PREFACE, 



BY A FRIEND. 



Mr. Grant Thorburn, the subject of the following ad- 

 dress, though very limited in his education and acquire- 

 ments, possesses a great share of cunning and worldly 

 wisdom. He and Mr. Carver came from England to 

 country in the same year, 1794, and as their political 

 sentiments were congenial, a close intimacy and friend- 

 ship was formed ; but in the end, their characters proved 

 to be adverse in the extreme. 



Carver was frank, open and candid, and express3d his 

 opinions, at all times, without the least reserve ; perhaps 

 with too much freedom. Thorburn, on the contrary, 

 fell in with the ruling prejudices of the day; and per- 

 ceiving the estimation in which religion was held in this 

 country, he became of a sudden extravagantly devout. 

 It is said by foreigners, that religion is of vastly greater 

 value to its possessers in America than in Europe. Here 

 this little man discovered his cunning and address : he 

 joined the Scotch church in Cedar street, which is 

 supposed to possess more of the pure genuine Calvinistic 

 doctrine than any other church in the city. Here his 

 fervent zeal was soon noticed, and he was promoted to 

 the office of plate bearer, which is considered next in dig- 

 nity to that of deacon. He at the same time sent one of 

 his sons to the Dutch Reformed Church, who actually 

 became a deacon of that old and respectable establish- 

 ment. By the way, the reformation of this church is 

 from Lutheranism to Calvinism, which is esteemed by 

 some as a sinking deeper into the mire of superstition* 



M342O11 



