WILLIAM MACLURE. I I 



Such was William Mac lure, whoso long, active 

 and useful life is the subject of this brief ami inade- 

 quate memorial. His remains arc entombed in a 



distant land, and even there the spirit of affection is 

 raising a tablet to his memory. But his great el- 

 and more enduring monument, is the edifice within 

 whose walls we are now met to recount and perpe- 

 tuate his virtues. Wherever we turn our eyes we 

 behold the proofs of his talent, his zeal, his munifi- 

 cence. We see an Institution which, under his fos- 

 tering care, has already attained the manhood of 

 Science, and is destined to connect his name with 

 those beautiful truths which formed the engrossing 

 subject of his thoughts. We see around us the col- 

 lections that were made with his own hands, vastly 

 augmented, it is true, by the zeal of those who have 

 been stimulated by his example. Here are the books 

 which he read — to him the fountains of pleasure and 

 instruction. Here has he concentrated the work^ of 

 Xature. the sources of knowledge, the incentives to 

 study: and, actuated by his liberal spirit, we open 

 our doors to all inquiring minds, and invite them to 

 participate, with us, in these invaluable acquisitions; 

 and while we regard them as a trust to be transmit- 

 ted unblemished to posterity, let us honour the name 

 and cherish the memory of the man from whom we 

 derived them. 

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