aid that, in the course of his life, he had made
and lost several fortunes. In the end he left a very fair estate, which
was divided among the several sets of his nieces and nephews.

Long before this he had become one of the worthies of Wall Street, and
was universally spoken of as "Uncle John." Shortly after his retirement
from active business, the Board of Brokers of New York requested him to
sit to A. H. Wenzler for a portrait, to be hung in their place of
meeting. The portrait was executed with entire success. I ought to
mention in this connection that the directors of the New York Bank of
Commerce, of which my father was the founder and first president,
ordered a portrait of him from the well-known artist, Huntington.

CHAPTER V

MY STUDIES

As a love of study has been a leading influence in my life, I will here
employ a little time, at the risk of some repetition, in tracing the way
in which my thoughts had mostly tended up to the period when, after two
years of deep depression, I suddenly turned to practical life with an
eager desire to profit by its opportunities.

From early days my dear mother noticed in me an introspective tendency,
which led her to complain that when I went with her to friends' houses I
appeared dreamy and little concerned with what was going on around me.
My early education, received at home, interested me more than most of my
school work. While one person devoted time and attention to me, I repaid
the effort to my best ability. In the classes of my school-days, the
contact between teacher and pupil was less immediate. I shall always
remember with pleasure Mrs. B.'s "Conversations" on Chemistry, which I
studied with great pleasure, albeit that I never saw one of the
experiments therein described. I remember that Paley's "Evidences of
Christianity" interested me more than his "Philosophy," and that Blair's
"Rhetoric," with its many quotations from the poets, was a delight to
me. As I have before said, I was not inapt at algebra and geometry, but
was too indolent to acquire any mastery in mathematics. The French
language was somehow _burnt_ into my mind by a cruel French teacher, who
made my lessons as unpleasant as possible. My fear of him was so great
that I really exerted myself seriously to meet his requirements. I have
profited in later life by his severity, having been able not only to
speak French fluently but also to write it with ease.

I was fourteen years of age when