^1 



cent indulgence, and of the interchange of the kind 

 offices of mutual good will, and not only tend to excite 

 and elevate that taste for the beauties of creation, 

 which almost of necessity leads to communion with 

 its All-Glorious Author, but may be consecrated also 

 to the holy purpose of randering more interesting and 

 cittractive our final resting-place. 



The improvement and embellishment of grounds 

 devoted to public uses, is deserving of especial consi- 

 deration, and i-hould interest the ingenious, the libe- 

 ral and tasteful in devising ' ways and means ' for the 

 accomplishment of so desirable an object ; and i 

 deem this a suitable occasion to direct the attention 

 of our citizens to a subject I have long wished to 

 see presented to tlieir consideration, with an elo- 

 quence that could not fail to awaken, and with argu- 

 ments that will not fail to insure the influence of all 

 in its execution. 



I refer to the establishment of a public cemetery, 

 similar in its designs to that of Pere La Chaise in the 

 environs of Paris, to be located in the suburbs of this 

 metropolis. A suitable regard for the memory of the 

 dead is not inconsistent with tlie precepts of religion 

 or of our duty to the living. The place of graves 

 affords to the serious and the contemplative, instruc- 

 tion and admonition. It teaches us ' what shadows 

 we are, and what shadows we pursue.' It is there 

 that the heart is chastened, and the soul is subdued, 

 and the affections purified and exalted. It is there 

 that ambition surveys the boundaries of its powers, 

 of its hopes, and its aspirations. And it is there that 



