rm, and he is seized by the proprietor and his
assistants, who shout "stop thief!" and charge him with stealing the
coat. Their noise, and the dread of being arrested upon a charge of
theft, will frequently so confuse and frighten the victim that he will
comply with their demand, which is that he shall buy the coat. This done
he is suffered to depart. A refusal to yield would not injure him, for
the scoundrels would seldom dare to call in the police, for fear of
getting themselves into trouble with the officials. They have reckoned
with certainty, however, upon the stranger's timidity and bewilderment,
and know they are safe.

LXII. JAMES GORDON BENNETT.

James Gordon Bennett was born at New Mill, Keith, in Banffshire, on the
northeastern coast of Scotland, about the year 1800. His relatives were
Roman Catholics, and he was destined for the priesthood of that church.
He entered the Roman Catholic Seminary at Aberdeen, in 1814, and remained
there two years, acquiring the basis of an excellent education. Chance
having thrown in his way a copy of Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, he
was so much impressed by it that he abandoned all thought of a clerical
life, and resolved to emigrate to America, which he did in 1819, arriving
in Halifax in May of that year, being then nearly twenty years old. He
had not an acquaintance on this side of the Atlantic, had no profession
save that of a bookkeeper, and had but twenty-five dollars in his pocket.

He began by giving lessons in bookkeeping, in Halifax, but his success
was so poor that he came to the United States, landing at Portland, where
he took passage for Boston. Arriving in Boston he found great difficulty
in procuring employment, and was reduced to the verge of starvation, but
at length obtained a place as a proof-reader. He held this position for
two years, and, having lost it by the failure of his employers, came to
New York in 1822. Soon after this, he accepted an engagement on the
_Charleston_ (S.C.) _Courier_, but held it for a short time only.
Returning to New York he attempted to organize a Commercial School, but
was unsuccessful. He next tried lecturing, with equally bad luck, and
was obliged to renew his connection with the press. He held various
positions on the New York newspapers, in each and all of which he proved
himself a journalist of large ideas and great originality and power. In
1828, he became the Washington correspondent of the _N