Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1812-03-12

Il
Unterrihed, prepares to see his Gopi
And, ere the vital spark is quencL'd, tia
soul
Is rapt to Heaven!
His remains, attended by : nuneron, and re-
lsPectable assembly, of the Visitors, Professors,
and Students of the College, the Mayorand Cor
poration, ana inhabitants of the CITY of Will
lamsburg, the Town of York, and the neighbor-
hood, were deposited in Vault, in the Chapel
OF the College, on the following Monday.
|
COMMUNICATED FOR TIE ARGUS.
DIED--In Williamsburg ON the 9th of March,
| The Rev'd. JAMES MADISON, Bishop of Vir-
| ginia and President of Vim. & Mary College
| In contemplating the end ofthis truly good and
wise man, IT is impossible for the most obdu-
rate and rebel,ious heart to withhold it's hom-
age from the lovelnfss of virtue and the dig
nifty of philosophy. There is, indced,a sort of
moral sublimity in the dissolution of every I,u-
man being which awes and commands the Wild
cat and most eccentric imagination; but IN the
history of Mr.. NIadison's decay there are pecu-
liar traits of grandeur, which are calculated to-
redoube the usu:l impressions of piety and rev.
erence.--NQtwitkstan The constant debility
and the frequent agouiee irseparable from his
disease, he continued the regular discharge OF
his acaicmical duties till few days before his
death. The patience and composure, SO essen
tlal in the commerce of an instructor with his
pupil, never forsook him, and the inquictu1cs
which corporal infirraity almost i1variablY pro-
duces, was never observed to cast shade or,
his countenance,or to iniuse asperity into his
voice--nor was the equani1nity of his private
meditations disturbed By the rapid progress of
ms decline and the near prospect of eternity
In conscious virtue bold" he looked on his
approaching fate with the ih,repidity of true re-
ligion, and finally resigned his soul into the
hands of him who gave it, with confidence and
security which can be bestowed only by the
luxury OF reviewing an honorable and we'll
spent life.
The virtues and talents, the activity and use-
fulness oil Mr.. Madison too well known and
appreciated to require exhibition of them IN
| the magnificent drapery Of posthumous ranegy-
ric bare outline of his predominant and
distinguishing merits is all that a regard for
his fame demands the minuter, but not less es~
| timable lineaments ofhis portrait will be sup
| piled by the affectionate recollection Of his
| friends.----1n all the complicated relations
| OF domestic and civil life, Mr.. Madison was go-
verned by the purest sentiments Of morality and
| the holiest principles of religion. Ardent in
affection and steady in friendship, is great care
| was to promote the lasting happiness of all who
| were connected with him and candid and
communicative ut the same time; he never
| suppressed his opinions or withheld his advice
when either of them could possibly tend 10
| check indiscration and prevent error Pond of
society and gay in conversation, yet OCCASION
ally grave and majestic, il was difficult decide
whether he was most beloved or revered by
| those who had witnessed and felt this singular,
mixture of his temper-Although he loved
company, he loved still more the pleasures cf q
retired and contemplative life, and dedicated
\ his choicest hours to the pursuit of science,
| which lie explored with success proportional
| to his extraordinary diligence. Led by the de-
votonai bias of his mind to the cultivation os
| those studies which most conspicuously display
IA
ed proficiency in the several divisions of ma
| turai science which raised him 20 a level with
| the first philosophers of our country, and gain
| ed him an cnviable portion of celebrity smonsr
| the enlightened of Europe. His researchEsin-
| TO the various departments ofmoral science were
| rewarded with acquisitions equally valuable &
| extensive. The knowledge, thus accumulated
ythe incessant labours Of long iEe did not re-
main in his hands an idle stock, but was activelS
employed in the improvement of youth and the
| service of the public.
He performed the arduous duties of an in
| structor in the College over which he presided,
| for period of nearly forty years, and the mag
nitude of his abilities, together with the zeal of
| their application, caused him 10 be regarded al
| the chief pillar Gifts pity. The support
which he lent to this ancient seminary ofieara-
ng is row at an end, and there is cause of seri-
| rious apprehension that the fabric itself will
| fall victim TO premature diapidation Nav
/ .
| tastrophe by furnishing successor who shall
possess all those attributes of the heart and ul-
| Outstanding which conspired with his years, to
render Mr.. NJ. one amongst the most venerable
! of men!
Died, on the 9th of january last, at tha
Balize, on his return to New-OrIeans from
a visit to the Island of Cuba, whittier he had
| been for,the benefit of his health, Lieutenant
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN READ, Of the
United States Navy. native Of this State.
Lieut.. Read, though he died voting, had seen
much service. both before and since his cap
tivity in TrIpoli. He has left widow and
child in New-Orleans, and an only sisters in
this city, to lament the loss Of a truly afFec-.
tionate husband, father and brother.--A gem
tlcman at Ne1y-Orleans in annnlnci,o. th;s.