rn Sweden. This new employment was exacting,
and the pay determined by the amount of work accomplished. Mr.
Church says: "The young surveyor from the Goeta Canal was so
indefatigable in his industry and so rapid in execution, that he
performed double duty and was carried on the pay-roll as two persons
in order to avoid criticism and charges of favoritism. The results
of his labors were maps of fifty square miles of territory, still
preserved in the archives of Stockholm."
At the age of twenty-one John Ericsson is described as "a handsome,
dashing youth, with a cluster of thick, brown, glossy curls
encircling his white, massive forehead. His mouth was delicate but
firm, nose straight, eyes light blue, clear and bright, with a
slight expression of sadness, his complexion brilliant with the
freshness and glow of healthy youth. The broad shoulders carried
most splendidly the proud, erect head. He presented, in short, the
very picture of vigorous manhood. A portrait of him at this age,
painted upon ivory for his mother by an English artist named Way,
has been preserved."
Fifteen years later he was in New York, and is thus described by
Samuel Risley: "Captain Ericsson all his life was careful of his
personal appearance; at the time I refer to (1839) he was
exceptional in dress, not dandified, but more in keeping with the
present morning-call attire than an ordinary day habit. A
close-fitting black frock surtout coat, well open at the front, with
rolling collar, showing velvet vest and a good display of
shirt-front; a fine gold chain hung about his neck, looped at the
first button-hole of the vest and attached to a watch carried in the
fob of the vest. Usually light-colored, well-fitting trousers,
light-colored kid gloves, and a beaver hat completed the dress. To
this add a well-built military figure, about five feet ten and
one-half inches in height and well set-up, with broad shoulders and
rather large hands and feet; the head well placed and supported by a
military stock round the neck. Expressive features, blue eyes, and
brown curly hair, fair complexion. His head was of medium size, his
mouth well cut, upper lip a little drawn, the jaws large and firm
set, conveying an expression of firmness and individual character.
Up to the summer of 1842 I was in constant attendance upon the
captain, being a sort of factotum to him in preparing his models. At
that time he boarded at the Astor House, where I first met his wife.
H
|