Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1895-09-26

floor under my feet, Tor ~ years L lived
and moved and had my being. We lived
in South Brooklyn, near to old No. 13,
the Degraw street public school To that
1 was sent, and there got all the educa-
ton | was over fated to have at any
school except the school of life and ex
perience.
| attended for some years, and even
now [ cannot recall without a smile the
absurd incompetency of every one CON
nected with the institution and their
utter ignorance of the art of imparting
knowledge TO children.
At home l had picked up that grand
art of reading and went to school to
learn the other two Rs, with any trifle
that might come across floating around
promiscuously. l certainly hope our
much Landed public schools are conduct
ed on better lines now than then; if not
they are frauds from the foundation.
1t was all very pitifuL Ny blood boils
even now when l think of the traitors
chosen and paid to see me fully equipped
and armed to begin the battle of life
who left me with phantom weapons
which would shiver into fragments at
the first shock of conflict.
l left Junior A of old No. l3, with
its algebra, logic, philosophy (heaven
save the word y and advanced grammar,
unable towrite grammatical sentence.
Indeed l took it for granted that in the
good old days Adam had invented the
word such as he named the animals,
and, of course, supposed that he spoke
good English. The knowledge of his
tory gained at No. 13 was strictly linn
tied and exceedingly primitive. l knew
the Jews in the old days were bad
lot; that Brutus had slain Caesar;
that the Mayfower had landed our
fathers ON Plymouth Rock; that wick
ed George III was tyrant, and that
the boys in Boston had thrown tea
kettle at his head l knew all about our
George and the cherry tree, and there
my historical knowledge ended.
So here / was launched out in the
world a model scholar-stamped as pro-
ficient in grammar, history, logic, phi
losophy and arithmetic, but yet in use
full knowledge Il barbarian, unable to
spell or even write grammatical letter
and unversed in the ways of the world
"a world, too, where | would be cast
entirely upon my own resources.
My home life was happy. My father
had lost his grip on the world, but his
faith in the Unseen remained. My
mother, caring little for this life, lived
in and for the spiritual To her heaven
was a place as much as the country vii
lage where she was born. She was new
er tired of talking to us children about
its golden streets and the rest there after
the tolls and pains of life. But, boy
like, we discounted all she said and felt
we wanted some Of this world before we
knocked at the gates of the next.
Every night of my life in those days
she would come to my bed to pray over
me, ever saying as Ss..1- -lsaeod me or
clasped my hand, my son, remenrv-f
if YOU were to pass your whole life here
in poverty and hardship it would not
much matter so long as you attain to
the heavenly rest. " This teaching would
have been well had she only taught me
some worldly wisdom with 1t, but that
all essential knowledge was kept from
me, / being left to learn the ways OF
man in that terrible school of expert
ence, the consequence being that when
after some months l was launched out
in life | was ripe and apt victim to be
caught in the worlds huge snare. Ia
fact, had my parents designed me to
become a traveller in the Primrose Way
they could not have educated me to
better purpose.
Save when in the school had never
been permitted to associate with other
boys, but was kept in the house, and up
to my sixteenth year hardly dreamed
there was evil in the world / was told
much about the wicked, " but thought
that meant those who smoked tobacco
or drank whisky l hardly thought any
ers did brokerage business and specu-
lated as well on their own account.
NV duties eere decidedly light and
pleasant and brought me into contact
with some Of the sharpest as well as
the most famous men in the street.
Among them was brilliant young man
of my own age, who took great fancy
to me and frequently proposed that we
should start for ourselves. Being doubt
full of my powers, | shrank from rlsklng
my scanty funds in any speculative ven
ture Much to my mothers concern l
had begun attending the theater, and
one night on my friend Weeds invita-
tion l went with him to Nlblo's. After
the performance we went to supper at
Delmonico's, and was perfectly fas-
cinated by the company and surround
ings, going home long past midnight a
different man than had last left it.
The next day Ed came to the Office and
invited me TO lunch. where, after max
ing some disparaging remarks about the
country cut Of my garments, he offered
to introduce me to his tailor, who was
never in a hurry for his money. After
business that day we walked up town
together, and, prompted by Ed, l order
ed $3.50 worth of garments, then went
TO his outfitter and ordered nearly an
equal amount i'll shirts, ties, gloves, etc.
One amusing result was that when, a
few days later, | walked down to our
Office, CONNIE il faut in garb, my en-
ployers raised my salary to $50 week,
but this left me poorer than when had
husbanded my poor little SO. Soon
after, piloted by Ed, ventured $50 on
"A margin in gold. Unluckly won, in
vested again and again, arSa within II
DAYS was $2S4 ahead paid my tailor
and outftter's bill, bought II 500
watch on credit and gave Wine supper
on borrowed money. Soon after tn |
went to board at the Old St Nicholas,
the then fashionable hotel From that
time | began to drift more and more
away from home influences.
Soon after the wine supper episode |
threw up my position, and Ed and !
started ON our own account under the
name Of T.. Weed 81 Co. My partner S
parents were wealthy, and his father
had been well known in the street,
which fact gave us standing.
Tho years ] speak Of We're fortunate
ones for Wall street, stocks Of every
kind on the boom, the general we alth
Of the country massing up by leaps and
bounds, and every kind Of speculative
enterprise being launched. Our firm
history was the usual one Of broker
firms in that tumultuous sarena-the Wall
street Of those days-commissions in
plenty, greenbacks in plenty, but one S
bank account never growing, for what
was made by day in the wild excitement
Of shifting values was thrown away
amid wilder scenes at night. Those,
too, were indeed the flush times for
the professional gambler, for men were
not content uuless they burned tho can