SUMMARY. PAGE Historical interest and importance of the last fifty years, Empire of the First Napoleon--War with England-Victories of Man over Nature-The present Napoleon-The Rebellion, Steady progress of the College during the fifty years, Its wise distribution of Letters, Science, and Theology, Dean Berkeley's "Bounty,"--"Vanessa," Struggle of Science with Theology in Papal ages, Liberal encouragement of Geological Science by State of New York, Continental efforts and teachings of Silliman-their results, Educating influence of Scientific Studies, Character and Oratory of Pericles, and of Webster, elevated by their PAGE Victories of Macdonough and Jackson-Treaty of Peace, Modification of views in respect to Napoleon, Fanatical opposition to his civic reforms-Metric System in Italy, Public Works of the last fifty years, "Continental System" of Clinton and his followers, Enormous addition in the fifty years by steam to human forces, Uniform support by Graduates of Yale, of our Public Works, Electric Telegraph-its triumphs and progress-Morse; Sibley; Field; Louis Napoleon-vigor and success of his civic administration, Comparative pecuniary growth of France and the United States, Future increase in the United States, will pay the public debt, Louis Napoleon's proposed Interoceanic Canal, Extracts from his pamphlet in 1846; his opinion then of Slavery, ADDRESS. BRETHREN OF THE ALUMNI OF YALE, AND FELLOW STUDENTS OF THE CLASS OF 1814: Among the numerous works of art which we owe to the taste and the feeling of our modern painters, is one which many, if not most of us, have seen and enjoyed. It is the picture of the aged grandfather, with silver locks and feeble limbs, bending under the weight of many years, but gazing with tender interest and rekindling eye upon a portrait of himself, when a fairhaired boy in the early morning of life. The canvas faithfully exhibits that peculiarity of man's intellectual decay, which obscuring or obliterating the busy scenes of active manhood and even of advancing age, preserves, in imperishable freshness, the sharply sculptured memories of his youthful hours, I cannot but feel that a kindred emotion animates the timeworn Class of 1814, that has to-day come home to these academic shades, to evoke, from the sleep of half a century, its own youthful image, to retrace and recover its early lineaments, to catch once more its lights and shadows, and fondly to reproduce and cluster around it some at least of the external accessories, which gave to that young life its form and features. The stream of time, embraced within this interval, is surely long enough to have become historical. It includes more than a fortieth part of the nineteen centuries of the Christian era; for it is now fifty years since our Class, then eighty-two in number, went forth from this honored seat of learning, to bear its part in the great drama of American life, to march onward and forward with the young Republic of the Western World. The wayfaring has been long and sometimes weary. Our path, at times, has been strewed with thorns, or darkened by sorrow. Nearly two-thirds of the youthful band have fallen by the way, but, in God's kind Providence, a goodly remnant has been allowed cheerfully and hopefully to reach the present eminence, permitting a moment of repose in which to survey the widespread and varied landscape it has left behind. To the youngest of these survivors, the undue partiality of loving friends has committed the task of sketching, however imperfectly, the leading outlines of this historic picture. If he do not wholly fail, it will be because the magnitude and the grandeur of the prominent objects within the field of view, imprint their profile too sharply on the sky to be mistaken. The great historical landmarks within the eventful era in which our Class has been permitted to live, are manifest, indeed, not only to ourselves, but to the world around us. In the dark background of the picture is the French Revolution, with all its sufferings and all its conquests, closely followed by its natural and logical result, the great and overshadowing Empire of the first Napoleon. Side by side we see the American Union, just emerging from its cradle, but waging war, even in its earliest years, successively with France and England. The struggle closes in the very year in which our Class left the College. The broad middle ground of the picture, extending from 1814 to 1860, covers nearly all its surface. It brings in the golden era of modern history, rich with the works of civilization and humanity, and glorious with the victories of Man over Nature, but curiously exhibiting, in bold relief, another Napoleon, who proclaims his Empire to be Peace. The narrow foreground of the last four years, alas! is deeply shadowed; for it is filled by the opening scenes of a vast, unfinished tragedy, and is lurid and ghastly with the fire, and blood and slaughter of the impious and parricidal war, seeking to dismember, disintegrate and forever destroy our great Republic. Amid all the lights and shadows of these portentous events, it is cheering to perceive our honored College, serenely and steadily pursuing, with vigorous and elastic step, its appointed course, and keeping fully up to the changing necessities and vicissitudes of the surrounding world. The thought is pleasant and refreshing. Let us briefly pursue it, and perchance forget, for the moment, the madness and fury of the storm which rages around us. I am not here to-day to argue or to agitate any temporary question of party politics, and shall only state historically the political attitude and influence of the College, fifty years ago. Nor shall I refer, except in very general terms, to the causes, condition or probable results of the pending Rebellion. Nor am I here to discuss any educational question whatever, or any controverted point on the comparative merits of classics, or mathematics, or physical science, or theology, as elements of college culture. On that subject, I hold to the very comprehensive and catholic creed of a brilliant though somewhat fantastic writer of these. modern days, who maintains, that there are in this world but three things which a man needs to know,-which are, 1st, What he is; 2d, Where he is; and 3d, Where he is going; -necessarily embracing under the first the whole history, and literature, and intellectual constitution of Man, with all his deeds, words, and thoughts, in all countries and ages;-under the second, all the physical and mathematical laws which regulate and govern the material universe, of which he is a part;under the third, his progress, individual and political, in the |