The Hawk-eye and Iowa patriot. (Burlington, Iowa) 1839-1843, 1840-06-25
MARRYING FOR MONEY.

nolO Is gray -nalre0 gentleman IN
New York, retired merchant, whose
bland and hearty countenanceJ may be
seen every fair day in Broadway, as he
takes his airing. There is nothing osten-
tatious about his eqnipage none Of that
labored display, unfortunately character.
lstlc OF too many in New York He does
not ape the habits Of a foreign aristocracy
by attiring his servants in liveries: and
his carriage, though evidently Of costly
manufacture, is so barren of tinsel, and of
SO unpretending construction, that the
Passer by, as his eye falls upon. it. in the
midst of the ambitious 'sturn OUTS so nu-
merous in Broadway. would never suspect
Tits occupant 10 be the master Of unbounded
wealth-capable ofbuying up, body and
soul, nine hundred and ninety-nine Of the
bedizened and bewhiskered aspirants. who
dash by him, as he leisurely rumbles
along, in their flashy, gingerbread vehi-
Giles.
He is often accompanied by his wife
and daughter; the former preserving in
the wane Of life, traces of loneliness; the
latter in the dawning Of lustrous beauty.
The dress of these ladies' corresponds
with the elegant simplicity-that test of
true elevation and real gentility-which
we have remarked upon as distinguishing
the husband and father. The jewels they
wear are few and tasteful; and, in their
plain and becoming attire, they do not
make their bodies locomotive miIliner's
signs, nor tell tale, by extravaganza or
outreness Of display, that, concious of de-
fciency in moral superiority, they would
make a parade Of the gaudiness of the
covering, atone for the emptiness within
it.
This gentleman came to the city, when
a young man, a poor adventurer. He
left his fathers humble fre-side in the
country, with a Blessing and little pack
OF clothes; and with five dollar note in
his pocket, all he was worth in the world
he turned his steps towards New York
ignorant Of mankind--of the worlds guilt
and crime-of the thousands seeking, like
himself, a livelihood, who congregate in
this moral whirlpool; but full of expecta-
tion-of hope-of determina.ion--of en-
ergy. 1t was distant several days travel,
but he did not greatly diminish his scanty
funds, for the farmers door at which he
iapplied was ever open to receive him, and
a few hours oflabor the succeeding day
requited--for he would have scorned to
accept Of charity-the hospitality extend.
ed to him. He sought a. mean, cheap
lodging house, when at last he trod, with
eager foot, the streets Of the city: and, al
though wondering curiosity was awake,
he wasted no time in tileness, but sedu-
lousy employed himself seeking occupa-
ton. Appearances are deceitful, and it is
dangerous to put faith in them; but the
merchant who listened to Jacob Flagg's
story, and, taken the honesty depicted in
his face as an endorsement of its truth,
made him his porter, never had reason to
regret it.
For four years he was faithful servant;
diligent, industrious, honest, frugal.
Closing his duties soon after nightfall, his
evenings were his own; and by the light
of his lamp, he devoted them to the i'm
provement of his mind. At the end of
four years, with what he had saved from
his earnings, and some little assistance
from his employer, he opened small re-
tail shop in an obscure street, wherein he
vended a small stock ofdry goods. From
the beginning he succeeded: slowly indeed
yet he succeeded And the majority
may succeed in precisely the same way.
Whatever ones income may be, however
fitting, let him live within it. and he is
even then prospecting and to prosper. In
a grea. city, frugali,y never finds itself at
fault. Subsistence and home may be
procured, fitting to any quality of means;
and he who casts false pride out of doors,
and INDUCES rather in that more enrolling
satisfaction, the consciousness that he is
wronging no fellow being by unjust self
indulgence, is laying foundation for
prosperity that nothing can shake; for
though the goods Of earth may gather
slowly, the soul will be heaping up treas
ures. Extravaganza is a comparative
term: and he who, with an income of a
few hundred, exceeds its bounds in his
expenditures, is more extravagant than
the possessor of millions, whose lavish
hand scatters thousands from his revenue.
Jacob Flagg had little Of something left
of his first years gains, and yet larger
sum at the end of the second-ten fold af-
ter the third. @ Il
AS his condition improved, he cautious
ly and adyisedly improved his mode of
living. He removed to more genteel
boarding house-and then better still
ever careful, however not to deceive him
self and run ahead of duty. The second
change was rife with momentous inhu-
ences upon his destiny for there board
ed in the same house, widow with her
4 pretty daughter, the last an heiress, with a
i thousand dollars. This widow, named
4 Watkins-not her real name, by the by,
for, on our veracity, we are telling a true
story, and il might give offence to be too
particular not oyerstocked with
wit, and piqued herself as much on her
slender jointure and the thousand dollars
! Helen was TO possess on her wedding
day, as though her hundreds had been