I have duly recd. your letter of the 20th.1 communicating the proceedings of a meeting of the Alumni Association of Nassau-Hall, and the unanimous appointment for its President.

I hope it will not be doubted that I feel all the value of such a mark of respect from a source so respectable. Nor can I be insensible to the distinguished names with which mine is officially united. It is with much regret therefore that I find it my duty to say that my advanced age, and the uncertainty experienced in my health, with the great distance of my abode, do not permit me to take the part in the Institution for which I have been kindly designated. In declining it, I have particular pleasure in noticing the ample opportunity before the Association of filling the vacant place with every qualification advantageous to the discharge of its alloted services.

It only remains for me to offer the respectful acknowledgment which I owe to the Association, and to express my best wishes for the prosperity of the College, of which I am one of the most grateful Alumni, and for the success of every measure that may add lustre to its reputation, and enlarge the scope of its usefulness. Be pleased to accept for yourself Sir, assurances of my esteem and my friendly salutations