ther had concerning him; second, he
worked still harder between eight in the evening and one, two, and even
four in the morning, to get rid of the too large allowance that his
father made him.
Like all great men, his father was unsuspicious and easily hoodwinked
about family matters; so when Quincy grew listless and on certain
occasions fell asleep at his desk his renowned and indulgent father
decided it was due to overwork and sent him down to Eastborough for a
month's rest and change of scene.
His father had known Isaac Pettengill, and in fact had conducted many
successful suits for him; besides this he had drawn up the papers when
Uncle Ike divided his fortune. Quincy's father had written to Uncle Ike,
asking him to find his son a boarding place, and Uncle Ike had selected
Deacon Mason's as the best place for him.
Quincy's father had told him to be sure and get acquainted with Mr.
Isaac Pettengill, saying he was a man of fine education, and added, "I
sometimes feel, Quincy, as though I would like to go into the country
and take care of a chicken farm myself for a while."
His mother came of the best New England stock, and although she had been
named Sarah and her husband's name was Nathaniel, we have seen that the
son had been endowed with the rather high-sounding name of Quincy Adams,
which his schoolmates had shortened to Quince, and his college friends
had still further abbreviated to Quinn. Quincy had two sisters and they
had been equally honored with high-sounding appellations, the elder
being called Florence Estelle and the younger Maude Gertrude, but to pa,
ma, brother, and friends they were known as Flossie and Gertie.
The next day after the affair at Hill's grocery, Quincy put several of
the best cigars in town in his pocket and started towards Eastborough
Centre for a walk, intending to call upon Uncle Ike Pettengill.
The young man knew that late hours and their usual accompaniments were
what had undermined his health, so he determined to make his vacation of
good service to him and recover his accustomed health and strength, and
when he returned home cut his old acquaintances and settle down
earnestly and honestly to the battle of life.
He had teen a favorite in city society; he was well educated, well read,
had travelled considerably and was uniformly polite and affable to all
classes, from young children to old men and women; he was very careful
about his dress, and always had that well-groo
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