Experiences of a boy

Chapter I

On the 19th day of October, 1843, during the cannonading celebrating the anniversary of Lord CornwalHs' surrender, a man-child was born on Recluse Farm, only a short distance from Norfolk, Va. He was a pretty child, so the mother, father and others agreed. Red of face, little or no hair, with a voice that could be heard in commanding tones, demanding the attention due to a new arrival on the sphere of active life. As the years flew past, this autocrat developed the usual attributes of a pugnacious youth. His light hair became curly; that is, when an older sister carefully manipulated it with curl papers on the top of his head. The old negro mammy stated decidedly that "He would sure be president of dis United States," and when the child would go to her with earache, how carefully she would cook a hot pone cake and tenderly bind it over the offending member.

Memory does not serve in recording but a few events of this child's growth. He remembers looking out of the window one day, during a thunder storm, and seeing a bolt of lightning strike a large tree in the yard, stripping it of all its branches, and leaving a bare pole instead of its wide spread of foliage. Such a manifestation of nature's force was not fathomable to the infantile mind ; but curiosity was excited and many questions asked that bothered the parents to answer. The questions of childhood often do not receive the attention that they deserve, and many a problem has to be solved by the actual experience of the future life.

Across the Elizabeth River was thrown a bridge by a brickmaker to carry finished product for piling. The heavy planks on this bridge were not nailed down, as the structure was temporary. The boy's mother had bid him never to go on this structure, as it was considered dangerous ; but one day there was a boat race on the river and the bridge seemed a better place than the banks to observe the contest; therefore, during the excitement, the admonition was forgotten. The boats were coming down in good shape when, to get a better view, the boy walked to the end of one of the planks. Immediately it tipped up and let the boy down with a plunge into the water. He always maintained that the first effect of the descent was seeing the devil. He then lost consciousness and only remembers being pulled out on the bank by a negro woman, then running home and through a long entry to the upstairs room of his mother, who was enjoying her afternoon siesta. Expecting sympathy, he told of his plunge in the river, when off came the slipper and it was applied with vigor to the proper place. This is the only whipping he remembers to have received in childhood, and always thought he should have been coddled instead of being punished. His narrow escape from drowning appeared to him a sufficient excuse for disobedience. The philosophy of children does not always agree with the reasoning of their parents.

The parents of this promising youth moved in three years to Winton, N. C, where outdoor life was the rule. He well remembers many youthful escapades and tribulations occurring in that place. The family had a pet cat that was a general favorite. This cat excited the cupidity of a boy chum who wanted possession. Various trades were suggested; but none successful until the chum offered in exchange a bag of chinquapins. These looked good and the transaction was closed, that is, until the sisters missed the cat, w^hen explanations were in order. The chinquapins were eaten. The cat returned and all was serene. This first trade showed the futility of closing a deal for property not owned. In future life, the modern trust methods showed how such transactions could be carried through without imposing a too severe strain on the moral attributes.

It is customary in this part of the country for the owners of pigs to allow them to run wild in the woods, hunting for their food. There would be a grand round-up once in a year and the different owners would brand their mark on individual holdings. One such round-up occurred when our infant was clothed in short frocks. He noticed the excitement of the drive and entered into it with all fervor possible. Pigs running this way and that. Busy men rushing here and there amid the squealing mass, all made up a scene of interest, especially to our friend. He yelled and rushed around, feeling elated and enthused to the top notch of enjoyment. To his mind pigs were pigs; but unfortunately he lacked possession. Personal ownership was what he desired and it had always been his way to ask for what he coveted, therefore, he sang out that he wanted one of the pigs. Immediately a tall hoosier standing near him said, "You can have any pig that you can catch." The words were hardly out of his mouth when the infant grabbed a large shoat around the neck and was off on his back, under the fences, through the brambles and briers, at the highest speed of the pig. The pig was muscular and a good runner; but the baby held on until there remained not a vestige of clothing on his body. All full of scratches, he, glowing with the spirit of ownership, kept his grip until the pig fell exhausted ; then willing hands lifted the baby and others toted the pig in triumph to the home of our friend.

Amongst the possessions of the family were four dogs named Ino, Youno, Jackson and Tyler. The first two were named after heavenly constellations. One of the big village boys met our friend and asked the names of the dogs. The baby repeated the names, Ino, Youno, Jackson and Tyler. The boy, exasperated, stated there were four dogs and he was given the names of only two, and demanded again the names, when the baby in his innocence repeated, Ino, Youno, Jackson and Tyler, with the result that the bad boy sprang forward to box his ears when the opportune approach of an older brother prevented the punishment undeserved.

In the winter time a school was held in a log schoolhouse quite a distance from our youth's home, and when about five years old he started, with a lunch, to acquire book knowledge. The master was an Irishman with a pronounced brogue, and his method of teaching produced an effect on our friend that rather inclined him to be opposed to improving his mentality through such methods. The teacher had the only chair in the schoolhouse. All the scholars sat on backless seats raised sufficiently high by logs of wood. Our boy remembers that the principal instruction seemed to be in Grammar and the parsing became extremely tiresome. It seemed to be a continual repetition of "I love, you love, thou lovest." It seemed foolish to our boy and he resented such and thought playing in the open would be more sensible. Grammar was for the older scholars. For our boy, the youngest, the alphabet was the stumbling block. At intervals from grammar, our friend was called up and, standing between the knees of the seated teacher, was asked what was letter A, for instance. The answer would as likely be C or any other letter. The result would be that the teacher would snap his thumb sharply against the head of our boy, using the same snap that boys use in playing marbles. It was not conducive to perfect confidence, this continually being thumped on the head just because the boy did not know the foolish combination called an alphabet. The teacher made a practice of bringing down his old shirts from which he made a cushion to his seat. One of the bad boys bent a pin so that when in position it would project upwards from this cushion. The teacher, returning to his seat, sat down heavily and immediately arose so suddenly as to upset his table, uttering words expressive of rage and condemnation of the person playing the trick upon him. His speech included some words found in the Bible, combined, however, in a different manner, so that they sounded awful. We all thought if he could have found the culprit the punishment would have been very severe. As it was, all suffered more or less during the rest of the day; but satisfaction was noticed in the many sly glances between the scholars. In the school room was a large fireplace, six or eight feet wide, on one side of the room. Around this fire, on cold days, the scholars would assemble, and as our boy was small, he was kept back in the rear to suffer w^ith cold. On the whole, this school does not stand out favorably in memory. The only pleasant thing was on clear, warm days eating lunch under the large, noble forest trees, and thinking of the many grand things that he would do when grown up.

Chapter II

The sojourn was not for a very long period in Winton, not much over two years; then a move of importance was undertaken. The father had gone overland to Massachusetts. At that date the journey had to be made by stages. An uncle had directed one of his schooners, that was used to ship ice to the Southern states, to stop and take the whole family, with all baggage, to Boston. Then started one of the first sea voyages of our friend. Altho the schooner had taken a load of ice South, none remained aboard during the Northern voyage. It was very warm and the butter was like soup. Many of the modern delicacies, now practical on account of cold storage, w^ere absent, milk amongst the rest. Altho there were many discomforts, the grand sea air and the many novelties both of sea life and the birds, made the passage one of enjoyment. The winds were light, but favorable, until the schooner got south of Cape Cod, when it was becalmed close to land. The captain had a farm nearby on the Cape, so he concluded that during the calm it would be a good scheme to go ashore and see how his crops were getting along. Therefore, he had the schooner's boat lowered and with one man went ashore. The schooner rolled at anchor until the edge of dusk, when one of those squalls that the coast is noted for came speeding in from the sea. It was necessary to get off shore to save the vessel. The absence of the captain and one man made the crew very short-handed. After knowledge made plain to the boy the operations necessary. The anchor was hove short, that is, the windlass was worked until the anchor just rested on the bottom. The jib was run up and the wheel was manned ; but before we could sail away

II it was necessary to light the binnacle light to see the compass. The boy went down in the cabin while the mate, with flint and steel, proceeded to get a light. Rain had come with the squall and the mate had a big southwester on his head. After awhile he got a glow and while bending over to notice the burning, the water from his southwester ran down on the tinder and put it out of business. Then Bible words flew thick and fast that seemed to match the lightning that w^as playing around the vessel. Fresh tinder, however, was procured and then a successful light produced. The anchor got off the ground and the vessel was run off shore. During the night the wind changed and we ran back to our starting point, where we arrived as the day was breaking. We found the captain on the beach nearly crazy. He knew that he had committed a great error in leaving the vessel and showed abject terror to the boy's mother, fearing that she would report the event to the uncle, which she eventually promised not to do.

The family located in Dover, Mass., where school duties occupied the attention of our youth. There was a great contrast between this school and the old log house in North Carolina ; but still a long way from the modern school. There was a block of wood in one corner, on which some culprit called a dunce would occasionally mount.

Unusual punishments were indulged in, some of them far from civilized. The alphabet, which was a mystery in Winton, was here mastered and rapid advances were made in other studies. Still the boy enjoyed out of doors the most. A farmer met the father one day and stated if he would send one of his boys to his farm, he could spend the vacation in playing with his boy. Our youth heard the offer and volunteered to represent the family. So the next day he got into the stage and arrived at the farmer's house just at supper time. He got acquainted with the farmer's boy and slept in the same bed with him. Early the next day they turned out, had breakfast, and the two boys started for a field where they started in to throw stones to a big outcropping rock. Our boy enjoyed what he thought was sport until tiring, he suggested playing some other game; but the farmer's boy stated that they would have to keep piling the stones until the dinner horn sounded. Our boy objected and started for the house where he waited around until the men returned from work. Dinner being over, our boy stated that he would take the next stage for home, which he did and ever remembered the event as an attempt on the part of the old farmer to get extra assistance on the farm. Such actions explain the reason that causes boys to desert the farms and fill up the cities. Labor and nothing but labor is not satisfactory to growing boys. The old saying, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," holds good. Farm work must be conducted on sane principles to encourage the energies of the youth of the land.

The boy was growing fast and sturdy. The parents soon moved to North Beverly, Mass., where the uncles housed ice from Wenham Lake to supply the Southern market. It was a beautiful spread of water in the summer and in winter the hundreds of men planing, cutting, and hooking the large cakes of ice up the inclined runways to the huge buildings where it was stored made a lively scene very thrilling to our boy, who had nothing to do but roam around and listen to the various stories told about the green Irish laborers that did the work. These men were just over and could not talk English. They conversed entirely in Celtic. All directions were given to them by motions. It was comical to see these quickwitted fellows understand these motions at times and go entirely contrary to directions when they chose to misunderstand them. Smoking around the ice houses was strictly forbidden. One morning it w^as noticed that every man hooking ice up the long inclines had a dudeen in his mouth. One of the foremen grasped a lath and springing on the runway slid rapidly down striking right and left at the pipes much to the surprise of the men who stood dazed with only the stems between their teeth.

These events continued until the parents moved to Dan vers, Mass., occupying a large house in the village. The boy well remembers seeing a well-stored peddler's wagon drive up to the house one day. The peddler brought to view and showed the mother a round bulb glass fluid lamp, stem and foot also of glass. He told the mother that they would not break, and to prove the case he took a nail out of his pocket, driving it securely into the porch, using the lamp as a hammer. Lamp breakage was a serious matter, so the mother bought a dozen of these unbreakable lamps. They were placed back in an unfinished lean-to and the mother went elsewhere. The boy, thinking he could do that which he saw the peddler do, got a nail and broke every one of these lamps in trying to drive it into the woodwork. He did not possess the sleight of hand of the peddler. The mother learned that she had been fooled; but memory does not record whether or no the boy got a deserved spanking.

This boy, when very young, was impressed with the idea that he should become a pirate. With education the piratical idea was overruled, and then he became possessed with the wish to go to sea. He even thought of running away to join a ship. At last he mentioned his consuming wish to his kind father, who did not advance any objections; but rephed that he knew the mate of a Cahfornia cHpper lying at Tea Wharf to whom he would introduce him, so that he could go as cabin boy. The boy was highly elated, and when in a few days the father told him to get ready to see the mate, he was overjoyed. They soon arrived at the ship and mounting the steep shore plank, found themselves on the lofty deck. The father spoke to a man he met, remarking that this was the lad he had brought to be shipped. The mate, for it was he, sprang forward with his fists clenched as if to strike the boy who dodged back, when the mate sang out, ''What are you dodging for : All cabin boys have to be knocked down a number of times every day; that is the regular rule aboard ship, and I only wanted to initiate you in sea life." The boy sang out, 'T do not want to be struck," and told the father that he did not like the mate anyway and would not ship. So he went home contented. It was a number of years before he got it into his head that his father had put up this job to get him out of the idea of going to sea. The ruse was a success for many years.

The education proceeded apace. The boy got into fractions and in the rest of the studies kept abreast. The teachers were far from the best, showing preferences and partiality. One of the i6

young woman teachers immediately over our boy was in love with the male principal, and she showed her feelings whenever the male teacher came in the classf room. One day when the boy was intently engaged doing a sum on his slate, he was evidently called upon, but did not hear. He was brought to attention by a command to go to the stove and see if there was a rat in it. The evident intention was to make sport of the boy in the presence of the principal. It was summer time and the stove was full of loose papers. The boy got up insulted and told the teacher that she could hunt rats herself, gathered his books together and left the school, never to return. In the evening he told his father that he had had enough of such teaching, preferring to go to work. His father, one of the best of men, got his brother, who at that time was a cotton broker in the large, to take the boy in his office. This departure as office boy, before the age of fourteen, was gladly accepted and the few duties were performed conscientiously under the munificent salary of two dollars a week. The porter of this establishment was an Irishman, John Scott by name. He was without education, could not read in fact; but a true servant of the house. One day John stated to the boy that he did not like, in going to the wharf for samples, to sign a cross instead of his name, and asked if he could not learn to sign his name. He was told that it was quite possible. Therefore, a big sheet of paper was produced and the boy wrote the name John Scott at the top in large, boyish script. John Scott came down the next morning looking peaked, and showed the sheet with a repetition of the name covering the whole paper. The first copies were cramped and laborious, but gradually got better until the latter signatures were even better than the copy. The man was happy for now he was a man amongst men, proud of his ability to sign his name. He continued with lessons every night from the dictionary, until he educated himself broadly, and on the death of the uncle became a partner in the business with the uncle's son. The uncle was a good man, but not exact in business matters, especially in paying the boy's salary. It was urged that this payment should take the regular course, by placing the name on the office pay-roll ; but the uncle objected, stating that he would attend to the matter. The payments would lapse six, eight or ten weeks at a time, altho when attention was called to the matter the money was forthcoming. This irregularity in payment, also the slight duties, produced discontent and resulted in the boy throwing up the job.

The next position was office boy with Mr. Martin, a stock broker. This man was an honorable, thoroughly honest dealer, who would recommend i8

his customers to do with their money the same that he would do with his. He was writing a book called ''Twenty-one Years in the New York Stock Market," a statistical work with a great mass of figures, and it was a great pleasure to the boy to be called upon to run up the columns of figures to prove them. During the time at this oflfice came the great financial panic of 1857 ^^ '58. It came on suddenly without any great premonitions. One day a gentleman called and asked Mr. Martin if he had any money on hand for personal use. Mr. Martin said no, and was advised to draw a check for ready cash. It was past banking hours, therefore a check was drawn to bearer for $10,000 and placed in the hands of the boy, with instructions to present it at the bank the first thing in the morning. That was a great responsibility and was thoroughly appreciated. To be trusted with such a large fortune caused almost a sleepless night. Although the check was placed under the pillow, the light was lighted several times at night and the check brought to view to see that it was positively safe. Early the next morning, before banking hours, the boy was on State street and found the street jammed with people all making for different banks. The boy wormed himself in amongst the people until he got up to the bank doors, when he noted, with consternation, a man tacking up a notice stating that the bank would be closed until further notice. All the banks were closed up tight on that day and for many days thereafter.

Mr. Martin handed to the boy one day negotiable securities to the amount of $30,000 to $40,000, with instructions to proceed to a certain part of the city inhabited by the very poor and many criminals, to get the signature of a man on them. He proceeded to the number indicated or rather the place for the number which did not appear. It was a very squalid neighborhood. Several drunken men were in sight and many dirty children. He asked an old woman, who was in a yard, fronting a rear building, for information. She said she thought a man by the name mentioned lived upstairs in the front house, entrance from the rear. The boy proceeded to mount the rickety stairs, feeling that some mistake must have been made, as no man with the power to attest such valuable papers could possibly live in such a disreputable neighborhood. The stairs were dark and uncarpeted. At the top were two doors. One, at a hazard, was rapped upon and immediately a rough voice asked who was there. The boy cautiously stated, after asking if the

owner of the voice was Mr. , and getting a

favorable reply, that he was from Mr. Martin with a message. Immediately the door was unlocked and a bolt drawn, and there stood in the dcMDrway a very old, withered man who gruffly bid entrance. The boy still hesitated, when the man noticing, took a letter from his table and handed the same to the boy who saw it was a letter to the man from Mr. Martin, stating that he would send the securities for signature during the day. That made the matter plain and the business was accomplished with a rough command to return to Martin quickly with the papers, which he was glad to do.

A lady friend of the family, returning from Europe, presented our boy with one of the hats worn by the school children of the time in England. It was made of silk plush, like the ordinary tall silk hat ; but the top was round like the derby of the present day. The boy was very proud of this new head-gear. The next day he started from Maiden Centre over the Causeway, through Chelsea, for his business in Boston, distance five miles. He got over the Causeway safely, but in going through Chelsea the boys there were interested. With yells of "Twig that hat," they began to throw stones and other missiles, many of which struck the hat with the result of wrecking it to scarcely more than the brim. New and unusual head-wear had very little attraction to him ever afterwards.

Chapter III

Altho the duties in the stock broker's office were pleasant, late reading of the life of Benjamin Franklin had enthused him with the wish to follow in his footsteps. The more he thought over the matter the more determined he became to become a printer. With this idea uppermost, he applied and gained admission in the office of C. C. Mead, opposite the Old South Church. This was a very small office and he took hold with a vim, soon becoming conversant with the press and also able to do very well at the case. He became a great favorite with the proprietor who, with another man and our boy, constituted the whole working crew except occasional extra force. The proprietor was a great abolitionist and altho a professed teetotaler, he was proven to like his liquor in private. One day he told the boy to go quite a distance in the country and deliver a note to a certain party and bring back what was given to him. The directions were followed, which led down a long lane from the main road. The letter delivered, a package was placed in his hands and he started back; but boy-like, he cut across lots and in going over a fence fell, causing the package to burst open and a stopper flew out, disclosing the fact that the contents was whisky.

The proprietor was not notified of the accident. He received the package with the remark that he was glad to get the hniment because it was so good to rub on his rheumatic leg. The boy remained silent, altho thinking that the liniment would be taken internally. This was a prohibition state.

The family moved to Boston and the father in 1848 commenced the manufacture of shade rollers under a patent that the uncle had bought. This patent was found tO' be worthless. Then the father invented and manufactured a sliding spring shade roller. Mr. Bray brought suit for infringement which was decided in favor of the father years afterwards. The family had meanwhile moved to New York. On Mr. Mead's being informed of the intended removal, he tried all he could to retain the boy, offering to give him a half interest in the business in one year and otherwise endeavored to impress him with the advisability of remaining in Boston; but the idea of a change to the great city of New York was overpowering, and, therefore, the old association with Mr. Mead was broken off.

On arrival in New York the boy applied for a position in a printer's office on Broad street. In showing up what he could do he presented some copies of press work that he had perfected in Mead's office. The foreman denied the possibility of such work being produced on a Gordon press; but the boy insisted that he could perform the work on any press. His talk produced a favorable impression and he commenced work the next day. The office got out a daily stock sheet that had to be prepared and printed within an hour every day at noon. Horace Greeley very often wrote a paragraph for this sheet. The foreman was the only man in the office who could read Greeley's writing and always set up the matter. One day he was sick and a paragraph came in from Greeley. There was great trouble in the office. The matter was important. The boy stepped forward and stated that he thought he could solve the difficulty. During the noon hours he had made a practice of comparing Greeley's copy with the result of the foreman's interpretation. By this means he had got on Greeley's curves. The copy was passed over to the boy, who placed it in type and acquired great glory therefor.

The boy transferred himself some time afterwards to the Scotch- American office where he was employed at the case. The boy attended chemical lectures in Cooper Union with great interest. He surrounded himself with chemicals and paraphernalia, going deeply into the study, graduating with a diploma which was highly prized. The family removed to Staten Island and the boy boarded in a house in New York. All the other boarders were students in the New York Homoeopathic College. From association with them and from his chemical studies, it was natural to consider the taking up of the study of medicine. He soon became firm in the desire and the next year was set for commencing; but the war prevented. Meanwhile he attended, with the students, clinics at the Bellevue Hospital and saw many interesting operations.