"With such grandparents and such surroundings, George Peabody's year at Post Mills must have been a year of intense quiet, with good examples always before him, and good advice whenever occasion called for it; for Mr. Dodge and his wife were both too shrewd to bore him with it needlessly. It was on his return from this visit that he spent a night at a tavern in Concord, N.H., and paid for his entertainment by sawing wood the next morning. That, however, must have been a piece of George's own voluntary economy: for Jeremiah Dodge would never have sent his grandson home to Danvers without the means of procuring the necessaries of life on the way; and still less, if possible, would Mrs. Dodge. Perhaps he told them that he did not need any help, relying on his own ability to make his way home, without burdening them with the expense; but, more probably, he just saw a chance for an hour or two of profitable labor, and took advantage of it to save money for other uses. "The interest with which Mr. Peabody remembered this visit to Post Mills is shown by his second visit so late in life, and his gift of a library, -as large a library as that place needs. Of its influence on his character and subsequent career, of course, there is no record. Perhaps it was not much. But, at least, it gave him a good chance for quiet thinking, at an age when he needed it; and the labors of the farm may have been useful both to mind and body. "It has been reported that he wished his relatives at Post Mills to give a lot for the library-building; but they declined. It may be that he mentioned such a thing; but I cannot believe that he urged it. The people of that village are better able to buy a suitable building-lot than they are to give it; and the building is placed in a better location than could be found for it anywhere on their farm. From the well-known character of the family, it may be fairly presumed that they contributed their just proportion for the purchase of the lot.” Dr. Hanaford furnishes the following explanation for this chapter: "In this connection," he says, "it is proper to refer to at least one of the many erroneous statements that have appeared in the public prints, and, of course, gained some credence, in reference to the early history of Mr. Peabody. I refer to the statement, that, in his poverty, he was obliged to walk from Georgetown to Thetford, and that he sawed wood for his lodging while spending the night at Concord, N.H. Perhaps there was more foundation for this report than for some others; though his father was in humble circumstances, yet not so much so as to demand such fatigues and privations of the lad. The foundation for some of the items of the report were the following: While Mr. Peabody, in the latter part of his life, was spending a short time in that place, on one occasion, while in the company of Judge Upham and others, one of the company asked him if he had ever visited Concord before. He replied that he had in his early life, and that he sawed wood for his lodging at the hotel. At that moment something occurred to divert his attention, and he failed to explain the circumstances. In his boyhood, when about to visit friends at Thetford, a marketman who had been to the city, and was on his return, stopped at his father's house, and a passage for the lad was engaged. In accordance with the custom of the times, the food was probably taken (sometimes, in winter, bean-porridge,' frozen, with a cord in it, and hung upon the load), demanding only lodging for the driver, &c. The night was spent at Concord. The marketman arrived before night: but, as there was no convenient place to stop north of Concord, where the night would overtake him if he drove on, he decided to spend the night there; which gave the young Peabody some little time to look about. He soon made the acquaintance of a boy of about his own age; and, being passionately fond of fishing, he asked his new friend to go with him. But the boy, who was connected with the hotel, informed him that he had a stint, or stent' as it was generally pronounced, and that he could not go until his task was performed. Accordingly, the two finished the labor, and then enjoyed their recreation. 6 "When the man called for his bill the next morning, he declined to take any thing for that boy, as he helped my boy saw wood.' These circumstances, probably, gave rise to the whole statement; the principal foundation being that he did pay for his lodging in that manner, though the sawing of the wood was not intended for that purpose. It is highly probable, however, that he would not have declined any honest employment if necessary, even in after-life, if the circumstances had demanded such service; since he was a man who would prefer menial service to a dishonorable act, while he was remarkable for his industry, and strict and methodical attention to business." CHAPTER VII. STILL GIVING. Peabody Institute at Baltimore.-Letter of Mr. Peabody.-Proceedings in Regard to the Donation.—Mr. Peabody's Remarks. "The classic days, those mothers of romance, Have passed and faded like a dream of youth; And riper eras ask for history's truth." — BRYANT: The Ages. "Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor,- this is the gift of God."-ECCLES. v. 19. AMONG the gifts of the man whom God greatly A prospered after he removed to England was one of great value to the city of his early busiAfter an absence of twenty ness success. years from his native land, Mr. Peabody fulfilled his intention, long before formed, of founding in the city of Baltimore an Institute comprising a large free library, the periodical delivery of lectures by eminent literary and scientific men, an academy of music, a gallery of art, and kindred purposes. |