the accommodation of one hundred students. The spot commands a fine view of the city, bay, shipping, and the surrounding country! Whilst the Library of my friend RICHARDS remains amongst them, to perpetuate the name and character of its donor, may it urge its worthy president, as well as the members of this truly respectable institution, to the continued exercise of that spirit of liberality, which induced AN HONEST CAMBRO-BRITON at the distance of three thousand miles to mark and reward it! A sensible letter, written by an Alumnus, has been published, suggesting improvements.

An account of the last Commencement of BROWN UNIVERSITY, September, 1818, shall be introduced, it will be a novelty to most of my readers. The exercises present an entertaining variety of subjects

BROWN UNIVERSITY COMMENCEMENT.

On Wednesday last was the annual Commencement of Brown University, in this town. Early in the forenoon, the procession, composed of the Corporation, Professors, Tutors, Students, Graduates, &c. escorted by Captain Angell's Company of Light Infantry, and accompanied by a select band of music, proceeded to the First Baptist Meeting-house, where a pertinent prayer from PRESIDENT MESSER, introduced the following exercises :

FORENOON.

1. Salutatory Addresses, in Latin; and an Essay, in English, on early Prejudice; by THOMAS F. CARPENTER.

2. The influence of moral obligation on Society: An Oration, by JARED W. WILLIAMS.

S. An Oration on the nature and importance of truth and goodness, by Elias Fisk.

4. Independence of character, by Walter P. B. Judson.

5. Oration on the study of Metaphysicks, by JABEZ PORTER.

6. The moral influence of Memory: An Ora tion, by Martin Snell.

7. A Latin Oration on Greek and Roman Eloquence, by STEPHEN MARSH ROGERS, of Philadelphia.

8. Utility of Monuments: An Oration, by William Watson.

9. Study of Natural History, by Alva Carpenter. 10. Reason and Fancy: An Oration, by WIL LIAM S. PATTEN.

11. The Atheist: An Oration, by John Winslow Whitman.

12. An Oration on the causes of the decay of Genius, by Azel Utley.

13. The present situation of America, by Esek Aldrick.

AFTERNOON.

1. Love of Truth the Philosopher's guide: An Oration, by WILLAND PIERCE.

2. The mutual influence of Literature and Civil Government, by SOLOMON L. WIELD.

S. An Oration on the policy of acknowledging the Independence of South America, by ELNATHAN P. HATHEWAY.

4. The influence of individual character on national prosperity, by Dutee J. Pearce, Esquire, Candidate for the Degree of Master of Arts.

5. Conferring the Degrees of Batchelor and Master of Arts.

A

6. Natural Dignity of Man: An Oration, with the Valedictory addresses, by JEDEDIAH L. STARK.

The Degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred on MR. WILLIAM RICHARDS, of Lynn, in England; and the Degree of Doctor of Divinity on the Reverend Calvin Park, Professor of Moral Philosophy in Brown University."

A Prayer from THE REVEREND PRESIDENT closed the exercises of the day, which were highly creditable to the reputation of the University.

Of this Commencement it may be just remarked, that it resembles what is termed the Graduation, in some of the Scotch Universities, especially at Aberdeen, and is always marked with social joy. An innocent ball concludes the festivity of the day. Volney says, "Were I obliged to select the most

favourable spot in America, as the place of my abode, my choice would fall upon the southern point of Rhode Island."

This evangelical INSTITUTION, (for this is indeed true evangelism) has no Test, no Creed, no confession of Faith, by which the consciences of the students might be ensnared. And its adherence to the SACRED WRITINGS alone, as the rule of faith, as well as the regulator of practice, must powerfully recommend it. ESTO PERPETUA! will be the exclamation of all the enlightened and liberal professors of Christianity.

Upon abandoning creeds and confessions of faith, and confining ourselves to the HOLY SCRIPTURES, Archdeacon Blackburne, the masterly author of the far-famed Confessional, thus writes,

"St. Paul, in his first Epistle to Timothy, chap. ii. 4. tells him, that God willeth that ALL men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth, where, out of all doubt, the coming to the knowledge of the truth, is spoken of as the means of being saved, and consequently the primary object of the will of God. By the truth is here meant, the doctrine of the Gospel, or the Word of God, and the consequence is, that the more of this knowledge any man acquires, the better he is qualified to work out his salvation.

"It is the will of God, then, that this TRUTH should be known to all men, to men of every class and in every station. And in order to its being known to the extent that the will of God intends

it should be, the Apostle, in another epistle, exhorts the Thessalonians (2, chap. iii. 1, 2.) to pray for the preachers of the word of God, that it might have its free course, unmolested and unrestrained by the opposition which unreasonable and wicked men were disposed to give to such preachers. And in the same place he mentions another advantage the word of God would gain by this freedom, the advantage of being glorified, as well as known by this extensive dispersion of it.

If then we should choose to call this glorification of the word of God, arising from the extensive progress it makes among mankind-the inte rest of religion-though the term may be improperly applied, it may serve to instruct us what is our duty in promoting this interest. And this will be not only to preach the word of God with freedom in our several limited departments, but to endeavour to the utmost to remove every obstruction to its free course elsewhere, which the selfish policy of this world may have laid in its way, and to bring to light every thing relating to this superior interest, which the temporal interests of particular societies may dispose them to stifle and to suppress, or to disfigure and misrepresent, remembering that God would have all men to come to the knowledge of the truth, as the means of their salvation, and that he hath made no reserve or exception of any sort of men, on account of their unfitness for this knowledge, that will authorize us to keep back any part of it from the meanest Christian that lives.