The other institutions would be too tedious to enumerate separately, probably the following includes most of them. Thirteen charitable institutions, eight free school societies, three patriotic societies, about twenty mutual benefit societies, five associations for the relief of foreigners and their descendants, seven literary institutions, three libraries, the American Philosophical Society,[21] the Society of Artists, the Pennsylvanian Academy of Fine Arts, and a museum of natural history.[22]
The American Philosophical Society meets frequently, and is well attended. When I visited the institution, three of the foreign ministers were {31} present. Professor Cooper[23] read very interesting papers on the bilious fever, on a new mordant to be used in dyeing, and on a new test for detecting arsenic where administered as a poison. There is still zeal and talent in the association once distinguished by a Franklin and a Rittenhouse.[24]
The Franklean library contains about 24,000 volumes; almost every scientific work of merit may be seen. Strangers are allowed to read and even to write in the great hall. On leaving a small deposit they may carry books out of the library. The building belongs to the institution, and has a herculean bust of the founder over the entrance; and the following lines, by Alexander Wilson[25] the ornithologist, hang in a frame in the great room.
“Ye who delight through learning’s paths to roam,
Who deign to enter this devoted dome;
By silent awe and contemplation led,
Survey these wonders of the illustrious dead!
The lights of every age—of every clime,
The fruits of science, and the spoils of time,
Stand here arranged, obedient to your nod;