The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-04-24

youth was as meek as Uriah Heep or
Moses"
How did you get into the Naval
Academy"
Walking three miles to school one
morning from our home in the country
20 the village Of Lancaster, I was hailed
by the Congregational minister. 1 wasn't
acquainted with him, because my parents
attended another church. His stepsOn
had gone 10 Annapolis and failed al the
examination. Senator Henry W. Blair,
therefore. had asked him 70 suggest some
one else. The principal of the Lancaster
Academy had mentioned me- SO far as
knew, there had never been a sailor in
the Weeks family. I had not thought of
the navy as a profession. I hoped 10
enter Dartmouth College. Beyond that I
could not see. and didn't much care. I
went 10 Annapolis, was admitted. and
was graduated at the age Of tweuty-one."
You lived in New Hampshire"
From Old English Family.
"Yes; and am one Of the few men Of
my name 70 leave the state. However. I
got no farther away than Boston. Leon
ard Weeks came from England about the
year 1850 Curiously enough. there IS
house in Greenland. n. H.. occupied by
another ]. W. Weeks, that was built by
one Of my ancestors Of bricks brought
from Great Britain. II was a dwelling
and fort combined and is still In a sound
and habitable condition. My father Gull
tivated land, but. like most men Of COM
mon sense and ability, did other things
as well He was not a lawyer, but he
was judge of probate for many years,
and none OF his decisions was ever re-
versed by a higher authority. As a boy,
I worked on the farm. and at the age of
thirteen gathered the sap, carrying it in
buckets with a yoke over my shoulders.
and boiled half a ton OF maple sugar.
taught school when I was sixteen"
You left the navy in 1883. after two
years at sea?"
Il served on the Richmond. and Ad-
miral Charles O'Neil. long chief OF the
Bureau Of Ordnance. was my executive.
In those days we had no navy. and
more cadets We're graduated at Annapolis
than were needed. The ten highest men
in my class Of seventy were kept and
given permanent commissions. but I was
not among them. Mustered out of the
service, / went to Florida, where I did
some surveying, running out the lines of
the old Spanish grants under contract
didn't know anything about surveying
but l needed money to live on Before
long I was made land commissioner Of
the Florida Southern Railway. was
drifting, you see. and I might say that
have been drifting ever since. taking
whatever comes TO hand and doing II
the best I can. While eating breakfast
In Florida with n gentleman. I was in
troduced to his daughter, who had lust
arrived from the North. I married her
within a year. And that's the way my
life has been
Enters Brokerage Firm.
"A friend from Boston happened along.
told him I meant to leave Florida be-
cause the climate was not good for Mrs.
Weeks. When he reached home. the
brokerage firm OF Hornblower & Page
was entering the last stages Of dissolu-
ton Page had died. Hornblower was
blind, and his son desiring to toin
the business. asked my friend to toin
the partnership. He declined and wrote
to me.
II took the chance. even II I could
scarcely tell a share of common stock
from a first mortgage bond and had to
borrow the money with which to begin.
We bought a seat on the stock exchange.