work, written thirty odd years ago by Walter R. Houghton, A.M., gives an
idea of the fantastic exaltation indulged in of the careers of men of
great wealth. Hearken to the full title: "Kings of Fortune--or the
Triumphs and Achievements of Noble, Self-made men.--Whose brilliant
careers have honored their calling, blessed humanity, and whose lives
furnish instruction for the young, entertainment for the old and
valuable lessons for the aspirants of fortune." Could any fulsome
effusion possibly surpass this?

[62] "Mr. Girard's bank was a financial success from the beginning. A
few months after it opened for business its capital was increased to one
million three hundred thousand dollars. One of the incidents which
helped, at the outstart, to inspire the public with confidence in the
stability of the new institution was the fact that the trustees who
liquidated the affairs of the old Bank of the United States opened an
account in Girard's Bank, and deposited in its vaults some millions of
dollars in specie belonging to the old bank."--"The History of the
Girard National Bank of Philadelphia," by Josiah Granville Leach, LL.B.,
1902. This eulogistic work contains only the scantiest details of
Girard's career.

[63] The First Session of the Twenty-second Congress, 1831, iv,
containing reports from Nos. 460 to 463.

[64] Ibid.

An investigating committee appointed by the Pennsylvania Legislature in
1840, reported that during a series of years the Bank of the United
States (or United States Bank, as it was more often referred to) had
corruptly expended $130,000 in Pennsylvania for a re-charter.--Pa. House
Journal, 1842, Vol. II, Appendix, 172-531.

[65] In providing for the establishment of Girard College, Girard stated
in his will: "I enjoin and require that no ecclesiastic, missionary, or
minister of any sect whatsoever, shall ever hold or exercise any station
or duty whatsoever in the said college; nor shall any such person be
admitted for any purpose, or as a visitor within the premises
appropriated to the purposes of said college."--The Will of the Late
Stephen Girard, Esq., 1848:22-23.

An attempt was made by his relatives in France to break his will, one of
the grounds being that the provisions of his will were in conflict with
the Christian religion which was a part of the common law of
Pennsylvania. The attempt failed.

[66] For example, an address by Edward Everett, at the Odeon, before the
Mercantile Library