thereforeabandonedbythepubliccare，asthatpartofthecountryitselfisinaconsiderabledegreebyit’sinhabitants。Wewishtoestablishintheupper&healthiercountry，&morecentrallyforthestate，anUniversityonaplansobroad&liberal&_modern_，astobeworthpatronizingwiththepublicsupport，andbeatemptationtotheyouthofotherstatestocomeanddrinkofthecupofknowledge&
fraternizewithus。Thefirststepistoobtainagoodplan；thatis，ajudiciousselectionofthesciences，&apracticablegroupingofsomeofthemtogether，&ramifyingofothers，soastoadapttheprofessorshipstoouruses&ourmeans。Inaninstitutionmeantchieflyforuse，somebranchesofscience，formerlyesteemed，maybenowomitted；somayothersnowvaluedinEurope，butuselesstousforagestocome。Asanexampleoftheformer，theorientallearning，andofthelatter，almostthewholeoftheinstitutionproposedtoCongressbytheSecretaryofwar’sreportofthe5thinst。Nowthereisnoonetowhomthissubjectissofamiliarasyourself。Thereisnooneintheworldwho，equallywithyourself，unitesthisfullpossessionofthesubjectwithsuchaknowledgeofthestateofourexistence，asenablesyoutofitthegarmenttohimwhoisto_pay_forit&to_wear_it。Toyouthereforeweaddressoursolicitations，andtolessentoyouasmuchaspossibletheambiguitiesofourobject，Iwillventureeventosketchthescienceswhichseemuseful&practicableforus，astheyoccurtomewhileholdingmypen。Botany，Chemistry，Zoology，Anatomy，Surgery，Medicine，NatlPhilosophy，Agriculture，Mathematics，Astronomy，Geology，Geography，Politics，Commerce，History，Ethics，Law，Arts，Finearts。ThislistisimperfectbecauseImakeithastily，andbecauseIamunequaltothesubject。Itisevidentthatsomeofthesearticlesaretoomuchforoneprofessor&mustthereforeberamified；othersmaybeascribedingroupstoasingleprofessor。
Thisisthedifficultpartofthework，&requiresaheadperfectlyknowingtheextentofeachbranch，&thelimitswithinwhichitmaybecircumscribed，soastobringthewholewithinthepowersofthefewestprofessorspossible，&consequentlywithinthedegreeofexpencepracticableforus。Weshouldproposethattheprofessorsfollownoothercalling，sothattheirwholetimemaybegiventotheiracademicalfunctions；andweshouldproposetodrawfromEuropethefirstcharactersinscience，byconsiderabletemptations，whichwouldnotneedtoberepeatedafterthefirstsetshouldhavepreparedfitsuccessors&givenreputationtotheinstitution。FromsomesplendidcharactersIhavereceivedoffersmostperfectlyreasonable&practicable。
Idonotproposetogiveyouallthistroublemerelyofmyownhead，thatwouldbearrogance。IthasbeenthesubjectofconsultationamongtheablestandhighestcharactersofourState，whoonlywaitforaplantomakeajoint&Ihopesuccessfulefforttogetthethingcarriedintoeffect。Theywillreceiveyourideaswiththegreatestdeference&thankfulness。Weshallbeherecertainlyfortwomonthstocome；butshouldyounothaveleisuretothinkofitbeforeCongressadjourns，itwillcomesafelytomeafterwardsbypost，thenearestpostofficebeingMilton。
WillnotthearrivalofDuponttemptyoutomakeavisittothisquarter?Ihavenodoubtthealarmistsarealreadywhettingtheirshaftsforhimalso，buttheirglassisnearlyrunout，andthedayIbelieveisapproachingwhenweshallbeasfreetopursuewhatistruewisdomastheeffectsoftheirfollieswillpermit；forsomeofthemweshallbeforcedtowadethroughbecauseweareemergedinthem。