A Peculiar Charity.

is quite unspeakable. The ties between those thus thrown into close intimacy are extremely strong; and when one is taken away upon whose painstak ing scrutiny, clearness in explanation, and fulness of knowledge reliance has been justly reposed by his brethren, and whose amenity of temper and kindness of heart have naturally inspired affection, a keen sense of personal bereavement mingles with common sorrow.

"In view of a life like this, crowned with the success that waits upon absolute devotion to duty, how false the desponding exclamation of the preach er, ' That that which now is, in the days to come shall all be forgotten.' "The remembrance of the just and wise is with the generations always, and the works of this faith ful public servant will follow him ' in the days to come,' now that he rests from his labors."

A PECULIAR CHARITY. Bv George F. Tucker. ON the 10th of August, 1878, a little old man died in a cottage in the outskirts of Boston. So quietly had he lived, and so disinclined had he been to seek associates or to make friends, that it was some time after his decease before that event was known to those who resided in the immedi ate neighborhood. To the people he had been known as a mechanic who, no longer able to work, was eking out his last days upon a pittance saved from his former wages. And yet this uninteresting man of bent form and sober countenance left an estate valued at nearly one hundred thou sand dollars, which he disposed of by will in a way highly creditable to his intentions and instincts, but which disclosed a unique and unexampled method of conferring a public benefit. His extraction was humble; he was born in the State of Maine, and came to Boston, a penniless and friendless boy, in the early days of the century. He obtained employ ment, and in the course of time became an average mechanic. He never earned more than ordinary wages; but as he was un married and had no one dependent upon him for support, he was enabled, through diligence and frugality, to lay aside each year a small sum of money. These savings were safely invested, and every few years, after they had attained to respectable pro

portions, were exchanged for productive real estate. Thus the savings of a lifetime, in creased by the accumulations of interest and rents and the continual enhancement of the investments in real estate, amounted at his death to ninety-seven thousand dollars. While the man's endowments were meagre, his education limited, and many of hLs views narrow, he was by no means a fool. He cul tivated a taste for reading, and the entire absence of domestic engagements and re sponsibilities afforded considerable time for this kind of enjoyment. He took a lively interest in public affairs, and entertained strong preferences and dislikes. He was generally reticent, and rarely expressed his views except by the briefest approval or disapproval of the subject under discussion. His only adviser was a lawyer of ability and good standing, who, as will be seen, faithfully carried out the peculiar instructions of his client. Intimations of age and infirmity suggested the necessity of making a will. The old me chanic had long entertained the idea of be stowing his wealth upon the public, but his personal knowledge of the mismanagement of several estates bequeathed for charitable purposes inspired him with the determina tion to provide for the disposal of his own property in the fairest and most economical manner Upon consultation with the lawyer