In rising to address you I cannot but feel that I am occupying the place of one who was illustrious not only by the accomplishment of his great work, the “History of Greece,” but by his extensive learning, his love of liberty, and his reverence for ancient institutions, combined with readiness to embrace truth from whatever quarter it might come. These qualities won him the attachment of the society in which he lived, and the admiration and respect of the nation to which he belonged.