Μ'

CHAPTER I.

CHILDHOOD AND COUNTRY LIFE.

"Away away, from men and towns,
To the wild wood and the downs-
To the silent wilderness,

Where the soul need not repress
Its music, lest it should not find
An echo in another's mind,

While the touch of nature's art
Harmonizes heart to heart."

-SHELLEY.

Y name is Reuben Rodney Blannerhassett.
I tell you that now, so you will know who

I am.

And I want to say a thing or two before I begin. I doubt if the world has ever made due estimate of the earlier years of the personal life. Some one has said that the character is usually fixed at twelve. After this, it is