Life of William T. Porter

Front matter

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Chapter I

Ancestry of William T. Porter.— Samuel Porter of England.— Colonel Asa Porter, graduate of Harvard College. — Merchant in Newbury - port. — Marries Mehitable Crocker. — Removes to Haverhill, N. H. — His estate on Connecticut River. — The Crocker Family. — Gov. Wentworth. — Colonel Porter's fondness for fine horses. — Arthur Livermore. — Children of Colonel Porter. — Judge Farrand. — Thomas W. Thompson. — Miles Olcott. — Benjamin Porter. — Governor Peter Olcott. Newbury, Vt. — David Johnson. — William C. Thompson. — William Trotter. — Letters of Benjamin Porter, father of William T. — Daniel Webster. — Jasper Murdock. — George Blake. — Death of Benjamin Porter. — Rev. Dr. Shurtleth. — Dr. Muzzey. — Death of Col. Porter and his wife. — Description of Hanover, N. H. — Moore's Indian Charity School, and its preceptor A. F. Putnam. — William T. Porter a pupil. — His youthful habits. — School days. — William reads a life of Franklin, and resolves to be a printer. — Enters an office at Andover, Mass. — His first visit to Boston. — Death of his mother. — Dr. T. 0. Porter. — Judge Perley. — Rufus Choate. — Obituary of Hon. Miles Olcott, 1

Chapter II

William T. Porter commences life as editor of " The Farmer's Herald," St. Johnsbury, Vt. — Removes to Norwich, Conn., and edits "The Enquirer." — Goes to New York. — Horace Greeley. — Mr. Porter estab-

VI CONTENTS.

lishes "The Spirit of the Times" in 1831.— Paper so named by. his brother Benjamin. — State of feeling as to Sports of the Turf— Introduction of racing in this country. — John Neal — Maryland and South Carolina.— Prices of prime horses.— Friends of the Turf.— New York Jockey Club.— Mr. Porter's visit to the South and West.— George Porter. — Origin of Mr. Porter's sobriquet, " York's Tall Son." 82

Chapter III

New York Jockey Club. — Turf Convention proposed. — Argument of George Porter on a betting question. — Letter of Miles Olcott. — " The Spirit of the Times," a coveted name. — Subscription raised from five to ten dollars. — " The Turf Register." — Race of Boston and Charles Carter. — Letter from J. S. Skinner. — Description of the early members of the Turf Register, as edited by Mr. Porter.— Frank Forester, a name. suggested by George Porter. — Cypress, Jr., N. of Arkansas. — English Sporting periodicals. — Mr. Porter goes South, . . 54

Chapter IV

The Corsair" published by Dr. T. 0. Porter and N. P. Willis.— General Lamar. — He offers office to Dr. Porter in Texas. — Letter from Daniel Webster. — Barclay Street. — The five Brothers Porter established in New York. — "The Doctor" a good talker. — William Porter's idea of editorial qualifications. — His clear judgment. — His generosity. — Personal appearance of the Porters. — Frank Monteverde's in Barclay Street. — The house, and its patrons by " the Juvenile," . . 73

Chapter V

Report of the Race between Wagner and Grey Eagle by Mr. Porter, 101

Chapter VI

Raids into his sanctum. — Death of Benjamin Porter. — Numerous accounts of the commissions with which the editor was loaded. — "Big Bear" of Arkansas. — Colonel T. B. Thorpe. — Race Between Sarah Bladen and Luda, and between Grey Medoc, Altorf, and Denizen. — Thoroughbred Colts in Kentucky. — Return of Robert L. Stevens from Europe. — Change in the proprietorship of the "Spirit of the Times." — John Richards, " The Governor." — Profit and Loss account, . . 137

CONTENTS. Vll

Chapter VII

Race of Boston and Fashion. — George Porter removes to New Orleans, and becomes assistant editor of the Picayune. — Francis T. Porter. — He joins George in New Orleans, and is associated with the Picayune's reports of races.— Letter from Hon. Alexander Porter. — Foot races of Gildersleeve and Greenholgh. — Remarks on them by N. P. Willis. — In 1845, the subscription price of the Spirit reduced from ten to five dollars, its original price. — Article by Mr. Porter in support of the Turf. — Original American sketches substituted for articles from British periodicals. — His " Curiosity Shop." — " Presentation of Plate" to the editor. — Mr. Porter publishes a volume of sketches taken from his paper, and edits " Hawker on Guns and Shooting." — New York Yacht Club. — Mr. Blunt's eloquence. — " Theatrical Fund Association," recommended by Mr. Porter. — Death of .Judge Duval. — Of John Boardman — Of Alexander Porter — And of Henry Inman. — Inman Gallery.— Letters of Captain W. Seton Henry, during the Mexican "War, ....... 150

Chapter IX

Foreign circulation of the Spirit. — Mr. Porter visits Boston. — Dinner given him at the Norfolk House. — First symptoms of gout. — Death of George Porter in New Orleans. — Letter from Professor Brown, of Dartmouth College, in regard to George. — Notices of his death. — Death of Dr. Porter. — Obituary by Herbert. — Death of Frank Porter in New Orleans. — His letters. — Character. — His visit to Europe. — ■ The effect of Frank's death on William Porter. — His salutatory in 1856. — Leaves the " Old Spirit," and starts " Porter's Spirit of the Times," with George Wilkes, Esq. — Its great success. — Mr. Porter's impaired health. — His death, July 13, 1858. — General expression of sorrow. — Obituaries by "Acorn." — James Oakes, Esq., of Boston. — By George Wilkes, Esq. — Stanzas to his memory by R. S. Chilton, Esq., of Washington. — Motive of the author in preparing this volume, ........ 245

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LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER.

CHAPTEK I.

William Trotter Porter,* third son of Benjamin Porter and Martha Olcott, born in Newbury, Vermont, December 24, 1809, was of the eighth generation from Samuel Porter, who emigrated with his wife from the west of England to Plymouth in 1622. Asa Porter, grandfather of "William, was born May 26, 1742, and graduated at Harvard College in 1762. He established himself as a merchant at Newburyport, where he married Mehitable, daughter of John

* Arms of Porter. — Per Chevron sa. and ar. Three church-bells counterchanged, each charged with an ermine-spot, also counterchanged. Crest, an antelope's head, erased ar., attired or., collaied gu., therefrom on the centre of the neck, a bell pendant, sa. charged with an ermine-spot ar. 1 a LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE.

Crocker, Esq.* The love of adventure, and the restless activity of the men of those days in plans for bettering their condition, indnced many of the inhabitants in the immediate neighborhood of Newburyport to seek new homes and larger possessions in the Coo's Country, which was even then celebrated for the fertility of its vast meadows and the richness of its grand intervals. Col. Porter yielded to the impulse, and some time prior to 1780, removed to Haverhill, !N". H., having purchased a valuable tract of land near the Little Oxbow, on the Eastern bank of the Connecticut River, where, upon one of its fairest and most graceful sweeps, which his trained eye selected as a spot susceptible of attractive ornament and profitable culture, he built a durable and ample mansion, that

* He was a direct descendant from William Crocker, who came from England to this country about 1630. John Crocker was remarkable for his fine form and manly beauty, as well as for great moral purity of life and character. He was " nimble and blithe as a child, and up to the time of his death, without the stoop of age ; everybody loved him." Mary, his wife, was a daughter of Thomas Savage, whose father (H. C. 1659) married Hannah, daughter of the Hon. Edward Tyng, May 8, 1661. Of the other daughters of Mr. Tyng, Mary married Gov. Searl, of Barbadoes ; Rebecca married Gov. Joseph Dudley, of Massachusetts ; and Eunice married the Rev. Samuel Willard, President of Harvard College.

The Crockers are descended from Sir John Crocker, Knight, cupbearer to Edward IV., who was from a branch of the house of Crocker, of Lyncham, in the County of Devon ; a name so eminent that there is an old proverbial distich, or as Prince calls, an old saw, recording its antiquity :

" Crocker, Crirwys, and Coplestone, When the Conqueror came, were at home."

Worthies of Devon, p. 274.

to this day commands the admiration of the traveller. His removal to a comparatively remote and unsettled part of the country, which, no later than 1754, the Legislature of Kew Hampshire designated as a region " hitherto unknown," would of itself establish his character for vigorous enterprise.

Here amidst magnificent scenery, grew up a well-trained and intellectual family, whose home was the favorite resort of the cultivated and refined. Col. Porter was a model of affability and dignity ; never laying aside the garb or the deportment of a gentleman of the old school, but always preserving his courtly air and address without sacrificing a particle of his self-reliant energy and fearlessness. He is described by one, who remembers him, as " slow to anger, of a forgiving disposition and kind to the poor. In civility and politeness excelled by none." In religion he was an Episcopalian, in politics a Royalist, and as he wrote to Lord Dorchester, " severely felt the resentment of that part of his countrymen which then prevailed, and suffered greatly in his person and property ; " in consideration of which he received from the Crown a grant of the township of Broome, in Canada. Indeed, his landed estate was immense, and has been estimated as high as one hundred thousand acres. At one time he owned a large part of Topsham, Vermont, and extensive tracts in neighboring towns. He claimed, also, the town of Woodstock, Vermont, and was offered a crown ($1.10) per acre, to compromise his claim ; but with characteristic tenacity of purpose, he refused the offer, and held to liis title. until it was ultimately decided against him. Most of the lands of New Hampshire and Vermont, about the middle of the last century, and somewhat later, were held by the Crown, and grants were made to individuals ; though nominally made by the Crown, in many cases, the names of the grantees were inserted by the Governor. Col. Porter frequently had a direct interest in such grants ; but more commonly, he purchased the rights of the grantees for a small consideration. One of the provisions of these grants was, that five hundred acres in each township were reserved to the Governor. Col. Porter became the owner of many of these tracts, called the " Governor's Rights," and sometimes, " Governor's Corners." As an illustration of his persevering enterprise it may be stated that to fulfil a contract with the British Government for building a bridge at Quebec, he accompanied his men on foot from Haverhill to that city. He did not look like one capable of the effort, but he had hardened himself by keeping up the habits of gentlemen of that time, who accustomed themselves to robust exercise, and he was therefore able to accomplish an undertaking apparently much beyond his strength, without serious inconvenience. Pride and policy may have stimulated him to encounter the fatigue of this journey on foot, since, according to a French proverb, " II est aise d'aller a pied quand on tient son cheval par la bride ;" and though he had a select stable, he preferred to walk on the occasion as an encouragement to his men.

In truth his passion for fine horses was not inferior to his ambition for ample fields. He spared no pains in purchasing blood of pure strain. Some of his best stock was obtained of his friend Gov. Wentworth, that rare sportsman and accomplished gentleman, who did much to improve the breed of horses in New Hampshire, at his princely establishment at Wolfsborough, on the shores of Lake Winnipiseogee.

Though Col. Porter was a devoted Boyalist, he did not inherit that faith, his father being a zealous Whig. There is an amusing testimony to the fact in the records of the Committee of Safety of New Hampshire, as it seems that the son was apprehended on suspicion of Toryism about the year 1777, and discharged from arrest on giving bond in the sum of £500 that he would repair forthwith to his father in Boxford, and not depart from his farm for the term of one year, except to attend divine service on the Lord's day. The Committee may have been overzealous ; at any rate he was ever faithful and loyal to the new government, under whose protection he lived and prospered for so many years.

It is a family tradition that during the revolution business obliged him to visit Boston. He set off in his own sleigh, which had the arms of England emblazoned upon the back. As he drove into town, he was surprised to find his sleigh an obnoxious mark of attraction; while vociferous threats soon warned him of the cause of the unexpected hostility. At first he was inclined to pay no other heed to it than starting up his horses a little ; but multiplied volleys of missiles and of words admonished him to take counsel

O LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER.

of his discretion, and lie stopped at a painter's shop and had the obnoxious blazonry effaced. On his return home, his wife was at the door to welcome him. She soon perceived the discoloration of the back of the sleigh, and with ready intuition divined the cause. She was of remarkable spirit, and entered into the political faith of her husband with all the animation of her character. She ordered her women to bring soap and brushes, and without a thought of the cold air, or too tender regard for her own fair hands, she picked her way on her little high-heels to the sleigh, and never stopped scrubbing until the old Lion and the Unicorn reappeared " fighting for the crown," as fresh as on the day they parted from her loyal eyes.

Arthur Livermore, Esq.,* now of Missouri, in writing of Col. Porter to Mrs. Brinley, says : " He was beyond dispute a man of a good deal of character. I hardly know whether I can with propriety say to you, his descendant, what I have very often said to those who have known you all as I have known you ; that Col. Porter has given this proof of having been thoroughbred, as we say of a horse, that he impressed upon all his posterity, through several generations, very remarkable common characteristics ;

* Son of Judge Arthur Livermore, and grandson of the eminent Judge Samuel Livermore. The latter went to New Hampshire simultaneously with Col. Porter, and purchased an estate at Holderness, where, amidst the most romantic lake scenery, he built a mansionhouse, which would be conspicuous for stateliness even in these days of ambitious architecture.

marks that distinguish them from all others. This is said neither in the way of flattery nor disparagement, nor with any purpose to be personal. He was from all accounts a gentleman. His associations were with such. His daughters married gentlemen, and his sons, gentlewomen. In person he has been described to me as a spare man, and to have been in the habit of wearing a good overcoat of sable skins on one side and scarlet cloth on the other. He was accustomed to say that it was a foolish thing to try to brave the cold. The right way was to guard well against it by abundant clothing."

By his marriage Col. Porter had six children, John, Benjamin, Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Moses. The daughters were brilliant and accomplished women, receiving their education at Eewburyport and Boston.

The Judicial Courts for the northern part of E~ew Hampshire were held at Haverhill Corner, about seven miles south of Col. Porter's, and the attractions of his daughters, his generous hospitality and reputed wealth, brought the members of the bar to his house in goodly numbers ; some of them prosecuted their suits with success, for the three daughters married gentlemen of the legal profession ; Mary, the Hon. Judge Farrand ; Elizabeth, the Hon. Thomas W. Thompson ; and Sarah, the Hon. Mills Olcott.

Col. Porter's son Benjamin, so named for his ancestor, Benjamin Crocker, Esq., was born at Newburyport, July 13, 1771, and on the 11th of October,

1800, was married to Martha, daughter of Gov. Peter Olcott,* of Norwich, Yt., and established himself in the law at Newbury, in that State.

The town of Newbury occupies a natural terrace above the broad, rich sweep of the meadows, flanked on the westerly side by a high, wooded, almost perpendicular ridge called Mt. Pulaski, which, in that direction, serves to the village as a kind of dbat-vent to keep off the keen blasts of the early spring. Towards the other points of compass, the horizon widens into great beauty and grandeur, embracing a chain of hills forming the lower elevations of the White Mountains, which can be traced from the top of Mt. Pulaski, in all their diversity of shape and coloring, until they unite with Mts. Washington and Lafayette ; the pale, spectral pinnacles of those thawless snow-peaks being clearly discerned from Newbury as sharply cut against the sky as on the day Noah removed the covering from the ark. Towards the south the prospect lies open to a length of the Connecticut Yalley, " the asylum of love and philosophy," as well as of labor and comfort ; its velvet carpets of greensward dotted over with groups of majestic trees and grazing cattle, hemmed in by the naked crests of New Hampshire and the undulating ranges of the Green Mountains, and apparently terminating

* Gov. Olcott was of the sixth generation in descent from Thomas Olcott, a merchant in London, who emigrated with his wife, a daughter of David Forter, Esq., of that city, to Connecticut. He brought with him the experience and fruits of successful enterprise, and was one of the founders of the commerce of that Colony.

at the foot of Ascutney, which stands out against the southern sky like the fragmentary walls of some colossal barrier, to guard it from the outer world ; its loftiest points kindling into spires of gold, while the soft gray shadows of night are yet lying upon the valley.

Here, among these meadows, blue hills, and wide sky, the lives of William T. Porter and his brothers took their shape and coloring. Their home included the firesides of father and grandfather, so closely were they united by the tenderest of ties, both marked by the same unaffected tone of polite life, enlarged hospitality, love of out-of-door existence, and study of the best authors. Benjamin Porter, their father, was a man of vigorous stamp. A keen observer, a sound lawyer, active and energetic in his practice, with continual opportunities, even in that retired portion of the country, for the display of acumen and learning in disentangling the legal perplexities, and conducting the controversies in which his father had necessarily become involved during a long and busy life in a community where land titles were undetermined, and the conflicting claims of settlers, tenants, and proprietors were the subjects of frequent and protracted litigation. Indeed, his large-heartedness, popular manners, and strict integrity secured the friendship of numerous clients at home and abroad, and the confidence of all who were brought within the range of his manly influence. " He was about the same height as his father," writes one of his neighbors, David Johnson, Esq., still living at the advanced age of 1*

10 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEE.

eighty-two, " but more fleshy and of a larger frame, and was what may be called a handsome, well-built man, more familiar in his habits and intercourse with his neighbors than his father. A very active business man, benevolent, free, and open hearted. He had a very charming, lovely, and amiable wife."

Wm. C. Thompson, Esq., a nephew of Mr. Porter, thus writes of his uncle's appearance when in the prime of life : " Both Mr. and Mrs. Porter were very handsome persons ; more so than either of their children, and this is saying much. Mr. Porter's form was like his son Ben's, but taller, more active, and muscular. He had a round, frank voice, and, as I remember him when I was a boy, was particularly pleasant and kind to children. He lived in a liberal and hospitable style, inheriting his father's tastes for owning lands, and farms, and capital horses." Mrs. Porter was a beautiful and attractive woman, remarkable for her dignity of character and ease of manners. She had irrepressible buoyancy of temper, united to the kindest sympathies, and a goodness that lives in the hearts of 'many to this late day, who never speak of her but with tears of reverence and grateful love.

To fit his children for the ends and aims of life, Mr. Porter employed judicious teachers of both sexes under his own roof, until they were old enough to be sent from home to school, and at every opportunity of leisure from the exactions of professional labor, gave them his personal instruction. About this time, 1812, William was taking his first lessons in spelling, under the paternal roof, from one of the most amiable of teachers, who afterwards married William Trotter, Esq., an especial friend of Mr. Porter, and for whom he named his son.*

Mr. Porter was a capital horseman, and was every day more or less in the saddle as his engagements would permit.

In early life he was in the habit of making long journeys on horseback, as was the fashion of the day, starting, off for Quebec, Boston, or New York, with less bustle of preparation than in these days of rapid locomotion, although the time occupied in one of those old-fashioned horseback expeditions seems now almost incredible. In one of his letters dated Newbury, Dec. 3, 1798, addressed to his sister Sarah, then at school in Boston, he writes : " To have spent the evening of my return home, after a seventeen days' journey, in the society of my dear sister, would, to say the least, have been happier than some hours of the way. My route mostly by water to Quebec, was as rapid as I could have desired, but my journey home was as inclement as the season. Not an inch without pain, not a step without a groan. Thus for two successive winters I have made this journey (expeditions of little moment at a moderate season), when hardly a human

* She is still living to recall with melancholy interest those days of childhood at Newbury. She assures us that William's desire to make a figure in life was in him from the start, for when playfully asked, before he could speak plain, what profession he intended to adorn when he became a man, he invariably replied, drawing himself up with dignity, " I intend to preach to make the peoples dood."

being could stir from the fireside from the severity of the weather."

In the following allusion, to one of his female friends at Quebec, in the same letter, we get at the whole heart of the man : " The specimen of your painting, dear S., so long promised to my friend Mrs. "W., could hardly be dispensed with, considering the long friendship and thousand civilities to Papa and myself. I could only renew the promise that my next visit should bear it to her. Pardon me, ye belles of Quebec, if I felt more regret at leaving this good, old, sensible, thoroughbred, Christian, New England woman than all the fine faces your town can boast ; and were I for the example of some darling favorite of your sex to describe the good wife and agreeable friend, my pen would point involuntarily to Mrs. W»

He closes his letter with some wholesome advice, which is quite as pertinent in these days of ultra refinement in the education of the daughters of the land as at the time he wrote : " Col. W. tells me that his daughter already speaks very good French. This is all very well for Miss W., as she is to reside in town. But I declare, dear S., I do not believe it will be ever asked of a girl who lives one hundred and fifty miles from salt water, and who reads with propriety, spells correctly, writes handsomely, and composes easily and elegantly in good old English, whether she pronounces French a* la mode. There are in my humble opinion many other both mental and personal accomplishments, together with a long list of domestic attainments, much more necessary in a fine woman's education, although in that of a gentleman it is quite indispensable. I abhor French sentiments and the hideous tone of French novels ; but I love the language, and am far from wishing with "W". that every French fop in this country should starve because he can do nothing better than lisp his mother tongue."

In connection with Mr. Porter's journeys to Cana da in the saddle, we are reminded of several in which he was accompanied by Daniel Webster, while the latter was a law student with Mr. Thompson, (brotherin-law of Mr. Porter,) at Salisbury. In 1801-2, Mr. Thompson was accompanied by Mr. Webster to Newbury upon the occasion of one of the former's visits at Mr. Porter's house. Both Mr. and Mrs. Porter became very fond of him, and perhaps among the many pleasant recollections of Mr. Webster's early manhood which served as an animating relief from his first struggles, and afterwards from the toil of a crowded professional life, none were recalled with keener pleasure than his visits to old Coos during the ten years following his first introduction. In anticipation of their recurrence, Mr. Porter arranged several horseback journeys to Canada, in which Mr. Webster was to participate, and sometimes as his sole companion. The pleasure they derived from the social qualities of each other, can be readily imagined by those who knew and loved them both. The ripe and instructed mind of the elder friend kept charmed and amused by the originality and buoyant vivacity of that great mind which was destined to give light to a nation long after the other had sunk to his rest. In the later years of the life of Mr. Webster he stated to us with marked emphasis and feeling, that Mr. Porter was the most attractive social companion he had ever known. It was during his visits at Mr. Porter's house that the foundation of a friendship was laid which became a source of life-long enjoyment to Mr. Webster. The youthful object of his regard was the orphan niece of Mrs. Porter, the only child of her sister, Sarah Olcott, and the Hon. Jasper Murdock. Upon the death of her parents she was consigned to the care of her grandfather, Gov. Olcott. At the time of Mrs. Porter's marriage she transplanted the beautiful exotic of her family to her own fireside, and scrupulously provided that she should acquire at home and abroad those accomplishments which, united to her eminent personal charms, qualified her to grace and adorn her own distinguished home upon the event of her marriage, June 25, 1810, to Hon. George Blake, of Boston. Many of Mr. Webster's most interesting letters during his early public career, were addressed to her, and are contained in the volumes of his correspondence. She died in the prime of her days, a few months following the death of her adopted mother.

During the summer of 1817, Mr. Porter first became aware of an incipient affection of the heart, though only a few weeks previous to the approach of any symptoms of the kind he said to a friend : " I am certain I shall live to a great age. Look at my breadth of chest. I feel long life in every muscle."

Physicians were consulted at the first apprehension, and by their advice he gave up all business, and retired with his family to one of his farms, where he kept up his almost daily exercise in the saddle, until his increasing infirmities obliged him to discontinue it altogether. He was finally induced in the following summer to try the effect of a journey to Saratoga, where a consultation of eminent physicians was held upon his case. Previous to the consultation his letters evince a sanguine hope of ultimate restoration.

Alas! it was not to be. The decision of the physicians was unfavorable to his hopes, and by slow and painful progress, accompanied by his wife and son Benjamin, he reached Mr. Olcott's at Hanover. It was impossible to go any further. Day by day he became weaker, until all expectation of recovery was abandoned, and his parents and intimate friends were summoned to see him die. The event took place at five o'clock in the afternoon of Sunday, August 2d, 1818. His clergyman, the venerable Dr. Shurtleff, of Hanover, and Dr. Muzzey, his physician, both still living in honorable age, testify to the fortitude of the dying man. Dr. Shurtleff has within a short time described to us the closing scene, which in solemnity, calm resignation, and tender solicitude for the family of his love, he had never, in his lengthened experience, seen surpassed.

He sleeps in the quiet church-yard at Hanover, in compliance with his expressed wish, as he foresaw, that to give his eldest son, then in college, the benefit of a home, to secure to his other children the advantage of academic training, and at the same time place Mrs. Porter where she could have the immediate counsel and protection of her brother, Mr. Olcott, she would almost of necessity select Hanover for her residence after the death of his parents. Three months after his death, his father died. In a worldly view the death of father and son, so near to each other, was most deeply to be deplored. The former died in the belief that he had great wealth; but much of his really extensive estate consisted in unproductive tracts of land not readily convertible into money or easily managed. The son had stepped aside from his profession to embark in various enterprises of pith and high promise, which his sudden and long-continued bodily prostration obliged him to surrender or neglect. His large expectations seemed to warrant his extended operations, and if five years more of active life had been vouchsafed to him, and the estate of his father been kept together, his sons, who derived little or no benefit from the vast landed property of their grandfather, would have been rich and independent, and spared the crushing weight of narrow circumstances and disappointed hopes.