the domestic hearth, around the counsels of our private meetings; if, seeing the charm which "secrecy" imparts, we think proper to avail ourselves of its agency-to enlist in our behalf its magic influences? We aim at no exclusiveness; we propose no test of faith or doctrine, political or religious. All who are worthy and willing may enter our mystic circle; all who can bring with them the credentials of a good name and an unblemished character, are invited to participate in that singular communion of feeling and interest which it is our happiness to cherish. For one other purpose only is "secrecy" employed by us;-I mean for the purpose of mutual recognition. In this regard it is essential to our existence as a society. Our Order transcends the limits of State and National boundaries. It professes to recognize, to welcome and to relieve every brother, of whatever tongue or clime, who brings with him the accredited proof of membership. That proof consists in the possession of certain words, signs and tokens, which form a universal language among its members, and which, to give them efficacy, must be strictly confined to the initiated. How else, than by some such test, could we distinguish the true brother from the counterfeit? how else guard our Lodges from the intrusion of unsympathizing strangers, and protect from the cupidity of imposters the fund which has been raised by our mutual resources, and which is dedicated to our mutual relief? It may detract something from the charm of Odd-Fellowship with the lovers of the marvellous, but it is due to candor and our own self-respect, to declare, that our 'secrecy" hath this extent and no more. It involves no danger, and invades no common right; it is the cohesive principle of our union-our legitimate and necessary means of self-preservation. The true tests of the value of an institution, are the excellence of its ends, and the fidelity and success with which the proper means are applied to the attainment of those ends. By these, Odd-Fellowship may safely submit to be tried. Its efficiency for the benevolent purposes of its institution, has been severely tested and triumphantly sustained. In that land from which we derive its present organization, its good effects have been admirably displayed in rescuing the poor and laboring classes, in times of public distress, from the fearful alternative of starvation on the one hand, and the humiliation of parish relief on the other. By way of illustration, it may be stated as a fact, which is authentically vouched, that in the single City of Leeds, out of 20,000 applications for relief to the Poor Law Guardians, not one was from an Odd-Fellow. Nations, like individuals, have their days of calamity: and should these, in the mysterious orderings of Providence, ever bring their desolations upon our beloved country, an institution such as this would prove an asylum and a home, where thousands might take refuge from the ruins of disaster and want. Brothers! I have thought I could not better discharge the duty your kindness has assigned me on this occasion, than by grouping and presenting in their proper relief, some of those distinguishing traits of our Order which so eminently qualify it for the great purposes of its institution. In so doing, I have had respect to others rather than to you. No words of mine are necessary to quicken your enthusiasm in its behalf; but I would have all to understand what we so well know, that Odd-Fellowship is not a mere collection of forms and ceremonies designed to catch the eye and amuse the fancy; but a system of practical benevolence, founded in the best impulses of our nature, and admirably adapted to the wants of humanity. Brothers! the spirit of Odd-Fellowship is the spirit of truth and of brotherly kindness;-let it ever find an echo in our hearts and an illustration in our lives. Let us be always mindful of the sacred obligations we have taken, to prove faithful to each other in the time of need. Above all, let us strive to dwell together with all mankind in the bonds of that Charity which is the crowning glory of the virtues, and which, we are assured, shall outlive the consummation of all earthly things. For "when that which is perfect is come," when FAITH and HOPE "shall die, One lost in certainty and one in joy; Triumphant sister, greatest of the three, Her nature and her office still the same, Shall stand before the host of heaven confessed, WHAT IS RELIGION? BY MISS E. C. HURLEY, OF NEW YORK. OR! 'tis for man to feel that time Is but a ladder given, As vehicle like spider's web, By which to climb to Heaven. Hung between earth and sky, Meets not the natural eye. "Tis glimpsed at, with the reason's dawn, Seen dimly, but 'tis there And haunts the mind, as it expands We trace it every where. 'Tis something which we long to grasp, And never feel at rest, Till we have firmly fixed our hold, And clasped it to the breast. Then we behold its origin, To which it naturally clings, Hopes built upon eternity, And lofty as the throne where God, 'Tis light the grave ne'er darkens, Giving the soul the light of life, This, this is true religion, The chain which links to Heaven, 'Tis not to live if but for time, And second view denies. 'Tis here and gone forever- Not so a Saviour's love, Which hovers o'er us but to bless, Its strength in death to prove. Oh! who would give this staff of life Eer from our feet shall fall, The ladder made of fleeting time, New York. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF LINNEUS. CHARLES LINNEUS was the son of a village pastor, and was born in Rashult, in the province of Smeland, in Sweden, in the year 1707. To great originality of genius, were joined an enthusiastic disposition, and a perseverance of character, which enabled him to make his way through poverty and obscurity to a distinguished pre-eminence as a man of science and learning. An ardent love for the study of nature, especially for botanical knowledge, early took possession of him. While yet a boy he seems to have been fonder of rambling about the fields, and pursuing the great book of nature than the folios of the schools; for so little satisfaction does he seem to have given his first teachers, that his father, dissatisfied with his progress, contemplated binding him to a trade. The intervention of friends and his own earnest entreaties, however, at last persuaded his parent to permit him to study the profession of medicine. At the university we find him rising in distinction, even in the midst of extreme poverty-in want of books-in want of clothes-in want of bread to eat -and even patching up old shoes with the bark of trees, to enable him to wander into the fields in prosecution of his favorite study of botany. While yet a mere youth, he was pitched upon by the Academy of Science of Upsal, to explore the dreary regions of Lapland, and to ascertain what natural productions they contained; and we find him embracing with ardor this laborious and solitary undertaking, with a pittance barely sufficient to defray the expenses of his journey. After his return from this scientific expedition, he commenced a course of public lectures on botany and mineralogy in the University of Upsal; he was full of the subject, and the novelty and originality of his discourses soon drew around. him a crowded audience; but envy, which is too often the malignant concomitant of rising talent, soon blasted his fair prosperity. It was discovered, that, by a law of the University, no person was entitled to give lectures, unless he had previously taken a degree. Linnæus unfortunately had obtained no academical honors, and Dr. Rosen, the Professor of Medicine accused him before the Senate, and insisted that the statutes should be put in force. What must have been the feelings of the youthful, ardent and aspiring botanist at this harsh and oppressive measure! scious of superior talents, full of hopes, and flushed with a success of his Conefforts, he was by this ungenerous proceeding excited to madness; and goaded on to the extremity of desperation, he drew his sword upon Rosen, at the door of the senate house, and attempted to stab him; powerful friends interfered in his behalf, or expulsion would have been the consequence. For some time his resentment was strong, and he persisted in his determination; but at last his passion cooled; he listened to milder suggestions, gave up his hopes of present distinction, and with them all his resentful feelings-admirable triumph of a great and noble mind! for little did he then think, that in a few years afterwards he should occupy and fill with distinguished honor the same chair which his antagonist Rosen then possessed. Disappointed of his prospects at the University of Upsal, he along with some of his pupils, made a mineralogical and botanical excursion to the province of Dalecarlia. At Fahlun, the capital of this province, he became acquainted with Dr. Moræus, the chief physician. The doctor was a kind and learned man, and had plants and flowers which excited the admiration of the young botanist; but he had a fairer flower than any which Linnæus had ever yet beheld in garden or meadow. In short for the eldest daughter of Dr. Moræus, our botanist conceived an ardent affection; his admiration was met by the young lady with a grateful attachment; and in accordance with the ardor and enthusiasm of his disposition, Linnæus solicited of the father the young lady's hand in marriage. The good doctor had conceived a liking for the young, learned and eloquent stranger; he loved him and his pursuits, and his ingenuous bearing: but he tenderly loved his daughter also, and more cool and considerate than the young and fond lovers, foresaw that a poor, man, without any profession or employment, was not likely to improve friendless young his own or his daughter's happiness by such a rash step. He therefore persuaded him to delay the match for three years; that his daughter should remain unmarried in the meantime: and if at the end of that period he (by the study of Medicine, which he strongly recommended) was in a condition to marry, his sanction to the nuptials should be readily given. Nothing could be more reasonable than this proposal. Linnæus summoned his philosophy to his aid. Love lent him new energies to encounter difficulties. It was resolved that he should forthwith depart for Leyden in order to obtain a degree. Before his departure, Miss Moræus brought forth her pocket money, amounting to a purse of one hundred dollars, and laid it at his feet as a love offering and unequivocal proof of her attachment. He pressed her fair hand, kissed her fervently, and, with a heart glowing with the most unbounded admiration of her generosity he bade her farewell. Many a poetical lover would have gone forth dreaming in reverie, writing sonnets alternately to his mistress and the moon, and ever and anon bewailing his hard fate at the awful and interminable separation. Not so our philosopher: he went forth cheered and stimulated with the thought that there was one who loved him and his pursuits, and to merit whose love he was resolved to strain every nerve in the path of learning and distinction. At Leyden he prosecuted his studies with his wonted assiduity; attracted the notice of Dr. Boerhaave, and other celebrated men of science; was appointed family physician to the burgomaster of Amsterdam; produced during the two years he held this situation, many of his most elaborate works; and visited England and other countries in quest of knowledge. Indeed, the extent of his labors, and his indefatigable industry during this period, is almost incredible. There was almost no department of natural science, which he did not investigate, and bring within the compass of his methodical arrangements; but botany was his chief and favorite study, and in this department he raised himself a reputation which can only perish with the science itself. But amid these pursuits, more than the three years of his probationary exile had expired; and had he forgotten the fair flower of Fahlun, that he left so long ago lonely amid the garden of the physician of Dalecarlia ?— There were not wanting those who suggested such vile suspicions of the fond maiden. He had far exceeded the period of his stipulated absence; he had wandered far and wide, and seen many new faces, and formed many fresh acquaintances; his growing reputation had absorbed all his other feelings; and the praise and notice of the learned and the great had sophisticated his heart. One day secret intelligence was brought to Linnæus that such insinuations were insidiously spreading against him, and this too by one whose treachery had stung him to the heart. He had usually corresponded with his intended bride through the medium of a friend for whom he had procured a professor's chair. This treacherous professor conceived a passion for Miss Moræus, and in order to supplant Linnæus in her affection, basely took the opportunity of his protracted absence to insinuate these suspicions into the ear of Dr. Moræus and his fair daughter. Linnæus was so overpowered by the tidings of this heartless treachery and ingratitude, that he was seized with a deep melancholy, which terminated in a paroxysm of fever. On his recovering, he left Holland without delay, and hastened to the presence of his mistress.Though others might have doubted of his constancy, and despaired of his |