164 
James  Smithson. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1904. 
unverified  story,  Mrs.  Macie  had  sought  a  divorce  from  her  husband 
in  the  hope  that  she  might  wed  the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  but 
Macie  prevented. 
Concerning  his  parentage  Smithson  himself  wrote  : 
"  The  best  blood  of  England  flows  in  my  veins ;  on  my  father's 
side  I  am  a  Northumberland,  on  my  mother's  I  am  related  to  kings ; 
but  this  avails  me  not,  my  name  shall  live  in  the  memory  of  man  when 
the  titles  of  the  N or  thumb  erlands  and  the  Percys  are  extinct  and  for- 
gotte?t." 
That  this  will  become  true  is  almost  as  certain  as  that  the  sun 
will  continue  to  rise  and  set,  but  at  the  time  it  was  written  Smithson 
could  not  have  foreseen  that  his  name  was  to  be  handed  down 
through  the  ages  by  means  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  At  the 
time  he  must  have  had  in  mind  some  high  endeavor  which  would 
make  him  lastingly  famous.  A  glance  at  his  will  shows  that  he 
recognized  the  ties  of  kinship  and  bequeathed  his  fortune  to  his 
nephew's  use  for  life,  and  to  the  children  of  that  nephew  (should 
there  be  any)  absolutely  and  forever.  Only  in  case  of  failure  of 
issue  on  the  part  of  the  nephew  was  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to 
be  established. 
Smithson's  family  on  the  father's  side  seems  to  have  had  a  liking 
for  America,  as  witness  the  following : 
He  himself  provided  for  the  establishing  in  America  of  an  institu- 
tion bearing  his  name.  His  father,  Duke  of  Northumberland,  actively 
opposed  the  war  of  '76  with  the  colonies,  and  obtained  leave  of 
absence  for  his  son,  Lord  Percy,  who  had  been  ordered  to  America. 
Lord  Percy,  however,  felt  himself  in  duty  bound  to  decline  the 
leave  and-  accompanied  the  British  troops  to  this  country  in  1774, 
although  against  .his  inclination.  General  Gage  placed  him  in 
command  of  the  camp  at  Boston,  whence  he  wrote  to  his  father  on 
July  5,  1774  :  "  As  I  cannot  say  this  is  a  business  I  very  much  admire, 
I  hope  it  will  not  be  my  fate  to  be  ordered  up  the  country.  Be  that 
as  it  may,  I  am  resolved  cheerfully  to  do  my  duty  as  long  as  ever  I 
continue  in  the  service.  If  I  do  not  acquire  any  degree  of  reputa- 
tion in  it,  it  will  be  my  misfortune,  but  shall  never  be  my  fault." 
It  was  his  fate  to  be  ordered  up  country,  as  he  was  sent  to  cover 
the  retreat  of  the  troops  which  had  been  on  the  expedition  to  Con- 
cord and  which  had  the  famous  unpleasantness  with  the  colonists  at 
Lexington,  April  19,  1775.    At  the  time  he  wrote  to  his  father:  "  I 
