dently placed upon the zeal and ability of enlightened instructors, who from Youth to Age have devoted their time to the culture of letters, and who, by the sweets of study and solitude, wisely console themselves for all the vindictiveness of Adversity.

The pages of our Journal have, in more than one instance, been enriched with the eloquent Charges which are annually delivered by the principal of the Philadelphia Academy. To these productions, though sometimes of a size not altogether adapted to our narrow limits, we have never hesitated to give a prompt and conspicuous insertion, because we were persuaded that such admirable specimens of an extremely difficult species of composition could not fail to be well received by our readers.

We cannot permit so very appropriate an occasion as the present to escape, without again inviting attention to the Institution over which Dr. Abercrombie presides, with so much credit to himself, and such decisive utility to the public. It is our deliberate opinion, and we speak from no slender intelligence, that as a school for the elementary branches of education, this seminary has no superior in the United States; whether we regard the liberality of its plan, the excellence of its discipline, or the rare and peculiar talents for the instruction and government of youth, which are united in its very accomplished Director.

A CHARGE

Containing hortatory observations on the value of time; delivered at a public commencement, July 26, 1810, to the senior class of the Philadelphia Academy, upon their having completed the course of study prescribed by that Institution. BY JAMES ABERCROMBIE, D. D.

One of the Assistant Ministers of Christ-Church, St. Peter's, and St. James's; and Director of the Academy.

"Tempus ager meus.”

Cardan.

"On all important Time, through ev'ry age,

Though much and warm the wise have urg'd, the man
Is yet unborn, who duly weighs an hour."

YOUNG GENTLEMEN,

Young's N. T. b. 2. l. 95.

In the wide range of appropriate subjects which present themselves, on this occasion, as suited to a valedictory address.

I know of none which will admit of more condensation of practical precept and sentiment, within such prescribed limits as I have assigned myself, than that of the inestimable value of Time. And, I think, by stating to you the importance of some of those leading duties in the discharge of which your time should be uniformly employed, I shall the most effectually excite in your minds a just sense of its value. I have said, within such prescribed limits as I have assigned myself; for, on former similar occasions, my addresses have heen thought to trespass too much upon the time and attention of the audience, after the various exercises in Elocution which had been exhibited by the class. Besides, as those addresses have always been published, the precepts and observations in each may be considered as equally applicable to you, with those which I propose now to offer upon a somewhat different, though not less interesting subject.

"It is recorded," says Dr. Johnson, "of a celebrated Italian philosopher, that he expressed in his motto, that Time was his estate; an estate, continues he, indeed, which will produce nothing without cultivation: but will always abundantly repay the labours of industry, and satisfy the most extensive desires, if no part of it be suffered to lie waste by negligence, to be overrun with noxious plants, or laid out for show rather than for use."

Were the brevity and uncertainty of human life duly considered, that invaluable talent Time would be cherished with the most assiduous care, and its silent and irrevocable lapse be uniformly marked with the most incontestable attestations of diligent exertion and unwearied improvement.

That you, my young friends, may avoid, while borne upon its rapid current, the dangerous rocks of indolence, of ignorance, and vice, on which so many have made shipwreck of their present and future happiness, I now raise my warning voice.

As rational beings we are accountable for our conduct to that great and good Creator, who hath not only given us existence, but free will; the faculty of distinguishing between moral good and evil; and a revelation how we should act in order to obtain his approbation, and a consequent future reward for our obcdience. He hath limited our present mode of existence to a few

swiftly revolving years; and, during that short period, hath enjoined the diligent performance of certain duties, some of which are of general obligation, and others peculiarly attached to every different period of age, and every station of human life.

Of these various appointments, it is my present intention to point out the most important of those which appertain to your time of life, and relative situation in society.

The most obvious and imperious duty which you have hitherto been called upon to discharge, is a uniform and implicit obedience to your parents. Their natural affection for you, and consequent anxiety to promote your real welfare, and their experience in the manners, principles, and practices of the world, enable them not only to know what is best, but insure their fidelity to chuse what is best, for the promotion of your true interest, comfort, and reputation.

Inexpressible are the obligations you are under to them, for the solicitude with which they cherished and protected your helpless infancy; the assiduous tenderness and vigilance with which you were nurtured by them during the ignorance and imbecility of childhood, and the increasing anxiety and care which grew with your growth, and strengthened with your strength; and for that disinterested and affectionate attachment with which they now look forward to the completion of your education, and your establishment in general society, as useful and ornamental members.

Let an active and constant sense of these disinterested and incstimable benefits induce, on your parts, the most grateful, affectionate, and unremitted attention to them. Be ever ready not only to comply with, but if possible to anticipate their wishes; and uniformly endeavour, by implicit obedience and tender assiduity, to render yourselves a comfort and a blessing to them; the solace and support both of their meridian and declining life: during which latter period the infirmities of decaying nature may frequently require you not only to sacrifice your inclination, but, in many instances, your convenience, your interest, and your comfort. Gladly therefore embrace such occasions of testifying the sincerity and ardour of your filial affection; remembering not only the injunction and the promise contained in the fifth com

mandment of the Decalogue, and those in the New Testament, but also that of Solomon, the wisest of men: "My son, help thy father in his age, and grieve him not as long as he liveth; and if his understanding fail have patience with him, and despise him not when thou art in thy full strength: for in the day of thine affliction it shall be remembered, and thy sins shall melt away as the ice in the fair warm weather. But he who forsaketh his father is as a blasphemer; and he who angereth his mother is cursed of God:"* remembering also, that should life be spared, in few years, you yourselves must in turn experience the infirmities of age, and will look around for, and expect from your own children, that care and consolation which now perhaps,

a

"With hard reluctance, faint, ye give."

The next important duty, which calls upon you for vigilance and activity, is diligence in acquiring knowledge. As every period of human life has its peculiar duties annexed to it, it has also certain advantages resulting from the performance of them. Youth is the season for obtaining the elementary principles of science; manhood and maturity for applying and expanding them in the exercise of some useful profession. The deeper, therefore, and broader the foundation is, the more splendid, accommodating, and useful, will be the edifice which it consolidates and supports. He who loiters and wastes his youthful hours in indolence, in folly, or in vice, will assuredly not only remain ignorant of the true enjoyment of life, but render himself, when arrived to manhood, burdensome and offensive to society; and find the remnant of his days embittered by the pangs of remorse, the excrutiating consciousness of murdered, misspent time, and the just apprehension of merited punishment in a future state, for the wilful neglect and abuse of so inestimable a talent. And these "compunctious visitings of nature" will be accompanied by the contempt of the industrious, the censure of the virtuous, the ridicule of the profligate, and the execrations of the profane.

Suffer not therefore the passing hour, like an undulation of the river's current, to roll onward into the ocean of eternity, without bearing upon its bosom a testimony of your serious and active attention to its rapid and eventful course. Resolutely determine, and use every exertion, to render each hour a messenger of peace; and, in imitation of the patriarch Jacob, strive to

"Hold the fleet angel fast until he bless thee."

Remember that to the leisure and hilarity of youth, unburdened by solicitude, will succeed the cares, the anxieties, the disappointments, and vexations of business, and social intercourse; when the mind will be too much engaged in the acquisition of worldly wealth, or the means of obtaining corporal subsistence and luxurious ease, to attend to intellectual attainments with that unfettered earnestness, which the native ardour and unoccupied freedom of early life inspire.

Be assured that wisdom is the truest wealth. The youth who diligently improves his time, and enriches his mind with useful knowledge, provides for himself an impenetrable shield against the arrows of adversity; for, besides the means which it always supplies of obtaining a competent and honourable subsistence, it naturally expands the mind and invigorates by exercise its powers; thereby qualifying it to sustain with composure the pressure of misfortune, to exhilarate and adorn prosperity, and to communicate instruction and entertainment to all around.

Riches may be dispersed by accident, or wasted by imprudence, extravagance, or folly; but Learning is an inexhaustible treasure, which, so long as the faculties of the mind remain unimpaired, cannot fail to sooth and to delight its possessor. Persevere then, I entreat you, in the course of industrious application which you have so long observed in this Institution, and which has this day enabled you to obtain the approbation and applause of this large, judicious, and respectable audience. The knowledge you have acquired of English Grammar, of the principles of Composition, of Elocution, Natural History, Geography, Logic, and the other branches of our established course, (of which you have given ample proof by your late public examination) will, if improved by future attention and expansion, qualify you to