The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1882-07-05
Qhildrem's Column.
The Boyhood of VIM. Chambers.

Inc BOyhoOd OF WIN. CnaInpeI
Boys and girls who can buy Harper's
Young People every week for four cents,
and other periodicals and books almost
as cheap, can have very little notion of
the difficulty that little folk had seventy
or eighty years ago in getting something
to read. 1t was only fifty years ago,
indeed, that the first efforts were made
to supply cheap, instructive, and enter
tanning literature, and one of the men
who made those efforts is still living in
Scotland. Mr.. William Chambers, who
is now eighty-two years of age has lately
published little account of his life, and
what he has to tell of his boyhood and
youth is very interesting.
His father was unfortunate in business !;
and became so poor that young Cham
bers had to begin making his own way
very early in life. He had little school
only six pounds (thirty dollars)
worth in all, he tells us-and as there
were no juvenile books or periodicals In
those days, and no books of any other
kind, except costly ones, it was hard for
him to do much in the way OF educating
himself. But William Chambers meant
to learn all that he could, and that de-
termination counted for good deal.
There was small circulating library in
his native town, and he began by read
ing each volume straight through, with
out skipping one. Then he got hold of
copy of the Encyclopedia Britannica,
which most boys would regard as very
dry reading. He read it carefully. When
that was done, young Chambers was real
ly pretty we'll educated, although he did
not know it.
About this time the boy had to go to
work for his living. He became an APP
prentice to a bookseller in Edinburgh.
His wages were four shillings (about a
dollar) week, and on that small sum he
had to support himself paying for food,
lodging, clothes, and every thing else,
for FIVE years at was hard but some
what droll scrimmage with semi-starva-
tion," he says; for after paying for his
lodgings and clothes, he had only about
seven cents day with which to buy his
food
In the summer he jumped out of bed
at five o'clock every morning, and spent
the time before the hour for beginning
business in reading and making electri-
cal experiments. He studied French in
that way too, aud read in French what
the minister read in English.
Winter came on, and the poor lad was
puzzled. 1t was not only cold, but en-
tirely dark at five o'clock in the morning
during the winter months, and William,
who had only seven cents a day to buy
food with, could not afford either fire
or candle to read by. There was no
other time of day, however, that he could
call his own, and so it seemed that he
must give up his reading altogether,
which was great grief to the ambitious
lad.
Just then a piece of good luck befell
him. He happened to know what is
called sandwich man that is to say,
man who walks about with signs hang
ing behind and before him. One day
this man made him proposition. The
sandwich man knew baker who, with
his two sons, carried on a small business
in a cellar. The baker was fond of read
ing, but had no time for it, and as he and
his sons had to bake their bread early in
the morning, he proposed, through the
sandwich man to employ William Cham
bers as reader His plan was that Cham
bers should go to the cellar bakery every
morning at FIVE o'clock, and read to the
bakers, and for this service he promised
to give the boy one hot roll each morn
ing. Here was double good fortune.
1t enabled Chambers to go on with his
reading by the bakers light and fire, and
it secured for him sufficient breakfast
without cost.
He accepted the proposition at once,
and for two and half hours every morn
ing he sat on -four sack in the cellar,
and read to the bakers by the light Of a
penny candle stuck in bottle.
Out of his small wages it was impos-
sible for the boy to save anything and
SO when the FIVE years of his apprentice
ship ended, he had only five shillings in
the world. Yet he determined to begin
business at once on his own account.
Getting credit for ten pounds's worth of
books, ne opened little stall, and thus
began what has since grown to be great
publishing business.
He had a good deal of unoccupied time
at his stall, and ain order to pick up a
few .shillings," as he says, he began to
write out neat copies of poems for albums.
Finding sale for these, he determined to
enlarge that part of his business by print
incf tho r,nerne For that rurnoee be