Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-12-13
ROMANTIC CAREER OF A MILLION.
ARE NEW YORKER.
How He Achieved Fame and Fortune
How He Won Beautiful Boston
BeHe-The Memory of His First
Sweetheart
New York Morning Journal.

On bright, frosty morning late in
the fall of 1858 a stout German youth
hastily made his exit from the little
university of Munich, Bavaria. He
wore the conventional tight fitting
suit Of the German student. A cloth
carpet-bag contained his wealth with
the exception of a few forms in his
pocket and a stout walking-stick IN
his hand. Heinrich Hilgard was a
bright youth, an apt scholar, had
passed through the elementary school
| of Zweibrucken, the town of his ma
tivity, and the several classes of Latin
school and finally had spent a year at
a French school at PfaizbOurg in Lor-
raine. He terminated his pursuit of
knowledge by taking French leave"
of the University at Munich School
life had grown monotonous. He had
entered upon it at SIX years of age
and twelve years later had concluded
to seek his fortune. The youth
tramped to the home of his father,
who then occupied judicial bench in
the town of Zweibrucken. With a
fair show of meekness the son listen
ed to the anticipate censure and then
cOolly proposed that his father should
settle upon him a small fortune with
which he desire to speculate in Ameri-
can cities. The result of this interview
was that few days later Heinrich
Hilgard left the parental roof with
sufficient funds to carry him across
the ocean to a settlement in a remote
corner in Illinois where an uncle had
proceeded him year before and was
engaged IN farming.
Heinrich, it is said, had left behind
a beautiful French maiden, whose ac-
quaintance he had made while attend
ing college at Lorraine, and his step
on entering upon the world had been
induced by an ambition to become
worthy Of her hand
On November 3, 1853, the intrepid
young man landed in Castle Garden.
/ The grandeur of the metropolis dazed
! him. Instead of going at once to IL
linOis he decided to try his fortune
here. A year of misfortunes and i'll
luck, however, served to alter his
mind considerably. With a sinking
heart he sought his relatives in the
! GOWHSulp vi o6IIoFuIe, OI. OIdlf
County, Illinois, and there remained
as farm assistant for several years
During the long winter evenings
Henry, as he had now become known,
amused himself by corresponding for
German papers at his old home At
last he secured little money for his
articles in a German paper in St.
Louis. This was the turning point in
the career of the ambitious youth.
He soon increased his knowledge of
the English language by diligent
study, and soon after settled in st.
Louis, where he obtained employ
ment. Then he interested himself in
the progress of the rapidly increasing
Western cities and wrote glowing &C
counts to the New York Tribune and
Herald. In 1858 he was engaged to
report the political campaign between
Lincoln and Douglass, for the New
York press. He rapidly rose in jour
nalistic circles, and then for the first
time the name of Henry Willard
nom-de-plume, became known to the
people of this city. Under this name
he won many laurels. When war was