student, and acquired the basis of an excellent education.

In 1817 he came into possession of a copy of Benjamin Franklin's
autobiography, which had been recently published in Scotland. The
perusal of this little book changed the course of his whole life. It
induced him to abandon all thoughts of the priesthood, and to try his
fortune in the New World, in which the great philosopher had succeeded
so well before him. A little more than a year later he left Glasgow, and
in May, 1819, being now about twenty years old, landed at Halifax, Nova
Scotia. He had less than twenty-five dollars in his purse, knew no
vocation save that of a book-keeper, and had not a friend on this side
of the ocean.

He secured a few pupils in Halifax, and gave lessons in book-keeping,
but his profits were so small that he determined to reach the United
States as soon as possible. Accordingly he made his way along the coast
to Portland, Maine, where he took passage for Boston in a small
schooner. He found great difficulty in procuring employment, for Boston
then, as now, offered but few inducements to new-comers. He parted with
his last penny, and was reduced to the most pressing want. For two whole
days he went without food, and a third day would doubtless have been
added to his fast had he not been fortunate enough to find a shilling on
the Common, with which he procured the means of relieving his hunger. He
now obtained a salesman's place in the bookstore of Messrs. Wells &
Lilly, who, upon discovering his fitness for the place, transferred him
to their printing-office as proof-reader; but his employers failed about
two years after his connection with them began, and he was again thrown
out of employment.

From Boston he went, in 1822, to New York, where he obtained a situation
on a newspaper. Soon after his arrival in the metropolis he was offered,
by Mr. Wellington, the proprietor of the "Charleston (S.C.) Courier,"
the position of translator from the Spanish, and general assistant. He
accepted the offer, and at once repaired to Charleston. He remained
there only a few months, however, and then returned to New York.

He now proposed to open a "Permanent Commercial School," at 148 Fulton
Street, and advertised to teach the usual branches "in the inductive
method." His advertisement set forth that his pupils would be taught
"reading, elocution, penmanship, and arithmetic; algebra; astronomy,
history, and geography; moral philosophy, commerci