Page:Life of Isaiah V Williamson.djvu/94

76 on the Lincoln Institution, the Educational Home, and other enterprises for young men; and, as has been said, some of his first large gifts were in the direction of her work. It is plain that the years of money-getting had not withered his heart.

His long-time friend, William C. Ludwig, was another who exerted a great influence over Williamson, both by example and positive pressure. For many years the philanthropist was accustomed to consult Ludwig more or less regularly regarding benevolent causes in mind, often not only following his advice, but going on far beyond his suggestions. As will be seen, this was particularly so in the matter of the Merchants' Fund.

But whatever the influence, subjective and objective, which set this great engine of charity going, the fact remains that the number and variety of Williamson's gifts in three or four years, from 1873 to 1876, are simply bewildering, even with the incomplete records which we have. Alfred Helmbold, Jr., who was his private secretary for seven years before his death, has collected such memoranda as he could of those years. The benefactions