The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-08-09
never was rude to girls. unlike most

said he was just like his grandfather.
| Mr.. Mudgett has always foeen prom
| nent member OF the Congregations
| church and the son was brought up &c
| attend the services and Sa bbat6 schoo
| Here he seems to have also been q
| model boy, for he attended strictly to
| the scriptural lesson.
| When ten years old Herman helped
his father about the postofhce ana aiso
| assisted him in painting. Finally ne
| grew very weary of working without
| any stipendiary emolumenf and what
| ever he did ne wanted to he paid for.
| So.he began working for farmers dur.
| ing the haying season, saving WOOD
| for the minister and doing chores
| around the village stores, always 1ol
| pay.
Ira, Pennock. the village cobbler,
worked in the bayfield, with Herman,
and in the course of "reminiscences ne
| said:
| Herman was a hard worker, but still
| there were some things ssbout him I!
didn't like. He went TO chnrch ana all
| that. but Still-now, / don't want TO say
| ANYTHING against any one, but let me
/ tell you.
II was working in the bayfield, with
| Herman and put my milestone IN my
| vest pocket and hung the vest up IN the
shed We We're alone that day moving
| grass for the same man, and L had 43
cents in my vest pocket tnat morning
when / hung it up. When went to get
| il the money was gone. Herman was
| too fond of money.
| 81 was treasurer of the Congregation
al church, and Herman wan.ted the JOB
| of saving wood for the minister. He
sawed that wood, and / paid him $2.25
! for it and then he sent his father around
with the bill for the work afterward.
I would not pay il and told him so.
81 have been cobbling here for agood
many ears but l remember Herman
bringing me in a pair to fix one day,
and when they were done he said he
would send me the money.
well, ne told me that he had mailed
me the money TO pay for the work, but
1 never got it. I asked him why he
could not give it to me, but hei said he
would rather mail 1T.
Mrs. Betsy Hoadley, whose daughter
| married HermanS younger brother, is
an old resident of Gilmanton Corner,
and she recalled that in his boyhood
Herman was so different from other
boys.
"Ffe seemed to be always by himself
said She land ] know that instead Of
playing with the other boys he would
wander off alone on long walks. He
never was much of a faVori;te among
the other boys. and they did not under
stand him. He seemed to befa very Sc
I L
gether he was a good deal OF an eng
ma.
HE was too arrogant and domineer-
ing to be popular with children Grown
people liked him because he was so po-
lite, but they could not by any means
fathOm him"
Herman according to the >town Cos
sip, developed early a disposition as a
country Lothario. and Mr.. Hatch of the
Iron works village chuckled as he re-
marked that from what Miss Bean
said, and she seemed TO knows about it,
the boys did not like Herman because
he could do four times as much sparkin'
| in the village as any of them.
AT any rate. when he was IA years
old, Herman had made up his mind that
he was going to get married.
His grandfather, Moses Price, had left
Mrs Mudgett some property, two lots
Of land in the village, mere hay fields,
but Herman was to be given one and
his brother the other.
This eTninence as a prospective prop
erty holder made him more than ever
determined to get married. At that
time a young girl, with a home in New
York city, had been sent by her par
ents to board at Ira Pennock's for the
invigorating influences of country
life.
She was pretty and charming girl
and as soon as she arrived Herman be-
came violently in love with her AL
though a boy of IA, he prosecuted a
suit as vigorously and as arJiently for
her hand as would have been expected
of a man who had attained his ma
tority.
he called on her evenings. went on
long walks. and the two strolled along
the dark roads. sat on the stone walls,
and did their lOvemaking in a very ma
ture manner On Sunday Herman would
take her out to drive.
Then he proposed marriage to her:
and she, with the romantic ideas of
Sirlhood, rather favored him.
Finally after the entire village had
been wrapped in wonder at the precoci-
ty Of the boy Mr.. Pennock decided that
he had better break it up.
Herman Stoutly rested this interfer-
fence with his love affairs, as he had
made I'D his mind to marry the girl,
and that right off.
Mr.. Pennock was afraid he would
carry out his determination So fearful
was he that he sent the young girl
home post haste. and then had to see
that she was well on her way for Bos-
ton. for fear that Herman might follow
her and induce her to elope with him.
That was really the first real sensa-
ton that the mild-mannered Herman
created in Gilmanton.
the Gilmanton academy, and after he
left school he seemed 10 deteriorate
for from the brightest pupil in the
school he descended into a ne'er-do-
well.
He did not go into bushes but STAYED
around home. helping his father in the
postftiice. During that period there
are still stories afoat in Gilmanton of
| letters miscarried, and in some cases
mail matter sent to adjoining towns
never arrived.
| Herman was loafing around the viii
/ lage doing odd jobs for farmers, with
| his head getting fun of schemes for
/ making money, for ne still told of an
! ambition to be rich and of his realiz-
| ing il some day.
He had been imbibing Republican doc
! trine on the wool question. and decided
| that there was money in wool He got
| some since. pastured them on a farm of
| his brothers at Danbury. sold the
sheep and forgot to pay his brother his
! share of the profits.
Then he went to London. some six
miles from Gilm2nton and engaged
| himself as hired man TO farmer NAM
| ed Whittemore.
| He put in the summer there. and dur
/ ing the time he became acquainted with
| Miss Clara \. Lowering. the daughter
| OF weli-to-Go farmer neighbor.
| All Of her relatives thoroughly believe
now that Herman always loved Clara.
| and has since cared for no one else.
| and il appears 10 have been a case of
! mutual affection.
! They started of one evening in July.
| 1873. and drove to Alton. an adjoining
town. where they were married by a
| justice, John W. Currier Each was
| then but l..
| Returning Clara went TO her fathers
| home aud Herman still worked for
| NnitreraOrz Several rONDfhS alooSaI