appears sunny and exhilarating. At no former period of 

 the world have the aids of science been so effectually brought 

 to bear upon the comforts and uses of every-day life. It is 

 true that in works of genius, of fancy, and of art, we 

 may not have surpassed the Ancients. Among modern 

 productions, it may be difficult to find orations equalling 

 those of Cicero and Demosthenes — Poems comparable to 

 the Iliad of Homer, or to the Odes of Pindar and Horace; 

 and it may be that no modern Sculpture can advantageously 

 stand alongside of the Laocoon, or the Venus de'Medici. 

 But the solid comforts which render life enjoyable, the con- 

 trivances and discoveries which elevate our race have 

 increased so rapidly, in our own memory, that we feel, as it 

 were, conscious of our yearly advance in the scale of God's 

 creation, and of an increasing approximation to angelic 

 nature. This increase, I say, has been proceeding with an 

 accelerated progress during our own times. The sciences 

 of Government, of international law, and of political 

 economy have greatly extended their field of view, and have 

 now tested, by the experience of modern events, the truth 

 or fallacy of ancient theories. The result has been, that 

 life and property are become far more secure, domestic 

 enjoyment has been much promoted, public liberty greatly 

 confirmed, and population has advanced in a most unpre- 

 cedented ratio. The invention of much ingenious machinery 

 has amazingly abridged the toil of the manufacturer, and 

 new chemical processes have rendered his fabrics far more 

 beautiful and useful than heretofore. To expatiate in the 

 boundless field of modern discovery would indeed be a 

 delightful occupation, but one which would seduce us far 

 beyond the limits prescribed to this Address. Let us then 

 confine our attention to a leading branch of modern improve- 

 ment, namely, that which has taken place in conveyance 

 by land and sea. 



" If change of ;m be generally esteemed beneficial in a 



