864 PROPOSED APPLICATIONS OF SMITHSON'S BEQUEST. 



Greek, one of philology, criticism, logic, and metaphysics. 

 As an university should embrace the whole round of human 

 science, Congress should come to the aid of the legacy ; you 

 should have a faculty of medicine and law. The faculty of 

 mdicine should embrace, besides surgery, anatomy, botany, 

 practice of medicine, one of physiology and pathology ; the 

 homeopathic materia medica and practice of medicines, besides 

 the old allopathic system, for which, I assure you, sir, as an 

 individual, I have the most sovereign contempt. The old 

 system of therapeutics, I suppose, must be taught for fash- 

 ion's sake, but its hour has tolled. These, sir, are a few of 

 the ideas that have occurred to me relative to the formation 

 of an university. 



I am desirous of seeing my country advance, and we 

 never shall advance unless we found our institutions upon 

 other models than those which such wretched seminaries as 



college and others of the like kind present through our 



country. Let us have an institution where men can be in- 

 structed, and not a grammar school, where even the rudi- 

 ments of learning are badly imbibed. 



I have the honor to remain, dear sir, your friend and fel- 

 low citizen, HORATIO HUBBELL. 



To Hon. MARTIN VAN BUREN, 



President of the United States. 



From The Southern Literary Messenger, Richmond,Va., 1838, 

 Vol. 7, p. 828. 



The time is rapidly approaching when the Congress of 

 the United States will be compelled, by considerations too 

 strong to be resisted, to give effect to the munificent bequest 

 of Mr. Smithson, by the establishment of an institute at 

 the seat of the National Government, for the " diffusion of 

 knowledge among men." In view of this important move- 

 ment, and feeling a deep interest in the .successful accom- 

 plishment of a scheme which promises so much benefit to 

 succeeding generations, we have taken the liberty to address 

 various inquiries to an accomplished friend, in relation to 

 Mr. Smithson himself, as well as the proposed institution at 

 Washington. The answer to the first part of our inquiries, 

 relating to the character and philosophical opinions of the 

 testator, we have now the pleasure of spreading before our 

 readers, and we hope, in the January number of the Mes- 

 senger, to furnish our correspondent's views, in detail, of 

 the best system of instruction which can be devised in ful- 



