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Have compassion, O God, on the children of thy servant, who weep before Thee. Comfort them with thy gracious presence, and with the promises, which Thou hast been pleased to make for the support of those, who are bereaved of their nearest friends. Thou hast said, leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.

To thy care and protection we commit these fatherless children, praying that Thou wouldst be pleased to cover them with the wings of thy providence, and to cheer them with a father's love.

Blessed be thy name for the example of piety, and of all the christian virtues, which their father hath left for them to imitate. May they be followers of him, who, we believe, through faith and patience, hath inherited the promises; and thus may they be prepared to meet him in those regions of purity and bliss, where all tears shall be wiped away, and undisturbed felicity shall reign forever!

May all the friends and connexions of thy deceased servant receive the consolations, which they need on this mournful occasion!

May we all consider, that affliction cometh not from the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground! By discipline Thou art teaching us submission; and by the breaches, which Thou art pleased to make on our most valued connexions, Thou art teaching us that this is not our home. When our friends are called away, the warning voice to us is, be ye also ready.

O God, we now most humbly beseech Thee to look mercifully on the literary Institution, over which thy deceased servant so long and so happily presided. The University mourns the loss of its President, who watched over it with parental care, and gave direction to its

pursuits. O God, the University is humbled under the repeated strokes of thy hand; it languishes under thy frowns. In a short space of time thou hast made breach after breach; one stroke has followed another, until we are brought low before thee. Thou hast broken, O God, and thou hast not healed. We cry unto Thee in our trouble, and pray Thee to have mercy on the work of thine own hands.

In the infant state of our country this Seminary was planted by thy direction. By thy care it hath grown and prospered. Thy showers and the light of thy countenance have been upon it. It hath sent forth its boughs to the remotest parts of the land, and its fruit has been pleasant. Still regard it, we pray thee, with thy favor, and may it still flourish under thy protection and blessing!

Comfort thy servants, O God, who remain in the the government, and in the instruction of the University. May their hands be made strong by the hand of the mighty God of Jacob! As their labors and cares are now increased, let their strength be equal to their duties; and in thy time, O God, heal the breaches, which thou hast made. The residue of the Spirit is with thee; and, we hope, thou hast yet blessings in store for this important and useful Society.

To thee we commend the Students of the Universi ty. May the death of their President be sanctified to them! May they recollect the counsels and the advice, which he gave them; and now, as they can no more hear his voice, may they resolve to imitate his virtues, and to follow him, as he followed Christ!

Sanctify the death of thy servant to the Commonwealth, to the rulers of the people, to the ministers of religion, with whom he was connected, to the Presidents and Instructors of other Colleges, with whom he was

acquainted; and to all the literary, pious, and charitable Institutions, in whose prosperity he was interested.

O God, while we mourn the loss of one, whom we so highly esteemed for his piety, learning, eminent virtues, and great usefulness; we would thank Thee, that thou wast pleased to continue him so long. Now he is taken from us, we do not mourn, as those, who have no hope; but, as our Lord Jesus Christ arose from the dead, so we believe that this our brother will rise again, and live forever.

May we in thy own time accomplish our work with fidelity, and to thy acceptance; and, at the last day, may we hear our Judge say unto us, come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom, prepared for you from the foundation of the world!

O God, hear our prayer, and hide not thyself from the voice of our supplications. Grant thy assistance in the farther exercises of this solemnity; and, when we shall commit the body of this our brother to the earth, let it be in sure and certain hope of a resurrection from the dead; when this corruption shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, and the saying, that is written, shall be brought to pass, death is swallowed up in victory.

In our last moments may we be able to triumph, and say, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. May we therefore be stedfast, and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as we know that our labor shall not be in vain in the Lord! And unto him, who hath loved us, and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, be glory and honor forever and ever, AMEN.

AN

EULOGY

BY

SAMUEL WEBBER A. M.

HOLLIS PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS AND

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

WE are assembled on an occasion deeply in

teresting and afflictive to literature, to science, to virtue, to religion. Unaccustomed to perform on occasions like the present, and for a period of no inconsiderable number of years directed in a line of pursuit different from that, which has the best tendency to qualify for composing and delivering a discourse, most likely to be acceptable and useful at a funeral solemnity, gladly would I have indulged in silent sorrow the anguish of my soul; gladly would I have listened to the merited Eulogy, and to solemn admonitions from a reverend Friend. But the voice of those, whose opinions I am in the habit of regarding as law to our University, and the most sincere veneration for its reverend departed Head, require my attempting to sketch his excellent character, and to express some of the feelings my heart.

of my

Perpetual change is exhibited in the objects, that surround us. Various alterations are progressive on different parts of the earth's surface, and within it 3 and a series of changes in the vegetable productions circulates with the revolving year. The flower springeth, it flourisheth, it dieth. Man riseth to view, his

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faculties are expanded, his connexions and his influence are enlarged, he giveth up the ghost, and where is he?

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The decay, the waste, and dissolution of a plant of no considerable value may affect our spirits, and suggest a train of serious reflections. And in tracing the decline of a being of a higher grade, the effect on the mind is heightened with the increase of the number and variety of beautiful, curious, and useful properties, with which it is endued. Well then may his fellows pause and reflect, when a man falls; man, the noblest work of the Creator within our sphere of vision. Well may sorrow flow, when the learned, the wise, the upright perish. Yes, your feelings anticipate me, and in your countenances is portrayed the deep affliction of your hearts.

To esteem and venerate true greatness and real worth are congenial to the best feelings of the human mind, and tend to transform it into a resemblance. To contemplate therefore the characters of great and good men may have a happy influence on our own characters; for with pleasing, but strong cords, it draws us to imitation.

President WILLARD was born the 29th of Decem ber, old stile,* in the year 1738, at Biddeford in the District of Maine, of which town his father,† grandson of the Rev. Samuel Willard, formerly of Boston and

* The new stile, it is to be remembered, was not used in the British do minions, of which the United States of America were a part, before the 3d of September 1752, when it was established by an Act of Parliament, and the said 3d of September was reckoned the 14th of that month. Hence the dates in our preceding records are to be considered as in the old stile.

The Rev. Samuel Willard, who was settled at Biddeford in 1729, and died when this son was aged about two years and a half. Afterward Mr. Elvins, Minister of a Parish in Scarborough having married his mother, the son was removed with the rest of the family to that town, where, it is supposed, he lived during the remainder of his minority.

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