Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1869-05-05
GEORGE FRANCIS TRAIN.l

4
GEORGE FRANCIS TRAIN.l
Mr.. Train turned his country bro
gans towards Boston at the early age
of fourteen, and there entered the
cOunting-room of Enoch Train &Co.,
a respectable mercantile house, whose
principal business was with Great
Britain. He was a deep chested,
erect, good looking lad. and at this
time wore jaunty cap, blue jack
ct with brass buttons, q prOfusion of
curly locks, and the same air Of COM
placent self-sufficiency for which he
is now distinguished. 1t was at first
his duty to go of errands, and keep
the cOunting-roOm in order, but he
attended so well to these avocations
that he was soon promoted to the
more responsible position of shipping
clerk and it was while acting in
this capacity that he first conceived
his lifelong hostility 20 England and
Englishmen. "Our English bills of
lading are curiosity" he is report
ed to have said: "the blasted fools
don't even know how to spell. in
tend to save up my pocket money
and send them an invoice of Web
ster's Primary" He disliked Eng
lishmen, but at this time he hated
Irishmen with perfect hatred.
Some few exiles of Erin occasionally
landed in Boston from Train & Co. Is
packet ships, and woe betide them if
| they fell into the hands of George
Francis. 'They are covering the
country with their brogans and their
biggins," he was wont to say sin
ten years we shall have the Pope and
the Dark Ages"
At about the age of fifteen the
brass buttons and blue jacket-now
| elongated by a short pair of flaps
| We're admitted To membership in the
"Mercantile-L Library Associations" A /" a
Boston motion" which has done
| more to educate its young men Of
business than all its schools, insti-
| tutes and institutions, From it have
graduated such men as EpesSargent,
+. +. Whipple, Edmund kirke,
James IT. Fields and Daniel n. Has
| kell, the half blind editor of the
| Transcript, who, without the use OF
| his eyes, manages to make the most
readable toa-tahle journal in exis-
| tence.
Connected with the assOcia ton
was debating club, and of thisTrain
soon became a prominent mem ber.
He was here in his element, and it
was ''as good as play" to see him at
one of its meeting spring to his feet,
throw back the lappels of his coat,
run his fingers nervously through
out gloves" into come luck less an
tagonist who had dared to say a
kindly word for "Woman's Rights, )"
the negro or poor, down-trodden Ire
land. 1t was hard to keep him with
in the rules he a0Outd speak, in sea-
son and out of season, and on any
| and all occasions, and, cOnsequent-
| ly, soon came to be accounted some
| thing of "a bore but his unfailing
| good nature made him n general fav-
| Orite and in this crowd of boisterOus
boys there was seldom any attempt
| to check his most eXtravagant eX-
hibitions of spread-eagleism.
But young Train not only talked
he studied. While others of his age
| were idling their leisure away at the
| theatre or drinking saloon, he was
listening to solid lectures, or pOring
| over dry textbooks, repairing the
deficiencies of his early education /;
and it was soon discovered at the
club that he was better read in the
| English clasaics and general litera-
ture than any of the members, eX-
cept it may be, Whipple and Has
kell, who We're looked upon as walk
| ing encyclopedias.
But, with all his fOndness frr de-
| bate and love of study, young Train
never neglected his duties at tie
tcounting-house. During business
hours he thought of nothing bat bus
iness and this devotion to the inter
est of his employer, who, by the
way, though of the same name, was
in no way related to George Francis,
secured him, at the early age of
| twenty, the responsible position of
agent of the firm at Liverpool. A
somewhat amusingincident occurred
| on the eve of his departure for his
new station. Train, who was fond
of the dramatic, kept carefully secret
his proposed emigration, intending
| TO flash it upon his associates at the
club on the evening pending the
| day of the steamers sailing. But
| the important secret had somehow
leaked out, and Trains fire was
drawn in a ludicrous manner. The
club had assembled at the usual
! hour, but business had not been en-
| tered upon, because the gas, owing
| to some defect in the pipes, or to the
parsimony of the janitor, shed only a
dim, religious lightaver the spacious
apartment. "Ilve us more light ?'
.''Turn on the illumination ~ soon
echoed from all parts of the room.
"Don't you do it, /" shouted a stento-
rian member, 'economize the gas !;
the article Is going up" ''Going ap;
why q" 1.-The supply Is to be cut
short George Francis leaves by the
steamer Tomorrow" Train bounded
to his feet, and, before the gas was
turned on, amid yells and screams of
laughter, annihiiated the friend Of
darkness.--[ packard's Monthly, for
May.