the money appropriated by Parliament, "If you put this question to me as minister, I must and can assure you, that the money shall most undoubtedly be paid as soon as it suits the public convenience; but if you ask me as a friend whether Dean Berkeley should continue in America, expecting the payment of £10,000, I advise him by all means to return to Europe, and to give up his present expectations." The dean thus expended seven years of the prime of his life, and a large proportion of his private fortune, in a benevolent enterprise, which the heartlessness of a worldly-wise statesman rendered abortive.

The ardour of the amiable philosopher in his missionary project, may be inferred from the following verses,

ON THE PROSPECT OF PLANTING ARTS AND LEARNING IN AMERICA.

"The Muse, disgusted at an age and clime,

Barren of every glorious theme,

In distant lands now waits a better time,
Producing subjects worthy fame.

"In happy climes where from the genial sun,
And virgin earth such scenes ensue,
The force of art by nature seems outdone,
And fancied beauties by the true.

"In happy climes the seat of innocence,

Where nature guides and virtue rules,
Where man shall not impose for truth and sense,
The pedantry of courts and schools.

"There shall be sung another golden age,
The rise of empire and of arts,
The good and great inspiring epic rage,
The wisest heads and noblest hearts.

"Not such as Europe breeds in her decay;
Such as she bred when fresh and young,
When heav'nly flame did animate her clay,
By future poets shall be sung.

"Westward the course of empire takes its way,
The four first acts already past,

A fifth shall close the drama with the day,
Time's noblest offspring is the last."

Here we might close our paper; but the Bermudas have been celebrated by a living poet, in verses of graphic truth and surpassing beauty, though they have not, unhappily, that tone of moral sentiment which characterises the verses of Marvell and Berkeley.

In 1803, Mr. Thomas Moore, then a young man, visited the Bermudas, and he soon after published "Odes and Epistles," in which,

the late Capt. Basil Hall declared, were the most pleasing and exact description of Bermuda he knew. The Epistle to the Marchioness Dowager of Donegal, contains the most extended and picturesque account; but as it only dwells on the loveliness of the scene, and has not a passing reference to anything but the beauty of nature, we must content ourselves by closing "The Songs of the Summer Isles," with a part of his valedictory stanzas :—

"Farewell to Bermuda, and long may the bloom

Of the lemon and myrtle its valleys perfume;
May spring to eternity hallow the shade,
Where Ariel has warbled, and Waller has strayed!"

B.

THE COLLEGE CONFERENCE PAPERS.

No. IV.

The Expediency of a Seminary in which only an English Theological Education should be given, or in addition such acquaintance with the Original Languages of Holy Scripture, as is attainable without previous study of the Greek and Latin Classics. By the Rev. J. Frost. THE Christian ministry is of Divine institution. Its great and leading design is to make known to every human being the glorious Gospel of the blessed God; to warn every man and teach every man in all wisdom, with a view to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Of a design so grand, merciful, and holy, it is all but unnecessary to remark, that it is in every respect worthy of its Divine author.

But independently of its leading design, the Christian ministry may be regarded as an unspeakable blessing to the world. Its existence and influence are necessary to the well-being of society, whether as composed of distinct and separate families, or of large and powerful communities. The advancement of civilisation, literature, and national prosperity, depends in a great measure upon its increase and efficiency.

The possession and enjoyment, however, in their full extent, of the benefits, both direct and indirect, which the Christian ministry is designed and calculated to impart, depend mainly, under God, upon the character and qualifications of those who engage in working it. Facts as they are presented to our notice upon the page of church history, and as they come under our own personal observation, prove undeniably the correctness of this assertion. Who are the men whose ministry in every age of the church has produced the deepest, the widest, and the most lasting impression upon the minds of their contemporaries? Such men, it will, for the most part, be found,

have not been scholars in the strict sense of the term, but men of profound and ardent piety, of acute and vigorous intellects, mighty in the Scriptures, well-informed on general subjects, men of fervid and affectionate spirit and utterance, of sound sense, practical men, that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.1 Chron. xii. 32.

To raise up and send forth into our country and into all the world a race of men such as these, is the design of our several collegiate institutions, and most evidently has it met with the approbation and blessing of the great Head of the church. Supported entirely by the voluntary contributions of the friends of evangelical religion, sacred learning, and scriptural church polity, our colleges and seminaries have supplied the churches of our own and of other lands with a succession of men, who, regarded as preachers, pastors, and missionaries, will stand a comparison with any ministers in Christendom. Their praise is in all the churches, and their record is on high.

But while we cannot but rejoice in the good which has been effected by our several collegiate institutions, we may be permitted to express our doubts whether they have done or are now doing all the good they are capable of accomplishing. We may be allowed to submit whether some important improvements may not be made in the method of conducting them.

To us, it has long appeared as a serious defect in our system of academical instruction, that it does not sufficiently take into account the difference of age, the early advantages or disadvantages, together with the diversities of taste and talent discoverable in those who enter our colleges, with a view to the ministry. Take, for example, the case of the mathematics. Of the value of this branch of learning to students in general we do not entertain a doubt. Its tendency to give steadiness and strength to the mental faculties, we readily admit. But we have yet to be convinced that proficiency in mathematical studies is an indispensable qualification for preaching the Gospel with intelligence and power. What is the evidence of facts? Look at Cambridge! The truth of the case is, many a young man whose heart is set upon the ministry is physically incapable of the degree of steady abstraction necessary to the successful study of the mathematics. Now the question is, shall a young man on this account be regarded as disqualified for the great work to which he is prepared to devote his labours and his life, and for which he may possess many of the most important qualifications? Though incapable of mathematics, he may be able to study with the most complete success the oracles of God in their original languages, and under suitable training may become an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures.

With respect to the study of the Greek and Latin languages, the same remarks will in general be found to hold good. Many young

men who devote themselves to the ministry, do not possess aptitude to pursue to anything like a profitable extent the study of the ancient classics. With some of them the age at which the study of words is most easy and successful has passed away. They may "get up" a portion of a classic writer so as to maintain their standing in the class, but there is the entire absence of that enthusiasm which forms the distinguishing feature of the genuine classical student. The consequence is, when the college course is terminated, the classic page is closed, and the student directs his attention to more congenial studies, and for the successful cultivation of which he possesses a greater aptitude.

If it be said, that the attention given by the student during his college course to mathematical and classical studies, proves beneficial to him in point of mental discipline, we reply by asking, may not such a result be secured by other and more likely means? Would not the thorough study of a few of the ablest treatises in our own language on the various subjects of morals and theology answer the same end? Would not the close and analytical study of such writers, for example, as Chillingworth, Butler, Howe, Edwards, Fuller, &c. prove to many of our young men more valuable, as a mental and moral training for the pulpit, than the imperfect and unsuccessful study of the mathematics and classics?

In making these remarks, it is the farthest from our intention to underrate the importance to our students in general of an extensive and liberal scholarship. As a denomination, we must have scholars; men of profound, varied, and finished erudition; men of heavy armour, and thoroughly skilled in the use of it. The times we live in call loudly for such men. The champions of error are advancing through the land with the might of giants. Against no other religious denomination in the country is their hostility so deep and deadly as against ours. They behold our increasing union, our growing strength. They know our principles. They are fully aware that if ever these become the staple principles of this great nation, their days are numbered. Hence, in the great conflict between truth and error, which has already commenced, it powerfully behoves us to have men who, in every respect, are equal to the times. But in an army all are not called to occupy the same posts. There must be diversities of operations. To use the words of Cecil, "The armour of Saul is armour in the camp of the Israelites, or in the camp of the Philistines, but we want the sling and the stone;"-men who are prepared to go forth to battle in the name of the Lord of hosts, though they cannot go with helmets of brass upon their heads or armed with coats of mail. In pointing out the disadvantages which result from the uniform course of training generally adopted in our colleges, we are aware of the difficulties which must attend any considerable modification of that course. A prescribed and definite outline of study in each

college seems to be essential to the comfort of its tutors, and to the gradual and finished training of its students. To introduce into a well-arranged course of instruction such modifications as may adapt it to the difference of age, talent, and attainment, observable in many who seek admission into our colleges, were greatly to perplex and embarrass its steady and successful operations. Indeed, we regard the thing as altogether impracticable. But might not all these inconveniences be met by appropriating some one seminary for students, to whom a sound English and theological training might be obviously preferable to a more learned education; or to whom such a knowledge of the languages of sacred Scripture might also be imparted as is attainable without previous classical studies?

Upon the well-understood principle of a division of labour, we regard such a seminary as highly desirable.

By receiving upon its foundation those young men who, however pious and endowed with preaching abilities, are never likely to become scholars in the technical sense of the word, the older colleges would be in a condition to demand from every one who seeks the benefits of their course of instruction a much higher amount of preparation as the indispensable term of admission. They would also be in a condition to enlarge and extend their curriculum of study. On the other hand, a plain, useful, and intelligent ministry would be raised up, especially adapted to the smaller churches and congregations in our country.

Upon the principle of economy, both of time and money, such an institution may be regarded as desirable. Upon the present system of academical instruction, it is certain that much time and money are expended in labours to teach some students what they never learn thoroughly, and what in a few years they all but entirely forget. Now much of this time and money would be saved, by laying down such a course of study in our own language as should embrace the elements of general knowledge, biblical and theological literature, and, where there are taste and talent for the acquisition, such a knowledge of the sacred Scriptures in their original languages as is attainable without a previous knowledge of the classics. The outline of such a course may be somewhat like the following:

The grammatical study of our own language, together with those great principles of style laid down by the Archbishop of Dublin in his Treatise on Rhetoric. These principles to be illustrated by specimens taken from the great masters of style in the several periods of our national literature.

Geography and general history.

Elements of general science.

Logic.

Elements of mental and moral science.

Biblical history and antiquities.