The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1897-12-21

Girard. Ine pn1ldntnrOpiBt IN 6eJtlng
forth the details to be followed by his
executors arranged for dormitories and
school buildings for the use Of the boys
and there are now 13 or Ia Of these
upon the grounds, in addition to a very
pretty Gothic chapel There is one pro-
vision in the win of Girard that has at
tracted much attention and caused
great discus ION. It bars out any cler-
gyman from Nthe grounds Of the lnsti-
tuition. This extract from the will OF
Girard reads as follows:
"There are, however, some restric-
tions, which consider It my duty to
| prescribe, and to be, amongst others,
conditions on which my bequest for
said college is made and to be enjoyed,
| namely, Secondly, enjoin and
require that no ecclesiastic, missionary
! or minister Of any sect whatsoever
shall ever hold or exercise any station
or duty whatever in the said college;
nor shall any such person ever be ad-
mitted for any purpose, or as a visitor,
within the premises appropriated to the
! purpose Of said college. In making this
| restriction I do not mean to cast any
reflection upon any sect or person
| whatsoever; but as there is such
| multitude of sects, and such a diversi-
! ty of opinion among them, I desire to
keep the tender minds of the orphans.
who are to derive advantage from this
| bequest free from the excitement
which clashing doctrines and sectarian
controversy are so apt to produce; my
| desire is that all the instructors and
teachers in the college shall take pains
to instill into the minds of the scholars
the purest principles of morality, so
that on their entrance into active life
they may from inclination and habit
evince benevolence towards their fell
low creatures, and love of truth, So
briefly and industry, adopting at the
same time such religious tenets as their
matured reason may enable them to
4 prefer"
Girard is generally supposed to have
been a very parsimonious and close
| listed man, without much love for his
fellow men, and solely engrossed in the
accumulation Of wealth; but % close
/ glance at the details of his inner life,
no less than the provisions of the doc
ument creating his munificent charity,
go to prove the shallowness and falsity
of this view.
One incident alone in his life is worth
repetition at this time. In 1893 yellow
fever broke out in malignant form in
the city Of Philadelphia, and grew to
such proportions that the people Of the
town were panic stricken. Most of them
fled from the city, and those that re-
mained locked themselves up in their
houses, being afraid to appear on the
streets. Three Of the daily papers were
discontinued, and the death rate was
so great that 1t was almost impossible
to obtain a sufficient number Of per
sons to care for the sick and to inter
the dead.
In this grave crisis Girard proved
himself a vertable hero. The minutes
of the proceedings of the committee
appointed to attend to and alleviate the
sufferngs of those afflicted with the
yellow fever contain this entry:
stephen Girard and Peter Helm, mem
bers of the committee, commiserattng
the calamitous state to which the sick
may probably be reduced for want of
suitable persons to superintend the hes
pital, voluntarily offered their services
for that benevolent employment For
more than go days Girard spent all Of
his time caring for the sick and attend
ing to the last wants of the diving"
The United States Gazette of Jan. 13
1882, contains the following interesting
. representative
that paper by merchant who was hur-
rying by with a camphor saturated
handkerchief pressed to his mouth;
"A carriage rapidly driven by a black
servant broke the silence of the de-
serted and grass grown street. 1t stop-
ped before frame house in Farmers
Row, the very hotbed of the pestilence,
and the driver first having bound "A,
handkerchief over his mouth opened the
door of the carriage and quickly re-
mounted the box. A short, thickset
man stepped from the coach and en-
tered the house. In a minute or two
the observer who stood at a safe dis
tance watching the proceedings heard
a shufiing noise in the entry and soon
saw the visitor emerge supporting with
extreme difficulty tall, gaunt yellow
visaged victim of the pestilence.
His arm was around the waist of the
sick man, whose yellow face rested
against his own, his long, damp, tan
gled hair mingling with his benefac-
tors, his feet dragging helpless upon
the pavement; thus partly dragging.
partly lifted, he was dragged to the
carriage door, the driver averting his
face from the spectacle, far from Of
fering to assist. After a lore zDS.srf-
fering exertion the well man =
in getting the fever stricke
into the vehicle, and then cats sl6F ID
himself the door was closed. and the
carriage drove away to the hospital.
the merchant having recognized in the
man who thus riskod his lie for an
other the foreigner Stephen Girard."
1--WE are going to Kalamazo and will retir,
from business" We will close out our stocl
at 10, 20, so Der cent (anv old figure will do