I be unwilling, if
it were safe, to let people see how great ability may be defeated by the
crankiness of fortune.

I may add here that a stone inside of a snowball discourages the fellow
it hits. But neither our fellows nor the grammar-school used stones in
snowballs. I rather liked it. If we had a row in the springtime we all
threw stones, and here was one of those bits of stupid custom no man can
understand; because really a stone outside of a snowball is much more
serious than if it is mercifully padded with snow. I felt it to be
a rise in life when I got out of the society of the common boys who
attended the high school.

When I was there a man by the name of Dallas Bache was the head master.
He had a way of letting the boys attend to what he called the character
of the school. Once I had to lie to him about taking another boy's ball.
He told my class that I had denied the charge, and that he always took
it for granted that a boy spoke the truth. He knew well enough what
would happen. It did. After that I was careful.

Princeton was then a little college, not expensive, which was very well,
as my father had some difficulty to provide even the moderate amount
needed.

I soon found that if I was to associate with the upper set of young men
I needed money. For some time I waited in vain. But in my second year
I discovered a small gold-mine, on which I drew with a moderation which
shows even thus early the strength of my character.

I used to go home once a month for a Sunday visit, and on these
occasions I was often able to remove from my aunt's big Bible a five- or
ten-dollar note, which otherwise would have been long useless.

Now and then I utilized my opportunities at Princeton. I very much
desired certain things like well-made clothes, and for these I had to
run in debt to a tailor. When he wanted pay, and threatened to send the
bill to my father, I borrowed from two or three young Southerners; but
at last, when they became hard up, my aunt's uncounted hoard proved a
last resource, or some rare chance in a neighboring room helped me out.
I never did look on this method as of permanent usefulness, and it was
only the temporary folly of youth.

Whatever else the pirate necessity appropriated, I took no large amount
of education, although I was fond of reading, and especially of novels,
which are, I think, very instructive to the young, especially the novels
of Smollett and Fielding.

There is, however, li