Excerpt from Address Delivered Before the American Whig and Cliosophic Societies of the College of New Jersey: June 24th, 1849 You are, my young friends, about to take this impor tant step; about to end your academic career, and at once to enter, as men and citizens, upon the great drama of human life; and you may regard yourselves happy indeed, if you are sensible of the true and profound nature of the change which must and will immediately take place in all your habits, pursuits and feelings. Although the very general opinion, that boyhood and youth are almost the only seasons of happiness in this life, is erroneous, yet there are joys and pleasures of the most exquisite and refined nature, which are peculiar to those periods, and which we part with forever when we assume the 'more dignified Offices of manhood. You will hardly have left this peaceful abode before you will fully discover, that in addition to the other ties which binl you to your Alma Mater, you will be attached to it by the recollection, that many a departed hope and joy Of your youthful hours lies buried there; and as fond parents revisit the tomb Of their Offspring, and bathe the cold marble with their tears, so, my young friends, in after life, when disappointment has been experienced, when ambition has seduced you, when friends have proved false, and when even the sweet consolations Of hope are gone, your heart will turn back to your college life, to the play days of your early years, to the bright visions and romantic dreams when life was new and hope was high, to find a refuge for a stricken heart in the memory of bygone days and cherished companions. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.