Show THE COURSE OF EMPIRE of M ln I q ankh boino account of UN author from alio boston A correspondent wishes to know which is the right word star or course coune to be used in tho tile famous line of bishop berkeley Berkele yin in the closing line of ili liis famous poem con course me is the proper word according to the rhode island historical society volume IV of tho the publications of that learned body which came out in 1838 it was edited by professor romeo E elton iton of brown university prof elton was ras of tho the highest reputation as a ma man n and a scholar and lie stood well as an author lie ile died as recently as 1870 in boston at the ago age of 80 years in the volume that he lie edited for the rhode island islan d historical society professor elton placed a number of biographical notices of eminent men connected with rhode islands early history among the persons thus mentioned is george berkeley bishop of cloyne of whom prof elton probably prepared the best general ical notice that is likely to b be e much read dean berkeley as he then wa arrived at newport on the of january 1729 having been five months in making the tile passage from liverpool sufficient time in these days to make the voyage r round und the world and repeat and then have a month ortho in which to rest the tile Ne new england weekly lf cealy journal under tinder date of january 24 94 u bli ish ed this paragraph raph yester say lay arrived here dean berkeley of londonderry in in a pretty large ship ho he is a gentleman of middle stature and of an agreeable pleasant and erect aspect he ile was ushered into town with a great number of gentlemen to whom lie behaved in a very complaisant manner said lie purposes to tarry here with his family about three months tho the dean n about bout three months after his arrival at it newport wrote thus to a it friend in dublin I can by this time sa say y something to you from my own civil experience of this place and people the inhabitants are of of a mixed kind consisting of many sects and subdivisions sub divisions of sects here arc are four sorts of anabaptists anaba besides presbyterians rians qua quakers independents and many of no profession at all notwithstanding so many differences here arc are fewer quarrels about religion than elsewhere the people living peaceably with their neighbors of whatsoever persuasion they will agree on one point that the church of england is the second best the climate is like that of italy and not colder io iv winter than I have known it everywhere north of rome the spring is ii late but to make amends they assure me the autumns are the finest and longest in the world and the ib summers miners are much pleasanter plea santer than those of italy by al all accounts forasmuch the grass continues green which it doth not there this island is pleasantly laid out jn in hills and vales and rising grounds hath bath plenty of excellent springs and fine rivulets and many delightful landscapes ca es of rocks and promontories an and adjacent lands the provisions are good so ore are the fruits which arc are quite neglected though vines sprout up of themselves vei to an extraordinary size and seem as natural to tb this is soil as to any I ever saw the town of newport conta contains i n about souls and it is the roost most thriving place in I all america for bigness it is very pretty and plem pleasantly antly situated I was never more agreeably surprised than at the first sight of the town and harbor ile purchased a countr country y scat seat ull and md farm airm about three miles from newport and there lie cree erected a house which lie named whitehall he was admitted a freeman of the colony at the general assembly in slay 1879 ho he resided adnew at newport about two years and a holt holf and often of ten preached at trinity church durin during his re residence id en cc on tho tile island island of ahoi rhode c island he lie meditated and composed his or minute philosopher and tradition sa I principally at a place about b half rf a mile southerly from whitehall there in the most elevated part of the hanging rocks so called he lie found a natural iia tural alcove roofed and open to the south commanding at once a beautiful view view of f the ocean and the jacen island tisland this place isaaic to have been his favorite ie retreat treat his d minute philosopher w contains many allusions to the scenery about his residence on rhode island the following verses says professor fm or elton elto we were re written by bishop berkeley during his residence in newport B elport OS ON THE PROSPECT Fer OP or PLANTING A ACTS Ts AND IS IN AMERICA the muse dis disgusted at an ago and clime cime barren of every glorious theme in distant lands now waita waits a b better etter time producing worthy fame in happy climes where from the tile genial fun un and virgin earth fresh scenes ensue the force of art by nature seems out done and fancied beauties by the true in happy climes the scat seat of innocence where nature guides and virtue rules where men shall shall not impose for truth and sense the pedantry of courts and se schools bools rw y v i there them shall ll 11 be BUDS sung another golden a e the arso of empire and of ol arts arts alio good and great inspiring epic baca sa 12 the M t heads and noblest hearts not such as ns europe breeds in her decay such as sho she bred when fresh and young when heavenly y clarno did animate the clay by future a ages cs shall bodung bo sung westward the course of empire taked its way tho the four first acts already passed A fifth shall close the draina drama ortho of tho day times noblest offspring ming ia is the last it will be seen that the first line of the sixth or lost last verso verse has tho tile course not star tho firs line of the halli verse iv was is borrowed by byron just as scott borrowed a line from freneau and campbell Cani a another nother berkeley came to this country on a missionary enterprise in in behalf of which ho he sacrificed an income said to have been worth 11 equal to net not less than of our present money it is hardly necessary cosay to say that the cn en o proved a total failure the colonists liko like their descendants or successors finding it cheaper and much more convenient to kill indians than convert them he ile returned to europe in 1732 or there a about and having made mad magnificent g i fi donations to yale college ol 01 cna e and a n d others to harvard college lie sent to trinity church newport a noble or organ a n still in it use he ile waa was made bishop abigill op j of cloyne efter his return to europe the popo assigned to him every virtue under heaven and anti not without some show of reason for he reached to the first rank asa as a philosopher I 11 ilo sopher and he be seems almost to have ave realized the ideal of the christian character would berkeley berkele have admired th this is nation had bad he lie dived lived to ece see the realization of his dream Doubt doubted ef though he lie might inight have held to his view that timea times work hero should be his lat |