to save him ; and in the last extremity, should he yet persist, would expiate his obstinacy by a public, ignominious, and most painful death. Few were disposed to support their consistency at so vast a sacrifice ; and the accused generally saved themselves from the flames by confession. The merciful forbearance which thus granted life to the penitent criminal was usually extended no further. In the galleys, or the public prisons, he was allowed ample time to mourn over his transgressions, and to strengthen his resolution never again to come in collision with so tremen- dous a power. The possessions of the guilty were forfeited to the Inquisition equally whether they confessed, or were condemned without confession. The Avealthy prisoner was never innocent; but, as 294 HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. it was highly desirable that the Inquisition should be justified in the eyes of the people, it was the policy of its officers to induce in every case an acknoAvledgment of guilt. If this could not be obtained from the fears of the prisoner, it was generally extorted from him by torture Upon such grounds rested the claims of the tribunal to a spirit of forbearance and clemency. It would be impossible to estimate the amount of misery which this most odious of all the inventions of bigotry produced in Portuguese India. That it must have been enormous, when compared with the extent of the population, will be inferred from the statement, that there was generally an auto da fe every two or three years, and that at each return of this spectacle, no less than two hundred persons were taken from the prisons of the Inquisition, either to be. set at liberty, or to receive the punishment which had beeu decreed them. Great numbers must have been carried off in the interval by the hardships of confinement, and the various sufferings, bodily and mental, to which they were subjected. The character of the Inquisition at Goa, given in the preced- ing pages, is such as it Avas described by an individual whose personal opportunities of forming a correct judgment were ample, and in whose narrative, notwithstanding his just grounds of bitter hostility, a tone of moderation prevails, that speaks strongly in favour of its truth. There can be no doubt that the operations of the tribunal assumed various shades of iniquity according to the character of its presiding judges; and it is pos- sible that there may have been inquisitors whose rigid virtue refused to pervert the original principles of its foundation, and scorned to turn its immense influence into the channels of private feeling. But, viewed in the most favourable light, even through the softening medium of its own professions, it was a most horrible institution, originating in the dark councils of bigotry and ambi- tion, and calculated to perpetuate the fetters which ignorance and ecclesiastical usurpation had forged for the human intellect. SUPPLEMENT TO THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA; BEING AN ADDRESS READ, JANUARY 23, 1839, BEFORE THE ATHENIAN INSTITUTE, UPON THE SUBJECT OF THE BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE, AT THE TIME OF ITS DELIVERY. AN ADDRESS UPON THK SUBJECT OP THB BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE; DELIVEKED, JANTJAKY 23, 1839, BEFORE THE ATHENIAN INSTITUTE. Prefatory Remarks. The Athenian Institute was an association of gentlemen, formed for the purpose of promoting literary tastes and habits in this city. With this view, they set on foot a series of lectures, one to be de- livered weekly; the subject being left to the choice of the lecturer; with the understanding, however, that it should be of general interest, and not of a partisan character, whether religious or political. Having, as stated in a former preface, been much addicted, in my earlier life, to the perusal of works on the East Indies, so much so as to have exhausted all accessible sources of information in relation to that interesting region, I felt, when called on for my contribution to the objects of the association, that, being probably more conversant with this field of literature than with any other, and more capable of im- parting interesting and useful knowledge respecting it, I might with propriety make this the subject of the address expected from me. I wish, however, to impress upon the reader the fact, that the con- dition of things, as described in the ensuing pages, was that existing (297) 298 PREFATORY REMARKS. at the time when the address was delivered, more than thirty years since, and that, though in all essential points the condition of the country described remains almost unaltered, yet the mode of govern- ment has been somewhat modified; the general result having been the more complete loss of the authority of the East India Company, and its concentration in the crown. This address has never been printed before now; and the same is the case with the preceding " History of Christianity in India,"* to which it may be considered supplemen- tary, as it describes, however superficially, the country in which, and the people among whom, the events recorded in the history took place. March, 1872. * Except that small portion of it entitled " The Mission of Madura," which was printed in the weekly journal called " The Friend," near the time when it was written. ADDRESS. The subject of the lecture for this evening is British India. A theme so ample may seem ill adapted to the limits assigned to each lecture by the regulations of the Institute. But the design of this association, as I understand it, is rather to awaken and guide inquiry, than to afford full instruction in any one branch of knowledge. It does not propose to satisfy the intellectual appetite of its audiences; but points them to the ripe fields on every side, and urges them to put their own sickles into the harvest. The object of the lecturer, therefore, is less to give a full delineation of his subject, than so to sketch its striking and attractive features as to excite attention and stimulate pursuit. Thus treated, the topic for this evening, though libraries would not exhaust its abundance, may, per- haps, be found compressible within the allotted space. The attention hitherto paid, in this country, to the subject of British India, has been by no means proportionate to its interest and importance. Distance; the absence of social and political connection; the wide difference in religion, govern- ment, domestic habits, and mental culture, lying like a deep gulf in the way of our sympathies; the utter want of those associations which connect us with Europe as the home of our forefathers, with Western Asia as the birthplace of our religion, with Africa as the scene of our past injustice and present efforts at reparation; these and perhaps other causes have turned away the public mind from the concerns of that great empire; and, (299) 300 BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. though a few individuals, catching accidental glimpses of its exuberant interest, have been led on to more or less extensive research, yet the great mass remain almost as ignorant of its real history and condition as if it were a still undiscovered portion of the globe. The notions which prevail among us, derived from partial or imperfect sources, are vague, inaccu- rate, confused, more like the broken recollections of some wild dream than the sober impressions of truth. What is the picture which, at the name of India, usually presents itself to our imagination ? In the background, the colossal ruins of the Mogul empire; everywhere, in strong relief, British policy weaving intrigue, British force wading to dominion through terror and blood, and British tyranny crushing under its wheels, like another Juggernaut, the victims of its avarice; here, the devasting wrath of Hyder Ali and the desperate life-struggle of his still fiercer son; there, the hurricane sweep of the Mah- ratta arms, with smiling abundance before them and desola- tion behind; on one side, the black-hole of Calcutta sending forth its wail of famine and despair; on the other, the loathing prisoner chained to the lifeless body of his friend; throughout the picture, in splendid confusion, gorgeous apparel, the glitter of gems and gold, thrones overturned and sceptres in the dust, the tiger of the jungles, the magnificent elephant, the palm-tree and the banyan, the pearls of Ceylon and the diamonds of Gol- conda; and over all, the black clouds of paganism, peopled with myriads of fantastic demons, reflecting here and there the lurid glare of the widow's pyre, and the reeking slaughter of new-born infants, anc1 only in a few distant spots breaking away before the beams of missionary effort, and revealing the clear, blue heavens beyond them; such and so confused is the dream of India which floats through the memory of most readers in this country. Let us now turn to the reality, and by a rapid sketch of the present, the past, and the probable future of the British BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. 301 dominion in the East, endeavour to present the outlines of a consistent view, which each one may fill up at leisure with the rich materials to be gathered in that luxuriant field of history. Cast your eyes for a few minutes on the map of Asia, and trace with me the boundary of that vast region which acknowl- edges the sway of the East India Company. Beginning at the southernmost point of Hindostan, let us skirt the Malabar Coast as it stretches away to the north and west for more than a thousand miles, and throw a glance as we proceed towards a few of the most striking objects. Those lofty mountains, dim with distance, are the famous Ghauts, which range along the whole extent of the coast, and separate the low maritime country from the more elevated interior. Could our eye penetrate their recesses, with what delight should we behold, scattered here and there upon their shady declivities, near the confines of Travan- core and Cochin, numerous beautiful villages, each with its ancient church, declaring the residence of a Christian people; of a people who claim to have been planted in this very region by one of the apostles, and who, though encompassed by pagan- ism, have steadily maintained their faith through all the changes of eighteen centuries, one solitary star in the long dark night of Christianity in Eastern Asia. As we pass the ports of Cochin and Calicut, and come in sight of the stately Goa, once the proud capital of the Portu- guese power in the East, and now its solitary remnant, our minds are irresistibly carried back to the days of De Gama and Albuquerque; we follow the bold adventurers from Portugal in their career of discovery and conquest, shudder at their cruelties while we admire their valour, sicken at the enormities of their short-lived supremacy, and rejoice at its merited downfall. Even the magnificent religious edifices of Goa excite only painful recollections, built as they too often were at the cost of tears and blood, and monuments of that fierce ecclesiastical zeal, 302 BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. which, while it spread proselytes of the sword over the shores of India, retained them by the terrors of the rack, the dungeon, and the stake. Proceeding onwards we arrive at the city of Bombay, one of the earliest of the British possessions in India, and at present the political capital, as well as commercial metropolis of West- ern Hindostan. Here let us stop for a moment, in order to visit the neighbouring islands of Elephanta and Salsette, and, in their wonderful excavations, cut out of the living rock, and filled with the ruins of gigantic statues, and sculptured columns, and innumerable carved ornaments of stone, forget ourselves into those remote ages when Egypt and India, yet in the infancy of the world, exhibited a vigorous growth in the arts, and exe- cuted monuments which neither time nor man has been able wholly to destroy. Embarking again, we soon reach, at Surat, the termination of this long line of coast; then, changing our course westward, along the shores of Guzerat, and across the Gulf of Cutch, we enter the mouth of the Indus, and ascend that great stream. Hitherto we have been following the route frequented by com- merce from the highest antiquity, the track, probably, of those very ships which carried to Solomon the silks, gems, and spices of the East. Our voyage will now be solitary; for noble as is the stream of the Indus, and admirably as it is adapted by its extent and depth to the purposes of commerce; though more than twenty centuries ago it bore the fleet of Alexander for a thousand miles to the ocean, and is probably destined in future times to groan with freighted steamboats, yet, at present, it is unfrequented and silent, and its multitudinous waters flow un- ceasingly onward, with no other aim nor use than to bear the tribute of the wide region from which they are gathered to the sea. Having followed the course of the river for five hundred miles, we enter its great tributary, the Sutlege or Hyphasis of BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. 303 the ancients, going off towards the East, and ascend this stream, for nine hundred miles further, to its source in the Himalaya Mountains. In our voyage from the ocean, we have crossed the path of the various invaders of India; of Darius and Alexander who merely grazed the confines of the country; of Mahomet of Ghizni who, at the commencement of the eleventh century, conquered the Northern provinces, and, having introduced the Mahometan religion, left a new empire to his descendants; of Cuttub ud Deen, the founder of the Afghan dynasty; of Tam- erlane and his descendant Baber, the latter of whom established the Mogul empire, which, in the reign of the great Akbar, em- braced almost the whole of Hindostan; and finally of Nadir Shah, the Persian usurper, who, in the decline of the Mogul power, carried his arms into Northern India, and, having de- luged the country with blood, and swept away, to an enormous amount, the accumulated treasures of ages, left to the legitimate sovereigns an empty name and a powerless sceptre, which has fallen at length almost spontaneously from their feeble grasp. When interrupted by this retrospect, we had reached the Himalaya Mountains, that elevated range which bounds Hin- dostan on the northeast, and offers, among its snow-capped summits, some of the loftiest pinnacles on the earth, exceeding in this respect even the glory of Chimborazo. Along this range we now proceed southeastwardly as far as Nepaul, which, to- gether with Bootan, being without the pale of British sover- eignty, we leave to our left; then, making a wide sweep around the kingdom of Assam, we follow that almost unexplored range of hills which separates the province of Arracan from the Bir- man Empire, and emerge at length from these wild regions upon the Bay of Bengal, not less than five hundred miles beyond the Ganges. Here, once more embarking, we trace the circumfer- ence of that great bay; cross the floods poured into it by the Brahmapootra and Ganges; leave the princely Calcutta, the t 304 BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. centre of the British power, far away to our right; pass within view of the temple of Juggernaut upon the sandy shore of Orissa; pause before the walls of Madras and Pondicherry, the scenes of that momentous struggle between the English and French which opened the way of the former to the su- premacy of India, and reduced the latter almost within the confines of one ruined city; and then, resuming our voyage, run down the Coromandel Coast to Cape Comorin, and cast anchor at the point of our departure. Within this circuit of more than six thousand miles, is in- cluded a territory equal to one-half of Europe, and containing a population of at least one hundred millions of souls, about triple that of the whole American continent. All this vast territory, and immense population, are either directly under British government, or acknowledge British supremacy, with some inconsiderable exceptions, which are nearly balanced by the island of Ceylon and other English possessions not included within the limits described. Let us pass in review some of the more striking characteristics of the country, physical, social, religious, and political, and ascertain whether it offers objects of interest in any degree proportionate to its magnitude. Favoured by the warmth and moisture of the climate, vegeta- tion riots in this country, and lavishes, though with a some- what capricious hand, the means alike of luxury and subsistence. But population appears to run a race with the productiveness of the soil, and presses everywhere closely upon its steps. Food, therefore, though generally abundant, is seldom in great excess; and any occasional superfluity cannot be conveniently garnered up for future use; as those very qualities of climate which stimulate its growth favour also its decomposition, so that it may speedily return again to the lap of nature from which it sprang. Hence any considerable deficiency of pro- duction is followed by proportionate want; and famine with BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. 305 her attendant pestilence sometimes commits the most fearful ravages. The climate of India affords another striking illustration of that universal law of nature, that the seeds of decay accom- pany every principle of productiveness. Those qualities of the atmosphere which so highly stimulate vegetable growth prove adverse to architectural durability; and the most solid struct- ures, even those composed exclusively of stone, speedily go to ruin if neglected. Every crevice into which dust and moisture can penetrate becomes the seat of a rapid and decomposing vegetation ; shrubs and trees germinate in the joints of the edifice, and force them asunder by the expansion of their roots; the mass of stone gradually crumbles, and affords in the soil which it thus forms additional footing for plants; till at length the vegetable invasion establishes itself firmly in its new con- quest, and a grove of smiling verdure conceals the ruins over which it triumphs. The fruitfulness of the country affords also liberal supplies to commerce. Immense quantities of opium produced in the plains of Bahar and Malwa are shipped annually to China; sugar, cotton, and indigo are also abundantly exported; and the pepper and cardamoms of Malabar and the cinnamon of Ceylon have been familiarly known as Indian commodities from the remotest ages. Another valuable product of the soil, though not of vegetable growth, is nitre, great quantities of which are procured from the earth of the plains overflowed by the Ganges, and exported to all parts of the globe. With such resources, the external commerce of Hindostan cannot but be of great amount; and, when we consider that in its ports are also collected the various products of neigh- bouring countries, the gamboge of Siam, the pepper and coffee of Java, the spices of the Moluccas, the columbo of Mozam- bique, the aloes, senna, gum-arabic, and myrrh of Africa and 20 306 BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. Arabia, we shall be prepared to appreciate the magnitude of the prize which the advocates of free trade have succeeded in wrest- ing from the reluctant hands of the East India Compauy. Perhaps in no way could an idea of the great productiveness of Hindostan be given, in a few words, more impressively, than by a simple statement of the amount of annual revenue, which, in that portion of the country under the direct rule of the Com- pany, exclusive of the possessions of the subordinate native princes, is about ninety millions of dollars, a sum greater than the revenue of Russia, and exceeded by that of no other nation, with the exception of France and England, and possibly of China. But it is time that we should turn our attention to the people of Hindostan; and here, in the diversities and singularities of physical constitution, language, habits, religion, and morals, we might find abundant materials for volumes of description and disquisition. The aboriginal population, itself by no means of a uniform character, has been still further diversified by fugi- tives from religious persecution, by the contributions of com- merce, and by the materials thrown upon the soil by successive floods of invasion. The customs of India, which are strongly opposed to the intermixture of races, have tended, in a remark- able degree, to maintain these varieties ; and the several streams of population have run down through many ages, almost with- out admixture, each preserving the purity with which it issued from its native fountain. First we have the proper Hindoos, who are essentially the same now as in the days of Alexander the Great. Their di vision into castes, the iron resolution with which they have adhered to this institution, and their recognition of the superi- ority of the Brahmins, are features by which they may be readily distinguished from all other sects. To describe the pure theism of their religion as it is understood by the most BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. 307 enlightened among them, and its infinite and most degrading polytheism as it prevails among the great mass; to picture their various opinions, habits, and observances, all intimately interwoven with their religious creed;, though much that is interesting and amusing might be presented, would occupy more of your time than could now be spared. It would be an error to suppose that the Hindoos are the same throughout the whole extent of their country. How peculiar, for example, are the Nairs of Malabar, among whom the females are by law entitled to a plurality of husbands! The warlike Mahratta, too, who, though of the caste of the cultivators, exchanged his pruning-hook for the spear, and at one time carried terror throughout Hindostan; how exceedingly does he differ from the timid and industrious peasant of Bengal, who yields quietly to every invader, and never weighs his life against the pro- ducts of his labour! How marked, moreover, is the character of the noble-looking and haughty Rajpoots, who believe them- selves of the pure military caste, whose courage the Mogul power could never wholly bend to subjection, and among whom have occurred those instances of desperate resolution, in which the inhabitants of a besieged fortress, when further resistance was vain, have collected together all their valuables into one great funeral pile for their slaughtered wives and children, and then applying the torch, have rushed themselves into the flames, and left to the assaulting enemy only a heap of ashes! Besides the Brahminical Hindoos, who constitute the great majority of the population, there is the sect of the Boodhists, inhabiting Ceylon and Arracan, who worship a certain incarna- tion of Deity called Boodha, and acknowledge no pre-eminence in their priesthood ; the Jains of Canara, who are without caste, believe in only one supreme God, but pay divine homage to images of saints, and so reverence life, even in its lowest grades, that no crime is more heinous in their eyes than to kill an 308 BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. animal for food, and no charity more meritorious than to estab- lish hospitals for sick, old, and decrepit beasts, birds, and in- sects; and, finally, various almost savage tribes, inhabiting mountainous districts, who differ so materially from the mass of the people, as to have suggested the idea that they might be the true aborigines, driven, like similar mountain tribes, in other parts of the globe, before some invading host into their fast- nesses, and there protected as well by poverty and despair, as by the strength of their position. Next in number to the Hindoos, and constituting about one- seventh of the whole population, are the Mahometan descend- ants of the Persian, Afghan, and Mogul invaders, who are scattered more or less throughout the country, but abound in the northern provinces, about the city of Delhi, the former seat of their power and splendour. These are, perhaps, the least contented of the British subjects. Proud of their fancied re- ligious superiority, they cannot forget the period when they reigned supreme in India, and looked with contempt upon the handful of merchants, who, but two centuries ago, received humbly as a boon from their sovereign permission to trade in his dominions. The native Christians, both in numbers and influence, are much inferior to the two classes already mentioned. They con- sist of the Syrians of Travancore, of Armenians whom the calls of commerce have invited into the maritime cities, of the de- graded descendants of the Portuguese and their proselytes, of the very uncertain disciples which Dutch thrift left behind it when driven from the coast of Malabar and Ceylon, and finally of that small but increasing body of converts which modern mis- sionary effort has planted, and in which the eye of faith may behold the seed of a noble growth that is one day to over- shadow the East. These different classes, amounting alto- gether to about half a million, for the most part miserably poor BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. 309 and ignorant, would, even if bound together by a common in- terest, be of little political importance, and, without such a cement, are utterly destitute of strength, either for resistance or assault. There is, however, another body of natives, pro- fessing Christianity, whose futurity is highly significant in the affairs of Hindostan. Descended from English fathers and •native mothers, they unite, in some degree, the intellectual energy of the former with the physical adaptation of the latter to the climate, and want only a fair field, hitherto denied them by European pride on the one hand and native prejudice on the other, to sustain an advanced position in the race of wealth and power. When their numbers shall have increased, and the gradual but sure working of superior intelligence shall have built up for them a higher platform on which to stand, it re- quires no prophetic eye to foresee, that they will cast eager glances towards political power, and may even stretch out an audacious hand towards political supremacy. It would be improper to omit, in this sketch, the Parsees of India, the last remains of the ancient Persian fire-worshippers, who were driven many centuries ago before the tempest of Mahometanism which swept over their country, and thrown upon these hospitable shores. They have ever since preserved their peculiar faith and customs inviolate, and, though not numerous, have, by their industry, honesty, and intelligence, attained a high degree of respect; while, by their peaceable habits, they have secured immunity amid changes which have involved more powerful and more restless tribes in destruction. They are confined chiefly to the sea-ports, and are most nu- merous in Bombay, Surat, and other towns upon the western coast. In Reviewing these countless multitudes, so various in origin, language, religion, and customs, the eye can scarcely recog- nize that little band of strangers by whom their destinies are 310 BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. wielded. Civilians and soldiers, officers and private men, mer- chants and planters, all included, the British residents in India amount only to about forty thousand, scarcely one individual to three thousand of the native population. This immense dis- parity is itself sufficient to excite inquiry into the system of management, through which such mighty ends are accomplished by such apparently inadequate means. I will ask you to join me in a hasty dissection of the gigantic strength, concealed within the dwarfish body of the British government in India. In a plainly furnished apartment, in one of the narrow and dark streets of London, sits a body of twenty-four men, com- posed chiefly of retired merchants and bankers, and of the climate or war-worn veterans, who have returned from the labours of the East to the comforts of a competence in Eng- land. These are the Directors of the East India Company, who, under a very slight supervision from the Court of Pro- prietors, or assembled stockholders of the Company, by whom they are elected, were once the absolute masters of the British conquests in Hindostan, and the sole despositories of British commerce with the East Indies and China. But so despotic an authority abroad was scarcely compatible with the condition of subjects at home ; and the British government, with the lion's power, could not be expected to be satisfied with less than the lion's share in the spoils of the East. The directors were ac- cordingly stripped by act of Parliament of absolute power, and placed under the supervision of a portion of the British Cabinet, called the Board of Control, which, leaving to them the nomina- tion to offices in India, and the privilege of issuing orders, takes care that the highest offices shall be filled by friends of the gov- ernment, and that the orders issued shall be compatible with its interests and wishes. The commercial monopoly, which the indifference of the government left at first undisturbed, has sub- sequently yielded to the unceasing attacks of the mercantile BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. 311 interest; and the trade of the East is now open to untrammelled competition. The Board of Directors, therefore, has much less than formerly the attributes of sovereignty, and is at present rather the medium through which a higher will acts upon the affairs of the East, then itself a substantive power. Having thus witnessed the operation in England of the spring which keeps in motion the machinery of the Indian government, let us return again to Hindostan, and throw a glance at the ma- chinery itself. The first point which attracts our notice is the ex- istence of three great political divisions, called Presidencies, the capitals of which respectively are Calcutta, Madras, and Bom- bay. Over each of these presides a governor, in whom, assisted by a council, is vested the civil and military control of his par- ticular province; but the Presidencies of Madras and Bombay are subordinate to that of Bengal, the governor of which holds his court at Calcutta, and, under the title of Governor-general, has the supreme command of British India, responsible only to the Board of Directors in London, and to Parliament. No station in the whole earth, under that of royalty, is equal at once in splendour and power to that of the Governor-general of India. With the privilege of declaring war and making peace, with an immense army at his command, and the happiness of millions at his disposal, possessed of princely revenues and sur- rounded by even more than princely splendour, he falls short of absolute sovereignty only in the tenure by which he holds his power, and the responsibility for its abuse. This concentration of authority in one individual, though essential for the good government of the country, is one of the dangers to which the British rule in India is exposed. In times of great commotion in England, with a dissatisfied army in the Bast, an ambitious Governor-general, of popular manners and great abilities, who had conciliated at once the good-will of the natives and the affection of the European soldiery, might be induced to forget 312 BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. his duty to his country, and attempt, with some chance of suc- cess, to perpetuate his already kingly power, and add another to the numerous dynasties of this changeful region. It is, per- haps, partly under such an apprehension, that individuals have usually been selected for this station, who have much to lose in their own country, and would be unwilling to play in so doubtful a game, with so heavy a stake. In the existence of distinct though subordinate authorities in Madras and Bombay, of a military commander-in-chief, who, though legally under the control of the Governor-genertl, might venture resistance to his treasonable designs, and of a portion of the regular English army distinct in its organization from that of the Company, and owing allegiance directly to the Crown, are further checks, which insanity alone, in settled times, would disregard, and which, under any circumstances, would render attempts at independence extremly hazardous. The civil authority, under the governors, so far as it is con- fided to European hands, is exercised by men educated for this purpose, from early life in the Company's College in England, and, after their arrival in India, led on by slow gradations from the lowest to the highest stations. Skilled in the different languages, and thoroughly acquainted with the peculiarities of the natives, they constitute a body of men, who, in fitness for the purposes to which they are devoted, are certainly not surpassed by any political body of equal numbers existing else- where. To their adroit management in the courts of subsidiary or allied princes is due much of the British success; and to the respect inspired among the natives by their firmness, intelli- gence, and integrity in the provinces through which they are distributed as collectors of the revenue, judges, and executors of the law, not less is due of that quiet submissiveness which characterizes the present relations of the people of India with BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. 313 their governors.* In their higher grades they constitute the present nobility of Hindostan, each being regarded as a little sovereign in his sphere, and many of them exercising almost princely authority over a population much exceeding that of some of the smaller sovereignties of Europe. In relation both to these and the military officers, the policy has been, so to apportion their emoluments that before the decline of life they may return to England with a moderate competence; and every encouragement is given to a disposition to look towards Great Britain as their home, in order to preserve inviolate an alle- giance, which might take another direction, were India regarded as the permanent abode of themselves and their children. But, after all, it is the military arm which constitutes the main support of the British authority. One portion of the troops, amounting to about twenty thousand,f owes a direct allegiance to the Crown, having the same organization as the army in other parts of the empire, and connected with the Company only as they are paid out of its revenues, and are subordinate to the commander-in-chief. Another portion, about ten thousand strong, and in discipline, courage, and conduct, little if at all inferior to the preceding, consists of Europeans enlisted in the name of the Company, and com- manded by its officers. But these two bodies combined con- * It should be noted that the period of this address was many years antecedent to the great upheaval of discontent, culminating in the terrific insurrection, which spread consternation throughout the British Empire, and for a time seemed to endanger British dominion in the East. It was, however, soon suppressed, and has probably left the government even stronger than before, partly by putting them on their guard, and partly by convincing the discontented of the futility of any attack upon its supremacy.—March, 1872. f Since the insurrection this number has, I believe, been considerably increased, and now amounts to at least thirty thousand.—March, 1872. 314 BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. stitute only a small portion of the whole military force, and would of themselves be utterly inadequate not only to the de- fence of the country from without, but even to the maintenance of order amid so vast a population, so widely extended, and so recently freed from the agitations of war. It is by the Indians themselves that their country is held in subjection. The colossal power of the Company, though based upon European skill and courage, is built up with the self-interest, the attachment, the courage, and physical strength of the native soldiery. Under the name of Sepoys, at least one hundred and fifty thousand natives are constantly maintained in the Company's pay, organized into a regular army, and officered, except in the lowest grades, by Europeans. These officers, educated for the most part in the Company's Military College in England, go out young to India, and there pass through a course of con- joined study and experience, which qualifies them, in the highest degree, for the station which they occupy. They have, in gen- eral, unbounded influence over the Sepoys, and could by no possible means, unless after a similar course of education and command, be effectually replaced by any other body of men. The Hindoo soldiers, thus commanded, become a different people from those irregular hordes which have usually con- stituted the native Indian armies. Never destitute of courage, they now superadd confidence in the abilities of their officers, warm affection for their persons, the habit of combined and regular action, and a principle of fidelity to their standard, founded partly on kind personal treatment, partly on the regu- larity of their pay, and still more on the consequence into which they are elevated by their military station. They have always proved among the most efficient troops in India, have seldom failed to follow wherever their officers chose to lead them, and have sometimes displayed the most heroic valour and constancy in support of their military honour. Composed of men differing BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. 315 in religion, language, caste, and country, and therefore without any principle of combination among themselves, separated, moreover, into distinct masses which can have little or no com- munication, they are never likely to unite against their present masters, and are probably less dangerous to the English su- premacy, than an equal number of European soldiers would be, if placed in the same position. Such as I have described is the machinery by which the British Eastern Empire is controlled. I might speak, in ad- dition, of the Crown judges, who hold their seats independently of the Company, and secure to British subjects the protection of the British laws. I might speak of the extension of the Eng- lish hierarchy to the communities of India connected with the English Church. I might occupy your attention with details of the different modes in which different parts of the empire are governed ; how, for example, the direct authority of the Com- pany is exercised over the much greater portion of the country, while another portion is left, so far as relates to its internal affairs, to the government of native princes, who, for the sake of British protection, have relinquished to the Company a com- plete control over their exterior relations; how, moreover, in Bengal and the neighbouring provinces, an entirely new system of property, and new politico-social relations have grown out of the British rule, while, in most other districts, the original na- tive laws and customs have been preserved. I might enter into these details, and might perhaps not uselessly enlarge on other points of interest in the government of this anomalous empire; but the lapse of time warns me that I must hasten onward. The question now occurs, what, in relation to the inhabitants of India, has been the result of the establishment of the British authority ? Are they, as many suppose, in the condition of a conquered people, reduced from an affluent independence to slavery and want, trampled under foot by supercilious power, 316 BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. and groaning under a yoke intolerable alike to their religion, their patriotism, and their feelings of personal interest? A comparative view of Hindostan as it was when the English began to mingle in its affairs, and as it now is, will be the best answer to the question. The mass of the Indian people have never taken part in political movements, and concern themselves no further about the authority which governs them, than as their private interests and peculiar mode of life may be concerned. Absorbed in the routine of their daily business, and the offices exacted of them by their false religion, they have no enlarged love of country, and do not appear to have the remotest conception of the duties of patriotism, or the rights of citizenship. They abstain almost religiously from arms; and, when the tempest of war comes upon them, either retire before its fury, or bow submissively to their fate. The conflicts for power which go on between the few, seem to them like the strife of the elements above their heads ; and they would as little think of joining in the earthly battle, as of mingling in the tumult of the thunder and the storm. Hence it is that India was ever the prey of invasion. A single battle lost was often the loss of a kingdom; for the defeated leader had no reserve to fall back upon, in the patri- otism or warlike spirit of the multitude. The example of suc- cessful violence sustained a never-ceasing spirit of aggression. The warlike portion of the population within, and their warlike neighbours without the limits of the country, were thus kept in constant commotion, playing the game of empire upon its broad surface, and exacting the forfeit from the peaceful inhabitants. For these, the only safety was in the occasional establishment of a power, strong enough to repel invasion and repress dis- order, and wise enough to see its own prosperity in the pros- perity of its subjects. Such a power existed for a time in the Mogul Empire ; but, when the British entered the field of India, BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. 317 this empire was in the last stages of decline, and all was again confusion. In the weakness of the central power, every gov- ernor of a province aimed at an independent authority, and no one hesitated by all sorts of fraud and violence to extend this authority at the expense of his neighbour. In this confusion of the political elements, some fiery spirits rose up from obscurity amid the storm, and seized with a fierce grasp the floating fragments of empire. Invasion, too, flashed its horrors across the scene, and left the darkness of death behind it. Rapacious hordes, shaken off by the universal tempest of war from the surface of society, rushed like the blast of the desert through the land, and spread in their course a wide waste of desolation. Imagination almost refuses to picture the enormities which deluged the people of Hindostan. Every tie of nature and society violated; unoffending individuals stripped of their pos- sessions and left remorselessly to perish; those suspected of wealth exposed to imprisonment and torture; thousands and tens of thousands frightfully maimed in sport or in anger; multitudes of men, women, and children massacred in cold blood; cities and villages wrapped in flames, and whole districts of country smoking with conflagration and ruin. Insecurity and terror brooded darkly over the land; no one knew to-day what to-morrow might bring forth; all India lay as in the throes of a moral earthquake. And how is it now ? Peace and order reign throughout the whole country under the direct British rule. The great body of the people, protected in their rights of property, and left in the full enjoyment of their social and religious customs, are content with the government. They are even more. Comparing their present security with the terrors from which they have escaped, they are, in many instances, attached to the power which has rescued and pro- tects them. Nor is this all. In a state of general tranquillity, the restless principles of human nature find the condition most 318 BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. favourable for profitable mutual action. The society of India requires a fundamental change in many of its moral elements, the loss of old and the production of new principles of thought and conduct, before it can be raised to the full level of modern civilization. This change has already begun. As soon as the profitless agitations of war had subsided, and society lay calmly in the sunshine of peace, the leaven introduced by European philanthropy began to produce its legitimate effects. Fermen- tation has been excited. The moral feelings, and intellectual habits and convictions, which had rested undisturbed for cen- turies, have entered into new movements; the frothy part is beginning to rise to the surface, the dregs to subside, and, though the process may not be completed for centuries, it will probably go on, unless interrupted by great political events, till the mind of India, clarified from its former turbidness and impurity, and sparkling with a new spirit, shall come into legitimate competition with the highest order of intelligence elsewhere. There can, therefore, it appears to me, be no question of the vast benefits which have flowed to India from the English domination. But admitting this fact, a censorious disposition may still find abundant gratification in the character of those measures for the attainment of power, with which common belief has burdened the fame of the East India Company. Did they not, it may be said, impose upon the credulity and violate the hospitality of the natives ? After obtaining firm footing in the country, did they not excite dissensions among neighbouring princes in order to mingle in the contest and share the plunder ? Did they not provoke attacks from the weak, in order to have an excuse for wresting away their little remains of power; and from the strong, that they might by combina- tions against them reduce their strength within manageable bounds? Did they not spread the meshes of an intriguing BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. 319 diplomacy over the whole of India, and entangle the struggling princes inextricably in their web; and, finally, when they became conscious of irresistible power, did they not lay their heavy hand upon the independence of India and crush it beneath the weight ? Suppose that, in all this, there were some shadow of truth ; have we, as a people, the right of accusation, we, who are flourishing on a soil once trodden by another race, who are at this moment witnessing the sad remnant of the aboriginal tribes wending their mournful way to new and strange lands, and turning back a reproachful but helpless look upon the possessors of their former homes ? At least, then, it becomes us to be lenient in judging others; and, when appearances may be against a neighbour, to reflect that they are also against ourselves, and may be equally susceptible, as in our own case, of palliation, perhaps of satisfactory explanation, when con- sidered in a spirit of justice. In our prevalent opinions of the English proceedings in India, we have done that people much wrong. We have listened to the eloquence of parliamentary opposition, have read the assertions of heated partisanship, and have taken all this extravagance for gospel. We have, in this matter, been as just towards the English as those persons have been towards ourselves, who, reading our adverse political jour- nals, and believing only the worst of what they read, consider us as a nation composed pretty equally of knaves and blockheads. The truth is, that the British power in India has been the growth of circumstances almost beyond the control of those who appeared to wield it, who were simply instruments in higher hands, and probably for higher purposes than any mere change in the distribution of temporal sovereignty. Admit the right of defensive warfare, and the East India Company will stand justified before the world for its whole course of policy; I say course of policy; for, that there may have been instances of wrong and oppression on the part of individuals, and that the 320 BRITISH EAST INDIA EMPIRE. Company itself may have in particular cases authorized this wrong, is probably as true as that no great nation is either now in existence, or ever has existed, of which the same may not be truly said. Their first establishments in India were mere commercial factories, built upon small tracts of land granted for due con- sideration by the native powers, with the privilege of defence essential to their security, in a country so much exposed to all sorts of intestine violence. Around these fortified factories, and on the lands of the Company, native villages soon sprang up, which, under the fostering influence of commerce, and the security of British protection, grew rapidly in extent and wealth, till at length they assumed the character of flourish- ing cities, and offered prizes sufficient to tempt the rapacity of the petty despots in their neighbourhood. Power was ever, among the princes of India, a legitimate claim to any coveted possession; and, altogether ignorant of the strength which lay undeveloped in these germs of a mighty empire, they attempted, without scruple or hesitation, to seize them by violence, when- ever their hands were free from more promising schemes of rapine. The servants of the Company defended themselves against these unprovoked aggressions. The struggle was fre- quently severe; and more than once, the utmost efforts of hu- man skill and valour, backed by all the resources which the credit of the Company could command, and all the energy which they could borrow from despair, were requisite to save their affairs from utter annihilation. They triumphed, however, and their aggressors were glad to purchase peace by the sur- render of a portion of their possessions sufficient to cover the expenses of the war. This extension of territory was the only means by which the Company could indemnify itself for its immense losses, and pay the interest of a debt, incurred in self- defence, which, without such additional resource, would have BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. 321 irretrievably sunk it. But each new territorial accession in- creased the value of the prize; and one after another, the more powerful princes of India, confident in their strength and man- agement, rushed into the arena of contest, and fell before the fortune or conduct of the English. At length but a few great powers were left to struggle for dominion. These, with the same spirit of aggression, and the same miscalculation of their resources, leagued against the Company, and, having exhausted their strength in fruitless efforts at conquest, yielded to the force which in her turn she brought to bear against them, and left Hindostan prostrate at her feet. From the beginning of this career of conquest, the voice which came out from England, so far from encouraging a course of territorial acquisition, almost invariably commanded caution and restraint. We look, said the merchant kings, to the profits of commerce. We desire only the means of ample divi- dends upon our stock. Involve us not in wars ; seek no addi- tion to our territories. The former only sink us deeper in debt; the latter do not repay the expense of their acquisition. Such was the almost invariable tenor of the Company's orders. But in spite of these orders, of the sincerity of which there can be no doubt, wars came, and territory came; and the Company saw themselves, in opposition to their wishes and commands, gradually raised, by the irresistible force of circumstances, from the station of traders to that of sovereigns, from the possession of ships and factories to that of armies and empire. In all history there is scarcely a more interesting series of events than that which conducted to this result. Let any one make himself so far acquainted with the geography, previous history, and peculiar institutions of Hindostan, as to be able to read understandingly those works in which the progress of the British power is described, and he will have before him an in- tellectual banquet of the highest relish. The whole narrative 21 322 BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. is one long romance. The rapid succession of incident; the sudden changes of fortune; the unsurpassed exertion of human energies; the dazzling play of human passions; the infinite diversity of scene, of character, of personal adventure, of war- like, political, and diplomatic operations; all these sources of interest clustering around the steady onward course of the British power; and then, the ever-present feeling of the won- derful, the almost miraculous, springing up from a comparison of the apparently inadquate cause with the stupendous results; nol there is not in profane history a more absorbing subject than that of the rise and progress of the British Eastern Empire. In the events of this history, so entirely without parallel, so utterly beyond ordinary foresight, all connected, under the most varied human agency, by one great cord of design, all tending, under the most contradictory human aims, to -one great result, does it require the eye of enthusiasm to see the plans of some secret intelligence, the workings of some invisible hand ? Does it even exceed the bounds of sober reason to believe that an all- powerful beneficence has been preparing the moral soil of the East for a more perfect culture; that this wonderful course of incident is but a part of that great scheme by which religion and civilization are ultimately to fill the earth, as the waters cover the sea? What the Roman Empire was to the introduc- tion of Christianity and all its consequent blessings into Europe, will the Anglo-Indian Empire probably be to the same grand result in Eastern Asia. We now behold almost for the first time within the records of history, the population of Hindostan in profound peace. We see them under a government which leaves to its subjects the full enjoyment of opinion, and con- nected with a race of people whose philanthropy is eager to diffuse into every accessible quarter the blessings of their own high civilization. Missionaries not of Christianity only, but of Anglo-Saxon sentiment, have been poured into India both from BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. 323 Great Britain and this country; and, though they have yet made few converts, they have somewhat weakened, by their repeated assaults, the breastwork of ignorance and superstition which has closed their access to the hearts of the natives. Having found that the Gospel, preached to minds wholly un- prepared for its reception, was seed sown among thorns, they have adopted the wiser plan of cultivating the virgin soil of the young mind, and, by an extensive system of education, are now clearing the way for much future good. It is true that the number of those who go forth from the schools under their care, are apparently almost lost in the mass of the population; yet each one who has caught the fire of truth in his heart, will be- come the centre of a circle of illumination; and, if the same system be continued, aided as it is likely to be by the encour- agement of the government, new centres and new circles of light will be gradually diffused, till India shall be enabled to see her errors, and induced to join heartily in the work of her own regeneration. The press is contributing to the same end by distributing religious and scientific truth through every channel of circulation, and by affording to indigenous talent a new theatre upon which to display its powers, and to gratify its spirit of philanthropy and ambition. I should, however, con- vey a false impression, were 1 to leave with any portion of the audience the belief that great progress has yet been made in the illumination of India. To the eye turning from the brightness of the Christian world, and surveying for the first time the gen- eral society of Hindostan, all would still appear as in the black- ness of midnight. But to the accustomed sight, a dawning light is plainly visible ; and as surely as the sun will rise on the morrow, so surely will this light brighten into a glorious day, if no great national misfortune shall rise up to overcloud the pros- pect. Such a misfortune would, I conceive, be the separation of Hindostan at the present moment, or within a short period, from the controlling influence of Great Britain. 324 BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. Did time permit, it would be highly interesting to inquire, what are the dangers which threaten the British authority, and what the probabilities of its duration? It might, I think, be demonstrated, without difficulty, that so long as Great Britain shall retain the springs of her power at home unimpaired, little danger is to be apprehended from any exterior source to her dominion in the East. Some pretend to see in the power of the Czar, the cloud which is one day to rush down upon India, and sweep all resistance before it. But when we reflect, that the Company's dominions are far more populous than those of the Russian Emperor; that their revenues are larger; that the warlike portion of the inhabitants are, under proper guidance, scarcely less brave than the Russians, while they have the advantage of being inured to the climate; that already there is in Hindostan an organized army, provided with the best officers and with all the material of war, at least twice as large as any Russian force which could possibly be marched against it; when we consider, besides, that England, by her command of the sea, is practically nearer to India than her rival, and could send thither a given body of troops in a shorter time, while her superiority in pecuniary resources would in various ways give her infinite advantages in the contest; when all these considerations are taken into view, any fears of change from the interposition of Russia must appear altogether chi- merical. It is only from within that real dangers are to be appre- hended. I have already, in the former parts of this discourse, hinted at some possible sources of revolution; but there are none which a little caution and foresight may not avoid, at least for a long time to come; and, if a prudent regard continue to be paid to the feelings and prejudices of the natives, the British Empire in India may yet have a duration of centuries. Danger from internal sources is very much diminished by the want of BRITISH EMPIRE IN INDIA. 325 any common feeling or principle of combination among the people. The inhabitants of different portions of Hindostan are not less distinct than those of Europe in language, religion, habits, and physical character ; and this difference is also found, to a considerable extent, even in the same community; so that any insurrection which might break out in, one part of the country, or among one portion of the population, would prob- ably find no sympathy or support in other sections or in dif- ferent classes, and would therefore be readily suppressed. But the fortunes of India and Great Britain are not to be forever united. The English themselves, even those who have laboured most assiduously in the consolidation of the Indian Empire, look forward to an ultimate separation. They look forward to the time, when, through the agency of causes brought to bear upon the people of India by their present political relations, they will have become enlightened, refined, elevated in sentiment and conduct; when the adoption of a pure religion will have cleansed away the moral foulness which now corrupts every spring of action ; when their long union under one common government will have given them a feeling of political identity, a spirit of nationality and patriotism, which may lead them to desire an independence, for which their ex- panded intelligence and purer morality shall have fitted them. When thus ripe for self-government, may we not reasonably hope, that India will fall off spontaneously and peaceably from her long attachment, and, either as one or as several people, take her place in that brotherhood of nations, which, in America, in Africa, and in Australasia, will have owed their origin or civilization directly or indirectly to Great Britain, and will con- tinue to revere the name and cherish the institutions of this mother of empires, when she herself shall have fallen into the decrepitude of age, or have gone to join her predecessors in the realms of history ? BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS. ENGRAVED BTAJI.RITCHIF. FROM A T)AGORREOT1PE HTM.P SIMONS »' L^ & K! K [L D Kl © A © CH] [I M*® a IN THE JEFFEESONME/JJCA/, COLLEGE OFTHUMIELPEW. Fhdad" Pub J by Vt iiarnson,. Afi -' 'S,. Z*;:' I. BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF DR. FRANKLIN BACHE, BEING AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF PHILADELPHIA, MAY 3, and JUNE 7,1865. The duty assigned me by the College of Physicians of pre- paring a biographical memoir of their deceased Vice-president, Dr. Franklin Bache, is a very grateful one. I have felt that our long intimacy and friendship demanded of me such a tribute to his memory; yet, without an invitation of this kind, I might have hesitated, under the fear of rendering myself liable to the imputation of officiousness. At present, my only doubt on the subject is one arising from the very closeness of our former association. Not only in our social relations, but in much also of our practical life, we have been so intimately connected; so much of our time has been spent together, and so much of our work has been in common; that it will be impossible to give a faithful picture of our departed friend, without bringing my- self more frequently on the stage than may seem consistent with a becoming modesty. But I trust that the Fellows of the (329) 330 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF College will be prepared to make all due allowances, and to ascribe to a simple wish to present the truth accurately, what- ever I may be required to say of the joint pursuits of the de- ceased and myself. It will be difficult to compress, within the limits usually assigned to memoirs like the present, all that will be necessary to give a faithful picture of the life of Dr. Bache in its various relations; but I shall endeavour to be as concise as will be consistent with justice to the subject, avoiding minute detail unless when needful for the illustration of character, or pecu- liarly interesting in itself; and referring but briefly to certain circumstances in his history which may be more appropriately presented in another memoir, the preparation of which has been committed to me by the American Philosophical Society. Dr. Bache was the great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin, and the eldest in the regular line of descent from that great philoso- pher, statesman, and philanthropist. His grandfather, Richard Bache, born in England in September, 1737, emigrated while yet a young man to Pennsylvania, and married Sarah, the only daughter of Dr. Franklin, in October, 1767. While in England, in the year 1853, the late Dr. Bache and myself made a visit together to the Cathedral at Chester, where his attention was particularly attracted to the repeated occurrence of the name of Bache among the monumental inscriptions. We learned that the name belonged to a family resident in the neighbourhood; and my companion thought it highly probable that they were related to his own, as the home of his grandfather had been near Preston, in Lancashire, at no great distance from Chester. I mention this incident as tending to show that his paternal ancestors ranked with the gentry of England. The oldest child of the marriage just referred to was Benjamin Franklin Bache, the father of the subject of this memoir, who was born in August, 1769, and married in November, 1791, in DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 331 his twenty-third year, Margaret Hartman Markoe, descended through her father from Peter Markoe, and through her mother from Isaac Hartman, names distinguished in the social annals of our city. Benjamin Franklin Bache was educated under the eye of his grandfather, Dr. Franklin, while minister of the United States in France, who gave him the best opportunities Europe afforded, and caused him to be instructed, not only in the usual knowledge of the schools, but in all the accomplish- ments then considered as entering into the idea of a finished gentleman. On returning to America, he soon entered the political arena, established the Aurora newspaper in the in- terest of the Democratic party, and, considering his own qualifi- cations, the prestige of his descent, and the success and long predominance of his party, would probably, had he lived, have attained a most distinguished position in the government of the country. But he was cut off at an early age, dying of the yel- low fever in September, 1798, in his thirtieth year, and leaving a widow with four sons, the eldest of whom was the late Dr. Franklin Bache, and the youngest Hartman Bache, now Colonel in the U. States Corps of Engineers. In the care of her young family, the mother was aided by her second husband, William Duane, who had succeeded Mr. Bache in the editorship of the Aurora, and of whose kindly interest in their welfare, I have heard my lamented friend speak in warm terms. Dr. Bache was born on the 25th of October, 1792, in a house built and owned by Dr. Franklin, on the south side of Market Street, between Third and Fourth Streets, in the vicinity of Dr. Franklin's own residence, and, as I have been informed, in that also of the dwelling which had been occupied by Mr. Read, the father of Mrs. Franklin. From the time of his birth to that of his decease, with the exception of the few years spent as a medical officer in the service of the United States, he resided in Philadelphia, where he received both his ordinary and profes- 332 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF sional education, and which, with the exception alluded to, was throughout life the scene of his labours. In childhood and youth, however, he passed much of the summer, during the vacation of the schools, at the residence of his paternal grand- father, Richard Bache, situated on the Pennsylvania side of the River Delaware, a few miles below Bristol. He used to speak, with not a little zest, of the enjoyments of those rural visits ; and there can be little doubt that the sports of boyhood in the pure air of the country, with the attendant relaxation from mental effort, contributed to give that healthful vigour to his constitution, which enabled it to support the wearing effect of the sedentary labour that occupied so large a portion of his subsequent life. Contrary to what might be supposed by those who knew him only in middle and advanced age, he was when young very fond of athletic exercises, and, indeed, excelled in them ; so that there were few more rapid walkers, or better leapers, swimmers, or skaters than he; and the fact is told of him, that, at the age of twelve, he swam across the Delaware near his grand- father's bouse, though, on reaching the opposite bank, be was so much exhausted as to be compelled to return in a ferry- boat. In his early classical studies, he was a pupil in the academy of the Rev. Samuel B. Wylie, D.D., so long and so creditably known as a teacher of the Latin and Greek languages, under whose care he was prepared for the University. 'An anecdote has been told of him, in connection with this school, so strongly characteristic that it is worthy of repetition here. The rod was much more used at that time as an instrument of education than it now is. For some breach of discipline, young Bache was called up for chastisement; and, being asked what, in his own opinion, he merited for his offence, he replied, "it is not for me to dictate;" an answer which so much pleased Dr. Wylie DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 333 that he remitted the punishment altogether. Few features of his character as a man were more decided than the one here displayed in early youth ; a love of precision, namely, which required that everything should be in its proper place, and which in this.instance taught him, as if intuitively, that it is the duty of the judge, and not of the culprit, to assign the pun- ishment of an offence. But the anecdote tells also something more. It intimates a very favourable opinion of the pupil on the part of the teacher, who felt that he might safely appeal to the judgment and conscientiousness of the offender in his own case. The anecdote was told by Dr. Wylie himself, then Pro- fessor of Languages in the University of Pennsylvania, to a son of Dr. Bache, on his examination for admission into the Fresh- man Class. On leaving the academy of Dr. Wylie, Mr. Bache entered the University, where he went through a regular course of study in the Department of Arts, and graduated as Bachelor at the commencement in 1810, delivering the valedictory oration on the occasion. Having determined to adopt the medical profession, he com- menced his studies as th# private pupil of Dr. Benjamin Rush, then Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, and remained in the same office during the whole period of his studentship; though, in conse- quence of the decease of the professor, the duty of superintend- ing the studies of his office pupils devolved on his son, the present Dr. James Rush. After matriculation in the University, he attended lectures in that institution for the prescribed period, and received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in the year 1814. I have seldom heard him speak of this portion of his life, and have learned little or nothing from others; so that it probably passed without remarkable incident, occupied by a regular routine of study, which left few footprints in the memory, except those of steadily increasing professional knowledge. 334 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF This, however, is not exactly true of the period of his pupil- age immediately preceding its close. It was while he was engaged in his medical studies that the war broke out between the United States and Great Britain. Wishing to aid his country to the best of his ability, without waiting till the full completion of his studies, he offered his services in a medical capacity, and was entered as surgeon's mate in the 32d Regiment of infantry, so early as May 17th, 1813.* It is to be presumed that the authorities considered the interests of the service as likely to be best subserved by per- mitting him to finish his studies before ordering him on distant duty; as it was not till some months after this date that he was examined for his degree, and received the diploma of the school. He has more than once informed me that he was never actually engaged in battle; but, after his graduation, he was sent to the frontier, where he served for a considerable time, remaining with the same regiment until the close of the war. In the arrangements of the army, after peace was established, he was retained as surgeon of the 2d Regiment of infantry; but, having higher professional aspirations than were likely to be gratified by remaining in the army, now that his country no longer needed his services, he resigned July 1st, 1816, in order to engage in the private practice of his profession in his native city. His last place of military service, as I have been in- formed by Colonel Bache, was Sackett's Harbour. On his way homeward from the North, an incident occurred, which I have heard him speak of as among the freaks of his earlier life, and which may be related here as a proof that, beneath the remarkable placidity of temper that characterized him beyond most others, there lurked a spark, which required * He afterwards became surgeon in the same regiment. (Dr. Bache'a Memoranda.) DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 335 only fit occasion to blaze out into energetic action. With other passengers, one or more of whom were of the softer sex, he was travelling in a stage-coach from New York to Philadelphia, when, at a part of the road somewhat beyond Princeton, he noticed that the driver was intoxicated, and, from his mode of managing the horses, apprehended that some mischief might ensue. After remonstrating with the man without effect, at least without other effect than impertinent replies, he by a powerful muscular effort unseated him, got possession of the lines, and drove the coach himself safely into Princeton. Whether the dispossessed coachman was taken into the town with them, or left upon the road, I do not remember; but, considering the doctor's great kindliness of disposition, the former event is the more probable. Though no longer officially connected with the army, he was, for several years after having engaged in practice in Phila- delphia, occasionally employed in certain military duties, as, for example, in the examination of recruits, and in attendance on army officers stationed in the city who might require medical aid, and was thus enabled to eke out a very inadequate income, while awaiting the lingering approach of professional success. In this service he was still engaged when I first made his ac- quaintance ; and I well remember, in my visits to his office, now and then finding him with a recruit under examination. At a very early period of his professional life, Dr. Bache's attention seems to have been especially attracted to the science of chemistry, which is well calculated to take a strong hold on the partiality of a man of his mental characteristics.* There * His predilection for chemistry showed itself very soon after the com- mencement of his medical studies. I have found, in looking over some of his memoranda kindly furnished me by his son, Dr. T. Hewson Bache, that, so early as some time in 1811, he published in the Aurora news- 336 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF is in its accuracy, the precision of its formulas and rationales, its demonstrative character, and its highly important practical results, a peculiar adaptedness to the love of the true, the methodical, the certain, and the useful, which was so promi- nent in his moral nature. He accordingly devoted much time to this science, mastered its principles and most of its details, and particularly attached himself to the at that time new doctrine of chemical equivalents, with which he became thor- • oughly conversant, and which he was among the first in this country to adopt unreservedly, and to aid in bringing into general acceptance. His devotion to the science soon found expression in a Treatise on Chemistry, which he must have begun to prepare soon after his return from the army, and published in 1819. Of the character of this work I may have occasion to say something elsewhere. Its success was not very encouraging to the young author; and, in the face of so much competition as even then existed, without the support of an established name or business influence, and labouring under the disadvantages which the want of an international copyright law inflicts on American authorship, it could scarcely be expected to be successful, however great might be its merits. It never went through more than one edition. In after times, when he had become known both as an author and teacher, I often urged upon him either to revise this treatise, or prepare a new one for publication, having no doubt that it would prove eminently successful, and contribute both to his reputation and income; and at one time he yielded so far to my instances as to enter upon the task, and prepared an amount of manuscript, paper an essay " On the Probable Composition of Muriatic Acid;" and in the course of 1813, while still a student, communicated three chemical papers to the "Memoirs of the Columbia Chemical Society of Phila- delphia," an octavo volume containing 221 pages DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 337 which he supposed would yield one hundred printed pages. But, whether unable to overcome a distaste arising from his early disappointment, or unwilling to spare sufficient time from other avocations, he prosecuted the work no further at the time, and could never afterwards be induced to resume it.* His first attempt at lecturing was in the same direction. The lectures were on the subject of Chemistry, and, as I was in- formed by his brother, Colonel Bache, were delivered, about the year 1821, to a class consisting exclusively of his brothers, sisters, and other members of his family. They were afterwards repeated, on a somewhat larger stage, to the private pupils of Dr. Thos T. Hewson, who, deeming it advisable to follow the custom, then beginning to prevail, of adding lectures to the former method of office-instruction, engaged the services of his young friend Dr. Bache in this branch of medical science ; about the same time, I believe, that Dr. J. K.'Mitchell was lecturing on the same subject to the students of Dr. Chapman, and the writer of this memoir to those of Dr. Parrish. It may not be amiss to state, in this place, that Dr. Hewson always exhibited a friendly interest in Dr. Bache, not only opening for him, as in * Besides writing his Treatise on Chemistry, Dr Bache edited, jointly with Dr. Hare, a.d. 1821, the first American edition of Tire's Diction- ary of Chemistry; wrote a supplement, a d. 1823, to Henry's Chemistry, constituting a third though a thin volume in the edition of that work published by De Silver; edited, a.d. 1825, a System of Pyrotechny, by Dr. James Cutbush, who died immediately after he had completed the manuscript; edited, A D. 1830, 1832, 1835, and 1840, four successive edi- tions of Turner's Chemistry; and wrote, a.d. 1834, for the "American Cyclopaedia of Medicine and Surgery," edited by Dr. Isaac Hays, of which only two volumes were published, the articles on Acetates, Acetic Acid, Acids, Acupuncture, Albumen, Alcohol, Alkalies, Alum, Alumina, Amber, and Ammonia in the first volume, and on Antidotes, Antimony, A^partic Acid, and Atomic Theory in the second. (Dr. Bache's Memo- randa.) 22 33S BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF the present instance, paths for the exertion of his abilities, but seizin"- whatever opportunities offered themselves for promoting his professional welfare. Of these friendly offices Dr. Bache ever showed himself highly sensible, as evinced, among other proofs, by giving his name to his son, the present Dr. Thos. Hewson Bache, and by the dedication to him, in part, of the earlier editions of the U. S. Dispensatory. While upon the subject of lecturing, it will be most con- venient, without turning aside to other matters of record, to pursue this line of our biography to the end. The first public appointment of Dr. Bache as a lecturer was to the Professorship of Chemistry in the Franklin Institute, which took place in 1826. This chair he continued to hold, giving annually, in the winter, an elementary course, without special relation to medicine, till the year 1832, when he resigned it, in order to accept what he considered a more eligible position in the School of Pharmacy. In the mean time, however, his field of exertion, in this capacity, was enlarged by another appointment, which, as its duties were to be performed in the warmer seasons, did not interfere with the exercise of his professorial function. In the year 1830, two associations were organized for the instruction of medical pupils^ upon a combined system of lectures and examinations, which at that time had become the prevalent method of private medical tuition in this city. It was attended with two great advantages; first, that the pupil was much more thoroughly educated than before, and, secondly, that a set of teachers was thus formed, from among whom our great public schools were afterwards supplied with tried and trained professors, by whose instrumentality the former pre-eminence of Philadelphia, as a seat of medical instruction,, has been main- tained to the present time. The two combinations referred to were distinguished by the names of the Association for Medical DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 339 Instruction and the School of Medicine. In the former of these, in which the writer taught Materia Medica, Dr. Bache was the Lecturer on Chemistry, in the latter Dr. Ch. D. Meigs on Obstetrics.* Each of these bodies had desired to secure the co-operation of both of the gentlemen named; but, as they were already engaged as members of their respective schools, the object could be accomplished only by an interchange of services; and this was accordingly agreed upon ; the pupils of the School of Medicine being admitted to the course of Dr. Bache on Chem- istry, and those of the Association to that of Dr. Meigs on Mid- wifery. This arrangement continued in operation about five or six years, during which Dr. Bache gave two courses of lectures annually, one in the colder, the other in the warmer season. It has been already stated that he resigned his position in the Franklin Institute, on being appointed to the chair of Chemistry in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. This appointment was made in the year 1831, on the occasion of the vacation of that chair by myself, in order to take the Professorship of Ma- teria Medica in the same institution; so that we were now, and for several years continued to be associated both in our summer and winter teaching. Dr. Bache held the chair in the College of Pharmacy until appointed, in the year 1841, to the same Professorship in the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia; a position probably, at that time, scarcely second, as regards emolument, to any other of a.similar character whether in the * The Association for Medical Instruction consisted of Dr. Jos. Par- rish, who lectured on the Practice of Medicine, Dr. Franklin Bache on Chemistry, Dr. J. Rhea Barton on Surgery, Dr. Geo. B. Wood on Materia Medica, and Dr. Samuel G. Morton on Anatomy; the School of Medicine, of Dr. Wm. Gibson on the Principles of Surgery, Dr. J. Randolph on Operative Surgery, Dr. C. D. Meigs on Midwifery, Dr. B. H. Coates on the Practice of Medicine, and Dr. K. La Roche on the Institutes of Medicine. 340 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF United States or abroad. This position he continued to hold till his decease. Singular as it may seem, considering our long and close intimacy, I do not remember that I ever attended an ordinary lecture of Dr. Bache ; so that I cannot, from personal observa- tion, give an account of his peculiar qualities as a lecturer. But, from my intimate knowledge of the man, I can readily picture him to myself in the performance of his professorial duty; and, from what 1 have learned from frequent conversa- tion with his pupils, I have no doubt that the following sketch will be recognized, by those who have heard him, as very near the truth. In reference to his style of lecturing, he was slow and deliberate; correct in the choice and arrangement of his words, because from long habit he could scarcely be otherwise; simple and plain, however, without any attempt at metaphors or other flowers of speech, yet now and then indulging in a witticism or stroke of humour, and sometimes interlarding the dry details of the science with a ludicrous but still illustrative anecdote. As to the matter taught, he was extremely method- ical, clear in his explanations because clear in his own concep- tions, conscientiously precise in all his details, and leaving no dark spot in his subject unillumined. In his experimental illustrations he was almost invariably successful, as he left nothing to chance, and took care that all the necessary pre- liminaries of success should be duly attended to. Though lecturing extemporaneously so far as language wras concerned, he treated of everything in its proper place, omitting nothing undesignedly ; because he studied each lecture carefully before delivering it, and generally performed this duty at night before retiring, so as to be secure against interruptions in the morning. His manner had the earnestness of conviction, but was never- theless quiet, without the least display of warmth or excitement. To say all in a few words, he was a plain, clear, truthful, consci- DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 341 entious, and efficient, but not a showy, splendid, or peculiarly attractive lecturer; one from whose prelections the student would retire, with his thoughts more intent upon the subject taught than upon the teacher. We will now return to a period somewhat anterior to the commencement of his career as a lecturer upon chemistry. About two years after withdrawing from the army, on the 28th of May, 1818, he was united in marriage with Aglae, daughter of Jean Dabadie, a highly respectable French mer- chant, who was then living in Philadelphia, but soon afterwards removed to France, where he died. His son Albert, half-brother to Mrs. Bache, was long United States consul at Venice, and now resides at Nice, where Dr. Bache, who always had a most kindly regard for him, and gave his name to his youngest son, had the pleasure of meeting him, on our joint visit to Europe in 1853. This marriage was a very happy one, though unfor- tunately too soon broken by death. Mrs. Bache, as I remember her, was a lady of fine countenance and noble presence, with excellent moral qualities, amiable, intelligent, and judicious, who diminished for her husband, by sharing them, the embar- rassments of an inadequate income, and, whatever may have been his troubles abroad, at least made his home happy. But, most sorrowfully for her husband, after bearing with him the burdens of his earlier life, she was prematurely carried off by consumption, dying on the 26th of May, 1835, just about the period when his prospects began to brighten ; with the consola- tion, however, of a fair future for those she loved, though she herself might not participate in their better fortunes. She left him a young family of six children, sons and daughters, of whom five survive. The doctor, though in the prime of life when she died, remained faithful to her memory, and was still a widower at the time of his decease. Like most other young medical men who have commenced 342 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF their professional life in this city, he was very slow in obtain- ing practice. Indeed, though a well-informed and judicious practitioner, he never won professional success at all propor- tionate to his merits, or of itself adequate to the comfortable support of his family, This may be ascribed chiefly to two causes. In the first place, he was probably not sufficiently on the watch to seize those fugitive opportunities which present themselves in the path of almost every candidate for success, and was certainly very deficient in that self-assertion, which, without waiting for the interference of others, makes known one's own claims to a careless public, and a due degree of which is almost essential, in the absence of powerful aid from friends and connections. But the second cause was probably still more operative. For great success in the practice of medicine an un- divided attention is necessary. Medicine is said to be a jealous mistress, who requires the entire devotion of her votaries, and is alienated by even a suspicion of infidelity. The public, when observing an apparent addiction to any other pursuit, is apt to consider the time and energy given to this as so much abstracted from the necessary requirements, whether of the study of medi- cine as a science, or its practice as an art, and to withhold its confidence and patronage accordingly. Even chemistry, closely as it is allied, and, indeed, essential as it is to medicine, is not an exception to this rule; and, unless cultivated obviously and exclusively in subservience to the practice of the healing art, will be found almost invariably to impede professional progress in a greater or less degree. Dr. Bache was known from an early period of life to have addicted himself to this science, and I have no doubt experienced the effects of this reputation in the limita- tion of the number of his patients. He was appointed physician of the Walnut Street State-prison in 1824, and of the Eastern Penitentiary at Cherry-hill in 1829, and continued to serve in these positions until 1836, when his DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 343 increased avocations rendered his resignation necessary. It is scarcely requisite to say that he performed their duties faith- fully and satisfactorily to all concerned. An evidence of the conscientiousness with which he acted is exhibited in the earn- estness of his measures to guard the inmates from the attack of cholera, which made its appearance among us epidemically in 1832, during his connection with those establishments. The crowded condition of the old Walnut Street prison, in the heart of the city, offered one of the conditions most favourable to the assault of the disease; and the terrible fatality which attended its prevalence in the Arch Street prison, situated less unfavour- ably, because in a less thickly-built neighbourhood, intimates how fearful may be the results of the want of due hygienic pre- cautions in such institutions.* That the epidemic cause was present in the Walnut Street prison was sufficiently evinced by the occurrence of one fatal case of cholera, and other mild cases of disease of the stomach and bowels, such as generally attend its epidemic prevalence. As soon as he had reason to suppose that the disease was about to invade Philadelphia, he took in- stant measures, with the sanction of the Inspectors, to put the prison into a condition most unfavourable to the influence of the morbific cause. The diet of the inmates was regulated, cleanli- ness of the person and apartments was rigidly enforced, all filth and other sources of noxious exhalation were removed whenever practicable from within the confines of the prison, disinfectants * Some of the young readers of this memoir may require to be informed that the Walnut Street prison was situated at the southeast corner of "V\ alnut and Sixth Streets, opposite to what is now known as Washing- ton Square, but was formerly named Potters' Field; and the Arch Street prison on the south side of Arch immediately west of Broad Street, with very few buildings near it. Many years have passed since these two prisons were removed; and their sites are now occupied by private houses. 344 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF were freely employed, and the prisoners were kept separate as far as possible, especially at night. In reference to this last point, it was desirable to have the greatest possible extent of space for the accommodation of the inmates. One large apart- ment was used for the storage of articles manufactured in the prison, while awaiting use or sale. This the doctor was de- sirous of having emptied ; but on that point he was resisted by the authorities. "What can we do with them?" said the In- spectors to him, when urging the removal of the goods. " Why," replied the doctor, "if you can do no better, carry them into the yard and burn them." He did not, however, gain his point until the awful fatality in the Arch Street prison became known, when he was authorized to do as he might think best. The consequence of all this care was that only one fatal case occurred within the prison; and this was the only case of cholera re- ported by him. On being asked why he did not report the milder cases, and thus gain the credit of their cure, he replied that when there was any reason to doubt the nature of the affection he always avoided giving it the name of cholera, as he feared lest the effects of terror on the prisoners might aggravate the disease, and even increase its prevalence; thus showing more regard for the good of his patients than for his own repu- tation. The same regulations were enforced at Cherry-hill so far as requisite; but the situation of that prison was so much more favourable, both as regards locality and internal arrange- ments, that not a symptom of the disease is said to have shown itself. His position in the two State-prisons naturally led a person of his thoughtful character to investigate the subject of peni- tentiary discipline; and his intimate contact with both the old and new systems, as in operation in the two prisons respectively, gave him excellent opportunities for the formation of just views. The results of his reflections were given in two letters, dated, DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 345 the one March 13th, 1829, the other October 16th, 1830, which were published both in a pamphlet form, and in the third and sixth volumes of Hazard's Register. For the first ten or twelve years of his professional life, the income of Dr. Bache was so inadequate to the wants of his family, and the prospect before him seemed so unpromising, that, as his brother Colonel Bache informed me, he on more than one occasion seriously contemplated removing to the West in search of better fortunes; and it was only by the remon- strances of his near relatives, who were confident that he would ultimately rise to distinction, that he was induced to remain. It was not till 1835 or 1836 that his prospects began decidedly to brighten. An assured income from the U. S. Dispensatory now united with that from his practice and other sources to make him quite comfortable; and his appointment to the Chemical chair in the Jefferson College, but a few years afterwards, placed him in a position of comparative affluence. In the life of Dr. Bache there were three series of incidents, arising from his connection with three different societies, each of which requires a distinct consideration. The three societies referred to were the American Philosophical Society, the Kappa Lambda Society, and the College of Physicians. After accom- panying me through a narration of as many of these incidents as we shall have time to notice, the Fellows of the College will, I think, be prepared to agree with me in considering the influ- ence of such associations on the lives of their members often very beneficent, and in the opinion that a young man thus con- nected, if disposed to take advantage of his opportunities, will have much greater chances of distinction and usefulness than if isolated in his course of life. As regards Dr. Bache's relations with the first-mentioned association, the American Philosophical Society, I shall have occasion to speak fully elsewhere. In this place it is sufficient 346 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF to say that he became a member April 21st, 1820, and, after occupying successively almost every official position, distin- guishing himself in all by a close attention to their duties, was chosen President January 7th, 1853 ; a distinction, independ- ently of his personal claims, highly becoming him as the eldest descendant of the founder and first President of the Society, Dr. Benjamin Franklin. In consequence of a by-law of the Society then in force, limiting the duration of the presidency to two years, his term of office expired in 1855; and subse- quently, when, partly through his instrumentality, this by-law was abrogated, and the old rule of indefinite re-eligibility re- stored, he positively declined to allow his name to be used as a candidate, though he would undoubtedly have been re-elected, had he done so. He lost, however, none of his interest in the Society, and, as long as he lived, continued to attend its meet- ings regularly, and to participate actively in its proceedings. You have all, I presume, heard of that peculiar Philadelphia institution, the Wistar Club, or as some of its members prefer to name it, the Wistar Party. This is an offshoot of the Amer- ican Philosophical Society, and originated in the custom of Dr. Caspar Wistar, a former President of the Society, and at the same time Professor of Anatomy in the University of Pennsyl- vania, of entertaining at his house, on a particular evening every week, a select number of members, and other invited guests, citizens, or strangers who might happen to be in town, especially those of any scientific pretensions. After the decease of Dr. Wistar, which happened in the year 1818, a number of the members of the Society, who had been frequent guests on these occasions, united to form a club, with the view of con- tinuing the meetings. The simple rules of the club were that it should consist exclusively of members of the American Philosophical Society, that none should be admitted unless by a unanimous vote, and that entertainments should be given DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 347 every Saturday evening by the members successively ; and care was taken so to limit the numbers composing the club that one party during the season, which usually extended from October to April, should be given by each individual. The entertain- ments, extremely frugal, and wisely so, in the time of Dr. Wistar, gradually degenerated into extravagance with his suc- cessors ; so that it was at last deemed necessary to adopt cer- tain sumptuary regulations, which, however, were not always found sufficient to restrain expenditure within the limits of moderation. Dr. Bache was an active member of this associa- tion, regular in the performance of its duties and in attendance, and by his social qualities contributed not a little to the attrac- tiveness of the parties. He continued to be a member so long as he lived. I have always regarded the Wistar Club, not merely as an ornamental feature of Philadelphia society, but as a very useful social institution; bringing as it did persons to- gether of various pursuits, who would not otherwise perhaps have met, thus removing prejudices, and conciliating friendly feeling; and, by a regulation regarding strangers which gave each member the right to introduce one or more to the meet- ings, facilitating their intercourse with citizens, and contributing to the reputation of our city for hospitality. At the breaking out of the great rebellion, the meetings of the club were, I think wisely, suspended; but we may hope that they will be resumed with the return of peace. We are next to consider those events in the life of Dr. Bache which had their source in his membership in the Kappa Lambda Society. This association, which was exclusively medical, was founded about the year 1822, by Dr. Samuel Brown, of Ken- tucky, who designed that it should extend throughout the Union, with branches in different localities, affiliated in one brotherhood, and bound together by community of principle and aim. The great object of the association was to elevate 348 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF the character of the medical profession not only in scientific attainment, but also and especially in its ethical relations. Prominent above all other aims, at least in the branch of the society established in Philadelphia, were the maintenance of harmony among its members, and the promotion of harmony as far as possible in the profession generally. In the beginning it was necessarily a secret association. An essential point in its constitution was that all its members should be on friendly terms together; and, after its first formation, no one could be admitted unless by unanimous consent. In the weakness of infancy, it could easily have been crushed by the superior strength of those, who, from their mutually unfriendly rela- tions, could not be admitted as members. When it became stronger with age, there was no hesitation in making known its existence and purposes. One danger threatened it, growing out of its peculiar constitution, that, namely, of degenerating into cliques, with interests distinct from those of the outside members of the profession, if not hostile to them. Whatever may have happened elsewhere, we fortunately escaped the danger in this city. The Kappa Lambda Society of Phila- delphia increased so rapidly that it soon embraced a large proportion of the profession in this locality, and was thus placed beyond the chance of being used as an instrument of selfish purposes. Indeed, its influence among us was purely beneficent; and, when it went out of existence, it probably did so because it had accomplished its objects as far as could be done by mere association, and there was no further use for it. Formerly the profession was anything but harmonious in Phila- delphia ; and unseemly disputes exposed it to the derision of its enemies, and the disapproval of the public. It was, I think, mainly through the influence, immediate or remote, of the Kappa Lambda Society, that this contentious spirit was superseded by a remarkable degree of harmony, which has been handed down DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 349 to the present times; so that there is probably no place in the world of equal size, where medical men in general have more cordial relations among themselves, and where open enmities or disputatious wrangling would be more discreditable. An incident which occurred at my own house some years since will serve to illustrate this statement. There were at that time at least three regular incorporated medical schools in the city. At my Wistar party for the season, there were present one or more of the Professors from each of these schools; and among the guests was a stranger, himself also a physician, from a somewhat remote part of our country less characterized by a spirit of concord. Before the close of the evening the stranger approached me, and, in a confidential manner, expressed his astonishment at seeing so many persons of interests so oppo- site, not only met together, but apparently on the best possible terms. "I should have expected," he said, "to see them at daggers' points; but so far from that, they converse freely with one another, and, indeed, seem as if they might really be friends. How do you explain it?" I contented myself with answering that it was the fashion in Philadelphia. Dr. Bache was among the earliest admitted members of the Kappa Lambda Society, and in 1828 one of its Vice-presidents, was thoroughly imbued with its spirit, and fully performed his part in the accomplishment of its purposes.* Among the measures adopted at an early period for the promotion of its ends, was the institution of a quarterly medical journal, con- ducted by a committee of the Society, and entitled the North American Medical and Surgical Journal. The first number * My friend Dr. R. La Roche informs me that, as first instituted in Philadelphia, the Society consisted of only four members; himself, Dr. Saml. Jackson, afterwards Professor of the Institutes of Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. C. D. Meigs, and Dr. Thos. Harris. 350 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF appeared in January, 1826, and the last in October, 1831; so that it had a duration of six years. The editorial committee to whom the work was intrusted, and whose names at first appeared, as the only responsible conductors, on the title-page, were Drs. R. La Roche, H. L. Hodge, Franklin Bache, C. D. Meigs, and B. H. Coates. The connection of the Journal with the Society was not made public until announced by the editors, on the appearance of the seventh number; and the editorial corps was about the same time increased by the addition to the five original members of Dr. John Bell, Dr. D. F. Condie, and my- self, who bad, however, co-operated with the committee from the beginning. Much of Dr. Bache's time was for six years given to this Journal, to which he contributed original articles and reviews, and his due share of the quarterly summary, which was very copious and complete.* When, moreover, the editors took upon themselves, in part, the pecuniary responsibility of the Journal some time before its close, it was on Dr. Bache that they chiefly relied as their financial agent; and to his accuracy and care that they probably owed their escape from pecuniary loss. It is but just to his memory to say that all his services to the Journal were entirely gratuitous; and when the editors became in part proprietors, it was in no mercenary spirit; for all the profits, whatever they might be, were pledged for the payment of contributors. Though myself a participant in the management, yet there were so many others concerned that 1 may be permitted to say, without exposing myself to the * The following were the papers and reviews contributed by him to this work: In vol. i., a Paper on Acupuncturation, and a Review of Dr. Thos. Thomson's "First Principles of Chemistry;" vol. ii., a Review of " Prout on Diabetes, Calculus, etc.;" vol. vi., a Case of Obstructed Bowels (of remarkable interest); vol. ix., Report of Selected Cases; vol. x., Re- view of Christison on Poisons; and vol. xi., a Review of Dr. Southwood Smith on Fevers. (Dr. Bache's Memoranda.) DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 351 imputation of inordinate self-esteem, that the Journal was admirably well conducted, replete, especially in its earlier volumes, with valuable original matter, and, taken altogether, probably inferior to none of the same period in the English language. No writer on practical medicine could do justice to his subject, without a frequent appeal to its pages directly or indirectly. But the consequences to Dr. Bache of his membership in the Kappa Lambda Society did not cease with the cessation of the Journal. The eight editors, who had been so long and so agree- ably associated, meeting often and always with pleasure in conducting the literary business of the Journal, had contracted mutual friendships which forbade a separation, and a return to their former relations of mere professional brotherhood. They resolved, therefore, at the suggestion, if I remember rightly, of Dr. La Roche, to remain associated under the name of the Medical Club, with the understanding that they should meet, one evening in the week, in the houses of the several members successively, for the purpose solely of friendly social intercourse. In order to avoid the rock on which such associ- ations are so apt to split, they made at the beginning a firm resolution, which was never afterwards departed from, to re- strict the eating and drinking to simple cakes or bread and butter with tea and coffee; and, in order to extend the social action of the club, they agreed that the host of the evening might invite a few medical friends, and that each member should have the privilege of taking with him one or more strangers, belonging to the profession, who might happen to be in town. These resolutions were carried into effect, and the club continued in more or less regular operation till the decease of Dr. Bache. The meetings were often very happy; and I presume that there is not one of us who does not look back upon them with unalloyed satisfaction, except from the 352 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF intrusive thought that the original members can never all meet again in this world. No one contributed more to the general enjoyment than Dr. Bache, who, on these occasions, often re- laxed from the calm seriousness habitual with him to promote general good humour by joke, witticism, pleasantry, or ludi- crous anecdote, all uttered in a quiet manner, which added to their effect. It is a singular fact, in relation to this club, that, though formed so early as January 15th, 1833, and consisting of persons then entering into middle life, and some of them in delicate health, it did not lose by death a single one of its original members until the decease of Dr. Bache, that is, during a period of more than thirty years. The fact at least speaks well for the habits of the members ; and it is worthy of note that all or nearly all of them belonged to the original Temper- ance Society of Philadelphia. The late Dr. Henry Bond was one of the members of the club; but he joined it considerably after its formation, and, with the exception of Dr. S. H. Dick- son, was the only one ever admitted. The Medical Club has been a prolific parent, and has always looked with maternal satisfaction on her progeny; though, like most other mothers, apt sometimes to scold the younger ones a little, for what, looking perhaps on her own' abstemiousness with rather too much self-approbation, she is disposed to regard as an approach to extravagance. It remains to speak of Dr. Bache's relations with the College of Physicians. No other society had so great or so beneficent an influence on his course of life. He became a Fellow of the College in April, 1829, aud Yice-president in July, 1855. How regular he was in attendance, how much interested in the pro- ceedings, how judicious in his advice and admonitions, and how open to conviction and ready to yield when convinced, most of you can remember as well as myself. When the Fellows were called on for contributions, especially towards the building DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 353 fund which has brought into existence this noble edifice, his purse was always open, with a liberality perhaps dispropor- tionate to his means; and, when the time came for the use of the fund, his judgment, as one of the building committee, aided materially in its judicious application. In consequence of the absence of the President of the College in Europe, he presided for more than two years in 1860, 1861, and 1862, over your meetings. It is not, however, my purpose to particularize all the services he rendered the College, or all the several pro- ceedings in which he was especially concerned. I shall men- tion further only one series of its operations, in which he largely participated, and which, in its general influence on the welfare of the profession, and through it on the good of the country at large, entitles it, and will ever entitle it, to the gratitude of the nation as one of its benefactors. I allude to the action of the College in reference to the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, which began with the inception of that work, was concerned far more than that of any other institution in its improvement, progress, and ultimate establishment as the recognized national standard, has continued with unabated zeal to the present time, and will, I hope, be extended indefinitely into the future. At the same meeting at which he was elected a Fellow of the College, Dr. Bache was appointed one of a committee to revise the Pharmacopoeia. The first Pharmacopoeia of the United States was published in Boston in 1820, under the authority of a convention which met at Washington, representing incorporated medical institu- tions in various parts of the Union. In other civilized countries, works of this kind are usually prepared directly or indirectly under governmental authority, and have in a greater or less de- gree the sanction of law. In ours, unfortunately, no regulating power over the medical profession was given in the Constitu- tion to the General Government, so that this power is reserved to the States. We cannot, therefore, have one general pharma- 23 354 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF copoeia with legal sanction; and it is not desirable that the several States should exercise their reserved power in this direction, because, though we might thus have pharmacopoeias with the authority of law, they would almost necessarily be more or less discordant and conflicting; and we should thus fall, even in a greater degree, into that mischievous confusion, from which the profession in Great Britain had but just escaped by the incorporation of the three British Pharmacopoeias into one. Under the circumstances of our political constitution, the establishment and regulation of the Pharmacopoeia have been wisely left to the care of the profession itself. It was from a strong conviction of the necessity of such a regulating code, that the movement took place which eventuated in the Pharma- copoeia of 1820, and in which our College, though it did not then take the lead, nevertheless zealously co-operated. But the work, though creditable as a first attempt, was in many respects so incorrect and defective that it failed to command general acceptance, and, at the end of ten years, which had been fixed on for its revision, seemed, except in some limited localities, to have been almost forgotten. Happily, the late Dr. Thos. T. Hewson, afterwards President of the College, having been a delegate from this body to the Convention of 1820, by authority of which the Pharmacopoeia had been published, retained his in- terest in the work, and brought the subject of its revision to the notice of the Fellows. A committee of revision was accordingly appointed, early in 1829, consisting of Dr. Hewson, Dr. Bache, and myself; the last two having been chosen, the former for his well-known chemical knowledge, the latter, I presume, from the consideration that, having been for several years delivering courses, of lectures on Materia Medica, it was supposed that he might know something of the subject.* Beginning its labours * The U. S. Pharmacopoeia had, before this time, engaged the particular attention of Dr. Bache; as a review of the first edition of it, that of the DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 355 immediately, the committee worked diligently for eight or nine months, and at the end of that time were enabled to present to the College the completed draught of a pharmacopoeia, which had little resemblance to the original except in the general plan, and a few great characteristic features. The College adopted the revised work, and, having appointed Dr. Bache and myself delegates to represent them in the approaching Decennial Con- vention, to meet in Washington in January, 1830, intrusted it to us, to be presented to the Convention as the contribution of the College towards the new Pharmacopoeia. So little interest was generally felt in the subject, that, on reaching Washington, the delegates of the College found few others present, and the whole number which entered the Convention did not exceed eight from five different societies. Nevertheless, they organized themselves regularly, and, proceeding to business, received the report of the Philadelphia delegates, and, having adopted it, referred it for further revision and ultimate publication to a com- mittee, consisting of physicians from different parts of the United States, to meet at as early a period as possible at Philadelphia, with Dr. Hewson as Chairman. After the adjournment of the Convention, measures were immediately taken to carry its views into effect; and several copies of the work were made, and trans- mitted to distant members of the revising committee. Without entering further into detail, it will be sufficient to say that the draught was generally approved, and, with some slight modifi- cations, was referred for publication to a sub-committee, con- sisting of the three members of the College by whom it had been originally prepared. But, before allowing it to go to press, so desirous was the committee that it should receive the ap- proval of all who might afterwards be practically concerned, year 1820, had been written by him, and published in the'first volume of the American Recorder, in the year 1821. 356 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF that it was submitted to the scrutiny of the Philadelphia Col- lege of Pharmacy, which, after careful examination by a com- mittee, returned it with their indorsement, making, however, certain valuable suggestions, of which the committee was happy to avail itself. The work was at ^length put to press, and was published in April, 1831; the same care being exercised to pre- vent errors in printing, as had been extended to it in every stage of its progress. Happily, the new Pharmacopoeia was generally approved as it became known, and, in the end, was universally received both by the medical and pharmaceutical professions as the standard for the whole Union, and morally as obligatory as if it had been brought forth under the sanction of law. A re- gard for truth, however, compels me to say that the publication of the U.S. Dispensatory, which took place soon after, and of which the Pharmacopoeia had been adopted as the basis, con- tributed more than any other agency, and probably more than all other- agencies combined, to make it known and understood throughout the United States. On this point I shall have occasion to say more hereafter. At present I wish to confine your attention to the Pharmacopoeia, until all has been said that may be required to represent the connection of Dr. Bache with that work. So large a portion of his time, so much of his mental labour, and so great a share of his interest and solicitude, were for more than thirty years of the best portion of his life devoted to its preparation and improvement, and to the means of establishing it as the United States standard of Pharmacology, that it would be doing great injustice to his memory to pass lightly over his connection with it. Thus far, it will have been perceived that Dr. Bache partici- pated in every step of the revision, both the preliminary one by appointment of this College, and the final one under the author- ity of the Convention, as also in whatever was requisite in the publication of the new edition. The same precisely is true of DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 357 the subsequent editions; those namely put forth by the Con- ventions of 1840, 1850, and 1860. In reference to each of these editions, a revising committee was appointed by the College ; the revised copy prepared by this committee was sent to the Convention at Washington, where the College was represented by delegates; the new draught was referred with other contri- butions to a revising and publishing committee meeting in Philadelphia, by whom the work was ultimately prepared for publication, and then carried through the press ; and of all these bodies, the committee of the College, the Washington Conven- tion, and the final revising and publishing committee, Dr. Bache was a very attentive, laborious, and efficient member.* In the last revision, that, namely, which resulted in the recent publi- cation of the Pharmacopoeia, a.d. 1863, he had even heavier duty to perform than on the preceding occasions. In former revisions, it had been my lot to act as chairman of the final revising and publishing committee; but in this, as I announced my intention of making a voyage to Europe in the spring, the Convention, though doing me the honour of putting me upon the committee, devolved the duties of chairman on Dr. Bache. As several contributions from different sources were referred to this committee, and among the rest two complete draughts of a pharmacopoeia, one from this College and the other from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, an unusual amount of labour * Of the revising committee appointed by the College in 1839, the members were the same as on the occasion of the preceding decennial revision, namely, Drs. Hewson, Bache, and myself; in the subsequent revisions made by the College for the editions of 1850 and 1860, Dr. Jos. Carson, in consequence of the decease of Dr. Hewson, was chosen in his place; and the same Fellow of the College, by appointment of the Con- vention at Washington, served also on the revising and publishing committee, to which the work was, at each of these periods, finally intrusted. 358 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF was imposed on the committee, in comparing, selecting, and finally consolidating the materials. The committee had, more- over, determined to make a complete and thorough revision, so as to leave as little for future change as possible. This required much research and numerous experiments ; every doubtful point being submitted to the test of practical trial, and this frequently being repeated once or oftener, before a satisfactory conclusion could be reached. When informed that the committee had one hundred and nineteen meetings, generally once a week, which were mainly occupied in examining and deciding upon the work done in the intervals by sub-committees, from whom one hun- dred and thirty-eight written reports were received, you will be able to form some conception of the great burden that rested on the chairman, whose duty it was to see that all the materials should be properly arranged, that everything should be clothed in correct and congruous language, and that the work through- out should be consistent as well in form as substance. Though strongly pressed by the public demand, and anxious to put forth the new edition as soon as possible, consistently with the great- est attainable perfection, the committee was unable to publish it before about the middle of 1863. It is scarcely necessary to add that, for all this expenditure of time, thought, and solicitous labour, not only in this revision, but in all those in which he had been concerned, Dr. Bache neither expected nor received any other recompense than the consciousness of duty performed and public benefit conferred, and perhaps a reputation enhanced with that portion of the profession who knew and could appre- ciate his efforts and sacrifices.* One or two other points .in reference to the revision of the * In the interests of pharmacy, Dr. Bache wrote, and published in the American Journal of Pharmacy, the following articles : 1. " An Address to the Graduates of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy" (vol. i., a.d. DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 359 Pharmacopoeia, as connected with our departed friend, require notice. The work was at first confined exclusively to the medical profession, without any participation whatever of the pharmaceutical. Any one who considers for a moment the nature and purpose of a pharmacopoeia, that all its formulas are for the guidance of the apothecary, and that he much better than the physician, as a general rule, understands their prin- ciples and modes of execution, must see at a glance, if free from prejudice, how unjust and at the same time impolitic was this exclusiveness. The cause of it, I presume, was that, at the time when the movement for the preparation of a pharmacopoeia began, there were few thoroughly educated pharmaceutists in this country, and no incorporated bodies to represent them and provide for their instruction; that in fact pharmacy, as it then existed here, was a trade rather than a profession, and conse- quently that there were no ready means for enlisting its services. Now it so happened that, when first engaged in the work of revision, I was Professor of Chemistry in the Philadelphia Col- lege of Pharmacy, and naturally had my attention turned to this defect. Hence it was that the Pharmacopoeia of 1830 was submitted by the committee of revision and publication to the judgment of that body, and their co-operation requested. Soon afterwards Dr. Bache was elected to the same chair in the Col- lege of Pharmacy, in consequence of my own transfer to that of Materia Medica. We were now in a condition to act conjointly in this matter, and Dr. Bache gave all his influence to the measure of uniting the two professions in the work. The consequence was that the next Convention at Washington invited the participa- tion of pharmaceutists in the revision then begun, and provided 1835); 2. " Remarks on the British and United States Pharmacopoeias" (vol. viii. N. S., A.D. 1842); and 3. "On the Advantages of a Single Pharmacopoeia for the British Empire" (vol. iii 3d Series, a.d. 1855). 360 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF that, in the following Decennial Convention, that, namely, of 1850, the incorporated colleges of pharmacy throughout the Union should be represented upon an equal footing with medi- cal associations. This accordingly happened ; and the last two decennial convention have consisted of delegates of both pro- fessions ; and the two atest editions have been their joint work. I have no hesitation in stating that, in consequence of the full co-operation of the two professions, which was scarcely secured before the recent revision, the present Pharmacopoeia is not only- better positively than any preceding edition, which might be expected under any circumstances, but is much better relatively; that is, of a higher character, in relation to the state of pharmacy now, than any one of its predecessors was, in a similar relation, at the time of its publication ; and to Dr. Bache in a consider- able degree is due this very satisfactory result. The other point requiring notice is the rule, which, in all our labours for the Pharmacopoeia, strongly actuated Dr. Bache and myself, of endeavouring to make our national standard conform as much as possible with the standards of Great Britain, so that pharmaceutical terms should, to every proper and practicable extent, have the same signification wherever the English lan- guage is spoken. This approximate identity has been much facilitated by the recent consolidation of the three British Pharmacopoeias; and it is an interesting fact that a paper by Dr. Bache was published in the American Journal of Pharmacy, in the year 1855, and immediately afterwards republished in one or more British journals, strongly recommending, and argumentatively enforcing such a consolidation. Whether this disinterested advice from a stranger had any influence in pro- moting the decision come to by the British authorities I am unable to say. We are not yet done with the incidents of Dr. Bache's life, arising out of his connection with the College of Physicians. DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 361 One of the most important as regards his worldly interests, perhaps the most important, is yet to be mentioned ; I refer to his partial authorship of the U. S. Dispensatory. This work would, in all probability, never have been undertaken, but for his previous concern in the revision of the Pharmacopoeia, in which he became engaged solely through his fellowship in the College. Indeed, one of the chief motives for writing the Dispen- satory was in order, by its means, to make the Pharmacopoeia more generally known and acceptable, and thereby contribute to its universal practical recognition as the national standard. The original Pharmacopoeia of 1820 was very far from having at- tained to this position. It was natural that they who had laboured so long in preparing the new edition of 1830, should wish to see it successful, and be disposed to do what they could to make it so. They knew no better method than to prepare a work, which, while it might supply a great want of the whole medical and pharmaceutical professions, should also serve as a commentary on the Pharmacopoeia, giving detailed accounts of the medicines it recognized, and explaining and enforcing all its processes. It was in this wish and hope that I proposed to Dr. Bache, and our mutual friend, Daniel B. Smith, President of the College of Pharmacy, whose thorough acquaintance with pharmacy both scientifically and practically rendered his co- operation desirable, that we should join in preparing a dis- pensatory, which was then much needed, as there was no work of the kind in the English language, which could be considered as a proper exponent of .the pharmacology of the period, or as calculated to meet the peculiar wants of the two professions in this country. The proposal was accepted, and, at a meeting in Mr. Smith's house, October 28th, 1830, it was agreed that we should proceed immediately to work; Dr. Bache taking mainly the mineral substances and those result- ing from purely chemical processes as his share, while Mr, 362 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF Smith should deal with the strictly pharmaceutical part, and the vegetable materia medica was allotted to me. We had not proceeded far, when Mr. Smith found that a continuance of the work on his part would be incompatible with his other engagements, and with our assent withdrew, having com- pleted a pharmaceutical preface, and a few other articles, which still stand in the work over his initials. I ventured myself to take up the burden which our friend laid down; and thus it happened, and not from any failure in his own engagement, that Dr. Bache was responsible for only about one-third of the work. It may not be amiss to mention here, as strongly illustrative at once of his sense of justice and spirit of independence, that, on my proposal that, whatever might happen to be the pro- portionate amount of the work produced by each, as determined merely by the number of pages, which could not be received as an accurate measure of value, the proceeds should be equally divided, he positively declined ; and this, too, at a time when a few hundred dollars annually were a matter of great import- ance to him. The work was successful greatly beyond our expectations; a second edition being called for some time before the expiration of the year; and from that time to the decease of Dr. Bache, a period of about thirty years, there was no slackening in the public demand. That it contributed to fulfil the original pur- pose of the authors, the diffusion, namely, of a knowledge of the Pharmacopoeia, and its ultimate adoption as the national standard, can scarcely be doubted. For obvious reasons I am precluded from comment on the character, the merits or de- merits of the work; but a few facts may be mentioned, in addition to what has been already said; and are indeed called for in justice to him with whose biography we are engaged. One of them is that the work is not the same as it was when DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 363 first written, but really a new one, in which certain primary features of the original have been preserved, but the substance has been changed as if by a sort of interstitial growth, indi- cating a constant watchfulness, at each successive edition, so to modify every article as to bring it into accordance with the progress of knowledge or the change of opinion. Besides, very many additions have been made; and the quantity of matter contained in the book has been nearly if not quite doubled. Another fact is that, in consequence of the presumed necessity of restraining the work within the limits of a single volume, the authors have used ceaseless efforts to compress the lan- guage, not only striving to express new matter in the fewest words consistent with clearness, but eliminating whatever was useless from the old; so that there are probably few works which contain more substance in the same space. A third point to which I would call attention is the great precision and clearness of that portion of the Dispensatory for wThich Dr. Bache is responsible, and the remarkable accuracy of the whole as long as he lived to watch over it; for the entire work, down to each word, letter, and point, passed at every revision under his critical eye, which few errors escaped.* It will thus be seen that the care of the Dispensatory occupied a large portion of Dr. Bache's time for many years; and this remark applies not only to the occasions when new editions were prepared; but more or less also to the intervals, when materials were collected for subsequent use. Of the import- ance of the work to Dr. Bache, in a financial point of view, an inference may be drawn from the fact, that, up to the time of his decease, he had received the proceeds accruing to him from the sale of seventy-nine thousand copies; but probably of still * The parts of the-Dispensatory belonging to Dr. Bache are indicated by his initial, B, at the foot of each article or portion of an article written by him. 364 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF greater value to him was the reputation which it gave him throughout the Union, and to which there can be little doubt that his appointment to a professorship in the Jefferson School was mainly ascribable. It will now, I think, be admitted, that what was before stated of the beneficent influence upon his fortunes of his fellowship in the College of Physicians has been fully confirmed. There were various other associations, literary, scientific, pro- fessional, or benevolent, with which Dr. Bache was connected. Thus, he was an early member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of this city; was in 1840 elected a corresponding mem- ber of the National Institute at Washington ; and in 1854 be- came au honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Natural- ists at Moscow. For many years he served as one of the Managers of the Institution* for the Deaf and Dumb in Philadel- phia, and was for some time president of the board. In 1857 he was made an honorary member of the American Pharmaceutical Association. One other association I will mention, because his connection with it exercised some influence on his subsequent life; I refer to the Temperance Society as first formed in this city. Dr. Bache heartily participated in the great temperance move- ment which began about the year 1826, and the influence of which, though impaired by various opposing causes, is still felt in the general prevalence of habits in this respect greatly in ad- vance of those which so fearfully characterized our country when the movement began. A society was soon formed in Philadelphia, consisting largely of medical men, of which Dr. Bache was one, and, after a time, if I am not mistaken, a manager. The great principle of this society was the pro- motion of temperance by entire abstinence both from the per- sonal use, and from the offering to others, of any form of ardent spirit or distilled alcoholic liquor as drink, except when it might DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 365 be required for medical purposes. It was believed that this principle might be universally adopted, and, should it be so, would secure a complete triumph to the cause of temperance; while an attempt to carry the contest further, and abolish the use of fermented liquors, would inevitably fall short of its aim, and might even aggravate the original evil by leading to reac- tion. We neither gave nor exacted any wTritten pledge, we did not even engage our personal honour, trusting solely to the determination of individual members. I say wTe; because I was one of those who adopted this rule of action; and the senti- ments of Dr. Bache and myself were in perfect accord on the subject. We adopted the rule for life, independently of all asso- ciation ; and I have reason to believe that my friend lived up to it entirely to the very end. He never, after having joined the society, either drank ardent spirit, or gave it to another except ns a medicine. But he abandoned the society when he believed it to be carried, in the then existing whirlwind of excitement, into dangerous excess. He could not accompany it in a crusade against all forms of fermented liquor, even down to cider and spruce beer, in its proclamation of the abstract sinfulness of even the moderate use of alcoholic drinks of every kind, in its attempt to control free-will in this respect by law, and in de- grading the cause of temperance by mixing it up with the paltry interests of mere party contests. He was thoroughly convinced that on this road the great cause could never advance to uni- versal or even general acceptance, and apprehended that the extremes to which the movement was carried would endanger a resilience in the opposite direction, so as to put at risk the per- manence of all that had beeu gained ; and an out-look upon the present condition of the cause will go far to convince the im- partial observer that his apprehensions were not altogether groundless. Let us now take a view of Dr. Bache at the time of his life to 366 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF which our narrative has carried us; when his faculties were at the best; when he had tided over the shoals of fortune, and his position in the world was fixed; when around and before him all was bright, unless when temporarily obscured by some flit- ting sadness from the past, or by some of those brief sorrows or anxieties from passing events from which humanity is never exempt. As I am Avriting not only for the audience to which this memoir is addressed, but also in the hope that my humble effort may reach other persons and other times less familiar with its subject, you will excuse me if, in. this attempted por- traiture, I shall introduce many features both of person and character, already well known to most if not all of my hearers. The period to which I now allude was after his election to his professorship in the Jefferson School, between his fiftieth and sixtieth year. In a conversation with the late Hon. John Ser- geant, with whose reputation for wisdom you are all familiar, at a time when I was myself verging on that age, and expressing some apprehension of a probable decline of mental power, he assured me that I was mistaken. " You are approaching," said he, " an age in which there is greater capacity for usefulness than at any other. The intellect is mature without having begun to decay; while the passions of earlier life, which so often mislead or obscure the judgment, have lost much if not all of their strength, and the sense of duty is stronger than ever; so that with equal powers, and a clearer insight, we feel ourselves more forcibly impelled to a useful course of action. No ! The most fruitful ten years of your life are before you." In thus speaking, Mr. Sergeant, no doubt, but told his own ex- perience ; and the life of Dr. Bache offered another illustration of the correctness of his judgment. With a symmetrical person, five feet ten inches high, and weighing about one hundred and sixty pounds; a well-shaped head of medium size ; an oval face, with regular features, though DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 367 an unusually small mouth; dark-gray eyes, dark-brown hair, and a fair complexion, Dr. Bache was, even in advanced life, a fine-looking man, and when young must have been eminently handsome. A copious gray beard, which he wore for some years before he died, though it gave him a venerable appear- ance, detracted, I think, from the beauty and expressiveness of his countenance, by concealing some of its best features. His habitual expression was a placid and calm seriousness, Avith a certain degree of sweetness, which gave a charm to his face someAvhat like that of his great ancestor in certain busts that I have seen of him. In society, hoAvever, this habitual repose often gave Avay to smiles; for he enjoyed humour; and, whether the humorous thought was his own or another's, it was equally depicted on his features. In our frequent committee meetings, after the business had been finished, it was not uncommon for some one, addressing Dr. Bache, to call out, "Now, doctor, let us amuse ourselves; give us something to make us laugh;" and, though this is not the most effectual method of eliciting wit or humour, we Avere seldom disappointed. The seriousness Avould vanish from his face, and the smiles which followed found us always ready to sympathize. In regard to intellectual character, he had an excellent rea- soning faculty, though slow in its operation, leading him, when the necessary facts or data were before him, almost invariably to correct conclusions; and these once attained were seldom afterwards disturbed. This steadiness of conviction, however, Avas not in any degree owing to an obstinate temper; but ap- parently to his confidence in the accuracy of the trains of thought by which he had reached them; for no man was more open than he to correction, and, when convinced that he had been wrong, no one more ready to acknowledge his error. Yet such were the strength and tenacity of his first convictions, that, after full acknowledgment of their fallacy, his mind was 368 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF apt in time to return to them, apparently forgetful of the sug- gestions which had induced his change of opinion. In our very frequent conferences there Avas of course occasional dis- agreement, and, when I happened to be in the right, I could generally, perhaps always convince my colleague; but years afterwards, as, for example, in the successive decennial revisions of the Pharmacopoeia, I found him Avith his original convictions returned, being quite forgetful of the course of argument by which be had been induced to change them ; so that it was necessary to go over the same grounds to bring about the same result; and this happened not once only at a single revision, but sometimes a second, and perhaps a third time. In addition to his excellent faculty of ratiocination, he had in a remarkable degree the quality of common sense or judgment, by which, certain conditions being given, the best or most ex- pedient course of action is determined, or which, the question being as to the probable opinions or actions of a number of individuals under certain circumstances, resolves the question truly as if by intuition or with a spirit of prophecy; a faculty probably consisting in a constitution of mind similar in char- acter to that of the multitude, though superior in grade. That these two faculties, reason and judgment, are quite distinct, is proved by the fact, that a high degree of one is compatible with a very low degree of the other; the profound thinker often having little common sense, Avhile the man of excellent judg- ment is often almost incapable of abstract reasoning. Dr. Bache possessed both, in a high degree ; and whatever intellectual superiority he may have evinced was probably owing, chiefly at least, to this combination. Of the faculty of imagination he seems to have possessed very little. Either as a speaker or writer, so far as I am aware, he was never consciously guilty of a metaphor or other flower of speech ; and, though he certainly could understand such DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 369 figures intellectually, I doubt Avhether he had a true feeling of their beauty or grandeur. In the closely allied poAver of invention he was equally de- ficient; and in the faculty of observation was, I think, little superior to the generality of men. As the possession of any power in excess is ordinarily attended with a proportionate dis- position to exercise it, so a deficiency generally involves an indisposition to act in the direction of the faculty ; and thus Ave may account for the absence, in the history of Dr. Bache, of any poetical effort, any sustained attempt at the discovery of new truths in science, or any apparent Avish to gain distinction as an original observer in the fields of natural history. He dealt Avith facts or presumed facts already known; and his forte was to examine and compare, to sift out the true and A'aluable from the mass of the untrue, the doubtful, and the worthless, and then to record the results in due order and a lucid manner, and in a style clear and precise, Avithout any attempt at the showy or ornamental. Both the sense and faculty of humour he possessed in a con- siderable degree ; and this appears to have been quite distinct from his other mental qualities; so that, seen in his different states of mind, the serious and jocose, he seemed like two dif- ferent individuals. He did not, like many others, habitually mingle the two together. In his serious Avritings or conversa- tion he seldom indulged his humorous propensity ; and, Avhen in the latter vein, he Avas apt to give himself up to it altogether for the time. I do not say that this was invariably true; but, according to my observation, it certainly Avas so as .a general rule. Between this and his other mental qualities there was this remarkable difference; that, while unusually slow in the latter, he was in the former remarkably quick and ready; and his humour seems to have been the only thing about him to which the term quickness was applicable. I may, perhaps, be 370 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF excused for giving a feAV specimens of his humour, illustrative of its character, confining myself to those which came under my own observation. The first specimen that I shall give belongs to the category of puns, to which, in common with some other distinguished Philadelphians, he Avas not a little addicted. It occurred at a large dinner-party, consisting exclusively of medical men, given in the year 1839, and intended to celebrate the establishment of peace and harmony in our profession. Dr. Chapman presided, and, if I remember rightly, Dr. R. M. Pat- terson, Dr. Thomas Harris, and Dr. Bache were Vice-presidents. At the proper time, Dr. Bache, as one of the three Vice-presi- ' dents, Avas called on for a speech. This he premised by offering a toast. "I give you," said he, "our worthy President, Dr. Nathaniel Chapman, Avho, Avith his many excellent qualities, has, so far as I know, only three vices; and they are so very amia- ble that they may almost be regarded as virtues." A gentleman sitting next me at table Avhispered in my ear, "What are the three vices of Avhich Dr. Bache speaks ?" I Avhispered in return, Vice-presidents. Another Avas a kind of witticism which was not uncommon with him, being intended generally to cover a gentle satire, or perhaps a kindly piece of advice. The public Avas much agitated on the subject of mesmerism, and many wonderful stories were told, and believed by the credulous. In this instance clair- voyance was the subject. It was pretended that a person mes- merized sympathized with the mesmerizer, so as to see, feel, hear, taste, smell, and think as he. The story was told that an individual thus affected was carried mentally with the operator into a far distant apartment which he had never seen, and, being asked what he saw, mentioned, among other things known to be in the room, the portrait of a lady representing only the back of the head and bust. " Oh !" said Dr. Bache, " that was a small matter. Had he seen the face of the picture, that would DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 371 have been worth telling." He could not have more effectually intimated his belief that the whole affair Avas simply humbug. The third specimen represents another variety of humour in which Dr. Bache sometimes indulged, the jocose, namely, though very seldom with so much of the practical character as this. A party to which he and I belonged were travelling in Switzerland, and, having reached the foot of a long ascent in the road, Ave two had alighted, and were Avalking up the hill. At all such places, in Savoy and Switzerland, there is apt to be a number of little beggars, ready to waylay the traveller. Such a crowd, consisting of boys and girls from about ten or eleven years downward, for the older cannot be spared from the field or Avorkshop, approached us, and, Avith the most dolorous ex- pression of countenance, and Avhining tones of distress, begged aid for their sick mother, etc. Dr. Bache at length, turning round to them, and counterfeiting their lugubrious face and piteous tones, held out his hand, and begged of them beseech- ingly something for his poor sick Avife and houseful of starving babes at home. The humour of the joke was more than they could stand. They exchanged their affected sadness for smiles and laughter, and, as if ashamed of having been caught in their attempted deception, turned slowly, and walked aAvay. I do not know that I should have detained you with these illustrative anecdotes; but that each of them has its own sig- nificance besides. The first informs you of an interesting fact in the medical history of this city; the second of Dr. Bache's utter want of faith in clairvoyance and Avhatever else seemed miraculous in mesmerism ; and the third of an event in his his- tory which Avas of great interest to himself, that, namely, of his visit to Switzerland. Hitherto we have considered only the intellectual side of Dr. Bache's mental constitution. The moral was still more char- acteristic ; and this I find it difficult to portray so as to do full 372 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF justice to my own impressions. In a few words, it may be said that he Avas, seemingly by his very nature, a Christian. At the foundation of his moral character Avas a strong conscientious- ness, Avhich, apparently Avithout his OAvn cognizance, regulated all his thoughts and deeds. One might suppose that the idea of doing what he believed to be wrong never occurred to him ; and, though his natural sloAvness sometimes prompted him to postpone doing what he had engaged and felt that in duty he was bound to do, yet the dissatisfaction attendant on this neg- lect secured the full performance of his engagement in the end. I do not think that I ever kneAV him to fail in the ultimate ful- filment of a promise; and I was always entirely confident of his performance of a task, Avhen a positive promise could be secured. KnoAving himself in this respect, he was always ex- ceedingly cautious in making engagements, unless of such a nature as to render him entirely confident in their easy fulfil- ment. His regard for truth, which Avas equally remarkable, might be considered as an offshoot of his conscientiousness. But I do not believe that it Avas so. Both seemed to spring from the same root. He was not true simply because he believed it wrong to be otherwise. Falsehood in every shape, direct and indirect, by assertion or insinuation, or even by purposed silence, was abhorrent to his nature. It did not seem possible for him to be otherwise than true. I need not say I never knew him to utter an untruth consciously; I cannot recall an instance in Avhich he even hinted an untruth, or allowed a wrong impres- sion, arising, though Avithout his own complicity, from Avhat he may have said, to remain uncorrected. Nay, he Avould not un- frequently, when he kneAv or suspected a wrong impression in his favour to have been received, Avithout any instrumentality of his own whatever, take pains to correct it, though silence might have been altogether justifiable. DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 373 Of the same character was his sense of justice. This Avas a governing principle of his life. Like his regard for truth, it did not seem to spring from his conscientiousness. He was not just because he thought it his duty to be so, but simply for the sake of justice, which he loved for itself alone. Nothing could tempt him to take or accept an advantage which he thought unfair; and, though by no means obstinate where no duty intervened, he Avas in such cases inexorable. While thus scrupulous not to violate justice to others, he expected also that it should be exercised towards himself; and perhaps made fewer allowances, in cases of its non-performance, than many others might be disposed to do, who were less rigorously exacting of themselves. Perhaps nothing affected the standing of an indi- vidual in his estimation more injuriously than a conviction of his habitual injustice. From the joint influence of his regard for truth and justice, he was extremely candid, often incidentally speaking of facts con- cerning himself or his affairs, which might be interpreted to his disadvantage, though never intruding them on his hearers. For example, he never hesitated to admit the limited amount of his income from practice, though professional men are apt to think that their prospects are benefited by a general belief of their success, and that nothing more impedes progress than the contrary impression that they have little or nothing to do. But this candour was evinced throughout his life, and was one of its many interesting features. It was no doubt promoted by a consciousness that there was nothing about him which it Avas expedient or necessary to conceal. A love of order was another striking feature of his moral nature. This pervaded all that he did or said. It was to be seen in the precision of his language, in his ordinary bodily movements, in the state of his sitting apartments and the arrangement of his books and papers, in the keeping and set- 374 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF tlement of his accounts, in his Avork of all kinds, reading, writ- ing, and lecturing, in the relative position and proportion of the several subjects or parts of subjects discussed, even to a great extent in his social relations. Perhaps to this principle may be ascribed his dislike of little inaccuracies of style and grammar, and ordinary errors of the press in Avhatever he read. Even a misplaced point was offensive to him. He generally read books of any scientific pretension Avith pencil in hand, and was in the habit of noting corrections on the margin, a list of which, on the principle of doing as he would be done by, he sometimes sent to the author, from whom, in several instances, he received a letter of acknowledgment and thanks. Not less prominent than the preceding characteristics, per- haps I might say the most prominent of his moral qualities, was the equanimity or rather the extraordinary placidity of his temper. I do not think that, notwithstanding my abundant intercourse with him in private and public, in his own family and elsewhere, socially, in joint labour, and officially, though I have travelled with him at home and abroad, and on one occasion five or six months successively, I have ever, in any one instance, seen him really angry. I have seen him unu- sually serious under offence, I have heard him complain when he conceived himself injured or unjustly treated, and have even witnessed something like sternness of expression upon his features on the occasion of flagrant injury to a friend or to society; but he exhibited none of what are habitually con- sidered the characteristic symptoms of anger or even indigna- tion ; and the strongest term that I could apply under the circumstances Avas that he was offended. Indeed, on one oc- casion at least, he complained to me of this peculiarity of his nature, and expressed regret that he could not feel decidedly angry, even Avhen intellectually convinced that he ought to be not only angry, but very angry. This did not arise from any DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 375 weakness of character; from the fear of receiving injury, or even from an umvillingness to hurt the feelings or offend the sensibility of others; for few men wrere more ready than, be to sIioav or express disapproval Avhen deserved, even to the offender himself, and to punish any great dereliction of duty or of propriety in Avhatever mode might be deemed expedient; but he did all this without the exhibition, and probably with little of the feeling of anger. I do not think that Dr. Bache ever had any great difficulty in fulfilling the two divine pre- cepts, of doing to others as you Avould that they should do to you, and of the forgiveness of injuries. Though desirous of the good opinion of others, and sensitive to merited commendation, Dr. Bache cannot be said to have been ambitious. He cared little or nothing for poAver, had no wish to influence others except through their reason and judg- ment, and coveted distinguished position only as it evinced kindly feelings or favourable opinion. Perhaps a someAvhat larger infusion of ambition into his nature might have given it greater energy, and stimulated him to the accomplishment of still more for the general good and his own fame. Kindly disposed to all, and, however much he may have disapproved, hating none, he reserved his warmest affections within narrow limits, and, outside of the family circle, there were few Avho enjoyed his entire friendship and confidence. He gave his affections slowly, as he formed his opinions; but, like these, when once given they were very steadfast. It was one of my highest sources of satisfaction in life that he considered me among his nearest friends. From the commencement of our acquaintance, not a shadow remains in my recollection upon the kindliness of our intercourse. Our mutual confidence and reli- ance were complete;. and, in losing him, I have felt as though one of my main supports in life had been taken from under me; that a vacuum has been produced in my existence Avhich can 376 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF never be filled; yet I have sincere pleasure in looking back to our long unbroken friendship; and the best compensation for his loss, the nearest approach to the satisfaction of our former intercourse, is that which I have experienced on the present occasion in tracing out his career and character, and attempting to do justice to his memory. But little more is necessary to complete the portraiture. Dr. Bache had a great taste and fondness for music, but, I pre- sume, little poAver of execution ; at least I never knew him to make the trial. He was a frequent attendant of the opera here; and, in our journey through Europe, he never failed to avail himself of this source of enjoyment in the great capitals we visited. I need scarcely speak again of his characteristic slowness, so often referred to in the course of the memoir, except to say that it appeared to pervade almost his whole being, and was exhibited not only in his mental operation, but also in his bodily movements. His slow deliberate step in walking is familiar to all who knew him. This deliberateness in whatever he did, said, or wrote, had its advantages. It saved him, no doubt, from the commission of many errors, and was one of the causes of the extreme accuracy by which he was so favourably dis- tinguished. In our intercourse not only as co-workers in scien- tific and professional pursuits, but in various other respects, I have myself derived so much advantage from this peculiarity of our friend, that I have probably reason to consider it rather as worthy of commendation than as a defect. Little need be added to what has been already said of the attainments of Dr. Bache. He had received the usual elementary education in the Latin and Greek languages, was familiar with the French, and, Avhen somewhat advanced in life, undertook the study of the German, in which he made considerable pro- gress, though without mastering it. His reading, though occa- DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 377 sionally excursive into the various fields of literature, was chiefly scientific and professional; and his leisure intervals Avere generally occupied in keeping himself on a level Avith the knoAvledge of the times. I have already had occasion to speak of his style as a lecturer. As a Avriter it was similarly characterized; clear, concise, cor- rect, simple, methodical, calculated to make the subject fully understood, without calling attention off from it to the author. In his published writings, he seldom if ever indulged in the humorous or jocose; but it was much otherwise in his familiar letters. There Avere few of the many written to myself in which some pleasantry was not introduced. I may be excused if I quote one by way of illustration. He had been travelling Avith me for about a week in one of my customary excursions into the interior; and, leaving us at the Susquehanna, had found the accommodation on his journey back by another route somewhat rough, Avith a breakdown of the stage-coach super- added. Writing to me on his return, and wishing to contrast his pleasant journey out with the unpleasant one homeward, he said that he could not better express his feelings than by a com- parison he had heard in his boyhood; " I went up watermelon and came down squash." * Of his religious opinions Dr. Bache seldom spoke even to his intimate friends. He attended worship in the Protestant Epis- copal Church. If Ave judge him by the Gospel rule, that a tree is knoAvn by its fruits, he cannot have been very far wrong; for few men, within the circle of my knowledge, lived more nearly up to the Christian standard. Though his political opinions were decided, and he generally gave expression to them at the ballot-box, he could not be con- sidered, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, as a party man, and never, I believe, at least after I knew him, took an active part in measures connected with party politics. 378 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF From the commencement of the era of his life, Avhich is noAv engaging our attention, to its close, a period of somewhat more than twenty years, Dr. Bache occupied a most enviable position. Highly respected by all and generally beloved, so far as I know without an enemy, with a sufficient income to support him handsomely, and a surplus that enabled him to make some pro- vision for the future; occupied, too, in various useful works, Avhich, leaving him intervals of relaxation, fully employed with- out oppressing him; generally in the enjoyment of good health, and participating in the ordinary social duties and pleasures of his station, with an affectionate family around him, he lived as happy a life as the uncertainty of all human affairs permitted, or probably as consisted with his OAvn permanent good. A por- tion of each summer, perhaps from two to six Aveeks, he was in the habit of giving to relaxation in the country, generally at the sea-shore. Once he paid a visit with me to a residence in my native place in New Jersey, where I had an opportunity of taking him to a religious meeting of the Friends, held in un- broken silence, which he seemed to enjoy as something quite new to his experience. The necessity of attending scientific and professional conventions at distant places, and once at least of being present by appointment of the government, at the ex- amination of the Military Academy at West Point, gave him« the opportunity of occasional absences from home, which con- tributed to diversify his life agreeably. I have before alluded to a visit of about five months, which he paid Avith me to Europe in the summer of 1853, and Avhich he enjoyed exceed- ingly ; but the time is not allowed me to descant upon this sub- ject as I should be pleased to do. In the spring of 1864, after the completiou and publication of the Pharmacopoeia, in the revision of which he had been so long and so laboriously engaged, while enjoying an interval of rest before entering on the still more laborious duty of revising the DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 379 Dispensatory for a new edition, he was attacked, on the 11th of March, Avith the disease which carried him off. This had in its earlier stages the characteristic features of an epidemic influenza then prevailing, but assumed, two or three days before its close, a decidedly typhous condition, and ended fatally on the 19th, after a duration of somewhat more than a week. I have thus given as faithful a record of the life and character of our departed friend and felloAA'-member as it was in my power to do. If I haA-e succeeded in my aim, I have represented to you an extraordinary man ; one upon whose memory not a stain rests, and avIio, while he worked diligently; and thus did much for the public good, has done still more, Avithin the limited circle where he was personally known, by presenting to the young men entering on the stage of active duties, an example, for their imitation, of all that is morally excellent, lovely, and of good report in manhood. r II. BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE LATE FEAIKLIN BACHE, M,D., READ BEFORE THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, JUNE 16,1865. When appointed by the American Philosophical Society to prepare a biographical memoir of its former President, Dr. Franklin Bache, I had already accepted a similar appointment from the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, of which he was A'ice-president at the time of his decease. Believing the latter engagement to have the first claim upon me, I have already written and presented to the College a somewhat elaborate account of the life and character of our departed friend; and feel myself at a loss how best to prepare another, which shall have the merit at the same time of interest and of novelty. Indeed, I am not quite confident that I did right, when invited by the Society to undertake the duty, in not alloAving it to pass into other and better hands; but I Avas influenced, in accepting the charge, by a well-founded conAic- tion that Dr. Bache himself Avould have preferred that it should devolve upon me; and, moreover, by the consideration that, as there were two phases in his life, the scientific, namely, and (381) 3S2 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF the professional, so was there offered to his biographer the opportunity of presenting him to the future in tAvo different aspects, one as he might be regarded from the stand-point of his connection Avith this Society, the other from that of his felloAvship in the College of Physicians. It is in this spirit that the memoir referred to as having been already prepared was Avritten; giving a general account of his life, but dAvelling at greatest extent and with most emphasis on those incidents which Avere connected Avith his profession, and might be sup- posed to have a peculiar interest for the persons to Avhom it was addressed. On the present occasion, my wish is, in like manner, while giving a brief narrative of the events of his life, to dwell more particularly on such as have sprung from his connection Avith this Society, and Avill be likely more especially to interest its members. The members of the American Philosophical Society need not to be informed that Dr. Bache was the great-grandson of its founder and first President, Dr. Benjamin Franklin. Sarah, Dr. Franklin's only daughter, Avas married to Richard Bache, an English gentleman, Avho emigrated, Avhen a young man, to this country, from near Preston, in Lancashire, and became a citizen of Pennsylvania. The eldest child of this marriage, Benjamin Franklin Bache, Avas the father of our deceased fellow- member, who Avas born in Philadelphia on the 25th of October, 1792, and, in consequence of the early death of his father, Avas, with several younger brothers, left to the care of their mother, aided, for a considerable portion of their minority, by her second husband, William Duane. The early education of Dr. Bache Avas similar to that of most other youths destined for a liberal profession. He graduated in the department of arts of the University of Pennsylvania in 1810, and, entering immediately on the study of medicine, Avent through a regular course of instruction, and received the degree DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 383 of Doctor of Medicine in the medical department of the same school in 1814. In the preceding year, he had been appointed surgeon's mate in the army, and in the course of service, after his graduation, became surgeon ; a position wrhich he continued to hold until the then existing war Avith Great Britain closed, and for a short time subsequently. In 1816, hoAvever, he re- signed, in order to engage in the practice of his profession in Philadelphia. Dr. Bache exhibited a very early predilection for chemistry. Soon after commencing his medical studies, in the year 1811, he published, in the Aurora neAvspaper, an essay on the prob- able composition of muriatic acid, a question Avhich long agitated the scientific Avorld, and Avhich, even after the dis- covery of chlorine, remained for many years unsettled. Dr. Bache seems to have been an early convert from the old hy- pothesis, which regarded chlorine as a compound of muriatic acid and oxygen, and the acid as yet undecomposed, to the new doctrine of Sir Humphry Davy, Avhich taught that chlorine was simple, and muriatic acid a compound of it and hydrogen. Until the discovery of iodine and bromine, the close analogy of which with chlorine rendered infinitely probable a similar analogy in their relations with other bodies, no experimentum crucis had been made, sufficient to satisfy all minds of the truth of the elementary doctrine; and it is a singular fact, that, in the almost countless ramifications into Avhich the inquiry was pushed, explanation Avas in every instance possible as well upon the one as upon the other of these so different and even contra- dictory hypotheses. There are very few coincidences so re- markable in the Avhole history of the science. In 1813, before his graduation in medicine, Dr. Bache pub- lished three chemical papers in the " Memoirs of the Columbian Chemical Society;" but of their special subjects I can say nothing, as I owe my knowledge of the fact solely to the private 384 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF memoranda left behind by him, having never seen the book re- ferred to. He appears to have suspended his chemical studies upon entering the army, and not to have resumed them until after his return to Philadelphia, in 1816. But he must then have recommenced them with great ardor; for, near the close of 1819, appeared his "System of Chemistry for the Use of Students of Medicine," an elementary treatise in one octavo volume of somewhat more than six hundred pages. This work was based upon Dr. Thomson's treatise, but contains much material industriously gathered from other sources, and, in its arrangement and execution, evinces so many of the char- acteristic traits of the author as fully to justify its claims to originality. Method, precision, accuracy, and simplicity, are its prominent features; and though, with the very great modi- fication and vast expansion which chemistry has undergone since it made its appearance, the book, Avithout very material changes, Avould not meet the present Avants of the student, it was, nevertheless, when published, a good epitome of the sci- ence ; and, had it been favoured by the influence of a great name, or high official position, might have been extensively used, and run through numerous editions. As it Avas, the sale of the book was not such as to make a reprint expedient; and at a later period of life, when the reputation Avon by Dr. Bache would have insured success, he could never be induced to put forth either a neAV Avork on chemistry, or the old one in a modified form. His pen, however, was not idle. In 1821, in conjunction with Dr. Hare, he edited the first American edition of Ure's Dictionary of Chemistry; in 1823, prepared a supplementary volume to Henry's Chemistry, republished by Robert Desilver; in 1825, edited anonymously "A System of Pyrotechny," Avritten by Dr. James Cutbush, of the United States Army, who died just as he had completed the manuscript; and in 1830, con- DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 385 tributed to the "Philadelphia Journal of Health" an article on purifying and disinfecting agents, and edited the third edition of Turner's Chemistry. The last-mentioned work was an ex- cellent elementary treatise, and exceedingly popular in the United States as long as the author lived. Dr. Bache edited four successive American editions; and there can be no doubt that he contributed much to its general acceptance in this coun- try, by his most careful and conscientious revisions. It is not improbable that his esteem for Dr. Turner's work united Avith the repressive influence upon American authorship of the Avant of an international copyright law, to deter him from a reneAved attempt to supply the public wants with a text-book of his OAvn. In consequence of the existing relations in reference to copy- right between- the United States and Great Britain, by which the English author is deprived of all protection here, and the •American in England, great injustice is done to the writers of both countries. An English work is reprinted with us, at the discretion of the American publisher, without payment to the author; and the cost is thus so much lessened, that the native author can compete with the foreign only by foregoing all com- pensation for his labour, or by producing a book much more acceptable to the public. The fault of this condition of things is exclusively our own ; as the English government has shoAvn itself not only willing but desirous of establishing the due rela- tions by means of an equable international copyright law. But hitherto the supposed interests of the publishers, who can print without recompense to the author, and of the public, who are thus supplied Avith cheaper books, have outweighed with our legislators the claims of justice ; and the consequence has been, as, in the end it always will be, that the wrong has produced its legitimate fruit of evil; on the one hand overwhelming us with a cheap and pernicious literature, Avhich is sapping the 25 386 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF morals and vitiating the taste of the young, and on the other discountenancing domestic productions of a higher moral tone, and better adapted to our wants. Strange that the legislators, Avho can see clearly the propriety of protection to the manu- facture of cloth, iron, and paper, are blind to the at least equal propriety of protecting against foreign interference the most im- portant of all manufactures, that of sustenance and ornament for the mind! From chemical authorship the attention of Dr. Bache was naturally turned to chemical teaching, and he began to lecture on the subject so early as 1821. Probably, in order to test his capacity before entering on a larger field, he made his first attempt in the presence of a class consisting exclusively of his brothers, sisters, and other near relatives; but soon afterwards he lectured to the private medical students of his friend, Dr. Thomas T. Hewson, and still later to a much larger class, com- posed of the joint pupils of two private summer medical schools, at that time established in Philadelphia. While thus teaching medical classes in the summer, he delivered, also, courses in the winter, first to the pupils of the Franklin Institute, in which he became Professor of Chemistry in 1826, and afterwards to classes of pharmaceutical students in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, by which he was appointed to the same professor- ship in the year 1831. While thus engaged in teaching chemistry, both as a Avriter and lecturer, he did not neglect his professional business. To his private practice, which came very slowly, and never in a degree equivalent to his merits, were added, for several years, the official duties of inspecting recruits for the United States army, and of attending military officers who might happen to require medical aid Avhen stationed in Philadelphia. He Avas, moreover, for a considerable time, physician both to the old Walnut Street Prison and to the new Penitentiary at Cherry- DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 387 hill, to the former of which he was appointed in 1824, and to the latter in 1829. Besides these avocations, which yielded him more or less in- come, he was for a period of six years, from 1826 to 1832, engaged, with several others, in gratuitously conducting the North American Medical and Surgical Journal, one of the best medical periodicals then existing, which occupied much of his time and thoughts; and, in the year 1829, he entered upon another course of unpaid labour, on the part of the College of Physicians of this city, in revising the United States Pharma- copoeia, which was repeated every ten years as long as he lived. Nor did he confine himself, at this period of his history, ex- clusively to chemical and professional labours. His situation, already referred to, of physician to the two State-prisons, the Walnut Street Prison, conducted on the old collective principle, and that at Cherry-hill, on the new Pennsylvania system of solitary confinement, not only suggested inquiry into the gen- eral subject of penitentiary discipline, but gave him excellent opportunities of comparing the two systems, and of determining their relative value. With one of his thoughtful turn of mind, such inquiries almost necessarily matured into decided opinions, which deserve great weight, in consequence not only of his opportunities, but also of his excellent judgment. His views on the subject were given in two letters to Roberts Vaux, well known as a zealous advocate of the modern plan, which were published in the third and sixth volumes of Hazard's Register, and also separately in a pamphlet form. Of these two letters, the first presented the evils of the col- lective or gregarious system, as he had observed it in operation in the old prison, and those of the solitary system, as alleged by its opponents, with comments of his own, which lead necessarily to the conclusion, that the latter is far preferable to the former in most points, and scarcely inferior in a single one. The second 388 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF letter gives the resu'ts of one year's personal observation of the working of the new plan in the Cherry-hill Penitentiary, Avhich abundantly confirmed the previous conclusions of his judgment. It must be understood, however, that he distinguishes very de- cidedly between the plan of entire seclusion, without occupation for mind or body, and that in operation at the new prison, which, Avhile most carefully debarring the convicts from all intercourse among one another, whether by night or day, permits a cau- tiously regulated intercourse with others, and gives every facility for needful exercise, useful labour, and profitable reading. It is the latter system only that he commends, abandoning the former, apparently without reserve, to the very serious charges, made by the enemies of solitary confinement, of inflicting tortures of mind conducive to insanity, and most deleteriously influencing the physical health, by the deprivation of fresh air and exercise, and all mental recreation. In the year 1818, soon after having established himself as a practitioner of medicine in Philadelphia, Dr. Bache married Aglae, the daughter of Jean Dabadie, a French gentleman then resident in this city. Perhaps by the merely Avorldly-wise this may have been regarded as an imprudent step, as their united incomes were insufficient for the support of a family; and for many years, with all that he could add to that income by his best exertions, the young couple laboured under many difficulties from deficient means, which were, of course, aggravated by the constantly increasing family that was growing up around them. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that he acted most wisely; for the match was one of affection; the lady was intelligent, amia- ble, and in every Avay Avorthy of him ; and it is impossible to overvalue the influence of mutual love in estimating the sources of happiness in this world. What, if borne singly, might be regarded as trouble or misfortune, when shared Avith an affec- tionate partner often scarcely deserves the name, and sometimes DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 389 may be even looked on as a blessing, as it calls qualities into exercise which might otherwise have remained dormant, and which, when developed, are alike a cause of happiness to their possessors and their objects, and an honour to our nature. Un- happily, Mrs. Bache, after bearing with her husband the diffi- culties of his earlier career, was called away from him just as his pecuniary affairs were beginning to be no longer a source of anxiety. She died of consumption in May, 1835, leaving him, as her best legacy, a young family of sons and daughters to give exercise to his affections, and comfort to his declining years. The period in Dr. Bache's history which we have now reached, may be considered as a resting-point, from which he may have looked back with a feeling of satisfaction for time well spent and work well done, but as yet Avith little consciousness of having filled a large space in the public eye, or having done much that Avas obvious for the general good. Hitherto he had been serving an apprenticeship to the great business of life, and preparing himself for the works Avhich were to entitle him to rank among public benefactors, and to earn for him a lasting name. The most important of these labours were mainly professional, and have been fully considered in the memoir to which I have already once or oftener alluded. I shall speak of them here, as a general rule, only so far as may be necessary to keep the thread of the narrative unbroken ; dilating, however, upon those points which especially connect him with this Society. I do not mean to in- timate that there was any sharp or precise line between his earlier and later career; so far from this, I am even unable to fix upon the year when the one may be said to have ended and the other begun. But we may date the commencement of the second era from the time when he had fully engaged in the work of revising the United States Pharmacopoeia, had been made Professor of Chemistry in the Philadelphia College of 390 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF Pharmacy, and was about to begin the work of preparing the United States Dispensatory; between the close of the year 1829 and the beginning of 1832, Avhen he was approaching his fortieth year, and had fairly entered into middle life. I shall treat first of his relations with this Society, Avith Avhich he was so long and so intimately associated. He was elected a member on the 1st of April, 1820. For several years there is little evidence, in the minutes of the Society, that he partici- pated actively in its proceedings otherwise than by attendance at its meetings ; the only office filled by him previously to the year 1825 being that of judge of the annual election in January, 1822. He was too modest to draw attention to himself by any premature display; so that, in looking over the records, I have noticed only a single instance, during the first five years of his membership, in which he appears to have departed from his rule of silence ; and, in this instance, it was nothing of his own that he offered, but a paper by Mr. Henry Seibert, containing the results of an analysis of a specimen of fluosilicate of magnesia from New Jersey. In the regularity of his attendance he was very remarkable, from the date of his election to that of his decease; and certainly, during this long period, there Avas no other member of the Society who was present at nearly so many meetings as he. A record of attendance has been kept by the treasurer since the beginning of 1850; and from that year, in- clusive, to 1864, which was the last of Dr. Bache's life, his average yearly attendance, notwithstanding an absence from the country on one occasion of five or six months, was fifteen meetings, the whole annual number being twenty. The only other member who, during this period, exhibited so fair a record, or even an approach to it, was our worthy treasurer himself, whose favourable line of marks for most of the time was almost without a flaw. In January, 1825, Dr. Bache was elected one of the secretaries; DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 391 and he continued to serve the Society faithfully in this capacity until January, 1843, having been the senior secretary for eleven years. For a considerable portion of the same time he was one of the Standing Committee of Publication, having been appointed a member of the committee in 1826, and its chairman in 1829 ; and he continued to act in the latter capacity until January, 1835, Avhen he declined a reappointment. They who knew Dr. Bache do not require to be informed how sedulously he fulfilled the duties of this laborious committee, not only taking care that everything should be done in its proper time and place, but also that it should be correctly done ; and I do not venture much in saying that, through the long series of our transactions, none will be found more free from errors of the press, or any other errors which fall within the scope of the committee's oversight, than the volumes published under his superintendence. At the election of January, 1843, he was chosen one of the Vice-presidents of the Society, and, being re-elected annually, became senior Vice-president in 1849. This relative position he continued to hold until January, 1853, when, Dr. R. M. Patter- son having on account of his failing health declined a re-election, he was chosen President; thus having risen regularly through the successive grades of office to the highest, as if the Society, in its relations with him, had participated in that spirit of order by which he was himself so strongly characterized. During the first year of his presidency, he paid, with myself, a visit of five or six months to Europe. On this occasion the Society furnished him with a circular to its correspondents abroad, which facilitated his intercourse with scientific men, and would have been still more useful, had not the necessary rapidity of our movements very much curtailed his opportunities for such intercourse. But throughout the journey he kept the good of the Society in view, searching for information about its foreign members, endeavouring to awaken an interest in its affairs 392 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF among those he Avas happy enough to meet, and seeking to ex- tend its relations, both with individuals and associations, when- ever apparently desirable. After his return, he gave, December 16th, 1853, an address to the Society in relation to its affairs, an abstract of which is contained in the published proceedings of that year. In consequence of a by-law then existing, "that no person should be eligible as President at more than tAvo out of three successive elections," he ceased to hold the office after January, 1855. Believing that this rule did not Avork beneficially for the Society, he introduced a resolution, November 5th, 1858, after the decease of the late President, Judge Kane, for the repeal of the by-laAV, Avhich at the subsequent meeting Avas carried by a majority of 23 to 2. Before initiating this measure, he had firmly resolved not again to accept the responsibilities of the position ; and, though the general feeling of the members was, I believe, in favour of his re-election, and he Avas strongly urged to permit himself to be considered as a candidate at the approach- ing election in January, 1859, he adhered to his resolution, and continued a private member during the residue of his life. His interest, however, in the Society, in no degree abated; and he continued to be as assiduous as ever in his attendance at the meetings, and as actively participant in the proceedings. How much the Society Avas present in his thoughts, may be inferred from the fact, that, on his death-bed, just before his intellect Avas swalloAved up in stupor, he spoke to me of a measure then under the consideration of the Society, which he feared, if adopted, might prove injurious to its interests; and these were among the last intelligent words that he uttered. In the course of his membership, Dr. Bache rendered several important services to the Society, which are worthy of being recalled. The first that I shall notice concerned the catalogue of members. Soon after he was first chosen one of the secre- taries, it was resolved, at his suggestion, that such a catalogue DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 393 should be prepared by these officers; and ever afterwards he appeared to take it under his special guardianship, being always solicitous that it should be at once complete and correct, with every name properly entered, and every date, whether of the election, resignation, or decease of a member, accurately stated. On the last point he often took great pains in making inquiries, especially as to the foreign members; and in regard to the sub- ject generally, there Avas no one, I presume, Avho nearly equalled him in a careful watchfulness over the necrology of the Society, the Avhole number of deaths, reported by him as they became knoAvn, scarcely falling short of one hundred. Another service had reference to the proceedings of the Society. Except as regarded the papers published in the Trans- actions, these proceedings were formerly almost barren of useful results outside of the comparatively small number of attending members who participated in them. At the meeting of May 18tb, 1838, a committee was appointed upon the motion of Dr. Bache, of which he was chairman, to consider the propriety of publishing an abstract of the proceedings; and at the next meeting, upon the favourable report of the committee, the pro- posed measure Avas adopted, and the secretaries were instructed to appoint one of their number as reporter. Dr. Bache Avas accordingly appointed to this office; and, at the meeting in August following, the first two numbers of the printed Pro- ceedings Avere laid on the table. Having completed the Report for the year 1838, he resigned the post in favour of one of the other secretaries, but in 1842 was again appointed, and served for another year. The arrangement of the Franklin papers is another result which may be fairly ascribed to him. As they came into the possession of the Society, these papers were in a chaotic state, which rendered them almost useless for reference. In November, 1849, Dr. Bache introduced the subject to the notice of the 394 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF Society; and at the following meeting in December, Avas made chairman of a committee, with instructions to have the papers arranged in chronological order, and divided into volumes of a convenient size for binding. A little examination sufficed to convince the committee of the almost Herculean character of the task confided to them; and, on their recommendation, it Avas determined that the labour should be intrusted to some compe- tent person, to be duly compensated. It was estimated that the papers would form at least sixty respectable folio volumes; and, as ten dollars per volume was deemed but a moderate re- compense for the requisite labour, the sum of six hundred dollars was appropriated to defray the cost. The task was undertaken by our treasurer, Mr. Trego; but so complicated and tedious did it prove, that, though he devoted to it most of the time he could spare from other avocations, it was completed only a short time before the decease of Dr. Bache. I have been told that one of the last acts of our departed friend was to appoint a meeting, with a qualified person, in order to make arrangements for the binding of these volumes; but he Avas prevented by his illness from fulfilling the appointment, and the work still remains to be done. Yet another service meriting special notice Avas his participa- tion in the business of newly arranging the library of the Society, and preparing a catalogue; a duty which fell to the lot of our present librarian, and has been so well performed by him. To- wards these purposes, Dr. Bache made the liberal contribution of five hundred dollars on two successive occasions, in the years 1853 and 1854, which is to be valued the more, as it proceeded not from superfluity of means, but from an income which, though considerable at the time, was all needed, in order to make prudent provision for the future of his family. I might extend these remarks concerning the relations of Dr. Bache with this Society much further, but all the more promi- DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 395 nent facts, so far as they have come to my knowledge, have been detailed ; and I am Avarned by the time already consumed that I must hasten on, if this address is to be completed within the customary limits. It has been already stated that, in the year 1829, Dr. Bache became engaged, with others, in the laborious duty of revising the Pharmacopoeia of the United States. He entered upon that duty as one of a committee of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia; and afterwards served on another committee ap- pointed by the Medical Convention which met at Washington in 1830, whose duty it Avas to further revise and ultimately pub- lish that important work. At three decennial periods subse- quently, 1840, 1850, and 1860, he Avas engaged in the same manner, in the same work, and on the last of these occasions, acted as chairman of the Committee of Revision and Publica- tion, and consequently had the chief labouring oar. Except by the medical gentlemen present, the Avork here referred to can scarcely be appreciated in regard either to its importance, or the amount of labour involved; but some idea may be formed on both these points, when it is understood that the Pharmacopoeia is a national code, essential to the maintenance throughout the country of a certain uniformity in the nomenclature and prepa- ration of medicines, without which every member of the com- munity would be liable to serious accidents to his health and life; and that in each revision of it, many months, and some- times even years, are occupied with more or less work every day, to fit it for the purposes it has to fulfil. In Europe this duty is generally performed under legal sanction, and by com- pensated labour. With us the Pharmacopoeia rests entirely upon opinion, and all the labour bestowed and time consumed are wholly gratuitous. Immediately after the publication of the first revised edition of the Pharmacopoeia, in 1831, Dr. Bache, jointly with myself, 396 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF undertook the preparation of the Dispensatory of the United States, Avhich Avas completed and published in 1833. I am pre- cluded, by my share in the authorship of that work, from treat- ing either of its merits or demerits. This much, hoAA'ever, I may be permitted to say, that it purports to represent the ex- isting state of Materia Medica and Pharmacy, has been accepted in this capacity to a great extent throughout the United States, and has been used as a guide in relation to these branches of medicine by a large proportion of the physicians and apotheca- ries of our country. The extensive use of the book rendered frequent editions necessary, and thus gave opportunity for revi- sions at short intervals, by Avhich its character as a representa- tive of the knoAvledge of the times has been maintained. Indeed, before the decease of Dr. Bache, so many changes had been made, and so much novel matter introduced, that it had become ialmost a neAV Avork, possessing little more than the general features of the original. Between the years 1833, when it Avas first published, and 1864, when Dr. Bache died, it Avent through eleven editions, at average intervals of three years; having, during this time, swollen from somewhat more than a thousand to nearly sixteen hundred pages, and containing, from its greater compactness, almost twice as much matter as in the beginning. From this statement it will be understood how great an amount of labour must have been bestowed on it from first to last by Dr. Bache, and how constant a source of occupa- tion it must have been to him during this long period of more than thirty years. Happily the pecuniary results were such as to make his income, much restricted anteriorly to its publica- tion, comparatively easy from that time onward, and quite adequate to his wants. The work was, moreover a stepping- stone to his appointment to the chemical professorship in the Jefferson Medical College, Avhich he received in 1841, and con- tinued to hold as long as he lived. DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 397 The vicissitudes of his life seem to have ceased with this ap- pointment. Made by it not only comfortable but even affluent in his circumstances, he Avas no longer compelled to search for neAV and better position ; and as his time and powers were suffi- ciently occupied in the performance of his regular duties—the care, namely, of his practice, the fulfilment of his professorial functions, and the constantly recurring labour of revising either the Pharmacopoeia or the Dispensatory—he had no inducement to new attempts at authorship, or in any other direction to seek for neAV fields of industry. As a member of the Wistar Party, and the Senior Medical Club, he performed duly his function whether of host or of guest; participated in our anniversary Philosophical Dinners, then more fashionable than now; in all respects acted duly the part becoming his social position; and gave to the various associations and institutions, benevolent, scientific, or professional, Avith Avhich he was connected, the proper share of time and attention. Thus fully occupied, with- out being overworked, with no serious draAvback to his comfort, he Avas, perhaps, as happy as is consistent Avith this uncertain state; and the current of his life, though somewhat agitated in its earlier course, now flowed onward copiously, richly, and smoothly to its end. Having sufficiently detailed the incidents of his career, it only remains that I should endeavour to portray his qualities as a man. Of his personal appearance nothing need be said, as there is no one here, I presume, not perfectly familiar with it. His mental qualities, though not peculiar in their nature, were in some respects strikingly so in degree, so as on the whole to constitute an extraordinary character. With little of the imaginative or inventive faculty, he had an excellent reason and judgment, and at least an average power of observation. He therefore seldom sought or made discoveries, never formed theories, except as convenient categories for facts, and generally 393 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF eschewed figures of speech and flights of fancy, whether in speaking or writing; but he was almost always clear in thought and correct in conclusion, remarkably sound in his opinions, and seldom wrong in his judgments either as to the character and probable actions of men, or as to what was expedient under any given circumstances. In mental action, as in his bodily move- ments, he was remarkably slow and deliberate, but Avas, there- fore, all the less liable to error; and when his conclusions were once attained, he was even more sIoav to change than he had been to form them. Though generally serious in thought and manner, he was possessed, in no slight degree, both of the sense and faculty of humour, which often rendered him a delightful companion; but his pleasantries partook of the quietness of his general deport- ment, were never boisterous or offensive, and rarely, if ever, out of place. There was a singularly marked line of division between his serious and lighter veins; and, unlike many wits Avho never hold back a ludicrous thought, however grave the occasion, he almost never mixed the two together. I have not known an individual who better illustrated the adage, sapientis est desipere in loco; who better knew, or, perhaps, I should rather say, more accurately felt, Avhen it Avas proper to be sober, and when to be gay and playful. But it was more in his moral than in his intellectual character that his peculiarities lay. Dr. Bache was apparently, rather by nature than by education, eminently conscientious. To believe that anything was right Avas, Avith him, as a matter of course, to act accordingly. The idea of doing what he believed to be Avrong Avould seem not to have occurred to him; and the attrac- tive appeared to lose its character when dissociated from the right, and to be no longer even tempting. He had, moreover, a natural love of truth, justice, and method, perhaps essentially the same mental quality, differing DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 399 only in application, as all are resolvable into the simple love of order; truth being the due relation of things in regard to fact, justice in regard to compensation or reAvard, and method in regard to position; so that one Avho by nature is very fond of order, will be apt to be true and just as well as methodical, unless perverted by accidental counter-influence. At all events, our deceased friend had all these qualities in an eminent degree. I never knew him to tell or even hint an untruth, to do an unjust act, or knowingly cherish an unjust thought; and every one acquainted with him, ever so slightly, must have been struck with the remarkable method and precision which pervaded all that he said or did. A natural consequence of his truthfulness Avas a remarkable degree of candour, Avhich, though perhaps not obvious to strangers, because both his good sense and a becoming mod- esty withheld him from intruding his personal concerns upon those of whose interest in himself he was not confident, and with whom, therefore, he may have sometimes had the repu- tation of reserve, yet to his friends was well known, and was among the most attaching features of his character. In rela- tion, however, to the concerns of others, he was as reticent as he was open in reference to his own; and I do not believe that he ever violated, even accidentally or carelessly, any confidence reposed in him. Another conspicuous moral trait was a placidity of temper that was proof against almost any provocation; not that he did not feel an injury or injustice done, whether to himself or others, and express himself accordingly; but the feeling provoked was rather that of regret than of anger, and the offence Avas readily forgiven when not attended Avith some moral obliquity. Taking him altogether, I never knew a man with a better balanced mind, or one who more nearly approached to my notions of perfection in all that concerns the moral character. 400 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF As a consequence of his various excellences, and certainly without any purposed action of his own, for writh all his ami- able qualities he was remarkably independent, he conciliated almost universal good-Avill; and feAV men have been more generally esteemed, and, Avhere well known, better beloved than he. Dr. Bache's writings and public teaching were marked by his characteristic intellectual traits. Simplicity, clearness, truthful- ness, accuracy, and method were their chief qualities, in regard both to material and arrangement. Correct reasoning and sound judgment were also evinced whenever there Avas occasion for their exercise. His style was easy and remarkably correct, even to the punctuation, and his language pure, idiomatic English. His published writings are entirely exempt from any appearance of effort or attempt at display. The purely orna- mental is eschewed entirely. Figures of speech, flights of fancy, and flowers of rhetoric, are unknown to them. It may seem strange that one so addicted to science, and es- pecially to chemistry, as he, should not only not have made any remarkable discovery, but should not even have exerted himself in the line of experimental research; but to the discoverer, except in the fields of pure natural history, where observation is the great requisite, a certain amount of the imaginative faculty, and of the disposition to its exercise, which is apt to attend its possession, is, I believe, an essential requisite; and of this, as before mentioned, Dr. Bache had very little. To find out the new, one must be able to penetrate somewhat into the unknown. The discoverer must have an imagination that shall carry him beyond the present, and suggest new ideas and new trains of thought; and, though these are not discoveries, yet they become so when, having been submitted to the test of experiment, under the guidance of reason and judgment, they may either be found to be themselves truths, or paths which DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. 401 lead to truth. A combination of these powers, the imagination, reason, and judgment, is essential to make a great discoverer or inventor; and of the three, a certain degree of the first is indispensable, outside of the field of pure observation, unless as the result of mere blind accident. From 1841 to the time of his decease, Dr. Bache's course of life was, so far as I know, distinguished by no prominent inci- dent beyond those connected with his regular engagements, except a journey in Europe, made with myself in the spring and summer of 1853. It was my original intention, in preparing this memoir, to incorporate with it a brief abstract of that journey, which was certainly considered by Dr. Bache as rep- resenting one of the most interesting eras of his life; but the length to which this address has been already protracted, and a glance at my notes of the journey, showing me that it would be impossible to compress what I should have to say within very narrow limits, have warned me that I must forego the execution of this intention. In the spring of 1864, just as he Avas about to enter upon the task of preparing a new edition of the United States Dispen- satory, which he expected to be peculiarly laborious, he was seized with an illness that proved to be his last. After con- siderable suffering for two or three days, his pains left him almost entirely; and in a few days more he sank into a state of prostration and stupor, which terminated in a perfectly easy death, on the 19th of March, somewhat more than a week from the commencement of the disease. He was in his seventy- second year when he died. 26 III. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE LATE KEV. FREDERICK BEASLEY, D.D., PREPARED BY REQUEST OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, And read before tlie Society, April 21st, 1848. In accepting the appointment of the Philosophical Society, made November 1st, 1845, to prepare an obituary notice of the late Dr. Frederick Beasley, I expected to fulfil its duties long before this time. Being provided with but little of the requisite information, I made application Avhere I supposed the deficiency could be best supplied, and was promised in doe time an answer to my request. This answer, however, I have not yet received ; and, being about to leave the country for some months, I have concluded that it would be best to postpone the affair no longer, and to make use of the slender materials in my possession, rather than to incur the risk of an ultimate failure in the per- formance of the duty assigned me. I make these preliminary observations in order to excuse at once the long delay of this notice, and its meagreness, noAV that it is offered to the Society. The subject of the present sketch Avas born at Edenton, in North Carolina, where he received the rudiments of his education. (403) 404 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF At the proper age, he became a pupil in the College of New Jersey at Princeton, in which he finished the regular course of studies, and graduated honourably. I have often heard him speak in strong terms of commendation of the Rev. Dr. Smith, then president of the institution, whose,work on Moral Philo- sophy he afterwards used as a text-book for his classes, in the University of Pennsylvania. The esteem appears to have been mutual; for, immediately after graduation, Mr. Beasley was appointed one of the tutors of the College, an office in Avhich he succeeded Mr. Hobart, afterwards Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in New York. During the period of his tutorship, he engaged in the study of theology, and, at the close of it, in the year 1801, Avas ordained Deacon in the Protestant Episcopal Church. His ministerial duties began at Elizabeth- town in New Jersey. In 1803 he accepted a call to St. Peter's Church in Albany, and afterwards removed to Baltimore, where he had for several years the pastoral charge of Christ Church. In July, 1813, he was appointed Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, and, having accepted the appointment, removed to Philadelphia, and entered immediately upon the duties of that responsible station. It Avas in this situation that the Avriter of the present sketch formed his acquaintance, having been a member of the first class which graduated after he became at- tached to the school. My impression is that Dr. Beasley received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of Pennsylvania shortly before his appointment to the Provostship. He Avas elected a member of the American Philosophical Society on the 21st of January, 1814. His connection with the University continued for a period of fifteen years, during which the Department of Arts, if not so flourishing as its friends could desire, was con- siderably improved in its arrangements, and became more effective than previously for the purposes of its institution. Dr. REV. FREDERICK BEASLEY, D.D. 405 Beasley, Avith the other members of the Faculty, was separated from the school upon the occasion of a reorganization which this department of the University underwent in the year 1828. Soon afterwards he left Philadelphia, and undertook the pas- toral charge of a congregation in Trenton, NeAV Jersey, which he held until the year 1836, when he was compelled to relin- quish it by the failure of his health. On this occasion he removed to ElizabethtoAvn (N. J.), Avhere he continued to reside, engaged, with more or less assiduity, as his health permitted, in literary pursuits and the occasional exercise of the clerical office, until the time of his death, on the 1st of November, 1845. Dr. Beasley was twice married, and left children by both marriages. Of his first Avife I have been able to learn nothing. His second was Miss Williamson, the daughter of a highly respectable lawyer of Elizabethtown, NeAV Jersey, and niece of the late Governor Williamson of the same State. It Avas in her paternal residence that the doctor passed the last years of his life. Mrs. Beasley survived her husband, and still resides in her native place. The children have all attained adult age, and most of them are respectably settled in life, with families about them.* The habits of Dr. Beasley were studious; and the time not occupied in his professional duties Avas devoted chiefly to litera- ture. A favourite subject of his studies was metaphysical philosophy, in Avhich he was deeply read. Early in life he acquired considerable reputation for pulpit eloquence, founded, however, more upon the composition of his * Of his two sons, the elder, who is a namesake of his father, has the pastoral charge, I believe, of two congregations, belonging to the Prot- estant Episcopal Church, north of the city of Philadelphia ; the younger, Mercer Beasley, Esq., has been, for some years, and continues to be Chief Justice of New Jersey, residing in the city of Trenton.— April*, 1872. 406 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF sermons than their delivery. He was a very ready and correct writer; and his contributions to the press were numerous, and some of them voluminous. Many of them were of a theological, and some of a controversial character. Essays upon subjects connected Avith general literature were from time to time pub- lished by him in the periodicals. But the chief production of his pen, and that upon Avhich his credit as an author must mainly rest, was a metaphysical Avork entitled "A Search of Truth." Of this work one of the most prominent features is a defence of some of the opinions of Locke against the misappre- hensions and misrepresentations of subsequent writers. His vieAvs upon this point appear to be well sustained, and are at least entitled to attentive consideration. The person of Dr. Beasley Avas slender and below the medium height; his eyes were blue; his complexion florid; and his head, in the latter portion of life, nearly bald, and habitually covered with powder. In mental character, he was highly intellectual; but his reasoning was usually abstract; and in practical affairs he was deficient in tact and foresight. He studied men more from books, and by reflection upon his own interior consciousness, than from actual observation. Hence he was not unfrequently deceived in his estimate of character, and consequently of actions. One of the most striking of his characteristics Avas an extreme truthfulness. Any concealment of honest opinion, much less any perversion of fact, or affectation of sentiment, appeared to be wholly foreign to his nature; and it was with reluctance that he admitted the existence of such violations of strict truth in others. It was, therefore, not diffi- cult to deceive him. In disposition, though sensitive to real or supposed injury, and somewhat quick of temper, he was gen- erally amiable and kindly disposed to all about him, and very warmly attached to those whom he believed to be his friends. He was, on the whole, a very worthy, benevolent, conscientious REV. FREDERICK BEASLEY, D.D. 407 man, endowed with talents of an elevated order, and furnished • with much and various learning; but of a simplicity of char- acter, and want of practical acquaintance with mankind, which tended somewhat to impair his influence in the world, and gave him in the estimation of the public a standing, which, though respectable, was scarcely equal to his deserts. • SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF DR. JAMES L. FISHER. Published in the American Advertiser, November 25th, 1833. It is a mournful fact, that peculiar excellencies of character are apt to be associated with a fragility of constitution, which but too frequently deprives society, by an untimely death, of the advantages which might result from their full development, and practical application to the various offices of life. Within a limited sphere, however, these excellencies must be known and appreciated ; and, when the brief course of their possessor is ended, it becomes the duty of those who may have enjoyed his intimacy, to lay before the public a picture of his character, in order that at least the benefit of his example may not be entirely lost. Nothing affords a more powerful stimulus to the young, than the contemplation of an exemplary life brought prematurely to its close. No envious feelings here mingle with admira- tion ; and the pattern does not seem beyond the scope of youth- ful powers, nor without the sphere of youthful sympathies, as (409) 410 SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF when it is presented with the accumulated attainments and honours of long years of toil. From considerations such as these, one who was intimately acquainted with the late Dr. James Logan Fisher, and, in common with all who knew him well, deeply regrets his loss, feels it a duty, as it is a melan- choly satisfaction, to offer to the public a sketch of his lamented friend, though he despairs of being able to present it with that sweetness, beauty, and nobleness of feature, with which it is indelibly impressed on his own heart. The person of this fine youth, though slender, as became his age, was of good height and well proportioned ; exhibiting, how- ever, to an observant and experienced eye a certain conforma- tion, which evinced delicacy of constitution, and a predisposition to pulmonary disease. His features were finely formed, and when flushed, as they sometimes were, with the fulness and bloom of apparent health, might be said to have been even beautiful; but the chief interest of his countenance lay in its expression. This was usually of a pensive cast, sometimes sad or even suffering from the influence of bodily uneasiness or pain ; but there was, at the same time, a softness blended with dignity in his aspect; and his smile had in it something inex- pressibly charming, in part, perhaps, from its contrast with his habitual seriousness, but chiefly from the mixed intelligence and goodness of heart which beamed in every feature. With these recommendations of person and face, he possessed a composed, correct, and gentlemanly manner, without obtrusiveness on the one hand, or bashfulness on the other, and belonging to that happy medium, which, escaping observation either for negli- gence or excessive refinement, allows fair scope to the influence of the intellectual and moral qualities. His address was, on all occasions, appropriate, manly and dignified, yet gentle; not the result of any studied effort, but obviously flowing from the tenor of his thoughts and feelings. DR. JAMES L. FISHER. 411 Loftiness of sentiment and spirit was, even from boyhood, a prominent trait in his character. Incapable of a meanness in any shape, he seemed raised above the ordinary motives which actuate the youthful mind. The frivolities and vicious pleas- ures, which carry aAvay so many youths of the fairest promise, had no charms for him. In dignity of feeling, he was a man in his early years. The leisure usually consumed in idle and fruitless pursuits, was devoted by him to the cultivation of a taste for the fine arts, particularly those of music and painting, for Avhich he had a decided genius, and to which he resorted for relaxation from occupations of a graver character. This sobriety of conduct and purity of morals were not the results of a cal- culating spirit. Sordid feelings found no place in his heart, and his character was free from the least stain of hypocrisy or affec- tation. They flowed spontaneously from an elevation of thought and feeling, whieh were the gift of nature, and which placed him almost beyond the reach of ordinary temptation. Yet no coldness of heart accompanied this elevation. On the contrary, his feelings were soft and his affections warm. It is true that the circle of his friendships was not very extensive. The delicacy of his moral taste rendered him sensitive to those faults which Avere associated with hardened selfishness or any trait of meanness. But even here, though he evinced a certain reserve Avhich precluded all approach to intimacy, the kindness of his heart prevented any act or expression offensive to the self-love of others. The same susceptibility which made him shrink from uncongenial characters, rendered him exquisitely sensible to traits which he approved; and his attachments, when once formed, were warm and durable. His admiration of virtues or attainments which he perceived or thought he per- ceived in others, was uncontaminated Avith the slighest tincture of envy. His heart was, therefore, prepared to flow out, in such instances, Avith warm affection; and the interest which he felt 412 SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF he hesitated not to manifest on all occasions. It was not enough that he himself loved or esteemed; he was not satisfied unless the object of his affection and respect stood equally well in the feelings and opinions of others. His commendation Avas open and unrestrained, and made the greater impression because it came obviously from the heart. His elevation of sentiment, while thus accompanied with warmth of feeling tOAvards others, was not marked by any inordinate self-esteem. He was ever ready to perceive and even exaggerate bis own faults; and the touching candour and ingenuousness with Avhich he acknowl- edged them, and took blame to himself much beyond his desert, Avere among the most engaging traits of his amiable character. To moral qualities such as have been imperfectly described, he united talents of a higher order. His taste for music and painting, and for the fine arts in general, has been alluded to. As a painter, especially, he might have attained high eminence, had his views in relation to his future course of life allowed him to cultivate his genius for this art. As it was, though attending to it only as a relaxation and amusement, he has left evidences of his skill, in numerous excellent portraits of his friends, and of others Avhose peculiarities of feature or condition in life at- tracted his notice. Of his intellect, the most marked features were readiness of apprehension and justness of conception; and these, united with a love of truth and a thirst for knowledge would have distinguished him in the fields of science, had time and health been granted him for the full development and exer- cise of his faculties. Notwithstanding, however, the delicacy of constitution which precluded intense and long-continued appli- cation to study, by the ravages which it invariably produced in his health, such was his perseverance and facility of acquiring knowledge, that none of his competitors of the same age, in the profession to Avhich he devoted himself, either held or deserved DR. JAMES L. FISHER. 413 to hold a higher place in the estimation of those competent to judge. The grand aim of his life appeared to be the attainment of a merited and honourable distinction ; and the course which he pursued was selected Avith judgment, and adhered to with per- severance, till the close of his career. Justly judging that health was essential to great and successful efforts, he united with all his other pursuits a constant attention to counteract the morbid tendencies of his frame. With this view, as much as to increase his professional knowledge, to gratify a liberal curiosity, or to cultivate his taste for the fine arts among the finished models of the Old World, he determined to undertake a voyage to Europe, upon the completion of his medical studies in the schools of Philadelphia. After'having made the tour of Great Britain, of which several hundred miles were travelled on foot among the romantic scenery of Wales and the West of England, he proceeded to Paris, with the vieAv of passing the Avinter in a course of attendance upon the lectures and hospitals of that great metropolis. With health improved, and brightened prospects, he was preparing to engage in his professional pur- suits, Avhen he was seized with that disease, so fatal to persons of feeble constitution, the scarlet fever, whieh carried him off after a short illness of three days. The attention which he paid to bis health, was with the elevated motive of preparing himself for greater subsequent usefulness and distinction, not for the mere purpose of preserving a life which he held of little value. Death he never feared, and when it came, it did not find an unprepared victim. To himself, indeed, the event was no loss; as so much physical uneasiness had been mingled for him in the cup of life, that its exhaustion must have been rather a relief than otherwise. It is highly probable that, by the short struggle which terminated his life, he was spared the lingering, painful, and not less fatal ravages of that worst physical enemy 414 LIFE AND CHARACTER OF DR. JAMES L. FISHER. of the human race, consumption of the lungs. His friends, how- ever, have met with a loss which they will not easily supply. At present, they feel too acutely the deprivation to admit the full force of topics of consolation ; but, when the keen edge of their sorrow is blunted, and the selfishness of grief is passed, they will be able to look upon his brief life with real satisfac- tion. They will treasure up in their hearts the image of his pure and noble character, and amid future cares, disappointments, and sorrows, will look upon it with refreshment and gratifica- tion, as the representation of one of the most beautiful of those green spots, which are but too sparingly scattered over the desert of human nature.* * Dr. Fisher was a private medical pupil of mine. His father was of an old Philadelphia family; his mother, a Miss George, from the East- ern Shore of Maryland, was a descendant of the Mary Dyer, celebrated as a martyr to her Quaker principles, who suffered the penalty of death in New England, in consequence of her obedience to what she believed to be the command of Deity, rather than to a persecuting law of the State. Dr. Fisher was a brother of the late Sydney George Fisher, Esq., and of Charles Henry Fisher, Esq.; the former a prominent political writer, the latter a distinguished and successful financier, both residents of Phil- adelphia.—April, 1872, ESSAYS, ADDRESSES, ETC. THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. Prefatory Remarks. The following essay was written at a time when the first great tem- perance movement had reached a point in its progress, at which a very careful management was needed to secure ultimate success; and at which any serious error might lead to partial failure, if not complete destruction. I thought that I saw certain dangers ahead, which, if not timely avoided, would probably prove to be the cause of an utter ship- wreck of the concern. Being a participator in the movement, and one of its most ardent friends, I believed it to be my duty to call general attention to these dangers, and endeavour to guard the community against them. They who may do me the favour to peruse this essay, will readily perceive the dangers referred to, and will, I think, recognize, in the entire neglect of such warnings as are herein given, one at least of the agencies which led to the collapse of the great cause. We all know that intem- perance soon began to revive from the effects of the blows it had received; and, though the evil has not yet regained the vast magnitude exhibited by it before the crusade against it commenced, yet it is on the highway to such a result, and may possibly attain it, unless, in the renewed struggle against it, the causes of the former failure be avoided. 27 (417) 418 PREFATORY REMARKS. This essay never had more than a very limited circulation, and is not likely to be much more widely known in its present form. Even, there- fore, admitting that its arguments may have some force, I can scarcely expect greater influence from it in the future than it has exerted in the past. Nevertheless, I am not without hope that some of its sugges- tions, meeting similar convictions in other minds, may tend to induce efforts which may prove more serviceable by a wider diffusion, and a nearer adequacy to the wants of the occasion. There is one predic- tion which I can venture to make, that, so long as the advocates of temperance refuse to admit the moderate use of the pure fermented liquors, as cider, ale, the light wines, etc., within the meaning of that term, their cause will never be universally nor even generally adopted. Were our efforts confined to the exclusion of ardent spirit or distilled liquors from use, there might be some hope of success in the end; as a people among whom temperance could be established, with this limita- tion, could never, so long as the rule continued, become a nation of drunkards,—April, 1872. THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. From the United States Review for January, 1834. Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Reports of the American Temperance Society* Boston, 1832, 1833. 8vo. pp. 338. The Anniversary Report of the.Managers of the Pennsylvania Society for Discouraging the Use of Ardent Spirits. Bead on the 27th May, 1831. Philadelphia, 1831. 8vo. pp. 80. The Anniversary Report of the Managers of the Pennsylvania State Tem- perance Society for 1833. Philadelphia, 1833. 8vo. pp. 45. Origin, Uses, and Effects of Ardent Spirit. Philadelphia, 1834. 8vo. pp. 112. The recent movements in relation to the subject of temperance have a claim to our lively attention, from the mere circumstance of their rapidity and extent. When, in addition, their character and objects, and the effects which have already resulted from them, are considered, they rise greatly in importance, and assume the dignity of an enterprise affecting the vital interests of the whole human race. It is, therefore, not only excusable, but is even obligatory upon us, to trace their origin and pro- gress, to develop their causes, principles, and aim, to examine their present and probable future influence upon society, and, according as this investigation may result in a conviction of their good or evil tendency, to join heartily in their promotion, (419) 420 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. or do all that is possible by argument and just representation to retard if not arrest them. Should the former of these conclu- sions be arrived at, the question will then be presented, Avhether the object may be most effectually accomplished by simply rush- ing into the crowd, and thus contributing merely to swell and accelerate the onward movement, or by carefully examining, from an isolated station, the whole prospect in view, and guard- ing, so far as a weak voice can be heard, against any obstacle which may threaten either to interrupt the progress of the cur- rent, or give it a wrong and injurious direction, or scatter it into separate portions, to be swallowed up in the great mass of op- posing causes. There can be little doubt as to the course which, under competent management, would prove most beneficial. Should we adopt the latter, we may be allowed to hope that our determination will be attributed, not to a presumptuous estimate of our own sufficiency, but to a sense of duty, which would lead us rather to incur the risk of failure in attempting, for the general good, that which is beyond our power, than by too low an aim to fall short of what we are able to accomplish. The pamphlets of which the titles are quoted at the head of this article, contain abundant materials for such a history as we propose to offer. Of their respective merits in regard to literary execution, we are not called on to give an opinion. Their aim is not to please by the refinements, or dazzle by the splendour of style. To state facts in a plain and impressive manner, to convince the judgment by arguments, and to influence the will by motives, presented in language intelligible to every capa- city, are the objects, as they are the merits, of the works before us. To have expended time and labour on the mere elegancies of diction, would have been to keep back, till it should be hand- somely sugared over, the bread that was wanted by a starving community. Nevertheless, the skilful writer will be detected in his most hasty productions; and in the "Anniversary Report THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 421 of the Managers of the Pennsylvania Society for Discouraging the Use of Ardent Spirits," published in 1831, we recognize a terseness and polish of style, which could have proceeded only from a practised pen. The "Reports of the American Tem- perance Society" also deserve particular notice and commenda- tion, for the mass of facts and the array of motives presented by them in the cause which they advocate, and have so greatly contributed to promote. At the period, about eight years since, when the present plan of temperance societies was adopted, the United States pre- sented a melancholy picture of widely diffused and increasing habits of intemperate drinking, unequalled in any other civilized country, and fearfully ominous of future evil to our social con- dition, and political institutions. It is not difficult to point out the causes of our pre-eminence in this vice. The fondness for intoxicating substances is deeply seated in the constitution of our species. From the remotest period of history, and in all ages of the world, wine or other fermented liquor containing alcohol has been employed; and there is scarcely a nation or people, civilized or savage, whose ingenuity has not been sharp- ened, by this propensity, into the invention or discovery of some substance calculated for its gratification. But in most countries counteracting circumstances exist, which, independent of merely prudential considerations, have had an effect in restraining habits of intemperance. The poverty and ignorance of savage and semi-civilized nations have usually limited the indulgence in alcoholic and other stimulants by the scantiness of supply. In the countries where the Brahminical and Mahometan systems have been established, the positive precepts of religion, which are also those of the law, have tended to repress the use of in- toxicating liquors, though altogether insufficient to prevent it. In the warmer regions of Europe, where the vine is largely cul- tivated, the almost universal employment of the lighter wines, 422 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. upon which alone it is difficult to form habits of intoxication, has had an effect rather favourable to temperance, by excluding from general use the more powerful products of the still. Great Britain and the north of Europe approach, perhaps, more nearly than other parts of the world to our own standard; but the comparative poverty of the lower classes in those countries, and the high price of distilled liquors, have, in some measure, con- trolled the propensity to strong drink by the difficulties which they have placed in the way of its indulgence. In the United States none of these causes have operated. The excess of our agricultural products over both the borne consump- tion and external demand, led to the establishment of distilleries, by which this surplus might be consumed. The distillation of whisky from grain was carried on to an enormous extent in the agricultural districts remote from navigation, as affording the least expensive means of conveying the produce of the farm to market; while the seaboard contributed to swell the amount of the liquid poison, not only by the importation of the higher priced liquors from abroad, but by the conversion of the cheap West India molasses into rum. In a country of which the government represents the wishes of the people, no check, in the way of taxation, could be placed upon a favourite branch of domestic industry; and the stills were permitted, without re- straint, to pour forth their streams of pollution till the whole land was flooded. To this exceeding abundance and consequent cheapness of spirituous liquors, which brought them within the means of the poorest, was added the high price of labour, which, at the same time, prevented the trifling cost of the liquor from being felt, and allowed leisure for the formation of drunken habits, and for the indulgence of these habits when formed. There were also other causes which operated with peculiar force upon the people of the United States. Hospitality is the virtue of newly settled and thinly peopled countries. To refresh THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 423 the traveller—and every guest is there a traveller—is con- sidered among the highest social duties. To refuse the offered glass is equivalent to a repulse of the kind feeling which prompted the offer, and is looked upon as an insult. Every one who enters another's door must drink, and the host must drink in pledge of his hospitable intentions, and all present must drink to evince their cordiality; and thus a round of drinking is kept up from one end of the country to the other, which is the more dangerous in its tendency, as it flows out of the supposed discharge of a social obligation. The practice, which is at first based upon good feeling and kind intentions, obtains at length the force of a custom, and is maintained after the cause of its origin has disappeared. Hence, until within a few years, the bottle was kept on almost every sideboard even in towns and cities; the temptation to drink was constantly offered; and even the child was taught to look upon the deadly poison as an innocent refreshment, to be used, within certain limits, without fear or scruple. The evil was aggravated by the frequent recur- rence of court days, elections, and militia musters, which col- lected the people together at taverns, and placed them under the supposed necessity of drinking, even in the absence of any particular inclination. The practice of treating on the part of candidates for office, which prevailed to a great extent in some parts of the country, was another pernicious ingredient in the mass of temptation to which the people were exposed. On the top of all these causes of intemperance, came the epidemic typhus fever of 1812, etc., which, requiring stimulant treatment, led to the profuse employment of alcoholic liquor not only as a remedy, but unfortunately also as a preventive. They who had no relish for ardent spirits now resorted to them as a refuge from danger, and too often acquired a taste which continued after the occasion was past; others, who had, from a feeling of prudence, or a sense of duty, resisted the disposition to drink 424 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. intemperately, relinquished the painful restraint when prudence and duty seemed to second their inclination; and the habitual drinker drank more than ever, under the combined influence of fear and fondness. Medical men, instead of calling back the alarmed public sentiment to sobriety and reason, but too fre- quently urged on the crowd, both by their voice and example. They had in general not yet been imbued with those feelings and opinions in relation to the use of spirituous liquors which now happily prevail among them; and were too frequently in the habit of prescribing these liquors to counteract debilitated states of the system, or of particular organs, which might have been treated equally well, and much more safely in relation to the future habits of the patients, by other means. The seeds of in- temperance and death were thus planted by the very hand which had been confidently looked to for the means of health. But physicians erred from blindness, not perversity; and were them- selves the victims of their errors, even in larger proportion than they made victims of others. They who resided and practised their profession in the country were, by the nature of their occupation, exposed to constant temptation. At every house where they visited, the bottle was pressed upon them; and, cold and fatigued by their ride, without a due sense of their danger, they were too apt to swallow the exhilarating draught, till it began at length to be deemed indispensable, and the habit of in- temperance was formed. When they who were considered as the guardians of the public health were thus insensible to danger, how could due caution be expected from the mass of the com- munity ? The people naturally considered themselves safe in following the precept and example of those in whose hands they confided their health and lives. Exposed as they were to tempta- tions so numerous and varied, it is perhaps less surprising that so many were swallowed up in the vortex, than that so many escaped being drawn into its centre, while swimming uncon- THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 425 sciously upon its border. Nothing but the prudence of our national character, and the general prevalence of a strong sense of moral and religious obligation, could have prevented us, already a nation of drinkers, from becoming a nation of drunk- ards. The evils of intemperance are familiar to every one who observes or reads. To sum them up briefly and imperfectly__ to the intemperate they are self-reproach, mental anguish, en- feebled intellect, brutalized passions, poverty, crime, infamy, disease, despair, madness, and death; to their dependent fami- lies, shame and mortification, withered affections, blasted hopes, misery and want, reproaches and violence, in fine, disgust, loathing, and unspeakable wretchedness; to the public, bad example, neglected duties, violated laws, the streets filled with beggary, and the courts with offenders, crowded almshouses and prisons, the industry of the country burdened and op- pressed, the general morals vitiated, public virtue degraded, and the very foundations of government weakened and en- dangered. Much of this revolting picture has been realized in our own national experience. Upon the authority of those best in- formed on the subject, at least three-fourths of the pauperism and crime of the United States have been ascribed to the influ- ence of spirituous liquors. Of the murders and suicides a still larger proportion is asserted to have originated directly or indirectly in this cause. It was estimated, about seven years since, that thirty thousand individuals died annually from the effects of intemperate drinking; and this number was probably much below the truth; as individuals are constantly falling victims to the deleterious influence of alcohol as exhibited in gout, liver complaint, and dropsy, whose intemperance has been so guarded as to escape public notice; and crowds of drunkards are swept off during every epidemic, whose death is ascribed 426 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. to the prevalent disease, though attributable, in fact, to their own shattered constitutions. At the same period, it Avas cal- culated that sixty millions of gallons of ardent spirit Avere annually consumed in the United States, at the cost of at least forty millions of dollars. Now, though a portion of this spirit must have been usefully employed for pharmaceutical and manufacturing purposes, yet by far the greater part was used as drink, and therefore utterly lost, aud even worse than lost to the community. Not only was its cost to the distiller and im- porter abstracted from the capital of the country; but the whole expense of the pauperism and crime produced by it, and the value of the labour and enterprise lost by the idleness, disease, and premature death which it occasioned, were additional items in the heavy tax incurred by the use of this baneful stimulus. According to the estimate of Judge Cranch, of the District of Columbia, the annual loss to the United States from this cause exceeded ninety-four millions of dollars. It is true, that such calculations are very liable to error; as, independently of the quantity and cost of the spirit consumed, which can be ascertained with some approach to precision, and independently also of the loss of labour, and the cost of the resulting crime and pauperism, which are extremely uncertain in amount, they involve other data, which only those familiar with the com- plicated operations of national industry can appreciate, and which even they can appreciate but imperfectly. Yet, ad- mitting the uncertainty of these calculations, there can be no doubt that the loss to the community, at the time alluded to, by the use of ardent spirit as drink, was enormous, without one compensating advantage; and that the onward march of the public wealth was as much impeded, as that of vice, immo- rality, and private and political profligacy, was accelerated. When it is considered, that the great supports of our free institutions are public virtue and knowledge, and that the THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 427 operations of a government like ours, based upon the will of the people, must feel the influence of all the causes which bias that will, we shall be prepared to admit, that the rapid increase in the consumption of ardent spirit, with all its debasing effects upon individual character, afforded cause of alarm for the future security of our political system, and must, in a woful degree, have cramped and perverted the action of the govern- ment. They who are conversant in the lower walks of political management, are well aware how much has been done, and how much left undone, in our various legislative assemblies, how often and to what extent the executive function has been perverted, how far even the sacred altar of justice has been pro- faned, from fear or favour of the dram-shops and their hosts of supporters. The heart sickened at the prospect of that vast reeking mass of vice and misery, which, raising its dark form amid the moral beauties of our country, increased daily in magnitude and corruption, and threatened to wither all that was good, and great, and happy, by its pestiferous exhalations. Philanthropy seemed to have exerted herself in vain; the voice of religion was drowned in the noisy shouts of intemperance; and patriotism looked sadly on, and folded her arms in appar- ently helpless despondency at the scene before her. But while good men were almost beginning to despair, there were secret causes in motion, which, though operating silently and without obvious results, were undermining the very foun- dations of the frightful evil, and preparing the way for the effectual application of that great engine which was afterwards brought to bear against it. Among the most powerful of these causes, was the change which had taken place in medical senti- ment in relation to alcoholic liquors. Physicians had gen- erally become convinced that these were seldom required in disease, that they often, in fact, proved seriously deterimental where they had formerly been considered salutary, and that, in 428 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. a state of health, they were altogether useless, and, even in moderate quantities, frequently injurious. This conviction they naturally imparted, in a greater or less degree, to the more intelligent individuals in their respective circles of professional practice and association; and, though but few of these had proceeded so far as actually to abandon the moderate use of a drink to which they had been always accustomed, yet their former opinions of its usefulness or innocence had been shaken, and were ready to give Avay entirely and practically before any vigorous assault. -The physicians themselves, moreover, were prepared, by this change in their opinions, to join in any enterprise against the common enemy which might offer a fair prospect of success; and thus a disciplined phalanx was at once ready to be set in motion, when the war cry should arise. Besides, there were many instances of entire abstinence from spirituous drinks, which, in the happy consequences that resulted, might serve as guides and examples to the temperate party. In the Society of Friends such instances were especially numerous. This society, in accordance with its characteristic policy of avoiding altogether such practices as are peculiarly liable to degenerate into abuses, had for a long time discouraged the use of spirituous liquors among its members. Abstinence from them was strongly inculcated in the written regulations and discipline of the sect; and their sale and manufacture were so far discountenanced, that one engaged in these occupations, although he did not absolutely forfeit his membership, was not considered in full unity, and seldom possessed any influence in the affairs of the church. In the moral lives, prosperous cir- cumstances, general healthfulness, and comparative longevity of the Friends as a body, proofs were everywhere at hand, that alcoholic drinks might be dispensed with, not only with im- punity, but with advantage. The very grief and alarm existing in the minds of sober and patriotic men was an excellent prepa- THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 429 rative for energetic action. The newspaper press had been co- operating powerfully in the production of this favourable state of feeling. Recording aggravated crimes and serious acci- dents, from whatever cause, and wherever occurring, it kept constantly before the mind of every reader the deplorable ef- fects of intemperance, and the alarming extent of its preval- ence. Scarcely a paper met the eye which did not furnish some appalling account of stage accidents, of fires, of ship- wreck, of manslaughter, of murder, of parricide, of wives killed by their husbands, and children by their parents, of despair, frenzy, and suicide; all under the influence of that potent enemy of human happiness. A voice was thus made to arise from every town and village of the country, proclaim- ing the horrors of intemperance, and appealing to the sym- pathies of the public; and, though no way seemed to be open for relief, the general feeling of uneasiness and apprehension was daily increasing in intensity, and required at length but the smallest apparent chance of success, to burst forth into vigorous effort. Notwithstanding, therefore, that intemperance appeared to be constantly gaining new subjects, and widening every day the circle of its power, disaffection had established itself in the very centre of its dominion, which was most insecure at the moment when it seemed to be frowning upon humanity with a might as invincible as it was malignant. The whole country was ripe for a powerful movement against the tyranny that oppressed it, and waited only till some enterprising spirit should proclaim independence, and raise the standard of re- sistance. In the year 1822, on the occasion of two fatal accidents arising from intoxication, a gentleman of Massachusetts, who is no otherwise designated than as a member of the Executive Committee of the American Temperance Society in 1831, delivered a discourse on "the duty of preventing sober men 430 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. from becoming intemperate, so that, when the present race of drunkards should be removed, the whole land might be free." The means, and the only means, of accomplishing this object were shown to be abstinence from the use of intoxicating liquors; and this was treated as not only practicable and ex- pedient, but also an indispensable duty. This doctrine excited much attention, and was received, as it generally is when first heard, with considerable hesitation even by those who were best disposed towards the cause of temperance. But it was found to bear examination, and the more it was investigated the more it recommended itself to the consciences of individuals; so that many became convinced of the duty of abstinence, and acted in accordance with their convictions. The favourable result of experiments made upon the newly promulgated principle, gave additional weight to the arguments in its favour. The number of converts increased; but the progress of the reform was at first necessarily slow, in consequence of the absence of any systematic effort. No great cause can succeed rapidly and extensively by the separate action of individuals. The union of minds in one common pursuit generates and sustains enthu- siasm, as the close contact of our bodies increases warmth. By isolation, in either case, any excitement beyond the ordi- nary standard is carried off by the conducting power of the surrounding moral or physical atmosphere. Without the in- fluence, in a greater or less degree, of that elevation of feeling called enthusiasm, efforts will never be made sufficiently great and sustained to overthrow speedily any established custom, or eradicate from society any deep-rooted prejudice. The cold convictions of propriety or of duty may lead to individual reform ; but they will not excite to great efforts for the produc- tion of a like reform in others. Besides, individuals, however great may be their enthusiasm, can seldom spare from their own support, or that of their families, the time, labour, and THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 431 expense, incident to all undertakings for the general diffusion of new opinions and feelings. Each can afford a little, and the contributions which separately would evaporate in feeble and useless attempts, may by union form a mass sufficient to sweep away all impediments. It follows, therefore, that combination is essential to any vigorous and effectual efforts for the pro- motion of great general objects. The friends of the plan of abstinence entertained these views and acted accordingly. A few individuals who had assembled together to consult upon the subject, resolved to attempt the formation of a society, the grand principle of which should be abstinence from intoxi- cating drinks, and its object, to change the habits of the nation in relation to these drinks. By their instrumentality, a meeting of men of different Christian denominations was held in Boston on the 10th of January, 1826, at which preparatory measures were taken for the organization of a society, upon the principle and with the object stated. At a subsequent meeting in Feb- ruary, a constitution was adopted, officers appointed, and the society regularly organized, under the name of the American Temperance Society. Its members were to consist of such in- dividuals as might from time to time be elected, from different parts of the United States, and of all who might agree to pay a certain stipulated contribution, and to subscribe a pledge of " entire abstinence from the use of ardent spirits, except when prescribed by a temperate physician, in case of sickness." The society was to meet annually; and, in the mean time, the management of its business was intrusted to an executive com- mittee, consisting of five members, upon whom, in fact, the whole burden of responsibility rested, as it was their duty both to devise measures calculated to answer the purposes of the institution, and to provide that these measures should be carried into effect. A permanent agent, with the title of cor- responding secretary, was appointed, to act under the direction 432 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. of the executive committee, and to devote his whole time and abilities, for a suitable compensation, to the service of the so- ciety. It was his duty, in the words of the constitution,— " To make appropriate communications, by pamphlets, cor- respondence, and personal interviews, to ministers of the gospel, to physicians, and others, and to consult and co-operate with them for the purpose of guarding those under their influence from the evils of intemperance; to take pains, in all proper methods, to make a seasonable and salutary impression, in relation to this subject, on those who are favoured with a public and refined education, and are destined in various ways to have a leading influence in society; to make it a serious object to introduce into the publications of the day, essays and addresses on the subject of intoxicating liquors, and to induce teachers, and those concerned in the support of schools, to labour diligently to impress the minds of the young with the alarming and dreadful evils to which all are exposed who in- dulge themselves in the use of strong drink; to make earnest and affectionate addresses to Christian churches, to parents and guardians, to children, apprentices, and servants, and all other descriptions of persons; and to set clearly before them the effect of spirituous liquors on health, on reputation, and on all the temporal and eternal interests of man, and to urge them, by the most weighty arguments, drawn from the present and the future world, to keep themselves at a distance from this destructive and insidious foe; to do whatever is practicable and expedient towards the forming of voluntary associations for the purpose of promoting the ends of this society; and, in general, to labour, by all suitable means, and in reliance upon the divine blessing, to fix the eyes of persons of both sexes, and of all ages and con- ditions, on the magnitude of the evil which this society aims to prevent, and on the immeasurable good which it aims to secure; and to produce such a change of public sentiment, and THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 433 such a renovation of the habits of individuals, and the customs of the community, that, in the end, temperance, with all its attendant blessings, may universally prevail." In this long sentence, which we certainly have not introduced as an example for rhetorical imitation, is presented a summary of the means which have been employed, Avith so much success, for the furtherance of the cause of temperance in the United States. The first executive committee consisted of the Rev. Leonard Woods, D.D., Rev. Justin Edwards, John Tappan, Esq., Hon. George Odiorne, and S. Y. S. Wilder, Esq. Of these gentle- men, Dr. Woods and Mr. Wilder were succeeded, before the year 1831, by the Hon. Heman Lincoln, and Enoch Allen, M.D. With these exceptions, the committee has continued to the present date unchanged. The particular mention of the in- dividuals composing it, is due to the agency which they have exercised in originating, extending, and supporting, one of the greatest enterprises for the good of the whole human family which the present century has witnessed. For the same reason, it is proper to mention, that the agent first employed was the Rev. Justin Edwards, who still continues in the service of the society in the important station of corresponding secretary. There was, however, a considerable interval, commencing soon after Mr. Edwards had accepted the agency, during which he was from other engagements unable to attend to its duties. The place, during this interval, was occupied by the Rev. Nathaniel Hewit, of Connecticut, Avho had previously evinced his zeal and capacity by successful labours in the cause. This gentleman is associated with our earliest recollections and impressions in relation to the temperance reform. Nearly seven years ago, it was our good fortune to be present at a small meeting, at which, in one of his journeys upon the duties of his station, he explained the principles and objects of the 28 434 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. movement then commencing, and inculcated the propriety, if not duty, of joining in it. His calm, deliberate, yet impressive manner; his gentle, but deep and clear flow of argument; his strength and aptness of illustration; the chastened zeal with which he strove to carry his OAvn sentiments into the breasts of his hearers, without assailing their prejudices or rousing their passions into opposition; were traits which everywhere gained him respect, and strengthened his cause by the pleasing per- sonal associations with which they connected it. In the warmth of esteem excited by his character and devotedness, we have heard him called the apostle of temperance. In the fulfilment of his engagement with the society, he travelled, at different times, through New England and the Middle and Southern States, everywhere received with kindness, and heard with at- tention, and everywhere awakening an interest which sooner or later grew into profitable action. On a subsequent occasion, he visited England and France on the same noble errand; and recently we have again heard his voice, among the friends of temperance collected in convention from all parts of the Union. He has been a fortunate as well as a useful man; for, in the recollection of thousands, his person is associated with their first convictions in a cause which they have now deeply at heart, and his name will go down to posterity in the records of a great moral revolution, connected with those of its earliest and most successful advocates. The institution of the American Temperance Society was but the first step in a long march of triumph. The spirit of reform flew swiftly through the country, and everywhere found a home prepared for its reception. Temperance societies, all founded on the principle of entire abstinence from spirituous drink, sprang rapidly into existence, even in the remotest sec- tions of the Union. Each of these served as a nucleus around which others were formed, till the widening circles met, and THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 435 the whole country was filled. It appeared to an observer, as if a thousand fires had been almost simultaneously lit up, at separate points, in the darkness of some vast landscape, and, spreading on every side, threw up at length a united blaze of light which left no spot unillumined. At the close of the year 1829, more than a thousand societies had been formed, embracing more than one hundred thousand members; and at the commencement of 1831, not a State or Territory of the Union, with the exception of Arkansas, was without temper- ance associations. Not only were cities, towns, and villages, the seats of these societies; the spirit penetrated also into the churches, the seminaries of learning, the halls of Congress and other legislative assemblies, and even into the army and navy, in which associations were voluntarily formed, the members of which bound themselves to abstain wholly from the use of strong drink. According to an official report from Commodore Biddle, when in command of the Mediterranean squadron, out of one thousand one hundred and seven seamen under his orders, eight hundred and seventeen had stopped their allow- ance of spirit, and, on board of one of the ships, not a man continued to drink it. The temperance societies were at first without any other bond of connection than the brotherhood of a common purpose; but it was soon perceived that the adoption of a systematic plan would be necessary to secure their permanence and increase their efficiency; and it was accordingly recommended, that, in each State, the separate associations embraced within the limits of the several counties should acknowledge subordination to county societies, and these to one State society, while all should look up with filial respect to the American Temperance Society as their common parent. According to this plan, at least twenty State societies have been already organized; and the whole number will probably soon be completed, as an agent has been> 436 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. appointed by the American Temperance Society, to travel through the valley of the Mississippi, chiefly for the promo- tion of this object. A uniform system will then exist throughout the United States, which will greatly favour the collection and diffusion of information, and give strength to the cause by directing the action of its friends into the same channel, and combining them in one effort Avhenever such a combination may be deemed necessary. The movements in favour of temperance have not been con- fined within the limits of the United States. The reform has entered the British North American provinces; has crossed the Atlantic, and established itself in the British islands, Sweden, and some other parts of continental Europe ; and has even reached the southern point of Africa, and the distant islands of the Pacific. The first temperance society in Europe was insti- tuted, a.d. 1829, in the northof Ireland; and its principles, as well as encouragement to enter upon the undertaking, were derived from the successful examples exhibited in our own country. Societies were afterwards formed, in quick succession, in different parts of Scotland, Ireland, and England; and in June, 1831, the British and Foreign Temperance Society was established at London, with the view of aiding, by its co-opera- tion, in the extension of the cause not only in the British domin- ions, but throughout the world. Thus it appears, that civilized America is destined to repay to Europe in two ways the debt of existence; first by the influence of her example in diffusing a love of freedom, and of liberal political institutions; and, secondly, by the similar influence of example in the promotion of health, good morals, and general prosperity. Nor are the friends of liberty and of temperance in the other quarter of the globe backward in acknowledging their obligation ; and it may be hoped that the sense of mutual favour and kindness thus pro- duced between the two hemispheres, will have a tendency to THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 437 smooth down causes of difference, and to establish a permanent harmony favourable to the prosperity and happiness of both. In order to concentrate the sentiments and action of the friends of the temperance reform in the United States, the Executive Committee of the American Temperance Society issued a circular in December, 1832, inviting delegates from temperance societies and the friends of temperance, in all parts of the Union, to meet in general convention at Philadelphia, and designating the mode of choosing delegates, and the time of meeting. In answer to this call, a convention assembled in May, 1833, composed of four hundred delegates from twenty- one States. Their first meetings were appropriately held in the Hall of Independence. It is an interesting fact that a delegate was appointed by the British and Foreign Temperance Society, to represent them in this convention, though circumstances be- yond his control, after his arrival in the United States, pre- vented his attendance. During the sittings of the convention, numerous resolutions were adopted, stating and enforcing the principles of the temperance reform, and recommending meas- ures calculated to diffuse these principles more widely, and to carry them out more extensively into practical application. Among the resolutions was one creating a United States Tem- perance Society, to consist of the officers of the American Temperance Society and of the several State societies, the duties of Avhich should be " to hold mutual consultations, and to take all suitable measures to carry into effect the objects of the convention; to embody public sentiment; and, by the universal diffusion of information and the exertion of kind moral influence, to extend the principles and blessings of the temperance re- formation throughout our country, and throughout the world." Thus a complete organization Avas given to the temperance movement, which must greatly increase its efficiency, and is probably destined to give it a powerful influence on the future 438 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. condition of the country. Whether that influence is to be bene- ficial or otherwise, may be in some measure ascertained from the effects already produced. From recent accounts it appears that the temperance socie- ties, existing in the United States, exceed six thousand in number, and include more than one million of members, all pledged to total abstinence from ardent spirit as a drink; and it is conjectured, on probable grounds, that at least one million more habitually abstain, though bound by no formal engage- ment. We are not informed what proportion of these are adult males, and what proportion are women and children ; but there can be no doubt that the former class greatly predominates; and, admitting that fifteen hundred thousand are males over six- teen years of age, we have a number equal to one-half of the population of the United States in 1830, of the same sex and age. As most of these formerly drank spirituous liquors either occasionally, or habitually, in moderate quantities, and a con- siderable number in excess, we can readily conceive that the consumption of these liquors must have very greatly diminished, even without making allowance for the increased quantity which would have been consumed with the progress of the population. The powerful agency of the newly excited spirit of temper- ance is evinced by numerous other circumstances, besides the mere increased number of members attached to the societies. It is asserted that seven hundred ships have been fitted out from the ports of the United States without ardent spirit; and, though it is probable that the number stated applies rather to distinct voyages than to distinct ships, it is yet an evidence of a great change in the habits of seamen, such as, but a few years since, would have been deemed utterly impossible. It need scarcely be mentioned, that voyages conducted on this principle are more profitable both to the seaman and owner; the former THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 439 receiving additional pay for the relinquishment of what was a real injury to himself, the latter reaping all the advantages of greater efficiency in his crew. We are assured that, so much is the risk of shipwreck and other injuries diminished by entire abstinence on the part of the seamen from strong drink, that vessels fitted out on this principle may be insured for a less premium than those in which the ordinary allowance of grog is made. A change of opinion and practice, in relation to the use of ardent spirit, is visible throughout the multifarious operations and intercourse of society. The host is no longer compelled to offer a noxious draught in proof of kindness or hospitality, nor the guest to drink poison in order to avoid offence. The brandy bottle has ceased to be deemed an ornament of the sideboard, and, if allowed a place in the house, is compelled to seek the obscurity of the closet. At the public dinner-table, the former scene of its triumph, so low is it fallen, that few, even of its votaries, have the courage to pay it the homage which they really feel. Its very shrine at the bar of the hotel and steam- boat is often approached with caution, and they who have a regard for appearances, look shyly around before making their libations. It is in fact becoming unfashionable to drink ardent spirit in public; and potent as is this prince of evil, it cannot cope with the divinity of fashion. Its influence, so far as founded on false opinion, has begun rapidly to disappear. The farmer no longer considers its aid essential in the collection of his crops; the manufacturer or mechanic, in the preparation of his fabrics; the political or military candidate, in his struggle for office. It has, therefore, in almost innumerable instances, been banished entirely from the harvest-field, the workshop, and the election ground. Judges and jurors have learned that they can discern the truth, and legislators that they can enact laws, without its inspiration. Almost throughout the upper and 440 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. middle orders of society, it is looked upon with real or dissem- bled disapprobation; and into the ranks of the lowest, whither it turns for refuge, it is pursued with a persevering eagerness of hostility, to be satisfied only by its extermination. In the single form of hot whisky punch, it maintains an uncertain foothold in the coteries of savans and philosophers. There is no doubt, moreover, that it has still, among even the enlightened classes, many warm friends, who compensate for their diminished fer- vour in public by the zeal of their devotion in the chamber or the closet; and the number of those is not small, who, as their livelihood is earned in its service, feel themselves bound to wear its livery. But even they who were engaged in the distillation and sale of ardent spirit have, in many instances, partly in consequence of the diminished demand, partly from the convic- tions of their own conscience, abandoned the business, and turned their attention to more profitable or more satisfactory pursuits. In the published account of the proceedings of the late temperance convention, it is stated that, within six years, more than two thousand distilleries have ceased to manufacture ardent spirit, and more than five thousand merchants ceased to sell it. It has, moreover, by a regulation of the War Depart- ment, announced in November, 1832, been entirely banished from the United States army, being neither furnished to the troops by the government, nor allowed to be sold to them by the sutlers. From these facts it must be obvious, that the newly excited spirit of temperance has been a source of great gain to the United States; and the increased prosperity which has attended every branch of industry within the last few years, especially in those sections where the most extensive changes have been pro- duced, may be in part ascribed to this cause. The mere diminu- tion of expenditure, consequent upon the greatly diminished consumption of spirituous liquors, must have added considerably THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 441 to the capital of the country, and thereby afforded an increased stimulus to enterprise and labour. A directly favourable influ- ence must also have been exerted upon industry and morals; though the full beneficial effects of the changes already made are yet to be experienced. They who have ceased to drink ardent spirit are generally of the class who before drank it in moderation, and not sufficiently to impair either their moral faculties, or their disposition to exertion, in any very observable degree. But in the inevitable course of things, a vast number of these temperate drinkers, and of the children growing up under the influence of their example, would have become in- temperate, and served to supply the vacancies in wretchedness, pauperism, and crime, occasioned by the death of the present race of drunkards. By the adoption of the system of abstinence, this source of supply has been cut off; and there is every reason to believe, that, in the course of ten years from this time, even granting that no further advances may be made, the country will be oppressed with little more than one-half, in proportion to the population, of the evils of drunkenness under which she groaned at the period when the reform commenced. It is interesting, and at the same time essential to the forma- tion of a correct judgment of the character of the temperance reform, to inquire what were the means employed so success- fully to propagate its principles, and, within the short space of six years, to associate together, in a community of sentiment and conduct in relation to this subject, more than a million of men scattered over the whole surface of the United States. After the organization of the American Temperance Society, the first object was to raise funds, which was accomplished partly by the stated contributions of the members, partly by appeals to the liberality of those favourable to the cause; and the same course was pursued by the several local societies upon their establishment. By the funds thus obtained, agents were em- 442 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. ployed, who, for a competent support, were willing to devote their time and energies to the advancement of the cause. Men were generally selected who were known to feel a warm per- sonal interest in the subject of temperance, and whose enthu- siasm, seconded by a prompt and often eloquent address, was likely to make a strong impression on the people. The sphere of operation of the American Temperance Society was the whole Union, and their agents travelled over most of the States, with the view rather of originating movements in important points, and promoting those already commenced, than of carrying them on everywhere to their completion. This was left to the local societies as they arose, which, to the extent of their means, fol- lowed the example of the parent society, by appointing agents to act within their own limits. The State societies of New York and Pennsylvania have been peculiarly active and efficient in promoting the cause, both in this and other ways. In pursuit of the objects of their appointment, the agents travelled through their respective districts, and wherever they arrived called meetings of the people, whom they addressed on the subject of temperance, expatiating on the evils arising from the use of spirituous liquors, explaining and enforcing the prin- ciples of the present movement, and endeavouring, by glowing pictures and ardent appeals, to excite the feelings, while they convinced the judgment, of their hearers. In order that any favourable impression might not be lost for want of action, they encouraged and assisted in the formation of new societies, which might serve both to increase the interest by engaging the active co-operation of the members, and to propagate the movement by imparting an impulse to be continued in successive circles around them. The agents, moreover, seconded their addresses by the distribution of pamphlets, and other publications, en- forcing the doctrine of abstinence; and collected, in their varied intercourse, numerous facts and anecdotes in relation to ardent THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 443 spirit, which served to give additional force to their own ex- hortations, and afforded a fund of useful information, to be dif- fused through the medium of the press. Some of these mission- aries of temperance, in the true apostolic spirit, went forth upon their errand at their own cost, refusing any compensation even for the expenses of their journeys. The aid of the pulpit and the church was not unfrequently employed in the furtherance of the cause. Many clergymen joined heartily in the movement, considering it not only useful in a temporal sense, but also highly promotive of religion. Sermon after sermon was preached to prove the propriety and Christian duty of entire abstinence from ardent spirit; and in some churches the ecclesiastical regulation was adopted, to admit none to communion or membership who should continue to use it themselves, or in any way promote its use by others. The press, without which no great object can at present be accomplished, was early enlisted in the warfare against ardent spirit. Tracts, sermons, and addresses, exhibiting the subject in every possible light, were printed and circulated in immense numbers, sometimes at the expense of the societies, sometimes at that of zealous and liberal individuals. The annual reports of the societies themselves, some of them drawn up with great ability, and calculated to make a powerful impression on the public mind, were also printed and diffused everywhere through- out the country. Those of the American Temperance Society, which embody a vast fund of fact, argument, illustration, and exhortation, were stereotyped, in order to afford an uninter- rupted supply, and have been poured forth, with great profusion and effect, into all quarters of the world where the English language is understood. Short circulars, setting forth the prin- ciples of the reformation in progress, and attended with pledges, the signature of which, Avhen handed to the proper officer, was sufficient to constitute individuals members of a temperance 444 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. society, were widely distributed—in some large districts, to every family. Opportunity was also taken to diffuse informa- tion through the neAVspapers; and, as the space which these could spare from other matters was not sufficient for the pur- poses of the societies, journals were established in various parts of the United States, primarily devoted to the subject of tem- perance. Of these at least five are now in existence. They have served and continue to serve as powerful auxiliaries to the societies, maintaining a constantly renewed attack, by every variety of moral weapon, against the prejudices and interests which oppose the temperance movement, and urging onward the friends of the cause by Avarm appeals to their benevolence and sense of duty, and by cheering accounts of successes already gained, and still brighter anticipations. By such means as those enumerated, the temperance cause has attained its present encouraging position. There is cer- tainly nothing in these means which is otherwise than praise- worthy in a good undertaking; and few will be found to deny that the effects produced are highly useful in themselves, and still more so in their tendencies. Thus far, then, it will be ad- mitted, that the temperance movement is commendable. Should the principles in which it originated, and by which it is directed, bear the test of examination; should they be found to have in them no seeds of future evil to the great interests of humanity, and to be pregnant only with good; they may justly claim not only tolerance, but warm and active support from the whole community. These principles may be briefly stated in the following manner. Intemperance is a great evil, which we are all bound, if possible, to remove. To effect a general reform of those already intem- perate is impossible. Our efforts should, therefore, be directed to prevent others from becoming so. Reason and experience prove that, so long as ardent spirits are employed as drink, THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 445 many will fall into intemperate habits, and the race of drunk- ards will be continued. The only method of attaining the de- sired end, is by entire abstinence from their use, unless as remedial agents in disease. It is incumbent upon individuals who may be convinced of this truth, even though not appre- hensive of injurious consequences to themselves, to refrain for the sake of example, and in reference to the general good. To give due weight to this example, and to secure themselves against a failure of resolution, it is necessary that they should make a public profession and engagement; and, in order to produce the greatest effect upon society, that they should give the efforts which they may be able or disposed to make, one common direction. These objects are effected by joining the temperance society, which has, therefore, a strong claim upon all Avho agree in the proposition first stated, that intemperance is an evil. Let us examine these propositions in the order in Avhich they are presented, and endeavour to ascertain whether they have sufficient strength and soundness to support the con- clusion Avhich is based upon them. That we are not morally isolated beings, without other object than to provide for our own individual good, will be admitted by every one who allows, that they who receive a kindness or favour are bound to repay it when the opportunity offers. We are all willing to acknowledge, that our comfort and security depend upon the restraints which society places upon those wickedly disposed. To society, therefore, we are indebted, in some measure, for life, and for all that renders life desirable; and, upon the common principles of morality, Ave are bound to pay the debt. Against whatever may tend, in our conviction, to injure the interests of the community at large, it is a duty to exert ourselves in proportion to our means. As an integrant part of the community, Ave must, as a general rule, suffer more or less with the general suffering; so that we have usually a 446 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. personal interest in fulfilling our obligation. The evils of in- temperance to society are too glaring to admit of denial. Duty and good policy, therefore, both call upon us to do our utmost for its removal; and our own personal interests are here pecu- liarly involved, as, however prudent may be our own conduct, we are never secure against its fearful effects in the persons of our dearest friends and connections. Indeed, among the highest obligations under which we are placed, is that of securing our dependent families from dangerous influences; and there is none more powerful or more fatal than the temptation to in- dulge in intoxicating drinks afforded by the prevalence of intem- perate habits. By a double duty, therefore, we are bound to seek the overthrow of intemperance ; and if the means of accom- plishing this object justly and honourably are made clear to the convictions of any individual, he has no right to refuse his co- operation. An obvious mode of correcting the evil would be the reform of the intemperate. But is this possible ? Have we any remedy potent enough to eradicate the disease when once formed ? All experience answers in the negative. Remedies both moral and physical have been tried in vain. LaAvs, even with the addi- tional sanction of religion, have been found utterly inefficacious. The severest penalties against drunkenness, even to the forfeit- ure of life, have been unable to curb the headlong propensity. Is not, in fact, the habit itself almost certain death ? Yet with the assured conviction of a fatal issue, and of something worse than death beyond, the drunkard will often continue to drink on regardless of the consequences, so that he may satisfy for a moment the craving demon within him. How often, with the very grave yawning before him, and with the horrors of a miserable eternity in full view, will the desperate wretch, as if impelled by an inevitable destiny, raise the poisoned cup to his lip, and with perfect consciousness precipitate himself into THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 447 destruction ! In an individual thus utterly abandoned, what effect can be expected from reason, remonstrance, the Avarmest solicitations of friendship or love, or any other conceivable moral influence that can be brought to bear upon him ? Physical means have been resorted to. At one time the hope was enter- tained by many, who were more enthusiastic than well informed on the subject, that drunkards might be reformed by adding some nauseous ingredient to their dram, and exciting a distaste for the liquor by associating it with the recollection of excessive sickness. The hope proved fallacious; for, though a disgust was often excited which occasioned a temporary suspension of the habit, yet the impression produced by the nausea gradually faded, while the original propensity appeared to have been repressed only to gain fresh vigour, and broke out, in the end, with increased violence. The only method of reforming drunk- ards which promises any success, is to confine them in a situa- tion where the access of spirituous liquors is impossible. The individual who recently begged of the inspectors of the peni- tentiary at Philadelphia to confine him for two years in a soli- tary cell, in order to cure an inveterate habit of intemperance, evinced a thorough acquaintance with the nature of his disease, and the proper mode of treating it. But the remedy is evidently, as a general rule, of impracticable application; and death is, for the most part, the only cure. It is said that during five years of the period which has elapsed since temperance societies have been in operation, more than five thousand drunkards were reformed. This is quoted as an example of unparalleled suc- cess ; but when it is considered that the whole number of indi- viduals belonging to this class, within the period mentioned, could not have been less than six hundred thousand, and that of those said to have been reformed many probably relapsed, the boasted success is a melancholy proof of the irreclaimable character of the vice. 448 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. It follows from what has been said, that, to free the land from intemperance, or materially to diminish the evil, we must address our efforts to preA^ention, and Avait for the sure and not very sIoav operation of the poison upon those beyond the reach of cure. The question now presents itself, by Avhat means can we succeed in preventing the formation of intemperate habits? Is it possible to do so Avhile the moderate use of ardent spirit as a drink is allowed ? Reason and experience, say the advocates of temperance, prove the contrary. How is the habit of intemperance formed? At first, spirituous liquors are^tasted, perhaps with aversion, by the child or the young man, in com- pliance with the solicitations of others, or because it is thought manly to drink, or from other causes which it is needless to enumerate. An agreeable excitement is produced, which unites with the former cause to overcome the reluctance arising from the unpleasant impression of the liquor on the palate, and the individual drinks again. The same thing is repeated, till at length the original distaste is succeeded by a relish Avhich oper- ates as an additional inducement to repeat the draught. The habit of temperate drinking is thus imperceptibly established; and the daily dram is looked for as regularly as the daily meal. Thus far the individual is supported by his own conscience and by public opinion, and here, if fully aware of the hazard of further advance, or alive to the dictates of religion or prudence, or happily gifted with an obtuseness of animal sensibility which blunts the impression of the stimulus, he may escape the dangers of his position, and continue to drink on moderately until the liquor loses its excitant effect, and affords little or no tempta- tion to increase the quantity. But very many persons are not so favourably circumstanced. Ignorant of the fearful conse- quences of indulgence, or reckless by nature or education, or endowed with keen sensibility to the excitant action of the liquor, or goaded on by some internal anxiety which seeks THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 449 relief in artificial stimulation, or perhaps simply allured by en- ticement and bad example, they seek constantly to renew the exhilarating effects originally experienced, and keep themselves under the continued influence of the stimulus. It is well known that alcohol, as well as every other narcotic, acts with a grad- ually diminishing effect, so that to sustain the same impression it must be taken in constantly increasing quantities. Hence the toper consumes more and more of the liquor every day, and at length, either losing all regard to appearances, or driven by a goading consciousness within, to drown his mental sufferings by increased potations, he sets no bounds to the gratification of his depraved and insatiable appetite, and becomes the confirmed and irreclaimable drunkard. As human nature has been formed, this is the inevitable course of many of those who begin with the moderate use of spirituous liquors; and no power, short of an absolute miracle, will be competent to arrest the operation of principles so deeply rooted in the very groundwork of our constitution. What has experience shown in the matter? Have the most severe laws ever been able to prevent the formation of drunkards out of temperate drinkers? Has not, in fact, legisla- tion everywhere abandoned this hope as utterly futile ? Have the highest sanctions of religion been more effectual ? The whole tenor of the Christian faith is opposed to intemperate drinking; and yet the most Christian lands are among those most heavily deluged with the evil. Societies have at various times been formed for the suppression of intemperance. Such societies existed in Germany so early as the commencement of the sixteenth century. A society was formed at Boston in Massachussetts, in the year 1813, with the same object. But, as might have been anticipated, they have proved of no avail. They were attempts to arrest a torrent with a straAV. No power has been found, no power ever will be found, strong enough 29 450 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. to restrain the precipitate propensity of moderate drinking to ruinous intemperance. If the truth of this proposition be admitted, the inference is inevitable, that to succeed in preventing the abuse of spirituous liquors, and the consequent prevalence of intemperance, it will be necessary to abstain entirely from their use as drink; and, exactly in proportion to the extent to which abstinence is prac- tised among those who formerly drank in moderation, will be the ultimate diminution of the evil. This is not a new principle. Mahomet acted on it when he prohibited the use of wine to his disciples; and the comparative temperance of the countries in which his religion prevails, may be, in part at least, ascribed to this provision. The Society of Friends have long acted upon the same principle. In the appendix to the "Anniversary Re- port of the Managers of the Pennsylvania State Temperance Society for 1833," we find the following statement. " The effect of these doctrines was not only observable in the scrupulous moderation of the members, but in their conspicuous efforts to impress the importance of a similar course upon the rest of the world. Benjamin Lay, a member of the society, wrote a tract against ardent spirits in 1737, and gave it circula- tion at his OAvn expense. After him followed John Woolman, a preacher, who exhorted and wrote against its use under all circumstances. We find in his Life and Travels that, so early as 1756, he Avas sensible of its injurious effects, and in 1769, so strong was his conviction of the impropriety of trading in the article, that he condemned himself for having formerly pursued it as a branch of business. He abandoned the traffic entirely. Anthony Benezet, another distinguished Quaker, wrote a pam- phlet in 1778, expressly to show its deleterious properties as a beverage." In the comparative infrequency, we might almost say, the entire absence of drunkenness among the members of this so- THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 451 ciety, and those brought up in their opinions and habits, Ave have proof at once of the possibility of carrying the principle of abstinence into effect, and of the beneficial consequences resulting from its practical adoption. But others, unconnected with the Society of Friends, have abstained habitually from the use of spirituous liquors, and inculcated the propriety of absti- nence upon the public. Among these was Dr. Rush, who pub- lished an essay on the subject in 1794, in which he strongly condemns the use of these drinks. It is in the peculiar light in Avhich the principle of abstinence is presented to the public, and the peculiar mode in which it is brought to bear practically upon the community at large, that the present temperance movement differs from any which has preceded it. The attempt is now made to convince all men that abstinence is a positive duty, and to band them together, by the medium of temperance so- cieties, in a common feeling and common action in accordance with their conviction. Let us proceed in our examination of the principles which we have before stated as those in Avhich the temperance movement originated, and by which it is di- rected. Having satisfied ourselves that it is a duty to correct, as far as practicable, the evil of intemperance, and that the only mode in which this end can be attained is by an abandonment of even the moderate use of spirituous liquors; we are noAv to inquire how far it is incumbent on us to adopt, in our own practice, the means thus pointed out. Should it appear, that entire abstinence is accompanied with no sacrifice of either private or public advantage, and is, in itself, no great hardship to the individual, the case will be clearly made out in favour of this principle of the Temperance Society. The idea formerly prevailed, that spirituous liquors had the property of increasing and supporting animal strength. The temporary excitement which they produce in most of the func- 452 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. tions, was mistaken for augmented vigour. It was not under- stood, that the increased mental and corporeal action was, in reality, at the expense of the moral and physical powers; a^ the exertions of a spirited horse, under the stimulus of the spur or the whip, exhaust his real strength. Alcoholic stimuli never increase the inherent vigour of a healthy system. On the con- trary, they exhaust it by the undue exertion which they oc- casion, and always leave it weaker than they found it. Hence the debility which invariably, to a greater or less degree, suc- ceeds the stimulant action of spirituous liquors. The system, however, has resources within itself which serve to repair the mischief, if the cause of injury be not soon reapplied; but when the stimulus is daily used, each successive application operates upon diminished powers and susceptibility, and increased quan- tities are thus constantly required to produce the original de- gree of excitement; until, at last, the bodily strength is com- pletely worn out, and death results, either from the direct influence of the poison, or from an attack of some disease which it has incapacitated the system to resist. Should any increase of the daily dram be prudently avoided, the system at last becomes so far habituated to the stimulant impression, as to exhibit no signs of excitement; but it is evident that its original powers are, to a certain extent, impaired ; and, though the deterioration may be arrested at this point, yet the indi- vidual possesses a less degree of vital force, and less capability of resisting either the causes or effects of disease, than before his first resort to the stimulant. It is evident, therefore, that the moderate habitual use of alcohol deteriorates the health, and lessens the chances of long life, although its operation many be so insensible as to escape notice. Hence gout, and liver complaint, and death between fifty and sixty—so common among those who drink habitually, Avithout ever becoming in- toxicated, and who might probably live to a healthy old age, THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 453 were they never to use, or early to abandon, alcoholic stimu- lants. An occasional indulgence, at intervals sufficiently long to allow the system fully to recover itself, may possibly event- uate Avithout any serious injury to the health; but even in this case, escape, when it occurs, is the result of accident; for, in the exhaustion consequent upon the excitement produced by the liquor, the system is much more susceptible to disease than in its natural condition; and many an individual has unwit- tingly laid the foundation of some violent and perhaps incurable complaint in temporary excess. Besides, we frequently have about us morbid tendencies which may lie concealed, or pass away entirely, if not encouraged; but which are aggravated into positive and sometimes severe disease by the application of an exciting cause, such as that of spirituous drinks. The last remark applies, of course, with increased force to the habitual drinker, and in a degree proportionate to the extent of his in- dulgence. Hence epidemics find their food and their victims, especially among those addicted to the use of ardent spirit. It is notorious, that the late epidemic cholera destroyed an infi- nitely greater number of intemperate individuals, than of the temperate; and it is impossible to say how many of its victims, among those styled moderate drinkers, might have escaped, had they adhered to the principle of entire abstineuce. Mod- erate drinking is peculiarly injurious during the prevalence of epidemic or contagious diseases; as the morbid cause is then ever on the watch, and ready to seize upon those who have thrown away any portion of their defensive means. It has been a prevalent and a grievous error, that the use of the bottle is in some measure a safeguard against morbid atmospheric influences, and other causes of disease; and it has often been fatally resorted to under this impression. It is true, that, during the elevation produced by ardent spirit, the system may oppose greater resistance to morbid causes of a certain character; but 454 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. its susceptibility to the influence of those of a different kind is increased; and, at the moment that the excitement terminates and the debility begins, the danger from both is greatly aug- mented. A state of sound health, free as well from artificial elevation as from its consequent exhaustion, is, beyond all com- parison, the surest protection against the assaults of disease. It must, Ave think, appear evident, from the foregoing obser- vations, that the former opinions in relation to the corroborant and protective influences of spirituous liquors, are altogether founded in error. Hoav ingenious are our appetites in the art of deception, and how ready our judgment to be blinded, when under the influence of our Avishes! Thus, it has been gravely maintained and sincerely believed, that spirituous drinks are indispensable assistants to labour—in summer to moderate the effects of heat, in winter to counteract the cold, in rainy weather to protect from the baneful operations of moisture, in drought to quench thirst and keep open the pores; and that, at all times, they give increased ability to sustain fatigue, and add to the refreshing influence of rest. The very reverse of all this is true, as not only reason but experience abundantly demonstrates. We have already stated, as an established fact, that the health of seamen is better preserved, and their duties better performed, in voyages undertaken without a supply of ardent spirit, than under opposite circumstances. The same is asserted, as the result of actual experiment, in relation to agricultural labourers. If we appeal to the hundreds of thousands in the United States, who have entirely abandoned the use of spirituous drinks, we shall receive an almost unanimous answer, that not only do they suffer no inconvenience from the want of it, but experience better health, and enjoy the comforts of life with greater zest, than formerly. It is, indeed, at present the settled opinion of nearly all enlightened physicians, that ardent spirit is alto- gether useless in health, and, even in moderate quantities, often pernicious. THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 455 But it has been said that, as distilled spirits are prepared chiefly from grain, of which a great quantity is thus consumed, the farming interest would suffer by their disuse, in consequence of the Avant of a market for the surplus agricultural produce. This apprehension, however, is altogether imaginary, and will vanish before a brief examination. It is highly probable, that the amount of money paid by the farmers to the distillers and merchants for ardent spirit, in its various forms, is quite equal to the value of the grain consumed in this way; so that, if its use were altogether relinquished, they would lose nothing, even admitting the supposed influence of such a general change of habit upon the consumption of their produce. But there is reason to believe that, so far from the demand for grain, and other kinds of food into which grain may be converted, being diminished by a general abstinence from spirituous liquors, the contrary Avould be the case. Allowing that there are three hundred thousand persons in the United States, from whose lives ten years, on an average, are deducted by indulgence in intoxicating drinks,—and this calculation is probably much below the truth,—we may perceive, at a glance, how vastly the consumption of food must be diminished by the premature death resulting from intemperance. But, independently of the great diminution of consumers occasioned by the use of spiritu- ous drinks, they operate disadvantageously upon the agricul- tural interest in another manner. It is a Avell-known fact, that the healthful appetite gives way under the habitual use of ardent spirit, even though not taken to the extent of intoxica- tion. Habitual drinkers, though they may occasionally also indulge in excess in eating, as a general rule eat less than the temperate, and lose their strength in proportion; so that the amount of food consumed, and the ability to labour, are both diminished by the use of alcohol. It is impossible to calculate, with an approach to accuracy, the increase of consumption 456 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. which would result from an entire abandonment of spirituous liquors as drink; but the probability is, that the additional quantity of agricultural produce, used as food, would more than equal that employed in distillation; and this additional quantity, instead of being swallowed up in pernicious indul- gence, would go to the production of better health and increased capacity to labour. It may, indeed, be argued, that the greater amount and efficiency of labour, growing out of the prevalence of temperate habits, would probably be distributed, in equable proportion, among the various branches of industry; so that the relative amount of product in all would be the same as before, and a surplus of grain might still be apprehended. But the fact is, that the evils of intemperance are vastly more rife among those engaged in sedentary occupations, than among the actively laborious; partly, in consequence of the more fre- quent temptations to which the former are exposed, and partly by the influence of constant bodily exertion in counteracting the injurious operation of stimulant drinks. The increase of labour, therefore, which would result from a diminished use of ardent spirit, would be least in proportion among the agricul- tural population, and the farmers would consequently be pecu- liarly benefited, as the demand for the fruits of their industry would be increased in greater proportion than their production; while the various fabrics, necessary for the supply of their own wants, would be furnished in larger quantity and at a cheaper rate. Even if the force of this argument be denied, it must be ad- mitted, that the newly developed industry would certainly not expend itself in agricultural pursuits, unless they should promise a favourable return; but would find some other less crowded avenue to gain. The whole question, in fact, may be con*- sidered as resolving itself into the capacity and disposition of labour to seek an equilibrium ; and even granting that, should THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 457 distillation cease, the amount of grain consumed would be less in proportion to the population than at present, yet the increased wealth of the community resulting from the extirpation of in- temperance, would lead to a greater demand for various com- forts, to be supplied only by labour, which would consequently be abstracted from the business of tillage, until this should be placed on an equal footing, as regards profit, with all others. Nor have the fears which interest has suggested, been better justified by experience than they have proved well founded in theory. Notwithstanding the immense diminution in the con- sumption of ardent spirit in the United .States, the value of grain, compared with that of other products of labour, whether domestic or imported, has certainly not fallen since the com- mencement of the excitement in favour of temperance. Another branch of the same objection to the disuse of ardent spirit, is the loss of profit which would thereby occur to the manufacturers and venders of this article of commerce, who form together a large class iu the community. The distillers would certainly, to a great extent, be under the necessity of abandoning their occupation, and would suffer the loss inci- dent to the change of capital. But their numbers are com- paratively not great; and it would be an easy matter to turn their money and enterprise into some less noxious and equally profitable channel of business. The merchant would probably, in the end, suffer nothing; for the increased demand, arising from a general increase of wealth, for comforts or innocent luxuries which he only could supply, would far overbalance the loss of profit upon the sale of rum. The better class of inn- keepers, such as are really wanted for the good of the community, would find increased support in various ways, commensurate with the improved condition of the country. The only indi- viduals whose pecuniary interest would materially suffer, are those who stimulate and cater for the depraved appetites of the 458 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. vulgar, who make a livelihood out of the miseries of their fel- low-men, and sell tears, and anguish, and want, and degrada- tion, and every variety of wretchedness, to dependent women and children, for the profit upon a glass of liquor. The keepers of dram-shops are a nuisance in the community, and their claims to consideration, in any great question affecting the public good, are as little entitled to regard, as those of the hired poisoners, or assassins, or highway robbers, who spring into existence in disordered or deranged conditions of society. It appears, then, that, as a general rule, neither individual nor public interests would suffer from the entire disuse of ardent spirit as a drink. But, in demanding of any individual to abandon a habit for the sake of the general good, we are to consider not only how far the change may affect his interest, but also the difficulty which he may experience in relinquishing it. There are certainly bounds to individual sacrifice, beyond which society has no right to press her claims, when the object to be sacrificed has previously neither been in opposition to the laws, nor considered as in opposition to good morals. Upon this point we can advance nothing more impressive than a sentiment, which we formerly heard from the lips of the Rev. Dr. Hewit, when advocating the propriety of individual absti- nence. "If," said he, "you have no great difficulty in aban- doning the use of spirituous liquors, it is but a little matter that is required of you; if, on the contrary, it is painful to relinquish them, it is high time that you should do so for your own sake." Whenever, therefore, the sacrifice may seem, to an individual admitting the force of the foregoing chain of argument, too great for the public advantage, he may be assured that it is required of him by considerations of duty and prudence in rela- tion to himself. The next point to be examined, is whether they who admit that it is their duty to abstain from strong drinks, are also THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 459 bound to listen to the claim Avhich the Temperance Society makes to their participation in its obligations and labours. There can, Ave think, be little doubt, that the society affords opportunities for furthering the temperance cause which indi- viduals cannot of themselves command. The positive engage- ment to abstain from drinking ardent spirit, under which every member is placed during the continuance of his membership, gives additional force to his own resolution when assailed with temptations from within or without. The mere consciousness that he is supported by the companionship of others, is also a great assistance under similar circumstances. In abandoning, from conscientious motives, any custom which has the general prejudice in its favour, uncommon strength of character is requisite to sustain, without the aid of others, the ridicule, de- rision, solicitations, and even offence, which are brought to bear against our convictions of duty. But when numbers join in the same sentiment, and proclaim united opposition to an existing, however popular, evil, individuals find that they are not cut off from the sympathies of their felloAvs, that, if checked in their advances, they have a reserve, upon which they can fall back for support, and that, when attacked on the score of singularity, they can appeal to the recognized opinions of a body sufficiently strong in numbers and character to com- mand respect. With the view, then, of confirming ourselves in the course of conduct, in relation to spirituous liquors, adopted from a sense of duty, it is advisable to become a member of the Temperance Society, unless some objection should exist in our mind to its organization or tendencies. By such a union, moreover, we not only render ourselves more com- fortable and secure, but also give to our example greater weight with others. The isolated action of individuals, however com- mendable in itself, will, if in direct opposition to the current of opinion, very often be utterly lost, as to any good effect, in the 460 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. clamours of interest and prejudice, or in the sneers of the thoughtless; but the united voice of numbers secures a respect- ful attention, and opens the way for reason, and frequently also for conviction. A still further, and perhaps the strongest claim of the society to the accession of those convinced of the sound- ness of its principles, is the opportunity which it offers for co- operation in the diffusion and ultimate establishment of these principles. All persons convinced of any truth having a prac- tical bearing, are desirous to communicate this truth to others, and are disposed to lend their aid in its propagation, in a greater or less degree, according to the strength of their con- viction, the generosity of their character, and the extent of their means. The contributions of each separately would be of little or no avail, but when those of all are united, they swell into a mass, the momentum of which is not easily resisted. The Tem- perance Society affords the opportunity for such union. While, as an absolute requisite to membership, it demands nothing but a promise of abstinence from ardent spirit as drink, and, as a necessary inference, an avoidance of its preparation, sale, or gift, for a similar purpose, to others, it accepts, and uses to the best advantage, any contribution which may be offered, either in the way of information, service, or pecuniary afd. An indi- vidual is witness to some occurrence strongly illustrative of the evil of drinking, or the benefit of abstinence. He communicates it to the society, or to the journals under its auspices, and instantly it circulates through all parts of the country. Another individual has the talent of address, which he may wish to de- vote to the cause of temperance. In his individual capacity he can do little, as he wants the necessary pecuniary means, or is not prepared to use them, and any application which he might make to others for assistance would subject him to the suspicion of selfish personal views, and wholly frustrate his object. He applies to the society, and, under its sanction, goes THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 461 forth fearlessly on his mission, preaching the doctrines of tem- perance, and at the same time, by appeals to the public spirited or benevolent, obtaining funds, which may more than suffice for his own expenses, and thus afford to the society additional means of acting on public sentiment. Others again may wish to contribute money to forward the cause; but the little they are able or willing to spare, would be utterly thrown away, if separately applied. They place it in the treasury of the society, where the several contributions form by union a mass capable of being sent forth with great effect. When the ends at which a society aims are, in the highest degree, important and beneficial; when, from past and present success, it is probable that these ends are not beyond its reach, while, without its aid, experience and reason combine to prove that they are utterly unattainable ; when the means which it employs, and the principles Avhich govern their application, are unexceptionable in theory, and have proved only useful in practice; when, moreover, affording to individuals the only medium for the accomplishment of an object which they are bound to promote, it depends for success wholly on their co- operation ; the society appears to us to present to the consciences of all good citizens an irresistible claim to favour and support. Such, in our estimation, are the temperance associations of the United States; and they who have had the patience to follow us in the preceding details of fact and argument, will, we think, be disposed to coincide in our opinion both as to their character and claims. It has been objected to these associations, that they interfere with the freedom of private opinion and aetion. That they have any such operation directly, is not true. They appeal to the reason, good sense, and good feeling of the community, and aim at influencing private action only through conviction. Their members, it is true, are bound to a certain course of conduct; 462 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. but the obligation is voluntarily taken, and continues in force, iu the case of any individual, only so long as he may choose to retain his membership. There can be no doubt, that the society aims at the creation of a public sentiment against the use of ardent spirit, and that this sentiment, should it be- come general, would operate with great force upon individual conduct. But it is thus in every case of religion, morals, or politics. A general sentiment has been created in favour of certain religious truths, of certain principles of morality, of certain doctrines in relation to government. These are almost universally admitted to be not only correct in themselves, but necessary for the preservation of good order and comfort in the community; and any one Avho should proclaim a decided opposi- tion to them in sentiment, or should openly violate them in prac- tice, even though he might not bring himself within the grasp of the law, would strongly feel the pressure of unfavourable public opinion. This is constraint exercised upon the freedom of individual action; and yet who is there unwilling to admit that such constraint is salutary? It is, indeed, the only mode in which the evil-disposed members of a community, who may be too prudent to violate the laws, can be prevented from doing harm. In any attempt to create such a public sentiment, every individual should be thoroughly convinced of the justice of the cause, and of its useful tendency, before lending it his assist- ance ; but, having satisfied himself on these points, he is at least justifiable in contributing towards its success, the wrhole weight of his character and influence. In relation, therefore, to the Temperance Society, if the correctness of the preceding con- clusions as to its nature and objects be admitted, no objection can be urged against it, on the ground of any improper restraint upon the freedom of private action. It disclaims all right or inclination to control, by any direct exertion of power, the conduct of individuals; but if, by the diffusion of truth, and by THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 463 appeals to the better feelings of our nature, it can create a general sentiment in favour of its objects, it has as much right to the natural influence of this sentiment, as any association for the diffusion of correct political opinions in a badly governed country, would have to the influence of a similar sentiment, in favour of a free and well-regulated government. But the temperance movement, like all others designed for the overthrow of established evils, is liable to abuses, which, if not avoided, may on the one hand retard or even arrest its progress, and, on the other, render it a cause of injury to important interests, or an instrument in the hands of design- ing men for the accomplishment of their own selfish purposes. Against such abuses, it is the business of the friends of the cause to be ever on their guard. It is an injudicious kindness which, foreseeing nothing but good for its object, neglects to provide against possible evil. We shall, therefore, endeavour briefly to indicate the dangers which appear to us to lie in the path of this great enterprise; and, though our voice may not be heard amid the tumult of applause and opposition with which it is at the same time cheered and assailed, we shall at least enjoy the satisfaction of having performed our duty as self- constituted sentinels over the public interests. One of the evils against which caution is requisite, on the part of the friends of temperance, is a tendency to extremes. Enthusiasm, though a powerful auxiliary when under due sub- jection to the judgment, is too apt to take the lead in every great enterprise, and in the eagerness of success, to make in- discreet advances, or seize upon false and unsafe positions. Even Avhen the main body is sufficiently under command, in- dividuals of an excitable temperament often rush forward into rash and forbidden encounters, and diminish, by partial defeat, the general chances of success. Thus precisely has it been in the case before us. The Temperance Society as a body has 464 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. hitherto proceeded with due caution; but particular members have, in repeated instances, spurned prudential considerations, and have weakened the cause by cooling the zeal of its friends, and converting those who were only indifferent into enemies. While the society contends only against the use of spirituous liquors as drink, some of its members assail alcohol itself. They seem to consider it responsible for all the evils arising from its abuse, and converting metaphor into reality, treat it as a real monster to be regarded with fear and abhorrence, and to be driven, in whatever shape it may assume, from the service of mankind. Now, the fact is, that alcohol, both in its rectified and dilute state, is of vast importance in various ways to our health, comfort, and prosperity. In numerous complaints, it may be used with much advantage externally, either alone, or as the vehicle of remedies which cannot otherwise be so well applied. There are, moreover, cases in which it may be employed internally with important effects not to be obtained through other means, although physicians now admit that such cases are not numerous. As an agent in pharmacy, it may be considered indispensable to the present advanced condition of the art. By its peculiar solvent power, it extracts from crude vegetable substances various active principles, which no other liquid at all applicable to the pur- pose will dissolve, and at the same time contributes to the preservation of these principles by its antiseptic property. It is, moreover, essential or highly useful in numerous phar- maceutical processes for the preparation of important medi- cinal agents. It is sufficient to adduce as an example the sulphate of quinia, uoav so extensively and advantageously employed in the cure of disease. Those physicians have exhibited more zeal than good sense, who have proposed to frame a Pharmacopoeia from which it should be entirely ex- cluded. They have no right to deprive their patients of its THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 465 advantages, to gratify a whim of their own. In chemical re- search, alcohol is absolutely indispensable; and avast number of highly important discoveries Avould probably never have been made Avithout its assistance. In various arts, such as those of the varnisher and the hatter, it is used Avith great advantage. By the intense heat of its flame, and the total absence of smoke, it answers an excellent purpose in many operations, in Avhich heat on a small scale is required. But to enumerate all the uses to which alcohol, in one form or another, is applied in the useful and ornamental arts, is not our object. We merely Avish to show that it is of great utility, and that its loss Avould be a serious impediment to the progress of science, and in some respects a draAvback to the comforts of the whole human family. They who are aAvare of this fact, and espe- cially those Avho are connected, in various Avays, with the oc- cupations in which distilled spirit is an essential agent, however strongly they may be convinced of the injurious influence of this liquor as a drink, and hoAvever favourable to the grand cause of temperance, will hesitate before joining heartily in the move- ment, if they discover that it may be directed against their OAvn interests, and what they conceive to be the interests of their fellow-men. Nor will a crusade against distillation, or against the proper use of spirituous liquors in medicine and the arts, in any way forward the cause of temperance. So long as these liquors are drank, distillation Avill go on ; and when men shall have come to regard them in their true light, as medicines, or as instruments in the arts, distillation will be of no disservice,. as its products will be employed only for useful purposes. Another way in which it is believed that injury may result to the cause, is by the exhibition of an indiscriminate zeal against all those who manufacture and vend ardent spirit. If it be granted that alcohol may be legitimately used for any one purpose, a necessary inference is, that it may be prepared and 30 466 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. sold without just cause of reproach. The manufacturer or merchant is not supposed to knoAv to what purposes the liquor is applied, and cannot, therefore, be condemned, with propriety, as guilty of an offence against morality and religion. It may, indeed, be doubted, Avhether, even with a full knowledge of the mode in which the liquor is ordinarily employed, he can be said to merit the title of a sinner, so lavishly bestowed upon him. Did not the divine Author of Christianity himself enjoin, under certain circumstances, the use of wine ? and could he have regarded as sinful the preparation and sale of the drink thus commanded ? Is there any such material difference between the nature of wine and that of distilled spirit, abstractly con- sidered, as to render that which is regarded as a duty in relation to the former, an offence against morality in relation to the latter? It appears to us evident, that the moderate use of ardent spirit as drink, and consequently, its distillation and sale, cannot justly be regarded as in themselves essentially a violation of the divine law, and therefore morally Avrong. Otherwise, what a vast number of men, ever since the first use of distilled spirit, who were esteemed good Christians, and died in a com- fortable hope of future happiness, must have wofully deceived themselves and others, in relation to their real condition! They had no misgivings concerning the propriety of employing spiritu- ous drinks; on the contrary, they believed, in numerous in- stances, that they were in the exercise of a duty to themselves and their friends in using and offering them. It is an abuse of language, and a violation of common sense, to call them sinners on this account. But in what respect do they who now use, prepare, and sell spirituous liquors, differ from those who did the same a century ago ? It may be said that new light has been shed upon the subject; that Avhat was formerly considered harmless, has now been ascertained to be pernicious in its con- sequences ; and that moderate drinking, and of course whatever THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 467 ministers to moderate drinking, is at present known to be the source of all those tremendous evils arising out of intemperance. Admitting this to be true, it does not follow that all persons can see it in the same light. That which is sufficient to convince the judgment of one, will not always have the same effect upon another. What right have Ave, liable as we are to error, to assume that, in a matter of moral obligation, our OAvn convic- tions are the criterion of truth ? In those Avho are convinced of the soundness of the principles now advanced by the advocates of temperance, who admit the accuracy of the reasoning and the justness of the conclusion in relation to abstinence, it is undoubt- edly, in our opinion, a positive duty to refrain from spirituous drinks, and consequently from the employment of direct means calculated to induce others to use them. But there may be many honest men who are not converts to the neAV doctrine. Are these to be condemned, because, not seeing as we do, they cannot feel under the same obligation to change their course of life ? If they are sincere in their opinions—and we have no right to deny their sincerity—they are as little guilty at present for using spirituous liquors in moderation as ever they were, or as any ever have been since these liquors Avere first employed. We violate a great scriptural rule—judge not that ye be not judged—when Ave condemn such men because they cannot think and act like ourselves. It is sufficient for us to know that it* is our own duty, and the duty of those who think with us, to ab- stain from the use, sale, or manufacture of ardent spirit as drink. Let us be satisfied Avith endeavouring to regulate our own con- duct correctly ; and, while Ave use all possible means to enlighten the judgment and rouse the feelings of our neighbours, let us not lay our want of success upon their consciences, and call them hard names because they have not shown themselves penetrable by our arguments and persuasion. The contrary course Avould be unjust in itself, and impolitic in relation to the 468 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. cause of temperance. Where it Avould make one convert, it would produce many enemies; and its effects on the minds of moderate persons Avould be to indispose them to the reception of tenets, Avhich appear to conduct to conclusions so much opposed to their own convictions. The Temperance Society has done wisely in limiting its restriction to abstinence from distilled liquors. It is true that wine, and other fermented liquors, contain the same intoxicating principle as ardent spirits; but in the former the alcohol is so modified as to exert considerably less stimulant power in pro- portion to its quantity, than in the latter; and fermented liquors usually contain a portion of nutritious matter, which takes them out of the class of pure stimulants. An individual not accus- tomed to these drinks, may become intoxicated upon wine, beer, or even cider; but their exclusive use will seldom induce the habit of drunkenness, as the quantity requisite for intoxication becomes, after a time, too greu; to be drank without incon- venience. This is especially true of the cheaper forms of fer- mented liquors, as porter, ale, beer, and cider; and the price of the stronger wines is an insuperable bar to their general use. These drinks, therefore, can never produce those devastating effects upon society, which have resulted from ardent spirit; and an equal necessity does not exist to discourage their em- ployment. Besides, in every great project, the probabilities of success should always be regarded. We should content ourselves at first with something less than the accomplish- ment of all that may be considered desirable, rather than risk an entire failure by aiming at too much. In the present state of society, it Avould be impossible to induce a universal combination against the use of fermented liquors; because evidence of their general disadvantage could not be adduced sufficiently strong to satisfy the judgment of the great majority of the community. The propensity inherent in human nature THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 469 to the use of stimulating substances will never be overcome, unless by inducements of the strongest and most unequivocal character. By aiming to abolish entirely the use of fermented as well as distilled liquors, we should enlist against us not only the interests of a great body of individuals more or less con- cerned in their preparation or sale, but also the general senti- ment of the community, including even the great majority of those favourable to the cause of temperance as at present sup- ported. It is, moreover, necessary to draw some definite line, so that all may know exactly what is expected of them. Admitting that the stronger Avines might with propriety be included in the list of proscription, we should be utterly at a loss to fix upon the limits Avhich separate these from the lighter wines ; and if the latter also should be proscribed, we could not Avith con- sistency allow the use of malt liquors or cider. For the same reason, we should be compelled to extend the prohibition to everything containing the least particle of alcohol, even to spruce beer, and to all syrups in which the process of fermenta- tion may have commenced, including molasses as it is frequently imported; for in all these a minute proportion of the stimulant principle exists. But there are many other stimulant substances habitually employed, which are capable of doing more injury than these, and which a regard to consistency would therefore compel us to exclude from use. In short, the Temperance Society Avould be converted into a dietetic tribunal, to sit in judgment upon all kinds of food and drink, and to decree, from their relative liability to abuse, which might deserve best to be retained, and which to be rejected. From this absurd extreme we can be preserved only by fixing on some Avell marked and definite line of distinction, about Avhich there can be no dispute; and such a line is afforded by the process of distillation. If the world can be induced to abandon the use of distilled liquors as drink, Ave may safely make a compromise, by which the fer- 470 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. mented liquors may be allowed. It is often advanced as an argument against the regulations of the Temperance Society, that they permit to the rich, who can afford to purchase wine, an enjoyment which is denied to the poor : but this is not true, even taken in the sense in which it Avas intended; as the malt liquors, and the fermented juice of the apple or the pear, are within the reach of all, and are in general quite as much relished as the more costly product of the grape. But to place the argu- ment in its proper light, it should be differently stated. The rich are allowed to incur all the hazards of temperate drinking, and, if they please, to injure their health, degrade their char- acter, Avaste their estate, and bring disgrace and ruin on their families, by the temperate use of the stronger Avines; Avhy should not the humble members of society have the privilege to accomplish the same ends by means of rum ? The truth is, that the more expensive Ave can make intoxicating drinks, the better is it for the community; and if the cheaper liquors, and those only could be expelled from use, the poor would, in this respect, be better circumstanced than the rich, as they would be less ex- posed to a dangerous and often fatal temptation. The enjoy- ment from the drinking of spirituous liquors is in no case comparable to the sufferings or inconvenience they occasion, and the power to make use of them, therefore, is never a de- sirable privilege. In maintaining, however, that the Temperance Society has hitherto done Avell in prohibiting only ardent spirit, and that a deviation from this plan Avould be a fatal compliance with the blind and indiscreet zeal of men more governed by feeling and imagination than judgment, Ave do not wish to be understood as encouraging the habitual use of fermented liquors. On the contrary, we believe that water is, under almost all circum- stances of health, the most wholesome beverage; and that they who confine themselves to its use, though they may miss occa- THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 471 sional gratification, will, on the whole, have no cause to regret their abstinence, in relation either to their general comfort, or to the condition of their mental and bodily faculties. The Temperance Society has been accused of religious par- tialities ; of a disposition to promote the vieAvs and augment the influence of a particular sect of Christians. We are con- vinced that this accusation is without the least foundation. It is true that men professing and feeling a warm attachment to Christianity in some one of its prevalent modifications, and active in the diffusion of their particular tenets, have, from the commencement, taken an active and prominent part in the temperance movement; but such men, admitting the general obligation of the Christian to do good in all possible ways, are found in the van of every philanthropic enterprise, and, though differing among themselves in important points of opinion, join harmoniously in the great field of action. The very circum- stance that leaders in so many different sects are found among the most zealous members and advocates of the Temperance Society, may be received as sufficient evidence that it has no sectarian tendency; and certainly, none such will be discovered upon an examination of its general proceedings. Still, the very origination of such a charge evinces the necessity of scrupulous care to avoid any'grounds upon which it may be justified. Nothing would be more fatal to the objects of the society than a general belief, or even apprehension, that it might be made the instrument of any particular sect for the diffusion of its peculiar principles, or the extension of its worldly influence. Not less injurious to its interests than sectarian partialities, Avould be its connection, in any way, with the subject of poli- tics. An impression that the society aims at political power would be wholly subversive of its legitimate objects,; and a pretended friend who should endeavour to make it the lever for elevating himself into public station would prove himself 472 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. its deadliest foe. One such has already exhibited himself. A candidate for Congress, in a published letter, declared that he founded his claims to office upon his attachment to the princi- ples of the Temperance Society. Some friends of the cause considered this a favourable omen. To us it appeared like the small and distant cloud, which to the experienced eye portends a hurricane. Happily it has passed away; and we hope never to witness a similar indication of danger. It appears to us, however, that the society has more to apprehend from this than from almost any other cause. Misguided zeal, or selfish motives on the part of individuals, may lead to efforts to convert it into a political party, with the object of putting its leaders or favour- ites into public office, and thus commanding the legislation of the country. It requires no great insight into the nature of our institutions, and the character of party movements, to perceive, that hostility of the bitterest kind would thus be excited to the whole plan of temperance; and even allowing that the society might succeed in establishing itself in power—a supposition, however, opposed by all experience—it would sacrifice the great object of its institution by its very success; for, without the power of controlling by laws, however rigid, the natural or ac- quired propensity of individuals to strong drink, it would lose the moral and persuasive influence by which it has hitherto triumphed, and would give to intemperance itself the appear- ance of a virtue, by investing it with the attributes of resistance to oppression. It is to be hoped, therefore, that the society will continue, as it has hitherto done, scrupulously to avoid giving a political complexion to its acts; and will frown upon any attempts, on the part of individual members, to advance its in- terests in this channel, or to make it the stepping-stone of their own ambition. It is always interesting, though often vain and fruitless, to look forward to the probable result of enterprises affecting the THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. 473 Avell-being of our race. That the temperance movement has already produced considerable good, and is likely to produce much more, even if its limits should not be further extended, has been already shown; but in what way it may ultimately eventuate, whether in the consummation of its noble purpose, or in that gradual decline which seems to be the fate of most movements of a similar nature, no sagacity can foretell. This much, at least, we may anticipate with confidence, even should the efforts at present made cease and be forgotten, that a per- manent impression will be left upon society favourable to the cause of temperance. In the progress of civilization, each suc- cessive advance is the effect of causes which often cease to operate, and sometimes disappear so entirely as to escape even the research of the historian, Avhile the advance remains per- manent, and serves as a new starting-point in the forward march. Among the benefits resulting from the discussion in relation to intemperance, not the least important are the cor- rection of the erroneous opinion, formerly prevalent, that ardent spirit is useful, in moderate quantities, by promoting strength, and the establishment of the truth, not before fully appreciated, that moderate daily drinking is the foundation of habitual drunkenness. With these impressions remaining, it appears to us that intemperance can never be so generally prevalent as formerly, unless society become wholly demoralized; as con- scientious citizens will always be found, who will esteem it their duty to abstain- entirely from a useless indulgence, which, even though it may be harmless to themselves, is a cause of incalcu- lable mischief to the community. In relation to the United States, the causes which gave to intemperance its peculiar vigour, will probably never again operate in an equal degree. Those which depended merely on custom or opinion, and which had their origin in the circumstances of a newly-settled country, have in great measure disappeared; and those Avhich operated 474 THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE. by giving to the different forms of spirituous liquor an extraor- dinary cheapness, are likely to undergo a gradual diminution, with the increase of population, the extension of the various arts unconnected with agriculture, and the progress of internal improvements, which will afford to the grain produced in the interior a ready access to market, without a previous conversion into spirit. We may, therefore, look forward Avith confidence to the time Avhen intemperance, if it be not entirely eradicated from among us, will cease to be our peculiar reproach ; when we may boast, with a patriotic pride, of our political freedom, without a blush for our moral bondage ; when the Aveight which has so long repressed our national industry may be lightened, if not removed, and the Avhole country may spring forward, in the race of wealth and happiness, with a speed more nearly commensurate with the superior advantages derived from a kind Providence, and the Avisdom of our forefathers. da:ntgebs OF HASTY GENERALIZATION IN SCIENCE; BEING AN ADDRESS DELIVERED TO THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, MAY 18,1860. Among the regulations of the Society is one-directing that " the President shall, at some time Avithin the year, deliver to the Society a discourse on some literary or scientific subject, accompanied by such suggestions Avith regard to the affairs of the Society as he shall judge proper." In the novelty of my position last year, I overlooked the exact purport of this law; and I must now offer an apology to the Society for my apparent neglect. My object in ad- dressing you on this occasion is to fulfil the duty for the present year. Two things are required by the regulation; one, a discourse on some literary or scientific subject; the other, suggestions on the affairs of the Society. I shall follow the order here proposed. As the length of the communication is left to the discretion of the President, I shall study to make it brief; so that, if it have no other merit, it may at least lay claim to that of wasting but little of your time and attention. 1. There is a point in Philosophy which, I think, deserves more consideration than it ordinarily receives; I allude to the (475) 476 DANGERS OF HASTY GENERALIZATION. evil of too hasty generalization; of leaping to general con- clusions inconsiderately from one or a few experiments or observations. This habit has, in my opinion, more than any other one cause, since the general acceptance of the inductive system of philosophy, contributed to the disturbance of ad- mitted truth, and to the introduction of crude and unsound hypotheses, incapable of standing the test of time, yet produc- tive, while they lasted, of no little practical mischief. I avMI cite a few examples. A fact in geology is observed which, at first sight, seems to be in conflict Avith the Mosaic account of Creation; and the inference is hastily drawn that we must surrender our faith in Scripture. Further observation reconciles the seeming dis- crepancies ; but, in the mean time, much evil has been done by unnecessarily disturbing settled modes of thought, and to some extent even the existing relations of society. Under certain experimental arrangements, living organized beings have been apparently produced out of inorganic matter, through the influence of electricity; and the conclusion is in- considerately arrived at, that the general opinion of science as to the necessary propagation of vegetables and animals from pre-existing germs is unsound. Men are thus thrown into confusion as to their own origin and responsibilities, Avhich interferes materially with their mental health, if it produce no more serious consequences. Subsequent observation shows that all this disturbance is baseless, by proving the experiment to have been inaccurately conducted. Under what have been called Mesmeric influences, Avhich I believe to be nothing more nor less than means of producing a certain degree of irregular "mental action, a curious morbid condition of the system sometimes takes place, accompanied Avith unusual and seemingly wonderful phenomena; and many minds, not content with the simple facts observed, have pushed DANGERS OF HASTY GENERALIZATION. 477 them into absurd notions or speculations of a very exciting character, Avhich, in their practical operation, have led to great evil, the corruption of morals, the peopling of insane asylums, and sometimes even to suicide. A closer scrutiny limits the observed wonders within the ordinary recognized course of nature; and a better philosophical habit of thought would have obviated all the mischief. It was found, upon feeding dogs exclusively on gelatin, that life could be supported by this principle but for a short time ; and the inference Avas drawn that gelatin was not nutritious, and that all our soup societies were based upon a great error of fact. Further experiments have shown that there is scarcely a single proximate organic principle which is capable of main- taining life when used exclusively as food; and that it is by their combination that nutrition is effected. The same remark applies to all those hasty conclusions, which, from the result of one or a few experiments, would exclude from the category of nutritive food many other substances, which have formed part of our habitual diet. It is well knoAvn that many chemists, founding their opinions upon similar partial observations, maintain that starch and analogous vegetable principles do not nourish the system, but are useful simply by generating heat through their oxidation or combustion in the body. The necessary conclusion is that all physicians have laboured under an egregious error, Avhen thev have used starch in the form of barley-water, rice-water, arroAV-root, tapioca, sago, etc. for the support of the sick and feeble, and must surrender the experience of their professional lives, and that of ages before them, to these presumed results of scientific induction. But they Avho reason thus do not suf- ficiently consider that, in certain hot climates, Avhere the ha- bitual temperature is often above that of the human body, and where the great struggle is to keep cool enough, millions upon 478 DANGERS OF HASTY GENERALIZATION. millions of people live mainly on rice or sago, the former of which consists chiefly of starch, and the latter is pure starch. It is inconceivable that the prominent article of food with such numbers, persons too in good health, and often of great powers of enduring fatigue, should consist of a substance having no nutritive poAver, and fitted only for generating animal heat, which under the circumstances is not needed, and is indeed often in excess. These are a few of the almost numberless instances that might be adduced, illustrative of an habitual departure from sound principles of induction in the search after truth ; but they are sufficient to show the great evil of this error, not only in relation to opinion, but in its effects upon the well-being of mankind. There are three prominent modes in which partial or insuffi- cient experiment or observation may lead into error. In the first place, the fact, though in itself true, may not have been sufficiently studied in its various relations, or sufficiently compared with other known facts, which might invalidate the conclusions hastily drawn from it when vieAved isolatedly. Of this we have an example in the inference already referred to as to the non-nutritive and heat-generating qualities of starch em ployed as an article of diet; the attention of the observer having been confined to the results of a few partial experiments, and quite turned away from that grand experiment in the constant course of performance by millions of our race. Secondty, the seeming fact may prove, on closer investigation, not to be a fact at all, but a misunderstood result of inaccurate experiment; as in the production of organized beings, through electric influence, out of inorganic matter; the real fact being that sufficient care had not been taken to exclude living germs from the field of experiment. Thirdly, the observed fact may lead to erroneous conclusions DANGERS CF HASTY GENERALIZATION. 479 from want of attention to that universal principle in nature, through which all objects of human thought or notice, of what- ever kind, which may be associated together by any relation whatever, have a tendency to an irregular instead of equable distribution, clustering more or less at certain times or places, and deficient in others; so that when objects occur Avith perfect regularity they are at once known, as a general rule, to owe this condition to art. An ignorance of this great principle, or a forgetfulness of it, has been the source of innumerable fallacies, often highly injurious in their influence. Such fallacies are especially abundant in the practice of medicine, and are among the strongest supports of empiricism. I Avill adduce a single example. Scarlet fever may be a very mild and harmless, or a terribly malignant disease. It often happens, without any dis- coverable direct cause, that the mild cases cluster, great numbers occurring successively or simultaneously in the practice of a single physician, without the interposition of one malignant or very dangerous case among them. On another occasion, equally without ascertainable cause, the malignant cases become abund- ant, with comparatively few of the milder among them. Should a physician, ignorant of this fact or inattentive to it, happen to encounter a series or cluster of the milder cases, no matter what the remedy he might employ, unless very noxious indeed, they would all terminate favourably. His inference would naturally be that his remedy was the cause of the cure, though it may have had nothing to do Avith the result, or perhaps been injurious so far as it had any effect whatever. Of course, should he after- wards encounter really dangerous cases, he Avould employ the same remedy, and should it have been really inert or noxious, it is readily to be seen that the most serious consequences might result. A judicious physician guards himself against such con- sequences by a recognition of the clustering tendency referred to, and ascribes the results of his observation to the true cause. 480 DANGERS OF HASTY GENERALIZATION. A glance at the subject which I have introduced to the notice of the Society is sufficient to show its great extent. A volume could easily be filled with illustrations and commentaries. But I content myself with the slight sketch given ; and even this, I fear, may have seemed to my auditors more than was required in relation to a truth so obvious. 2. The second part of the duty enjoined on the President is to make suggestions with regard to the affairs of the Society. Under this head I have little to say. In looking over the transactions of the past year, and comparing them with pre- ceding years, I find good reason for encouragement. Should an equal advance be maintained in the future, it will not be long before the Society will be able to boast that it is doing all that can reasonably be expected of it. In the proceedings, too, it has by no means shoAvn itself inert. The Laws have been revised, modified, and newly printed; some effete regulations having been abolished, and new ones introduced which it is hoped may Avork advantageously for the interests of science. Complete catalogues of the members, with information as to their time of election, residence, period of decease, etc., have been pre- pared, and printed in a style conformable with that of the Laws and Regulations. For the future I have only to suggest a more lively zeal on the part of individual members; the holding out of an encouraging hand by the elder to the younger and more enterprising; an increase of our Avorking men by adopting into the Society all who show a strong disposition and ability to labour effectually in any one of the great departments of learning and science; and, lastly, the offer of pecuniary aid, in limited measure, to meritorious investigation, when such aid is necessary, and can be advantageously applied. Another object worthy of attention, which, indeed, should never be lost from view, is the providing of fire-proof accommodation, whether in this or in another build- DANGERS OF HASTY GENERALIZATION. 481 ing, for our invaluable Library, which, if lost, could probably never be replaced. Finally, I would refer briefly to a matter which concerns my- self as your presiding officer. At the stated meeting on the 16th of December last, on the motion of the chairman of the com- mittee on the sale of the Hall, a resolution was adopted, request- ing the president to prepare and cause to be presented to Con- gress a memorial in relation to the Hall, requesting the passage of a law to carry into effect the agreement for its purchase made by the government. In compliance with this resolution, and in conjunction with the chairman of the committee referred to, I have prepared memorials to the two Houses of Congress; but it has been thought most prudent, under present circumstances, to postpone their presentation ; as there is reason to hope that steps may soon be taken, which may render any measure of this kind unnecessary. Most of the Society are aware that I have in contemplation a voyage to Europe, and that I may not meet them again for a year or more. Indeed, I have to thank you for your kindness in supplying me with a document, which, by recognizing me as your accredited representative abroad, will, I hope, in a con- siderable degree, facilitate the attainment of some of the ends for which I visit Europe. In taking my leave of you, gentlemen I wish to assure you that I shall continue to have the interests of the Society at heart, and, should opportunities offer, Avhile I am absent, shall most gladly avail myself of them for the fur- therance of these interests. 31 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HISTORY OP THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. I. COMMUNICATION FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS, TO THE SELECT AND COMMON COUNCILS OF THE CITY OP PHILADELPHIA, JULY 16, 1840. The Board of Trustees of the Girard College for Orphans ask leave respectfully to present to the Select and Common Councils of the City of Philadelphia, the following statement of their proceedings in fulfilment of what they conceived to be the purpose of their appointment, and their views in relation to the future measures best calculated to give effect to the wishes of Mr. Girard in the concern submitted to their charge. The Board was created by Councils, from whom it derives all the powers which it possesses, and in conformity with whose will, as expressed in the Ordinance creating it, the Trustees are bound to regulate their movements. In this Ordinance it is stated, that the duty of the Board shall be "to superintend the organization and management of the said College, in conformity with the Will of the late Stephen Girard, and with such ordinances as the Select and Common Councils may from time to time enact in relation thereto;" and again, "that it shall be the duty of the said (485) 486 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF Trustees, as soon as practicable, to prepare and submit to Councils for their approbation, the plan of a system of govern- ment and instruction for the said College, having reference to the provisions of the Will of Stephen Girard, so far as they are express upon this subject." In accordance with these directions, the Board proceeded, very soon after its organization, to take measures for preparing a scheme of "government and instruction" for the College. It divided itself into committees, to whom severally were allotted certain portions of the subject for investigation and arrange- ment, in such a way that the whole ground was covered. These committees, after considerable inquiry and reflection, made their reports to the Board. Contributions from other sources also were sought, some of which were highly valuable. But, after all the information attainable in this country had been collected, the Board did not consider itself in possession of materials out of which a satisfactory system could be formed. No similar institution had existed in the United States, and we had, therefore, no experience to guide us. Any plan which might be arranged would necessarily have the fundamental defect of being more or less theoretical, and, if carried into execution, might be found so defective in practice as to render a change absolutely essential. In an Institution of such magnitude, it is of the greatest importance to make a right beginning; as much expense is incurred in every movement, and much valuable time would be lost by the necessity of retracing the steps already taken. A due regard to economy, therefore, as well as to the interests of instruction, required that, before maturing their plan for submission to Councils, the Trustees should col- lect all attainable information from countries where institutions of the kind proposed had been long in operation. This object could be effected only by the personal inspection of an indi- vidual, competent, both by his talents and experience, to under- THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 487 stand fully the workings of the various systems he might have the opportunity of inspecting, and to arrange properly the knowl- edge he might thus acquire. It occurred to the Board, that an additional advantage of the proposed proceeding would be the collection of suitable books and apparatus, such as could not be obtained in this country, and for the proper selection of which it was indispensable that good judgment and a practical acquaintance with the objects to be purchased, should be combined. It was also considered important that the person sent on this commission should be one capable, on his return, of presiding himself over the organization of the College, so that he might take advantage not only of the statistical information Avhich he might collect, but also of that tact and practical skill which grow out of personal familiarity with a subject, and which no knowledge drawn merely from books can possibly supply. From these considerations it followed that no premature movement ought to be made; as, upon the return of the indi- vidual sent abroad, he should be able to proceed immediately to work in the organization of the College; and it was necessary that the buildings should be in a certain state of advancement before instruction could be commenced. The Board, therefore, delayed the prosecution of this measure until June, 1836, when they had reason to believe, from Reports submitted to Councils, that the College would be prepared for the reception of pupils in the course of the following year. Another reason for proceeding at this time was, that the Trustees had the opportunity of securing the services of a gen- tleman, in relation to whose fitness for the office, in all respects, there was but one opinion either within or without the Board, and who was willing to relinquish a situation, in every way satisfactory to himself, for Avhat was considered to be a wider sphere of usefulness. 488 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF In engaging the services of such an individual, it was thought not only just, but economical, to attach a respectable salary to the station; as the highest talents can be permanently com- manded only by suitable compensation; and the employment of inadequate qualification, at any price whatever, would be an utter waste both of time and money. As the person sent abroad was to discharge the duties of President of the College on his return, it was deemed best that he should be clothed Avith that honour before his departure; for a better reception would thus be secured for him in Europe, and more ample opportunities afforded for investigation. But the creation of such an office was the commencement of a system of organization for the College, in which the Board has only a recommendatory power—the Councils having retained the ultimate decision in their own hands. It was, therefore, necessary that the object which the Trustees had in view should be submitted to Councils before it could be carried into effect. Actuated by these various considerations, the Board passed the following resolution, June 1st, 1836. "Resolved, That the President of this Board be requested to apply to Councils to authorize the Board to appoint, at this time, a presiding officer of the Girard College for Orphans, at a salary of four thousand dollars per annum ; with permission for such officer to visit Europe, for the purpose of examining the several institutions for education of the kind contemplated by the Will of Stephen Girard, making arrangements for procuring books and philosophical and experimental instruments and ap- paratus, and making report to this Board; the expense of his voyage to be defrayed out of the funds of the College." In order that no difficulty might exist in relation to the legality of the proposed measure, the above resolution was submitted to John Sergeant, Esq., counsel of the city for the Girard Estate, Avho expressed his entire acquiescence both in its THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 489 expediency and conformity with the Will of Mr. Girard, in a letter addressed to Nicholas Biddle, Esq., President of the Board, dated July 12th, 1836; from which letter the following is an extract. "I have examined the copy of a Resolution of the Board of Trustees of the Girard College, adopted on the 1st of June, 1836, and am satisfied that the preparatory measure it proposes is within the authority given by the Will, and is in itself Avise and expedient. The trust to accomplish a given end, must of course imply a power to employ all the necessary means. The question then, is, whether the preparatory step in contempla- tion, is not one of the means. Upon this point I think there can be no doubt. When the College is to be opened (Avhich must be as soon as conveniently practicable) there must be persons ready to take charge of it, and a well-digested plan for conducting the Institution. These things require time, re- flection, devoted study, only to be expected from persons Avho, with competent capacity, have an interest also in the establish- ment, from an assurance of being permanently connected Avith it. I do not think you are beginning too soon, considering the vast public importance, and, I may add, the novelty of the undertaking. In affairs of such magnitude, it is of great conse- quence to make a good beginning." In accordance with the Resolution of the Board, application was made to Councils by its President, July 14th, 1836; and the folloAving Ordinance was passed upon the same day. "Be it ordained, etc., That the Trustees of the Girard Col- lege for Orphans are hereby authorized to appoint a President of said College, for the purpose of organizing the same, as soon as practicable, and to fix the compensation of said officer when appointed. And that they be further authorized to purchase the necessary books, apparatus, and instruments, and to cause an examination of similar institutions in Europe to be made by 490 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF him on such terms as they may deem proper: the expense thereof to be paid out of the funds set apart for the erection and maintenance of said College." Soon after the passing of this Ordinance of the Councils, the Board proceeded, in conformity with its provisions, to choose a President of the College; and Alexander Dallas Bache, then Professor of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry in the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, was unanimously elected. This gentle- man accepted the appointment, and sailed for Europe as soon as the requisite arrangements could be made. In April, 1838, the Trustees, in anticipation of the speedy return of Mr. Bache, took into consideration the subject of the organization and opening of the College, in the hope that such progress might be made as would enable them to avail them- selves, immediately upon his arrival, of the advantages derived from the mission to Europe. Upon consulting the Will of Mr. Girard, they found the folloAving directions; viz.: 1. " The In- stitution shall be organized as soon as practicable;" and, 2. "As many poor Avhite male orphans, between the ages of six and ten years, as the said income shall be adequate to maintain, shall be introduced into the College as soon as possible." It seemed to the Trustees to be very clearly the wish of Mr. Girard, that no unnecessary delay should be incurred in the commencement of a system of instruction; and the only diffi- culty in the way of proceeding immediately with the organi- zation of the College, was another provision in the Will, which appeared to postpone this result till the College and its appur- tenances should have been constructed, and supplied Avith suitable furniture, books, apparatus, etc. But considering that an edifice may be said to be constructed when so far advanced as to be applicable to the purposes for which it was intended, and that the Girard buildings, if not already in that condition, might easily be brought to it some time in the following autumn, THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 491 the Board believed that it was now the proper time to proceed with the organization, and accordingly passed the following Resolution, April 4th, 1838. "Resolved, That the President of the Board be instructed to apprise the Select and Common Councils, that the arrangements of this Board will enable them to commence the organization of the Institution by the month of October next; and respectfully to request authority to commence the instruction of orphans at that time." The substance of this Resolution was communicated by the President of the Board to Councils, who thereupon resolved, " That the Commissioners of the Girard Estates be authorized to take measures to enable the Trustees of the Girard College to organize that Institution, and commence the instruction of orphans in October next, provided it can be done consistently with the provisions of the Girard Will." The Commissioners, to whom the subject was thus referred, consulted Mr. Sergeant, informing him of the condition of the buildings, and requesting his opinion upon the question, " whether the Will authorizes the commencement of the duties of the College until the whole is complete." Mr. Sergeant, in his reply to the Commissioners, stating the question in his OAvn language, declares it to be, " whether, according to the Will of Mr. Girard, orphans can be admitted and instructed before the College edifice is completed, so that they may be received and instructed within its walls." Having examined the ques- tion thus stated, and discussed the provisions of the Will relating to it, he came to the following conclusion, which is given in his own words: "Under this view of the matter, my opinion is that the duties of the College cannot noAV be commenced." This opinion was deemed by Councils a barrier to any further proceedings at that time. It was transmitted, by order of the Select Council, to the Board, in a copy of the Report of the 492 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF Commissioners of the Girard Estate, and was received by the Trustees as the answer to their Resolution of April 4th. The Trustees were not prepared for such a decision from Mr. Sergeant; as they had acted under his sanction in originally suggesting the mission to Europe, and had been favoured with his written opinion, that1 the College Avas to be opened as soon as conveniently practicable, and that they were not beginning too soon. Now, if the school could not be commenced within a reasonable time after the return of the President of the College, his mission must have been premature; and, as this was pro- nounced not to be the case, an obvious inference appeared to be, that, in the opinion of Mr. Sergeant, there would be no diffi- culty in proceeding with the organization of the College at the time proposed by the Board. The ansAver of Mr. Sergeant to the Commissioners was given in May, 1838. In the following October, the Board, hoping to find that the College edifices had advanced sufficiently to obviate the objections which had hitherto existed to the commencement of instruction, and having ascer- tained from the President of the College, who had returned from Europe, what apartments would be necessary for this purpose, made application, through a committee, to the Building Committee of the Girard College for information as to the con- dition of the several buildings, and received the following reply from their Chairman. " Having been directed by the Committee to reply to your inquiries, I have consulted with the different mechanics having charge of the work, as to the time necessary to complete the work in their several departments, and believe I am perfectly safe in stating, that the south Professors' house can be com- pleted so as to be occupied on the first day of December next; that the out-building next to the College, intended for the ac- commodation of the scholars, can be completed sufficiently to be occupied on the first day of January next; that one or two THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 493 rooms in the main building can be put into such a state as to be occupied for the purposes of instruction within two months from the day on which notice is given that they will be re- quired." Anxious to comply with the injunctions of Mr. Girard already quoted, and finding, from the Report of the Building Committee, that such parts of the edifices as were thought necessary by the President of the College, Avere already or very soon would be sufficiently advanced for the reception of scholars, the Board was unwilling to relinquish, without another effort, the hope of speedily opening the College under the Will of its founder. An application was accordingly made, by authority of the Board, to Mr. Sergeant, and, with his concurrence, also to Horace Binney, Esq., as associate counsel in the case, requesting a reconsidera- tion of the subject in the somewhat new aspect in which it was placed by the statements of the Building Committee. The opinion of Mr. Binney was altogether confirmatory of that of Mr. Sergeant, and was even more explicit in denying all right to open the College under the Will, until the buildings should be entirely completed and furnished. Against a legal authority so high as that of the gentlemen mentioned, the Board gave up all expectation of being able to effect immediately the regular organization of the College. But the President, on his return from abroad, had brought with him a fund of materials, and an amount of personal experience, which it was deemed of the utmost importance to secure for the benefit of the Insti- tution ; as, if these should now be lost, the whole expense of the mission to Europe would have been incurred in vain. The extensive and diversified information collected by the President, with his own reflections and inferences, was to be embodied in a Report, by the printing of which they might be preserved for the benefit not only of our own Institution, but of the whole country. But his personal aid was essential to give full effect 494 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF to the plans Avhich he had matured ; and the Trustees conceived it to be their duty to devise some mode in which, at the same time that the intentions of Mr. Girard in relation to the speedy commencement of instruction might be fulfilled, without con- travening the interpretation put upon the Will by the very able and distinguished counsel who had been consulted, the services of the President might be retained in connection with the In- stitution. Upon consultation with this gentleman, the plan of a preliminary school Avas suggested, which appeared to the Board to possess all the requisites for giving effect to their wishes, and, on a careful examination, to offer in fact advantages superior to those of the mode of beginning instruction at first contemplated. The recommendations of such a school the Trustees propose to lay fully before Councils at the close of this communication. Their object at present is merely to offer a connected historical detail of their course of action in relation to the College. To ascertain whether there were any legal difficulties in the way of the proposed measure, the President of the Board ad- dressed a letter to Mr. Binney, in the absence of Mr. Sergeant, submitting the plan of a preliminary school to his considera- tion, and requesting his professional advice. The answer of Mr. Binney conveyed his full approval of the measure, both as legal and " in itself judicious and proper, in reference to the good administration of the College." The letter of Mr. Binney was at his own request sent to Mr. Sergeant, then at Washington, who stated in return that he entirely agreed with Mr. Binney in his legal conclusions; so that there seemed no longer any reason to doubt the safety of the plan proposed. The only difficulty existed in the uncertainty from what source the necessary expenditures should be supplied. Mr. Binney was of opinion that recourse for this purpose might be had legally to the Residuary Estate of Mr. Girard, though not THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 495 to the two millions devoted by him exclusively to the College. Allowing this opinion to be correct, the Board did not believe that Councils, should they approve the plan in other respects, would hesitate to make an appropriation of a few thousand dollars out of the Residuary Estate, estimated at nearly four millions of dollars, the whole income of which is pledged for the support of the College, should the sum specifically devoted to that purpose by Mr. Girard be found insufficient. A letter was accordingly addressed to Councils by Mr. Biddle, dated March 12th, 1839, inclosing a Resolution of the Board requesting the appropriation of the sum of six thousand dollars for the object above explained. The letter contained also an exposition of the views of the Trustees in relation to this object, and was accompanied by the written opinions of Mr. Binney and Mr. Sergeant in its favour. The plan, how- ever, though strongly urged by the Board, and approved by the Select Council, does not appear to have met with equal favour in the other branch ; for more than a year has elapsed since it was first proposed to Councils, and no appropriation has yet been made for carrying it into effect. The Trustees have thought it due to themselves to present this connected narrative of their proceedings, in order that they may not appear to have been negligent in the office Avhich Councils have assigned them, and that the course of incidents in relation to the organization of the College may be taken in at one view. They deem it, moreover, their duty to lay before Councils certain considerations in reference to the commencement of instruction in the College, which they do not doubt will be received, whatever differences of opinion may exist, with the same conscientious disposition to do what is right in the case as that by which the Trustees claim to be actuated. There is probably but one opinion as to the propriety of ap- 496 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF plying the bequest of Mr. Girard, as speedily as possible, to the great purpose for which it was intended. No one can read his Will without being struck with his anxious wish, that the beneficial provision which he designed to make for the orphan should not be unnecessarily postponed. Between eight and nine years have elapsed since his death, and, notAvithstanding the millions which he has devoted to this object, not one orphan has derived the slightest advantage from the bequest. It may be said that this result was unavoidable, that the direc- tions of the Will are precise, and that the delay, though prob- ably longer than the Testator contemplated, is nevertheless the necessary consequence of an adherence to these directions. To a certain extent this is undoubtedly true; but waiving the question whether there has hitherto been any avoidable post- ponement of the peculiar objects of the Institution, let us at least determine that there shall be none hereafter, and set our- selves earnestly to consider Avhether the work cannot now be commenced. The Board of Trustees are of opinion that, what- ever may have hitherto been the case, it is now most un- doubtedly within the competency of Councils to proceed with the business of instruction. But it may not be so easy to decide what course ought to be pursued. The original plan of opening the College in the mode expressly provided for in the Will must be given up for the present, unless the legal difficulties which have been suggested can be overcome. The Board is not quite satisfied that suf- ficient distinction has been made, by the very eminent counsel consulted, between the construction and completion of an edifice. It is difficult to determine when a building is entirely finished. Some little addition or alteration may be suggested, at con- stantly recurring intervals, which may delay the completion ; and the application of the building to its intended purpose may be thus indefinitely postponed, if, as maintained by counsel in THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 497 relation to the Girard College, it can be made use of only after it has been completed. But Mr. Girard does not speak of the completion of the buildings. As if he had foreseen this very difficulty, he employs the phraseology, " when the College and its appurtenances shall have been constructed," etc. Now, the Trustees had embraced the opinion, that the buildings might be said to be constructed, when so far carried forward as to be applicable to the purposes for which they were designed. A bridge is constructed when it can be passed by carriages, even though it may yet want the railing or the roof. A house is constructed, when applicable to the purposes of a dwelling, though still Avithout paint or paper. So, according to the ex- pression of Mr. Girard, the College and its appurtenances are constructed, if capable of receiving the necessary furniture and apparatus, and of being used for the objects indicated in the Will. Besides, the injunction in the Will, that "the Institution shall be organized as soon as practicable," would seem at least to excuse if not to require the application of these structures to their intended uses, while yet in some measure incomplete. The Trustees, therefore, do not think that, by the strictest in- terpretation of the Will of Mr. Girard, the entire completion of the College edifices must necessarily precede the opening of the school. But, even admitting that the buildings are now sufficiently advanced for the reception of scholars, and might, without any violation of the Will, be employed for this purpose, there is still a difficulty in the way, of a serious character. The Will pro- vides that, after the College and its appurtenances shall have been constructed, and suitably supplied for the reception of at least three hundred scholars, the income only of the unexpended portion of the tAvo millions of dollars, especially devoted to the College, can be employed. If, therefore, the College should be 32 498 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF immediately opened, the further progress of the buildings must depend upon the annual revenue derived from the Estate, and their advancement towards completion would be very slow; as the expense both of the school and of the buildings would be necessarily defrayed from the income. A little reflection would suggest modes of overcoming this difficulty, which, however, the Board does not wish to press particularly upon the attention of Councils; as, even were all other obstacles removed, there would still remain that of an adverse legal opinion, of the very highest authority, which might not be neglected with entire impunity. The Board, therefore, wishes most earnestly yet respectfully to call the attention of the Councils to the plan of a preliminary school, which it has already had the honour to submit to them, and which is wholly free from the objections that have been urged against the opening of the College, at this time, under the Will. It should be borne in mind that the scheme of education con- templated by Mr. Girard is very comprehensive. By consulting his Will, it may be seen that he makes provision for the intel- lectual, moral, and physical education of the pupils; and that the amount of knowledge to be imparted to them is to be limited only by their capacity. Thus, after mentioning that " They shall be instructed in the various branches of a sound education, comprehending reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic, geogra- phy, navigation, surveying, practical mathematics, astronomy, natural, chemical, and experimental philosophy, the French and Spanish languages," he adds, " and such other learning and science as the capacities of the several scholars may merit or warrant." Again he observes, "my desire is, that all the in- structors and teachers in the College shall take pains to instil into the minds of the scholars, the purest principles of morality, THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 499 so that, on their entrance into active life, they may, from incli- nation and habit, evince benevolence towards their fellow-creat- ures, and a love of truth, sobriety, and industry." Finally, he directs that "due regard shall be paid to their health, and to th.s end their persons and clothes shall be kept clean, and they shall have suitable and rational exercise and recreation." Here, then, we find a scheme of education embracing the whole circle of human science, so far as it can be compassed by persons under eighteen years of age; and, along with this, a most careful training of the pupils in moral principles and habits, and in that course of life best calculated to promote their physical well-being. It is clear also that Mr. Girard in- tended that at least three hundred orphans should be the sub- jects, at all times, of this system of instruction, and that the College, immediately after its complete organization, should be capable of receiving this number, if application for so many should be made. Now, it is altogether impossible that so magnificent a system of education should be carried advantageously into effect, with- out much previous preparation. Let us suppose that a plan of instruction, of moral and physical training, and of govern- ment has been elaborated, the requisite number of teachers appointed, the materials as directed by Mr. Girard collected, and the whole number of three hundred pupils received into the Institution. The plan of instruction, being untried, would in all probability prove more or less defective, and might require material alterations. The teachers, though selected with care, would probably be unknown to each other, without any com- mon principles of education to regulate them, and unable to act harmoniously together, or in accordance with the views of the Principal; and many of them might be found incompetent, from defects of temper, of knoAvledge, or of judgment, to the office 500 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF assigned them, Avhile the qualifications of those selected in their place would be uncertain until similarly tested, and might be found equally defective. The children, either uninstructed or instructed badly, with habits which it would probably be neces- sary to unlearn, and altogether unaccustomed to a regular sys- tem of government, would be brought in multitudes under the care of persons to whom they would be unknown, who could have no acquaintance with their peculiar feelings, habits, or capacities, and who, from the great numbers of the pupils, and their own unavoidable Avant of systematic and harmonious action, would find it almost impossible, at least for a consider- able time, to acquire that intimate knowledge of them Avhich would be necessary to a proper regulation of their studies and morals. Finally, the economical arrangements for the support and government of such a family, being more or less theoretical and in untried hands, might prove disadvantageous in practice; while the supplies of the diversified apparatus and material, as directed in the Will, might in numerous particulars be found defective or inappropriate, and therefore to require a change. It would appear, from these various considerations, that the almost inevitable result of such a commencement must be par- tial failure, the loss of much valuable time, and the useless ex- penditure of large amounts of money. There would be waste by servants, waste by the children, destruction of books, instru- ments, and clothing, injury to the buildings, and loss in various other ways from the disorder attending upon the want of a regular, tried, and efficient organization. Nor are these con- clusions merely speculative. Witness the Polytechnic School in France, which began with between three hundred and four hundred scholars, and in which the annual cost for each student, during the first tAvo years, was more than double that which it afterwards became when the Institution was properly regulated. THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 501 In every point of view, therefore, whether in relation to the benefit of the pupil, or to economy, it would be better to make a small beginning, and afterwards to expand the system to its full dimensions, when experience shall lrave proved its efficiency and soundness. The plan of a preliminary school proposed by the Trustees, affords the opportunity for such a beginning. From the limited number of scholars, which might be fixed at any point that might be deemed advisable, the teacher Avould be enabled to become intimately acquainted with the state of attainment, the habits, dispositions, and capacities of the several pupils, and to direct accordingly their intellectual and moral training. The Principal himself, instead of being confined to a general superintendence, as would necessarily be the case in a large establishment, might enter personally into all the details of instruction and government, and thus see that the system adopted was carried fairly into effect. He might thus also discover the defects of the plan, and remedy them Avith little difficulty or loss. This is the more necessary, as no single in- stitution examined by the President in Europe has furnished the outline of the contemplated plan of organization. It has grown out of an ample observation of the excellencies and de- fects of "numerous establishments, assisted by a large experience and a sound judgment, and has received modification also from the peculiar political institutions and modes of thinking preva- lent in this country. Hence it is in some measure new, and should be submitted to trial on a safe scale, before being brought into extensive application. Another advantage of the proposed school is that the teachers, as they would work along with the Principal, instead of being merely under his general superin- tendence, would become more thoroughly known to him, would be imbued Avith his principles and initiated practically into his system, and would thus be enabled to act harmoniously with 502 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF one another, and with their chief. Mr. Girard expressly directs that no teachers shall be employed, " Avho shall be of ton tried skill in his or her department." Now, such a school as the Trustees recommend, affords the surest means of obtaining the requisite trial of skill, with the least chance of injury in case of failure in the trial. In corroboration of these views it may be mentioned, that the best regulated educational establishments at home and abroad, are those which have originated from small beginnings, and gradually grown to their present magnitude. Were it even, therefore, in our power to proceed immediately to open the College, with its full complement of teachers and pupils, it would still be preferable to commence with a prelimi- nary school, in which the system of instruction might be tested and improved, the teachers formed, the pupils brought into regular and effective training, and everything prepared consid- erately and experimentally for that great and expanded scheme contemplated by Mr. Girard. Should the Councils agree in this point with the Board, it may perhaps be considered as a fortu- nate circumstance, that difficulties lie in the way of a speedy opening of the College on a large scale, which might justify a resort even to a less obviously beneficial expedient. The question may be started, whence the funds are to be drawn for the support of the proposed school. The Board can perceive no difficulty in this case. Whatever hesitation may exist as to the right of Councils to appropriate the sum re- quisite for the support of this experimental school out of the tAvo millions of dollars especially devoted by Mr. Girard to the College, there can be no doubt whatever of their authority to take it out of the income of the Residuary Estate. This income, after all charges have been deducted, exceeds eighty thousand dollars, while the expense of the school, for the first year, is estimated at six thousand dollars. Can there be any hesitation THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 503 in making this appropriation, when the object is to carry into effect the favourite scheme of the Testator, from whom the whole Estate was derived? Besides, the income of the Re- siduary Estate is devoted by Mr. Girard to the support of the College, if the revenue from the unexpended portion of the two millions should prove insufficient. Now, it may be considered as certain that this will be the case; and recourse must ulti- mately be had to the residuary income at present applied to city purposes. If a false movement shall be made in the opening of the College, if the experiment shall be attempted of beginning the education of three hundred orphans upon an untried system, it is possible that great and unnecessary expenses may be in- curred, and more money absolutely thrown away, in one year, than would be sufficient to support the preliminary school throughout the whole period of its probable existence. Hence, the establishment of the trial school, even should it be at the direct expense of the city, Avould very probably be a saving in the end; as it might postpone the period at which the income of the Residuary Estate, now enjoyed by the city, must be sur- rendered, in whole or in part, to the support of the College. It is scarcely necessary to repeat, what has been said in a former part of this communication, that Mr. Binney and Mr. Sergeant concur in the opinion of the entire legality of such an appro- priation. Should Councils, however, have any hesitation on this score, they still have the recourse suggested by Mr. Ser- geant, who, in his letter of the 4th of February, 1839, recom- mends that they should " appropriate out of the general funds of the city, saying nothing of the Girard money." It may be urged against the proposed measure, that, as only boys between the ages of six and ten years can be selected as subjects of the bounty of Mr. Girard, the pupils of the prelimi- nary school might, at the opening of the College, be beyond the 504 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF age at which they could be allowed to enter that Institution. To this objection it may be replied, that, by a proper attention to the age of those admitted, four years must elapse before they could be excluded on this account; and the Board cannot but indulge the hope, that the College Avill be in operation pre- viously to the expiration of that period. But, should this not be the case, the advantage of admitting into the College those of the pupils who might be over the designated age, as sub-teachers, assistants, or monitors, or as a #ell-formed nucleus around which the new pupils might be arranged, would much more than compensate for the cost of their support and further edu- cation ; and their admission would be justifiable on the same ground as the employment of any other means for promoting the interests of the Institution. Besides, should it even happen that some of the pupils might be deemed unfit for this purpose, still they would have received the advantages of a partial education, which is certainly better than none; or, if thought advisable, the preliminary school might be continued on its original basis, with constantly decreasing numbers and expense, until all the pupils at first introduced may have been sufficiently instructed. The Trustees, therefore, do not hesitate to express their belief, that no incompatibility whatever exists between the provision in Mr. Girard's Will alluded to, and the establish- ment of a preliminary school such as they propose. A large portion of the community are looking with anxiety for the commencement of instruction in the Girard College; and there is reason to apprehend that the public mind may be- come dissatisfied under a longer delay. Numerous applications have been made to the Board for the admission of orphans; and the sympathies of the Trustees have frequently been called into action by the disappointment which has ensued. The adoption of the measure now suggested, if it should not con- THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 505 ciliate the favour of all, will at least prove that the Councils de- sire to extend the benefits of the trust confided to them, as soon as possible, to its legitimate objects, and that it is no fault of theirs if the full intentions of the Testator cannot be carried into immediate execution. Two buildings on the College grounds have been completed, which might be conveniently applied to the purposes of the school. It is scarcely in accordance with the economical prin- ciples of Mr. Girard, which ought to have some influence in the management of his bequest, to permit these buildings, erected at great cost, to lie idle and unproductive for years, when the opportunity is afforded of employing them to great advantage in the furtherance of his well-known wishes. But, in thus recommending a preliminary school, the Trustees do not wish to be considered as favouring any relaxation in the prosecution of the College buildings. On the contrary, they deem it their duty respectfully, but earnestly, to represent to Councils, that should they consider it impossible to open the College before the entire completion of these buildings, it is more than ever important to hasten that desirable event by employing the ample means at their disposal. In relation to the salary of the President of the College, or of other officers who might be employed in the proposed school, there can be no difficulty. Those Avho are now connected with the organization of the Institution have thus far retained their official positions, at the instance of the Board, in the hope, constantly renewed, that they might be permitted to enter upon the more active and enlarged duties for which they were chosen ; and should instruction in any form be commenced, the Board has no doubt that, whatever compensation might seem proper to the justice of Councils, would be acceptable to those concerned. Upon general principles, however, the Board is of opinion that such compensation should be liberal, in order to 506 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF secure permanently qualifications of a character suited to the work to be performed, and at the same time to place these qualifications upon their proper footing in the public esteem. Before closing this communication, the Board Avishes respect- fully to remind Councils of the fact, that considerable sums are due on account of the expenses of the Board, the salaries of officers, and the purchase of books and apparatus, for which, though the Select Council is understood to have voted the re- quisite appropriation, no legal provision has yet been made. These expenses were incurred by the Board under express authority from Councils, and the faith of the city is pledged for their payment. A portion of the sum unpaid is due to persons in Europe; and delay in settling their just claims must tend to foster impressions abroad unfavourable to the credit of the country. In other cases, considerable inconvenience is experi- enced from the failure of resources on which a confident reli- ance was placed, founded upon the previous uniform action of Councils. As the Trustees have been the agents through which these obligations haAre been incurred, they feel imperiously called upon, by a sense of duty and self-respect, to urge upon Councils a prompt attention to the subject. In conclusion, they express the hope that, in this communi- cation, they Avill not be found to have overstepped the bound- aries of that authority with which the Select and Common Councils have invested them. They feel that they would be wanting in due consideration for themselves, in regard to the interests of the community, and in obedience to the purpose of their appointment, were they to give the assent of their silence to the further postponement of a commencement of instruction in connection with the Girard College. They offer, therefore, their sentiments upon this point to Councils, with the highest respect for those honourable bodies, and with the confidence THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 507 that they will yield to the representations of the Trustees all the consideration to which they may be entitled.* By order of the Board, N. BIDDLE, President. George B. Wood, H. Troth, Thomas McEuen, J. K. Kane, B. W. Richards, John B. Ellison, Algernon S. Roberts, Josiah Randall, S. Y. Merrick, Richard Price, W. W. Haly, William S. Perot, M. W. Baldwin, William D. Brinckle. C. D. Meigs, JAMES BAYARD, Secretary. * A few comments on the foregoing paper are, perhaps, desirable for a full understanding of the subject. When the time came for carrying into effect the provisions of the Will of Stephen Girard for the establish- ment of his College for Orphans, the Councils of the City of Phila- delphia appointed a Board of Trustees, to whom this portion of the Will was referred, with authority, under the sanction of Councils, to make all the necessary arrangements for the organization and the subsequent gov- ernment of the Institution. This Board consisted, in general, of well- known and highly respected citizens of Philadelphia, among whom was Nicholas Biddle, then at the height of his popularity and influence, who was chosen President. The Trustees went promptly to work, and used all their energy in giving effect to the wishes of Mr. Girard for the speedy opening of the school. The first step was the erection of the requisite buildings ; and to the good taste of the Trustees it was in part owing, that the City of Phila- delphia can boast of an edifice surpassed by few in modern times in magnifi- cence and beauty, instead of a huge barn-like structure which would have occupied the same situation, had the representations of some influential persons been listened to. The dimensions and materials of the edifice were 508 contribution to the history of directed in the Will; but the ornamental part was left at the option of those concerned, with the provision, however, that they should be in accordance with the principles of good taste. It was believed that these principles required the erection of the present magnificent colonnade, without which the bare plain walls, one hundred feet in height, would have been a vast monument of bad taste, which was probably the last thing contemplated by the Testator. When the buildings were sufficiently advanced, the Board proceeded to prepare a plan of organization for the school; and one of their first and best steps in this direction was to secure the services of the late Alexander Dallas Bache, than whom there was probably no man in the whole country better suited to their purpose. It was deemed expedient to appoint him at once President of the College, so that his deepest interest in the concern might be enlisted, and, by the necessary preliminary action, he might become better qualified for the station than any one could be without equal preparation. In all the measures taken by the Trustees they had the full and hearty concurrence of the Councils; and, on the return of Mr. Bache from Europe, whither he had been sent to gather information, as well as to provide requisite material for the College, they were prepared to make arrangements for the speedy opening of the school, in which they had no reason to doubt the co-operation of the Councils, as all the measures approved by them concurred to that end. But with the annual elections, new men, not in sympathy with the Trustees, were introduced into our city legislature; and it was soon apparent that the party managers began to consider it a great waste of their opportunities to allow so much money to be expended, and so much influence exerted, outside of their own control. From the be- ginning, the Trustees had made it a special point of their management, to keep entirely aloof from all partisan influence. Indeed, one of their reasons for selecting Mr. Bache for President, was that he was understood to be unconnected with political party; and he considered himself bound by his engagement to keep himself free from any influence of this kind. About the time when the difference in their views between the Councils and the Board of Trustees began to show itself, a circumstance occurred which serves to throw much light on the subject. I was personally assured by President Bache that a leader of the predominant party, at that time, had called on him on occasion of his declining to pay the sum of fifty dol- THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 509 lars, which had been assessed upon him as an office-holder of the party. His refusal was not based on the amount of the assessment, Avhich was a mere trifle, and which he Avould very willingly have paid, could he have done so conscientiously, but on principle; as he had been appointed with the understanding that he had no partisan attachment at the time, and would have none in future while holding office under the Board. The politician referred to as having called on him in relation to this subject, having failed to change his views by any representation that he could make, intimated to him, on taking leave, that he would probably suffer for his scruples. It was no doubt determined, in the councils of the party managers, to get rid of Mr. Bache as President; and, as this could not be done so long as the Trustees stood in the way, to get rid of these also as the first step. To accomplish this, it was necessary to show that, according to the Will of Mr. Girard, the school could not be opened for several years; and that, consequently, the Board of Trustees and the President appointed by them Avould have little or nothing to do for a long time, and might therefore very properly be dispensed with. It was not difficult to convince the majority of the Councils, consisting probably in part of these same party leaders, and heartily sympathizing with them, of the propriety of these views ; and, as a consequence, a bill was passed abolishing the Board of Trustees, and Avith them at the same time the presidency of the College. Thus the whole concern fell into the hands of the politicians. Whether the change was on the whole best for the school may be determined by a comparison of its condition, in the early period of its history, with Avhat it might have been under the manage- ment of Alexander Dallas Bache, Avhose subsequent course of life proved him to have possessed extraordinary powers of organization, and who, as chief, for a long series of years, of the United States Coast Survey, ob- tained a scientific distinction not inferior to the highest in this country. The Trustees contented themselves with preparing a report, explaining their OAvn course of proceeding, and very willingly received their dis- charge from a duty, which could not but have been very irksome, with so much difference of opinion between themselves and the controlling authority.—April, 1872. II. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON CLOTHING, DIET, ETC. TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS; PRESENTED APRIL 1, 1835. The committee appointed " to consider and report upon the regulations proper to be adopted in the Girard College, in regard to the clothing, diet, and personal cleanliness of the pupils, and generally upon all subjects connected with their accom- modation and the preservation of their health," ask leave to report. In preparing to report upon the various subjects referred to their attention, the first question which occurred to the Com- mittee was, whether they should enter into minute detail in relation to these subjects, or should present to the Board only general views, to be filled up as circumstances might subse- quently suggest. After much consideration, they came to the conclusion that the latter course was preferable; and for the folloAving reasons. In the first place, the action of the Committee is not final. (511) 512 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF The result of their inquiries must be submitted to the Board, which may possibly not approve the principles they may have adopted. In this case, it would be a waste of time to dAvell upon particulars; as, if the principles are not admitted, the details necessarily fall. The most economical plan, both as to time and labour, is obviously to present general ideas, Avhich, if adopted, may serve as safe guides in subsequent inquiries and action. Besides, it does not appear to be the present object of the Board to form a plan for the Girard College, complete in all its details. Their duty is to prepare a general system of gov- ernment and instruction for the establishment, to be submitted to Councils, and, if approved by them, and finally established, to be carried into full completion by those to whom its practical application may be committed. It would, indeed, be impossible, even with the greatest in- dustry and most prudent forethought, to collect and arrange beforehand all the minute parts of so extensive an institution, and to provide for all contingencies. It may be safely asserted, that any set of regulations intended to embrace all the opera- tions of the establishment, in every department, must, when they come to be carried into practice, be found defective, and in some instances, perhaps, inapplicable. Much must neces- sarily be left to the gradual suggestion of experience ; and the details will be more likely to be filled up correctly by those Avho are called on to act, than by those whose business is only to plan. The Committee, having determined to make their report in conformity with these views, proceeded to examine whether any general principle could be ascertained, which might serve to guide them in their inquiries, as to the regulations proper to be adopted in relation to the several matters committed to their charge. THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 513 It appeared obvious to them, that the character of these regu- lations must take its hue from the opinions they might entertain concerning the nature and objects of the establishment, and of the present as well as future condition of those who are to re- ceive its benefits. The arrangements Avhich might be suitable in a seminary intended for the reception only of children from the loAvest grades of society, and for imparting to them only so much instruction as might be necessary to fit them for gaining a decent livelihood in mechanical pursuits, would be very dif- ferent from such as would be requisite in a great collegiate establishment, where children of all conditions of life, who might happen to be Avithout the means of comfortable support, should be received, educated in a manner corresponding with their natural talents and the degree of their industry, and ulti- mately placed in situations adapted to the bent of their genius, and the character of their attainments. The Committee, there- fore, conceived it of the greatest importance to come to some conclusion, at the very outset, upon the points alluded to. The following is the course of reasoning by which they satisfied their own minds, and in Avhich it will be perceived that the chief stress is laid upon the probable intentions of Mr. Girard. The question first suggests itself, Avhat are the materials of which the institution is to be composed? To what class of individuals are its operations to be extended ? Mr. Girard designates "poor white male orphans between the ages of six and ten years." He does not restrict his bounty to children born in the humblest conditions of society, to those who have passed their earliest years in all sorts of wretchedness. To bring a child within the intentions of the Testator, nothing more is necessary, in relation to his pecuniary circumstances, than that he should be poor, that is, unprovided, either in his OAvn person or in that of individuals legally bound for his main- tenance, Avith the means of a decent support, and a good educa- 33 514 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF tion. Application will undoubtedly be made for admission into this Institution, on the behalf of orphans whose parents Avere in comfortable or even affluent circumstances during life, but have left destitute families behind them, and whose early habits, therefore, have been of decent and even delicate training. Most assuredly they cannot be excluded; and it is highly probable, that of children who may come from a distance, a large propor- tion will be of this class. Admitting, then, that the inmates of the College are to be taken from all conditions of society, it cannot be denied that their treatment should bear some relation to their former habits, at least that it should not be glaringly contrasted with them for the worse. Mr. Girard could never have designed, that the children of reputable parents admitted into his asylum, should be reduced to the coarsest fare and roughest treatment, to the modes of life adapted to the alms- houses or houses of refuge for the vicious. It may be said that, as no distinction of treatment can be allowed in the establish- ment according to the previous condition of its inmates, the children taken from the humblest walks of life will, upon the supposition that a somewhat elevated standard may be adopted, be raised too much above the level of their original state, and placed at too great a distance from their early companions, by whom the possession of parents may thus come to be regarded as an evil. It would undoubtedly be improper, and of injurious tendency, to select pauper children from the mass of the popula- tion, and furnish them, at the public expense, with opportunities which may be wanting to the children of parents in good cir- cumstances. But this Institution is not founded upon the public funds. A private individual of great wealth has chosen to adopt destitute orphans as his children and heirs. Whatever may have been their previous condition, they are now entitled to the benefits of his legacy; and should they, through its means, be elevated above their former companions, no accusation of injus- THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 515 tice can lie against that instrumentality which merely fulfils the purposes of their benefactor. Again, it is an error to suppose that Mr. Girard intended to restrict, by any other limitation than that of age, the amount of knowledge to be communicated to the pupil, or to confine his choice of an occupation, upon leaving the school, to the humblest pursuits. The very name of College which he conferred upon the establishment evinces his desire that the scheme of instruc- tion should be liberal. This name is usually applied to institu- tions in which all branches of knowledge of general interest are professedly taught, or at least so much of them as to enable the pupil, after the completion of his course of study, to pursue profitably any branch to which he may devote his attention. It was not an unmeaning phrase with Mr. Girard. We have, more- over, his positive declaration to the same effect. The Will enjoins, that the orphans "shall be instructed in the various branches of a sound education, comprehending reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic, geography, navigation, surveying, prac- tical mathematics, astronomy, natural, chemical, and experi- mental philosophy, the French and Spanish languages, and such other learning and science as the capacities of the scholars may merit or warrant." Everything, therefore, is to be taught that a pupil can profitably learn within the age designated for his separation from the establishment—namely, somewhere from fourteen to eighteen years. In relation to the precise age, a discretion is left with those who may have charge of the school; but the obvious inference from the terms of the Will is, that, should the inclination, capacity, and industry of the pupil warrant, he shall be allowed to remain till eighteen, and shall be taught all that he can advantageously learn within that age. It is not less clear that Mr. Girard had no wish to compel the objects of his bounty into the humblest avocations. Why such ample provision for a thorough education, unless the sub- 516 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF sequent course of life should be such as to admit of its beneficial application ? There can be no doubt that the intention of the Testator was, that the orphans should be apprenticed to trades, arts, and professions, in accordance with their attainments and character of mind; and such in fact are the directions of the Will. "Those scholars who shall merit it," says Mr. Girard, "shall remain in the College until they shall respectively arrive at betAveen fourteen and eighteen years of age ; they shall then be bound out by the mayor, aldermen, and citizens of Philadel- phia, or under their direction, to suitable occupations, as those of agriculture, navigation, arts, mechanical trades, and manu- factures, according to the capacities and acquirements of the scholars respectively, consulting, as far as prudence shall justify it, the inclination of the several scholars, as to the occupation, art, or trade to be learned." On the whole, then, it appears that the College is to embrace among its inmates individuals from all conditions of society so far as relates to breeding, habits, and association; that it is to afford these individuals opportunities for acquiring knowledge in accordance with their capacity, zeal, and application ; that it is to facilitate their entrance into active life in such a position as may agree best with their taste, attainments, and peculiar bent of character; and that, finally, by thus developing and giving a proper direction to talents which might otherwise be neglected or misapplied, it is to benefit society at large exactly in propor- tion to the extent of its operations. If this view of the nature and ends of the Institution be adopted, it is obvious that all the arrangements for its regula- tion should be of an accordant character. It is not the duty of this Committee to consider the subject of instruction. But in relation to the matters committed to their charge, such as the clothing, diet, accommodation, and all that concerns the phy- sical condition of the pupil, the same rule holds good. On each THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 517 of these points the regulations should be accommodated to the general view here presented. The pupil should assuredly not be clad with the coarsest clothing, fed upon the most meagre diet, lodged in the roughest fashion, and educated with the most unpolished manners ; nor yet should the greatest refinement in all these respects be aimed at. A proper medium should be observed, and the tastes and habits of the pupil so formed, that, if his subsequent course of life should throw him among the most humble, the contrast might not be too great, and, if among the highest, that he might not be altogether unprepared to asso- ciate with men of cultivation and refinement. His treatment should, on the whole, be such as that received by children in the middle walks of life, with, perhaps, somewhat greater atten- tion to cleanliness and neatness of person and dress, and refine- ment of manner, so that the influence of the Institution, so far as it may reach, shall tend to raise the general tone of society in these respects. Another general inference may be drawn from the peculiar nature of the Institution, relative to the treatment of the pupil in regard as well to his physical as to his moral wants. As he is to be sent out into the world dependent on his own re- sources, it is important that he should be qualified both to act and to think for himself even in minute matters ; so that he may not suffer from the want of that assistance Avhich persons more favourably circumstanced are in the habit of receiving from others. He should, therefore, be taught to perform all the offices of ordinary life, however humble; and a regard to this principle should be observed in all the regulations which are to have any bearing upon his habits and actions. Having adopted these general principles as their guides, the Committee next proceeded to consider riiore particularly the several items of the resolution under which they act. They soon, hoAvever, discovered that, in order to give precision to 518 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF their inquiries, and to be enabled to report their sentiments without irksome repetition, it became necessary to fix before- hand upon some classification of the pupils, to which reference might be made in every subsequent step. It seemed pbvious to them that, in the treatmentof the pupils, there must be great difference in accordance with the difference of age. The Com- mittee concluded that, so far as concerned the matters within their province, the inmates of the College could be arranged in three classes, which might, perhaps, also accord with the arrangement that might ultimately be adopted in relation to their instruction. Though age was considered as the most con- venient basis of classification, the Committee did not think it best to draw a precise line; as, upon the supposition that their plan might essentially agree with that which the Board should sanction in matters of tuition, it would be found that the younger children might sometimes make their way into the higher classes, and the older take place in the lower; and it appeared desirable, that those pupils Avho might be on a footing in the classes for instruction, should be treated in the same manner in all other respects. The Committee concluded to recommend, that of the three divisions, the first should include children from the age of six to ten, the second those from ten to fourteen, and the third those from fourteen to eighteen ; the intermediate boundaries of ten and fourteen years being variable according to the posi- tion of the individual in the classes for instruction, the extremes of six and eighteen invariable, because fixed by the terms of the Will. Satisfactory reasons for this arrangement will prob- ably present themselves in the progress of the report. The Committee will here merely observe, that children require variable treatment Avith the progressive development of their physical and mental faculties ; and yet some classification is essential; as it is impossible to adapt regulations precisely to THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 519 individual peculiarities, or to every different step in advancing age. With regard to the general superintendence of these several classes, the Committee came to the conclusion, that the first ought to be under the charge of a matron and female assistants, in whatever relates to the care of the person; the second, under that of tutors, in the same respect, with more or less individual liberty; the third, under their own charge, with a due responsi- bility for^ the observance of certain fixed regulations. The reasons upon wrhich they founded this opinion are the follow- ing. Universal experience teaches that females are best ac- quainted with the wants of infancy, and most skilful in its management. With advancing growth, feelings peculiar to the male sex begin to be developed, and require the superintendence of males for their proper regulation ; and children, if too long under exclusive female direction, are apt to become unruly, or to acquire an effeminate bent of character. The precise age when the change from female to male superintendence should take place cannot easily be designated, as it varies in different constitutions; but, as a general rule, it may be safely fixed at ten. It is obviously proper that, as they grow older, children should gradually learn to take care of themselves, in order that they may acquire habits of thoughtfulness in regard to the supply of their own wants and necessities, against the period when they must be thrown upon the world. Hence the boys, as they grow up into young men, should be gradually freed from the close oversight of tutors, but still amenable to strict regulations, so that there may be planted in them, at the same time, a proper degree of self-confidence, and a due feeling of responsibility. The subjects specially referred to the Committee were "the clothing, diet, and personal cleanliness of the pupils, and gen- erally all subjects connected with their accommodation and the 520 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF preservation of their health." Everything is here included relating to the personal treatment of the pupils, which does not come under the head of tuition, discipline, or moral culture; in other words, whatever is strictly physical in the arrangements of the Institution, and even moral subjects also so far as they have any beariug upon the health and bodily comfort of its in- mates. In reporting upon these points, the Committee do not propose to follow precisely the order indicated by the resolution of the Board, but will take care that nothing is omitted which they are enjoined to notice. They think that what they have to communicate may be most conveniently arranged under the folloAving heads:—1st, lodging; 2d, cleanliness; 3d, clothing; 4th, diet; hth, exercise and recreation; %th, accommodation for sickness; *lth, general convenience. 1. Lodging. The Committee propose that the children belonging to the first and second divisions, namely, those between the ages of six and ten, and of ten and fourteen respectively, should lodge in dormitories each containing from twenty to forty individuals ; and that at least those of the second division should be accom- modated with separate beds. Adjoining each of the dormitories, they recommend that an apartment be appropriated to the matron, assistant matron, or tutor, as the case may be, to whom the superintendence of the children may belong, so that a degree of supervision may be exercised, and order preserved, during the hours of rest. As the school must, for at least the first few years, consist exclusively of children belonging to one of these two divisions, the Committee deem it advisable that one or more buildings should be planned and erected, so as to be in readiness for their THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 521 reception by the time that the main edifice intended for the busi- ness of instruction shall be completed. It is proposed that for the pupils of the third division, namely, those from fourteen to eighteen years, small dormitories should be arranged, each with a communicating apartment for study, and each adapted to the accommodation of three individuals in separate beds. By separating the pupils in this manner, dis- cipline will be more easily maintained than if, at an age when the spirit of enterprise begins to be developed, they should be allowed the opportunities- of contriving mischief which the col- lection of ma'ny in one apartmenfduring the night would afford them; while by associating three together, sufficient indulgence is given to their natural fondness for society to prevent those irregular and disorderly efforts to obtain it which might result from solitary lodging. By this plan of small dormitories, more- over, the young man is taught to consider a certain apartment as his own, to feel a degree of responsibility for its preservation in neatnessjind good order, and thus to acquire a habit of care- fulness which may in after life contribute no little to his com- fort. An opportunity is by this arrangement also given for solitary study, without which few minds can sufficiently abstract themselves from surrounding circumstances to pursue profitably any course of intellectual effort. The distraction occasioned by one or two companions is inconsiderable, and is more than counterbalanced by the mutual aid and encouragement resulting from such association. A small study distinct from the dormi- tory, but communicating with it, is deemed advisable, from the inconvenience of arranging a confined bed-chamber suitably for the pursuits of the student, and from the disadvantage to the health in winter, occasioned by that inequality of temperature during the night which results from using the same room as a sitting and sleeping apartment. As no children beyond ten years of age can be admitted into 522 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF the Institution, and as fourteen is the proposed period for enter- ing into the third division, it is' plain that a building for the accommodation of the pupils attached to this division will not be wanted for use until about four years after the opening of the school; so that no immediate action in relation to such a building is necessary. Without intending to interfere with the duties of those members of the Board to whom the subject of tuition has been referred, the Committee may be allowed to suggest, that, should.it be determined to divide the Institution into a preparatory school, and a high school equivalent to our Col- leges, the distinction in relation to accommodation may be made to correspond with that relating to instruction, and the limit of age between the second and third divisions be left somewhat indefinite; so that boys who may be considered suf- ficiently advanced at thirteen to enter the higher school, may have the same accommodation with those of the third division, and one at fifteen not sufficiently advanced, may, if not sepa- rated from the Institution, be retained in the second. By draw- ing such a line of distinction between the first two divisions and the third, considering the latter as having greater advantages and higher privileges, a stimulus is offered to the children of the younger classes to conduct themselves properly, and exert themselves diligently, in order that they may be allowed to advance into the higher grade—the consequence ^being under- stood, that, if not qualified in a reasonable time to enter the third division, they must cease to enjoy any longer the benefits of the establishment. In reference to the subject of lodging, the Committee further recommend that, for the sake both of health and comfort, the pupils should sleep on mattresses at least during the warmer seasons. They also recommend, that there should be adopted an hour THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 523 for retiring to bed, and an hour for rising, to be varied with the season and with the age of the pupil—about ten hours in bed being allowed to the children of the first division, eight or nine to the second, and seven or eight to the third. 2. Cleanliness. This is insisted on in the Will in regard both to the person and clothing, and is highly important from its influence on the health, and on the general tone of character. The face, hands, and mouth should be Avashed every morn- ing ; and an apartment in each of the edifices intended for the accommodation of the pupils, should be arranged Avith suitable conveniences for this purpose, Avhere the boys may repair im- mediately after rising in the morning. Each pupil should be supplied with the requisite implements, as towel, basin, soap, comb, etc., to be under his own charge, and for the good order of which he should be Tesponsible, except in the case of the children of the first division, who in this, as in all other points relating to their person, should be under the care of female superintendents. The Committee think that frequent general bathing also should be resorted to; and recommend that a distinct bath- ing establishment be fitted up on the premises, provided with separate baths, and a large bath in which the smaller children may learn to swim. In reference to the influence of bathing upon the health, they are decidedly of opinion, that the water employed should be of a comfortable temperature, neither so cold as to produce a shock upon the system, nor so warm as to relax the skin, and thus render the individual liable to be injured by subsequent exposure. It is a question which merits consideration, whether ad- vantage may not be taken of the inequality of ground on the 524 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF premises, to make a pond adapted to the purposes of bathing in summer and skating in winter. 3. Clothing. The directions of Mr. Girard on this point are, that the pupils shall be clothed with "plain but decent apparel," and that no "distinctive dress shall ever be worn." In correspondence with the latter direction, the Committee recommend that the clothing be of a character adapted to the age of the pupil, and such as is usually worn by persons of the same age in general society. The term distinctive the Com- mittee consider as applicable to the relation between children belonging to the school, and those not belonging to it; and the meaning of Mr. Girard they conceive to be, that there should be no particular mark or badge by which the pupils of his establishment should be distinguished from other boys of the same age. But, according to this view of the subject, uni- formity of dress is not forbidden. It is desirable, as a matter of convenience, that the children belonging to the same division should be dressed in the same manner, as regards both the quality and style of their clothing. In the choice of the materials, the Committee think the points to be considered are, the comfort and health of the individual, convenience and economy in relation to washing, duration, etc., and the general custom among persons in mid- dling circumstances, in regard to the quality, value, or degree of fineness. The clothing of every pupil should be marked with a par- ticular number, which may also be employed to designate the individual in other cases, whenever it is desirable to indicate any object as belonging to him or under his care. The clothes, in like manner with the person, should be kept THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 525 scrupulously clean, and the same remark applies to the bed- ding. The Committee suggest, that the laundry be in a build- ing outside of the plot of ground occupied by the principal buildings, and that it be connected with the bathing establish- ment; as the same apparatus maybe made to afford warm water for both purposes. 4. Diet. Little need be said on this subject. The Will requires, and common sense would indicate, that the food should be plain and wholesome. As to the time of the meals, and the choice of particular articles of food, some reference should be had to the general practice in these respects; for the children, upon leaving the Institution, will be under the necessity of conform- ing to this practice, and their habits should be so formed as that the change may not be too great. Hence there should be three meals daily. Hence, also, tea, coffee, relishes, des- serts, etc., should be occasionally allowed, but always in moderation. The use of distilled and fermented liquors as drink should be scrupulously avoided; and care should be taken to estab- lish principles of temperance in the minds of the pupils, so that, upon entering into the world, they may be doubly guarded by habit and conviction against the influence of these seduc- tive poisons. Tobacco, also, should in every shape be strictly forbidden. The meals should be taken in an apartment specially de- voted to this purpose in each of the edifices intended for the accommodation of the pupils; and all the children in the same dwelling should eat together. 526 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF 5. Exercise and Recreation. Exercise is essential to the full development of the various bodily organs, and even to the preservation of health. It is, however, too apt to be neglected by students, particularly the spirited and ambitious. Though no immediate obvious injury may result from this neglect, the foundation of complaints is often laid, which shorten life, and render Avhat remains of it a burden. Young men should not be left to their OAvn control in this respect. Those of naturally feeble poAvers, who most need the invigorating influence of exercise, would be most apt to neglect it, as well from an indisposition to physical exertion, as from the impression that their time might be more profitably employed in study. A certain amount of it should be secured to every individual, even though against his own wishes, by the regulations of the Institution. Recreation is also highly important. Nature never intended that our faculties should be always on the stretch. Man is endowed with various susceptibilities and powers, which must all be brought into due exercise in order to produce proper mental and bodily development. Study acts on one set of the mental functions; physical labour, according to its kind, on one or more sets of the bodily organs. An exclusive devotion, therefore, to study or physical labour occasions the develop- ment of certain faculties at the expense of the rest. This is conducive to the health and perfection neither of mind nor body. The feelings, dispositions, and propensities of youth should be cultivated, under proper regulations, as Avell as the faculties; and this may be done in the way of recreation from study. Cheerfulness may be thus promoted, the affections fostered, the susceptibilities to the beauties of physical and moral nature cultivated and refined, and the general tone of the girard college for orphans. 527 feeling rendered vigorous and healthy. So also- with the bodily poAvers. Play brings all the organs into exercise; for children naturally vary their motions to answer the calls made by the wants of the system. Tired of one mode of amusement, they fly to another, and when this wearies, to a third; and thus, by successively exercising the different parts of their frame, give to each its proper stimulus, and preserve the due relation of all. Besides, in consequence of the close connec- tion between mind and body, they reciprocally act on each other, and whatever tends to promote a proper subordination and healthy operation of the different functions of the one, produces, to a greater or less extent, the same effect in the other. A due degree of mental recreation, therefore, promotes health, and a due degree of bodily exercise, the vigour of the mind; and both are necessary auxiliaries to study, in a system of education intended for the improvement of our whole nature. It follows that, in the management of youth, exercise and recreation should be united; but, as the pupils of the Girard College will often be compelled to provide for themselves in future life by bodily labour, it is proper to habituate them to this, in a certain degree, during the progress of their education, so that the change may not be too violent. Even to those who may engage in some intellectual pursuit as the means of live- lihood, the early habit of physical labour will be useful, both by affording them a resource, should that on which they mainly rely fail them, and by giving them the means of profitable exer- cise in connection Avith their professional avocation. Exercise, then, may be regarded, so far as relates to the regu- lations which it is the duty of this Committee to propose, in two lights; first, in connection with labour, secondly, in connection with play or other recreation. The question now occurs, how much time should be appropriated to exercise in general, and how much to each of its two varieties. AlloAving'from eight to 528 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF ten hours out of the twenty-four for sleep, from eight to ten for study—for the two, eighteen hours—we shall have left six hours for meals, exercise, and" recreation. Of these, the Com- mittee think that four hours may properly be appropriated to exercise, to be divided equally betAveen its two modes of appli- cation. Exercise with Labour.—In relation to labour, some attention should be paid to its character. The Committee think that it should be such as, at the same time, to be useful to the Institu- tion by its products, conducive to health by its nature, and calculated for future usefulness to the individual. They par- ticularly recommend farming and horticulture ; and, therefore, propose that a farm and garden should be maintained upon the premises. They also recommend such mechanical operations as are not of a sedentary nature, as, for example, joining, car- penters' work, coopering, smiths' work, etc. The sedentary pursuits, such as shoemaking, tailoring, and weaving, should be excluded. Exercise with Recreation.—Under this head are included dif- ferent kinds of active sports, for which play-grounds should be provided, and an apartment fitted up for winter and wet weather. The Committee suggest, that a part of the third story of the main collegiate edifice may perhaps be appropriated, at least for the first few years, to the latter purpose. Riding on horseback, and the art of driving and taking care of horses, may with propriety occupy a part of the attention of the older pupils. Some horses will be required for the bWness of the establishment; and as they will not be always in use, advantage may be taken of their leisure to give to the pupil, at the same time, pleasant exercise and useful instruction. In this way, the young men educated in the establishment will, upon leaving it, be on a footing Avith persons of the same age in ordi- nary life, most of whom enjoy opportunities of learning to ride, THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 529 drive, and harness, if not to take care of horses. It is perhaps advisable that practice in horsemanship should be confined to the pupils of the third division ; as the younger Avill have suffi- cient opportunities after leaving the school, should they do so before entering into the older class. Among the modes of active recreation may also be mentioned excursions out of the limits of the College grounds, under the guidance of tutors. These excursions should be directed to useful purposes; such as the examination of the various opera- tions and employments of active life with which the pupils could not otherwise become familiar, the acquisition of practical botan- ical and mineralogical knoAvledge, and instruction in the art of swimming. The practice of vocal and instrumental music may possibly not be considered incompatible Avith the purposes of the insti- tution. It is, when not carried too far, useful as a mode of exercise to the lungs and organs of voice, and, under the same restriction, may serve as a harmless amusement. The proper period for exercise is not a matter of indifference. Reason and experience have combined to prove, that much phy- sical exertion either immediately before or immediately after eating is detrimental to health. It is advisable that the pupils should be collected together, and kept in a state of quietness, for a short time before and after meals, particularly dinner. There can be no difficulty in filling up this time advantageously, by means either of books or conversation ; and a good opportunity would thus be afforded for pleasing and useful social intercourse between the teachers and their scholars. Whenever the regulations of the school may require that the pupils should be kept, for several hours during the day, in the school-room, as will probably be the case with the children be- longing to the first and second divisions, the practice ought to 34 530 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF be adopted of allowing short intervals of recreation, to the amount, perhaps, of from five to ten minutes every hour. The effect of this plan will be to prevent that stagnation of the bodily functions, which, in children especially, is apt to result from long sitting in one position, and which not only proves injurious to health, but materially diminishes the capacity for study by producing a nervous uneasiness that tends to distract the mind. 6. Provision for the Sick. The Committee propose that, in each building occupied by the pupils, an apartment should be set aside as an infirmary, and provided with all the materials and conveniences adapted for the relief of sickness. The propriety of separating the sick from the well is so obvious that the Committee do not deem it necessary to dwell on the subject. They think the plan of having an apartment in each edifice devoted to this purpose, preferable to that of a general infirmary for the whole establish- ment ; as the removal of the patient from the roof under which he might reside would often be accompanied with inconvenience, and sometimes with danger, particularly in winter. Besides, it is advisable that they who have the superintendence of the children in health, should also take care of them in sickness; and this could not well happen, if the patients should be col- lected into one infirmary from the different parts of the estab- lishment. Even where the pupils are placed in small dormitories, as is proposed for those of the third division, the plan recom- mended by the Committee Avill be found convenient; as it would be difficult, in case of any prevalent sickness, to give due attention to all the patients, if scattered here and there, through a large edifice in separate rooms. One or more physicians should be engaged, at a fixed salary, to superintend the health of the establishment. It is not pro- THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 531 posed that they should reside within the College grounds, or devote their attention exclusively to the business of the Insti- tution. No physician can be a good practitioner, who is not in the constant exercise of his profession. There will not, in all probability, be sufficient disease among the inmates of the Col- lege, to engage the whole time of a single individual; and it would be a bad plan to employ, in this capacity, any officer of the Institution Avho might happen to have studied medicine, and to have on his hands some superfluous time. It would be best to select the medical attendants from among those in practice in the city, who might reside within a convenient distance from the College. A person to be styled the apothecary should reside in the establishment, whose office it should be, under the instructions of the physician, to bleed, cup, prepare medicines, and perform other subordinate offices in relation to the sick. A single indi- vidual would be sufficient for these purposes; and, in the infancy of the College, he would have much spare time which might be profitably devoted to other concerns. 7. General Convenience. Under this head, the Committee propose to make a few sug- gestions in relation to the subjects referred to them, which could not be conveniently introduced into the preceding sections of this report. It has been already proposed that a building should be erected, without the plot of ground devoted more particularly to the College edifices, to serve as a bathing establishment and a laundry. The Committee suggest the propriety of having a bake-house, an ice-house, a milk-house, and other appurtenances of a like kind in a similar situation. A large clock, with the face exposed in some conspicuous 532 CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF position, and a bell by which the operations of the community may be regulated, will be found very convenient. In the erection of the buildings, care should be taken to secure them from danger by fire, so far as may be consistent with a due attention to economy. The Committee recommend that the dif- ferent apartments should be heated by means of furnaces in the basement story, which should be arched over so as to render it absolutely fire proof; and the staircases of the houses in Avhich the pupils lodge should, in every instance, be made of stone or marble. Still further to increase the security, a fire-engine Avith all the necessary appurtenances should be kept in some con- venient part of the premises. In the construction of the buildings, care should also be taken to provide facilities for thorough ventilation. As an abundant supply of wholesome water is of the utmost importance to the health and comfort of the establishment, the Committee propose that inquiry should be made whether this object may not be accomplished by means of the works at Fair- mount ; and if this be impracticable, whether some other plan sufficiently economical may not be fallen upon, for introducing the Schuylkill water. Finally, they suggest that an officer be appointed, with the name of steward, or some other convenient title, who may have under his immediate control all the concerns which relate to the accommodation and convenience of the pupils. In the present report, the Committee have endeavoured to embody all the suggestions Avhich occurred to them as of imme- diate importance. In accordance with the principle declared in the outset, they have in general avoided entering into detail; and, in order not to be too prolix, have on many points merely stated their convictions, without presenting all the grounds upon which these convictions were founded. As they do not profess to have exhausted the subjects committed to them, they / THE GIRARD COLLEGE FOR ORPHANS. 533 propose, with the approbation of the Board, to continue their investigations, and to communicate, in future reports, any new views which may occur to them as worthy of attention. Geo. B. Wood, Henry Troth, Thos. McEwen, A. D. Bache, S. Rush, ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE OPENING OF THE MEETING OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION IN DETKOIT, MAY 6, 1856. Custom demands, as one of the expiring duties of your presiding officer, that he should leave a legacy at least of good wishes, if not of something more valuable behind him. In compliance with this duty, I propose to say a few parting words, which, whatever else they may convey to you, will assuredly not interpret duly the sentiments of him who utters them, unless they make you sensible of bis grateful and most kindly feelings towards his felloAA^-members, and of his zealous interest in the great objects of our Association.* * When this address was delivered, it was the rule of the Association, since changed, to elect their president, each year, at the place of meeting, to preside immediately after his election, and also at the opening of the session in the following year, until a successor could be appointed. It was a custom, seldom departed from, to choose their presiding officer from among the physicians residing at the place of meeting. Hence it happened that, as the office fell to my lot on the occasion of the meeting in Philadelphia, in 1855, it became my duty to preside at the opening of the session in the following year at Detroit.—April, 1872. (535) 536 ADDRESS AT THE OPENING OF THE MEETING The present is a suitable occasion for taking a survey of the Association; for looking around toAvards the boundaries of its labours, interests, and duties, and noting Avhether something may not present itself in the vieAV, Avhich may profitably oc- cupy, for a few minutes, our serious and earnest attention. Let us first throw a comparative glance from the present back- ward to the past. Perhaps, by so doing, we may be better prepared to look forward intelligently into the future. Have the hopes with which the Association set out in its mission of self-imposed duty, been fulfilled ? Has the loud call which it sent forth through the nation, startling the pro- fession from its uneasy slumber, succeeded in aAvakening it thoroughly to a sense of its high responsibilities, and arousing a determined spirit of progress ? Or has it died away in gradually diminishing echoes, leaving but a drowsy memory of that spirit-stirring appeal ? Have the annual gatherings of the elect of the profession, their Jotnt deliberations in council, their various legislation, the practical inquiry set on foot or encouraged, not omitting their exploits at the festal board, and kindly interchange of thought and sentiment in social assem- blage ; have all these been Avithout fruit ? Have they been the mere course of a phantom ship through the ocean of human events, leaving no track in its passage, and bearing no freight onward to its destination? Were we to listen to the clamours of opposition, the whisper- ings of discontent, or the murmured disappointment of an over- excited expectation, we might be disposed to give to these questions an unfavourable answer; to cease our struggles for an unattainable good; and, with the wings of the spirit folded, and its head drooping, to submit in sadness to an inexorable destiny, chaining us in submission to all present evils, and jealous even of a glance towards the higher and the better. But, happily, such is not the voice of a clear and unbiased OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 537 judgment. It is true that the Association has not accomplished the whole of Avhat it aimed at. Like all other young things, conscious of a stirring life within, and feeling no limits to its yet untried poAvers, it hoped and strove beyond the possible; it struck in its soaring flight against the iron wall of circum- stance, and for a time, at least, fell back, stunned though not crushed, into humbler aims. Yet, even as regards medical education, which is the main point of failure, its efforts have not been all thrown away. Some advance, however small, has, I think, been already made; and bread, moreover, has been cast upon the waters, to be found after many days. But outside of this vexed subject, much, very much has been accomplished. I will not appeal to the ponderous volumes of our Transactions. They speak for themselves. To say that there is no chaff among their solid contents, would be to say what is neither now nor ever has been true of any large book, with one solitary exception. But I believe that all present will join me in the opinion, that one who searches these records, with a sincere and candid spirit, will find in them much that is good; much that may warrant the self-congratulation of the Association for having originated, or called it forth. But, whatever credit may be given to these living witnesses of our labours, one fact is evident, that the medical mind has been aroused ; that the spirit of improvement has breathed upon the masses of the profession, and everywhere scattered germs, which are noAv developing, and will probably hereafter continue to develop, even in a still higher ratio, into earnest efforts for self-culture, and general advancement. Stagnation, in the moral as in the physical world, generates corruption. Agitation, though often in its extremes a cause of evil, and sometimes of unspeakable present wretchedness, generally purifies in the end, and, if restrained within due limits; is a source of unmixed good. The medical mind, anterior to the 538 ADDRESS AT THE OPENING OF THE MEETING birth of this Association, was in a state of comparative inertia. In all the departments of the profession, the educational as Avell as the practical, material interests began to predominate. There was danger that the profession might sink to the level of a mere business. Noble aims; high aspirations; the general good; the spirit of self-sacrifice; these began to be looked on as wordy inflations. The great struggle seemed to be, in the teaching department, to gather pupils; in the practical, to gather patients; in both, to swell the pockets. Stagnation of the professional spirit was breeding noxious influence in its motionless depths. No wonder that quackery loomed upward, as regular medicine began to sink. There was danger that the public might be able to see little difference between them ; and the fact is, that the line of demarcation was not very distinct, even to the professional eye. They ran into each other, at their extremes, by quite insensible shades. But the Association arose, and a new spirit was aAvakened. Many had been watching this apparent abasement of the pro- fession with sorrow; but they were powerless in their isolation. No sooner had the flag of the Association been given to the breeze, than they hastened to join its standard. From all quarters, and from the remotest bounds of the country, volun- teers poured in to join this great crusade against the evils which had been usurping the sacred places of the profession. The mass of medical society was moved to its very depths. Hundreds upon hundreds came forth from their sheltering privacy, and threw their souls into the grand movement which was to reconquer, to purify, and regenerate the prostrated glory of their calling. The feeble voice of opposition was heard for a moment; but was soon drowned in the overwhelming shouts of the masses, crying out, Onward! Onward! Even the ad- vocates of the material principle, who could not raise their souls above the level of dollars and cents, found it expedient OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 539 to chime in for a time with the almost universal voice; and to the enthusiastic it seemed as though a professional millen- nium was approaching. I need not follow the march of the crusade. I need not recall the varied experience which has but confirmed that of all other revolutionary uprisings, that, except under the influence of a power higher than human, which can regenerate the hearts of men, whatever temporary change may be made in the surface of things, in mere form and arrangement, it is only by the slow working of time that radical and lasting reforms can be effected. Who ever beheld a great nation made by a written constitution? We have had paper republics as thick as the leaves in Vallombrosa; but where, and what are they now? To make a great and free nation, the people must have the principles of greatness and freedom implanted in their hearts. So is it with lesser Associations. It is vain to alter forms, unless the substance is altered too. The Association has discovered this truth. It no longer seeks to work miracles, but is content with following the methods of nature and providence. It has done a great thing in beginning the movement. It is doing what it can to further that move- ment, and to consolidate its results. Who is there that has lived and observed through the last ten or fifteen years, who cannot see that our profession has been moving onward and upward since its great awakening; perhaps slowly, perhaps now and then halting, but on the whole advanc- ing, and with an irresistible force, because it is that of the mass. It is not now a few leaders who are kindling by their OAvn enthusiasm a feeble and temporary blaze of excitement in the multitude; dragging them forward as Avith cords by their own strong zeal and fiery spirit; it is the inborn soul which is ani- mating the great body, and carrying it forward in its legitimate course. Had the Association done nothing else, I Will not say than 540 ADDRESS AT THE OPENING OF THE MEETING originating, but even than aiding and concentrating this rising up of the profession, it would have performed a service entitling it to everlasting gratitude, and to an imperishable name in the medical annals of our country. A great benefit conferred on the profession by the Associa- tion, was the preparation and adoption of a code of medical ethics. I need not say to you, that this code is merely an ex- pression of the great principles of truth, justice, and honour, in their application to the relations of physicians to one another, their patients, and the public. It is the voice of wisdom and experience speaking from the past, and meets a ready response in the breast of every man possessed of a good heart, a sound judgment, and correct moral principle. Should any one find a repugnance to the observance of its rules rising up within him, let him for a moment reflect, whether this may not spring from some evil source in himself; whether it may not be the result rather of an unwillingness to make what he may deem a sacrifice at their suggestion, than of a real conviction of their injustice or impropriety. Which is more likely to be true; the unbiased and unselfish judgment of the wisest and most experienced in the profession, or an individual decision which may at least be suspected of a selfish basis, and of which no man, if his interests or feelings are in any degree involved, can say that it is quite pure; for no man can judge impartially in his own case? A becoming modesty would lead him to suspect that the fault might be in himself, and a becoming spirit, to search into the secrets of his own heart for the root of the evil, and to pluck it out if discovered. I have no doubt that a full observance of these rules would tend, more than any one thing else, to main- tain harmony in the profession, and to elevate it in the public esteem. It would render impossible those unseemly disputes, founded on petty jealousies, and supposed opposition of in- terests, which, probably beyond any other single cause, expose OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 541 the profession to obloquy and ridicule. A copy of the Code should be placed in the hands of every young man about to enter upon the practice of medicine, with the urgent advice that he should make it the guide of his professional life; that he should not only regulate his conduct in conformity with its precepts, but should educate his heart into a real preference for them. Would it not be an object Avorthy of the attention of the As- sociation to provide for such a distribution; at least, by the publication of a large edition of the Code, to put it in the power of individuals or societies, who might be disposed to engage in this work of beneficence, to do so with as little cost to them- selves as possible ? I do honestly believe that, to a young physician going forth into a life full of moral conflicts, the wear- ing of this aegis would be one of his surest defences: that, next to the holy Scriptures, and the grace of God, it Avould serve most effectually to guard him from evil. Not one of the least advantages of the Association is that, representing, as it may be said to do, the medical profession of the country, its voice, when nearly or quite unanimous, will be considered as that of the whole medical body, and thus have weight both in the community at large, and in the legislative councils of the nation. It is only thus that the profession can make their special opinions and Avishes known and felt. I have been told that the representations of the Association had much weight in determining a satisfactory arrangement of the ques- tion respecting the relative rank of the Surgeons in the navy. It is to be presumed that the patriotic physician who brought before Congress the memorable measure for establishing a gen- eral inspection of imported drugs, was materially aided in carrying it through by the approving voice of the profession, speaking in the memorial from this body. On another occasion, you were heard, through your resolutions, pleading in the Halls of Congress in favour of a great measure of honesty and justice, 542 ADDRESS AT THE OPENING OF THE MEETING when you petitioned for an international copyright laAv betAveen the United States and Great Britain; and, should such a law ever be passed, it will not be claiming too much for the Asso- ciation to say that it will have contributed to that result. Your resolutions, from time to time, in advocacy of a system of regis- tration of births, deaths, etc., have probably also added some- thing to the mass of influence which has brought legislation to bear on this most important subject, though, it must be acknowl- edged, hitherto but very partially, and, with some honourable exceptions, ineffectually. There is one other view of the beneficial influence of our great gatherings which I cannot pass unnoticed. The effect of isolation is well known in breeding excessive self-respect, distrust of others, and narrow, selfish, and sectional views and feelings. Man is naturally gregarious; and it is only in association that his nature can receive its full development; that the seeds of the better qualities within him can be made to germinate, and the qualities themselves to grow up, under cul- ture, into their just magnitude and proportions. Our Association brings together many who would otherwise never meet, from sections remote from each other, and differing much in views, habits, and feelings. We come, partly, at least, for relaxation from the cares and toils of business, prepared and desirous to be pleased. Each one naturally, and Avithout design, turns out the fairest side of his character; and all consequently make and receive favourable and kindly impressions. Each place selected for our meetings feels its character for hospitality involved in the reception of its guests, and every effort is made to extend all proper courtesies and kindnesses to the assembled representatives of the profession. In parting, therefore, we carry with us friendly remembrances of one another, and of the place of assemblage, to our several far separated homes. These remembrances serve as so many cords, not only to bind the OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 543 members of the profession together in one harmonious whole, but also, intertwined with other similar agencies, to counteract the centrifugal tendencies of our political system, and to keep it moving onward, each part in its due place, in that majestic course, which, while shedding beneficent influences throughout its OAvn great circle, attracts the admiring and hopeful gaze of humanity everywhere. Having thus hastily scanned the present and past of the Association, let us turn our thoughts briefly towards the future. A few words will convey all that I have to address to your attention. It seems to me that experience should have taught us this one lesson; not to aim at once at sweeping changes; but, having determined what great objects are desirable, to keep these always in view, and, by the persevering use of such influ- ences as may be at our command, securing one point in advance before hastening to another, to move on slowly but steadily to our ends. These must ever be the improvement of the profes- sion itself, the advancement of medical science, and the pro- motion of the public good, so far as that may, in any degree, be connected Avith our special pursuit. Each of these three points requires a brief notice. In the improvement of the profession, the Association has from its foundation recognized, as an essential element of suc- cess, a higher degree of qualification in those who are to become its members. But for the attainment of this object they can use no coercive measures. The only power they can exercise is that of opinion. Our only appeal is to the judgment and conscience of those concerned. But much may in time be done in this way. It is impossible that intelligent and honourable individuals, possessed of that share of conscientiousness which belongs to most men, and is certainly not deficient in our profession, should long resist such appeals, proceeding from a source so worthy of 544 ADDRESS AT THE OPENING OF THE MEETING respect as this. Let us reiterate, from time to time, our con- victions of the necessity for improved preparatory education, for a longer devotion to the proper studies of the profession, for a junction of clinical with didactic instruction, and finally for something more than a mere nominal examination before ad- mission to the honour of the doctorate, or the privileges of a license to practise; points Avhich have ever been insisted on by the Association; let us, I say, reiterate these convictions; and like slowly dropping water, they will at length, however grad- ually, wear their way through the hardest incrustation of pre- judice, interest, indolence, or indifference, and reach the con- science with irresistible effect. While bringing to bear upon this resistance, the considerations of reason, duty, honour, and even an enlightened self-interest, we must carefully avoid all vio- lence of procedure, as likely only to add the hostility of passion to other opposing influences. By this course universal opinion will be gradually conciliated; and interest itself will find its own ends best promoted by compliance with the general will. Already some advance has been gained in this direction; and the Association, by perseverance, may yet see all its reasonable wishes accomplished. In relation to other measures for elevating the character and increasing the efficiency of the profession, there appears to me nothing more at present for the Association to do, than to go on as it has begun. Its continued existence alone is a great good; for it is annually bringing large numbers, simply through membership in its body, to participate in its feelings, and to acknowledge its obligations. Let us then maintain unshrink- ingly the standard of professional honour and morals that we have erected, and decline association with those who will not recognize that standard, or, having recognized, abandon it. Let us adhere unswervingly to the line which has been drawn be- tween regular and irregular medicine, and treat the practitioners OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 545 of the latter with the silent disregard they merit. This is the only course for the regular practitioner. To wage a war of words with quackery, is to do Avhat it most delights in. It would be to contend, under the government of honour and prin- ciple, Avith antagonists Avho acknowledge no such restraints. In our private intercourse with friends and patients, Ave may explain the grounds of difference between ourselves and the irregulars, may demonstrate the absurdity of their pretensions, the danger of their practice, and the iniquity of their conduct; in short, may endeavour to enlighten wherever light is acceptable, or can penetrate. We may even, if the public interest seem to require it, put forth refutations of false doctrine and assertion, and ex- posure of subterfuge, trickery, and imposture; but with the irregulars themselves we should enter into no relation, whether of friendship or hostility. I do not say that there may not be honourable and honest, though ignorant or bewildered men among them. But we cannot discriminate. With the presumed advantages of their association, they must be content to take also the disgrace. There is a point to Avhich I would call the attention of the members of the Association individually. We have been called Allopathists, in contradistinction to a sect of irregular prac. titioners who have taken to themselves the title of Homce- opathists ; the latter term signifying that its professors treat disease by influences similar in their effects to the disease itself; the former that other, and of course dissimilar influences are used. It must be remembered, that the designation was not adopted by ourselves, but conferred upon us by Hahnemann and his followers. The intention Avas obvious. It was to place the regular profession, and their own scheme, upon a similar basis. They practised on one principle, Ave on a different and some- what opposite principle. They graciously alloAved that our 35 546 ADDRESS AT THE OPENING OF THE MEETING principle was not altogether ineffective; that we did sometimes cure our patients; but theirs was sounder in theory, and more successful in practice. Now, by recognizing the name, we necessarily recognize the principle also, and thus put ourselves in a false position. In deciding between them and us, the ig- norant masses think they are deciding between two systems, neither of which they understand, but of Avhich they must judge, upon the grounds of relative success. Diseases often get well of themselves, if left alone. The genuine homceopathist leaves them alone, and they often consequently terminate in recovery. This success is magnified by methods well understood ; and multitudes are thus led astray, especially among the delicate and refined, who abominate the taste of medicine themselves, and are equally averse to the task of forcing it down the re- luctant throats of their children. But we are not allopathists. The regular practice of medicine is based on no such dogma, and no exclusive dogma whatever. We profess to be intelligent men, who seek knoAvledge, in reference to the cure of disease, wherever we can find it, and, in our search, are bound by no other limits than those of truth and honour. We should not hesitate to receive it from the homceopathists, had they any to offer. We would pick it up from the filthiest common-sewer of quackery; for like the diamond, it has this excellent quality, that no surrounding filth defiles it, and it comes out pure and sparkling, even from the kennel. This is the light in which the medical profession should present itself to the community. We are men who have sought in every possible way to qualify our- selves for the care of their health. We present them, in our diplomas, the evidence that we have gained sufficient knowledge to be trusted with this great charge; and we stand pledged be- fore them to extend our knowledge and increase our skill, as far as may lie in our power. Membership in our honourable pro- OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 547 fession is the proof Ave offer that Ave are no false pretenders, no interested deceivers; but upright men, intent on the performance of our professional duties. This the people can understand. But when we designate onrselves as allopathists, they may Avell ask, in Avhat are you better than any other medical sect, than the homceopathists, the hydropathists, the Thomsonians, the eclectics ? Let us discard, therefore, the false epithet. Let us not only never employ it ourselves, but show that, when applied to us by others, it is inappropriate and offensive, and that the use of it in future would be contrary to gentlemanly courtesy. and the proprieties of cultivated society. I say again, we are not allopathists ; we are simply regular practitioners of medi- cine, claiming to be honest and honourable—in other Avords, to be gentlemen. The efficiency of our profession is to be increased not only by increasing its qualifications, but also by all upright measures calculated to win the public confidence, and thus widen the field of our operations. In this respect, I do not know that the As- sociation can do better than to persevere as it has begun ; and, by the propriety and dignity with Avhich it conducts its own proceedings, to show to the world the high influences under which the profession acts, and demonstrate that it possesses those qualities of self-government, so useful to the medical practitioner, and so characteristic of the gentleman in all his relations. The improvement of the science of medicine has ahvays been a favourite object of the Association. The appointment of com- mittees to investigate and report on certain stated subjects, the reception of voluntary communications, the offering of prizes to competing contributors, and the publication of our Transactions annually, are the means employed for this purpose; and I have nothing better to suggest. 548 ADDRESS AT THE OPENING OF THE MEETING The remaining point for consideration, is the promotion of the public good. Happily, such is the nature of our profession, that the more Ave improve ourselves, the better do we fulfil this great duty. But there is something else to be done. There are certain great interests of the community, relating to their health, of which medical men are the only good judges, and the various influences affecting which the}' only can duly appreciate. Upon these points it is our duty to be ever on the watch, and not only, like faithful sentinels, to give notice of danger, but, like heaven-appointed agents, as Ave are, to use our best efforts and influence to prevent or remove it, and, in every practicable way, to guard the public health. To the establishment of a general system of registration throughout the country, our attention has already been given. We should not relax our efforts, until the great end has been accomplished. There is another subject deserving of our most serious con- sideration. You are all aware what advances have recently been made by the smallpox in many parts of our country. Thousands are perishing annually, for whose deaths Ave are, as a profession, in some degree accountable. There is no oc- casion for this mortality. Vaccination and revaccination, duly performed, and under proper circumstances, are, I will not say an absolutely certain, but a very nearly certain safeguard. I have never known of death from smallpox, after an efficient revaccination; and only one instance of the occurrence of varioloid. But the profession and the community have both been too careless upon this point. Food for the pestilence has been allowed to accumulate; and it has been rioting with fearful results in many parts of our country. The profession should rouse itself from this apathy, and Avarn the community every- where of the danger, while offering them the means of security. OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 549 We may be accused of self-interest in urging this measure of precaution; as our OAvn instrumentality may be necessary, and must be compensated Avhere the means exist. But a moment's reflection must convince the most stupid that it would be much more to our pecuniary interest to attend a protracted case of smallpox, than to perform a trifling operation, Avhich is to pre- vent it. There are, however, many occasions, in which it is necessary to do our duty at the risk of obloquy; and this is one. But perhaps I have been somewhat unjust to the profession. The people have, in many places, and probably, in some degree, in almost all, chosen other guardians of their health, and rejected our offered aid. It has happened to me to become acquainted with one neighbourhood, in which smallpox has recently prevailed; but not a single case occurred within the circuit of the regular physician's practice. Those families only suffered who had intrusted the care of their health to an em- piric, who, for aught I know, may have been ignorant alike of smallpox and of vaccination. It is highly probable that many of those who now hear me could give a similar account of their own neighbourhoods. The public should take this subject into their hands. Provision should be made, with legislative sanction, for universal vaccination. If the evil were confined exclusively to the negligent individual, the public might possibly have no right to interfere. But whole com- munities suffer, and government may and ought to step in for their protection. A man is prohibited by law from setting fire to his own house, because a neighbour's may. suffer. Which is the greater evil, that our house should burn, or our families perish Avith smallpox? It might be impossible in this country to establish a system of compulsory vaccination ; but legisla- tion might go far towards attaining the same end without this obnoxious feature. Time, however, does not permit me to 550 ADDRESS TO THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. follow this interesting subject in all its ramifications. I must content myself with having introduced it to your notice. If the profession can do nothing more, they can at least raise a warning voice everywhere; and this will be doing much.* I must close with begging you to excuse the length into which I have been drawn in the discussion of the important points that have engaged our attention. I intended to be very brief; but few men, when they have taken their pen in hand, can say to the flowing tide of their thoughts, "thus far shalt thou go, and no further." AHoav me, in a few parting Avords, to thank you warmly for your attention, and to express the hope that our labours, during the present session, may tend to confirm the good that has been done, and to carry us still further onward in the great road of progress; so that, here- after, the meeting at Detroit may be remembered as one, at which we may all be gratified and proud to have assisted. * Though these remarks were Avritten so long since as 185G, their im- portance has been of late strongly illustrated by the extensive prevalence of smallpox in this country and Europe. Had they produced their due impre.-sion on the profession at the time they were delivered, the loss of the many thousand lives which have recently been sacrificed to that most loathsome disease might have been spared ; and could they noAV be made effective, a similar loss, some fifteen or twenty years hence, may in all probability be prevented.—April, 1872. ON THE REVIVAL OP PREMATURELY FAILING FRUIT-TREES, AND THE USE OF THE ALKALI POTASSA AS A FERTILIZER. Prefatory Remarks. Incapacitated for the duties of my profession by the debility of old age and failing health, I several years since withdrew from the practice of medicine; having, at a considerably earlier period, resigned my professorship in the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, in anticipation of the speedy ap- proach of the same disqualification. As a healthy mode of occu- pation, I turned my attention to country pursuits, and soon became deeply engaged in the cultivation of cranberries and other fruits; in Avhich nothing more Avas requisite, on my own part, than judicious superintendence. Willing to do what good was in my power to the community, I tried various experiments in the hope of making some useful improvement or discovery; and I am happy to say, not entirely, as I think, without success. In relation to probably the most important of my observations, I made from time to time communications to the American Philosophical Society, Avhich have been published in their Pro- ceedings. These I present here in a consolidated form, so that they may all be taken in at one view. No further preliminary (551) 552 ON THE REVIVAL OF comment is necessary; as they Avill be found, on perusal, suffi- ciently to explain themselves. The first was a verbal commu- nication, consisting of little more than the mere annunciation of the observed facts; the two following Avere Avritten papers, giving the result of subsequent experiments, with such explana- tion and suggestion as presented themselves.—April, 1872. From the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, December 17, 1869. Dr. G. B. Wood described a discovery which he believes that he has made, and which, if verified by further experiments, will be of great value to the agricultural interests of the country. Potash, combined with one or more of the vegetable acids, is an essential ingredient in vegetables, particularly in fruit, which, it is probable, cannot be produced without it. Sometimes fruit- trees cease to bear, prematurely; and, in relation to peach-trees, it is well known that, in this vicinity, after producing a few crops, they not only cease bearing, but perish themselves in a short time; whereas their natural life is fifty or sixty years or more. The fact seems to be, that potash is wanting in the soil in suffi- cient abundance to allow the tree to bear fruit continuously. Dr. Wood believes that, by supplying potash to the tree, so that it shall reach the radicles, and be absorbed, the deficiency may be supplied; the fruit-bearing power is restored, and the tree itself, if prematurely perishing, revived. He was led to this conclusion in the following way. Having a consid- erable number of peach-trees, which had entirely ceased to bear fruit, and Avere themselves obviously decaying, and be- lieving, with most persons, that the cause lay in the worms at the root of the tree, he put in operation a plan which he had seen his father perform, more than fifty years since, of digging ;around the base of the stem a hole four or five inches deep, PREMATURELY FAILING FRUIT-TREES. 553 scraping away all the Avorms that could be found burrowing at the junction of the stem and root, and filling the hollow thus made with fresh wood-ashes, recently from the fire, and of course retaining all their potash. The ashes were used with the view of destroying the worms that might have escaped notice. This was done in the autumn of 1868. In the following spring he was himself astonished at the result. The trees appeared to have been restored to all their early freshness and vigour. They put forth bright green leaves, blossomed copiously, and bore a crop of fruit such as they had never borne before; many of the branches breaking down under their load of peaches. In reflect- ing on these results, Dr. Wood came to the conclusion that all this change could not possibly have been produced by the de- struction of a feAV worms ; and, besides, in several of the peach- trees treated, there Avere no Avorms to be found. He Avas thus led to the belief that the real cause of the revival of the trees was the ashes, the potash of which, being dissolved by the rains, had descended along the roots to their rootlets, and pre- sented to them the very food for want of Avhich the trees were dying. He has, accordingly, had hundreds of various kinds of failing fruit-trees treated in this way this fall, in the expecta- tion of an abundant harvest next year. Should he live till then, he will inform the Society of the result. Should he not live, the experiment will at least have been put on record. In ansAver to an inquiry, Dr. Wood said that the soil was of all kinds, sand, loam, and clay. 554 REVIVAL OF FRUIT-TREES KEVIVAL OF FKUIT-TREES, PREMATURELY CEASING TO BEAR FRUIT, OR PREMATURELY DECAYING. (Communicated to the American Philosophical Society, January 6th, 1871.) It is well known that most fruit-trees, especially the peach and apple-trees, in sites where they have been long cultivated, often cease to bear fruit, and even perish, long before their natural period. Thus the peach, which has a normal life of fifty or sixty years, or longer, and grows under favourable circum- stances to the size of a considerable tree, generally, in this part of the United States, ceases to bear fruit after two or three years of productiveness, and soon after begins to decay, seldom living beyond fifteen or twenty years. The apple-tree also, long before it has attained its normal length of life, often ceases to yield fruit, either for a time or permanently, without apparent cause; and trees, planted on the site of an old orchard which has been removed, not unfrequently refuse to bear at all, or at least to a profitable extent. It is obviously of great importance to discover the cause or causes of such'failures, and, if possible, to apply a remedy or preventive. Unless I greatly deceive myself, 1 have succeeded in showing that the evil generally has its source in a deficiency of the salts of potassa in the soil, and may be corrected by sup- plying that deficiency. The alkali potassa, in combination generally with one or another of the vegetable acids, is an essential ingredient in all plants, excepting the sea plants, in Avhich its place is supplied by soda. In living vegetables it is contained dissolved in the juice, and is consequently most abundant in the most succulent parts ; and, when the plants are burned, the alkali is left behind PREMATURELY CEASING TO BEAR FRUIT, ETC. 555 in the ashes, of which it constitutes an exceedingly variable pro- portion, according to the peculiar plant or part of the plant burned. Thus, while the ashes of oak wood contain only about 3 parts in 1000, those of the common poke, the growing wheat stalk, and the potato stems, contain 48 or 50 parts or more. The greater portion by far of the alkali is in the state of car- bonate, with a little in the caustic state, and being, in these conditions, very soluble, it is extracted by lixiviation with water, and obtained by evaporating the ley. A much smaller portion is in the form of silicate, Avhich is left behind in the ashes after lixiviation, and gives to the soap-boilers' ashes almost all if not quite all their value as a manure. It is, however, only the fresh-burned ashes, not yet submitted to lixiviation, and consequently still containing the potash in its soluble state, that is applicable to the purpose of supplying the alkali to fruit- trees, in the mode in Avhich I employ it. When plants are no longer supplied with the requisite amount of potash, they cease to grow, and at length generally perish. In the case of the succulent fruit-trees, as the alkali is required in the largest proportion in the fruit, this is the first to suffer; then the leaves gradually fail; and at length the whole tree dies, limb after limb. Hoav I came to discover this source of premature failure of fruit-trees, and to supply the deficiency by means of the soluble potash contained in fresh ashes, I explained, so far as the peach- tree is concerned, in a communication made last year to the Society, which was published in the Proceedings. In that communication I stated that, believing Avith most others that the peach-tree perishes prematurely, in consequence of being attacked near the root by a species of worm, I em- ployed, as a remedy against this parasite, after scraping as far as possible the worm out of the root with a knife, fresh ashes introduced into an excavation about the stem of the plant; sup- 556 REVIVAL OF FRUIT-TREES posing that, by their caustic power, they might destroy any re- mains of the insect or its eggs. This method Avas not original Avith myself; as I had seen it practised in my youth very effect- ually in keeping a peach orchard in bearing for several years. The peach-trees on Avhich I tried the experiment had long ceased to bear fruit, and were in the last stage of decay; in several instances one or more branches being absolutely dead, and the stem being covered with lichens, as is apt to happen with dying trees. This work Avas done in the autumn ; the earth having been removed around the stem of each tree to the depth of four or five inches, so as to lay bare the upper surface of the main roots, and the excavation filled with fresh ashes. Next spring a mar- vellous change was experienced by the trees. They had recov- ered more than the vigour of their early life, and bore fruit in an abundance which I had rarely, if ever, witnessed. I could not conceive that such a result should proceed so rapidly, from the destruction of a few worms. Besides, some of the trees had no worms that could be observed; and yet they had been as far gone, and were as much revived as the others. I was, therefore, driven to the conclusion, that the ashes had not acted by destroying the worm, but by furnishing to the trees a material necessary to their existence, and from the want of Avhich they were perishing. This could only be the soluble potash contained in the (ashes, which being dissolved by the rain, was carried in solution along the roots to the minute root- lets where it was needed. One important inference, which may be here incidentally mentioned, is that the peach-trees were not dying from the worms, but that these attacked them because they were dying from other causes; and it is probably true, as a general rule, that plants in perfect health are in a condition to protect them- PREMATURELY CEASING TO BEAR FRUIT, ETC. 557 selves against destructive parasites, probably because the salts of potash in their vessels are repulsive or even destructive to the parasites, which destroy the plant in the absence of this defence. Perhaps even the curculio may attack certain fruits, the plum for example, in consequence of deficiency of the alkali in its juice. At first my experiments were confined to the peach-tree; but it may be remembered that I said, in my communication to the Society, that the principle was applicable as well to other fruit- trees, especially the apple, which often refuses to bear, appa- rently capriciously, but probably from the same deficiency of potash in the soil. Last year I had the opportunity of testing the correctness of this supposition. I happened to have two apple orchards ; one of them old, perhaps sixty years or more, the other com- paratively young, having been planted, fifteen or twenty years since, upon a piece of ground which had previously been the site of an apple orchard for I presume nearly a century. Both of these orchards might be considered as nearly or quite barren ; the old orchard not having borne fruit of any account for five or six years; and the young one having never borne at all. In the autumn of 1869, I tried with these trees the same experiment as in the autumn before I had tried with the peach- trees. The earth was dug from around their stems to the depth of about five inches, and the excavation filled, in each case, with about half a bushel of fresh ashes. As regards the old orchard, a part was allowed to remain Avithout treatment, so as to secure the effect of contrast. In the following spring and summer (1870), my expectations were fully realized. Early in the season a striking difference Avas observed between the trees not treated with ashes and those which had been so treated. A dividing line could be observed between the two sections of the orchard; the trees which had been ashed being forward both in 558 REVIVAL OF FRUIT-TREES leaf and blossom, while the others had made little progress; and the same contrast was presented in the fruit; the trees left to themselves continuing barren, while the ashed trees Avere loaded with apples. The young orchard, which had never borne fruit of any account, was also very productive. A similar experiment I tried on several fruit-trees of different kinds in my garden in town. Though the ashes Avere applied in spring instead of autumn, the trees in the groAving season gave evidence of a similar result. They were richly covered with blossoms, which were just becoming exchanged for young fruit, when the famous hail-storm which proved so destructive in this city last summer, put an end to the experiment by strip- ping the trees of blossom and fruit, and to a great extent even of their leaves. Among the trees was a very old Newtown pippin tree, probably of not less than three-quarters of a century, Avhich had for years ceased to bear, or at best only now and then brought forth a small knotty fruit unfit for use. The tree had been dying branch by branch every year, until reduced almost to the original stem, with a few branches above. This tree ap- peared in the warm season to have renewed its youth. It Avas richly loaded with flowers and fruit, and gave hopes of an abundant product in the autumn. It suffered, however, like the others from the storm ; very few of the blossoms or young fruit remaining still attached. One of these went on to full size; and the handsome Newtown pippin which I now exhibit to the members as the sole relict of the storm, shows what the product might have been had not the hail interfered. I consider that the efficiency of potassa in the revival of fruit- trees has been satisfactorily demonstrated by the foregoing experiments, at least in relation to the peach and apple-trees, and I may add also the pear and quince, several of which were treated in the same waj, and with similar results. PREMATURELY CEASING TO BEAR FRUIT, ETC. 559 As to the securing of the plum and other fruits against the curculio, I think it highly probable that this also may be done by ashes, on the principle already stated, but I can adduce no proof of the fact; for, in the only instance in which ashes were applied to a plum, though the tree showed its effects by a copious groAvth of leaves and flowers, and even of young fruit; yet the destruction of these by the hail-storm prevented the completion of the experiment; and for the determination of this point, which is an important one, we shall have to wait another year. But, important as I consider the discovery of the reviving poAver of potassa in the case of failing fruit-trees, I attach much greater value to its influence in another direction, which has suggested itself in the prosecution of the foregoing experiments. It is an unfortunate fact, with which the farmers of my own country neighbourhood are unhappily but too familiar, that cer- tain cereal crops, especially that of Avheat, have for some years failed to be remunerate. Where Avheat formerly yielded twenty bushels or more to the acre, it can now seldom be made to produce more than tAvelve or fifteen bushels. In examining into the relative proportion of potassa contained in the ashes of different plants, I was surprised to find that, while the ashes of the common fire-wood, as the oak, maple, etc., contain from about 2 to 4 parts in 1000, the Avheat stalk yields 47 parts. Now, while this fact shows the extraordinary demand of growing Avheat for potassa, it suggests also that the failure of this crop of late may be owing to the same deficiency of the salts of potassa in the soil which has caused the premature de- struction of the peach ; and, though the manure employed in the cultivation of wheat contains potassa, yet it does not yield as much of this alkali as the plant requires for its greatest pro- ductiveness ; feAv of the vegetables that unite in the constitution of manure containing so large a proportion as wheat. To meet this demand of wheat, I propose to employ unleached ashes in 560 REA'IVAL OF FRUIT-TREES the cultivation of this cereal. Leached ashes, though containing but a small proportion of potassa, and that chiefly in the form of insoluble silicate, have nevertheless been found one of the best fertilizers for wheat; and the unleached, if properly applied, would probably produce a much greater effect. This is as yet conjectural; but I have instituted an experiment which I hope may determine the point. In the early autumn I caused an acre of ground to be pre- pared for a wheat crop. It was divided into three parts, one of which was to be treated with fresh ashes exclusively, another with ashes and swamp muck, and the third with muck alone. The part treated with fresh ashes exclusively was first ploughed, and then sown with wheat and ashes, and finally harroAved; the ashes being applied to the surface, so that its potassa when dis- solved by the rain should be in immediate contact Avith the germinating seed ; instead of being ploughed in, as ordinary leached ashes are. The second part, after being covered Avith the muck, was ploughed; and the wheat and ashes were applied as before. The third part was simply treated with muck, then ploughed and sown with wheat. The result of this experiment cannot be determined until the time of the wheat harvest next summer; but, thus far, it is de- cidedly in favour of the ashes; the two-thirds which were treated Avith this material being obviously better grown than the part treated with muck alone. A glance of the eye is suffi- cient to show a decided line of demarcation, the ashed part being greener and further advanced than the remainder. I have little doubt that the same remarks are equally appli- cable to the common potato. This is now a much less certain, and on the whole much less productive crop than formerly. I find that the potato stalks contain 55 parts of potassa in 1000 of ashes; so that the plant requires considerably more potassa than wheat. If, therefore, fresh ashes are to be a remedy for .< PREMATURELY CEASING TO BEAR FRUIT, ETC. 561 the failure of the wheat crop, they are likely to be even more so for the potato. The verification of this supposition experiment- ally I have reserved for the next year, when, if living, I propose to try an experiment on a large scale. An objection to all the foregoing facts, in a practical bearing, is the question whence the ashes are to be obtained for carrying the proposition into effect on a large scale, and whether enough can be obtained for the purpose. An obvious answer to this objection is that, should ashes fail in any neighbourhood, re- course can be had to the crude potash of the shops derived from the lixiviation of the ashes of forests cleared in the course of cultivation; and, when these forests shall have all been destroyed, we may resort to the minerals containing potassa, as to the fel- spar in granite rocks, which contains a large proportion of that alkali. But for a long time yet to come, and indefinitely as regards fruit-trees, ashes can be obtained from the resources of the farm itself. If all the falling leaves of the woods and swamps, all the dead and dying branches or stems of trees, and all the weeds, trimmings of trees, and other rubbish of a farm be collected and burned, enough ashes could probably be obtained annually, for an indefinite length of time, to keep all the fruit-trees in bearing during their natural life. 36 562 INFLUENCE OF FRESH WOOD-ASHES INFLUENCE OF FRESH WOOD-ASHES ON THE GROWTn OF WHEAT, POTATOES, ETC. (Head be/ore the American Philosophical Society, February 2d, 1872.) In a communication made to the Society at their meeting of January 6th, 1871, in relation to the efficiency of fresh wood- ashes in the revival of prematurely failing fruit-trees, I took occasion to suggest that, upon the same principles, they might prove equally efficacious in preventing the failure or deficiency of the wheat crop, so common of late in the old-settled parts of our country. The opinion was based on the large proportion of potassa found in the ashes of the wheat plant, when burned in the groAving state; exceeding as it does twenty times that of common unleached ashes. Wheat, therefore, requires a very large relative proportion of the alkali for its growth, more than can be derived from an exhausted soil, even when aided by manure, Avhich, though it contains a considerable quantity of the salts of potassa, cannot yield enough to the growing Avheat to insure a large crop. But this was mere speculation, and the question could be decided only by experiment. Accordingly, as stated in my last communication, I selected an acre of ground, and, dividing it into three parts, treated one with ashes alone, another with ashes and swamp muck conjointly, and the third with muck alone; the muck being applied as ordinary manure, and the ashes sprinkled upon the ploughed ground at the same time with the sowing of the wheat, and then harrowed in along with it. This was done early in the autumn of 1870. Even during the same season, the eye could readily perceive the more luxuriant growth of the wheat where supplied with ashes, and a line of division between this portion of the lot, and that simply manured, was very obvious. But the point in question ON THE GROWTH OF WHEAT, POTATOES, ETC. 563 could not be decided until harvest-time next year. Unfortu- nately, circumstances prevented me from being present at that time, and I had to depend for the result upon the report of my agent, in Avhom, however, I have great confidence. He re- ported that he gathered the Avheat from small and perfectly equal portions of the two divisions, of which one had, and the other had not been ashed; finding no such difference between the two ashed portions as to render it worth while to dis- tinguish them. On separating and measuring the wheat, he found that the quantity from the ground where ashes Avere used was about double that from the part Avhich had been supplied Avith muck alone, and, in relation to general productiveness, was in the proportion of about twenty-seven bushels to the acre, far exceeding the ordinary crop, which, though under peculiarly favourable circumstances it may sometimes equal twenty bushels to the acre, does not often, according to my experience and ob- servation, exceed twelve or fifteen bushels. It should be men- tioned that the ground on Avhich the experiment was made, was of nearly equal quality throughout, and very poor. But I have to mention a fact connected with these proceed- ings, which goes still further than anything yet said to prove the efficacy of potash in the wheat culture. The common poke is a plant abounding in the salts of potassa, and, therefore, se- lects for its own growth new and rich soils, which have not yet been exhausted by cultivation. Upon the heaps of swamp muck, thrown up on the borders of cranberry meadows in the process of their preparation, the poke springs up very rapidly and copiously, so as in a short time to completely cover the heaps; and the eye at once recognizes a muck bed by this luxuriant covering. By gathering and burning this copious crop, we ob- tained a quantity of ashes remarkably rich in potassa, contain- ing at least 45 parts of the alkali in 1000 of the ashes, and therefore very nearly equalling in this respect the growing 564 INFLUENCE OF FRESH WOOD-ASHES wheat. To test the quality of some ashes thus obtained, we substituted it for the common wood-ashes in a small space of that division of the ground which was treated with this material. Within this small space the wheat grew most luxuriantly, with stems higher and stronger, and heads longer and fuller than those of the plant in other parts of the lot; and, when the crop was gathered, the produce was found to be in the proportion of thirty-eight bushels to the acre, exceeding by more than one- third that obtained under ordinary wood-ashes. As the propor- tion of the alkali in the two kinds of ashes used was the only point in which they materially differed, the necessary inference is that the difference in the amount of product was owing ex- clusively to the much greater proportion of potassa in the poke- ashes, which exceeded by more than twenty times that of the wood-ashes; and, further, that all the effects of ashes in pro- moting the growth of wheat are ascribable to the alkali con- tained in them. These experiments were made on too small a scale, and with too little precision in quantity and measurement, to authorize any very exact conclusion as to the effect of ashes upon grow- ing wheat; but they are sufficient, I think, to prove that the effect is very great, and that the farmer may have recourse, with great hopes of advantage, to this agent, if attainable at a suitable price. If the plan should be generally adopted, the ashes Avould soon fail; but I have no doubt that commercial potash might be substituted for them, with at least equal effect; one pound of it being equivalent, I presume, to about a bushel of the best wood-ashes. Should the supply of commercial potash fail, recourse may be had to the alkali as now procured from mineral sources, Avhich will probably prove inexhaustible. A few remarks on the mode of using the ashes, or their alkaline substitute, for the promotion of the wheat crop, may ON THE GROWTH OF WHEAT, POTATOES, ETC. 565 be acceptable to those who, without previous experience, may be disposed to try the measure. When leached ashes have been used as a dressing for wheat, for Avhich experience has long showed that they are among the best fertilizers, they have been applied in the same manner as ordinary manure; being first spread upon the surface, and then turned under by ploughing. This method is correct; because the very small proportion of potassa contained in leached ashes is in the form of the insoluble silicate, which cannot be dis- solved or carried away by the rains, but which is probably slowly converted, as wanted, into the soluble carbonate by the influence of the rootlets, which then absorb it. The unleached ashes, containing the alkali in a soluble state, cannot be treated in the same manner; as their alkali would be dissolved by the rain, and carried away, in great measure, beyond the reach of the roots. I have, therefore, caused the ashes to be sprinkled or otherwise spread, as equally as possible, over the surface of the ploughed ground at the same time that the wheat is sowed, and the two then to be harrowed in together. The grain is thus brought into contact Avith the ashes, and, when the alkali is dissolved out, is ready to appropriate it to its own development. But as all the unappropriated alkali is probably dissolved out, and carried away by the Avinter rains, I direct that, in the early spring, another coating of ashes should be sprinkled over the young Avheat, so as to yield it a supply of the alkali during the growing period. The same plan, essentially, should be followed in the use of commercial potash. Being extremely soluble, it should first be dissolved in water, and the solution then sprinkled over the ploughed ground at the sowing of the wheat, and again in the early spring upon the crop as it is beginning to grow. As to the precise quantity of ashes or of commercial potash to be used, in proportion to the extent of ground, I am not pre- 566 INFLUENCE OF FRESH WOOD-ASHES pared to say; but I believe that I have employed from twenty- five to fifty bushels of the fresh wood-ashes to the acre. I have no doubt, however, that this quantity might be greatly exceeded, not only safely but with advantage; as shown by the effects, before mentioned, of the poke-ashes, which must have been equivalent in alkaline strength to at least twenty times the quantity of common unleached ashes. Every farmer, in whose family the ashes are lixiviated for the preparation of soft-soap, has it in his power to make a little experiment, the result of which may determine his future course. Let him beg from the women a bucketful of ley, and, after sowing his Avheat in the autumn, let him, by means of a tin watering can with perforated spout, sprinkle the liquid equally over a small portion of the field, and repeat the process upon the same plot of ground when the wheat begins to resume its growth in the spring. If he find the product of the small plot thus treated greatly in excess of the average of the field, he may gain confidence to proceed on a larger scale, and thus perhaps, materially advance his income. Within about a year, my attention has been attracted to the potato crop, with reference to the use of fresh ashes in its culti- vation, and I have little doubt that the same treatment may be applied to this as to the wheat, with at least equal advantage. On consulting the chemical authorities, I found that the stems and leaves of the common Irish potato are even richer than the wheat plant in the salts of potassa; their ashes containing 55 parts of potassa in the 1000, while the proportion of wheat is only 47. Now, the potato crop has of late years, in my neighbourhood, been much more uncertain than formerly; even, I think, independently of the disease which has from time to time made so much havoc with this crop. It is highly prob- able that the cause, as in the case of fruit-trees, may be a de- ficiency in the supply of potassa; and it is not impossible that ON THE GROWTH OF WHEAT, POTATOES, ETC. 567 the disease, which is believed to have its origin in a microscopic fungus, may, like the worm at the root of the peach, depend upon the deprivation of the alkali, which may be necessary to the protection of the plant against these low parasites. To determine this point, as far as could be done by a single obser- vation, I had a quantity of potatoes planted last spring in rows, a certain number of which were supplied with fresh ashes in the hills, Avhile the remainder were treated only with manure. In the rows in Avhich ashes were used, the plant grew much more vigorously than in the others, and the product in potatoes was, I believe, about double; though I cannot recall the precise figure, in this case. I have under way, this season, an experiment on the applica- tion of fresh ashes to the wheat crop on a much larger scale than the first; and my intention is to pursue a similar plan with the potato, at the time of planting in the spring. Should I be spared to see the results of these trials, I hope to be able to present a statement about them to the Society. Should the opportunity offer, I intend also to try how facts will support my supposition, in relation to the use of common potash as a substitute for ashes. I cannot close this communication without referring to the original subject of the revival of prematurely failing peach- trees. I have continued to apply ashes in the same manner as at first, in the autumn or spring, or both, to the different kinds of fruit-trees; and, I believe, with uniformly favourable results. The peach orchard, which, four years ago, appeared to be dying, and had for several seasons ceased to bear fruit, is now in a vigorous state, and last summer yielded a copious crop. The old apple orchard, which was so wonderfully revived two years sinee, continues apparently, except in the case of a few trees dying from old age, to hold all that it had gained, though we lost the crop last year through the destruction of 568 INFLUENCE OF FRESH WOOD-ASHES ON WHEAT, ETC. the blossoms by a late frost. The pears and quinces, of which the blossoming period differed from that of the apple, so that they escaped the frost, were full of fruit; and I was particularly struck with one old quince-tree, which, before the use of ashes, had borne scanty crops of a small, imperfect, knotty fruit, but, last year, under the influence of ashes, was loaded with smooth and well-formed quinces. I have not yet been able to form any positive conclusion in relation to the protective effect of fresh ashes against the cur- culio in the plum-tree; but I am prosecuting some inquiries in this direction, and hope before long to be able to solve the question either favourably or unfavourably. I must confess, however, that I am by no means sanguine of the former result. INDEX. A. PAGE Abrogation of the charter of the Philadelphia College............... 40 Academy and Charitable Schools of the Province of Pennsylvania chartered............................... 12 Academy of Philadelphia, estab- lishment of the...................... 5, 7 Adams, President, declines the offer of a residence from the State of Pennsylvania.......................... 77 Address at the Centennial Celebra- tion of the Pennsylvania Hos- pital...................................... 117 Address at the laying of the corner- stone of the new Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane............. 165 Address by Morton McMichael, Esq., on the same occasion (note).................................... 179 Address on British India by ap- pointment of the Athenian In- stitute.................................... 297 Address to the American Medical Association by the President...... 535 Address to the American Philoso- phical Society by the President.. 475 Adrain, Robert, LL.D., Vice-pro- vost of the University of Penn- sylvania (note)......................... 95 Agra, Roman Catholic mission to.. 255 Akbar invites and supports the Catholic mission..................... 255 Alfred the Great, said to have sent a religious mission to India....... 198 Alkali potassa as a fertilizer......... 551 37 PAGE Allison, Rev. Francis, D.D., first Vice-provost of the Philadelphia College.................................. 21 American Journal of Pharmacy, articles by Dr. F. Bache in (note).................................... 358 American Medical Association, ad- dress to, at Detroit.................. 535 Andrews, Rev. John, D.D., Pro- vost of University of Pennsyl- vania .................................... 71 Apple orchards revived by fresh wood-ashes............................. 557 Archbishop of Canterbury aids the College of Philadelphia............ 34 Archbishop of Goa, Menezes, suc- cess of, in converting the Mala- bar Christians......................... 214 Arch Street prison, during the cholera epidemic..................... 343 Association for Medical Instruc- tion ................................ 338, 339 Athenian Institute, lectures by the 297 B. Bache, Alexander Dallas, Presi- dent of the Girard College for Orphans................................. 490 Bache, Benjamin Franklin........... 330 Bache, Dr. Franklin, author of a Treatise on Chemistry, in part of the U. S. Dispensatory, and of various smaller works.....336, 337, 358 (569) 570 INDEX. PAGE Bache, Dr. Franklin, Biographical Memoirs of........................ 329, 381 Bache, Dr. Franklin, chosen Presi- dent of the American Philoso- phical Society......................... 391 Bache, Dr. Franklin, elected Pro- fessor of Chemistry in the Phila- delphia College of Pharmacy in 1831, and in Jefferson Medical College in 1841........................ 339 Bache, Richard........................... 330 Bachelors of Medicine, the first in this country............................ 29 Barclay, contributor to the Penn- sylvania Hospital.................... 147 Barton, Dr. Benjamin, Professor of Botany in the Philadelphia Col- lege, of Practice of Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania.. 58 Beasley, Rev. Frederick, Biogra- phical Sketch of....................... 403 Beasley, Rev. Frederick, Provost of the University of Pennsyl- vania .................................... 95 Bengal, Roman Catholic mission to 261 Beveridge, John, Professor of Lan- guages in the Philadelphia Col- lege....................................... 24 Biographical Memoirs of Dr. Franklin Bache................ 329, 381 Biographical Sketch of Dr. James Logan Fisher.......................... 409 Biographical Sketch of Rev. Fred- erick Beasley, D.D................... 403 Bond, Dr. Phineas, Physician of the Pennsylvania Hospital.. 119, 123 Bond, Dr. Thomas, originator of the Pennsylvania Hospital........ 117 British East India Company, ac- count of.............................. 299 Buchanan, Rev. Claudius, visit of, to the Malabar Christians.......... 232 C. Cadwalader, Dr. Thomas, physi- cian to the Pennsylvania Hos- pital..................................... 123 PAGE Cannon, James, Professor of Mathe- matics in the University of Penn- sylvania................................. 52 Capital of the Pennsylvania Hos- pital at different periods..... 128, 148 Carson, Professor Joseph, M.D., author of the History of the Medical Department of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania (note)... 112 Ceram-Perumal.......................... 203 Ceylon, Christianity in................ 279 Chandler, Rev. Dr., forwards con- tributions to the Philadelphia College.................................. 34 Chapman, Dr. Nathaniel, Profes- sor of Materia Medica, and sub- sequently of the Practice, in the University of Pennsylvania....... 108 Charity Schools of the University of Pennsylvania...................... 104 Charter of Philadelphia College, abrogation of.......................... 40 Charter of Philadelphia College, restoration of.......................... 55 Chovet, Dr., models of, bought by the Pennsylvania Hospital........ 145 Christianity in India, history of.... 185 Church Missionary Society and Malabar Christians.................. 234 City of Peacocks, or Meliapoor...... 280 Cleanliness, Report in reference to, for the Girard College.............. 523 Clinical instruction, importance of, in hospitals............................ 131 Clothing, Report in reference to, for the Girard College............... 524 Coates, Samuel, efficiency of, in Pennsylvania Hospital............. 135 Coates, Samuel, portrait of, by Sully, in the Pennsylvania Hos- pital (note)...............................147 College, Academy, and Charitable Schools of Philadelphia............ 13 College of Philadelphia, abroga- tion of the charter of................. 40 College of Philadelphia, first com- mencement of......................... 17 INDEX. 571 PAGE College of Philadelphia, re-estab- lishment of the........................ 55 College, union of, with the Uni- versity................................... 60 Contribution in Great Britain to Philadelphia College................ 33 Contribution in South Carolina to Philadelphia College................ 35 Contribution in West Indies to Philadelphia College................ 35 Contributions to the History of the Girard College for Orphans....... 485 Contributions to the Pennsylvania Hospital..................... 118,125,126 Contributors, original, to the Acad- emy of Philadelphia (note)....... 8 Cosmas, Topographia Christiana of 194 Coxe, Dr. John Redman, Professor of Chemistry, and subsequently of Materia Medica, in the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania............ 108 D. Dabadie, Alfred......................... 341 Dabadie, Jean........................... 341 Dangers of Hasty Generalization in Science.................................. 475 Davidson, James, Professor of Lan- guages in the Philadelphia Col- lege, and in the University of Pennsylvania................... 24, 52, 74 Davidson, Rev. Robert, Professor in the University of Pennsylvania... 52 De Cabral, Pedro Alvarez, discovers the Malabar Christians............. 201 Decline of the Pennsylvania Hos- pital, in the revolutionary war.... 134 De Lancey, Rev. Wm. H., D.D., Provost of the University of Pennsylvania (note)................. 95 Detroit, meeting of the American Medical Association at............. 535 Dewees, Dr. Wm. P., Professor of Midwifery in the University of Pennsylvania.......................... 108 PAGE Diet, Report in reference to, for the Girard College................... 625 Dillwyn, AVm., a contributor to the Pennsylvania Hospital........ 147 Dispensatory of the United States.. 361 Dix, Miss (note)......................... 180 Dyer, Mary (note)....................... 414 E. Education in Philadelphia at an early period...............,............ 5 Establishment of the Philadelphia Academy................................ 5 Ewing, Rev. John, D.D., first Pro- vost of the University of Penn- sylvania............................. 52, 68 Exercise and recreation, report in reference to, for the Girard Col- lege....................................... 526 F. Finances of the College of Phila- delphia.................................. 30 Fisher, Charles Henry (note)....... 414 Fisher, Dr. James L., Sketch of the Life and Character of............... 409 Fisher, Sidney George (note)........ 414 Fishermen of Malabar, conversion of.......................................... 239 Flower, Enoch, school-keeper in Philadelphia in 1683 (note)....... 6 Fothergill, Dr. John, a friend of the Pennsylvania Hospital... 126, 127 Foundation of the Pennsylvania Hospital................................. 117 Founders of the Pennsylvania Hos- pital (note)............................. 118 Fox, Edward, first Secretary and Treasurer of the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania (note).................................... 62 Franklin, Dr. Benjamin...... 7,118,129 Friends, as a Society, advocates of temperance............................ 428 572 INDEX, PAGE Friends' School, chartered by Win. Penn..................................... 6 Fruit-trees, revival of, when failing, by fresh wood-ashes................. 554 Frumentius, ordained Bishop of [the early Church in India......... 191 G. Generalization in Science, dangers of, when hasty........................ 475 Gibson, Dr. AA'illiam, Professor of Surgery in the University of Pennsylvania.......................... 108 Girard College for Orphans, Contri- butions to the History of the...... 483 Girard College for Orphans, Trus- tees of the.............................. 485 Girard, Stephen, contributor to the Pennsylvania Hospital............. 138 Girard, Stephen, wife and child of, died in the Pennsylvania Hos- pital...................................... 138 Goa, magnificence of................... 278 Graduates of the Philadelphia Med- ical School, the first................. 29 Grew, Theophilus, first Professor of Mathematics in the Philadel- phia College........................... 24 Griflfitts, Dr. Samuel Powell, Pro- fessor in the re-established Philadelphia College................ 58 H. Hare, Charles W., Professor of Law in the University of Pennsyl- vania .................................... 66 Hare, Dr. Robert, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania.......................... 108 Hasty Generalization in Science, dangers of.............................. 475 Hasty Generalization in Science, instances of............................ 476 Helmuth, Rev. Dr. Henry, Pro- PAGE fessor in the University of Penn- sylvania................................ 64 Hewit, Rev. Nathaniel, agent of the Temperance Society............ 433 Hierarchy, Catholic, in India....... 283 Historical Memoirs..................... 1 History of Christianity in India... 185 History of the Pennsylvania Hos- pital....................................... 115 History of the University of Penn- sylvania................................. 3, 5 Horner, Dr. AVilliam E., Professor of Anatomy in the University of Pennsylvania.......................... 108 Hospital for the Insane, Philadel- phia................................ 151, 165 Hospital, gift made by, to the Uni- versity.................................... 145 Hospital of Pennsylvania, History of the................................................ 115 Hutchinson, Dr. James, died of yellow fever in 1793................. 139 I. Incorporation of the Philadelphia College.................................. 5 Inquisition of Goa................ 286,290 Insane, history of the Hospital for the....................................... 165 Insane, numbers of, treated in the Pennsylvania Hospital up to the year 1851 (note)...................... 157 Inscription on the corner-stone of the Pennsylvania Hospital.. 123, 124 Instruction, course of the, in the University of Pennsylvania. Also in note................................ 97,98 Irregularity in the distribution of all things in nature ................. 479 J. Jackson, Paul, first Professor of Languages in the Philadelphia College................................... 24 James, Dr. Thos. C, Professor of INDEX. 573 PAGE Midwifery in the University of Pennsylvania.......................... 108 Jehan Guyre, Mogul emperor, son of Akbar, favours the Jesuit mis- sionaries................................. 258 Jesuits in India.......................... 253 K. Keble, Mr., legacy to the Pennsyl- vania Hospital (note)............... 148 Keith, George, first teacher of the Friends' School........................ 6 King George III., contributor to the Philadelphia College............ 33 Kinnersley, Rev. Ebenezer, Profes- sor of English in Philadelphia College................................... 22 Kirkbride, Dr. Thomas S., Superin- tendent of the Insane Hospital ISO—1 Kuhn, Dr. Adam, Professor of Ma- teria Medica in the Philadelphia College................................... 28 L. Law, department of, in the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania........ 66,107 Legacies to Pennsylvania Hospital after the revolutionary war to 1832................................ 147, 148 Legislative aid to the Hospital...... 137 Lettsom, Dr., a contributor to the Pennsylvania Hospital............. 147 Library of the Pennsylvania Hos- pital...................................... 132 Library of the University of Penn- sylvania.................................. 102 Lindley Murray a pupil of the Philadelphia Academy (note)..... 18 Lodging, report in reference to, for the Girard College............... 520 Lying-in department instituted in the Pennsylvania Hospital......... 140 31. McDowell, Dr. John, Provost of the University of Pennsylvania....... 70 McMichael, Morton, address at the laying of the corner-stone of the new Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane (note)..................... 179 Madura, Roman Catholic mission to 265 Magaw, Rev. Samuel, Professor in the University of Pennsylvania.. 52 Malabar Christians, origin, relative rank, mode of living, religious character, history, etc.......... 202-225 Malabar Christians, partial con- version of the, to Romanism...... 210 Malayalim, the common language of the Malabar Christians......... 208 Managers of the Pennsylvania Hos- pital, first Board...................... 120 Managers of the Penn. Hospital, following the original Board...... 182 Marco Polo, notice by, of the In- dian Christians...,.................... 198 Medical department of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania,........... 107 Medical professors in the restored College.................................. 58 Medical School, origin of the........ 25 Meliapoor, city of....;................... 280 Menezes, Archbishop of Goa, suc- cess of, in converting the Malabar Christians.............................. 214 Mifflin, Governor, letter of, to John Adams (note).......................... 78 Mission of Madura, remarkable success of............................... 265 Mission to Agra, Roman Catholic. 255 Mission to Bengal, Roman Catholic 261 Moluccas, Christianity in the........ 281 Monro, Col., British Resident in Travancore, a friend and bene- factor of the Malabar Christians.. 233 Moore, Dr. Samuel Preston, one of the first physicians to the Penn- sylvania Hospital.................... 123 Morgan, Dr. John, one of the founders of the Medical School.. 26 574 INDEX. N. PAGE Natural Science, department of, in the University of Pennsylvania 91,105 Nestorianism of the Malabar Chris- tians...................................... 196 Nestorius................................... 196 New buildings for Whitefield......... 10 O. Organization of the University of Pennsylvania in 1827............... 95 Origin of the Philadelphia Medical School.................................... 25 P. Pantaenus finds Christians in India 190 Paravas, fishermen of Malabar...... 239 Patients, number of, admitted into the Pennsylvania Hospital.. 130,157 Patterson, Dr. Robert M., Vice- provost of the University of Pennsylvania (note)................. 95 Patterson, Robert, Professor in the University of Pennsylvania.... 52, 72 Peach-trees, when failing, revived by fresh wood-ashes..... 552,556,567 Penn, Thomas and Richard, con- tributors to the Philadelphia College................................... 34 Penn, Thomas and Richard, in re- lation to the establishment of the Pennsylvania Hospital.............. 121 Penn, Thomas, one of the Proprie- taries of Pennsylvania.............. 31 Pennsylvania Hospital for the In- sane, new, laying the corner- stone of.................................. 165 Pennsylvania Hospital, History of the........................................ 115 Pennsylvania Hospital, laying the corner-stone of the................... 123 Pennsylvania Land Company in London.................................. 127 Perkasie, manor of, contributed by PAGE Thomas Penn to the Philadel- phia College........................... 31 Pharmacopoeia of the United States 253 Philomathean Society of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania............ 88 Physicians of the Pennsylvania Hospital........................... 123,128 Physick, Dr. Philip Syng, Profes- sor of Surgery in the University of Pennsylvania....................... 107 Pirates propagate Roman Catholi- cism in Bengal........................ 261 Potato, the growth of the, promoted by fresh wood-ashes................. 562 Professors in the Medical depart- ment of the University of Penn- sylvania........................... 107,108 Professors of the University of Pennsylvania, account of.......... 68 Professors of the University of Pennsylvania as first instituted.. 52 Professors of the University of Penn. as organized after union..... 64 Provincial Assembly contributing to the Hospital........................ 128 Provision for the sick, report to the Trustees of the Girard College in relation to........................... 530 Provost of the Philadelphia Col- lege, the first........................... 20 Purchase of the lots surrounding the original Hospital grounds.... 128 Q. Quince-tree, revived by fresh wood- ashes..................................... 568 R. Redman, Dr. John, one of the early physicians of the Pennsylvania Hospital................................. 123 Reed, Henry, Assistant Professor of Moral Philosophy in the Uni- INDEX. 575 PAGE versity of Pennsylvania, A.D. 1834 (note)............................. 96 Removal of the University to the building on Ninth Street........... 76 Report of the committee on cloth- ing, diet, etc., to the Trustees of the Girard College................... 511 Review of the temperance move- ment...................................... 419 Revival of prematurely failing fruit- trees by fresh wood-ashes.552,554, 567 Revolutionary war, effects of, on the College of Philadelphia........ 36 Revolutionary war, effects of, on the Pennsylvania Hospital.. 134, 135 Rise of the Pennsylvania Hospital from its prostration.................. 135 Rittenhouse, David, Trustee and Professor in the University of Pennsylvania.......................... 52 Rogers, Rev. William, Professor in the re-established College......... 57 Rogers, Rev. AVilliam, Professor in the University of Pennsylvania.. 75 Roman Catholics in India............ 238 Romish Church in India early in the seventeenth century............ 276 Rush, Dr. Benjamin, one of the earliest professors in the Medical School.................................... 28 Rush, Dr. Benjamin, portrait of, by Sully, in the Pennsylvania Hos- pital (note)............................. 147 S. Saint Bartholomew, the Apostle,ap- pointed to India....................... i88 Saint Thomas, the Apostle, in India 188 St. Thom6, a town in India.......... 206 Salaries of the professors in the Academy and College of Phila- delphia.................................. 37 Salsette, Island of, conversion by the Roman Catholics................ 248 School of Medicine, the................ 339 Seamen admitted into the Penn- sylvania Hospital by arrange- ment with the government......... 140 Secretary and treasurer, office of, established in the University of Pennsylvania, after union with the College.............................. 61 Shah Jehan, Mogul emperor, with- draws support from the Roman Catholic mission...................... 259 Shippen, Dr. AVilliam, one of the founders of the original Medical School in Philadelphia............. 26 Sketch of the Life and Character of Dr. James L. Fisher................. 409 Smith, Rev. AVilliam, D.D., first Provost of the Philadelphia Col- lege....................................... 20 Students, number of, attending the Pennsylvania Hospital.............. 158 Supplement to the History of Chris- tianity in India....................... 29o Supplement to the History of the Pennsylvania Hospital.............. 165 Syrians of Malabar............... 221, 229 Syrio-Romans of Malabar...... 221, 227 Syro-Chaldaic, the learned lan- guage of the Christians of Mala- bar........................................ 208 T. Taxing the Hospital, question of... 143 Temperance Cause...................... 417 Temperance Movement, origina- tors of the............................. 428 Temperance Society, American...... 431 Thompson, James G., Professor of Languages in the University of Pennsylvania (note)................. 95 Trustees of the Academy of Phila- delphia, names of (note)............ 8 Trustees of the College, Academy, and Charitable School (note).. 16, 17 Trustees of the College after its re-establishment (note)............. 57 Trustees of the united schools, to 1827 (note)..........................••• 94 576 INDEX. PAGE Trustees of the Girard College, communication from the, to the Councils of Philadelphia........... 485 Trustees of the Girard College for Orphans.................................. 485 Trustees of the University of Penn- sylvania, original (note)......... 50, 51 Tuition in the Philadelphia Col- lege, cost of............................ 39 U. Union of the College and University 60 United States Dispensatory.......... 361 United States Review................... 419 University edifice in Ninth Street, history of the.......................... 76 University of Pennsylvania, his- tory of the.............................. 3 University of Pennsylvania, or- ganization of the, after union..... 63 University of Pennsylvania, ori- gin of the............................... 50 University of Pennsylvania, state of the, in 1827.......................... 93 University, union of, with the Col- lege ........................................... 60 V. Verapoli, Catholic Mission at (note) 225 W. Walnut Street prison in Philadel- phia, in its relation to cholera... 343 AVest's picture of Christ healing the sick, history of................... 141 4 PAGE AVheat, the influence of fresh wood- ashes on the growth of.............. 562 Whitefield, new building for......... 10 AVhitefield, Rev. George, preaching of, in Philadelphia.................. 9 Williamson, Hugh, Professor of Mathematics in the Philadelphia College.................................. 24 AVilson, Mr., Professor in the Law Department............................ 66 AViltbank, Rev. James, Principal of the Academy........................ 103 Wistar Club.............................. 346 Wistar, Dr. Caspar, Professor of Chemistry, afterwards of Anato- my in the University of Pennsyl- vania..................................... 58 AVistar Museum.......................... Ill AVood-ashes, fresh, use of, in re- viving fruit-trees........ 552, 554, 567 Wylie and Engles, Principals of the Academy........................... 103 Wylie, Rev. Samuel B., D.D., Academy of............................ 332 Wylie, Rev. Samuel B., D.D., Professor of Languages in the University of Pennsylvania, a.d. 1834 (note)............................. 96 X. Xavier, St. Francis, missionary labours of, in India and Japan 241, 245 Z. Zachary, Dr. Lloyd, one of the first physicians of the Pennsyl- vania Hospital......................... 118 3Nioia3w jo Aavaan tvnouvn SNiDiasw jo Aavaan ivnouvn SNOicnw JO Aavaan tvnoi Bethesdo, Md » U S.Deporlment of "* Heolth. Education. *> and Welfare. Public Bethesdo, Md. t U.S.Deportment of » Heolth, Education, °i and Weilore. Publir < •< 0 2 z ■yVleolih Service « Bethesdo, Md *> U.S.Deportment of ■* Heolth Education. *> ond Welfare, Public °i Heolth Service •^ -< < -c < 0 X^^^^V W y^'^VX >- Bethesdo, Md. ^ US Department ol *> Health. Education, * and Welfare. Public 0 uo.|D5np3 'u,i|0?H (o luaujiiodaO'SD PW 'opsanisg ajtAja; u,i|OaH '!|Snd ,<,JOH8M PUD 2 > 2. Health Service ^ Bethesdo, Md *> U S Department of ; Health, Educotion. » and Weilore. Public o "W ,/X. /\ ^ o 2 ^oW 7 -; \ ^GinL 2 ouojnpg 'nipaH Heahh Serv.ce o v/a 5 y*\S 6 hrrdo Md " US Department ol » Health, Educotion. °J ond Welfare. Public < -< < 0 ■uo,|D3nP3 ^ipaH jo iuaui|jodaQ sf) pw 'opsouiag 5i*ia? 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