,,the ,,eulogies ,,of ,,howard4    ,a   
,,vision4          ----to tell of deeds 
,above heroic4 ,,milton4                
,m4,,dcc4,,xci4          ,,the          
,,eulogies ,,of ,,howard      ,it was my
 chance to be conversing with a ,friend 
of the benevolent and  indefatigable    
,,howard1 when our country was first    
afflicted with the  public intelligence 
of his death4 ,after our first          
expression of surprize  and sorrow1 we  
naturally fell into serious and         
affectionate reflections  on the gentle 
character and sublime pursuits of the   
deceased4 ,on these  articles we had no 
difference of opinion2 but in the course
 of our  conversation a point arose1 on 
which our sentiments were directly      
opposite1 though we were equally sincere
 and ardent in our regret and           
veneration for the departed ,worthy1 to 
whom it related4 ,i happened to  speak  
of the public honours that1 ,i hoped1 a 
grateful1 a generous1 a  magnificent    
,nation would render to his memory4 ,my 

companion immediately  exclaimed1 that  
every ostentatious memorial1 to         
commemorate the virtues  of his friend1 
would be inconsistent with the meekness 
and simplicity of  the man2 that all1   
who had the happiness of knowing        
,,howard1 must  recollect with what     
genuine modesty he had ever retired from
 the  enthusiastic admiration of those1 
who had hoped to gratify his ambition   
by undeserved applause2 that he had     
really sought no reward but in the      
approbation of his conscience and his   
,,god2 that the ,british ,nation1       
however eminent for genius and          
munificence1 could not devise any       
posthumous honours1 or raise any        
monument1 truly worthy of ,,howard1     
except in adopting and accomplishing    
those benevolent projects which his     
philanthropy and experience had         
recommended to public attention for the 
benefit of mankind4    ,i readily       
admitted the singular and unquestionable
 modesty of the  deceased4--,i allowed  

that the noblest tribute of respect1    
which the  world could render to so pure
 a spirit1 would be to realize his      
ideas2  but ,i contended1 that other    
honours are still due to his name2 that 
it  is the duty and the interest of     
mankind to commemorate his character    
with the fondest veneration4 ,i reminded
 my companion1 that although we  were   
sincerely convinced that no human mind1 
engaged in great designs1  could be more
 truly modest than that of ,,howard2 yet
 we had particular  reason to recollect1
 that he was not insensible to praise4  
,he had once  imparted to us his        
feelings on that subject with a frank   
and tender  simplicity1 highly graceful 
in an upright and magnanimous being1    
conscious of no sentiment that he could 
wish to conceal4 ,indeed1 a  sincere and
 ardent passion for virtue could hardly 
subsist with a  disdain of true glory1  
which is nothing more than the proper   
testimony  of intelligent and honed     
admiration to the existence of merit3   

nor is it  reasonable to suppose that   
the fondest expressions of remembrance  
from a  world1 which he has served and  
enlightened1 can be displeasing to the  
spirit of a just man made perfect2 since
 we are taught by ,religion1  that the  
gratitude of mankind is acceptable even 
to ,,god4 ,i endeavoured  to convince my
 companion1 that1 as the ,publick had   
seen in ,,howard a  person who reflected
 more genuine honour on our country than
 any of her  ,philosophers1 her ,poets1 
her ,orators1 her ,heroes1 or ,divines1 
it is  incumbent on the ,nation to      
consult her own glory by commemorating1 
in  the fullest manner1 his beneficent  
exertions1 and by establishing the      
dignity of his unrivaled virtue4    ,my 
arguments1 and my zeal1 made some       
impression on the mind of my            
antagonist2 and sunk so deeply into my  
own1 that on my retiring to rest  they  
gave rise to the following vision4    ,i
 was suddenly transported to the        
confines of a region1 which astonished  

me by its loveliness and extent2 it was 
called1 ,the ,paradise of true  ,glory4 
,as ,i approached the entrance1 my eyes 
were delightfully  fascinated by two    
beings of human form1 who presided over 
the portal4  ,their names were ,genius  
and ,sensibility3--it was their office  
to gratify  with a view of this         
,paradise every mortal that revered them
 sincerely2  and to reject only such    
intruders as presumed to treat either   
the one or  the other with the insolence
 of disdain1 or the coldness of         
contempt3 an  incident that ,i should   
have thought impossible1 from the       
transcendent  beauty which is visible in
 each2 but1 to my surprize1 they        
informed me  it very frequently         
happened4    ,as ,i readily paid them   
the unsuspected homage of my soul1 ,i   
was  graciously permitted to pass the   
gate4--,immediately as ,i entered1 ,i   
was  saluted with a seraphic smile1 by  
two benignant and inseparable ,spirits3 
these were ,gratitude and ,admiration1  

the joint rulers of the  dominion--,you 
are welcome1 said the first1 in a tone  
of angelic  tenderness--,you are welcome
 to a scene utterly new to your senses1 
and  in harmony with your heart3 you    
delight in the praises of the deserving3
  and you are now wafted to a spot1     
where those who have merited highly of  
mankind are praised in proportion to    
their desert1 and where the praise  of  
exalted merit is fondly listened to by  
an extensive human audience1  here      
purified by our supernatural agency from
 all the low and little  jealousies of  
the earth4    ,i had hardly answered    
this pleasing information by a grateful 
obeisance  to my radiant informer1 when 
,i perceived1 in a gorgeous prospect    
that  now opened before us1 three       
structures of stupendous size and       
superior  magnificence4 ,the first was  
situated in a grove of olives1 and      
appeared  to me like an ancient temple  
of ,attica1 remarkable for massive      
strength1  and a sober dignity--the     

second was less solid1 but richer in    
decoration2 and seemed to be almost     
surrounded by every tree and plant  on  
which ,nature has bestowed any salutary 
virtue3 the third was shaded  only by   
palms2 the form of it was so wonderfully
 grand and aweful1 that  it struck me as
 a sanctuary for every pure and devout  
spirit from all  the nations of the     
globe4    ,these structures1 that you   
survey with astonishment1 said one of my
  benevolent conductors1 are devoted to 
what you mortals denominate the  three  
liberal professions1 ,law1 ,medicine1   
and ,theology4 ,whoever has a  claim to 
distinguished honour from any one of the
 three1 has a just  encomium pronounced 
upon his services by the temporary      
,president of that  particular fabrick1 
in which he is entitled to such grateful
  remembrance4 ,alas6 ,i replied1 with a
 murmur that ,i could not  suppress1 the
 ,man whose well-deserved praises ,i    
most anxiously expected  to hear in this
 region1 belonged not to any one of     

these eminent classes  in human life--he
 had no profession but that of          
,humanity4    ,be patient1 said the     
sweetest of my aetherial guides1 with a 
rebuke  that was softened by a smile of 
indulgence6 ,let not your zeal for the  
honour of an individual1 however        
meritorious1 make you unjust1 or        
insensible1 to the merit of others6     
,assume the temper of this region1      
where praise is distributed by equity   
and affection1 but where prejudice  and 
partiality are not allowed to           
intrude6--,let us advance1 continued  my
 monitor1 with an encouraging movement  
of her hand2 it is time that ,i  should 
lead you to the nearest assembly4    ,i 
obeyed with reverential silence2 and as 
,i passed the vestibule of the  majestic
 edifice1 my heart panted with an aweful
 expectation of  beholding the shades of
 ,solon1 ,lycurgus1 and other departed  
,legislators1  from the various nations 
of the world4 ,i was chearfully         
surprized by a  very different          

spectacle4    ,the capacious structure  
was filled with a concourse of living   
mortals1  lively1 yet respectable in    
their appearance1 evidently belonging to
  many countries2 but all1 as ,i        
perceived by their habits1 connected    
with  the ,law4 ,throughout all the     
multitude ,i heard no sound of          
dissention or  debate3 but over all     
there reigned an air of intelligence and
 sympathy1  while all were hushed in    
silent expectance1 and eager attention1 
with  their eyes directed to an elevated
 tribunal3--,on this a personage was    
sitting1 whose majestic figure ,i       
immediately recollected4 ,his           
countenance is marked with that         
austerity and grandeur1 which are the   
external characteristicks of ,law       
herself4 ,his heart1 as those who know  
it ultimately declare1 expresses the    
tender and beneficent influence of  that
 ,power1 who is the acknowledged parent 
of security and comfort4 ,with  a voice 
that pervaded the most distant recesses 

of the extensive dome1  and in tones    
that sunk deep into the bosom of every  
auditor1 he  pronounced the following   
oration3    ,after passing many years of
 life in the painful investigation of   
human  offences1 it is with peculiar    
satisfaction that ,i find myself        
commissioned to commemorate1 in this    
,assembly1 a character of virtue        
without example--a character1 at once so
 meek and so sublime1 that1 if a        
feeling spirit had been poisoned with   
misanthropy from too close a            
contemplation of mortal crimes1 this    
character alone might serve as an       
antidote to the word of mental          
distempers1 and awaken the most callous 
and sarcastic mind to confess the       
dignity of our ,nature1 and the         
beneficence of our ,god4 ,in stating to 
you the merits of ,,howard1 ,i might    
expatiate with delight on the various   
qualities of this incomparable  man2 ,i 
might trace his progress through the    
different periods of a life  always     

singular and always instructive4 ,i     
could not be checked by any  fear of    
overstepping the modesty of ,truth in   
the celebration of ,virtue1  so solid   
and so extensive1 that the malevolence  
of ,envy could not  diminish its weight1
 the fondness of ,enthusiasm could not  
amplify its  effects4 ,but ,i must not  
forget that there are professional      
limits to my  discourse4 ,it is         
incumbent on me to confine myself to a  
single object1  and to dwell only on    
those public services1 that peculiarly  
endear the  name of ,howard to the      
liberal and enlightened community in    
which ,i have  the honour to preside4   
,it was in the capacity of a ,minister  
to ,justice1 that the pure spirit1  whom
 it is my glory to praise1 first        
conceived the idea of those  unrivaled  
labours that have rendered his memory a 
treasure to mankind4  ,in discharging a 
temporary office1 that exposed to him   
the condition of  criminals1 he was led 
to meditate on the evils which had      

grievously  contaminated the operations 
of ,justice4 ,he perceived that ,law    
herself1  like one of her most          
illustrious ,delegates 7,i mean the     
immortal ,bacon71  was grossly injured  
by the secret and sordid enormities of  
her menial  servants3 that ,captivity   
and ,coercion1 those necessary          
supporters of her  power1 instead of    
producing good1 often gave birth to     
mischiefs more  flagrant1 and more      
fatal1 than those which they were       
employed to  correct4 ,he found1 even in
 the prisons of his own humane and      
enlightened  country1 an accumulation of
 the most hideous abuses3 he found them 
not  nurseries of penitence and         
amendment1 but schools of vice and      
impiety2  or dens of filth1 famine1 and 
disease3 not the seats of just and      
salutary correction and punishment1 but 
the strong holds of cruelty and         
extortion4 ,the irons of the prisoner1  
which he only beheld1 entered into  his 
soul1 and awakened unextinguishable     

energy in a spirit1 of which  companion 
and fortitude were the divine           
characteristicks4 ,in the noble         
emotions of pity for the oppressed1 and 
of zeal for the honour and  interest of 
civilized society1 he conceived perhaps 
the sublimest design  that ever occupied
 and exalted the mind of man1 the design
 to search and  to purify the polluted  
stream of ,penal ,justice1 not only     
throughout his  own country1 but through
 the various nations of the world4 ,how 
low1 how  little1 are the grandest      
enterprizes of ,heroic ,ambition1 when  
compared  with this magnanimous pursuit6
 ,how frivolous and vain are the highest
  aims of ,fancy and ,science1 when     
contrasted with a purpose so            
beneficently great6 ,but1 marvellous as 
the magnitude of ,,howard',s  enterprise
 appears1 on the slightest view that    
magnitude becomes doubly  striking1 when
 we contemplate at the same time the    
many circumstances  that might either   
allure or deter him from the prosecution

 of his idea4  ,consider him as a       
private gentleman1 possessed of ease and
 independence1  accustomed to employ and
 amuse his mind in retired study and    
philosophical speculation2 arrived at   
that period of life1 when the  springs  
of activity and enterprize in the human 
frame have begun to  lose their force6  
consider that his health1 even in youth1
 had appeared  unequal to common        
fatigue6 his stature low6 his deportment
 humble6 his  voice almost effeminate6  
,such was the wonderful being1 who      
relinquished  the retirement1 the       
tranquillity1 the comforts1 that he     
loved and  enjoyed1 to embark in labours
 at which the most hardy might tremble2 
to  plunge in perils from which the most
 resolute might recede without a        
diminution of honour4 ,under all these  
apparent disadvantages1  unsummoned1    
unauthorized by any ,prince1 unexcited  
by any popular  invitation1 he resolved 
to investigate all the abuses of        
imprisonment2  to visit the abodes of   

wretchedness and infection2 and to prove
 himself  the friend of the friendless1 
in every country that the limits of his 
advanced life would allow him to        
examine4 ,against such an enterprize1   
projected by such an individual1 what   
forcible arguments might be urged1  not 
only by every selfish passion1 but even 
by that prudence1 and that  reason1     
which are allowed to regulate an        
elevated mind6 ,how plausibly  did      
,friendship exclaim to ,howard1 ',your  
projects are unquestionably  noble2 but 
they are above the execution of any     
individual3 you are  unarmed with       
authority2 you have the wish to do great
 good1 but the  power of doing little6  
,consider the probable issue of the     
undertaking6--,you will see a few       
hapless wretches1 and tell their        
condition to the inattentive world2     
perhaps perish yourself from  contagion1
 before you have time to tell it2 and   
leave your afflicted  friends to lament 
your untimely fate1 and the ungrateful  

,publick to  deride your temerity6'     
,what force of intellect1 what dignity  
of soul  were required to prevent a     
mortal from yielding to remonstrances so
  engaging6 ,the divine energy of       
,genius and of ,virtue enabled ,,howard 
to  foresee1 that the sanctity of his   
pursuit would supply him with strength  
and powers far superior to all human    
authority3--,his piercing mind          
comprehended that there are enormities  
of such a nature1 that to survey  and to
 reveal them is to effect their         
correction4--,he felt that his  sincere 
compassion for the oppressed1 and his   
ardent desire to promote  perfect       
justice1 would serve him as a perpetual 
antidote against the  poison of         
fear4--,he felt that in the darkness of 
dungeons he should want  no associates1 
no guards to defend him against the     
outrages of detected  extortion1 or     
suspicious brutality4--,he felt1 that as
 his purpose was  heavenly1 the powers  
of ,heaven would be displayed in his    

support2 that  iniquity and oppression  
would not dare to lift a hand against   
him1  though they knew it was the       
business of his life to annihilate their
  sway in their most secret dominion4   
,how admirably did the progress of  his 
travels evince and justify the pure and 
enlightened confidence of  his spirit6  
,all dangers1 all difficulties1 vanish  
before his gentleness1  his regularity1 
his perseverance4 ,insolence and        
ferocity seem to turn1  at his approach1
 into docility and respect4 ,every      
hardship he endures1  every step he     
advances1 in his wide and laborious     
career of ,beneficence1  instead of     
impairing his strength1 invigorates his 
frame2 instead of  diminishing his      
influence1 increases the utility of his 
conduct1 by  making the world acquainted
 with the sanctity of his character4    
,witness1  ye various regions of the    
earth6 with what surprize1 delight1 and 
veneration1 ye beheld an unarmed1 and   
unassuming traveller instructing  you in

 the sublime science of mitigating human
 misery1 and giving you a  matchless    
example of tenderness and magnanimity6  
,o1 ,england6 thou  generous country6   
ever enamoured of glory1 contemplate in 
this1 the most  perfect of thy          
illustrious sons2 contemplate those     
virtues1 and that  honour1 in which thy 
parental spirit may most happily        
exult6--,what  spectacle can be more    
flattering to thy native1 thy honest    
pride1 than  to behold the proudest     
potentates of distant nations listening 
with  pleasure to a private ,englishman2
 and learning1 from his researches1 how 
to relieve the most injured of their    
subjects6 how to abolish the  enormities
 of perverted ,justice6 ,to form a      
complete account of the good  arising to
 the world from the life and labours of 
,howard1 would be a  task beyond the    
limits of any human mind3 an exact      
statement of the  benefits he has       
conferred upon society1 could be        
rendered only by the  attendant ,spirit 

whom ,providence commissioned to watch  
over him1 and who  might discern1 by the
 powers of supernatural vision1 what    
pregnant  sources of public calamity he 
crushed in the seed1 and what future    
virtues1 in various individuals1 he may 
draw into the service of mankind  by the
 attraction of his example4    ,of good1
 more immediately visible1 which his    
exertions produced1 there  is abundant  
evidence in his own country4 ,in the    
wide circle of his  foreign excursion1  
what nation1 what city1 does not bear   
some  conspicuous traces of his intrepid
 and indefatigable beneficence6 ,of the 
astonishing length to which his zeal and
 perseverance extended1 we have  the    
most ingenuous and satisfactory         
narration in those singularly           
meritorious volumes which he has given  
to the world4 ,in these we behold  the  
minute detail of labours to which there 
is nothing similar1 or  second1 in the  
history of public virtue2 and for which 
there could be no  adequate reward but  

in the beatitude of ,heaven4 ,an        
eloquent ,enthusiast1  whose genius was 
nearly allied to frenzy1 has expressed a
 desire to  present himself before the  
tribunal of the ,almighty ,judge1 with a
  volume in his hand1 in which he had   
recorded his own thoughts and  actions3 
if such an idea could be suitable to the
 littleness of man1 if  it could become 
any mortal of faculties so limited to   
make such an  offering to the great     
,fountain of all intelligence1 that     
mortal must  assuredly be ,howard3 for  
where could we find another individual1 
not  professedly inspired1 who might    
present to his ,maker a record of       
labours  so eminently directed by ,piety
 and ,virtue6 a book1 addressed to      
mankind1  without insulting their       
weakness1 or flattering their passions6 
a book1  whose great object was to      
benefit the world1 without seeking from 
it any  kind of reward6 a book1 in which
 the genuine modesty of the ,writer is  
equal to his unexampled beneficence6    

,the mind of ,howard was singularly  and
 sublimely free from the common and     
dangerous passion for applause3  that   
passion which1 though taken altogether1 
it is certainly beneficial  to the      
interests of mankind1 yet frequently    
communicates inquietude and             
unsteadiness to the pursuits of ,genius 
and ,virtue4 ,as human praise was  never
 the object of his ambition1 so he has  
nobly soared above it4 ,there  appear1  
in different ages upon the ,earth1      
certain elevated spirits1 who1  by the  
sublimity of their conceptions1 and the 
magnanimity of their  conduct1 attain a 
degree of glory which can never be      
reached by the  keenest followers of    
,fame--,they seek not panegyricks2 and  
panegyricks  can add nothing to their   
honour4 ,the ,eulogies have perished    
which were  devoted by the luxuriant    
genius of ,tully1 and by the laconic    
spirit of  ,brutus1 to the public virtue
 of ,cato2 yet the name of that         
illustrious  ,roman is still powerful in

 the world1 and excites in every        
cultivated  mind1 an animating idea of  
independent integrity4 ,the name of     
,howard has  superior force1 and a      
happier effect4 ,it is a sound1 at which
 the  strings of humanity will vibrate  
with exultation in many millions of     
hearts4 ,through the various nations    
that he visited1 the mere echo of  his  
name will be sufficient to awaken that  
noblest sensibility1 which at  once     
softens and elevates the soul4 ,every   
warm hearted and worthy  individual who 
mentions ,howard will glow with an      
honest1 a generous  satisfaction1 in    
feeling himself the fellow-creature of  
such a man4  ,wherever the elegant arts 
are established1 they will contend in   
raising  memorials to his honour4       
,indeed1 the globe itself may be        
considered as  his ,mausoleum2 and the  
inhabitants of every prison it contains1
 as  groups of living statues that      
commemorate his virtue4 ,there is no    
class  of mankind by whom his memory    

ought not to be cherished1 because all  
are  interested in those evils 7so      
pernicious to society6 so dangerous to  
life67 which he was ever labouring to   
lessen or exterminate4 ,it might be     
wished1 that different communities      
should separately devise some  different
 tribute of respect to him whose        
character and conduct is so  interesting
 to all3 not for the sake of multiplying
 vain and useless  offerings to the     
dead1 but to impress with more energy   
and extent his  ennobling remembrance on
 the heart and soul of the living4 ,it  
is hardly  possible to present too      
frequently to the human mind the image  
of a man  who lived only to do good4 ,i 
mean not merely such a resemblance of   
his  form as ,art may execute with      
materials almost as perishable as the   
image  of human clay1 but such an       
impression of his soul as may have a    
more  lasting influence on the life and 
conduct of his admirers1 such as1       
diffusing among them a portion of his   

spirit1 may in some measure  perpetuate 
his existence4    ,by this community1 ,i
 am confident1 such public honours will 
be paid to  ,,howard1 as may be most    
suitable to the peculiar interest which 
it  becomes us to take in his glory4    
,what these honours shall be is a point 
to be settled by this liberal and       
enlightened ,assembly1 which assuredly  
will not fail to remember that he       
suggested to ,legal ,authority her      
omissions and defects with the modest   
and endearing tenderness of a  ,friend2 
that he laboured in the service of      
,justice with that  intelligence1       
fortitude1 and zeal1 which her votaries 
cannot too warmly  admire1 or too       
gratefully acknowledge4    ,the         
,president arose as he thus ended his   
speech2 and the members of the          
,assembly seemed beginning to confer    
among themselves2 but what debates      
ensued1 or what measure was adopted1 ,i 
am unable to tell1 as my  visionary     
,guides immediately hurried me to the   

adjoining ,temple4    ,this second      
structure1 though less extensive and    
less solid than the  first1 was more    
attractive to the eye1 as it abounded   
with scientifical  and diversified      
decorations4 ,the ,assembly consisted of
 men1 who appeared  to me equally       
remarkable for keenness of intellect and
 elegance of  manners4 ,the seat of pre 
eminence among them was filled by a     
person who  possessed in a very uncommon
 degree these two valuable qualities1 so
  happily conducive to medical utility  
and medical distinction4 ,though  left a
 young orphan1 without patrimony1 and   
obliged to struggle with  early         
disadvantages1 he raised himself by     
meritorious exertion to the  head of a  
profession in which opulence is         
generally the just attendant  on        
knowledge and reputation4 ,but neither  
opulence1 nor his long  intercourse with
 sickness and death1 have hardened the  
native tenderness  of his heart2 and ,i 
had lately known him shed tears of      

regret on the  untimely fate of an      
amiable patient1 whom his consummate    
skill and  attention were unable to     
save4    ,thus strongly prepossessed in 
his favour1 ,i was delighted to observe 
that he was preparing to address the    
,assembly in the moment we entered4  ,my
 celestial ,guides smiled on each other 
in perceiving my satisfaction2  and     
being placed by them instantaneously in 
a commodious situation1 ,i  heard the   
following discourse2 which the character
 ,i have described  delivered with an   
ease and refined acuteness peculiar to  
himself1 never  raising his voice above 
the pitch of polite and spirited        
conversation3    ,i am persuaded1 that  
every individual to whom ,i have now the
 happiness  of speaking1 will readily   
agree with me in this sentiment1 that we
  cannot possibly do ourselves more     
honour as a ,fraternity than by         
considering ,,howard as an ,associate3  
assuredly1 there is no class of men  who
 may more justly presume to cherish his 

name and character with a  fraternal    
affection4 ,in proportion as we are     
accustomed to contemplate1  to pity1 and
 to counteract1 the sufferings of       
,nature1 the more are we  enabled and   
inclined to estimate1 to love1 and to   
revere1 a being so  compassionate and   
beneficent4 ,if ,physicians are1 what ,i
 once heard them  called by a lively    
friend1 the ,soldiers of ,humanity1     
engaged in a  perpetual1 and too often1 
alas6 unsuccessful conflict against the 
enemies of life2 ,,howard is not only   
entitled to high rank in our corps1  but
 he is the very ,caesar of this hard1   
this perilous1 and1 let me add1  this   
most honourable warfare4 ,perhaps the   
ambition of the great ,roman            
,commander1 insatiate and sanguinary as 
it was1 did not contribute more  to the 
torment and destruction of the human    
race1 than the charity of  the ,english 
,philanthropist has contributed to its  
relief and  preservation4 ,of this we   
are very certain1 the splendid and      

indefatigable ,hero of ,slaughter and   
,vain-glory did not traverse a more     
extensive field1 nor expose himself more
 courageously to personal  danger1 than 
our meek and unostentatious ,hero of    
,medical ,benevolence4 ,in  point of    
true magnanimity1 ,i apprehend the      
spirit of ,caesar would very  willingly 
confess1 that his own celebrated        
attempts to reduce ,gaul and  ,britain  
were low and little achievements1 when  
compared to the  unexampled efforts by  
which ,howard endeavoured to exterminate
 or subdue  7those enemies more         
terrific7 the ,gaol ,fever1 and the     
,plague4    ,but leaving it to more able
 and eloquent panegyrists to celebrate  
the  originality1 the boldness1 and all 
the various merit of his  philanthropic 
exertions1 ,i shall confine myself to a 
few remarks1 and  chiefly professional  
ones1 on his invaluable character4 ,it  
appears to me  highly worthy of         
observation1 that ,howard1 before he    
entered on his  grand projects of       

,public ,benevolence1 was subject to    
those little1 but  depressive variations
 of health which have betrayed many a   
valetudinarian into habits of inaction  
and inutility4 ,happily for  himself1   
and for mankind1 this excellent person  
surmounted a  constitutional bias to    
indolence and retirement4 ,the          
consequence  sequence was1 he became a  
singular example of activity and vigour4
 ,his  powers1 and enjoyments of bodily 
and mental health1 augmented in         
proportion to the extensive utility of  
his pursuits4    ,beneficial as his life
 has been to the world1 his memory may  
be still  more so4 ,it may prove a      
perpetual blessing to mankind1 if it    
dissipates1  as it ought to do1 a weak  
and common prejudice1 which often       
operates as  a palsy upon the first idea
 of a great and generous undertaking4   
,the  prejudice ,i mean is a hasty      
persuasion1 frequently found in the most
  amiable minds1 that some peculiar     
strength of nerve1 some rare mechanism  

of frame1 and extraordinary assemblage  
of mental powers1 are absolutely        
requisite for the execution of any noble
 design4 ,how greatly does it  redound  
to the true glory of ,howard to have    
given in his successful  labours the    
fullest refutation of a prejudice1 so   
inimical to the  interest and the honour
 of human-nature6 a prejudice1 by whose 
influence1 to use the words of our great
 ,poet1        --,the native hue of     
,resolution      ,is sicklied o'er with 
the pale cast of ,fear1      ,and       
enterprizes of great pith and moment1   
,with this regard1 their currents turn  
awry      ,and lose the name of action4 
,the life and character of ,howard1 if  
they are justly considered1 may  not    
only annihilate this pernicious         
prejudice1 but tend to establish an     
opposite and consolatory truth4 ,his    
example may shew us1 that some  degrees 
of bodily weakness and mental depression
 may be most happily  cured by active   
exertion in the service of mankind4     

,perhaps there never  existed a more    
striking proof how far a noble impulse1 
communicated to  the mind by a project  
of extensive ,benevolence1 may          
invigorate a frame  not equal in health1
 strength1 and stature1 to the common   
standard of  men4 ,it is a prudential   
maxim of the celebrated ,raleigh1 that  
',whosoever  will live altogether out of
 himself1 and study other men's humours1
  shall never be unfortunate2' a maxim1 
which the example of ,howard might      
almost teach us to convert into a       
medical aphorism by saying1 ',whosoever 
will live altogether out of himself1 and
 consult other men's wants1 and         
calamities1 shall never be unhealthy4'  
,it is delightful to those1 who  detest 
the debasing tenets of a selfish        
philosophy1 to see the happy  influence 
of opposite ideas2 to observe 7what     
,physicians have frequent  opportunities
 of observing71 that as a selfish turn  
of mind often  attracts and encreases   
the malignity of sickness1 so an        

unselfish1 a  compassionate spirit has a
 natural tendency to escape or subdue   
it4 ,what  can be more pleasing to      
those1 who assert and esteem the dignity
 of  human-nature1 than to see1 that the
 having lost all thoughts of self1  and 
having acted in direct opposition to    
selfish principles1 has  promoted even  
the personal advantage of a generous    
individual8 ,from such  a series of     
philanthropic labour and peril1 as a    
selfish and timid mind  might esteem it 
frenzy to encounter1 ,howard derived not
 only his  unrivalled and immortal      
reputation1 but the perfect restoration 
of  enfeebled health2 not to mention    
those high gratifications of the heart  
and conscience1 which are superior to   
all the enjoyments both of health  and  
glory4 ,with such temperance in diet1   
that his daily food would  appear to    
most people not sufficient to support   
the common functions of  life1 he       
chearfully sustained the hardships of   
long travel1 through  regions where     

travelling is most difficult and        
dangerous4 ,with a figure1  voice1 and  
deportment1 that seemed to preclude him 
from all personal  influence and        
authority2 and with no mental           
acquisitions1 except those  which are   
common to every cultivated mind1 he     
secured to himself not  only universal  
admiration1 but1 ,i may venture to say1 
the just and moral  idolatry of the     
world4 ,so invigorating are projects of 
extensive  ,beneficence6 so powerful is 
the energy of ,public ,virtue6          
,never1 indeed1 was the astonishing     
influence of plain and simple  goodness 
more strikingly displayed1 than in the  
deference and respect  which this       
private and meek individual received1   
not only from foreign  and imperious    
,rulers of the ,earth1 but from hardened
 and atrocious  wretches1 on whom       
,justice herself could hardly make any  
mental  impression1 though armed with   
all the splendour1 and all the violence 
of  power4 ,two particular examples of  

the influence ,i am speaking of1 ,i     
shall mention here1 not only as         
honourable to the prime object of our   
regard1 but as they may suggest to      
contemplative minds some useful  ideas1 
by shewing how far the mere weight of an
 upright and benevolent  character alone
 may give to the most callous nerves a  
trembling  sensibility1 and awaken the  
most ferocious spirit to                
self-correction4    ,when our           
indefatigable ,visitor of prisons was in
 ,russia1 he beheld1 in  public1 the    
punishment of the knoot severely        
administered by a strong  and stern     
executioner4    ,on the following day he
 waited on this man1 to request from him
 various  information4 ,the executioner 
attended him obsequiously2 but this     
athletic savage1 though trained to acts 
of cruelty1 and conscious he had  a     
legal sanction for the barbarous        
violence he had exerted1 could not      
behold without shuddering the meek and  
gentle ,missionary of ,compassion4      

,the second and more memorable example  
of his singular influence  occurred in a
 prison of his own country1 and relates 
to an outrageous  female delinquent4 ,a 
corrupt and ferocious woman is1 perhaps1
 the most  intractable fiend that human 
benevolence can attempt to reform2 but  
even  this difficulty the mild and      
powerful character of ,,howard          
accomplished4    ,in one of our ,western
 gaols1 he found an unhappy female      
loaded with  heavy irons3 on his        
appearance she entreated him to obtain  
for her the  removal of these galling   
fetters4 ,upon enquiry1 he found that   
many  endeavours had been made to keep  
this turbulent offender in proper       
subjection without the severity of      
chains2 but1 after repeated promises  of
 amendment on milder treatment1 she had 
obliged the keeper to have  recourse to 
this extreme by relapsing into the most 
flagrant and  insufferable contempt of  
decency and order4 ,upon this           
information1  ,,howard said mildly to   

the unhappy criminal1 ',i wish to       
relieve you1 but  you put it out of my  
power2 for ,i should lose all the little
 credit ,i  have1 if ,i exerted it for  
offenders so hardened and so turbulent4'
 ',i  know1' replied the intractable    
delinquent1 ',i know that ,i have a     
proud  and rebellious spirit2 but if ,i 
give a promise to so good a man as you  
are1 ,i can and ,i will command it4' ,on
 this firm assurance of  reformation1   
the benevolent ,,howard became a kind of
 surety for her  future peaceable       
conduct on the removal of her irons2 and
 he had the  inexpressible delight to   
find1 on his next visit to the prisoners
 of  this gaol1 that the outrageous and 
ungovernable culprit1 for whom he had   
ventured to answer1 was become the most 
orderly among them4    ,i could wish1   
for the moral interest of mankind1 that 
it were possible  to obtain a minute    
account of the services rendered to the 
calamitous  spirit of many a forsaken   
individual by the singular charity of   

,,howard4  ,what could be more          
instructive than to observe how his     
,beneficence  encreased by its exertion 
and success2 while his desire of        
befriending  the wretched became1 as it 
were1 the vital spirit that gave        
strength and  duration to his own       
existence6    ,if we contemplate with   
pleasure the singular re-establishment  
of bodily  health1 which ,,howard       
derived from his active philanthropy2 it
 may be  still more pleasing to         
recollect1 that it also afforded him an 
efficacious medicine for an afflicted   
mind4 ,perhaps it was to shew the  full 
efficacy of this virtue in all its      
lustre1 that ,heaven allotted to  this  
excellent personage a domestic calamity1
 which appears 7to borrow  an expression
 from a great writer7 'of an            
unconscionable size to human  strength4'
    ,that capricious and detestable     
spirit of ,detraction1 which on ,earth  
never fails to persecute superior       
,virtue1 has not scrupled to assert     

that the affliction1 to which ,i allude1
 was the mere consequence of  paternal  
austerity4 ,the ,earth itself1 though   
frequently accused of being  eager to   
receive ideas that may abase the        
eminent1 could hardly admit a  calumny  
so groundless and irrational4 ,in this  
purer spot it is utterly  needless to   
prove the innocence of an exalted being1
 to whom we are only  solicitous to pay 
that sincere tribute of praise and      
veneration which we  are conscious he   
deserves4 ,in truth1 this admirable     
,character seemed to  illustrate the    
philosophical maxim1 that mildness is   
the proper  companion of true           
magnanimity4 ,he had a gentleness of    
manners1 that was  peculiar to himself2 
and1 instead of possessing such         
imperious severity  of spirit as might  
produce the calamity ,i allude to1 he   
was really  endued with such native     
tenderness of heart as must have sunk   
under it1  had he not found in the      
unexampled services that he rendered to 

the  world1 an antidote to the poison of
 domestic infelicity4 ,it is among the  
most gracious ordinances of ,providence1
 that man is sure to find the  most     
powerful relief for his own particular  
afflictions1 in his  endeavours to      
alleviate the sufferings of others4 ,and
 permit me to add1  it is this          
beneficent law of our nature1 that gives
 a peculiar charm  and dignity to the   
,medical ,profession2 a profession      
singularly endeared  to the affectionate
 ,,howard6 not only as its compassionate
 and active  spirit was the guide of his
 pursuits1 but as one of its prime      
ornaments  was his favourite associate  
and his bosom-friend4 ,if different     
classes  of men are to vie with each    
other1 as it may certainly become them  
to  do1 in rendering various honours to 
this their matchless ,benefactor2 ,i    
hope we shall display1 with the most    
affectionate spirit1 the deep  interest 
that we ought to take in his glory4 ,i  
think it very desirable  that every     

,physician should possess a ,medal of   
,,howard1 not only to shew  his         
veneration for the great                
,philanthropist1 but to derive personal 
advantage from such a mental ,amulet1 if
 ,i may hazard the expression4  ,most of
 us1 in the exercise of ,medicine1 feel 
at particular moments that  our spirits 
are too sensibly affected by the objects
 we survey2 that  scenes of misery and  
infection depress and alarm3 at such a  
time how  might it rekindle the energy  
of our minds to contemplate a little    
effigy  of ,,howard6 to recollect1 that 
all the trouble and danger that we      
encounter1 in the practice of a         
lucrative profession1 are trifling in   
the extreme1 when compared to the labour
 and the peril1 which this  wonderful   
man most willingly took upon himself1   
without looking forward  to any reward  
but the approbation of ,heaven6    ,i   
mention not a ,medal as a new idea--it  
has been already in  contemplation2 and 
a motto for it suggested1 which applies 

with such  singular force and propriety 
to the person whom it is designed to    
commemorate1 that perhaps the wide range
 of classical literature could  not     
afford another passage so strikingly    
apposite to a character so              
extraordinary--        ,stupuere patres 
tentamina tanta1      ,conatusque tuos3 
pro te ,reus ipse timebat4--    ,i must 
confess1 however1 that ,i wish for      
another1 which may seem to  bind him    
more closely to us in a medical point of
 view4 ,but it is time  to leave the    
different members of our ,fraternity at 
full liberty to  propose any marks of   
distinction that they wish to           
suggest4--,it is  sufficient for me to  
have reminded you of a truth1 which ,i  
am confident  we all equally feel1 that1
 while we justly consider ourselves as  
students in the extensive school of     
,humanity1 it becomes us to look up  to 
,,howard1 with a laudable veneration1 as
 the ,prince and ,patron of our  ,order4
    ,on the conclusion of this          

discourse1 my ,guides immediately       
conducted me1  with their former        
celerity and kindness1 to the only      
remaining  ,structure4 ,it was the most 
extensive1 and1 from the hallowed       
majesty of  its appearance1 the most    
admirable of the three4 ,in approaching 
it1 ,i  paused a moment in aweful       
surprise at the solemnity of the        
fabrick3 the  most lovely and           
communicative of my two aetherial       
conductors smiled upon  me1 and said1   
,you will find here ,ministers of ,,god 
from every ,christian  country2 but only
 those who consider ,evangelical        
,charity as the essence  of true        
,religion1 and who are disposed to      
honour1 in the favourite  object of your
 veneration1 the most signal example of 
that virtue1 which  the present age has 
beheld4 ,i hope then1 ,i eagerly        
replied1 ,i shall  have the delight of  
hearing1 on this occasion1 the most     
eloquent of our  ,english ,bishops4 ,on 
this exclamation1 my kind informer      

regarded me with  that lively and       
soothing air with which intelligent     
,benevolence corrects  mistaken         
simplicity1 and thus continued to       
instruct me with united  vivacity and   
tenderness4    ,earthly distinctions1   
you know1 are of little moment in the   
sight of  ,heaven4 ,you will hear no    
,prelate2 and perhaps you may feel      
surprised and  indignant1 when you      
observe how very few of your ,mitred    
,countrymen are  to be seen in this     
,assembly2 but you will not retain in   
this hallowed  spot that most common of 
human infirmities1 a tendency to censure
 or to  suspicion4 ,you will recollect  
that this ,convocation contains only    
those  charitable men1 who are          
peculiarly disposed to honour your      
recent model  of this ,christian virtue4
 ,other good men may exist1 who1 from   
motives of  innocent mistake1 or of mere
 inadvertency1 may fail to exhibit that 
animated regard to his exemplary        
character1 which assuredly it has       

merited from all men1 and which the     
,ministers of ,religion may most        
properly display4    ,one of these1     
continued my ,director1 you are now     
going to hear2 not1  indeed1 a          
,dignitary of your ,church1 yet a       
,divine of ,talents1 ,learning1  and    
,charity4 ,he was led1 by a laudable    
warmth of heart1 to suggest to  your    
,country the first idea of paying a     
public tribute of veneration to  the    
signal virtue of ,howard2 and has       
acquired from this circumstance a  title
 to commemorate here the merit1 to which
 he was eager to render  such early     
justice on earth4 ,but it is time for us
 to attend him4    ,we immediately      
entered the temple2 and ,i beheld an    
,ecclesiastic rising  at that moment to 
address a very numerous ,assembly of his
 order1 that  seemed to contain         
,christians of every sect1 and          
,ministers of every  degree4 ,the person
 preparing to speak was distinguished by
 a majestic  comeliness of person1      

though he appeared to have passed the   
middle age  of life2 and with a powerful
 elocution he delivered the following   
discourse4    ,the ,righteous are bold  
as a ,lion4    ,proverbs1 chap1 xxviii1 
ver4 i4    ,in these few words1 my      
brethren1 we have a passage of          
,scripture1 that  served as a favourite 
maxim1 or leading truth1 to the         
admirable  personage whose glorious     
qualities it is now both my duty and my 
delight  to recall to your remembrance4 
,the words1 indeed1 are so consonant to 
that exalted spirit which his life      
displayed1 that they almost appear to   
me an epitome of his character4 ,let us 
consider ,courage as one of his         
principal endowments6 ,to contemplate so
 pure and resolute a being in  this     
point of view1 may lead us to form just 
ideas on the true nature of  this       
primary virtue1 on the sacred source    
from whence it should proceed1  and the 
sublime end to which it should aspire4  
,how large a portion of  folly1 vice1   

and wickedness1 have arisen from mere   
mistakes concerning  this most important
 of human qualities6 so important1 that 
the real  dignity of man can only rise  
in proportion as this virtue is         
perfectly  understood1 and properly     
cherished6 ,in the same proportion1 let 
me add1  our courageous ,philanthropist 
will be found entitled to the praise of 
every upright mind1 to the homage of    
every feeling heart4    ,if we take the 
word ,courage in the most common and    
simple sense of  that term1 as a        
generous and noble contempt of personal 
hardship and  danger2 who has given more
 numerous or more striking examples of  
such  brave contempt6 ,or if we follow  
the definition of ,courage given us by a
  profound1 an eloquent1 and            
philanthropic ,writer1 namely1 that it  
is a  just estimate of our own powers2  
who is there among the most signal      
,benefactors of mankind1 not professedly
 inspired1 that ever formed an  estimate
 of what he might achieve in the most   

glorious field of  enterprize1 at once  
so difficult1 and so true1 so humble1   
and so grand4    ,with every apparent   
disadvantage1 ,howard conceived it      
possible that his  endeavours might     
correct the abuses1 and mitigate the    
sufferings of men1  in various nations  
of the world4 ,whence happened it1 that 
a mortal1 so  visibly weak and gentle1  
shrunk not from an idea so pregnant with
  difficulty and peril6 ,it was because1
 ',the ,righteous are bold as a  ,lion4'
 ,it was because he felt the strongest  
internal conviction of this  animating  
truth1 that1 while ,heaven blesses a man
 with health sufficient  to pursue a    
benevolent and magnanimous design1 the  
vigour of his mind1  and most probably  
his powers of doing good1 will be       
proportioned to the  firmness of his    
faith1 and the sincerity of his virtue4 
,many achievements of beneficent        
,courage have undoubtedly been          
accomplished by men influenced by no    
motive but that generous love of  glory 

which is so frequently the predominant  
passion of an active and  ardent mind3  
but the virtues that arise from this    
source are as  unsteady1 and as         
precarious1 as the reward they pursue4  
,he who acts  only as a candidate for   
the applause of mankind1 will find his  
spirit  vary with all the variations in 
the ever-changing atmosphere of popular 
opinion4 ,he will be subject to hot and 
cold fits of action and  inactivity1 of 
confidence and distrust1 in proportion  
as the illusive  vapour1 that he        
follows1 may either sparkle or fade     
before him4 ,hence  proceeded much of   
that inconsistency and weakness1 which  
appear in some  of the most enlightened1
 and exalted characters of the ,pagan   
world4--,wanting a purer light from     
,heaven1 the most radiant spirits of    
antiquity were bewildered2 one in       
particular1 the mildest and most        
undaunted of antient ,worthies1 who had 
a sufficient portion of heroic          
philanthropy to prefer the benefit of   

mankind to every selfish  consideration1
 had yet his hours of diffidence and    
despondency4 ,on a  final review of his 
own generous labours1 he is supposed to 
have  questioned the very existence of  
,virtue1 though he had made it the idol 
of his life2 a striking proof1 that the 
temperate and invariable energy  of     
soul1 which alone perhaps deserves the  
name of true ,courage1 can only  proceed
 from a fuller knowledge and love of    
,,god2 from the animating  assurance1   
that1 however we may prosper or fail in 
the earthly success  of our endeavours  
to do good1 the merit of the attempt is 
registered in  ,heaven2 and we secure to
 ourselves the everlasting approbation  
of our  ,almighty ,parent1 in proportion
 as we approach towards that blessed    
model  of ,perfect ,benevolence1 who has
 taught us1 by his divine example1 to   
compassionate and to relieve the        
sufferings of the wretched4 ,from this  
source flowed the courageous beneficence
 of ,,howard3 and how delightful  it is 

to observe that the force1 the extent1  
the utility1 and the lustre  of the     
stream1 has gloriously corresponded to  
the height and purity of  the fountain6 
,the ,sensualist and the ,sceptic may1  
indeed1 deride the conduct of a  man1   
who sacrificed all the common pleasures 
of life1 and sought for no  recompence  
but in the favour of ,heaven4 ,it may be
 said that an illusive  fervor of mind  
has hurried men1 in all periods of the  
world1 into  singular and wild          
exertions1 which excite the wonder of   
the passing  hour1 and are afterwards   
either deservedly forgotten1 or only    
recalled  to notice by ,reason and      
,philosophy1 to caution the restless and
  impetuous spirit of man against all   
similar excesses4    ,but the pursuits  
of ,howard1 though they had all that    
sublime energy  which so often          
distinguished the projects of           
,superstition1 were so far  from being  
influenced by any superstitious         
propensity1 that perhaps they  cannot   

appear to more advantage than by being  
brought into comparison1  or contrast1  
not with the sluggish piety of          
sequestered ,monks1 but with  the bold  
and splendid feats of the most active   
and enterprising  ,fanaticism4 ,allow   
me1 therefore1 to recall to your        
thoughts those  distant ages1 when every
 ardent spirit in ,christendom was      
inflamed with  a passionate desire to   
deliver the ,christian pilgrims of      
,palestine from  the oppression of      
,infidels6 ,figure to yourselves the    
whole force of  ,europe collecting its  
violence1 like a troubled sea1 and      
preparing to  pour a terrific and       
destructive inundation over the ,holy   
,land6 ,behold  the strong and the weak1
 the ambitious and the humble1 pursuing 
the same  object6 ,behold assembled     
,kings and their ,people1 ,soldiers and 
,priests1  the servants of ,earth and   
,heaven rushing1 with equal ardour1 to  
rescue  the ,sepulchre of ,christ1 and  
to drown all the innumerable enemies of 

their ,faith in an universal deluge of  
blood6 ,in this scene we have the       
sublimest spectacle1 perhaps1 that was  
ever exhibited by mistaken piety  and   
misguided valour4 ,the love of ,god1 by 
which this heroic multitude  was        
professedly impelled1 was probably in   
many minds as sincere as it  was ardent4
 ,the religious spirit of their         
enterprize can still animate  and       
transport us in the song of the ,poet3  
and in the more rational page  of       
,history1 while we justly lament the    
errors of their devotion1 we  admire the
 force and perseverance of their        
courage4    ,to the sublime fortitude of
 these collected warriors1 let us       
compare  the mild magnanimity of        
,,howard4 ,let us survey him setting    
forth for an  expedition as perilous as 
theirs2 not as the ,soldier of          
,fanaticism1 but  as the ,pilgrim of    
,humanity6 ,attachment to ,,god1 and    
resolution which no  hardship1 no       
danger1 no difficulty can daunt1 are    

equally conspicuous in  the sanguinary  
,fanatic and the compassionate          
,philanthropist3 but how  widely        
different are the prime earthly objects 
of their pursuits6 ,the  fierce         
,crusaders invaded ,asia with a desire  
to exterminate the ,infidels4  ,the     
benevolent ,,howard was led into the    
same quarter of the globe1 and  into    
perils more deadly than those of war1 by
 a wish to exterminate1 or  rather to   
restrain1 the ravages of that terrific  
enemy to human life1  the ,plague4      
,he had conceived an idea1 that1 as this
 most alarming of mortal  maladies has  
been often strangely neglected by the   
sluggish and  superstitious inhabitants 
of the ,east1 it might be possible by a 
calm  and courageous examination of its 
nature and its progress1 to set limits  
to its rage2 and particularly to secure 
his own country from a future           
visitation of a calamity1 against which 
the fearless and eager spirit of        
,commerce appears not to have           

established a sufficient precaution4    
,for  the prospect of accomplishing     
public good1 so devoutly to be wished1  
he  nobly thought it a trifling         
sacrifice to hazard the little remnant  
of  his advanced life2 and1 however men 
or nations may differ in policy or      
religion1 whereever there is a human    
spirit sufficiently pure and            
enlightened to estimate public virtue1  
the sentiments and the conduct of       
,,howard must secure to his memory the  
fondest veneration4 ,there is a         
perfection and felicity in his character
 that appears supremely laudable  in    
every point of view4 ,if1 abstracted    
from all religious  considerations1 we  
regard him only as a citizen who devoted
 himself to  the service of his country1
 the brightest records of ,antiquity    
afford us  no parallel to his merit4    
,had he lived in those early times1 the 
generous enthusiasm of the antient world
 would have idolized his name4          
,philosophy and ,genius would have      

found1 in his benevolent labours1 the   
most ample theme for instruction1 and   
the purest subject for universal        
panegyrick4 ,they would have celebrated 
him as a benefactor to mankind1  who had
 built a new portico to the ,temple of  
,glory superior to the dome  itself4    
,they would have preferred the          
beneficent ,philanthropist to the       
dazzling ,conqueror1 to the fascinating 
,demagogue1 to the attractive  ,sophist2
 and all the various idols of public    
praise4 ,but as ,antiquity  exhibits no 
character of such unclouded lustre1 we  
have great reason to  conclude1 that    
such a character could owe its existence
 only to the pure  and sublime spirit of
 our ,christian ,faith4 ,let us1        
therefore1  contemplate ,,howard as a   
,christian6 it is by considering him in 
this  light1 that we shall feel         
ourselves most happily related to his   
virtues1  and most delightfully         
interested in the honours they receive4 
,in the poor and calamitous objects of  

his regard1 in the gentleness  and      
purity of his manners1 in his modest and
 magnanimous refusal of  earthly        
honours1 in the wide extent and         
courageous perseverance of his  charity1
 we cannot fail to discern how richly he
 was endowed with the  genuine spirit of
 that pure and sublime ,religion which  
has the divine  prerogative of          
converting weakness into strength1 and  
of giving to  ,humility the influence of
 ,power4 ,there is not a feature in the 
character1 there is hardly an action in 
the life of this exemplary  personage1  
that does not mark him as a true servant
 of ,,christ4 ,and may  we not presume  
the blessed ,author of our faith1 in    
supplying us in these  dissolute times  
with a recent example of such           
astonishing and unlimited  beneficence1 
is graciously pleased to afford us a new
 motive to prize  and to cherish that   
animating faith1 which could form1 in an
 age like  the present1 a character so  
wonderfully entitled to the veneration  

of  the world8 ,the spirit of           
,christianity is so visible in the      
conduct of  ,,howard1 that the prime    
objects of his attention might be       
thought to have  been suggested to him  
by the very words in which our blessed  
,lord  announces to the heirs of eternal
 glory the source of their              
beatitude--',come1 ye blessed of my     
,father1 inherit the kingdom prepared   
for you from the foundation of the      
world2 for ,i was an hungry1 and ye     
gave me meat2 ,i was thirsty1 and ye    
gave me drink2 ,i was a stranger1 and   
ye took me in2 naked1 and ye cloathed   
me2 ,i was sick1 and ye visited me2  ,i 
was in prison1 and ye came unto me4'    
,is it possible for us1 my ,brethren1 to
 recall to our memory these holy  words 
without feeling at the same time1 in the
 most forcible degree1 all  the         
,christian merits of ,,howard8 ,can we  
fail to admire and to venerate  the     
unexampled ardour1 purity1 and          
perseverance1 with which he exercised   

the peculiar virtue so distinguished by 
our ,lord8--,while we behold him        
sublimely pre-eminent in this ,christian
 perfection1 shall we not cherish  the  
delightful idea1 that his heavenly      
rewards will be finally adequate  to his
 unrivaled labours on earth8 ,shall not 
those who have loved him  exult in the  
persuasion1 that in that great and      
aweful day1 when the  living and the    
dead are to receive their everlasting   
doom2 when the  princes and the great   
ones of the earth may be confronted with
 those  whom they have persecuted and   
oppressed1 or whom they have failed to  
relieve2 when the proudest ,sons of     
,learning1 ,genius1 or ,wit1 may shrink 
at the superior lustre of those whom    
they have ridiculed and reviled2        
,,howard will shine encircled by        
thousands1 who will gratefully plead for
  his beatitude in those blessed words  
of our ,redeemer1 ',i was in prison1    
and he came unto me6'    ,yes1 my       
,brethren1 the day will assuredly come1 

when the servant so  signally faithful  
will be called to a reward1 surpassing  
the utmost  reach of our conception1 by 
the voice of his ,righteous             
,master--then1 and  then only1 will     
praise be fully proportioned to his     
transcendant merit2  when this          
consummate ,christian is raised to glory
 by the glorified  ,messiah1 when his   
pure spirit exults in the commendation  
of his ,,god4    ,the imperfect efforts1
 that mankind may make to do honour to  
such a  ,being1 cannot1 indeed1 so much 
promote his glory1 as they may conduce  
to  the interest of human nature4       
,subject as it has been to the wildest  
excesses1 human panegyric1 in all its   
shapes1 may be safely devoted to a      
personage1 whom it is hardly possible to
 praise with sincerity1 without  feeling
 our disposition improved4 ,in a        
beneficent1 a sublime1 and truly        
religious character1 there is a sort of 
magnetic virtue1 which to those  who are
 affectionately drawn towards it1 though

 only in idea1  communicates a portion  
of itself4 ,hence arises1 what we cannot
 too  fondly cherish1 the delight and   
the utility of commemorating departed   
worth4 ,if its title to commemoration be
 justly proportioned to its  magnitude1 
its singularity1 and extent2 not only   
various individuals1  but different     
,nations1 will become rivals in         
promoting the fame of  ,,howard4 ,as the
 glorious qualities1 which his life     
displayed1 are equally  open to the     
emulation of the great and the humble2  
every class of human  creatures is      
peculiarly interested in his praise4 ,if
 to honour his  memory may be thought to
 belong to any one community more than  
to  another2 surely1 my ,brethren1 we   
shall not fail to assume to ourselves   
so pleasing a duty1 so honourable a     
distinction4 ,well1 indeed1 might the   
insulting enemies of our ,faith reproach
 us with a supine and disgraceful       
inattention to the real interest of     
,virtue1 and the true glory of          

,religion1 could we suffer any other    
order of men to surpass the  ,ministers 
of ,,christ in a meritorious zeal to    
honour this faithful  servant of        
,heaven1 whose life exhibits a lesson   
more instructive and  sublime than all  
the eloquence of the ,pulpit6 a         
,christian1 who has shewn  us1 in the   
most signal manner1 how practicable it  
is to follow1 in  succouring the        
distrest1 not only the precepts1 but the
 example of our  ,,god4    ,in the      
moment that this benevolent ,divine     
concluded his address to his  attentive 
brethren1 my kind and vigilant ,guides  
removed me from the  temple4--,i was now
 led into a scene entirely different    
from those we  left4 ,it was an open and
 verdant plain1 with a few elevations in
 the  ground1 that afforded advantageous
 views of the whole extensive spot4     
,here1 instead of beholding the         
,ministers of ,peace1 ,i found myself   
encircled by the multitudinous votaries 
of ,war4 ,it appeared to me that  all   

the military and all the naval servants 
of our country were  collected together1
 and each different division of these   
well-appointed  and well-looking men1   
that formed a pleasing spectacle alone1 
was  attended by a crowd of             
miscellaneous spectators1 more numerous 
than  itself3 yet in all this immense   
multitude there was no sign of tumult or
  confusion4 ,they were ranged in such a
 manner as to form a wide circular  area
 in the midst of them4 ,i was stationed 
on a little eminence within  this area2 
and in the same vacant space ,i beheld a
 party of veteran  ,commanders1 both    
,military and ,naval1 who seemed to have
 been conferring  together1 but         
separated by the direction of my        
aetherial ,conductors1 to  address1 in  
different parts of this extensive field1
 the different  companies assigned to   
their care4 ,what they respectively said
 in their  separate departments ,i was  
unable to discover1 as ,i only heard    
distinctly one gallant ,veteran1 whose  

character was particularly dear to  me4 
,this consummate officer has raised     
himself by merit alone from the         
humblest rank of military life to a     
station of the highest honour and       
trust4 ,his modesty is as singular as   
his fortune3 passing close to me1  with 
a gracious salutation1 he approached a  
very fine orderly corps of  foot1 who   
looked up to him with a sort of filial  
respect1 while he spoke  to them the few
 following words3    ,as bravery and    
compassion are the characteristics of   
good ,soldiers1 you  cannot want1 my    
friends1 any long exhortation from me to
 honour the  memory of ,,howard2 the    
most resolute and the most compassionate
 man that  has lived in our time4       
,though he was not of our profession1 as
 his life  was devoted to mitigate the  
united horrors of captivity and         
sickness1  those worst of enemies to the
 spirit of a soldier1 you will          
undoubtedly  feel that he has a peculiar
 claim to our most grateful and generous

  regard4    ,this speech was followed  
by a burst of acclamation from those to 
whom it  was particularly addressed4    
,similar shouts of applause resounded   
from  different quarters of the spacious
 field1 while our aetherial  attendants1
 ,gratitude and ,admiration1 who        
followed each speaker at the  close of  
each address to different divisions of  
this innumerable  assembly1 displayed1  
to each division in its turn1 an        
extensive sketch  of a simple but       
magnificent mausoleum to the memory of  
,howard1 in the  form of an ,english    
lazaretto4 ,on the first display of this
 striking and  worthy monument1 the     
applauding multitude seemed to exult in 
the  prospect of its completion4 ,but ,i
 soon observed1 to my inexpressible     
concern1 that while ,gratitude and      
,admiration were busy in exciting the   
various ranks of the vast assembly1 to  
accomplish this favourite design1  they 
were followed by two earthy fiends of a 
dark and malignant  influence3 these    

were ,detraction and ,indifference1 who 
shed such a chill  and depressive mist  
around them1 that all the ardour of the 
,assembly  seemed to sink4 ,among the   
miscellaneous crowds that were visible  
between  the divisions of the martial   
host1 there ran a murmur of obloquy and 
derision against the pure object of     
public veneration4 ,he was reviled as  a
 whimsical ,reformer1 and a rash        
,enthusiast1 who had absurdly           
sacrificed his life in a vain and       
fantastic pursuit4 ,this base spirit of 
calumnious malignity was not            
communicated to any one division of the 
martial multitude2 but the universal    
zeal for the glory of ,,howard seemed   
to be almost annihilated2 even          
,gratitude and ,admiration appeared to  
grow  faint in their darling purpose4   
,during their languor1 they suffered    
their sketch of the ,mausoleum to be    
gradually stolen from their hands1  and 
to drop upon the ground4 ,at this moment
 a sudden and violent  earthquake was   

felt through all the extensive scene4   
,the centre of the  vacant area         
opened--it threw forth a phantom        
terrific and enormous--its  magnitude   
seemed to grow upon the sight2 its      
lineaments were shrouded  from our view 
by an immense mantle1 on which were     
represented a  thousand different and   
hideous images of ,death4 ,its name was 
,contagion--it rushed forward with an   
indescribable movement4 ,dismay and     
confusion overwhelmed all that quarter  
of the crowded scene1 that was          
particularly threatened by its first    
advance4 ,the affrighted multitude      
rolled back like a tumultuous sea4 ,the 
horrid spectre stopt2 and left a  wide  
interval between itself and the retiring
 host4 ,a ray of heavenly  light        
illumined the vacant space4 ,i fixed my 
eye on the brilliant spot1  and soon    
beheld the meek and gentle form of      
,,howard advancing1 without  fear or    
arrogance1 towards the terrific         
,phantom4 ,with an untrembling  hand he 

seized the dark folds of its extensive  
mantle1 and seemed  animated with the   
hope of annihilating the ,monster4 ,in  
the instant1 a  burst of celestial      
splendor was spread over the gloomy     
plain4 ,the ,angel  of ,retribution     
descended2 and snatching the consummate 
,philanthropist to  his bosom1 he rose  
again2 while all the astonished         
multitude1 now  reviving from their     
terror1 gazed only on the celestial     
apparition2 and  heard the reascending  
,seraph thus address the beneficent     
spirit now  committed to his care3      
,thou faithful servant of ,heaven6 thy  
hour of recompence is come4 ,justly     
hast thou cautioned mankind not to      
impute thy conduct to rashness or       
enthusiasm4 ,weak and wavering in their 
own pursuits of felicity1 thou  wilt not
 wonder to see them so in their sense of
 thy merit1 and their  zeal for thy     
honour3 but ,i am commissioned to bear  
thee to that  ,all-seeing ,power1 who   
can alone truly estimate1 and perfectly 

reward thy  desert4 ,i know that the    
praise of beings1 inferior to thy ,,god1
 never  influenced thy life2 but the    
homage of good minds is grateful to the 
purest inhabitants of ,heaven2 and in   
departing from a world so much  indebted
 to thy virtue1 let it gratify thy      
perfect spirit to foresee1  that as long
 as the earth endures1 the most         
enlightened of her sons will  remember  
and revere thee as one of her sublimest 
benefactors4    ,as soon as the divine  
messenger had ceased to speak1 every    
voice in the  reanimated multitude1 that
 heard him1 raised a shout of           
benediction on  the name of ,,howard4 ,i
 started in transport at the sound2 and 
the effort  that ,i made to join the    
universal acclamation terminated my     
vision4    ,pardon me1 thou gentlest and
 most indulgent of ,friends6 that1      
conscious  as ,i am of the sincerity    
with which thy pure mind ever wished to 
avoid  all exuberance of praise1 ,i yet 
presume to send into the world such a   

tribute to thy virtues as thy humility  
might reject4 ,let the motives of  the  
publication atone for all its defects6  
,this little work is made public1 not   
from a vain expectation1 or desire1  in 
the ,writer to obtain any degree of     
literary distinction2 for1 if his       
wishes and endeavours are successful1   
the world will not know from what  hand 
it proceeds4    ,thou most revered      
object of my regard1 who art looking    
down1 perhaps1  with compassion on the  
petty labours of various mortals1 now   
trying to  commemorate thy merit1 thou  
seest that ,i am influenced by no       
arrogant  conceit of having praised with
 peculiar felicity the perfections that 
,i  so ardently admire4 ,no6 ,i am      
perfectly sensible1 that the most worthy
  memorial of thy virtues will be found 
in those pure records of thy  public    
services which thy own hand has given to
 the world with all the  amiable and    
affecting simplicity that distinguished 
thy character1 and  in the more         

comprehensive composition of some       
accomplished ,biographer1  who may have 
opportunities and ability to do justice 
to thy life4    ,the chief aim of these 
few and hasty pages is to recall1 at    
this  particular time1 to the liberal   
spirits of our countrymen that generous 
ardour with which they embraced the     
first idea of a public monument to      
,,howard4 ,while the expence and dignity
 of that monument are yet  unsettled1 a 
,writer may consider himself as a friend
 to national honour1  who endeavours to 
animate his country to the most         
extensive display of  her munificence1  
and her gratitude towards the purest    
public virtue4 ,may  she justly         
remember1 that1 to testify a fond       
maternal pride in such a  departed son1 
to manifest and perpetuate esteem for   
such a character1  is1 in truth1 to     
promote the interest of genuine         
,patriotism1 of sublime  ,morality1 and 
of perfect ,religion6      ,,finis4