ville, that professor of rhetoric at Hamilton who in 1845 published a book that became the basis of the fame of the college as a school of rhetorical and elocutionary training. Prof. Upson very modestly refrains from any reference to his own work in the institution for twenty-one years; but the alumni of the college appreciate its effectiveness. They know that Mandeville's "technical terms and clumsy forms of expression" were in the way of any general acceptance of his book in the schools. They also know that "his whole system, with necessary rules and examples, might have been condensed into a primer." But they are content with knowing that the system was condensed for effective teaching by no less a master of the rhetorical art than Professor Upson himself, and that he is really the Mandeville of Hamilton College. Still, the practical pupil pays no undeserved tribute to his verbose teacher when he says: "The use of his system has given to Hamilton College a national reputation. Its use has made the college not "a school of oratory,' so called, making its scholars too often stilted, theatrical unnatural, but a school for speakers. At one time four graduates of Hamilton were professors of homiletics in Presbterian seminaries. Three of them were Dr. Eells of Lane, Dr. Hastings of Union and Dr. Herrick Johnson of McCormick Seminary. No one can adopt and be carefully trained in Dr. Mandeville's system and not be led into a style of public speech natural to himself. Dr. Mandeville's rules are so far from being unnatural that they are a classification of the vocal movements and inflections used habitually in conversation. These are always controlled by sentential structure. The prevailing characteristic of the true public speaking is undoubtedly the 'conversational.' Perhaps no chapter is written in a more conversational style than the ninth chapter of the Gospel of St. John. Analyze and read that chapter according to the rules of Dr. Mandeville's system, and the late Daniel Poor, missionary to Ceylon, one of the best readers of the Bible I ever heard could not have read it any better." * * -Prof. OREN ROOT, '56, of Hamilton College, who has occupied the pulpit of Christ Church, in Utica, since the resignation of Rev. Dr. Hartley, preached there both morning and evening, November 24. In the morning he announced that he had decided to accept the invitation extended to him by the consistory of the church, to become their pastor for the ensuing year. He said he hoped to make the work a success, by the help of God and the people. The church is to be congratulated upon securing the services of this finished scholar and eloquent speaker. Prof. Root will continue his residence in Clinton, and his connection with Hamilton College as heretofore. In the evening he based his remarks on the double text: Psalm xxvii: 1: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Collossians iv:13: "I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me." There is no such thing as individual independence. There are no atoms not acted on by other atoms. Energy is derived from somewhere in the laboratory of nature, and will sometime be exhausted. There is no such thing as individual life. You get strength from somewhere. David and Paul said the source of their strength was God So far as God's word is of value to us, it means that God is to be the strength of our lives. The countries where the laws are best executed are where there is the most Christ. The notion that Christ is the source of strength is thought by some to be a delusion. Many things of strength appear to be delusions. The water and steam can be seen, but the silent, subtle, unseen force of electricity is the mightiest potency on earth. When we tell them Paul and David had strength from the Armies have followed unseen power of God, they tell us it is sentiment. You would do more for sentiment to-day than for all the world's goods. Sentiment is lodged down in the heart of man. Wars have been fought for opinions. just a little piece of riddled bunting. It was a symbol. or dollars, or something to eat. It meant a sentiment. right has always been the strength of humanity. A pure life is stronger than a corrupt one. Our civilization is stronger, because it has Christ in it. Without the moral life of Europe, where would be its civilization? Self sufficiency and self conceit slaughter a man's success. " -Sunday P. M., March 30, Professor A. S. HOYT, '72, addressed the Y. M. C. A. of Utica on The Elements of True Manhood." The first characteristic of true manhood, he said, is heartiness, and the second is self control. Our natural desires have all been touched and perverted by sin, and he who simply gives liberty to his desires is going downward. The athlete must not only limit himself to certain hours and exercise, but also refuse to eat and drink certain things which would weaken him. Strength of mind is obtained by application and similar training, and in business, it is economy, frugality and perseverence that succeed. So in the matter of character. Sin has brought discord, and it is only when the whole character has been controlled by good judgment that it becomes harmonious. Self indulgence is always weakness; self control is always strength. In this the word of God brings divine help as real as the help of a brother. The young man who trusts to go through life trusting to his own judgment will find that the best resolutions are but bands of tow when they come in contact with the hot coals of passion. Another element of manliness is loyalty to truth. A man ought to be willing and anxious not only to know the truth, to prove all things for himself, but also to advocate it. He should seek and hold and express the largest possible truth. True manliness shows a spirit of self sacrifice. The young man who can not say no; who can not give up a lower for the sake of a higher; who can not refuse a thing for the sake of helping his weaker brother, has not the elements of true manhood. The whole world is full of the law of self sacrifice. Life, society and even your hopes depend upon the law of vicarious sacrifice, which is best expressed in the death of the Son of God. From the cross of Christ shall we draw the virtues that shall make our lives beautiful and that shall make us the brother of every other man. Christian life is not a weak thing, a matter of culture. It has the strength of the oak as well as the beauty of the city. There is a special call for Christian young men of manly character; who shall grapple with the problems of our day and bring sympathy to the oppressed; who, by masterful self control, shall become leaders in great reforms. The world needs men of heroic loyalty to duty, who shall not be deflected from their path or paralyzed by expediency; whose highest duty and deepest joy shall be to minister to others. -At the December meeting of American Geologists in New York city, the scientific paper that excited the liveliest interest was read by Prof. EDWARD ORTON, '48, State Geologist of Ohio, and a professor in the State University, on "The Origin of the Rock Pressure of Natural Gas in the Trenton Limestone of Ohio and Indiana," in which he answered those who claim that the great natural gas fields of the country are practically inexhaustible, and that nature is manufacturing gas by chemical combination in the subterranean cavities as rap idly as it is consumed by man at the surface. He claimed that the supply of natural gas in those states was not only limited, but was being exhausted very rapidly, and would be drained in less than nine years. The gas, he said, is now being used as the basis of a varied line of manufactures, the annual products of which aggregate many million dollars, and it is driving, besides the iron and steel mills of Pittsburg, potteries and brick works, over forty glass furnaces, and a long list of factories, in which cheap power is a desideratum. The gas is the product of ages limestone of Ohio and Indiana. which has been accumulated in theporous It has been produced so slowly, that when once exhausted, it will take many thousands of years for it to again accumulate in sufficient quantities to be used, even if the elements necessary for its production were present, which he thought was not at all probable. The pressure which forces the gas out with such tremendous power that it sometimes reaches 1,000 pounds pressure per square inch, is not due to the pressure of the gas itself, but to the hydrostatic pressure brought to bear by the column of salt water that enters the porous stratum of rock containing the gas, at the sea level, and which by its weight tends to force the gas out. To the explanation and elucidation of this phenomenon, Prof. ORTON's paper was more especially devoted. The men who are engaged in the practical development of gas and oil fields, said he, made great account of rock pressure. It is the first fact they inquire after in a new gas field. They appreciate its importance, knowing that the distance of the markets they care to reach and the size of the pipes they can employ are entirely dependent upon this element. He defined the term "rock pressure," and showed the decrease of its rate westward. He said 400,000 peo ple in northwestern Ohio and central Indiana alone depended upon natural gas for fuel and illumination. -The Boston Green-Bag for October opens with an admirable full-page portrait of Attorney-General WILLIAM H. H. MILLER, '61, and the following sketch of his personal history: "The office of Attorney-General of the United States is one of the most important and responsible to which a lawyer can be called. He it is who represents the Government both as prosecutor and defender in all suits in which it may become involved, and it is he, as well, who is called upon for opinions upon all questions involving points of law which may arise in any of the Departments. He is also the President's legal adviser. The office, therefore, it will be seen, is no sinecure, but is one demanding unremitting personal application and requiring the very highest legal attainments for the successful performance of its duties. We take pleasure in presenting to our readers an excellent portrait and a brief sketch of the present incumbent of this important office. William Henry Harrison Miller, the present Attorney-General of the United States, was born at Augusta, Oneida County, in the State of New York, Sept. 6, 1840. His father was a farmer, and, like most farmers at that time was possessed of very moderate means. Young Miller's youth was spent upon his father's farm, and his early education was obtained at the district school, which he attended during the winter months when his services were not required by his father. Notwithstanding the disadvantages under which he labored he developed a strong love for study which enabled him to surmount all these difficulties, and before he had reached the age of seventeen he had fitted himself for and entered Hamilton College. During his college course he still continued to work on his father's farm, and it was not until after his graduation that he gave up his agricultural pursuit. Upon leaving college he went to Maumee City, Ohio, where he became the principal of the school in that place, and taught there until May, 1862, when he entered the army as a lieutenant in the Eighty-fourth Ohio regiment. After serving in Western Virginia and Maryland he left the service, and in October, 1862, went to Toledo where he entered the law office of the late Chief-Justice Waite as a student. Having been offered the position of superintendent of schools in Peru, Indiana, Mr. Miller left Toledo and went to Peru, where he remained until 1865. During this time he devoted all the spare moments allowed by his official duties to the study of the law. In the spring of 1866 he commenced the practice of his profession in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he remained for eight years, building up, by his untiring devotion and industry, an excellent practice. In 1874 he removed to Indianapolis and became a partner of General, now President, Benjamin Harrison and Judge C. C. Hines. After that time he continued to reside in Indianapolis until last spring, when he was appointed by President Harrison Attorney-General of the United States. Up to the time of his appointment Mr. Miller had held but one office—that of superintendent of schools in Peru, Indiana." -Rev. E. P. POWELL, 53, uses so many pseudonymns in writing for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat that his ingenuity in hiding himself is sometimes provoking. No pseudonym can conceal his authorship of the following: "We make a great mistake in the estimation of property. It is not bread alone; neither is it bank notes or mortgages alone; neither is it land, or all of them combined. A poor person in all estates, but rich in mind power, can reap and gather enormous harvests. There are in our cities some at least who can never hear the din of the Trade Board, but who do hear the music of the spheres. There is a possibility of owning the whole starry vault of the heavens, but not a rood of soil below. I remember the college professor's question to my rather backward classmate: How far down, sir, do you own your acre of "Clear through the earth," was the response. "Then," said the you have a tea garden on the other end." But how high up do Up, up to heaven," was the less confident reply. land?" professor, you own?" 44 'Twill be a good way," said the professor, "to secure a deed to paradise and laugh at Peter's locks and keys." But the fact is, a man may not own either below his acre ten feet or above it ten feet. He may only be able to grub potatoes and beans and cut wood or turf from the surface. Not a dream or vision goes lower than his spade cuts. He has no knowledge of the geology below him or the astronomy above him. 'Tis the way we have of educating boys and girlsthat is, to know as little as possible, and, therefore, to own as little as possible. Prof. S. came along one day with his hammer, and he told me, as he beat up the bowlders about, all the story and history of my underground land. Peters, the other night, found another asteroid in the air over my land which I did not know was there. We will suppose a truly cultured person of the sort I have hinted at. Can a vast amount of riches increase his comfort or happiness? Is he likely to envy a man of no genius, but only a talent for acquisition, who at night Reads not the starry scroll above, Nor knows a universe of love? Prof. We are desperately in need of a new definition of property, so that we shall make this distinction between poor-rich people and rich-poor people, for I am sure Vanderbilt's wealth can not justly be any more estimated as property than the possessions of many who can hardly pay one fare from Chicago to New York. I have referred to Prof. Peters, whose astronomical researches are famous wherever man reads of the stars. His is massive wealth. He has been nearly seventy years in accumulating it. He is so rich that his few peers glory themselves in honoring him. His scholarship is equally great in research and in generalization. His love for the minutest flowers of Mother Earth is not dulled by his familiarity with universes. Yet this man has not property enough to enable him to publish his own researches, and they will lie long, and their value be dulled for lack of gold to place them before the public of students. The real value of property-wealth is to supplement the wealth of brains, and ideas, and mental workmanship, of taste, and culture and art. But the poor rich men can see no better use for money than a gammon round of sensual indulgence or of niggardliness." -One of the most valuable utterances at the National Educational Association in Nashville, July 18, was a paper on "The History of Education: Its Value to Teachers," by Prof. SAMUEL G. WILLIAMS, '52, of Cornell University. It was justly claimed that “the history of Greek education should direct our attention forcibly to the need of a greater care in the cultivation of our vernacular, and in familiarizing our youth with the treasures of its literature. We shall learn that the Athenian schoolmaster bestowed admirable care on securing purity of pronunciation, of accent, and of rhythm in his pupils, and promoting an exact and harmonious use of their native tongue; that the poems of Homer were their inspired reading book, to which were added the works of the cyclic and lyric poets, and other gems of their national literature; and that, from the lack of books, much of this literature was firmly imprinted on the memory of youth, there to germinate and bear its fruit in an unsurpassed national taste. A large part of the scholastic training of boys was thus in the literature of their language; and Plato deemed the careful selection of this literature of so great moment, from the permanence of the impressions made on young minds, that he devotes a considerable part of the Second and Third Books of the 'Republic' to an exposition of the principles that should govern the selection of reading for the young. He plainly indicates, Loth here and in 'The Laws,' that the multitudinous writers whose books infest all the highways and bypaths of modern literature, warping the ideas and lowering the taste of youth, would have had but a sorry reception in his ideal state, in which the teacher was expected so to preoccupy the minds of the young with what was best in both poetry and prose that there would be no encouragement for the writing of trash. "The practice of the Athenians, and its well-known results, should suggest to us the expediency of early directing the minds of children to such of our best authors as are most nearly level to their comprehension, trusting that if at first they do not clearly understand, they may at least feel their excellence, as was said by the erratic Rousseau of the literature by which his young fancy was nourished. Indeed, it should be said that more mature minds even, meet many things in the best books which they feel rather than fully understand, and which must await the chance of some favoring experience for their complete elucidation. Should the Athenian example need a more recent enforcement, it may be found in the well known prevalence among educated Frenchmen of a keen sense for literary form, due largely no doubt, to the continuing influence in the best French schools of Rollin's Traite des Etudes,' in which the careful teaching of the mother tongue with exposition of its best literature is strongly emphasized and clearly illustrated." NECROLOGY. WILLIAM DEXTER WALCOTT, (Trustee 1863-90,) was born in the village of New York Mills, July 29, 1813. He was the oldest son of BENJAMIN S. WALCOTT, and his mother was a sister of Charles R. Doolittle, '14. After several years of study at the Canandaigua and Fairfield Academies, Mr. Walcott was received as a pupil in the family of Prof. CHARLES AVERY, '20, of Clinton, and in 1834 he spent six months with Professor Avery in New Haven, Conn., as a special student of chemistry under Professor Silliman. In 1837 he was given an interest in the manufacture of cotton goods at New York Mills, and in 1856 the firm of Walcott & Campbell was established. In 1860 he united with his |