under the influence of that pure and elevated morality, which christianity shall universally diffuse, might we confidently predict, that the economic condition of society shall assume a brighter aspect than ever yet it hath worn, since that day when man was driven from the blissful bowers of his first inheritance, and was condemned to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. Then, shall those private animosities and heart-burnings, which now imbitter the joys of social intercourse, be for ever extinguished: and then, too, shall the tribes of the human family forget those quarrels, which so long have been the scourge of this fair world;"nation shall not rise up against nation, neither shall they learn the art of war any more.'

"St. Andrew's, April, 1825.

"A truly admirable essay, replete with sound judgment, and felicitous illustration; and announcing itself, at the first glance, as worthy of the highest prize.

"THOMAS CHALMERS."

Besides gaining the first prize at the Moral Philosophy Class, on the subject prescribed by the professor; he gained also the first prize for the best essays read in the class. He had also distinguished himself in the private Greek Class; and, indeed, in all the departments to which he directed his attention. "In estimating his success," says a fellow-student, "it must be remembered, that there never was at St. Andrews a more brilliant assemblage of talent and of genius, attracted from all parts of the kingdom, by the fame of Dr. Chalmers, than there was during the session of

1824-25." In this opinion, it will be seen from Dr. Chalmers' letter, how fully he concurs.

Perhaps I cannot do better than introduce, at the conclusion of the course of moral philosophy, and of this volume, the account of him, with which I have been favored by another of his fellow-students, and a competitor along with him for the prize. It contains some traits of character worthy of being preserved, and besides showing the estimate which was formed of him by others, is highly creditable to the talents, and still more to the generous feelings of a fellow-candidate. It is not necessary that I should subscribe to every sentiment which it expresses; but the description is, on the whole, correct and faithful:

"The seeds of talent, wherever they were sown, could not fail to spring up under the fostering eloquence of Dr. Chalmers. His enthusiasm, intense, and almost approaching to juvenile extravagance, communicated its ardor to every mind that could appreciate his bold and original speculations in moral and political philosophy, or could be animated by the eloquence with which they were illustrated and enforced. Mr. Urquhart caught, in common with his fellow-students, the contagion of the example, which emanated from the chair. The activity of his mind was awakened, and the veneration which he entertained for the character and admiration of the genius of his professor, were the strongest motives to exert his own. I remember well the impression which his first essay made upon his class-fellows, and the flattering, though merited approbation it received from his professor. He began in a low, timid,

faltering voice, shrinking from the silent and fixed attention of a public display, till by degrees his voice assumed a firmer tone, and when he closed it was not without animation and feeling. As his unpretending manners, and his previous public examinations, had given but little promise of his talents, the triumph was the more complete, as it was unexpected. Not to feel vain or proud of the distinction which literary eminence confers, is a modesty of nature but rarely found, even among those who have been longest accustomed to the homage of the public. To a young man, though the sphere in which his merits are displayed is narrower, yet the novelty of the feeling, combined with the gentler sensibility of his mind, renders the impression irresistible. It is, perhaps, the proudest moment of his life, when he is first commended for his literary acquirements, his taste, or his promise of future talent. That Mr. Urquhart was insensible to this praise, would be saying too much. Such an indifference would have proved rather a want of feeling, than an absence of vanity. But whatever secret pleasure he may have felt, it was betrayed by no assumed airs of consequence or pride. Those who are attracted by his talents were not repelled by his vanity. He levied no contribution of admiration from his friends, as a tax to his merit; and as no one could be less disposed to gratify others at the expense of truth, so none was ever less solicitous of flattery. In his intercourse with his fellow-students, there was a total absence of all ostentation or pretension. No one was forced in his presence upon the disagreeable conviction of his own inferiority, so that without any of the arts of pleasing, or those popular qualities that attract general favor, he had

made many friends, but no enemies. Few fancied they saw in him a rival to their own ambitious hopes; and when he crossed the path, and gained the hill in advance, it was with so noiseless a step, and with so little show of a triumph, that he either escaped the vigilance of his competitors, or they pardoned his success for the manner in which it was obtained. What they might imagine themselves entitled to, for their superior talents, they willingly resigned to his virtue. Indeed, a little observation of the world shows, and the remark is applicable to every period of life, that men are more easy under a defeat than a triumph, and that the prosperous might enjoy their success without envy, if they had the prudence to conceal it. Not that by this reflection we mean to resolve Mr. Urquhart's modesty into a refinement of selfishness. His conduct was equally remote from that haughtiness, which is one of the forms of pride; and from that affectation of humility, which is often the same passion under a new disguise. Nature in him had not learned to conceal her feelings, and still less to assume those which did not belong to her. Reserved without pride, and grave beyond his years, without any mixture of severity, he avoided the promiscuous society of his class-mates, not from any feeling of superiority, but partly from the timidity of his disposition, and from a want of sympathy in their ordinary sports and conversation.

""Concourse and noise, and toil, he ever fled.'"

"This disposition was as beautifully illustrated, as the action was characteristic of his modesty, in his conduct on that day in which the prizes were

distributed, at the close of the session, and of which he was to bear away some of the most distinguished and honorable. While the more ambitious and showy youths, had selected a distant station in the hall, that they might advance to the spot where the prizes were distributed, through a line of admiring spectators, Mr. Urquhart had shrunk unobserved into the corner of a window, near to the seat of the professors, and no sooner was his name announced, than he had again drawn back and disappeared. There was scarce time to put the usual inquiry of who he was, when a new candidate for attention was summoned. The same simple, unostentatious manner, and aversion to display which, appear in this action, was the result of his general habits and feelings, and not of singular or accidental occurrence. It was in consistence with the other parts of his conduct. No one knew when Mr. Urquhart entered or retired from his class. He had no circle of literary dependants who crowded around him, to receive his philosophical dicta, or his canons of criticism. Yet, to those who observed him, there was something in his appearance in the class, singular and interesting. He had an awkward habit of biting his nails,―a practice in him not disagreeable, it was so much of a piece with the simplicity of his look. His head generally inclined to one side, and as he sat it was supported by his arm. This was his usual position while listening to the lecture. As Dr. Chalmer's animation increased, Mr. Urquhart gradually elevated his head, and when he rose into eloquence, you would have seen his arm drop by his side, and his eye steadfastly fixed, looking the orator broad in the face. I know not whether Dr. Chalmers marked these