There are many such men in this nation; and there was one, whom the old among us loved, and the youngest veneratewhom we may proudly place by the side of the master-spirits of the best ages-the man whom his country's danger always sought at his farm, and his country's blessings always followed there the model of American farmers. His memory is in all our hearts, and his example may well inspire a fondness for those pursuits which WASHINGTON most loved, and teach us that there is no condition in which our lives may be more useful-in which we may more honour ourselves and serve the country, The important Destination of Young Men going to India. Diligence is itself a very efficient guardian of morals.Where the time of a youth is altogether filled up with useful or innocent pursuits, those evil thoughts, which are ever the precursors of evil deeds, cannot easily obtain admittance; and, if even employments simply manual tend to prevent such intrusion, much more that studious and secluded activity of the faculties which is to taste what contemplation is to virtue. Independently, indeed, of the mental occupation they afford, the pursuits of learning, where they are at all properly directed, have a character of purity, gentleness, and elevation, which may at least be pronounced not far from morality. Leaving untouched the springs of fierce passion, and those of sordid interest, they elicit and keep in play those milder emotions which are nearly allied to our best affections. They waft us into other times and strange lands; connecting us, by a sad but exalting relationship, with the great events and great minds which have passed away. They at once cherish and control the imagination by leading it over an unbounded range of the noblest scenes, in the overawing company of departed wisdom and genius. They dignify the maxims of reason by detaching them from the localities of present associations; and, at the same time, give them a character of touching force and affecting solemnity by mingling them with the memory of consecrated and imperishable names. It is apparently by these means that liberal learning ministers to the moral temperament of the soul; but if the reason be doubtful, the fact at least is certain: there undoubtedly is something in an atmosphere breathing of diligence, and redolent (if the expression may be used) of classical delights, which vice and dissipation find it hard to encoun ter; as the evil genii, in the beautiful mythology of the Arabian Nights, are said to be driven away by the influence of sweet odours. It is impossible to contemplate the situation of the young men collected at this establishment,-the pride and the hope of so many families,-without a sensation of deep interest.They are placed in a position, certainly of great singularity; but, if they duly reflect on their own privileges-(sua si bona norint)—they must feel it to be also one of great advantage.Destined to a sphere of life, embracing civil and political offices of conspicuous importance and dignity, they are furnished with an admirable opportunity of founding their public character on a basis of liberal knowledge, and of mental and moral cultivation. These are the true elements of public men; this is the proper armoury from which the statesman and the patriot should be equipped. Like all persons intended for offices of an arduous and im portant nature, the youths at the India College should learn to entertain high and honourable thoughts of their destination.They should conceive greatly of their lot; and it will then become all they can think it. For surely that is no mean or inglorious vocation which selects them as the channels of com munication between the most favoured people that ever enjoyed sovereignty, and the mightiest empire that ever paid tribute. They are, in early youth, advanced to an anticipated maturity, in order that they may be premature in usefulness and in honour. They are separated from their country; but it is a consecration, not a banishment. It is a separation which divides them from her geographical existence, only by sending them forth to a distant world, as the heralds of her fame, the delegates of her power, the ministers of her justice, and the almo ners of her beneficence. This is not to be separated from their country, but to carry her with them; in carrying with them all her moral being and beauty. They are separated from their father's house,-it is the dark half of their splendid privilege; and yet that removal cannot be said to inflict an unmitigated sacrifice, which, amidst the first glow and pliancy of their juvenile affections, and warm from the happiness of the domestic abode, transports them into the bosom of a larger and a more helpless family; which gives them, for a home, the scene of high and beneficial services; for a social circle, the circle of arduous and philanthropic duties; and, for the delightful converse of brother, and sister, and mother,' the prayers of the dependent and the benedictions of the grateful. They are trans lated into a new world; and perhaps their residence for a greater part of life may exclusively be thrown among races of men with whom they have no community, either of taste, manners, habits, opinions, or religion. But they should remember that it is in such moral wildernesses as these, that the amplest opportunities of active and honourable utility are to be found, which the condition of human life affords; the richest sources of duties to be performed and distinctions to be earned; the sequestered and difficult, but deep springs of real happiness. and solid glory. This indeed is a banishment which the truly illustrious of all ages would have preferred before the most towering and the most brilliant march of conquest.-' Hac arte Pollux, hac vagus Hercules.' It is the pilgrimage of the benefactors of mankind; the triumphal exile of heroes. On the supposition that these ideas should generally, or in a great measure, be acted upon,-and surely we may trust that the supposition is not preposterous,-no spectacle more august or more delightful can be conceived, than that of Great Britain annually pouring forth fresh supplies of her youth as a dispenser of her parental bounty to the people of India. There are parts of our Indian system which may be expected ever to divide opinion. There are passages in the history of British India, over which the moralist may perhaps pause; and there are omens in its present state, which the political philosopher may perhaps find it hard to decipher. The nature and the circumstan ces of that empire are too singular to be contemplated by an enlightened and a reflective mind, without a measure of seriousness and of perplexity. England, launched on the scene of India, seems to resemble one of her own vessels traversing the mighty sea which washes that continent. The billows are bright, the skies cloudless, and all ocean appears to crouch beneath the meteor flag' with willing submission. while a superficial observer feels only the contagion of the general delight and gayety, the reflections of a deeper spirit are grave even to seriousness. The apparent loneliness and insignificance of the proud vessel amidst such a world of wa ters; the immeasurable expanse around; the unsounded secrets of the abyss below; the quivering sensibility of the boundless element to influences uncontroulable by man,-its vast power, magnified by imagination to immensity; the very repose and quietness of such mighty and mysterious strength; and, not least, the recollection that, beneath this smiling sur face, lie ingulphed the remains of navies which once displayed their banners as gallantly and prosperously as ourselves;-such considerations as these excite a sentiment in a high degree sol But, emn, profound, and affecting. The application of the image is obvious; yet, whatever doubts or differences of opinion the contemplation of Indian affairs may awaken; whatever sadness in the retrospect, or alarm in the anticipation; the view has one spot too bright not to be observed with a feeling of general and of unmingled satisfaction. Our past and our still increasing efforts for the happiness of the Indian people,-these constitute at once our hope and our triumph. These are our real glory in the present season of our brightness and prosperity; and, should the monsoon break up and the hurricane arise, these will form our strongest and most abiding anchor. To confirm and to multiply these honourable defences; to furnish ourselves with still deeper holds on the affections of our subjects; to surround ourselves with the safeguards of esteem and benevo lence ;-let no endeavours be wanting, no exertions of counsel or of action be left untried; for we may rest assured that by labour alone can such an object be effectually accomplished. The attachment of dependant millions is among the choicest blessings of Heaven; but it is not one of those blessings which Heaven is pleased equally to shower down on the just and the unjust. It is the prize of virtuous toil; the reward exclusively appropriated to a persevering course of careful justice, provident generosity, and laborious beneficence. It is not a tribute to be levied, but a recompense to be earned. If we would, according to the expression of the poet, read our history in a nation's! eyes,' we must first be content to write it in their hearts. Extract from an Oration by MILTON MAXCY, on the 4th of July, 1803. The loss of a firm national character, or the degradation of a nation's honour, is the inevitable prelude to her destruction. Behold the once proud fabric of a Roman Empire-an Empire carrying its arts and arms into every part of the eastern continent; the monarchs of mighty kingdoms dragged at the wheels of her triumphal chariots; her eagle waving over the ruins of desolated countries. Where is her splendour, her wealth, her power, her glory? Extinguished for ever. Her mouldering temples, the mournful vestiges of her former grandeur, afford a shelter to her muttering Monks. Where are her statesmen, her sages, her philosophers, her orators, her generals? Go to their solitary tombs and enquire. She lost her national character and her destruction followed. The ramparts of her national pride were broken down, and Vandalism desolated her classic fields. Citizens will lose their respect and confidence in our gov ernment if it does not extend over them the shield of an honourable national character. Corruption will creep in and sharpen party animosity. Ambitious leaders will seize upon the favourable moment. The mad enthusiasm for revolution will call into action the irritated spirit of our nation, and civil war must follow. The swords of our countrymen may yet glitter on our mountains, their blood may yet encrimson our plains. Such-the warning voice of all antiquity, the example of all republics proclaim may be our fate. But let us no longer indulge these gloomy anticipations. The commencement of our liberty presages the dawn of a brighter period to the world. That bold, enterprizing spirit which conducted our heroes to peace and safety, and gave us a lofty rank amid the empires of the world, still animates the bosoms of their descendants. Look back to that moment when they unbarred the dungeons of the slave and dashed his fetters to the earth, when the sword of a WASHINGTON leapt from its scabbard to revenge the slaughter of our countrymen. Place their example before you. Let the sparks of their veteran wisdom flash across your minds, and the sacred altars of your liberty, crowned with immortal honours, rise before you. Relying on the virtue, the courage, the patriotism and the strength of our country, we may expect our national character will become more energetic, our citizens more enlightened, and may hail the age as not far distant, when will be heard, as the proudest exclamation of man: I AM AN AMERICAN. ULM AND TRAFALGAR. [Said to have been written by Mr. CANNING--Published in London, 1806 While Austria's yielded armies, vainly brave, Mov'd, in sad pomp, by Danube's blood-stain'd wave, |