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1874, Apocil 28. Bequest
Sumner,
Hon. Chas. Sumner, 2 Boston. 896.21.1830-
830-
HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872,
BY JAMES R. OSGOOD & CO.,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
Boston:
Stereotyped and Printed by Rand, Avery, & Co.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
EARLY CHILDHOOD.
-
PAGE
The Village of Amherst. - Character of the Adjacent Country.-The Greeley
Farm. The Tribune in the Room in which its Editor was born. - Horace
learns to read.-Book up-side down. - Goes to School in Londonderry. - A
District School Forty Years Ago. - Horace as a Young Orator. Has a Mania
for spelling Hard Words. -Gets great Glory at the Spelling-School. - Recol-
lections of his surviving School-Fellows. - His Future Eminence foretold. -
Delicacy of Ear. - Early Choice of a Trade. - His Courage and Timidity. -
Goes to School in Bedford. A Favorite among his School-Fellows. His
early Fondness for the Village Newspaper. Lies in Ambush for the Post-
Rider who brought it. - Scours the Country for Books. - Project of sending
him to an Academy. - The Old Sea-Captain. - Horace as a Farmer's Boy.-
Let us do our Stint first. — His Way of Fishing.....
CHAPTER II.
HIS FATHER RUINED.-REMOVAL TO VERMONT.
New Hampshire before the Era of Manufactures. - Causes of his Father's Failure.
-Rum in the Olden Time. - An Execution in the House. - Flight of the
Father. Horace and the Rum-Jug. Compromise with the Creditors.-
Removal to another Farm. - Final Ruin. - Removal to Vermont. The Win-
ter Journey. Poverty of the Family.-Scene at their New Home. - Cheer-
fulness in Misfortune........
18
CHAPTER III.
AT WESTHAVEN, VERMONT.
Description of the Country.-Clearing up Land. All the Family assist à la
Swiss-Family Robinson. - Primitive Costume of Horace. - His Early Indiffer-
ence to Dress. - His Manner and Attitude in School. - A Peacemaker among
the Boys. Gets into a Scrape, and out of it. Assists his School-Fellows in
their Studies. - An Evening Scene at Home. - Horace knows too much.-
Disconcerts his Teachers by his Questions. Leaves School. - The Pine-Knots
still blaze on the Hearth. Reads incessantly. - Becomes a great Draught-
Player. Bee-Hunting. Reads at the Mansion House. -Taken for an Idiot.
And for a possible President. - Reads Mrs. Hemans with Rapture. - A Wolf
Story. A Pedestrian Journey. - Horace and the Horseman. Yoking the
Oxen. Scene with an Old Soaker. - Rum in Westhaven. Horace's First
Pledge. Narrow Escape from Drowning. . — His Religious Doubts. - Becomes
a Universalist. - Discovers the Humbug of "Democracy."- Impatient to
begin his Apprenticeship.....
23
CHAPTER IV.
APPRENTICESHIP.
The Village of East Poultney. Horace applies for the Place. -Scene in the Gar-
den. He makes an Impression. A Difficulty arises and is overcome. — He
enters the Office. - Rite of Initiation. Horace the Victor. - His Employer's
Recollections of him. The Pack of Cards. Horace begins to paragraph.
Joins the Debating Society. His Manner of Debating. Horace and the
Dandy. His Noble Conduct to his Father. His First Glimpse of Saratoga.
- His Manners at the Table. - Becomes the Town Encyclopedia. - -The Doc-
tor's Story. Recollections of One of his Fellow-Apprentices. - Horace's
Favorite Poets. Politics of the Time. The Anti-Mason Excitement. - The
Northern Spectator stops. The Apprentice is Free......
48
CHAPTER V.
HE WANDERS.
Horace leaves Poultney. - His First Overcoat. - Home to his Father's Log-House.
Ranges the Country for Work.-The Sore Leg cured. Gets Employment,
but little Money. Astonishes the Draught-Players.- Goes to Erie, Pa. - In-
terview with an Editor. - Becomes a Journeyman in the Office. - Description
of Erie. - The Lake. His Generosity to his Father. His New Clothes. -
No more Work at Erie. - Starts for New York.....
72
CHAPTER VI.
ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK.
The Journey. - A Night on the Tow-Path. He reaches the City. - Inventory of
his Property. Looks for a Boarding-House. - Finds One. - Expends half his
Capital upon Clothes. -Searches for Employment. - Berated by David Hale
as a Runaway Apprentice. - Continues the Search. - Goes to Church. - Hears
of a Vacancy. - Obtains Work. - The Boss takes him for a Fool,' but
changes his opinion. - Nicknamed 'The Ghost.'-Practical Jokes. Horace
metamorphosed. - Dispute about Commas. The Shoemaker's Boarding-
House. Grand Banquet on Sundays....
84
CHAPTER VII.
FROM OFFICE TO OFFICE.
Leaves West's. -Works on the Evening Post.'-Story of Mr. Leggett. -' Com-
mercial Advertiser.'-'Spirit of the Times.'-Specimen of his Writing at this
Period. Naturally Fond of the Drama. - Timothy Wiggins. Works for Mr.
Redfield. The First Lift...
CHAPTER VIII.
THE FIRST PENNY PAPER, AND WHO THOUGHT OF IT.
Importance of the Cheap Daily Press. The Originator of the Idea. History of
the Idea. Dr. Sheppard's Chatham-Street Cogitations. The Idea is con-
ceived. It is born. -Interview with Horace Greeley. -The Doctor thinks he
is 'no Common Boy.'-The Schemer baffled. - Daily Papers Twenty-five
Years Ago. Dr. Sheppard comes to a Resolution. The Firm of Greeley and
The Sphere of the Cheap
Story.
Press.
The Morning Post appears. And fails.
Fanny Fern and the Pea-Nut Merchant...
CHAPTER IX.
THE FIRM CONTINUES.
Lottery Printing. The Constitutionalist. - Dudley S. Gregory. The Lottery
Suicide. The Firm prospers. -Sudden Death of Mr. Story.-A New Part-
ner.- Mr. Greeley as a Master. A Dinner Story. - Sylvester Graham.-
Horace Greeley at the Graham House. - The New Yorker projected. James
Gordon Bennett...
99
103
112
CHAPTER X.
EDITOR OF THE NEW YORKER.
Character of the Paper. - Its Early Fortunes. Happiness of the Editor.- Scene
in the Office. - Specimens of Horace Greeley's Poetry. Subjects of his
Essays. His Opinions then. - His Marriage. - The Silk-Stocking Story. -
A Day in Washington. - His Impressions of the Senate. - Pecuniary Difficul-
ties. Cause of the New Yorker's Ill-Success as a Business.-The Missing
Letters. The Editor gets a Nickname. The Agonies of a Debtor.- Park
Benjamin. - Henry J. Raymond..
..........
117
CHAPTER XI.
THE JEFFERSONIAN.
Objects of the Jeffersonian. Its Character. -A Novel Glorious-Victory Para-
graph. The Graves and Cilley Duel. - The Editor overworked............... 140
Wire-Pulling. -The Delirium of 1840.-The Log-Cabin. - Unprecedented Hit.-
A Glance at its Pages. - Log-Cabin Jokes.- Log-Cabin Song. -Horace
Greeley and the Cake-Basket. - Pecuniary Difficulties continue. - The
Tribune announced.......
..............
CHAPTER XIII.
146
STARTS THE TRIBUNE.
The Capital. The Daily Press of New York in 1841.-The Tribune appears. —
The Omens Unpropitious. The First Week. - Conspiracy to put down the
Tribune. The Tribune triumphs.-Thomas McElrath. - The Tribune alive.
-Industry of the Editors. - Their Independence. - Horace Greeley and John
Tyler. The Tribune a Fixed Fact........
CHAPTER XIV.
157
THE TRIBUNE AND FOURIERISM.
What made Horace Greeley a Socialist.-The Hard Winter of 1838.- Albert Bris-
bane. The Subject broached. -Series of Articles by Mr. Brisbane begun.-
Their Effect. - Cry of Mad Dog. - Discussion between Horace Greeley and
Henry J. Raymond. - How it arose. - Abstract of it in a Conversational Form. 165