St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-07-08
GRAPHIC STORY,
Of the Life and Character of Grover
Cleveland.

| j
two-story and a half white house with wooden
shutters, and there in the year 1887, was
born Stephen Grover Cleveland, now govern
or of the great state of New York. He has
only the most shadowy recollections of it, for
when he was three years of age, his father,
who was Presbyterian minister, with large
family and a small salary, moved by way OF
the Hudson river and the Erie canal to Fay
etteville, in search of an increased income
and larger field of work. Fayetteville was
then the most struggling ct country villages
about five miles from Pompey Hill where
Gov Seymour was born. Here the boy
Grover Cleveland first went to school in the
good old-fashioned way and presumably dis
tinguished himself after the manner of all
village boys in doing all the things that, he
ought not do. One thing appears to be in
disputable. He at the age of fourteen had
outgrown the capacity of the village school
and expressed most emphatic desire to be
sent to an academy. To this his father as
emphatically objected. Academies in those
days cost money. Besides, the elder Cleve-
land wanted the lad to become self-support-
| ing by the quickest possible road. The quick
est possible road in Fayetteville was the
country store, where the pastor with large
family had considerable personal influence.
Fifty dollars was to be paid the boy the first
year, and if he proved trustworthy he was to
receive 800 the second year.
INA COUNTRY STORE.
One can easily enough picture the employ
ment if one knows what thriving country
store is, its duties ranging with scarcely time
for Intern ediate soap and water, from dealing
out mackerel and molasses to cutting Off cot
ton print enough for the village BELLS new
dress. There is a tradition comes from Fay
etteville not at all ill-defned, that young
Cleveland in two years proved himself so
trustworthy that his employers used all their
eloquence to get him to stay on Indefinitely.
| The exact significance at this time of the Fay
ettevile record may be judged when the writ
| er after taking some trouble to unearth it
finds it to be record of simple, answering
| integrity and untiring loyalty to the interests
of the boys employers The most painstak-
ing search among two generations falls to
discover any flashes of genius in that country
! store or any memorials of eccentric talent in
that country village. But there is unimpeach-
able testimony that whatever the boys hand
was given to do he did with all his heart and
that he left behind him the reputation for
bravery, fidelity and candor that has outlived
all these years. It's curious how some SIM
pie traits defy time In truth the seem to
thrive and grow with it,
The removal of the elder Cleveland to
Clinton gave Grover the long-wished-for OPP
portunity to attend high schooi and he
pursued his studies industriously until the
family moved up on the Black River to what
was then known as the Holland Patant-a
village of five or six hundred people-ffteen
miles north of Utica. The elder Cleveland
preached but three SUNDAYS in this place,
when he suddenly died Grover first heard
of his fathers death while walking
with his sister in the streets of Utica.
This event produced the usual. breakup Of
the family, and We next hear of Grover
Cleveland setting out for New York City to
accept at small salary the position of under
teacher in an asylum for the blind, where at
| the time the since well-known Gus. Schell
was executive officer
/ BREAKS AWAY FROM TUTORsHIP.
He stayed here two years, and it has been
found possible to discover the same indelible
record OF hard work. faithfully performed and
well remembered by those who were cogni-
zant of it, and who are still alive. From
tending country store to teaching the blind
| is a long way on the road of self-discipline.
But to teach he did not believe was his mis-
sion, and consequently at the expiration of
| two years he abandoned it and literally start
ed out to seek his fortune-only reversing
the usual order. and instead of coming
to the great city, he left it. His first idea was
| to go to Cleveland. As he has since said, the
name seemed good omen. But his uncle,
| Lewis T. Allan, noted stock breeder, lived
at Buffalo, and he went straight to him for
advice and guidance.
WANTS TO BE A LAWYER.
The uncle did not speak enthusiastically.
''What is it you want to do, my boy!n he
asked.
''Well, sir, want to study law"
''Good gracious remarked the old gen
tleman 'sDo you indeed What ever put
that into your head? How much money
have you gots"
To tell the truth he hadn't got any.
''See here,' said the uncle, after long
consultation 81 want somebody to get UP
my herd book this year. You come and
stay with me aud help me and III give you
$50 for the years work and you can look
round.n
Here it is that we find the American boy
now annotating short horns out at Black
Rock, quite two miles from Buffalo. But he
kept his eye out for chance to enter law
office while he was editing the stock book,
and one day he walked boldly into the rooms
of Messrs. Rogers, Bowen s. Rogers, and
told them what he wanted. There were
number of young men in the place already.
| But young Cieveland's persistency won, and
he was finally permitted to come as an Office
| boy and have the use of the law library. For
| this he received the nominal sum of SO or 81
a week, out of which he had to pay his board
and washing. The walk to and from his un-
cles was q long and that time rugged one.
The first winter was a memorably severe
| one, and his shoes were broken, and he Ind
! no oyerccat. But he never intermitted
day. 1t began to be noticed that he was the
most punctual and regular of the lads in the
office. Often at night he was compelled to
stand by the warm chimney in the loft where
he slept and dry his feet after tramping the
two miles through the snow. His senior
! employer had taken copy of Blackstone on
! the first day of the boys Office experience
and. planting it before him with bang that
made the dust fly, said; THAT'S where they
all Begin There was a litter ran
| round the little circle of clerks for
| it was forboding thing to begin with to
the average lad. 1t appears, however, that
he stuck to the Blackstone SO well that he
mastered it, and so absorbed was he in it one
night that they locked him in and all went
off. He spent that night with the book and
never forgot it.
THE DISCIPLINE OF HARDSHIP.
This eventful period of Grover Cleveland's
life, so devoid of adventure and barren of
romance, was the period at which all the foreesi
of MS latter life were gestating. The priva-
tons and miseries of penniless novitiate
gave away slowly before his determined ASST
duty and pluck He tells in his own way
with a beaming reminiscent humor of the