Great Fortunes, and How They Were Made

tile world than he whose name stands at the top of this page. For more than forty years he has carried

s, and thrown upon his own resources for a living. He was a manly little fellow, and, young as he was, was fully alive to the importance of the position he was compelled to assume. He was resolv

ne of the public schools of the city. The trustees of the school supposed he was at least eighteen or nineteen years old. Had his true age been known to them, it is probable he would not have received the appointment. He was not questioned upon the subject, and he was wise enough to keep his own counsel. He performed the dut

ly self-acquired. He was determined to succeed, however, and he applied himself energetically to master the course he was

for the duties demanded of him. He was very anxious to have the place, however, for he needed the increase of salary offered him, and, after hesitating a little while, accepted it. He purchased a Latin grammar, and engaged a private tutor. He studied hard, and soon mastered the rudiments of the language. In this way he managed to keep ahead of h

sister in a cozy little cottage, the garden of which was his pride, since he tended it with his own hands. It was his custom to rise every morning at f

active and stirring pursuit, and he kept himself always on the watch for an opening. About the time he became the head of the public school we have referr

uilding a number of dwellings on the then fashionable thoroughfare of East Broadway. The elder man was pleased with the plan, and at once consented to it. The houses were built at a handsome profit; others follow

energy and judgment with which he conducted his affairs, and the strict integrity which marked them all, and he was not long in building up a reputation as a business man of which any one might have been proud. The promptness and apparent ease with which he met every contract, and took up every note, caused it to be generally believed that he was a very rich man. Further than this, it was k

ears after his appointment to it, but the requirements

e thousand dollars. One false step in business, as in other affairs of life, leads to another, and, in order to save this money, Mr. Stout was forced to renew his indorsements until his liabilities amounted to twenty-three thousand dollars.

no statement of his affairs to any one, shut himself up in his own room, and considered thoughtfully what he should do, and then followed out the decision that he had reached. Having become bankrupt in money, he concluded he would not be so in character. He had earned seventeen thousand dollars, and could earn seventeen thousand dollars more. He did confide in one friend. He went to a relative, and asked him to lend him six thousand dollars, the sum necessary to take up all the notes. The relative was astonished at the request, and insisted

uld have been canceled with alacrity. He did neither. He proposed no compromise, asked no extension, and attempted to negotiate no settlement. When the first note became due, he paid it. He did the same with the second and third. After the third payment, he was called into the office of the president. Reference was made to the notes, and to the fact that he had obtained no benefit from the money. The president told him the bank was ready to renew the notes, and to give him any accommodation that he might ask. Mr. Stout simply replied that the blow was a heavy one, but that having assumed the obligation, he should

in the evening. During his busy season, four months in the year, he worked until ten, and often until twelve, paying his employés extra wages for labor performed after the regular business hours. Sometimes he worked until four in the morning, but that did not deter him from being in the store at the usual hour for opening. He was always the last to go home,

the new bank, and was elected one of its directors. His influence was potent in directing its first operations, and the next year he was elected vice-president, in which position he really had the control of the enterprise left to him. A year later he was elected president of the bank, a position which he still holds, being in point of service the oldest bank

would suffer if the money were not promptly paid them, Mr. Stout generously advanced the necessary sum from his private means, looking to the city to reimburse him. In grateful acknowledgment of this practical sympathy for them, the force presented h

f a young man's striving to lead a Christian life in the midst of his business cares and struggles. God's blessing follows such an one at every step, and he will succeed in the end, whatever trials may beset his path at first. It is a great mistake to s

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