Wisconsin tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1847-1854, 1848-12-15
THE SUFERINGS. PERSEVERANCE.
AND TRIUMPH OF GENIUS.

AND TRIUMPH OF GENIUS.
There is at present in England an Ameri
can who went to that country to endeavor to
| interest the capitalists IN a new bridge which
he has constructed. He is native of Viz
gnia. An account of his progress is given by
himself. in The following letter to the late
Dixon Il. Lewis, and IS published in Hunts
! Merchants Magazine:
STANFORD. EcGLAND august Is, 1913.
MF DEAR Sir: should have written soon
er, but that had nothing pleasant to say
/ reached London on the LIST of January. 1847
without money or friends, which was just
the thing | desired when left America, and
just the thing, assure you, viii never de-
sire again. | commenced operation at once,
on the supposition that in this overgrown city
would at least enlist one man. But English
men are not Americans. An Euglishmaa
will advance any amount on an absolute Ger
talnty, but not one penny where there is the
slightest risk. if he got the whole world By it.
| spent the first five months looking for this
man, with unparalleled perseverance and in
dustry, living for less than three pence per
day.
am convinced that few persons in London
know so much of that incomprehensibly large
city as myself. But, alas my wardrobe was
gone. TO supply me with miserably baked corn
bread, on which l lived entirely. | slept on
straw, for which l paid half penny per light.
| became ragged and filthy, and could no lon
ger so among men of business. Up to this
time, my spirits never sunk, nor did they then;
but my suferings were great-my limbs dis
torted with rheumatism, induced by cold and
exposure-my face and head swelled to q
most unnatural size, with cold and tooth
ache; and those who slept in the same horrid
den as myself were wretched street beggars,
the very cleanest ofthem literally alive with
all manner of creeping things. But | was no
beggar. never begged, nor asked favor of
any man since I came to England. Ask Geo.
Bancroft, whom l called upon two or three
times, if ever asked the slightest favor, or
even presumed upon the letter you gave me
10 him. I did write him note, asking him
to come and witness the triumph of opening
the Bridge at the gardens, and delivered the
note at his own house myself; although
Prince Albert came, l never got even a reply
10 my note. Ii Bancroft had come, and been
the man to have only recognised me, in my
rags as I was. it would have saved me much
subsequent suffering. l will not believe that
Bancroft ever saw my note, for his deport-
ment 10 me was very kind.
The succeeding three months, after the
first five, will not detail, up to the time
commenced to build the bridge. | viii not
harrow up my feelings to write, nor pain
your heart TO read. the Incidents of those
ninety days. My head turned grey, and !
| must have died but for the Jew, who did give
me one shilling down for 5e10, on demand
/ These wicked roberies have amounted to sew
eral hundred pounds, every penny of which
/ had to pay subsequently for, siuce my sue
cess at Strafford, not man in England who
can read, but knows my address. 1t cost
me e10 to obtain the shilling with which !
r---l -ss al .-4 RaxaI ZanIari-
/ cal Gardens, where | succeeded. after much
modification, in getting the ghost Of model
made of the bridge. The model though 6
bad one. astonished every body. Every en-
gineer OF celebrity in London was called in to
decide whether it was practicable to throw il
| across the Lake. Four or FIVE of them. az
! the final decision, declared that the model be-
fore them was passing strange, but that It
could not be carried to a much greater length
than the length of the model.
| This was the point of life or death with
me. was standing amid men of the supDo-
/ sed greatest talents, as civil engineers, thac
/ the world could produce, and the point deci-
| ded against me. This one time alone were
my whole energies ever aroused. [ never
| talked before-I was haggard and faint for
want of food-my spirits sunk in sorrow of
my prospects-cluthes had none-vet stand
ing over this model did battle with those
men. Every word | uttered came from nv
Utmost soul, and was big with truth-every
argument carried conviction. The effect on
/ these men was like magic-indeed they must
have been devils not to have believed under
/ the circumstances. | succeeded. Ny agree
ment with the proprietor was, that I should
superintend the construction of the bridge
without any pay whatever, but during the
time of the building | might sleep in the
Gardens; and ifthe bridge should succeed, it
should be called Renington's Bridge"
lodged in an old Hons cage. not strong g
nough for lion. but. by putting some straw
on the floor, held me very well, and indeed
was greater luxury than had had for sev-