The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1875-07-13
A Remarkable Narrative.

sonal history has come to our KNOWLEDGE
mainly through the statements of LADY,,
now far advanced in years, who was for.
merly resident of Lockport, and the
vile oil a practicing physician of that
place. She is personally known to the
editor Of the Country Gentleman. and
reliance may be placed in all her state.
ments. The occurrences referred to began
about 1928 or 1924, when the great ex.
cavation for the Erie canal through the
solid rock for miles at Lockport was in
progress, under the supervision of David
Thomas as chief engineer, and of which
Darius Comstock, a widely.known citi.
zen, was one of the largest contractors
The physician to whom we have refer.
red returned one day from his visiting
round under good deal of excitement,
and exclaimed to his wife: al have
visited to-day, in poor Irishman's hut,
the most beautiful woman [ ever saw in
my life. She is very sck-hcr case must
be an extraordinary one-and YOU must
60 and see what you can do for her."
The wife consented to 90, and on entering
one oil the most poverty.stricken novels
she had ever seen-the floor of bare earth.
the door cut partly down through the log
sides, so that on entering it was necessary
to step over the logs that we're eft-she
found the sick woman lying on a bed OF
straw, supported on rough poles, which
constituted the bedstead She was youno
in years, and trouble had not obiterated
the surprising beauty nor the refined ex.
preston of her countenance. The Ian.
guage she used indicated high and ex.
cellent education, and she had evidently
been brought up in genteel society, not.
wlth'tanding the utter destitution of her
present surroundings, Her husband,
young man recently from Ireland, was q
day laborer, employed by Darius Com
stock and Otis Hathaway, his assistant in
excavating the bed Of the canal. The
sick woman was Of course averse to Civ.
ing any account Of their history to a
stranger, but after several visits the phy.
slclans vile secured her confidence, and
she related their remarkable history in
substance as follows;
She was the daughter of a gentleman
in Ireland, in high rank but little below
the nobility. Her father employed as
clerk and steward young man named
john, ofrare attainments and ability.
The gentleman's daughter and the young
steward formed a mutual attachment but
as he was below her in rank, notwiIhstand
ing his high character, the father would
not listen moment to anything Of the
kind, and seeing what was going on, dis.
missed him from his service But the
attachment was too strong to be qucnched
by mandate. When the young lady
and her lover found there was no other
resource, they concluded to get married
and "run away" With his scanty means
and what little property of her own she
could secure, they sailed for Quebec, in
Canada. The ship was wrecked in the
st. Lawrence, and they barely escaped
with their lives. All their effects and
money went to the bottom Of the wide
river Their condition was desolate
enough-wlhout means, without expert
ence, unaccustomed to hardship, and in
an unknown country among strangers.
He was compelled to labor by the day to
keep them from starving. lie became
utterly discouraged, and through the en-.
ticements Of had companions he resorted
to drinking. In this state they found
their way TO Lockport-a place where
many laborers were wanted at that time
for excayating the canal, and where he
could obtain employment. 1t was here
that his young wife, unaccustomed to such
accumulated hardships and privations, was
Frustrated on a sick bed, and in this con.
dition was found by the physician and his
wife, as already related.
1t was about the same time, or before,
that Com stock & Hathaway, the contrac-
tors who employed him, observed that
the young man had not been accustomed
to the severe labor which he had under.
taken, and that in handling the heavy
erowbar, and in wheeling the loaded bar
row, the blood oozed from his fingers. A
few days afterward when payday arrived,
he signed the receipt for his wages by the
'cross, or his mark" used by the Irish
laborers generally. In the course of
few weeks his employers (who were
members Of the Society of Friends,) OBJ.
serving that he possessed superior intel.
ligence, said to him in the common Ian.
guage used by the friends in that day -
John this is not thy right place-a man
like thee ought to know how to write
and know better than to make cross.
mark !"
John was stung by this reproof, his lat
ent ambition was aroused and stepping
forward, he took the pen and signed his
name in a rapid, practiced, and elegant
hand. His employers were astonished,
and said to him "John, this is not the
place for thee-stop drinking, and we
will take thee into our employ as clerk,
and at once double thy wages" These
were the first kind and helping words he
had heard in America-their life. giving
energy went through him like electricity,
and from that moment he never drank O
drop. lie proved himself fully worthy
their confidence, and became distinguished
for his efficiency. The morning OF pros.
perity began to dawn upon him. His
wife recovered her health. His progress
toward great success began. He subse.
quently went into the forwarding business
on the canal as partner to prominent
citizen Of western New York, who was
also leading member of Congress. The
writer Of this narrative well remembers
in years before railroads were generally
in use, and travelling on the canal was the
common mode of passenger transit, that
he could not pass day anywhere between
Schenectady and Buffalo, without meeting
one or more neatly built and well loaded
boats, with the golden letters on the side,
"John -'s Clinton Line" In short,
the young Irish clerk and steward-the