Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1868-03-26
FRO BE CONTINUED. !
From the Cincinnati Gazette.
u N w A E,t; PAP T. X :, .
BY GEN. JAMES s. BRIsBIN.

Tie name of benjamin Il. Wade, of Ohio,
has been familiar one 10 the people of this
country for more than thirty years, hut at
no time has il attracted so much attention as
ut the present moment The fact that MIR
Wade-if Mr.. johnson is convicted Of high
crimes and misdemeanors-will succeed to
the Presidential chair under circumstances
such as never before happened in the history
oil the country, is OF itself sufficient to make
the people desire to learn all they can OF the
new President.
b. Il. Wade was born at Feeding Hills
Parish, West Springfield, Massachusetts, on
the 9th day OF October, 1900, and is there
fore 10 the siXty-eiyhth year Of his age. His
father, james Wade, was soldier in the
War OF the Revolution, and fought at Con-
cord, nnd Lexington, and Bunker llill. He
was made prisoner in one of the battles, and
confined ut Halifax for II long time. His
mother was the daughter of u Presbyterian
Clergyman, and a woman of great force of
character and strength of mind. The ven
cradle Senator often speaks Of his mother,
dead long, long ago, and his eye will bright
en-, and his voice grow soft with emotion
yet, when he tells of shat good New Eng
land mother" His mother taught him to
spell and read, and having kept the small
library of her father, Benjamin read the
dozen books in it through several times.
While his father was in the war fighting
for the independence of his country, tho
good mother was at home taking care of the
children. The family, to use Mr.. Wade's
own werls ''was one of the poorest in New
England" and the mother could barely find
enouuh food and clothing for her children.
There were ten children, Of whom Benjamin
was the youngest and ueiest When Ben
tjamins father returned from the war, he
was broken in health and spirits, and seem
ed to have lost all of his former energy and
sprightliness Ben early sought TO relieve
his parents of the burden of keeping him,
and lived out amoung the farmers, dong all
kinds of work inr his boarding and clothes.
| When almost u young man, he worked hard
many day for twenty-five and fifty cents.
| In winter, he tended the farmers horses and
cattle for his hoard, and went to school, of
ten walking several miles daily, through the
deep snow. He was in the habit of borrow
ing books and reading them through at
night, and early manifested Il great desire TO
study, ESPECIALLY history and the biographies
of men We will here relate an anecdote OF
| MIR. Wade, which will serve to show what
kind of u boy he was, and point n moral for
our American youth. He had borrowed u
history of a farmer, and one evening left il
lay on the window bottom, and the sash be-
ing up, the wind blew the rain in during
the night and ruined the book. Much NOR
tilted, young benjamin next morning went
to the farmer ard told him what had happen
cd, and said that, although he was too pool
to pay for the book, he was willing to work
it ont. n bargain was made, and when the
season opened up, Bejamin worked sever
days for the farmer to pay for the book
Mr.. Wade says the most difficult thing IL
solve, he ever met with, was algebra. liz
was working on farm when he commenc
ed studying it he had no one to show him
and he read it over fifty times without un
dersianding it. Often, when following th,
. plow, he thought for hours over the myster
ious signs and letters in the book, until the,
seemed as large as the palm This hand.
: lie had looked at them so often they wer