. The Duke of Wellington was mobbed
in the streets of London and his windows were broken while his wife lay
dead in the house; but the "Iron Duke" never faltered in his course, or
swerved a hair's breadth from his purpose.

William Phipps, when a young man, heard some sailors on the street, in
Boston, talking about a Spanish ship wrecked off the Bahama Islands,
which was supposed to have money on board. Young Phipps determined to
find it. He set out at once, and, after many hardships, discovered the
lost treasure. He then heard of another ship, which had been wrecked
off Port De La Plata many years before. He set sail for England and
importuned Charles II for aid. To his delight the king fitted up the
ship _Rose Algier_ for him. He searched and searched for a long time
in vain, and at length had to return to England to repair his vessel.
James II was then on the throne, and Phipps had to wait for four years
before he could raise money to return. His crew mutinied and
threatened to throw him overboard, but he turned the ship's guns on
them. One day an Indian diver went down for a curious sea plant and
saw several cannon lying on the bottom. They proved to belong to the
wreck. He had nothing but dim traditions to guide him, but he returned
to England with $1,500,000.

A constant struggle, a ceaseless battle to win success in spite of
every barrier, is the price of all great achievements.

The man who has not fought his way up to his own loaf, and does not
bear the scar of desperate conflict, does not know the highest meaning
of success.

The money acquired by those who have thus struggled upward to success
is not their only, or indeed their chief reward. When, after years of
toil, of opposition, of ridicule, of repeated failure, Cyrus W. Field
placed his hand upon the telegraph instrument ticking a message under
the sea, think you that the electric thrill passed no further than the
tips of his fingers? When Thomas A. Edison demonstrated that the
electric light had at last been developed into a commercial success, do
you suppose those bright rays failed to illuminate the inmost recesses
of his soul?

CHAPTER XXVII

USES OF OBSTACLES

Nature, when she adds difficulties, adds brains.--EMERSON.

Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous
difficulties.--SPURGEON.

The good are better made by ill,
As odors crushed are sweeter still.
ROGERS.

Though losses and cro