The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1853-08-24

From the knickcrboclicr, for August.
My own Statement.

| was born In the year SU3, In an east-
ern city. ! state this because it is the
custom, whenever one begins sketch in
the auto'biographic style, to name the
native place, whether it be an important
point or not. To me, this question a
bout birthplace is matter of small
moment. l should have reached the
same position l now hold, had | been
drought into the world under hedge.
An error of civilization will always in
vest a man with honor, whatever may be
his character, if he be born in palace.
| scorn such feeling.
My parents being in comfortable. cir.
cumstances, received a good cducatiea.
We lived in large cldfashioned house,
near what is now the heart of the city.
Long since, the mansion disappeared,
crushed by the march of commerce. l
will mention here as curious fact, that
after the death of my parents, and be-
fore the old house was demolished, my
brother Tom, silly. reckless fellow, (as
you will see,) wandered about it, and G.
ven obtained the key. and moped for an
|
ticularly his mothers chamber. 1t is a
wonder that the moisture of the damp
walls, oozing through the ragged paper,
and the wind from the broken window
panes, did not make him sick but |
suppose the excitement springing from
the sentimental nonsense rife in ill-rcgu-
lated minds, destroyed the i'll effects of
the musty air.
| was never favorite at home, even
when boy. My mother, to be sure was
always kind but she loved my brother
Tom and my sister Nancy better, great
deal. than me. My father was strange
sort of man, and talked but little. lie
never liked me. My brother and sister
rather avoided me and Nancy. especial
Y, never gave Inc reason to suppose she
did any thing but fear me | do not
know the reason of this. l was always
wcll-bchavcd my principles were of the
first order, and are to this day. | gave
her great deal of excellent advice
which she never followed. Many les
son, too, has Tom had from me, concern.
ing the proper course to succeed in the
world. ! might as well have advised in
fants. " hen | was old enough to see
that was not liked, | wisely kept away
from them, and attended to my own af-
fairs.
Having no fondncss for play, I have,
since my thirteenth year, engaged in no
game whatever therefore in boyhood I
had no intimate companions. Why
should I associate with boys when my
mind was far away from them and their
pursuits ? The only lad | had any par
ticular liking for, was John Sololnons, a
youth Of Jewish parentage; and he cheat
ed me out of ten dollars in an affair of
boyish traffic. respected his adroit-
ness, but the loss of the money CALLED
me and from that time | had no deal
ings with him. | was the more groved
in this matter, as | had arranged, as |
supposed, to make the above sum out of
him, when, by an unlOoked-f for and mas
tcrly stroke in the course of the ncgotia-
tion. he obtained the advantage of me.
While very young, 1 observed the ad-
vantage which wealth gains. l noticed
the general love of gold. Foreigners,
particularly Englishmcn, say it is the
peculiar vice of this country. I, is false.
1t is peculiar to no country and du-
ring my visit to England, whittier went
on important financial business, found
that, in that land, IL was a passion which
absorbed all the rest; it was even strong.
er there than the idolatry of rank, which
is saying a great deal The burly island.
ers have one great gift which quite
charmed me-thc art of keeping money
after they get it. In this they are great
ly in advance of us, for | consider our
grand national fault to bo an inability to
hoard money, which is very painful to an
enlarged mind say that I discovered
early the great point to be gained in this
world, and since that time have devo-
ted myself to the acquisition of wealth.
[ have always been strictly honest, but
also strictly economical. | think man
has right to his own and if | do not
choose to throw away my thousands to
colleges or charitable institutional in what
am | to be blamed What have made
| will keep. Let each man take care of
himself.
When my mother died, l was about
twenty-nine years Of age; my brother was
twenty, and my sister Nancy seventeen.
After this event, Nancy was much
broken down; Tom was as bad as any
woman | ever saw. while my father
seemed to fail from that hour. Back
biters in the mercantile world have ac-
cused me of being heartless. They
do not know me; for | am sure l was
very sorry when my mother died, and
when she blessed each of us before she
departed, | wept. But why was it, that
while Tom and Nancy grasped her hands
and caught the unspeakable love of her
dying-look, while my father knelt by her
side, gazing in dry. eyed agony at her
features, which the hand OF death had al
ready touched; why was it that | stood
In comparative calmness at the foot of the
bed Some may say wanted feeling
some may cant about heartessness but
say 1t was because l had been treated
coldly by the family, and had gradually
been induced to regard myself as stran-
ger at home. Did l not know that l
was as capable of loving my mother as
Tom, (who, by-thc-bye, could never lay
up cent in the world,) could have
been allowed ? Then what use is there
in all this humbug about fecliug2 Per
haps the reason of Toms greatness in
my mothers eyes lay in the fact of his
/ haino n handea,oo G, H.. E.. A.. -. a