TR A NS F E RR E D

TO

H A RVA R D C O L LE GE

L I B RA RY
S TO RI E S F RO M L IFE

A BO O K FO R YO UNG PE O P L E

O RI S O N S W E TT MA R D E N
“
A UTH O R O F A R C H I TE CTS O F F A TE ,
”
Pus m Nc To TH E F R O NT
“
W I N N I N G O UT ,
E TC .

A ME R I C A N BO O K CO M PA N Y
N EW Y O R K C I N C I N N A TI C H I C A GO
 P R E FA C E

To make a life a s well a s to m ake a living is

, ,

one of the s upre me objec t s for w h ich we must all

struggle The sooner we re alize wh a t this mea ns
.
,

the greater and more wo rthy will be the life which

we shall ma ke .

I n putting together the b r ief life s tories and

incidents from great lives which ma ke up the pages
of thi s little volu me the w r ite r s object h as been
,
’

to show young people th a t no matter how humble

,

their birth or circumst a nces they m ay make l i ve s

,

that w ill be held up as e x amples to future genera

ti on s even as these s tories show how boys h a ndi
, ,

capped by pove r ty and the most di scouraging

surr oundings yet succeeded so th a t they a r e held
,
0 .

up as models to the boys of to d ay -

.

No boy or gi r l ca n le a rn too e a r ly in life the

value of time a nd the opportunities w ithin re ach

of the humblest children of the twentieth centu r y

to enable them to make of themselve s n oble me n
and wo me n .
 4

The sto ries he r e p r esented d o not Cl aim to be

m o r e tha n me r e o utlines of the subjects Chosen ,

enou g h to show wh a t b r a ve souls in the pa st s o uls ,

a ni ma ted by loyalty to God a nd to thei r best selves ,

we r e a ble to a cc o m plish in spite of obsta cles of

which the mo r e fo r tu n a tely bo rn youths of to d a y -

ca n h a ve no concepti o n .

I t sh o uld neve r be fo r gotten h oweve r in the

, ,

strivi ngs o f a mbiti o n th a t while eve r y one sh o uld

, ,

ende avo r t o r a ise hi m self to his highest p o we r a nd

to atta in to a s ex a lted a nd hon o r a ble a p ositi o n a s
his a bilities entitle h im t o his fi r st object sho uld
,

be to m a ke a n o ble life .

The a uth o r wish es t o ack no wledge the a ssista nce

of Miss Ma rga ret C onnolly in the p r epa r ation of
this volume .

0 . S . M .
 C O N T EN TS

“ TH
E MIL L BO V O P TH E S LAS H ES ”

TH E GRE E K S L A V E WH O WO N THE O L I VE CROWN

TURNI NG PO I NTS I N TH E LI F E OF A H E RO
I . TH E F I RS T TURNI NG PO I NT
II . A B O RN L EA D E R

I II .
“ F A R RA GUT I S TH E MAN !

HE AI MED H I GH AN D H I T TH E MARK

TH E E VO L UTI O N OF A V I O L I NI S T
TH E L ES S O N OF TH E TE A K E TTL E
H o w TH E A R T OF P R I NTI NG WA S D I S CO VER ED
S EA F E VE R A N D WH A T I T L E D TO
G L A D S TO NE F O UND TI ME To BE K I ND
A TR I B UNE OF TH E PEO PLE
TH E MI GH T OF PA TI ENCE
TH E I NS P I RA TI O N OF GA MB E TTA
A ND R E W B o v WH O “ WO UL D
J A C K SO N : TH E NE VE R

S IR H UM PH R Y D A VY S ’
GREA TES T D I S CO V E R Y,

TH E TRI UMPH OP C A NO VA
F R A NK L I N S
’
LESS ON ON TI ME VALUE
F RO M S TO R E B O V To MI L L I O NA I RE
“I WI L L PA I NT O R D I E ! ”

THE CAL L H
T A T S P E A K S I N TH E B LOOD
WAS H I NGTO N S ’
YO UTH F UL H E RO I S M
S
 PAC !

A Cow HIS CA P I TAL

THE B O V WH O SAID
“
I MUS T ”

TH E H IDDE N TR E A S UR E
L O VE TA ME D TH E L IO N

E NO UG H A T TH E
“ ”
TH E R E Is R OO M TO P
TH E UPL I F T S LA V E B O Y ID EA L
’
OP A S

“ To TH E F I RS T RO B I N
”

THE “ WI Z A RD ”
AS AN E D I TO R

H ow G OOD F O R TUN E C A M E TO PI E RR E
“ IF I
!
I R E S T, R US T

A BO V WH O K NE W NO T F EAR

H O W S TA N L E Y PO UN D L I V I NGS TO NE

TH E NES TO R OF A ME R I C A N J O U R N A L I S TS

TH E MA N W I TH AN IDEA
“ B E R NA R D TUI L E R I E S
O P TH E

HOW TH E “ L E A R NE D B L A C R S MI TH
”
PO UN D TI ME
TH E L E GE N D O F WI L LI A M TE L L
WE S TWA R D Ho ' ”

TH REE G R E A T A ME R I C A N S O NGS A ND T HE I R A UTH O R S

I . TH E S TA R -
S PA NGL E D B A N NE R

II . A ME R I C A
III . TH E B A TTL E H Y MN O P TH E R E P UB L I C

TR A I NI NG FOR G R E A TNE S S

THE MA R B L E WA I TE TH
 S TO RIES FRO M LIFE

TO D A Y

For t h e st r uctur e t ha t we r a ise ,

Ti me is wi t h ma t e r ia ls fi lle d ;
Our to -
d a ys a nd ye st e r da ys
Ar e t h e blocks wi t h w hich we build .

To -
DAY l TO day l
is ours with all its m a gic
-
It ,

possibilitie s of being and doing Y esterd ay with .

,

its mistakes misdeeds lost opportunities a nd fail

, , ,

u r es is gone forever With the morro w we are no t

, .

i mmediately concerned I t is but a prom ise yet to .

be fulfilled H idden behind the veil of the future

.
,

it may dim ly becko n u s but it i s ye t a shadowy , ,

unsubs tant i al vision one that we pe rhaps neve r

, , ,

may re al ize B ut to d a y the Here the Now that

.
-
, , ,

dawned upo n u s wi t h the first hour of th e morn ,

i s a reality a precious possession upon the right u s e

,

of which ma y depend all our future of happiness

and succe ss or of m ise ry and failure ; for
,

Th is d a y we fa s hion D e stin y , our we b of F a t e we spin .

”

Les t he sh ould forget th a t Time s w i ngs are ’

s wi ft and n oiseless and so r a pidly bea r our to d a ys

,
-

to the L a nd of Y esterd ay J o h n R us k i n ph ilo s o , ,

2
 8

p he r ph il anth rop ist a n d ti rel ess worker though he

, ,

w a s kept const a ntly before his eyes on his s tudy

,

table a large h a ndso me bl o ck of chalcedony on wh i ch

, ,

wa s graven the s in
“ ”
gle word To d ay -
.

E ve r y mo ment of
this noble life wa s
en r ic h ed by the r ight
use of e ach p as sing
mo ment .

A successful me r
ch a nt whose na me i s ,

well known through

-

o ut o u r count r y very ,

t e r sely su m s up the

m e a ns by which true
s ucces s m a be a t
y
“
t a in e d I t i s just.

” “
t h is he s ays : Do
,

o ur best eve r y d ay
y ,

w h a tever you h a ve
”

S Y in h a nd .

J RO HN T
US R I N I N H I S UD

This si mple ru l e if ,

fol l owed i n sunshin e and i n sto r m in d a ys of s ad,

ness as well a s d ays of gl a dness will re a r for the

,

builder a Pa l ace Bea utiful mo r e p r eci o us th a n pearl s

o f gre a t pri ce m o re e n during th a n t ime
, .
 TH E MI L L B O Y O F TH E S L A S H E S

A PI CTUR E S Q UE a s well a s pathetic figu r e w a s

, ,

“ ”
Henry C l ay the l ittle Mill Boy of the Slas he s
, ,

a s he rode along o n the O ld fa m ily ho rse to Mr s .

D a r r icot t s mill
’
B lue eyed ro sy cheeked and bare
.
-
z ,
-
,

fo oted clothed in co a rse shirt and tro use r s and a

, ,

time worn st r a w hat he sat erect on the ba re back

-
,

of the horse hold ing wi th fi r m hand the rope which

, , ,

did duty a s a bridle I n front of h im la y the pre

.

cio u s s a ck c o nta in i ng the g r i s t which was to be

,

gro und i nto m e al or fl o ur to feed the hu ngry ,

mouths of the seve n li ttle bo ys and gi rl s who w i th ,

the Widowed mother m ade up the Cl ay fam ily , .

I t requi r ed a good de al O f grist t p feed s o large

a family especially when hoec ake w as the s ta ple
,

food and i t was because of h i s frequent trip s

,

to the mill across the swa mpy region c a lled t h e

,

”
Sl ashes th a t Henry w a s dubbed by the ne ighbors
,

”
The Mill B oy of the Sl ashes .

The la d was ambitiou s however and very early , , ,

in life m ade up hi s m i nd that he wou l d win for

,

him self a m ore i mpo s ing titl e H e never dreamed .

of winning wo r ld wide renown a s an o r ator or of

-
,

exchangi ng his boyis h s obriquet for The O rator

of A shl a nd But he who forms high ideals i n
.
 IO

youth u s ual ly fa r o uts trips hi s firs t ambition and ,

“ ”
Henry had hitched his wagon to a sta r .

Th i s awkward country boy who wa s s o ba shful , ,

and so lacking in self con fid e nce that he h a r dly

-

dared recite before

his c l ass in the log
s c h o o l h o u s e d e te r ,

mine d t o 635 0 me m
a

Hen r y C l a y the ,

brilli a nt lawyer and

states man the Ame r ,

ic a n De m o sthene s
w h o could swa y m ul

t it u d e s by his ma tch

les s oratory once s a id , ,

“
I n o rder t o succeed
a ma n mus t h ave a
purpo s e fixed then let ,

hi s motto be Vict ory

or D ea l /
z When .

Henry Cl a y the po o r ,
H Y C
EN R M
LAY D E CLAIB I NG I N A A RN
country boy son of a n ,

unknown Baptis t minister m ade up his m ind to ,

become a n orator he acted o n this principle No

,
.

discouragement or O bst a cle wa s all o w ed t o swerve

hi m fro m his purpose Since t h e d e ath of h is
.
fa t he r , w he n t h e boy wa s but five y ea r s ol d he ,

had carr ied gris t t o the m ill Chopped wood followe d

, ,

the plow barefooted clerked i n a country store

, ,

did everythi ng that a lovi ng s o n and brother could

do to help win a s ubs i stence for the fam ily .

I n the mid s t of poverty hard work and th e mo s t

, ,

pitile ssly unfavora bl e condition s the youth clung to

,

his re solve H e l earned what he Could at the Cou n

.

t r y schoolhouse during the t i m e the duti es of t h e

,

farm permitted h i m to attend school H e com .

mit t e d sp eeche s to me mory a n d recited th em al oud

, ,

so meti mes i n the fore s t s o metim es Whil e worki ng

,

in the corn field a n d fre quently in a ba r n w it h a

,

horse a nd an ox for hi s audie nce .

I n h is fifteenth year h e l eft th e gr oc e r y store

whe r e h e had been c le rkin g to tak e a po sitio n in
the offi ce of the C l erk of the H igh C ourt of
Chancery Th e re he became intere sted i n la w a nd
.
,

by reading a n d study bega n a t once to suppl ement

the scanty educ a ti o n Of hi s childho od To s uch .

good purpos e did he use his opportunitie s that in

I 79 7 whe n only twe nty years O ld he wa s lice ns e d by
, ,

the judges of the court of appeals to practi ce law .

When he moved from R ich mond to Lexington ,

K entucky the sa me year to begin pra ctice for h i m

,

self h e had no influential friends no pa trons and

, , ,

not e ve n the me a n s to pay hi s bo a rd R eferring t o

.
 “
th i s t i m e ye ars afte rward h e s aid
, I re m e mbe r
,

h o w Comfortable I thought I should b e i f I could

make on e hundred pound s V irgin i a money ! less
th a n five hu ndred doll a r s!per yea r ; a nd with what
delight I re ce ived th e first fift e e n shill i ng fee
-
.

C ontrary to h is expectati o n s the young lawye r

,

“ ”
had imm ediately ru shed into a l ucrative pract i ce .

At the age of twe n ty seve n he w a s elected to the

-

K entucky l egisl a ture . Two years l ater he wa s

sen t to the U nited States Senate to fil l out th e
re ma inder O f the term of a senator who had with
dra wn I n I S I I h e w a s elected to C ongress and
.
,

m ade Speaker O f the n a tio n al Hous e O f Re pr e se n

t a t ive s. He w a s afterward e lected to th e U n i ted
States Se n ate in the regular way .

Both in Congre ss and i n the Senate Clay al ways

worked for wh a t he bel i eved to be the be st intere sts
O f his Count r y . A mbition which s o O ften cau ses
,

me n to turn a s id e fro m the p a ths of truth and

honor had no power to tempt h im to do wrong
,
.

He w a s ambitiou s to be pre s ident but wou ld not

,

sacri fice a n y of h is convi ctio n s for the s ake of

being elected Although he was nom i nated by his
.

party three ti mes he n ever became presi dent I t

,
.

w a s whe n warned by a friend th a t if he persisted i n

a certain course of political conduct he wo uld i nj ure
h is pro s pects of bei ng elected th a t he made his
,
 l 3

famo us s tateme nt “
I would r a th e r be r ight th a n
,
”
be pres ide nt .

C lay has been desc r ibed by one of his biogr a

p h e rs a s a bri ll i a n t orator a n ho nes t ma
, n a ,

cha rming ge n tle ma n an arde n t patri ot a n d a lead er

, ,

whose popu larity wa s equale d only by th t of

A ndre w Jac ks o n .
” a
A l tho ugh born in a st ate in which wea l th a nd
anc ie nt a n c es try were h ighly rated h e was never ,

as ham ed of h is b i rth or pove rty O nce wh e n .

taunted by the aris tocrat ic J oh n R a n do lph w ith

his lowly ori gin h e proudly exclai med I was bor n
, ,

to no proud patern al e state I in h e ri ted o nl y in .

”
fa ncy ignora nce and indige nce
, , .

H e was born in Hanove r C ou nty V i rginia o n , ,

April 1 2 1 777 a nd d i ed i n Was hi ngto n J u ne 2 9

, , , ,

1 8 52. W i th o nl y th e humbl e inhe rita n c e wh i ch

“
h e Cla i med in fa n cy ignora n c e a nd in d igence
, ,

H e nry Cl ay made hi m self a nam e that weal t h

a nd a l o ng li ne of a nce st r c uld n e v e r bes t ow
y o .

TH E GREE K S LA VE WH O WO N TH E O L I VE
C RO WN

TH E te e min g life of th e s treet s h as va nished ; th e

voices of the Children have died away in to s ilenc e ;

t h e a rti s a n has d ropped his too l s th e art is t ha s la id

,
 14

as id e his b rush t h e sc ulptor his chisel N igh t h a s

, .

s pread her wings over the s c e n e T he q u een C i ty .

of Gree c e is wrapped in sl u mbe r .

But in t h e m id s t O f that h u sh ed li fe t h ere is one

, ,

w h o sle eps n ot a worshi p e r at th e s hrin e of art who

, ,

feels n e i the r fatigu e nor hardsh i p a nd fears not ,

death i ts elf in th e pu rs u it of his O bj e ct W i t h the .

fire of geni us burn i ng in h is dark e yes a youth ,

works w i t h feve r ish ha s te on a group of w o n drou s

bea uty .

B ut wh y is t his ma st e r a r t ist a t work in sec ret in , ,

a c ell ar wh e r e the su n ne ve r s ho n e the da yligh t ,

ne ve r e n te re d ! I w ill tell you C re on the inspired

. ,

worker th e s o n of geni u s is a sl ave a n d the pe n a lty

, , ,

of purs u i ng his art is death .

Whe n th e At h enian la w debarri ng a ll b ut free

m en from t h e e xerc ise of art w a s e n acted C reon ,

wa s at w ork t ry i n g t o rea lize in marbl e the Visi o n

h is s ou l had cre at ed Th e b eaut i fu l group w a s
.

g rowin g i nto l ife u n d e r h is magi c touch when the

crue l ed i ct s tru ck the Ch ise l from h is fi n gers .

” “
O ye god s ! groan s t h e s tri cke n youth wh y ,

have ye deserted me now whe n my task is al most

, ,

compl e ted ! I have throw n my s oul my ve ry l ife , ,

in to th is bl ock of marble and now ,

Cl eone the beaut ifu l da r k h a ired si ster of th e

,
-

sculpt or fe l t th e b l ow a s keen ly a s h e r b rot her to

, ,
 15

wh om she te rly de vot e d

wa s ut O i mmorta l .

A t h e ne l my godde ss my patro n a t wh os e sh r ine I

, ,

h a ve dai l y laid my ofi e r ings be now my fr ie nd t h e

, ,
”
f r ie n d of my brothe r ! s he prayed .

The n with the light of a n ew born resolve shining

,
-

in h e r e yes s he tur ned to her broth er s aying

, ,

The thought of your brain shall li ve L e t us go .

to the cel lar ben eath our hou se I t is dark b ut I .

,

wi l l b ri ng you light a n d food a nd no one w ill d is ,

cove r our s ecret Y ou ca n the r e co n t in ue your

.

”
wo rk ; t h e god s wil l be o ur a llies .

It is the gol de n a ge of Pe ri cles the m ost br illia nt ,

e p o c h of Gre c i a n art and dramati c li t e rature .

T he sce n e is on e of th e most memorable that h a s

e ve r been e n acte d Wi t h in th e proud C i ty of At hen s

I n th e Agora th e p ublic as se mbl y or mar ke t

,

plac e are gathered t ogeth e r t h e wisdom a nd wit

, ,

the geni u s a nd bea uty t he g lor y a nd power of a ll

, ,

Greec e .

E n thro ne d in r egal s tate s i t s Pe ricles p res ide nt .

,

O f th e ass embly s old i er s tates ma n orator rul e r a nd

, , , , ,

”
“
s ole mas ter of Athe ns By his si d e s its h is beau
.

t i fu l partn e r th e l earned a nd que e nl y A sp as ia

, .

P h i d i as one o f th e g reate st scu l ptors if not t h e

, ,

“
r e a t es t the world h a s known w h o formed a ne w
g ,
 16

s tyle Ch a r acterize d by s ubli m i ty a n d ideal be auty ,

is there Near h i m is Sophocles the greate s t of the

. ,

tragic poets Yonder we catch a gli m pse Of a fac e

.

a n d form that O f fers th e mo s t s triking contrast to

the ma nl y beauty of the poet but whose wi sdo m ,

and V irtu e have brought Ath ens to his feet I t i s .

“ ”
th e fath e r of phi l osophy Socrates W i th h is arm
, .

—
lin ked i n th at of th e philos opher we se e but why ,

prol on g the list ! A ll Greec e has be e n b i dden t o

Athe ns to Vi ew the work s of art .

Th e work s of th e great ma ste rs are t he re O n .

e ve r y S ide pa int i ngs and statue s ma rvelou s in de ,

tai l exquisite in finish Ch a llenge th e ad m i ration of

, ,

th e crowd and the criticis m Of the rival arti sts and

co nn o i sseurs who throng the pl ac e But e ve n in .

the mid s t of mas terp i eces on e g roup of statuary so

,

far surpa sse s all th e others t hat it r i ve ts t h e at ten

tio n of th e vas t assembl y .

“
Wh o is th e scul ptor of th is group ! d ema nd s
Peri cles E nvi ou s artists l ook fro m one to the other
.

wi th q ues ti o ning eye s but th e q u est ion rema ins u n

,
~

ans we red NO triumphant sculptor c ome s forward

.

to Clai m th e wo ndrou s creat i o n as the work of hi s

brain a n d hand .Heral ds i n thu n der tone s repeat
, , ,

Wh o is the s cul ptor Of t h is gr oup ! No o ne ca n

t ell I t is a mys te r y I s i t th e work of th e gods !
. .

or — and with bat ed br e ath the questi o n pas se s

, ,
 I 7

fro m lip to lip Ca n it h ave bee n fas hioned by the

,

h a nd of a s l a ve !
Suddenly a d i sturba n c e arise s at th e edge of the
crowd Loud voi ce s are hea r d and anon the t r e m
. ,

bl i ng tones Of a woma n Pushing their wa y th r ough .

the concourse two ,

o fficers d r ag a s hri n k
i ng girl with dark
, ,

frightened e ye s to ,

the feet of Pericle s .

“ ”
Thi s woman they ,

cr y
, k n ows the scu l p
tor ; we are sure of
this ; but s he will not
”
te l l h is name .

Neither threat s n or
pleading ca n u nlock
the lips of the b r ave
gi rl Not eve n when
.

i nformed that the pen A W T A S PA S I A C RO N I NG HE RTI S T- S LA VE

al ty of her conduct
“
was death would she d i v ulge her secret The .

“
l aw says Pe r i cles is i mperative Take the ma i d
, , .

”
to th e dungeon .

Creon who wi th h is si ster had bee n among the

, , ,

firs t to find hi s way to the Ago r a that mo r ning ,

r u s hed forwa r d and flinging hi m self at the ruler s

’
, ,

STO RI E S F RO M L I F E 2
 I 8

“
feet cried : O Pericles !forgive and s ave the m a id
, .

She is my si ster I a m the cu l prit The g r oup is

. .

the work of my hands the hand s of a sl a ve

, .
”

An intense sil e nce fell upo n th e multitude a nd ,

then went up a m ighty shout To the dunge o n , ,

to the dungeon with the sl ave .

A s I live no ! s a id Pe r icles risin g

, Not to , .

the dungeon but to my side bring th e youth The

, .

highest purpose of t he law should b e the deve l op

ment of the beautiful The god s d ec i de by that
.

group that there is som ethin g highe r in Greece

th a n a n unjust l a w To t h e s culpt or who fashion ed
.
'

it give the V ictor s crown ’

.

And then amid the applau se of all the people

, ,

Aspasi a placed the crown of O li ves o n the youth s ’

bro w a nd tenderly kissed the devoted sis te r w h o

,

had been th e right hand of geni u s .

TU R NI NG PO I NTS I N TH E LI F E O F A H ER O

I . TH E F I R S T TUR NI NG PO I NT

D AVI D FA RRAGUT wa s a cti ng as cab i n boy to hi s

fa ther who w a s on his way to New O rleans with
,

the infant navy of the United States The boy .

“
thought he h ad the qu a lities that make a ma n I .
 19

cou l d swe a r like a n old s a lt he s ays could d r in k , ,

as stiff a glass O f grog a s if I had doubled Ca pe

Horn a nd could smoke like a loco mot i ve I w as
, .

gre a t a t card s and ,

wa s fond of gambling
in e ve r y shape At .

the cl ose Of dinner

o ne d a y he con ,

tin nes my father

,

turned everybo dy out

o f the c a bin locked ,

the d o or a nd said to ,

me , David what do
‘
,

o u me a n t o be !
y
I m e a n to follow
t h e se a I s aid
’
.
.
,

F oll o w the sea ! ’

exc l a i med fat he r ;

yes be a poor miser
, ,

a ble drunke n s ailor

,

b ef o r e t h e m a s t ,

kicked an d c u ff ed D W T M ! “
AV I D, HA D o YO U EA N TO BE
”

about the worl d and ,

die in some fever hospital in a foreign Cl i me ! ’

NO father I replied I will tread the qu a rte r

’

, , ,

deck a nd command as yo u d o
, .
’

NO David ; no boy ever trod the quarter

,
 20

de ck wi th s uch pr i nc i ples a s you h ave a nd s u ch

h ab i ts as you ex hi b it You w ill have to C h ange.

your wh ole cou r se of life if you ever be come a

ma n
’
.

“
My fath e r le ft me a nd went on deck I w a s .

s tun n ed by th e rebuke a n d overw h e l me d wi t h mor

,

t ifi ca t ion A poor mi s erable dru n ken sa il or be

.
, ,

fore the mast kicked and cu ffed about th e worl d

, ,

a nd d ie in s ome fever hosp i tal I That s my fate ’ ’

is it ! I ll Change my l ife and I w ill Ma ng e it a t

’

once . I w ill ne ve r utter a n other oath neve r dri nk ,

another drop of i ntoxicating liquor n eve r gamble , ,

’

”
and as God i s my wi tness sai d th e adm i ral so l
, , ,

“
e m nl I h a ve kep t th es e thre e vow s t o th is
y ,

”
ho ur .

II . A BO RN L E A D E R

Th e e ve nt wh ich pr oved Davi d Glasgow F arra

gu t s qua l ities a s a
’
le a d er happe ned befo r e he wa s
th i rt ee n .

H e wa s with h is a dop ted fathe r Capta i n P orter , ,

on board t h e E s sex wh e n wa r w a s dec lared with

,

E ngland in 1 8 1 2 A n umber of prizes were ca p

.

t ur e d by the E s sex a n d David w a s ordered by

,

Captai n P orter to tak e one of th e captured ves sel s ,

wi th her commander a s navi gator to Va lparai s o , .

Although i nwardly quai l in g before th e Violent

tempere d ol d ca p ta in of t h e p rize ship of wh om !

, ,
a s he aft erward co nfessed h e w a s reall y a li tt l e ,

afraid th e boy assumed t h e comma nd w ith a fe ar

,
”

les s air .

“
O n gi ving h i s fi rst o rde r th at the mai n topsa il ,

”
be filled away the t r ouble began The Old c ap
, .

tai n furi ou s at h earin g a com ma n d given abo a r d

,

hi s vessel by a boy not ye t in hi s t e e ns repli ed to ,

th e order wi th a n oat h that h e wou l d s h oot any

, ,

on e who dared touch a r ope w ithout h is orders .

Having delivered th is ma n dat e he rush ed bel ow for ,

hi s p i stol s .

Th e si tuat i o n wa s c rit i ca l If the young com .

I ua nder hes i tated for a mom en t or S howed the ,

le a s t si g n Of s ub mi t ting to be bull i ed his a uth o r ity ,

wou l d i n stantly have falle n from h im Boy as he .

was David reali zed th is a n d cal ling o ne of the

, , ,

cre w to h i m explai n ed what had ta ke n pl ace and

, .

“
re pe ated h is ord er W i th a he a rty Aye aye s ir l
. , ,

the sai l or flew to t h e rop es whi l e the p lucky m id ,

s hipma n called down to the captain th a t if he “

cam e o n de ck wi th h is pis tols he wou l d be thrown ,

”
overboard .

Davi d s Victory wa s comple te

’
Duri ng the r e .

ma ind e r of the voyage n one dared dispute his

autho r ity I ndeed h is coolnes s and p r o mptitude
.

h ad w on for him t h e l as t i ng ad miration of the

cr e w.
 22

“
111
. F A R R A GUT I s TH E MA N

The great turning point which placed Farragut

a t the head of the A meric a n navy w a s reached in
1 8 6 1 when V irgini a seceded fro m the Union a nd
, ,

h e h ad to cho os e between the cause of the No r th

a nd th at O f the South He dearly loved h is n a tive
.

S o uth a nd said God fo r bid that I should have to

, ,

”
ra ise my hand against her but h e determ ined , ,

“ ”
come what would t o stick to th e flag
,
.

S O it ca me a bout th a t whe n i n order to s ecure ,

the control of the Mi ssissippi th e nation al gov ,

e r n m e n t resolved upon the c a pture of New O rle a ns ,

Fa r ragut was Chosen to lead the undertaking .

Several officers n oted fo r their l oyalty go od judg

, ,

m ent and daring were suggested but the Secret a ry

, , ,

”
O f the N a v y said Far r agut is the man
, .

The opportunity fo r which all his previ o us n oble

l ife and bri lli a nt serv ices h ad been a preparation
came to h im when he w a s sixty one yea rs old -
.

“
The co mmand laid upon h im was the certain
”
c aptu r e of the city of N e w O r lean s The dep a r t .

”
ment a nd the count r y so ran h is i nstructi o ns
, ,

“
require of you success I f s uccessful you
.
,

o pen the way to the se a for the great West neve r ,

aga in t o be closed Th e rebellion will be riven in

.

the center and the flag t o which you ha ve been

, ,
 23

so fai thful will r ec ove r its sup r e macy i n every

,

”
state .

O n J a nu a ry 9 1 86 2 Fa r r agut w a s appointed
, ,

to the co mmand of the w este r n gulf bl o ck ading

squa dron O n Feb r uary
. s ay s the N ation a l
Cyclopedi a of A meric a n Biog r aphy he s a iled on
“
,

the ste a m s loop H a r éf or d fr o m H a mpton Roads ,

arri vi ng at the appointed rendezvous Ship I sl a nd , ,

in sixteen d ays H is fleet consisting of six war

.
,

stea mers s i xteen gunboats twenty one m orta r

, ,
-

vessel s u nder the co mma nd Of C o mmod o re D a vid

,

D Porter a nd five s upply ships was t h e l a r gest

.
, ,

that had ever s a iled unde r the A meric a n fl ag Y e t .

the tas k a ssigned h im the pa ssing of t h e forts ,

below New O r leans the c aptu r e of the city a nd

, ,

the open i ng of t h e Mississippi R iver th r o u gh its

e ntire l ength was one O f di ffi culty unprecedented
”
i n the hi story of n aval warfa r e .

Da nger or death h ad no te r r or fo r the brave

s ailor Befo r e setting out on h is ha za rd ous enter
.

p r ise he sa i d : I f I die in the atte mpt it will o nly

, ,

be what every oflice r h as to expect He w h o dies .

in doing his duty to h is country and a t pea ce with ,

his God h a s played the drama of life t o the best

,

”
adva ntage .

T h e he r o did n o t die He fo ugh t a nd w o n the

.

reat b a ttle a nd thu s e x e cut e d t h e co mma nd l a i d

g ,
 24

u po n h im , t h e ce r t a i n ca pt ure of t h e C i ty of
New O rl e a ns Th e vi ctor y was accomplish ed
.

with the l oss of but one s hip a nd 1 84 me n ki lled ,

“ ”
a nd wounded , a feat in n a val warfare says h is ,

son and biographer which h as n o precedent and

, ,

which i s s ti l l without a pa r allel except t h e one ,

furni shed by Far r ag ut h i mself t wo yea r s l at e r at, ,

Mobile .
”

H E A I ME D H I GH A N D H I T TH E
.
MA R K

Wit hout Vision the pe ople pe r ish .

W I TH O UT a h igh i deal an i nd i vidual n ever Cli mbs .

Keep your eye s on the mountain top a nd tho ug h , ,

y ou ma
y s tu m ble and f a ll m a ny ti m es in th e a s ce n t ,

though g r e a t bowlders de n se fore s ts and roari n g

, ,

torrents m a y O ften ba r the way l ook right on n ever , ,

l osing s ight O f the light wh i ch shines away up in

the Clear atmosphe r e of the mou nta in peak a n d you ,

w ill ulti m a tely re a ch your goal .

When the late Horace Maynard L L D en tered , . .

,

A mhe r s t College he exposed hi mself t o the ri d i cule

,

and jibing question s of hi s fellow stude n ts by plac -

i ng over the doo r of hi s room a la r ge square of

white c a r dbo a rd on which w a s i n scribed in bold O u t
”
l i ne s the S ingle lett er V D is.reg a rding co m m en t
 25

and que st i o n t he you n g ma n ap pli ed himsel f to h is

,

work e ve r kee p in g i n mind the height to wh i ch he

,

w i shed t o Cli m b th e,

fi r st step toward w h i ch
was signified by the
mysteriou s V .

Four years l a ter ,

after rec ei ving t h e

com plime nt s of pro
fe s s o r s and s tude n t s
on the wa y he had
acquitted hi mself a s
valedictori a n of hi s
cl a ss yo ung May nard
,

c alled the attent i on of

his fellow grad ua t e s to
-

the letter over his

door Then a l ight
.

broke i n upon them ,

and they cri ed out ,

I s it poss i bl e that
you had the va le d ic
tory in mi nd when
you put that V ove r H M Y O RA CE A L
NA R D TAcx I NG UP TH E ET
T V D ER
“ ”
O VER H I S OO R
your door !
A ss uredly I h a d was the emphatic reply
, .

O n he Cli mb ed from height to height beco m in g

, ,
 26

s uccessivel y professor of m a t h e mat ic s in the U ni

ve r s ity of Tennes see l awyer me mber of C ongress
, , ,

atto r ney ge n eral of Te n nessee U n ited St ates m in

-
,

ister to Consta n t i nople and final ly postmaster

, , ,

general .

H o n orable am bi t i on is the l eave n that r a ise s the

whole mass of mankind I dea l s Vi s ion s are the
.
, ,

st epp ing s to n es by which we rise to highe r th ings

-
.

S t ill, t h r ough pa lt r y st i r a nd
our f
str i e ,

Glows d own t h e w is h e d id e a l ,

And longi ng mold s in cla y wh a t life

C a r ve s in t h e ma r bl e r e a l ;

To le t t h e ne w li fe in, we know,
De si r e must ope t h e por ta l,
'

Pe r h a p s t h e lo ngi ng t o be so
H e lps ma ke t h e so ul i mmor ta l !
.

TH E EVO L UTI O N OF A VI O L I NI S T

HE was a famous artist whom kings and q ueens

a n d e mperors delighted to honor The e mpe r o r of .

all the R u ssi as had sent h im a n affecti onate lette r ,

w r itten by h is own hand the e mpres s a ma g

:

n ifi ce n t e m erald r i ng se t Wl t h di a monds ; the king

of h is ow n bel oved Norway who h ad listened r e v ,

e r e nt ly sta n din g with un covere d h e ad whil e he t h e

, , ,
 27

k i n g of Vi oli n ist s playe d before h i m had bestowed

, ,

upo n h i m the O rd e r of V a sa ; the k ing of Copen

h a gen prese n ted him wi th a gold s nu ffbox e n ,

crusted with d i amond s ; wh i l e a t a public din n er

,

give n him by the students O f C hri s ti a n a he wa s ,

crowned with a l a urel w r eath Not all the thou .

sa n ds who thro nged to h ear h i m i n London could

gain e ntra n ce to the concert hall and i n Liverpool,

he rec ei ved four thou sa n d dollars for o ne e vening s ’

pe r forma nc e .

Y e t th e homage of the great o n es of th e e arth ,

the princely gift s be s towed upo n him the ad mira ,

tion of t h e thousa n d s who hung entranced on e very

note breathed by his magic vi olin ga ve l e s s delight
,

th a n the boy of fourtee n experi enc ed when h e

rece i ved from a n old man whose heart h i s pl aying
,

had gl addened the pre s ent of four pa irs O f dove s

, ,

w i th a card s u s pe n ded by a b l ue ri bbon r ound th e

”
n eck of o n e be a ring h i s own n ame O le Bull
, , .

The sou l of li ttle O le Bull h a d alwa ys be en

a ttuned to mel ody from the ti me when a toddling
, ,

boy of four he had ki ss ed with p a ssionate delight

,

the l i ttle yel l ow Vi olin given h im by h is uncle .

H ow h appy he wa s as he wa n dered alone through

,

the me adows li s te ning w i th the inn e r ear of heaven

,

born genius to th e grea t song of na ture Th e blue .

be lls the buttercups a nd t h e blade s of g ra s s s a ng

, ,
 28

to h i m in lo w s weet to n e s u n h eard by duller e ars

, , .

How h e thrill ed with de l ight whe n he touch ed th e

s trin gs of the l ittle red v ioli n purchas ed for h im ,

when he w a s eight years old H is father de s tined .

h im for the Church and fe el i n g that music s hould

, ,

form part of th e education of a cl e rgyman he co n ,

se n te d to th e mother s propos iti o n that t h e boy

’

s hou l d take l e sso n s on th e Viol in .

O le could not sleep for joy that firs t nigh t of ,

owners hip ; a n d whe n the hou se was wrapped i n

,

slumber he got up and sto le o n tipto e to th e

,

room where h is treas ure l ay Th e bow s e emed to .

becko n to him the pretty pe arl s crews to smile

,

“
at h i m out of th e ir red s ett i ng I p i nched th e .

“ ”
s trings j u st a l i ttle h e said I t s m il ed at me
, .

ever more and more I took up th e bow and .

l ooked at i t I t sai d to me i t would be pl e asant

.

to try it acro ss the strings So I did try i t j u st .

a ve r y very little and it did sing to m e so s weetly

, , .

At firs t I d i d play ve r y soft But pre sently I did .

begin a ca pr z ccz o which I li k e very much and it

’ ’

, ,

did go eve r louder and l ouder ; and I forgot that

it was midnight and that ev erybody w a s asleep .

Pre s ently I hear someth i ng crack ; and the next

minute I feel my fa ther s wh ip acro s s my shou l ders
’
.

My little red vi olin dropped on t h e floor a n d was ,

brok en I weep muc h for i t but it did n o good

.
, .
 29

The y did ha ve a docto r t o it ne x t d a y but it ,

n ever r e cove red its he alth .

H e was gi ven a n other v iol in howeve r an d when , , ,

on l y t e n he woul d wander in to the fields a nd

,

wood s and spe nd hours pl aying h i s own i mprovi

,

s a t io ns,e choi ng the

s ong of t h e b i rd s the ,

murmur of the brook ,

the thu n de r of the

waterfal l th e sough
,

i ng of the w ind among

the tree s th e r oar of
,

the storm .

B u t Child hood s ’

days are s hort The .

years fly by The .

little O le is eighteen ,

a student in the U ni
ve rsi ty of C hris tiana ,

preparing for th e m in
W P NG T V LI N H IPPED OR PLAYI HE IO
is t r y H is broth e r
stude n t s beg h i m to pl ay for a charitabl e associat i o n .

He re me mbers his fa ther s request th at he yield ’

n ot to his passi on for mu si c ; but being urged for

“ ”
s we et charity s sake h e con sents’

, .

The youth s s truggl e be tween the soul s i mp e ra

’ ’

t i ve dema nd and th e e qually impe ra tive p a rental

 30

d i cta te was pathetic Me a nwh ile the positi on of

.

mu si cal d i rector of th e P hilharmon i c a nd Dra matic

Soc ie ties becom ing vaca n t O le w as a ppointed to ,

t h e o flice ; a n d see i ng that i t was usele ss to co n

,

tend longe r against th e geniu s of h is s o n t h e ,

disapp o in t ed father a ll owed h im to accept th e

d i rectorsh i p .

Whe n fa i rly l au n che d on a m usi cal care e r h is ,

trial s and disappo intm ents bega n Wi s h i ng to .

a ssure h imself whether he had gen i us or not he ,

trave l ed five hundred mil e s t o s e e and h ear the

celebrated Louis Spohr who re ceived the t r e m u
,

lou s youth cold l y and gave h im n o encourage men t

, .

N O matter h e would go to the city of a r t I n P a r is

, .

h e h eard Berlioz and oth e r gre a t m usician s E u .

tranc ed h e l i stened i n h is h i gh seat a t the top

,

of th e h ou s e to th e exq u i s i te note s of M alibra n

, .

H is s ou l feas ted o n mu si c but hi s m oney was ,

fa st dwi ndl i ng awa y and t h e body could n ot be

,

s ustain ed by swee t sound s B ut the poor unkn own .

v i olinist who wa s o n ly anothe r atom i n t h e surg

,

ing li fe of the great city cou l d e arn nothing, He .

was on th e verge of starvation but he w o uld n ot ,

go back to C hristiana He must still struggle

.

a nd study
. He beca me i ll O f bra in fever a nd ,

wa s te n d e rly nurs ed back to life by the grand

daught e r of hi s ki nd l an dlady pretty little Feli cie ,
 31

V ille mino t , who after ward be came h is wife H e .

had drain e d the cup of po verty and di sappoi n tment

t o the dregs but t h e tide w a s about to turn
, .

H e w a s invited to play at a concert p r e s ided over

by the Duke of Montebell o and th is l ed t o other
,

profit able eng agem e nt s But the great opportunity

.

of h i s l ife came to h im i n Bolog na The people .

h ad thronged to the opera house to hear Malibra n .

She h ad dis a ppointed them and they were in n o

,

mood to be lenient to the u n known viol i n i s t who

h a d the te me ri ty to t r y to fill her plac e .

He c a m e o n the stage H e bowed He gre w

. .

pale under the cold gaze of the thou sand s of un

sympathetic eyes turned upon h i m But the touch
.

of h is belove d viol in ga v e h i m confidence L ov .

ing ly tend e rly he drew th e bow across the s trin g s

, , .

The coldly crit ic a l eye s n o l on ge r gazed at h im .

The un sympath e ti c a udi e nc e melted away He .

a nd h is Viol in we re o ne and alon e I n the ha n ds

.

of th e great magic i an the instrume n t was more

t h a n huma n . I t ta lke d ; i t laughed ; it wept ; it
controlled t h e mood s of me n a s th e win d c o n t r ol s
the se a .

Th e a udience scarc ely breath ed Cri tic ism wa s

.

di sarmed M alibra n wa s forgotte n The people

. .

we re under the spel l of the enchanter O rpheus .

h a d c o me a g a i n B ut sudd enl y the mu si c ceas ed

. .
 32

The spell wa s broken W i th a shoc k the aud ie nc e

.

returned to earth and O le Bull restor ed to con

, ,

s cio us n e s s of his w h ere a bouts by the s torm of

a pplaus e which shook th e house fou nd him self ,

famou s fore ve r .

H i s t r i u mph was comple te but h is wor k wa s

,

n ot over for the pric e of fa me is ceasele ss en d eavor

, .

But th e turning poi n t had be en passed H e had .

s ei z ed th e gre at opportun i ty for which hi s li fe h ad

be en a prepa r ati on and i t had p la ce d h im on t h e
,

r oll of t h e i mmo rt a ls .

TH E L E S S O N O F TH E TE A K ETTL E

TH E teakettl e was sing in g merri ly ove r th e fir e ;

th e good aunt wa s bustling round o n house wifely ,

care s in t en t and her l i ttl e n ephew sa t dreamily

,

ga zi ng in to t h e gl owi ng bla ze on t h e kit c hen

hearth .

P resen tly t h e t eake tt le ce as ed s inging a n d a ,

column of st eam came ru s h i ng from i t s pip e The .

boy started to hi s fe et rai s ed the li d from the

,

k ettl e and pe ered in at th e bubbl i n g boi li ng wat e r

, , ,

with a l ook of i ntense i nte re s t Th en he rush ed

.

O E for a teacup a n d ho l d i ng i t ov e r th e s t e am
, , ,

e ager l y watched th e l a tte r as it co nd ensed a n d

 33

form ed i nto t iny drops of wa te r on th e insid e of

the cup .

Return ing fro m a n Upper roo m wh i th e r h e r ,

duti es had called her th e thrifty au nt w a s shocked

,

to fi nd he r nephew e ngaged in s o pr ofit le s s an

occupat i o n a n d sou n dly scold e d him for what S he
,

cal led h is tri fl in g Th e go od lady l ittle dre amed

.

that Jam es Watt wa s e ven the n u n con sc i ou s ly

s tudyi ng the germ of the s c i ence by wh i ch he
tra n sformed th e s team e n gi ne from a m e re toy
in to t he most wo nde r ful in strum e nt wh i ch hu ma n
”
in du s try h as ever had a t i ts comman d .

Thi s s tud i ou s li ttle Scott is h lad wh o because , ,

t oo fra i l to go to s choo l had b ee n ta u ght at home

, ,

was ve r y d ifi e r e nt fro m oth e r boys When o nl y .

S ix or seve n year s o l d h e wou l d l i e for hours o n

,

the hearth in th e li ttle cottage a t Greenock near

, ,

Glasgow wh e re he was bo r n in 1 736 dra wing

, ,

geo met r i cal figures wi th p ie c es of Col ored chalk .

He l oved too to ga ze at t h e s tars a n d l onged to

, , ,

sol ve the i r mysteri es But h is favori t e pas ti me wa s

.

t o burrow a mong th e r O pe s a n d s ai ls a nd tack l e s

in h is father s s tore t r yi ng t o fi nd out h ow t h ey
’
,

Were made and what purposes they ser ved .

I n s pi te O f h is li m i te d ad vantages a nd fr a il
h e alt h at fiftee n he wa s t h e wond e r of t h e p ubli c
,

s c ho o l
, which h e h a d a tt end ed for t wo ye ars .

m ums PRO M LI FE —3
 34

H i s fa vo r ite stud i e s we re math e m at i cs and n at u r a l

philo sophy H e had also m a d e good progres s in
.

Ch e m istry physi ology mineralogy a nd botany and

, , , , ,

at the sa m e time had learned carpe nt r y and a c

,

qu i red some s kil l a s a worker in meta l s .

So s tudiou s and amb i ti ous a youth sca rce l y

n eeded the spur of poverty t o induce h i m to mak e
th e most of h i s tal ents The s pur was the re how .
,

eve r and at th e age of ei ghteen th ough delicate i n

, , ,

health he wa s oblige d to go out a n d battl e w i th t h e

,

worl d .

Havi ng firs t s pen t so m e t i m e in Gl asgow learn ,

ing how to make math ematical i nstrume n ts he de ,

te r mine d to g o t o Londo n there to pe r fect h i m s e lf ,

in h is trade .

Worki ng earl y and l ate a n d s uff erin g freq u en tly ,

from cold and hunger h e broke dow n under t h e ,

unequal st ra i n an d was obl iged to return to h is

,

parent s for a ti m e unt il heal th was re ga i ned .

A l ways struggli ng against great odds h e return ed ,

to Gl asgow when his trade wa s mastered a nd bega n ,

to make mathemat i c a l instrume n t s for wh i ch how , ,

ever he fou n d l i ttle sal e Then to help eke out

, .
,

a li ving he began to make and mend other inst r u

,

ment s —
,fid d le s guita rs a nd flutes
,
— a nd finally
, ,

built a n organ a very s uperior one too

,
- — wi t h , ,

se veral add i t i on s of h is ow n inventi o n .

 35

A com m onplace incident enough it see med in ,

the routine of his d aily occupa tion when one m o rn , ,

ing a model of Ne w come n s engine was brought to

,
’

him for rep a ir yet it ma rked the turning point in

,

his career which ulti mately led from poverty and

,

s truggle to fa me a nd afflue nce .

Watt s practiced eye at once perceived the defects

’

i n the Newco men engine w hich al though the best , ,

the n i n existence could not do m uch better or

,

quicker wo r k th a n h o r se s Fill ed with enthus ia sm .

over the pl a ns which he h a d conceived for the con

structi o n O f a re ally powe r ful engine he imme d i ,

atel y s e t to wor k a nd spent two months in an old

,

cellar working o n a m odel

, My whole thoughts .

are be n t on this ma chine he wrote to a friend

'

.
,

“ ”
I c a n think O f nothing else .

S O absorbed h a d he becom e in h is new work th at

the old business of making a nd mending ins t r u
m ent s h a d declined This w as a ll the more u m
.

fortun a te as he w a s no longer st r uggling for hi m self

alon e He h a d fallen in l o ve with a nd m a r ried his
.
, ,

cousin M a r ga r et Mille r who brought him the g r e a t

, ,

e st happines s of his life The neglect of the only

.

practica l me a ns O f support he h ad reduced W a tt

a nd his f a m ily to the di r est poverty More th a n .

o nce his he a lth fa il e d a nd often the brave S pirit

,

was a lmost broken a s when he excl a im e d in be avi

,
 36

n e ss of he art O f all th e th i ngs in th e worl d there

, ,

”
is noth in g so fool is h a s in ve nti n g .

F ive yea rs had passed si nc e th e model of the

Newcom en engin e had be en se n t to him for re pa ir
before he s ucc eeded in s ecuri n g a patent on h is
own in ventio n Yet five more long years of bitter
.

drudgery clutched i n th e gr ip of poverty debt and

, , ,

sickne ss did the brave inventor s us tain e d by the

, ,

love and help of hi s n oble wife toil through O n , .

h is th i rty fift h bi rthd ay he sai d

-
To day I e n ter th e ,
-

thirty fift h year of my l ife and I th in k I have hardly

-
,

yet done thirty five pence worth of good in t h e

-

”
wo r ld ; but I ca n not help i t .

Poor W att ! H e had traveled w i th bl eed i n g fe et

alo ng th e same thorny path trod by the g reat in
ventors and benefactors of all ages But i n sp i te .
,

of all obs tacl es h e perseve red ; and after te n years

, ,

of i nco n ce i vable l abor and hardsh i p du r i ng wh ich ,

h is beautiful wife died he had a gl oriou s triu mph

, .

Hi s pe rfected s te am e ngin e was the wonder of the

“
age S i r Jame s Mackintosh placed h i m at the
.

“ ”
head of al l i nve n tors in a ll ages and n atio ns I .

” “
look upo n him sai d the poet Wordswort h con
, ,

s id e r in
g both the m agnitude and the un i ver s al i ty
of h is genius as perhap s th e mo s t e xtraord i nary
, , ,

”
m a n th at this country ever produced .

Wealthy beyond hi s d esires for he cared not

—
,
 37

for weal th crow ned with the laurel wreath o f fa me

, ,

honored by the Civilized world as one of its greatest

be nefactors th e s truggl e ove r th e triu mph ach i eved
, , ,

on Augu s t 1 9 1 8 1 9 h e la y dow n t o r e s t
, , .

H O W TH E A RT O F P R I NTI NG WAS
D I S CO V ERE D

LOO K , Gra n dfather ; see what th e le tters have

”
done l e xclai med a delighted boy as h e picked up ,

the p i ec e of parchment in which Gra ndfa ther Coster

h a d carried the bark l ette r s cut from the trees in
the grove for the ins tructi on and a musemen t of his
,

littl e grandson s .

“
See what the le tters have done ! e c h oed th e
O ld man .Bless me what does t h e Child mean !
,

and h is eyes twinkled with ple asure as he noted ,

the as tonish ment a nd ple asure visible on the little

fac e
. L e t me see wh at it is th a t ple a ses thee s o ,

”
Lauren ce and he eagerly took the p a rch me nt fro m
,

the boy s h a nd
’
.

Bless my s o ul l cried the old m a n after g a zing ,

s pellbound upo n it for s ome s econds The track .

of th e mysteri o us footprint in the s a nd exc i te d no

more s urprise in the m ind of R obinson C rusoe than
Gra n dfathe r Cos ter fel t at the S ight whic h me t h is
 38

eye s Th ere d i stin ctly i mp r e s sed upon the parc h

.
,

m e n t w a s a cle a r i mprint of the bark l etters ;

,

though of cou r se th e y were re ve rs ed or turn ed

, ,

a bou t
But you twen ti eth c e ntury you ng folk s who ha ve
-

you r fill of s tory books picture books and re a d ing , ,

m a tter of all k i nds are wondering perhaps wha t a ll

, , ,

th is ta lk about ba rk l etters and parchment a n d

i mpri n t of l ette rs mean s .

To unders tand i t you m u s t carry your i m a gin a

,

tion away back more than five ce nturies quite a —

“
l o ng journ ey Of th e m i nd e ven for grown up s — to
,
-
”

a t ime whe n there were no prin ted books a nd whe n ,

very very few of the rich and nobl e and scarcely

, ,

any of the s o called co mmo n peopl e could re ad

-
, .

I n thos e far off d ay s there were n o public lib r a ri e s

-
,

and n o book s excep t rare a nd expen s ive volu me s ,

wri tte n by ha n d m ainly by monks i n their q uiet

,

monas teri e s o n p a rch m ent or ve ll um

, .

I n th e q ua in t drowsy picture sque tow n o f

, ,

H a rl em i n Holl and with i t s narrow irregu lar

, , , ,

gra ss grow n stre et s a nd many gabled houses th e

- -
,

projecting upper s torie s of which almost meet one ,

p a rticular hou s e wh i ch s eem s even Ol der th a n a ny

,

of th e others is pointed out to V is i tors as one of the

,

most i ntere s ting sights of the ancient pl a ce I t was .

in th is house tha t L a ure n ce C o ster the fa t h e r of ,

 39

th e art of prin ti ng the man ,

— at
l eas t s o run s the
—
l egend who made it po s sible for the poore st and
humbl est to e nj oy th e i nestimabl e luxury of books
and reading lived and l oved a nd dre amed more
,

tha n five hu ndred years ago .

Co ster wa s wa rden of th e li tt le C hurch which

s tood ne ar h is home and h is day s flo wed peac e fully
,

O n in a q uiet u n eventful way occupied w i th th e

, , ,

duti e s of his oflice and re adi ng and s tudy for h e

, ,

was o n e of those who h a d mastered the a rt of read

ing A d i ligent student he h a d conned ove r and
.
,

over until he knew the m by he a rt the fe w man u

, ,

s cript vol um es ow ne d by the little church Of whi ch

h e w a s ward en .

A l ove r of s oli tude a s well as s tuden t a nd

,

dre amer the church warden s favorit e resort wh en

,
’

h is dutie s left him a t lei s u r e was a dense grove not ,

far fro m th e town Thither h e we n t whe n he

.

Wis h ed to b e free fro m a ll distractio n to think and ,

dream over m a ny th i ngs which would appea r non

s e n si cal to h is sober practical mi n ded n eighbors
,
-
.

There he indu lged i n d ay dre am s and poetic fan

cie s ; and once when in a s e n timental mood he
,
”

carved th e initials of th e l ady O f h is l ove on o n e of

the tree s .

I n ti me a fai r you ng wife and Ch il dren came ,

bringin g new brightness and j oy to t h e se riou s

 40

m in d ed warden W i th e ve r in cre asin g in tere s ts h e

. ,

pa sse d o n from yout h to middle l i fe and from m id

,

dl e l ife to o l d age The n his so n married and

. ,

again the patter

of little feet filled
t he o l d ho m e
and made mu
s ic in the ears
of Gr an dfa the r
C os ter who m the
,

baby g r a n d ch il
dren al most wor
s h ipe d .

To amu se the
children a nd t o ,

i mpart to them
whatever k n owl
edge he himself
p os s e s sed be ,

came the delight

of his O ld age .

C T
O S ER CA NG L TT
RV I E ERS
Then the h a bit
acquired in youth
of ca rving l etters i n the bark of the trees served
a ve r y usefu l purpos e i n furtheri ng hi s object H e .

s till loved to take solit a r y wa lks a nd ma ny a quiet

,

su mmer afternoo n th e fami li a r figure of th e vene r

 4 1

able Churchw a rd e n in his s eedy bl ac k cl oak and

,

s uga r loaf h at might be seen wending its way along

-
,

the bank s of the Ri ve r S pa a r e n to h is favorite resort

in the g r ove .

O n e d a y whi l e recl i n i ng on a mo ss y couc h be

,

neath a s pre a ding beech tree amu s ing hi mself by ,

tearing strips of b a rk from the tree t h a t shaded h im ,

and c a rving l etters with h is knife a happy thought ,

“
entered h is mind Why ca n I not he mus ed
.
,

withi n h i mself cut those letters out carry them

“
, ,

home and while u s ing the m a s playthings te ach

, , ,

”
the little on e s how to read !
The plan wo r ked a d m irably Long practi c e had .

m ade the O ld ma n quite expert i n fa shioning the

letters a nd ma ny hours of quiet happ iness were
,

s pent in th e grove in thi s pleasing occupati o n .

O ne afternoon he succeeded in cutting s o me unu

s ua ll
y fine speci m en s a nd chuck
, l i ng to himself
,

over th e delight they would g ive the children he ,

wrapped them c a refully pl a cing the m side by side

,

in a n old p i ece of p arch ment wh ich he h appened to

h ave in h is pocket Th e bark f r o m which th ey had
.

been cut being f r esh and f ull Of s a p a nd the letters ,

being firm ly pressed upon the pa r ch ment t h e r e ,

“ ”
s ult w a s the series of pictures which delighted
the child and gave to th e world the firs t suggesti o n
O f a printing p r ess .
 4 2

And then a mighty th o ught flas hed acros s the

b r a in of the poor hu m ble unknown Chu r chwa r de n
, , ,

a th o ught the realizati o n of which was destined n o t

o nly t o make h im fa mo us for all ti m e but to r e vol u ,

t io n iz e the whole w o rld The first dim suggesti o n

.

came to him i n this form By hav i ng a se r ies O f

“
,

lette r s a nd impressing the m over and ove r aga in

on pa r chment cannot b ooks be printed inste ad of
,

w r itten and s o mult i pl i ed and Cheapened a s to be

,

”
b r ought within the re ach of all !
The rema inder of his life w a s given up to devel
oping this great i de a H e cut more letters f r om
.

b a r k and coveri ng the s mooth surface with ink

, , ,

p r essed them upon parchment thu s getting a better ,

i mpress i on though still blu r r ed a nd impe r fect H e

, .

then cut letters from wood in s tead of b a r k a nd ma n ,

aged to invent hi mself a better and th i cke r ink ,

which did not blur the page Next he cut lett e r s

,
. ,

fro m lead and then from pewter

, E ve r y hour .

was ab sorbed i n the work of maki ng possible t h e

art of printing His simple minded ne ighbor s
.
-

thought he had lost his m i nd and some of the ,

mo r e supers titious sp r ead the report th a t he was

a sor cerer But like a ll other gre at d i scoverer s
.
, ,

he heeded not ann o ya nces or di s couragement s .

Shutting hi mself away from the pry i ng curiosity

of t h e ig norant and superstitiou s he plodded o n , ,
 43

maki ng s tea dy if sl ow a d va nce towa r d t h e r ea liz a

, ,

tion of h i s d r eam .

“
O ne day wh ile o l d C oste r wa s th us b u sil y at
,

” “
wo r k say s George M akepeac e Towl e a s tu r dy
, ,

Ge r man youth wi th a knaps ack slung ac ross h is

,

back t r udged i nto Haarl e m By som e chance thi s

, .

youth happened to hear how the c hurc hward e n was

at work upon a wi ld scheme to pri nt books in stead '

of writing them W i th be atin g heart th e young

. ,

man repa ired to Cos ter s house and mad e all has te
’

to knock at th e Churchward e n s hu mbl e door ’

.

“
The stu r dy German youth who knocked at
L a urence C oster s door was Johann Gutenberg th e
’

inventor of mode r n printi ng Coster invited h im to .

ente r Gutenbe rg accepted the invitation a nd then

.
,

st ated the obj ect of hi s Visit He de s ired to learn .

more a bout the work on which C oster was engaged .

Delighted to have a Vis i tor who wa s hone s tly inter

e s t e d in h is work the old man e age r ly expl a ined it s
,

deta il s to the youth and s howed h i m some example s

,

of hi s p r inting .

Gute nberg w a s much i mpressed by wh at h e saw ,

but still mo r e by the pos sibilities which he dimly

fo r e saw in C oster s discove r y ’
But we ca n do .

”
much better tha n thi s he said w i th the enthusiasm
,

of youth . Y ou r p r i n t i ng i s even sl o wer th a n t h e

writing of the monks F r om th is day forth I will
.
 44

work upo n t his pr oble m and n ot r es t t ill I h av e

,

”
solved it .

Joh a nn Gutenbe rg kept h is word H e never re sted .

u n ti l he had given the a rt of pri nting to the wo r ld .

But to Lauren c e Coste r in the first place if legend

, ,

speaks truth we owe one Of t h e greates t i nven tion s

,

that h a s eve r bless ed man k ind .

S E A F E V ER A N D WH A T I T L E D TO

“ ’
J you
I M, v e too g o od a head on you to be a
”
wood choppe r or a c a nal d r iver s aid the c a pta in of ,

the canal boat for who m young Garfield had engaged

to drive horse s along the towpath .

“
J im had always loved book s from the ti m e
’
whe n seated on hi s father s kne e he h a d with h is
, ,

”
baby lips pro n ounced after h im the name Pluta r ch .

Mr Gar field had been r eadi ng Plutar ch s L ive s

.
’

and was much as tonished when wi thout hesitatio n ,

or s tammering h is little s o n di sti nctly prono u nced

,

the n a me of t h e Gr eek biogr apher Tu r n ing t o h is .

wife w i th a glow of love a nd p r i de the fond fa ther

, ,

s a id E liza this boy will be a sch olar some d ay

, , .

Pe r h ap s the ne a r a pproa ch of dea th ha d cl a rifie d

the father s Vis i o n but when soon a fte r the sorr ow
’
, , ,
 4S

ing wife wa s l eft a wi dow w ith a n i nd ebte d fa rm

,

a nd fo ur l i tt le Childre n to care for she sa w l it tle ,

Chance for the fulfillment O f the prophecy .

E ven in hi s babyhood the boy wh ose future gre at

ness the father dimly felt h ad le a r ned the le s son of
self r eli a nce The fa miliar wo r ds which s o Ofte n
-
.

“ ”
fell from hi s lip s — I ca n do that enable d
h im to c onquer di ffic ultie s before wh i ch s toute r
he a rt s than th a t of a li tt le Ch ild might well ha ve
quai led.

The teach i ng of h is good mothe r tha t God will ,

”
bless all our e ff ort s to do the best we c an became ,

”
a part of the fiber o f his being What will He do
. ,

as ked the boy one day when we don t do th e best

,
’

“
we can ! He will withhold H i s ble ss ing ; and
that is the greate s t c al a mity that could po ss ibly
”
happe n to us w as the reply wh i ch mad e a d e ep
, ,

i mp r e ss io n on the mind of the q uest i on e r .

I n s pit e of almost consta nt toil and ve ry m e age r ,

s chooling — only a fe w weeks e ach ye ar —Jam es ,

G a rfield excelled all hi s compan i o ns in t h e l og

sch oolhouse Bes id es s ol vi ng at hom e in t h e long
.

winter even i ngs by the l ight of th e p i n e fir e a ll

, ,

the knot ty p r oblem s in Adams Ari thmetic the —

’

terror of many a sch oolboy h e found t i me t o

—
“
revel in the page s 0 R ob i n so n C rusoe and
“
Josephus . The latt e r wa s h is speci a l favor it e .
 46

Befo r e h e wa s fi fteen Ga r fie l d had s ucces sfull y

,

fol l owed the occup a tions of farmer wood c hopper , ,

and ca r penter No m a tter wha t h is occupat i on w a s

.

he a lway s managed to find so me ti me for read i ng .

H e ha d re c e n t l y
r ead s ome of Ma r
r a t s novels
y
’
S i nd ,

”
bad th e S a i l o r ,

“
The P i r ate s O w n ’

Book and others of ,

a s i m il ar n a t u r e ,

wh i ch h ad smitten
h im with a virule n t
attack of sea feve r .

Thi s is a mental
disease whi ch many
r obust adventurou s ,

boys are apt to co n

t r act i n their teens .

G a r field felt th a t h e
“
m ust sa il the ocea n
bl ue The gl amou r
.

G T T W
A RF I E LD O N HE O PATH
of the sea was upon
h i m E veryth i ng must gi ve way befo r e it H i s
. .

mother however could not be ind u ced to asse nt

, ,

to h is pl a ns a nd after long ple ading wo uld o nly

, , ,

compro mis e by agre eing t h at he mig ht if he c oul d , ,

 47

se c ure a be r th o n one of the ve ss els navigat i ng

L a ke E rie .

H e was rudely repul sed by the owner of t h e firs t

v es sel to wh o m h e applied a b r utal d r unken crea , ,

tu r e who an s wered h is r equest for empl oy ment with

,

an oath and a rough Get off th i s schooner I n

”
double quick or I ll throw y ou into the clock
,
’
.

Garfield turned away in disgust h is ardor for the s ea ,

s o mewhat da mpened by the man s appea r a nce and ’

be havior I n thi s mood he m e t h is cou s in for

.
,

merly a school master then capta in of a c a n a l boat

, ,

with whom he at once engaged to drive his ho r s es

'

After a few months on the towp ath you ng Gar ,

field co nt r acted anothe r kind of fever quite unlike

tha t from which he h a d been su ff e r ing p r eviously ,

and went home to be nursed out of it by h is ever

faithfu l mother .

Duri ng his convale scenc e h e thought a great deal

“
ove r h is co usin s wo r d s
.
’
J im you ve got too good
, ,
’

a head o n you to be a wood Ch opper or a canal

”
dri ver H e who w ills to do anyth i ng w ill do i t
.
,
’

he had learned from hi s mother s lips when a mere ’

“
b a by and then and there he s aid in hi s heart I
, ,

”
w ill be a schola r ; I w ill go to college And s o .
,

out of h is s e a fever and towpa th experience was

bor n the resolut i on that made the tu r n i ng po in t in
his caree r .
 48

Acti on fo ll o wed hot upon re solve H e l o st n o .

t ime i n applying hi mse lf to the wo r k of secu r i ng an

education Alte r n a tely Choppi ng wood and carpe n
.

tering farmi n g a nd te aching school ringing bells

, ,

and s weeping floo r s he wo r ked h is way through

,

s e mi nary a nd college H i s strong will and resolute

.

purpose to make the most of hi m self n ot only

enabled h im to obtain an educatio n but raised him ,

from the towp at h t o the preside n tial Ch a ir .

GLA D S TO N E F O U N D TI ME TO B E K I N D

A kindl y a ct k e r ne l sown
is a ,

Th a t wi ll gr ow t o a goodly t r e e ,

S he ddi ng it s fr ui t w h e n t i me h a s flown
Down t h e gulf of E t e r ni t y .

IN th e res tl ess de si re for acq u i s i ti on acquis i ti o n —

,

of money of power or of fame

,
—
, the r e i s d anger o f ,

se l fishness self a bsorption c l os i ng the do o rs o f

,
-
,

our he arts aga inst the demands o f broth e rly love ,

c ourtesy and kindnes s

,
.

I ca n n o t aff o r d to hel p say the poor i n pock e t ;,

“ ”
“
all I have is too little for my own need s I .

shou l d like to help others says the ambitio u s ,

s tudent whose every s pare mom en t i s crowd ed wi t h

,
 49

s ome extra task but I have no money a nd cannot

, ,

a ffo rd to t ake th e t i me from my studi es to g ive sym

”
pa thy or kind wo r d s to the s u ff ering and the poo r .

S a ys the b usy ma n of aff a i r s : I am willin g to give

money but my ti m e is too valuable to b e spent in
,

talking to sick peopl e or shiftles s lazy on es Th a t , .

s o r t of wo r k is not i n my li n e I leave it t o women .

a n d the Ch a r itable orga niz a tions

The busine ss m
.

a n forgets as do ma n y of u s t he , ,

“
truth expressed by R us k in that a li ttle thought
‘

a n d a little k i nd n ess a r e O ften worth more than a

great deal of money A few ki nd word s a l i ttle
.
,

sympathy a nd encourage ment have often brought

s u nshine and hope into the l ive s of men an d women
who we r e on the verge of despa i r .

The grea t de mand is on p e opl e s heart s r ath e r ’

th a n on their pu r ses I n the matter of k i nd n es s

. .

we can all aff ord to be generou s wh e ther we have

money or not The schoolboy ma y give it a s freely
.

a s the millionaire NO one i s s o d ri ven by work

.

th a t he h a s n ot time now and th en to say a kind

, ,

wo r d o r do a ki nd deed th a t will he l p to brighten

life for a n other If the p r i me mi ni ste r of E ngl a nd
.
,

William E Glad stone could find t im e to carry a

.
,

bunch of flo wers to a littl e s ick cro ssing s we ep e r -

,

shall we not be as hamed to make for ours e l ves t h e

’
excu s e I haven t t i me to be ki nd
,

STO RI ES FRO M L I FE —4
 50

A TR I B U N E O F TH E P EO P L E

CLA D i n a hom e
sp u n to w s h i rt ,

s h ru n k e n b u tt e r
,

n ut colored l in s e y
-
,

woolsey pa ntaloons ,

b atte r ed st r aw h a t ,

a nd much mended -

j a cket and shoes ,

with ten doll a r s in

his pocket and a ll ,

his othe r wo r ldly

goods packed in the
bu ndle he c a r r ied
on his back H o r a ce ,

G r eeley the futu re

,

founde r of the N e w
Yor k T r i bu n e ,

started t o seek h is
f o r t u ne i n Ne w
H G
O RA C E Y
RE E L E N WY
S TA RTI NG F O R E O RK

Yo r k .

A newspa pe r h ad always been a n object of inte r

est a nd delight t o the little delic a te t o w ha i r ed bo y ,
-
,

a nd at the matu r e age of six he had ma de up h is

mind to be a p r inter His l o ve of re ading w a s
.

unusual in o n e s o young Befo r e he was S ix .

 5 1

he h ad r ead the B i ble a n d Pi l gri m s P rogress ’

thro ugh .

L i ke th e ch il d r e n of a ll poor fa r me rs H orace ,

was put to work a s soo n a s he was able to do any

thing But he m ade the mos t of th e opportunities
.

given him to attend school and h is love of reading ,

sti mulated h i m to unu s ua l eff orts to procure book s .

By s elling nuts a nd bundle s of kindling wood at

the vi llage store before he wa s t en h e h a d earn ed
,

enough mon ey to buy a copy of Shakes pea re and

of Mr s H e ma ns s poems He borrowed eve ry book
.
’
.

that could be found w i thin a r adiu s of se v e n mi l es

of h is hom e and by m a ny readings he had made
,

hi mse lf fa miliar w i th th e score of ol d vol ume s in

his l og cab i n home
-
.

Mrs S a rah K Bolto n d r aws a p l ea si n g p icture

. .

o f t h e farmer boy reading at n i ght after the day s ’

work o n t h e farm w a s don e He gathered a .

”
stock of pin e knots s he says and l i ght i ng one
, , ,

each night l ay dow n by the hearth and read oblivi

, ,

ou s t o a l l a r ou nd him The ne ig hbors came and

.

made their friendly visit s and ate apples a nd d r a nk ,

Cider as was the fa shion but the l ad never noticed

, ,

their co m ing or their going When really forced .

to le ave his p r ecious books for bed he would r epeat ,

the i nfo r ma tio n he had learned or the lessons for ,

t h e next d a y to h i s b rother who usual ly mo s t , ,

 52

u ngrac i ousl y fel l asl e ep before the conversa ti on w a s

,

”
half completed .

Ah l sa id Z a cch e us Gre ele y Horac e s father

” ’

, ,

whe n the boy one day i n a fit of abstraction tried , ,

”
to yoke the off ox on the near side Ah !that
boy wil l never know e nough to get on i n the world .

He ll n ever know more than e noug h to com e in

’

whe n it rain s
Y e t this boy knew s o much th at when at fou r te en
he s e c ured a place as printer in a newsp a per O flice
at E ast Po ul tney V ermont he wa s looked up to by
, ,

his fe ll ow pri nte r s as equ al i n l earn i ng to the editor

-

hi mself.

At fi r s t th e y tried t o mak e me r r y at h is expense ,

poking fun a t his odd looking ga r ments h is uncouth

-
,

a ppe a rance a nd hi s pal e delic a te fa ce and al mo s t

, ,

white hair which s ubsequently won for him the

,

“
nickname of Gho s t But when they sa w that
.

Hora ce w a s too good humored and too much i n

earn est w i th h is wo r k to be distu r bed by the i r tea s
ing they gave i t up I n a s hort ti me he beca me a
, .

general favorite not onl y in the offi ce but in the

, ,

town of Poultney who s e debating and l itera ry

,

societies soon recogn ized h im a s le ader E ven the .

mi ni s ter the la wyer and the s chool tea che r s looked

, ,
-

up to the poor reti r i n g young printer who w a s

, ,

a ve ri tabl e encyclope dia of knowledge r eady a t ,

 53

a ll t i m es t o s peak or t o wr i te a n essay on a ny
subject .

But the Poul t ne y ne wspaper w a s obliged to s us

pend s oon after Horace had learned hi s trad e and , ,

pennile s s — for every cent of h is earni n gs be yond

,

wha t f u r nishe d the bare necessar i e s of life had bee n

sent h o me to his parents in the w il dernes s — he ,

faced the worl d once more .

After wo r king in diff erent small towns whe rever

“ ”
he c o uld get a job reading study i n g enlargi ng
, , ,

his knowl edge al l the time when not i n the oflice ,

he made up his m i nd to g o to New York to be ,

”
someb ody a s he put i t
, .

When he stepped off th e towboat at Wh i tehall ,

n ear the Battery, that sunny morn i ng i n Au gus t ,

1 8 31 w i th only the expe r ience O f a s core of years

,

in life a stout heart quick brain n i mble fingers and

, , , ,

an abiding fai th in God as his c a pi tal h is prospects ,

cert ai nly were n ot ve ry alluri ng .

An overgrown awkwar d white headed forl o r n

, ,
-
,

l ooking boy ; a pack suspended on a staff over hi s

ri ght s houlder ; his dress u nri val ed in sy l van s im
p l ici t y since t he pr i m i tive fig le a ves of E den ; the
expression O f his face p r esenting a s trange un i on of
w onder and a pathy : hi s whole appearance gave

y o u t he i m pr e s s io n o f a runaw a y appre nt i c e in
d e spe r ate search of e mplo ym en t I gnorant ali k e of
.
 $4

the wo r l d a nd its ways h e see med to the den ize n s

,

of the City almost li ke a wa ndere r from a n othe r

plan e t .

S u ch was th e i mpressi on Horac e Gree ley mad e

on a New Y orker on hi s fi r st arrival in th a t city
which wa s to be th e scene of hi s futu r e wo r k a nd
t r iumph s .

H e tramped the s tree ts al l that day Friday a nd , ,

the next looking for work eve r ywhere getti ng t h e

, ,

same dis couragi ng rep l y N 0 we don t want a ny

, ,
’

”
one .

At l ast when weary and disheartened his t e n

, ,

dol la r s al most gone he h a d decided to s hake t h e

,

dust of New Y o r k from h i s feet the fo r eman Of a ,

printing oflice engaged him to d o s o me work th a t

mos t of the me n in the offi ce had refused to to uch .

The s etting up o f a Polygl ot Testam ent with ,

i nvolved ma r ginal references was someth i ng new,

f o r th e s upposed “
gree n hand fro m the country .

But when the d ay was don e the young p r i nter wa s

,
-

“ ”
no longe r looked upo n a s g r ee n by his fellow
worke r s for he h a d d o ne more and better wo r k th a n
,

the oldest a nd mos t experienced ha nd s who had

tri ed the Te s tament .

But oh wh a t h a r d work i t was beginni ng at six

, , ,

o cl ock in t h e mo r ni n g a nd wo r king l ong after t h e

’
,

going down of the s u n by the l ight of a c a nd le

,
 55

s t uck in a bottle to earn s ix doll ars a week most of

, ,

which was se n t to h is dear ones at home .

Afte r ne a rl y ten yea r s more of s tru ggle a n d pri

va t i o n Gree ley e n tered upon the great work of his
,

—
lif e the founding and edit i ng of the N e w Yor k
Tr ibu ne . He had very l ittle mo n ey to st a rt with ,

a nd eve n that littl e was borrowed B ut he h a d

‘

cour age t ruth hone sty a noble purpos e and rare

, , , ,

abil ity and in du s t r y to s upp l e me n t h i s smal l fi na n

cia l c a p i ta l H e nee ded the m al l i n th e wo r k h e
.

h ad unde r taken for h e wa s handica pped n ot only

,

by lack of means but also by t h e O pp os it i o n o f som e

,

of the New York pap e rs .

I n spite of the advers e cond i ti o ns h e s ucce e ded in

esta blish i ng one of the gr e a test and most pop ular
news pape r s i n the count r y The Tr ibn n e bec a me .

the Champio n of the opp r essed the guardian of ,

ju s tice th e defende r of truth a power for good i n

, ,

the land . Through h is p aper G r ee l ey bec ame a

tribune of the people No thought of making .

money h a mpered him i n h is wo r k U ns e lfis h ly he .

w r ought as ed i tor wri te r and lecture r for the good

, ,

of h is cou n try and the uplifting of ma nkind He .

”
who by voice or pen he sa id strikes his best bl o w
, ,

at the i mposture s or vices whereby o ur race i s

debased a nd pa r alyzed m a y Cl o se his eyes in death
, ,

co n soled a nd chee r ed by t h e r efl e cti o n that h e h a s

 56

done wha t he could for the ema nc i pat io n a n d eleva

”
tion of his k i nd .

We ll then might he rejoice in hi s life work fo r

, , ,

his voice and pen had to the las t been active in thu s
s erving the ra ce .

He died on November 2 9 1 8 72 at th e age of , ,

s ixty one So gre a t a ma n h ad Ho r ace Greeley the

-
.
,

poor New H ampshire fa r mer boy become th a t the ,

whole nati o n mourned for his death The people .

felt that in h im they h ad l o st one of thei r best

friend s . A wo r kman who attended his funera l
expressed the feeling of his fellow work men a ll ove r -

“
the l a nd when he sa id I t is little enough to
,

lose a d ay for Horace G r eeley who spe n t ma ny

“ ”
a day w or ki ng for us I ve co m e a hund r ed
.
’

”
miles t o be at the fu n eral of H o race G r eeley said ,

a fa rmer .

The g r eat tri bune had des e r ved well of the people
and of h is country .

TH E MI GH T O F P A TI E NC E

P E R H A PS some would fee l i ncli n ed to ridicu l e

rather th a n a ppl au d the p atience of a po or Chine s e
woman who t r ied to make a needle fro m a r od o f
i ron by rubbing it against a stone .
 57

I t is doubtfu l wh e ther s he s ucc e eded or not b ut , ,

s o the s to r y runs t h e s i ght of the worker plying

,

h e r s ee mi ngly hopeless t ask put ne w courage a nd ,

determination int o the heart of a young C hinese

student w h o in deep
, ,

despondency s tood ,

w a tching her .

Be c a u s e of r e
p e a t e d failu r es i n
his studies a mbition ,

a nd h o pe h ad left
h im . Bitterly d isa p
p o inted with hi m self ,

a n d de s p a i r i n g of
ever acc o mplishing
a nything the yo ung ,

m a n had th r own h is
boo k s as ide in d is
g ust Put to sh ame
.
,

h o wever by the le s
,

s o n taught by the O ld
S T T T
H E PA I E N LY PL I ED H ER AS K

wo man he ga thered
,

h is scattered fo rces together went to wo r k with ,

renewed a r dor a nd wedding Pat i ence a nd E nergy

, , ,

b ecame i n ti m e one of the gre a te s t s chol a r s in C h i na

, , .

When you kn o w you a r e on the right track do ,

not l et a ny fa ilures dim your v is io n or di s courage

 58

you for you ca n not tell how clos e you may be

,

victory H ave patience and s tick s t i ck st i ck

.
, , .

i s eter nally true th a t he

Wh o st e e rs r ight on

Will ga in , a t le ngt h h owe ve r

, fa r , t h e por t .
”

TH E I N S P I R A TI O N O F GA MB ETTA

TR Y to c o me home a somebody ! Long aft e r

Le o n G a m bett a h a d left the O ld French town of
Caho r s whe r e he was b o rn O ctober 30 1 8 38 l o ng
, , ,

after the g ay a nd b r illi a nt st r eets of P a r is ha d be

com e fa mili a r to h im did the pa rting wo r ds O f h is
,

id olized m other r ing in h is e a r s Tr y t o com e

“
,

ho m e a so meb o dy ! Pinched fo r fo od a nd clothes ,

a s he ofte n wa s wh il e he studied e a r ly a nd l a te in
,

h is b a r e ga r ret ne a r the S o rbonne the me m ory of ,

th a t cle a r m other chee r ed a nd s t r engthened him .

He could still feel h e r te a r s a nd kisses on hi s

Cheek a nd the tender Cl asp of her h a nd a s s h e
,

p r essed into h is the S lender pu r se of mo ney which

S h e h a d s a ved to rele a se h im f r o m the drudge r y of

a n oc cup a tion he lo a thed a nd to enable him to ,

bec o m e a great l a w yer in P a ris H ow well he .

r e m e mbered her delight in listening to h im declaim

the speeche s of Thi e r s a nd Guizot from the p age s

 59

of th e which s h e h a d taught h im t o
N a t ion a l ,

r e a d when but a m e r e b a by and fr om which he

’

i m bibed his firs t les son s i n repu blica nis m — l e ss ons ,

th a t he never
afterwa rd for
got .

S uch deep
roo t had they
taken tha t he
cou ld not be in
d u ce d to Ch a nge
hi s views by
the fa thers of
the p r eparato r y
school a t Mon
f a ucon whither
,

he h ad been
sent to be
trained for the
priesthood Pi .

na lly d e s pa ir ing
of bringing the
young r a dic a l ‘

to thei r w a y O f
th i n k i n g t he,

Monfauc o n fa
t h e r s se mi h lm GA MB ETTA GO E S TO WI N F A ME A ND F O RTUNE
 60

ho me t o h is pa r e n ts Y o u w ill ne ve r ma ke a
.

prie s t of h im t h ey w ro t e ; h e ha s a ch a ract e r
,
” “

”
t h a t ca n not be dis ciplin e d .

His fa ther a n ho ne s t bu t na rr o w mi nded I ta li an

,
-
,

whose ide as did n ot s oa r be yond his litt le b azaa r

a nd grocery st o r e w a s dis pl e a se d with the boy
, ,

who wa s then on ly ten years O ld H e could n o t .

u ndersta nd how one so yo ung dar e d to think h is

own t houghts a nd hold h is o w n opi n ions Th e .

n eighbo rs held up their h a nds in dis ma y a nd ,

prophes ied He wil l e nd hi s day s in the Bastile

,
.

H is mother wept a nd bla me d he r s e lf a nd the

'

N a t ion a l a s the c a u se of all t h e trouble .

H o w littl e th e fo nd m o the r the dis appointed

,

father or the gloo m ily forebo ding neighbo rs d r e a m t

,

t o wh a t hei g hts th o se e a rly le sso n s they no w s o

bitterly deplored were to l e a d !

When at s ixteen Leon G ambetta retu r n e d from
the Lyceu m to which he h a d been s ent o n h is r e
turn fr om the Monfauc o n sem in a ry h is wide r ea d ,

ing a nd deep s tudy had but intensified a nd

b r oa dened t h e radic alis m of hi s childh o od He .

l o nged to go to P a ris t o study law but his fa the r ,

insisted that he m ust no w confi n e his th o ughts

to selling groceries a nd ya rds of ribbo n a nd l a ce ,

as he expected his s on to succeed him in the

business .
 61

P oor fool i sh Joseph Gambetta ! h e woul d con

,

fine the young eagle in a b arnyard But the eagle .

pined and drooped in hi s c age a n d the n the loving ,

m other — ah tho se lovi ng mothers will their boys

, ,

ever re alize how much they owe the m l threw —

open the doors and gave him fr eedom an O ppor ,

t un it y to wi n f ame and fortune in the great c i ty of

Paris .

And now wh a t mattered i t that h I S Cl othe s we re

poor that his food was s cant and th a t i t was ofte n
, ,

bitte r ly cold i n hi s little ga rret If not for h is own

.

“ ”
sake he mu s t for hers co me hom e a s omebody
, .

The doors which led to a wi der future were a l

r e ady opening The profes sors a t the So r bonne
.

a ppreci a ted h is gre a t intellect an d originality .

“ ”
Y o u h ave a true voc ation sa id one , Fol l o w .

it But go to the b a r whe r e your voice which is

.
, ,

one in a thous a nd will c a r ry you o n study and

,

i ntel l igence a id i ng The l ecture room 15 a n a rr ow

.

the a ter I f you l ike I will wri te to your father to

.
,

”
tell h im wha t my opi nion of you i s And h e .

wrote The best i n vest ment you ever ma de would

,

be to s pend wh a t m oney you can divert fr o m yo u r

bu s iness in helpin g yo ur s o n to beco me an
advoc a te .

To such good purpo se d i d the young student

u s e hi s ti me th at within two ye a r s h e won hi s
 62

d i pl oma Still too young to be adm i tted to t h e

.

bar he spe n t a year s tudying l ife i n Paris li s te n

, ,

ing t o the debate s in the Corps Legi slatif read ,

ing and debating in the radical cl u b which h e

had orga n ized making hi mself re ady at eve ry
,

point for the great opp o rtunity which gained h im

a na t i onal reputati o n and mad e him the i dol of
the m a sse s .

I n 1 86 8 his masterly defen s e of D e le s cluz e t h e ,

radical editor aga inst the prosecution of the I m

,

perial govern ment brought the brilli a nt but hitherto

,

unknown young l awyer prominently before t h e

public H e lo s t hi s c ase but won fame
.
, .

Gam betta h ad w ai ted eighteen mo nth s for h is

first brief and five ti me s eighteen month s for h i s
,

first g r e a t case This case proved to be the i n i tia l

.

s tep th a t led him fro m victo r y to victo r y u n til , ,

afte r the fall of N apoleo n at Sed a n he beca m e ,

practically Dictator of France He was mo r e th a n .

,

a ny one man the maker of the French R epubl i c

, ,

whose rights and liberties he ever defended eve n ,

a t the ri s k of h is l ife H e died Decembe r 3 1

.
,

1 88 2 .

Well had he ful fi lle d t h e h opes and amb i tio n s

of his l oving m ot h er ; well had he a n s w ered t h e
p a thetic a ppeal “
Tr y t o c ome hom e a s om e
,
”
bO d y o
 63

A ND REW J A C K S O N : TH E B O Y WH O “
N EV E R
WO U L D GI V E U P

am a pr is
S IR I ,

one r of wa r a nd de ,

m a nd to be t r e a ted a s
”
such was the spi r ited,

r e l of Andrew J a ck
py
son to a B r itish o ffi cer
who h ad com ma nded
h im to cle a n his bo ots .

This w a s ch ar a c
t e r is t ic of the future
hero of New O r le a ns ,

a nd p r esident O f the
U nited States who se ,

independent Spirit r e
belled at the inso
lent command of h is
c a ptor .

H ISP S T
R O UD PI RI T T The offi cer drew
R EB E LL ED A HE
I C MM
N S O LE NT O A ND
h I S s word to enfo r ce
obedience but nothing daunted the yo u th although
, , , ,

then only fou r teen pe r sisted in his refus a l He t r ied

, .

to parr y the swo rd thrusts a i med a t h im but did ,

not esca pe with out wo unds o n he ad and arm the ,

mark s of which he carried t o his gra ve .

 64

S tubborn sel f willed and al way s domina t ed by

,
-
,

the desire to be a leader Andrew J a ckson was by

,

no me a ns a model boy But hi s honesty love of

.
,

tr uth indo m ita ble will and courage in S pite of hi s

, ,

ma ny fault s led h im to g r eat n e ss

, .

H e was born with fighting blood in hi s veins ,

and like other e m inen t men who have risen t o

,

the White House poor H is father a n I rish im

, .
,

mig r ant died before his you ngest s on was bo r n

, ,

— in 1 6 — a nd life held for the boy m ore ha r d

7 7 ,

knocks th a n soft pl ace s His mother who w as

.
,

a mbit io ns to m ake h im a clergyman tried to secu r e ,

h im so me e a r ly advantages O f schooling Andre w .

,

howe ver w a s not of a s tudiou s disposition nor

, ,

a t all i nclined to the mi nistry and made littl e ,

e ff o r t to profit by eve n th e limited O pportunitie s

he ha d .

B ut de s p i te al l the disadvantage s of envi ronmen t

a nd m ental tra its by which he was h a ndicapped h e ,

wa s bound by the force of cert a in other traits to be

a winner i n the battle of l ife The q u ality to which
.

his succes s i s chiefly owi ng is reve a led by the

w o r ds Of a schoolfellow w h o in spite of Jackson s
’

, ,

slende r ph ysique a nd l ack of physic al strength a t

that ti me felt the force of his iron will Spe a king
, .

of thei r w r estling matche s at school this boy said , ,

“
I could th r ow h im ! Jackson !three ti mes out O f
 65

four but he never woul d stay throwed

, He wa s .

”
de a d g ame a nd never would give up .

A boy who n ever would stay throwed and ,

“ ”
never wou ld give up would succeed though the
whole wo r ld tried to b a r his progress .

When a t the age of fifteen he found hi mse lf

, ,

alon e i n the world homele s s a n d penni l es s h e

, ,

adapted hi ms elf to a n ything he could find to do .

Worke r in a saddler s s hop s chool teach e r ’

,
-
,

la wyer merchant j udge of the Supre me C ourt

, , ,

U nited States senator soldier l eader step by s tep

, , ,

the son of the poo r I rish i mm igrant rose to the

highe s t office to which hi s c o untrymen could elect
h im — the pre s ide n cy of the Un i ted State s .

R a sh he ad s trong and n a rrow mi nded Andrew

, ,
-
,

J a ck s on fell into many errors du r i ng hi s life but , ,

notwith standing his shortc o mings he pers istently ,

“
tried to live up to h is boyhood s motto Ask noth ’

—
ing b ut what is right s ub m it to n oth i ng wro ng .

S I R H U MP H R Y D A V Y S GRE A TE S T D I S
’

C O V E RY , MI C H A E L FA RA D A Y
H R wa s only a littl e ba r efooted erra nd boy th e
, ,

son of a poo r bl a cksmith His school life ended i n .

h is thirteenth ye a r The e xtent of h is educatio n

.

STO RI ES F RO M LI PE 5
 66

”
then w a s l i m ited to a knowl edge of the three R s ’

A s he t r udged o n his d a ily r o u nd s th r ough the bus y,

st r eets of Lond o n delive r ing newspa pe r s a nd b o ok s

,

to t h e custo me r s of h is e mpl o ye r the r e w as li ttl e ,

di ffe r ence outwa rdly between h im a nd scores of

, ,

o ther boys w h o j o stled one a nother in t h e nar r o w ,

c r o wded tho r oughfa r es .But under the s habby

j acket of Mich ael F a r ad ay be a t a he a r t b r aver a n d
tende r e r th a n the ave r age ; a nd under t h e well wo r n
,
-

c ap a bra in wa s th r obbing th a t w as destined t o

,

illu m in ate the w o rld of science wi t h a light th a t

wo u ld never grow d im .

Less th a n a ny one else perhaps did the bo y

, ,

d r e a m of fut u re grea tne ss For a ye a r he se r v e d

.

his employer f aithfully in hi s c a p acity of erra n d

boy and in 1 80 5 a t the age of fo u r teen w a s
, , , ,

apprenticed to a bookseller for s even ye a rs a s w a s ,

the custo m in E ngl a nd to lea r n the c o m bi n e d

,

t r ades of boo kbinding and b o o kselling .

The young journeyman h ad to exerc i se al l h is

se lf cont r ol to confine h is a ttention to the outs id e
-

of the b ooks which p a ssed th r o ugh his h a nds I n .

his sp a r e m o m ents howeve r he m ade hi m self f a

, ,

m ili a r with the inside of m a ny o f the m eag e r l y ,

de vo u r ing such wo r ks on science elect r icity C h e m i s

, ,

t r y a nd n a t u r a l phil o sophy as c a m e withi n h is

, ,

reach He w a s especi a lly delig h ted with a n art i c l e

.
 67

on e l ectri c i t y whi ch he fou nd in a vol ume of t h e

,

“ ”
E ncyc l opedia Britannica which had be en gi ve n ,

h im to bind H e i m medi ately began work on a n

.

electric al m achine from the very cr udes t materi a ls

, ,

and much to hi s delight s ucceeded I t w a s a r e d

, , .

lette r d ay in hi s young life when a kind he a rted -

custo m er who had noticed hi s i n terest i n scie n tific

,

works off ered to take him to the Royal I n s titutio n

, ,

to att e nd a c o urse Of lecture s to be given by the

gre a t Sir Hu mph r y Davy From this time on h is .
,

thoughts were consta n tl y turned towa rd science .

O h if I could only help in s ome scientific work

, ,

n o ma tter h o w hu m ble ! wa s the d a ily cr of hi s

y
soul B ut not ye t was h is prayer to be gra nted
. .

H is m ettle must be tried i n the school of p atience

and drudgery He m ust fulfill h is contract with h is
.

m as ter For seven years h e was faithfu l to hi s

.

work while his heart was elsewhere And all that

, .

ti m e in the eagerne ss of h is th i rst for knowledge

, ,

he wa s i mbibing facts which helped h i m to p l an

e l ectrical achieve ments the possibilities o f which
,

h a ve n ot to this d ay been exhausted

,
—
, o r even ,

h alf re al ized Like Fra nklin he se emed to forecas t

.
,

the scie ntific future for age s .

At l ength he was free to fol l ow his be n t a n d h is ,

mind tu r ned a t once to Sir Hu m ph r y D avy With .

a be a ting hear t d i vi ded betwe en hope and fear h e

, ,
 68

wrote to the great man te lling what he w ished and

, ,

asking his aid The scientist re me mbering his o w n

.
,

day of s mall thi ngs w r ote the yo uth pol itely th a t

, , ,

he wa s going out O f town but would s e e if he could , ,

so m eti me aid h im He also said that science is

, .
“

a h a r sh m istres s and in a pecuni a r y point of vie w

, , ,

but po o r ly rewa r d s th ose who devote th e mse l ve s

”
exclusively to her s e r vice .

Thi s w a s not ve r y encouraging but th e youn g ,

vota ry of science w a s nothing d a unted and toile d ,

at his uncongenial t r ade with the added disco mfo rt ,

of a n ill te mpe r ed e m pl o yer giving all his eve n i ng s

-
,

and O d d mo ments t o study a nd experiments .

Then c ame another red l etter d ay He wa s -

.

g r owing dep r es s ed a nd fe a red th a t Sir H umphry

,

h ad fo r gotten his q u a s i promi s e when on e eveni n g

-
,

a c a rr i age stopped a t the door a nd out stepped a n ,

i mpo r ta nt l o oking footma n in livery with a n o t e

-
,

fro m the fa mo us scientist requesting the yo u n g ,

b o okbinder to c all on him o n the following morn i n g .

At last h ad come the a nswer to the pra yer of li tt le

Mich ae l Fa r a d ay a s will come the a n swer t o a l l
,

who ba ck thei r pra yers with pa tient persistent hard ,

work i n spite of discou r age ment dis a ppointment a n d

, , ,

fai l ure . And wh en on th a t never to be forgo tte n

,
- - -

m orning he wa s engaged by the g r e a t scient is t a t a

,

salary of six d ol la rs a week with two r ooms at the t o p ,

 69

of the hou se to was h b ott l es cl ea n the i nstrum en ts

, , ,

move them to a nd from the lecture rooms and make ,

himself ge n era lly u s efu l i n the lab oratory and out of

it no h appier youth could be found in all London
, .

TH E YO UTH F UL F A RA DA Y, WH O WA S H E D BOTT LE S To S O ME PURPO S E

 The door w a s open ; not indeed wide but suf
, , ,

fi cie nt ly to all o w this a r dent di sciple t o work h is

way into the inner mo s t shri n e of the templ e of
science Though it t ook ye a rs a nd years of plod
.

ding ince ss a nt work and s tudy and a devotion to

, ,

purpose with which nothing was allowed to i nter

fe r e it made Fara d ay by virtue of his marvelou s
, ,

disc o veries in electricity electro magnetism a n d

,
-
,

che mistry a worl d benefactor honored not only by

, ,

hi s own count r y and so vereign but by other rulers

,

a nd le ading nation s O f the earth a s one of the ,

gr ea test Che mists a nd natural philos ophers of his

ti me .

5 0 gre a t h a s been his val u e to the s c i enti fi c

wo r ld th a t his theo r ies a r e s til l a constant sou r ce
,

of inspi r ation to t h e wo r kers in those g r eat pr ofe s

s i o ns a llied to electricity a nd Chem ist r y N 0 l ibra r y .

is com plete w ithout his published works What .

wonder that D a vy called Fara day h is greate s t

discovery !

TH E TR I U MP H O F C A NO VA

TH E V ill a d A s ola the count r y residence of t h e

’
,

Sign o r F a lie r i w a s in a sta te of unusu a l excite ment

, .

S o m e of the mo st distinguished p a t r ici a ns of V enic e

h ad been bidd e n t o a great banquet which w a s to ,
 7 I

surp as s i n magnificence a ny ente r ta i n ment eve r

bef ore given eve n by the wealthy and ho spitable
,

S ignor Fali e ri .

The feast was ready th e gue st s were a s s e mbl ed

,
.

when wo r d c a me fro m the confectioner who h a d ,

been Ch a rged to prepare the cente r o r nament for

the table that he had sp o iled the piece C on
, .

s t e r na t io n reigned in the s e r v a nt s h a ll Wh a t wa s ’
.

t o be done ! The s tew a rd o r he a d serva nt w a s in , ,

de spa i r He was r e sponsible fo r the ta ble decor a

.

tion s and the abs ence of the centerpiece w o uld

,

s eriou s ly m a r the arrange ment s He wrung hi s .

h a nds and gesticulated wi l dly What s hould he do ! .

“
I f you wil l let m e try I think I ca n m ake some
,

”
thing that wil l do The speaker was a delic a te
.
,

pa le faced boy about twel ve years O ld who h ad been

-
, ,

engaged to help i n some of the m inor deta ils of

preparation for the great event Y ou l exc la imed .

the steward gazing in a maze ment a t t h e m odest yet

, ,

appa rentl y aud aci o u s lad befo r e h im And who .

“
a re you ! I a m Antonio C a nov a the gra ndso n ,

”
o f Pi sa no the stonecutter
, Despe r ately grasping
.

at even the m ost fo r l o r n hope the pe r plexed servant ,

gave the boy permission to t r y his hand at m aking

a centerpiece .

Calling fo r some bu tt er wi th ni mbl e fingers and,

the skill of a practiced scu lpto r in a sh o r t ti me the ,

 72

l i ttl e scull i o n molded the figu r e of a crouching

lio n So pe rf ect in p r o portion so spirited a nd full
.
,

o f life in ever
y
detail was thi s ,

marve lous but

ter lion th a t i t
e licit e d a ch o r u s

ad m i r a t i o n
of

from the d e
lighted guest s ,

w h o were e a ge r

to kn o w w h o .

t h e gre a t sculp

tor was who h a d

deigned t o e x
pend his geniu s
o n such pe r ish

a bl e m a te r i a l .

Signor Fa lieri ,

un able t o gratify
their curiosity ,

se n t for h is
h e ad s e rv a n t ,

C F’
A NOVA ST WI RS A T
O RK O F
who
R
gave the m
the history o f
the centerpiece Ant o n i o was i mmediately s u m
.

mone d to th e ban q uet hall whe re h e blushin g ly

,
 73

received the prais e s and congra tu lat ion s of a l l pre s

ent a nd the promise of Signor Fal ie ri to beco me
,

his patron and thu s enable him to ach ieve fa me as

,

a sculptor .

Such accordin g to some biograph e rs w as the

, ,

turning point in the career of Anto n io C anova w h o , ,

from a peas a n t l ad bo r n i n the li t tle V eneti a n

,

Vil lage of Possagn o ro se to be the mos t illu striou s

,

s culptor of hi s age .

Whether or n ot the story be true i t is cert ai n that ,

when the boy wa s in his thirteenth year Sign o r ,

F a lie r i pl a ced him i n the studio of Tor e t t o a V ene ,

ti a n sculptor the n l ivi ng near Asola But it is

, .

equ a lly certai n that the fame which crowned C a

nova s ma nhood the ti tle of M a rqui s of l schi a the
’

, ,

decora tions a n d ho n o r s s o liberally besto w ed up o n

h im by the ruler of the Vatica n kings princes a nd , , ,

e m perors were a ll the fruits of h is cease l ess indus

,

t r y high ideal s an d unfailing enthu s ia s m

, , .

The little Anto ni o bega n to draw almos t a s soon

a s he could h old a pencil a nd the gown of the de a r
,

old gra nd mother who s o tenderly loved h im a nd ,

w a s so tend e rl y l oved in return oft e n bore the ,

m a rks of ba by fingers fresh from m odeling in Cl ay .

Antonio s fathe r h aving died when the child was

’

but three years old hi s grandfather Pisano h oped

, , ,

th a t h e would succ e e d h im a s Vill age s ton e cutte r

 74

and scu l ptor Deli cate though the li ttle fe llow h a d

.

been from birth at nin e ye a rs of age he was l a bor

,

ing a s fa r a s hi s stre ngth would permit in Pisa no s

, ,
’

wo rkshop But i n th e evening after the work o f

.
,

the da y w a s done with pencil or Cl a y he tried t o

,

give expre ss ion to the poetic fancies he had i mbibed

fr o m the ball ad s and legend s of h is n a tive hill s ,

crooned to h im i n infancy by h is grand mother .

U nder To r e tt o his geniu s developed s o rapidly

th a t the sculptor sp oke o f one of h is cre a tions a s a
”
truly marvelou s product i on He wa s then only .

thirteen L at er w e find him i n V enice s tudyi n g

.
,

a n d work i ng with ever i ncreas ing ze a l Tho ugh .

Signor F alieri would h a ve been only too gla d to

’
supply the youth s needs he w a s too proud to be ,

dependent on others Spe aking of this ti me h e

.
,

says : I labored for a mere pitt a nce but i t w a s

“
,

s u ffic ient I t w a s the fru it O f m y own resolutio n

.
,

and as I the n fl attered mys elf the foretaste of mo r e

, ,

”
honora ble rewa r ds for I n eve r thought of wealth
, .

To o poor to hire a Workshop or studio thro ugh ,

the kindnes s of the monks of St Stefano he w a s .

,

given a cell in a vaca nt mon aste r y a nd he r e at t h e , ,

age of Sixteen he started busi nes s a s a s culptor on

,

h i s ow n a ccount .

Before he wa s twenty the youth ha d beco me a

,

m a s ter of an a to my which h e decl a red was the

,
“
 75

s ecret of the art was thoroughly ve rse d in l i te r a

,

ture l a nguages h is tory po e try mythology

, , , eve ry
, ,

thing th a t could h elp to mak e him th e greatest

sculpt o r of hi s age — and had even th en produced
, , ,

work s of s urpassing meri t .

E ff ort to do be tte r was the motto of his l ife a nd ,

he never permitted a day to pas s wi thout making

s ome ad vance i n h is profe ss ion Though often .

too poor to buy the marble i n whi ch to em body

h is concept i o ns h e for many years li ve d up to a
,

resolution mad e abo ut thi s ti me ne ve r to Clo se ,

h is eye s at night wi th out havi ng produced so m e

design .

What wonder that at twe nty five this n obl e youth -

,

who s e i nce ssant to il had perfected geni u s was the ,

marve l of h is age ! What wonder that his famou s

g r oup Tlz e se ns va ngnis/ z in t z e M in ot a u r
/ el i cit ed
, g ,

the e nthusias ti c admirati on of the mo st n ote d art

critic s of R om e ! Wh a t wonder that the l ittle peas
ant boy who had first opened h is eyes in 1 757 in a
, , ,

mud cabi n Clo sed them at l ast i n 1 8 2 2 in a ma rb le

, , ,

p a lace c r owned wi th a ll of fa me and ho n or a n d we alth

,

the world could gi ve ! But bette r s ti ll he was lo ved ,

and enshrined in the hearts of the peopl e as a friend ,

of the poor a patron of s truggling meri t a ma n in

, ,

whom nobil ity of Char acte r overtoppe d even th e

genius of the art ist .
 76

RA N K L I N S L E S S O N O N TI M E VA L U E
’
F

D os t t h o u lo ve life The n, d o not sq ua n e r t ime ,

d for t ha t is
t h e st u ff li fe is ma d e of F RANKLIN .

F RA N K L I N not o nly understood th e valu e of ti m e ,

but he put a pri c e upon it that m a d e others a ppr e

ci a te it s worth .

A custo mer who came o ne day to hi s little boo k

store in Philade l phi a not being sati s fied with t h e ,

price dema nded by the Clerk for the book he wishe d

to purch ase asked for the proprietor
, Mr Fra n k . .

”
lin is very busy just now in the press r oo m replie d ,

the C le r k The ma n however w h o had alre a d y

.
, ,

spent a n h our a i mless ly turning o ver books insiste d ,

o n seeing h im I n answe r t o the clerk s su mm ons

’
.
,

Mr F r a nklin hurr ie d out fr o m t h e newsp a per est a b

.

lis h me n t at the b a ck O f the s tore .

What is the lowest price you ca n ta ke for thi s

book s ir ! a sked the leisu r ely cu s t ome r holding up
, ,

”
the volu me “
O n e dolla r and a qu a rter w a s t h e
.
,

p r o m pt r eply A dollar and a qu a rte r ! W hy

.
,

your Clerk asked me only a doll a r j u s t no w .

”

” “
True s a id F r a nklin a nd I could h a ve bette r
, ,

”
affor ded to t ake a doll a r th a n to le ave my work .

The ma n who seemed to be in d oubt a s to

,

wh ether M r Fra nkli n was i n e arne st sa id j ok ingly

.
, ,

“
Well c o m e no w tel l me you r l o west pr ice for th is
, ,
 77

book . dol l a r and a h a lf was the grave

O ne ,

“
reply . A dollar and a h a lf ! Why you ju s t ,

”
o ff ered it for a dol l a r and a quarter Y e s and I .
,

could have better taken that pric e then th a n a d oll a r

”
and a half now .

Without another word the cre stfall en purchas er

,

la id the money on the counter and left the store .

H e h ad learned not only th at he who squ a nders

h is own ti me is fooli s h but that h e who wa s te s
,

t h e time of othe r s is a th i e f .

F R O M S TO RE B O Y TO MI L L I O NA I RE

B UT I am on l y ni n eteen years old Mr R iggs , .

,

a n d the speaker looked questioningly into the eyes

of h is co mpanion as if he doubted hi s seriousne ss

,

i n a sk i ng h i m to beco me a pa rtner in hi s bus ine ss .

Mr R iggs w a s not joking however a nd he me t

.
, ,

George Peabody s perplexed gaze smilingl y a s he

’
,

repl i ed : Th a t is no objection I f you are will ing .

t o go i n with me a nd put your labor against my

capital I shall be wel l s atis fied
, .

Thi s wa s the turn i ng point i n a life wh i ch w a s to

l eave it s i mpre ss on two of the world s greates t ’

nation s And what we r e the experiences th a t led

.

to i t ! They were utte rl y commonplac e a nd in ,

 8
0

som e re spect s s uc h as fall to t h e l ot of m any

country boy s to day -
.

At eleve n th e lad was ob liged to earn h is o w n

l ivi ng . At that time hi s n a tive tow n ,

D a nvers Massachusetts p r e s ented fe w opportu n i

, ,

tie s to the ambi tiou s H e took the best t h a t .

ofi e r e d — a p o s it i o n a s store boy in the vill a ge

’
gr oc e r s .

Four ye a r s of fa i thfu l work and constant e fi o r t :

at self culture followed H e was now fifteen H i s

-
. .

amb i tio n w a s growing He mu s t s eek a wider fie l d . .

Another year passed a nd the n came the longed for ,

-

openi ng Joyfully the youth se t out for h is

.

bro t her s s tore in Newburyport Massachusett s

’

, , .

Here h e felt h e would h ave a be tter Chance But .

di sappointme nt a nd d i sas ter were l urki ng rou n d

th e c o rne r Soon after he h a d taken up h is new
.

duti e s the s tore was burned to th e ground

, .

I n th e mean t i me h is fath e r had d i ed and h is

, ,

mother whom he i dolized n eed e d h is help more

, ,

tha n eve r Pe n niless and out of work but n ot

.
,

dishea rte n ed he i mmediatel y look ed about f or a n

,

other position Gl adly he acce pted an off er to

.

work in h is u n cl e s dry goods s tore in Georg e ’

to wn D C and here we find him two ye a rs later

, , , ,

at the t i me wh e n Mr Riggs made h is flattering .

proposi t ion .
 79

“
Did influ e nce a pull or financial c o nsidera
, ,

t ions h a ve a nything to do with the merch a nt s

’

C h o ice of a pa rtner ! Nothing wh a tever The .

”
yo u ng ma n h a d n o money a nd no pull s a ve wh a t ,

h is Ch a racter h ad m a de for him H is a gree a ble .

persona lity had won him ma ny friends and his

u ncle much a ddition a l tra de H is busine s s qu al ities .

”
h a d ga ined h im a n envi able reputation H is tact . ,

sa ys S a ra h K Bolton .w a s unusu a l H e never

, .

wou nded the feelings of a buyer of good s never ,

t r ied h im with unneces sa r y t a lk never s eemed im ,

”
p a tient a nd was punctu a l to the minute
, .

Th at Mr R iggs h a d made no m ist a ke in Choo s

.

in g his partner the rapid growth of his busines s

,

conclusive ly proved About a ye a r a f ter the p a rt

.

n e r s h ip ha d been fo r med the fi r m moved to B a l t i ,

m or e. S o well did the business flouri s h i n

B a lti more th a t with i n seven years the p a rtne r s
had e sta blished b r a nch hou s es in New Y ork and
Phil adelphi a Fin ally Mr R igg s decided to r etire
. .
,

a nd Pe a body who w a s then but th i rty five found

,
-
,

hi m se lf at the hea d of the bu s ine ss .

London which he had vis ited seve ral t i me s

, ,

now a ttr acted h im I t o ffered great possi bilitie s

.

for ba nking He went there s tudied fin a nce e s

.
, ,

t a blis h e d a b a nking bus i n e s s and thenc e forth made ,

L ond o n his h ea dqu a r ters .

 80

Weal th bega n to pour i n upo n h i m in a go l d e n

strea m But although he had worked steadi l y f o r
.
,

this it w a s not for perso nal end s He n ever ma r

, .

ried and t o the end lived s i mply and u nos t e n t a

, , ,

t io u s ly
. Through the l ong years of pati ent wo r k
a gre a t purp ose had been s haping hi s life Daily .

he h a d pray ed that God might give him m ea n s

wherewith to help hi s fellow me n H i s praye r wa s
-
.

being answered in overflow i ng meas ure .

Business interest s con stra i ned h im to spend t h e

l atter ha lf of hi s life i n London ; but absence only
deepened h is love for hi s own country Al l th a t
.

gr eat we alth c o uld do to a dvance the welfare and

p r estige of the U nited States w a s done by t h e
milli o n a i r e phil a nthropi s t
. B ut above a ll else h e ,

t r ied t o bring within the reach of poor child r e n

th a t which w a s denied hi mse lf — a sch o ol ed u cation
, .

The Pe abody I nstitute in his native town w i th ,

its free libra r y and free course of lectures ; th e I n

s t it u t e Ac a de my of M u sic and A r t Gal lery of Bal
, ,

ti mo r e ; the Museu m of Nat u ral H istory at Y ale

U nive r sity ; the Mu seum of Arch a eology and E t h
n olo
gy a t H a r va rd U nivers ity ; the Pe a body Acad

e my of Science at Sale m Mass achusetts be s ides

, ,

l a rge c o ntr ibu tion s every year to l i brari es a n d other

educ a tion al a nd phil a nth r opic institution s all o ver
the cou n t r y be a r witne ss to hi s l ove for hu mani ty
, .
 81

S urpassi ng a ll th is however was his e s tabl i sh

, ,
.

m ent of the Peabody fund of three million doll a r s

f o r the education of the fr eed S lave s of the South ,

and fo r the eq ually n e edy poor of the white race .

An equal amount had been previou sly dev oted

to the bette r housing of the Londo n poor A .

drea m al mo s t too good t o co m e true it se emed to

t h e toile r s i n the gre a t City s sl u ms when they
’

fo und their filthy unhea lthy tenements replaced by

,

Cl e a n whole s ome dwellings well s upplied with air

, ,

a nd su n light and all m odern conve ni en ces a nd

co mfo rts Londo n pre s ented its ge n e rous be ne fa c
.

tor with the freedom of the city ; a bro nze s ta tue

w a s erected in hi s hon o r and Q ueen V ictoria who
, ,

w o uld fa in h a ve l oaded h im with titl e s a nd honors ,

— al l of which he respectfu l ly decli n e d — declared

“ ”
h is act to be Wholly wi thout p a ra l l e l A beauti .

ful m iniature portrait of her Majes ty which s h e ,

caused to be s pec i ally m ade for h i m and a letter ,

written by her own hand we re the on ly gifts he

,

would a cc e pt .

Gl o riously had h is great purpose be en fulfi lled .

H e who began life as a poor boy h ad g i ven t o the

furtherance of e ducation a nd for th e benefit of the
poor i n variou s ways the sum of ni ne m illion dol
lars. The remaini n g four m ill i on doll ars of hi s
for t une w a s divided amo ng h is relatives .

STO RI ES F RO M L I FE 6
 82

E ngl a nd loved a nd hon ored h i m eve n as h is ow n

c o untry did ; a nd when he died i n London N ove m ,

be r 4 1 86 9 she o ffered h im a resting place among

, ,

h e r i mm o r tal s in We s tm inster Abbey H is l a st .

wish however was f ulfilled and h e was laid be s ide

, , ,

his m other in hi s native l a nd .

H is legacies to hu man i ty are doing th ei r spl e n

did work to day a s they have don e i n the past ,

a nd a s they will contin ue to do in the future e n ,

a bl ing multitude s of aspiring sou ls to reach height s

which but for him they never could have attained .

These word s of hi s too s poken on the occasio n

, ,

of the dedicat i on of h is gift to Da n vers — its fr ee ,

I nstitute will s erve f or age s a s a bugle cal l to al l

,
-

youth s w h o a re anxiou s to make the mos t of th em

selve s and like h i m to gi ve of their best to t h e
, , ,

world
Though Provi d e nce h a s gra n te d m e an n u
v a ried and unusual s ucces s i n the pursuit of for
“
tune in other l a nd s he s ai d I am stil l in heart
, ,

the humble boy who left yonder unpretending

dwe lling many very ma ny years ago
, The r e
.

is not a youth within the s ound of my vo i ce whos e

e a rly opportunities and adva ntages are not ve r y
m uch gre a te r th a n were my own ; a nd I h ave si n c e
achieved nothing th a t is i m po ssible to the mo s t
hu mble boy among you Bear i n mi nd that t o. , ,
 83

be tru l y great it is not n ece ssar y t h at you sh ou ld

,

ga i n we alth and i mportanc e Steadfa s t and un .

»

deviating truth fearless and s traightforward i nteg

,

ri t y and an hono r ever unsullied by an unworthy

,

word or acti on mak e the ir possessor greater than

,

worldly s uccess or p rosp e ri ty Thes e q ual ities .

co nsti tut e gr e at ne ss .

I WI L L PA I NT O R D I E !

How A POO R, UNTA UGH T F A R ME R S B OY

’
BE CA ME AN

A R TI S T

“
I WI LLpaint or d ie So s toutl y resol ved a
p oor friendle ss boy on a far away O hio farm amid
, ,
-
,

s urroun d ings calcu lated to quench rather tha n to

foster ambi tion H e kn e w not h o w hi s object was
.

to be accomplished for geniu s i s n e ver fettered by

,

deta ils H e on l y knew that he wo ul d be a n arti s t

. .

Th a t s ettled it H e h ad neve r see n a work of a rt

.
,

or r e ad or hea rd a nything o n the subject I t was .

“
h is soul s voice alo n e that s pok e and the s oul s
’ ’

”
e m phas i s is al ways right .

Left an orphan at the age of el eve n t h e boy ,

agreed to work o n h is unc le s fa rm for a term of ’

five years for the mun ifice nt s u m of ten doll a rs

per annu m th e total amount of wh i ch h e was to
,
 84

r eceive at the end of the five years The littl e .

f ellow struggled bravely along w ith the labori o us

f arm wo r k ne ver for a m o ment losing s ight of h is
,

ideal and profiting a s he could by the few months

,
’

s chooling s natched from the dut i e s of the far m

during the winte r .

Towa rd the close of h is five years s ervi c e a ’

gre a t event h appened There c ame to the neigh

.

bo r h ood an artist fro m W a shington — Mr U h l , .

,

who m he overhea rd by ch a nce spea king on t h e

s ubject of art His words transformed the drea m
.

in the youth s s o ul to a living purpo s e and it w a s

’

“ ”
then he resol ved th a t he would paint or die ,

and that he would go to Washington and study

u nder Mr U hl
. .

O n his rele a se fro m the fa rm he sta r ted f or

W a shington with a c oarse outfit packed away in
,

a sh a bby little trunk a nd a few dollars in h is

,

pocket With the trustfulnes s of extre me youth

.
,

and in ignora nce of a gre a t world he expected t o ,

get work that would en able him to live and a t , ,

the sa me ti me find l eisure for the purs uit of h is

,

r e a l life work .He i mmedia tely sought Mr U hl .

,

who with great gen e rosity o ff ered to teach h im

, ,

without Cha r ge .

Then bega n th e we a r y se a rch for work in a

l a rge City a l r e ady overcrowded with applicants .
 35

In his e a r nestnes s and eagerness the youth went

fro m house to h o use a sking f o r a n y kind of w o r k
“
th a t would en a ble h im t o s tudy a rt But it .

w a s a ll in vain and to s a ve hi mself fro m s t a r va

,

ti o n h e wa s a t length fo rced t o accept the positi o n

of a d ay l a b o r er crushing st o nes fo r s treet p aving
, .

Y e t he h oped t o study p a inting when his d ay s

’

w ork w a s d o ne !

Mr Uhl w a s a t thi s ti m e engaged in p a inting

.

the portra its of Mr s F r a nces H odgs o n Bu r nett s

.
’

s o ns
. I n the c o u r se of c o nve r s a ti o n w ith Mr s .

B u r nett he sp o ke of the he r oic struggle the youth

,

w a s m aking The autho r s he ar t w a s touched by

’
.

the p a thetic s to ry She at o nce w r o te a check f or

.

o n e hundred d o ll a r s a n d h a nded it t o Mr
, Uhl fo r .
,

his pr ot ég é With th at ra r e delic acy of feeling

.

w hich m a r ks a ll be a utifu l s ouls Mr s Bu r nett did ,

.

not wish to e mbar ra ss the struggler by the ne ce s

s it of th a nking h e r Do n o t l et h im even w rite
y .

to me she sa id to Mr U h l
,
“
Si mply say to h im
. .

th a t I sh a ll sa il for E u r ope in a few d ays a nd this is ,

to give h im a Ch a nce to w o r k a t the thing he c a res

”
for so m uch I t will a t le ast give h im a sta r t
. .

I n the throbbing life of the c r o wd ed city one

he a rt be a t high with hope a nd h a ppiness th a t night .

A yo uth l a y a wake until m o r ning t o o be w ilde r ed ,

with gra titu de a nd a maze m ent t o c o mp r ehend the

 86

mean i ng of the good fo rtune which had com e to

h im. Who could hi s benefactor be !
Three years l ater at the annual exhibitio n of
,

Washingto n a rtist s Mrs Burnet t s tood before a

, .

re markably vivid portrait Addre ssing the arti st .

i n Charge of the exhibition s he sa id : Th at see m s ,

to m e very st r ong I t look s a s if it m u s t be a

.

rea listi cl ikenes s Who did i t !

.
”

“
I am s o gl a d you like it I t was painted by .

y o ur
p r oté é
g M rs ,Bu r nett . .
”

My pr ot ég é My pr otég é Whom do you

”
me a n !
Why th e young ma n you saved from de s p a i r
,

three ye a rs ago Don t you re me mber young

.
’

W
W queried Mrs Burnett . .

The young ma n wh o se st o ry Mr Uh l tol d you . .

Mr s Burn ett then inqui r ed if the p o rt r ait w a s

.

for sale When informed that the pictu r e was a n

.

order and not for sale she asked if there wa s a n y

,

thing else of Mr W . s on exhibiti o n

’
She w a s .

c o nducted to a striking picture of a turban ed h ead ,

w hich wa s pointed out a s another of Mr W

’
s .

work s .

How much doe s h e a s k for it !

”
A h u nd r ed a nd fifty dollars .

Put sold upon it and when Mr W , co me s .

,
 37

t ell him h is f r iend has bought hi s picture s aid Mrs , .

B urnett .

O n her re tur n hom e Mr s Burnett made out a .

check wh i ch s h e incl o sed in a letter to the young

,

p a inte r I.t wa s m a i led simult a neously with a

l etter fr om her pr otég é who had but j ust heard of
,

h e r return from E urope in wh i ch h e begged her

,

to accept a s a slight expression of his grat i tude

, ,

the picture s h e had j us t pu r cha sed The turba ned .

h ead now adorn s the hall of Mr s Bur n ett s house:

’
.

i n W a sh i ngton .

“
I do not understand it even tod ay declares ,

Mr W .
“
I knew n o thing of Mrs Burnett .
,

n o r s h e of me Why d i d she do it ! I only kn o w

.

that th at hundred dollars wa s worth m ore to me then

than fifty th o usand in gold would be now I lived .

u pon it a whole ye a r and it put m e on my feet

, .

Mr W . is a succe ss ful artist now favorably ,

k nown in h i s own count r y a nd in E ngla n d for the

s tre ngth and prom i se of his work .

TH E C A L L TH A T S P E A K S I N TH E BLOO D

N ATUR E took the meas ure of little Tomm y

E dw a r ds for a r ound hole bu t his p a rents teache r s
, , ,

a nd al l Wi th whom h is childhood w a s cas t got it into ,

 88

th ei r heads that Tommy w a s certain l y i ntende d f o r a

squa r e hole 5 0 wi th th e bes t i ntentio ns in the
.
,

worl d —
, bu t oh ,

s uch woefu l ig
no r a n ce t h ey
tortured the po or
li ttle fello w a nd
crippl ed h im for
life by t r ying to
fit h im to th e ir
pa tte rn i ns te a d
of th at design e d
for h im by the
all wi se Mothe r
-
.

M oth e r N a
t u re c a ll e d t o
Tommy to g o
i nto the wood s
a n d fiel d s t o ,

w a d e t h r o u gh
the bro oks a nd ,

make frie n ds
w i th al l the liv
i ng things s h e
ha d pl aced the r e ,

— t a dpoles beetles frogs c r ab s m ice rats spid e rs

, , , , , , ,

bugs ,
— every thing th at had l ife W illingly lov
.
,
 89

ing ly d i d the li ttl e lad obe y but on l y to be wh i pped

,

a nd scol de d by good Mother E dwards when he l et

loose i n her kitchen the precious tre as ures wh i ch
he had collected in hi s ramble s .

I t wa s provoking to have ra ts m i ce to ads bug s , , , ,

and a ll sorts of creepy things s ent sprawling over

one s c l ean kitchen floor But the pity of it was
’
.

that Mr s E dw ards did not understand h e r boy and

.
,

thought the only cure for what she dee med his mis
ch ie v ous prope ns ity wa s whipping So To mmy .

w a s whipped and scolded and scolded a nd wh i pped, ,

which however did n ot in the least abate hi s l ove

, ,

for Nature .

Drive n to despe rati o n hi s m other betho ught her

,

of a p lan She would ma ke the boy p r i so ner a nd

.

see i f th i s would tame h im With a st o ut r o pe she .

tied h i m by the l eg to a ta ble a nd shut h im i n a ,

room al one B u t no s o oner w a s the door Cl osed

.

tha n he dragged hi msel f and the table to the fi r e

plac e a nd a t the risk of sett i ng hi mself a nd the
, ,

ho us e o n fire burned the rope which bo u nd h im

, ,

and mad e h is escape i nto t h e woods to collect new

s pecimens .

A n d yet his parent s did not unders ta nd I t was .

time however to send h im to sch o ol They wo uld

, , .

s ee what the schoolmaste r wo uld d o f o r him But .

the school ma ster w a s as blind a s the parents and ,

 90

Tommy s doom was seal ed whe n one morni ng

’
, ,

while th e school w a s at prayers a jackdaw poked ,

it s head out of hi s pocket and bega n to ca w .

H i s next teacher m isunders tood whipped and , ,

bore with him until one day nea r ly every boy in the
school found a h or Se leech wriggling up his l eg
-
,

t r ying to suck his blood Th is e n ded h is se cond

.

sch ool experience .

He wa s given a third trial but with no bette r ,

results th a n before Things went on i n the usu al

.

wa y u ntil a centipede was discovered i n a nothe r

’
boy s desk A l tho ugh in this case Tom my was
.

i nnocent of any knowledge of the int r ude r he wa s ,

fo u nd guilty whipped a nd s ent home with the

, ,

m ess age “
,Go and tell yo u r father to get you on
board a ma n of war as that is th e bes t schoo l for
- -
,

ir r e cla ima ble s such as you .

H is sch o ol life thus ended he wa s appre n ticed to ,

a shoe maker a nd thencefo r th m ade his living at

,

the bench But every sp a re mo ment w a s gi ven t o

.

the work which was meat and drink life i t self , ,

to h im .

I n hi s ma n hood to enable him to C l assify the

,

m i nute a nd Copi ous knowledge of birds beasts and , ,

insects wh ich he h a d been gatheri n g since Child

hood with gr ea t l a bo r and p a tience h e learned how
,

to re ad and w r ite Later r e alizing h ow h is l ack of

.
,
 9 I

education hampered h i m he e n deavored t o sec ur e

,

the me a n s t o en a bl e h im to s t udy to better a d va n

tage and s old for twe nty pou nd s s terling a ve ry
,

l a rge number of valu a ble specime ns He tried to .

get e mploy ment a s a naturalist a nd but for hi s poor , ,

re a ding and writing would have s ucceeded

, .

Poor l ittl e Scotch laddi e ! Had his parents or

teachers understood h im he might have bee n as
,

great a n a turalist a s Aga ss i z and hi s life in s tead of

,

bei ng dwa rfed and crippled would have bee n a joy

,

to him sel f an d a n in cal cu lable be n efit to the worl d .

WA S H I NGTO N S Y O U TH F U L
’
H ER O I S M

No gr e a t d e e d is d one
By fa lt e r e r s wh o a sk for i
C e r ta nt y .

GO D will gi ve you a rewa rd solemn ly spok e th e ,

gratefu l mother a s s h e received fro m the arm s of

,

the brave y o uth the Child he had riske d hi s l ife to

save A s if her l ip s were touched with the s pirit
.

of prophecy s h e continued
, He will do gre a t,

things for you in return for this da y s work and the ’

,

blessings of thou sa nd s be s ide s mi ne wi ll atte nd

”
you .

The ear of George Washingt on was ever open to

the cr y of distress ; h is sy mpa thy and a id were eve r
 92

at the s ervi ce of those who n eeded them O ne .

cal m sunny day in the s pring of 1 750 he w a s

, , ,

dining with other surveyors in a forest in V irgi n i a .

S ud de n l y the still
ness of the forest
wa s s tartl ed by t h e
piercing shriek of a
woma n Washi n g .

ton instantly spra n g

to h is feet an d h u r
ried to the woma n s ’

assistance .

My boy my bo y , ,

— oh m poor boy
y ,

is drowning a nd they ,

will not let me g o ,

sc r e am ed the f r a ntic
m other as s h e t r i e d ,

to escape from the de

ta in ing h a nd s whi c h
withheld her fro m
H T
E RES O RES T HE B T
OY M T
j
O HIS
u mO
p i n g
HE R
i n to t h e
“
rapids O h s ir ! .
,

she i mpl o red a s s he caught sight of the manly

,

yo uth of eightee n whose presence even then in

,

“
spi r ed c o nfid ence ; O h s ir you will surel y do
, ,

s ome t hi ng f o r me !
 93

For an i n s tant Wa shington measured the rock s

and the whirling currents with a co mprehensive
look a nd then throwing off his coat plunged into
, , ,

t h e r o a ring r a pids where he h a d caught a gli mpse

of the dro wning boy With st o ut hea rt a nd steady
.

h a nd he struggled against the seething m ass of

w aters which thre a tened every mo m ent to engulf

o r dash him to pieces a g a inst the S harp pointed -

rock s which l ay concealed beneath .

Three ti mes he h a d al most succeeded in gra sp

’
in g the child s dress when the force of the c u rrent
,

d r ove h im b a ck . Then he ga thered h i mself to !

g ether for one l a st e ffo rt

. J u st as the Child w a s

a bout to esc a pe h im fo r ever a nd be shot over the

falls into the whirlpool belo w he clutched h im , .

The specta tors on the b a nk cried out in horror .

T hey gave both up fo r l ost .But Washington

s ee m ed to le a d a Ch a r med life a nd the cr y o f ho r r o r
,

w a s ch a nged to one of joy when still h o lding the

,

child he emerged l ower down from the vortex of

,

w aters .

Str iking out for a low place in the bank within a ,

few m inutes he re ached the sh o re with his bu r den .

Then a m id the accla ma tions of th o se who ha d wit

n e s s e d h is herois m and the blessings of the over
,

joyed mothe r W a s h ington pla ced the unco nscious

, ,

but still l iving child in her arms

, .
 94

A CO W H I S C A P I TA L

A cow l Now of all thi ngs in t h e worl d of

, ,

wh a t use w a s a cow to a n ambiti ous bo y w h o

wanted to go to coll ege ! Y e t a co w and noth i n g ,

m ore w a s the capital the e n ti r e s tock in trade o f

, , ,

an aspiring fa rmer boy who felt within him a c a l l

to another k ind of l ife tha n that h is father l ed .

Thi s youth who wa s yet i n hi s te ens n ext to h is

, ,

father and m other l oved a boo k b e tter tha n a n y

,

thing el s e in th e world and h is gre a t amb i tio n

,

”
was to go to college to beco me a scho la r
,
“
.

Whether he followed the plow or to ssed h a y und e r ,

a burning J ul y sun or c h opp ed wood wh ile h is

, ,

bl ood tingled fr om the combined eff ect s of exerci s e

and the keen Dece mber wind his thought s were ,

ever fixed on the probl em How ca n I go t o,

”
college !
Hi s pare n ts we r e poor and wh ile they coul d
, ,

gi ve h im a comfo r t able s upport a s long as h e

worked on the fa rm with them they coul d not ,

aff ord to send h im to college But if they could .

no t give him any ma teri a l a id they ga v e him al l ,

their sympathy which kept the fir e of his resolu

,

ti o n burning at white he a t .

There is some subtle comm u nication be t ween

the m ind a nd the spiritual fo rce s of achieve ment
 95

w h i c h renders it i mpossible fo r one to thi nk for

a n
y gre a t length of time on a tangled problem .
,

w ith o ut a method for its u nt a ng le me n t being s ug

g ested . S O one , even ing while driving the c o ws ,

h o m e to be milked the thought flashed a c r oss the,

“ ’
bra in of the would be s tudent : If I can t h ave -

a nyth i ng e l se for c ap i ta l why c a n t I have a cow !

’
,

I c o uld do so mething with it I a m s u re and to , ,

”
c o llege I mu s t go co me what will , C ourage is .

m o r e th a n half the b a ttle Decisio n a nd E nergy .

a r e it s capt a ins and when these thre e are un i ted

, , ,

victory is s ure The p r oble m of go i n g to coll ege

.

w a s al re a dy m ore th a n h a lf solved .

O u r youthful fa r mer did not let h is thought grow

“
cold H urrying at o n ce to h is fath e r he said I f
.
, ,

you will give me a cow I shall fee l free with your , ,

p er m i ssion , to go forth and s e e what I c a n do for

”
m yse lf in the worl d The father agreeing to the
.
,

p roposition which
, seemed to h im a p r a ctic a l one ,

“
replied he a rtily My s on you S hall have the best
, ,

m ilch cow I own .

Foll owed by the prayers and blessings of his

p a rent s the youth sta rted fr om home d r iving his
, ,

co w before h im his destination being a cert a in

,

academy between seventy five and o ne hundred -

m i les di st a nt .

V ery s o on he expe r ie nced the t r uth of the old

 96

adag e that H e ave n hel ps tho s e who h e lp th e m

s elves
. At the e n d o f h is first day s jou rney wh en ’

he sought a night s l od ging for h i mself a n d a cco m

’

m od a t ion for hi s co w in return for h e r mil k h e met ,

with unexpected k in dne ss Th e g ood p e ople t o

.

whom he appl ie d n ot o nl y refu se d to t ak e a ny

thing from h i m but gave h i m bre ad t o e at w i th
,

his m ilk and h is cow a comfo r table barn t o lie in

, ,

with a l l the hay s he cou l d eat .

During the ent i re l ength of h is jou r ney he me t ,

w i th equal k i nd ness and considerati o n at th e han ds

of al l those with whom he cam e in co ntact ; and ,

whe n he reached the ac ademy the pr i ncipal a nd ,

h is wi fe were s o p l e as ed with h is frank modest , ,

yet self confi d e nt beari ng that they at o n ce ad o pted

-
,

hi mself and hi s cow i nto the fami ly H e worked .

for hi s boa rd and th e C O W u ng rud g in gl y gave h e r

,

milk for the ge n eral good .

I n due ti me the you th wa s graduat e d w i th

honor s from the acade my He wa s th en r eady
.

to enter college but had n o mon e y The k i nd

, .

he a rted princip al of the acade my and h is wife agai n

c ame to his a id and helped h im out of th e di ffi culty
by pu r chasing h is cow The money thus obtaine d
.

en abled h im to take the n ext step forward H e .

bade h i s good friend s farewel l and the sam e ye a r ,

entered college For fo ur years he worked s tead il y

.
 97

wi th hand and brai n I n spite of the hard work .

they were h a ppy years and at their close the per ,

severing student h ad won in addition to hi s Class i ,

c a l degree many new friend s and w ell wishers

,
-
.

H is next step wa s to take a theol ogical c o urse in

another instit ution Whe n he had finished the .

course he w as ca lled to be pri nc i pal of the academy

,

to which hone s t a mbitio n firs t led him wi th hi s

cow .

Y e ars afte r ward a learned profe ss or of He bre w ,

a nd the a uthor of a scholarly C om mentary

“
,
”

cheered and encoura ged m a ny a struggling y o uth

by relating the story of h is o w n experiences from
the ti m e when he a si mple rustic had s tarted for
, ,

c o l lege with n a ught but a cow as c apital .

Thi s sto r y w a s fi r st related to the writer by the

l at e Fra n ces E Willard wh o vouch ed for i t s truth
.
, .

TH E B O Y WH O SAI D “
I MU S T
back than th e me mory of the grand
F A RTH E R
fathers a nd gra nd mothers of some of my young
readers can go there lived in a h i sto ric town in
,

Mass achusett s a b r ave l ittl e lad who loved book s

a nd s tudy mo r e th a n toys or gam es or pl ay of any ,

kind The dea r est wish of h is heart w a s to be abl e

.

S TO RI E S F RO M L I FE —7
 98

to g o to school e ve r y day like more fort un a te bo y s

,

a n d g i rls so tha t when h e sh ould gr ow up t o be a

, ,

ma n h e might be well ed ucate d a n d fi t te d t o d o

,

s o me gra n d work in th e worl d B ut his hel p w a s .

needed at home a n d you ng as h e was he beg a n

, , ,

then to lear n th e l e ss o ns of uns e lfis h ne ss a nd d u t y .

I t wa s hard wasn t i t for a l ittl e fe ll o w o nly e ig h t

’
, ,

years old to have to lea ve OE go ing t o school a n d

settl e down to work o n a farm ! M a n y you ng fo l k s
a t h is age thi n k they are ve r y badly t r e ated if t h e y
are not permitted to have s om e toy or s to r y bo o k ,

or other th i ng o n wh ich they h ave se t the ir h ea r t s ;

a nd older boys a n d g irl s too are a pt t o pou t a n d
, ,

frow n if the i r whim s are not gr atified But Th e o .

dore s parent s were very poor a n d c ould not e ve n

’
,

indu lge h is l onging to g o to schoo l .

D id h e gi ve up hi s dream s of being a gr e a t
m an ! Not a b i t of i t He d id not e ve n cr y o r
.

utter a co mpla i nt but manfully re s ol ve d that h e

,

“ ”
wo ul d do e ve ry th i ng he could to help fathe r a n d ,

”
“
then whe n wi n ter co me s h e tho ught I shal l be
, , ,

”
a ble to go to s c hool agai n Bravely th e litt l e
.

fellow toiled thro ugh the beautifu l springtid e ,

tho ugh h i s wi stful glance s were ofte n turned in

the direction of the s choolho use But he r e so l ute l y .

bent to his work and re n e w ed his reso l ve tha t h e

wou ld be educated A s spring deepened in to s um
.
 99

me r , thework o n th e farm gre w harder a n d h arder ,

bu t Th e odore rejo ice d t ha t th e fl ight of ea ch se as o n

brought winter neare r .

At l ength autum n h a d va nished ; th e fru i ts of

the sprin g and summer s toil h a d bee n gathered ;
’

the boy wa s fre e to go to hi s beloved s tudie s aga in .

A n d oh how h e reve l ed i n the few books at h is

,

co m ma nd i n the vil lage school ! How eage rl y he

t rudged acro ss the fie l d s mor n ing after morni ng t o
, ,

t h e s choo l house where he alwa ys he ld firs t p l ace in

,

h is C l ass ! Blu s te ri n g wind s and fierce sno ws torm s

h a d no terrors for the a rde n t s t udent H is only .

s orrow w a s that wi n ter w a s all too short a n d the ,

day s fre ighted with the happiness of re gu l ar s tudy

s l ipped all too q u i ckly by But the k in d he a rted
.
-

s chool m a ster le n t him books s o that whe n spri n g , ,

cam e round agai n and the boy had to go back to

,

w ork h e could pore over them i n h is odd mo men ts

,

of relaxatio n As he pati e ntly pl odded al on g gu i d

. ,

in g the p l ow ove r the rough e a rth h e recited the ,

l e s son s he h a d l e arn e d duri ng the br i ef w inter sea

s o n and afte r d i n n er wh il e the oth e rs re s t e d awhile
, ,

from the i r labors Th e odore eagerly turned the

,

p age s of one of hi s borrowed book s from wh i ch he ,

d rank i n deep d r aughts of delight and knowl edge .

E a r ly i n the s u mmer mornings before the re gu l ar ,

’
work began a nd late i n the evening wh en t h e day s
, ,
 I CD

task s h ad all been done he r e ad a nd r e r ead h is

,

treasured vol um es un t il h e k n e w the m fr om c o v e r

to cove r .

The n h e wa s c o nf ro nt e d w it h a di ffi c ul t y H e .

h a d begu n to study Latin but fou nd it i mpossible

,

“
to get along without a d i ct i o n ary What s hall I .

do ! he thought ; there is no o n e from who m I

” “

ca n borrow a Lati n dict i o n ary a nd I c an not a s k ,

father to buy m e one becau se he ca nn ot aff ord

,

” “
i t But I mu s t hav e it
. .That mu s t settl ed the
questio n Thre e qua r ters of a centu r y ago b o ok
. ,

store s were few and book s very costly Boys a n d .

girl s who have fre e access to libraries an d readin g

rooms and ca n buy the be st wo r ks of gre at authors
, ,

s o meti mes for a few cents c a n h a rdly i mag i ne t h e

,

di fficultie s which beset the little farmer boy i n t r y

in g to get the book he w a nted .

D i d he get the dictionary ! O h ye s Y ou t e , .

me mber he had s aid I mu st , After think i ng a n d

.

think i ng h o w he Could get the money to buy i t ,

a bright idea flashed a cross hi s mi nd The bu s h e s .

i n the fiel ds a bout the farm s ee med waiting for

”
so me on e to pick t h e ripe whortl ebe rri es W hy . ,

“
thought he can t I gath e r and sel l enough to bu y
,
’

”
my dicti on a r y ! The next morning before any o n e ,

el s e in the fa rmh ou s e wa s asti r Theodore wa s m o v

,

ing rap i dly through the b u she s p i ck i ng picki n g , , ,

 IOI

p i c ki ng wi th unwearied fingers th e shi n i n g be rries

, , ,

eve r y one of which w a s of greater value in his eyes

th a n a penny would be to some of you .

At las t a fter p i cking and s elling s eve r al bu s h els

,

of ripe berrie s he had enough m oney to buy th e

,

cove t ed dictionary O h what a joy i t was to

.
,

possess a book that had been purchas ed wi th h is

ow n mo n ey ! H o w i t thrill ed the boy a n d qu i c k
e ned hi s amb i t i o n t o re n ewed e ff ort s !

88 SR O it 0

W el l done my boy ! B ut The odore I ca nnot

, , ,

”
a ff ord to keep you there .

“ ”
“
Well father replied the youth but I am not
, , ,

go i ng to study there ; I shal l study at hom e at odd

ti mes and thus prepare mysel f for a fin al exami n a
,

”
tio n which will give me a diploma
, .

Theodore h a d just retu r ned from Boston an d wa s ,

tel l ing his delighted fa ther how he h a d spent th e

h o lid a y wh ic h he had ask e d fo r i n the morn i ng .

Starting out earl y f r o m th e fa rm s o as to reach ,

Boston before the i ntense heat of th e August d a y

had set i n he cheerfu l ly tramped the te n mile s th a t
,

la y between h i s home in L exingto n and H arvard

C ollege where he presented h i mself as a cand i d a te
,

fo r a d mi s s i o n ; and when the exa m in a ti on s we r e

ove r The od o r e h a d t h e j oy of h ea ri ng h is n ame
,

announced in the l ist of s uccessful studen t s The .

 10 2

yo uth had r eached the go a l which the boy of eigh t

h ad di mly seen And no w if y o u wo uld le a r n h o w
.
,

he wo r ked a nd ta ught in a c o untry school in o r de r

to ea r n the mo ney t o spend t w o yea r s in c o llege ,

and h o w the yo ung ma n bec am e o n e o f the m ost

e minent p r eache r s in A merica yo u m ust r ead a
,

c o mplete bi ography of The odore Pa r ker the he r o ,

of thi s l ittl e s to r y .

TH E H I D D E N TRE A S U RE

L O NG l ong a go i n the sh a d o wy p ast Ali H afed

, , ,

d w elt o n the sho r es o f the R iver I ndus i n the ,

ancient land of the H indus H is be a utiful c o ttage

.
,

set in the midst of fruit and flo w er g a rdens l o oked ,

from the m o unta in S ide on which it stood over the

broad expa nse of the noble river R ich m e ado w s .
,

waving fields of grain a nd the he r ds and flocks con

,

t e n t e d ly grazing on the p as ture lands test i fied t o

,

the thrift a nd prosperity of Ali H afed The love .

of a be a utiful w ife a nd a l a rge fam ily of l ight he a rted -

b o ys a nd gi r ls made his ho m e a n e a rthly pa r a dise .

He a lthy we a lthy c o ntented r ich in lo ve a nd fr iend

, , ,

s hip his C u p o f h appiness see med full t o overflowing

,
.

H appy and c onten t ed a s we h ave seen w a s t h e

, ,

good Ali H afed when o ne evening a le a r ned p r iest

,
 I o3

of B udd ha journey i ng a long the ban ks of th e I ndus

, ,

stopped for rest and r efre shment at hi s home where ,

all wayfare rs were hospi tabl y welcomed a nd tr e ated

a s ho n ore d gue s t s .

After the e ve n i ng m e al the farmer an d his fami l y

, ,

w ith the prie s t i n thei r m i d st gathered aro u nd th e

,

fi r es ide the Chilly m o untai n air of the late autum n

,

m a king a fire desirable The disciple of Buddha

.

entertai ned hi s ki n d hos ts w i th v a ri ou s l egend s and

m yt h s and l a st of all with the story of the creat i o n
, .

He told h i s wonderi ng l i s teners h o w i n th e be gin

n ing the s ol id earth o n w hich they li ved wa s n ot solid
at all but a m ere b ank of fog
, The Great Spirit
. ,

“
said he thrust h is finger into the bank of fog and
,

began sl owl y descri b i ng a Ci rc l e in it s mid s t incr e a s

,

i ng the s pe ed gradu al ly u nti l the fog went whirl ing

r ound h i s finger s o ra pid ly th a t it w a s tra nsformed

i nto a glowi ng ball of fire Then the C reative .

Spiri t hurl ed the fie r y ba l l from h is ha nd and it ,

shot th rough the un i verse bu r ning its way through

,

other banks of fog and c ondensing the m into ra in ,

which fell in grea t floods c o ol i ng the su r face of the

,

i mme nse bal l F lames then bursting fr om the inte

.

rior through the c ooled o uter crust threw up the ,

h ills an d m ou n tain range s a nd made the beautiful

,

fe rt il e val leys I n the flood of rain that followed

.

this fiery up h e aval the substa nce that c ooled ve r y

,
 10 4

qu i ckl y form ed gra n i te th a t which cool ed l es s r a p

,

idly be came copper the next in degree cooled do w n

,

into Sil ve r a n d the las t bec ame gold But the m o s t

, .

beaut ifu l s ubs tance of all the d i amon d was fo r m e d

, ,

by the first b eam s of s u n l ight co n d ense d o n t h e

e arth s s urfac e
’
.

A drop of s unlight the size of my thumb sa i d ,

the pries t hold i ng up h is ha nd i s worth m ore th a n

,
“
,

”
m ines of gol d Wi t h o n e s uch drop he conti n ue d
. , ,

turning to Ali H a fed you could buy m a ny farm s

“
,

l ike yours ; with a h a ndfu l you could buy a provi n ce ,

and w i th a m i ne of diamond s you could pu rch a s e a

”
whole k i ngdom .

The company p a rted for th e ni gh t and Al i H afe d ,

w ent to bed but not t o sl eep

, Al l night l on g h e .

to s sed restlessly fro m side to side thinking pl a n , ,

ning s che m i ng how he could secure so me dia m o nd s

,
.

The de mon of discontent h ad e ntered hi s soul a n d ,

the blessings and adva ntages which he posse ss ed in

such a bundance see med a s by so me mal icious magic
to h a ve utterly va nished Although his wife and .

child r en loved h im a s befo re ; a lthough his far m hi s ,

orch a rd s his flocks a nd herds were as re a l a nd pro s

, ,

pe r o ns as they had eve r been yet th e l a st wo r d s of ,

the priest which kept ringing in h i s ears tu r ned h i s

, ,

c o ntent into vague l o ngings a nd blinded him t o a ll

that had h i therto ma de h im happy .
 10 5

Be fo re dawn n ext morni ng the farmer fu ll of h is ,

purp ose w a s a s t i r R ousing th e prie s t he e agerly

, .
,

inqu i red if he cou l d dire ct hi m to a m in e of

di a mo nds .

A m ine of d iamon d s ! ec h oed the as tonished

prie st
. What do yo u who already have so much
,

”
to be g r ateful for want with diamo n d s !
,

I wi s h t o be ri ch a nd p l ac e my Ch il dre n o n
”
thro n e s .

Al l you have to do the n s ai d the Buddh is t

, , ,

“ ”
is to go a n d search unti l you find them .

”
But where shall I go ! que s tio n ed t h e infa t u
ated m a n .

” “
Go anywh e re was th e vagu e reply ; n o r th
, ,

”
s outh east or west
,
—, a nywhere , .

“
But how S hal l I k now the pl ac e ! as k ed t h e
farmer .

When you find a ri ver ru n n i ng ove r wh i te sa nds

between high mountai n ranges in the s e w hite sa nds ,

you wil l find d i amo n ds There are m a ny such .

rivers and many m i nes of di a monds waiting t o be

discovered A l l you h a ve to do is to s tart out a nd
.

go s omewhere and he waved h is han d away ,

”
away !
“
A li H a fe d s mi nd was fully made up I will n o
’
.

“
lo n ger he t h o ught re ma in o n a wretched fa rm
, , ,

to il i ng day in a nd day out for a mere subs i stence ,

 10 6

when acres of d i am ond s untol d wealth ma y be

”
h ad by h im who is bold enough to s eek the m .

He s old h is farm for l e ss tha n ha lf its valu e .

Then a fter p uttin g h is you ng fam i ly u nd e r the care

,

of a ne i ghbor he set out o n h is qu es t

, .

With high hope s a n d the coveted d i amond mines

beck o ni n g i n the far d istan ce A li Hafed began hi s ,

wande r i ng s Duri ng the first few wee ks hi s S pirit s

.

did n o t flag nor d i d h is feet grow weary O n and

, .
,

on he tramped until he cam e to th e Mounta i n s of

,

the Moon beyo nd th e bo un ds of Arabi a Week s

, .

s tretched into mo n ths and the wa nderer often l o o ked

,

r eg r etfully in th e d i rect i on of h i s o n ce h a ppy h o m e .

Still no gleam of wa ters glinti n g over white sand s

greeted hi s eye s But o n h e we nt i nto E gypt
.
, ,

thro ugh P ale s tin e a n d o ther easter n la n ds always

, ,

lo oking for the trea su r e h e stil l hoped to find A t .

last a fter years of fruitl e s s s earch during which h e

, ,

h ad wandered n orth a n d so uth eas t and west hope , ,

left h im All his m o ney w a s spent He w a s st a r v

. .

ing a nd al mo s t n aked a nd the d i a mond s

”
, which
ha d lured him awa y f r o m all that made l ife de a r
where were they ! Poor Al i H afed never k n ew H e .

died by the wa ys ide never dream ing th a t the we a lth

,

f o r which he had sacrificed h a ppines s and l ife migh t

have bee n h is had he remained at home .

a: are as at: 23 as as
 10 7

Here i s a diamo nd !here is a d i amo n d ! H a s

”
A li Hafed re turn e d ! s houted a n e xcited vo ic e .

The spea ker no othe r than our Old acquaintan ce

, ,

the Buddhi s t pri es t was standi n g in the same room

,

where ye a rs before he had told poor Ali H afed how

the worl d wa s ma d e a nd whe re di a mo n d s we re to
,

be fou n d .

No A li Hafe d h a s not r eturned q u ie tly a n

, ,

“
s w e r e d hi s s ucce ss or N either is that whi ch you
.

ho l d i n your ha n d a d i amon d ; i t is but a pre tty

”
blac k pe bbl e I p i cke d up in my gard en .

“
I te ll you sa i d th e pri e s t e xc i ted l y
, this is a , ,

ge n u i ne di a mond I know one when I see i t Tell

. .

”
m e how and where you found i t !
“ ” “
O ne d ay repli ed the farmer sl ow l y
, h avin g , ,

le d my camel i nto th e ga r de n to drink I n otic ed a s , ,

he put hi s nose in to the water a spark le of l igh t ,

com i ng from the whi t e sand at th e bot tom of the

Clear s tream Stoop in g down I pi cked up the
.
,

bl a ck pebbl e yo u now hold gu i d ed to i t by that ,

c r yst al eye i n the c e n te r from whi ch th e li ght

”
fl a she s s o brill i antl y .

“ “
Why th o u si mple one cried the pri e st t hi s
, , ,

is no com mon sto n e but a ge m of the pure st water

, .

”
C o me S how me where thou d i d st fi n d i t
, .

Together they fl e w to the spot where the farmer

“ ”
h ad found the pebble a nd turn i ng over th e white
, ,
 10 8

sa nd s with eager fingers they found to their great , ,

delight other s tones even more valuabl e a nd beau t i

,

ful th a n the firs t Then they exte n ded their sea r ch

.
-

a nd s o the O riental s tory goes eve r y sh ovelf ul of the

, ,

o ld f a rm as acre after a cre was s ifted over revealed

, ,

ge ms with wh i ch to dec o r ate the crown s of e m pero r s

”
and m ogul s .

L O V E TA ME D TH E L I O N

I would e my li st o f frie nds

no t e nt r on ,

!T h o ugh gr a c e d wi t h p o li s h e d ma nne rs a nd fine se nse ,

Ye t wa nt i ng se nsi bili t y ! t h e ma n ,

Wh o ne e dl e ssly se t s foo t upon a wor m .

N E RO ! C ru s hed baffled bl in ded and l ike

, , , ,

S amson s horn of his s trength pro s tra te in h is

, ,

c age la y the gre a t tawny m onarch of the forest .

Heedless of the curious cro wd s pas s i ng to a nd fro ,

he see med deaf a s well as blind to everything go i ng

on a r ound h im Pe r h aps he was dre am ing of the
.

j u ngle P erhaps he wa s l o nging to roam the wi ld s

.

o nce m ore in his n a tive stre n gth P e r h aps me m o .

ries of a happy p ast even i n captiv i ty sti r red h im .

Pe r h ap s B ut wh a t is this ! Wh a t Change h a s
c o m e o er the spirit of his drea ms ! No o n e h a s
’

to uched h im Appa rently nothing has h appened

.
,

to a ro use him O nly a wo man s voice s oft caress

.
’
, ,
 10 9

”
i ng fu ll of l ove ha s utte re d the name N e ro But
, , , .

there w a s magic i n th e s o und I n a n i nsta n t the .

huge an i m al was on hi s fee t Q uivering with e mo .

ti on he ru shed to th e
,

side of the c age fro m

w hence the voice pro
ce e d e d a n d th re w
,

himself aga in s t the

bars with such Vio
lence th a t he fel l back
h alf stunned A s he .

fell he uttered the

p eculi a r n o te o f wel
c ome with which i n ,

h a ppier days he was ,

wo nt to greet his
l o ved and l ong l ost -

m istres s .

Touched wi th th e
devo ti o n of her du mb
fr iend R o sa Bonheur
,
R B P T O SA O N H E UR A ND H ER E
— for it wa s s he who

had spoken rel eas ed from bo n dage the fa ithf ul

a ni mal who m yea rs before S he had b o ught from
, ,

a keeper who declared him unta mabl e .

I n order t o s ecu r e the a ff ecti o ns o f wi ld a ni

”
mals sai d the great hea r t ed pa i nt e r you must
,
-
,
 I IO

l ove them and by l ove S he had subdu e d the fero

,

c lou s beast who m e ve n th e li on tamers had g i ven -

up as hopeless .

Whe n ab o ut to t r ave l for t w o years it be i ng ,

i mp ossible to ta ke her pet with her M ademoiselle ,

Bonheur sold h im to the Jardin de s Plante s in

P a ris whe r e s he fou nd him o n her retu r n totally
, ,

blind ow i ng it is sa id to the ill tre atme n t of the

, , ,

atte n da n t .

Gri e ved beyo n d m eas ure at th e co n ditio n of poo r

Nero she had him re m oved to her C h a teau where
, ,

eve r ythi ng w a s do n e for h is co mfort th a t l o ve could

sugge s t O ft e n i n her l eisure moment s when s h e
.
,

had l a id as ide he r pa inting garb the a rtist wo uld ,

have him taken to her studio w here s he would pl a y ,

with an d fondl e the e n ormou s cre atu re a s if he we r e

a k i tten And there a t l ast h e died h appi ly his
.
, , ,

great paws clingi n g fond l y to the m is tre ss who

loved h im so wel l h is S ightless eye s turn ed upon
,

her to the end a s if bes eechi ng that s he would not

,

aga i n l eave h im .

TH ERE I S RO O M E NO U GH A T TH E TO P

T H E S E wo rds we re u tte red many years ago b y a

y o uth w h o h ad no other me a n s by which to re a ch
th e top th an work and will They have since .
be co m e t h e watch word of e ve r y poor b oy wh o se
a m b itio n is backed by energy and a d e term i nation

to m a ke th e most po ssi ble of him self .

The occasion on whi ch Dan i el Webster firs t sai d

”
There i s room e n ough at the top marked the ,

t u rn i ng po in t in h is life Had he not been a ni

.

m ated a t that ti m e by a n ambi ti on to make the

m o st of his tale nt s h e might have rem aine d forever
,

in obs cur i ty .

H is father a n d othe r fr ie nd s h ad s ecu red for him

t h e p o s i t i on of C lerk of t h e C ourt of C o m mon Pleas ,

o f H ill s bo r ough C ounty New H a mpsh i re

, Daniel .

w a s studying l aw i n th e o ffi ce of Mr C hris topher .

G o r e a di s tingu is hed B os t on l a wyer a n d w a s a b o ut

, ,

r eady for h is adm i ss i o n to th e b a r . The positi on

o ff ered h i m wa s worth fiftee n hu n dred d o l lars a year .

T h is see med a fortun e to the s trugglin g student .

H e l ay awake the whole night following the d a y o n

w hich h e h ad h e ard the good news p l a n ning what
,

he wou l d do for h is fathe r a nd m o ther h is b r o ther ,

E zekiel and hi s si sters

, . Next m orn i ng he hu r r ied
to the offi ce to te ll Mr Gore of hi s good fortune
. .

”
We ll my you n g fr i end sai d the lawyer wh e n
, , ,

Dani e l h a d told his s to r y the gentle me n have

“
,

be e n very k i nd to you ; I am gl a d of it You mu s t.

tha nk t hem for it You will wr i te i mm e d i atel y of

. ,

cour se .
 1 12

Webster ex p l ai ned that sin c e he mu s t go to Ne w ,

H a mpshire imm ediately it wou l d hardly be worth ,

while to wri t e H e cou l d thank h is good fri ends

.

in perso n .

”
Why sa id M r Gor e in great aston is hment
, .
,

’
you do n t mean to accept i t surel y ! ,

The youth s h igh S pirit s we re damped at o n ce by

’

hi s se n ior s ma n ner
’
The bare i dea of not a ccept
.

” “
ing i t he says s o astound e d m e that I s hould
, ,

h ave been glad t o ha ve fou n d a n y hole t o have hid

”
m ys elf i n .

Wel l said M r Gore se ei n g th e d is appo i ntment

, .
,

“
his wo rds had cau sed yu r mu s t de c i de for y o u r ,
'

sel f ; but co me s it d own and l et u s tal k i t over

, .

The offi c e is worth fifteen hu ndred a year you sa y , .

Wel l it n eve r wil l be any more T e n to one if

, .
,

t h ey fi n d out i t is s o much the fees will be reduced , .

Y ou ar e appo in ted now by frien d s ; others may fil l

the i r pl ac es wh o are of di ff ere n t O p ini on s and who ,

h a ve friend s of th ei r own to provi de for Yo u wil l .

lose your pl ac e ; or s upp o s i ng you to retai n it wh a t

, ,

a re you b ut a C lerk for life ! A nd your pros pect s

a s a l awy e r are good en o ugh to en courage you to
go o n Go o n a nd finish your s tudi es ; you a r e
. ,

poor e n ough but there are greate r evils th a n

,

poverty ; live on no man s favor ; wh a t brea d you ’

do eat l et i t be the bread of i ndepe nd e nce ; pu r s ue

,
 1 13

your profes si on m ak e yourself useful to y o ur fri ends

,

and a l ittle fo r m id a ble to yo ur ene m ies and you ,

”
have nothing to fe a r .

H ow fo r tunate Webs ter w a s to have at th is p o int

in his c a reer s o wise a nd fa r s e eing a f r iend ! H is -

father who had ma de many sacrifice s to educate his

,

bo ys sa w in the proff ered cl e rk s hip a great o pening

,

for h i s f a v o ri te D a niel He never drea med of the

, .

f u ture that wa s to ma ke h im one of Americ a s great

’

e s t ora tors and s ta te sm en At first he could not .

believe that the po s ition w hich he had wo r ked s o

h a r d to obtain was to be rejected .

“ “
Daniel Daniel he sa id s orr o wful l y do n t you
, , ,
’

”
m e a n t o t a ke that offi ce !
”
N O i ndeed father was the repl y I h ope I can
, , , ,

d o m uch bette r th a n th at I m ea n to use m y t o ngue .

in t h e courts not my pen ; to be an acto r n ot a

, ,

re gi ster of other men s a cts I hope yet s i r to ’

.
, ,

a s tonish your honor i n yo ur own court by my pro

”
fe s s io na l a tt ai n ments .

J udge Webster made no atte mpt to conceal his

d is appo i ntment He eve n t r ied to disco u rage his
.

s o n by re m indi ng h im that th e re we r e al r e ady m o r e

l awyers th a n the country needed .

I t w a s i n a nswer t o this objection th a t D a nie l

u s ed t h e fa m ous a nd oft quoted words There is
-
,

r oom enough a t th e to p .

—S
STO RI ES PRO
Mg gE
 1 14

Wel l , my
son said th e fo nd but doubti n g
,

“
fa ther yo ur m other has always s a id you wo u ld
,

c o me t o s o mething or nothing She was n ot s u r e .

wh i ch ; I think yo u are n ow a bout settling th at

”
doubt for her .

I t w a s ve r y p a inf ul to Da n iel to disappo i nt h is

father but his pu r po se was fixed and noth ing n ow
, ,

could change it He knew he had tu r n ed his fa ce

.

i n the right direction and though when he co m ,

me nce d to practice law he earn ed o n ly about five o r

si x hundred dol la r s a year he n ever regretted the ,

decision h e had made He ai m ed h igh a nd h e had .

,

I t is true n ow and forever as Lowell say s that , ,

Not fa ilur e , but low a im, is cr ime .

!

TH E U PL I F T OF A S LAVE BO Y S I D EA L
’

In vi ncible d e t e mi n t ion
r a , a nd a gh t
ri na t ur e , a r e the l e ve r s
t ha t m v t h w ld
o e e or P . O RTER .

BO RN a slave with t h e feel ings and po s s ibi l ities

,

of a ma n but with n o rights above the beas t of

,

the field F r ed Do uglas s ga ve the world one of

,

the m ost n ot able examples of ma n s powe r ove r ’

c i rcumstance s .
 1 15

H e had no kn owl edge of h is fathe r wh om he ,

h a d never s ee n He h ad o nly a dim re co llecti o n

.

o f h is mother from whom he had b een s eparated

,

a t birth The poor S lave mother used to wa lk

.

t welve mile s whe n her day s work w a s done i n ’

,

o rder to get an occasi o n al gl i mp s e of her Child .

Then s he h a d to walk back to the pl a n tati on o n

which she l abored so a s to be in t i me t o begin
,

to work at daw n nex t morning .

U nder the bruta l d i sc ip l i ne of th e Au n t K aty

w h o h a d Ch a rge of the slav es w h o were s t i l l t oo
y o ung to la b o r in th e fie l d s he earl y be gan to ,

re alize the hard s hips O f h is lot a nd to rebel agai ns t,

the s tate of bo ndage into which he had been bo r n .

O ften hung r y and cl o th e d in hotte st s umm er

,

a nd colde s t winter alike in a coars e tow l i n e n

,

s hirt
, s c a rcely reach i ng to the knee s wi thout a ,

be d t o li e o n or a blanket to cover h i m his o nl y ,

pro tect i o n no m a tter how cold the night was an old

, ,

c o rn bag into whi ch he th r ust hi m self l eaving h is

, ,

f eet exp o sed a t one e n d a n d h is head at the ot h er

, .

When about s even ye a rs o ld he w a s tran sferred ,

to n ew ow ne rs in Bal ti more wh e re h i s kind he a rted

,
-

m is tress who did not know that in doing S O she

,

w a s bre a king the la w t a ught h im the a lph a bet

, .

He thus got pos se ssio n of the key which wa s to

un l ock h is bo nd s and you ng as he was h e kn ew
, , ,
 1 16

it . It
d i d n ot matter that h i s master whe n he ,

l earned what had been done fo r bade hi s wife t o

,

give the boy further i nstr uctions He h ad al r e ady.

A N O L D CO RN B AG WA S H I S O NL Y BED D I NG

ta sted of the f r uit of the tre e of kn o wledge The .

prohibit i on w a s useless Neither th r e a ts n o r

.

s t r ipes nor C h a ins cou ld hol d the aw akened soul in

bo ndage .
 1 17

Wi th infinite p a ins a nd pa tience and by stealth , ,

he enl a r ged upon his knowledge of the alph abet .

“
A n old copy of Webste r s Spelling Book c a st ’

a side by his young ma ste r w a s his gr ea test t r ea s

,

ure With the a id of a few good n atu r ed w hite

.
-

b oys w h o so meti mes pl ayed with h im in the st r eets

, ,

he quickly m aste r ed its c o ntents Then he c ast .

abo ut for fu r the r mea ns t o sa tisfy his m ental cr a v

ing H o w d iflicult it w a s fo r the poo r despised
.
,

sl ave t o do this w e l e arn fr om h is o w n pathetic

,

“ “ ”
wo rds I h ave ga the r ed
. he says sc attered, ,

p a ges of the Bible fro m the filthy st r eet gutters ,

a nd was hed and dried the m that in m o ments o f , ,

leisure I might get a w ord or two of w isdo m f r om

,

”
the m .

Think of that boys and girl s of the t w entieth

,

century with you r d a y schools and evening sch ools

, ,

libra r ies colleges a nd universities

, ,
— picking re ad ,

ing m a teri al fro m the gutter a nd ma stering it by

ste alth ! Y e t this boy gr ew up t o be the friend
a nd C O worker o f G a r rison a nd Phillips the e lo
-
,

quent spokes ma n of his race the h o no r ed guest ,

o f distinguished pee r s and c o mm o ne r s o f E ngl a nd ,

one of the noblest exa mples of a self made ma n -

t h a t the wo r ld has eve r seen .

U nder equ al h a r ds h ips he lea r ned t o wr ite The

boy s w its sharpened inste a d of blunted by r e pr e s
’

,
 1 18

Si on s a w opportunit i e s where mo r e favored Chil

,

dren could s e e none He gave himself his fi r st

.

writing lesson in h is maste r s shipyard by c o pyi ng

’

from the va r ious p i ece s of timber the letters with

which they h ad been ma rked by the c a rpente r s ;
to show the di fferent parts of the ship for which
they we r e intended He c opied f r o m poste r s o n
.

fences f r o m old Copy books from anything a nd

, ,

everything he co uld get h old of He pra cticed .

his new a r t o n p ave ments a nd rails a nd ente r ed ,

into contests in lette r making w ith white boy s i n ,

“
o rde r t o a dd to h is knowledge With pl ay ma tes.

“
fo r my te a chers
, he says fence s a nd pave ment s
,

for m y c o py bo ok s and Ch alk for my pen a nd ink

, ,

”
I le a r ned t o write
.

“ ”
While being broken i n to field labor under
the l a sh of the oversee r Ch a ined a nd i m pr isoned
,

for the cri me of a tte mpting t o escape f r o m slavery ,

t h e spirit of the youth never qu a iled He believed .

in hi mself in his God given po wers a nd he w a s

,
-
,

determ ined to use them i n free i ng him self and his

race.
0

H o w wel l he s ucceeded in the s tupendou s t a sk

t o which he set hi ms elf while yet g r oping in the

black night of bo nd age with n o human power out

,

side of h is own indo mitable will to help h i m h is ,

life wo r k attests in language mo r e enduring than

 1 19

“
storied ur n or w ri tten h is tory A roll c al l .

of th e world s g reat mo r al heroes wou l d be in

’

complete without th e name of the slave bor n Doug -

las s who cam e o n th e stage of l ife to play the

,

le a di n g r Ole of the Mo se s of hi s rac e in one of

the s addest an d at th e sam e t i me mos t glori ou s
, ,

era s of A meri ca n his tory .

H e w a s b o r n in Ta lbot C ounty Mar yl a n d Th e , .

exact date of h is b i rth is not know n ; but h e him

s elf thought it w a s in Febru a r y 1 8 1 7 H e d ied in , .

Was h i ngto n D C Fe bruary 2 0 1 895

, . ., , .

“
TO TH E F I R S T RO B I N
TH E ai r was keen and b i t ing a n d tr aces of s n o w
,

s till lingered o n th e ground and sparkled on the

tree top s i n t he mor ning s un But the happy rosy .
,

Cheeked chil dre n l ately freed from the restra ints of

,

city life w h o played in the old garde n i n C oncord

, ,

Massachusetts that bright sp r i ng morn i ng m a ny

,

ye a r s ago heeded n ot the b iting wind or the linge r

,

i ng sn o w A s they raced up a nd down the p a ths

.
,

i n a nd out a mong the t r ees their cheeks t o ok on a

,

deeper glow thei r eyes a brigh ter sparkle while

, ,

their shouts of m e rry l aughter made the morning

 But stay w h a t is this ! Wh a t has happened to
,

check the l a ughter on their l i ps and d im their

,

bright eyes with tea rs ! The little group headed ,

by Louisa h as suddenly come to a pau se unde r a

,

tree where a wee ,

ro bin half de ad ,

with hunger a nd
c o ld h a s fa llen,

from its perch .

P o or p o o r ,

”
bir d ie l e x

Clai med a Ch o
ru s o f p i t yi n g
“
voice s I t is .

de ad po o r lit ,

”
tle thing s a id ,

“
Anna N0 .
,

s a id L o uisa the ,

l e ad e r of t h e
children in fun
a n d w o r ks of
C MO F T P M
PO S I NG H E R I RS OE
mercy alike ; it “

is warm and I can feel its heart beat

, A s she
spoke she gathered the tiny bundle of fe athers t o
,

h e r bo s o m and he ading the little pr oce s s io n t ur n e d

‘

, , ,

to ward the house .

A w arm nest was made for the fou n dl i ng a nd ,

wi th motherl y ca r e t h e li ttle Lou is a M ay A l cott
, ,

then o nly e ight years old fed a n d n urs ed back to ,

life th e half fam ished b i r d

-
.

Before th e feathered Claima nt o n h e r mercy fl e w

“
awa y to freedo m the f uture authoress the Chil
, ,

”
dren s fri end who l oved and pitied all helpless
’

things wrote her firs t poe m and ca lled it To the

, ,

”
F i rs t R ob in I t conta in ed only the se two sta nza s
.

We lcome , we lcome , li t t l e g
st ra n e r ,

Fe a r ha r m a nd fe a r no
no , ; da nge r
We a r e gla d t o se e you he r e ,

For you sing S we e t sp r ing is ne a r

,
’
.

Now t h e whi t e snow me l ts a wa y,

Now t h e flowe r s blossom ga y ;
Come , d e a r bir d , a nd build your ne st,

For we love our ro bin be s t .

TH E “
WI Z A R D AS AN E D I TO R
A LTH O UG H h e had o nl y a few months regul a r ’

school in g at ten Thomas Alva E diso n h ad r e ad

,

a nd thought more than many yout h s of twenty .

” ”
Gibbon s Rome Hu m e s E ngland Sea r s s His
’

,
’

,
’

”
to r y of the World beside s several bo ok s on che m
,

is t r y
,
— a subject in wh i ch h e wa s even then d eeply

i nte re sted — we r e fa m ilia r fr i e nd s

, Yet h e w a s .
 12 2

n ot by any means a s e r iou s boo kworm O n t h e

, , .

contrary he w a s a s full of fu n and misch ie f a s a ny

,

healthy boy of hi s age .

The little fellow s s un ny face a nd ple as i n g ma n

’

ners made him a general favorite a nd when circu m ,

sta nces forced him fr o m the parent nest into the big
bustling wo rld a t the age of twelve he bec ame t h e ,

most popul a r tra in boy on the Grand Trunk Ra il

roa d in central Michiga n w hi l e h is keen powers of ,

O bserva tion and practic a l turn of m ind m a de h im

the most succe s sfu l H is a mbition soared fa r be

.

yond the selling of pape r s song books apple s a nd , , ,

pe a nuts a nd his busines s ability w as s uch tha t h e

,

soon h ad th r ee o r four boys s el l i ng h is ware s o n

co mmission .

His i nte rest in che mi stry h owever had no t , ,

ab a ted and hi s busy brain n ow urged h im to t r y

,

new fields H e exchanged so m e of h is p a pers for

.

ret o r ts a nd other si mple appa r atus bo ught a Copy ,

“ ”
of F r e se n ius s Q u alit a tive Analysi s and secu r ed
’
,

the use of an old baggage c a r a s a labo r a tory .

He r e s u rr ounded by c h e mic a l s and experi menting

,

appa r atus he s pent s ome of the h appiest hours of

,

h is l ife .

But eve n th is was n ot a s u ffi cient outlet fo r th e

e nergies of the budding i nve nto r Selling pape rs .

had natura lly a roused h is i nt e rest in printin g a nd

 12 3

editing a nd wit h E dison inte r est always ma n ife s ted

,

i tself in action I n buying pa pers he had a s u su a l

.
, , ,

m ade use of h is
eyes an d wit h
, ,

the little knowl

edge O f pri nting
picked u p in
this way he ,

dete r mined t o
s t a r t a printing
p r ess a nd edit
a p aper of his
own .

He first pur
chased a qua n
tity of old type
fr o m the D e
tr oit F r ee P r e ss .

Then he put a
p r i nt i ng pre ss
i n the b aggage
ca r , which did
P GM T
R I NTI NG TH E II“
ND R UN K E RA L D
duty as printing
a nd edito r i a l offi ce as well a s l abo r at o ry a nd bega n ,

his edito r ial l abo r s When the first c opy of the

.

Gr a n a Tr n n é H e r a ld wa s put on s a le it w o u ld be
’
,

ha r d to find a h a ppie r boy tha n its o w ne r was .

 1 24

No matt e r that the youthful ed i tor s A ss oc iated ’

Press con sisted of b aggage me n and bra kemen o r ,

th a t the literary matte r contributed to th e Gr a nd

Tr u n k H e r a bi wa s chiefly railway go ss ip wi th som e ,

general info rm a ti on of i ntere st t o pass engers t h e ,

little t h ree cent sheet became very po pular E ve n

-
.

the great L o ndo n Time s deigned to notice i t as t h e

. ,

only journal i n the world printed on a railway trai n .

But successful as he w a s i n h is editorial venture

, ,

E dison s best love w a s given to Chemi s try and ele c

’

t r icit y which l atte r subject he h ad begun to s tudy

,

with h is usual ardor And well i t was for the wo r l d

.

when the yo uth of s ixteen gave up train and ne ws

p a per work that no poverty no d iffi cult ie s no r i d i
, , ,

”
cule no hard luck none of the trial s and ob s tac le s
, ,

he had to encounter i n a fter l ife h a d powe r to ch i l l

,

or d is courage the geniu s of th e mas te r in ven tor of

t h e nin etee n th c entury .

HO W GO O D F O RTU N E CA ME TO PI ERR E

M A NY yea r s ago i n a s habby room in one of t h e

,

poorest streets of Lo ndon a little gold e n h aire d boy

,
-

sa t sin ing in h is sweet Childi s h vo i ce by th e be d

g , , ,

side of his s i ck m other Though faint from h u n

.

ger and o pp r essed wi th l onelin ess he ma nf t ,

 12 5

forc ed b ack the tears that k ept w e l l i ng up in to h i s

blu e eye s and for his mother s sake tried to look
, ,
’

br ight and ch ee rful But i t wa s hard to b e brave

.

and strong while his d ear mother was s uff e ri ng fo r

l ack of the de l i cac ies wh i ch he lo nged to p r ovide
fo r her but cou l d not
, H e had not tas ted food all
.

d a y him se lf H ow he cou l d drive away the g a unt

.
,

hu n gr y wolf Fam ine that had com e to tak e up its

, ,

abode wi th th e m was the thought t hat hau n ted h im

,

a s he tried to sing a li ttle song he him se lf h ad co m

posed H e l e f t h is place by the i n valid who l ulled
.
, ,

by hi s s i ngi ng h a d fallen into a light s l eep As he

, .

l ooked listlessl y out of the window h e n oticed a ,

man putt i ng up a large poster wh i c h bore i n sta r , ,

i ng yellow l etter s th e an n ouncement that M ad a me

,

M o ne o f the gre ate s t s inger s that eve r li ved ,

was t o si ng in publ i c th a t night .

O h i f I c ou l d only go ! though t li ttl e Pie rre

, ,

h i s love of musi c for the moment maki ng h i m for

g e t f ul of aught el se Suddenly .h is fac e brightened ,

and th e light of a g re at re solve sho ne in his eyes .

”
“
I wi ll try i t he sa id to h i ms elf ; a nd running
, ,

lightly to a li ttle s tand that stood at th e opp o site

end of the room with tre mbling hands h e took fro m
,

a t i ny box a rol l of pape r With a wis tf ul lovi ng . ,

glance at the sleepe r h e st o le from t h e r oom a nd

,

hu r ried out in to the s tre e t .

 1 26

”
W h o d id you say is wai ti ng for m e ! ask e d
M adame M of h e r se rva n t ;
“
I a m alread y
”
w o r n o ut with compa n y .

“
I t i s o nly a very pre tt y li ttle b oy wi th yel lo w .

curls who said that if h e ca n ju s t s ee you he is

, ,

s ure you wil l not be sorry and h e wil l n ot keep yo u ,

”
a moment .

O h wel l l et hi m come s ai d th e great si nge r

, , , ,

“ ”
wi th a kindly smi le I c a n neve r refu se chi l dre n
, .

Tim idly th e ch il d e nte r e d the luxuriou s ap a rt

men t and bowi n g before th e be a utiful st a tel y
, , ,

wo ma n he began rapidly l est hi s courage should

, ,

“
fa il h im : I came to s ee you bec a use my mother i s
ve r y si ck and we are t oo poo r to get food and m ed i
,

c i ne I thought perhaps that if you would sing m y

. , ,

little s ong a t s o me of your gra nd concerts ma ybe ,

s ome publisher would buy i t for a sma ll s um a nd ,

s o I could get food and m ed i cin e f o r my mother .

Tak i ng th e li ttle rol l of pa per wh i ch th e boy held

in h i s hand th e warm hearted singer lightly hu mm ed
,
-

the ai r Then t u rning towa rd h im s he asked in

. , , ,

a maze ment : D id you comp o se it ! you a Child ! ,

”
And the wo r d s t oo ! Without w aiting for a r e
,

“
ply s h e added quickly Would y o u like to co m e
, ,

”
to my co ncert this evening ! The boy s face be ’

c a me r a di a nt with delight at the thought of h ear .

in g th e fa m ous songstres s but a vision of h is s i ck ,

 12 7

m o the r lying al o ne in the p o o r cheerle ss ro om

, , ,

fl it t e d a c r o ss his mind a nd he a nswered with a , ,

c h o king i n his th r o a t

O h yes ; I sh o uld so love to g o but I couldn t

’

, ,

”
l e a ve my m o t he r .

I will send s o m eb ody to t ake c a r e of you r m other

f o r the evening a nd he r e is a c r o wn with which y o u
,

m a y go a nd get fo o d a nd m edicine H e r e is al s o .

o n e of m tickets C o m e to night ; th a t will ad m it

y
-
.

”
o u t o a se a t ne a r m e
y .

O ve r co me with j oy the child could sca rcely

,

exp r ess his gr a tit ude t o the g r acio us being w h o

see m ed to h im like a n a ngel fr o m he a ven As he .

went out a g a in into the c r o wded street he see med ,

to t r ead o n a ir H e bought s o me f r uit and othe r

.

little delica cies to te mpt his mothe r s appetite a nd ’

w hile spre a ding o ut the fe a st of g oo d t h ings befo r e

h e r a stonished gaze with te a r s in his eyes he t old
, ,

her of the kindness of t h e be a utiful l ady .

An hou r later tingling with expect a tion Pie r r e

, ,

set out for the c o nce r t H o w like f ai r yla nd it all

.

see med ! The colo r the d azzling lights the fl a s h

, ,

ing gems a nd glistening silks of the r ichly d r essed

l adies bewilde r ed h im Ah ! c o uld it be po ssible
.

th a t the gr e a t a r tist w h o h ad been s o kind to h im

would sing his little so ng befo re this b r i lli a nt a udi
ence ! At length she ca me o n t h e st ag e b o w ing ,
 12 8

r ight and left i n a n swer to the enthu s i as t i c welco m e

w hich greeted h e r a ppea r a nce .

A pause of expectancy followed The boy held .

his b r eath and g azed spellbo u nd at the radian t

v i si o n o n who m all e yes we r e riveted The o rche s .

tra st r uck the first notes of a pl a intive melody a nd ,

the glorious vo ice of the gr eat singer filled the va st

hall a s the wo r ds of the s a d little song of the Chi l d
,

compose r fl o ated on th e a ir I t was s o S i mple s o

.
,

touching s o full of exquisite patho s that m a ny were

, ,

i n te a r s before it w a s finished .

And little Pierre ! The r e he s at scarcely d a rin g ,

t o mo ve o r b r e a t he fe a r ing th a t the fl o w e r s t h e
, ,

lights the m usic Should va nish a nd he sh o uld

, , ,

wa ke u p to find it all a d r e am H e wa s a rou s ed .

fro m his t r a nce by the t r e mend ous burst of appl a use

th a t rang th r ough the house a s the l a st note tre m
bled a way into silence He st a r ted up I t was no
. .

d r e a m The gr e atest singer in E urope h ad s ung

.

his little son g befo re a fashi o nable L o ndo n audi

ence Al mo st d azed w ith h appiness he never knew
.
,

h o w he r e ac h ed his po o r ho me ; a nd when he r e
la ted the incidents o f t h e evening his mothe r s
’
,

delight near ly equaled his ow n No r w a s this th e

.

end .

Next d ay they were st a rtled by a Visit fr om

M a d a me M Afte r gently g r eeting the s ick
 1 29

woman whi l e he r ha nd played wi th Pierre s golden

,
’

curls s h e sa id : Your littl e boy Madame has

, , ,

b r o ught you a fortu n e I wa s O ff e re d thi s mom .

ing by the be s t publ isher in Londo n 1; 30 0 for hi s

, ,

little s ong ; a nd aft e r h e has real i ze d a certain

a m ount from th e s al e l ittle P ie r re h ere is to share
,

the profit s M adam e th a nk God that your son h a s

.
,

”
a gift fro m heaven The g r a tefu l tears of th e in
.

valid and h e r V isi tor m i ng l ed wh il e th e ch i ld k ne lt ,

by h is mother s b edsi de and prayed God to bless

’

the kind l ady wh o in th ei r ti me of sorr o w a nd g reat

,

need had bee n to th em as a sa vior

, .

The boy neve r forgot h is noble be nefactre ss and ,

ye a rs afterward when the g r eat si nger l ay dyi ng

, ,

the be loved frien d who s moothed her p i llow and

—
cheered and bri ghtened her l a st mom e nts th e rich ,

—
popular and talen ted compose r wa s n o other than
,

o ur lit tle Pie rr e .

“
IF I RE S T , I RUST
Th e h e igh t s by gr e a t me n ch e d a nd ke pt
rea

We r e not a t ta ine d by sudde n flight ;

B ut t h e y wh ile t h e i r c o mpa ni ons sle pt ,
,

We r e t oiling upwa r d in t h e ni gh t .
!

TH E signi fican t i n scri pti o n fou nd o n a n old

”
If I r e s t I ru s t
,
wo uld b e an excell ent motto
,

STO RI ES F RO M L I FE —9
 1 30

for those who are a ffl icted with the sl i ghte st ta in t of

i dleness E ven the indu s t r ious might ad opt it w ith
.

adva n tage t oserve a s a re minder that if one a llows ,

h is faculties to rest like the i r on in the unused key

, ,

they will soon Show signs of ru s t and ulti mately , , ,

cannot do the wor k required of them .

Those who would attain

Th e h e igh t s by gr e a t me n r e a c he d a nd ke pt

m ust keep thei r fa cultie s burnished by co nstant u se ,

s o that they will unlock the do o rs of knowledge t h e ,

ga tes th a t guard the entrances to the professions to ,

scie n ce a rt lite r ature agriculture

, ,
— every dep a r t
, ,

ment of hu ma n endeavor .

I ndustry keeps bright the key that ope n s th e

treasury of achieve ment I f H ugh Miller after .
,

t o iling all day in a quarr y had devoted his even i ng s ,

to rest and r ecreation he would never h a ve bec o m e

,

a famous ge ologist The celebra ted m a them atici a n

.
,

E d mund Stone wo uld never have publ i shed a

,

m athe matic a l dicti o n a r y neve r h a ve found the key

,

to the science of ma t h em a tic s if he had given h is ,

spare m om ents snatched fro m the duties of a

,

g a r dener to idleness Had the little Scotch lad

, .
,

Fe r guso n allowed the bu s y brain to go to sleep

,

whil e he tended sheep on the hills ide i nstead of ,

calculating the po s iti o n of the st a rs by th e help of

 1 31

a st r i ng of be ads he wo uld neve r h ave bec o me a

,

f a mous astrono me r .

“
L a bor va nquishe s a ll — not in const a nt spas
, ,

modic o r ill directed l a bor but fa ithful u n r e mit

,
-
, ,

ti ng daily e ff ort to wa r d a well directed purp ose

,
-
.

J u st a s truly a s ete r n al Vigil a nce is the pric e of

libe r ty so is eternal indu stry the p r ice of noble a n d
,

endu r ing success .

Se i t h n t h mi nut e
z e, e , th y pe s as e a ss

Th e wo o f li fe is t ho ugh t
of

Wa r m up t h e c olo r s le t t he m glow
Wit h fi r e o f fa ncy fr a ugh t ”
.

A B OY WH O K N E W NO T F EA R
R I C H A R D W A GN E R t h e g r e a t c ompo se r we a ves ,

int o one of his mu s I ca l d r a ma s a be a utiful s t o r y

abo ut a youth n a med Siegfr ied who did not kno w ,

wh at fea r w a s .

The st o y is a sor t of fai r y t ale o r myt h

r — s o me ,

th ing which h a s a deep meaning hidden in it but ,

which is not lite r ally t r ue .

We s m ile a t t h e ide a of a youth who neve r knew

fea r w h o even a s a little Child h a d never bee n
,

f r ightened by the i magi na r y te r r o r s of n ight the ,

d a r k ness o f the fo r est o r the cries o f the wild

,

ani mals which inh abited it .

 1 32

Yet i t is actuall y true that there was born at

Burnh am Th o rpe N o rfol k E ngl and on September
, , ,

29, 1 758 a boy who never knew what fe a r w a s

, .

This boy s n ame was Horatio Ne l son

’
— a name ,

wh i ch hi s fe a rles sness ambition and patriotism , ,

made i mmo r tal .

C ourage even to dari ng di s ti ngui shed young

Nel son fro m hi s boy compani o n s Many storie s .

il l ustrating thi s quality are told of him .

O n one occas ion when the future hero of E ng

,

land was but a mere Child whi l e st ayi ng at his ,

gra nd mothe r s he wande r ed a way fr o m the hou se

’
,

in se a r ch of bi r d s ne sts When dinne r ti me c a me

’
.

a nd went and the boy did not r etu r n h is fa mil y ,

bec ame ala rmed They fea red that he had been
.

kidnapped by gyps ie s o r tha t some other mishap ,

h ad befallen h im A thorough s earch was made f o r

.

him in every direction Just a s the searchers we re .

about to give up their quest the truant w a s dis ,

covered s itti ng quietl y by the s ide of a brook which

he wa s unable to cross .

” “
I wonder Child sai d h is gr andmother
, , that ,

hunge r and fe a r did not dri ve you h o me .

”
“
Fea r ! gra nd ma mma excl aimed the boy ; I “
,

”
n e ver saw fear What is it !
.

Ho r a tio was a born l eader who neve r even i n ,

Childh ood shrank from a haz a rdou s unde r taki ng .

 1 33

This sto r y of h is school days shows h o w the spirit

o f le a dership marked him before he had entered h is

teens .

I n the g a rden attached to th e board i ng school at

North W a lsh a m which he and h is elder b r other
, ,

William attended there grew a re ma rk a bly fine

, ,

pea r tre e The sight of this tre e l oaded with fr uit

.
,

w as natura l ly a ve r y te mpting one to the boys

, , .

The bold est among the older ones however dar ed , ,

not risk the con seque nc es of helping the mselves to

the pe a rs which they knew we re high ly prized by
,

the ma ster of the s chool .

Ho r a tio who thought neith e r of the si n of ste al

,

ing the schoolm aster s prope r ty no r of the risk ’

involved in the att e mpt vol untee red to se cure t h e ,

coveted pears .

He w a s let down i n s heets fr om the bed r oo m

windo w by hi s s chool ma tes and after gathe r ing a s , ,

m uch of the f r uit a s he could car r y retu r ned with ,

c o n siderable d ifliculty He the n turned the pear s

'

over to th e boys,n ot keeping one for himself .

“ ”
I only took the m he expl a ined bec a use the
, ,

”
rest of you were afraid to venture .

The sen se of honor of the future Hero of the

”
Nile and of T r afa lgar was as keen in bo y hood a s
in la ter life .

O ne ye a r at the Clo s e of t h e C h r ist mas h o lid a y s

, ,
 1 34

he a nd h is b r othe r William s e t out on horseback t o

retur n to school There had bee n a heavy fall o f
.

sn o w which mad e traveling ve ry di sagreeable and ,

Willi am per s u aded H oratio to go ba ck home with

him s aying that it was not safe to go on
, .

“ ”
I f that b e the c a se said Re v Mr N el so n the
, . .
,

father of the boys when the m a tter was expl a ined

,

“
to him you ce r tainly s hal l n ot go ; but make
,

another atte mpt and I w ill leave it to your honor

, .

I f the road i s d a ngerou s you may return ; bu t ,

”
reme mber boys I leave it to your honor
, , .

Th e s now wa s r eally deep e nough to be made

an excuse for n ot going on and Willi a m was f o r ,

return ing ho me a s econd t i me Horatio however .

, ,

”
wou l d not be persuaded aga in We must go on .
,

h e said ; remember b r other i t wa s l e f t to ou r

, ,

”
honon
When onl y twel ve years old you ng Nels on s ,
’

ambi tion urged him to t r y his for tu ne at se a H is .

uncle Ca pta in M a u r ice Suc kling co mmanded the

, ,

R a is on n a ble a ship of s ixty fo u r guns and the

,
-
,

boy thought i t would be good fortune indeed i f , ,

he could get an opportunity to se r ve under h i m .

” “
Do Willi am he said to his brother wri te to
, , ,

my father a nd tel l him that I should li k e to g o

,

”
t o sea with Uncle M a uric e .

O n he a r ing of hi s s on s w i s hes Mr N els o n a t

’
.
,
 I 35

o nce wrote to Captai n S uckli ng The latter wrote .

“
back w ithou t delay What has poor Horatio
:

done w h o is s o w eak that he above all the r es t

, , , ,

S hould be sent to rough i t out at sea ! B ut let

him come and the first ti me w e go i nto action a
, ,

cannon bal l ma y knock off h is head an d provi d e

”
for him at onc e .

Thi s was n ot ve r y e ncou r ag i ng for a del i cate b oy

of twelve But H o ratio w a s n o t d a u n ted Hi s
. .

fa ther t ook h im to London and there put him i nto ,

the s tage coa c h for C h a tham where th e R a ison ,

na b le was lying at anchor .

He arri ved at C hath am during th e te mpora ry

absence o f his unc l e so that there wa s no friendly
,

voice to greet him when he went on bo a rd the

big s hip . Home sick and he a rtsick he p as sed ,

so me of the mo s t mi serabl e days of his life on th e

R a is on n a ble The oflice r s treated the s ailors with
.

a h a rs hness borderi ng on cruelty This t r eat .

ment of cours e increas ed the natural ro ughness

, ,

of the s a ilors ; a nd altogether the condition s we r e

, ,

s uch th a t Horatio s O pinion of the R oya l N a vy wa s

’

sadly altered .

But in spite of th e sep a ratio n fr om h i s brother

Wi l lia m who had been h is scho o l ma te a nd con
,

s ta nt co mp a nion and all h is other loved one s

, ,

t h e hardshi ps he had to e nd ure a s a s ailor boy

 1 36

amo ng rough O ffic er s a nd rough e r me n and hi s

physic al weak ness h is courage d i d not fail h im
,

, .

He stuck bravel y t o his d e termin ati on to be a

sailor.

Later th e l ad we n t o n a voyage to the West

,

I ndie s i n a m e rch a nt ship comma n d ed by Mr

, .

John R athbone Du ring thi s voyage hi s a nxiety

.
,

to ri s e i n h is profe ssion and hi s keen powers of

observation which were const an tl y exerci se d com
, ,

bine d to m a ke h i m a practic al sa il or .

After hi s re turn from the We s t I n d i e s h is l ove ,

of adventure w a s excited by the n ews that two

ships the R a e e k or se and the Ca r ca s s w e r e
—

being fitted out for a voyage of d i scove r y t o

the North Pol e Through the i n fluence of C ap
.

ta in Suck l ing he secu r ed an appoi n t ment a s co x

,

swa in under C apta in L ut w id g e who w a s seco n d

, ,

in Command of the expedition .

All went well with the R a ee /z or se and the Ca r

e a ss until they neared the Po lar regi o n s Then .

th ey were becalmed surr ounded wi th i ce a nd

, ,

wedged in so that they could not m ove .

Y ou ng a s Nelson w a s he was put i n comm a nd

,

of one of the boat s sent out to try t o find a pas s age

to the open wa ter While engaged in this work
.

he w a s instrument al in saving the crew of another

of the boat s which had been attacked by w alruses .
 I 37

H is mo s t n ot able adventure during this P ol ar

cru is e howeve r was a fight with a bear
, , .

O ne n ight h e s tol e away from hi s ship w i th a

co mp anion i n purs u i t of a bear A fog which h ad .

been rising whe n they l eft the Ca r ca ss s oon e n

v e lO pe d them Between three an d four o clock in
.
’

the morning whe n the we ather began to c lear

, ,

they were si ghted by Captain L ut w id ge and h is

oflice r s at s om e d is ta n c e from th e s h i p i n conflict
'

, ,

wi th a huge be ar The boys who had been m issed. ,

soo n a f te r they se t out o n their adve nture were at ,

’
o n c e si gn al ed t o re turn Nel s on s compan ion .

urged him to obey th e s ign al a nd th ough their , ,

ammun i t i o n had gi ve n out he l o nged to conti nue ,

the fight .

“
N e ver m in d he cri ed exc i ted l y ; do b ut l et
,

me get a bl ow at thi s fel low with th e butt end of

”
my musket a nd we sha ll have him
, .

Captai n L ut wid ge s eeing the boy s danger , he ’

be i ng s eparated from the bear on l y by a na r r o w

C h as m i n t he ice — fi r e d a gun Thi s frightened .
,

the bear away Ne l son then ret urned to face the

.
:

co n sequenc es of h is disobedience .

He was se ve re ly repri ma nded by h is ca pt a in

”
for conduct s o unworthy of the oflice he filled .

When asked what motive he had i n hunting a

be ar he repl ied stil l t r e mbling fro m the excite ment
, ,
 140

“
A nd aga in he wou l d say ch eerfull y that an y per ,

s on was to be piti ed w h o could fancy there wa s

any dange r or e ve n a nyth ing di sagre eable in the
, ,
”
atte mpt .

Y our E x cellen cy mu s t e x cu se m e for b ringi ng

”
one of my m id s hipmen w i th me h e sa id to the ,

gove r no r of Barbado s who had in vited h im to

,

“
din e . I make i t a rule to i ntroduc e them to all th e
good company I can as they have few to l ook up to
,

”
be s ide s my se lf during the ti me th ey are at se a .

Wa s i t a n y wo nd e r that his mi dd ies a l most wor

s h ipe d h i m !

Thi s though tfulness i n small matt er s is al way s

char acte rist i c of truly g reat l arge souled men ,
-
.

’
A nothe r d is ti ngui sh i ng mark of N elso n s g reat n es s
wa s that he ru l ed by l ove rather tha n fear .

Wh e n a t th e age of fo r ty s eve n he fell mo r tally

,
-
,

wounded at th e battle of T r afal gar al l E ngland wa s,

plunged i nto g ri ef Th e crowni ng vi ctor y of h is

.

life h ad be e n wo n but his cou n t r y wa s i ncon sol able

,

for the l oss of th e n obl es t of her n aval h e roes .

Th e great es t se a vi ctory that the worl d had ever

” “
known was won says W Clark R ussell but at .

s uch a co st that there wa s n o m

, ,

, a n throughout the

—
Brit is h fl e e t there wa s no man i ndeed in al l E ng
la nd b ut would ha ve welco med defeat s ooner than
—

h ave pa id the price of thi s wonderf ul conque s t .

 14 1

The l as t word s of t he hero wh o h a d won so me of

th e greates t of E ngland s se a figh ts we r e , Th a nk

’

”
God I ha ve done my d ut y
, .

H OW S TA NL EY F O U N D L I V I NGS TO NE

IN th e ye ar 1 86 6 Dav id L i vings to ne t h e gr ea t ,

A frica n ex pl orer and m i ssi onary sta rted o n h is,

l as t journe y to Afr i ca Thre e years p ass ed awa y

.

during which n o w ord or sign from hi m h a d

reached h is f riend s Th e whole C i vilized worl d
.

becam e al ar m ed for his s afe ty I t wa s feared

.

that h is i nte res t in th e savages in t h e in t e rior of

A fri ca h ad c ost hi m h i s l ife .

N e w sp apers an d Cl ergym en in ma ny la nds we r e

c l amori ng for a re lief exped i ti o n to be sent out in
s earch of h i m R oyal s oc ie tie s s c ien t i fic associa
. ,

tio ns and th e B ri tish gove rnm en t we re d e bati ng

,

what s t e p s sho ul d be ta ke n t o fi nd h im B ut they .

were ve ry sl ow in com in g to a ny con cl usi o n a nd ,

wh il e they we re wei gh i ng que s ti o ns a n d dis cu ss ing

meas ures a n ene rget ic A me rica n set tled t h e ma tter
,

off ha n d .

T his wa s Jam es Gor don B e nne tt J r ma na ger , .

,

of the N e w Yor k H e r a ld and son of Jame s Gor don

Bennett its e d i tor a nd p roprietor
, .
 14 2

Mr Be n nett was i n a p osi t i on which brough t

.

h i m i nto co n tact wi th so me o f the Cleverest and

mos t enterpri s i n g young me n of h is day From .

all tho se he knew he s ingl e d out H e nry M .

Sta n l ey for the di ffi cu l t and peri lou s tas k of finding

Livi ngs ton e .

And who wa s th is young ma n who was Chos en

to u n dertak e a work which re qu i red the highest
qu a lities of ma n hood to carry i t to s uccess !
H e nry M Stanley whose b aptismal n ame was
.
,

John R owl a nd s was born of poor parents in Wal es

, ,

in 1 840 B eing l eft an orphan at the age of three

.
,

he was sent to th e p oorhou se i n h is nati ve place .

There h e rema i ned for ten years a n d the n s hipped

,

a s a cabin boy in a ve ss el bound for America .

Soo n a fte r h is arri val i n th is cou n try h e found ,

e mploym en t in New O rlea ns w i th a merchan t

n amed Sta nle y H i s intel ligence e n erg y a nd
.
, ,

a mb i t i o n won h im s o much favor with th is ge ntle

ma n that he a d opt ed hi m as his s o n a n d gave h i m
his nam e .

Th e el der S tanley d ie d wh il e H en ry was s til l a

youth Th i s threw h i m agai n upo n h is own r e
.

sources a s he inherited nothing fr om h i s adopted

,

fath e r who died without making a Will He n ext

, .

wen t to California to se ek hi s fo r tune He w a s

.

not s u cce ssful howeve r a n d at t wenty he was a

, ,
 14 3

s old i er in the C ivil War When the war w a s over

.
,

h e engaged himse lf as a corre s pondent to th e N e w

Yor k H e r a ld .

In this c apacity h e tra ve l ed exte nsi vel y i n the

E ast doing brilliant wo r k for his paper
, When .

E ngl a nd w ent to w a r w ith K ing Theodore of

Abys s inia he accompa nied the E nglish army t o
,

Abyss inia a n d fro m thence w r o te vivid des cri pt i ve

,

letter s to the H e r a ld The Child whos e e arl y a d

.

vant age s w ere only such as a Welsh po orhou se

afforded was a l re ady th r ough his own u n a i ded
, ,

e fforts a l eader in his p r ofe ssion H e was s oon

, .

to become a l eader in a la r ger se n se .

At the time Mr Bennet t conceived th e i dea of

.

sending an expedition i n search of Livi ng sto ne ,

Sta nley wa s in Sp a in He had been sent there by

.

the H e r a ld to report the Ci vil wa r the n ragi ng i n

that country H e thu s de scribes the rec ei pt of
.

Mr Benn e tt s mess age a n d the events immed i atel y

.
’

followi ng :
“
I am i n Madrid fr esh f rom t h e c ar nage at
,

V alencia At 1 0 A M Jacopo at No
. Calle de
, .

la C ruz hand s me a telegram ; o n openi ng i t I

,

find it re a ds C o me to Pa r i s on i mportant b u si
,

ness The telegram i s from J ame s Gordo n Be n

.

n ett ,J r the youn

.
,g ma n age r o f th e N e w Yor k
 1 44

Down come my p i cture s fro m the wa ll s of my

apartment s on the s econd floor ; into my t r unks g o
my book s and s ouvenirs ; my Clothe s a r e hastily
collected some h a lf w a shed s ome from the Clothes
, ,

line h a lf dry and after a couple of hours of hasty

,

hard work my portmanteau s are s trapped up a nd

l abel ed for Pa ri s .
’

I t wa s l ate at night whe n Stanley arri ved in

“
Paris . I went s tra ight to the G r and Hotel he ,
’

“
says and k nocked at the door of Mr Bennett s
, .
’

room .

“ ’
C om e i n I heard a vo ice s a y E n te ri ng I
, .

found Mr Be nnett in bed . .

Who are you ! h e asked ’

.

My name is Stanley I an s we red ,

’
.

Ah ye s !si t down ; I have i mporta n t bu sine ss

,

o n ha n d for you .

Where do you th i nk L i vi ng s to ne is ! ’

I rea ll y do n ot k now si r
’
, .

D O you thin k he i s ali ve !

’

He ma y be and h e may n ot be I an swered

,
’
, .

Well I th i nk he i s alive and that he ca n be

, ,

found and I am goi n g to s end you to find h i m

, .
’

‘
What ! sai d I do you real l y thin k I ca n fi nd
’
,
‘

Dr L i vingstone ! D o you mean m e to go to

.

Cen tral Afric a ! ’

“ ‘
Y e s I me a n th a t you s h all go a nd find h im
,
 14 s

w he re ve r yo u may h ear that he is O f cou r se .

you will a ct accordi n g to your own pl an s a n d do

—
what you think be st B UT FI ND L I VI NGSTO NE .

The q ue s tio n of expe n se com i ng up Mr Be n nett , .

said : Draw a thousand pou nd s now ; and when

“

you have gon e through that draw another thou sa nd ; ,

and wh e n that is spe nt draw another thou sa n d ; and

,

wh e n you have fi nis hed that draw anothe r th ou ,

”
sa nd a nd s o o n ; but FI N D L IVI NGSTO NE
, , .

Stan l ey ask ed n o q ues t i o ns awaited n o furth er ,

i nst r uctions Th e two me n parted wi th a hearty

.

hand C l as p Good night an d God be wi th yo u

.
, ,

said Be nn ett .

”
Good night si r re turned Stan l ey
, , What it .

is in the po w er of huma n n ature to do I wil l do ;

and on such a n e rra nd a s I go upo n God will b e ,

”
with me .

The young ma n i mm ediately began the work of

p r eparatio n for his great unde r taking Thi s in .

itself w a s a t ask requiring more than ordina r y j udg

me nt and fores ight but Stanl e y was eq ual to the
,

occas io n .

O n Ja n uar y 6 1 8 7 1 he r e ached Z a nz ibar an

, , ,

i mportant nati ve se aport on th e eas t coa s t of Africa .

Here the preparati on s for th e journey we re com

p le t e d. Soon w i th a t r a
, i n compo s ed of one hu n
dred a nd n i nety men twe nty donkeys a nd baggage, ,

STO R I ES F RO M LI F E — IO
 146

a mount i ng to ab out s ix to ns he started from this ,

point for th e i nterior of the continent .

Then bega n a journey the dangers a n d tediou s

nes s of which ca n hard ly be described Stanley .

and hi s me n were ofte n obl ige d to wad e through

s wamps filled wi th all i gators C rawl i ng o n hand s .

and knees they forced t h eir way through m il e s of

,

ta ngl ed jungl e breathi ng in a s they went the s icken

,

ing odor of d e cayi ng vegetable s They we re obl i ged .

to be conti n ually on their gu a rd against elephants ,

lion s hyenas and other w ild i nhabitant s of th e

, ,

jungl e F ie rc e a s these were however th ey were

.
, ,

no more to be dre aded tha n th e savage tribe s

w hom they s ometime s e n co untered Wh e never .

th e y stopped to r e s t they were tormented by flie s

, ,

white an t s an d reptil es which crawl ed a ll ove r

, ,

the m .

For mont hs they journe yed on unde r the se con

d it io ns The donkeys h a d died from drinki ng im
.

pure wa ter a n d some of the me n had falle n v ict i m s

,

to di sea se .

I t was no wonder that th e s urvi vo r s of th e e x pe

—
di t io n all but Stan l ey had grown d ishea r tened .

H alf sta rved was ted by si ck n e ss and h a rd s hip s of

,

all k i nds with bleeding feet and torn Clothe s so me

, ,

of them bec a me muti n ous St a nley s sk i l l a s a.

’

l eader was taxed to the utmo st Alternately coa x .

 l 47

ing the fain t h earted a n d pu nish ing t he ins ubo r d i

-

n a te he co n ti n ue d t o lead the m on al mo st in spite

,

of them sel ve s .

So far they had h e ar d noth in g of L i vi ngstone ,

nor h ad they any c l ew a s to th e d i rectio n i n which

they s hould go There was no ray of l ight or h ope
.

to Che er them o n the i r way yet Stanley n e ve r for a ,

mo ment thought of gi vi ng up the se arch .

O nce amid the t e r rors of th e ju ngle s urrou n d ed

, ,

by sa vages and wi ld a ni mals wi th s uppl ie s almost ,

exhausted and the remnant of h is followe rs i n a

,

despairing condit i on th e young ex pl orer cam e n ear

,

being di scouraged .

But he woul d not g i ve way to any feel ing th a t

might lessen hi s Chance s of s ucce s s and i t wa s a t ,

this cri si s h e wrote in h is journal

NO livin g ma n S h a ll stop m e — only death ca n
revent me But death — n ot e ven th i s I s hall
p .
;
—
not di e I wi l l n ot d ie — I ca n not die ! Some
th i ng tell s me I shal l find h i m and write i t larger
F I N D H I M F I N D H I M ! E ven the word s a re
,

”
inspiri ng .

Soon after th i s a c a rava n passed a nd gave the

x pe d it io n news which renewed hope : A white
ma n old wh i te h a ired and si ck h ad j ust arri ved at
, , , ,

Ujij i .

Stanley a nd h is followe rs pu s hed on u n t il t hey

 14 8

c am e in si gh t of Uj ij i Then th e orde r was g iven

.

I mme d i
”
to un furl th e flags and l oad the guns .

ately the Sta r s a nd Strip es and the flag of Z anzibar

were thro w n to th e bree z e and the report of fifty
,

gu n s awa kened the echoes The n oise s tartled the

.

inhabi tants of Ujij i The y came runn i ng in th e

.

directio n of the sou nds and soo n the expedit i on was

,

s urrounded by a crowd of friendly bl ack men who ,

cri ed l oudly Ya mbo y a mbo ba na I wh i ch s ig n i fie s

, , ,

wel come .

At thi s gran d mom en t says Stanley we d o , ,

n ot think of the hundreds of miles we h ave marched ,

of the hundred s of h ill s that we have as c e nded and

de scended of th e many fore sts we have tr aversed of
, ,

the jungle a n d thicket s t h a t annoyed u s of the ferv i d ,

salt plai n s that bl i s tered our feet o f the hot s u n s ,

that scorch ed u s n or the da ngers a nd di fficu l ties

,

now happily s urmounted .

“
At l as t the s u bli me hour ha s arri ved ou r

dream s our hopes and anticipat i o ns are n ow abou t

,

to be real ized ! O ur h eart s and our feeli ng s are wit h

our eye s a s we peer i nto the p al ms and try to mak e
,

out i n which bu t or hou se l ives the white ma n w i th

the gray be a rd we hear d about o n the Ma la g a r a z i .
”

When the uproar had ceas ed a voic e w a s h e ard ,

s aluti ng the leader of th e ex p edit i o n in E ngli s h

Good mornin g s ir
”
, .
 l 49

Star tl e d a t h earin g th is gree ting in the mi dst

“
o f such a crowd of black peop l e says Sta nl ey 1 , ,

tur n s harply rou nd in sea rch of the ma n a nd se e ,

h im at my si de w i th the blacke s t of face s but

, ,

—
a n imated and joyou s a man dres sed i n a long
white shirt with a turba n of America n sheet i ng
,

around hi s head a n d I a s k Who t h e m ischief

, ,

’
are you !
“
I a m Su s i the se rva nt o f Dr L i vin gs tone
‘ ’
, .
,

s aid he s mi l i ng a n d s howin g a gl eam ing row of

, ,

t e eth .

What ! I s D r L i vingsto ne he r e ! .
’

’
Ye s si r
,
.

I n th is vil lage !
‘ ’

’
Y es si r
, .

’
Are you s ure !
’
Sure s ure sir Why I le ave h i m ju st n ow
, , .
, .

Su si run and tell the Doctor I am com i ng

, , .
’

Sus i r a n like a madma n to d elive r the me ssage .

Stanley and h is me n followed mo r e slowl y Soon .

they were gazing into the eye s of the man for news
of whom the whole civilized world was waiting .

”
My heart be a t fas t says Stanley but I must , ,

not le t my fac e betray my e m otions l est i t shall ,

detract from the dignity of a wh i te ma n appeari ng

”
u nder s uch extraordinary c i rcumst a nces .

Th e you ng ex plore r l o ng ed to leap and shout fo r

 1 50

joy but he co ntroll ed h i m self a nd instead of

, ,

e mbraci ng L i v i ngstone as he would have liked to

“
d o he gras ped h is hand ex clai mi ng
, I thank, ,

God Doctor tha t I h ave been perm i tted to se e

, ,

you .

“
I fe e l gratefu l tha t I a m he re t o we l come you ,

wa s the gentle repl y .

All the d a ngers through which they had passed all ,

the privation s they had endured we r e fo r gotten in the

joy of thi s meeting Docto r Livi ngsto n e s years O f
.
’

toil and s uspe n se during which he had heard noth

,

ing from the outside world ; Stanley s a wf ul e x pe

’

r ie nce s i n th e jungle th e fact that both men had

,

al mos t exhau ste d their suppl i es ; the ter r ors of open

and hidden dangers from men and beas ts sickne ss , ,

hope deferred al l we r e for the moment pushed out

, , ,

of mi nd Later e ach recou n ted h is s tory to th e

.
,

othe r .

Afte r a p e ri od of r es t the two joined forces and,

together explored and m ade pl a n s for the futu r e .

Stanley tri ed to i nduce Livi ngs to n e to r eturn with

him But in va i n ; the great m i ssi onar y explo r e r
.

would not l ay do w n hi s work H e pe rs eve r ed . ,

l iterally until de a th .

At l as t the hour of p a rting came With the .

r e atest r elucta nce St a nley g a ve his m e n t h e order

g ,

”
R ight about face With a silent fa r ewell a gra sp
. ,
 1 51

of th e h a nd s and a l ook i nto eac h other s eyes

,
’

wh i ch s aid more tha n words the ol d ma n a nd the

,

young man parted fore ver .

L i vings tone s l i fe work was al mo st don e Stanley

’
.

was the ma n o n who se s houlders hi s mantle w a s to

fall The great work he h ad a ccomplis hed in fi nd
.

i ng Livi ngs tone was the beginni ng of h is c a reer a s

a n Afr ican explore r .

After the death of Liv i ngs ton e Sta nley deter

,

m i ned to take up the expl orer s unfinished wo r k

’
.

I n 1 8 74 he left E ngl and a t t h e he ad of a n expedi

tio n fitted out by the L on d on D a ily Te leg r a p/ z

a nd the N ew Yor k H e r a ld and pe n etrated into the

,

ve r y hea r t of Africa .

He c r ossed the continent from sh o r e to shore ,

overco ming on hi s ma r ch dangers and d iflicu lt ie s

compared with wh i ch th o se encountered on his first
journ ey sank into ins ig nifica nce He afterward
.

gave a n account of thi s exped i tion in h is book

”
entitled D a rkest Afri ca
, .

Stanley had s ucce ssfully accomplish ed one of the

great works of the world He had opened the
.

way for commerce and C h r istia n i ty i nto the va s t

interi or of Afri ca which p r ior to hi s discoverie s
, , ,

had been m ar ked on the ma p by a bl a nk space ,

s i gn ifying th a t i t was an unexpl ored and unknown

count r y.
 1 52

On h is return the s ucce ssfu l ex pl ore r fou n d him

self famous Prince s a nd scientific societie s vied
.

with one another in honori ng h im King E dwa rd.

V I I of E ngla nd who was then Prince of W ales

, ,

sent him hi s perso na l congratul a tions ; H umbert ,

the ki ng of I taly s ent him h is portrait ; the khedive

,

of E gypt deco r ated h im with the g r a nd co mm a nder

ship of the O r der of the Medjidie ; the Geographical
Societie s of London P a ris I t aly and M a rseilles
, , ,

sent him their gold med als ; while in Berlin V ienna , ,

a nd many other l a r ge E u rope a n cities he w a s ,

elected an honora r y member of their mos t le a r ne d

and m ost distinguished ass oci ation s .

Wha t pleased the expl o rer most of a ll though , ,

was the honor p aid h i m by Ame r ic a The gover n

.

“
m ent of the U nited St a tes he says h a s crowned
, ,

m y s uccess with its o ffi ci al a pprova l a nd the una n i

,

m ous vote of th a nks p assed i n both hou s e s of t h e

legislatu r e h a s made me p r oud for l ife of the e x pe
”
dition and its achievements .

Honored to d a y a s the gre a te s t expl o r er of h is

-

age and e s teemed alike for h is scholarship and t h e

,

i m me nse se r vi ce s he has rendered ma nk i nd S ir ,

Hen r y Mo r ton Stanley the once friendles s orpha n

,

l ad whose only home w a s a Wel sh p oo rhou se m a y ,

well be proud of th e caree r he has carve d out fo r

him self.
 1 53

TH E N E S TO R O F A MER I CA N J O U R NA L I S TS

I HE A RD that
a neighbor three
m iles o ff ha d
,

bo r rowed from a
s till more di s ta n t
neighbor a book ,

of gr eat intere s t .

I started off bare ,

foot in the snow

, ,

to obtai n th e
treasure The re
.

we re s p ot s o f
b ar e gro u nd ,

u po n wh i c h I
wou l d s top to
wa rm my fe et .

And there were

a l so al ong the
,

ro ad occ as i onal
,

le ngth s of l og
R TU N G H M W T
E R IN OT EU I H HI S RE AS RE
fe nce from wh i ch
the s now had me l ted and upon wh i c h i t w a s a
,

l uxu r y to wal k The book wa s a t home and the

.
,

good people con sented upon my promise th a t i t

,

sh ou l d be n ei th e r tor n n or soiled to l end it to me

, .
 1 54

In returning w i th the priz e I w a s t oo ha ppy t o ,

”
think of th e snow o n my nake d feet .

Thi s l i ttl e in c i dent relate d by Th ur l ow W eed

,

hi mself is a samp le of the mea ns by wh i ch he ga ined

,

that knowled ge and po we r which mad e h i m not only

”
the Nes tor of Am e rica n Journa l i st s but re ndered ,

“
him fa mou s i n national affai rs as t h e Am e ri ca n
”
Warwi ck or Th e K ing Maker .

The r e were no l o ng happy y ears of s c h ooling for

”
this child of th e co mm o n people whose father
“
,

w a s a st r uggling tea ms ter a nd farm e r ; no pre lud e

of c a reless l au ghing childhood before t h e s ter n

,

duties of life began .

Thu r low Weed was bor n a t Cat skill Gre e n e ,

C ounty Ne w Y ork in 1 79 7 a peri od i n th e history

, , ,

of our republic whe n the r e we r e very few educ a t i o nal

“
opportunitie s for th e children of the poor I Ca n .

“
not a scertain h e says how mu ch s chool i ng I got
, ,

at Ca tskill probably less th a n a year certainly not a

, ,

year and a half and th is w a s when I wa s not more

,

”
th a n five or s ix years ol d .

At a n e a r ly age Thurlow l earn ed t o ben d c i rcum

stances to h is will and ground by pove r ty s hut in
, ,

by l i mi tati o ns a s h e w a s even whil e contr ibuting by

,

his earni ng to th e slend e r resources of th e family ,

he gathered knowledge and ple as ure wh er e ma ny

w o uld have found but thorns a n d bitter ne ss .
 1 55

H ow s imply he tells h is s tory as though hi s hard

,

s hips a nd St r uggle s were of no account a nd how ,

Clea rly th e na rrat i ve m i r ror s t h e b ra ve li tt le fell o w

of ten !
“
M y firs t e m pl oyment he says wa s in sugar
, ,

making an occupatio n to wh i ch I be cam e much

,

attached I n ow l ook with gr e at ple as ure upo n the

.

days and n ight s passed i n th e sap b ush The want -

.

of shoe s ! which a s the s n o w wa s de ep wa s no s mal l

, ,

p rivation !was th e only dra wback u po n my happi

n es s I us ed h owe ve r to tie p ieces of a n o l d rag
.
, ,

c a rpet around my feet a nd g ot a l o ng p r ett y wel l

, ,

”
ch opping wood and gath e ring up sap .

Durin g th is pe ri od he t r aveled bar efoot t o bor , ,

r ow bo ok s w h e reve r t h e c o u l d be f ou n d m ng
, y a o

th e neighbor ing far mer s W i th h is body in th e

.

s ugar h ou se a nd
, h is h ead t hru st out of d oor s ,

”
wh e re the fa t pine wa s bl azi n g th e you ng e nt h u
,

s ia s t devo ur e d w i t h b re athl ess i nte res t a H i story

of th e F r e n c h Re vol utio n a n d th e fe w other we l l
,

worn volum es wh ich had be e n l oaned h im .

Late r a ft e r he left th e fa rm we se e t h e fut ure

, ,

journal is t work ing s uccessi v el y a s cabin boy and

dec k ha n d o n a Hud so n R iver steamboat a n d ,

cheerfully s end ing home t h e fe w doll ar s h e e ar ne d .

Wh i le e m pl o yed in thi s capacity h e e a rn ed his first

,

“
q uarter i n New Y o rk by carr ying a trunk for one
 1 56

of th e pas sengers from the bo a t to a hotel on Bro a d

Street .

But hi s boyish ambition was to be a journ alist ,

and a f ter a year of se a fa ring life he fo und his nich e

, ,

in the oflice of a small weekly newspape r the Ly nx

‘
, ,

publi s hed at O nondaga Hollow New Y ork , .

So at fourteen owing to h is indo mi table will and

, ,

perseverance which conquered the most form idabl e

,

obstacles Thurlow Weed started on the c a ree r i n

,

wh i ch despite the rugged road he still had to tra vel

, ,

he bui l t up a noble Cha r acter a nd won intern ational

fa m e .

TH E MA N WI TH A N I D EA

IT is F ebruar y 1 492 A poor man with gr ay

, .
,

ha i r disheartened and dejected i s going out of the

, ,

gate from the beautiful Alhambra i n Gra n ada on , ,

a mule E ver s ince he was a boy he h as been

.
,

hau n ted wi th the idea that t h e e arth is round He .

h a s believed that the p i ece s of carved wood picked ,

up four hundred m i les at s ea a nd the bod i es of two,

m en unlike any other human beings known found

, ,

on the shore s of Portugal have drifted fro m u n ,

k n own land s in the west But hi s las t hope of

.

obtaining a id for a voyage of discovery h a s failed .

King John of Portugal under pretense of helping

,
 I S7

h im, h a s secretly sent out an ex pedition of h i s own .

H is fri e nds have aba n doned him ; he has begged

bread ; has d r a wn maps to keep him fr om sta r ving ,

a nd lost his wife ; h is friends h a ve called him crazy ,

a nd h a ve forsaken him The council of wise me n

.
,

c a lled by Ferdinand a nd I sabella ridicule his theo r y ,

of reaching the e ast by sailing west But the sun .

” “
and moon are round replies C olu mbus why not
, ,

”“
the e a rth ! I f the earth is a b all what hol ds it ,

”
up ! the wis e me n a s k What holds the s u n a nd
.

moon up ! C olu mbus replie s .

A le a rned doctor a sks How c an me n walk with

,

their head s hanging down a nd their feet up like , ,

flies on a ceiling ! How can trees grow with

their root s in the air ! The water would run out
‘f

”
of the pond s and we should fall off says another
, , .

“
The d oct r me l s cont r ary to the Bible which says , ,

“
The heaven s a r e s tretched out l ike a tent Of .
’

”
course it is fl a t ; it is rank he r esy to s a y it is round .

He has waited seven long years He has had hi s .

las t interview hoping to get assi s tance from Ferdi

,

nand and I sa bell a af t e r they drive the Moors out of

Spain I sa bell a was almost persuaded but fin ally
.
,

refused He i s now old his last hope h a s fled ; the

.
,

am bition of his life has failed H e hears a voice .

c a lling h im He lo oks back a nd sees an old friend

.

p urs uing h im o n a horse and beck o ning him to,

 1 58

come back H e s aw C ol u mbu s turn away from t h e

.

Alhambra dish eartened and he hast e n s to the quee n

, ,

and tell s h e r what a great thing it would be at a ,

t rifl i ng ex pen se if what th e sail or b el ieve s s houl d

,

“ ”
prove true . I t s hall be don e I sabel l a replie s
, .

I wil l pl edge my jewel s to ra ise the money ; call

”
him back . C olumbu s turns back a n d w i th him ,

tur ns the worl d .

Three frai l vessels little l arge r th an fi sh i n g boa ts

, ,

th e S a n t a M a r ia the P in t a and the N in a s e t s ail

, , ,

from Palos Au gu s t 3 1 492 for a n unknown l and

, , , ,

u pon untr ie d s ea s ; th e sailor s would n ot volunteer ,

but were forced to go by th e k i ng Friends ridi .

cu le d them for following a craz y ma n to certa in

destructi o n for they beli e ved the s ea beyond the
,

“
C anarie s was boiling hot What if th e e a rth i s
.

” “
round ! they s ai d and you sai l down the other
,

s id e h ow c a n you get b ack aga in ! Ca n s hip s sa il

,

”
up hi ll !
’
O nly t hre e days out th e P in t a s si gnal of d i stre ss
,

i s flying ; she has b r oken h e r rudde r September 8 .

they discove r a broken mast cove red wi th seaweed

floa ting in the sea Ter r or se ize s the sailors but
.
,

C olu mbu s cal ms th e ir fears wi th pictu r es of go ld

and prec ious stone s of I nd ia S e pte mber 1 3 two . ,

hundred m i l e s west of the C an a ries C olu mb us is ,

horrified to find that the compass h is o nly guide i s , ,

 I S9

fa iling him a n d no longe r po i nts to th e n orth st a r

, .

N 0 one h ad yet dreamed th a t th e ea r th tu r ns on its

ax is The s a ilors are ready fo r mutiny but C olu m
.
,

bus tells them the north s ta r is not ex actly in th e

north O ctober 1 they are two thou sand th r ee
.

hun d red mile s from land though Colu mbus tell s the
,

sai lo r s one thou sa nd seven hundred Col umbus .

discovers a bush i n the s e a with be r rie s on it a nd , ,

s oon they s e e birds and a piece of carved wood At .

s unset the crew kneel up o n the deck and Chant the

,

ve sper hymn I t is sixty seven d ays sinc e they left

.
-

Palo s a nd they h a ve sailed nearly three thou sa nd

,

m iles only changing the i r course once

, At ten .

O clock at n i ght they s ee a l ight ahead but i t va n

’

i she s Two o clock in the morn i ng O ct ober 1 2

.
’
, ,

R od e ri go d e Friana on watch at the ma s thead of

,

the P in t a s houts Land !la nd !l and l

, , Th e sail ”

or s are w il d with joy and throw the ms elves on the i r

,

knee s before C olu mbu s and a s k fo r givenes s They

, .

reach the s hore and the hero of th e world s greatest

,
’

expedition u nfold s t h e flag of Spa i n and take s

pos sess i o n of th e ne w world Pe r haps no greater .

honor was e ver paid man than C o lu m bu s received

on h is return to Fe r dinand and I sabell a Ye t a f ter .
,

hi s second visit to the l a nd he di scovered he wa s ,

take n b ack to Spa in i n Cha i n s a nd finally d i ed in ,

p overt y a nd neglect while a pickle dealer of S evi lle .

 16 0

who h ad never ri s e n above second mate on a fi s hi n g

ve ss el A merigo V espucci gave h is name to the
, ,

new world A merigo s nam e was put on an old

.
’

chart or sketch to indic ate the point of land where

he landed five years after C olumbu s discove red the
,

country and this cre pt i nto print by acc i dent

, .

B ER NA R D O F TH E TU I L ER I E S

O PPO S I TE th e en trance to the S evre s Mu s e um in

the O ld town of S evres in Franc e s tand s a hand
’

, ,

s ome bronze s tat ue of Be r nard Pali ssy the potter , .

Within th e mus eu m are some exquisite pieces of

”
pottery known a s P a lissy ware They a r e speci .

m en s of the a rt of Pali s sy who spen t the best ye a rs

,

of hi s life toili n g to discover the mode of making

white enamel .

The story of h is tri als and s ufi e r ing s i n seeking

'

to le a rn the secret and of h is final triumph over al l

,

d ifl icult ie s is an inspiring on e
‘
, .

Bo r n in the so uth of France as far bac k a s the ,

year 1 50 9 Bernard P a lissy did not d iffe r much

,

f r o m an intelligent high spirited A merican boy of

,
-

the twe ntieth century H is parents we re poor and

.
,

he had few of the advantage s within the r e ach of

the h umblest child in the U nited Sta tes to d ay I n .

spit e of poverty he wa s Che e r fu l lig ht hearted a nd

, , ,
 16 1

h appy i n h i s gr e a t l o ve for n a ture which distin ,

u ish e d h im a ll th r ough life The f o r est w a s hi s

g .

p l a yg r o und his
, c o m p a ni o n s the bi r ds insects a nd , ,

o ther living things that m a de thei r h o me there .

F r o m the fi r st N a tu r e wa s his chief t eacher I t

,
,
.

w a s f r o m h e r a nd h e r a l o ne he learned the less o n s

, ,

th a t in a fter ye a r s made him famous b o th a s a

p o tter and a scientist The h a bit of observation.

s ee m ed n a t u ral to h im fo r with ou t sugge s tions ,

fro m books o r O lder he ads his eyes a nd e a rs n oticed ,

all th a t the natu r e student of ou r d ay is drilled i nto

o bserving .

The fr ee outdoor life of the fo rest helped to give

,

the boy the st r ength of mind a nd b ody which

afterwar d en a bled h im in S pite of the mos t dis ,

co u r a g in g c o nditi o n s to pu r s u e his idea! He

, .

w a s t a ught how to r e a d and w r i te and f r o m h is ,

f a ther learned h ow to pa int on glass F r o m h im he .

a lso le a r ned the n a mes and so me of the p r operties

o f the minera ls e m ployed in p a i nti ng glass All the .

kn owledge th a t in afte r ye a r s m a d e h im an a rtist a ,

s cie n tist a n d a w r ite r w a s the result of his u n a ided

, ,

study of n a ture To b ooks he wa s indebted for

.

only the s mallest part of wha t he kne w .

H appy a nd hopeful sunshiny of fa ce and dispo si

,

t i o n Bern a rd gr e w fro m childh ood t o youth Then

, .
,

when he wa s a b o ut eightee n the r e c am e i nto h is ,

STO RI E S F RO M LI FE — I I
 16 2

heart a l ongi ng to try hi s fortun e in the great worl d

which lay beyond his forest home Like m os t cou n .

try bred boys of his age h e fe l t that he had grown

-
,

too large for t he parent nest a n d must t r y h is wi ngs

elsewhe r e I n hi s cas e th e re w a s indeed li ttl e to
.
, ,

induce a n ambiti ou s boy to s tay at home The .

tra de of gl ass pain ting wh i ch in previou s years h a d

,

been a profitabl e one had at that ti me fa lle n s om e

,

what out of favor and there w a s not enou gh work

,

to keep father and son busy .

When he s hou l de r ed h is s canty wal l et and bade

farewe ll to father and m oth e r and the fe w fri e n ds
,

and neighbors he k new i n the straggli ng fore s t

ha mlet Bernard P a lissy closed the fi r st ch a pter of
,

hi s life Th e second wa s a l ong period of travel

.

and self educat i o n

-
.

He wandered th r ough the fore st of Ardenne s ,

mak i ng observat i ons and co ll ect i ng speci m en s of

minera l s pla n t s reptile s and i nsects He spent
, , , .

s ome ye a rs i n the upper Py r enee s at Tarbes From , .

Antwerp i n the east he bent h is s teps t o Brest in ,

the most west e rl y p a rt of Brittany and from Mont ,

e ll ie r to Nisme s he t r aveled acro s s Fra n ce D ur

p .

i ng his wanderings he supported him se lf by pai nt i ng

on gl ass portra it pai nting !
,
w hich he pra cticed
after a fashion ! s urveying and pla nning s ites for
, ,

h ou ses and g a rdens I n c o pying or invent i ng pa t

.
 16 3

t e rn s for pain te d wind ows h e h a d a cqui r ed a k n owl

,

edge of geo metry an d conside rable sk ill in th e u se

of a rule and c ompass H i s love of knowl edge
.

for it s ow n sak e mad e him f ol l ow u p th e s tudy of

geometry as far as he could pursue i t a nd he nc e h is
, ,

s kill a s a s urveyor .

At th i s time yo un g P al i ss y had n o othe r O bject in

life than to learn H is eager inquiri n g m i nd was
. ,

e ver on the alert Wherever hi s tr ave ls l ed him h e

.
,

s ought i nform at i o n of men and nature always fi nd ,

i ng th e latte r h is Chief instructor H e p ai n ted a nd

.

planned that h e m i ght live to probe her se crets .

But the ti m e was fas t approachi ng when a ne w

i nte r e s t should come in to h is life a nd over s hado w
all othe rs .

After te n or t wel v e ye ar s of tr avel he ma rri ed a nd

,

settled i n S a i n tes w here h e purs ued as h is se rvi ce s

,

were required th e work of glas s pa in ter and s u r

,

ve o r
y . Be fore l o ng h e grew d i s sati s fied wi th th e

dull routine of h is da i ly life H e felt that h e ought

.

to d o more tha n mak e a l iving for h is wife and Ch i l

dren There were two babies now to be ca r ed for
.

a s well as hi s w ife and h e coul d not shoulder hi s

,

wallet a s in th e care le ss day s of h is boyhood and

, ,

wander away i n se arch of knowl edge or fortun e .

About thi s t im e a n eve n t happen ed wh i ch Changed

h is whole life . H e wa s shown a beautiful cup of
 104

I t a li a nma n u fac t ure I give in his own word s a

.

de sc ri pt i on of the cup a n d th e eff ect the s ight of it

,

“ “ ”
h ad o n h im A n earth e n c up he says turned
. , ,

and en am el ed wi th so much beauty that fro m th a t ,

time I e n tered in to co n troversy wi th my own th o ughts ,

recall i ng to m in d s everal sugge s ti o ns that so me peo

ple had m ade to me i n fun wh en I w a s pai nti n g ,

portrai t s T hen see i n g th a t these were falling out

.
,

of req ue s t in the countr y where I dwel t and that ,

gl ass pa in t ing wa s al so l i ttle patro nized I began t o ,

think that if I should di scover how to make en a mel s ,

I cou l d mak e e arthe n ve s se l s a nd oth er thing s ve r y

p r etti l y b ecau s e God h as gift e d me w i th s o m e
,

k nowl edge of draw i n g .

His am bi tio n was fired at o nce A d e fini te pu r .

pose formed i t self in hi s m i nd H e k n ew nothi ng .

whatever of potte ry No man in F r a n ce kn ew t h e

.

s ecret of e namelin g which m a d e th e I talian cup s o

,

be a utifu l an d P aliss y had n ot the me an s to go t o

,

I taly wh ere h e pro babl y could have learn ed i t

, He .

re s ol ved to s tudy the n ature and properti e s of cl ays ,

and not to res t unti l he h ad di scove red the sec r e t

of the wh i t e e namel Delightfu l vi s ion s filled h is
.

i magi nat i o n He thought wi thi n h i msel f that h e

.

w ould becom e the princ e of potters and wou l d pr o ,

vi de hi s wi fe a n d children with al l the l uxuri es that

”
mo ne y could buy The r e aft e r h e wrote regard
. , ,
 16 5

l e ss of th e fact t h a t I had n o k no wledge of c la ys I ,

began to s eek for the en ame ls a s a ma n gr ope s in

”
the dark .

Pal iss y wa s a young ma n when he bega n his

se a rch for th e e name l ; he was pas t middle li fe
whe n his labo r s were final l y rewarded Groping .

lik e a ma n in the d a rk a s h e h i m s e lf s a id he ex
, ,

e r ime n t e d for ye a r s w i th c lay s and ch e m i cal s b ut

p ,

with s mal l s ucce ss H e built w i th h is ow n h a nd s

.

a furn a ce at the b ack of h is l ittl e cottage in wh ich

t o carr y o n hi s experi ment s At firs t h is e nt h u
.

s ia s m i nsp i red h is wife and ne ighbors w i th the

belief th a t he would s ucceed i n his eff orts But .

ti me went on and a s one experi ment after another

,

f a iled or wa s onl y pa rti ally s uccessful o n e and all

,

lost fai th in h im He had no fri end or hel pe r to

.

buoy him up u nder hi s many di sappo i ntme nts .

E ven h is wife repro a ched h im for negl ect i n g h is

regu la r work a nd reduc i ng herself and her chil dre n
to poverty and want while he w asted hi s ti me and
,

st r ength i n ch as i ng a dream H i s neighbo r s jeered

.

a t him as a madman one who put h i s pla i n duty

,

a side for the gratification of wh a t seemed to thei r

dull mi nds me r el y a whi m Hi s poor wife could
.

hardly be bl amed for repro a ching h im She could .

neither understand nor symp a thize w i th hi s hopes

and fears while she kn e w that if he foll owed h is
,
 16 6

trad e he c ou l d a t least save h is fam il y from wa n t

, .

I t was a tryi n g t i me for both of the m But who .

ever heard tel l of an arti s t inventor dis coverer or

, , ,

geniu s of a ny ki nd being dete rred by poverty ,

a bu se rid i cu le or obs tacl es of a ny k in d from t h e

, ,

purs uit of a n i d ea l !
After many painful eff or t s the poor gl ass pai n te r
,

had s ucceeded i n producin g a s ubs t a nce which h e

believed to be white ename l He spre ad i t o n a .

n u mbe r of earthen w a re pot s which he had made ,

a nd placed them i n h i s furn ac e Th e extremit i e s .

to which h e w a s red uced to s upply heat t o t h e

”
furnac e are set forth in h is own word s : H avi n g ,

he says covered the new pi ece s wi th th e s ai d

,

e namel I put th e m i nto the furn a ce s ti l l k eep in g

, ,

the fire a t i ts he ight ; but thereupon occurred t o

me a ne w m isfortu ne wh i ch caused great mo r t ifi
cati o n nam e ly t h at the wood having f ai l ed me I
, , ,

was forced to burn th e paling s which maint ai n ed

the bou n dari es of my garde n ; which being burn t
also I was forc ed to burn the tables and the fl o o r
,

i ng of my hou s e to cause the melting of the s econ d

,

co mpo si tio n I s u ffered an anguish th a t I can n o t

.

s peak for I was quite exha usted and d r ied up b y

,

th e heat of the furn a ce Further to console m e I

.
, ,

wa s th e object of mo ckery ; and even t h ose fro m

whom s olace wa s due ran crying through the to w n
 16 7

that I wa s b urni ng my floo rs a nd in this way my

,

credit wa s taken from me a nd I wa s regard ed a s

,

a mad ma n .

O thers sa id t h at I wa s la b or i ng to make false

money which wa s a s ca ndal under which I p i ned
,

a way and s lipped wi th bowed h ead thro ugh the

,

streets like a ma n put to s h ame No o n e gave m e .

con solati o n but o n the contra r y men je s ted at me

, , , ,

sa yi n g I t w a s ri gh t for h im to die of hunger s e e

,
‘
,

ing that he had left off foll o wing h i s t r ade ! Al l ’

these thin gs assa i led my e ars when I pass ed

th r ough the s treet ; but fo r all th a t there stil l r e ,

m a ined s o me h ope which encouraged a nd sustained

me in a s much as the last trial s had turned out
,

tolerably well ; and thereafter I thought th a t I

knew enough to get my own liv i ng although I wa s ,

far enough from that ! as you s hall hear after

Thi s l ates t expe ri ment fil led him with joy for h e ,

h a d a t last discovered the s ecret of the enamel .

But there was yet much to be l e a r ned and several ,

years m ore of extreme pove r t y and s uff eri ng h a d

to be endured befo r e his la bo r s were rewa rded with
complete s ucces s B ut it came at last in ove r fl ow
.

in g measure as it a l most i nv a r i a bl y d oes to th o se

,

who a r e willing t o work and s u ff er privatio n a nd

perseve r e to the end .
 1 68

H is wor k a s a potter brought P alissy fame and

r ic h es At th e i nvitation of Ca therine de Medic i ’
.
,

wi fe of King H en r y I I of France he removed to

,

P aris H e es tabl i s hed a wo r k shop in the vicinity

.

of the royal P ala ce of the Tuilerie s and w a s there

,

“
a f te r know n a s Bernard of the Tuileri es He .

w a s e mp l oyed by the k ing and queen and s ome of

t h e gre ate s t n oble s of France to e mbellish the i r
pal ace s a n d garden s w i th the products of hi s beau
t ifu l art .

Notw i ths tand i ng his l ac k of s chool i n g Bern ard

,

Palissy was one of th e most le a rned me n of h is

day . He founded a Museum of N a tu r al Histo r y ,

wrot e val u abl e book s on n a tural s cience and f o r ,

s everal years delivered lectu r es on the sa me s ub

j e c
. t Hi s l ectures were a ttended by the m o st a d

va nce d s chola rs of P a r i s w h o were astonished a t

,

th e extent a nd accu r acy of his kno wledge of n a ture .

B ut he wa s a s m odest a s he was wise and good ,

and whe n people wondered at his lea r ning he would ,

reply wi th the most u n aff ected si mplicity I hav e“

,

had no other boo k t ha n the s ky an d the e a rth ,

”
k n ow n to all .

NO more touc hi ng s tory of s ucc e ss in s p i t e o f

,

’
great di ffi culties th a n Bernard P alissy s has been
,

w r itten I t is s a d t o think t h a t after the terrible

.

t ri a ls wh i ch he endured for the sake of his a r t ,

 I 69

h i s last years al so should have be en cl ouded by

mi sfo rtune Duri n g the Civil war which raged in
.

France betwe en th e H ugu en ots an d th e C atholics ,

h e w a s on accou n t of hi s religious v ie ws i mprisoned

, ,

i n the Bas ti le whe re h e d ied i n 1 589 at the age

, ,

of eight y .

HO W TH E “
L EA R N E D B LA C K S MI TH F O U ND
TI ME

TH E lo ss of a n h ou r says the ph il o sophe r

, ,

“
Leibnitz is the l o ss of a p a rt of l i fe
, This is .

a truth that has been a pp r eci a ted by most men

who h a ve rise n to di st i nction who have been ,
-

world be nefactors The lives of tho s e gre at m o ral

.

heroe s put to s hame t h e l agga rd youth of to d ay ’

w h o so ofte n gru mble s : “

I hav e n o t i me
,
If I .

didn t h a ve to work al l d ay I coul d accomplish

’

s o mething I could read and educate myself But

. .

if a fellow has to grub aw ay te n or twelve h o urs o u t

of the twenty four what tim e is l eft to do a n yth i ng
-
,

for one s self

’

How much s pare t i m e h ad E l ihu Bu r ri tt ,

the you n ge s t of many brethren as he hi ms elf ,

qu a intly puts i t born in a humble home in N ew

,

B r ita in Co n necti cut reared amid toil and pove r ty !

, ,
 1 70

Ye t duri ng h is father s l ong i ll n ess a nd after h is

’
, ,

deat h whe n E lihu was but a l ad in h is teens with

, ,

the fa mily pa r tially depende n t upo n the work of hi s

ha n d s he found time
, ,

if o nly a few mo
ment s — a t the end,

of a fourteen hour -

day of l abor for hi s ,

books .

Whil e worki n g at
his t r ade a s a bl ack
sm i th he solved pro b
,

lems in arithmetic
a nd algebra while his
irons were he ati ng .

O ver the forge also

appeared a L a ti n
g r ammar a nd a Greek
lexicon ; and while ,

with sturdy bl ows the

ELI H UB '
G TT
' ‘
F G
URRI I I C I PH E R I N A HE OR E
amb i tious youth of
s ixtee n shaped th e i ro n on the anvil he fixed in ,

h is mind conjuga tion s and declen si on s .

How did th is man born nearly a ce ntu r y ago

, ,

po ssess i ng none of the advantages with in reach

of the po o rest and humble s t boy of to day become -
,

o ne of the brightest ornaments in the worl d of

 1 71

letters a l e ade r in t h e reform movement s of h is

,

genera ti o n !
Appare n tly no mor e talen t ed t ha n his nin e
br others a nd s i s ters by i mproving every o ppo r
,

t u n it y h e could wring from a youth of u n r e mit

t i ng toil h is love for knowl edg e g rew with what

,

i t fed upo n and carri ed him to undreamed oi

,
-

he ights I n palace s and co unci l halls the words

.
,

”
of the L earned Bl ack smi th we r e listened to with
the c l os e st attentio n and defere n c e .

Read th e life of E l ihu Burritt and you wil l be ,

asham ed t o g rumb l e t hat y ou ha ve no tim e n o

cha nce for self impr ovem ent
-
.

TH E L E GE ND O F WI L LI A M TE L L

YE cr ags a nd peak s I m wi th you once agai n !

,
’

I ho l d to you the ha nd s you firs t beheld to s how ,

t hey s till a r e fre e Methink s I hear a spiri t i n

.

your e choes an swer me a nd bid y our tena n t wel

,
~

come t o h is home agai n ! 0 s acred forms how ,

proud you l ook !h ow h igh you l ift your heads i nto

the s ky !how huge you a r e how mighty a nd how
, ,

free ! Y e are t h e th i ngs that tower that s h i ne ; ,

—
whos e smile make s gl a d who se frown i s te rribl e
who se form s robed or u n r obed do all the impre ss
, ,
 1 72

wea r ofawe divine Y e g ua rds of liberty I m with

.
,
’

o u o nce ag a in ! I c a ll to o u with a ll m voice !

y y y
I h o ld m y h a nds to you t o show they still are free .

I r ush t o you a s though I c o uld embrace y o u !

Wh a t schoolboy or s choolgirl is not fa mili a r with

those sti r r ing lines from Willi a m Tell s Add r ess
“ ’

to H is N a tive Mounta ins by J M Knowles !

, . .

And the sto r y of Willi a m Tell — is it not de a r

,

t o eve r y he a rt that love s liberty ! Though m o de r n

histor y decl a r es it to be purely mythical its popu ,

la r it y re ma ins unaff ected

. I t will live forever in the
t r aditions of Switze r land de a r t o the hearts of her
,

pe ople a s their n ative mo unta ins and even mo r e ful l

,

of interest to the str a nge r tha n authentic histo r y .

H is i mage s ays L a ma r tine with th os e

“
,

of his wife a nd Child r en a r e insep a r ably co n

,

n e ct e d with the majestic r u r al a nd s m iling land

, ,

sca pe s of Helveti a the m odern Arcadi a of E u r o pe

, .

As often a s the traveler visits these peculi a r r egi o ns ;

a s often a s the unconque r ed su mm its of M o nt
Bla nc St Goth a rd a nd the R igi present t h e m
, .
, ,

selves t o his eyes in the va st fi r ma me n t as the eve r

enduring sy mbols of liberty ; whenever the l ake of
the Fou r C anto ns p r esents a vessel wavering o n the
blue su r fa ce of its w ate r s ; whenever the c a scade
b ursts in thunder fr o m the heights of the S pliig e n ,
 I 73

a nd s h ivers i tself upo n the rocks lik e tyrann y

a g a i ns t free hea r t s ; whenever the ru ins of an Au s

t rian fortre ss darken with the remains of frown ing

wal ls the round eminence s of U ri or Glari s ; and
whenever a calm s unbe am gild s on the declivity of
a vi llage the gree n velvet of the meadows where
the he r d s a r e feed i n g to the tinkling of bells and
—
the echo of the R a na a e s Va e ke s so ofte n the
'

i m agi natio n tra ce s i n all thes e varied s ce nes the

—
h a t o n t h e s ummit of the pole the arche r con
d e m ne d to aim at the apple placed o n the head
—
of h is ow n Child the mark hurled to the ground ,

—
t r a nsfixed by t h e u n erri ng arrow the f ather
ch a ined to th e bott om of the b oa t s ubdu i ng n ight
, ,

the storm and his ow n i ndig na tion to save hi s

, ,

—
executioner and final l y the outraged h u s band
, ,

threatened with the los s of all he hol d s mos t de a r ,

yield i ng to the i mpul se of n a ture a n d in h is turn

,

”
st r iking th e murde rer with a deathbl ow .

The story wh i ch t r adition hands dow n a s the

origin of the freedom of Swi tze rland date s back
to the begin n ing of th e fourteenth century At .

th a t ti me Switzerland was unde r th e sovereignty

of the e mperor of Germany who r uled over Cent r al
,

E urope . Count R udolph of H a psbu r g a Swis s by

,

birth who h ad been e l ected to the imperi al th r one

,

i n 1 2 73 m ade some eff orts to save hi s c ountrym en

,
 1 74

from t h e oppressi on of a for e ign yo k e H is s o n .

,

Albert Archduk e of Austr ia who s ucceeded h im

, ,

i n 1 2 98 inhe ri ted no ne of h is sympathie s for

,

Switz erland .O n his accessi o n to th e th ron e

Albert re s ol v ed t o curta i l the l iberti es sti l l enjoyed
by the i nha b ita n ts of som e of th e ca nton s and to ,

b end the whole of the Swi ss pe op l e to hi s will .

The mountai nee rs of the canto ns of S ch w y t z ,

U ri and U n te rwalde n recog n i zed n o authori t y bu t

,

that of th e emperor ; wh il e th e p e as a n t s of t h e
neighboring va lley s were at the m e rcy of l o ca l
—
tyrant s t he gre at noble s an d the ir al l ies .

I n order to car r y out h is proj e ct of s ubject i n g

all to the s am e yoke Albe rt of Au s tri a appointe d
,

governors to rule over the se mi free province s o r

-

canton s These govern ors who b ore the oflicia l

. ,
‘

t i tle of Bail iffs of the E mpe ror ex e rc ised absol ut e

,

authori ty ove r the peopl e M en wome n and chi l

.
, ,

dren were at th e i r mercy a nd were treated a s mere

,

—
chattels th e property of the i r ru le rs I n s u l t a n d
.

outrage we re h e ap ed upon th em u nt il the i r li ve s

became al mo st u n e n durable .

An in stanc e of the mann e r in wh i c h th ese p e tty

ty r ants u sed their a uthority i s relate d of the ba i li f f
L a ndenberg who ruled over U n te rwalden
, .

For some tru mped up off e nse of wh i ch a yo u ng

-

pe as an t named A r nold of Me lct h a l was acc us ed his

, , ,
 l 75

oxe n were co n fis cated by Land e n berg T he de pu t y .

s ent to seize the an i mals whic h La nd e nberg really

,

covete d for hi s own sa i d s n e eri ngly to Arnold I f

, ,

pe a sa n ts wis h for bread they mu st draw th e plow

,

”
themselve s . R ou s ed to fury by thi s tau n t Arn old ,

attempted to re s i s t the s ei z ure of his prope rty and ,

’
i n s o doing broke a n arm of one of the deputy s
me n H e the n fl e d t o the mountain s ; b ut h e cou l d
.

not h ide h i m s elf from th e ven gea n c e of L ande n

be rg The peasa n t s aged father wa s arres t ed by
.
’

orde r of the ba ilifi a n d his eye s put out in pun ish

,

“ ”
ment for h is s o n s off e nse
’
T h at pu nc tu re says
. ,

an old chron i cler we n t so de ep in to many a hear t

,

that numbers reso l ved t o di e rather tha n leave it

”
u nrequ i ted .

But the cruel e s t a nd mos t vi nd ic tive of t h e A us

tria n or Germa n baili ffs a s they were in tercha ngeably
,

called was o n e Herman n Gessl er He had built

, .

hi mself a fortre ss which he called Uri s Restra i nt

,
’
,

and the r e he felt secure from all attack s .

This man was the terror of the whol e d is tri ct .

H is name was a synonym for al l that wa s b a se ,

brut al a nd tyra nnical Ne i ther th e propert y the

, .
,

lives n or the ho n or of the peopl e we re respe cte d

,

by h i m H is h atre d and co nte mpt for the peasants

.

we r e s o great th at the l eas t semblance of prospe r ity

amo ng them arou s ed his ir e .
 1 76

O ne d a y wh ile ri d i ng with an arm ed escort thro u g h

t h e cant o n of S ch wy t z he n ot i ced a comfortable lo o k
,
-

ing dwelling which was being bui l t by one We r n e r

S t a ufi a ch e r. Turning to hi s followe r s he cri e d , ,

I s it not s hamef ul th a t mi s erable se rfs l ike th e s e

should be pe rmitted to build s uch hou s e s whe n h u t s
”
would be too good for the m ! L e t thi s be fi n
”
is h e d , sa i d h is c hi ef attenda n t ; w e s hal l t h e n
s culpture ov e r the gate the arm s of th e e mp e ro r ,

and a li ttl e t i m e wil l show wheth e r th e builder h a s

the audac ity to di spute po ssess io n with u s Th e .

a nswer pl eas ed Gessler who repli ed , Thou a r t ,

”
right and pl anni n g future ve ngea n ce h e pas se d
, , ,

on with h is es cor t .

Th e wife o f St a uff acher who h ad be e n s tan d i n g

,

ne a r th e ne w building but conc e ale d f r om Ges sl e r

,

and h is me n h eard th e co n vers atio n and repo r te d

, ,

i t to her hus ba n d The l a tter fil l ed with i ndi g n a

.
,

tion without uttering a word aros e a n d s ta r ted f o r

, ,

the h om e Of h is fathe r in l aw Wal ter F iir st in t h e

- -

, ,

vill a ge of A t t ing h a us se n .

O n his arri val S t a ff a uch e r was cord i ally we l co m e d

by his father in l a w who pl aced refreshme nt s befo r e
- -
,

h im a nd waited for him to expla i n th e obj ect of h is

,

“
v i sit
. P us h i ng as i d e the food h e s aid I h a ve, ,

made a vow never again to taste win e or s wa l l o w

”
meat u n ti l we cease to be sl aves Stauff ach e r th e n .
 1 77

re lated wha t h a d happen ed F u r st s anger was kin .

’

d le d by the rec ital B oth m en were roused to s uch

.

a pitch th at they resolved th en and there to free , ,

the ms e l ve s and their countryme n fro m the chain s

which bou nd th em o r di e i n the attempt They
, .

converse d far i n to t h e night maki ng plans for ,

the ga i n i ng of natio nal i ndepe n denc e The n they .

s ought o ut in his hi ding p l ac e Ar n old of Melch -

t h al the young peasa n t whom La n de n be r g h a d s o

,

crue lly pe rse cuted I n h i m they fo und a s they

.
,

expected an ard e nt supporter of their pl ans

, .

The three con sp i rators S tauff acher F first and

, , ,

Melchthal represe nte d d i ff e re n t canto ns ; one be

,

longin g to S ch wy t z a n other t o U ri and the third

, ,

to U n terwalden They hoped to form a league and

.

unit e th e three canton s aga ins t th e po wer of Austria .

I n pu r s uance of their pl an s e ach pledged h i mself to

,

s elect from among the mos t persecuted and the most

daring i n their respective ca n to ns t en oth er s to j o i n
them i n the caus e of liberty .

O n the night of November 7 or 1 7 ! the date i s ,

va riou s ly gi ven !i n the year 1 30 7 the co n federates

, ,

m e t together in a s ecluded mountain s pot c alled

R iit li There they bou n d them selves by a n oath
. ,

the term s of wh i ch embodied their purpo se : We

s wea r i n the p r e sence of God b e fo re whom ki ngs ,

a nd p eople are equal t o live or die for our fel low

,

STO RI ES P RO M LI F E - 12
 1 78

countryme n ; to u nd e rtake and s us ta i n a ll i n com

mon ; ne i ther to s u ff er inju stice n or to comm it
i njury ; to respect the rights a nd prope r ty of the
C ount of H a psburg ; to do no Vi ol ence to the im
”
p eria l bai l i ff s but
, to pu t a n end to their tyranny .

They fixed upo n January 1 1 30 8 a s t he day for a , ,

general upri s ing .

E vent s were gradual l y s hap i ng the msel ve s for t h e

appeara nce of Willi a m Tell on the s cene U p to .

this time hi s n ame doe s n o t appe a r in the an n als of

h is Cou n try The bol d peasant of U ri was s o little
.

prominent among his count r y men that according ,

to s o me vers i on s of the l egend al though a s on in,

-

la w of Walter F iir s t he h a d no t been chose n

,

among t he th i r ty conspirators su mmo ned to the

meeting a t Riit li This however i s contradicted
.
, ,

“
by another wh i ch asserts that he wa s on e of th e
,
”
o a th bound men of Riit li
-
.

The variou s divergence s i n the di ff erent version s

of the legend do not aff ect it s main feature s on ,

wh ich all th e chroniclers a r e agr eed I t was the .

c r owning i nsult to h is countr y wh i ch i ndisput a b ly

b r ought Tell into pro m in ence and m a de hi s n am e
forever famo us .

Ge s s le r s h a t r ed of the people dai l y in creas ed and

’

was con s ta n tly showing i tself i n every fo rm of pe t ty

tyra nny that a m e an and wicked n a ture could
 l 79

d evise H e notice d th e grow ing d isco ntent among

.

the p e as a n tr y but i ns tead of try i ng to allay it h e

, ,

d ete rmi ne d to humiliate them stil l m ore For this .

p u rpo se h e had a pole s urmo u nted by the ducal cap,

o f A ustri a erected i n the market square of the Vi l

,

lage of Altdorf a n d i s s ued a command that al l who

,

passed it should bow before the symbo l of imperial

ru le Guard s were pl aced by the pole wi th orde r s
.

to mak e pri son ers of all who refu sed to pay homage
t o th e duca l cap .

W illi am Te ll a bo ld h u nte r an d sk il lfu l boatman

,

of U ri passin g by o ne day wi th h is li ttl e s on Wal

, , ,

ter refused t o bend h is knee before th e s ymbol of

,

fo r e ign o ppres s ion H e was seized at o n c e by t h e

.

g uard s and carr ie d befor e th e b a ilifi .

Th er e is co nsi de ra ble contrad i cti o n at t his po int

a s t o w h ether Te ll was at onc e carr i ed be fo r e th e

baili ff or bou n d to th e pol e whe r e he rema in e d , ,

guarded by th e s ol diers u n til th e baili ff returning , ,

th e s am e day from a hu n ti ng expedition appear ed ,

u pon th e s ce n e Schil le r in h is d ra ma of William

.
,

”
Tell adopts th e l atter vers ion of the s to r y
, .

Accord i ng to the drama Te ll i s r epresented a s ,

be i ng bound to th e po le I n a s h o rt ti me he is s u r.

r ounded by friend s a nd neighbors A mong the m .

a re hi s fathe r in l aw Walter F iir st Werner Stauf

- -
, ,

fach e r a n d Ar n old of Melchthal They advance to

, .
 1 80

re s cue th e prisoner The guards cry i n a l o ud

.

voice Revolt ! R ebelli o n ! Treas on ! Sediti o n !

He l p ! P r o tect th e agents of the law !
Gessler and his party hear the c r i es and rush to ,

the support of the guar ds Gess l e r c r ies in a loud

.

authoritative vo ic e Whe r efore is this ass embly of

pe op l e ! Wh o called for help ! What does al l this
m ean ! I demand t o k n o w the cause of th is !
Then addressing h im self p a rticular ly to one o f
,

“
the gu a rds and pointing t o Tell he s ays : St a nd
,

fo rward ! Who art th o u and why dost thou hold

,

that ma n a prisoner !
Most mighty l o r d r ep li es the guard I am o ne
, ,

of your s oldiers placed here as a senti nel over that

hat I se i zed this man i n the act of di s obedience
. ,

fo r r efu sing t o sa l ute it I was about to carry h im

.

to priso n i n c omplian ce with yo ur o r d e rs and t h e ,

populace were preparing to resc ue h im by force .

After que s tioning Tel l whose an swers are n o t

,

satisfactory the bai l i ff pro nou n ce s s e n ten c e u po n

,

h im . Th e se ntence is that he shal l shoot at a n

apple pl aced on the head of h i s littl e s on Wal te r , ,

and i f he fails to hit the mark he shal l d i e .

”
My lord cries the ago nized parent ; wha t h o r
,

rible command is this yo u lay upon me ! What !

a im at a m a rk pl a ced o n the head of m de a r child !
y
No no it is i mposs i ble that such a thought co ul d
, ,
 1 81

en ter your i maginat ion ! I n t h e n am e Of the God

of mercy you ca nn ot se ri ou s ly i mpose that tri al on
,

”
a father .

Thou sh alt a im at a n apple pl aced o n th e head

”
of thy son I wil l a n d I comman d i t repeat s the
. ,

tyr ant .

I ! Wi l l i am Te ll ! a im with my own cros sbow

at th e head of my own offspri ng ! I would rather
”
di e a t hou san d death s .

Thou s hal t s hoot or ass uredl y t hou d ies t w i th

,

thy son !
Becom e t h e murde r e r of my c h i ld ! M y l ord ,

—
you have no s o n you cann ot have th e fe e l i ngs of
”
a father s h eart !
’

Ge s sle r s fri e n ds i n te rfe re i n be h alf Of the u nh appy

’

father and pl ead for mercy B ut all appeal is in

, .

vai n Th e ty rant is d etermined o n carryi ng out hi s

.

se n tenc e .

Th e fathe r a nd s o n are placed at a d i stan c e of

e i gh ty pace s ap a rt An apple is pl aced on th e boy s ’
.

h e ad and the father i s comman ded to hi t th e mark

, .

H e hesitates and trembl es .

Why do st thou he s itate ! q ue stio ns h is perse

cu t o r . Thou h a s t d eserved death and I could ,

compel th ee to undergo th e pun i shment ; but in my

cl emency I place thy fate in t h y own skillful hand s .

H e who is the mast e r of h is d es ti n y can n ot com

 1 82

plain that h is se nt e nc e is a se ve re one Th ou a r t .

proud of thy s teady eye an d unerring a im ; no w ,

hunter i s th e mom en t to prove thy s ki ll The

, .

object i s wo r thy of the e — the pri z e is worth con

tend in g for To s tri k e the c e nte r of a target is a n
.

ordina r y ach ievem e nt ; but the true mas ter of h is art

i s he who is a l ways c e r tain and who se heart ha n d , , ,

a nd eye are firm and steady under e ve ry tria

At l e ngth T ell nerve s hi mse lf for t h e ord e a l ,

r ai se s h is b ow and take s aim at th e t arge t on h is

,

son s head Before firing howe ve r h e co n c e al ed a

’
. , ,

second arrow und e r h is vest H is move m en t d id .

n ot es cap e Ge s sle r s n ot i c e
’
.

The marksman fire s Th e apple fa ll s fr om h is.

b oy s head cleft i n twain b y th e arrow

’
, .

E ve n Ge ssler is l oud in h is ad m i rat i o n o f Te l l s

’

”
s ki ll . By heaven h e cri e s h e has cl ove t h e
, ,

app l e e xactly i n the center Let us do j ust i c e ; it is

.

i ndeed a masterpiece of skil l .

Tell s f r i end s congratulate hi m H e is abo ut t o

’
.

s et out for h is ho m e with the Child who has be e n

s aved t o h im fro m the very jaws of d e ath a s it were .

But Ges sler stays h im .

Th ou h as t concealed a seco nd arr ow in th y

,
”
bos om h e sa ys s te r nly address ing Te l l
, Wha t .

”
didst th ou intend to d o wi th i t ! Tell re p li es that
s uc h is the custom of a ll h un te r s .
 1 83

Gessler is n ot sat isfied a nd urges h im to confess

hi s real motive Spe ak tru ly a n d frankly h e
.
,
”

says ; s ay wha t t hou wil t I promi se thee thy li fe , .

To what p ur po se dids t th ou de st i n e th e secon d

”
arrow !
Tell ca n no l onge r r est r a in his i nd ign at i o n a nd , ,
'

fi x ing h is ey es steadi l y on Ge ssl e r he an s we rs ,

We ll th e n my lord since you as s ure my life I

, , ,

wil l s pe ak th e t ruth w i thout res erve If I h a d .

struc k my be l oved chi l d wi th the second arrow ,

I wou l d have transpierced th y heart A s su r edly .

th at ti me I shou ld n ot have mi s sed my mark .

”

”
V illa in l exc l ai ms Gess ler I have pro mised
“
,

thee l i fe upo n my knightly word ; I wil l keep my

pledge B ut si nce I know thee n ow and thy t e
.
,

be llious heart I wil l r emo ve thee t o a pl a ce where

,

thou s halt never m o re behold th e l ight of su n or

m oon . Thu s o n ly s hall I be s hel tered fro m thy
arrows .

He orders t h e guards to s e iz e and bind Tell ,

s aying “
I w ill my se lf a t o n c e co n duct h im to
,

K iis s na ch t .

The fortre ss of K u ss nacht was si tuated o n the

s u mmit of Mount R igi between L ake L uce m e or
, ,

the L ake of the Fou r C anton s as i t is so meti me s

cal led and Lake Z ug I t wa s reached by cross ing
, .

Lake L ucerne .
 184

The pr iso ne r pla ce d bound in t h e bo tt o m

wa s
Of a b oat a n d w i th h is guard s th e rowe rs a n in e x
, , ,

e r ie nce d pi l ot a n d Ge ssle r in c o mma n d t h e boat

p , ,

wa s head ed for K ussn acht .

W h e n abo ut halfway acro ss t h e la ke a su d d e n

a nd vi ole n t s tor m ove rwh el med the part y T h ey .

were in peril of th ei r li ves Th e rowe rs and p ilot

.

we re pa nic stri cken a n d powe rless in fa ce of t h e

-
,

danger that threatened t hem .

’
Tel l s fam e as a boa t ma n wa s a s w i d es pr e a d as
t h at of his sk il l a s a n arch er The rowe rs cri e d.

al oud i n t h ei r terror that h e was the o nl y ma n in

Switze r l a nd th at cou ld save them from de a th .

Gessler i m mediately co mmanded h i m to be re l eased

fro m hi s bonds and gi ven the helm .

Tel l s ucceeded in guiding the vesse l to the s h ore .

Then s e iz i ng hi s bow and arrows wh i ch h is capto r s ,

had thrown be s ide him h e s prang ashore at a p o int

,

”
known as Tell s Leap ’
The boat rebo u nding
.
, ,

afte r he l eaped from it was again dri ve n out on the

lake before any of the r e mai nder of it s occupants
could effect a land i n g After a t i me however the
.
, ,

fury of the storm abated a nd th ey re ached th e sho r e

,

i n safety .

I n t h e meant i m e T e ll had co n cealed h i m sel f in a

defile i n the m o untai n through which Gessl er would
have to pass on his way to Kuss nacht Th e r e he .
 1 85

lay i n wait for h is persecuto r w h o followed in h o t

p u rsuit.

V owing ve ngeance as he went Gessle r decl a red ,

that if the fugitive did no t give hi mself up t o j ustice ,

eve r y day tha t pa s sed by should cost h im the life of

his wife o r one of h is c h ildren While the tyra nt .

w a s yet spe aking an arro w shot by a n une r ring

,

h a nd pierced h is heart Tell had taken vengeance

.

into his own hands .

The death of Gessle r was the sign al fo r a genera l

u prising . The oath bo und me n of R iit li saw th a t
-

t his w a s thei r g r eat oppo r tunity They called t o .

their co u ntrymen t o follow the m t o freed o m o r dea th .

Ge ssle r s crowning a ct o f ty r a nny his inh u ma n

’

punishment of Tell h ad r o u s ed the spi r it o f r ebel

—

l i o n in the he a r ts O f even the meekest a nd m ost

subm i ssive of the peasants Gladly then did they .
, ,

resp o nd to the c a l l o f the leaders of the insu r r ecti o n .

The legend says th a t on New Y ea r s E ve 1 30 8 ’

, ,

Sta u ffacher with a chosen b a nd of foll owe r s cli mbed

, ,

the m o untain which led t o L a ndenbe r g s fo r t r ess ’

castl e of Rot z be r g The r e they were assisted by

.

an inmate of the castle a young gi r l whose l o ve r

,

was among the r ebels S h e t h r ew a r ope o u t of o n e

.

of the windows o f the c a stle and by it h e r c o unt r y

,

men cl i mbed one afte r an o ther into the c a stl e .

They s eized the bai liff La ndenberg a nd c o nfined

, ,
 186

h im in o ne Of th e du ngeo ns of h is own cas tle N ext

.

day th e c o nsp irators we re r eenforced by another

pa r ty wh o ga ined en tr an ce t o th e castle by mea ns
of a c leve r ruse La n de nbe rg a nd h is men were
.

given th e ir freedom by the pe as an ts on co nd i t i o n

that they would qui t Switze rl and foreve r .

The cas tle of U ri wa s attacked and t ake n po sses

s i o n of b y Wa l t e r F iir st a nd W ill iam T ell wh i l e
,

other s tronghol d s were c aptu r e d by A r nold of

Melchth al a nd hi s a ss ociates .

B onfi r e s b laze d all ove r th e Co untry Th e daw n

.

o f S wi tzerl a n d s fr eedom had appeared Th e re i gn

’
.

of ty ra n n y wa s doomed Wil lia m Tell wa s the

.

h e r o of th e ho ur a n d ever s i nc e h i s n ame h a s be en
,

ens hri n ed in t h e hearts of h is countryme n a s the

w atchword of t h ei r li berties E ve n to th i s day a s
'

.
,

h i stor y tells us th e Swiss peasan t cheris he s t h e be

,

lief t hat Tel l a n d th e thre e me n of R iit li are asleep

in th e mounta i n s b ut will awake to th e r escue of
,

”
t he i r l an d shou l d tyra nn y e ver aga i n enc h ai n i t .

Lamartine to whos e sto r y of W il l iam Te ll the

,

wri ter is i ndebted commenti ng o n t h e l egen d says

,

Th e artle s sne ss of this his tory res embles a poe m ;

i t is a pas toral so ng in wh ich a S i ngle drop of blood
is m i n gled with the dew upon a leaf or a tuft of
grass P rovidenc e s eem s th u s to deligh t in pr o v id
.

ing for e very free co mm u ni ty a s the fo un der of t h e ir

,
 1 87

independence a fabulou s or actual h ero conform

, ,

a ble to the l o cal situati o n manners and character of

, ,

each particular race To a rustic pastor al people

.
, ,

like the Swi ss is given for thei r liberator a noble

,

peasant ; to a pro ud aspiring race s uch as the

, ,

Ame r i cans an hone s t so l dier Two distinct s ym

, .

bols s tandi ng erect by the cradle s of the two

,

m odern li bertie s of the worl d to personify the i r

o pp o site n ature s : on the on e hand Te ll with hi s ,

arrow and t h e a pple ; o n th e other Wa s/ z in t on

g , .

”
with hi s sword a nd th e la w .

WES TWA R D HO

W H E N th e curr ent s erve s the un see n mo ni t or

,

that directs our affairs bids us step aboard ou r

craft and with hand firmly grasping the hel m
, , ,

steer boldly for the distant goal .

Philip D Armou r the open handed large hearted

.
,
-
,
-

merchant p r ince who h as left a s tanding me mori a l

,

to his benevo lence in the Armour I nstitute at C h i

cago hear d the c al l to put t o s e a when in hi s teens
, .

I t cam e duri ng th e gold fever which raged with ,

such intens i ty f r o m 1 849 to 1 85 1 when the wild ,

e s t sto r ies we r e a float of the trea s u r e s that were

dai ly bei n g dug out of th e ea r th in C al ifo r n i a .

 1 88

The br a i n of th e s turdy youth who se Scotch a n d ,

Purita n blo od tingled for some broader field tha n

the vill age s to r e a nd h is father s farm in Stockbridge
’

New Y ork w a s ,

haunted by t h e
tales of a d ve n
ture and fortun e
w afted ac r o s s

t he c on t i n e n t
fro m the n e w
E l Dorad o “
I .

b ro o de d o ve r
”
the di ff erence ,

“
he says be ,

twe en to s s i n g
hay in the hot
sun and digging
gold by hand
fuls unti l on e , ,

d ay I t h r e w ,

down the pitch

P D A M
H I LI P . R F
O UR S E E K I NG O RTUNE
fo r k went to the,

h o use and tol d m other that I had qu it that kind of

,

wor
A r mour was nineteen years old when h e dete r
mi ned to seek his fo rt u ne i n Ca lifo r nia H is .

determin a tion onc e formed h e l ost no ti me in ,

 1 89

c arry i ng i t out A s m uch Of the journ ey across

.

t h e p lai ns wa s to be made on foot he fi r st p r ovided ,

hi mself with a pair of stout boots Then h e p a cked .

his extra Clothing in an old c a rpetbag and wi th a ,

light heart bade hi s fa mily go od by -

.

H e had induced a young friend C alv in Gilbe r t , ,

to accompany h im i n his sea r ch for fortune The .

two youths joi ned the motley c r owd of adventu r e r s

who were flocki ng fro m al l quarters to the Land of
Promise and set out o n their jou r ney
, .

Tram ping over the plains crossing r ive rs i n tow

,

boa ts and fe r ryboats and r iding i n trains and o n

,

w agon s when they co uld the adventu r e r s afte r

, ,

m any weary m o nths re a ched their destinati o n

, .

D u ring the j o urney you ng A rm o ur became sick ,

but wa s tenderl y nursed back to he a lth by his

compan i on .

“
I had scarcely any mo ney wh en I a r r ived at t h e
” “
gold fields said A r mo u r but I s t r uck right out
, ,

and found a place where I c o uld dig and i n a l ittle ,

”
ti m e I struck pay dirt .

He entered into p a r tnership wi th a Mr C r o a r k in . ,

and with characteristic energy kept digging and

, ,

t a ki ng his turn at the r ude ho u sekeeping in the

shanty which he and his partne r shared C r o a r k in .

” “
would coo k one week he says a nd I t h e ne x t
, , ,

and we wou l d have a c lean u p S und a y mo rnin g .

 1 90

We baked our own bread and kept a fe w hens t oo , , ,

which s upplied u s with fresh eggs .

The yo u ng gold hu n te r however d i d not find , ,

”
n u get s a s plentifu l as b l ackberries but h e fou nd
g ,

within hi mself that which l ed h i m to a bo na nza fa r

exceeding hi s wilde s t dre am s of find s in the g ol d
fie l d s
.

He discovered h is bus i n ess ab ilit y ; he lea rn ed

how to econo m ize how to rel y upo n h i m self e v en
, ,

to t h e ex ten t of bak i ng h is own br e a d .

TH REE GREA T A M ER I C A N S O NGS A N D

TH E I R A U TH O RS

I . S
TH E S TA R- PA NGL E D B A N NE R

PO E TRY a n d mu sic says Sir Joh n L ubbock

, ,

unite in song From the earliest age s s ong has

.

been the sweet compa n ion of l abo r Th e rud e .

cha n t of the boatm an floats upon the water the ,

shephe r d si ng s upon the h ill the m ilkmaid i n the ,

da i ry th e plowma n in the fiel d

, E ve r y trade .
,

every occup a tion eve r y a ct a n d scene of life h a s

, ,

l ong had its own especial mu s ic The bride went .

to her marri age the l abore r to hi s wo rk t he old

, ,

ma n t o h i s l as t lo n g r e st e ach wi th appropri at e a nd
,

i mme mo rial mu sic .

 191

It i s s trange that Lubbock did not mentio n

specifical ly the power of m u sic i n i nspiri n g the
soldier as he marche s to the defen s e of hi s co u ntry ,

or in aro us ing the spirit of patrioti sm a n d k i ndling

the love of country whether in peac e or war in , ,

e ve r y bosom Let m e make the s ong s of a coun

.

” “
try Fletcher of Sal tou n has well said a n d I ca re
, ,

”
not who ma ke s its laws .

Not to know th e word s a n d th e a i r of th e nati o na l

anthe m or chief patriotic son gs of one s cou n try is ’

consi dered little l ess than a di sgrac e To kno w .

s o mething of their authors and the occasi on wh i ch

inspired them or the cond i tions u n der which they
,

were co mpo sed gi ves add i tio n al in te res t to the

,

songs themselve s .

Francis Scott Key author of Th e Sta r s pa ngle d

,
-

”
Banner one of the if not the mo s t popul ar of our
, , ,

n a tional songs was b o r n in Frederick Co unty Ma r y

, ,

l a nd o n August 1 1 779 H e was the s on of Joh n

, , .

R oss Key an O ffice r in the Revo l uti o nary army

, .

Y o ung Key s early ed ucation was carri ed on u nde r

’

the di r ection of his father Later he became a s t u .

dent in St Jo h n s C ollege from which in s titution he

.
’
,

was gradu a ted in his ninetee nth year I m medi a tely .

after h is g r ad ua ti o n he began to study l a w und e r

hi s u n cle P h ilip Barton Key one o f the ablest
, ,

l a wyers of h is t ime He w a s ad mi tted to the ba r

.
 192

i n 1 80 1 and commenc ed to pract i c e in Fr e d e ri ck

,

town M a r yl a nd where h e won the reputati on O f

, ,

an el oquent advocate After a few years pra ct i ce

.
’

in F r e d e r ick t ow n he r e moved to Washi ngton whe re

, ,

he was appointed di s tr i c t attorn ey for th e D is tr ict

of C o lu mbia .

Y oung K ey was a s wi de l y kn ow n and a d mi r e d

a s a writer of hymn s and ball ad s a s h e wa s as a la w

yer of promise But th e producti o n of th e popul a r

.

n a tional anth em which crowned h i m wi th immor

tal ity has so ove r shad owed the res t o f h is life w ork
th a t we re m e mbe r him only a s its author .

The occasion which inspired The Sta r spangl e d -

”
Banner must always be me mo r able i n the an nal s
o f our country . The w a r with th e Bri ti sh had bee n
a bout two years i n p r ogres s when i n August 1 8 1 4
, , , ,

a B r itish fleet arri ved in the C hesapeak e and a n ,

a r m y under Gene r al R oss land ed ab out fo r ty m il e s

fro m the City of Washingto n .

The army took possessi o n of Was hi n gton burn t ,

the c apit ol the President s residenc e and othe r

,
’
,

p u blic buildi ngs a n d th e n s ailed around by t h e

,

se a t o attack B alti m ore The fleet wa s to bom

.

b a r d Fo r t MC Henry wh i l e th e l a n d force s were t o

,

attack the city .

The co mma nding offi c e rs of t h e fleet a n d lan d

a r my A d mi r a l C ockb urn and General R o ss m a d e
, ,
 I 93

their headqu a r te r s in U pper M a rlboro Ma r yl a nd , ,

a t th e ho use of D r Willia m Be a nes whom they

.
,

held a s thei r p r isoner .

Francis Scott Key who was a wa r m friend of ,

D r Beanes went t o P r esident Madison in o rder to

.
,

enlist his aid in secu r ing the release of Beanes The .

president f u rnished Key with a vessel and instructed ,

John L Skinner agent f o r the exchange O f prisoners

.
, ,

t o acco mp a ny h im u nder a flag of tr uce to th e B r it

i s h fleet .

The British Commander agreed to releas e Dr .

Beanes but wo uld n o t perm it Key and h is p arty to

,

return then lest they should carr y back i mp o rtant

,

info rmation t o the American side He boastingly .

decl a r ed however that the defense could hold out

, ,

o n l y a few hou r s a nd that Balti m ore would the n be

,

in the hands of the B r itish .

Skinner and Key were s ent on board the S u r

p r ise
, which was under the co m m a nd of Ad m ir a l
C ockb u rn s s o n But afte r a sh o rt ti me they we r e
’
.

all o wed to return to thei r own vessel and fr om it s ,

deck they s aw the A me r ican fl ag waving ove r Fort

Mc H e n r y and witnessed the bo mbard ment .

All thro ugh the night the furious a ttack of the

British cont inued The roar of cannon and the.

bursting of shells w a s ince ss a nt I t is said that as .

many a s fif teen h u nd r e d she ll s we r e hurled at the fort .

STO RI E S F RO M LI F E 13
 1 94

Shortly befo r e d ayb r eak the fi r ing ceased Key .

a nd his co mpa nion s wa ited in pa inful su spense t o

kno w the r esult I n the i nten se Silence tha t f o l
.

lowed the c a n non a ding e a ch one asked hi mself if ,

the flag of his country wa s sti ll waving on high or

.
,

if it h ad been h a uled down to gi ve place to th a t o f

E ngl a nd They strained their eyes in the d ir e c
.

tion of Balti more but the d a r kness revealed nothing

, .

At last day da wned and to their delight the litt le ,

pa r t y sa w the A me r ican fl ag still floating over Fo r t

Mc H e n r y K ey s he a r t was stirr ed to its depths
’

.
,

a nd in a gl o w of pat r io tic e nthusias m he imme d i

a tely wrote down a r o ugh d r aft of The St a r span -

”
gled Banner .

O n his a r r ival in B a lt i mo r e he perfected the fi r st

copy of the so ng and ga ve it to Captai n Benj a m in
,

E ades of the 2 7t h Ba lti m o r e R egi ment s aying that

, ,

he wished it to be sung to the air of Anac r eon in

”
Heaven E a des h ad it put in type and took the
.
,

fi r st proof to a famous old tave r n ne a r the Hollid a y

St r eet Theater a favo rite r esort o f acto r s a nd lite r ary
,

pe o ple of that day The verse s were re ad to the .

c o m pany asse mbled the r e and Frede r ic k Durang a n , ,

acto r was asked t o sing the m to the air des ign ated
,

by the a utho r Du r ang m ounting a ch a ir s a ng as

.
, ,

requested The s o ng wa s enthusiastically received

. .

From that moment it bec a m e the great popular fa

 I 9S

that i t ha s ever S ince been and tha t it will co n

v o r it e ,

tin ne t o be as l o ng as the A me r ic a n republic exists .

Key d ied in B a lti more on January 1 1 1 84 3 A , .

monu ment w a s erected t o h is m e mo r y by the m u

n ifi ce n ce of Ja mes Lick a C ali fornian millionaire , .

The sculpt o r to who m the wo r k wa s intrusted was

the celebra ted W W Story who completed it in
. .
,

1 88 7 . The m onu ment which is fift y one feet high

,
-
,

s tand s in Golden Gate P a rk S a n Franci sco I t is , .

built of travertine in the form of a double arch

, ,

u nder which a bronze st a tue of K ey is se a ted A .

bronze figure rep r esenting A m erica with an un

,

fo lded fl a g suppo rts the a r ch

, .

O n the occ asion of the unve il i ng of th is s tatue ,

the N e w Yor k H ome 7ou r n a l contained an a ppr e ci

ative criticis m of Key a s a p o et and the following ,

e sti mate of his greatest p r oduction .

“
The poetry of the Sta r spangled Banner has ‘
-
’

touches of delicacy f o r wh ich one lo ok s in vain in

m o s t nation al ode s and i s a s near a true poe m as
,

any n a tional O d e ever was The pi ctu r e of the .

‘
dawn s ea rly light and the tri color half concealed
’ ’

, ,

ha lf disclosed a mid the m ist s that wreathed the

,

battle sounding P a ta psco is a true poetic concept

-
, .

The Star spangled Banner h as the peculi a r

-
’

m e r it of n o t being a tocsin song like the Ma r s e il ,

‘

laise I ndeed there is not a restful soothing or

.
’

, , ,
 196

even hu man e sentim e n t i n all th a t s tor my sh out .

I t i s the s c r ea m of oppre ssed hu m anity agai n st it s

O ppre s s o r p r es aging a m ore than ou ia pr o q u o ; a n d
'
,

it fit ly pr e fig ur e d the sight of that long file of t u m

br ils beari ng to the Place de l a Re voluti on the fa ir
e s t s c i on s of Fre nch ari stocracy O n th e other .

hand God Save th e K ing i n i ts ori ginal h a s

,
‘
,
’
,

one or two li n es as g r ote sque as Yankee Doodl e

itself ; ye t we have paraphrased i t i n A merica a nd ,
’

m ad e it a hymn meet for al l our Churches B ut .

the Star spangled Banner combine s dignity a n d

-
’

beauty and it would be hard t o fi nd a li n e of it that

,

”
could be i mproved upon .

O ver the si mple grave of F r a ncis S cott Ke y in ,

Frederick Maryland there is no othe r monume n t

, ,

”
“
tha n the s tar Spangled banner
-
I n storm and in .

sunshine in s u m mer a nd i n wi n ter its fold s eve r

, ,

float over the resting place of th e man who h a s

i mmortalized it in verse No other me m ori al could
.

so fit l
y co m m e m or a te the l ife and death of t hi s
s i mple dignified pa t riotic A merican
, , .

”
A sweet n o ble life sa ys a rec e nt write r w a s
, , ,

that o f the author of our fa vorite national hym n

-

a life o f ideal r efine ment piety schola r ly gentle n e ss

, , .

Little did he think that hi s voice would be th e

storm song the victor s hout of conqueri ng Am e rica
, ,

to resound dow n a nd dow n the ages 1

 I 97

THE STAR -
SPANGLED BANNER

O h !sa y, ca n by t h e da w n s e a r ly light
y ou s e e ,
’
,

Wha t so pr oudly we ha ile d a t t h e t wiligh t s la s t gle a ming ! ’

Whose br oa d st r ipe s a nd br igh t sta r s t h r ough t h e p e r ilous fi ght ,

O e r t h e r a mpa r t we W a t ch e d we r e so ga ll a n t ly s t r e a mi ng ;
’
,

A nd t h e r oc k e t s r e d gla r e t h e bombs bur st i ng in a ir

’
, ,

Ga ve p r oof t h r ough t h e nigh t t ha t our fla g wa s st ill t h e r e ;

O h sa y do e s t h a t st a r sp a ngl e d ba nne r y e t wa ve
,
-

O e r t h e la n d o f t h e fr e e a nd t h e h o me o f t h e br a ve !
’

O n th e hor e di mly se e n t h r ough t h e mi st s o f t h e d e e p

S , ,

Whe r e t h e foe s h a ugh t y h ost in dr e a d sil e nce r e pose s

’
,

Wha t is t h a t which t h e br e e z e o e r t h e t owe r i ng st e e p ,

’
,

As it fit fully blows h a l f c o nc e a ls h a l f di scl os e s !

, ,

Now it c a t ch e s t h e gl e a m o f t h e mo r ni ng s fi rst be a m
’
,

I n fu ll glor y r e fle c t e d now shi ne s 0 11 t h e st r e a m

Tis t h e s t a r spa ngle d ba nne r O h l ong ma y it wa ve
’
-
,

O e r t h e la nd of t h e fr e e a nd t h e h Ome o f t h e br a ve !
’

And wh e r e is t h a t ba nd ,
wh o so v a unt n i gly swor e
Th a t t h e ha vo c o f wa r a nd t h e ba t t l e s c onfusi on
’

A h o me a nd a c ount r y sh ould l e a v e us no mo r e
Th e i r bl ood h a s wa sh e d out t h e i r foul foot st e p s pollut ion
’
.
,

No r e fu e g could sa v e the hi r e li ng a nd l
s a v e,

F r o m t h e t e r r or de a t h a nd t h e gloo m o f t h e gr a ve ;
of

And t h e sta r s p a ngl e d ba n ne r in t r iumph sh a ll w a ve

-

O e r the la nd o f t h e fr e e a nd t h e h ome o f t h e br a v e
’

Oh h
t us be it h e ve r, w e n fr e e me n s
h a ll st a nd
B e t w e e n t h e i r lo v e d h o me s a nd t h e wa r s d e sola t i on
’

B le st wi t h Vic t o r y a nd pe a c e ma y t h e h e a v e n r e sc ue d l a nd
,
-

Pr a i se t h e po w e r t h a t h a s ma d e a nd p r e s e r v e d us a na t i on .

Th e n c o nq ue r we must fo r o ur c a use it is j ust ,

And t hi s be our mo tt o I n Go d is our t r ust

, .

And t h e st a r S pa ngl e d ba nne r in t r i umph S h a ll w a v e

-

O e r t h e la nd o f t h e fr e e a nd t h e h o me o f t h e b r a v e
’
 1 98

II . A ME R I C A

And t h e r e ic e youngs t e r o f e x c e ll e nt pi t h ;
’
s a n

F a t e t r i e d t o c o nc e a l h im by na mi ng h im S mi t h
B ut h e sh o ut e d a so ng for t h e b r a ve a n d t h e fr e e
J u st r e a d o n h is me d a l M y C o u,n t r y o f Th e e .
’

In these lines of hi s fam o us R euni o n P o e m ,

“
The B oys Dr O live r Wende ll H ol mes co m
, .

m e m o r a t e d his old f r iend and c o llege m a te D r -

, .

S a muel Fra ncis S m ith a uthor of A meric a “

, .
”

S a muel Fra ncis S mith wa s b o rn i n B oston Massa ,

ch us e t t s on O ctober 2 1
, 1 80 8 H e a ttended th e , .

L a tin School in his n a tive city a nd it is s a id th a t ,

“ ”
when only twelve ye a rs old he c o uld ta lk L a tin .

He entered H a r v a r d Co llege Ca mb r idge M a ss a , ,

ch us e t t s in 1 8 2 5 a nd g r a du a ted in the f a m o us cl a ss
, ,

of 1 8 2 9 of which Dr O liver Wendell H o l mes

, .
,

James F r ee ma n C la r ke Willi a m E Ch a r ming and , .

,

other celeb r a ted A m eric a ns we r e m e mbe r s

D r Smith like so m a ny othe r n o ted me n wo r k ed
.
, ,

h is wa y th r o ugh c ollege He did th is p r incip ally

.

by co a ching o the r students a nd by m a king t r a n s la ,

”
tions from the Ge r ma n C o nve r s a tions Lexic o n
“ -

”
for the A me r ic a n Cycl o pedi a .

After gradu ating fr om H a rva r d he i mmedi ately ,

entered And o ver The ol ogic al Se m in a ry Th r ee .

yea r s lat e r i n 1 8 32 he w r o te a mo ng o th e r s his

, , , ,

”
mos t fa mous hy mn “
A me r ic a of which the
, ,
 I 99

Nati o n al C yc l o pe d i a of Ameri c a n B iograph y

say s I t has found i ts way wh e rever an A meri can
,
“

hear t be ats or th e E ngli s h l a ngu age i s spoken a nd ,

h a s probably proved u sefu l in s tirring the p a tri otic

”
spiri t of th e Ameri can people .

Dr Smith hi mse lf ofte n said th at he h ad heard

.

“ ”
A meri ca s u ng halfway round the world under ,

the earth i n th e caverns of Manitou C olorado a n d , ,

”
al most above th e e arth n ear the top of Pike s Peak ’
.

The hymn a s every Ch ild knows is s ung to th e

, ,

a i r of the n ational anthem of E ngland God Save ,

”
the K ing Th e author came upon it in a book of
.

Germ a n mus ic and by i t wa s inspired to write the

,

”
word s of Ameri ca a work which h e acc o mplished
,

i n h alf a n ho ur Many years afte r refe rring to i t s

.
,

“
impro mpt u compo si tion h e wrote : I f I h ad ant ici,

pated th e future of i t doubtle ss I should have taken

,

more pai n s with i t S uch a s i t i s I am gl ad to

.
,

have contributed th is mi te to the cau se of Am e ri can

”
freedom .

I n a maga zi n e ar ti cl e w ri tt en se ve ral ye ars ago

,

Mr H e rbert Heywood gave an i nte r e s ting account

.

of a n i nterview wi th Dr Smith who told him the .

,

s tory of the wri ting of the hymn hi mself .

“ ‘
I wrot e he s aid whe n I wa s a ,
‘

theol ogi cal student at Andover du r ing my l ast year ,

th e r e I n F ebruary 1 832 I was po r ing over a

. , ,
 20 0

Ge rma n book of patrioti c songs w h ich Lowell

Mason of Boston h ad s ent me to tra nslate when
,
.
, ,

I c a m e upon one w i th a tune of great maje s ty I .

hu mmed it over and w a s s truck with the ease with

,

which the accompanying German wo r ds fell i nto

the m usic I sa w it w a s a pa triotic s ong a nd whi l e
.
,

I wa s thinking of transl a ting it I felt a n i mpulse to ,

write an A m eric a n p a triotic hym n I re a ched my .

hand for a bit o f wa ste pape r and ta king my quill , ,

pen wr ote the fo ur ve r ses in half a n hour I se n t

, .

it with so me t r a n slati o ns of the German songs t o

Lowel l M a son and the next th i ng I knew of i t I
,

wa s told i t had been sung by the Su n d ay sch o o l -

ch i ldren at P a rk Street C hurch Bosto n at the , ,

followi ng Fourth of July celebra tion The house .

where I was living at the ti me was on the Andover

turn pike a l ittle north of the se minary building I
, .

h ave be e n i n the ho use since I left it in Septe mbe r ,

1 8 32 but n ever went into my old room

, Thi s .
’

roo m is now Vi s ited by patriotic A merican s from

every part of the country .

Two ye a rs after A meric a was written Dr S mith , .

bec a me pa sto r o f the Firs t Baptist Church in W a te r

ville M a ine a nd also professo r of modern languages
, ,

in W a terville C ollege which is n ow kn o wn a s Colby

,

U niversity H is gr e a t indust r y a nd ze a l b o th a s a
. ,

clergyma n a nd student a nd tea cher of l a ngu age s ,

 20 !

e na ble d h im to pe r form the du ties of b oth pos i tio ns

s u c ce s s fu l ly H e wa s a noted li ngu is t a n d could
.
,

re ad books in fift een d ifi e r e nt lan guages He .

c ou l d co nve r se in mos t of th e modern E urope an

t on g u es a nd a t e igh ty s ix wa s en gage d in s tudyi ng
,
-

R u ssi an .

I n 1 84 2 D r S mi t h wa s made pa st or of th e F i rs t
.

B aptist Chur ch Ne wto n Ce nter M assachu se tt s

, , ,

w he re he mad e h is hom e fo r th e re st of h is life .

Wh en h e died in Nove m be r , s ays M r , .

H eyw ood h e wa s li ving in t h e Old b row n fram e

,

hou se a t Ne wton Cen te r M assac hus etts which h a d

, ,

be e n his h ome for ove r fif ty years I t s tood back .

f rom th e s tree t on th e brow of a hill slopin g gently

,

t o a va lley on t h e no rth Pi n e t r ees were i n th e

.

fr ont a nd r e ar a nd t h e s un fr o m his risin g t o hi s

, ,

s e tti n g s m iled u pon t h at a bo d e of si mple greatne ss

, .

T h e house wa s fad ed a nd wo rn by wi nd a nd w eat her ,

a nd wa s in pe r f ec t ha r mo n w i t h it s s urrou nding s
y
the brow n g ra ss sod t h at pe epe d from un d e r the
s now the d ull col ored le afl ess elm s a nd t he gray
,
-
, , ,

worn st one st eps lead ing up from th e s treet .

A n a ir of gen tle r e fi ne me n t pervaded the in

t e r io r a nd e ve r y r oom s poke of i t s in mat e
, But .

perhaps t h e li br ary wa s be st loved of all by D r .

S m i th for h ere i t wa s t h a t hi s work we n t On Here

, .
,

be side a sunn y bay w in d ow s tood his work t abl e , ,

 20 2

a nd h is high bac ked old fashi o ned Cha i r w i th bl a ck

-
,
-
, ,

rounded arm s A ll about the roo m were ra nge d h is

.

bookcas es a nd an old tal l clock marked the fli g ht

, ,

of t i m e that wa s so k i nd to the old man Hi s figu re .

was sh ort hi s s houlders S lightly bowed and arou n d

, ,

his ful l ruddy fac e that beamed with k in d ness w a s

, , ,

a fri nge of whi te h ai r and h e a r d .

”

Dr S mi th re s igned hi s pas torate of t he N e wt o n

.

church i n 1 854 and became editorial secre tary o f

,

the A merican Bapti st Missiona r y U ni on I n 1 8 75 .

he we nt abroad for the first ti me a nd spent a year ,

in E uropean travel Five ye a r s l a ter h e went t o

.

I ndia and the Burmes e empire During hi s travel s .

he Vi s ited C hris tia n mission a ry st a tion s i n France ,

Spain I taly Aus tria Turkey Gree ce Swede n

, , , , , ,

De n mark Burmah I ndia and C eylon

, , , .

Th e latter years of h is l ife were devoted al most

e n ti rely to literary work He wrot e n umero u s .

poe ms which were publ is hed in magaz i nes an d

newsp a pers but never collected i n book form H is
, .

hymns nu m be ring ove r one hundred are s u ng by

, ,

various C hri stian de nomination s Th e M orn in g .

Light i s B r eaking i s a popul a r favorite A m on g .

hi s other published works are Missio n a ry Sk e tche s ,

”
Rambles in Mission Field s a H i s to r y of New ,

” ”
ton and a Life of Re v Jo seph Grafton
, B esi des . .

h is ori ginal hym n s h e t r a n sl a ted m a n y fro m oth e r

,
 20 3

l anguage s a nd wrote n umerou s magazi ne a rt i cl e s

,

a n d s ketches during hi s long and bu s y l ife .

Dr Sm i th s vi tali ty a nd e nthu s i asm remain e d

.
’

w ith h i m to th e last A gre at grandfather when

.
-

h e d ie d i n hi s e ighty seventh year he was an in

-
,

s piratio n to the you nger ge n erat i on s growing up

around him He was at work almost to th e mo

.

m ent of his d eath a nd s t ill a ct i vely pla n ni ng for

,

the future .

H i s great n at i o n al hy m n if he had l eft n othi ng ,

else wil l keep hi s memory gr ee n foreve r in the

,

hea rts of h is countr ym en I t is even more popul a r .

to d ay after s eventy one yea r s have ela ps ed than it

,
-
,

w a s when fi r st su ng in P ark Street C hurch by the

S unday s choo l Children of Boston I t s pa triotic ring

-
.
,

rather th an i ts l iterary meri t renders it s wee t to the ,

e a r of every Am e ri can Wherever i t is s un g th e .

,

feebl e treble of age wi l l jo i n as enthu s ias ti cally as

the joyous note of youth i n ren d e ring th e inspi ring
s t r a ins of
AMERI CA

My count r y t is o f t h ee
,
’
,

S we e t la nd o f libe r t y ,

O f t he e I S i ng ;
La nd wh e r e my fa t h e r s di e d ,

La nd o f t h e pilgr i m s pr ide
’
,

F r o m e v e r y mo un t a i n S ide ,

Le t fr e e d o m r i ng .
 20 4

My na tiv e count r y t h e e , ,

La nd of t h e nobl e fr e e , ,

Th y na me I l ove
I love t h y r o cks a nd r ills ,

Th y woods a nd t e mpl e d hills ,

My h e a r t wi t h r a p t ur e t hr ills ,

Lik e t ha t a bove .

Le t mus ic sw e ll th e br e e z e ,

And i g
r n fr o m a ll t h e t r e e s
S we e t fr e e d o m s g ’
so n

Le t mor ta l t ongue s a wa k e ,

Le t a ll t ha t br e a t h e pa r t a k e ,

Le t r ocks t h e i r sile nc e br e a k ,

Th e so und p r olong .

Our fa t h e r s God ,
’
to Th e e ,
Aut h or of Libe r t y,
To Th e e i g we s n

Long ma y o ur la nd be br ight
Wi t h fr e e d o m s ho ly light
’
,

Pr ot e c t us by t h y migh t ,

Gr e a t God our K i ng , .

III . TH E B A TTL E H Y MN O F TH E R E PU L I CB

No singl e influence says U nited States Sen a

,

“
t o r Geo r ge F H o a r o f M a ss a chusett s
. h a s h ad s o ,

m uch t o do with shaping the de stiny of a nation

a s nothing m ore surely expre ss e s nati onal Ch a racte r
”
th a n wha t is known as the nation al a nthem .

There is s o me diff erence of Opinion as to which

of our pat r iotic hy mns or s ongs is di stinctively th e
 20 5

national anth em of America Senator Hoar seems .

to have m a de up h is mind i n favor of The Battle

”
H ym n of the R epublic Writ i ng of i ts a uth o r
.
,

J ulia Ward Howe in 1 90 3 he said

, We wa ited
,

eighty years for our A me r ic a n n a tion al a nthe m At .

las t God in s pired an illustrio us a nd noble w o ma n t o

utter in undying verse the thought which we hope
is fo r ever to ani mate the soldier of th e republic :

be a ut y of t h e lili e s C h r ist w a s bor n a cr oss t h e s e a

I n th e
Wit h a glor y in H is boso m t ha t t r a ns figur e s you a nd me
As H e die d t o ma ke me n ho ly le t us d ie t o ma ke me n fr e e
, ,

Whil e God is ma r ch ing on .

’

Mr s Julia W a rd Howe i s as wi dely kn o wn fo r

.

her learning and litera r y a nd poetic achieve m ents

a s s he is for her work as a philanthropist a nd

reformer .

She w a s born i n New York Ci ty i n a stately m a n ,

si o n near th e Bo w ling Green on M ay 2 7 1 8 1 9 , , .

F r om her bi r th s h e wa s fortun a te in possessing the

adva ntage s th a t weal th and high social p o sition
bestow Her fa ther S a m ue l Ward the descendant
.
, ,

o f a n old col o n i al fam ily w as a member of a le ading

,

banking fi r m of New Y ork Her mother Juli a C ut .

,

ter W a rd was a mos t charming and accom pli shed

,

woman She died very young howeve r while her

.
, ,

l i ttl e daughter Julia was still a child M r Ward . .

w a s a ma n of advanced ide as and was determined ,

 206

tha t hi s d a ughters should h a ve as fa r as p o s s i ble , ,

the same ed uc a ti o nal adva nt ages a s his s o n s .

O f cou r se in th o se e a r ly d ays there we r e n o s e p

,

a r a te colleges for women a nd they would n o t be

,

ad m itted to men s colleges I t was i mpossibl e fo r

’
.

Mr Wa r d t o o verco me these di ffi cultie s who ll y but

.
,

he did the next best th i ng he could for h is g i r ls .

H e e ng a g e d as the i r tutor the le a rned Dr J o seph

_
.

Green Cogs well and instructed h im to put t h e m

,

through the full curriculu m of Harva r d C o llege .

O n her ent r a nce i nt o s ociety the “

little M iss
Ward as J ulia h a d been called from h e r childh o od
, ,

at once becam e a lea der of the cultu r ed a nd fa s h ion

able Ci r cle in which s h e moved I n her father s .
’

ho me s h e me t the most distinguished A me r ic a n m e n

of letters of th at ti me The libe r al educ a tion which
.

s h e h a d received m a de the young gi r l feel pe r fectly

at her e a se in such so ciety I n addition t o othe r .

accom plish ments she wa s mist r ess of seve r al ancient

,

a nd mode r n l a nguages a n d a m usic a l a ma teur of

,

g r ea t p r om ise .

I n 1 84 3 Miss W a rd was ma r ried to D r Sa muel .

G H owe, directo r of the I nstitute fo r the Blind in

.

South Bosto n Mass a c h usetts

,
I mm edi a tely a f te r
.

their m a rri age Dr a nd Mrs Howe went t o E urope

. .
,

where t h ey t r aveled fo r so me ti m e The h ome .

which they est ablished in Bosto n o n their return

 20 7

b ecame a ce nter fo r the r efined a n d l i terary s ociety

o f B o ston a nd it s env i r on m ent Mrs Howe s g r a ce ’
. .
,

l e a r ning a nd accomplish ments m ade h e r a charming

,

h ostess and fit mi s tress of such a home .

Her litera r y talent w a s developed at a very early

a
g .e O n e of her friends has hu m orous l y said th a t
Mr s H o we wrote l eading a rticle s from h er cradle
. .
”

H o w ever th is may be it is Undoubtedly true th a t at

,

s eventeen S he contributed valu a ble article s to a l e a d

i ng New Y o rk magazine I n 1 8 54 she published.

her first volu me of poem s Pass ion Flowe r s

, .

O ther v olu mes i nc l uding collections of her l a ter

,

p o em s b oo ks of travel and a bi ography of M a rgaret

, ,

Fuller we r e afterward published For mo r e th a n

, .

half a centu r y s h e has been a consta nt contributor

to the leading magazines of the c o untry .

Since 1 86 9 Mrs Howe h a s been a l eader in the

.

movem ent for wom an s suff r age and both by le ct u r

’
,

ing a nd wr iting has supported ever y eff ort put forth

fo r the educat i on a l and gene r a l advancement of
her s e x .

Although i n her eightieth ye a r when the write r

conve r sed with her a few ye a rs ago Mrs Howe w a s , .

then full of youthfu l enthusia s m and her interest in ,

the gre a t move ments of the wo rld was as keen as

ever Age h ad in no wa y lessened her intel lectual
.

Vigor Su r ro unde d by h e r children and g r a n d ch il

.
 20 8

dren and one gre a t grandchild she re cently c ele

,
-
,

br a t e d her eighty fourth bi r thd a y

-
.

The story of The Battle Hy m n of the R epublic

has been left to the la st not because i t i s th e le a st
,

i mpo rta n t but on the contra ry because i t is one o f

, , ,

the m o st i mportant work s of her life C ertain it .

“
is th a t the Battle Hy m n will live and thri ll th e
he a rts of A me r i ca ns centu ri es aft er i ts a u thor ha s
pa ssed o n to the o ther l ife .

The hy m n was written in W a shin g ton in N o ve m ,

ber 1 86 1 the fi r st year of o u r C ivil War Dr and

, , . .

Mrs Ho w e we r e visiting friends in that city

. .

During their s ta y they went one day with a pa r ty

,

to see a r eview of U nion troops The review h o w .

,

ever was interrupted by a movement of the C onfed

,

e r a te forces which were besieging the c i ty O n .

their return the carriage in w hich Mr s Howe and

, .

h e r friends were se a ted w a s su r rounded by s oldiers .

Stirred by the scene and the occasion she began to ,

“ ”
sing John Brow n to the delight of the soldiers
, ,

who he a rtily jo i ned in the r efra in .

At the cl o se of the song Mrs Howe expre ssed to .

h e r f r i e nds the st r o ng desire she fel t to write so me

words which m ight be sung to this stirring tune .

But she added th a t she feared s h e would neve r be

able to d o s o .

“
Th a t night says her daughter Maude Howe
, ,
 20 9

“
E l iot , went t o sleep fu l l of thoughts of battl e
sh e ,

a n d a woke before dawn the next morn ing to find the

desired verses immediatel y pre sent to her mind .

S h e s prang fro m her bed and in the d im gray light ,

found a pen a nd paper whereon s h e wrote scarcely , ,

s eeing th em the lines of the poem , Returning t o .

her couch s h e w a s soon asleep but not until s h e

, ,

h ad s ai d to hersel f I l ike this be tter than a nyt hing

,

I h av e e ver w ri tten before .

TH E BATTLE HYMN O F TH E REPUB LI C

M i n e e ye s h a v e glor y o f t h e comi ng o f t h e Lor d

se e n t he

H e is t r a mpli ng o ut t h e v i nt a ge w h e r e t h e g r a pe s o f wr a t h a r e st or e d
He ha t h loose d t h e fa t e ful light ni ng o f H is t e r r ible swift swor d
H is t r u t h is ma r chi ng on .

I h a v e s e e n H im in t h e wa t ch fir e s o f a h und r e d cir cling ca mps

T h e y ha ve buil d e d H im a n a l t a r in t h e e ve n i ng d e ws a nd da mp s
I ca n r e a d H is r igh t e o us se nt e nc e by t h e d im a nd fla r i ng la mps ;
H is d a y is ma r chi ng on .

I h a ve rea d a fi yg p l
er os e , i
bur nish e d r ows of st e e l
w r t in
A s ye d e a l wi t h my cont e mne r s so wi t h you my gr a c e sh a ll de a l
,

Le t t h e H e r o bor n o f wo ma n c rush t h e se r pe nt wi t h h is he e l ,

S i nc e God is ma r chi ng on ”
.

H e ha s so un de d fo r t h t h e t r umpe t t ha t S ha ll ne v c ll
er a r e tre a t ;
H e is i ft i ng out t h e h e a r t s o f me n be for e H is j udgme nt se a t
s

Oh be sw i ft my soul t o a nswe r H im be j ubi la nt my fe e t !

, , ,

O ur Go d is ma r chi ng o n .

I n the be a ut y of t h e lili e s C hr i st w a s bor n a cr oss t h e se a ,

Wi t h a glor y in H is boso m t ha t t r a ns figur e s you a nd me :

As h e di e d t o ma k e me n h oly le t us d ie t o ma ke me n fr e e ,
,

While God is ma r ching on .

S TO RI ES P RO M L I F E — I4
 TRA I N I NG F O R GREA TN E S S
’
GL I MP S ES OP A B RA H A M L I NCO L N s BO YH OO D

IN pronouncing a eulogy on Hen r y Cl ay L i n ,

c oln said : H is exa mple teaches u s that on e ca n

sc a rcely be so poor but tha t if h e wi l l he can a c
, ,

quire s uffi cie nt e ducati on to get through the w o r ld

”
respectably .

E ndowed as he was with all th e q ual iti es th at

make a man truly grea t Lincol n s own l ife teaches
,
’

above all o ther thi ngs the l esson he drew from th a t

of Henry C lay I s there in all the l ength a n d
.

breadth of the U nited St a tes to d ay a boy s o po o r

a s to envy Abraham Linco l n the Chanc es of h is
boyhood ! The sto r y of h i s l ife h as be en tol d s o
often that nothing ne w ca n be s a id about h im .

Yet ev er y fresh readi ng of the story fill s th e r e ad e r

anew w i th wonder and admi r ation at what wa s a c
comp l ished by the poor ba ckwoods boy .

Let your mind sep a rate itself from a l l th e ma r

vels of the twentieth centu r y Th i n k of a time .

when rai l roads and telegraph wires tele phone s , ,

g r eat oce a n ste amers l ighting by g a s and el ec

,

t r icit y d a ily n ewspapers !

, except in a few c e nters! ,

g reat circulating libraries and the hundred

, s of co n

ve n ie n ce s which are necess i ties to the peop l e o f

 ZI I

to day were un kn own E ve n th e ve ry ri ch at the

-
, .

begi nning of the n ineteenth century could n ot buy

th e adva nt age s that a r e free to the poores t boy at
the beginning of th e twentieth ce n tury Wh en .

Lincol n w a s a boy thorn s were used for pi n s ; cork

,

covered with cl oth or bits of bo n e served as but

tons ; crusts of r ye bread we r e u sed by the po or as
s ubstitutes for coff ee and dried l eaves of certain ,

h e rbs for tea .

Abraham Lincoln wa s bo r n o n February 1 2 ,

1 80 9 in a lo g cabi n i n H a r di n C ounty now La

, ,

R ue C ounty K entucky H i s father Thomas Li n

, .
,

col n was not re markable either for thrift or in du s

,

tr y . He was tall we l l built and mu scu lar expert

, , ,

with h is rifle and a n oted hunter but h e did not

, ,

po sse ss the qual itie s necess a r y to m ak e a s ucce ssfu l

pione e r farmer The ch a ra cter of the mother of
.

Abraham ma y best be gathered from hi s own

,

”
words : Al l that I am or hope to be he said whe n ,

president of th e U n i ted St a tes I owe to my angel ,

m other Bless ings o n her mem or y !

.

I t wa s at her knee he le a rned his fi r s t l e sson s

from the Bible With his sister Sarah a gi rl t wo
.
,

year s his senior he l istened with wonder and delight

,

to th e Bible stori e s fai r y tales a nd l egends with

, ,

which the gentle mother entert a i n ed and instructed

them when the labors of t h e d a y were done .
 2 12

When Abraham w a s a bout four ye ars ol d t h e ,

family moved f r om the fa r m on Nolin C reek t o

another about fif teen miles d istant There the first .

great event in his life took place He went to .

school Pri mitive as w a s the log c abin schoolhouse

.
-
,

and elementa ry a s we r e the acquire ments of h is

first school master it was a wonderful experience
,

for the boy a nd one th a t he never forgot

, .

I n 1 8 1 6 Tho m a s Lincoln aga in decided to make

a change H e w a s enticed by sto r ies that came to
.

him fro m I ndia na t o t r y hi s fo r t unes there So ,

“
O nce more the little fa mi l y pulled up stakes and
moved on to the pl ace selected by the father in
Spencer C ounty abo u t a mile and a h alf from Gen
,

t r yv ille . I t was a long t o ilsom e journey th r ough

,

the forest f r o m the O ld ho me in Kentucky to the

,

n ew one in I ndi a n a I n so me places they had to

.

c l ear thei r way through the ta ngled thickets a s they

journeyed along The stock of provisions they
carried w ith the m w a s suppl e mented by ga me
sn ared or shot i n the forest and fish caught in
the river These they co oked over the wood fire
.
,

kind l ed by me a ns of tinder a nd flint The inter .

laced branches of t r ees and t h e sky made the roof

of their bedch amber by night and pine twigs ,

their bed .

When t h e t r ave lers a rr ived at th e ir de s t i n a tion ,

 2 13

t he r e wa s no t ime fo r
ter thei r journe y r e st af .

Some s ort of shel ter had to be p rovided at o n c e for

the i r accommodati o n They has t ily put up a half.

f aced camp — a s ort of rud e tent with a n ope ning ,

o n one s ide The f ra mework of the t e nt w a s of

.

upright po s ts cro ss ed by thi n sl abs cut from the

, ,

tree s they fel led The open s ide or entra n c e was

.
, ,

“
covered with pel ts or half dressed s kin s of wild
,
-

animal s Th e re was n o ruder dwel ling i n th e wilds

.

o f I ndiana and n o poorer fa mily among the s ettlers

,

th a n the n ew adventure r s from Kentucky They .

were reduced t o the mos t pri mitive makesh ifts i n

order to ek e out a l ivi ng There w as n o lack of .

food howeve r for the wood s were full of game of

, ,

al l ki nds both fe athe r ed and furred a n d the strea m s

, ,

a n d ri vers abounded with fish But the h ome l acked .

ve r y t h ing in th e way of comfort or co n ven i e n ce .

Abraham who w a s then i n h is eighth year h a s

, ,

be en de scri bed a s a tall ungainl y fa st growing long , ,

-
,

l egged lad cl ad in the garb of the frontier Thi s

, .

consi s ted of a shirt of l i nsey woo l sey a coars e home -

,

spun ma terial mad e of li n e n and wool a p ai r of ! ,

home made moccas i ns deerski n leggings or breeches

-
, ,

and a hunting s h i rt of th e same materi al Thi s .

cost ume wa s compl eted by a coon skin ca p the tail ,

of the an i mal being l e ft to ha ng down the w e arer s ’

b ack a s an orn ament .

 2 14

This s t urd y la d who wa s born to a life of un r e

,

mitt i ng to il was al ready doing a man s w ork From

’
.
,

the ti me he wa s four years old awa y ba ck on the ,

Ke ntuc ky farm he had contri bute d hi s share t o the

,

fami l y labo r s Picking berries dropping seeds and

.
, ,

doing other s imple tas ks suited to his s tren gth he ,

h ad thu s ea r l y begun hi s apprenticeship to to i l I n .

’
putting up th e half faced camp he wa s h is fa ther s
-
,

principal helper Afterward whe n they built a

.
,

more s ubstantial cabin to take the pl ace of t h e

camp h e l earn ed to handl e a n a x a maul and a
, , ,

wedge He helped t o fe ll t r ees fash i on l ogs split

.
, ,

rail s and do other i mporta n t work i n building t h e

,

one roomed c a bin which wa s to be th e perm a nent

-
,

home of the family He assisted also in making the

.

rough t ables and Chairs and the o ne rude bedste ad or

bed frame which con s tituted the principal furniture
of the cab i n I n h is childhood Abraham did not
.

enjoy the luxury of s leeping on a bedstead H is .

bed was s i mply a heap of d r y l eave s which occup i e d ,

a corner of the loft over the cabin He climbed to .

it every night by a stepl adder or rather a numbe r ,

of pegs driven into the wal l .

Rough and poor a n d ful l of hardship as hi s life

wa s Li n coln wa s by no means a sad or unhappy
,

boy . O n the contra r y h e w a s full of fun and bo y

,

is h pranks H is life in the open a ir the v i gor o us

.
,
 2 15

ex e r cise of ever y muscle which n ece s si ty forced

upon h im the tonic of the forests which he breathed
,

from h is infa n cy h is interest in every living a nd

,

growing thing about h i m — all helped to m ake h im

,

unu s u a lly s trong h eal thy buoyant a nd r i ch i n ani

, , ,

mal spirits .

The first gr eat s orrow of his life cam e t o hi m i n

the de a th of hi s dearly loved mother in 1 8 1 8 The .

boy mo u r ned for her as fe w childre n mou r n e ven

for th e mo st l ovi ng parent D ay after day he we nt
.

from the home made desol ate by her death to weep

on her grave u n der the near by trees -
.

There were no churche s in the I nd i an a wi lder

ne ss and th e V i si ts of wandering min i ste r s of reli
,

gi on t o the s cattered settlements were fe w and far

betwee n . L i ttl e Abraham was gri eved th at n o
funeral servi c e h ad been hel d over h is dea d mothe r .

H e fe l t that i t w a s in some sense a l ac k of respect

to her He thought a great de al about the m a tter
.
,

a nd final ly wrote a l etter to a minister named E lkins ,

whom the family had known in Kentucky Several .

month s after the receipt of the l etter Parson E lkins

cam e to I ndiana O n the Sabbath morning after
.

his arrival i n the pre senc e of friends who h ad come

,

l ong di stan ces to assist he read the funeral servi ce

,

over the g r ave of Mr s Lincoln He also sp oke in

. .

touch i ng wo rds of the tender Chri stian mother wh o

 2 16

la y b uried the re This si mple se r vice gre atl y co m

.

f ort ed th e h eart of the l one ly boy .

Some t ime after Tho ma s Lincoln brought a n e w

mother to hi s childre n from K entuck y Thi s w a s .

Mrs S ally Bush J o h n s ton a young widow who h ad

.
, ,

b een a girlhood f ri end of Nancy H a nk s Sh e h ad .

t hre e children, Joh n Sarah and Matilda Joh ns to n

, , ,

— who accompan i ed h er to I nd i ana The se cond .

M rs L i ncoln brought a stock of h ou s ehold goods

.

a n d furn iture with h e r from Kentucky and with t h e ,

hel p of thes e mad e s o many i mprovement s i n the

r ud e l og c a bi n that h er stepch i ldren regarded her

as a so rt of m agi cian or wonder work e r S h e w a s a .

good mother to them intell igent k i nd a n d loving

, , , .

H e wa s te n ye ars old at th is t i me and had bee n ,

t o schoo l but li ttle I n deed he says h i ms e l f that

. ,

”
h e on ly we n t to school by li ttles a n d that all h is ,

”
s chool i ng d id n ot amount to more than a ye ar .

But h e had l e a rned to read wh en he was a mere

baby at hi s mother s kn e e ; and to a boy w h o l ove d
’

knowl edge as he d id th is furnishe d the key t o a

,

broad educati o n Hi s l ove of re a ding amounted t o

.

a pas sion The books h e h ad access to when a boy

.

we re ve ry few ; b ut they were go od ones a n d he ,

kne w th e m l iterally from cover to cover They .

“ “ ”
we r e t h e Bibl e ,R obin so n Crusoe Pil gr im s ,
’

” ”
Pr ogr ess a H istory of t h e U n ited States a nd ,
 2 17

“
Wee ms s L ife of Was hington
’
S o me of the se .

we r e bo r r owed am o ng the m the Life of Wa shing

,

”
ton of which Abrah a m afterwa r d becam e the
,
‘

h appy owner The sto r y o f h o w he became its

.

o wner h a s often been tol d .

The book h ad been lo a ned to h im by a ne ighb or ,

a wel l to do farm er n a med C r a wf ord After re ading

- -
.

from i t la te into the night by the light of pine knots ,

Abrah a m c a rried i t to hi s bedro om i n the l oft H e .

placed it in a crac k between the l ogs over h i s bed

of d r y l e a ves s o tha t he coul d reach to it as s oon a s
,

the firs t streaks of dawn penetrated th rough the

ch i nk s in the l og cabin U nfortunate l y i t r a ined .
,

hea vily during the night and when he took down th e ,

precious volu me in the morning he found it ba dly ,

d a m aged a ll soddened and sta ined by the r a in H e

, .

w a s m uch dist r essed a nd hu r ried to the owner o f ,

the book as soon a s possible to expl a in the mishap .

”
I m re a l sorr y Mr C r a wf o r d he s aid in co ncl ud
’

, .
, ,

“
ing his expl a n a tion a nd wa nt to fix i t up wi th you
,

so meho w if y o u can tell me any wa y for I ain t

, ,
’

”
got the money to p ay fo r it with .

”
Well said Mr C r a wford being a s it s you
, .
,
’

Abe I won t be ha rd on y o u C o me over and shuck

,
’
.

”
c o rn three d a ys a nd the b oo k s yo u r s ,
’
.

The boy w a s delighted with the result o f wh a t a t

firs t h ad seemed a great misfortune V e r ily h is .
,
 2 18

sorrow wa s turned into j oy Wha t ! Shuck c o rn .

only three days and bec ome owner of the book th a t

told all about h is greatest hero ! What an u n e x
p e c t e d piece of good fortune !
Lincol n s readi ng had revealed to h i m a w o rl d
’

beyo nd his home in the wilderness Slowly it .

dawned up o n him th a t one d a y he m ight find his

pl ace i n that great wo r ld and he res o l ved to pr e ,

pa re himself with all his might fo r whatever the

future might hold .

“
I don t intend to del ve grub shuck co r n split
’

, , ,

”
rail s and the like always he told Mrs C ra wford
, , .

after he h a d finished reading the Life of W as h

” ”
ington I m go ing to fit m yself for a profession
’
. .

Why wha t do you wa nt to be now ! a sked

,
”

Mr s C rawford in surp r ise O h I ll be president

’

.
, . , ,

s aid the boy with a smil e , .

“
You d make a pretty president with all y o ur
’
,

trick s and jokes now wouldn t you ! s a id Mr s,

’ ”
.

C rawford .

O h I ll study a nd get ready w a s the reply

’

, , ,

”
a nd then maybe the chance will come .

I f the l ife of George W a shington who h a d al l the ,

adva ntages of c ulture a nd tra ining that his ti me

a ff orded was an inspiration to L incoln the poor
, ,

hard working backwo ods boy wh a t sh o uld the life

-
,

of Lincoln be to b oys of to d a y ! Here is a further

 2 19

g li mpse o f the way i n wh i ch he prepared hi mse lf t o

be pre s ident of the U ni ted Sta tes The quotation .

i s from I d a M Tarbe ll s Life of L i ncoln

.
’
.

E ve r y l ul l i n hi s d a ily l abor he u sed for reading ,

r a re l y go i ng to hi s work with o ut a b o ok When .

plowing or cu l tivati ng the rough fields of Spencer

C ou n ty he found frequentl y a h alf hour fo r reading
, ,

for a t the end of every l o ng row the ho r se wa s

allo wed to re s t and Lincoln had his book out and
,

w a s pe rched on stump or fence al most a s s oon a s ,

the plow h ad come to a standstill O ne of the .

few people l eft in Ge ntr yville who still re me mbe r s

Lincol n C aptain John L a mar tells to this d a y o f
, ,

riding to mill with hi s father and s ee i ng as they , ,

drove al ong a boy si tti ng on the t op rail of an old

,

f a sh i oned s take and rider worm fence re ading s o

,
- -
,

intently tha t h e did n ot notice the i r approach H is .

father turn i ng to him s aid : John look at that boy

, , ,

yonder and mark my words he will make a smart

, ,

m a n out of him s el f I may not s e e it but you ll s e e

’
.
,

if my word s don t come t r ue ’

Th at boy was .
’

Abra ham L i ncoln add s Mr La mar impressively ” ,

’
.
, .

L in col n s father w a s illiterate a nd h ad no s ym

’

p a thy w i th h is son s e ff o r ts to educ a te himself For

’
.

t u na t e ly for him however his step m o ther he l ped

, ,

a nd encouraged h im in eve r y way possible Shortly .

be fore h e r de a th s h e said to a biog raph e r of Lin

 2 20

“
coln : I i nduce d my h u sba nd to pe rm i t Abe to r e ad
a nd study at home as well a s at s choo l At first he
, .

was not eas ily reconciled to it but fi n ally h e t oo

,

seemed wil l ing to e n courage him to a certain exten t .

Abe was a dutiful s on to m e al w ays an d w e took ,

pa r t i cu l ar care wh en he wa s re a di ng not to d i sturb

him , would l et him read o n a n d o n ti l l he q uit of
h i s own a ccor
L i ncoln ful l y apprec i ated his stepmother s sy m ’

pathy and love for h i m a nd returned them in e q ual

,

measure I t added greatly to his enjoyment of hi s

.

re ading and studie s to have some one to whom he

could talk about them and in after l ife he always
,

gra tefully re me mbered wh at h is se co nd moth e r did

for h im in those ea rly d ay s of toi l a n d eff ort .

I f there w a s a book to be borrowed a n ywh e re in

h is neighborhood he wa s s ure to hear about it and
,

bo r row it if possible . He said h i m self that he

r e a d t h rough eve ry boo k he had ever he ard of in
”
tha t co unty for a c i rcuit of fif ty mil e s .

And how he re ad ! Boys who have book s a nd

maga zine s and papers i n abu ndance in their homes ,

besides having thou sand s of volu mes to Choose

f r o m in great c i t y lib r aries can have no idea of
,

what a book meant to thi s boy i n the wilde rn ess .

He devoured every one that came into hi s hands

a s a man famishin g from hu nger devours a cru s t of
 22 1

bre a d He re ad a nd re re a d it until he had made

.

the contents his own .

Fro m everything he read s ays Mi ss Tarbell

, ,

h e m ade l ong extra cts with hi s turkey buzzard

,
-

pen and brier root ink When he

-
.

h a d no pa per he would write on a

board and thus pre serve h is
,

s elections until he s ecured

a copybook Th e wooden
.

fire shovel was hi s usu al

s late and on it s b a c k he
,

ciphered with a charred

s tick s having it off when
,

i t h ad beco me too gri my

for use The l ogs a n d
.

boards i n h i s Vi c i nity be
H E E R EA D VE RY TH I NG
covered with hi s figu re s
a nd q uota tions By n ight he re a d a nd wo r ked a s
.

long as there was light a nd he kept a book in the

,

cra ck of th e logs i n his l oft to have it a t h a nd

at peep of day When a cting a s ferr ym a n o n the
.

O hio i n his nineteenth year anxious no d o ubt, , ,

to get th r ough the book s of the house where he

bo a rded before he left t h e p la ce he read eve r y night
,

until m idnight .

H i s s te p moth e r sai d : H e re a d everything he

could la y his h a nds on a nd when he c am e a cross
,
 222

a pass age that struck him h e wou l d wri te i t d ow n

,

on boards if he had no p ape r and keep it by h im

,

until he cou ld get pape r Then he would Copy it

. ,

”
loo k at it com mi t i t t o me mo r y a nd repeat it
, , .

His thorough nes s in mastering eve r ythi ng h e

undertook to study was a habit acq uired i n ch il d
hood How he acq uire d thi s hab it h e tel ls him self
. .

Among my earliest recoll ectio n s I r e me mbe r h ow ,

“
when a mere chi ld he says I u s ed to ge t i rr i
, ,

t a t e d wh en anybody tal ked to m e in a way I could

not unders tand I do n ot thi n k I e ve r got an gr y
.

a t anything else in my l ife ; but t hat al way s d is

t u r be d my temper and ha s eve r sin ce

, I ca n r e .

member going to my littl e be d roo m afte r heari n g ,

the neighbors tal k O f an eve n ing with my father ,

and s pend i ng no small part of the ni ght wal king

up a n d down an d try i ng to make out what wa s
— —
the exact m ean i ng of some of t hei r t o m e dar k
sayings .

“
I could not sle e p a l tho ugh I tried to whe n I
, ,

got on such a h u n t for a n i dea u n til I had c a ught

it ; and when I thought I had got it I w a s not ,

satisfied unti l I had r e peat ed i t ove r an d over

un til I had put i t in l a n gu age pl ain enough a s I ,

thought for any boy I kn ew to comprehend This

,
.

was a kind of passion wi th me and it h a s stuck by

,

me ; for I a m never ea s y now wh en I am handling

 223

a thought till I h a ve bounded it no r th a nd bounded

,

it s o uth and bounded it east a nd b o unded it west .

With a ll his hard study re ading a nd thinking , , ,

L i nc o ln w a s not a bo okwor m nor a d ull compa n ,

io n to the humble unschool ed pe ople a mong

,

wh o m his youth w a s spent O n t h e contra r y a l .

,

t hough he was lo o ked up to as on e wh ose acquire

“ ”
m ents in book l earning h ad raised him fa r
a bove eve r y one i n his neighborhood he was the ,

m ost p opul a r yo u th i n a l l the count r y round NO .

“
“
husk i ng bee or house raising or me r r y ma k
,
-

i ng of any kind w a s complete if Ab r aha m wa s not

present He w a s witty re ady of speech a go od
.
, ,

story telle r a nd h ad s t o red hi s memo r y with a fu nd

-
,

of hu mo r o us anecdotes which he always used to

,

g ood pu r po se a nd with great e ff ect He h a d co m .

m it t e d to m e m o r y a nd could recite a ll the poet r y

,

i n the various scho ol readers used at that time i n

the log cab i n sch o olhouse H e could ma ke rhyme s
-
.

hi mself and even ma ke i m promptu speeche s that

,

excited the adm iration of hi s hearers He wa s th e .

best w r estler ju mper runner a nd the st r o ngest of al l

, , ,

his yo ung comp a ni o ns E ven when a me r e youth

.

he c o uld lift a s m u ch a s th r ee full grown m e n ; and -

,

if y o u heard him fellin trees in a ’

sai d
“
h is cousin Dennis H a nks
, y o u w o uld s a y there
,

w a s three m e n a t w ork by the w a y th e tree s fell .

 2 24

H i s a x would flash a nd bite into a suga r tree or

syc a mo r e a nd do w n it would co me
, .

H is kindnes s a nd tende r ne ss of he a rt were a s

gr ea t a s his strength a nd agility He loved a ll .

God s crea tures a nd cruelty to any of the m alw ays

’

a roused his indign a tion O nly once did he e ve r .

a tte mpt to kill a ny of the ga me i n the wood s w h i ch ,

the fam ily conside r ed nece ssary for their s ubsi s t

ence He refers to this occasion in an a u t obiog
.

r a ph
y written
, by him in the third person in the ,

year 1 86 0 .

A few d ays before the complet i on of his e ighth

”
year he says in the absence of h is father a flock
, , ,

of wild turkeys app r o ached the new log c abin ; a nd

Abra h am with a r ifle gun s ta nding inside sh o t
, , ,

through a cra ck and killed one of the m H e h a s .

never si n ce pulled the trigger o n any l arge r

ga me .

Any su ff ering thing whether i t w a s anim al man

, , ,

woma n o r child w a s su r e of his s ympa t h y a nd aid

, , .

Although he never touched intoxicating drinks

hi mself he pitied thos e who l ost manhood by their
,

use O ne night on his way home f r om a husking

.

bee or house r a ising he found a n unfortun a te man

,

lying on the ro adside overcome wi th d r ink I f .

the ma n were allowed to remain t h ere he w ou ld ,

freeze t o de a th Li ncol n rai sed him from the

.
 225

ground a nd c a rried h im a long d i stance to t h e

near est house whe r e he re ma ined with h im du r ing
,

the night The ma n w a s his fi r m friend eve r afte r

. .

Women ad m i r ed h im fo r his c o u r tesy a nd r o ugh

g all a nt r y a s well a s f o r his s t r ength a nd kindness
,

of he a r t ; a nd he in h is tu r n r eve r enced wo men

, , ,

a s eve r y n o ble stro ng ma n do es This big bo ny

, .
, ,

t all a wkwa r d yo ung fell o w w h o a t eigh teen me a s

, ,

u r e d six feet fo ur wa s a s r e a dy t o c a r e for a ba by

,

i n the absence of its m othe r a s he wa s to tell a good

s to r y o r t o fell a t r ee W a s it a ny wo nder th a t he
.

w a s p o pul a r with a ll kinds o f pe ople !

H is step m o ther s a ys o f h im : “
A be wa s a good '
~

boy a nd I c a n say wh a t sc a r cely one wo ma n — a

,

mothe r — c a n say in a th o us a nd ; Abe neve r ga ve

me a cross wo r d o r look a nd never refused in fa ct ,

or appea r a nce to do any t hing I r equested h im I .

never g a ve h im a cro ss w o r d in all my life H is .

m ind a nd m ine — wh at little I h ad see med to

—

run togethe r He wa s he r e a fte r he wa s elected

.

r e s ident He w a s a dutif u l son to me alwa ys

p . I .

think he l o ved m e t r uly I h ad a son John who .

, ,

wa s r a ised with Abe Both we r e good b oys ; but .

I m ust s ay both now being de a d th a t Abe w as

, ,

”
the best boy I eve r s a w o r expect t o see .

Wherever he went o r wh a teve r he did he studied , ,

men a nd things and gathe r ed kno w ledge a s m uch

,

STO RI ES PRO M LI F E 1
5
 22 6

by o bserva t i o n as from bo oks a nd w hateve r ne w s

papers or o ther public a ti ons h e could get h o ld of .

He used t o go regul a rly to the lea ding s t ore in

Gent r yville to re a d 21 Louisville pa pe r t ake n by
, ,

the p r op r ietor of the store Mr Jones He d is , . .

cussed its contents a nd exc h a nge d views with t h e

,

fa rm e r s who made the sto r e their p la ce of meeting .

H is love of o r a to r y w a s gre a t When t h e c o u r ts .

were in se s sion in Bo o nville a town fiftee n m i les ,

dist a nt fr om his ho me whenever he co uld spa r e a

,

da y he use d to w a lk the r e in the mo r ning a nd b a ck

,

a t night to hear the l a wyers a rgue ca ses a nd m a ke

,

s peeches By this ti me Abr a ha m hims elf co uld m a ke

.

a n i m p r om ptu spee ch on a ny s u bj e ct with whic h h e

was a t all fa m ilia r good eno ugh to win t h e applause
,

of the I ndi a n a fa r m ers .

So hi s boyhood d ays ro ugh h a rd wo r king d a ys

, , ,
-
,

but not devoid of fun a nd rec r e a ti o n passed , .

Abrah am did no t love wo rk a ny mo r e than o t h er

country boys of h is a ge but he ne ver shi r ked h is ,

t asks Whether it wa s plowing splitti n g rails

.
, ,

felling tree s d oing chores rea ping th r eshing or

, , , ,

a ny of t h e m ultitu de of things to be done on a

fa r m the work wa s a lways well done Someti me s
, .
,

to make a dive r sion when he wa s wo r king a s a

,

“ ”
hi r ed h a nd he would stop t o tell so me of h is
,

fu nny st o ries o r t o make a stu mp s pee ch b ef ore

,
 227

h is fe llo w wo r ker s who wou ld a ll cr o wd ro und h im

-
,

t o li st e n ; but he would more tha n ma ke u p fo r t h e

ti me thus spe nt by t h e i ncr ea sed en e rgy with w hich

he afte r ward wo rke d Doub t le s s t he o t h e r la bo rers
.
,

too were refres he d and sti mul ate d to gre a ter e ff ort
,

by t h e r e cr e ation h e a ff orde d the m a nd t h e i nspi r a

t ion of hi s exampl e .

Thoma s Li ncol n had le a rned ca rpe nt ry a nd

ca bi n et ma king i n h is youth and ta ught t h e r u di
,

me nt s o f t he se t r a d e s to his so n ; so th a t in add iti on

to h is s kill a nd effi c i ency in all t h e w o r k that fal ls
to the lo t of a pio n ee r ba ckwoods fa rm er Abraha m ,

ad d ed the a ccompl ish ment of being a fairly go od

c a rpenter . He worke d at these trades with h is
fa ther whenever the O pportunity off ered Whe n .

h e w a s not wo r king for h is fam ily he was hired ,

out to the neighboring fa rmers H is highest wa ge .

was tw enty fi ve cents a day which h e alway s h anded

-
,

over to h is father .

Lincoln got h is fi r s t gli mpse of t h e w o rld beyo nd

I ndia n a wh e n h e wo r ke d fo r s e ve r al month s a s a
ferrym a n a nd boatman O n t h e O h io R ive r at ,

A nd e rso n C r eek H e sa w t he s te ame rs and ve ss e ls

.

o f al l kind s s a il ing up and d o wn t h e O hio l ade n ,

with produce and me r ch a ndise on the i r w a y to a nd

,

fr o m we s te r n a nd s o uth e rn to w n s He came in con

.

ta ct with di ffe r ent kind s of people from di ffe rent

s t a te s a nd th us his views of th e world and it s
,

pe ople be came a li ttle more e xte nde d a nd h is ,

l o ngi ng to be some body and to do someth i ng worth

whil e in the world wax ed s tro nge r daily .

H is wo r k as a fe rry ma n showed him th at th e re

were other way s of m a king a little mo ne y than by
h iri ng out to th e n e ighbors at t we nty fi ve cents a -

day He re so l ved to take some of the farm produc e

.

t o N e w O rl ea ns a nd se ll it there Th is project le d
.

to th e unexpected earn ing of a doll ar which a dde d ,

s t r e n gth to h is purpo se to prepare h i m sel f to t ak e

the part of a man in the world outs ide of I ndian a .

Let h i m tel l i n h is own word s as be re l ated the ,

s to r y to Mr Seward years afte rw ard how he e arn e d

. ,

the dol lar :

S e ward he sa id d id you e ve r hea r h ow I
, ,

e arn ed my firs t doll ar !

”
NO sa id Mr Seward
, . .

“ ” “
Well repli ed he I wa s about ei ghte en ye ars
, ,

of age and be lo nge d a s you know to what they

, , ,

call d oWn s outh th e scrubs p e ople wh o do not

‘

own l and and slaves are nobod ies the re ; but we

h ad s ucceeded i n r aisi n g chiefly by my labo r , ,

s u ffi cie nt produce a s I thought to j u s tify me i n

, ,

tak ing it down th e rive r to s ell After much per .

s uasi on I had g o t the con s e nt of my mother to go ,

and had con st r ucted a fl a t boa t l a rge enough to take

 2 29

the few ba rrels of thi ngs we h a d gathered to Ne w

O r lean s .A s teamer was going dow n the river .

We have you kn ow no wharves on the western

, ,

str e am s and the cu stom wa s if pas senge r s we r e

, ,

a t any of the l a ndings they were to go out i n a ,

bo a t the ste a mer stopping and taking them o n

,

bo a r d I w a s contempl a ting my n e w bo a t a n d
.
,

wonderi ng whethe r I could make it s tronger or

i m prove it in any pa rt when two m en with trun ks
,

cam e do w n to the sh ore i n c a rri ages and look i n g ,

at the d iff erent bo a ts singled out m ine a n d asked , ,

’
‘
Who own s thi s ! I an swered modestly I do
”
’
,
‘
.

Will you said one of them take us a n d our

,
’

,
‘

t r unks to the s te a mer ! Certainly said I I

’ ‘
,
’
.

w a s very glad to have th e Ch a nce of e a rn i ng

so mething and supposed that each of them would
,

give me a couple of bits The tru nks were put in .

m y boat th e p ass engers se ated the ms elve s on them

, ,

a nd I s culled the m out t o the s teamer They got .

on boa rd a nd I lifted the trunk s a n d put them o n

,

the deck The s te a mer w a s about t o put on steam

.

aga in when I called out

, Y o u have forgotten to,
‘

’
pa y me E ach of them took f r om his pocket a
.

silver half dollar and threw i t on the bottom of

-

my bo at I could s c a rcely believe my eyes a s I

.

pic ked up the m oney Y ou ma y th i nk it was a very

.

li ttle thing and in these day s it see ms to m e li ke a

,
tri fle but it wa s a most i mporta nt incident i n m y
,

l ife I c o uld sc a rcely credit that I the poo r boy

.
, ,

h a d ear n ed a dollar in less than a d a y ; th a t by

hon e s t work I ha d e a rned a doll a r I wa s a m o r e .

”
hope f ul and thoughtful boy fro m th at ti me .

I n March 1 8 2 8 Lincoln was e mployed by one o f

, ,

th e leading men of Gent r yville to take a load o f

produce down t h e Mis s issippi R iver to New O r le a n s .

For this s erv ice h e wa s paid eight d olla r s a month

and hi s ration s .

Th is vi s it t o Ne w O rl e an s wa s a great event in
hi s l i fe I t s howed him the life of a busy cosm o
.

pol i t a n c i ty which was a perfect wonde r la nd to h im

, .

E verything h e saw aroused hi s astonish ment and

interes t and se rved to ed ucate h im fo r th e larger
,

l ife on which he wa s to enter la ter .

The next i mportant event in the h i story of t h e

Lincol n fa mily w a s the i r re moval from I ndiana t o
I llin oi s in 1 8 30 The fa rm in I nd ia na had not
.

prospered a s they hoped it would hence t he r e,

moval t o ne w ground in I llinoi s Abrah a m d r ove .

the team of oxen wh i ch c a rri e d the i r household

good s from the old h ome to their new abiding pl a ce
ne a r Decatur in M a con C ounty I llinoi s Driv ing
, , .

over the m uddy ill m ade road s with a heavily lade n

,
-

team w a s h a rd and slow wo r k a nd the j ourney occu

,

p i e d a f o r tnight Wh e n
. they arrived at th e ir d e s
 2 31

t ina tion , Li ncoln agai n helped to b u il d a log ca bin

for the f a mily home With his stepbrother he a lso
. ,

a s h e s aid him se l f made s uflicie nt of rail s to fence

,

t e n acre s of gro und a n d ra ise d a crop of s own corn

,

”
upo n i t the sam e year .

I n th a t sam e year 1 8 30 h e re ached his m ajority

, , .

I t w as ti me for him to be about his own business .

H e had w o r ked pat ie ntly and ch e erfu l ly s i nce h e

was able to hold an a x i n his ha nd s for his own
a n d the fa m ily s maintena n ce
’
Th e y could n o w get .

along without h im and he felt that the t ime h a d

,

c om e for h im t o develop hi m s elf for la rger dutie s .

H e left the log cabin pe nniless without even a , ,

go od suit of cl othe s The first work he did when

.

he bec a me h is own m a ster w a s to supply th i s l a tter

deficiency For a certa in Mrs Miller he split four
. .

hun d r ed ra ils for every y a rd of brown je a n s dyed ,

w ith white waln ut b ark nece ssa ry to mak e a pair of ,

”
trouse rs .

F or n e arl y a year h e co nt in ued to work as a r a il

”
s pl itter a nd farm hand Then he w a s hired by a.

Mr Denton O ff ut to tak e a fl a t boa t l oaded with

.

goods from Sanga mon town t o Ne w O rle a ns So .

well ple a sed was M r O ff ut with t h e way in which

.

Lincoln executed h is commi s s i o n that o n his r etu r n

he e n ga g ed him t o tak e c h arg e of a mill and s to r e
at N ew S ale m .
 2 32

The r e a s in eve r y other place in which he h a d

,

resided he bec ame the popul a r favo r ite H is kind

, .

ness of he a rt h is go o d hu m o r his S kill a s a s to r y

, ,

telle r his strength his courte sy m anline s s a nd

, , , ,

honesty were such as to w ina ll he a rts He would .

allow no ma n to Use profa ne l a ngu age before wo men .

A boo rish fell o w who insisted on doing so in the

s tor e on one occasion in spite of Lincol n s p r otests
,
’

found this o ut to hi s cost Linc ol n h ad p o litely .

requested h im not to use such l anguage before

l a die s but the ma n persisted in d o ing so When the
, .

w o men left the s to r e he beca me violently a ngry a nd

,

bega n t o a buse Lincoln He wa nted to pick a .

qua rr el with him Seeing this Lincoln said Well

.
, ,

if you m ust be w hipped I supp ose I may as well ,

”
whip you a s a ny other ma n a nd taking the ma n ,

out of the store he gave h im a well m e r ited ch a stise -

ment . Stra nge to s ay he became Lincoln s friend

,
’

afte r this a nd re ma ined so to the end of his life

, .

H is sc r upulous honesty won for him in the New

S ale m c o mm unity the title of Honest Abe a ti tle ,

w hich is still aff ection a tely applied t o h im O n one .

o cc a si o n h a vin by mistake ove r ch a r ged a custo m er

, g
six a nd a qua r ter cents he w alked t h ree m iles after
,

the store w a s closed in o r der to r esto re t h e cus

t o me r s m oney At a nother ti me in weighing tea
’
.
,

fo r a wo m a n he used a q uarter p o u nd in s te ad of
,
-
 2 33

a h a lf pound weight
-
When he went t o use the
.

s c a les aga in he di s covered his mistake and promptly

, ,

w a lked a long distance to delive r the r em a inder of

t h e te a .

Lincoln s determ ination to i mprove him self con

’

t in u e d t o be the lea ding object of h is life He sa id .

“
o nce to h is fello w clerk in the store-
I have t a lked ,

w ith gre a t men and I do not s e e how they di ffer

,

”
fro m others H is observatio n h a d t a ught h im that
.

the gre a t di fference i n men s positions w a s not due ’

so m uch to one h aving more talents or being more

highly gifted th a n ano t h e r but rather t o t h e way in
,

w hich one cultivated h is talent or tale n t s a nd

a nother n eglected h is .

Up to t h is ti me h e had not made a s tudy of gram

m a r but he re a lized that if he were t o s pe a k i n pub
,

lic he m ust le a rn t o s pe ak gra mmatic ally He ha d .

no g r a mmar a nd did not know where to get o n e

, .

I n this dilemm a he consulted the s c h ool m a ster of

New S a le m who told h im where and fro m wh om
,

he c o uld borr ow a copy of K ir k h a m s Gra mmar ’

.

The place named was six miles f r o m New S ale m .

But tha t w a s noth i ng to a youth so hu ngry for a n

educ a ti o n as Lincoln H e i mmedi a tely sta r ted for
.

the reside nce of the fo r tu n a te people w h o owned a

copy of K ir kh a m s G r a m mar The b ook was lo a ned
’
.

to h im without hes i tat io n I n a S ho r t ti me i ts con

.
 2 34

te n ts were ma stered the student studyi ng a t n ight

,

by t h e light of sh avings bu r ned in the vill age

“ ”
cooper s sh op
’
. Well said Lincoln t o Greene
, ,

HE LEA R N ED S URVE YI NG

hi s fel l ow cle r k wh en h e h ad tu r ned over the l a st

-
,

“
page of t h e gr a mma r if th at s wh at they c a ll a
,
’

”
scie n ce I think I ll g o a t a n othe r
,
’
The c o nquer .

ing of one th in g aft e r a nothe r the th o ro ugh m a s ,

t e r y of wh a teve r he u nde r t oo k t o d o mad e t h e n e x t ,

 2 35

thing e a sier of ac co mpli shme nt th an it w ould other

w i s e h a ve be e n I n o r der t o pr act ic e deb at i n g h e
.

u se d t o walk se ve n or e ight mi l es t o de ba ting clubs .

N o labor or t r ou ble se e med t oo gre at t o h im if by

it h e could increa se h is k no wledge o r a d d t o h is
acquire ments No matt e r h o w h a r d or e xhaus t ing
.

his work wh eth e r it w a s r ail spl i tt ing pl owing

, , ,

lu m be r ing boating o r s t or e kee pin g he s tudied a nd

, , ,

re ad eve r y spare m i nute and ofte n until l ate at ,

night .

But this sketch h a s already exceed e d the l i m its of

L incoln s bo yh oo d for h e h a d re a ch e d his twenty
’

second year while in the store in New S a le m H o w .

he was made c apta in of a co mpany ra ised to fight

a g a in s t the I ndi a ns how he kept sto r e fo r h i mself
, ,

le a r ned surve ying was e le cted a me mb e r of the

,

I llinois legi sl a tu r e st ud ie d la w a nd wa s admitted

, ,

to the b a r in Sp r in gfield a n d h o w h e final ly beca me

,

p esident of the U n ite d State s

r — all th is be longs to
a l a ter Chapter of h is life .

’
Linc o ln s r ise from the poore s t of log cabins to
t h e White H o u s e to be pre s ident of t h e gre a test
,

republ i c in t h e w orld is o ne of t he mos t i nspi r ing

,

s t or ies in Am e ri ca n bi og ra phy Y e t h e w a s no t a
.

geniu s u nless a d e termi nation to m ak e the most of

,

’
one s self a nd t o pers is t in spit e of a ll h ardships ,

discourage m ents a n d h i nd ra nce s be g e nius He

, , .
 2 36

mad e hi m se lf what h e was o ne of the noble s t ,

re a te s t and best of men — b s heer dint of hard

g , y
w ork and the cultivation of the talents that h a d

been give n h im No fort u n a te ch a nce s n o in fl u

.
,

e n t ia l f r iend s no rare opportunities pl a yed a part i n

,

h is life
. A l one a nd un a ided he ma de by the gra c e ,

of God the gre a t career which will fore ve r Chal

,

lenge t h e a dmirat i o n of manki nd .

TH E MA R B L E WA I TETH

Th e ma r ble wa i ts , imma cula t e a nd r u e d ;

B e side it ds t h e sculpt or lo st in d r e a ms
st a n , .

Wit h va gue C h a o t ic for ms h is Vision t e e ms

, .

Fa i r S ha p e s pursue h im o nly t o e lud e

,

And mock h is e a g e r fa ncy Li ne s o f gr a c e

.

And h ea ve nly b e a ut y va ni sh a nd be ho ld ! , ,

Out t h r ough t h e Pa r ia n lust e r pur e a nd cold , ,

Gla r e s t h e wild hor r or of a de vil s fa ce

’
.

Th e cla y is r e a dy for t h e mod e li ng .

Th e ma r ble wa i t s : h ow be a utiful h ow pur e , ,

Th a t gl e a mi ng substa nc e a nd it sh a ll e ndur e
, ,

Whe n dyna st y a nd e mpir e t hr one a nd ki ng

,

H a ve c r umbl e d ba ck t o dust We ll ma y you pa use

.
,

O h sc ulp t or a r t i st a nd be for e t h a t mut e

,
-
, ,

Unsha p e n sur fa c e st a nd i r r e solut e

,

Awful, i nd e e d a r e a r t s uncha nging la ws

’
.
,
 2 37

Th e t hi ng you fa s hi on out of se nse l e ss cla y,

Tr a nsfor me d t o ma r ble , S ha ll out li ve your fa me
And w h e n no mor e is k nown y our r a c e o r na me ,
, ,

Me n S ha ll be move d by wha t you mold t o d a y -

.

We a ll culp tor s By e a c h a ct a nd t hought

a re S .
,

We for m t h e mod e l Ti me t h e a r t isa n

.
, ,

S t a nd s wi t h h is c hi se l fa s hioni ng t h e M a n
, , ,

And st r o ke by st r oke t h e ma st e r pi e c e is wr ought .

Ange l d e mon ! C hoose a nd d o not e r r !

or ,

F or t i me but follows a s you sh a p e t h e mold ,

A nd fi ni sh e s in ma r ble s t e r n a nd c old , ,

Th a t sta t ue of t h e so ul t h e cha r a c t e r
, .

By wor dl e ss ble ssi ng or by sile nt cur se

, ,

B y a ct a nd mo t i ve — so d o y ou d e fi ne
,

Th e i ma ge which t ime copi e s li ne by li ne , ,

For t h e gr e a t ga lle r y of t h e Unive r se .

E L LA WH EELE R WILOOX .

AT th e gate way of a ne w ye ar em e rgi ng from t h e ,

gay care le ss ne ss of childhood st and troops of buoy ,

ant eager eyed youth s and maide ns gaz ing down

,
-
,

the vista of the future w i th glad expectancy .

Fancy s pread s upon her can va s r adiant picture s

of t h e joy s a n d t r iumph s which await them in the
unborn years I n th ei r u n clouded s pri ngti me the r e
.

is no pl a ce fo r t h e s pecters of doubt and fear whic h

too often overshadow th e autumn of life .

I n th i s formative pe riod th e s oul is un soiled by ,

war fare with the worl d I t lies like a block Of .

,

pure u n cut Paria n mar ble r e ady to be fas h i o ned

, ,

into wh a t !
—
 2 38

I ts possi bili ti e s a r e l imit le ss Y ou a r e the sculp .

tor A n unse en hand place s i n yours t h e mallet

.

a nd the C h is el a nd a vo ice whispers : Th e marble

,

wa iteth . W h a t w il l you do with it !

I n this s a me blo ck the ange l and t h e de m on lie
sleeping Wh i ch will yo u call i nto life ! Blo w s of
.

so me sort you mu st strike The m a rble cannot be

‘

left uncut From its cr ud i ty s ome s ha pe m ust be

.

evolved Shal l it be one of be a uty or of defo rm ity ;

.
,

an angel or a de vil ! Will you s hape it into a

,

statue of beauty w h i ch wil l ench a nt the world or ,

will you cal l o ut a hid e o u s i ma g e wh ich wil l d e mor

a lize eve r y behold e r !
Wh a t a r e your ideals as you stand facing the ,

d a wn of thi s ne w yea r with the pro mi s e a nd r e s pon

s ibilit of th e n e w l ife o n w h ich u hav e en te re d
y y o ,

awa iting yo u ! Upo n th e m d e pe nd s t he fo r m which

the rough bloc k sh a ll tak e E ve ry st r oke of t h e .

chi sel is gu id e d b t h e ide a l b e h ind th e bl w

y o .

Loo k a t this e asy go ing ple as u r e lovi ng yo uth

-
,
-

who take s u p t he ma l le t a nd s m ites the chi se l w ith

c a rele ss thou ght le s s blo ws H is m ind is fille d with
, .

i mages of lo w s e ns ual ple a s ure s ; the p ass ing e nj o y

,

me n t of t h e h ou r is e ve ryth in g to h im ; his wo r k ,

the future no thi ng He carr ie s i n h is heart pe r

, .
,

haps the be stia l mott o of t he glutt on E a t d r ink

, , , ,

and be mer r y for to morrow we die ; or the fl ippa nt

,
 2 39

ma x i m of the ga y wo r ldling A sho r t life and a ,

m e rry one ; the foa m of the ch a lice fo r me ; fo r get

t ing th a t be ne ath the fo am a r e th e bitt e r dregs ,

w hich be he ever so unwilling he mu st s wa llow not

, , ,

t o day n o r yet to morrow

- - — perha p s n ot this year
,
,

n o r next ; but s ometime as surely a s th e reapi n g fol

,

l o ws the sowing will the bitte r draught follow the

,

fo a mi ng glass of unlawf ul ple a su r e .

As the years go by a nd youth merge s i nto ma n

,

ho od the sculptor s ha nd beco mes more u n ste ady

,
’
.

O n e fa lse blow follows another in rapid s u ccession .

The fo r mle ss marble t akes on d i storted outlines .

I t s whi t enes s ha s l ong s i n ce be come s potte d Th e .

sc ulpto r with blurred vi si on a nd s hattered nerve s

, ,

s till str ikes wi th ai mless hand carving dee p gashe s , ,

adding a crook e d li ne here another there soiling , ,

and mar ring until no trace of the v i r gin purity o f the

block of m a rble which wa s give n him re ma in s I t .

h a s bec ome s o gri my so de m o n iacall y fantastic in

,

its outline s that the beholder turns from it wi th a

,

s h ud den
N ot fa r off
we s ee anot h e r youth at wo r k o n
a bl o ck of m a rble si m il a r in every detail to the fi r st
, .

T he t o ols with which he plies his labor di ffe r in no

wise f r om those of th e wo r ker we have been
fo llowing .

The gl o ry of the mo rning shines upon the ma r ble .

 2 40

Glowing with e n th us i asm the light of a high pur

,

po se illu min a ting his face the sc u lpto r with ste a d y

, ,

h a nd a nd eye begin s to wo r k o u t his ide al The

, .

visi o n that flits befo r e him is s o be a utif u l th a t he

alm ost fears the cunning of h is h a nd will be un
equal to fa shi o ning i t from the rigid mass befor e
h im. Patiently he me a su r es ea ch blo w of the
m allet With infinite ca r e he ch isel s e ach l ine and
.

cu r ve E ve r y st r oke i s t r ue
. .

Months str etch into ye a r s and s till we find the ,

sculptor at wo r k Ti me has given greate r precision

.

to h is touch and the skill of the youth,s trengthened

,

by noble aspi r ation s a nd right eff o r t ha s bec om e ,

p ositive geniu s in the man I f he has n ot att a ined

.

the ideal that haunted h im he h a s created a fo r m s o

,

be a utiful in its clea r cut outli ne s s o i mposing i n

-
,

the majesty of it s purity and strength that t h e ,

beholder involunta r i ly bows before i t .

TH E MA R B L E WA I TE TH . W H AT WI LL YO U DO

WI TH IT !