us
see how he provided for them. The _resume_ of his will may be thus
stated: he died worth 1,500,000l., and thus disposes of it:--

Erection and endowment of college L400,000
Different institutions of charity 23,200
To his relatives and next of kin 28,000
City of Philadelphia, for improvements 100,000
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for
internal improvements 60,000
Sundry friends, &c. 13,000

The residue left to the city of Philadelphia, for improvement and
maintenance of his college, the establishment of better police, and to
improve the city and diminish taxation. Thus, out of a fortune of one
million and a half, he leaves his relatives 28,000l. Charity, in this
instance, can scarcely be said to have begun at home.

A certain increase of property to the amount of 60,000l. having taken
place since the date of his will, a suit was instituted by the
heirs-at-law to recover the same; in which, I am happy to say, they were
successful.

Perhaps one of the most extraordinary clauses in his will is the
following, viz.:--

"_I enjoin and require that no ecclesiastic, 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._"

The general design of the college is taken from the Madeleine.
Thirty-four columns surround it, each column six feet in diameter and
fifty feet high, made of marble, and weighing 103 tons, and costing when
placed 2600l. Some idea of the massiveness of the building may be
formed from the fact that, measuring 111 feet by 169 feet, and 59 of
height, the weight of material employed is estimated at 76,594-1/2 tons.
The effect of the whole is grand and graceful; and although as an orphan
asylum much money has been needlessly turned from its charitable uses,
as a building it does credit to the architect and all employed upon it,
and is, beyond all comparison, the best specimen of architecture I have
seen in the States.

[Illustration: Gerard College, Philadelphia]

The number of orphans receiving instruction is three hundred and one;
they are cleanly and comfortably lodged, and well-boarded; their ages
average from ten to fourteen and a half, and the upper classes of the
school are taught conic sections