Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1844-04-04
Alter acquiring the aucien, lanouaoes o,d

attention To the oriental tongues Casting
about III vain for the means of accomplishing
this desire, lie conceived the bold design Ol
eniisl'ng as sailor, and getting by travel
what di, not lie within his reach at home.
He left his forge under this resolution, aud
travelled on lnot to Boston to carry his plan
into execution. lie made diliyent but fruit
less search for vessel bound to the Eastern,
world While musing under his disapponl-
'nent, he accidentally heard of the American
Antiquarian Society at Worcester. He imme-
d'ateiy proceeded thither. and found, as he
says to his "inlinite qualification. such col
lection ot books on ancient, modern, and orr
entail languages as he never before conceived
to be collected together in one place" ile
was coits.siiy welcomed, and freely admitted
10 All re privileges OF the library. lie inn
mediateiy made arrangements Ia work at his
'rade' !" gam The means of support, and spen,
three hours every day in the library. This
he continued To do until he had fully explored
this new field, aud mastered the mos, diiHcul,
| oriental languages.
Besides the ancient languages, Mr. Burri,t
now reads all the principal languages of Eu-
rope and the most difficult languages of Asia,
comprising, with their different dialects, more
than fifty in number. Among them are the
iiehrew. Greek and attn, Gaelic, English.
=" eich, Irish, Celtic, French, Spanish, Por-
tuguese, Italian, German, Flemish, Saxon.
Gothic, lcelandic, Polish, Bohemian. Russian.
Sclavonic, Armenian, Turkish, Chal,laic. Sy
riac, Samaritan, Arabic, E:liopic, Indian,
Sanscrit, and Tarnul
Mr. Burrit, is still day laborer at the forge
As some curiosity has often been expressed
l" have Il description OF his ...Smiiheu,'' il NAV
be easily &raiiiied. On my first arrival i'm
W orcesler, proceeded directly from The cars
To inquire out Mr.. Burrilt. Alter two or three
directions arrived at all extensive iron found
rv. In long line of workshops was di-
recied la that i'll which MIR. Is. vas employcd.
entered, and seeing several fnrses. sought for
the object of my visit. ale mad Just left.
and is probably in his study" said IA son of
Vulcan, resting his hammer on his shoulder
meanwhile. There is his forge,o pointing
To one that was silent. ] had but a moment
I" study IT. It's entire structure and apparatus
resemb!ed ordinary forges. excep, tina, il was
neater and III better order. MIR. Burri,t is a
bachelor, and jonrneyman and earns a
shilling an hour by contract with the proprie-
tor "i Ibis foundry. He lives and furnishes
himself with books by this laborious applica-
ton TO his trade. Seeing on his table what
appeared In lie dia"v, ! read as follows
>
hours--Iranslaled 2 pages of Icelandic and 3
pages o! German" This was single item
81 similar records, which run through the
! book, To phd'e my surprise, he told nc
mat lhIs was Il correct memorandum of the
Iabors ol every day. Bat the sixteen hour,
al labor WAS thai which he performed in iOb
an" Tor winch he was paid by The estimate OF
lis value, but that he accomplished ii IN cighl
Eaurs-ihns gaining both time and money by
double labor. Eight hours dav is his or
binary habit of labor at forge.
IL has been often asked why he does not re-
iin'luIsh The anvil and trust To his wits lie
once answered the question to me bv two So
DER reasons. In the first place, by his manual
Labor lie ensured his health, and then his
bread. He gave still another reason-his IA
version TO separate from the honorable class
oil tnen among whom he had been bretl-the
mechanics and his wish tn demonstrate
that mechanic may he u scholar, and We, q
good mechanic. Mr.. Burrilt is as ambitious
t" excel in his trade as IN letters. Il NAV be
SAID too Ila, there is necessity tina, h. should
work Tor his daily bread, as he has no other
source Of dependence. In September. 1871, he
assured me that his literary labors, up to that
time, had been rev artless. with the single ex-
ceplion of fifty cents generously given him by
poor Snowman for translating the French
notices OF his pictures.
! Mr.. Burnt in person is of a middle stature.
! rather slender proportions, high, rsseding
forehead, deeply sci, steady. greyish eve, thin
Visage, lair complexion, thin compressed lin.
! a hectic glow, and hair bordering on the
| brown or auburn. There is nothing in his
frame To indicate habit Of hard labor, except
the round shoulder, ami an arm and hand dis
proportional in size and muscle TO the other
! parts Of the body.
! Much curiosity has been awak encd to know
by what process this immense amount of ac-
cushion has been made in SO short time
whether by the force If native genius, or dint
"i labor, by intuition, by tact, or the detail OF
ordinary study. In reply, ii may be said that
Mr.. Burfitt never suspected himself of being
genius, nor did The world assert il, until the
results OF iab"rious mental labor began &c
attract towards him the public attention A.
Wong his brothers, all of whom seem To have
been intellectual men, he was considered be.
low Their par standard of intellect. The pub.
TIC nave yet To learn, too, that his acquaint.
ahce win lie languages Is but single nci-
dent i'll his intellectual history. Mathematics
III It's higher branches, comprising demonslra-
tive philosophy. form his Gavorile studies. In
the midst OF this field of his chosen labors
; the study of the languages became lis pas
time. II these have subsequently, taken the
lead III Ills studies, IT has been accidental, and
not the result of any preGilection, or ability ic
exec III them, beyond other departments o
learning lie is also poet. This would h,
easily inferred from his writings. tie is high
~ giied with what is called the inspiration
OF poetry, and il! only needs that his attention
r should be given TO that species of compost