land families through his grandmother,
Catharine Ray Greene, had probably aided in securing for him a clerk's
place in the banking house of Prime and Sands, afterwards Prime, Ward
and King. He soon ascertained that the Spanish dollars brought to the
port by foreign trading vessels could be sold in Wall Street at a
profit. He accordingly employed his leisure hours in the purchase of
these coins, which he carried to Wall Street and there sold. This was
the beginning of his fortune.

A work published a score or more of years since, entitled "The Merchant
Princes of Wall Street," concluded some account of my father by the
statement that he died without fortune. This was far from true. His
death came indeed at a very critical moment, when, having made extensive
investments in real estate, his skill was requisite to carry this
extremely valuable property over a time of great financial disturbance.
His brother, our uncle, who became the guardian of our interests, was
familiar with the stock market, but little versed in real estate
transactions. By untimely sales, much of my father's valuable estate was
scattered; yet it gave to each of his six children a fair inheritance
for that time; for the millionaire fever did not break out until long
afterwards.

The death of this dear and noble parent took place when I was a little
more than twenty years of age. Six months later I attained the period of
legal responsibility, but before this a new sense of the import of life
had begun to alter the current of my thoughts. With my father's death
came to me a sense of my want of appreciation of his great kindness, and
of my ingratitude for the many comforts and advantages which his
affection had secured to me. He had given me the most delightful home,
the most careful training, the best masters and books. He had even, as I
have said, built a picture gallery for my especial instruction and
enjoyment. All this I had taken, as a matter of course, and as my
natural right. He had done his best to keep me out of frivolous society,
and had been extremely strict about the visits of young men to the
house. Once, when I expostulated with him upon these points, he told me
that he had early recognized in me a temperament and imagination
over-sensitive to impressions from without, and that his wish had been
to guard me from exciting influences until I should appear to him fully
able to guard and guide myself. It was hardly to be expected that a girl
i