interests and feelings; and the services, which he rendered them, were numerous and important. Haying the advantage of long observation and experience, an extensive acquaintance with the state of the country, and the character, wants, and condition, of its inhabitants; and being the centre of application for the supply of instructors both literary and religious for a wide extent of country; he was able to adapt his opinions to the exigencies of the various cases in which he was consulted; and to furnish those, who sought it, with employment and support. Few imagine how many parishes in New England, New York, and elsewhere, have, through his agency, been furnished with clergymen.

In short, his character as a Preacher may be summed up in the language of the writer last alluded to; "While he 'shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God,' he strengthened his arguments by illustrations from the history of nations, and the biography of individuals. His application of Scripture doctrines and texts to the ever-varying aspect of human life; his insight into the ground-work of character, and the motives to action; his admirable sketches, as it were, with the very pencil, and in the very colouring of the inspired writers, distinguished him from the mere commentator on texts, and the sentimental moralist. Of his eloquence, as with other great orators, few can judge correctly, but those who have heard him. They will never forget him, either in this world, or the next. To simplicity, in manner and matter, he added dignity; to ease he added energy; to fervour he added humility. Preaching too often seems, with ministers, the work of a day or an hour; but with him it was the work of Eternity. He preached as a sinner and dying man himself: he preached as in the presence of God, and

of the spirits of just men made perfect; he preached as though he saw his crown of glory ever before him; as though he heard the Saviour saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." "His sermons were not adorned with as many decorations of taste, and ornaments of imagination, as some other distinguished pulpit orators. But in the primary qualities of real eloquence, his sermons were eminently rich: in powerful appeals to the heart, in vivid pictures of vice and virtue, sketched from the life; in awful denunciations; in solemn remonstrance; in fervent intercession."

It remains only to view President Dwight, as a man, in the various walks of private life, exhibiting the virtues which peculiarly adorn that interesting station. And, perhaps, no part of the task, which has been undertaken in this account, has been more difficult of execution. "It is rare," says Professor Silliman, who had been long and intimately acquainted with him, in private as well as in public life, “that a man, so great and splendid in the public eye, is in private life so desirable; for, to his particular friends, his society was delightful, and the only effect of long and intimate acquaintance with him was to exact towards him every sentiment of respect, admiration, and affection." "In the domestic and social circle," says another of his pupils, " Dr. Dwight will ever be remembered with the tenderest affection, and the most sincere regret." "In private society," says a third, Dr. Dwight possessed uncommon powers to please and to instruct. With an inexhaustible stock of knowledge on almost every subject, and an ease of communication, to which a parallel can hardly be found, he easily accommodated his remarks to the character and means of improvement of those with whom he conversed; and seldom failed to

excite the highest respect and admiration. From the weakness of his eyes, and his consequent inability to employ himself much in reading, except by the assistance of others, he was led to devote more of his time to the society of his friends, than, perhaps, in other circumstances, he would have judged expedient. He ever considered the diversified conversation of a social circle, as affording the most rational, and, at the same time, the most entertaining, of all amusements." "A disappointment," says a fourth, " is often felt, on our introduction to men, who have attained eminence for talents and piety. By habits of seclusion and abstraction, they have, perhaps, lost the ability to mingle, with interest, in the concerns of the passing day. It was not so with President Dwight. In his manners he was, in the highest degree, dignified, affable, and polite. Like Johnson, he shone, in no place, with more distinguished splendour, than in the circle of the friends he loved; when the glow of animation lighted up his countenance, and a perpetual stream of knowledge and wisdom flowed from his lips. As his had been a life of observation and reflection rather than of secluded study, his acquisitions were all practical, they were all at hand, ready to enrich and adorn his conversation. In Theology and Ethics, in Natural Philosophy and Geography, in History and Statistics, in Poetry and Philology, in Husbandry and Domestic Economy, his treasures were equally inexhaustible. Interesting narration, vivid description, and sallies of humour; anecdotes of the just, the good, the generous, the brave, the eccentric; these all were blended, in fine proportions, to form the bright and varied tissue of his discourse. Alive to all the sympathies of friendship, faithful to its claims, and sedulous in performing its duties, he was beloved by many from early

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life, with whom he entered on the stage, and whom, as Shakspeare says, he grappled to his soul with hooks of steel.' It is no small proof of his amiableness, that all who gained the most intimate access to him, whether associates, or pupils, or amanuenses, admired, revered, and loved him most."

These various testimonies, written by so many different persons, all having the best means of judging, while they evince his excellence in private life, also show how impossible it must be, in a sketch like the present, to give an adequate view of the character of a man so greatly distinguished in every public station which he was called to occupy, so justly admired in the circle of his friends, and so tenderly beloved in the bosom of his own family.

The purity of his sentiments and language was equally remarkable and exemplary. In conversation, he not only observed the strictest delicacy himself, in his remarks, and allusions, and anecdotes; but, by an influence, at once silent and perceptible, induced every one else to do the same. The same is true of his writings. It is believed, that in the whole of his voluminous works there cannot be found a single sentence which is not consistent with the most refined purity. Nor, after an intimate acquaintance of more than forty years, is the instance recollected in which he has been heard to utter an expression, or a thought, which would have excited the apprehensions of innocence, or wounded the ear of female sensibility.

He was, from infancy, distinguished for the most conscientious regard to truth. This was obvious in every day's conversation. He never allowed himself to exaggerate, nor in any degree to misrepresent. In no situation, whether surprised by strong temptation, or urged by the most pressing necessity, would he sanction the slightest deviation from absolute

verity. Equally sincere was he in his professions. The kindness and services, which he rendered, always exceeded the expectations which he had intentionally raised. He had too much self-respect to keep any man in the dark as to his opinions or principles. He entertained none which he was not willing to communicate to the world; and his declarations concerning them were mathematically true.

No less was he remarkable for the most scrupulous regard to decorum. His manners were those of the polished gentleman: characterized by ease, grace, and dignity. There was no distance, no reserve, no visible consciousness of superior intellect. His politeness was not a mere exterior. It was the great law of kindness, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," exemplified in his daily intercourse with those around him. It was, thus, universal; appearing in his countenance, his conversation, and his conduct; exhibited equally towards persons of every condition; and delicately regarding the characters, the circumstances, the feelings, and the prejudices, of those who were present. All men were easy and happy in his company. Amidst all his avocations and labours, he was ever ready to attend to the calls of hospitality, of civility, and of friendship; calls which were multiplied upon him to an unprecedented degree, but which were never suffered to pass by unheeded. The courteousness of his manners was exemplified in his intercourse with the poor and the humble, as well as with those in more elevated stations; by his treating them at all times with kindness, listening to their wants, and, as far as lay in his power, administering to their necessities.

His charities were unceasing, and, in proportion to his resources, rarely surpassed. The beggar at the door never went empty away. Those, who suf