68 MEMORIAL OF JOSEPH HENRY. 



scientific research; and thai he changed, as we may say, the trustee- 

 ship for a purely persona] reason. Henry took his stand mi the 

 broad and simple terms of the bequest, "for the increase and dif- 

 fusion of knowledge among men." And lie never — 



Narrowed his mind, 

 And 1" locality gave what was meant for mankind. 



He proposed only cine restriction, of obvious wisdom and neces- 

 sity, that, in view of the limited means of the Institution, it ought 

 not to undertake anything which could be done, and well done, by 

 other existing instrumentalities. So, as occasion arose, he lightened 

 its load and saved its energies bv giving over to other agencies some 

 of its cherished work — meteorology, for instance, in which a most 

 popular bureau now Usefully expends many times more than the 

 whole Smithsonian income. 



He has in these last years signified his desire to go still further 

 in this direction, and to have the institution relieved from the charge 

 of the National Museum, now of imperial dimensions and impor- 

 tance. His reasons were summed up in a few words in his last 

 report, alone' with his synopsis of the appropriate functions of the 

 Institution, which he prays may not be merged in or overshadowed 

 by any establishment of the Government, but may stand "free to 

 the unobstructed observation of the whole world, keeping in per- 

 petual remembrance the will of its founder." Its true functions 

 he declares are — 



"First. To enlarge the bounds of human thought bv assisting 

 men of science to make original investigations in all branches of 

 knowledge; to publish these, and to present copies to till the prin- 

 cipal libraries of the world. Second. To institute investigations 

 in various branches of science, and explorations for the collection 

 of .specimen^ in natural history and ethnology, to be distributed to 

 museums and other establishments. Third. To diffuse knowledge 

 by tarrying on an extended international series of exchanges by 



