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INTllODUCTION. 
 
 The following pages contain tlic testimonials 
 of respect and affection, which were bestowed 
 upon the memory of my beloved husband at the 
 time of his decease, by friends who were so dear 
 to him, and by the important institutions with 
 which he was connected. In collecting them, I 
 obey the dictates of a grateful heart, desirous to 
 preserve in a more permanent form these expres- 
 sions of the sentiments of the community in 
 which he lived, affording as they do the highest 
 proofs of his own excellence, and of the apprecia- 
 tion of it, by those who knew him best. They 
 give evidence that in all the positions in which 
 he was placed, both in public and private life, 
 he conscientiously performed every tluty ; while 
 
ii INTRODUCTION'. 
 
 those, ^\\u) were still mure closely united to him, 
 can bear ^vitness to his devotion, consideratcness, 
 fidelity, and tenderness as a son, a brother, a 
 friend, and a husband. 
 
 I anxiously hope that, at some future time, the 
 varied productions of his own mind may be col- 
 lected for pro-orvation, for it may be justly said 
 of my husband, that his own character is reflected 
 in his writinu-^ — .•h-\nf(d as tliey are in thou<^lit, 
 rich in inft)rmation, in language and style chaste 
 and simple, with a purity of sentiment and deli- 
 cacy of expression peculiarly his own. Those 
 (pudities and nrcomplishments, which constituted 
 the charm of his conversation and personal inter- 
 coursp. n-nvp force and beauty to all that flowed 
 from his ready pen. I cannot be mistaken in 
 thinkinir, that a rollection of his historical com- 
 positions, his occasional discourses, his memoirs of 
 some of tlu^ most eminent of his contemporaries, 
 and lii^ miscellaneous writings, would form a 
 
1 XTUO D UCTIO X. Ill 
 
 liii'lilv valuable contribution to tlie literature of 
 the country. 
 
 The book-plate on the title-page of this volume 
 "was used by Mr. Gilpin in his extensive library, 
 and it shall be affixed to every volume which may 
 be added to it while in my possession ; and I de- 
 sire it may be used when his Library shall have 
 been permanently placed under the care of the 
 Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in conformity 
 with his will. 
 
 To his friends, among whom are names the 
 most respected and best known at home and 
 abroad, w-ho have given expression to their feel- 
 ings in letters of sympathy, and furnished the 
 contents of these pages, I now beg leave to return 
 my grateful thanks for the tributes so feelingly 
 paid to his honored and cherished memory. 
 
 ELIZA GILPIX. 
 
C N T E N T 8 
 
 TRIBUTES OF THE PRESS ^ 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF THE 
 
 FINE ARTS "-' 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COURTS AND BAR OF PHILADEL- 
 
 •70 
 
 PHIA - 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENN- 
 SYLVANIA ^'^ 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SO- 
 CIETY, AND ADDRESS OF MR. EDAVARD EVERETT . . 120 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND 
 
 ADDRESS OF MR. WILLIAM B. OGDEN 11"^ 
 
 ADDRESS OF MR. JOSEPH R. INGERSOLL BEFORE THE 
 
 AMERICAN PHILOSOI^IICAL SOCIETY . -159 
 
 LETTERS FROM MR. GEORGE GROTE AND MR. RICHARD 
 
 COBDEN -"'^ 
 
TllIBUTES OF THE PTIESS 
 
A MEMORIAL 
 
 OF 
 
 HEMIY 1). GILPIN 
 
 TKIBUTES OF THE PRESS. 
 
 On the 3()th of January, 1860, the morning 
 papers announced in the following articles the 
 close of the useful career of the distinguished 
 subject of the following memorial: — 
 
 [Philadelphia Inquirer.] 
 
 Henry D. Gilpin. — The death of this excellent 
 gentleman, which has just taken place, is a private 
 and a public calamity. The loss, it may safely be 
 said, cannot be supplied. In all the relations of 
 
2 AMEMORIALOF 
 
 life his deportment was amiable, and his conduct, 
 as his friends who knew him best firmly believed, 
 was fi*ee from all reproach. His departure from a 
 sphere of duty and intercourse which he filled so 
 long and so well, will be felt by a most extensive 
 circle, where his merits were especially appreci- 
 ated; and by the country at large, which had 
 known and valued his various attainments. Edu- 
 cated in early boyhood in Euf^^land, he came with 
 his father's flunily to the United States, where, in 
 different positions, he has passed an active and 
 industrious life. After some years of practice at 
 the Philadelphia Bar, he received the appointment 
 of United States Attorney for the District of Penn- 
 sylvania. He was thence invited to Washington 
 as Solicitor of the Treasury, and not a great while 
 afterwards became the Attorney-General of the 
 United States. In all these places a high order 
 of abilities was displayed by him, and his industry 
 was indefatigable. He returned to Philadelphia 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 3 
 
 with a competency fully earned and richly merited ; 
 and he has continued, with the exception of a visit 
 to Europe, to pass his time among the friends and 
 companions of his youth, and in the midst of a 
 most amiable family. 
 
 Habits of industry were not abandoned by him 
 with public life. His mornings were for the most 
 part passed in the midst of a large and valuable 
 collection of books which formed his extensive 
 library, selected almost entirely by himself. Por- 
 tions of his day were given to social intercourse 
 and to the practice of a generous hospitality. 
 
 A frame, naturally not robust, did not receive 
 the relaxation and exercise which it needed. Al- 
 though many years from the approach of advanced 
 age, he was not inaccessible to infirmity of body, 
 while his mind was always clear and vigorous. 
 With everything about him to render life happy 
 to himself, to his family, and his many friends, he 
 gradually yielded to the influences of insidious. 
 
4 AlIEMOKIALOF 
 
 and, at Icngtli, complicated disease, the effects 
 purely of want of constitutional strength, and of 
 watchful exercise. "SMth little in the progress of 
 his maladies to afford hope to his anxious friends, 
 he sunk gradually from feeble health to positive 
 debility, and at length yielded up his spirit this 
 morning at rather an early hour, breathing only 
 kindness and good- will, and having little to regret 
 and everything to hope for, as the reward of a 
 life filled with nothing but peace and good-will. 
 
 In his manners, Mr. Gil[)in was amiable and ac- 
 complished. In his knowledge, he was well read 
 and diversified. In his feelings, as kind as ever 
 human heart was formed for friendship and affec- 
 tion. A fine writer and an eloquent speaker, 
 courteous in all the relations of life, firm and 
 gentle, just and honorable in his dealings, always 
 ready to do a kindness, and never disposed to 
 wrong or injure, a ripe scholar, and an accom- 
 plished gentleman, he was respected and esteemed 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN 
 
 with a devotion and sincerity which will only be 
 equalled by the sorrow with which he will long 
 and deeply be lamented. 
 
 [NonTH American a\d United States Gazette.] 
 
 Death of Henry D. Gilpin. — We are greatly 
 pained, as will be this whole community, to learn 
 that this worthy gentleman and accomplished 
 scholar died yesterday morning. He had been for 
 some time in declining health, but was not thought 
 to be in immediate danger. The proximate cause 
 of his demise was an affection of the throat. 
 
 Mr. Gilpin was born in 1801, and took his de- 
 gree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1819. 
 In 1832 he was appointed Attorney of the United 
 States for rennsylvania ; in 1837, Solicitor of the 
 Treasury of the United States; and in 1840, At- 
 torney-General for the same great confederacy. 
 For some time, and most deservedly and well, he 
 
 1* 
 
6 A M E il O R I A L O F 
 
 filled two honorable and responsible positions — 
 the Tresidency of the Pennsylvania Academy of 
 the Fine Arts, and the Vice-Presidency of the 
 Historical Society. In each of these Institntions 
 the loss of his knowledge, liberal spirit, and cul- 
 tivated taste, will leave a great and lamented 
 vacuum. But not only have learning, literature, 
 and taste at large lost one of their most distin- 
 guished ornaments and supports, but his brethren 
 of the legal profession arc deprived of one who has 
 contributed largely to their treasures. In 1S3T he 
 published Reports of the cases tried in the District 
 Court of the United States for the Eastern District 
 of Pennsylvania. The able decisions of Judge 
 Hopkinson filled the larger portion of this volume, 
 and it is justly said that ^Ir. Gilpin gave admira- 
 ble summaries of the facts in each case, and pro- 
 duced a work of high character. In 18-41 he 
 issued, in two volumes, octavo, the Opinions of 
 the Attorneys-General of the United States, from 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 7 
 
 the origin of the government to the year of the 
 publication. This work, also, was declared by 
 high authorities to be of exceeding interest, and 
 in every way a fitting monument to the reputation 
 of the distinguished men who have successively 
 filled that office. Our civilians, or we may better 
 say, all who take an interest in the origin, theory, 
 and operations of this great government, are in- 
 debted to him for his supervision, under the 
 authority of Congress, of the puWication of a 
 large portion of the invaluable treasures left us 
 in the papers of James Madison. 
 
 Mr. Gilpin was also a prominent and skilful 
 reaper in the fields of general literature. From 
 1826 to 1832 he edited or wrote much both in 
 prose and verse, for the Atlantic Souvenir, the 
 first literary annual published in America, and 
 which, being good in itself, was the cause of a 
 flood of annuals, which finally all died from their 
 own excessive numbers. He wrote many articles 
 
3 AMEMORIALOF 
 
 Oil politics and general literature for the American 
 Quarterly/, the Democratic, and the Xorth Ame- 
 rican Reviews. lie wrote very many of the 
 Biograpliies of the Signers of the Declaration of 
 Independence, and the second edition of those 
 biographies was revised, enriched, and edited by 
 him alone. Biographical notices of Livingston, 
 AVriglit, Forsyth, Poinsett, and other statesmen 
 witli wliom he was associated and familiar were 
 prepared by liim. He was often called on to de- 
 liver addresses before various scientific, literary, 
 and irsthctical societies; and those addresses being 
 distinguished for that elegant and liberal know- 
 ledge which caused the selection of their speaker, 
 were widely diffused and as widely appreciated. 
 
 The above are all the material facts we have to 
 notice in the life of this finished gentleman and 
 scholar. The career of one who makes himself a 
 thorough master of the old languages and works 
 that remain embalmed and immortalized in their 
 
HENKY D. GILPIX. 9 
 
 own perfection, and who devotes the rest of liis 
 life to the study, ehicidation, and diffusion of the 
 great principk^s of law and government, with the 
 exception of some stolen hours assigned to the 
 culture of all that is choice in literature or elegant 
 in art, must necessarily be devoid of stirring inci- 
 dent. But Philadelphians will long regret the 
 loss of one who had the faculty and the will to 
 disseminate the results of his own fine acquire- 
 ments, and whose ample means were liberally cm- 
 ployed not only in developing literature and the 
 arts among us, but in extending to visitors a 
 generous and elegant hospitality. Mr. Gilpin 
 collected and has left a library which any scholar 
 would be glad to inspect, and overjoyed to possess. 
 
10 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 [Pexxsvlvaman.] 
 
 Death of Henry D. Gilpix. — We arc x:)ained 
 to announce the death of another prominent and 
 distinguished citizen. Henry D. Gilpin died yes- 
 terday, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. The 
 sad announcement will cause a feeling of wide 
 and deep regret, for few men have been more 
 widely known or universally esteemed for the 
 possession in their fulness of all those qualities 
 whifh distinguish the man of quiet labor and 
 constant but unostentatious usefulness. Mr. Gil- 
 pin was a man of the strictest probity and of 
 marked unselfishness. Bred to the bar, and of a 
 quick perceptiveness, he early acquired a high 
 reputation for legal learning, and discharged the 
 duties of several highly responsible positions witli 
 masterly ability. AVith talents of a high order 
 tliat justly gave him pre-eminence in his profes- 
 sion, he had little taste for worldly applause; but 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 11 
 
 in every benevolent or public enterprise where la- 
 bor was to be performed or sacrifices imposed, he 
 was among the first and freest; and not a few of 
 our public institutions owe a large share of their 
 success to his almost lavish contributions, his clear 
 knowledge, his finished scholarship, and his con- 
 stant, persevering efforts. Art and learning had 
 no more devoted or willing friend among us. He 
 was a man of ardent friendships, and of large and 
 genuine benevolence of heart; and enjoyed in a 
 rare degree the confidence and warm regard of an 
 extended acquaintance both in public and private 
 life. 
 
12 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 [The Puess.] 
 
 Henry D. Gilpin. — This distinguished gen- 
 tleman, whose dciitli wo briefly announced on 
 Monday morning, occupied a very high social po- 
 sition in our city, and was at one period promi- 
 nently identified with political events of the mosf 
 important character, ^slr. Gilpin was a native of 
 Philadelphia, born in the year 1801. His ances- 
 tors removed to Pennsylvania at about the time of 
 the establishment of the colony of ^Villiam Penn, 
 settling: first on the banks of the Prandvwine, near 
 the boundary of Pennsylvania and Delaware. His 
 grandfother removed to Philadelphia in the year 
 1740, and was an intimate friend of Dr. Franklin. 
 His father, Mr. Joshua Gilpin, was for a considera- 
 ble period an eminent merchant of this city; but 
 some time before the close of his life, removed 
 to the State of Delaware. Henry D. Gilpin re- 
 ceived the rudiments of his education at a Phila- 
 
HENRY 1). GIL I' IN, 13 
 
 (Iclphia grammar school, and at the age of fifteen 
 entered the University of Pennsylvania, at which 
 institution he graduated with the highest coUe- 
 o-iate honors in 1819. lie then commenced the 
 study of the law in the office of Mr. Joseph R. 
 IngersoU, and was admitted to the Philadelphia 
 har in 1822. By his diligence as a student, and 
 talents as a lawyer, he gradually increased his 
 standing at the bar until the year 1830, when his 
 successful management of a case arising out of a 
 difficulty between two Portuguese ministers, ac- 
 credited by two different claimants to sovereign 
 power — which involved many important interna- 
 tional questions, and which, after being tried in the 
 Circuit Court of Philadelphia, was carried up to the 
 Supreme Court of the United States — established 
 his legal reputation upon a firm basis, and secured 
 for him the warm friendship and liigli regard of 
 the President of the United States at that time, 
 General Jackson. In the following year, 1831, 
 
14 A M E M O R I A L O F 
 
 Ml". Dallas, wlio tlicn held the office of District 
 Attorney of the United States at Philadclpliia, was 
 chosen United States Senator, and !Mr. Gilpin was 
 immediately appointed to succeed him as District 
 Attorney. This office he held for more than five 
 years, discharging its duties with great ability. 
 During this period he also acted in another im- 
 portant capacity, as he was appointed by General 
 Jackson in 1833 one of the Government directors 
 of the Bank of the United States. This position 
 Avas a particularly trying and onerous one. The 
 current of public sentiment in Philadelphia at that 
 period was strongly in favor of the bank, and in 
 opposition to the policy General Jackson had 
 adopted. Yet iSIr. Gil])in, acting under a high 
 sense of duty, and prompted by a warm attach- 
 ment to the brave old hero of the Hermitage, and 
 to the policy of the Democratic party of that era, 
 continued, with untirini;: vigilance and unbendiu": 
 perseverance, to untagoni/e the controlling spirits 
 
H EX K Y D. G I L PI N. 15 
 
 of the bank, and to assist General Jackson in his 
 efforts to suppress it. 
 
 During the whole of General Jackson's admin- 
 istration, Mr. Gilpin was one of its most uncom- 
 promising supporters in this locality, and by his 
 frequent contributions to the Democratic press of 
 that day, and by the aid of his vigorous pen in the 
 preparation of numerous addresses to the Demo- 
 cracy of the State, he did much to create the 
 strong current of popular feeling which sustained 
 General Jackson in his trying contests. On the 
 expiration of the first term for which Mr. Gilpin 
 had acted as a Government director of the Bank 
 of the United States in 1834, General Jackson 
 nominated him for a second term, but this nomina- 
 tion was rejected in the Senate by a majority of 
 four votes. Jackson sent to the Senate a renomi- 
 nation, which was also, of course, rejected. 
 
 In the autumn of the same year, as an addi- 
 tional mark of his regard, General Jackson ap- 
 
16 A M E M R I A L O F 
 
 pointed Mr. Gilpin Governor of the Territory of 
 Michigan, a post which had become vacant by the 
 death of General George B. Porter, and this nomi- 
 nation was also rejected by the Senate, simply on 
 account of the strong partisan feelings engendered 
 by ^[r, Gilpin's rigid course on the bank question, 
 and without any pretence of unfitness, or of per- 
 sonal objections of any kind wliatever, by a majo- 
 rity of one vote. The injustice of this rejection, 
 and the vindictive spirit of persecution it evinced, 
 were bitterly denounced by the Democratic press 
 of Pennsylvania at the time, and at tlie following 
 session of the same Senate, that body, acting under 
 a hii^her sense of dutv, made the amende hononihle 
 by a unanimous confirmation of the reappointment 
 of Mr. Gilpin to tlie District Attorneyship of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 In tlio month of May, of lS:n, shortly after the 
 elevation of Mr. Van Buren to the Presidential 
 chair, he tendered to Mr. Ciilpin the office of So- 
 
HENKY D. GILl'IN. 17 
 
 licitor of the Treasury, which that gentleman 
 accepted, and at once removed to Washington. 
 Several important questions arose during his con- 
 tinuance in this office, which he discussed with 
 masterly ability, and which were finally settled in 
 accordance with his suggestions. 
 
 In 184:0 a vacancy was created in the office of 
 Attorney-General of the United States by the re- 
 signation of Felix Grundy, of Tennessee, who had 
 been elected a United States Senator from that 
 State, and Mr. Gilpin was appointed to this posi- 
 tion by President Van Buren. He thus attained, 
 when less than forty years of age, one of the most 
 honorable and important offices in the government. 
 During liis term of Attorney-General, a large 
 number of important cases demanded his atten- 
 tion, but he was equal to every emergency, and 
 greatly increased his professional reputation by the 
 ability thus displayed. Mr. Gilpin was a devoted 
 friend of Mr. Van Buren, and since the culmina- 
 
18 A ^I E .M O R I A L F 
 
 tiou of the political fortunes of that statesman, 
 which occuiTed after his defeat, in 1840, never oc- 
 cupied a very prominent political position, but he 
 assiduously devoted himself to literature, and to 
 the diffusion of an elegant hospitality. When 
 quite a young man he completed the biography of 
 the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 
 He was also a prominent contril)ntor to the Ame- 
 rican Quarterljj Recfcir, the publication of which 
 was commenced in Philadelphia in 18-29; and to the 
 Democratic Review, and was the author of many 
 public addresses and miscellaneous literary produc- 
 tions. He also prepared the " Madison Papers," 
 which wore published under the auspices of Con- 
 gress, and performed this duty with such fidelity 
 that INIr. Bancroft warmly applauded liis labors. 
 
 Mr. (iilpin also acted, during his useful life, as 
 President of the Pennsylvania Academy of Pine 
 Arts, as Vice-President of the Historical Society, 
 and as Director of (iirard College. He was one 
 
H E N K Y D. G I L P 1 N . 19 
 
 of the most polished gentlemen we have ever 
 known, and to an intellect of a very high order 
 nnited a kind heart and an amiable disposition, 
 which endeared him to all who liad the good for- 
 tnne to be ranked among his friends. By his 
 death Philadelphia has lost one of her most esti- 
 mable and talented citizens. 
 
v 
 
PROCEEDINGS 
 
 OF THR 
 
 PENXSYLVAMA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS. 
 
PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF THE 
 FINE ARTS. 
 
 I'liii.ADKi.iMii.v, Feb. 4, IbGO. 
 
 Mrs. Henky D. Gilpin. 
 
 My Dear INIadam: 1 have a melancholy duty to 
 perform, in presenting you with the accompany- 
 ing proceedings of the Board of Directors of the 
 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. 
 
 Although Mr. Gilpin was no longer officially 
 connected with our institution, at the time of his 
 death, yet he was held in too high estimation by 
 his late Associates, not to render it incumbent 
 upon them to record, upon its earliest announce- 
 ment, the expression of their unfeigned regard 
 for his memory, and their fervent regret at that 
 dispensation of Providence, which had, in the 
 midst of his usefulness, deprived us of a beloved 
 
24 A :M E M O R I A L F 
 
 friend, tlie community of a most estimable citizen, 
 and his family of a devoted member. 
 
 ^Ir. (jiilpin, after an interre,<i:nnm of some years, 
 occasioned by his temporary removal from the 
 city, rejoined the Board of Directors on the same 
 day with myself, both being elected to fill vacan- 
 cies which had previously occurred therein. This 
 Avas in the year 1841. Since that period, with a 
 slight exception, we sat side by side, in mutual 
 efforts (whilst co-operating with our colleagues) to 
 promote the success of our institution. As I was 
 seldom absent from the meetings of tlie Board, 
 my opportunities were favorable for witnessing 
 the character and extent of the services which 
 Mr. Gil[)in rendered. These were many, and of 
 signal advantage to it. There was no occasion, 
 during this long period, on whicli he was not 
 ready to labor for th(> welfare of the Academy; 
 and tlie prompt and graceful manner in which 
 every duty was i)erformed hv him. auii^mented its 
 
HEXRY D. GILPIN. 25 
 
 value, whilst the personal regard of his associates 
 was, chietly through this instrumentality, ripened 
 into warm and enduring attachments. 
 
 You are aware how reluctantly the Board parted 
 with their late President, and how much their 
 sensibilities were awakened when he announced 
 that his retirement was on account of declining 
 health. You are also aware how earnestly we be- 
 sought him to relinquish his intention, as well for 
 his own sake as ours, and what personal appeals 
 were made to him to consider whether in the step 
 he was taking he was not rather likely to do him- 
 self more bodily injury than benefit. 
 
 Mr. Gilpin's pure and blameless life has been 
 suddenly arrested, but he has left us many plea- 
 sant memories to dwell on, and a bright example 
 to imitate, in all those virtues which render men 
 worthy of the public esteem during this existence, 
 and in fitting them for another and a happier 
 home when their earthly career shall have termi- 
 
I 
 
 26 A M E M O R I A L O F 
 
 natctl. I need not assure you, my dear madam, 
 of the profound sympathy felt for you by the 
 Board of Directors in the irreparable loss that you 
 have experienced. They all feel most keenly your 
 affliction, whilst it is their united prayer that 
 througli those consolations which are ever mingled 
 in the cup of bitterness, and which a Christian 
 heart like your own can appreciate, you may be 
 sustained, so that your remaining years shall, not- 
 withstanding your present calamity, prove an un- 
 alloyed blessing to you. 
 
 1 am, with the sincerest respect and 
 esteem, 'Yours truly, 
 
 C. COPE, 
 
 Pi-es't Penn'a Acadcmv of the Fine Art>. 
 
 At a special meeting of the Board of Directors 
 of the Tennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 
 held on the 31st January, ls(;(). the following 
 resolutions were unanimously adopted: — 
 
H EN K Y D. G I LP 1 N. 27 
 
 Resolved^ That this Board have heard with the 
 deepest sorrow, the announcement of the deatli of 
 Henry D. Gilpin, long connected with this insti- 
 tution, and for many years its presiding officer. 
 
 Resolved., That the members of this Board che- 
 rish a very lively and grateful remembrance of the 
 services rendered to this institution by the de- 
 ceased, of his amiable deportment and gentle man- 
 ners, of his uniform suavity and kind bearing, and 
 of his unwearied and efficient efforts in the cause 
 of human improvement, whether illustrated in his 
 labors whilst officially connected with the Acade- 
 my and in its behalf, or by his eminent services in 
 other and not less distinguished spheres of duty. 
 
 Resolced, That this Board feel that a serious 
 void has been created in the business and social 
 circles to which tlie departed belonged, and which 
 he adorned by his shining talents, pure and ele- 
 vated character, refined tastes, genial disposition, 
 and liberal hospitality. 
 
28 A MEMORIAL OK HENRY D . G I I. P I N . 
 
 Resolved, That tliis Board, as a further mark of 
 respect and esteem for tlio memory of tlieir late 
 lamented friend and associate, will attend his 
 funeral in a body. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions, at- 
 tested by the President and Secretary, be trans- 
 mitted to the bereaved wife of the deceased, 
 accompanied by the tender of the sincerest con- 
 dolence of the Board in her severe affliction. 
 
 C. COPE, President. 
 Attest: John T. Lea^s, Secretary. 
 
PROCEEDINGS 
 
 OF TEIE 
 
 COURTS AiND BAR OF PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 3* 
 
I 
 
THE PITTLADELrHIA BAR. 
 
 Mrs. Henry 1). Gilpin. 
 
 Madam: The undersigned, a Committee ap- 
 pointed for tlie purpose at a meeting of the Bar 
 of Philadelphia, have the honor, after a brief de- 
 lay, which was thought due to your feelings, to 
 inclose herewith the resolutions, unanimously 
 adopted by his late associates, on the occasion of 
 the lamented death of INIr. Gilpin. 
 
 They ask most respectfully and with the pro- 
 foundest sympathy, Madam, in your grief, permis- 
 sion to lay them before you, and they have the 
 honor to assure you of their high consideration in 
 subscribing themselves, Madam, 
 
 Your very obedient and humble servants, 
 
 W. M. MEREDITH. P. M'CALL. 
 
 JAMES PAGE. G. M. WHARTON. 
 
 J. RAXDALL. BENJAMIN RUSH. 
 
 C. INGERSOLL. ST. GEO. T. CA^[PBELL. 
 
 IS. HAZLEHTJRST. B. GERHARD. 
 
 CHARLES J. P>inDLE. 
 Phila., March 2, 1860. 
 
32 A M E M R I A L F 
 
 At a m'eeting of tlie members of the Philadel- 
 phia Bar, held in the Circuit Court Room of the 
 United States on the thirty-first day of January, 
 A. D. 1860, Mr. William ]M. :Meredith presided 
 and Mr. James Page acted as Secretary. 
 
 The following resolutions, offered by Mr. Josiah 
 Randall, were unanimously adopted after addresses 
 by that gentleman, Messrs. Benjamin Rush, and 
 Charles Ingersoll. 
 
 Resolved, That the members of the Bar of Phi- 
 ladelphia assemble this morning, with feelings of 
 unfeigned sorrow, to manifest their respect and 
 esteem for the memory of their departed brother, 
 Henry D. Gilpin. A life of purity has been ter- 
 minated without having reached the limits of old 
 age, and the friends of the deceased, in common 
 with the whole country, are called upon to mourn 
 the departure of an associate and a distinguished 
 fellow-citizen at a period when, if life and health 
 had been prolonged, ho might for years have been 
 
HENRY 1). GILPIN". 38 
 
 cherished by both as an ornament to society and ;i 
 treasure to the nation. 
 
 That he discharged arduous and responsibk^ 
 duties under the government of the United States, 
 ending with the high office of its Attorney-Gene- 
 ral, with eminent fideUty and ability. As a pri- 
 vate gentleman and a professional man, he was 
 always courteous, correct, and amiable; and in all 
 the relations of life he was consistent in good 
 conduct, and exemplary in social, professional 
 and political intercourse. 
 
 That his attainments as a scholar were rare; 
 his devotion to duty of every kind was never fail- 
 ing, ardent, and indefatigable; while gentleness 
 of manner, the mirror of a benevolent disposition, 
 attracted corresponding good-will from all, and a 
 bearing always kind, was welcomed and recipro- 
 cated by universal kindness in return. 
 
 That the career of Mr. Gilpin has been such as 
 to invite the imitation of the young and respect 
 
34: A M E M O R I A L O F 
 
 from the mature in life. His part was well per- 
 formed, with rectitude and honor; and the name 
 which he has bequeathed without a stain, will be 
 held in recollection of esteem and gratitude. 
 
 That sympathy for his loss suggests the pro- 
 priety of communicating these resolutions to his 
 afflicted family. It is therefore, 
 
 Resolced, That a committee be appointed to 
 carry that melancholy duty into effect, and to 
 make public these proceedings as an earnest tes- 
 timonial of the sentiments of the meeting. 
 
 The Chairman appointed on the above Commit- 
 tee Messrs. Josiah Kandall, Charles Tngersoll, Isaac 
 Hazlehurst, Peter M'Call, George ^NI. Wliarton, 
 Benjamin Rush, St. Geo. T. Campbell, Benjamin 
 Gerhard, and Charles J. Biddle. 
 
 On motion, the Chairman and Secretary were 
 
 added to the Committee. 
 
 W.M. M. MKRKDITII, Prcs't. 
 .Iamks I*aue, Sec'rv. 
 
II E X RY T). r, I L I' 1 X. 35 
 
 ADDRESSES AT THE MEETING OF THE ]]AU. 
 REMARKS OF MR. JOSIAH RANDALL. 
 
 Ill com})liiiiice ^vith the request of those gentle- 
 men who have made the preliminary arrangements 
 for the present meeting, I offer for adoption the 
 resolutions, which have been prepared for your 
 consideration. But before doing so, I will submit 
 a few remarks: — 
 
 Mr. Gilpin was no ordinary man. In the year 
 1820 he entered upon the profession of the law, 
 and shortly after took an active part in the public 
 concerns of the country. He rose gradually, step 
 by step, until under Mr. Van Buren's administra- 
 tion, he arrived at the highest professional post in 
 this country — the Attorney-General of the United 
 States. During his official career in this station, 
 he competed with the most able advocates of the 
 
36 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 nation, sucli as Webster, Choate, Clay, Johnson, 
 Nelson, and others; and in tliis conflict of mind 
 he gave fresh pledges of his superior intellect and 
 general research. lie was probably, with one ex- 
 ception (Mr. Everett), in diplomacy the best edu- 
 cated statesman in our country, and his large mass 
 of learning was always at the service of his friends. 
 He was mild and amiable, but in the performance 
 of his public duties he was inflexibly honest and 
 upright. During the last term of General Jack- 
 son's administration it is well known that it fell 
 to his lot to perform a most arduous and perilous 
 public duty. In doing so, he encountered local 
 pride and public prejudice to an almost unlimited 
 extent. Brave when his rights were encroached 
 upon, fearless in sustaining what he believed to 
 be the truth, and unawed by any power but the 
 will of Omniscience, he steadily performed his 
 duty, and never faltered nor looked behind him. 
 Among others, I diff'ered from liini on tliat occa- 
 
HENRY D. GIL I' IX. 37 
 
 sion, but sober reflection and the result have 
 proved that he was right and we were wrong. 
 
 One of the most useful lessons taught by the 
 death of a good man is to impress upon us moral 
 reflections which may be beneficial to those who 
 survive. I do not hold the sentiment that the 
 virtues of a good man and the vices of a bad man. 
 after death, should be confounded, and that the 
 epitaphs on the tombstones of both should be the 
 same. I know of no incentive more powerful to 
 promote good acts than the value of a posthumous 
 name, and none of us can leave to our flxmily and 
 our friends a richer legacy than the character of a 
 fiiithful public servant and an upright honest man 
 in private life. There is a sickly philosophy too 
 prevalent, that every statesman or public man is 
 liable to the imputation of being sordidly selfish 
 or corrupt, or to use the popular sarcasm in more 
 homely language, that he is a man of principle in 
 proportion to his interest. The life and character 
 
88 AMEMOBIALOF 
 
 of Mr. Gilpin exhibit most powerfully the injus- 
 tice of this sentiment. Ilis public and private 
 career has been without blot or blemish, and be- 
 yond rebuke or reproach. 
 
 Having obtained the highest eminence in his 
 profession and great affluence in his fortune, ac- 
 quired by his industry, without oppression, he 
 retired, a few years since, from the active labors 
 incident to practice at the bar, and devoted him- 
 self to the domestic enjoyments of his family and 
 friends. This was the arena in which his virtues 
 shone so brilliantly, and it was here as a husband, 
 a son, a brother, and a friend, that his merits were 
 known and cherished. A few months since it be- 
 came apparent to himself and others, that his days 
 were numbered. He received the sad admonition 
 with composure and resignation. Day after day 
 passed by, and the time arrived wlien he realized 
 that a change was about to take place. Sur- 
 rounded by n weeping circle, consisting of his 
 
HEN RY D. GILPIN. 39 
 
 partner in life, his mother, his other relations, and 
 his domestics, he took affectionate leave of them 
 all, gave them his blessing, and in a mild and firm 
 manner told them, "/ die at peace with God and 
 man" 
 
 Such has been the fate of our friend, whose 
 memory we are called here to respect, and before 
 I conclude I cannot refrain from making an ear- 
 nest appeal to each one of the young members of 
 our profession, who constitute so large a portion 
 of this assemblage, and from saying to him, "Go 
 thou and do likewise." 
 
40 A M E M O R I A L O F 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. BENJAMIN RUSH. 
 
 Mr. Ivush said, tlmt thongli he could add no- 
 thing to the very appropriate observations of his 
 estimable friend who had just taken his seat, he 
 would, nevertheless, ask leave to say a word or 
 two, for he felt that if he were to remain wholly 
 silent on such an occasion as this, he would be 
 untrue to the promptings of his heart. It liad 
 been well said by Mr. Kandall, that Mr. Gilpin 
 was no ordinary man; nor was his death an ordi- 
 nary event, in the ranks of this Bar, or this city, 
 or. he would add, the gifted men of this country. 
 Well and truly had it also been said of him, that 
 in all the relations of public and private life, he 
 was a model; that as a husband, a son, a citizen, 
 a gentleman, he had no superior. Sir, said Mr. 
 Uusli, this large meeting of the profession, graced 
 by the presence of learned Judges, who have sus- 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 41 
 
 pendcd the proceedings of their Courts to enable 
 them to be here, has ratified these sentiments; 
 this whole community, in which he was a univer- 
 sal favorite, will ratify them ; the public will en- 
 dorse them. To say that his heart was as warm 
 as his intellect was disciplined and polished ; that 
 his generous impulses, his ready kindness, his ha- 
 bitual suavity, his unwillingness to offend, or give 
 pain to others, were attractively illustrated in his 
 bland and agreeable and genial intercourse; or to 
 speak of the charms of his accomplished mind, as 
 seen and felt in his easy, and sprightly, and flow- 
 ing conversation, to which so many of us have 
 listened, at his hospitable table and elsewhere, as 
 it sparkled with quick intelligence, and shone 
 with cultivation and the lights of knowledge — 
 what is this, what would this be, but feebly to 
 portray a little of all that we already know and 
 feeH For, sir, to one who knew him, as i/ou did, 
 and as some of the rest of us knew him more re- 
 
 4* 
 
42 A M E M R I A L O F 
 
 ceiitly, who does not recall with mingled pleasure 
 and sadness — elevated pleasure and corresponding 
 sadness — the hours that were gladdened by his pre- 
 sence; to whom, of all such, does not his beaming 
 smile, his courteous and cordial salutation, vividly 
 return with memories now made painful, when we 
 come to realize that we shall see his face no more. 
 Mr. Gilpin, continued Mr. Rush, was all, and 
 more than all, that he had thus imperfectly de- 
 scribed, in all the numerous relations of personal 
 and social intercourse. To these he chiefly de- 
 voted the latter vears of his asfreeable leisure: 
 these were the spheres he filled Avith eminent 
 attractiveness and grace; surrounded by the em- 
 bellishments of taste, and the treasures of varied 
 knowledge, of which his am])le and beautiful 
 library gave him the command, and which he well 
 knew liow to appreciate and enjoy; heightened as 
 was such enjoyment, greatly heiglitened, by the 
 companinnsliip of choice and cherished friends, 
 
HENRY D. GILIMX. 43 
 
 among them, some of the very first in this hind 
 by past public station, and tlic highest order of 
 social and intellectual accomplishment. Nor let 
 it be forgotten, that with all these agreeable j)ur- 
 suits, he ever united a ready, an efficient, an unob- 
 trusive sympathy with those less fortunate among 
 his fellows, and was ever ready to co-operate, act- 
 ively and judiciously, in every laudable object of 
 public enterprise. 
 
 But, Mr. Chairman, said ^Ir. Hush, there was 
 a time when, as you well know, and as many of 
 the rest of us know, Mr. Gilpin had few superiors 
 at this 13ar; wlien he brought to tlie profession 
 the strength of his intellect, and moved in its 
 busiest walks; grappling with it as only those can 
 and do, who act up to the full meaning of that 
 maxim, in all its exacting rigor, ''Lefji te totiun 
 dedicaT might it not be added, by a slight para- 
 phrase of the remainder of tlie line — ''nam difjuKs 
 erat Hid et ilia eo ditjnaf' For if fine talents 
 
44 AMEMORIALOF 
 
 inherited from nature, and cultivated by early and 
 long toil during a most thorough and careful edu- 
 cation; continued habits of indomitable industry 
 and energy ; the power and the habit of rigid ana- 
 lysis; of patient investigation and research; thus 
 accumulating large stores of the solid learning of 
 the law; if a ready and persuasive, and often a 
 powerful eloquence, with the graces of a classical 
 mind; and over and above all, the nicest and 
 highest sense of personal and professional honor; 
 if these qualities, as assuredly Mr. Gilpin pos- 
 sessed them, as well in their separate excellence 
 as in their combination — if these have anything 
 to do with the character of an able and accom- 
 plished lawyer, unquestionably he was entitled to 
 that praise. "Who docs not remember the ability, 
 the zeal, he would add the firmness, and enlight- 
 ened patriotism too — {he tonus are not too strong 
 — with which, at a memorable period which Mr. 
 llandall lias gracefully referred to, he signally dis- 
 
IIENUY D. GIL TIN. 45 
 
 charged the. onerous duties, as they then were, of 
 the District Attorneyship of the United States for 
 tliis District] In this connection, the speaker 
 hoped he might be pradoned if he obtruded a per- 
 sonal recollection. Never had he forgotten, never 
 could he forget, the kindness with which, when 
 first coming forward at this Bar, Mr. Ciilpin ex- 
 tended to him the hand of professional invitation, 
 by associating him witli himself in some memo- 
 rable cases tried at that period in the Circuit 
 Court of tlie United States before two eminent 
 Judges long since departed, the late Judges Bald- 
 win and Ilopkinson. He remembered how grate- 
 ful was that association to him, and it had given 
 him opportunities of close observation of Mr. CJil- 
 pin's mind and character and his professional ha- 
 bits which otlierwise he miglit never have had. 
 It formed a Hnk in the retrospect of his earlier 
 years at this Bar, wliich he recalled with peculiar 
 pleasure, and he performed a duty no less grateful 
 
46 AMEMORIALOF 
 
 now to his present feelings, than mournful by all 
 the recent keen associations it so vividly and 
 freshly awakened in thus rendering to his honored 
 memory this feeble and imperfect tribute. He 
 hoped the resolutions would pass unanimously. 
 
 Mr. Charles Ixgersoll also addressed the 
 meeting, and in glowing, eloquent, and truthful 
 language paid a just tribute to the merits and vir- 
 tues of the deceased, holding up his conduct and 
 life as an example truly worthy of imitation by 
 the members of the profession, and as a model for 
 all men. 
 
HENR V 1). G I 1. P I N. 47 
 
 DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Fourth Street, Feb. 3, 186U. 
 Dear Madam : In the retrospect of an associa- 
 tion always brightened by the sunshine of rational 
 enjoyment, your grief may perhaps, at first, be 
 most intense from those causes which will here- 
 after afford you consolation under your sad be- 
 reavement. No friend of Mr. Gilpin will cherish 
 with a sinccrer affection and respect than myself 
 the memory of the high intellectual and moral 
 qualities and social graces by which he was distin- 
 guished. The inclosed formal proceedings attest 
 inadequately the personal regret with which 1 
 sympathize in your affliction. 
 
 With great respect and esteem, 
 
 I remain your most ob't serv't, 
 
 JOIIX CADWALADER. 
 Mrs. Henry D. Gilpin. 
 
48 AMEMORIALOF 
 
 111 the District Court of the United States for 
 the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, February 1, 
 1860. 
 
 Mr. James C. Van Dyke, District Attorney 
 of tlic United States for said District, rose and 
 said : — 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. JAMES C. VAN DYKE. 
 
 May it please tlie Court: It is my painful pri- 
 vilege to announce to this Court the death of ano- 
 ther distinguished member of the riiiladelphia 
 Bar. 
 
 This last mark of professional and ofHcial re- 
 spect to a deceased brother is at all times attended 
 with melancholy associations; but when we are 
 called on to put upon the record the departure 
 from amongst us of one whose public career and 
 l^rivate relations in life have been distinguished 
 for eminent ability, and that gentlemanly courtesy 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 49 
 
 and kindness that win the heart, the duty is es- 
 pecially a sad one. I perform it, therefore, re- 
 marking only among the many things that could 
 be said of the deceased, that Mr. Gilpin has en- 
 joyed a wide-spread reputation in his literary and 
 scientific relations to society, and the legal profes- 
 sion has been rewarded by many lasting proofs of 
 confidence from his fellow-citizens and our govern- 
 ment. 
 
 With eminent ability he discharged before this 
 Court the duties of Attorney for the United States 
 under the administration of President Jackson, 
 and possessed the warmest confidence of that hero 
 and statesman, and subsequently filled the office 
 of Attorney-General of the United States under 
 the administration of President Van Burcn. In 
 the performance of the important duties of these, 
 as well as other high offices, he has erected for 
 our profession, to his memory, an enduring monu- 
 ment. 
 
 5 
 
50 AMEMORIALOF 
 
 In all his relations ^vith the Court, with society, 
 and with the learned profession of which he was 
 a beloved member, he has acquired a high national 
 reputation for care, research, and legal acumen, 
 and has won the highest respect and esteem of 
 the profession and his fellow-citizens, who now 
 deeply mourn his loss. 
 
 I move that as a mark of respect to the de- 
 ceased, this Court do now adjourn, and that a 
 suitable record thereof be made upon the minutes. 
 
 The Court said: — 
 
 REMARKS OF JUDGE CADWALADER. 
 
 The death of Mr. Gilpin is with reason deplored 
 as a public loss. lie was a man of extensively 
 varied acquirements. In early life, and also at a 
 later period, his pursuits were not less literary 
 than professional. He was a highly finished 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN, 51 
 
 Greek and Latin, and an accomplished English 
 classical scholar. This, however, is not the place 
 in which to mention his literary compositions, or 
 those productions of his pen in which the results 
 of historical research were displayed. 
 
 In the legal profession, almost our earliest re- 
 membrances of him are associated with this Court. 
 In the prime of his ripening manhood, he was the 
 Attorney of the United States for this District. 
 In this office he became known as an able and 
 well instructed lawyer. The distinction which he 
 attained in it was the cause of successive promo- 
 tions until he reached the most elevated official 
 position at the bar in our country. AVhen Attor- 
 ney-General of the United States, the facility, cor- 
 rectness, and dispatch with which the laborious 
 business of his department of the Government 
 was transacted, attested the capacity and efficiency 
 of the officer at its head. His forensic eflforts 
 bore comparison with those of his distinguished 
 
52 A MEMORIAL OF HENRY ]). GILPIN. 
 
 official predecessors. He retired from the post 
 with the confidence and esteem of the nation. 
 In his public career his reputation for the purest 
 integrity was always maintained. In private life, 
 no man's character was more spotless ; no man 
 was more beloved; of none will the memory be 
 cherished with more affectionate or more merited 
 respect. 
 
 As a tribute of respect to the memory of tlie 
 Honorable Henry D. Gilpin, late Attorney-Gene- 
 ral of the United States, the Court is adjourned. 
 
PllOCEEDIXGS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF TENKSYLVAMA. 
 
 6* 
 
HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 Philadelphia, February 15, ISGO. 
 
 Madam: At a meeting of tlie Historical Society 
 of Pennsylvania, held on the loth iust., the follow- 
 ing resolution, offered by Mr. Joseph 11. IngersoU, 
 was unanimously adopted : — 
 
 Resolved^ That the Historical Society of Penn- 
 sylvania performs a mournful duty in recording 
 its expression of respect and esteem for the me- 
 mory of Henry D. Gilpin, its late valued member. 
 It pays a just tribute to his varied merits, by ex- 
 hibiting his life and conduct as a never dying les- 
 son, while his body sleeps in death. That it is 
 characteristic of history to teach by bright exam- 
 ples the pure lessons of its peculiar philosophy; 
 and a grateful sense of what it owes to a departed 
 associate is manifested in the delineation of his 
 
56 A M E M O R I A L O F 
 
 character. The exami)le afforded by his active 
 life will be read in his continued observance of its 
 highest duties. A generous recollection of this 
 Society manifested in one of his latest days on 
 earth, will bind its members to his memory in 
 close and affectionate relationship, and they will 
 not forego the satisfaction of cherishing a lasting 
 and united sense of gratitude. 
 
 I have tlie honor to be, Madam, 
 
 With great regard, your ob't ser't, 
 
 UOR2VTIO GATES JOXES, Cor. Sec'y. 
 To Mrs. Eliza Gilpin. 
 
 At tlie meetino- of the Historical Societv of 
 Pennsylvania, held February 13th, 1860, the Pre- 
 sident, Ur. George W. Norris, occupied the chair, 
 and a large number of members were present. 
 
 The Corresponding Secretary read the minutes 
 of the last stated meeting, and then announced 
 the loss the Societv had met with in the death of 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 57 
 
 its late Vice-President, Henry D. Gilpin. Where- 
 upon Mr. Joseph 11. Ingerspll addressed the meet- 
 ing as follows : — 
 
 remarks of mr. joseph r. ingersoll. 
 
 Mr. President, and Gentlemen of the Histo- 
 rical Society: The world has been visited of late 
 with more than the usual loss of valuable life. 
 Death has been busy abroad and among ourselves. 
 Many who have long been regarded as ornaments 
 of their country and a pride to the age, have be- 
 come, it would almost seem, its selected victims. 
 In this common and multiplied calamity, a sad 
 portion has fldlen to our share. Since the last 
 meeting of this Society, and scarcely more than 
 a fortnight ago, the friends of Mr. Gilpin were 
 called upon individually to pay to his memory the 
 tribute of their tears. They now meet as mem- 
 bers of an association to express and record their 
 
58 A M E M R I A L O F 
 
 united testimony to liis many virtues. Among 
 those -who have done honor to its annals during 
 its not very prolonged existence, none, perhaps, 
 have enjoyed higher claims to respect. History 
 would forget its proper office if it did not preserve 
 and cherish the remembrance of him. It does 
 not, like other science, deal in abstract principles, 
 in theoretic rules, or critical disquisitions; but in 
 vivid and inviting detail of facts and exhibitions, 
 or illustrations of character. Its proper teaching 
 is by example. Events are related, and men are 
 described on its speaking page for study and con- 
 templation. It is a philosophy at once practi- 
 cal and profound. It invites to imitation, and 
 efforts of resemblance, Avliere they are practicable, 
 and if such aims are difficult of accomplishment, 
 it asks that all should emulate good conduct and 
 qualities, and derive the benefit of at least a stim- 
 ulating exercise. 
 
 The best names found upon the long line of 
 
HENRY D. GILPIX. 59 
 
 time are not always connected with dazzling and 
 exaggerated exploits, which are performed by few, 
 and are the results of an ardent and impetuous 
 nature, which is admired for its brilliancy, rather 
 than adopted as a model, or even received as an 
 invitation to excel. The charm of a good exam- 
 ple consists in an exhibition at all times, with un- 
 affected simplicity, of useful properties for every- 
 day purposes, and a well understood ability to 
 shine when occasion shall call forth more striking: 
 displays. Such are the examples which history 
 delights to portray and to honor. 
 
 It was the happy fortune of our lamented friend 
 that his merits were easily appreciated, and tliat 
 most of them could be made marks of imitation 
 and adopted without presumption, or almost un- 
 consciously pursued. It well becomes his me- 
 mory, and those who desire to cherish it, that the 
 bent of history should be followed by holding 
 them up for study and resemblance. Sucli a 
 
60 A M E M R I A L O F 
 
 course is richly due to departed merit, and it is a 
 pledge from surviving friends to adopt the exam- 
 ple, where it is possible, and at least to emulate 
 the virtues which they may not hope fully to 
 attain. 
 
 An instinctive amiableness of temper. was in 
 him above all praise. It diffused around him an 
 atmosphere genial to himself, and of the purest 
 influence upon others. It was contagious to all 
 who breathed it of kindness and good-will. Pas- 
 sion is sometimes said to be eloquent. Mildness 
 of temper is infinitely more attracting and persua- 
 sive. The possessor is himself made happy by its 
 exercise, and all around him enjoy his kindness, 
 and return it without an effort. Access is ren- 
 dered mutually agreeable, intercourse is made 
 itself a charm, and the becoming courtesies of life 
 ceasing to be a burden and a form, are a treasure 
 and a delight. Gentleness of conduct and action 
 followed in our friend the promptings of feelings. 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 61 
 
 and led for the most part to a kindred and gene- 
 rous return. Its unclouded ray never for a mo- 
 ment forsook him ; and companionship of all 
 kinds, whether of business or social life, became 
 its cheerful home. 
 
 Never was there a moment when such quali- 
 ties and the consequences of them were so much 
 in demand. Everywhere around us tendencies 
 exactly the reverse appear to prevail. Mutual 
 forbearance is scarcely known. Violence is tlie 
 order of the day. Even the law, which ought 
 to be sovereign, and was once our boast as such, 
 has lost its influence upon the many. It has 
 failed in a great degree to restrain, and possesses 
 little power to protect or punish. Our country, 
 instead of being an example, is become a re- 
 proach. Nothing would tend so much to restore 
 a proper tone of public sentiment, and with it 
 a rebuke and cessation of habitual crime, as the 
 adoption of examples of kind feeling and amiable 
 
62 AMEMORIALOF 
 
 deportment as they have been now bequeathed 
 
 to ns. 
 
 Another of his praiseworthy parts was a faculty 
 of attention in all he did— attention to his duties, 
 studies, friendships, and business. He never 
 seemed to lose sight of the observance and devo- 
 tion which became him, whether in affiiirs of mag- 
 nitude or detail. This is the leading motive to 
 industry, which is always the companion, and 
 commonly the parent of continued success. In 
 no department of life can it be dispensed with, 
 and all, perhaps, who have risen to eminence, 
 have been faithful and indefatigable in obedience 
 to its calls. 
 
 As the result of these qualities, each of which is 
 of easy imitation to the well disposed, he was pro- 
 ficient as a classical scholar and a man of general 
 knowledge. He delighted in books, and well 
 knew how to profit by them. They were his 
 daily companions, without causing him to neglect 
 
HENRY D. GI LPIX. 63 
 
 his family, or society, or business affairs. To this 
 familiarity with books he added a knowledge of 
 men which led him to select his friends and to 
 abide by the selection faitlifully. In public life 
 this was attended by the best effects, and in pri- 
 vate by the most agreeable intimacies. These 
 presented, in their respective spheres, opportuni- 
 ties for strict integrity, and success generally 
 attended his operations. He neglected nothing. 
 xVhvays self-possessed, calm and deliberate in 
 thought and action, witli firmness to resist wrong 
 and sustain right, and yet without apparent exer- 
 tion at any time, he seemed almost instinctively 
 to avoid the evil and adopt the good. After a 
 faithful discharge of duties in high offices of the 
 government, he retired from active business and 
 became associated with objects of taste and litera- 
 ture, and devoted to the enjoyment of a liberal 
 hospitality. 
 
 Then turning to a natural desire to visit foreign 
 
64 AMEMORIALOF 
 
 lands, he prepared witli his usual care for useful 
 observation and a kind reception. From the go- 
 vernment and from personal friends, recommenda- 
 tions were freely given to him. After a short 
 stav amoni? tlie abodes of his maternal relations 
 in Great Britain, he crossed over to tlie continent 
 and witnessed whatever could gratify a refined 
 taste in different countries. AVith his habitual 
 choice of eminent friends he became familiarly 
 acquainted at Berlin with Humboldt, then fir ad- 
 vanced in life but full of wisdom, and almost the 
 master mind of his day. From Europe he passed 
 into regions of still more ancient renown, and saw 
 the dim records of Egyptian story. He ascended 
 the Nile, whose fertilizing waters supply the place 
 of every cultivation of the soil, and whose tor- 
 rents from the rains poured upon the adjacent 
 Ethiopian mountains, and causing their periodical 
 overflow with its hap})y results, suggested to the 
 father of poetry the idea that they fell from Ilea- 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 65 
 
 ven. He visited Athens, and left, it is said, a 
 most agreeable impression there. In Rome he 
 renewed his happiest recollections of classic lore, 
 among, her sublime monuments of ancient and 
 modern art, and the ruins scarcely less sublime 
 scattered in lonely majesty over her seven hills. 
 There, too, his once familiar studies could be re- 
 newed upon fields consecrated to the Poets of an 
 Augustan age, and he indulged his taste in pro- 
 curing works of art which now adorn his noble 
 residence. He returned home full of ajrreeable 
 impressions, and began again a career of friend- 
 ship and hospitality which had been broken only 
 for a season. His taste for books was especially 
 gratified in repeated visits to the Astor Library, 
 in New York, which is already an honor to the 
 country, and will be a wonder of modern time. 
 Its learned librarian was ever willing to receive 
 and welcome him as a congenial mind. 
 
 These pursuits, unhappily, did not serve him 
 
 6* 
 
66 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 long. It is probable that ho brought with him 
 from abroad, unknown to himself, seeds of infirm- 
 ity wliicli produced bitter fruits to the view of his 
 anxious friends. He orradually withdrew from 
 his accustomed public engagements, and declared 
 his determination not to embark in them again. 
 A life of domestic tranquillity was welcomed, with 
 occasional excursions among his interests at a dis- 
 tance, or liis friends, "With lessened spirits, his 
 health seemed to fail. The fatal secret was not 
 slow to disclose itself to others, by indications of 
 which he was himself scarcely conscious. A 
 frame never robust gave way under accumulated 
 maladies, and towards the end of January he 
 yielded up his gentle and manly spirit, deeply to 
 the regret, although scarcely to the surprise, of 
 his sorrowing friends. 
 
 We have looked with solicitude to an early 
 meeting of this Society as a bond of feeling in 
 common membership. A corresponding influence 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 07 
 
 seems to have filled the mind of him whose loss 
 we deplore. History, with fidelity and in its true 
 character, loses not a moment to hold up his name 
 and actions, asking that the bright example should 
 live in lasting recollection. A brief interval has 
 preceded this faithful record of his life, and one 
 equally brief preceded his death, when, in uncon- 
 scious anticipation of these tributes to his me- 
 mory, some of his latest thoughts were devoted to 
 a most munificent and appropriate endowment, 
 one equally characteristic of the giver and the 
 receiver of the gift. It is possible that views on 
 the one part so generous, and gratitude so just 
 and so deeply felt upon the other, may not speed- 
 ily in literal extent be accomplished and fulfilled. 
 Yet the legacy will be at once and at all times 
 appreciated and cherished for its design, although 
 an unwise act of modern lepjislation mav frustrate 
 for a season its complete execution. 
 
68 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 Tlie resolution expressive of respect and esteem 
 for the memory of ]Mr. Gilpin was then offered by 
 Mr. Ingersoll. 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. WILLIAM B. REED. 
 
 Mr. President: I have been requested to se- 
 cond the resolution offered by Mr. Ingersoll, and 
 do so with great though melancholy pleasure. It 
 was not my good fortune to be in the city when 
 my professional brethren met to do honor to Mr. 
 Gilpin's memory, and I should be false to a friend- 
 ship which, without interruption, has continued 
 for very many years, if I did not avail myself of 
 the first occasion that has presented itself, of add- 
 ing my tribute to those which have already been 
 paid to liis character. It seems to me that no 
 place is more appropriate than this. His profes- 
 sional position lias been defined; but here, in a 
 society which claims in some measure to represent 
 
HENRY 1). GIL FIX. 69 
 
 the scholarship and intellectual sympathies of the 
 community, we can well do honor to one whose 
 tastes and habits were eminently those of a scho- 
 lar and a man of high literature. Of him, as 
 such, I wish especially to speak, and that without 
 the least derogation to his character as a man of 
 practical ability; for his literary tastes never en- 
 feebled his capacity for action, which was very 
 observable when, translated as he was, suddenly 
 to a position of high political eminence and great 
 professional exigency, he found that literature and 
 scholarship had made no enfeebling or damaging 
 marks on him. I ask your permission to speak 
 in a most desultory way of Mr. Gilpin's social ca- 
 reer amongst us, or rather to trace my own recol- 
 lections of him during the thirty odd years of our 
 acquaintance. There was no such difference in 
 our ages as to prevent me from speaking of liim 
 as a contemporary. 
 
 Mr. Gilpin was, I believe, educated in England; 
 
70 A 31 E M R I A L O F 
 
 that is, his boyish education was there. His ele- 
 mentary Latin and Greek were learned there, and 
 they were learned as I very much fear they only 
 can be learned abroad, systematically and tho- 
 roughly. Tliey clung to him through life. The 
 shelves of his library showed how steadily his 
 interest in the classics continued. His classical 
 attainments were never obtruded, but they were 
 never disused. I have a very clear recollection of 
 hearing him converse on this subject, and of his 
 attributing whatever merit he had as a writer of 
 his mother language, to the Greek and Latin dis- 
 cipline he had at school; and when at what was, 
 alas, the close of life, he came back from his first 
 and only visit to classic lands, the deep and active 
 interest he felt and expressed, especially for mo- 
 dern Greece as the inheritor of an ancient fame, 
 seemed like the beautiful and crowning capital of 
 that enduring, indestructible column of scholar-, 
 like sympathy with all that was heroic in ancient 
 
HENRY D. GILPIX. 71 
 
 story, which was founded long ago in his English 
 schoolhouse. 
 
 But his foreign education did not spoil him. 
 He became at once an American student, to fit 
 him for his career as an American man. He en- 
 tered the University of Pennsylvania, and was 
 graduated there in 1819, and at once began the 
 study of the law under the direction of one (Mr. 
 Ingersoll) whose distinction among many others it 
 is — and there are those around me who illustrate 
 what I say — that more accomplished, thoroughly 
 educated Philadelphia lawyers have come from his 
 tuition than from any others of his day. They 
 are all around us now. He is here to-night, join- 
 ing in this tribute to the memory of his distin- 
 guished pupil. 
 
 Mr. Gilpin was never an active practitioner at 
 the local bar. Accidental occupation of an official 
 nature, and perhaps a diff'erence of taste, led him 
 aside from that strict career. But he was always 
 
72 AMEMORIALOF 
 
 a student of law, and when the time came when 
 he was called on to show the fruit of professional 
 study, he was able to do so. He was for many 
 years an author; not an ambitious one, nor always 
 under his own name, but he seemed glad to avail 
 himself of opportunities, such as then existed, to 
 indulge in this way his literary tastes. The estab- 
 lishment, about that time, of the National Gazette 
 (the first, and I fear I must add, the last strictly 
 literary newspaper Philadelphia has ever had), 
 and of the Quarterly Review, was quite an event 
 to men of such tastes as Mr. Gilpin. He was a 
 welcome, and, if my memory serves me, a frequent 
 contributor to them. Very few, alas, of those 
 who formed i)art of this literary association are 
 left to recall its fading traditions. * In those days, 
 when the telegraph had not revolutionized the 
 press; when news was sometimes seventy days in 
 crossing the Atlantic, and two days in coming 
 from AVashington; when there was time for lite- 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 73 
 
 ratiire; wlieii the hard intolerance of politics, and 
 the driving energies of business had not cruslied 
 out intellectual communion and literary leisure, 
 there was great luxury in such means of enjoy- 
 ment as I have spoken of. Mr. Gilpin availed 
 himself largely of them. 
 
 I have spoken of the intolerance of politics in 
 this our day. Intolerance, after all, is generally 
 an honest sort of thing, and therefore we may 
 speak of its past exhibitions without offence or 
 danger of hurting any one's feelings. At one pe- 
 riod of his life no one had more occasion to feel 
 and deplore its excess than Mr. Gilpin. Appoint- 
 ed a government director of a great institution, 
 with which then the government was at M-ar, or, 
 to state an alternative, which was at war with 
 the government, Mr. Gilpin encountered in tlie 
 discharge of his duties a strong current of local 
 public sentiment which it was hard to stem. He 
 survived it. Xo imputation ever rested on his 
 
74 A il E il R I A L F 
 
 integrity or his lienor ; and when I saw the other 
 day, assembled around his remains, the most emi- 
 nent of our fellow-citizens of every rank of life, 
 of every pursuit, and of all shades of politics, and 
 then recalled the not very distant past, I could 
 not but feel the lesson that it taught, and the 
 worse than folly of the intolerance of any one's 
 honest opinions. 
 
 In 1840, Mr. Gilpin, after being District Attor- 
 ney and Solicitor of the Treasury, was appointed 
 by President Van Buren Attorney-General of the 
 United States, and continued in office about a 
 year. He had a fame to make for himself, and a 
 fame to sustain for the State and the bar to which 
 he belonged. With the exception of a short 
 tenure by the late Mr. Rush, no Philadclphian or 
 Pennsylvanian had held the office of Attorney- 
 General since General Washington's administra- 
 tion, and our deceased friend, than whom no one 
 had a stronj::er or truer sentiment of local lovaltv. 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. (O 
 
 was conscious of what was looked for. lie met 
 the public expectations completely, and retired 
 from office with a reputation as a statesman and 
 a national lawyer, such as his friends scarcely an- 
 ticipated. Ilis adversaries at that great bar, for 
 such it always has been, were Webster, and Clay, 
 and Benton, and Sergeant, and Crittenden, and 
 David ]5. Ogden. The Amistad case was argued 
 by Mr. Gilpin against Mr. Adams; and the still 
 greater case, involving the prohibition of the im- 
 ])ortation of slaves into Mississippi, Cirover vs. 
 Slaughter, was a professional conflict in which, on 
 one side, were two Pennsylvania men, classmates 
 and graduates of 1819, Mr. Gilpin and Mr. Uobert 
 J. Walker (the only one of all still surviving), and 
 on the other ^Ir. Clav and Mr. Webster. Until 
 I had occasion to look into it, I had no adequate 
 idea of our friend's great official labors and success. 
 The single class of cases argued by him, arising 
 under the Florida and Louisiana treaties, aside 
 
76 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 from those I Imvc specified, attest his ability fully. 
 There arc still surviving on that venerable bench 
 four of the judges who recall Mr. Gilpin, when. 
 before it, he defended the great interests of the 
 government; and they, I am sure, bear strong 
 testimony in support of what I have ventured to 
 refer to. 
 
 Mr. Gilpin retired from political life at the ter- 
 mination of Mr. Van Buren's term, and it is inci- 
 dentally worth observing that nothing was more 
 attractive than the continuing friendship which, 
 to the hour of Mr. Gilpin's death, existed between 
 him and the ex-President. It had survived mere 
 official and political intercourse. It was eminently 
 the manifestation of that thorough congeniality of 
 temper and habits of mind which was character- 
 istic of both. In a year or two afterwards, bring- 
 ing back the fame he had earned, as part of our 
 property and our honor, he resumed his residence 
 in riiiladelphia. It was, I believe, never inter- 
 
HENR Y D. GI LPI N. 77 
 
 ruptcd, except during a visit of two years abroad. 
 That, as I have said, was the journey of the scho- 
 lar and the man of taste. It went far beyond the 
 limits which circumvent the mere traveller for 
 pleasure — and its fruits were, new tastes acquired, 
 old ones invigorated, trophies of art, and treasures 
 of conversation, all of which continued to cheer 
 and adorn what has proved to be a mere remnant 
 of life, and to make his house what it has been 
 for years, a centre of social attraction, and the 
 abode of the most graceful and habitual hospitality. 
 I feel, and we all feel, that in him we have lost 
 a friend, a fellow-citizen, whose place cannot be 
 exactly filled. He was proud of Philadelphia, the 
 city of his boyhood and manhood. He felt that 
 to this soil, and to his personal associations here, 
 he owed some of the success of life. He never 
 shrank from public trusts, however laborious, but 
 actively administered them, till waning health 
 warned him to retire; and one of the last acts of 
 
78 A :Nr E M O R I A L O F 
 
 his public-spirited life was to endeavor, by large 
 and judicious munificence, to pay some portion of 
 the debt which he thought he owed to Philadel- 
 phia. His, at the close of life, was the reward of 
 liabitual geniality of temper, that proved itself in 
 uniform amenity of manner. He left, I believe, 
 no enemies. We are showing, to-night, that he 
 is sincerely mourned by many friends. 
 I second the resolutions. 
 
 Mr. S. Austin Allibone then read a number of 
 letters which had been received from citizens of 
 other parts of the country, relative to Mr. Gilpin ; 
 among them were the following: — 
 
HENRY D. GI LPIN. 79 
 
 FROM MR. EDWARD EVERKTT. 
 
 Boston, February 2, 1860. 
 My Dear Sir: It affords me a melancholy satis- 
 faction, at your request, to express my sincere 
 sympathy with yon in the loss of our greatly la- 
 mented friend, Mr. Gilpin. It is a loss not only to 
 your city, but to the country, not easily to be sup- 
 plied; every way deserving to be mentioned with 
 the other great losses, which have been sustained 
 by science and literature during the past twelve- 
 month. He was too well known in Philadelphia 
 to need any attestation, on my part, to his worth; 
 but it may be gratifying to his friends there to 
 know, that he was appreciated at a distance. It 
 is true that an intimate friendship of more than 
 thirty years prevents my speaking of him with 
 impartiality ; it has, however, afforded me the 
 means of becoming acquainted with the sterling 
 traits of his character. 
 
80 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 To talents of a superior order he united the 
 highest literary culture— the fruit of indefatigable 
 and well directed study — and with these were 
 associated a most amiable disposition, affable man- 
 ners, and a character without reproach. He early 
 rose to eminence in his profession, being, while 
 yet a young man, appointed United States District 
 Attorney for the State of Pennsylvania, and havins: 
 not long afterwards filled the offices of Attorney 
 and Solicitor-General of the United States. In 
 these offices, and in the practice of his profession, 
 he gained the reputation of a learned and accom- 
 plished lawyer and a powerful advocate. His 
 heart, however, was not in his profession, and he 
 gladly availed himself of an early acquired and 
 honorable competence to gratify more congenial 
 tastes — but not till he had given to the world a 
 volume of Reports of Cases adjudicated, wliile he 
 filled the office of District Attorney, and a collec- 
 tion in two volumes of the opinions of the Attor- 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 81 
 
 ncy-Gencral from the foundation of the govern- 
 ment to the year 1841. On his retirement from 
 pnhKc life, at the close of President Van Buren's 
 administration, he gave himself wholly to letters, 
 to the fine arts, to education, to foreign travel, 
 and the formation of a very large and well chosen 
 library. He was a diligent student of ancient 
 literature, and had few equals in this country in 
 his acquaintance with the liatin and Greek class- 
 ics. His library was amply furnished with the 
 best editions, which he read critically and system- 
 atically. You are well acquainted with his taste 
 for the fine arts; his deliglitful mansion w^as a 
 museum of paintings and statuary, and he ren- 
 dered important services to the Academy of Fine 
 Arts, of which he was the President. He was 
 also, as you are well aware, one of the most active 
 members of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, 
 of which he was Vice-President, and a Director 
 of Girard College. He took a paternal interest 
 
82 AMEMORIALOF 
 
 in the welfare of this last named institution, and 
 delighted to watch the progress of its inmates. 
 
 Mr. Gilpin was a liberal contributor to some 
 periodical publications, and wrote many valuable 
 articles in the leading critical journals. He was 
 the author of several of the Biographies of the 
 Signers of the Declaration of Independence, and 
 the second edition of that work was wholly revised 
 and greatly enlarged by him. Other productions 
 of his pen are mentioned in your dictionary. The 
 country is greatly indebted to him for his carefully 
 prepared and accurate edition of the Madison pa- 
 pers; and his Address on the character of Frank- 
 lin contains one of the ablest and most judicious 
 discussions of his career and services, wliicli has 
 appeared. It is a matter of deep regret that he 
 was not more frequently led to pour out the rich 
 treasures of his mind for the gratification of the 
 reading world. Had his life been spared, it is 
 not impossible that he would have devoted his ad- 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 83 
 
 vancing years to some work of broader compass 
 than any of his occasional productions. It was in 
 his power in this way to have made a contribution 
 to American Hterature of standard and permanent 
 vakie. 
 
 Mr. Gilpin's library was one of the largest and 
 best selected private libraries in the country. It 
 covered the whole field of general literature, an- 
 cient and modern, and was gradually formed, not 
 for ostentation, but use, in the progress of his 
 studies. It was particularly rich in maps, charts, 
 and plans of cities. It was his custom in travel- 
 ling, to carry away from every place visited by 
 him some such local memorial. I doubt if an 
 American ever went abroad better prepared to de- 
 rive advantage from his travels in Europe and the 
 East, or returned with a larger store of intelligent 
 observation. 
 
 I need not speak to you of the beauty of Mr. 
 Gilpin's well-ordered domestic life; of his refined 
 
84: AMEMORIALOF 
 
 and elegant tastes; his wide sympathies, and tlie 
 charm of his conversation. Rarely has the grave 
 closed prematurely on such varied excellence of 
 character. 
 
 I remain, dear sir, as ever, sincerely yours, 
 
 EDWAKD EVERETT. 
 
 FROM MR. CORNELIUS C. FELTON, FRESIDENT OF HARVARD 
 
 UNIVERSITY. 
 
 PiiiLADELPniA, February 10, 1860. 
 
 My Dear Sir: Your letter, announcing the 
 death of Mr. Gilpin, reached Cambridge after I 
 left home, and was forwarded to me in this city. 
 
 My personal acquaintance with our departed 
 friend dates back only a few years; but I have 
 long been familiar with his distinguished merits 
 as a public man, and his various accomplishments 
 as a scholar and writer. In 18 jo and 185-4 1 fol- 
 lowed in his track in a European tour, and I was 
 
HENRY D. GIL 1' IX. 85 
 
 made pleasantly aware how welcome he made 
 himself to the most cultivated persons by his re- 
 fined manners, his literary ac(piirements, his cour- 
 teous bearing, and the intelligent observations he 
 made in the several countries through which he 
 travelled. He visited Greece a few months before 
 my arrival in that country. To his highly culti- 
 vated taste the illustrious associations of that 
 classic land and the matchless remains of anti- 
 quity in Athens were objects of the profoundest 
 interest. But his interest was not limited to 
 these. He studied the condition of the existing 
 Hellenic race, the institutions of education, let- 
 ters, and science they have established, with the 
 appreciation of a statesman and the sympathy of 
 a philanthropist. He did not, like some European 
 and American travellers, n;istake the runners of 
 Piraeus and the guides of Smyrna for types of the 
 national character. He saw things with his own 
 eyes; heard with his own ears; judged with his 
 
86 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 oun understanding; and tlic conclusions he drew, 
 from his own observations, as to tlie character and 
 destiny of the Hellenic race, were worthy of his 
 fine culture and his feelin": heart. They were ex- 
 pressed in a candid and able letter, addressed by 
 him to a gentleman of Athens after leaving the 
 city; and when published in the Athenian jour- 
 nals, were received by the people of Greece witli 
 enthusiasm. I heard his name often mentioned 
 witli respect and affection; as his opinions were 
 constantly referred to in the most gratifying terms. 
 His interest in the language, litemture, and gene- 
 ral progress of tlie kingdom of Greece, remained 
 unabated after his return to the United States, 
 and on all these subjects he kept himself well 
 informed. I had the good fortune to meet him 
 soon afterwards, and I have enjoyed his intimacy, 
 and received many marks of his cordial friendship, 
 ever since; and the esteem wliicli I had always 
 felt ior hiiu ripened into a sincere affection. The 
 
HENRY D. GILI'IN. 87 
 
 kindness of his o^cnial and gentle nature ; tlie 
 exquisite tastes wliicli he had so assiduously cul- 
 tivated ; his attractive conversation ; his refined 
 hospitality, were a perpetual charm. I never 
 passed through riiiladelphia without seeing him; 
 I never saw him without instruction and delight; 
 I never parted from him without regret. I re- 
 ceived letters frora him occasionally, all character- 
 istic of his elegance of mind and warmth of lieart. 
 Before leaving home, last month, I heard of his 
 illness. In New York I learned from our common 
 friend, Mr. Cogswell, of the Astor Library, that 
 his illness was serious: still I hoped to see him 
 again, and to listen to his kindly words once more. 
 Six days only before his death I called at his 
 house, with some pamphlets I had just received 
 from Athens, but, alas! I found he w\as too feeble 
 to receive me. From the account I received of 
 his condition, I left his door with a heavy lieart, 
 convinced that his life was rapidly drawing to its 
 
83 AMEMORIALOF 
 
 close, and that I should behold, his face no more. 
 T was fully prepared for the sad event ; but when 
 his death, on the following Sunday, was announced 
 in the Washington papers, the intelligence struck 
 me with a painful shock. One of the greatest 
 pleasures I had promised myself during my. ab- 
 sence from home was to see and converse with 
 him, on subjects of common interest to both of 
 us: — and now he is gone forever! He was one of 
 the brisrhtest ornaments of your city: but his 
 deatli will be universally lamented. The memory 
 of his virtues, as exhibited in the daily beauty of 
 his life ; admiration of his refined tastes and intel- 
 lectual accomplishments, as seen in his writings ; 
 in the noble library he had collected about him; 
 and in the masterpieces of art with which he had 
 made his house a temple of the Pluses, will long 
 be cherished in the society which he adorned, and 
 in the hearts of his distant friends; and his repu- 
 tation will become a part of his country's fame. 
 
HENRY I). GILPIX. 89 
 
 With sincere sympatliy with you and your a^iso- 
 ciatcs in tliis bereavement, I am, dear sir. 
 
 Very truly, your friend, 
 
 C. C. FELTOX. 
 
 After reading these letters ^Ir. Allibone added 
 the following remarks: — 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. S. AUSTIN ALLIBONE. 
 
 These, Mr. President, are indeed noble tributes 
 to the memory of the departed. Laadari a ciru 
 laudato is as true now as it was on the day when 
 it first fell from the pen of the great Cicero, and 
 no man would have been more sensible of the va- 
 lue of the eulogies which we have just heard than 
 the one whose accomplishments and virtues have 
 elicited them. But, precious as are such offerings, 
 the friends of the departed feel that they purchase 
 
 8» 
 
90 AMEMORIALOF 
 
 them at too dear a price; for, alas! the altar upon 
 which they are offered is the monumental marble! 
 
 I have been requested, Mr. President, to offer 
 some remarks at this sad convocation, and this 
 duty I shall fulfil, so far as it may be discharged 
 by a brief reference to those characteristics of our 
 late fellow-member, for which he has been justly 
 and pathetically commended. These characteris- 
 tics may be thus classified: 1. Literary Culture; 
 2. Zeal in the Cause of Education; 3. Interest in 
 the Promotion of the Fine Arts; 4. Large and 
 Generous Hospitality. 
 
 With Mr. Gilpin's well selected library — the 
 largest private collection in Philadelphia, and one 
 of the best in the land — many of us are doubtless 
 familiar. It has been my privilege to travel over 
 the whole collection, from shelf to shelf, with the 
 advantage of the intelligent owner as my compa- 
 nion and commentator. I can therefore speak 
 with some knowled2:e of mv theme, and with that 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 91 
 
 personal interest in the volumes that such prized 
 association must necessarily confer. It was very 
 pleasant to notice the interest with which the ar- 
 rival of one literary stranger after another — des- 
 tined to find a haven on the capacious shelves of 
 the owner — was hailed by the gratified host. One 
 might have supposed, had the names or titles of 
 the new busts, or charts, or volumes been omitted, 
 that the long expected advent of some dear friend 
 was the subject of the announcement. And with 
 what joy did he gaze upon those treasures as newly 
 arranged, which, alas! he was so soon to quit for- 
 ever ! 
 
 "I shall be glad," he writes to me, "to show 
 you the arrangements of my new library (though 
 my books are not yet all in their places), and a 
 very beautiful bust of our friend, ^Ir. Everett, 
 which he has been kind enough to send us to fill 
 one of the niches. I should like also to show you 
 a very nice and complete copy, with all the sup- 
 
92 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 t 
 
 plemcnts and indexes, of ^Nlaittaire and Panzer, 
 wliicli I received lately from Paris." 
 
 The reference to the Annates Tjjpographici of 
 Panzer natnrally suggests a favorite theme of the 
 bibliographer — the best editions of the Greek and 
 Latin classics; and how rich Mr. Gilpin's library 
 is in this department — in working editions, not 
 referring to those which arc valuable only for 
 their rarity — I need hardly remind you. His fiimi- 
 liarity with these great masters of reason, specula- 
 tion, and eloquence — and it is rarely given to mor- 
 tals to be equally flimiliar with the languages of 
 Demosthenes, of Cicero, and of Chatham — has 
 been just attested by our illustrious countryman, 
 whom, even in his youth, the French translator of 
 Plato (M. Cousin) — I received it from tlie lips of 
 Mr. Charles Sumner, to whom the remark was 
 made — declared to be one of the best Grecians he 
 ever knew. That American scholars concurred in 
 this high estimate of ^Ir. Everett's proficiency is 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 93 
 
 evinced by the remarkable fact of bis election at 
 the early age of twenty-one to the Greek profes- 
 sorship of liarvard University. For the distin- 
 guished leaders in this difficult department of 
 learning it need hardly be said !>[r. Gilpin enter- 
 tained feelings of filial reverence. As respects 
 English scholarship, where the question of supre- 
 macy lies only between two great names, his 
 opinion can be most fairly given in his own words, 
 which I give, as to the case, with all my quota- 
 tions of his language from his letters to myself. 
 Declining to give a verdict founded upon the re- 
 sults of his owai philological investigations, as to 
 the respective claims of Bentley and Person, !Mr. 
 Gilpin proceeds to remark: "With the most pro- 
 found appreciation of the various merits of the 
 latter (Person), on which, of course, I cannot here 
 dilate, I think I may safely say, without fear of 
 contradiction, that no really gveat scholar of the 
 continent, or even of England — except from col- 
 
94 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 legiate or personal affinities — has ever placed him 
 on the same bench with the great master of 
 Trinity." 
 
 In confirmation of this unquestionably correct 
 statement of the matter, he refers, most appropri- 
 ately, to the two volumes of the Correspondence 
 of Dr. Bentley, the editorship of which was trans- 
 ferred by Bishop Monk — wliom ]\rr. Gilpin calls 
 "no small scholar" — to the Eev. J. Wordsworth, 
 and by him bequeathed as a fraternal legacy to 
 the Rev. Dr. Christopher A^'ordsworth, canon of 
 AYestminster, who completed this valuable pub- 
 lication (London, 1842, 2 vols. 8vo.). 
 
 Of Colonel Mure's elaborate Critical History of 
 the Language and Literature of Ancient Greece, 
 from the Earliest Period to the Death of Solon, 
 1850-57, 2 vols. 8vo., ^Nlr. Gilpin expressed the 
 following opinion: — 
 
 " I have not yet read the last volume of Colonel 
 Mure's work, but I shall do so in a few days, when 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 95 
 
 I will with pleasure give you my opinion of it. 
 Some time has passed since I read the previous 
 volumes, but I remember to have thought them 
 very full, candid, and useful, with conclusions ge- 
 nerally sound, but hardly rising in tone or concep- 
 tion to the greatness and beauty of his subject, 
 especially where it embraces Homer. Still, I 
 think it a most valuable contribution to classic 
 literature." 
 
 That an ardent admirer of the wisdom and ge- 
 nius of Socrates should entertain in the same de- 
 gree an aversion to the satirist who holds up the 
 sage of the "Memorabilia of Xenophon," the 
 "Dialogues of Plato," and the "Strictures of Aris- 
 totle" to our ridicule and contempt, is no marvel. 
 Nor could the philological skill of Mitchell recon- 
 cile Mr. Gilpin to his original. 
 
 "As regards Mitchell's Aristophanes," he re- 
 marks: "I believe there is a very general accord- 
 ance as to its great merit as a translation; but it 
 
96 A M E M O R I A L F 
 
 is long since I read it; for, as you remark, the 
 .... old slanderer is no favorite of mine." Of 
 this distaste for the author of the "Clouds" some 
 present will probably remember Mr. Gilpin made 
 no secret. 
 
 The progress of the great work of his attached 
 friend, Mr. Grote, who sent him, as they were 
 published, volume after volume of his History of 
 Greece, was watched with no little anxiety, and 
 when at last, after the labors of thirty-two years, 
 the author presented the twelfth volume to his 
 American correspondent, Mr. Gilpin, in announc- 
 ing this fact to the present speaker, expressed his 
 regret that it was doomed to be "the last." He 
 considered, and I know that he w^as not alone in 
 this view of the matter, that it is much to be de- 
 sired that Mr. Grote should bring down his chro- 
 nicle to a later period, and thus include several of 
 the collateral branches of the great intellectual 
 ftxmily, the members of which were glorious in 
 
H E N R Y D . G I L I' I N . 97 
 
 their strength, and graceful and beautiful cv(mi in 
 their decline. This was one of the topics of con- 
 versation at the last interview I enjoyed witli ^Ir. 
 Gilpin. 
 
 In modern Greek he took a lively interest, and 
 was greatly pleased with the results of the investi- 
 gations in that department of his valued friend. 
 Professor Felton — whom he lived Ions: enou":h to 
 see elevated to the highest literary position in the 
 United States, the Presidency of Harvard College 
 — a worthy successor of Dunster, Chauncy, AVil- 
 lard, Kirkland, Quincy, Everett, and Sparks. 
 Plow near to Mr. Gilpin's heart was the regenera- 
 tion of the classic land of eloquence and poetry, 
 of statuary and of song, those can testify who re- 
 member his reminiscences of his residence in 
 Athens, and his sympathy with the arduous and 
 long protracted labors of ^Ir. and Mrs. Hill. 
 
 As regards English literature, he ranked Gib- 
 bon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire at 
 
98 A M E M O E I A L O F 
 
 the very head of the long list of great works of 
 fact which constitute no small part of the glory of 
 our branch of the human family. It would be 
 easier to question this verdict than to disprove it. 
 He compared this magnificent intellectual struc- 
 ture to a noble cathedral, grand in its outlines, 
 exquisite in its proportions, perfect in its parts. 
 At the same time he thought the historian had 
 been properly rebuked for his occasional indeli- 
 cacy and frequent irreverence when manners, mo- 
 rals, and religion were the subject of his eloquent 
 pen. 
 
 In literary discussions, whether oral or episto- 
 lary, he expressed his dissent from his friend with 
 as much readiness as he displayed in the expres- 
 sion of sympathetic admiration. 
 
 Of Sir James Mackintosh, of Lord Macaulay, 
 and of another author, who shall be nameless, be- 
 cause our countryman and a personal acquaint- 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 99 
 
 ance, I presume, of several in tliis hall, he writes 
 me: — 
 
 "I am not sure that I participate in the enthu- 
 siastic admiration of them which I think, under 
 your just impartiality, you still feel. Especially 
 the latter (Macaulay), I cannot think that he is to 
 stand among historians half a century hence in the 
 niche where fashion and whig criticism have placed 
 him, or that he is to affect the pre-eminence of 
 
 Clarendon, Hume, Gibbon, or of Grote 
 
 Even his much praised and elaborate picture paint- 
 ing quite fails to leave on the memory impressions 
 of events and characters such as we retain from 
 Clarendon and Hume, nor do I think that all the 
 praises of all the magazines will long substitute 
 his versions of the legends of Virginia or Horatii 
 for those of Livy." 
 
 As regards our own authors. Dr. Lieber tells 
 me, in a letter received since Mr. Gilpin's decease, 
 "I recollect he once said to me that he consid- 
 
100 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 ercd Mr. Everett the ablest American writer of 
 the Englisli hiiiguage." This observation, I judge 
 from the tenor of the letter in uhicli it is con- 
 tained, was made many years since. That Mr. 
 Gilpin retained to his last hour warm admiration 
 for Mr. Everett's scholarly and literary as well as 
 personal characteristics, probably many near me 
 could bear witness. 
 
 But our late associate, thus learned, thus kind, 
 thus candid, and thus courteous, has been removed 
 from our sight ! in the expressive language of 
 scripture, he has been "gathered to his fathers I" 
 " His fathers !" And who were they "? Men of 
 renown in their days for learning, for courage, for 
 zeal, and for taste. I have referred to Mr. Gil- 
 pin's prominent character as properly classified 
 under the heads of literarv culture: zeal in the 
 cause of education ; interest in the promotion of 
 the fine arts; large and generous hospitality. He 
 has a right to all these ornaments of linman cha- 
 
HENRY 1). GILPIN. 101 
 
 racter, ]Mr. President — ii riirlit bv iulieritauce. I 
 can exhibit the title-deeds to them all, and show 
 the course of succession, if that were needful. 
 To sav nothinif of the eminent members of the 
 Gilpin family, who have carried to tliis side of the 
 Atlantic a genealogical roll, " rich with the spoils 
 of time," above "the boast of heraldry and the 
 pomp of power," and yet not wanting these, let 
 me remind you of Bernard Gilpin, the great apos- 
 tle of the north, who, after laboring zealously for 
 the faith in which he was born, cast in his lot 
 with the reformers, and chose rather to suffer 
 affliction with the ])eople of his choice than to 
 enjoy the preferments of a church which he could 
 not love, and of a Queen whom he could not serve, 
 ,0f Bernard Gilpin, so learned that in his youth 
 Wolsey heard of his fame, and the Church of 
 Rome sought him as an opponent to Peter Mar- 
 tvr; so zealous, that he refused a mitre, and be- 
 came an itinerant preacher, drawing vast audiences 
 
102 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 in tlic barns and fields of four counties of the 
 kingdom ; so courageous, that when the arch-per- 
 secutor, Bonner, promised to buni him at the 
 stake that day fortnight, Gilpin himself prepared 
 his robe, and day by day wore it on his person, as 
 a bride "adorns herself with her jewels;" so hos- 
 pitable, that he entertained at three daily tables 
 the home-born and the stranger, from every clime 
 and of every religion; and so munificent, that the 
 Lord Treasurer Burleigh, whose dwelling had been 
 in queens' palaces, declared that he "could hardly 
 have expected more at Lambeth" than he found 
 at the country house of Bernard Gilpin. After 
 he had parted with the hospitable rector at his 
 door, Burleigh paused on an eminence that com- 
 manded the parsonage, and contrasting the peace- 
 ful scene with the intrigues and factions of the 
 splendid court to which he was hastening, ex- 
 claimed: "There is the enjoyment of life, indeed! 
 Who can blame that man for not accepting of a 
 
HENRY D. GILl'IN. 103 
 
 bishopric'? "What doth he want to iiiakc liim 
 greater, or happier, or more useful to mankind?" 
 
 This good man, after serving his generation, 
 fi^l asleep in the year 1583, twenty years before 
 the first Stuart ascended the throne of England. 
 I could speak, too, of George Gili)in, the brother 
 of Bernard, the friend of lloger Ascham, the privy 
 councillor of Queen Elizabeth, and her ambassador 
 at the Hague, where he negotiated the treaty 
 against Spain, of 1596, between Elizabeth of Eng- 
 land, Henry IV. of France, and the Dutch Re- 
 public, whose painful struggle into life has been 
 so well narrated by our countryman, INIr. Motley; 
 of Dr. Ilichard Gilpin, who died in 1699, fiunous 
 both in medicine and divinity, whose Demonologia 
 Sacra, or the Treatise of Satan's Temptations, so 
 thrills the soul of the commentator in llyland's 
 Life of Cotton Mather, that he exclaims in a pa- 
 roxysm of horror: "If ever there was a man that 
 was clearly acquainted with the cabinet councils 
 
lOi A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 of hell, this author is the man;" of William Gil- 
 pin, the vicar of Boldrc and prebendary of Sarnm, 
 a zealous divine and an accomplished artist, who 
 left the profits of his publications to found schools 
 among the people for whose benefit he had labored 
 whilst still living; of Sawrey Gilpin, of the lloyal 
 Academy, and of his son, William Sawrey Gilpin, 
 both artists of great reputation; and others there 
 are who have adorned the annals of this remark- 
 able fi\mily^ (as remarkable in divinity, diplomacy, 
 and art as is the family of Gregory in science, of 
 whom I cannot now speak particularly). I liave 
 said more than enough to prove my position, that 
 our late associate had a right, by descent, to his 
 love of letters, of art, and of hospitality. 
 
 Mr. Everett well remarks: "It is a matter of 
 deep regret that he was not more frequently led 
 to pour out the rich treasures of his mind for the 
 gratificatiu]! of the reading world," etc. It is a 
 source of satisfaction to me to remember that this 
 
IIEXRY D. GILPIN. 105 
 
 was a sul)jcct wliicli, from time to time, I pressed 
 upon ^h\ (iil[)in's attention, both by word and 
 letter: it is only justice to liim to present his de- 
 fence, in his own language: "I am not without 
 hope," he writes mc on tlie 2Stli of last May, 1859, 
 "that my taste for writing may return; but it 
 would now be an irksome task tome; divorcing 
 me from congenial pursuits, social and artistic, to 
 some extent at least, and even from those studies 
 in letters and philosopliy which are every day 
 leading me into pleasant recesses of imagination 
 and thouglit, that I find both numerous and unex- 
 plored. Do you remember Horace's charming 
 letter (admirably imitated by Pope) to Mecfenas, 
 when he sought to win him back to writing more 
 verses, after age and inclination had driven tlie 
 muse away]" 
 
 "\Ve have spoken of the courtesy and hospitality 
 of Mr. Gilpin: we have good reason to remember 
 that his kind offices did not cease with tlie last 
 
 10 
 
106 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 sad duties, such as wo have recently paid to him. 
 Wlien the republic of letters was called upon to 
 mourn the loss of the great historian of "the con- 
 solidation of the Spanish monarchy and the ex- 
 pulsion of the IMoors. the mighty theme of the 
 discovery of America, the sorrowful glories of Co- 
 lumbus, the mail-clad forms of Cortez and Pizarro, 
 and the other grim conquistadores, trampling new- 
 found empires under the hoofs of their cavalry ; 
 of the cruelties of Alva, and the fierce struggle of 
 the Moslem in the East — (I borrow here the elo- 
 quent language of Edward Everett) — when Pres- 
 cott laid down the burden of life with the harness 
 on his back, it was our late associate who acted as 
 our organ in expressing the sympathy of the His- 
 torical Society of Pennsylvania, with the sorrow 
 elicited throughout the civilized world by this be- 
 reavement. You will find his tribute side by side 
 with those of Everett, Bancroft, Sparks, Ticknor, 
 Felton, Winthrop, Frothingham, and Folsom, in 
 
H E N K Y D . G I L r I X . 107 
 
 the Prescott memorial, and in the beautiful little 
 exequial volume dedicated to the memory of the 
 great Bostonian, by the Massachusetts Historical 
 
 Society. 
 
 Had Mr. Gilpin's state of health allowed it, I 
 doubt not that he would have done as much for 
 the memory of Washington Ir^•ing. Mortified 
 that, whilst New York and Boston were mourning 
 in solemn municipal and literary convocations, 
 with flags at half-mast and insignia obscured by 
 crape, the decease of our American literary Nes- 
 tor, Philadelphia should take no note of the com- 
 mon loss, I appealed to our late fellow-member to 
 save at least this Society from the reproach of 
 such neglect. 
 
 He thus replied on the 7th of December, only 
 six weeks before he himself became the theme of 
 an epitaph and the subject of a biographer's pen. 
 "Such shadows we are!" 
 
 "Many thanks to you, my dear sir," he writes, 
 
108 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 in regard to a notice by me of Mr. Irving for 
 our Historical Society. "I tliink I understood 
 
 from Mr. that some arran2:ements had been 
 
 ah-eady made ; I am sure they are contemplated. 
 For myself, I am sorry to say that I am quite 
 incompetent; for neither intellectually nor physic- 
 ally does my strength improve so as to enable me 
 to count from day to day, hardly from hour to 
 hour, on any ability for the least exertion. I 
 doubt now whether even my strong personal 
 friendship for Mr. Ilusli would enable me to per- 
 form towards his memory the acceptable task 
 which I could accomplisli last summer." Some of 
 those who hear me are aware of the circumstances 
 with wliicli the admirable sketch of ^Ir. Hush's 
 truly patriotic career was composed. On a bed of 
 sickness, written from time to time as strength 
 was meted out for the friendly office, on scraps of 
 paper, the contents of wliich were copied for the 
 press by the librarian of this Society. AVe may 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 109 
 
 readily believe, what indeed we know to be the 
 truth, that the family of the distinguished son of 
 a distinguished sire. Dr. Benjamin Rush, the sub- 
 ject of eulogy by crowned heads abroad, and the 
 zealous promoter of public weal and domestic hap- 
 piness at home, were deeply affected by such a 
 tribute thus offered in weakness of body, but 
 strength of affection. 
 
 "It may be gratifying to Mr. Gilpin's friends 
 in Philadelphia," remarks Mr. Everett, " to know 
 that he was appreciated at a distance. Of this 
 fact I can give an affecting illustration. On his 
 last visit to Philadelphia, Mr. Charles Sumner, as 
 many here are well aware, one of the most accom- 
 plished of American scholars, remarked to me that 
 he was anxious to see Mr. Gilpin before he left 
 the city. He had just returned from Europe, and 
 he wished to bring to his friend the last tidings of 
 those who knew, honored, and loved him, on the 
 other side of the Atlantic. We went together to 
 
110 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 see him, and found liini in liis library, but so 
 weak (tliis was the eighteenth day before his 
 deatli) that he was unable to rise to receive n<. 
 Yet he conversed with great animation, as fiivorite 
 topics were introduced and the names of loving 
 friends and kind messages fell from Mr. Sumner's 
 lips. As I have already intimated, he regretted 
 that Mr. Grote had not told us more of Greece, 
 before he turned into the groves and porticos to 
 listen and report to the world the great thoughts 
 uttered by Aristotle and by Plato. He doubted 
 whether Lord Macaulay would be able to bring 
 down his eloquent history to the period assigned 
 by him at its commencement. Alas! gentlemen, 
 we little thought that the grave of the noble his- 
 torian was then dug in Westminster Abbey, and 
 that the feet of those who were to carry our friend 
 to the burial were then almost at the door of his 
 mansion. Yet Mr. Sumner was painfully im- 
 pressed with the altered appearance of our late 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. Ill 
 
 associatr, and remarked to me as ^ve left the 
 library, 'I am glad that I liave seen Mr. Gilpin, 
 for I think I shall never see him again.' " 
 
 It proved to be a true premonition. When we 
 last sought him, gentlemen, we found him as we 
 were accustomed to find him, in his noble library, 
 surrounded in death by the books which in life he 
 had loved so well. It was a solemn meeting; a 
 day much to be remembered by all who cherish — 
 and who does not cherish? — pleasing though sad 
 recollections of the departed. 
 
 Surrounded by the wisdom of all ages, whos^e 
 immortal productions he had gathered from every 
 clime; surrounded by the friends with whom he 
 had often held sweet converse on the great themes 
 which have employed the pens and divided the 
 minds of the masters of science, of philosophy, 
 and of letters ; his body was carried thence to 
 " the house appointed for all living," while liis 
 spirit, we humbly trust, is joined to that "great 
 
112 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 company ^\hoin no man can number, who, from 
 every nation, and people, and tongue, are gathered 
 together as trophies of redeeming love, to go out 
 from thence no more forever." 
 
 The President then submitting the resolution 
 to a vote, it was unanimously adopted. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 (See page 104.) 
 
 The Gilpixs in Exglaxd axd America.— The familj- of Gilpin 
 bad from a very early period been settled at Kentmere, county of 
 Westmoreland, England. From Edwin Gilpin, who lived in the 
 latter part of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth century, 
 were descended George Gilpin, the friend of Roger Ascham. Trivv 
 Councillor of Queen Elizabeth, and Bernard Gilpin, the ''Apostle 
 of the North," born 1517, died 1583. Thomas Gilpin, the great- 
 nephew of Bernard, fought in the Parliamentary army, at AVorces- 
 ter, against the Stuarts, and after their restoration settled at AVar- 
 borough, in the vale of the Thames, exchanged his swurd for a 
 ploughshare or pruning-hook, and became a member of the Society 
 of Friends or Quakers. Joseph, the third son of Thomas, was born 
 at AVarborough, in 1GC4, and settled on the banks of the Brandy- 
 wine Creek, on the borders of the counties of Chester and Dela- 
 ware, Pennsylvania, in 1G9G. Thomas Gilpin, the grandson of Jo- 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 113 
 
 seph, was born at this place {supra) March Ifc'th, 1728, and died at 
 Winchester, Virginia, March 2d, 1778. Joshua Gilpin, the eldest 
 son of Thomas Gilpin, and the father of Henry D. Gilpin, was born 
 at Philadelphia November 8th, 1765, and died at Kentmere, on the 
 Brandywine Creek, in 1842. Henry 1). Gilpin, son of Joshua Gil- 
 pin, and the subject of this notice, was born in England in the year 
 1801. and died January 29th, 1860. It will thus be seen that Henry 
 D. Gilpin was the eighth in descent from Edwin Gilpin, who died 
 some years after 1517, and the fourth in descent from Joseph Gilpin, 
 who settled on the banks of the Brandywine in 1696. 
 
 Shortly after the meeting of the Society, letters 
 from Mr. Riyes and Mr. Dallas were received; 
 and while this volume is in the hands of the 
 printer, a letter from Mr. Grigsby, in reply to an 
 invitation to meet the Society, at its annual din- 
 ner, has appeared in the report thereof It has 
 been thought proper to insert them here. 
 
 II 
 
11-i AWEMORIALOF 
 
 LETTER FROM MR. W. C. RIVES. 
 
 Castle Hill, Februaiy 13, 1860. 
 
 My Dear Sir: In consequence of an absence of 
 several days from liome, I have just had the honor 
 of receiving your letter of the Gth instant. 
 
 As the proceedings before the Historical Society 
 in honor of our lamented friend, Mr. Gilpin, are 
 to take place to-day, it is now too late for me to 
 say anything in time for that occasion, if, indeed, 
 under any circumstances, I were capable of offer- 
 ing a tribute at all worthy of his memory. No 
 one could have felt more deeply pained at the un- 
 expected announcement of his death than I did. 
 I was looking forward with the liveliest interest 
 to the prospect of meeting him soon and renewing 
 my conversations with liim on subjects of common 
 interest to us botli, wlien, to my great affliction 
 
HENRY D . G I L 1' I N , 
 
 115 
 
 and dismay, the intelligence of his death caught 
 my eye in the coUnnns of a newspaper. 
 
 Though I can hardly claim the honor of an inti- 
 mate acquaintance with him, as our opportunities 
 of personal intercourse Avere far less frequent than 
 I could have wished, yet the amiahle hlandness of 
 his manners, his winning modesty, the enhghtened 
 candor of his opinions, and his cordial sympathy 
 in all generous and noble pursuits, inspired me 
 with sentiments of the warmest esteem, and made 
 me constantly desirous of knowing more and more 
 of him. In my last meeting with him, which was 
 at Newport, just eighteen months ago, we entered 
 together on a vein of speculation and inquiry 
 which I promised myself the highest pleasure and 
 instruction in pursuing with him at a future, and 
 I then hoped not a distant period. I feel most 
 keenly his loss, as well to the country as to the 
 private circle which he adorned; and though not 
 able to unite in the merited honors which will be 
 
116 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 rendered this day to his memory, I have the sad 
 privilege of mingling my sorrows over his tomb 
 with those of his most intimate and devoted 
 friends. 
 
 Believe me, my dear sir, with cordial regard, 
 very truly and faithfully yours, 
 
 WILLIAM C. RITES. 
 
 LETTER FROM MR. GEO. M. DALLAS, MINISTER AT THE COURT 
 
 OF ST. JAMES. 
 
 My Dear Sir: I received through Mr. Triibner 
 your letter referring to the death of my deeply la- 
 mented friend Mr. Gilpin, and touching upon your 
 interview with lum, and his mention of me. He 
 was among the oldest and closest of my associates. 
 I persuaded him to make his "premier pas" in 
 politics, with a pamphlet in vindication of the 
 policy of our government towards the Indians. 
 From that moment he attracted the attention ho 
 
HENRY D. GILTIX. 117 
 
 merited, and fulfilled the duties of a rising career 
 until he entered Mr. Van Buren's cabinet as At- 
 torney-General. The nature of his last illness 
 appalled me. I begged him to abstain from writ- 
 ing to me until his health was restored, and I con- 
 tinued to write to him as often as I could, in the 
 hope of contributing to cheer him. He was, how- 
 ever, not conscious how fast he was going, and 
 during a short restoration of energy about two 
 weeks before he died, he wrote me one of the long- 
 est letters I ever got from him — six pages of quarto 
 paper — to which I replied with an earnest recom- 
 mendation of a visit to Cuba — a recommenda- 
 tion he jirobably did not live to receive. . . . 
 Always faithfully and sincerely yours, 
 
 GEORGE M. DALLAS. 
 
118 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 LETTER FROM MR. HUGH BLAIR GRIGSBY. 
 
 Edgeiiill, Ya., October 26, ISr.O. 
 
 My Dear Sir: I regret my inability to be pre- 
 sent Avith YOU at Your anniYersarY festiYal on tlie 
 8tli of NoYember. At tliis moment, ayIiou tlie 
 great divisions of our common country arc appa- 
 rently arrayed against each other, I look with 
 greater regard than ever on those associations 
 which, like your own, tend to freshen the recol- 
 lections of a glorious past, and to assemble the 
 patriots of all the States around a common altar. 
 
 But as I cannot be present in person, may I 
 take the liberty of proposing a sentiment to tlie 
 memory of two departed friends, whom I loved 
 while they were living, whom I lament now that 
 they are gone, and who, thougli belonging to dif- 
 ferent generations, and hailing from different 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 119 
 
 States, have been united by the generous offices of 
 literature in a common destiny. 
 "With great respect, 
 
 I am your friend and servant, 
 
 HUGH BLAIR GRIGSBY. 
 To TowNSEND Ward, Esq., riiiladelpliia. 
 
 James Madison and Henry D. Gilpin. — As 
 long as the published volumes of the writings of 
 the sage of Montpelier survive, they will afford an 
 honorable memorial of the indefatigable industry, 
 the profound rcsearcli, and the glowing patriotism 
 of their editor. 
 
120 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 It has been thought proper to insert in this 
 part of the volume the following article from the 
 riiiladelpliia Evening Bulletin of February 4th, 
 1860. 
 
 Noble Liberality. — In speaking of Harvard 
 College, in a recent editorial, we adverted to tlie 
 liberality which had so richly endowed that insti- 
 tution, making it an honor to Massachusetts. In 
 holding it up as an example to Pennsylvanians, 
 we did not suppose that we should be able so soon 
 to chronicle the generosity of one of our own citi- 
 zens, and in directions, too, implying the finest 
 kind of culture. 
 
 It is understood that Henry D. Gilpin has left 
 his large and valuable library — after tlic death of 
 Mrs. Gilpin — to tlie Historical Society of Pennsyl- 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 121 
 
 vania, with provision also for a building in which 
 the library shall be preserved. Wc presume that 
 the building will also furnish accommodations for 
 the meetings of the Society, and for the present 
 library and works of art. 
 
 The Society has long felt the need of a build- 
 ing:. Its hall is in the tliird storv of the Athe- 
 nieum, of course somewhat inconvenient of access. 
 It is quite too small for meetings of the So- 
 ciety of special interest, and for its growing 
 library and gallery. The New York Historical 
 Society has erected a suitable building, and its 
 meetings are attended often by the elite of city 
 and State. 
 
 The history of Pennsylvania surely does not 
 yield in interest to that of any sister State. 
 "Founded by deeds of peace," its whole progress 
 has been characterized by a steady honesty that 
 challenges investigation. In our own city, and 
 all over the State, those who laid the foundations 
 
 12 
 
122 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 of society have been men of whom we may well 
 be proud, and nothing can be more appropriate 
 and interesting than that the active and energetic 
 men of this generation should suitably honor 
 them. 
 
 Mr. Gilpin presided at the meeting of the So- 
 ciety at which Mr. Granville John Penn presented 
 the "Wampum Belt, which was the pledge of per- 
 petual friendship at the Treaty made under the 
 Elm, at Shackamaxon. "We had the pleasure of 
 hearing the interesting address with which he 
 welcomed Mr. Penn and received the belt. In 
 the address Mr. Gilpin remarked: "The feeling 
 that, as time is passing by, many interesting me- 
 morials of the life and actions of Penn, and many 
 events in the early annals of our State might sink 
 into obli^■ion, induced those by Mhom our associa- 
 tion was founded to endeavor to rescue, secure, 
 and preserve them. At a meeting assembled in 
 the humble edifice, yet existing, where AA'illiam 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 123 
 
 Tcnn himself (hvclt, and on the anniversary of the 
 day wlien he first handed on our shore, the design 
 of forming such an institution had its origin. 
 
 "The treaty of Shackamaxon — 'the treaty not 
 sworn to and never hroken' — is the beacon spot 
 in the history of Pennsylvania. The sloping mar- 
 gin of the Delaware, with the site of its venerable 
 elm, and the treaty made beneath its spreading 
 branches, take their place in human story with 
 the olive tree of Athens, on her rocky citadel, 
 with the fountain of Numa, the meadow of Griitli, 
 the island of Eunnymede, and the memorable 
 events of which they were the scenes ; and when 
 you, sir, come thus bearing this memorial, we wel- 
 come you, not only as one who has guarded a tro- 
 phy that honors the memory of him from whom 
 it has descended to you, but because we are proud 
 and ijrateful to receive it on behalf of the people 
 of Pennsylvania, to whom it so appropriately be- 
 longs; not, indeed, as the pledge of a compact 
 
124: A me:morial of 
 
 they can now be called on to fulfil, but as the evi- 
 dence and symbol of the Christian spirit in wliich 
 their institutions were laid at the first, and of the 
 standing obligations of benevolence and justice 
 which they have inherited with them." 
 
 These words, we now find, were not a mere 
 form. Mr. Gilpin placed a proper estimate upon 
 the Historical Society, as he has shown by the 
 most satisfactory of all evidence. 
 
 AVhile on this subject, we cannot refrain from a 
 momentary digression to remark upon the unsatis- 
 factory condition of the site of the Treaty Tree. 
 Surely Philadelphia is not true to herself, or one 
 of her finest parks would surround that spot, 
 planted and ornamented in every suitable way, 
 making that "sloping margin of the Delaware" 
 a spot as beautiful as the recollections that em- 
 balm it. 
 
 But the other object to wliich Mr. Gilpin has 
 devoted a portion of his ample fortune, is one 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 125 
 
 every wav worthy of liim. If there be anythiii<r 
 wliicli is needed to soften the rough aspect of a 
 Republic, it is the Fine Arts. A few men have 
 struggled nobly to sustain our Pennsylyania Aca- 
 demy. They have preserved the valuable property 
 on Chestnut Street, and they have secured as many 
 valuable works of art as the limited means which 
 have been placed at their disposal could command. 
 Mr. Gilpin was, for some time, President of the 
 Academy, and we now learn that he has left a 
 handsome bequest to it. 
 
 We will not even imagine the case that any of 
 our readers need an argument to convince them 
 of the refining, civilizing, and elevating influence 
 of true art. But we always regret to see a man 
 of wealth and intelligence passing from among us, 
 without leaving any token in his will of his appre- 
 ciation of the important public interests of the 
 city where he lived, and where, in all probability, 
 he amassed his wealth. There ought to be a 
 
126 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 public sentiment that would incline every such 
 gentleman, as he deliberately pens the last docu- 
 ment which is to link him to his fellow-men, to 
 leave something behind him to benefit mankind 
 -wh^n he has passed away — something by which 
 he may be always pleasantly remembered by his 
 fellow-citizens. 
 
 There is another consideration which ouglit to 
 have its benefits. The objects of religion and liu- 
 manity which rightly claim our benefactions are 
 appreciated by a very large circle. But such ob- 
 jects as those which Mr. Gilpin has remembered — 
 the reviving the history of the past with its other 
 recollections and its inspiring lessons, and the 
 infusing into the State of finer elements and the 
 gleaming of a richer and brighter hue over soci- 
 ety — appeal to comparati\cly few who luue the 
 means of assisting them. The laying, therefore, 
 of such foundations is a work eminently worthy 
 of a gentleman of culture, and the Press, as the 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 127 
 
 exponent of public sentiment, should place in 
 clear and bright relief the names of men who 
 thus honor themselves and their country. 
 
•I 
 
mOCEEDINGS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 
 
 13 
 
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 Historical Rooms, Boston, Feb. 10, 1860. 
 
 At a stated meeting of the Massachusetts liis- 
 toi-ical Society, hekl in Boston on the 9tli of Feb- 
 ruary, 18G0, it was unanimously 
 
 Resohed, That the members of the Massacliu- 
 setts Historical Society have received with be- 
 coming sensibility the melancholy tidings of the 
 decease of their honorary associate, Henry D. 
 Gilpin, Esq , Vice-President of the Historical So- 
 ciety of Pennsylvania, President of the Pennsyl- 
 vania Academy of Fine Arts, and a Director of 
 the Girard College at Philadelphia. 
 
 Resolved, That the various and distinguished 
 accomplishments of Mr. Gilpin as a jurist, a 
 statesman, and a scholar; his numerous and valu- 
 able contributions to the historical and miscella- 
 
132 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 neons literature of tlie country; his eminent ser- 
 vices as a friend and patron of education, of the 
 fine arts, and the benevolent institutions of the 
 community; and his recognized character as an 
 enlightened and public-spirited citizen, entitle him 
 to an honored place among the illustrious dead of 
 the past twelvemonth, and will cause his name to 
 be held in respectful and grateful remembrance. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be 
 transmitted to the fimily of our lamented associ- 
 ate, with the assurance of the sincere sympathv 
 of the Massachusetts Historical Society in their 
 bereavement. 
 
 Attest: CHANDLER ROBBIXS, Record'g Sec'y. 
 
 On Thursday evening, at a meeting of the 
 Massachusetts Historical Society, ^Ir. Everett an- 
 nounced to the members the death of Mr. Henry 
 D. Gilpin, of rhiladel[)hia, and spoke substan- 
 tially as follows: — 
 
HENRY D. GIL TIN. 133 
 
 EULOGIUM BY MR. EDWARD EVERETT. 
 
 At the meeting of the Society on the 26th of 
 Jannary, I expressed the apprehension that we 
 shonkl soon be called to lament the loss of a 
 distinijnished honorary associate, Mr. Gilpin, of 
 Philadelphia, of whose health I had received by 
 telegraph a very unfavorable account in the course 
 of that day. This melancholy anticipation was 
 realized a day or two afterwards. Having had the 
 privilege of proposing him, in the course of the 
 past year, as an associate whose election would do 
 honor to the Historical Society, and having en- 
 joyed his friendship for many years, I feel it a 
 duty to submit to the Society an appropriate tri- 
 bute of respect to his memory. 
 
 If we can with propriety use such an expression 
 of the resigned and tranquil close of an honored 
 and useful life, the death of ;Mr. Gilpin, under the 
 
13 J: A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 age of sixty, was premature; but it found him 
 prepared ; in his own parting words, he died " at 
 peace with God and man." Born and educated 
 in Phihidelphia, lie adopted the Law as his profes- 
 sion, and rose rapidly to eminence in its practice. 
 While yet a young man, he was appointed District 
 Attorney of the United States, and afterwards 
 Solicitor of the Treasury, and Attorney-General. 
 He sustained himself honorably, at the most im- 
 portant forum in the country, in these important 
 positions, sometimes in opposition to the most 
 distinguished counsel of the day. Xo interest 
 confided to him ever suffered in his hands for 
 want of ability or attention on his part; while to 
 the utmost energy and firmness in the discharge 
 of duty he added an unfiiiling gentleness and cour- 
 tesy of manner. 
 
 AMiile he filled tlic office of District Attorney, 
 he published a volume of reports of cases adjudi- 
 cated in the court of which he was an officer, and 
 
HENl'. Y 1). GILPIN. 135 
 
 he afterwards made a collection of the opinions of 
 the Attorneys-General, from the foundation of tlie 
 ij'ovcrnment to the year 1841. He also, about the 
 same time, rendered a very important service to 
 the constitutional literature of the country, by a 
 careful and conscientious collation and edition of 
 tlie Madison Papers. Xo publication within my 
 knowledge, issued under the auspices of tlie go- 
 vernment of the United States, has been more 
 judiciously and skilfully prepared for the press. 
 
 ]\Ir. Gilpin, although eminently successful in 
 his professional and political career, appeared to 
 be wholly destitute of political ambition, and re- 
 tiring in early manhood from all public occupa- 
 tions, devoted himself to the gratification of more 
 congenial tastes. lie had always cultivated letters 
 as his favorite recreation from professional toil, 
 and henceforward gave himself almost exclusively 
 to literary pursuits. He had been, from an early 
 period, a successful and a popular writer in the 
 
136 A MEMO R I A L OF 
 
 leading periodicals of tlic day, including the Quar- 
 terly Eeviews. He Avrote many of the articles 
 in the original edition of the Biographies of the 
 Signers of tlic Declaration of Independence, and 
 the second edition of that work was published 
 under his supervision, with large additions, lie 
 also wrote biographical notices of several distin- 
 guished contemporaries, among others, of Mr. 
 Livingston, Mr. Forsyth, and Mr. Silas Wright. 
 His discourses and addresses on various public oc- 
 casions are among the most valuable performances 
 of the kind, alwavs admirabh" written, discrimi- 
 nating, full of flxct, and in good taste. His ad- 
 dress on the life and character of Franklin, deli- 
 vered at Philadelpliia a few years since, contains 
 one of the most judicious and instructive discus- 
 sions of the entire career of our great countryman 
 which have ever appeared. 
 
 In the possession of ample means, Mr. Gilpin 
 bestowed a liberal expenditure on tlie formation 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 137 
 
 of a library. His collection consisted of twelve 
 or fifteen thousand well-selected volumes, in the 
 various departments of general literature. It was 
 a library not of bibliographical rarities, but of 
 books for use ; and he was as well acquainted with 
 their contents as any man can be with the con- 
 tents of a library of that size. He was among 
 the most finished classical scholars in the country, 
 and his shelves contained the best editions of the 
 ancient authors, which he read systematically and 
 with care. He collected maps, charts, and plans 
 of cities, with great diligence, always, in his tra- 
 vels, procuring the best articles of that kind, and, 
 where nothing already published was to be had, 
 he occasionally caused original drawings and 
 sketches to be made, in order to complete a series. 
 Mr. Gilpin's taste for the fine arts had been 
 carefully cultivated by the study of the best works 
 at home and abroad. His residence was tastefully 
 adorned with valuable works of painting and sta- 
 
 14 
 
138 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 tuary. lie was well acquainted with the cliavac- 
 teristic merits of the great masters, which he had 
 diligently observed in Europe. He took much 
 interest in tlie progress of art at home, and was 
 the President of the Pennsylvania Academy of 
 Fine Arts, giving much time to the management 
 of its affairs. 
 
 He was an active member and a vice-president 
 of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and had 
 explored several branches of local antiquity with 
 great accuracy. He was especially conversant 
 with the political history of the United States, 
 having added to a large acquaintance with the 
 public men of the day the diligent perusal of 
 every standard work in that department. In all 
 his studies, the grasp of a very retentive memory 
 was strengthened by great method in the arrange- 
 ment and disposition of his books and papers. 
 
 Mr. Gili)in had formed intimate personal rela- 
 tions with some of tlie most eminent statesmen of 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 139 
 
 the day. He was specially in the confidence of 
 the late distinguished jurist, Mr. Livingston, who, 
 if I mistake not, in preparing his code and the 
 reports illustrating it, more than once resorted to 
 Mr. Gilpin's store of professional knowledge, as 
 well as to his amply furnished library. There are 
 few subjects of literary, scientific, or professional 
 inquiry on which important original views might 
 not be gathered from his conversation or corre- 
 spondence, and few persons, I presume, were more 
 frequently consulted in this way by their friends. 
 
 A few years ago Mr. Gilpin made an extensive 
 tour in Europe and Western Asia. Xo American 
 within my acquaintance has ever gone abroad 
 better qualified to travel to advantage, or has re- 
 turned with a richer store of personal observation. 
 Acquainted beforehand with all tliat books could 
 teach of the objects deserving attention, he de- 
 voted to the discriminating inspection of what is 
 really important that time which, under the dicta- 
 
140 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 tion of ignorant couriers, is Avastecl by so many 
 travellers in vague curiosity-hunting and tasteless 
 sight-seeing. 
 
 IVIr. Gilpin took an enlightened interest in the 
 subject of education, and especially in the Girard 
 College, of which he was an active and efficient 
 director. In frequent visits to Philadelphia with- 
 in the last few years, I had abundant opportunitv 
 to become acquainted with the minute and trulv 
 parental care with wliicli he watched over that 
 institution, not merely in matters of general ad- 
 ministration, but witli kindly sympathy with the 
 individual inmates and their progress. 
 
 It would be hardly proper before a public bodv 
 to speak of Mr. Gilpin in tlie relations of private 
 life, further than to say that he might be cited as 
 a model son, brother, husband, and friend; unsur- 
 passed in tlie courtesies whicli make the charm of 
 social intercourse, and convert even a i)assing visit 
 into a substantial enjoyment. 
 
HENRY D. G I LI' IX. 14 1 
 
 My. Gilpin left a haiKlsomo fortiiiu'. Tlir pro- 
 visions of his will, executed a short time before 
 his death, liave been made public, and show that, 
 after obeying in the amplest manner the impulses 
 of affection and duty, he contemplated munificent 
 and permanent endowments of the public institu- 
 tions witli which he was connected. Tlie grave 
 has rarely closed over a character of such great 
 and varied excellence, and his death is a loss not 
 merely to Philadelphia, but to tlie whole country. 
 
l^ROCEEDIXGS 
 
 OK THE 
 
 CHICAGO IIISTORICAL SOCIETY, 
 
CHICAGO IIISTOIUCAL SOCIETY. 
 
 At a stated meeting of this Society, held Feb- 
 ruary 21, 1860, Mr. W. H. Brown, President, in 
 the chair, a letter addressed to the President from 
 Mr. Charles Macalester, of Philadelphia, one of 
 the executors of the last will and testament of the 
 late Henry D. Gilpin, of that city, deceased, was 
 read, communicating the intelligence that this 
 Society had been made one of the residuary lega- 
 tees, in the provisions of said will, and transmit- 
 ting a printed copy of the wqll, for the Society's 
 information and use. 
 
 15 
 
146 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. WILLIAM BARRY. 
 
 After submitting the above letter, Mr. Barry, 
 the Secretary, remarked that, in communicating 
 to the Society the important announcement just 
 made, he deemed it to belong to others, who had 
 the privilege and honor of a personal acquaintance 
 with the late Mr. Gilpin, to speak in fitting terms 
 of the distinguished benefaction which is to con- 
 nect his name henceforth so pre-eminently with 
 this institution, and of those estimable qualities of 
 mind and heart which, by those who knew him 
 best, were most profoundly loved and honored. 
 His general life and career have, from the varied 
 and eminent positions he has occupied, been long 
 known. Born in ISOl, educated at the University 
 of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with honor 
 in IblD, his successful career at the bar early in- 
 troduced him into public life, in his appointment. 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 147 
 
 in 1832, to the office of United States Attorney in 
 the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, followed by 
 that of Solicitor of the United States Treasury, in 
 1837, and by the distinguished appointment of 
 Attorney-General of the United States, in 1840. 
 
 To have filled such posts with the honoring ap- 
 proval of his countrymen would alone entitle his 
 name to respect. But that he loved place less for 
 the distinction it confers than as a more command- 
 ing sphere for the exercise of his talents, and the 
 indulgence of his refined taste and superior cul- 
 ture, is evident, not only from his highly valued 
 publication of the opinions given by those holding 
 the office of Attorney-General of the United States 
 from the organization of the Federal Government, 
 prepared by him amidst the pressure of official 
 duty, but also from the fiicility and preference 
 with which, while yet in the morning of his fame 
 and success, he retired to the calm privacy of do- 
 mestic life, and to the congenial associations of 
 
148 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 that accomplished circle of literary friends, by 
 whose appreciative esteem he was honored and 
 cherished to the last. 
 
 Of his merits and accomplishments as a tho- 
 rough scholar and man of taste, the late Mr. Gil- 
 pin has left numerous testimonials, in his honor- 
 able appointment to edit the papers of Madison, 
 in the biographical tributes he has rendered to 
 many of the fathers and statesmen of our country, 
 and in his extensive and valued contributions to 
 the periodical literature of the United States. 
 Of his services to literature and art no higher 
 encomium can be offered than his cordial appoint- 
 ment, in a city justly distinguished for its love of 
 letters and encouragement of the elegant arts, to 
 the highest offices in its two leading institutions, 
 the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and the 
 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; of the for- 
 mer of which he was, at his decease, Vice-Presi- 
 dent, and of the latter President. 
 
HENRY D. GILPIX. 149 
 
 It was ill harmony witli a life so generously 
 consecrated to some of the liigliest of human inte- 
 rests that it should find its consummation in the 
 memorable acts of liberality which are to associate 
 Mr. Gilpin's name hereafter with those institutions 
 of this and of his native city, devoted to the ob- 
 jects which were among the first in his own esteem 
 and pursuit. No one can inspect the careful man- 
 ner in which the provisions of his will were framed 
 without a profound respect for his judgment, wis- 
 dom, and intelligent forethought, as well as admi- 
 ration for the delicacy, generosity, and warmth of 
 his sentiments. Others can better say how truly 
 the general character of his life was exemplified 
 in this its closing and crowning act. 
 
 Mr. William B. Ogdex then addressed the So- 
 ciety in an impressive manner, substantially as 
 follows : — 
 
150 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. WILLIAM B. OGDEX. 
 
 Having had the lionor of a personal acquaint- 
 ance, for many years, with the late Mr. Gilpin, 
 and having sustained relations with him of a very 
 friendly character, which had brought them into 
 frequent communication, and under circumstances 
 calculated to convey a just impression of his per- 
 sonal character, as well as of the beauty of his pri- 
 vate life, it gave him the most cordial satisfaction 
 to express his sense of his eminent worth as a 
 man, of his fine culture and scholarly tastes, and of 
 those superior qualities which fitted him to adorn 
 the select society which he gathered about him, 
 rendering his home the seat of a refined and ele- 
 gant hospitality, which attracted towards him the 
 warmest esteem of all who had the privilege of 
 sharing his friendship. 
 
 Honored in early life as few have been, by calls 
 
HENRY D. GILT IN. 151 
 
 to distinguished positions of trust and influence, 
 he long since retired from pubUc Hfe, in tlic pos- 
 session of an ample estate, surrendering liimself 
 to the attractions of his home and library, but yet 
 exercising a beneficent influence, as uell as in- 
 dulfriuix his liberal tastes, in connection with those 
 institutions of his native city which he has so 
 generously remembered in his will, and which had 
 honored him with their highest offices. 
 
 While on a visit to Europe some years since, he 
 availed himself of the favorable opportunity thus 
 afforded him, to visit the chief repositories of 
 learning and art in the old world. Few were bet- 
 ter fitted by nature and cultivation to profit by 
 such advantages. This had been his long-clic- 
 rished desire; and its execution enabled him to 
 return to his native land with collections in litera- 
 ture and art of a rare and interesting character, 
 which it was his pride and joy to arrange about 
 
152 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 him for his personal gratification, as well as that 
 of his numerous friends. 
 
 Of his spacious mansion, on one of the princi- 
 pal streets of Philadelpliia, an entire story, of 
 large depth, was devoted to the treasures selected 
 and accumulated abroad by his excellent judgment 
 and refined taste. Here were to be seen an ample 
 library, composed of the choicest works of learn- 
 ing and science, and a collection of works of art, 
 reproducing in well-executed copies some of the 
 finest productions of European genius. Among 
 these it was his delight to pass his days, in the 
 society of men of congenial tastes, devoting his 
 time with a generous zeal to the higher interests 
 of his native city, where his talents, character, and 
 influence were held in the highest esteem. Here, 
 in the privacy of his home, was his character dis- 
 played with peculiar beauty; and those who had 
 the privilege of admission to it could not but be 
 struck with the case, courtesy, and grace which 
 
nEXRY I). GILPIN. 153 
 
 distinguished his manners, and the marked happi- 
 ness of his domestic relations. 
 
 The late Mr. Gilpin was early associated with 
 our own city. Being a proprietor here of exten- 
 sive estates, he had from time to time visited it, 
 and was an eye-witness of its remarkable pros- 
 perity and growth. His intelligent and generous 
 forecast looked into its future, and prompted, 
 doubtless, the munificence which has been so sig- 
 nally expressed in his liberal provision for the 
 interests of this Society, whose rooms he had per- 
 sonally visited, and for whose success he indulged 
 the kindliest interest. He has thus durably con- 
 nected his name with our city, not as a proprietor 
 only, but as one of its chief benefactors; for that 
 the generous designs contemplated by the late Mr. 
 Gilpin will be fully carried out, not a doubt can 
 be entertained. 
 
 On an occasion of such importance and interest, 
 it were unfitting to offer such testimonials only of 
 
 16 
 
154 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 our gratitude and respect as the feelings of the 
 moment may prompt. A due respect for so dis- 
 tinguished a munificence, to so honored a bene- 
 factor, renders it proper to propose and to adopt 
 with deliberation, an appropriate expression of the 
 sentiments inspired by this event. 
 
 Mr. Ogden then moved that a committee be 
 appointed to take into consideration the bequest 
 made by the late Mr. Gilpin to this Society, and 
 report such resolutions as they deem proper. 
 
 After additional remarks by Mess. Arnold, E. 
 B. M'Cagg, E. H. Sheldon, and others, the motion 
 was unanimously adopted; and Mr. W. B. Ogden, 
 M. Skinner, and I. N. Arnold were appointed to 
 constitute the committee. 
 
 The following resolutions, subsequently rejjorted 
 by Judge Skinner, in behalf of the committee, 
 were unanimously passed: — 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 155 
 
 Whereas this Society hns been informed, 
 thvonrrh the attention of the execntors of the last 
 
 * 
 
 will and testament of the late Ilenvy D. Gil[)in, 
 of riiiladelphia, recently deceased, that it has 
 been named as one of the residuary legatees in 
 said will, with provisions for the execution of the 
 generous and enlightened designs thereby intend- 
 ed, which reflect the highest honor upon the intel- 
 ligence, wisdom, and public spirit of the honored 
 testator: 
 
 Resolved, That this Society entertain the most 
 grateful sense of the distinfT^uished benefit and aid 
 tluis contemplated and provided for in its behalf, 
 and for the permanent interests of learning and 
 art in this young city, by the munificent bequest 
 of the late Mr. Gilpin — an act held in yet higher 
 estimation and gratitude from the interesting as- 
 sociations of their benefoctor with this city, the 
 intended recipient of his bounty, his estimable 
 qualities as a man, his merits and services as a 
 
156 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 scholar, and his life of public usefulness and pri- 
 vate virtue, which have secured for him not only 
 the warm, enduring, and honorable esteem of his 
 immediate associates and personal friends, but en- 
 titled him to a place among those who have done 
 honor to our common countrv. 
 
 Resolved, That in proof of their high estimation 
 of the bequest thus provided for, this Society will 
 gratefully and faithfully endeavor to carry out the 
 enliglitened and liberal intentions of their bene- 
 factor for the good of this community, and that, 
 in perpetual commemoration of his character and 
 benefaction, arrangements be made to procure the 
 execution of his bust in marble, to be placed and 
 preserved forever in the library of the Society. 
 
 Resolved, That the members of this Society 
 tender to the family and immediate friends of the 
 late Mr. Gilpin their most respectful sympathy 
 and condolence, in llie removal of one, the honor- 
 able esteem of whose name was so intimately con- 
 
HENRY I). GILPIxV. 157 
 
 nected witli those qualities of personal and private 
 worth Avhieli will forever consecrate his memory 
 in the hearts of his friends. 
 
 WILLIAM BARRY, Sec'ry, &c. 
 
 Historical Rooms, Chicago, Sept. 18, 1860. 
 To !Mrs. Henry D. Gilpin. 
 
 Madam: By this Society's direction I have the 
 honor to transmit to you the accompanying copy 
 of Resolutions, unanimously adopted at their 
 meeting held tliis day, in commemoration and ac- 
 knowledgment of the distinguished munificence 
 displayed towards this institution by the late Mr. 
 Gil[)in, as well as in testimony of their profound 
 and grateful esteem for his memory, and their 
 most respectful sentiments of condolence witli his 
 devoted friends. 
 
 I have the honor to be, with the highest respect, 
 Madam, your most ob't humble serv't, 
 
 AVILLIA^I RARUY, Recora'g Sec'y. 
 
fl 
 
PllOCEEDINGS 
 
 OF THK 
 
 AMERICAN T'lIILOSOrHlCAL SOCIETY. 
 
AMERICAN PHILOSOPIIICAL SOCIETY. 
 
 Stated Meeting, September 21, 18G0. 
 
 Vice-President, Mr. George Sharswood, in the 
 chair. 
 
 An obituary notice of the late member, Henry 
 D. Gilpin, was read by Mr. Joseph H. IngersoU. 
 
 ADDRESS OF MR. JOSEPH R. INGERSOLL. 
 
 It is not always easy to account for the success 
 that appears habitually to accompany the career 
 of particular individuals. Where great merit ex- 
 ists, the circumstance seems naturally to explain 
 itself. But good fortune is not necessarily or at 
 all times the comjianion of great qualities. It is 
 in some respects capricious, and many persons in 
 
162 A M E M H I A L OF 
 
 ordinary life have tliouglit that they had reason 
 to put faith, as Bonaparte did in war, in the influ- 
 ence of a friendly star. One of the richest pri- 
 vate men of the age is said to have disclaimed all 
 riirht on the score of abilities and skill, or even of 
 careful management of his affairs, and to have 
 imputed his wonderful prosperity to what he mo- 
 destly called Luck. A very moderate degree of 
 merit, and a seeming indifference to opportunities 
 for gathering riches within easy reach, do not pre- 
 vent the accidents of many a life from being 
 marked with a frequent attainment of wealth. It 
 may happen, too, though perhaps more rarely, that 
 much positive desert, combined with laborious and 
 comparatively well directed exertions, will fail in 
 receiving a just reward in what are regarded the 
 sifts of fortune. Each of these conditions must be 
 looked upon as an excej)tion to a sound general 
 rule. As such they are far from disproving its 
 realitv or soundness. They serve, indeed, while 
 
HENRY I) . G I L P 1 1^. 163 
 
 the departures from it arc only occasional, to ron- 
 iirni the existence and establish the truth of a 
 principle, worthy to be cherished in all the rela- 
 tions of life. Otherwise they would be strange 
 contradictions in practice of some of the best les- 
 sons of philosophy. They are at variance with 
 established maxims of wisdom, witli daily lessons 
 of experience, with doctrines of universal moral- 
 ity, and with the earnest and virtuous promptings 
 of conscious and enlightened duty. Could they 
 be considered in any other light, they would go 
 far to impeach the instructions which should never 
 be lost sight of, that foresight and discretion are 
 commonly the companions of virtue, and that folly 
 is often the forerunner of crime. Cause and 
 effect, are inherent in our nature. Their imme- 
 diate connection is not always to be seen. It is 
 nevertheless true that almost every event in the 
 history of individuals or nations, although not 
 easily to be traced to its sometimes hidden origin, 
 
16J: A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 is tlie result of a possibly remote but efficient 
 cause. Merit and demerit, and the fruits of them 
 in conduct must have their consequences. The 
 safest lesson that philosophy can teach, is that the 
 fortunate are the wise. Contingencies exist in all 
 human affairs against which the utmost prudence 
 cannot always guard. Open hostility sometimes, 
 and that of a secret and insidious kind still more 
 frequently, is entertained against the deserving. 
 The maxim is well founded, that every beginning 
 is arduous. Difficulties unseen and unknown as 
 well as such as are perceived, beset its path, and 
 do not always vanish when the novelty of the un- 
 dertaking is worn away. The wisest cannot at all 
 times foresee everything that is before them; and 
 the bravest may be unable to overcome combina- 
 tions whether anticipated by the eftbrts of reason 
 or overlooked by them. AN'ith all these possible 
 dangers and obstacles, there can be no doubt that 
 a union of good qualities of head and mind and 
 
HEXRY D. GILPIN. 165 
 
 heart, carried firmly into practical use, will not 
 onl}' always deserve, but will in general command 
 success. Clear intelligence, sound morality, and 
 benevolent feeling, animating the conduct, and 
 manifested with unaffected simplicity in outward 
 deportment, will in most instances dispel difficul- 
 ties, however obstinate, and triumph over the 
 most formidable dangers. It is happy, not only 
 for the individual possessor of them, but for the 
 best interests of social life with which he is sur- 
 rounded, that these ingredients of character, each 
 of them of value in itself, but inestimable when 
 combined in spirit and practised together, are re- 
 flected by general esteem, respect, and gratitude. 
 
 To the honor of human nature it is sometimes 
 seen that success has been almost uniformly the 
 companion of merit during the career of a long 
 and active life. This companionship of desert 
 and reward, may not always have attracted the ob- 
 servation of the unthinking world, but the truth 
 
166 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 lias nevertheless existed, although by the mass of 
 men unperceived, and the discerning few have 
 known that it at least was hidden in the centre. 
 The one has been the natural if not tlie necessary 
 consequence of the otlicr, and not a mere acci- 
 dental coincident. Even commonplace attention 
 to duties is productive of obvious results. Why 
 should not loftier habits be equally fruitful in the 
 accomplishment of groat ends? Industry is ne- 
 cessary for the attainment of knowledge and skill. 
 ^^'arm friendships must be for the most part a re- 
 turn for acts and feelings of kindness and regard. 
 Sympathy is the most grateful emotion of the 
 heart. Tokens of respect from the world are the 
 result not merely of licroism and other brilliant 
 qualities, but more commonly of good conduct in 
 the cvery-day intercourse of life, and especially of 
 liberality and kindness in word and action. Hap- 
 pily, illustrations are not wanting in familiar inter- 
 course. The absence of them would be a sorry 
 
n E N K Y D . G I L P 1 N . 107 
 
 proof of tlic degeneracy of tlic age. If they are 
 rare, tlie fact cannot justly be pleaded in extenua- 
 tion of wilful error, or of an under-estimatc of the 
 value of wisdom and virtue, or of determined and 
 persevering efforts to do what is riglit. Other 
 and more exalted motives for good conduct, be- 
 sides and above the policy of it, are exi)erienced 
 in a self-approving conscience and the tranquil 
 feeling of satisfaction, if not of elevated enjoy- 
 ment. Should it happen now and then that dis- 
 appointment of positive reward follows proper 
 actions, the monitor within is a lasting and more 
 than sufficient equivalent. 
 
 In proceeding to discharge, however imper- 
 fectly, the duty I am called upon to perform, the 
 course of reflection which has been submitted 
 seemed not inappropriate as preliminary, and 
 could scarcely escape the mind of one who was 
 long in friendly relations with the subject of this 
 obituary notice. He was a striking proof of merit 
 
168 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 and success in apt and ordinary coincidence. A 
 record of his course of life becomes appropriate 
 to this Society. It is history teaching by exam- 
 ple, which is a rich department of the science of 
 philosophy. A familiar acquaintance with his 
 character, and his pursuits which were always in 
 consistency with it, will not be an unprofitable 
 lesson. His conduct was such, that although not 
 many of his contemporaries may be found to re- 
 semble him, yet an imitation of it, while worthy 
 of the efforts of the most ambitious, need not be 
 avoided by any extreme of modesty. Without re- 
 sorting to any violent efforts, either in transactions 
 of business and the performance of duty, or in 
 the exhibitions of voluntary usefulness, he ap- 
 peared to reach the desired ends by steady and 
 well directed pursuit. Perhaps the very absence 
 of excessive effort was, unconsciously to himself, 
 one of the efficient causes of their being attained. 
 A mind and body gently stimulated to moderate 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 169 
 
 but adequate activity, by due self reliance, and 
 happy in the continual exercise of it under tlie 
 guidance of integrity and good feeling, but avoid- 
 ing errors that are too commonly consequences of 
 undue zeal and precipitancy, are the most likely 
 to succeed. The possessor of them, to quote from 
 high authority, is "like a tree planted by the rivers 
 of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his sea- 
 son; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever 
 he doeth shall prosper." Discretion is the essence 
 of wisdom. It is the master key that ought to 
 unlock fortune's casket. This golden rule is as 
 ancient as it is general and true. In application 
 and exercise, it is nearly as multiplied as the fomi- 
 lies of the human race. All history confirms, and 
 experience exhibits the concurring sense of the 
 wise and virtuous, that to be discreet is to deserve 
 if not to command good fortune. 
 
 It is a remarkable circumstance that in what 
 was probably the last act of business in the life of 
 
 18 
 
170 A M E M R I A L F 
 
 one who was so circumspect upon nearly every 
 other occasion, the characteristic precaution of our 
 departed fellow member seems to ha\ e been forgot- 
 ten by him. The will of ^Ir. Gilpin is believed 
 to have been prepared b} him some weeks and 
 perhaps even months before it was executed. It 
 w^as then written by himself, without conference 
 or consultation with anv one. It was not at any 
 time exhibited or made known even to his wife, 
 between whom and himself unlimited confidence 
 prevailed. One offer or more was made by him 
 to that effect, which was declined by her from 
 motives of delicacy or a feeling- of tenderness and 
 sensibility ; and the contents were not actually 
 known by her either before or after its execution, 
 cither in the original draught or final copy by the 
 scrivener. lie could scarcely have been aware of 
 the extremity of his illness, and how nearly he 
 had approached its fatal end, or the formal com- 
 pletion of the needful work would not have been 
 
HENRY D. GILl'IN. 171 
 
 delayed so long. lie may, in a condition of much 
 and increasing feebleness, have lost sight, at the 
 moment, of the recent law of Pennsylvania forbid- 
 ding, at the approach of death, bequests to bodies 
 politic or persons in trust for religious or charita- 
 ble uses. Or he may have hazarded a construction 
 of the terms of the statute which will give rise to 
 difficulty. It would have been clearer and better 
 for his cherished views, if the will had been made 
 perfect in all respects, immediately after the ori- 
 ginal was written by his own hand. This original 
 was destroyed, and a copy, literal in all particulars, 
 was adopted. This was executed on the ITth of 
 January, 1860, in the presence of three witnesses, 
 in due and sufficient form. The life of the testa- 
 tor was then drawing towards its close, with all 
 the perceptions of a bright intellect altogether 
 unimpaired. He lived but twelve days afterwards. 
 On the 29th of January, 1860, he breathed his 
 last. Probate in the proper office was made on 
 
172 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 tlie 3d of February. Each event occurred within 
 less than thirty days of the date and execution of 
 the will. 
 
 It has been feared by some that the course of 
 tliese transactions may prove to have been unfor- 
 tunate for the ultimate objects of bounty and pub- 
 lic spirit named in the testament. A calendar 
 month certainly did not elapse between the date 
 of the instrument and the melancholy event which 
 prevented the possibility of explanation or correc- 
 tion by the hand that made it, if such should be 
 found to have been important. If these fears 
 have any foundation, a counterpart may be made 
 to appear of the maxim which claims good fortune 
 for the legitimate offspring of discretion, by exhi- 
 biting evil fortune as resulting from its absence at 
 a critical moment. At the same time a signal 
 proof may be afforded how tlie uniform facility 
 with which discretion and success have ffone alone: 
 hand in liand together, with scarcely a failure, 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 173 
 
 during a somewhat protracted life, may together 
 cease as it approaches its close. 
 
 The will is peculiar, and strongly indicative of 
 the character of the framer. AVitli some small 
 exceptions, the great bulk of a large estate is 
 given, in terms of warm affection and gratitude, 
 to the writer's amiable wife, for her life. This is, 
 happily, subject to no sort of contingency. It 
 will take effect and be enjoyed by her in immedi- 
 ate and undisputed possession. This large endow- 
 ment is accompanied by requesting her, however, 
 to pay therefrom, to his mother, whom he men- 
 tions in terms of the strongest endearment, annu- 
 ally, during her life, the sum of two thousand five 
 hundred dollars. He gives to his wife, absolutely, 
 all his furniture of every description, plate and 
 wines, except his books, manuscript and printed, 
 and his pictures, statues, and works of art, and of 
 these she is to have the uncontrolled use and \)o^- 
 session during her life. Should his mother outlive 
 
174 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 his wife, lie gives her, during licr life, tlie income 
 of his estate. Subject to the gift, devise, and be- 
 quest to his wife and mother, which he desires to 
 be carried into full effect, he gives to the executors 
 and trustees named in the will all his estate, real 
 and personal, in trust, for the following purposes. 
 After the death of his wife and mother, whichever 
 shall last occur, and after the entire payment of cer- 
 tain bequests, then to appropriate, etc., the rest and 
 residue of the estate, as it may then be, in tliree 
 equal parts. First, one-tliird part to certain trus- 
 tees named, in trust, to invest and reinvest the 
 same at interest in public stocks of the city of 
 Philadelphia; and after a period of ten years, and 
 as mucli longer as they may deem expedient, then 
 to appropriate the income accumulated up to that 
 time, to the erection of a fireproof library build- 
 ing, to be a part of a fireproof edifice of the His- 
 torical Socictv of rennsvlvania, when one shall 
 be erected, to be in itself fireproof, entirely dis- 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 175 
 
 tinct from any other portion of the said edifiec, 
 tlioiigh connected with and forming a part of it, 
 and to be designated the "Gilpin Library of the 
 Historical Society of Pennsylvania." After the 
 Society's edifice and this library building shall be 
 finished, then to appropriate to the use of the Gil- 
 pin Library, annually, the entire income of the 
 said one-third part of the rest and residue, and to 
 continue to invest and reinvest the ]n-incipal in 
 the public stocks aforesaid. He also directs the 
 executors and trustees of his will to deliver to the 
 last named trustees, when they shall deem it expe- 
 dient, his entire library of books and manuscripts 
 which he may possess at his death, to be placed 
 in that Library. The second of the one-third parts 
 of the rest and residue he bequeaths in a manner 
 similar to the first, for the erection of a fireproof 
 gallery of the Fine Arts, to be a part of a fireproof 
 edifice of the Academy, wlien one shall be erected, 
 but to be entirely distinct, though connected with 
 
176 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 and forming a part of it; to be designated "The 
 Gilpin Gallery of the Pennsylvania Academy of 
 the Fine Arts." After the building and edifice 
 shall be entirely completed, the entire income of 
 this one-third to be annually appropriated to the 
 use of the Gilpin Gallery, and the principal to 
 continue to be invested and reinvested. lie also 
 requests the executors and trustees of his will to 
 deliver to the trustees of the Gilpin Gallery all 
 his pictures, statuary, and works of the fine arts 
 which he may possess at his death, including, if 
 she will permit it, his wife's own portrait and 
 statue, to be placed in and never to be taken from 
 the gallery. The remaining third part of the rest 
 and residue he bequeaths in a similar manner to 
 the others, for the erection of a fireproof library 
 building, to be a part of a fireproof edifice of the 
 Historical Societv of Chica2:o, to be desiujnated 
 "The Gilpin library of the Historical Society of 
 Chicago." After the edifice and building shall 
 
II E N R Y ]) . r, I L r I X . 177 
 
 be completed, the entire income of this one-tliinl 
 to be appropriated to the use of tliis Gilpin Li- 
 brary, and the princi[)al to continue to be invested 
 and reinvested. 
 
 These principal items of the will ]in.\e thus 
 been set forth as characteristic marks of the tastes 
 and tendencies of the testator. His preference 
 for books and works of art was habitual, and it 
 was clearly manifested in his own collections, con- 
 sisting of a large private library, and of marble 
 statuary which he had imported from Italy, and 
 other productions of the same character. The 
 above description of the legacies will serve also 
 to furnish means of judging how far the danger 
 may or may not be imminent of failure and disap- 
 pointment in the expected fruits of benevolence 
 and public spirit, from a correct interpretation of 
 the act of Assembly of Pennsylvania, which lias 
 been alluded to. In the event of such failure, 
 these bounties would become subject to distribu- 
 
 19 
 
173 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 tion according to law, witliout any guide from the 
 will of the testator, as it contains no ultimate 
 residuary clause, or other provision against contin- 
 gencies. Could this possibility of defeat to his 
 sanguine and cherished hopes have been imagined, 
 it might readily have been guarded against by a 
 few words of conditional direction, which would 
 have given certainty to favorite purposes, in de- 
 fiance of jealous legislation, and strained judicial 
 construction. 
 
 An act of Assembly of 26th April, 1855, contains 
 a section (11) in these words: "No estate, real or 
 personal, shall hereafter be bequeathed, devised, 
 or conveyed to any body politic, or to any person, 
 in trust for religious or charitable uses, except the 
 same be done by deed or will, attested by two 
 credible, and at the same time, disinterested wit- 
 nesses, at least one calendar month before the de- 
 cease of the testator or alienor; and all dispositions 
 of property contrary hereto shall be void, and go 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 170 
 
 to the residuary legatee or devisee, next of kin, 
 or heirs according to law: Provided, that any dis- 
 position of property within said period bona fide 
 made for a fair, valuable consideration, shall not 
 be hereby avoided." 
 
 This statute has been the subject of judicial 
 determination before the Supreme Court of Penn- 
 sylvania. A will was made in 1 8.3(5, and the tes- 
 tator died within less than a calendar month from 
 its date. The residue of the estate, after payment 
 of debts and liabilities, was left " in trust for the 
 uses and purposes of Friends' Boarding-School at 
 West Town." The heirs and next of kin filed their 
 bill, alleging that the school was a religious and 
 charitable institution; that they were the parties 
 who would have been entitled to the estate if 
 there had been no will ; and asking for an order 
 upon the executors to transfer the same to them. 
 Learned and able arguments were submitted on 
 both sides. It was contended for the complain- 
 
180 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 ants that tlie words of tlic statute " reliu:ious and 
 charitable uses" are used in their broadest signiii- 
 cance. The effect of the will would be to cheapen 
 education to those who could pay, and give it gra- 
 tuitously to those who could not. This, it was 
 submitted, constitutes a charitable institution. It 
 was also a religious institution. It was established 
 to encourajje "a s^uarded education of their youth." 
 It was confined to tlicm, and was to be managed 
 with " religious care and circumspection." On 
 the other side it was contended that the words of 
 a statute are to be taken in their ordinary and 
 familiar signification, for jus et norma loquendi is 
 governed by usage. But if the usage have been 
 to construe the words of a statute contrary to their 
 obvious meaning by the vulgar tongue, and the^ 
 common acceptation of terms, such usage is not to 
 be regarded. It was plain that the legislature 
 was using words in their popular, and not in their 
 scholastic or technical sense ; that not a single 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 181 
 
 instance was to be found where tlie legislature 
 intended the words "charitable" or "religions" to 
 embrace the idea of "literary" or "scientific" 
 
 bodies. 
 
 The Conrt adopted the views of the complain- 
 ants. "It was true," they said, " that the words of 
 a statute are generally to be understood in their 
 usual and most known signification, not so much 
 regarding the propriety of grammar as their popu- 
 lar sense." " But when terms of art or technical 
 terms are used (and there is nothing in the statute 
 to show that they were used in a restricted or 
 popular sense)," "they must be taken according to 
 the acceptation of the learned in the art, trade, or 
 science" to which they properly belong. The 
 Court entertained no doubt that the words were 
 intended to embrace objects of a religious, literary, 
 and scientific character, as well as those which 
 related to the poor and afflicted. It was there- 
 fore decided that the dispositions in the will were 
 
182 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 void; and that the executors make distribution 
 among the heirs and next of kin. 
 
 It would scarcely be in place here to question 
 this learned decision; or, perhaps, even to examine 
 into its bearing upon the will of Mr. Gilpin. 
 The friends of the deceased, however, and the 
 public at large, have made his bequests the topic 
 of remark and discussion from the time they were 
 known. Valuable institutions of literature, sci- 
 ence, and art, are deeply interested in the construc- 
 tion of them. They are to take effect in any 
 event, only at what may be hoped is a remote 
 day, after the death of the wife and mother of the 
 deceased, whichever shall last occur. The sisr- 
 nificance of these bequests in amount, the high 
 character of the institutions for which they are 
 designed, the characteristic public spirit and libe- 
 rality breathed in them, even the mystery which 
 belongs to their future and distant development, 
 and the curiosity and concern naturally felt in the 
 
H E N R Y 1) . G I L P I N . 183 
 
 disposition of a large estate, different as it is from 
 the more common course of testamentary disposal, 
 have combined to prompt and justify a somc\vliat 
 minute explanation. It is given in order that the 
 friends of the deceased and the public at large 
 may be prepared to meet the question, if it shall 
 ever be formally agitated. It may not be wrong 
 to add, that, although no technical judgment has 
 been pronounced, yet sound legal minds are be- 
 lieved to have formed opinions favorable to the 
 complete and literal fulfilment of tlie expressed 
 purposes of the will. 
 
 In recurring to the habits of Mr. Gilpin's life, 
 and noticing, summarily, its incidents, a combina- 
 tion will be found of devoted attention to official 
 dutv in successive places of public employment, 
 and of readiness to turn to voluntary exercises, 
 sometimes having public ends in view, and some- 
 times of a more social character. He was indus- 
 trious in both. In the latter kind of exercises he 
 
18-i A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 either obeyed the call of associations, political or 
 literary, with which he was more or less closely 
 connected, or entered from his own praiseworthy 
 impulses, upon an arena where good taste and 
 scholarship were displayed in speech and writing, 
 congenial to his own feelings and the pleased in- 
 struction of his friends. These employments were 
 varied by a relaxation of literary leisure in the 
 companionship of books, which supplied his stores 
 of knowledge, and a moderate and cheerful in- 
 dulgence in the enjoyments of domestic and social 
 intercourse, in which he took a lively interest, and 
 was always well received. Pie was not only never 
 idle, but never without what may be regarded as 
 sufficient occupation of mind. He conversed 
 freely and sensibly, always with entire delicacy of 
 thouglit and speech, and with entire freedom from 
 everything like personal detraction. Had his 
 bodily exercises been as carefully attended to, his 
 life would probably have been prolonged. It was 
 
HENRY D, GILPIN. 185 
 
 perceived too late that he had not submitted to 
 enough of this important discipKne to give vigor 
 to his frame, or to resist the encroachments of dis- 
 ease. Sedentary habits Avere agreeable to him. 
 He preferred tlic repose of study to the activity 
 of exercise. He did not even afford himself ha- 
 bitually the ordinary relief of an occasional walk, 
 which in itself would have been an irksome effort 
 to him. Always desirous of occupation, and seek- 
 ing to be in the way of it, he turned to his library 
 even at unseasonable moments. This would occur 
 at a late period of the evening, whicli had been 
 passed for hours in the society of his friends. 
 These habits will serve to explain the constancy 
 of the engagements of his pen. He appears ne- 
 ver to have tired of his desk. When not using it 
 at the invitation of others, he gave it employment 
 as a kind of duty or agreeable exercise for him- 
 self This was, perhaps, the rather indulged from 
 
 20 
 
1S6 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 the fact, that among his accomplishments was that 
 of writing an excellent hand. 
 
 With siicli tastes as these, which appear to 
 have been inherent in his nature, and were fully 
 developed in the progress of years, it was a happy 
 circumstance that he had passed that portion of 
 boyhood which receives the elements of education, 
 in a country where classical learning is especially 
 cultivated. He had been at an early period care- 
 fully imbued with it. A school at Ilemel-Hemp- 
 stead, twenty-three miles from London, was kept 
 by Dr. Hamilton, a highly respectable and well- 
 known teacher, who received and educated a very 
 limited number of young gentlemen at a time. 
 Young Gilpin was at this school for four years, 
 and the well-grounded tastes and acquirements 
 there instilled never abandoned him. His imme- 
 diate paternal ancestors were Americans, coming 
 from a British stock. His father (Mr. Joshua Gil- 
 pin) was a higlily respectable merchant of Phila- 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 187 
 
 dclpliia, and afterwards removed to tlic State of 
 Delaware. He there continued to reside during 
 the remainder of his life, connected with his bro- 
 ther in a large manufacturing establishment on 
 the Brandy wine. He participated, as long as his 
 health continued, in the relations of social life, and 
 in institutions of literature, science, and taste, 
 in Philadelphia. He died, after some years of 
 delicate and infirm health, at the age of seventy- 
 four, at Kentmere, in Delaware, that being the 
 name given by him to the house which he built 
 and occupied as his family residence. This name 
 was derived from the legends and annals of the 
 Gilpin family, in the north of England. It is 
 stated, that about the year 120G, the Baron of 
 Kendal gave to Richard de Guylpin, the ancestor, 
 the manor of Kentmere, for his prowess and skill 
 in killing a wild boar which had annoyed the 
 forests of Westmoreland and Cumberland. 
 
 Henry D. Gilpin was born in Lancaster, Eng- 
 
188 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 land, the bivtliplace of his amiable mother, who 
 survives him at an advanced age. His birth took 
 place April 14th, 1801; and his death January 
 29tli, 1860. He was thus in his fifty-ninth year, or 
 fifty-eight years, nine months and fifteen days old. 
 In very early infancy he was brought (September, 
 1801), to this country with the fomily, which re- 
 mained here until the year 1811. They, then, all 
 returned to England. He was placed at the 
 school which has been mentioned, and derived 
 from it good instruction, constitutional and habit- 
 ual industry, and apt faculties, fondness for the 
 languages of Greece and Rome, and advancement 
 in an acquaintanceship with them; both of which 
 were cultivated and improved during his life. In 
 1816, they returned for a permanent residence to 
 the United States. The subject of our memoir 
 received his college instructions at the Universitv 
 of Pennsylvania. After taking his degree tlicre, 
 he entered upon the study of the law, and was 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 189 
 
 admitted to practice in 1822; liaving, Avliile a stu- 
 dent and under age, filled Avitli credit the place of 
 Secretary of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal 
 Company, of which he afterwards became one of 
 the Directors. 
 
 He was now a member of a learned profession, 
 and prepared to engage in its duties and responsi- 
 bilities. He did not, however, at any time plunge 
 into the vortex of early professional life, to the 
 extent and with the chances that are common. 
 He appeared willing to abide his time; secure in 
 the possession of sufficient abilities, great good 
 feelings, amiable manners, and strict integrity. 
 He made his way in due season, without having 
 encountered what Mr. Gibbon considered it neces- 
 sary to traverse under the spur of necessity, " the 
 thorny labyrinths of the law." He was happy at 
 all times in the friendship of those who could 
 promote his interests, while they extended to him 
 personal kindness; and he cultivated the regard of 
 
190 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 such individuals with benefit to his private rela- 
 tions, and success in his public career. If he was 
 favored with the smiles of fortune principally 
 while eneraged in official life, he was always faith- 
 ful and intelligent, as well as upright and laborious 
 as a civil officer of the government. He held, in 
 succession, several important places — District At- 
 torney of the United States for the Eastern District 
 of Pennsylvania (December 30tli, 1831), a second 
 time (December 31st, 1835), Government Director 
 of the Bank of the United States (January, 1833), 
 Solicitor of the Treasury (May, 1837), Attorney- 
 General (January, 1840). He was nominated for 
 the post of Governor of Michigan, and rejected by 
 the Senate (January 2()th, 1835) by a bare ma- 
 jority. His nomination for the second term of 
 Bank Director was rejected. That, also, of Dis- 
 trict Attorney, for a second time, was at first re- 
 jected, although on the renewal of it, confirmed. 
 His political friends, and those, too, of a personal 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 191 
 
 character, deemed these rejections to be owing to 
 the state of party feeling, rather than to any doubt 
 of fitness upon the part of the nominee. During 
 a portion of the time of his official residence at 
 Washington, the Commissioners under the Mexi- 
 can Treaty met, and ^Ir. Gilpin represented, as an 
 advocate, many of the largest claims that were 
 adjudicated by the ]5oard. On these, respectively, 
 he received a commission, which amounted in the 
 whole to so considerable a sum as to become a 
 broad foundation for the resources which he en- 
 joyed and judiciously invested during life, and 
 bequeathed in ample benevolence at his death. 
 
 If public offices were filled by him with much 
 direct and incidental pecuniary advantage, places 
 of a social and municipal kind were occupied with 
 like fidelity and no emolument. He was, for a 
 considerable length of time, a Director, and after- 
 wards President of the Pennsyhania Academy of 
 the Fine Arts ; and was a Director and Vice-Presi- 
 
192 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 dent of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 
 He was elected a Trustee of the University of 
 Pennsylvania December 7th, 1852, and presented 
 his resignation April 6th, 1858, on account of the 
 state of his health and engagements. He was 
 elected by the Common Council a Director of the 
 Girard College June 25th, 1856, to serve from the 
 ensuing July 1st. In organizing the Board, he 
 drew the two years term, and served "faithfully 
 and acceptably" until the 1st of July, 1858, when 
 his term of office expired. 
 
 Discourses were delivered by him on various 
 occasions. He was attached to the Democratic 
 party, and not unfrcquently pronounced an address 
 to bodies of the associate politicians, and occasion- 
 ally to literary and other societies. Of these, the 
 following have been preserved: — 
 
HENKY 1). GILPIX. 193 
 
 182G, November 29th: xlnmial Discourse before the reiuisyl- 
 vania Academy of the Fine Arts. 
 
 1836, January 8th: Si)eecli at the Union and Harmony celebra- 
 tion by Democratic citizens of Philadelphia. 
 
 1836, July 4th: Speech at the Democratic celebration of the 
 Second Congressional District. 
 
 18-15, May 23d: Address before the Philomathean Society of the 
 University of Pennsylvania. 
 
 18-47, November 22d : Eulogy on Silas Wright, before the Young 
 Men's Democratic Association. 
 
 1851, June 2d: Address before the Academy of Fine Arts. 
 
 1851, November 13th : Address before the Society of the Alumni, 
 on the occasion of their annual celebration, at the Univer- 
 sity. 
 
 1856, October 13th: On the American Missions in Greece, at 
 St. Luke's Church. 
 
 1856, December 4th: Address on the Character of Franklin, 
 before the Franklin Institute. 
 
 The controversy between the Executive of the 
 Government and the Bank of tlic United States 
 took place when Mr. Gilpin was a public Director 
 of that institution. It was carried on with zeal 
 and acrimony, lie was the autlior of various 
 
 21 
 
194 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 documents issued by the Government Directors, 
 and particularly of a memorial addressed to Con- 
 gress, in alleged vindication of his immediate col- 
 leagues and himself, from an attack in the memo- 
 rial of a majority of the Board, -which claimed a 
 restoration of the deposites, withheld by orders of 
 the Government. This memorable dispute was 
 kept in active agitation for a considerable length 
 of time. It left behind much bitterness of feel- 
 ing, which has probably not been altogether as- 
 suaged to the present day. 
 
 At an early period of professional life he con- 
 tributed frequently to the press. In the year 
 
 1825 he undertook the editorship of the "Atlantic 
 Souvenir," and wrote largely for its pages. In 
 
 1826 he completed the "Biography of the Signers 
 of the Declaration of Independence," by the pub- 
 lication of the last three volumes. A new edition 
 was soon prepared by him, with an original pre- 
 face and manv additions. He was a frequent 
 
UENRY D. GILPIX. 195 
 
 contributor to the "American Quarterly Review," 
 which was established in Pliiladclpliia in the year 
 1829. A scries of "Tolitical Portraits" will be 
 found on the pages of the "Democratic Review," 
 several of which are from his pen. Those of Ed- 
 ward Livingston and Josiah Johnston are among 
 them. A biographical notice, by him, of Mr, 
 Livingston, is also among the many well written 
 documents on the files of this Society. lie was 
 authorized to superintend the publication, under 
 the auspices of Congress, of the "Madison Pa- 
 pers," and it was done with great skill and fidelity, 
 in three volumes, 8vo., 1840. 
 
 Shortly afterwards, the Opinions of the Attor- 
 neys-General of the United States, previous to 
 March, 1841, were published under his inspection. 
 
 He was the Reporter of a volume of Cases de- 
 cided by Judge Hopkinson, in the United States 
 District Court for the District of Pennsylvania, 
 published in 1837. 
 
196 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 He liacl compiled, in 1825, "A Xortliern Tour," 
 being a guide to Saratoga, Lake George, Niagara, 
 Canada, Boston, etc. etc. 
 
 He edited the "Atlantic Souvenir," 7 vols. 
 12mo., 1826-1832. 
 
 An Autobiography of Walter Scott was com- 
 piled from passages in his writings, published 
 1831, 1 vol. 12mo. 
 
 A verv earlv publication consisted of "Essavs 
 on Import Duties and Prohibitions; translated 
 from the French of Comte Chaptal, by Henry D. 
 Gilpin," 1821. 
 
 He was the author of a Preface to the Bio^-ra- 
 phy of Xapoleon Bonaparte, by Sir Walter Scott. 
 The first political piece written by him is be- 
 lieved to have been A Memorial of Sundry Citi- 
 zens of Pennsylvania, relative to the Treatment 
 and Removal of the Indians. 
 
 He prepared an Address of tlic Democratic 
 Committee of Correspondence of Philadelphia in 
 
HEXRY 1). GILPIN. 197 
 
 August, 1832; and in October of tliat year united 
 with Judge Baldwin in an Address of the Demo- 
 cratic Committee of Correspondence of tlie City 
 of riiiladelpliia, relative to the Missionaries and 
 the State of Georgia. 
 
 He was jointly the author of a Report of the 
 Debts and Effects of the Bank of the United 
 States, and the Value of its Capital Stock on the 
 3d of March, 1856. 
 
 The Van Buren Executive Committee issued a 
 Life of Martin Van Buren in Philadelphia, Janu- 
 ary 5th, 1844, written by Mr. Gilpin. 
 
 lie was the author of manv reviews of works 
 of great variety — of History, Travels, Biography, 
 Poetry, Discoveries, Annals, Law, etc. 
 
 He was occasionally devoted to the poetic muse. 
 Productions of his in verse are found in tlie "At- 
 lantic Souvenir." 
 
 Llis pen was prolific, and indulged itself in 
 great variety. It drew freely from the resources 
 
198 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 of his own cultivated mind, and found ready illus- 
 tration and support in the pages of a large library, 
 by which his desk was surrounded. This love of 
 literature and science was indulged of late years 
 in occasional visits to the Astor Library, in New 
 York, which is rapidly developing itself into one of 
 tlie most valuable and interesting collections of the 
 age. The learned superintendent of that institu- 
 tion alwavs received him with the conircnial feel- 
 ings of an instructed and inquiring intellect; and 
 the kindest relations subsisted between them to 
 the close of INIr. Gilpin's life. 
 
 It was not until one of the later years of his 
 career that he visited the home of his ancestors, 
 and there met and made many friends. He trav- 
 elled with his excellent wife on the continent of 
 Europe, and penetrated into remoter regions of 
 other sections of the world. He refreshed his 
 knowledge of antiquity, whicli had been derived 
 from books, by navigating tlie ancient Nile, and 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 199 
 
 beholding the monuments of Egypt, which have 
 stood amid the changes of mankind for thousands 
 of years. AVhile in Europe, not only did tlie 
 scenes of modern elegance attract his notice in 
 the capitals of Britain, and France, and Prussia, 
 and Germany, but Home became the object of 
 especial and devoted study, not less than liberal 
 enjoyment. Her classic exhibitions and memo- 
 rials of the past, as well as her splendid displays 
 of modern and ancient art combined in gorgeous 
 pageantry, and all the solemn and magnificent 
 exercises of an attractive and brilliant form of 
 worship, were before him. Greece, too, the land 
 of Xenophon and Homer, as well as of Plato and 
 Socrates, of Solon and Lycurgus, of Themistocles 
 and Leonidas, of Demosthenes and Pericles, of 
 scholars and philosophers, and statesmen and le- 
 gislators, of heroes and orators, was not trodden 
 without a full measure of delight. 
 
 He returned home and renewed his social and 
 
200 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 literary occupations. These were pursued for 
 some few years with satisfaction and enjoyment. 
 It was not long, however, before his health began 
 to fiiil. A frame not constitutionally robust, and 
 still unhappily sedentary during a great portion of 
 the year, although relieved by occasional excur- 
 sions, could scarcely fail to exhibit symptoms of 
 diminished health. Some of his favorite habits 
 of a public nature were restrained, as he thought, 
 from mere inclination; but an insidious malady 
 was gradually doing its fotal work almost without 
 being self perceived. Strength failed him by de- 
 grees, and he was compelled to deny himself the 
 little bodily exercise, to the utility and past ne- 
 glect of which he had at length become sensible. 
 On the 29th of January his career was closed by 
 the hand of death. His merits will be long pre- 
 served in the recollection of his country and his 
 many friends. 
 
 Most men who have lived lives of usefulness 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 201 
 
 and left distinguislied names, liave made them- 
 selves remarkable for qualities more or less pecu- 
 liarly adapted to a particular pursuit. They have 
 either manifested early tendencies for vocation and 
 success in their proper spheres, or have anxiously 
 cultivated faculties adapted to them. While du- 
 ties uncongenial to their habits, inclinations, or 
 abilities may neither have been sought by them- 
 selves nor selected for them by others, they have 
 entered upon employments accidentally provided 
 for them, with inadequate facility and force, al- 
 though their general capacities may have been 
 fully equal to them. Faculties will commonly 
 take their own direction, and in that direction 
 they are most like to excel. It might be supposed 
 that talents wdiich would make a brilliant advocate, 
 would shine in the office of a statesman, or in that 
 which is prepared by the same course of study, of 
 a judge. Such is not at all times the case. Dis- 
 appointment is often felt by warm friends and 
 
 22 
 
202 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 long standing admirers, not only at the beginning 
 of the new career, which is always hard, according 
 to the familiar adage, but in tlie progress, which 
 does not become easy, or the result successful. A 
 lesson of practical wisdom might be learned from 
 daily observation, that should serve to caution 
 against yielding to ambition or the desire of gain, 
 by exchanging a position which time has rendered 
 familiar, and proved to be well adapted to the 
 holder of it, for one of uncertain and precarious 
 enjoyment, and doubtful accomplishment. It was 
 the happy disposition of our late fellow member, 
 whose name vou desire to record with honor, to 
 be suited not to one pursuit alone, but to many. 
 AVe have seen that in his literary occupations, by 
 which he becran to distinc^uish himself in earlv 
 youth, and continued to do so throughout his life, 
 he was happy as an eloquent and attractive writer, 
 rendered especially so by his classic style. His 
 professional habits were marked with an industry 
 
HENKY I). GILPIN. 2U3 
 
 that knew and feared no exhaustion, and without 
 which suhstantial reputation has rarely been at- 
 tained. PoUtically, he was invited to discharge 
 some of the most responsible trusts under the ge- 
 neral government, and without the preliminary 
 habits of legislative experience, he brought to them 
 ample supplies of intellectual intelligence and 
 practical fidelity. In social life he always bore 
 an active and liberal part, mingling wdth the ame- 
 nities of personal deportment, a w^ell conducted 
 and generous hospitality. Throughout all these 
 departments his classic stores gave him a never- 
 failing standing and a general welcome in the 
 most cultivated intercourse. Through the whole 
 were diffused the grace and gentleness of a temper 
 the most amiable, which was conspicuous in con- 
 duct and manners, in business and in friendly 
 association. ^Vhile a well-known integrity and 
 kindness of purpose obtained for him respect and 
 confidence alone; with aft'cction and esteem among 
 
20i A MEMORIAL OF H E X H ^' ]>. GILPIN. 
 
 all who knew him, no one could be more gentle 
 in carriage and kind in feeling in the closest rela- 
 tions of domestic life. 
 
L E T T E II 8 
 
 FROM 
 
 MR. GEORGE GROTE AND MR. RICHARD COBDEX. 
 
FROM MR. GEORGE GROTE. 
 
 London, Savilk Eow, June 5, ISOO. 
 Sir: I regret much that I have been prevented 
 by unavoidable obstacles from returning an earlier 
 reply to your communication respecting our late 
 lamented friend Mr. Henry D. Gilpin. 
 
 It was with deep sorrow that I received the 
 news of his (to mo at least) unexpected decease, 
 at an age when an intellectual man may still fairly 
 look forward to a prolonged career of usefulness. 
 I had "contracted the most sincere esteem for his 
 cliaracter, and very high admiration both for his 
 varied acquirements and for his powerful reach of 
 thouo-ht. He was kind enough to send me his 
 historical and biographical publications, which 1 
 read with much interest; and it was gratifying 
 to me to perceive, by this as well as by other 
 
20S A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 evidences, the ardor and intelligence witli whicli 
 historical studies are now prosecuted in the United 
 States. 
 
 The combination in Mr. Gilpin's character, of 
 the active statesman with the man of letters, was 
 to me highly interesting. And what gave to his 
 conversation a peculiar charm in my eyes, was the 
 earnest sympathy which he manifested in reference 
 to tlie ancient Greeks and their history. On this 
 subject I found him highly instructed, and full of 
 that classical enthusiasm which a study of the 
 original Greek authors seldom fails to produce, in 
 those who have had the good inspiration to perse- 
 vere in it from boyhood to manhood witliout in- 
 terruption. 
 
 I am proud to have known so admirable a spe- 
 cimen of a high principled republican citizen and 
 magistrate, who has shown full competence to 
 serve his country in the most trying political 
 offices, but who, at the same time, always kept his 
 
HENRY 1) . G 1 L IM N . 209 
 
 mind open to the noblest aspirations of cultivated 
 humanity. 
 
 I have a melancholy satisfaction in transmitting 
 to you this sincere record of the affectionate re- 
 spect which I felt towards our late friend. Mrs. 
 Grote has written to Mrs. Gilpin, expressing, both 
 in her own name and mine, our profound condo- 
 lence for the sad and irreparable loss which she 
 has sustained. 
 
 I have the honor to remain, sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 GEORGE GROTE. 
 
 23 
 
210 A MEMORIAL OF 
 
 FROM MR. RICHARD COBDEN. 
 
 Cannes, France, 28th Feb. 1860. 
 My Dear Mrs. Gilpix: Mv wife and I have 
 just heard, with the deepest sorrow, of the irre- 
 parable loss you have sustained. It has not been 
 to us a wholly unexpected event, for I had heard 
 from Sir Henry Holland a very unfavorable ac- 
 count when in London, in November, and which 
 was confirmed by the reports which reached me 
 through Mr. Corbin in Paris. You have indeed 
 suffered a terrible bereavement in the loss of one 
 possessing such high and such amiable qualities — 
 and be assured that you have the stronsr sympathy 
 of all who had the privilege of enjoying Mr. 
 Gilpin's friendship, among whom I am proud to 
 flatter myself tliat I was numbered. I can say 
 without exaggeration, what I often remarked in 
 his lifetime, that I never knew one who combined 
 
HENRY D. GILPIN. 211 
 
 greater attractions of heart and head than lie dis- 
 played to his wide circle of friends. How much 
 more .must you be able to appreciate the extent of 
 the loss which you and society have suffered. 
 
 • ••••.... 
 
 My wife joins me in the sincerest expressions 
 of condolence, and we commend you to the care 
 of Him from whom alone we can receive consola- 
 tion and hope when all human sympathy is un- 
 availins:. 
 
 And believe me, most sincerely, yours, 
 
 RICHARD COBDEX. 
 
 N. 
 
FEB 23 1909 
 
 LPFJL7P