New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-02-13
NEW PUBLICATIONS.


- ,ho rrasent generation of his countrymen than
-, ne a,rected from its remarkable character the
o,rn0e row issued, which contains modest su'oor
.nhv ~ the author, well rs ooliecnon OF ms o
.suaneous writings, will serve TO CRAFTY the eurio
a tho reader while 1t presents an attractive recoro VI
a. rnr..t love Of learning combined with an imam
nn,ons devotion TO the pursuits OF " homely TOLL
r,,h p,rrtt WAS born in New Britain, Conn, on the
.,shth OF December 1870 His father was one OF Tue sua
,rmers Of the rural hamlet driving the hoe ana sicke
m summet, and plying the shoe hammer s"u "I ~ .l
winter and rainy dsys Emu was o'iu ,". .
~ OF ,utrades and at the OF hfty eoud ooset
.hat no man America had handled more .oo's Ia uan
,l labor than himself After the death OF DIS III
,.1s he apprentieed himself TO blacksmith III new
Hr,,a,n. and followed that occupation Tor several
vears Al the age OF twentyone' ne resoNeu W
..spe nm for the deficiencies Of his early school
,.s NV attending q boarding school which had been
ssahlshed by his brother In his native Va@e' Every
Sav tina, he was absent from the anvil cost MN uoar
a, o., of wages he had every motive to improve
NJ, time and make progress in his studies HIS chief
xu,su,l was mathematics, for which he had decided
s.ste a. he wished 70 qualify himself for practical
surveyor Before leaving the anvil he mad been IN the
habit OF practciDg problems OF mental arithmetic
which he solved while blowing the bellows. These prob
ms were rather quaint IN their terms but quite effect
I've as An exercise was How many barley at
sbree 10 will round the earth at the equator
AN these figures he would carry in his head while heat
sns and hammerng an iron. From this he went on TO
moro dhenlt problems. For example, How many yards
Of cloth three feet in width. cut into strips an iuch
VIDE and allowing half inch at each end for the lap
wouu require TO reach from the center of the sun TO
che center OF the EARTH and how much would II all cost
~ shilling yardi In working out this problem. be
would allow himself 10 make single figure IN chalk
charcoal. He would carry home all the multIrllea-
Aope his head TO his brother who verified them on
she slate. and found the final result 10 be cor
rect After spending three months at school, and
of Iafin and
90 mathematics, be returned TO the blacksmith's
chop performing double labor for Six months, In order
make for the time lost in study. Daring IRIS pc
Yiod that he could pursue the study OF lan-
Fusgcs conveniently than that Of mathematics. as
could small Greek grammar in his hat while
81 WORK, aud the verbs. Meantime, lie gave
Aie evening, noon, and morning hours 10 Latin and
french and began conceive bvely interest IN the
study Of language At length he resoiy ed to devote
another three months siege their acquisition, and for
purpose went TO NewHaven, thinking 1t would he
an advantage study in the atmosphere of Yale Col
hge. The young man naturally shy, and felt half
ashamed 70 ask instruction in the rudments of Greek
and Hebrew at age Of twenty-five, He accordingly
made ND mind his way alone. without the
aid Of tutor professor The first morning in New
Haven he sst down 10 Homers 1lad, without note or
scnueDt, AID with Greek lexicon with Latin oedni-
Sens Thu. far, he had not read line in the book and
ne resoly ei he could make out two by hard study in
81 the day he would never ask help Of any
mastering the Greek language. But by the mid
the afternoon he had glorious victory, which
greatly stimulated HE pride, and impelled him to
future achievements. He mastered the first fifteen
,fpes Of the book aud committed the original to memory
Then walking out among the classic trees OF the Elm
CITY he looked up at the colleges, which once had half
sved him. with feeling Of defiance He now divided
che bonrs OF each day between Greek and other Tau
suages including Latin, French. Spanish Italian. Ger
MAI Hebrew, giving Homer about half the time.
Having spent Winter IN these studies he returned 10
New Britain with increased relish for such pursuits
and desire them practical account. He sue.
seeded so far as TO obt,iD the preceptOrshp Of an
academy 10 neighborDg town, in which he taught for
year. The change from manual labor 10 q sedenary
hfe seriously affected sN health that he obliged
70 give up teaching, and accepted the occupation OF
commercial traveller which he followed for a consider
sIe time Returning to mis- native place, he set
and provision store but this broke down in the
great financial crash 1871 With the loss OF his little
property, he resolved 10 take fresh lie accord
tDsy set Of foot and walled all the way TO Boston,
hoping 20 find employment at his old occupation and
greater facilities for pursuing his studies Not meeting
with success in Boston he turned his steps toward Wor
eester, where he able TO make ngements very
nuch to his mind He at once obtained employment Mt
sbe anvil and free the valuable library OF
Antiquarian socety. He divided the day between
sabor and study noting in journal his occupations In
each. When work at his trade became slack when he
gained time by labor at pecewOrk, he would de-
sote hours to the study of languages. Ia the
pbTsry be found all the Icelsndic relating the
discovery OF Iorth America, which he translated. lie
else made English version OF the epstes written by
she samaritans of Esbous the scholars of Oxford
Among other books winch he got hold q were Celtic
Breton Dictionary and Grammar which called toItAs
lively without knowing where 10 look in the
dictionary for the words he needed, he undertook TO
a letter in that unique language the Royal Anti
xuarap Society of France thanking them for the means
of becoming acquainted with the original tongue of
Brittany In tie course OF few months large volume
sesriDg the seal Of TIE Society delivered to him
While standing at the anvil with sledgehamme IN
hand containing his letter In Ceo Breton, with an IN
PRODUCTION by n, Auden dc Ker1rLJ tee'IF.os 70 us
sYIpebsS Of composition. @
Mr. Durritt had now become more or less acquainted
vtssy r. iseg9@sss VI europe and SEVERAL Of Asia,
InelrdidS HerfsS. syriae, Chaldaic Samaritan, and
hioplo he felt DESTROYS of turning these stnes
60 come practical account He accordingly addressed
Set.er 70 Mr. william Lincoln, prominent member OF
abe ANTIQUARIAN Society referring his tastes and pur-
suits and expressing wish to procure employment ID
tTsDslatiDg from German. Much 10 ms astonshnent
few days afterwards, he saw his letter 70 MT Lincoln
published in full in Boston newspaper Mr. Lincoln had
s4ntit 10 MI Edward Everett az that time Governor OF
VINO had read IL in the course OF speech
before the Mechanics Institute. The inodesy Of The
author received severe shock from this unexpected
occurrence His FIRST idea was 10 change his and
.bsoond 10 some remote the country in order TO
avoid this sudden uooTety But after few days, he
found the publicity less painful than he had anticipated
He received many kind expressions OF interest from
various quarters Governor Everett invited HIM TO his
house in Boston and offered him. The part OF several
eminent citizens, all the privileges OF Harvard Cniyer-
atty. He declined the offer, however, preerrog on &C
Of his health ana other reasons TO continue MS
studies connection with manual labor.
From the time Mr. Burrtt brought more con