Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-04-20
DAILY EVENING STAR,
From the BarnwelI Is. Co Seniiuel.l
DECIDEDLY RICH.
Isl BROADWAY, New YORK. }
Moroh e 1SSI
March 6, 1854.

| 81. MdTCn y, lo0f.
c. F. ToBIN, Esq.-Dear Sir: You
name has been proposed as suitable on
to occupy place in our PORTRAITS an
Memoirs of Eminent Americans" no,
living, of which several volumes hay
been already published. This great wor
has been received with much favor every
where, and contains many of the frs
names in the country. For further info,
nation of its general scope and plan,
beg to refer you to circular herewit
sent. Our portraits are engraved on steel
| by the first artists, so that the likeneSse
are true and life-like representations G
their originals, possessing greater valu
to the projects and their friends than tn
most costly painting. ...
You are respectfully solicited to occup,
place in the pages of this work. Shoul,
your consent afford us the opportunity Q
thus giving to the world true and Der
manent record of your like and features
please send me your likeness IA good da
guerreotype of the same size as our Dor
traits is best, so that it may be handed
over to our engravers.
Please cause to be sent to me also. .
memoir of yourself, or such facts as will
enable me to prepare it; and, 1 will no,
forget to say, that the facts for the sketci
should be fully and accurately given.
l hope you will send both the daguer
reotype and memoir at your earliest con
venience, as we have volume in pro
gress, and wish to avoid delay. Hoping
to hear from you, | am yours truly,
. JOHN LIVINGSTON.
Dear Sir The above communication
reached me last week, and in replication
| beg leave to state, that if have ever
done any thing worthy of the immor.
tality your magazine is likely to confer
on me, am not conscious of it. How
ever, as true merit is always modest, il
may be 10 that virtue that owe nv ig-
nOrance, at all events, land [ am anx-
ious the world at large should know it, }
| have not sought fame, but fame has
sought me, as Alexander Smith the poet,
would say:
&c Fame! Fame next grandest word to God.''
In taking the retrospect of my early
days, can discover nothing worthy OF
record, unless it be the stealing of few
water-melons at school, for which l was
beaten with many stripes, or the riding
of a few quarter races, for which / re-
ceived an occasional and solitary ginger
cake; or adventures of similar import.
At II, | ran away from my venerable
old Guardian, the Rev. Hansford Dade
Duncan, Qong life to him, and vamosed
to the great far West, where flourished
for short time, and short time only,
and upon returning, l lost all my money
upon a game vulgarly called g poker, .
(of which, of course, you know nothing, J
upon one Of the boats Of the Alabama
river. This was about the time the Ben
Franklin bursted, and killed so many
and, had [ not been standing near the
stern of the vessel, you would never have
bad the opportunity of handing my
name, fac simile, character, and adven-
lures, down to an eager posterity in the
columns of your justly celebrated maga-
zine.
returned to my own, my native land,
fundless, and perhaps somewhat seedy
in appearance, and run for 1st Lieuten-
ant in distinguished militia company
but was unfortunately beaten by the loss
of one vote, by my worthy competitor.
In the year Of our Lord lS49, my il
lustrious friend Thomas d. Condy, gave
me the office of assistant deputy U. S
marshal for the district of Barnwell, and
while taking the census, killed one horse
and another ran away and broke my bug
gy; upon which occasion, l rode my hors,
bareback fourteen miles in forty minutes
of which fact Col. B. III. Brown is living
witness.
After had concluded this herculear
undertaking, man calling himself" c.
Frank Powell" wrote me from Washing.
ton that if would remit certain amour,
of money to him, he would prosecute my
claims for an increase of pay sufficient to
cover these immense disasters, But
grieve to say that from the time sem
the money, have not heard word from
the aforesaid and never-to- be-forgotten C.
Frank Powell, he probably having gone
to parts unknown. However, l still en-
tertain strong hopes of seeing his distin
guished name and fac-simile in your wide
ly circulated magazine.
Last year ran for tax collector in this
important township, and was beaten SC
badly by base combination, of which
was wholly unconscious until a few min
utes before the closing of the polls, tha
| have not since entirely recovered my
equanimity. As salvo, however, to
this disaster, and just at this crisis, my
distinguished but benighted friend, the
Hon. James Campbell, Postmaster Gene
raj, gave me the post-office at this place
the duties of which ! may without vanit,
say, 1 have discharged the complete ant
entire satisfaction of the whole commu
nifty.
Nv friends, anxious to secure for m,
the distinguished honor you have SO po
litely rendered, and as reward for my
various and arduous services, are nov
busily engaged in raising subscription
for the purpose Of defraying the expense,
attendant upon this momentous affair.
allude to the engraving Of my portrait
They have already appointed commit
tee to secure the services OF competen,
artist for the all-absorbing occasion, anG
As soon as the picture is completed,
will forward it to your address. ,.r-.-.
"a ~x,o <o oypracc tho howe fho