Library / Literature & Fiction
The Ways of Men
- Pages
- about 232
- Category
- Literature & Fiction
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 4.3 h at 250 wpm
From the opening
The gentleman who graced the gubernatorial armchair of our state when
this century was born happened to be an admirer of classic lore and the
sonorous names of antiquity.
It is owing to his weakness in bestowing pompous cognomens on our embryo
towns and villages that to-day names like Utica, Syracuse, and Ithaca,
instead of evoking visions of historic pomp and circumstance, raise in
the minds of most Americans the picture of cocky little cities, rich only
in trolley-cars and Methodist meeting-houses.
When, however, this cultured governor, in his ardor, christened one of
the cities Troy, and the hill in its vicinity Mount Ida, he little
dreamed that a youth was living on its slopes whose name was destined to
become a household word the world over, as the synonym for the proudest
and wealthiest republic yet known to history, a sobriquet that would be
familiar in the mouths of races to whose continents even the titles of
Jupiter or Mars had never penetrated.
A little before this century began, two boys with packs bound on their
stalwart shoulders walked from New York and established a brickyard in
the neighborhood of what is now Perry Street, Troy. Ebenezer and Samuel
Wilson soon became esteemed citizens of the infant city, their kindliness
and benevolence winning for them the affection and respect of the
community.
The younger brother, Samuel, was an especial favorite with the children
of the place, whose explorations into his deep pockets were generally
rewarded by the discovery of some simple “sweet” or home-made toy. The
slender youth with the “nutcracker” face proving to be the merriest of
playfellows, in their love his little band of admirers gave him the pet
name of “Uncle Sam,” by which he quickly became known, to the exclusion
of his real name.
A short sample. Read the whole book
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