Page:Life of Isaiah V Williamson.djvu/77

Rh not rid himself of the thought that he was a lone man, without an object in life.

In London he heard much of what Earl Shaftesbury, a noble Lord, with leisure and means, was doing for the poor of London. In Bristol, he saw the large orphan houses built by George Mueller. Wherever he went, he saw the endowed schools and hospitals, built by the gifts of retired merchants, bankers, and generous women, like Lady Burdett Coutts.

The man most talked about in Philadelphia, when Isaiah Williamson first came to town, was Stephen Girard—the merchant and mariner, who stood first on the roll of its eminent citizens. Girard's vast wealth and business successes were constantly referred to with wonder and praise. He had begun in poverty, peddled oranges on the streets of Philadelphia, and advanced slowly, step by step, to the first place in its business world.

His patriotic support of the Government during the War of 1812 and his many benevolences were constantly on the public tongue. People liked to talk about everything Girard did. His peculiar walk, old gig, his