"Law of Libel in South Carolina?

“Mind ever inactive?”

"Must the unities of time, place and action be preser

ved?"

"One or succession of ages better?”

"Moral sense innate?"

"Capital punishment nccessary?”

"Use of ancient classics-their study justifiable?”
"Luxury-good or ill in results?"

"Writings of Atheism injurious to Christianity?"
"Language of Divine or human institution?"
"Slavery-consistent with natural justice?"

"Is Poetry, in its aggregate effects, beneficial to society?" "Of most influence, reason or habit?"

"Theatricals beneficial?"

"Relative intellects-male and female?"

"Should females be denied the pursuit of science?"

"Are the capacities of men originally equal?"

"Ambition productive of pleasure or pain, good or evil?” "Public or private education preferable?"

"Coriolanus, justifiable in bringing its enemies into his country???`

"Horse stealing, be punished capitally?

"Has the life of Buonaparte been of benefit to the world?” "Is bravery uatural or acquired?

"Were the discoverers of the New World justifiable in appropriating the possessions of the natives?"

"Has a Government the right of forbidding emigration?” "What influence climate upon national character?"

"Crusades beneficial?"

"Which preferable, talent or industry?”

"Cato justifiable in his suicide?"

These are some of the questions taken up for discussion in

these societies. The majority of inarkind, would, perhaps satisfactorily, solve many of them at a glance. But there are none of them which might not furnish occasion for acute and close speculation and extensive research; as doubtless, on these occasions, they commonly did. A few of them are illogically and unsatisfactorily put-the first, for instance, which, for its answer, necessarily looks to the existing law, itself, on the subject. Many of them, have been long known as points of issue among Schoolmen and Government Doctors; and, all of them call for a high degree of methodical and mental exercise, to be treated with even the most insig. nificant degree of success. The notes of our author taken evidently with the view to their analysis, indicate comprehensive research, a reading singularly wide and various, a talent at arrangement surprising in one so very young, and a faculty of illustration, the necessary result of his large acquaintance with books, coupled with a memory that did not seem to hesitate often. His style too, at this period, when he was but thirteen or fourteen years of age, was distinguished by its manliness and character. It was free and graceful-lofty without grandiloquence, and flowing without flippancy. Many specimens of his composition at this time will be found in the body of the volume-particularly among the verses,-and are remarkable for their ease and purity. They certainly equal, if they do not surpass, the like performances of Cowley and Pope at the same time of life, and lead us to infer a corresponding excellence with these illustrious writers, had he been spared for the endeavor."

That he took a leading part among his associates at this period, we have the testimony of themselves. A letter from

*The following versus, trade, imperfect, and the images of which may be traced elsewhere, may be taken in proof of our assertion. They bear evi

an intimate associate of Mr. Richardson, received in reply to an application, made with this object, is strong in this respect, and, as it comes from a gentleman, himself of considerable promise, we shall make free selections from its contents. "No one," says he, "at this period knew our friend better than myself. Our intimacy begun with childhood, and my

dence of extreme juvenility, and are coupled with notes which would refer their composition to his twelfth or thirteenth year. They are described in the manuscript from which they are taken, as his first effort in verse.

A FRAGMENT.

I love to roam at morning light

When day has chased away dull night;

I love to roam when night afar

Hlas filed within her ebon car;

At dawn, to see Spring's earliest flower
Revived by cheerful vernal showers;
To roam along the silent walk,
Where I, my fancy, may not balk,
O'ershadowed by the forest trees,
And fanned by Zephyr's cooling breeze-
The brilliant foliaged birds to see
And listen to their minstrelsy;
To sit and hear the waving grove
Re-echo to the voice of love;
To hear the truant blackbird's lay,
While skipping fast from spray to spray;
To hear the silver speckl'd thrush
Tuning his throat from bush to bush;
To view the new-born day appear
And brighten nature with his glare;—
All these I love, but more I love,
At midnight's silent hour to rove,
To watch the twinkling stars, to see
The queen of heaven, in majesty;
To lie the moistened grass along,
And hear the owl's foreboding song;
To some old, mos-clad tower to his
While the grey bat goes Alitting by

admiration of his virtues and talents grew up from that period until his death. While at school, he was highly esteem ed as a promising youth. Indeed his singular capacity, as is too often the case at such institutions, made him somewhat unpopular with his fellows. The precocity of his mind was such, and his colloquial powers 30 various and rich for one of his age, that he always placed himself foremost in their school-hoy efforts. This gained him the appellation of "the Pedant"-but no one knew how to parry such sneers with greater dexterity. At school, the best boxer, you know, has from time immemorial, been considered the best man. It was otherwise with him. He had a vein of pungent humor which to him was sword and shield. No one knew how to exercise this property better-and no one at school ever wielded it with more absolute sway. I have fallen into an apparently trivia! recital, because I believe upon this part of his early character depended much of his literary success afterwards. I am sure his first inducement to the writing of

poetry, arose out of the applause of the students, bestowed upon a little doggrel satire, which we unmercifully dealt out upon the head of one of our classmates. It was for some indignity received, that Maynard pointed the pen at his victim, and in the course of one night's hard work, we conjointly managed to produce a sort of heroic satire, representing our opponent as the famous Trojan hero-ourselves as Agamenon and Achilles. The verses, I confess, were bad enoughnot to speak of the bad taste of placing ourselves so modestly in the shoes of two such doughty heroes. Be this as it may-the praise they received at school was to him, not less than myself "a poetic glass of wine," and it exhilarated him to such a degree that he cut many a pleasant caper with the muses in times thereafter. The compass of this letter adinonishes me to pass over the earlier portions of his life, and say something of that period when his mind began to develope its powers, and take a more orderly stand.

"He was about fifteen years of age, when we both joined a Debating Society of the city. Although one of the youngest members-he was remarkable for taking a successful part in sonic of the gravest debates. He chiefly delighted to engage in subjects of morals and metaphysics-and I am astonished even at this period when I reflect how correctly and variously be used to handle these topics. This he was in great measure enabled to do from his proficiency in the ancient classics.Most of their philosophers he had read, and his principal delight was in introducing them to the acquaintance of his several friends. I think it was his constant perusal of such authors which gave such a terseness to his conversation and writings. In the society he was far from being a popular

*The want of this very terseness, with all deference to the opinion of our friend, is the chief fault of our author's style, which, as he has said immediately below, was quite too essayical.