youth and the adventures of his brothers and
sisters reads more like melodrama than sober fact. One brother, Harry,
wandering disconsolate in the market-place, was carried off by a kind
and wealthy Kentuckian, who took a fancy to the handsome boy and
brought him up as his own son. Matilda, the beauty of the family,
seeing a peaceful Quaker couple sitting by a window, was so struck by
the contrast between their gentle lives and her own that she went into
the house and asked to be allowed to stay with them. The kind-hearted
people were so touched by her distress and beauty that they adopted
her as their own. Little Jacob, encouraged by the success of his
brother and sister, ran away on his own account, but fell into evil
hands, and was beaten and ill-used until rescued by his beautiful
sister Matilda. Fortunately for Jacob, he found favour in the sight of
Grandfather Miller, who educated him, dressed him well, and gave him a
good allowance. At this time there was an outbreak of small riots in
Philadelphia, caused by roughs attacking the Quakers. The
"shadbellies," as they were derisively called, did not fight back,
which made the sport all the more alluring to the cowardly rioters.
Young Van de Grift, who was an excellent amateur boxer, joined in
these frays with enthusiasm in defense of the Quakers. It was not only
his fine American spirit of fair play that urged him into these
fights, but he felt a deep gratitude to the Quakers all his life on
account of his sister Matilda. Strangely enough, Grandfather Miller
disapproved of young Van de Grift's conduct. He scolded and fumed, and
when, early one morning, his grandson was found on his door-step
beaten black and blue, the unreasonable old man, utterly losing sight
of the chivalric cause, sent the troublesome lad away--to the farthest
place, in fact, that he could reach. This place turned out to be the
frontier backwoods town of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Here Jacob's attention was soon attracted by a pretty young woman, a
tiny, dainty creature named Esther Keen (our mother, whom I have
already described), who was on a visit to her sister. The records show
that they were married in Philadelphia in 1837.

[Illustration: Jacob Van de Grift, about 56 years of age, father of
Fanny Van de Grift Stevenson.]

Like many another irresponsible young man, Jacob Van de Grift married
became quite a different person. Returning to Indianapolis, he
built a house for himself with the aid o