Up to the period of this final decision, which occurred about the close of 1829, it was not known whether or not Robert would comply with the conditions, and receive the estate, which still amounted to about four hundred thousand dollars. He had waited quietly for the close of the litigation, and then decided to accept it. Application was made to the Legislature for the enabling act, but ere its passage he died suddenly, to the great disappointment of his friends, leaving all his possessions to his father.

Mr. John Watts, who was also very wealthy, being now far advanced in years, and having no surviving sons, took a most sensible view of the situation, and immediately proceeded to carry out the design of his departed friend, namely, to establish the Orphan House. On the 7th of March, 1831, an act passed the Legislature incorporating the Leake and Watts Orphan House in the city of New York. The testator wisely directed that the Orphan House should be erected from the income of the estate, so as to preserve the capital for a permanent endowment; consequently, the structure was not commenced for several years. A plot of twenty acres of ground was selected at Bloomingdale, One Hundred and Tenth street, and on the 28th of April, 1838, the corner-stone of the building was laid in the presence of a large audience, several distinguished clergymen of New York taking part in the exercises.¹ The edifice, completed November 1843, consists of a large central building and two wings; the front entrance is reached by a broad flight of sixteen granite steps, while the porticos, front and rear, are supported by six immense Ionic columns. The basement is of granite, the three succeeding stories of brick, well appropriated to school- rooms, dormitories, play-rooms, and all other needed apartments, capable of accommodating three hundred children, though the income from the endowment is not sufficient for so large a family. The eastern wing is devoted to the boys, the western to the girls; each story is provided with a wide veranda, skirted with a high, massive balustrade, and furnished with an outside stairway, affording excellent facilities for escape in case of fire. A one-story building in the rear, connected with the main building by a covered passageway, has recently been added, and is used as the kitchen and dining-room. The schools are well conducted. The children are all dressed alike; are well taught in the principles of Protestant Christianity, and appear healthy and happy. Since the opening of the Institution, about one thousand orphan children have here found a happy home, the average number at present being about one hundred and twenty, and are supported at an annual expense of about $26,000. The cost per child has more than doubled during the last fifteen years. The original cost of the land and buildings was about $80,000, which has so wonderfully increased in value that the trustees have recently sold four acres for $130,000. The excellent Superintendent, Mr. W. H. Guest, has spent his whole life in public institutions. He was twenty years connected with the nursery department of our city charities, and has now closed his sixteenth year in the Orphan House.