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thropy, and conspire to establish his fame. He spoke from his 

 inmost heart, when he reminded his brethren of the Oriental So- 

 ciety, in the elegant address just now referred to, that " to be ben- 

 eficial to our fellow-men " is " the great end of all our intellectual 

 labors." He spoke, too, from his own deep experience, when he 

 declared, that " steady, unremitting labor on subjects of the intel- 

 lect, like untiring labor of the body upon physical objects, will 

 overcome all obstacles." We see his own high aims in the 

 " incentives " which, at the close of the same address, he so elo- 

 quently urged upon his literary associates, — " the love of learning 

 for its own sake, — the reputation of our beloved country, to whom 

 we owe so much, and whom we are all ambitious of elevating to 

 the same height to which other nations have attained by the cul- 

 tivation of learning." Such was the lofty character of his litera- 

 ture throughout his long career of laborious study. 



Mr. Pickering enjoyed excellent health till some time in the sum- 

 mer of 1846, when he experienced the first symptoms of a fatal 

 disease. Under the severe pressure of increasing illness, he pur- 

 sued his studies, and attended to his various active duties, while 

 he had any bodily strength. His mind continued clear and firm, 

 and he manifested, during all his protracted illness, that patience, 

 gentleness, and Christian resignation, which perfected the example 

 of his life. He died on the fifth day of May, 1846, leaving a 

 widow, an only daughter, and two sons, to mourn their irreparable 

 loss.* 



All of you, Gentlemen, had the happiness to know Mr. Pick- 

 ering in his social as well as literary character, and need not that 

 I should speak to you of his kind and courteous manners, his 



* Mrs. Pickering soon followed her lamented husband. She died on the 14th 

 of December, 1846. 



