248 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS [vOL. 45 



mission of removing to Washington the remains of the Founder of 

 that Institution, James Smithson, who has been buried till now in 

 the cemetery where we stand, since his death, at Genoa, in the year 

 1829. Having been invited by you and by the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion to aid you, to what extent I might be able, in this object, it has 

 been a matter of great pride and pleasure to me that I have been 

 allowed to do so. 



All the steps necessary to such removal have now been taken. 

 We iiave received the authorization of the governmental heads of 

 the Province, the City, and the British Burial Ground Fund, in which 

 latter the title to the cemetery and the custody of the grave of James 

 Smithson are vested, and all of these have kindly co5perated with us 

 in the work. 



The body of James Smithson has now been reverently raised from 

 the earth ; it has been placed in a case securely sealed, and this case 

 stands ready to pass into the charge of the Steamship Company 

 which will convey it to New York. 



I assure you that it is with a feeling of real emotion that I have 

 just now cast the American flag over the body of this illustrious 

 man, this noble but as yet little known benefactor, as it is on the 

 verge of beginning its journey to the United States. The flag 

 adopts him already, as it were, in the substance, for our country, to 

 which he has so long belonged in the spirit. He is now about to 

 receive there a portion of the outward veneration and homage he so 

 supremely merits, and which, owing to the modest circumstances of 

 his life, and his interment here in some sense almost forgotten, he 

 has never had. 



Shall I admit that on taking possession of my post as Consul at 

 Genoa, I did not even know who James Smithson was? I may say 

 that I was surprised to learn that he was buried at Genoa; more 

 surprised still that he was an Englishman, who had never even set 

 foot in America. He left his great bequest to the United States, 

 then in its infancy, through admiring confidence in our future. It 

 is likely that many, or even most, Americans are in the same condi- 

 tion as was I myself; for occasion has rarely arisen for taking 

 thought as to the personality of the man. Happily this unen- 

 lightened condition of mind is about to cease. 



Dr. Graham Bell, I wish you a hearty God-speed across the ocean, 

 with your precious freight. The American people will receive it 

 with general gratification, and, through the Smithsonian Institution, 

 will soon delight to pay it great honor. 



Response by Doctor Alexander Graham Bell. 



Mr. Consul: It is with feelings of deep emotion that I under- 

 take the transportation of the remains of James Smithson from the 

 cemetery where the}^ have so long reposed, to their last resting place 

 in the United States. 



On behalf of the Smithsonian Institution allow me to thank you, 

 Mr. Consul, for the unwearied zeal and care with which you have 

 given me your assistance. Without your active cooperation — and 



