BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



hold. He was a true country boy, ac- 

 quainted with all the hard work and all 

 the pleasures of an old-fashioned farm life. 

 His people were poor and he had his own 

 way to make in the world, but the environ- 

 ment was on the whole a salutary one. 



He has always had a marked affection 

 for the place of his birth, and he rejoices 

 in the fact that from an eminence near his 

 present home on the Hudson he can see 

 mountains that are visible from his native 

 hills. Two or three times every year he 

 goes back to these hills to renew his youth 

 among the familiar scenes of his boyhood. 



" Johnny " Burroughs, as he was known 

 to his home folks and the neighbors, was 

 very like the other youngsters of the re- 

 gion in his interests, his ways, and his 

 work. Yet as compared with them he 

 undoubtedly had a livelier imagination, 

 and things made a keener impression on 

 his mind. In some cases his sensitive- 

 ness was more disturbing than gratify- 

 ing. When his grandfather told ** spook " 

 stories to the children gathered around the 

 evening blaze of the kitchen fireplace, 

 John's hair would almost stand on end and 

 he was afraid of every shadow. 



• • • 



vin 



