Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1846-02-12
Whole No. S27
From the Vermont Herald aud Journal.
The Wonderful Vermont Boy.

prints of n remarkable boy of that towE, to
pay hln n vlsii. The name OF this preco nus
youth is rrnman Henry Stafford Jr. He is
The sou Of T.. a. ~ Louisa Stafford. Of ROYAL
tnn VI. lie was horn ihe sixth day of Jan
uav, lS36 lie was consequently 10 years
old last Tuesday, the sixth 0f January, 1876.
Ills constituiion' is ffaIl, his health, though
more rotjus. than yeuP s,nce, is yet delicate,
his limbs small, his hair dark, his eyes dark,
projecting and indescfibaby brilliant and his
coun,e nance pallid, yet open, smiling aud
bcanllng with Intelligence. lie is exceeding
ly modest aud unassumlng. lie never boasts !;
never elbows the least pride after per.orrning
his wonderful intellectual exploits. But he
Is rrllrIng IN his manners. though tree 10 con-
verse when spoken to. and ~ disposition IA
gentle "a the lamb. lie probably does not
fully realize his greatness. lie reads every
/ thing that comes IN his way. consequently,
hr often sees the varions puffs of han that are
frequently seen n"aIIng IN the papers. lie
also Is often compIlfDrn,ea by Distinguished
visitors. But ms parents tell hun not To be-
Il've all these encnmluids. IA there Is often
great deal Of bUmbug Ia the world. Tins has
the etT'ct to make him quite unnlndtu of
praise. HIS wonderful powers of mind be-
gan to be developed when very young. At
the age Of twenty months he learned his
letters Before three years old, he would
reckon time upon clock lrposl innltively.
II" also learned Ia enumerste according 10
The Roman method from Wpbster's spelling
book. He commenced gong TO school when
three years old; but this be dd not like. Ills
mode oi study wns perfectly unique. He did
not pursue the common circuli"ns route To
the results Of study. Since then, he has
been very 'lle and now goes none al Nil.
Probably no College IN the United States
could instruct hun much, # any. when he
first began 70 90 TO school, his teachers could
not comprehend bis ways nor instruct his ~
lant mind. Every branch Of study he could
master alone with rapdiy and ease. He
CONNIE need Adams new Arithmetic on Tues
day morning aud HnIsbed II completely on
Friday night! Aud whrn he fnlshes bank.
II Is done perfectly i.e would not iullv sei
down his suns but cover his slate with a
shower OF figures. nad at once bring out 'he
answer. The teacher would look on IN a.
constituent, unable to keep up with him. or
20 comprehend his operations, carried on ~
his mind with the rnpIduy of lightning. aud
then dashed on Ia the slate, 10 matter which
end first. Ills thirst for all kinds of know
ledge j. very great The whole circle OF the
sCltNGtS ~ "a laIllllltT W iln us VI HfllsfUutu
word. HIS father obtained ior him Grrgorys
Dictionary of the Arts and Sciences. IN ,h1Ea
large volumes. THIS work, you know, is a
vast encyclopedia OF knowledge, treating
briefly upon all branches of human know.
ledge. THIS was just the work he wanted;
tor an ontllne OF anything is rnough--he can
make The rest. II was this book that first
gave hlm taste for the higher mathematics.
- ,h. II 4,
aud from this alone, went on and made ul:
most an entlre table Of them before ever see.
,nr one One day he went to hls father aud
lnid hlm he wanted To calculate the &C lipsGs
aud make an Almanac tie SAID he wanted
sune books and Instruments. HIS ialhry
ired 10 put him of, bat the boy lnowcd
llm INTO the fields aud whlhersoever he went,
begging for books and Instruments, with
most affecting Inpnrtunlty.
Finally hts father promised to accompany
nm to Dartmouth college and Obtain for hlm,
{ possible, what he wanted. At this, The
BOY was quite ovrrjoycdi so much so, that
when they hove m SIGH, OF the College. be
:red ont IN raplures 30, there 10 The Col
eye there are the books there re the M
.trumeuls" BIT they dad not find all they
wanted Al Norwich however they made
10 their complement. GA coming home, ,he
BOY took Gummcre Astronomy, opened It
IL Me mjddie rolling 1t to and lro, and gasa.
NO Though lls dry and tedious hrnulas,
rent om at both ends. by The way, Tins is
ms usual mode of study lie does no, begin
any book nj the beginning, but always 10
he middle, and then goes with rush both
ways. | asked him #, when he opened
Astronomy in The middle he could
those complicated iormulas
which depended on prcvous demonstrations
lie rcpled he could generally. but snme.
uncs be- 'luuked back httlt.' On arriving
lump he projected several ccllpses and nI.U
them through their tedious opera
IONS by figures. This, rs all matheinarI-
,lans know. involves knowledge of the
abyrlnihs of mathematics, aud also of form
HAS and processes most complicated aud
4 ficult lie has recently made an a lima
nac tnr A. d. 1916. Two "diIons- the
first Of seven thuusand copies and the So
'nnd ui seventeen lluusand-- have already
lecn published aud nearly all sold. IL IL but
ust 10 Young Sattuid to sny, that the misc"l.
aneuns pnr,s ui The A lmanar, so molish aud
ievold 81 taste, were prepared by Young
nan employed by the publishers of The work.
rhls ~ nreai ptty. II ~ To be hoped that
.uch iirGdHe will not be- carried through
hlrd edition. The contrast between the
ico authors IL too awful. In the A Almanac
re the Cnicuatiuns OF Two cchpses of ihr
nm, wrought oui wholly by us infant author
resides other valuable tables especially
me showing the atnnunt of duties un wool.
indrr all the tariffs since the fullnaiion OF
hc government up To che aCt of 1912 Thus
nolr the boy calculated al"ne. Aid that he
alsuaird, without md, The iwu eclipses
4 thc sun, ls nticslrd " The published Ger.
Iirutrs ui Judges, duciur-. lawyers sud cler.
-vmrn. II any shall doubt the buys ability
q calculate M eclipse hnd 'AplBln all us
.nfis, | would recommend them to go 10
tuynlion W.. whore hc ~ nov Ia he seen,
ud hy u ppt~Unnl rxnminHiiun satIsiy them.
elves lie will not only bury you. ma
linuir. bcncalh hpud ~ hgure-, sIgns,
,ngpni~ co-slgns aud co.taugcuis. but he
,ul use rll the irchucal terms Of malhcma-
C. with The greatest prctision-- dsshing
ltuugh ah.iruse formulas mud natraiinR ev-
~ step ul his wutk with ease. tHpldIiy and
ever failing accuracy " hen ~ hts pres
nee, under such circumstances " any one,
ven the most learned. can f'pf ~ iae emo
up- of wundrf that must Struggle ~ his
rnl. sud not lecl that be- ~ ~ the presence
{ n superior bong, I cuuies- | siBll be very
go. L. .,tf.Gad "A tb tle old