PERSONAL HISTORY 191 



mon Roses"; the great "cold spring"; and a 

 hundred places of interest and pleasure to our 

 childhood. Nor were the woods less attractive 

 in autumn, with their gorgeous tints, rustling 

 fallen leaves, among which we found the nuts of 

 the beech, butternut, hazel, hickory, and chest- 

 nut. A ride on the great rude wood sleds in 

 winter among the ice-clad or snow-laden trees 

 was no less delightful. 



Chemistry and mechanics were of great inter- 

 est to Luther. First the attic, containing the 

 little wooden cradle, painted blue, in which so 

 many tired little ones had been hushed to sweet 

 slumber, the old spinning wheel, and ancient and 

 dilapidated furniture allured him. Later ex- 

 periments were begun in the" backyard with an 

 old tea kettle, and the neighborhood was aroused 

 by an untiring steam whistle. These experi- 

 ments continued until he had perfected a mini- 

 ature steam engine, which he afterward sold to 

 be used in propelling a small pleasure boat. 



An extreme shyness, the result of a delicate 

 physique and undue sensitiveness, often caused 

 Luther to be misunderstood and to shrink from 

 notice, bearing undeserved reproaches in silence. 

 When one of the many visitors at our home 

 looked at him across the table he would often 

 slip off his chair and run out of doors, not relish- 



