The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-11-06
George Peabody.

| George Peabody.
! 1t is not given to many to amass, by up
right walking in the beaten ways of com
merce fortune counted by millions; and
few are they who know, in its fruition, the
happiness of riches well employed In COM
mon life the mite of the widow has more Of
living reality than the golden gift of the
wearer of purple and brocade; for the dole
of the poor goes out in company with the
kindly eye and earnest word, while the
legacy of wealth awakens no throb of graft
tude in the wan and weary ones among
whom it is shared, as its anticipation
hndled no fire Of joy in the heart of him
whose life was barren, though his death
would be ripe with good. Happy are they
who, possessing fortune, so use it as to see,
with their own vision, the fullness of their
works-.who may look back upon decades of
active usefulness, upon long years of which
each one is the sign Of new deeds fcharity and
love. One of these-the first of thesis
him who. with the SHOWS of seventy and four
winters on his head has merged the deep
disquiet of this life in an eternity of peace
and rest
In 1795, when George Peabody was born
at Danvers, Massachusetts,, Washington,
with all his honors thick upon him, wore the
official robe as President of the newborn
Republic. His boyhood was uneventful; but
in the war of 1912 he saw active service as o
volunteer. Steadiness, patience and integ-
rity enabled him to move surely upward,
and in 1897, when he established himself in
England, he was already known as capable
and successful merchant. Many monetary
transactions on the part of the States of the
American Union were entrusted to Mr. Pea
body, and in revolutionary 1s4S he largely
contributed to the restoration of the credit Of
the State of Maryland.
The public generosity of Mr.. Peabody
first showed itself at the International Exhi-
bition of 1851, when, at his own cost, he III
ranged and decorated the department alfot-
ted to the United States. When the Frank
lin Exploring Expedition was fitted out
in 1852, he contributed largely, to its
expense. The heart of the sober mer-
chant yearned to his native town, and at a
cost of S125,0OO he erected at Danbury the
institute which bears his name. To Mary
land he gave $500, 900; and the magnificent
building in the Monumental City, known as
the Peabody Institute, is an enduring monu-
ment of his renown.
The measure of his usefulness seemed full,
when, seventeen years ago, he retired from
commerciallife This enabled him to carry out
long-cherished plan of erecting comfortable
and convenient lodging houses for the work.
ing classes Mr.. Peabody, for this purpose,
gave the City of London one and half mil
lion dollars, and now In every quarter of the
Great City there rise up majestic buildings,
bearing witness hourly to the wisdom as
well as lavish generosity of great bene-
factor of his race. When the war with the
Confederate States came to an untimely end
NJ. Peabody gave 81, 100000 for the aid of
common school education in the South.
and permanent good This old city has es-
pecial cause to remember his name. But
for the Peabody fund, the public schools of
Charleston would have been closed for at
least q season.
The fame of the unostentatious merchant
spread from pole to pole. Her Majesty,
Queen Victoria, thanked him in ON auto
graph letter for his munifcent gift to the
poor of London. Ribbons, stars or titles
were not to his taste, and NJ. Peabody was
presented with q portrait Of the Queen
painted for him by her express command
And in his own country he was no less hon
ored. The Congress Of the United States, in
1867, passed formal vote, thanking him for
his gifts to the people.
And now the race of the good old man is
run. Bowed down by age and infirmity, he
has fallen asleep, breathing his last in the
midst Of the people with whom his life was
spent, and by whom he is fondly loved
Could the millions whom he had befriended
have been warned that the passing hour of
their truest friend was nigh, their prayers
and fearful invocations would have cleared
the briars from his path, and winged their
flight with him before the Jasper Throne OF
the Eternal Courts OF God.
The bones Of the just man will lie by the
remains of his brothers and sisters IN his
native State And the desolate and afflicted
to whom the living man was more than sis
ter or brother, will in spirit visit his tomb.
Seasons may come and go, and even this
Great Republic pass away; but the name OF
George Peabody the plain American citi-
zen, will last AMI live, when the deeds OF
King and Kaiser, Prince and Conqueror,
ale siightel and forgotten.