[Saturday 7th.] I heard a sermon last Sabbath morning for the first time since leaving home. It was delivered by Prof. Green & set forth in glaring colours, the utter folly & great wickedness of profane swearing. It is a habit that I have resolved never to indulge, not only for the sufficient reason that it is sinful, but because it is useless, immoral & ungentlemanly. In the evening my class recited to the Gov. for a bible lesson, the first three chapters of Genesis. We found him well versed in scripture lore — indeed there are very few studies into which he has not examined. A man of more extensive & varied acquirements than Gov. Swain is seldom met with. He remarked, that even exclusive of its divine character, the bible is one of the most important books which we can study, both because it is the most perfect model of a pure, unadulterated style & for the reason that we divine from it all our knowledge of the early ages of the world. I read as far as the Psalms last session & intend finishing the old Testament, the present one.

On Tuesday I was taken up on Astronomy & made a pretty good recitation. Wednesday morning during study hours a large wagon-load of melons was driven into the Campus. The new Freshman generously stepped forward, bought the whole load & called on every man to help himself. The fellows forthwith mounted into the wagon & began to carry them to their rooms. Our passage brought away about a dozen of them. While we were yet eating & the passage was literally covered with rinds & fragments, Judge Owen paid us a visit. He pronounced himself thunder-struck at the aspect of things, assured us that it was indecent, unhealthy & decidedly rash to keep so filthy a passage & remarked that it was a duty we owed to the younger classes, to the Faculty & to ourselves, to be more circumspect in our conduct. He went on to say that on us the Faculty depended in a great measure for the maintenance of order & decorum in the West building — that to us they looked to set an example of sobriety & morality to our younger brethren of the University. Let me indulge the hope, continued the Judge, that you will, henceforward mark out for yourselves a line of conduct at once dignified, gentlemanly & worthy of the exalted & highly responsible station which you occupy as Seniors of this University.

"Good morning gentlemen."

On Wednesday S.G.... G.H........ & myself, the committee appointed by society to write to Mr King , addressed a letter to that gentleman requesting of him in the name of society, a present of some of the minerals, obtained from his lead & silver mines in Davidson.

My class began "Political Economy" last week under the Gov.

I have not been absent from prayers or recitation during the week.

Done on Saturday evening, the 7th day of the month August & in the year eighteen hundred & forty one, "ab natu Domini."