Excerpt from Address Delivered to the Members of the Colchester Literary Institution, March 20, 1849 I prefer addressing you on such an occasion in the form which I have adopted to perhaps the more usual method of an unpremeditated discourse. But for the fear that by adducing great names I might furnish ground for unfavorable comparisons, I could easily find precedents in similar inaugurations for preferring a written to a spoken address. Yet what has weighed even more with me than precedent is the consideration that I shall thus, at least, prove the remarks I may deem fitting to make to-night to be the fruit of mature reflection, and that I am not discharging the office eu trusted to me in a slight or perfunctory manner. I regard myself indeed, for the time, as the organ of your Committee, explaining their views, communicat ing their arrangements, and promulgating their sentiments. This address is their manifesto in all respects - except its imperfections. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.