the college opportunities tendered to him, that he turned his studies in that direction. He was admitted at Dartmouth in 1813, where he pursued the ancient languages and literature with diligence; and where, under the influence of a religious excitement which took place at the college, he became deeply devotional, which led to his entrance at the theological school at Andover. He passed a year there, and became a tutor in 1818 at Dartmouth. After two years profitably spent in this way he returned to Andover, taking a visit to Cambridge by the way, for the sake of a candid view of the studies he was prosecuting. His course at Andover was laborious. Abstemious in diet, and frugal of his physical resources and the claims of society, he devoted all his powers to learning. One of the first fruits of these studies was an article on Ancient and Modern Poetry, published in the North American Review for July, 1822, in which he exhibits the influences of Christianity upon the later literature. German literature had occupied much of his attention, and he prepared a translation of the work of Bellerman on the Geography of the Scriptures, as he afterwards employed himself upon a version of Hedgewisch on the Elements of Chronology. His most important work in this way was his translation of Herder's Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, published in two volumes at Burlington, in 1833. From Andover he passed for awhile to the South, where he was engaged in the business of tuition in Hampden Sidney College, in Virginia, with Dr. Rice. He sometimes preached, though he had little fondness or aptitude for this "acting in public," as he called it at the time. Turning his thoughts to the North, an editorial connexion was planned with the Christian Spectator, a theological review at New Haven, a position for which he was well qualified, but it was not carried out. In 1824 he was formally appointed to a professorship in Hampden Sidney, and the same year was ordained a minister. His entire connexion with this college lasted but three years, when he was appointed to the presidency of the University of Vermont in 1826, a position which he entered upon and occupied till 1833, when he exchanged its duties for the professorship of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy in the same institution. He held this till his death, July 3, 1842, in the fifty-eighth year of his age. It is by his college labors and the philosophical publications which they elicited, as well as by his noble personal influence upon his pupils, that Dr. Marsh is best known. He was one of the first to revive attention in the country to the sound Christian philosophy advocated by Coleridge, and illustrated in the writings of the old English divines, as contradistinguished to the school of Locke. In the words of his faithful biographer, Professor Torrey, "the prevailing doctrine of the day was, Understand, and then believe; while that which Mr. Marsh would set forth, not as anything new, but as the old doctrine of the church from the earliest times, was, "Believe, that ye may understand." "Such views," said Marsh, "may not indeed be learned from the superficial philosophy of the Paleian and * Memoir prefixed to the Remains, p. 91. Caledonian schools; but the higher and more spiritual philosophy of the great English divines of the seventeenth century abundantly teaches them, both by precept and practice." In accordance with these views he published in 1829 the first American edition of Coleridge's Aids to Reflection, as a book which answered his purpose, for which he wrote an able Preliminary Essay, addressed to "the earnest, single-hearted lovers" of Christian, spiritual, and moral truth. With the same view he edited a volume of Selections from the Old English Writers on Practical Theology, which contained Howe's Blessedness of the Righteous, and Bates's Four Last Things. His views of college study and discipline were those of a liberal-minded reformer, and were to a considerable extent adopted by the institution over which he presided. He held that the admission to colleges might be extended with advantage to those who could avail themselves only of a partial course; that a paternal discipline, based on moral and social influence, might be employed; that the liberty of the powers of the individual might be preserved under a general system of training; that additional studies might be prosecuted by the enterprising: and that honors should be conferred on those only of real abilities and attainments. These were all liberal objects; and as they were pursued with warmth and candor by Dr. Marsh, they gained him the respect and affection of the best minds among his students, who have now carried his influence into the walks of active life. In addition to the writings which we have mentioned, Dr. Marsh published in 1829 a series of papers in the Vermont Chronicle, signed "Philopolis," on Popular Education. He wrote also for the Christian Spectator a review of Professor Stuart's Commentary on the Hebrews, in which he did justice to the objects of the author. At the close of his life Dr. Marsh intrusted his manuscripts to Professor Torrey of the University of Vermont, by whom in 1843 a volume of Remains was published with a Memoir. It contains the author's college lectures on psychology, several philosophical essays, and theological discourses. He had projected and partially executed a System of Logic, and meditated a matured treatise on psychology. In 1833, on the retirement of Dr. Marsh from the presidency, the Rev. John Wheeler, of Windsor, Vermont, was appointed president. A subscription which had been projected for the benefit of the college was now completed, and the sum of thirty thousand dollars obtained, which added largely to the practical efficiency of the institution. Other collections of funds have since been made, which have further secured its prosperity. During the administration of Dr. Wheeler, Professor Torrey succeeded Dr. Marsh in his chair of moral and intellectual philosophy, the Rev. Calvin Pease was elected professor of the Latin and Greek languages, and the Rev. W. G. T. Shedd professor of English literature. In 1847 Professor George W. Benedict, a most active supporter of the college welfare, resigned his seat as professor of chemistry and natural history, after twenty-two years' services to the institution. President Wheeler resigned in 1848, and was succeeded by the present incumbent, the Rev. Worthington Smith, D.D., of St. Alban's, Vt. On the 1st of August, 1854, the semi-centennial anniversary of the University was celebrated at Burlington. A historical discourse was delivered by the former president, Dr. Wheeler, from which the materials of this narrative have been mostly drawn. An oration, "Our Lesson and our Work, or Spiritual Philosophy and Material Politics," was pronounced by Mr. James R. Spalding; a poem by the Rev. O. G. Wheeler; while the associations of the Institution were recalled in the after dinner festivities, with an honest pride in the favorite philosophy of the University. In the course of the Historical Address Dr. Wheeler gave the following sketch of the course of study projected by Dr. Marsh and his associates, for the institution. "The principal divisions or departments of a course of collegiate study are set forth in the laws of the University. They are four: first, the department of English literature; second, the department of languages; third, that of the mathematics and physics; fourth, that of political, moral, and intellectual philosophy. Every year, during my personal connexion with the University, the synopsis was carefully examined, always in reference to its practical execution, and commonly in reference also to its theoretic excellence. How much this means and involves, few can understand, who were not members of the faculty. If this course of study is carefully examined, it will be found to contain, perhaps, what no other course of collegiate study in the United States has so fully attempted. It seeks to give a coherence to the various studies in each department, so that its several parts shall present more or less the unity, not of an aggregation, nor of a juxtaposition, nor of a merely logical arrangement, but of a natural development, and a growth; and therefore the study of it, rightly pursued, would be a growing and enlarging process to the mind of the student. It was intended also, that these departments of study should have a coherence of greater or less practical use with each other. The highest department, that of philosophy, it was intended, should be, now the oscillating nerve, that should connect the various studies together, during the analytical instruction in each; and now the embosoming atmosphere that should surround and interpenetrate the whole and each in its synthetical teachings. In philosophy the course began with crystallographythe lowest form of organization-and discussed the laws of all forms, that is, the geometry of all material existence. It proceeded to the laws of vegetable life, as the next highest; to the laws of animal life, that is to physiology, as the next; thence to psychology, and the connexion of the senses with the intellect;-thence to the science of logic-the laws of the intellect,-in the acquisition and in the communication of knowledge, that is, the laws of universal thought, as seen in language and grammar; and thence to metaphysics, as the highest and last form of speculative reasoning, or of contemplation. Within this pale it considered the spiritual characteristics of humanity, as distinguished from all other exist- | ences. From this position moral science was seen to issue; the ground of the fine arts was examined and made intelligible; the principles of political science, as grounded in the truths of reason, but realized under the forms of the understanding, was unfolded, and natural and revealed religion was shown to open the path where reason had reached her termination, to glory, honor, and immortality." CHARLES SPRAGUE Was born in Boston, October 26, 1791. His father, a native of Hingham, Mass., where the family had lived for five generations, was one of those spirited Whigs of the Revolution who engaged in the adventure of throwing overboard the tea in Boston harbor. His mother, Joanna Thayer of Braintree, is spoken of for her original powers of mind and her influence in the development of her son's talents. The latter was educated at the Franklin school at Boston, where he had for one of his teachers, Lemuel Shaw, now the Chief-justice of Massachusetts. By an accident at this time he lost the use of his left eye. At thirteen, he entered a mercantile house engaged in the importation of dry-goods; and in 1816, at the age of twenty-five, formed a partnership with his employers, Messrs. Thayer and Hunt, which was continued till 1820, when he became a teller in the State Bank. On the establishment of the Globe Bank in 1825, he was chosen its cashier, an office, the duties of which he has discharged with exemplary fidelity to the present day. Halleck, another poetical cashier by the way, has sighed over this "bank note world" and the visions of the romantic past, now that Noble name and cultured land, “dares to acknowledge his homage to the Nine, in the very temple of the money changers; and enjoys, at the same time, the most favoring inspirations of the former, and the unlimited confidence of the latter. The Globe Bank has never failed to make a dividend; and its cashier has never failed to be at his station on the very day when the books were opened for the purpose to this period."** The poetical writings of Mr. Sprague, of which there has been a recent edition, published by Ticknor in 1850, consist of a series of theatrical prize addresses which first gave the poet celebrity; a "Shakespeare Ode" delivered at the Boston theatre in 1823, at the exhibition of a pageant in honor of the great dramatist; his chief poem, Curiosity, delivered before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard, in 1829; a centennial ode the following year on the celebration of the settlement of Boston, and a number of poems chiefly on occasional topics, which the author's care and ability have rendered of permanent interest. The dramatic odes are elegant polished compositions, and possess a certain chaste eloquence which is a characteristic of all the author's productions. Curiosity" is a succession of pleasing pictures illustrating this universal passion in the various means, low and elevated, taken for its gratification. The execution of the culprit, the pulpit, the fashionable preacher, the stage, the press, the learned pursuits of the antiquarian, the idle humors of the sick chamber, the scandal and gossip of social life; the incentives and delights of foreign travel; the earnest seeking of the eye of faith into the mysteries of the future world:these all pass in review before the reader, and are touched with a skilful hand. The Centennial Ode is a warm tribute to the virtues of the Pilgrim Fathers, with an animated sketch of the progress of national life since. A civic Fourth of July Oration delivered in Boston in 1825, and an address in 1827, before the Massachusetts Society for the suppression of intemperance, are two vigorous prose compositions, published with the author's poetical writings. PRIZE PROLOGUE-RECITED AT THE OPENING OF THE PARK THEA- When mitred Zeal, in wild, unholy days, Where prowled the wolf, and where the hunter Faith raised her altars to the God she loved; * Hundred Boston Orators, p. 418. That shoots at Folly, mocks proud Fashion's slave, Rifles the wealth of every clime and age. And the mad tyrant of some ancient shore By Worth be honored, and by Vice be feared; Young, blushing Merit, and neglected Worth; Here shall bright Genius wing his eagle flight, Here Toil shall pause, his ponderous sledge throw i And Beauty bless each strain with melting eye; ART. An Ode written for the Sixth Triennial Festival of the Mass.- An angel left her place in heaven, And crossed the wanderer's sunless path. To guard the shores its beauty graced; He plucks the pearls that stud the deep, In fields of air he writes his name, And treads the chambers of the sky; He reads the stars, and grasps the flame That quivers round the Throne on high. It war renowned, in peace sublime, He moves in greatness and in grace; His power, subduing space and time, Links realm to realm, and race to race. THE TRAVELLER-FROM CURIOSITY. Withdraw yon curtain, look within that room, The Pagan's temple and the Churchman's tower, O'er the broad ocean not a ripple plays; THE BROTHERS. We are but two-the others sleep Heart leaps to heart-the sacred flood That good old man-his honest blood We in one mother's arms were locked- In the same cradle we were rocked, Round the same hearth we played. We are but two-be that the band To you 't is given To wake sweet Nature's untaught lays; Then spread each wing, In yon blue dome not reared with hands. To note the consecrated hour, On upward wings could I but fly, "Twere Heaven indeed Through fields of trackless light to soar, On Nature's charms to feed, And Nature's own great God adore. CHARLES JAMES SPRAGUE, a son of the preceding, has also written verses in a delicate vein of sentiment. One of these is entitled THE EMPTY HOUSE. "This house to let !"-so long the placard said, I went across to see If it were dull, or dark, or comfortless, The parlor was a pleasant little room; The chambers snug and light, The kitchen was quite neat and cheerful too, My mind was somewhat in a thoughtful mood, I sat me down to moralize awhile Upon the silence there. How many changing scenes of life, thought I, Joy's ringing laugh and sorrow's smothered moan, Here in this parlor, jovial friends have met Ripe ale has foamed, and this old rusty grate Here stood the sofa, whereupon has wooed Here hung the clock that timed the last caress, These chambers might relate a varied tale, Some crusty bachelor has here, perhaps, Some phrensied Caudle desperately sought Some modest girl has here unrobed the charms Some bride has tasted here the sweets of love,- This little studio has seen the toil Of some poor poet's brain, His morn of hope, his disappointed day, Or else some well paid preacher has wrought out Or some old bookworm trimmed his lamp, to read And what are they to whom this was a home? Who gathered here around the social board, How many distant memories have turned Recalling errors and reviving joys That cannot be forgot! Young love may here have heaved its dying sigh, Upon the scene of many a happier hour, And what are they who next will fill this void Will this become a home of happy peace, In sober thought, I left the silent house, And when I passed next week, upon the door LYDIA H. SIGOURNEY. LYDIA HUNTLEY, the daughter and only child of Ezekiel Huntley and Sophia Wentworth, was born at Norwich, Conn., September 1, 1791. Her father, who bore a part in the war of the Revolution, was a man of worth and benevolence. His wife possessed those well balanced, unobtrusive virtues of character which marked the New England lady of the olden time. Among the happiest influences attending the childhood of their daughter, was the cultivated society of Madam Lathrop, the widow of Dr. Daniel Lathrop, and the daughter of the Hon. John Talcott, of Hartford, who held for a succession of years the office of Governor of Connecticut. Mr. Huntley, having charge of her estate, resided with his separate family under her roof, and in that fine old mansion their child was born. Her precocity was exhibited in reading fluently at the age of three, and composing simple verses at seven, smooth in rhythm, and of an invariable religious sentiment. As she grew older, she profited by the society of the distinguished visitors who sought the hospitable home; and received in addition every advantage of education which could then be obtained. When Miss Huntley was fourteen, she had the misfortune to lose her venerable friend, who died at the ripe age of eighty-nine. She continued her studies until her nineteenth year, when she put into execution a plan she had long contemplated, of engaging in the work of instruction. sociating herself with her most intimate friend, Miss Ann Maria Hyde, who sympathized warmly in her scheme, a school was opened for young ladies, and conducted with great success for two years. As In 1814 Miss Huntley was induced to commence a select school at Hartford, under the auspices of influential relatives of her early friend, Mrs. Lathrop. Removing to that city, she became an inmate in the mansion of Mrs. Wadsworth, the widow of Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth, a lady of high intellectual and moral worth. It was at the suggestion, and under the auspices of a son of this lady, Daniel Wadsworth, Esq., who had known Miss Huntley from her infancy, that a selection from her writings appeared in 1815. Moral Pieces in Prose and Verse, the title of Miss Huntley's volume, affords a good indication to its contents, almost all of the short poems which it contains having a direct moral purpose in view. The prose essays are introduced by the remark, that they were addressed to "a number of young ladies under her care," and the writer, throughout the volume, seems to have had her vocation of teacher in view. A poem on General St. Clair, "neglected and forgotten by his country, poor and in obscurity, on one of the Alleghany mountains," shows the sympathy with patriotic and national topics which has characterized her entire literary career. The volume was well received, and led to the author's engagement as a contributor to various periodicals. In the summer of 1819 Miss Huntley became the wife of Mr. Charles Sigourney, a thoroughly |