oi 
of its coating, and count its stones, before his Parent removes him 
to some other destination. 
And now, Gentlemen, I approach the close of my task, and of the 
office which has imposed it upon me; an office which has been to 
me a source of unmingled gratification. The good opinion implied 
by your selection of me, the good opinion of such a body of men, 
was an occasion of sincere and earnest self-congratulation,—a self- 
congratulation hardly damped by my consciousness of an imperfect 
acquaintance with your science ;—since I trusted that you, though 
not unaware of my defects, had judged that good will, and a dispo- 
sition to look at the subject in its largest aspect, might in some 
measure compensate for them. And if I needed other grounds of 
satisfaction in the employment which I am thus bringing to its close, 
I might find them in the reflections I have just been led to make in 
the progress and prospects of the science with which you are con- 
cerned. For it has ever been one of my most cherished occupations, 
and will, I trust, long be so, to trace the principles and laws by which 
the progress of human knowledge is regulated from age to age in 
each of its provinces. To have had brought familiarly under my 
notice, in a living form, the daily advance of a science so large and 
varied as yours, has been, as it could not but be, a permanent 
and most instructive lesson ;—perpetually correcting lurking mis- 
takes, and suggesting new thoughts. And if, while I have looked 
at your science in this spirit, you have thought me worthy to be 
called to preside over your body for two years; and if, during that 
time, you have not repented of your choice, as I have not found 
my views inapplicable to the subjects which have come before you; 
I may, I would believe, find in this some ground for confiding in 
the trains of thought which have thus led me to such a position; 
and may hope that, however arduous be the task of framing a philo- 
sophy of science suitable to its present condition, and of using such 
a philosophy as a means of furthering knowledge in general, still, 
that in this task, to which our age is so manifestly called, [ too 
may be a helper. 
I trust that you will excuse these few words uttered with reference 
to my own peculiar pursuits, since these include yours also, and are 
my only claim to your indulgence. And now, Gentlemen, that I 
may trespass upon that indulgence no longer, I once more thank 
VOL. III. I 
