ART. X.-ELIOT'S HISTORY OF HARVARD

COLLEGE.

A Sketch of the History of Harvard College, and of its present state; by SAMUEL A. ELIOT. Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown. 1848. pp. 190.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY may be considered highly fortunate in having had, before Mr. Eliot, two historians of distinguished ability. In 1833 was published a history of this seminary by Benjamin Pierce, its librarian, containing an account of the origin and progress of this the oldest of American colleges, from its establishment in 1636 to the time of the American revolution. In consequence of the early death of the author, the manuscript of this history was left in an unfinished state; but before publication it underwent the careful revision of John Pickering, Esq., a gentleman every way qualified for the task. The two hundredth anniversary of the college was celebrated at Cambridge, in September, 1836; on which occasion President Quincy delivered an appropriate address, which he afterwards expanded into two octavo volumes, published in 1840, in the best style of the university press. The value of both of these histories is much enhanced by the addition of copies of numerous original papers illustrating the statements in the respective narratives. The work of President Quincy is more elaborate in its composition, and copious in its details, than that of Mr. Pierce; but it is perhaps less strictly historical. It has the advantage of its predecessor in continuing the history to the author's own time.

Neither of these publications is well adapted for general circulation. A work of less extent and of a more popular character was much needed; and to supply a very obvious deficiency, the history of Mr. Eliot was undertaken. The author at first contemplated merely an abridgment of the work of President Quincy; but he departed in some degree from this plan, as he consulted other sources of information, and as different views occasionally presented themselves. He has likewise made some additions to the history of the college. It is difficult to write an account of any of the older colleges in New England, and satisfy all parties in matters of opinion; but as far as we can judge at this distance, Mr. Eliot' has written with a commendable degree of candor and impartiality. His work is neat and perspicuous in its style, and contains an account sufficiently particular for most readers, of the fortunes of the seminary, its benefactors, its officers of government and instruction, and the state of learuing in the different periods of its progress. The history proper ends with the resignation of President Kirkland in 1828; but

there follows a full and satisfactory exhibition of the present state of the college. This History of Harvard University we can recommend to the attention of all, who wish to obtain within moderate limits a competent view of the rise, progress, present state, and future prospects of this important seminary.

In the appendix to this history, is a "list of donations to the college, both from the legislature and from individuals, on which much labor has been bestowed." It was first prepared, it seems, "to be communicated to a committee of the legislature," and "has been reëxamined in every part, and carefully corrected." The author adds, however, that "the liability to error is so great in such a catalogue of particulars, extending over the space of two centuries, that entire freedom from mistake can scarcely be expected, notwithstanding the pains taken, and the aid obtained, in forming the list." It may be presumption in us to question the correctness of any part of this catalogue, yet in our opinion there is in it one item so erroneously stated, that we shall venture to notice it briefly. According to this list, (p. 161,) there was paid in 1718, by a decree of the Lord Chancellor, £500, Massachusetts currency, for the benefit of the college, from a bequest of Gov. Hopkins of Connecticut. President Quincy and Mr. Pierce say that this payment was £500 principal, and £300 interest, amounting to £800 sterling. £500 Massachusetts currency, by the mode of reduction adopted by the author, is equivalent to £375 sterling-differing £425 sterling from the other estimate. Of the two statements, that which gives the larger sum is, as we suppose, nearest the truth. The decree of Lord Keeper Harcourt, by which the bequest of Gov. Hopkins was paid to Harvard College, was made in March, 1710-11. By it £500 was to be paid, with interest from the 10th of June, 1700-that is, six months after the death of Anne Hopkins,* the widow of Gov. Hopkins. The interest was to be reckoned at five per cent. if the money should be paid within three months from the time of her decease, and at six per cent. if paid at any time after. If payment was deferred till 1718, the interest would exceed the principal. The will of Gov. Hopkins was made in England, was proved in England, the legal proceedings arising out of it were in England, and the bequest was to be paid out of the Governor's estate in England. There is no mention of Massachusetts currency in the will, or in the decree of Lord Harcourt. There was no want of funds. A commission appointed to investigate the subject had reported to the court before the decree was made, that the assets of the estate would meet the demand. Under these circumstances, that the college received only £500 Massachusetts cur rency, especially as the business must have been managed by

* Mr. Pierce says that she died in 1698, which is one year too early.

Gov. Dudley and President Leverett, appears to us, to say the least, extremely improbable. As Gov. Hopkins was governor of Connecticut, we feel some interest in having full justice done him. Mr. Eliot remarks, that the Hopkins bequest "was put in trust for the benefit of the College and Grammar School at Cambridge, where it has remained ever since, though not with the entire acquiescence of the friends of Yale College, some of whom have urged, that it was probable Governor Hopkins intended this legacy for the benefit of that institution. The date of the establishment of Yale College does not favor this idea." What friends of Yale College have ever put forward a claim to Governor Hopkins's bequest for the benefit of that institution, or when, or where, they have urged such a claim, we are entirely ignorant. Not only, as Mr. Eliot suggests, does the date of the establishment of Yale College not favor the idea of such a claim, but all the proceedings under the will show, that other institutions were intended. This will appear from a brief statement of facts. Governor Hopkins bequeathed a portion of his property in New England to two trustees in New Haven, and two in Hartford, to be disposed of by them according to his true intent and purpose, as expressed in his will. The trustees, with the property thus placed at their disposal, established a grammar school in New Haven, another in Hartford, and another in Hadley, Massachusetts; and they gave £100 to Harvard College. This £100 according to Mr. Eliot's list of donations, appears to have been received in 1657.

Governor Hopkins, in addition to the bequest from his property in New England, directed that on the death of his widow, £500 should be paid from his estate in Old England into the hands of the same trustees, in furtherance of the same objects. In 1664, the two surviving trustees made what they supposed to be a final disposition of the Hopkins property. They gave to the school in Hartford £400, which was in full of the Hartford claim. They directed that the remaining property should be divided equally between the two schools of New Haven and Hadley, the latter giving from its portion £100 to Harvard College. When the widow died in 1699, one course of proceeding would have been for the two schools to unite with Harvard College, in prosecuting their common claim according to the settlement of the trustees. 'The matter, however, was suffered to linger several years, till Harvard College made a movement for the whole, and was successful. The schools complained of wrong. Whether there was any ground for the complaint, is not now the question. The fact that whatever complaint was made, proceeded from the two schools, is all which we feel called on to maintain.-Yale College had as little to do in this business, as the college of William and Mary in Virginia. A writer in the seventh volume of the Bib

lical Repository (p. 185) published in New York, in speaking of this Hopkins donation remarks, "that Yale College, so far as we have heard, never laid claim to any portion of the bequest of Governor Hopkins; and there was no obvious ground for its so doing."-We have never heard any thing from any friend of Yale College, differing from this.

The Rev. Mr. Davenport early entered on measures for the establishment of a college in New Haven, and steps were taken by the authorities of the colony to forward this design. It has been supposed by some, especially from the correspondence of Mr. Davenport with Governor Hopkins, that the latter intended by his bequest to aid this project, and that his trustees erred in their distribution of the property. It is not improbable, that Mr. Eliot, from references to this early attempt to institute a college in New Haven, has been led into error.

We should like to dwell on many of the facts which are detailed in this volume, but we have neither space nor time for this purpose; and the work without doubt will be very generally read by those who take an interest in the history of our literary institutions. One advantage from its perusal will be, the juster estimate which the reader will almost necessarily form of the debt of gratitude due to those, who first lighted the lamp of knowledge in New England. The earliest of these worthies was John Harvard; and if the date of his donation, the circumstances of the community for the benefit of which it was made, its amount in reference to the property of the whole colony of Massachusetts, and its direct and indirect consequences are taken into consideration, we have no hesitation in saying, that as he was the first, so he was the greatest benefactor of letters, this country has known.

ART. XI. THE STRANGER IN THE EPISCOPAL

CHURCH.

The Stranger in the Church; by the Rt. Rev. George Burgess, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Maine. Boston: James B. Dow. 1848. 12mo, pp. 23.

THIS is No. Xxxii in a series of tracts purporting to be published by the "Tract Committee of the Diocese of Massachusetts." All the tracts of the series, as advertised on the cover of this, appear from their titles to be addressed, like this, ad populum, as the Oxford men have it, rather than ad clerum, or ad scholares. A three cent pamphlet, in such a series, can hardly be expected to

be very thorough in the discussion of the subject which it handles. The nature of such a work requires it to be striking rather than accurate, imposing rather than profouud.

Accident having thrown this little publication in our way, our attention was attracted to it chiefly by our personal respect for the author. We felt a friendly curiosity to see how he would perform such a task as that of writing a tract to be used in making proselytes. We had no doubt that a tract of that sort from his pen would be a hearty and ingenious, but not a bigoted plea for that system of church organization and worship, which he believes to be the nearest existing approximation to the primitive type of Christianity as traced in the Scriptures of the New Testament. At the same time we expected to find a courteous deportment towards Christians of other ecclesiastical connections, and in general a spirit quite the reverse of that arrogance towards "the sects" which is so common in bishops, priests and deacons, and which is sometimes too ludicrous to be offensive. Nor have we been disappointed. So far as manners and temper are concerned, there is little to be censured; while in respect to matter and arrangement, the tract is eminently adapted to its purpose.

The plan is ingenious but simple. The author has been requested to reply to the question, "What is the Episcopal church, or, by what is it distinguished from other bodies of Christians?" He informs us that in answering this question he is expected "to give to persons who know scarcely any thing of that church, a clear, though general, idea of its constitution, history, doctrines and customs." Accordingly, he supposes a person of serious and thoughtful character, and of ordinary New England intelligence, who having grown up to manhood without the opportunity of attending on Episcopalian worship and preaching, or even of seeing an Episcopalian house of worship, comes at last "to live in some place where an Episcopal church stands on the same green or street with the Congregationalist, the Baptist, the Methodist and the Universalist meeting-houses." The imaginary succession of such a man's observations and experiences in the process of becoming a proselyte to Episcopalianism, gives the author an opportunity of saying all that he wants to say for the sake of producing the desired effect upon his reader, and of omitting, very naturally and gracefully, whatever might be unfavorable to his design.

The first thing then which is supposed to strike the unsophisticated mind of the new settler in this imaginary village where there are so many places of worship, is the fact that sometimes the Episcopal church is called "the church," as if it were the only one.