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LI B RAHY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 Of ILLINOIS 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 Newton M. Harris 
 1941 
 
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THE 
 
 Girard College, 
 
 AND 
 
 Its Fouidee: 
 
 CONTAINING THE 
 
 BIOGRAPHY OF MR. GIRARD, 
 
 THE 
 
 HISTORY OF THE INSTITUTION, ITS ORGANIZATION AND PLAN OF 
 
 DISCIPLINE, WITH THE COURSE OF EDUCATION, FORMS OF 
 
 ADMISSION OF PUPILS, DESCRIPTION OF THE 
 
 BUILDINGS, ETC., ETC., AND 
 
 THE WILL OF MR. GIRARD. 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY W. AREY, 
 
 SECRETARY OF THE GIRARD COLLEGE. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 SHERMAN & CO., PRINTERS, 
 
 S. W. COR. SEVENTH AND CHEERY STS. 
 
 1876. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by Henry 
 W. Arey, in the Clerk's Office of the District Cou.-t of the United States 
 for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 
 
 STEREOTYPED Bx J. r\OAN. SHERMAN. PRINTER. 
 
fefl 
 
 m 
 
 S7C 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD page 5 
 
 HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE, AND ITS PLAN OF ORGANIZA- 
 TION AND DISCIPLINE 30 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS 44 
 
 M WILL OF MR. GIRARD 57 
 
BIOGRAPHY 
 
 OF 
 
 STEPHEN GIRARD 
 
 No contribution hitherto made in this country to the great cause 
 of human charity, has excited more general interest, or become 
 more widely known, than the Bequest of Stephen Grirard to estab- 
 lish and maintain a College for orphans. The character of the 
 benevolence, the magnitude of the fund, and the splendor of the 
 building, have all contributed to bring his institution prominently 
 before the public eye, and to make it the object of pride to every 
 citizen, and of attraction to every stranger. 
 
 The history of any man, whose kind heart could conceive, and 
 whose vast means could accomplish a purpose fraught with so 
 much good, would be interesting ; but the life of Mr. Girard is 
 more than this, — it is instructive. It teaches us what we can do 
 in the face of obstacles, when we are patient, zealous, and self-re- 
 liant; it shows that there is at least a partial omnipotence about 
 the human will, that can supply the want of wealth, of friends, 
 and of education ; but above all, it exemplifies how the hard toil 
 of a life-time, and the thirst for gold, may be elevated and sancti- 
 fied by being devoted to the claims of humanity. 
 
 Although comparatively humble in his origin, and without the 
 
 advantages of wealth or education and the influences of friends, 
 
 he has reared to his memory the proudest and most enduring of 
 
 monuments. Yet splendid as is the marble structure which stands 
 
 1 * (5) 
 
6 BIOGRAPHY OF STErHEN GIRARD. 
 
 above his remains, it yields in beauty to the moral monument 
 The benefactor sleeps among the orphan poor, whom his bounty 
 is constantly rearing. Thus for ever present, unseen but felt, he 
 daily stretches forth 'his " invisible hands " to lead some friendless 
 child from ignorance and vice, to usefulness and perhaps distinction. 
 And when, in the fullness of time, many homes have been made 
 happy, many orphans have been fed and clothed and educated, and 
 many men rendered useful to their country and themselves, each 
 happy home, or rescued child, or useful citizen will be a living 
 monument to perpetuate the name and embalm the memory of the 
 dead "Mariner and Merchant." 
 
 The retiring disposition and unobtrusive character of Mr. Gi- 
 rard, refused to gratify the curiosity, which was not unfrequently 
 expressed during his life-time, to learn something of his early his- 
 tory. It is not therefore remarkable that hitherto, in the absence 
 of all means of knowledge, no reliable information, particularly of 
 this portion of his life, has existed, and that many erroneous state- 
 ments have been so frequently made, that Fiction has now almost 
 grown to be Fact. Among the provisions of his will is the direc- 
 tion, that his books and papers shall be deposited in a room of his 
 College, and be therein carefully preserved. Fortunately these 
 musty records have afforded in a material degree the light which 
 has hitherto been wanting, and to them the writer has been princi- 
 pally indebted for the materials of this brief Biography. 
 
 Stephen Girard was born in Bordeaux on the 21st day of May 
 1750. He was the eldest of five children who were descended 
 from Pierre Grirard, described in the registry of Baptism, now pre«. 
 served in that city, as a sea-captain, and Mdlle. Lafargue his wife 
 
 Without wishing to trespass upon the sacred privacy of domes- 
 tic life, it is painfully evident even from the scanty light afforded 
 by his letters, that the early life of Stephen was by no means a 
 happy one. In every one of the few references which are found 
 in this portion of his history — for it was a subject that he seldom 
 referred to, — there is the same proof, that his childhood had no 
 pleasant or sweet remembrances. Sixty-three years afterwards, h«? 
 thus wrote of this portion of his history. " I have the proud sat- 
 
BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 7 
 
 Lsfaction to know that my conduct, my labor, and my economy 
 have enabled me to do one hundred times more for my relatives. 
 than they altogether have ever done for me since the day of m\ 
 birth. While my brothers were taught at College, I was the onty 
 one whose education was neglected. But the love of labor, which 
 has not left me yet, has placed me in the ranks of citizens useful 
 to society ." The correct cause of this unhappiness is now difficult 
 to ascertain, but one reason is at least suggested in that not unfre- 
 quent source of similar difficulties, — a second marriage by his fa- 
 ther. In a letter written in 1789, he thus again refers to this 
 period of his life. " I was very young when my father married 
 again, and since then, I can say with truth, I have made my way 
 alone, with means gained from my nurse, the sea." 
 
 The early career of Stephen affords nothing of particular inte- 
 rest. Entering upon the active pursuits of life at a period when 
 most children are yet at school, his education was necessarily lim- 
 ited, but he subsequently partially supplied this want, by careful 
 study and observation, as is sufficiently attested by the neatness 
 and accuracy of many early papers in his hand-writing yet in ex- 
 istence. 
 
 Thus impelled by feelings of early disappointment, but most 
 likely influenced still more by that self-reliance and persevering 
 ambition which were so characteristic of him, Stephen early de- 
 cided to throw himself upon his own resources, and, guided no 
 doubt by the occupation of his father, selected the sea as his fu- 
 ture means of livelihood. In the year 1764, then not quite four- 
 teen years of age, he left his home with the consent of his parents, 
 and for the purpose of acquiring a practical knowledge of the pro- 
 fession he had chosen, sailed for St. Domingo in the capacity of a 
 Bailor on board a vessel called the " Pelerin," commanded by Cap- 
 tain John Courteau. Upon the termination of this voyage, which 
 lasted some ten months, he returned to his home, but soon sailed 
 again for the French West Indian possessions, between which 
 • islands and Bordeaux he continued to make frequent voyages in the 
 course of the next nine years. During this time he labored assid- 
 
8 BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 
 
 ulousiy to supply the want of early education, and particularly to 
 perfect himself in nautical information. And with such favorable 
 results was this industry attended, that his last voyages were per- 
 formed in the capacity of first officer, or, as the office was then 
 termed in the French mercantile marine, Lieutenant of his vessel. 
 
 Stephen was no idler during these cruises. In addition to 
 becoming proficient in practical navigation and astronomy, he was 
 laying the foundation of his future fortune by careful study of 
 general mercantile operations, and particularly of the products of 
 these Islands, the habits of their people, and their mode of buying 
 and selling 
 
 Upon his return to his home at the termination of his sixth 
 voyage, having now obtained the requisite theoretical and practical 
 knowledge, he applied for authority to command a vessel. The 
 existing laws of France required that in addition to a fixed period 
 of sea service, the applicant should have made two cruises upon a 
 national vessel, and should be at least twenty-five years of age. 
 These two latter requisites were wanting in his case, but the influ- 
 ence of his family was sufficient to obtain a dispensation, and after 
 undergoing the necessary examination, a license was duly granted 
 on the 4th of October 1773, which is yet in existence, giving (for 
 so it reads) " to Stephen Girard of Bordeaux full authority to act 
 as Captain, Master, and Patron of a Merchant Vessel." 
 
 The early age at which he attained this rapid promotion in the 
 face of limited education and other difficulties, sufficient!) 7 attests 
 the zeal and energy with which he must have labored during 
 these ten years, and gave earnest of that decision of character and 
 perseverance which so distinguished his after life. 
 
 His attention appears now for the first time to have been turned 
 to the prosecution of commercial affairs in connection with the 
 pursuit of the sea ; and at this period commences the first con- 
 tinuous record which is to be found among the large mass of books 
 and papers, the accumulation of nearly sixty years of active business 
 life, which he directs shall be preserved in one of the rooms of 
 the College. This Record consists of a Journal kept by himself 
 in a neat and careful style, and contains the invoices and the 
 
BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 9 
 
 accounts of sales of a quantity of goods suited to a West India 
 market, which he at this time purchased from sundry merchants 
 in Bordeaux, partly on his own credit and partly on that of his 
 father; and from this period, beginning with this moderate invesr 
 ment, really dates the commencement of that magnificent fortune., 
 which in after years, so abundantly rewarded his industry, perse- 
 verance, and economy. 
 
 With these goods, amounting to nearly 16,000 livres, or about 
 3000 dollars in Federal money, Mr. Girard started on his first 
 mercantile adventure, and sailed again from his home, (which he 
 never afterwards revisited,) arriving at St. Marc's, in the island of 
 St. Domingo, in the month of February 1774. He soon disposed 
 of his venture there, and at Port au Prince ; and, converting the 
 proceeds into produce, he left the West Indies and arrived for the 
 first time in the United States, at the port of New York, in the 
 month of July of the same year. The business tact and shrewd- 
 ness displayed in disposing of the articles which he brought with 
 him to New York, attracted the notice of Mr. Thomas Randall, 
 then a merchant of that place, whose countenance and assistance 
 proved of material advantage to him in his subsequent mercantile 
 arrangements. During the three following years he laboriously 
 employed his time in trading between New York, New Orleans, 
 and Port au Prince ) in the first instance as mate on board a ship 
 called L/amiable Louise, Captain Malahard, and subsequently as 
 master and part owner, jointly with Mr. Randall, of a small vessel 
 and cargo. 
 
 It was in this latter capacity, that in the month of May 1777, 
 Mr. Girard entered the waters of the Delaware, and arrived for 
 (be first time at Philadelphia. The business facilities and practi- 
 cal information which he had by this time acquired through his in- 
 tercourse with merchants in New York, New Orleans, and St, 
 Domingo, joined to the control of a small capital gained by his 
 thrift and steady labor since his departure from Bordeaux, deter- 
 mined him now to change the dangerous profession of a sailor, for 
 the less hazardous and more profitable one of a merchant. With 
 this view he commenced business, and rented a store in Water 
 
10 BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 
 
 street, within a short distance of the spot where he afterwards 
 located himself permanently. 
 
 In the month of July of this year, Mr. Grirard was married to 
 Mary Lumm, a native of Philadelphia ; and soon after the mar- 
 riage, on the approach of the British troops to take possession of 
 the city, he left with his wife for Mount Holly in the state of New 
 Jersey, where he purchased a small property, and where he con- 
 tinued to reside until the evacuation of Philadelphia by the enemy 
 on the 17th of June 1778, when he again returned and resumed his 
 business. Although unwilling to dwell upon a subject of so much 
 delicacy, it is proper to state, that this marriage did not result happily 
 There is sufficient evidence among the papers of Mr. Grirard to show, 
 that, as is not unusual in such matters, his reputation while living, 
 and his memory after death, have both unjustly suffered from erro- 
 neous public impressions on this subject. In the beginning 
 of the year 1785, his wife exhibited signs of derangement of mind, 
 which increased until it became necessary to to make application 
 for her admission into the Pennsylvania Hospital, were she was 
 accordingly received in September of that year. Shortly after- 
 wards however, anxious to try every means of restoration, he re- 
 moved her from that institution, and placed her in the country, but 
 without benefit. In consequence of this affliction, his domestic 
 condition became so painful, that he finally determined to return 
 to his old occupation of a mariner, and by absence seek the tran- 
 quillity denied him in his home. For this purpose he sailed for 
 the Mediterranean, but upon his return finding that the disorder 
 of his wife, instead of being lessened, had greatly augmented, he 
 took measures to place her again in the Hospital. Mrs. Grirard 
 was admitted anew on the 31st of August 1790, into that institu- 
 tion, where she gave birth in May of the following year to a fe« 
 male child (the only issue of this unfortunate marriage) who died 
 shortly afterwards, and where she remained until her death in Sep* 
 tember 1815. Her remains were deposited in the grounds on the 
 north side of the Hospital. 
 
 Upon his return to Philadelphia, Mr. Girard directed his atten- 
 tion particularly to the West India trade, for which his previous 
 
BIOGRAPHY OP STEPHEN GIRARD. Vl 
 
 education peculiarly fitted him ? and for which some advantages 
 were furnished in the residence in St. Domingo of his brother John, 
 who had now become a member of a commercial house at Cape 
 Francois. 
 
 Prosecuting successfully this trade, Mr. Girard in the year 1780 
 entered into partnership with Joseph Baldesqui ; for although the 
 fact is not generally known, he was on two occasions engaged 
 jointly in business; — first, in the instance just cited, and after- 
 wards in 1786 with his brother John. Neither of these business 
 arrangements continued long, or proved satisfactory ; for his active 
 mind, and intuitive perception in commercial matters, could ill 
 brook the restraint and mistakes of others less favored. 
 
 The earnest labor, and the strict economy, with which he con- 
 ducted his business at this period, joined to unusual skill as a 
 merchant, now rendered his progress to fortune both sure and 
 rapid. In 1784 he constructed his first vessel the " Two Bro- 
 thers," and his brother having arrived in September 1786 to take 
 his place in the management of the house here, Stephen sailed in 
 command of this brig for Charleston, and thence to the Medi- 
 terranean, returning to Philadelphia in July 1788. This partner- 
 ship was shortly afterwards dissolved, and he resumed the man- 
 agement of his business in person, continuing afterwards to reside 
 uninterruptedly in the city of Philadelphia until his death. 
 
 At this period of the life of Mr. Girard, an incident occurred 
 which deserves more than a passing notice ; — an incident, which 
 for its moral heroism and self-denying charity, gives to his name 
 even a higher title than that of being the Founder of the College 
 for Orphans. 
 
 In the latter part of the month of July 1793. a malignant dis- 
 order, which soon proved to be the Yellow Fever in its most fatal 
 form, broke out in Water street between x\rch and Race streets in 
 the city of Philadelphia. Extending northwards to Vine street, 
 it was soon communicated to Front, and thence extended to the 
 parallel streets, and those running east and west. Every attempt 
 to stay the disorder proved unavailing, and the pestilence swept 
 on with resistless power, gathering fresh force with fresh victims, 
 
12 BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 
 
 until the fair city became one vast charnel-house. All whose 
 means or circumstances permitted, fled in dismay, and the scenes 
 of horror and death that were exhibited in the streets of Philadel- 
 phia, particularly from the 25th of August until late in the month 
 of September, could not have been excelled, in proportion to the 
 population, by the famous plague of Athens, or the pestilence of 
 London. The ties of nature were for the moment forgotten, or 
 ruptured. Authentic cases are recorded, where parent and child, 
 and husband and wife, died deserted and alone, for want of a little 
 eare from the hands of absent kindred. The public buildings wer? 
 closed, most of the churches were shut up, and the few remaining 
 open were nearly deserted ; grass literally grew in the streets, and 
 nothing disturbed the silence of this desolation, except the occa- 
 sional wail of some victim which stole out upon the air, or the 
 rumbling of the cart which carried the sick man to the Hospital, 
 or the dead man to the grave. 
 
 In the midst of this terrific pestilence, an anonymous call ap- 
 peared on the 10th of September in the Federal Gazette, the only 
 paper which continued to be published, stating that all but three 
 of the Visitors of the Poor had either fled or succumbed to the 
 disease, and begging for assistance from such benevolent citizens 
 as would volunteer their aid. In consequence of this call, a meet- 
 ing was held at the City Hall on the 12th and another on the 14th 
 of that month, at which a committee was appointed of those who 
 voluntarily offered their services in the dangerous undertaking. 
 This committee, originally consisting of twenfry-seven, but which 
 ultimately dwindled to twelve members, immediately proceeded to 
 take active measures for the relief of the distressed. Their first 
 care was directed to the organization of the Hospital at Bush Hill, 
 which was reported by the Physician in attendance as being with- 
 out order or regulation, far from clean, and in immediate w T ant of 
 qualified persons to begin and establish the necessary arrange- 
 ments. These qualified agents were not to be had. Money could 
 not purchase such self-devotion, for the entrance to that pest-house 
 was deemed but a passage to the grave. At this trying moment, 
 two men magnanimously offered themselves as the forlorn hope of 
 
BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 13 
 
 the committee. On the minutes of that body under date of Sep- 
 tember 15, is found the following extract: "Stephen Girard, and 
 Peter Helm, members of the committee, commiserating the calam- 
 itous state to which the sick may probably be reduced for want of 
 suitable persons to superintend the Hospital, voluntarily offered 
 their services for that benevolent employment." The late Ma- 
 thew Carey, himself also a member of that bodj r , describing this 
 incident, writes as follows : " At the meeting on Sunday, September 
 the 15th, a circumstance occurred to which the most glowing pen- 
 cil can hardly do justice. Stephen Girard, a wealthy merchant, a 
 native of France, and one of the members of the committee, sym- 
 pathizing with the wretched situation of the sufferers at Bush 
 Hill, voluntarily and unexpectedly offered himself as a manager to 
 superintend that Hospital. The surprise and satisfaction excited 
 by this extraordinary effort of humanity, can be better conceived 
 than expressed." 
 
 To estimate properly the value of this act of self-devotion, we 
 must call to mind that Mr. Girard was then in the zenith of his life 
 and already a man of wealth and influence, with a prospect before him 
 of a long career of happiness, usefulness, and riches. A foreigner, 
 and without immediate family, it could not be expected that any 
 strong bonds of sympathy existed between him and the people of 
 that pestilence-stricken city. Before him stood probable death in 
 its most repulsive form ; certain and heavy losses were to be 
 entailed in the neglect of his private interests; the most loathsome 
 and the most menial duties were to be performed in person ; and 
 the possible reward of all this was a nameless grave upon the 
 heights of Bush Hill. 
 
 On the afternoon of the same day on which he offered his ser- 
 vices, Mr. Girard entered upon his duties, and his persevering and 
 decisive character was immediately felt in every thing. Order 
 soon reigned where all before was confusion ; cleanliness took the 
 place of filth; attendants and medicines were at hand; supplies 
 and accommodations were provided, and on the very next day he 
 reported the Hospital as ready to afford every assistance. The 
 following interesting extract from a letter written by him at this 
 2 
 
14 BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 
 
 time to his friend Samataxi in Marseilles, describes vividly the con« 
 dition of things in this unfortunate city. " The mortality is sa 
 great, and the fear so general, that it is no longer possible to find 
 nurses for the sick, or men to bury the dead. In fine, we are in 
 a most deplorable situation. Those of our people who Lave 
 escaped the disease, have fled from their homes ; almost all the 
 houses are closed, and Philadelphians are not received into the 
 neighboring villages, without undergoing quarantine. The few 
 who have had the courage to remain, have established a Hospital 
 at a little distance from the city, for the reception of the unfortu- 
 nate. I am the active Director, which causes me much anxiety. 
 I do not know when the disease will cease. I am about leaving 
 this moment for the Hospital, where the great number of the 
 sick, who are constantly arriving, requires my constant presence." 
 
 For sixty days he continued to discharge his duties at the 
 Hospital, and up to the 9th of March following, when the com- 
 mittee concluded its labors, and ceased to exist, his name is 
 found upon the records as a faithful attendant at its meetings. 
 And these noble men did not confine themselves to mere efforts to 
 stay the disease. They raised upon their individual credit the 
 necessary funds, until public contributions could reimburse them; 
 they supplied the poor with money, provisions, and firewood ; they 
 furnished burial for the dead; they received under their care 192 
 orphan children, (many of them infants,) whose natural protectors 
 had perished of the fever; they cleansed and purified all infected 
 places; and they ceased their labors only when they had taken 
 precautions against a similar calamity in future, by procuring better 
 sanitary regulations, and a permanent Hospital for such diseases. 
 
 The deadly nature of the sickness may be inferred from the 
 fact, that during the period between the 1st of August and the 
 9th of November, 4031 interments took place in the burial 
 grounds in and about the city, out of a population of not quite 
 25,000 persons who remained in Philadelphia and the Districts 
 during the Plague. 
 
 The feelings which actuated Mr. Girard, and the modest esti- 
 mate which he placed upon these services, may 1L, oest inferred 
 
BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 15 
 
 from the following extracts of the very few and brief letters which 
 he appears to have written during the continuance of the disease. 
 u The deplorable situation to which fright and sickness have 
 reduced the inhabitants of our city, demands succor from those 
 who do not fear death, or who at least do not see any risk in the 
 epidemic which now prevails here. This will occupy me for 
 some time, and if I have the misfortune to succumb, I will have 
 at least the satisfaction to have performed a duty which we all 
 owe to each other." (Letter to Les Fils de P. Changeraux and 
 Co., Baltimore, September 16th, 1793.) " You will receive my 
 thanks for your high opinion respecting my occupation in the 
 calamity which has lately afflicted my fellow-citizens. On that 
 occasion, I only regret that my strength and ability have not fully 
 seconded my good will." (To John Ferris, New York, November 
 4th, 1793.) Among the proudest memorials of its founder which 
 the College now possesses, is a worm-eaten and dust-covered chest, 
 containing the records and papers connected with his administration 
 of the Hospital, during that eventful period. 
 
 In 1797 and 1798, the fever again prevailed in Philadelphia 
 with fearful violence, and again Mr. Girard exhibited the same 
 enlarged philanthropy, and the same disregard of danger, by 
 liberal contributions and personal services to the sick and dying. 
 
 It has been currently believed, that at the time of the insurrec- 
 tion and massacre which occurred in St. Domingo, in 1793, he 
 received a large accession to his fortune, from valuables placed 
 for safety on board of his vessels, then lying there, and which 
 were never claimed, on account of the owners being destroyed by 
 the blacks. It is almost needless to say, that no reliable evidence 
 for this belief has ever been furnished. On the contrary, his 
 books would seem to show that he must have sustained heavy 
 losses by the destruction of large amounts of goods, in Cape 
 Francois, when that town was burned by the insurgents, and by 
 the massacre or bankruptcy of many of the merchants who were 
 in his debt. 
 
 His advancement to great wealth was henceforth sure and ra^'d. 
 During the period that intervened between 1793 and 1812, his 
 
16 BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 
 
 business had extended over a much larger field than hitherto. N' t 
 confining himself as before to the commerce of the West Indies, 
 or an occasional voyage to the south of Europe, and departing 
 from the usual custom of merchants in expecting quick returns, 
 he adopted a system of mercantile operations which proved to 
 him of incalculable advantage. This consisted in a series of long 
 voyages, in which, by repeated exchanges at different ports, the 
 venture was finally returned increased by these accumulated pro- 
 fits. The grain or cotton of this country, with which his staunch 
 ships were freighted, was exchanged with the Lisbon trader, or the 
 merchant of Bordeaux, for the fruits of the one, or the wines of 
 the other, in order to pay the Russian for the iron or hemp which 
 the same vessel brought back to him ; or the sugar and coffee of 
 the West Indies, furnished him at Hamburg or Amsterdam with 
 the outward cargo or the Spanish dollars which were to procure 
 him at the Spice islands, Calcutta or Canton, the product of those 
 climes, and thus bring to his doors from each distant portion of the 
 globe, the added riches of the world. It was during this period, 
 that he built the splendid fleet of vessels which he principally 
 named after distinguished French Philosophers, and which were 
 then unexcelled in our marine for quality and size. The Rousseau, 
 the Voltaire, the Helvetius, and the Montesquieu, were among 
 the most favored and most successful of his vessels. 
 
 The skill and judgment required in conducting such complicated 
 affairs, and the unusual ability exhibited in the letters of instruc- 
 tion to his captains, supercargoes, or consignees, in these voyages, 
 displaying alike a thorough knowledge of his profession and an 
 intimate acquaintance with human nature, evidence that Mr. Gi- 
 rard possessed a mind and powers that would have rendered him 
 eminent in any department of life, and that with the advantages 
 of extended education he would have been one of the most distin- 
 guished^ as he certainly was one of the most remarkable men of 
 his time. 
 
 In these letters of instruction, which are admirable models of 
 their kind, he was most precise and particular in giving directions 
 for every contingency, and he invariably required the strictest obe- 
 
BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 17 
 
 dience to his orders, let the result be what it might. He was also 
 rigid in demanding from his officers and men, correct habits and 
 conduct while in his employment. Having some suspicion of one 
 of the officers of his ship Voltaire, about to sail in 1815 to Can- 
 ton, he wrote to Captain Bowen, " I desire you not to permit a 
 drunken or immoral man to remain on board of your ship. When- 
 ever such a man makes disturbance, or is disagreeable to the rest 
 of the crew, no matter who he is, discharge him whenever you 
 have the opportunity. And if any of my apprentices should not 
 conduct themselves properly, I authorize you to correct them as I 
 would myself. My intention being, that they shall learn their 
 business, so after they are free they may be useful to themselves 
 and to their country." 
 
 In 1802 he was elected to represent his fellow -citizens in the 
 councils of Philadelphia, and he continued for several terms to serve 
 them in that capacity faithfully and usefully. For over twenty- 
 two years he also discharged the duties of Warden of the Port, to 
 which office he was annually appointed by the various state admin- 
 istrations. For although the absorbing character of his extensive 
 business, as well as his retiring disposition, prevented him from 
 seeking any distinction foreign to his occupation, yet he fully re- 
 cognized the claims that the Public have to the services of every 
 citizen. As a Director of many public institutions he also freely 
 gave his time, which to him really was money : and in the dis- 
 charge of all these duties he was faithful, prompt, and intelligent. 
 
 About the year 1810, the funds belonging to Mr. Girard in the 
 hands of Messrs. Baring, Brothers and Co. of London had in- 
 creased to nearly one million of dollars. To withdraw this large 
 amount without danger of loss was a task of no ordinary difficulty, 
 and his papers show that he experienced much alarm and anxiety 
 on this account. Exchange in England had fallen below par; the 
 solvency of the foreign house was for a time a matter of great 
 doubt, and the difficulties between Great Britain and this country 
 already threatened war. But by skilful management he succeeded 
 safely and profitably in extricating his money, principally by pur- 
 chasing in England United States government stock and shares of 
 2* 
 
18 BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 
 
 the Bank of the United States. Having thus obtained so large 
 an interest in this bank, upon the expiration of its charter in 1811 
 he determined to become a banker; and having in June 1812 pur- 
 chased the banking house of that institution he commenced his 
 operations. The business of the National Bank and the funds in 
 its vaults remained with his institution, and he thus began his 
 new career with unusual advantages and prospects of success, 
 while at the same time the distress which would have resulted 
 from the abstraction of so large an amount of capital from the 
 community was prevented. 
 
 He did not however permit this new occupation to withdraw 
 him from his former mercantile pursuits. His trade with China, 
 the East Indies, and other places east of the Cape of Good 
 Hope, as well as with the north of Europe, was continued as ex- 
 tensively and as profitably as hitherto. Although the skill with 
 which he directed his business gave his operations general success, 
 it must not be supposed that equal good fortune attended all his 
 speculations. Occasionally he met with heavy losses, and his emi- 
 nent genius for his profession was as strongly shown by the celeri- 
 ty with which he recovered from reverses, as by his usual success. 
 " We are all the subjects, (he says in one of his letters,) of what 
 you call ( reverses of fortune/ The great secret is to make good 
 use of fortune, and when reverses come, receive them with ' sang 
 froid/ and by redoubled activity and economy endeavor to repair 
 them." A striking instance will best illustrate this trait in his 
 character. On the 17th of December 1810, his fine ship the 
 li Montesquieu " sailed from the port of Philadelphia for Valparaiso, 
 and thence for Canton, where she arrived on the 19th of Feb- 
 ruary 1812. In November of the same year, she sailed from this 
 latter place for Philadelphia with a most valuable China cargo on 
 board. Singular as it may seem, she passed through that immense 
 extent of sea without meeting a British cruiser or speaking a vessel 
 that could inform her of the war which then existed between Gre.-it 
 Britain and this country. She arrived off the capes of the Dela- 
 ware on the night of the 26th of March 1813, and commenced 
 discharging guns for a pilot. This firing soon attracted the atten- 
 
BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 19 
 
 fcion of a small schooner called u La Paz," (indignantly described 
 by Mr. Girard as about the size of a wood-shallop,) then laying 
 inside the cape off Lewistown, and which proved to be a tender 
 to the British man-of-war " Poictiers." As soon as the light and 
 the tide served in the morning, this small and ill-manned craft 
 pushed out to sea, and sailing up to the unresisting though well- 
 armed Montesquieu, captured her and her valuable cargo. 
 
 The loss of this fine vessel and cargo, neither of which was in* 
 sured, at his very doors, after passing safely through all the perils 
 of the sea, was of course a severe trial to Mr. Girard ; but he im- 
 mediately set about repairing the disaster, and after the necessary 
 negotiations with Sir John Beresford, who then commanded the 
 English squadron in our waters, he ransomed her for the very 
 large sum of 180,000 dollars, which he paid in coin. The vessel 
 was released and proceeded up to the city, and his calculations and 
 foresight were most fully realized in the result ; for it is shown by 
 his books, that notwithstanding this heavy loss, the cargo brought 
 him enormous profits, a large portion of the teas producing as high 
 as $2.14 per pound at auction, in consequence of the scarcity 
 caused by the war. 
 
 Soon after his arrival at Philadelphia, Mr. Girard took the oath 
 of allegiance to the Government, (the preliminary residence now 
 required being then not necessary,) and became a citizen of the 
 United States. His attachment to his adopted country was sin- 
 cere and undoubted. In heart and on principle a republican, his 
 sympathies were soon warmly enlisted for the land which had shel 
 tered him, and under whose free institutions he had prospered. 
 On several occasions during the war of 1812, he rendered valuable 
 services to the government by placing at its disposal the resources 
 of his bank, at times of difficulty and embarrassment. And when, 
 in 1814, the public credit was prostrated, and the resources of the 
 country were sorely taxed, he promptly stepped forward and sub- 
 scribed to a very large loan which the administration had vainly 
 before sought to obtain. The sinews of war were thus furnished, 
 public confidence was restored, and a series of brilliant victories 
 resulted in a peace, to which he thus referred in a letter written 
 
20 BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 
 
 in 1815 to his friend Morton of Bordeaux; — "The peace which 
 has taken place between this country and England, will consoli- 
 date for ever our independence and insure our tranquillity." In 
 1814, the government was unable to pay the interest on the public 
 debt. Mr. Grirard, to whom the United States were indebted in 
 a very large amount, promptly set an example to other credi- 
 tors by writing to A. J. Dallas, then Secretary of the Treasury, 
 as follows : " I am of opinion that those who have any claim for 
 interest on public stock, &c, should patiently wait for a more 
 favorable moment, or at least receive in payment treasury- notes. 
 Should you be under the necessity of resorting to either of those 
 plans, as one of the public creditors, I shall not murmur." 
 
 During the period when the neutral position of this country 
 gave its shipping superior advantages, and when he was rigidly 
 cautious in forbidding his captains to receive on his vessels any 
 passenger or cargo other than his own, his letters of instruction 
 almost always contain the stereotype paragraph, Ci But if you meet 
 with American seamen in distress, you are to follow my invariable 
 rule — take them on board and bring them home free of expense." 
 One of the most solemn injunctions in his will is the direction that 
 " by every proper means a pure attachment to our republican 
 institutions, and to the sacred rights of conscience, as guarantied 
 by our happy constitution, shall be formed and fostered in the 
 minds of these scholars." 
 
 From the period of the establishment of his bank, until his 
 death, Mr. Girard continued to prosecute uninterruptedly his com- 
 mercial and banking business. Although the vast and compli- 
 cated nature of these occupations would have been sufficient to oc- 
 cupy the entire attention of most men, he found sufficient leisure, 
 by methodizing his time, to indulge a strong fondness for agricul- 
 tural pursuits, by cultivating a farm in the neighbourhood of the 
 city. To this place he paid almost daily visits, directing with 
 nkill its operations, and assisting personally in its labors, and few 
 of his vessels ever sailed for distant places without taking out 
 orders for choice plants, seeds, or fruit-trees, to adorn and improve 
 it. These new varieties of fruits and flowers were gradually ex- 
 
BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 21 
 
 tended throughout the neighborhood, and much of the celebrity 
 which the markets of Philadelphia have enjoyed is thus due to 
 his enterprise and love of such pursuits. 
 
 -To every judicious public improvement he was an early and 
 constant friend, but so retiring was his disposition, that when the 
 directors of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, wishing to testify 
 their gratitude for his kindness in loaning large amounts of money, 
 and taking large amounts of stock, by formal vote requested him 
 to sit for his portrait, to be preserved in the archives of the com- 
 pany, he peremptorily refused compliance. 
 
 Although cautious not to be imposed upon in affording 
 relief, the heart of Mr. Grirard was not often closed to an authen- 
 tic case of distress. There is ample evidence to show that his 
 private charities were much more extensive than the world has 
 given him credit for. Although differing from the great majority 
 of denominations in his religious sentiments, he gave freely when 
 his assistance was asked for the erection of churches and other 
 Christian institutions. To his neighbors, especially when sick, 
 he was attentive and humane, nursing them and administering to 
 their ailments, in which he had considerable skill, and in which he 
 always took pleasure. His belief in the many simple remedies 
 with which he was in the habit of treating the sick, was accom- 
 panied, as is not unusual in such cases, with a rather disparaging 
 opinion of the Medical Profession. In the annual recurrence of 
 the fever which followed for many years the epidemic of 1793, and 
 in which his services were always freely rendered to the sick and 
 poor, he attributed much of the severity of the disease to the igno- 
 rance of the local physicians about the nature of the pestilence. 
 The following humorous allusion to the doctors is found in a letter 
 written in January 1799 to his friend Devize, then in France, but 
 who had been associated with him as physician of the Bush Hill 
 hospital in 1793. After describing the effects of the epidemic, he 
 says : — " During all this frightful time, I have constantly remained 
 in the city, and without neglecting my public duties I have played 
 a part which will make you smile. Would you believe it, my 
 friend, that I have visited as many as fifteen sick people in a day, 
 
22 BIOGKAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 
 
 and what will surprise you still more, I have lost only one patient, 
 an Irishman, who would drink a little. I do not flatter myself 
 that I have cured one single person, but you will think with me, 
 that in my quality of Philadelphia physician I have been very 
 moderate, and that not one of my confreres have killed fewer than 
 myself." 
 
 As has been already stated, his feelings were early alienated 
 from his family, yet during his entire life he supported or assisted 
 such of them as were in need. And it is due to his memory to 
 record here, that his books furnish unmistakeable evidence, that 
 the public impression which has usually prevailed on the subject 
 of his want of kindness to his relatives, has been incorrect and 
 unjust. 
 
 The fame of his large fortune, exaggerated beyond the truth 
 by popular rumor, joined to the absence of children on whom to 
 bestow it, caused him to be almost constantly importuned for assis- 
 tance or relief, from all parts of the country, and from known and 
 unknown sources. 
 
 Although it is reasonable to suppose that most of these applica- 
 tions were destroyed when received, yet a sufficient number still 
 exist to cause wonder at their frequency, and excite a smile at the 
 transparent cupidity of their writers. It is not known at what 
 period of his life his attention was first directed to the establish- 
 ment of an Institution for Orphans, but there is reason to believe 
 that the idea had been entertained for years, and that the details 
 of its plan had been the subject of long and careful reflection. 
 
 It is at least a curious coincidence in connection with this sub- 
 ject, that among his papers are found two anonymous letters, in 
 the French language, which were sent to Mr. Girard in 1810, 
 accompanied by a copy of the Testament of Fortune Hicard. to 
 whose benevolent bequests the writer earnestly calls his attention. 
 The main object of these communications, which are written with 
 unusual ability, would seem to have been to induce him to transfer 
 his great wealth to his native land. For this purpose they en- 
 deavor to appeal to the feeling which is supposed never to be 
 extinguished, of attachment to the fatherland, and give a glowing 
 
BIOGRAPHY OE STEPHEN GIRARD. 23 
 
 picture of France, her arts and arms. They refer to the districted 
 condition of this country, on the probable eve of a war with the 
 most powerful nation of Europe, in which the United States 
 w must" be subjugated, and assure him, that in the anarchy follow- 
 ing conquest, his fortune will be scattered and lost. They remind 
 him that in Europe wealth gives rank and distinction, while here 
 the man of silver is not respected, but only valued. Appealing 
 to his well-known love for agricultural pursuits, they draw a 
 striking picture of this " guide and patron of all French mer- 
 chants" located in the fertile and beautiful fields of Languedoe, 
 the owner of thousands of broad acres, of beautiful vineyards and 
 splendid herds ; and finally describe him as dying, after founding a 
 magnificent institution of benevolence in Paris — his name descend- 
 ing to posterity, blessed by the poor and homeless. And they 
 conclude with this striking expression, that he must remember 
 that " benevolence is the only treasure which the rich man can 
 take with him to the grave." 
 
 In his personal habits, Mr. Girard was a model of regularity 
 and abstemiousness, and to these qualities must be attributed his 
 vigorous health, long life, and general freedom from disease. An 
 early riser, he devoted the day most faithfully to industrious pur- 
 suits, and, as has been with justice remarked, his very relaxations 
 were mere varieties of labor. His dwelling-house was under the 
 same roof with his counting-room, in a narrow street near the 
 river, and in a locality almost entirely occupied by stores. The 
 furniture was substantial but plain, and his only equipage was a 
 homely chaise drawn by a sober-looking farm-horse. In his dress 
 and personal appearance, he was as plain as the humblest citizen, 
 and so far was he from pride of purse, that no stranger could have 
 distinguished this possessor of millions from any of the toiling 
 thousands around him. 
 
 There is no evidence that he loved money. The disappoint- 
 ments of his early days, and more particularly the sadness of hig 
 married life, with the absence of those social claims and pleasures 
 which give to man his usual aims and objects, would seem to have 
 rendered business and the accumulation of wealth rather a neces- 
 
24 BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 
 
 sary occupation than a source of delight. No one who has had 
 access to his private papers can fail to become impressed with the 
 belief, that these early disappointments furnish the true key to 
 his entire character. Originally of warm and generous impulses, 
 the belief in childhood that he had not been given his share of 
 the love and kindness which were extended to others, changed the 
 natural current of his feelings, and acting on a warm and passion- 
 ate temperament, alienated him from his home, his parents, and his 
 friends. And when in after time there was superadded the years 
 of bitter anguish resulting from his unfortunate and ill-adapted 
 marriage, rendered even more poignant by the necessity of con- 
 cealment, and the consequent injustice of public sentiment, and 
 marring all his cherished expectations, it may be readily under- 
 stood why constant occupation became a necessity, and labor a 
 pleasure. The accumulation of money was then the result, and 
 not the aim of his labors. In an action of law brought against 
 his estate after his death, a letter to the plaintiff from Mr. Grirard 
 was produced and read. In it, occur these striking words ; — 
 " When I rise in the morning, my only effort is to labor so hard 
 during the day, that when the night comes, I may be enabled to 
 sleep soundly." What a vista of disappointed hopes and broken 
 ties, what misery in the midst of millions, is presented in this short 
 sentence ! Still from time to time, the genial affection with which 
 nature had originally endowed him, beamed forth in spite of the 
 clouds of affliction and trouble. This was evidenced in his general 
 love for children, and particularly by the strong affection he dis- 
 played for his grand-niece Caroline Lallemand; in the care with 
 which he nurtured in his own house, and educated, the orphan 
 daughters of his brother John; in his support for many years, and 
 until their deaths, of his aunt Lafargue, and his sister Victoire; 
 in the assistance extended to his brother Etienne, and the kindness 
 with which he brought to this country and educated his two sons; 
 and in the interest he always displayed for those who had 
 been reared in his service, and whose conduct and character pleased 
 and satisfied him. And when in the midst of pestilence 
 and death, the concealed but still living springs of love for his 
 
BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GxRARD. 25 
 
 race broke forth afresh, no danger was too great, and no service 
 too severe, for this misunderstood but really kind-hearted man. 
 
 He thus compared his own condition with that of his friend 
 Duplessis, in a letter written to the latter in New Orleans in 1804. 
 •' I observe with pleasure that you have a numerous family, that you 
 are happy and in the possession of an honest fortune. This is all that 
 a wise man has the right to wish for. As to myself, I live like a 
 galley-slave, constantly occupied and often passing the night with- 
 out sleeping. I am wrapped up in a labyrinth of affairs, and worn 
 out with care. I do not value fortune. The love of labor is my 
 highest ambition. You perceive that your situation is a thousand 
 times preferable to mine." No one can become acquainted from 
 his confidential papers with the scope and power of his mind, and 
 the grandeur of his enterprises, without becoming also convinced 
 that he was a most remarkable man, of- penetrating sagacity and 
 massive intellect, and possessing elements of greatness of which 
 the busy world around him was little aware, when they regarded 
 him merely as a merchant seeking his profits 
 
 In the winter of 1830, Mr. Girard, while walking in the streets 
 of Philadelphia, was thrown down by a passing vehicle, and 
 received such injuries of the head, that, for the first time, a 
 marked failing was observed in his physical powers. But he had 
 apparently almost recovered from its effects, when in December 
 1831, he was attacked by the influenza, then prevailing epidemi- 
 cally. This soon prostrated him, and the disease resulting in 
 pneumonia, it was before long evident that he could not survive 
 the attack. The last few days of his life were spent in an uncon- 
 scious state, and on the 26th day of December, at four o'clock 
 in the afternoon, Mr. Girard ceased to exist. 
 
 As soon as his death became known, the authorities of the city 
 convened and decreed him a public funeral; the flags of the 
 shipping and public buildings were displayed at half-mast, and 
 various manifestations of regret for the loss of a distinguished 
 and useful citizen, were exhibited by the people. His remains, 
 attended by an immense concourse of citizens, and by all the pub- 
 lic authorities, were interred, on the 30th of December, in the 
 3 
 
26 BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 
 
 graveyard attached to the Roman Catholic church, at the corner 
 of Spruce and Sixth streets. These remains were subsequently 
 removed, and deposited with fitting ceremonies in the vestibule of 
 his College, on the 30th of September, 1851. 
 
 Upon an examination of his last will and testament, it was 
 found that his benevolence had not been confined to the Tnstiiu* 
 tion which formed the principal object of his bounty, but that in 
 addition to numerous legacies to his relatives and to persona 
 employed in his service, the Hospital for the sick, the Institution 
 for the Deaf and Dumb, the Orphan's Asylum, the Masonic 
 Fraternity, the Public Schools, and the City of Philadelphia, were 
 all to receive a share of the fortune which he thus solemnly 
 devoted to charity and the benefit of his fellow-man. 
 
 The widely extended commercial affairs of Mr. Girard were 
 continued until the hour of his death, and his executors, upon 
 taking possession of his estate, found upon his books between 
 thirty and forty outstanding mercantile adventures to different 
 parts of the world, many of which were of considerable magnitude 
 The management and settlement of the largest estate which com 
 mercial enterprise, industry, and capacity, had ever accumulated in 
 this community, required unusual skill and labor ; but such were 
 the intelligence and ability of the gentlemen to whom he had con- 
 fided this duty, that his vast affairs were conducted to a successful 
 issue, without material loss or delay. 
 
 Mr. Girard directed that the business of his bank should be 
 settled apart from that of his individual estate, and for this pur- 
 pose in February 1826 he had executed a deed of assignment, to 
 take effect upon the day of his death, authorizing his Trustees to 
 take immediate possession of all the assests of the bank, and proceed 
 to close its affairs as speedily as possible, and transfer the effects 
 which remained to his executors as a part of his estate. The 
 unusual difficulty of this service may be inferred from the fact, 
 that on entering upon their duties, his Trustees found a statement 
 which had been made up to the Saturday preceding his death, from 
 which it appeared, that his estate was liable on demand for 909,844 
 dollars, while to meet these claims only 17,350 dollars in specie 
 
BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRARD. 27 
 
 were found in the vaults of the bank. Their attention was next 
 directed to the debts due to the institution, which were ascertained 
 to amount to 3,479,961 dollars. At this period an unusual pres- 
 sure existed in the money-market, and to abstract so large an 
 amount by proceeding to collect it forthwith, would have resulted 
 in the most ruinous consequences to the commercial community, 
 while at the same time it was indispensable to guard against a 
 refusal to pay any demand on the bank. They managed however 
 this delicate duty with ability and fidelity, and the affairs of the 
 institution were closed without producing distress or embarrass- 
 ment to its debtors, or causing delay or injustice to its creditors. 
 
 In selecting his trustees and executors, Mr. Grirard exhibited an 
 additional proof of that discernment and knowledge of mankind 
 which had marked his previous career, by choosing gentlemen 
 whose integrity and position insured confidence in the discharge of 
 their duties, and whose business capacity enabled them to con- 
 duct to a favorable termination the complicated affairs of his long 
 and arduous life, without material dispute, and with promptitude 
 apd satisfaction to all concerned. 
 
 | His fortune, which amounted to about 7,500,000 dollars, was 
 disposed of in the following manner. For the erection and endow- 
 ment of his. College, he gave 2,000,000 dollars ; to different Insti- 
 tutions of Charity in and about Philadelphia, 116,000 dollars; to 
 his relatives and next of kin, 140,000 dollars ; to the city of Phil- 
 adelphia for the improvement of its eastern front, 500,000 dollars ; 
 to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for internal improvements, 
 300,000 dollars; to sundry friends or persons who had been in 
 his employment, annuities representing a principal sum of 65,000 
 dollars ; and he also bequeathed various legacies to apprentices and 
 servants, and to those of his captains who would bring his vessels 
 safely into porty^He also devised to the cities of New Orleans 
 and Philadelphia 280,000 acres of land, situated in the state of 
 Louisiana; but this land was subsequently lost to the legatees by 
 a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States. The resi- 
 due of his wealth was devised to the City of Philadelphia for the 
 following purposes ; 1st, for the improvement and maintenance of 
 
28 BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN GIRART). 
 
 his College; 2d, for the establishment of a better system of police; 
 and 3d, to improve the city and diminish taxation. 
 
 The estimate which his fellow-citizens placed upon his character, 
 may be best learned by the following extract from the eloquent 
 resolutions adopted by the councils of Philadelphia at the time 
 of his death. " Contemplating the humility of his origin, and 
 contrasting therewith the variety and extent of his works and 
 wealth, the mind is filled with admiration of the man, and pro- 
 foundly impressed with the value of his example. Numerous and 
 solid as the edifices are, which he constructed in the city and vicin- 
 ity of Philadelphia, they will contribute but a transitory record of 
 what he was, when compared with the moral influence that must 
 arise from a knowledge of the merits, and means, by which he 
 acquired his immense estate. These merits and means, were pro- 
 bity of the strictest kind, diligence unsurpassed, perseverance in 
 all pursuits, and a frugality as remote from parsimony as from 
 extravagance. The goodness of his heart was not manifested by 
 ostentatious subscription or loud profession ; but when pestilence 
 stalked abroad, he risked his life to preserve from its ravages the 
 most humble of his fellow-citizens, and wherever sorrow, unaccom- 
 panied by immorality, appeared at his door, it was thrown wide 
 open. His person, his home, and his habits evinced the love of 
 what was simple, and he was a devoted friend to those principles 
 of civil and religious liberty which are the basis of the political 
 fabric of his adopted country." 
 
 Howitt, in his " Homes and Haunts of the Poets," describes in 
 the following sentence the benevolence of such philanthropists as 
 Stephen Girard, and although referring specially to the old mer- 
 chant who founded, at Bristol, the school at which the " marvellous 
 boy," Chatterton, received his education, the extract is a truthful 
 and fitting conclusion to this brief Biography of the dead mariner 
 and merchant, who also like Edward Colston, thus has " made his 
 riches do his generous will for ever." " You cannot help feeling 
 the grand benevolence of those wealthy merchants who make 
 their riches do their generous will for ever; who become thereby 
 the actual Fathers of their Cities to all generations; who roll in 
 
BIOGRAPHY OE STEPHEN GIRARD 20 
 
 every year of the world's progress some huge stone of anxiety 
 from the hearts of poor widows; who clear the way before the 
 unfriended but active and worthy lad ; who put forth their invisi- 
 ble hands from the heaven of their rest, and become the genuine 
 guardian angels of the orphan race, for ever and ever; raising from 
 those who would otherwise have been outcasts and ignorant 
 laborers, aspiring and useful men ; tradesmen of substance, mer- 
 chants the true enrichers of their country, and fathers of happy 
 families. How glorious is such a lot ! How noble is such an 
 appropriation of wealth ! How enviable is such a Fame !" 
 
 In the following pages will be found a detailed account of the 
 erection and organization of that magnificent edifice and its 
 dependent buildings, which now form perhaps the most interesting 
 object in the vicinity of Philadelphia, if not in all the United 
 States; and which seem destined, from the almost imperishable 
 nature of their structure as well as their ample and well-secured 
 endowment, to carry forward into an indefinite future the benefi- 
 cent intentions of the wise and far-seeing " Mariner and Merchant." 
 
HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE 
 
 AND 
 
 ITS PLAN OF ORGANIZATION AND DISCIPLINE. 
 
 Mr. Grirard died on the 26th of December, 1831. As soon as 
 his executors had advanced sufficiently far in the settlement of 
 his lar^e estate to authorize the undertaking, the Councils of Phil- 
 adelphia, who were selected by him as his trustees, took the neces- 
 sary steps to carry out his intentions. Accordingly, on the 11th 
 of February 1833, they elected a Board of Directors, to superin- 
 tend the organization and management of the College in conformity 
 with his will. 
 
 This board, which consisted of eighteen of the most prominent 
 citizens of Philadelphia, organized on the 18th of the same month 
 by the election of Nicholas Biddle as chairman, and ittiiLediately 
 entered upon the discharge of their duties.. As the ordinance 
 creating a Board of Directors conferred no power with regard to 
 the construction of an edifice for the College, the Councils on the 
 21st of March appointed a sub-committee of their body, to be 
 called the " Building Committee/' who with eight members of the 
 Board of Directors, and the architect, were instructed to prepare 
 a plan for the College Building. 
 
 The joint committee met on the 18th of April 1833, and after 
 due examination, determined that the designs which had previously 
 been received from all parts of the United States in competition 
 for the premium offered, should be set aside, and Thomas U. Wal- 
 ter Esq., who had been elected the architect, was instructed to 
 prepare a plan of the Main Building, with a portico extending 
 around the entire structure, and conforming in the dimensions and 
 
 (30} 
 
HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE. 8] 
 
 form of the Cella, or body of the building, to the directions laid 
 down in the will of Mr. Grirard. 
 
 The design prepared by this gentleman, substantially the pre- 
 sent edifice, was approved by Councils on the 29th of April, and 
 excavations for the foundations having been commenced on the 
 6th of May following, the corner-stone of the College was laid 
 with fitting ceremonies on the 4th of July, 1833. 
 
 The main edifice, and out-buildings, were completed and trans- 
 ferred to the Directors on the 13th of November 1847, making 
 fourteen years and six months as the entire period occupied in the 
 execution of the work. 
 
 The total amount expended for this construction, not including 
 the western out-building which has since been erected at a cost of 
 20,000 dollars, was 1,933,821.78 dollars. If no depreciation had 
 taken place in the value of the stocks and loans, originally set 
 apart by the Commissioners for the Grirard Estate to constitute a 
 Fund, a large surplus would have remained to support the Institu- 
 tion ) and if the same rate of interest had continued which was 
 accruing at the time of the transfer, the College-Fund would have 
 amounted to 1,500,000 dollars, after deducting the whole cost of 
 the work. But during the years 1841—2—3—4, the stocks depre- 
 ciated immensely in value, and it became finally necessary, in 
 order to complete the work, to draw on the residuary fund, thus 
 causing also considerable delay in the progress of the work. 
 
 The following condensed statements exhibits the amounts appro- 
 priated and expended in the construction of the College. 
 
 On the 20th of April 1833, the Commissioners of the Girard 
 Estates set apart the following stocks and loans, to constitute the 
 College Fund, viz.: — 
 
 6331 Shares of stock in the Bank of the United 
 
 States ,. $664,715.00 
 
 8 Certificates of loan — Pennsylvania 1,221,785.00 
 
 1 Certificate of City Corporation 113,500.00 
 
 Making %2fi00 } 000M 
 
82 HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE. 
 
 Total amount of interest which accrued from time 
 to time, on the unexpended portions of the 
 
 Fund $854,536.21 
 
 Cash received from sale of refused materials 1,587.20 
 
 Amount taken from residuary Fund, to complete 
 
 the Colbge 31,525.11 
 
 $2,887,648.52 " 
 
 Amount expended for building College $1,933,821.78 
 
 Loss on sale of stocks at Executors' valuation 900,813.30 
 
 Amount expended by the Trustees and Directors 
 unconnected with the building of the Col- 
 lege 51,835.22 
 
 Unexpended balance of appropriation 1,178.22 
 
 $2,887,64^52" 
 
 During the progress of the Building, an unsuccessful effort was 
 made by the next of kin to Mr. Grirard, to defeat the intentions 
 of the Testator, by alleging that the Institution was illegal and 
 immoral, and by laying claim to the fund appropriated for its 
 establishment. As a portion of the History of the College, a 
 brief reference to this incident may be interesting. Among the 
 private legatees in his will, the Testator named his brother Etienne 
 and children, and the children of his sister Sophia, and brother 
 John Grirard. The several legacies so bequeathed were paid to 
 the legatees, before the expiration of a year after the Testator's 
 death. After these legacies had been paid, the same parties who 
 claimed to be heirs and next of kin instituted an action of eject- 
 ment in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, to recover from the 
 city all real estate purchased by Mr. Girard after the date of the 
 last republication of the will. Under the laws of Pennsylvania, 
 which at that time did not pass under a general devise after- 
 acquired property, they obtained judgment, and recovered from 
 the city the real estate purchased between the dates of the republi- 
 cation and his death. Subsequently, they filed a bill on the 
 equity side of the Circuit Court, which was afterwards removed 
 
HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE. 33 
 
 on appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, in which 
 they laid claim not only to the specific fund for the endowment of 
 the College, but also to the whole residuary portion of the Testa- 
 tor's estate. 
 
 The main ground recited in the bill was that the trusts for the 
 Orphan College were absolutely void; 1st, because as to the real 
 estate, the city had no capacity to take by devise ; 2d, that if 
 they had such capacity generally, they could not take it in trust 
 for other persons; and 3d, that they could not take either real 01 
 personal property upon the trusts which were declared for poor 
 orphan children, &c, because the objects of the charity were 
 altogether indefinite, vague, and uncertain; and therefore the 
 trusts were incapable of execution, or of being cognizable at law 
 or equity, or of vesting at law in any existing or possible cestui 
 que trust. Although not specifically set forth in the bill, yet the 
 following portion of the will was relied upon as a most important 
 portion of the argument to invalidate the intentions of the Testa- 
 tor. u I enjoin and require that no Ecclesiatic, Missionary , or 
 minister of any sect whatsoever, shall ever hold or exercise any 
 station or duty whatever in the said College ; nor shall any such 
 person ever be admitted for any purpose, or as a visitor, within 
 the premises appropriated to the purposes of the said College. 
 In making this restriction, I do not mean to cast any reflection 
 upon any sect or person whatsoever ; but, as there is such a multi- 
 tude of sects, and such a diversity of opinion amongst them, I 
 desire to keep the tender minds of the orphans, who are to derive 
 advantage from this bequest, free from the excitement which 
 clashing doctrines and sectarian controversy are so apt to produce. 
 My desire is, that all the instructors and teachers in the College 
 shall take pains to instil into the minds of the scholars the purest 
 principles of morality, so that on their entrance into active life, 
 they may from inclination and habit, evince benevolence towards 
 their fellow-creatures, and a love of truth, sobriety, and industry, 
 adopting at the same time such religious tenets as their matured 
 reason may enable them to prefer." 
 
 It was objected, that the foundation of the College upon these 
 
34 HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE. 
 
 principles and exclusions, was derogatory and hostile to the Chris- 
 tian religion, and was void, as being against the common law and 
 public policy; first, because of the exclusion of all ecclesiastics, 
 missionaries, and ministers of any sect, and secondly, because it 
 limits the instruction to be given to the scholars to pure morality 
 and general benevolence, and to a love of truth, sobriety, and 
 industry, thereby excluding by implication all instruction in the 
 Christian religion. The cause was first argued before the Supreme 
 Court at January Term 1843 by Mr. Stump and Mr. Jones of 
 Washington on behalf of the Grirard heirs, and by Mr. Sergeant 
 for the city ; but the Judges thinking that it was proper to re-hear 
 the cause before a fuller court, a re-argument was ordered and 
 took place at January Term 1844, where Mr. Jones and Mr. 
 Webster appeared for the complainants, and Mr. Binney and Mr. 
 Sergeant for the City and Executors. 
 
 The unanimous decision of the Court was delivered by Mr. Jus- 
 tice Story, establishing in an elaborate opinion that the trust and 
 charity were valid and legal, and that there was nothing in the 
 devise creating the College, or in the regulations and restrictions 
 contained therein, which is inconsistent with the Christian religion 
 or opposed to any known policy of the State. 
 
 During the progress of the Building, the Board of Directors 
 deemed it advisable to select a presiding officer of the Institution 
 in advance of its organization, who would prepare a system of dis- 
 cipline and instruction for the College in anticipation of its speedy 
 completion. Having obtained the necessary authority from Coun- 
 cils, they accordingly on the 19th of July 1836 elected Alexander 
 Dallas Bache of the City of Philadelphia the first President of 
 the College, with instructions to visit similar Institutions in Eu- 
 rops, and to procure such books and apparatus as should be needed 
 in its organization. Upon the return of President Bache in 1838, 
 efforts were made by the Board to establish schools preparatory to 
 the completion of the College, which it was now found would 
 require several years to finish ; but in consequence of the opinion 
 of competent legal authority, that the organization of the Institu- 
 
HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE. 35 
 
 tion before the completion of the buildings would be in violation 
 of the will, the requisite permission was not granted. 
 
 Soon after this period, difficulties arose between Councils and 
 the Directors, which resulted ultimately in the repeal both of the 
 ordinance creating the Board, and that authorizing the election of 
 a President. 
 
 From this period, until its completion, the building committer 
 continued to have charge of the erection of the College, and o 
 June 1847, the edifice being then nearly finished, a new Board of 
 Directors was again appointed to organize and manage the Insti- 
 tution. The anomalous character of the College, and the absence 
 of any light which entirely similar institutions would have afforded, 
 rendered this duty one of great delicacy, as well as unusual diffi- 
 culty. To the earnest labor and skill of the gentlemen composing 
 this Board, is justly due the credit of devising a plan, under which 
 the College was successfully put in operation, and has since been 
 prosperously conducted. 
 
 The buildings were formally transferred to the Directors on the 
 13th of November 1847; on the 15th of December following, 
 the necessary officers and agents were elected, the Hon. Joel 
 Jones, then President Judge of the District Court for the City 
 and County of Philadelphia, being selected as the President, and 
 on the 1st of January 1818, the College was opened with fitting 
 ceremonies, with a class of one hundred orphans who had been 
 previously admitted. On the 1st of October of the same year, 
 one hundred additional boys were introduced, and on the 1st of 
 April of the following year, a third class of one hundred pupils 
 was admitted. Since then, irom time to time, additional orphans 
 have been admitted, until at the present time (1876) the number 
 is 550. 
 
 On the 1st of June 1849, Judge Jones resigned the office of 
 President of the College, and on the 23d of November of the same 
 year, William H. Allen, LL.D., then Professor of Mental Philos- 
 ophy and English Literature in Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, 
 was duly elected to fill the vacancy. This gentleman having ac- 
 cepted the appointment, was duly installed on the 1st of January 
 1850, and is still at the head of the Institution. 
 
36 HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE. 
 
 While the Councils of the city of Philadelphia are "Trustees of 
 Mr. Girard's will, the immediate government of the College is vested 
 in the Directors of City Trusts, composed of twelve citizens of Phila- 
 delphia, appointed by the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, 
 who with the Mayor and Presidents of Councils constitute the 
 Board. This Board holds stated monthly meetings, and is sub- 
 divided into various standing committees, who have respectively 
 charge of the principal departments of the Institution, such as 
 Instruction, Household, Admission, and Discharge, &c. It is also 
 empowered to make Rules for the government of the Institution, 
 to decide the course of Instruction, to elect the necessary officers 
 and agents, to control the expenditures, and to determine the 
 question of Admission and Discharge of Pupils. The will of 
 Mr. Girard provides that the Institution shall be for the benefit 
 of "poor white male orphan" children. In the absence of a 
 more specific description of those for whom the Testator intended 
 the advantages of his College, the Supreme Court of the State 
 decided that the term "Orphan" should be defined "a Fath- 
 erless child." In eleemosynary Institutions in Great Britain 
 and on the Continent, this definition is generally recognized as its 
 meaning; and according to our laws, the Father is the Parent on 
 whom the duties of education and nurture are devolved, and 
 whose decease may therefore most naturally give rise to the state 
 of orphanage. But a still stronger reason for this construction, 
 was the belief that Mr. Girard had attached this sense to the 
 word in the preparation of his will. This decision has, therefore, 
 become the rule of the Institution, and the admissions to the 
 College are thus not confined to those who in the general accepta- 
 tion of the word are orphans, but includes also such children as 
 have lost by death the male parent. 
 
 If at any time there are more applicants than vacancies, a 
 preference is given by the will, 1st, to orphans born in the city of 
 Philadelphia; 2dly, to those born in any other part of Pennsylvania; 
 odly, to those born in the city of New York; and lastly, to those 
 born in the city of New Orleans. The preference to those born in 
 the city of Philadelphia is defined strictly to include the old city 
 
HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE. 37 
 
 proper alone, and does not extend to the rest of Philadelphia, 
 which in this respect has no rights over any other portion of the 
 State. Admissions thus far have been confined to orphans born in 
 Pennsylvania, as the applications from that State have hitherto 
 been many more than sufficient to fill all vacancies. 
 
 To be qualified for admission, orphans must be between the 
 ages of six and ten years, and no application is received for admis- 
 sion of a child before he attains the first named age ; nor can he 
 be admitted into the College after becoming ten years of age, 
 although the application has been made previously. Applications 
 for admission are received at the office, No. 19 South Fifth Street, 
 between the hours of 10 A. M. and 12 M. The mother, or next 
 friend, appearing for such purpose, is required to produce the 
 marriage certificate, (or in its absence some other satisfactory 
 evidence,) and also the certificate of the physician setting forth 
 
 the time and place of birth. 
 
 Answers to the questions contained in the following form, are 
 also required to be made in writing, and these statements must 
 likewise be vouched for by respectable citizens acquainted with 
 the facts. 
 
 [FORM OF APPLICATION.] 
 
 To the Directors of the Girard College for Orphans. 
 
 The undersigned [mother, relative or friend, as the case may 
 be] of having duly considered the information 
 
 given, by the Directors of the Grirard College for Orphans, to those 
 who may desire to place poor white male orphan children therein, 
 hereby applies for the admission of the said into 
 
 the College, he being a poor, white, male orphan, between the ages 
 of six and ten years. The undersigned, in answers to the 
 
 several questions, in the list hereto appended, gives an accurate 
 statement of facts, and desires that those answers may be consid 
 ered as if they were statements made herein. 
 
 [Name of Applicant.] 
 4 [Residence,, and date of application.] 
 
38 
 
 FORM OF APPLICATION. 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 1. What is the name of the poor 
 white male orphan, for whose 
 admission into the Girard Col- 
 lege the above application is 
 made ? 
 
 2. When was he born ? 
 
 3. Where was he born ? 
 
 4. What was his father's name, 
 and when and where did he 
 die? 
 
 5. Is his mother living, and if 
 she is, what is her name, and 
 where does she reside 1 
 
 6. Is he sound in mind and bo- 
 dy, and what diseases has he 
 had? 
 
 7. What has been his general 
 moral conduct ? 
 
 8. Has he had any education ? 
 
 9. Are there any pecuniary 
 means at the disposal of his 
 mother, or other person, for 
 his maintenance and educa- 
 tion? 
 
 ANSWERS. 
 
 1. [State the name in full.] 
 
 2. [State the day, month, and 
 year.] 
 
 3. 
 
 4. 
 
 6. 
 
 8. 
 
 9, 
 
FORM OF APPLICATION. 
 
 39 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 10. By whom, or on what means 
 has he been maintained since 
 the death of his father ? 
 
 11. What was his father's occu- 
 pation or trade ? 
 
 12. 
 
 ANSWERS 
 
 10. 
 
 11. 
 
 12. 
 
 13. 
 
 14. 
 
 15. 
 
 16. 
 
 13. 
 
 14. 
 
 15. 
 
 16. 
 
 The undersigned believe that confidence may be placed in the 
 
 foregoing representation, made by , who 
 
 applies for the admission of as a pool 
 white male orphan child into the Grirard College. 
 
 When vacancies occur, the cases of applicants are considered 
 strictly according to priority of application, and if found to come 
 within the provisions and intentions of the will, the orphan is ad- 
 mitted upon the execution by the mother or next friend of the 
 following indenture : — 
 
 Whereas, is a poor white male orphan 
 
 between the ages of six and ten years, having been born on the 
 
 day of in the year 
 
 at in : And whereas, 
 
 has applied for his admission into the 
 
40 FORM OF INDENTURE. 
 
 Girard College for Orphans, and the Directors thereof have assented 
 thereto : Now this Indenture WITNESSETH, that the Guardians 
 for the Relief and Employment of the Poor of the City of Philadel- 
 phia, the District of Southwark, and the Townships of the Northern 
 Liberties and Penn, by the authority of an Act of the General As- 
 sembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, passed on the 27th 
 day of February, 1847, entitled " An Act relative to the Girard 
 College for Orphans," do hereby, with the consent of 
 which consent is signified by signing and sealing these pre- 
 
 sents, bind the said to the Mayor, Aldermen and 
 
 Citizens of Philadelphia, and their successors, as trustees under the 
 will of Stephen Girard, deceased, as an orphan to be admitted into 
 the said College, to be there maintained and educated according to 
 the provisions, and in the manner and under all the regulations 
 and restrictions specified in the said will, and under such others as 
 the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Philadelphia may lawfully 
 ordain under the said will ; and the said orphan shall 
 
 abide by and submit to all such provisions, regulations and restric- 
 tions : and the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Philadelphia, 
 hereby covenant, agree and declare to and with the Guardians 
 aforesaid, that the said orphan shall be entitled 
 
 to have and receive all the benefits of the said College according 
 to the will of the said Stephen Girard. In testimony whereof, 
 the said parties to this indenture have respectively caused their 
 corporate seals to be hereunto affixed, and the said 
 hath hereunto set hand and seal this day 
 
 of in the year 
 
 Sealed and delivered in 
 the presence of 
 
 Orphans thus admitted, are fed, clothed, and educated entirely 
 by the Institution. No uniform or distinctive dress is permitted 
 to be worn. Although residing permanently in the College, they 
 
EDUCATION OF THE SCHOLARS. 41 
 
 are allowed at stated times to visit their friends at their homes 
 and to receive visits from their friends at the College. 
 
 If by malconduct a pupil becomes an unfit companion for the rest, 
 the right to dismiss him summarily is vested in the Directors. 
 
 Those scholars who may merit it, remain in the College until 
 they arrive at between fourteen and eighteen years of age, at the 
 discretion of the Board, when they are indentured by the Institu- 
 tion on behalf of the " City of Philadelphia," to learn some suitable 
 occupation or trade, until they become twenty-one years of age, 
 consulting as far as is judicious the inclination and preference of 
 the scholar. ^ i 
 
 The immediate direction and government of the College is 
 vested in the President, who is the chief executive officer of the 
 Institution, and who is responsible for its proper administration. 
 The subordinate officers are under his sole control, and are respon- 
 sible to him for the performance of their duties and the condition 
 of their departments. 
 
 The household is under the care of a Matron, six Prefects, and 
 ^\.\q governesses, who superintend the moral and social character 
 and conduct of the orphans, and who administer the discipline of 
 the Institution at all times when the pupils are not in the schools. 
 These officers have charge of the Dormitories, Refectories, Lava- 
 tories, Section or Study-rooms, where the school lessons are pre- 
 pared, and the Play -grounds. For the purpose of better discipline, 
 the scholars are subdivided into sections, which have assigned to 
 them distinct officers, buildings, and play-grounds. 
 
 The schools are conducted principally, but not entirely, in the 
 main College Building. Seven Professors and male instructors, 
 and sixteen female teachers, are employed in the duties of in- 
 struction, and the course of education at present embraces three 
 main divisions, termed First, Second, and Third Schools.*^As a 
 large proportion of the orphans admitted into the College have 
 had little or. no preparatory education, the instruction in the first- 
 named of these schools commences with the Alphabet, and includes 
 4. * 
 
42 EDUCATION OF THE SCHOLARS. 
 
 Spelling, Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Drawing, Geography, and 
 Object-Lessons. 
 
 In School No. 2, the scholar who has been promoted from the 
 lower department, or whose education at the time of his admission 
 enabled him to enter it, is instructed in Orthography, Punctuation, 
 Beading, Writing, Grammar and Composition, Geography, Mental 
 and Written Arithmetic, commencing with Vulgar Fractions, Ety- 
 mology, History (of the United States and England), and Drawing. 
 The Text Books, as well as the system of Instruction, are of a 
 higher grade than those in use in School No. 1. 
 
 In the Third School, the Pupils receive instruction in Reading, 
 Grammar and Composition, Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Trigo- 
 nometry, Surveying, Mensuration and Astronomy, Ancient and 
 Modern Geography, General History, French and Spanish, Pen- 
 manship, Drawing and Book-Keeping, Natural Philosophy. Chem- 
 istry, and Natural History. 
 
 In all the departments, for the purpose of better discipline and 
 instruction, the schools are subdivided into distinct classes of dif- 
 ferent grades, under the charge of separate teachers. 
 
 The order of exercises on week-days is as follows : The Pupils 
 rise at 6 o'clock, take breakfast at 6J, attend morning worship at 
 8, assemble in the School-rooms immediately afterwards, remain 
 there, with 15 minutes' recess, until 12, then take recreation for 
 half an hour, dine at 12^, take recreation from 1 until 2, remain 
 in the School-rooms from 2 until 4, with recess of 15 minutes, at- 
 tend evening worship at 4, take recreation two hours, supper at 
 6, assemble in the section rooms at 7, retire to the dormitories from 
 8 to 10, according to their age. On Saturday, the schools are not 
 in session in the afternoon. 
 
 The hours of recreation are spent by the Pupils either in the 
 section room or on the play-ground, where materials for games 
 and amusements are provided. A bathing-pool is also, located in 
 the western portion of the grounds, which is used by the scholars 
 at suitable seasons ; and Libraries are also furnished for their 
 instruction and entertainment. On proper occasion they are 
 
VARIOUS REGULATIONS. 43 
 
 taken to approved exhibitions, or to visit interesting places, manu- 
 factories, and work-shops in or about the city. 
 
 On Sundays, the Pupils assemble in their section rooms at 9 
 o'clock in the morning, and at 2 in the afternoon, for religious 
 reading and instruction, and at 10 J o'clock in the morning, and 
 3 J in the afternoon, they attend worship in the College Building 
 
 At the daily or Sunday religious exercises, the President, oi 
 some other layman selected by him, officiates, as by the will 
 Clergymen are not privileged to be admitted into the College. 
 On week-days, the chapel exercises consist of singing a hymn, 
 reading a chapter from the Bible or New Testament, and prayer. 
 On Sundays, in addition, an appropriate discourse, adapted to the 
 comprehension and situation of the Pupils, is delivered. 
 
 The discipline of the Institution is almost entirely administered 
 through admonition, deprivation of recreation, and seclusion ; but 
 in extreme cases, corporal punishment may be inflicted by order 
 of the President, and in his presence. 
 
 In the case of the death of a Pupil, his friends have the privilege 
 of removing his body for interment elsewhere; but should this 
 not be preferred, his remains are placed in the Cemetery attached 
 to the Institution, and located within its walls. A steward, two 
 physicians, and a dentist, having charge of their respective depart- 
 ments, are also permanently connected with the Institution. 
 
 Citizens are permitted to visit the College on the afternoon of 
 the first Tuesday in each month, with a permit signed by a Direc- 
 tor. Strangers are admitted on any day of the week, except 
 Sunday, between 9 o'clock A. M., and sunset, upon the presenta- 
 tion of a permit. 
 
 The annual cost per capita, for maintaining, clothing, and edu- 
 cating each Pupil, including the current repairs of the furniture, 
 buildings, and ground, is about 250 dollars. The funds for the 
 support of the Institution are administered by the Board of 
 Directors of City Trusts, who have charge of the estate of Mr. 
 Girard as well as of the College, and who thus exercise a control 
 and supervision over both revenues and expenditures. 
 
44 DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS. 
 
 The incoraa for the support of the Institution is derived princi- 
 pally from the rental of the real estate left by Mr. Girard, as the 
 cost of erecting the buildings, and the immense losses sustained 
 by the depreciation of the stocks and loans, had completely 
 absorbed the 2,000,000 dollars and the accruing interest devoted 
 to its construction and maintenance. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS* 
 
 THE MAIN BUILDING. 
 
 The general design of this building is that of a Greek temple, 
 having eight columns on each end, and eleven on each side, count- 
 ing the corner columns both ways, making in all thirty-four co- 
 lumns. The order of architecture in which the exterior is com- 
 posed, is the Grecian Corinthian. The columns are six feet in 
 diameter, and fifty-five in height; the bases are nine feet three 
 inches in diameter, and three feet two inches high, and the capitals 
 are eight feet six inches high, and nine feet four inches wide on 
 the face of the abacus. The corner columns have one and one- 
 half inches more diameter than the intermediate ones, for the pur- 
 pose of overcoming the apparent reduction in their size arising 
 from their insulated position. Each frustrum composing the shafts, 
 as well as the bases, consists of a single piece without vertical 
 joints. 
 
 The shafts are composed of frustra, measuring from two feet six 
 inches to six feet three inches in height, accurately jointed and set 
 on milled lead; each shaft is channelled in twenty-four semi-circu- 
 lar flutes, with fillets terminating under the capital, in water-leaves. 
 
 The capitals are each constructed in four courses. The first 
 course consists of a single piece of one foot seven inches in height, 
 embracing an annular row of sixteen water-leaves; the second is 
 
 * Condensed from the Report of the Architect. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS. 45 
 
 likewise composed of one piece, which measures two feet nine 
 inches in height, and contains an annular row of tight acanthus 
 leaves; the third course is comprised of two pieces with a vertical 
 joint running through the middle (this course measures two feet 
 eleven inches in height and embraces the volutes and the cauli- 
 culi); and the fourth course, composed of four pieces, the vertical 
 joints of which are obscured by honeysuckles, constitutes the aba- 
 cus, the height of which is one foot three inches. 
 
 Thus each capital consists of twelve separate pieces, all of which 
 are securely dowelled and cramped together, and the joints so dis- 
 posed between the cauliculi as not to be observed. 
 
 These capitals were all carved on the grounds of the College, 
 of marble from Chester County in the state of Pennsylvania, and 
 most of the work was executed by American artists. As a speci- 
 men of architectural sculpture, they will not suffer in comparison 
 with the most admired structures of ancient or modern times. 
 
 The net amount of marble in each column, including the base 
 and capital, is 1346 cubic feet; the weight 103 tons, and the cost 
 12,994 dollars, as follows : — 
 
 Marble for the base.... $1,304 
 
 Workmanship of do 130 
 
 Hoisting and setting of do 20 
 
 $1,454 
 
 Marble for the shaft 6,044 
 
 Workmanship of do 572 
 
 Hoisting and setting do 104 
 
 Fluting do 480 
 
 7,200 
 
 Marble for the Capital 2,680 
 
 Workmanship of do 1,580 
 
 Hoisting and setting do 45 
 
 _ 4,305 
 
 Rigging, scaffolding, cramping, and lead 85 
 
 $12,994 
 
 The architravo over each intercolumniation consists of four 
 
46 DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS. 
 
 blocks of marble twenty-one feet five inches in length, four feet 
 two inches in height, and one foot four and one-half inches in 
 thickness, extending from column to column. These architraves 
 are relieved of all superincumbent weight, by resolving it directly 
 on the columns. This is accomplished by placing a block of gra- 
 nite of two feet by two feet ten inches, and six feet four inches in 
 height on the top of each column, extending through the archi- 
 traves. From the top of these blocks a brick arch is turned over each 
 intercolumniation behind the frieze, to receive the weight of the 
 cornice, and the frieze is likewise constructed on the principles of 
 an arch and is kept entirely clear of the architrave, the springers 
 being supported by the granite blocks on the head of the columns, 
 so that every architrave in the peristyle might be taken out with- 
 out interfering with the stability of the structure. 
 
 The cornice consists of a congeries of mouldings, enriched with 
 a dentil band, and crowned with a sculptured cymatium of two feet 
 four inches in height. The extreme projection of the cornice from 
 the face of the architrave, is four feet, and its height seven feet 
 six inches. The whole height of the entablature is sixteen feet 
 four inches, and of the pediment from the top of the cymatium 
 seventeen feet eight inches ; making the height from the top of the 
 columns to the apex of the pediment thirty-four feet, and the ele- 
 vation of the pediment one-ninth of the span. 
 
 The exterior of the cella or body of the building measures one 
 hundred and eleven feet wide, one-hundred and sixty-nine feet long, 
 and fifty-nine feet eight inches high, including the architrave, which 
 corresponds with that of the peristyle. The corners of the cella 
 are finished with projecting antse of five feet six inches in width, 
 having bases to correspond with those of the columns. The doors 
 of entrance are in the north and south fronts. Each door measures 
 sixteen feet in width, and thirty-two feet in height, in the clear, 
 and is trimmed on the outside with moulded antepagmenta of two 
 feet seven inches in width, and crowned with a projecting cornice 
 eupported by richly carved consules, of one foot four inches in 
 width by six feet six inches in height. 
 
 Each flank is pierced with twenty windows, four of which open 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS. 47 
 
 into each room, and one on each flight of stairs. Those which 
 open into the rooms are grouped and divided by Greek antae, sur- 
 mounted by architraves and cornices. 
 
 The superstructure rests on a stylobate or basement, consisting 
 of eleven steps, which extend around the entire edifice, thus 
 imparting a pyramidal appearance to the substructure, which con- 
 veys an idea of great solidity, and at the same time affords aa 
 approach to the peristyle from all sides. The steps are constructed 
 of blocks of marble of ten feet in length, rebated each into the 
 other, and secured to the foundations by means of heavy cramp 
 irons. They are also supported by cross walls built five feet from 
 centre to centre, in which openings are left, so as to allow a free 
 passage around the whole building. 
 
 The floor of the peristyle is composed of slabs of marble, four 
 inches in thickness, accurately jointed, and laid with hollow spaces 
 under them, which communicate with the area under the steps, 
 and with the cellars in which are the furnaces. Thus a continual 
 circulation of air, at a temperature much above the freezing point, 
 is kept up under all the steps, as well as under the floor of the 
 peristyle. 
 
 The marble used in the east and west flanks, and the north 
 front of the cella, as also the steps, the floor of the peristyle, the 
 roof, the interior floors, and the inside stairways, was obtained 
 from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The material for the 
 capitals of the columns, with a considerable portion of the basea 
 and shafts, the south front of the cella, and part of the interioi 
 columns, came from Chester County, Pennsylvania. And the 
 remainder, consisting of portions of the shafts and bases of 
 the columns, and the entablature of the peristyle, with the rest 
 of the interior columns, was procured from Egremont, Massachu- 
 setts. 
 
 Every block of marble in the building is set on pieces of milled 
 lead, in order to prevent fracture at the joints; and every stone 
 is dowelled into the stones above and below, and at each end, and 
 also securely cramped to the brick work, and to the adjacent 
 stones by means of heavy cramp \rons. « 
 
48 DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS. 
 
 The ceiling of the peristyle is composed entirely of cast iron, 
 enriched with deep sunken panels, and painted and sanded in 
 imitation of marble. The weight of this cast iron is 142 J tons, 
 or 4| tons for each intercolumniation, and the entire cost of the 
 ceiling was 14,162 dollars. 
 
 The roof is composed of marble tiles, four and a half feet long, 
 four feet wide, and two and three-fourth inches thick in the 
 middle; the sides being elevated an inch and a half above the 
 general surface, to prevent the water from running into the joints 
 at their junction. Each of these joints is covered with a marble 
 saddle, four and a half feet in length, ten inches in width, and six 
 and a half inches in thickness, and hollowed out on the under side 
 so as to embrace the ridges on two adjacent tiles. Every upper 
 tile overlaps the one below six inches; and the under side is 
 grooved and fitted to corresponding ridges and projections on the 
 surface, thus preventing admission of water from beating rains or 
 capillary attraction. At the same time their construction is 
 such as to admit of being laid without coming actually in contact 
 with each other, thus rendering them free to expand and contract 
 with the various changes of temperature without producing leaks. 
 
 These tiles rest on nine inch brick walls, built four feet apart 
 from centre to centre, across the whole building, on the upper 
 surface of the third story arches. This plan of support affords 
 access at all times to the under side of every tile, and facilitates 
 examination in case of leakage. 
 
 The weight of each roofing tile is 776 lbs., and of each saddle 
 214 Vy% The whole number of tiles in the roof being 2046, and 
 of saddles .2061, the aggregate weight of the tiles and saddles is 
 906 tons; in addition to *v • + h^ marble chimney tops and the 
 cast-iron skylights weigh 20 tons, an„ •- l ead and masonry of the 
 gutters 43 J tons, making the entire weight of the roof 9 69 J tons, 
 exclusive of the brick-work which supports it. 
 
 The gutters are composed of bricks and flag-stones laid in 
 hydraulic cement, and covered with heavy milled lead, painted 
 and sanded. The water is conveyed from the roof by means of 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS. 4S 
 
 four conductors, composed of heavy cast-iron pipes of ten inchea 
 caliber, securely put together and embedded in the walls. 
 
 The skylights are composed of cast-iron tiles and saddles, so 
 formed as to present an exterior appearance corresponding with 
 the rest of the roof. In the centre of each tile two lights of glass 
 are inserted, measuring nineteen inches in width, forty-two inches 
 in length, and half an inch in thickness; and nine of these tiles, 
 containing eighteen lights of the above dimensions, are placed 
 ever each of the rooms in the upper story, and six tiles, having 
 twelve lights, over each stairway. The weight of the cast-iron 
 composing these skylights is fifteen and a half tons; and the cost, 
 including glass and workmanship, was 2800 dollars. 
 
 The building is three stories in height; the first and second 
 stories being twenty-five feet from floor to floor, and the third 
 story being thirty feet in the clear to the eye of the dome. Each 
 story is divided, as directed by the will, into four rooms, each fifty 
 feet square in the clear. All the outside foundation walls of the 
 cella, and the walls separating the cellars under the rooms, from 
 those under the vestibules, are six feet four inches thick ; and the 
 rest of the interior foundation walls are three feet four inches 
 thick. The thickness of the wall for supporting the columns is 
 nine feet nine inches; and the intercolumniations, as well as all 
 other openings, are counter-arched with bricks. 
 
 The outside walls of the superstructure, and the interior vesti- 
 bule walls, are four feet in thickness, and the rest of the interior 
 walls three feet. 
 
 All the rooms and vestibules in the building are vaulted with 
 bricks; those of the basement, first and second stories, with groin 
 arches, and those of the third story with pendentive domes spring- 
 ing from the floors. The reverberation of sound in these rooms, 
 caused by their arch-formed ceilings, although anticipated by the 
 architect, is the result of the express directions of the will in their 
 formation. This reverberation is now entirely obviated by the 
 introduction of false ceilings made of canvass stretched over a 
 light wooden frame. 
 
 The piers from which the groin arches spring are four feet 
 5 
 
50 DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS 
 
 square, with projections of one foot by two feet in the angles, to 
 support the bands. These piers are composed of bricks and 
 dressed granite, laid in alternate sections. 
 
 The arches are composed of hard burnt paving bricks, and 
 mortar made of lime, hydraulic cement, and sharp sand. 
 
 The chord of these arches on the diagonal, is sixty feet, and 
 their versed sine, or rise, but eight feet. Each arch, including 
 its abutments, contains 117,000 bricks, which, together with the 
 marble floor on top, makes the weight suspended over each room 
 about 350 tons. 
 
 The third story arches spring out of the corners of the rooms ; 
 the horizontal section at the floor, o: springing line being four feet 
 square, with bands of one foot six inches, by four feet. These 
 bands form semicircular arches on the four walls of each room, of 
 thirty-two feet two inches in diameter, and from their angles at the 
 floor, spring the pendentives. The horizontal section of each room 
 is thus resolved into a circle at the top of the bands, and crowned 
 with a dome. The dome, as well as the bands and pendentives, 
 are enriched with deep cofferings, and the eye of the dome is fin- 
 ished with an ornamental fret, and covered with an inner skylight 
 of sixteen feet in diameter. The domes over the four stair-ways 
 are similar to those of the rooms, and have inner skylights of ten 
 feet in diameter. The lateral thrust of the arches is resisted by 
 iron bands of one inch by five inches, extending around all the 
 rooms and vestibules. One of these bands is placed one foot be- 
 low and another one foot above the spring of the first and second 
 story arches, and one immediately at the spring of those of the 
 third story, making five complete bands around the building, and 
 through all the interior walls. Three bands of similar dimensions, 
 one being embedded in each regula or architrave moulding, and 
 one through the frieze, extend around the portico. Cross bars are 
 also introduced between the building and the entablature, extend- 
 ing from the upper bar which belts the building, to the frieze over 
 each column, where they are secured to the top of the granite 
 posts before described. 
 
 All the bars are put together with rivets, and tightened by means 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS. 51 
 
 of draw-wedges, and all the corners are turned around granite posts 
 of six feet in height, built in the centre of the groin piers. In 
 order to give additional strength to the banding, diagonal bars are 
 introduced across each groin pier, and securely riveted to the prin- 
 cipal bands. 
 
 The aggregate length of all the bars of this description used 
 throughout the building is 12,744 feet, and their weight one hun- 
 dred and fourteen tons. The whole cost of this iron banding was 
 14,000 dollars. 
 
 The vestibules in the first story, and the lobbies over them in 
 the second and third stories, occupy the northern and southern 
 ends of the building as directed by the will ; they are each twenty- 
 five, by fifty feet exclusive of the space occupied by the stairways. 
 The vaulting of each vestibule and of each lobby, springs from 
 marble entablatures supported by eight columns and as many antae, 
 making in all forty-eight columns and forty-eight antse. The shafts 
 of these columns are each composed of a single stone. The order 
 of those in the first story is Ionic, in the second story a modified 
 Corinthian, from the tower of the winds at Athens, and the third, 
 a similar modification of the Corinthian, somewhat lighter and more 
 ornate. 
 
 The stairways are situated in the four corners of the building, 
 the spaces allotted to them being each twenty-two feet six inches 
 wide, and twenty-six feet six inches long. They are all composed 
 of white marble, and are five feet three inches in width with two 
 landings on " quarter paces " in each story. The plan on which 
 they are constructed, is that of " geometrical stairs," having one 
 end of each secured in the wall, and one edge resting on the step 
 below. 
 
 All the stairways, as well as the landings, in the upper stories, 
 are finished with rich balustrades of cast-iron, and mahogany rails, 
 springing from massive marble newels. The cost of these stair 
 ways, including the balustrade, was 18,500 dollars. 
 
 The flooring of the interior of the building amounts in the aggre- 
 gate to 38,130 superficial feet ; all of which is done with marble 
 
52 DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS. 
 
 tiles prepared expressly, of uniform thickness, and having then 
 edges worked square so as to prevent them from becoming loose. 
 
 The building is warmed by means of furnaces placed under tho 
 vestibules, with flues to convey the warm air to the several rooms 
 and ventilated by registers opening from each room into the main 
 flues. 
 
 The following materials were used in the construction of the mar~» 
 building. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 177,168 Cubic feet of marble, weighing 13,537 
 
 21,366 Cubic feet of granite, weighing 1,717 
 
 25,139 Flooring tiles, weighing 409 
 
 12,134,980 Bricks, weighing 27,087 
 
 12,495 perches of building stone, weighing 19,635 
 
 Wrought iron for bands, cramps, &c, weighing 134 
 
 Cast iron in ceiling of Portico, weighing 142^ 
 
 Cast iron in water-pipes, weighing 18 
 
 Cast iron in sky-lights and inner rims, weighing 18 J 
 
 Milled lead for gutters and setting marble, and lead for 
 
 cramping, weighing 48 i 
 
 53,720 Bushels of lime, weighing 1,431 
 
 50,224 Bushels of river sand, weighing 3,292 
 
 133,646 Bushels of pit sand, weighing 8,759 
 
 4,200 Bushels of hydraulic cement, weighing 250 
 
 Locks, fastenings, glass, lumber in doors and windows, &c. 
 
 weighing about 116 
 
 Making the aggregate weight of the building 76,594 J 
 
 1 m 
 
 The area on which the building stands, exclusive of the steps, 
 measures 34,344 superficial feet, of which 12,862 feet are occupied 
 by the walls, making the proportion of the points of support to the 
 voids, more than as one to two. The average weight resolved on 
 each superficial foot of foundation, is about six tons. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS. 58 
 
 OUT-BUILDINGS. 
 
 Mr. Girard directed that at least four out-buildings, detached 
 from the main edifice and from each other should be erected; 
 which buildings he ordered should be sufficiently spacious for the 
 residence and accommodation of at least three hundred scholars, 
 and the requisite teachers and other persons necessary in such an 
 institution. 
 
 In compliance with this provision of the will, four out-buildings, 
 two on the eastern and two on the western side of the College, 
 have been constructed. They stand on the same general range, 
 fronting north and south, the first being at the distance of one 
 hundred and forty feet from the main building, and the two build- 
 ings having an interval between them of eighty-seven feet. 
 
 Each of these buildings measures fifty-two feet wide by one hun- 
 dred and twenty-five feet long. They are three stories in height, 
 with a basement of seven feet above the surface of the ground, 
 and are all faced with marble, and roofed with copper, or tin. The 
 easternmost building, known as No. 1, embraces four separate and 
 complete dwelling-houses for the officers of the Institution. 
 
 The eastern building No. 2, nearest the College, is occupied as 
 a residence by one hundred of the pupils. This house contains 
 four dormitories, each measuring nineteen by fifty-four feet, and two 
 section rooms of the same size, with a lavatory, and the necessary 
 rooms for the accommodation of the officers and servants. An 
 entry or hall, of eight feet in width, extends the whole length 
 of the building, on every floor or story. The stairways are situated 
 at each end of the halls, and are composed of marble with wrought 
 iron balustrades. 
 
 In the basement of the western building nearest the College, 
 known as No. 3, is the general Refectory for the pupils, measuring 
 eighteen feet six inches in width by one hundred and twenty feet 
 in length, together with the principal kitchen and scullery, con- 
 taining improved ranges and steam apparatus for the prepa- 
 ration of the food. In this building are also the parlors for 
 the officers, the dining-rooms of the officers, four dormitories, each 
 5* 
 
54 DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS. 
 
 nineteen by thirty-nine feet in size, and rooms for the subordinate 
 officers and servants. 
 
 A covered passage of eleven feet six inches in width, is con- 
 structed between this building, and No. 4, which is fitted up as a 
 lavatory. 
 
 The western building, No. 4, is divided into sixty-two small dor- 
 mitories. 
 
 Both of these western buildings have cellars under the base- 
 ments, and marble stairways throughout, opening into halls of 
 eight feet in width, which extend from end to end of the build- 
 ings on every floor or story. 
 
 The spaces between the buildings, both on the east and west of 
 the College, are inclosed by marble walls, which include gardens 
 and the necessary offices for the pupils. 
 
 In the original plan of the College and grounds, it was proposed 
 to furnish the supplies of water from springs which rise on the 
 western end of the estate, the contents of which were forced by 
 an hydraulic ram into reservoirs in the out-buildings, and 
 thence distributed to all parts of the Institution. This plan was 
 rendered necessary, in consequence of the elevation of the College 
 grounds being above the level of the water basins which supplied 
 the inhabitants of the city and districts. But soon after the In- 
 stitution was put into operation, it was found that this mode was 
 not only defective from the liability of the apparatus to get out of 
 order, but also that the supply of water was altogether insufficient. 
 To remedy this difficulty, an additional building was erected during 
 the year 1850, which affords now, by means of steam apparatus, a 
 plentiful supply of this indispensable element, and of most excellent 
 quality. This building, known as No. 5, is located at the distance 
 of one hundred feet from the western out-building, and is constructed 
 of pointed rubble stone, with marble sills, steps, and belt courses. 
 It is three stories in height above the basement, and measures fifty 
 feet in width, by one hundred feet in length. The supply of 
 water is now obtained from the public works of the city of 
 Philadelphia, and is thrown by means of a five-horse engine and 
 force-pump into four iron tanks, or reservoirs, located in the 
 
DESCRIPTION 7F THE BUILDINGS. 55 
 
 third story, and thence distributed through a four inch iron 
 main, and with a head of about thirty-five feet, to the kitchens, 
 lavatories, bath rooms, yards, &c. Each of these tanks is of the 
 capacity of 2500 gallons, and the water of one of them is heated 
 by means of coils of steam pipes connected with the boilers in the 
 basement. On the first floor, are located the rooms for washing, 
 drying, and ironing the clothes, containing the latest and most 
 approved steam apparatus for such purposes; and in the south 
 basement is situated the bakery of the establishment. The other 
 rooms in this building are occupied as section and school-rooms. 
 Swimming-pools furnished with tepid water occupy the east base- 
 ment. 
 
 The College building is heated by steam, and the out-buildings 
 either by furnaces or steam, and the entire grounds and buildings 
 are lighted with gas procured from the works of the city of Phila- 
 delphia. 
 
 The whole Estate is surrounded by a wall of ten feet in height, 
 by sixteen inches in thickness, with spur piers on the inside, and 
 buttresses of three feet in width, at intervals of fourteen feet. 
 The wall is composed of rubble-stone, and covered with a heavy 
 marble capping ; and its entire length is 6843 feet, or something 
 more than one and a quarter miles. 
 
 There are two gates of entrance, one being opposite each front 
 of the main building ; and at the southern entrance are two 
 octagonal lodges, faced with white marble, each twenty feet in 
 diameter, and sixteen feet high. At each entrance are double 
 gates, the inner one being of iron, and the outer one of wood, 
 folding into a recess in the marble work. The eastern portion of 
 the grounds, on which the buildings are located, and which contains 
 twenty-one acres, has been graded to suit the elevation of the sur- 
 rounding streets, and is laid out with gravel walks and ornamented 
 with shrubbery. On the western portion, containing about twenty 
 acres, are erected a farm-house, barn, and out-houses. At the 
 extreme western end has been constructed an artificial pool for the 
 bathing and amusement of the pupils. The grounds around the 
 College ; as well as the buildings, are drained by means of a three 
 
58 DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS. 
 
 feet culvert, with branch barrel drainers of two feet in diameter, 
 leading from the several yards, kitchens, lavatories, &c. 
 
 An avenue of sixty feet in width, one half of which has been 
 taken from the College grounds, has been opened on the northern, 
 western, and southern boundaries ; and by an Act of the Legisla- 
 ture no street can, at any future time, be opened through the 
 College premises, without the consent of the Councils of the City 
 of Philadelphia first had and obtained. 
 
 It had been the original intention of Mr. Girard, that the Col- 
 lege Buildings should occupy his square of ground comprehended 
 within the limits of Market and Chestnut, and Eleventh and 
 Twelfth Streets, in the City proper. But becoming afterwards 
 by purchase the possessor of the farm of Peel Hall, on the Ridge 
 Road, he chose the latter as the more desirable site, and it is here 
 that the College has finally been established. The square at first 
 allotted for the purpose has been built up with fine dwellings and 
 stores, the rental of which forms a considerable portion of the 
 fund devoted to the maintenance of the College. 
 
 The site upon which the Girard College is erected, corresponds 
 well with its splendor and importance. It is elevated con- 
 siderably above the general level of the surrounding buildings, 
 and forms a conspicuous object, not only from the higher windows 
 and roofs in every part of Philadelphia, but from the Delaware 
 river many miles below the city, and from eminences far out in 
 the country. 
 
 From the lofty marble roof of the main edifice itself, (to which 
 access is so easy, that almost every visitor ascends,) the view is 
 also exceedingly beautiful, embracing the City and its environs for 
 many miles around, and the course, to their confluence eight miles 
 below, of both those noble rivers which enclose the City. 
 
THE WILL 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 STEPHEN GIRAED, Esq. 
 
 I, Stephen Girard, of the City of Philadelphia, in the 
 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Mariner and Merchant, being of 
 sound mind, memory, and understanding, do make and publish 
 this my last Will and Testament, in manner following : that is to 
 say— 
 
 I. I give and bequeath unto u The Contributors to the Penn- 
 sylvania Hospital," of which Corporation I am a member, the 
 sum of Thirty Thousand Dollars, upon the following conditions, 
 namely, that the said sum shall be added to their Capital, and 
 shall remain a part thereof forever, to be placed at interest, and 
 the interest thereof to be applied in the first place, to pay to my 
 black woman Hannah (to whom I hereby give her freedom,) the 
 sum of two hundred dollars per year, in quarterly payments of 
 fifty dollars each, in advance, during all the term of her life ; 
 and, in the second place, the said interest to be applied to the 
 use and accommodation of the sick in the said Hospital, and for 
 providing, and at all times having, competent matrons, and a 
 sufficient number of nurses and assistant nurses, in order not only 
 to promote the purposes of the said Hospital, but to increase 
 this last class of useful persons, much wanted in our city. 
 
 II. I give and bequeath to " The Pennsylvania Institution for 
 the Deaf and Dumb," the sum of Twenty Thousand Dollars, for 
 *he use of that Institution 
 
 ■*57) 
 
58 STEPHEN GIRARD's WILL. 
 
 III. I give and bequeath to " The Orphan Asylum of Phila- 
 delphia/' the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars, for the use of that 
 Institution. 
 
 IV. I give and bequeath to " The Comptrollers of the Public 
 Schools for the City and County of Philadelphia," the sum of 
 Ten Thousand Dollars, for the use of the Schools upon the 
 Lancaster system, in the first section of the first school district of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 V. I give and bequeath to " The Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens 
 of Philadelphia/' the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars, in trust 
 safely to invest the same in some productive fund, and with the 
 interest and dividends arising therefrom to purchase fuel, between 
 the months of March and August in every year forever, and in 
 the month of January in every year forever, distribute the same 
 amongst poor white house-keepers and room-keepers, of good 
 character, residing in the City of Philadelphia. 
 
 VI. I give and bequeath to the Society for the relief of poor 
 and distressed Masters of Ships, their Widows and Children, (of 
 which Society I am a member) the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars, 
 to be added to their Capital stock, for the uses and purposes of 
 said Society. 
 
 VII. I give and bequeath to the gentlemen who shall be 
 Trustees of the Masonic Loan, at the time of my decease, the sum 
 of Twenty Thousand Dollars, including therein ten thousand 
 and nine hundred dollars due to me, part of the Masonic Loan, 
 and any interest that may be due thereon at the time of my 
 decease, in trust for the use and benefit of " The Grand Lodge of 
 Pennsylvania, and Masonic Jurisdiction thereto belonging," and 
 to be paid over by the said Trustee to the said Grand Lodge, for 
 the purpose of being invested in some safe stock or funds, or other 
 good security, and the dividends and interest arising therefrom to 
 be again so invested and added to the Capital, without applying 
 any part thereof to any other purpose, until the whole capital 
 shall amount to thirty thousand dollars, when the same shall for- 
 ever after remain a permanent fund or Capital, of the said amount 
 
STEPHEN GIRARD'S WILL. 59 
 
 of thirty thousand dollars, the interest whereof shall be applied 
 from time to time to the relief of poor and respectable brethren ; and 
 in order that the real and benevolent purposes of masonic institu- 
 tions may be attained, I recommend to the several lodges not to 
 admit to membership, or to receive members from other lodges, 
 unless the applicants shall absolutely be men of sound and good 
 morals. 
 
 VIII. I give and bequeath unto Philip Peltz, John Lentz, 
 Francis Hesley, Jacob Baker, and Adam Young, of Passyunk 
 township, in the County of Philadelphia, the sum of Six Thou- 
 sand Dollars, in trust, that they or the survivors or survivor of 
 them shall purchase a suitable piece of ground, as near as may be 
 in the centre of said township, and thereon erect a substantial 
 brick building, sufficiently large for a school-house, and the resi- 
 dence of a school-master, one part thereof for poor male white 
 children, and the other part for poor female white children, of said 
 township; and as soon as the said school-house shall have been 
 built, that the said trustees or survivors or survivor of them, 
 shall convey the said piece of ground and house thereon erected, 
 and shall pay over such balance of said sum as may remain unex- 
 pended to any board of directors and their successors, in trust, 
 which may at the time exist or be by law constituted, consisting 
 of at least twelve discreet inhabitants of the said township, and to 
 be annually chosen by the inhabitants thereof; the said piece of 
 ground and house to be carefully maintained by said directors and 
 their successors solely for the purposes of a school as aforesaid, for- 
 ever, and the said balance to be securely invested as a permanent 
 fund, the interest thereof to be applied from time to time towards 
 the education in the said school of any number of such poor white 
 children of said township; and I do hereby recommend to the 
 citizens of said township to make additions to the fund whereof I 
 have laid the foundation. 
 
 IX. I give and devise my house, and lot of ground thereto be- 
 longing, situate in rue Ramouet aux Chartrons, near the city of 
 Bordeaux, m France, and the rents, issues, and profits thereof, to 
 my brother, Etienne Girard, and my niece Victoire Fenellon, 
 
60 STEPHEN GIRARd's WILL. 
 
 (^daughter of uiy late sister Sophia Grirard Capayron,) both residing 
 in France, in equal moieties for the life of my said brother, and, 
 on his decease, one moiety of the said house and lot to my said niece 
 Victoire, and her heirs forever, and the other moiety 10 the six 
 children of my said brother, namely, John Fabrieius., Marguerite, 
 Ann Henriette, Jean August, Marie, and Madelaine Henriette, 
 share and share alike, (the issue of any deceased child, if more 
 than one, to take amongst them the parent's share) and their heirs 
 forever. 
 
 X. I give and bequeath to my said brother, Etienne Grirard, 
 the sum of Five Thousand Dollars, and the like sum of Five 
 Thousand Dollars to each of his six children above named : if 
 any of the said children shall die prior to the receipt of his or her 
 legacy of five thousand dollars, the said sum shall be paid, and I 
 give and bequeath the same to any issue of such deceased child, 
 if more than one, share and share alike. 
 
 XL I give and bequeath to my said niece, Victoire Fenellon 
 the sum of Five Thousand Dollars. 
 
 XII. I give and bequeath absolutely to my niece, Antoinetta, 
 now married to Mr. Hemphill, the sum of Ten Thousand Dol- 
 lars, and I also give and bequeath to her the sum of Fifty Thou- 
 sand Dollars, to be paid over to a trustee or trustees to be appointed 
 by my executors, which trustee or trustees shall place and continue 
 the said sum of fifty thousand dollars upon good security, and 
 pay the interest and dividends thereof as they shall from time to 
 time accrue, to my said niece for her separate use, during the term 
 of her life, and from and immediately after her decease, to pay and 
 distribute the capital to and among such of her children and the 
 issue of deceased children, and in such parts and shares as she 
 the said Antoinetta, bv an instrument under her hand and seal, 
 executed in the presence of at least two credible witnesses, shall 
 direct and appoint, and for default of such appointment, then to 
 and among the said children and issue of deceased children in 
 equal shares, such issue of deceased children, if more than one, 
 to take only the share which their deceased parent would have 
 taken if living. 
 
STEPHEN GIRARD'S WILL. 61 
 
 XTII. I give and bequeath unto my niece Carolina, now married 
 to Mr. Haslam, the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ; to be paid 
 o^er to a trustee or trustees to be appointed by my executors, which 
 trustee or trustees shall place and continue the said money upon 
 good security, and pay the interest and dividends thereof from 
 time to time as they shall accrue, to my said niece for her separate 
 use, during the term of her life : and from and immediately after 
 her decease, to pay and distribute the capital to and among such 
 of her children, and issue of deceased children, and in such parts 
 and shares, as she the said Carolina, by any instrument under her 
 hand and seal, executed in the presence of at least two credible 
 witnesses, shall direct and appoint, and for default of such appoint- 
 ment, then to and among the said children, and issue of deceased 
 children, in equal shares, such issue of deceased children, if more 
 than one, to take only the share which the deceased parent would 
 have taken if living; but if my said niece Carolina, shall leave no 
 issue, then the said trustee or trustees, on her decease, shall pay 
 the said capital, and any interest accrued thereon, to and among 
 Caroline Lallemand, (niece of the said Carolina) and the children 
 of the aforesaid Antoinetta Hemphill, share and share alike. 
 
 XI V. I give and bequeath to my niece Henrietta, now married 
 to Dr. Clark, the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars ; and I give and 
 bequeatl to her daughter Caroline, (in the last clause above named), 
 the sum of Twenty Thousand Dollars — the interest of said sum 
 of twenty thousand dollars or so much thereof as may be necessary, 
 to be applied to the maintenance and education of the said Caro- 
 line during her minority, and the principal, with any accumulated 
 interest, to be paid to the said Caroline, on her arrival at the age 
 of twenty-one years. 
 
 XV. Unto each of the captains who shall be in my employment 
 at the time of my decease, either in port, or at sea, having charge 
 of one of my ships or vessels, and having performed at least two 
 voyages in my service, I give and bequeath the sum of Fifteen 
 Hundred Dollars — provided he shall have brought safely into 
 the port of Philadelphia, or if at sea at the time of my decease, 
 m^ll bring safely into that port, my ship or vessel last intrusted to 
 
 6 
 
62 STEPHEN GIRARD'S WILL. 
 
 him, and also that his conduct during the last voyage shall have 
 been in every respect conformable to my instructions to him. 
 
 XVI. All persons, who, at the time of my decease, shall be 
 bound to me by indenture, as apprentices or servants, and who 
 shall then be under age, I direct my executors to assign to suitable 
 masters immediately after my decease, for the remainder of their 
 respective terms, on conditions as favorable as they can in regard to 
 education, clothing, and freedom dues : to each of the said persons 
 in my service, and under age at the time of my decease, J give and 
 bequeath the sum of Five Hundred Dollars, which sums respec- 
 tively I direct my executors safely to invest in public stock, to 
 apply the interest and dividends thereof, towards the education of 
 the several apprentices or servants, for whom the capital is given 
 respectively, and at the termination of the apprenticeship or ser- 
 vice of each, to pay to him or her the said sum of five hundred 
 dollars, and any interest accrued thereon, if any such interest shall 
 remain unexpended ; in assigning any indenture, preference shall 
 be given to the mother, father, or next relation, as assignee, should 
 such mother, father, or relative desire it, and be at the same time 
 respectable and competent. 
 
 XVII. I give and bequeath to Francis Hesley (son of Mrs. S. 
 Hesley, who is mother of Marianne Hesley,) the sum of One 
 Thousand Dollars, over and above such sum as may be due to 
 him at my decease. 
 
 XVIII. I charge my real estate in the State of Pennsylvania 
 with the payment of the several annuities or sums following, (the 
 said annuities to be paid by the Treasurer or other proper officers 
 of the City of Philadelphia, appointed by the Corporation thereof 
 for the purpose, out of the rents and profits of said real estate here* 
 Snifter directed to be kept constantly rented,) namely : — 
 
 1st. I give and bequeath to Mrs. Elizabeth Ingersol), widow of 
 Jared Ingersoll, Esq., late of the city of Philadelphia, Counsellor 
 at law, an annuity, or yearly sum of One Thousand Dollars, to 
 be paid in half-yearly payment, in advance, of five hundred dollars 
 each, during her life. 
 
STEPHEN GIRARD'S WILL. 63 
 
 2d. I give arid bequeath to Mrs. Catherine Girard, now widow 
 of Mr. J. B. Hoskins, who died in the Tsle of France, an annuity, 
 or yearly sum of Four Hundred Dollars, to be paid in half-yearly 
 payments, in advance, of two hundred dollars each, during her 
 life. 
 
 3d. I give and bequeath to Mrs. Jane Taylor, my present 
 house-keeper, (the widow of the late Captain Alexander Taylor^ 
 who was master of my ship Helvetius, and died in my employ- 
 ment,) an annuity, or yearly sum of Five Hundred Dollars, to bo 
 paid in half-yearly payments, in advance, of two hundred and fifty 
 dollars each, during her life. 
 
 4th. I give and bequeath to Mrs. S. Hesley, my house-keeper 
 at my place in Passyunk Township, an annuity, or yearly sum of 
 Five Hundred Dollars, to be paid in half-yearly payments, in ad- 
 vance, of two hundred and fifty dollars each, during her life. 
 
 5th. I give and bequeath to Marianne Hesley, daughter to Mrs. 
 S. Hesley, an annuity, or yearly sum of Three Hundred Dollars, 
 to be paid to her mother, for her use, in half-yearly payments, in 
 advance, of one hundred and fifty dollars each, until the said Ma- 
 rianne shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, when the 
 said annuity shall cease, and the said Marianne will receive the 
 five hundred dollars given to her and other indented persons, ac- 
 cording to the clause XVI. of this Will. 
 
 6th. I give and bequeath to my late house-keeper, Mary Ken- 
 ton, an annuity, or yearly sum of Three Hundred Dollars, to be 
 paid in half-yearly payments, in advance, of one hundred and fifty 
 dollars each, during her life. 
 
 7th. I give and bequeath to Mrs. Deborah Scott, sister of Mary 
 Kenton, and wife of Mr. Edwin T. Scott, an annuity, or yearly 
 sum of Three Hundred Dollars, to be paid in half-yearly pay- 
 ments, in advance, of one hundred and fifty dollars each, during 
 her life. 
 
 8th. T give and bequeath to Mrs. Catherine M'Laren, sister of 
 Mary Kenton, and wife of Mr. M'Laren, an annuity, or yearly 
 mm of Three Hundred Dollars, to be paid in half-yearly pay- 
 
64 STEPHEN GIRARD's WILL. 
 
 merits, in advance, of one hundred and fifty dollars each, during 
 her life. 
 
 9th. I give and bequeath to Mrs. Amelia Gr. Taylor, wife of 
 Mr. Richard M. Taylor, an annuity or yearly sum of Three Hun- 
 dred Dollars, to be paid in half-yearly payments, in advance, of 
 one hundred and fifty dollars each, during her life. 
 
 XIX. All that part of my real and personal estate, near Wasn* 
 ita, in the State of Louisiana, the said real estate consisting of 
 upwards of two hundred and eighty thousand arpens, or acres of 
 land, and including therein the settlement hereinafter mentioned, 
 I give, devise, and bequeath, as follows, namely : 1. I give, devise, 
 and bequeath to the Corporation of the City of New Orleans, their 
 successors and assigns, all that part of my real estate, constituting 
 the settlement formed on my behalf by my particular friend, Judge 
 Henry Bree, of Washita, consisting of upwards of one thousand 
 arpens, or acres of land, with the appurtenances and improvements 
 thereon, and also all the personal estate thereto belonging, and 
 thereon remaining, including upwards of thirty slaves now on said 
 settlement, and their increase, in trust, however, and subject to 
 the following reservations : 
 
 I desire, that no part of the said estate or property, or the slaves 
 thereon, or their increase, shall be disposed of or sold for the term 
 of twenty years from and after my decease, should the said Judge 
 Henry Bree survive me and live so long, but that the said settle- 
 ment shall be kept up by the said Judge Henry Bree, for and 
 during said term of twenty years, as if it was his own ; that 
 is, it shall remain under his sole care and control ; he shall 
 improve the same by raising such produce as he may deem most 
 advisable, and after paying taxes, and all expenses in keeping 
 up the settlement, by clothing the slaves and otherwise, he shall 
 have and enjoy for his own use, all the nett profits of said settle- 
 ment. Provided, however, and T desire that the said Judge Hen- 
 ry Bree, shall render, annually, to the Corporation of the City of 
 New Orleans, a report of the state of the settlement, the income 
 and expenditure thereof, the number and increase of the slaves, 
 and the net result of the whole. I desire that, at the expiration 
 
STFJPEIEN GIRARD's WILL. 65 
 
 of the said term of twenty years, or on the decease of the said 
 Judge Henry Bree, should he not live so long, the land and im- 
 provements forming said settlement, the slaves thereon, or thereto 
 belonging, and all other appurtenant personal property, shall be 
 Bold, as soon as the said Corporation shall deem it advisable to do 
 so, and the proceeds of the said sale or sales shall be applied by 
 the said Corporation to such uses and purposes as they shall con- 
 sider most likely to promote the health and general prosperity of 
 the inhabitants of the City of New Orleans. But, until the said 
 sale shall be made, the said Corporation shall pay all taxes, pre- 
 vent waste or intrusion, and so manage the said settlement and 
 the slaves, and their increase thereon, as to derive an income, and 
 the said income shall be applied, from time to time, to the same 
 uses and purposes for the health and general prosperity of the said 
 inhabitants. 
 
 2. I give, devise, and bequeath to the Mayor, Aldermen, and 
 Citizens of Philadelphia, their successors and assigns, two undivi- 
 ded third parts of all the rest and residue of my said real estate, 
 being the lauds unimproved near Washita, in the said State of 
 Louisiana, in trust, that, in common with the Corporation of tho 
 City of New Orleans, they shall pay the taxes on the said lands, 
 and preserve them from waste or intrusion, for the term of ten 
 years from and after my decease, and at the end of the said term, 
 when they shall deem it advisable to do so, shall sell and dispose 
 of their interest in said lands gradually from time to time, and 
 apply the proceeds of such sales to the same uses and purposes 
 hereinafter declared and directed, of and concerning the residue 
 of my personal estate. 
 
 3. And I give, devise, and bequeath to the Corporation of the 
 City of New Orleans, their successors and assigns, the remaining 
 one undivided third part of the said lands, in trust, in common 
 with the Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of Philadelphia, to pay 
 the taxes on the said lands, and preserve them from waste and 
 intrusion, for the term of ten years from and after my decease, and, 
 at the end of the said term, when they shall deem it advisable to 
 do so, to sell and dispose of their interest in said lands gradually 
 
 6* 
 
66 STEPHEN GIRARD's WILL. 
 
 from time to time, and to apply the proceeds of such saie to such 
 uses and purposes as the said Corporation may consider most likely 
 to promote the health and general prosperity of the inhabitants of 
 the City of New Orleans. 
 
 XX. And, whereas, I have been for a long time impressed with 
 the importance of educating the poor, and of placing them, by 
 the early cultivation of their minds, and the development of their 
 moral principles, above the many temptations to which, through 
 poverty and ignorance, they are exposed ; and I am particularly 
 desirous to provide for such a number of poor male white orphan 
 children, as can be trained in one institution, a better education, 
 as well as a more comfortable maintenance, than they usually 
 receive from the application of the public funds : and, whereas, 
 together with the object just adverted to, I have sincerely at heart 
 the welfare of the City of Philadelphia, and, as a part of it, am 
 desirous to improve the neighbourhood of the river Delaware, so 
 that the health of the citizens may be promoted and preserved, 
 and that the eastern part of the city may be made to correspond 
 better with the interior. Now, I do give, devise, and bequeath all 
 the residue and remainder of my real and personal estate of 
 every sort and kind wheresoever situate, (the real estate in Penn- 
 sylvania charged as foresaid) unto a the Mayor, Aldermen, and 
 Citizens of Philadelphia/' their successors and assigns, in trust, to 
 and for the several uses, intents and purposes, hereinafter men- 
 tioned and declared of and concerning the same, that is to say : 
 so far as regards my real estate in Pennsylvania, in trust, that no 
 part thereof shall ever be sold or alienated by the said Mayor, 
 Aldermen, and Citizens of Philadelphia, or their successors, but 
 the same shall forever thereafter be let from time to time, to good 
 tenants, at yearly or other rents, and upon leases in possession not 
 exceeding five years from the commencement thereof, and that the 
 rents, issues, and profits arising therefrom, shall be applied towards 
 keeping that part of the said real estate situate in the city and 
 liberties of Philadelphia constantly in good repair, (parts else- 
 where situate to be kept in repair by the tenants thereof respec- 
 tively) and towards improving the same, whenever necessary, by 
 
STEPHEN GIRARD's WILL. 67 
 
 erecting new buildings; and that the net residue (after paying 
 the several annuities herein before provided for,) be applied to the 
 same uses and purposes as are herein declared of and concerning 
 the residue of my personal estate ) and so far as regards my real 
 estate in Kentucky, now under the care of Messrs. Triplett and 
 Brumley, in trust, to sell and dispose of the same, ^h^^^er it 
 may be expedient to do so, and to apply the proceeds of such sa^ 
 to the same uses and purposes as are herein declared of and con- 
 cerning the residue of my personal estate. 
 
 XXI. And so far as regards the residue of my personal estate, 
 in trust, as to two millions of dollars, part thereof, to apply and 
 expend so much of that sum as may be necessary, in erecting, as 
 soon as practicably may be, in the centre of my square of ground 
 between High and Chestnut streets, and Eleventh and Twelfth 
 streets, in the City of Philadelphia, (which square of ground I 
 hereby devote for the purposes hereinafter stated, and for no 
 other, forever,) a permanent college, with suitable out-buildings, 
 sufficiently spacious for the residence and accommodation of at least 
 three hundred scholars, and the requisite teachers and other 
 persons necessary in such an institution as I direct to be established, 
 and in supplying the said college and out-buildings with decent 
 and suitable furniture, as well as books and all things needful to 
 carry into effect my general design. 
 
 The said college shall be constructed with the most durable ma- 
 terials, and in the most permanent manner, avoiding needless 
 ornament, and attending chiefly to the strength, convenience, and 
 neatness of the whole : It shall be at least one hundred and ten 
 feet east and west, and one hundred and sixty feet north and south, 
 and shall be built on lines parallel with High and Chestnut streets, 
 and Eleventh and Twelfth streets, provided those lines shall consti- 
 tute at their junction right angles : It shall be three stories in height, 
 each story at least fifteen feet high in the clear from the floor to 
 the cornice : It shall be fire-proof inside and outside. The floors 
 and the roof to be formed of solid materials, on arches turned on 
 proper centres, so that no wood may be used, except for doors, win- 
 dows, and shutters : Cellars shall be made under the building, 
 
68 STEPHEN GIRARD's WILL. 
 
 solely for the purposes of the institution ; the doors to them from 
 the outside shall be on the east and west of the building, and 
 access to them from the inside shall be had by steps, descending 
 to the cellar floor from each of the entries or halls hereinafter men- 
 tioned, and the inside cellar doors to open under the stairs on the 
 north-east and north-west corners of the northern entry, and under 
 the stairs on the south-east and south-west corners of the southern 
 entry ; there shall be a cellar window under and in line with each 
 window in the first story — they shall be built one half below, the 
 other half above the surface of the ground, and the ground out- 
 side each window shall be supported by stout walls ; the sashes 
 should open inside, on hinges, like doors, and there should be 
 strong iron bars outside each window ; the windows inside and out- 
 side should not be less than four feet wide in the clear : There 
 shall be in each story four rooms, each room not less than fifty feet 
 square in the clear; the four rooms on each floor to occupy the 
 whole space east and west on such floor or story, and the middle of 
 the building north and south ; so that in the north of the building, 
 and in the south thereof, there may remain a space of equal di- 
 mensions, for an entry or hall in each, for stairs and landings : In 
 the north-east, and in the north-west corners of the northern entry 
 or hall on the first floor, stairs shall be made so as to form a dou- 
 ble stair-case, which shall be carried up through the several stories ; 
 and, in like manner, in the south-east and south-west corners of 
 the southern entry or hall, stairs shall be made, on the first floor, 
 so as to form a double stair-case, to be carried up through the sev- 
 eral stories; the steps of the stairs to be made of smooth white mar- 
 ble, with plain square edges, each step not to exceed nine inches 
 in the rise, nor to be less than ten inches in the tread ; the outside 
 and inside foundation walls shall be at least ten feet high in the 
 clear from the ground to the ceiling ; the first floor shall be at least 
 three feet above the level of the ground around the building, after 
 that ground shall have been so regulated as that there shall be a 
 gradual descent from the centre to the side of the square formed 
 by High and Chestnut and Eleventh and Twelfth streets; all the 
 outside foundation walls, forming the cellars, shall be three feet 
 
STEPHEN GIRARD's WILL. 69 
 
 six inches thick up to the first floor, or as high as may be necessary 
 to fix the centres for the first floor; and the inside foundation wall, 
 running north and south, and the three inside foundation walls 
 running east and west (intended to receive the interior walls for 
 the four rooms, each not less than fifty feet square in the clear, 
 above mentioned,) shall be three feet thick up to the first floor, or as 
 high as may be necessary to fix the centres for the first floor; when 
 carried so far up, the outside walls shall be reduced to two feet in 
 thickness, leaving a recess outside of one foot, and inside of six 
 inches — and when carrried so far up, the inside foundation walls 
 shall also be reduced, six inches on each side, to the thickness of 
 two feet ; centres shall then be fixed on the various recesses of six 
 inches throughout, left for the purpose, the proper arches shall be 
 turned, and the first floor laid ; the outside and the inside wall 
 shall then be carried up to the thickness of two feet throughout, 
 as high as may be necessary to begin the recess intended to fix the 
 centres of the second floor, that is, the floor of the four rooms, each 
 not less than fifty feet square in the clear, and for the landing in the 
 north, and the landing in the south of the building, where the 
 stairs are to go up — at this stage of the work, a chain, composed 
 of bars of inch square iron, each bar about ten feet long, and linked 
 together by hooks formed of the ends of the bars, shall be laid 
 straightly and horizontally along the several walls, and shall be as 
 tightly as possibly worked into the centre of them throughout, and 
 shall be secured wherever necessary, especially at all the angles, by 
 iron clamps solidly fastened, so as to prevent cracking or swerving 
 in any part; centres shall then be laid, the proper arches turned 
 for the second floor and landings, and the second floor and landings 
 shall be laid; the outside and the inside walls shall then be car* 
 ried up of the same thickness of two feet throughout as hi^h as 
 may be necessary to begin in the recess intended to fix the centres 
 for the third floor and landings, and, when so far carried up ; ano* 
 ther chain similar in all respects to that used at the second Soory, 
 shall be in like manner worked into the walls throughout, as 
 tightly as possible, and clamped in the same way with equal cure ■ 
 centres shall be formed, the proper arches turned, and the ti ird 
 
70 STEPHEN GrRARD's WILL. 
 
 floor and landings shall be laid; the outside and the inside walla 
 shall then be carried up, of the same thickness of two feet 
 throughout, as high as may be necessary to begin the recess in- 
 tended to fix the centres for the roof; and, when so carried up, a 
 third chain, in all respects like those used at the second and third 
 stories, shall, in the manner before described, be worked as tightlj 
 as possible into the walls throughout, and shall be clamped with 
 equal care ; centres shall now be fixed in the manner best adapted 
 for the roof, which is to form the ceiling for the third story, the 
 proper arches shall be turned, and the roof shall be laid as nearly 
 horizontally as may be, consistently with the easy passage of water 
 to the eaves : the outside walls, still of the thickness of two feet 
 throughout, shall then be carried up about two feet above the level 
 of the platform, and shall have marble capping, with a strong and 
 neat iron railing thereon : The outside walls shall be faced with 
 slabs or blocks of marble or granite, not less than two feet thick, 
 and fastened together with clamps securely sunk therein, — they 
 shall be carried up flush from the recess formed at the first floor 
 where the foundation outside wall is reduced to two- feet: The 
 floors and landings, as well as the roof, shall be covered with mar- 
 ble slabs, securely laid in mortar ; the slabs on the roof to be twice 
 as thick as those on the floors. In constructing the walls, as well 
 as in turning the arches, and laying the floors, landings, and roof, 
 good and strong mortar and grout shall be used, so that no cavity 
 whatever may any where remain. A furnace or furnaces for the 
 generation of heated air shall be placed in the cellar, and the heated 
 air shall be introduced in adequate quantity, wherever wanted, by 
 means of pipes and flues inserted and made for the purpose in the 
 walls, and as those walls shall be constructed. In case it shall be 
 found expedient for the purposes of a library, or otherwise, to in- 
 crease the number of rooms, by dividing any of those directed to 
 be not less than fifty feet square in the clear, into parts, the par- 
 tition walls to be of solid materials. A room most suitable for the 
 purpose, shall be set apart for the reception and preservation of 
 my books and papers, and I direct that they shall be placed there 
 by my executors, and carefully preserved therein. There shall be 
 
STEPHEN GIRARD'S WILL. 71 
 
 two principal doors of entrance into the college, one into the entr? 
 or hall on the first floor, in the north of the building, and in the 
 centre between the east and west walls, the other in the entry or 
 hall in the south of the building, and in the centre between tha 
 east and west walls ; the dimensions to be determined by a due 
 regard to the size of the entire building, to that of the entry, and 
 to the purpose of the doors. The necessity for, as well as the 
 position and size of other doors, internal or external, and also 
 the position and size of the windows, to be, in like manner, decided 
 on by a consideration of the uses to which the building is to be 
 applied, the size of the building itself, and of the several rooms, 
 and of the advantages of light and air : there should in each in- 
 stance be double doors, those opening into the rooms to be what 
 are termed glass doors, so as to increase the quantity of light for 
 each room, and those opening outward to be of substantial wood 
 work well lined and secured ) the windows of the second and third 
 stories I recommend to be made in the style of those in the 
 first and second stories of my present dwelling house, North Water 
 Street, on the eastern front thereof; and outside each window I 
 recommend that a substantial and neat iron balcony be placed, 
 sufficiently wide to admit the opening of the shutters against the 
 walls; the windows of the lower story to be in the same style., 
 except that they are not to descend to the floor, but so far as the 
 surbase, up to which the wall is to be carried, as is the case in the 
 lower story of my house at my place in Passyunk Township. In 
 minute particulars not here noticed, utility and good taste should 
 determine. There should be at least four out-buildings, detached 
 from the main edifice, and from each other, and in such positions 
 as shall at once answer the purposes of the institution, and be con- 
 sistent with the symmetry of the whole establishment : each build- 
 ing should be, as far as practicable, devoted to a distinct purpose i 
 in that one or more of those buildings, in which they may be 
 most useful, I direct my executors to place my plate and furniture 
 of every sort. 
 
 The entire square, formed by High and Chestnut streets, and 
 Eleventh and Twelfth streets, shall be enclosed with a solid wall, 
 
72 STEPHEN GIRARD'S WILL. 
 
 V, least fourteen inches thick, and ten feet high, capped tfith mar- 
 ble and guarded with irons on the top, so as to prevent persons 
 'com getting over ; there shall be two places of entrance into the 
 square, one in the centre of the wall facing High street, and the 
 *ther in the centre of the wall facing Chestnut street: at each place 
 of entrance there shall be two gates, one opening inward, and the 
 other outward, those opening inward to be of iron, and in the style 
 of the gates north and south of my Banking House ; and those 
 opening outward to be of substantial wood work, well lined and 
 secured on the faces thereof with sheet-iron. The messuages now 
 erected on the south-east corner of High and Twelfth streets, and 
 on Twelfth street, to be taken down and removed as soon as the 
 College and out-buildings shall have been erected, so that the es- 
 tablishment may be rendered secure and private. 
 
 When the College and appurtenances shall have been constructed 
 and supplied with plain and suitable furniture and books, philoso- 
 phical and experimental instruments and apparatus, and all other 
 matters needful to carry my general design into execution ; the 
 income, issues, and profits of so much of the said sum of two mil- 
 lion of dollars as shall remain unexpended, shall be applied to 
 maintain the said college according to my directions. 
 
 1. The Institution shall be organized as soon as practicable, and 
 to accomplish the purpose more effectually, due public notice of 
 the intended opening of the college shall be given — so that there 
 may be an opportunity to make selections of competent instructors, 
 and other agents, and those who may have the charge of orphans 
 may be aware of the provision intended for them. 
 
 2. A competent number of instructors, teachers, assistants, and 
 other necessary agents shall be selected, and when needful, their 
 places, from time to time, supplied : they shall re* " x ive adequate 
 compensation for their services; but no person shal. je employed, 
 who shall not be of tried skill in his or her proper department, of 
 established moral character, and in all cases persons shall be chosen 
 od account of their merit, and not through favor or intrigue. 
 
STEPHEN GIRARD's WILL. 73 
 
 3. As many poor white male orphans, between the age of six 
 and ten years, as the said income shall be adequate to maintain, 
 shall be introduced into the college as soon as possible ; and from 
 time to time, as there may be vacancies, or as increased ability 
 from income may warrant, others shall be introduced. 
 
 4. On the application for admission, an accurate statement should 
 be taken in a book, prepared for the purpose, of the name, birth- 
 place, age, health, condition as to relatives, and other particulars 
 useful to be known of each orphan. 
 
 5. No orphan should be admitted until the guardians or direc- 
 tors of the poor, or a proper guardian or other competent authority, 
 shall have given, by indenture, relinquishment, or otherwise, ade- 
 quate power to the Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Philadelphia, 
 or to directors, or others by them appointed, to enforce, in relation 
 to each orphan, every proper restraint, and to prevent relatives or 
 others from interfering with, or withdrawing such orphan from the 
 institution , 
 
 6. Those orphans, for whose admission application shall first be 
 made shall be first introduced, all other things concurring — and 
 at all future times, priority of application shall entitle the applicant 
 to preference in admission, all other things concurring; but if there 
 shall be, at any time, more applicants than vacancies, and the ap- 
 plying orphans shall have been born in different places, a prefe- 
 rence shall be given - -first, to orphans born in the city of Phila- 
 delphia ; secondly, to those born in any other part of Pennsylvania \ 
 thirdly, to those born in the city of New York (that being the 
 first port on the continent of North America at which I arrived :) 
 and lastly, to those born in the City of New Orleans, being the 
 first port on the said continent at which I first traded, in the first 
 instance as first officer, and subsequently as master and part owner 
 of a vessel' and cargo. 
 
 7. The orphans admitted into the College, shall be there fed 
 with plain but wholesome food, clothed with plain but decent ap- 
 parel, (no distinctive dress ever to be worn) and lodged in a plain 
 
 7 
 
74 STEPHEN GIRARD's WILL. 
 
 but safe manner ; Due regard shall be paid to their health, and to 
 this end their persons and clothes shall be kept clean, and the} 
 shall have suitable and rational exercise and recreation : They shall 
 be instructed in the various branches of a sound education, com- 
 prehending reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic, geography, 
 navigation, surveying, practical mathematics, astronomy; natural, 
 chemical and experimental philosophy, the French and Spanish 
 languages, (I do not forbid, but I do not recommend the Greek and 
 Latin languages) — and such other learning and science as the 
 capacities of the several scholars may merit or warrant: I would 
 have them taught facts and things, rather than words or signs; 
 and especial!} 7 , I desire, that by every proper means a pure attach- 
 ment to our Republican Institutions, and to the sacred rights of 
 conscience, as guaranteed by our. happy constitutions, shall be 
 formed and fostered in the minds of the scholars. 
 
 8. Should it unfortunately happen, that any of the orphans 
 admitted into the College, shall, from malconduct, have become 
 unfit companions for the rest, and mild means of reformation prove 
 abortive, they shall no longer remain therein. 
 
 9. Those scholars, who shall merit it, shall remain in the Col- 
 lege until they shall respectively arrive at between fourteen and 
 eighteen years of age; they shall then be bound out by the Mayor, 
 Aldermen and Citizens of Philadelphia, or under their direction, 
 to suitable occupations, as those of agriculture, navigation, arts, 
 mechanical trades, and manufactures, according to the capacities 
 and acquirements of the scholars respectively, consulting, as far 
 as prudence shall justify it, the inclinations of the several scholars, 
 as to the occupation, art or trade, to be learned. 
 
 In relation to the organization of the College and its appenda- 
 ges, I leave, necessarily, many details to the Mayor, Aldermen and 
 Citizens of Philadelphia, and their successors; and I do so, with 
 the more confidence, as, from the nature of my bequests, and the 
 benefits to result from them, I trust that my fellow-citizens of 
 Philadelphia will observe and evince especial care and anxiety 
 in selecting members for their City Councils, and other agents. 
 
STEPHEN GIRARD's WILL. 75 
 
 There are, however, some restrictions, which I consider it iny 
 duty to prescribe, and to be, amongst ethers, conditions on which 
 in j bequest for said College is made, and to be enjoyed, namely; 
 first , I enjoin and require, that if at the close of any year, the 
 income of the fund devoted to the purposes of the said College 
 shall be more than sufficient for the maintenance of the Institution 
 during that year, then the balance of the said income, after defray 
 ing such maintenance, shall be forthwith invested in good securi- 
 ties, thereafter to be and remain a part of the capital; but in no 
 event, shall any part of the said capital be sold, disposed of, or 
 pledged, to meet the current expenses of the said Institution, to 
 which I devote the interest, income and dividends thereof, exclu- 
 sively : Secondly, I enjoin and require that no ecclesiastic , mis- 
 sionary, or minister of any sect whatsoever, shall ever hold or 
 exercise any station or duty whatever in the said College ; nor 
 shall any such person ever be admitted for any purpose, or as a 
 visitor, jvithin the premises appropriated to the purposes of the 
 said college: — In making this restriction, I do not mean to cast 
 any reflection upon any sect or person whatsoever; but as there is 
 such a multitude of sects, and such a diversity of opinion amongst 
 them, I desire to keep the tender minds of the orphans, who are 
 to derive advantage from this bequest, free from the excitement, 
 which clashing doctrines and sectarian controversy are so apt to 
 produce ; my desire is, that all the instructors and teachers in the 
 College, shall take pains to instil into the minds of the scholars, 
 the purest principles of morality, so that, on their entrance into 
 active life, they may from inclination and habit, evince benevolence 
 toward their fellow creatures, and a love of truth, sobriety, and. 
 industry, adopting at the same time, such religious tenets as their 
 matured reason may enable them to prefer. If the income, aris 
 ing from that part of the said sum of tw T o millions of dollars, re- 
 maining after the construction and furnishing of the College and 
 out-buildings, shall, owing to the increase of the number of orphans 
 applying for admission, or other cause, be inadequate to the con- 
 struction of new buildings, or the maintenance and education of 
 as many orphans as may apply for admission, then such further 
 
76 STEPHEN GlRARD's WILL. 
 
 3um as may be necessary for the construction of new buildings and 
 the maintenance and education of such further number of orphans, 
 as can be maintained and instructed within such buildings as the 
 said square of ground shall be adequate to, shall be taken from 
 the final residuary fund hereinafter expressly referred to for the 
 purpose, comprehending the income of my real estate in the city 
 and county of Philadelphia, and the dividends of my stock in the 
 Schuylkill Navigation Company — my design and desire being, that 
 the benefits of said institution shall be extended to as. great a num- 
 ber of orphans, as the limits of the said square and buildings there- 
 in can accommodate. 
 
 XXII. And as to the further sum of Five Hundred Thousand 
 Dollars , part of the residue of my personal estate, in trust, to 
 invest the same securely, and to keep the same so invested, and to 
 apply the income thereof exclusively to the following purposes : 
 that is to say — 
 
 1. To lay out, regulate, curb, light, and pave a passage or street 
 on the east part of the City of Philadelphia, fronting the river 
 Delaware, not less than twenty-one feet wide, and to be called 
 Delaware Avenue, extending from Vine to Cedar street, all along 
 the east part of Water street squares, and the west side of the 
 logs, which form the heads of the docks, or thereabouts ) and to 
 this intent to obtain such Acts of Assembly, and to make such 
 purchases or agreements, as will enable the Mayor, Aldermen, 
 and Citizens of Philadelphia, to remove or pull down all the build- 
 ings, fences, and obstructions which may be in the way, and to 
 prohibit all buildings, fences, or erections of any kind to the east- 
 ward of said Avenue; to fill up the heads of such of the docks as 
 may not afford sufficient room for the said street; to compel the 
 owners of wharves to keep them clean, and covered completely 
 with gravel or other hard materials, and to be so levelled that 
 water will not remain thereon after a shower of rain; to com- 
 pletely clean and keep clean all the docks within the limits of 
 the city, fronting on the Delaware ; and to pull down all plat- 
 forms carried out, from the east part of the city over the river 
 Delaware, on piles or pillars. 
 
STEPHEN GIRARD'S WILL. 77 
 
 2. To pull down and remove all wooden buildings, as well those 
 made of wood and other combustible materials, as those called 
 brick-paned, or frame buildings filled in with bricks, that are erected 
 within the limits of the City of Philadelphia, and also to prohibit 
 the erection of any such building, within the said city's limits at 
 any future time. 
 
 3. To regulate, widen, pave, and curb Water street, and to dis- 
 tribute the Schuylkill water therein, upon the following plan, 
 that is to say— -that Water street be widened east and west from 
 Vine street, all the way to South street, in like manner as it is 
 from the front of my dwelling to the front of my stores on the 
 west side of Water street, and the regulation of the curb-stones 
 continued at the same distance from one another as they are at 
 present opposite to the said dwelling and stores, so that the regu- 
 lation of the said street be not less than thirty-nine feet wide, 
 and afford a large and convenient footway, clear of obstructions 
 and incumbrances of everv nature, and the cellar doors on which, 
 if any shall be permitted, not to extend from the buildings on to 
 the footway more than four feet;" the said width to be increased 
 gradually, as the fund shall permit, and as the capacity to remove 
 impediments shall increase, until there shall be a correct and per- 
 manent regulation of Water street, on the principles above stated, 
 so that it may run north and south as straight as possible. That 
 the ten feet middle alley, belonging to the public, and running 
 from the centre of the east squares to Front street, all the way 
 down across Water street to the river Delaware, be kept open and 
 cleansed as city property, all the way from Vine to South street; 
 that such part of each centre or middle alley as runs from Front 
 to Water street, be arched over with bricks or stone, in so strong 
 a manner as to facilitate the building of plain and permanent 
 stone steps and platforms, so that they may be washed and kept 
 constantly clean ; and that the continuance of the said alleys, from 
 the east side of Water street, be curbed all the way to the river 
 Delaware, and kept open forever. (T understand that those mid- 
 dle or centre alleys were left open in the first- plan of the Iocs, on 
 
 the east front of the city, which were granted from the east side 
 7* 
 
78 STEPHEN GIRARD's WILL. 
 
 of Front street to the river Delaware, and that each lot on said 
 east front has contributed to make those alleys, by giving a pari 
 of their ground in proportion to the size of each lot; those alleys 
 Were in the first instance, and still are, considered public property, 
 intended for the convenience of the inhabitants residing in Front 
 street, to go down to the river for water and other purposes ; but, 
 owing to neglect or to some other cause, on the part of those who 
 have had the care of the city property, several encroachments 
 have been made on them by individuals, by wholly occupying, or 
 building over them, or otherwise, and in that way the inhabitants, 
 more particularly those who reside in the neighborhood, are de- 
 prived of the benefit of that wholesome air, which their opening 
 and cleansing throughout would afford.) That the iron pipes, in 
 Water street, which, by being of smaller size than those in the 
 other streets, and too near the surface of the ground, cause con- 
 stant leaks, particularly in the winter season, which in many places 
 render the street impassable, be taken up and replaced by pipes of 
 the same size, quality, and dimensions in every respect, and laid 
 down as deeply from the surface* of the ground, as the iron pipes 
 which are laid in the main streets of the city; and as it respects 
 pumps for Schuylkill water and fire-plugs in Water street, that one 
 of each be fixed at the south-west corner of Yine and Water 
 streets, and so running southward, one of each near the steps of 
 the centre alley, going up to Front street; one of each at the 
 south-west corner of Sassafras and Water Street; one of each 
 near the steps of the centre alley going up to Front street, and so 
 on at every south-west corner of all the main streets and Water 
 street, and of the centre alleys of every square, as far as South 
 or Cedar street; and when the same shall have been completed, 
 that all Water street shall be repaved by the best workmen, in the 
 most complete manner, with the best paving water-stones, after 
 the height of the curbstones shall have been regulated through- 
 out, as well as the ascent and descent of the street, in such 
 manner as to conduct the water through the main streets and the 
 centre alleys to the river Delaware, as far as practicable; and 
 whenever any part of the street shall want to be raised, to use no- 
 
SrEPHEN girard's WILL. 79 
 
 thing but good paving gravel for that purpose, so as to make the 
 paving as permanent as possible. By all which improvements, il 
 is my intention to place and maintain the section of the city above 
 referred to, in a condition which will correspond better with the 
 general cleanliness and appearance of the whole city, and be more 
 consistent with the safety, health, and comfort of the citizens. 
 And my mind and will are, that all the income, interest, and divi- 
 dends of the said capital sum of five hundred thousand dollars 
 shall be yearly, and every year, expended upon the said objects, 
 in the order in which I have stated them, as closely as possible, 
 and upon no other objects until those enumerated shall have been 
 attained : and when those objects shall have been accomplished, I 
 authorize and direct the said, the Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens, 
 to apply such part of the income of the said capital sum of five 
 hundred thousand dollars, as they may think proper, to the further 
 improvement, from time to time, of the eastern or Delaware front 
 of the city. 
 
 XXIII. I give and bequeath to the Commonwealth of Pennsyl- 
 vania, the sum of Three Hundred Thousand Dollars, for the 
 purpose of internal improvements by canal navigation, to be paid 
 into the State treasury by my executors, as soon as such laws shall 
 have been enacted by the constituted authorities of the said Com- 
 monwealth as shall be necessary, and amply sufficient to carry into 
 effect, or to enable the constituted authorities of the city of Phila- 
 delphia to carry into effect, the several improvements above speci- 
 fied; namely, 1. Laws, to cause Delaware Avenue, as above 
 described, to be made, paved, curbed, and lighted ; to cause the 
 buildings, fences, and other obstructions now existing, to be abated 
 and removed; and to prohibit the creation of any such obstructions 
 to the eastward of said Delaware Avenue ; 2. Laws, to cause all 
 wooden buildings, as above described, to be removed, and to pro- 
 hibit their future erection within the limits of the city of Phila- 
 delphia; 3. Laws, providing for the gradual widening, regulating 
 paving, and curbing Water street, as hereinbefore described, and 
 also for the repairing the middle alleys, and introducing the 
 Schuylkill water, and pumps, as before specified — all whicb 
 
80 STEPHEN GIRARD S WILL. 
 
 objects may, I persuade myself, be accomplished on principles at 
 once just in relation to individuals, and highly beneficial to the 
 public : the said sum, however, not to be paid, unless said laws be 
 passed within one year after my decease. 
 
 XXIV. And as it regards the remainder of said residue of my 
 personal estate, in trust, to invest the same in good securities, and 
 in lite manner to invest the interest and income thereof, from 
 time to time, so that the whole shall form a permanent fund ; and 
 to apply the income of the said fund, 
 
 1st. To the further improvement and maintenance of the 
 aforesaid College, as directed in the last paragraph of the XXIst 
 clause of this Will. 
 
 2d. To enable the Corporation of the City of Philadelphia to 
 provide more effectually than they now do, for the security of the 
 persons and property of the inhabitants of the said city by a com- 
 petent police, including a sufficient number of watchmen, really 
 6uited to the purpose : and to this end, I recommend a division of 
 the city into watch districts, or four parts, each under a proper 
 head, and that at least two watchmen shall, in each round or sta- 
 tion, patrol together. 
 
 3d. To enable the said Corporation to improve the city property, 
 and the general appearance of the city itself, and, in effect, to 
 diminish the burden of taxation, now most oppressive, especially 
 on those who are the least able to bear it : — 
 
 To all which objects, the prosperity of the city, and the health 
 and comfort of its inhabitants, I devote the said fund as aforesaid, 
 and direct the income thereof to be applied yearly, and every 
 year forever, after providing for the College as hereinbefore 
 directed, as my primary object. Bat, if the said City shall know- 
 ingly and wilfully violate any of the conditions hereinbefore and 
 hereinafter mentioned, then I give and bequeath the said remain- 
 der, and accumulations, to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 
 for the purpose of internal navigation ; excepting, however, the 
 rents, issues, and profits of my real estate in the city and county of 
 
STEPHEN GIRARD's WILL. 81 
 
 Philadelphia, which shall forever be reserved and applied to main- 
 tain the aforesaid College, in the manner specified in the last 
 paragraph of the XXIst clause of this Will : And if the Com 
 monwealth of Pennsylvania shall fail to apply this or the preced- 
 ing bequest to the purposes before mentioned, or shall apply any 
 part thereof to any other use, or shall, for the term of one year 
 from the time of my decease, fail or omit to pass the laws herein' 
 before specified for promoting the improvement of the City of 
 Philadelphia, then I give, devise, and bequeath the said remainder 
 and accumulations (the rents aforesaid always excepted and 
 reserved for the College as aforesaid) to the United States of 
 America, for the purpose of internal navigation, and no other. 
 
 Provided, nevertheless, and I do hereby declare, that all the 
 preceding bequests and devises of the residue of my estate to the 
 Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Philadelphia, are made upon 
 the following express conditions, that is to say r — First, That none 
 of the moneys, principal, interest, dividends, or rents arising from 
 the said residuary devise or bequest, shall at any time be applied 
 to any other purpose or purposes whatever, than those herein men- 
 tioned and appointed ; Second, That separate accounts, distinct 
 from the other accounts of the Corporation, shall bo kept by the 
 said Corporation, concerning the said devise, bequest, College and 
 funds, and of the investment and application thereof; and that a 
 separate account or accounts of the same shall be kept in blank, 
 not blended with any other account, so that it may at all times ap- 
 pear, on examination by a committee of the Legislature, as here- 
 inafter mentioned, that my intentions had been fully complied 
 with : Third, That the said Corporation render a detailed account 
 annually, in duplicate, to the Legislature of the Commonwealth of 
 Pennsylvania, at the commencement of the session, one copy for 
 the Senate, and the other for the House of Representative, con- 
 cerning the said devised and bequeathed estate, and the investment 
 and application of the same, and also a report in like manner of 
 the state of the said College, and shall submit all their books, papers, 
 and accounts touching the same, to a committee or committees of 
 the Legislature for examination, when the same shall be required. 
 
82 STEPHEN GIRARD's WILL. 
 
 4th. The said Corporation shall also cause to be published in 
 the month of January, annually, in two or more newspapers, print- 
 ed in the city of Philadelphia, a concise but plain account of the 
 state of the trusts, devises and bequests herein declared and 
 made, comprehending the condition of the said College, the num- 
 ber of scholars, and other particulars needful to be publicly known, 
 for the year next preceding the said month of January, annually. 
 
 XXV. And whereas, I have executed an assignment, in trust, 
 of my banking establishment, to take effect the day before my 
 decease, to the intent that all the concerns thereof may be closed 
 by themselves, without being blended with the concerns of my 
 general estate, and the balance remaining to be paid over to my 
 executors : Now, I do hereby direct my executors, hereinafter 
 mentioned, not to interfere with the said trust in any way except to 
 gee that the same is faithfully executed, and to aid the execution 
 thereof by all such acts and deeds as may be necessary and expe- 
 dient to effectuate the same, so that it may be speedily closed, and 
 the balance paid over to mv executors, to go, as in my Will, into 
 the residue of my estate : And T do hereby authorize, direct and 
 empower the said trustees, from time to time, as the capital of the 
 said bank shall be received, and shall not be wanted for the dis- 
 charge of the debts due thereat, to invest the same in good securi. 
 ties, in the names of my executors, and to hand over the same to 
 them, to be disposed of according to this my Will. 
 
 XXVI. Lastly, I do hereby nominate and appoint Timothy 
 Paxson, Thomas P. Cope, Joseph Roberts, William J. Duane and 
 John A. Barclay, executors of this my last Will and Testament : 
 I recommend to them to close the concerns of my estate as expe- 
 ditiously as possible, and to see that my intentions in respect to 
 the residue of my estate are and shall be strictly complied with : 
 and I do hereby revoke all other Wills by me hitherto made. 
 
 In witness, I, the said Stephen Girard, have to this my last 
 Will and Testament, contained in thirty-five pages, set my hand at 
 the bottom of each page, and my hand and seal at the bottom of 
 
STEPHEN GIRARD'S WILL. 83 
 
 this page; the said Will executed, from motives of prudence, in 
 duplicate, this sixteenth day of February, in the year one thousand 
 eight hundred and thirty. 
 
 STEPHEN GIRABD, [seal]. 
 
 Signed, sealed, published, and declared by the 
 said Stephen Girard, as and for his last 
 Will and Testament, in the presence of us, 
 who have at his request hereunto subscribed - 
 our names as witnesses thereto, in the pre- 
 sence of the said Testator, and of each 
 other, Feb. 16, 1830. I 
 
 JOHN H. IRWIN, 
 
 SAMUEL ARTHUR, 
 
 S. H. CARPENTER. 
 
 WHEREAS, I, Stephen Girard, the Testator named in the 
 foregoing Will, and Testament, dated the sixteenth day of Feb- 
 ruary, eighteen hundred and thirty, have, since the execution 
 thereof, purchased several parcels and pieces of real estate, and 
 have built sundry Messuages, all of which, as well as any real es- 
 tate that I may hereafter purchase, it is my wish and intention to 
 pass by the said Will : Now, I do hereby republish the foregoing 
 last Will and Testament, dated February 16, 1830, and do confirm 
 the same in all particulars. In witness, I, the said Stephen Gi- 
 rard, set my hand and seal hereunto, the twenty-fifth day of De- 
 cember, eighteen hundred and thirty. 
 
 STEPHEN GIRARD, [seal]. 
 
 Signed, sealed, published, and declared by the] 
 said Stephen Girard, as and for a republica- 
 tion of his last Will and Testament, in the 
 presence of us, who, at his request, have " 
 hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses 
 thereto, in the presence of the said Testa- 
 tor and of each other, December 25th, 1830. 
 
 JOHN H. IRWIN, 
 SAMUEL ARTHUR, 
 JNO. THOMSON. 
 
 WHEREAS, I, Stephen Girard, the Testator named in tho 
 foregoing Will and Testament, dated February 16, 1830, have, 
 since the execution thereof, purchased several parcels and pieces 
 
 i 
 
84 STEPHEN GIRARD'S WILL. 
 
 of land and real estate, and have built sundry Messuages, all which^ 
 as well as any real estate that I may hereafter purchase, it is my 
 intention to pass by said Will ; And whereas, in particular, T have 
 recently purchased from Mr. William Parker, the Mansion House, 
 out-buildings ; and forty-five acres and some perches of land, called 
 Feel Hall, on the Ridge Road, in Penn Township; Now, I declare 
 it to be my intention, and I direct, that the Orphan establishment, 
 provided for in my said W T ill, instead of being built as therein di- 
 rected upon my square of ground between High and Chestnut and 
 Eleventh and Twelfth streets in the city of Philadelphia, shall 
 be built upon the estate so purchased from Mr. William Parker, 
 and I hereby devote the said estate to that purpose, exclusively, 
 in the same manner as I had devoted the said square, hereby di- 
 recting that all the improvements and arrangements for the said 
 Orphan establishment prescribed by my said Will as to said square, 
 shall be made and executed upon the said estate, just as if I 
 had in my Will devoted the said estate to said purpose — conse- 
 quently, the said square of ground is to constitute, and I de- 
 clare it to be a part of the residue and remainder of my real 
 and personal estate, and given and devised for the same uses and 
 purposes as are declared in section twenty of my Will, it being my 
 intention that the said square of ground shall be built upon and 
 improved in such a manner as to secure a safe and permanent in- 
 come for the purposes stated in said twentieth section. In witness 
 thereof, I, the said Stephen Girard, set my hand and seal hereun- 
 to the twentieth day of June, eighteen hundred and thirty-ono. 
 
 STEPHEN GIRARD, [seal]. 
 
 Signed, sealed, published, and declared by 
 the said Stephen Girard, as and for a re- 
 publication of his last Will and Testament, 
 and a further direction in relation to the 
 real estate therein mentioned, in the pre- 
 sence of us, who, at his request, have here- 
 unto subscribed our names as witnesses 
 thereto, in the presence of the said Testator, 
 and of each other, June 20, 1831. 
 
 S. H. CARPENTER, 
 L. BARDIN, 
 SAMUEL ARTHUR. 
 
STEPHEN GIRARD'S WrLL 85 
 
 Philadelphia, December 31st, 1831. — Then personally appeared 
 Samuel Arthur and S. H. Carpenter, two of the witnesses to the 
 foregoing Will and the second Codicil or republication thereof, and 
 on their oaths did say, that they were present, and did see and 
 hear Stephen Grirard, the testator in the said Will and second re- 
 publication thereof named, sign, seal, publish, and declare the 
 same as and for his last Will and Testament, and republication 
 thereof, and that at the doing thereof, he was of sound mind, 
 memory, and understanding,, to the best of their knowledge and 
 belief; and at the same time appeared Jno. Thomson, one of the 
 witnesses to the first republication of said Will, and on his solemn 
 affirmation did say that he was present, and did see and hear Ste- 
 phen Grirard, the testator in the first republication of said Will 
 named, sign, seal, publish, and declare the same as and for a re- 
 publication of his last Will and Testament. And the said Samuel 
 Arthur, another of the witnesses to said first republication of 
 said Will, on his oath did further say, that he was present, and 
 did see and hear Stephen Grirard, the testator in the first republi- 
 cation of said Will named, sign, seal, publish, and declare the same 
 as and for a republication of his last Will and Testament, and they 
 joth did say that at the doing thereof, he was of sound mind, me- 
 mory, and understanding, to the best of their knowledge and belief. 
 
 Coram, 
 
 J. HUMES, Register. 
 
 December 31, 1831. — Timothy Paxson and Thomas P. Cope, 
 two of the Executors, affirmed, and Joseph Roberts, William J. 
 Duane, and John A. Barclay, the other Executors, sworn, and 
 letters testamei tary granted untc them. 
 
 8