My Boyhood and Touth 



"Oh, Anne! dinna put sic notions in the laddie's 

 heed." But at this time there was precious 

 Uttle need of such prayers. My brothers left 

 the farm when they came of age, but I stayed 

 a year longer, loath to leave home. Mother 

 hoped I might be a minister some day; my sis- 

 ters that I would be a great inventor. I often 

 thought I should like to be a physician, but I 

 saw no way of making money and getting the 

 necessary education, excepting as an inventor. 

 So, as a beginning, I decided to try to get into 

 a big shop or factory and live a while among 

 machines. But I was naturally extremely shy 

 and had been taught to have a poor opinion of 

 myself, as of no account, though all our neigh- 

 bors encouragingly called me a genius, sure to 

 rise in the world. When I was talking over 

 plans one day with a friendly neighbor, he said : 

 "Now, John, if you wish to get into a machine- 

 shop, just take some of your inventions to the 

 State Fair, and you may be sure that as soon 

 as they are seen they will open the door of any 

 shop in the country for you. You will be wel- 

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