BEQUEST OF MR. GRAY. 559 



had it not. The thought alone was his ; the 

 means of execution were far beyond his reach. 

 His plan was, however, known to many of 

 his friends, and especially he had explained it 

 to Mr. Francis C. Gray, whose intellectual 

 sympathy made him a delightful listener to 

 the presentation of any enlightened purpose. 

 In 1858 Mr. Gray died, leaving in his will 

 the sum of fifty thousand dollars for the estab- 

 lishment of a Museum of Comparative Zool- 

 ogy, with the condition that this sum should 

 be used neither for the erection of buildings 

 nor for salaries, but for the purely scientific 

 needs of such an institution. Though this 

 bequest was not connected in set terms with 

 the collections already existing in Cambridge, 

 its purpose was well understood; and Mr. 

 Gray's nephew, Mr. William Gray, acting 

 upon the intention of his uncle as residuary 

 legatee, gave it into the hands of the Presi- 

 dent and Fellows of Harvard University. In 

 passing over this trust, the following condi- 

 tion, among others, was made, namely : " That 

 neither the collections nor any building which 

 may contain the same shall ever be designated 

 by any other name than the Museum of Com- 

 parative Zoology at Harvard." This is worth 

 noting, because the title was chosen and in- 



