sonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men."
The motives which prompted James Smithson to bequeath his fortune to the young republic across the seas are not certainly-known. In the year 1818 (or 1819) he had some misunderstanding with the Royal Society, owing to their refusal to print one of his papers, and from that date he published exclusively in Thomson's Annals of Philosophy; it is said that prior to this difficulty he had intended to make the Royal Society his legatee. Having, however, abandoned that plan, he seems to have perceived with a prophetic eye the "germs of rising grandeur" in the free American nation, and to have felt a desire to promote the increase and diffusion of knowledge in the New World.
Whether he was more friendly to republicanism than to monarchy, as some have claimed, is not certain; at all events, by selecting the United States of America as the depository of his trust "he paid the highest compliment to its intelligence and integrity, and testified his confidence in republican institutions and his faith in their perpetuity."
In attempting to fathom the thoughts which directed Smithson 's attention to the United States we are met by the surprising fact that he had not a single correspondent or scientific friend in America, nor did he write a line in any of his papers indicating appreciation of the republic.
Mr. Hungerford survived his uncle only six years, during which he received the benefits of the will; he led an aimless, roving life on the Continent, and died at Pisa, Italy, June 5, 1835, under the name of Eunice de la Batut, this being the surname of his stepfather, a Frenchman whom Hungerford's mother had married. By this death the United States became entitled to the estate. The first intimation received by the Government to this effect arrived in a communication dated July 28, 1835, from the chargé d'affaires of the United States at London to the Secretary of State, transmitting a letter from the firm of attorneys who represented the bankers holding the estate in trust. The estate was estimated at £100,000. In December, President Andrew Jackson sent to Congress a message setting forth the facts in the case and asking for authority to accept the trust; in July, Congress passed an act authorizing the President to appoint an agent to prosecute in the Court of Chancery the right of the United States to the legacy. This simple measure was not, however, secured without great difficulty, being opposed by several active Congressmen. Mr. W. C. Preston, of South Carolina, thought the donation had been made partly with a view to immortalize the donor, and it was "too cheap a way of conferring immortality"; and Mr. John C. Calhoun, of the same State, was of the opinion that it was be-
