of her estate, besides leaving them specific legacies of five hundred dollars in money, payable on the death of each of five relations. In 1838 and 1839, Mr. Amos Lawrence made liberal donations of books and philosophical apparatus; and in 1842, he placed in the hands of the Trustees, the sum of two thousand dollars, to be expended according to their judgment, in enlarging and improving the academy building. But these things added but little to the cash funds of the academy, and while they enlarged its instrumentalities, they did little to place it upon a firm and permanent foundation. This it was left for William Lawrence to do, in 1844, by a donation of TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. This donation was communicated to the Trustees in the following letter:

To the Trustees of Groton Academy :—

BOSTON, April 6th, 1844.

GENTLEMEN :-Born and educated in Groton, I feel a deep interest in its prosperity, and especially in your academy; an institution which my honored father labored so hard to bring into existence more than half a century ago, and to which I am indebted for what little education I possess.

Having been highly blessed in my temporal concerns, I have thought I could not better dispose of a portion of my abundance than to give to the academy over which you preside, a sum of money, for the advancement of education for all coming time.

I, therefore, hereby give to Groton Academy the sum of ten thousand dollars, and direct that the same shall be invested in such manner, for the benefit of said corporation, as the Trustees thereof shall, from time to time, deem safe and expedient, and that the net income thereof shall be applied in their discretion. I am especially desirous that such compensation shall be paid to the instructors of said academy, as shall secure for it constantly the services of learned persons, perfectly competent to all their duties.

And this gift is, therefore, upon condition that the present rate of charge for instruction in said academy shall not be reduced. But whenever hereafter, in any year, the whole net income of the present funds and property of said Institution, and of the fees received for instruction, added to the net income of said ten thousand dollars, shall be more than sufficient for the payment of liberal salaries to such instructors, so that a balance of said income shall remain unexpended, I request the said Trustees in their discretion, and if they deem it expedient, to pay and distribute such balance, or any of it, to and among such deserving male pupils, in such Institution, preparing for

a collegiate education, as the trustees may think deserving such aid; but not more than one hundred dollars shall be paid or allowed to any one such pupil in any one year. And in granting such aid, I earnestly request that no regard may be had to any sectarian views. entertained by the pupils on the subject of the Christian religion.

You will please draw on Lawrence & Stone, Boston, for said sum of ten thousand dollars, in such sums and at such times as will suit your convenience.

Your obedient servant,

WILLIAM LAWRENCE.

This letter is an honorable testimony to the noble and generous feelings of the writer; and at the same time the three conditions annexed to the donation,-that there should be no diminution of the tuition fees, but that the income of the ten thousand dollars should be used in procuring the best and most competent teachers, that in case after paying liberal salaries to such, from the other resources of the academy, and the income of this fund, there should remain an unexpended balance, it was to be distributed at the discretion of the Trustees among meritorious students preparing for a collegiate education, and that in such distribution no regard should be had to any sectarian views entertained by the pupils on the subject of the Christian religion, are alike indications of Mr. Lawrence's practical wisdom, his sound judgment and his comprehensive charity. A special meeting of the Trustees was called to acknowledge this, the largest and most generous donation which they had at that time received; and on their petition to the General Court, the next winter, at the session of 1845, the corporate name was changed from "Groton Academy," to the "Lawrence Academy at Groton.”

In 1846 Mr. William Lawrence made to this institution another donation of five thousand dollars to be expended under the direction of the Trustees in enlarging and improving the academy building, procuring a bell, ornamenting the grounds, &c., &c.; and during the same year Mr Amos Lawrence purchased the residence of the late James Brazer, Esq., adjoining the academy lot, and presented it to the Trustees for the use of the successive preceptors of the academy. Thus furnished with an enlarged and improved academy building, valuable additions to its library and philosophical apparatus, an elegant and commodious residence for the preceptor, and ten thousand dollars in funds, the institution was placed upon a secure and permanent foundation. Public attention was naturally directed to it, its scholars increased in number, its standard of education was elevated, its usefulness enlarged and extended, and had nothing further been

done, the propriety of the appellation, "the Lawrence Academy at Groton" would have been justified, and all who bore that family name might have felt a deep satisfaction in its past history, and its present and prospective usefulness.

Whether Mr. William Lawrence originally determined to give something more to this institution at his death, or whether that determination was produced by an observation of the good effected by his former donations, can not be clearly ascertained. Probably the purpose of further endowment was entertained, but left contingent upon the result of that observation. Always Mr. Lawrence exhibited one of the sure evidences of a pure heart, uncontaminated by those evil influences of wealth which beget pride, haughtiness, a selfish and worldly heart. He delighted in the memories and associations of his childhood and youth. The old homestead was a hallowed spot in his affections, of which nothing could take precedence. The friends of his early days, the people and the interests of his native town were never forgotten. There was something holy and reverent in his feelings toward Groton, and this feeling, always fresh and strong, increased both in tenderness and strength, as life waned, and he felt its end approaching. It was this feeling united with the clear observation of the good already done, that produced the munificent donation contained in the following codicil to his will.

"Desirous to increase the usefulness of the Lawrence Academy in Groton, and to place its prosperity, (as far as I can do so,) on a secure foundation, I have, at different times heretofore, made donations for its benefit, and have also made provision for it in my will. But, upon reflection, I am induced to apprehend that what I have thus done may not be sufficient to accomplish the objects I have in view. Therefore, I hereby revoke the bequest contained in my said will, of ten thousand dollars to the Trustees of the Lawrence Academy at Groton, and I hereby give to the Trustees of the Lawrence Academy at Groton, aforesaid, their successors and assigns forever, the sum of twenty thousand dollars, to be paid to the said corporation, within one year after my decease, without interest, to be held by them, as a permanent public corporate body, specially charged with the care and superintendence of education, upon the following trusts; that is to say, carefully to manage and invest the said sum of twenty thousand dollars as they shall deem most safe and advantageous, having more regard to the safety of the principal, than the amount of income; to collect and receive the interest and income thereof; to deduct therefrom, and pay all such necessary and proper charges as may be incurred in the management of the said trust fund; and to apply the

net interest and income of said twenty thousand dollars, or of the property in which it may be vested, to and for the following purposes, viz.: to add one thousand dollars of said net income annually, to the said principal sum, (so that it shall become part thereof,) until the whole principal fund held under this codicil shall amount to thirty thousand dollars; which shall forever afterwards be taken and deemed to be the principal trust fund; to apply the residue of the net interest and income of said twenty thousand dollars until said trust fund shall amount to thirty thousand dollars, and afterwards to apply the whole net income and interest of said trust fund of thirty thousand dollars to the payment of the expense of keeping the buildings of said corporation at all times sufficiently insured by some safe Insurance Company or Companies in said commonwealth, to the payment in whole or in part (in their discretion,) of the salaaries and compensation of any instructor or instructors at said academy; to aid in the maintenance and education, at said academy of any such meritorious persons as may resort thither for instruction, who may in the opinion of said Trustees deserve and need such assistance, by advances as gifts or loans, (in the discretion of said Trustees,) not exceeding one hundred dollars to any one such student in any one year; and to apply such portion of said net income, as said Trustees may from time to time deem expedient, to the purchase of books for the library of said academy, and philosophical and other instruments for the use of the pupils.

“Whenever, and as often as from losses or other cause the said principal fund shall be less than thirty thousand dollars, I direct that one thousand dollars of the net income of the residue of said fund shall be added annually to the principal, until the whole fund shall amount to thirty thousand dollars, and whenever the capital fund shall sustain a loss or diminution of less than one thousand dollars, then and in every such case, and within one year afterwards, sufficient of said net income shall be taken and added to the principal to make the sum thirty thousand dollars. I earnestly enforce it on all those who may have the care and management of the funds and property given by me for the benefit of said academy, to invest the same with the utmost caution and prudence; to appropriate the net income as herein directed, and in applying portions of it to the benefit of deserv ing students, as herein provided, to do so without favor or partiality, and without regard to the religious sect to which any such student may belong, provided he be a Christian and a Protestant."

We lay the whole codicil before our readers, because we wish to do justice not simply to the benevolence of Mr. Lawrence, but to his

wisdom, his practical good sense, and sound judgment. These are strikingly manifest in this codicil. Every thing that ought to be left to the discretion of the Trustees, is entrusted to their decision from year to year, while every provision, condition, and restriction introduced, is marked by a wise forethought, a large, comprehensive prudence. The fund is charged with the expense incident to its proper care and management, with an insurance to be constantly had on the building belonging to the academy, and provision is made that the income shall be used to keep the capital sum up to the amount of thirty thousand dollars, in case it should at any time through bad investments or other causes be diminished. The wisdom of this last provision is obvious. Unless the whole should be at once and irretrievably lost, which is altogether improbable, it secures to the academy for all coming time, a capital of thirty thousand dollars, a sum sufficient to insure a perpetual prosperity and usefulness. Meeting these conditions, the Trustees are at liberty to use the income in paying the salaries of teachers either in whole or in part, in aiding indigent students either by an outright gift or by a loan for such term of time as they see fit, the amount in each case not to exceed one hundred dollars, or in purchasing books, philosophical and other instruments for the use of the pupil. Here all the great interests of the institution, its buildings, its teachers, its students, its library and philosophical apparatus are covered and secured by this codicil, and a large liberty is given to the Trustees to determine from year to year, to which of these objects and in what proportions they will appropriate the income of the fund intrusted to them.

In this codicil, as well as in his other gifts to the academy at Groton, Mr. Lawrence showed himself to be a wise and enlightened, as well as generous benefactor of the great cause of education, and as such his name deserves to be held in remembrance and honor.

The importance resulting from the permanent character of his donations to Lawrence Academy, is justly described by the Rev. Mr. Means in his discourse delivered before the Alumni of the school, at the jubilee held July 12th 1854. Speaking of Messrs. William and Amos Lawrence, as the benefactors of Groton Academy, he says "There was a singular difference in the character of these two brothers, and there is a similar difference in the results of their benefactions. I have reason personally to know that they conferred frequently and earnestly respecting the parts which they should severally perform in upbuilding this school. There was an emulation, but there was no selfishness, there was no difference of opinion; both loved the academy, wished to bless it and to make it a blessing; each desired