MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 59 



indebted to him. For the influence of the work that has been 

 done here and, indeed, the influence of these gardens them- 

 selves, has spread throughout the nation. The lives of thou- 

 sands unconsciously have been modified and enlarged and 

 made happier through this influence ; and these in turn, know- 

 ingly or unknowingly, pass on to others the inspiration re- 

 ceived through the opportunity that Henry Shaw made possi- 

 ble to them. 



"What sort of man Henry Shaw was and what sort of spirit 

 dominated him are revealed both in his action back in the 

 early sixties, when he invited his fellow citizens to come freely 

 and share with him the beauty and inspiration of these gar- 

 dens created and maintained at his own expense, and when 

 later he endowed them in his will and made wise provision for 

 their continuance through generations to come. And when we 

 come to read his will, we And the spirit of the man made plain 

 in this sentence : 



'I hereby devise and bequeath two hundred dollars annually 

 to the Bisnop of the Episcopalian Church of this diocese in con- 

 sideration (if he approve the same) that an annual sermon be 

 preached in such church and by such minister as he may select, 

 on the wisdom and goodness of God as shown in the growth of 

 flowers, fruits, and other products of the vegetable kingdom.' 



"Many men favored of fortune gather to themselves treas- 

 ures to be hidden away and enjoyed by themselves alone or by 

 some personal friends. There seemed to be none of this selfish- 

 ness or snobbery in Henry Shaw. He wished to share the things 

 that satisfied his artistic and spiritual nature, not with a 

 chosen few alone, but with all who have within them the capac- 

 ity to partake with him. And the sentence from his will which 

 I have just read shows very clearly that his motive was not to 

 gather to himself credit for the thing he was doing but to bring 

 to the attention of young and old the goodness of God and the 

 wonders He had wrought. 



"He had a keen sense of duty to his fellow man. He came 

 here from a foreign land. In a comparatively short space of 

 time he amassed a fortune. Unlike many who have had a sim- 

 ilar life experience, he did not depart with his gain, but de- 

 voted his remaining years to good works. He had a high sense 

 of citizenship which ought to be felt by every right-thinking 

 citizen. 



"And surely, even in the presence of some of them, T may be 

 permitted to voice the general appreciation of the fine way in 

 which the men chosen have carried out Mr. Shaw's purposes. 

 Too often enterprises of this sort left in trust are carried on 

 in a purely perfunctory way and without that understand! n.<? 



