Volume II: see https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48175

LITTLE VISITS WITH GREAT AMERICANS

Or

Success Ideals and How to Attain Them

Edited by

Orison Swett Marden

Author of “Pushing to the Front,” etc., etc., etc.

The Success Company New York 1905

Copyright, 1903 By The Success Company New York

Copyright, 1904 By The Success Company New York

All Rights Reserved

PREFACE

“Experience,” says the proverb, “is a dear school, and none but fools learn therein.” The inference is that to be wise one must suffer himself to be taught by the experience of others. This volume contains the life stories, told by themselves, of many successful men and women, with emphasis on those experiences which to them appear to have been the turning points in their lives.

It is not likely that there is anywhere in existence a similar collection of heart-to-heart talks with distinguished people of equal value to this. The idea of requesting the leaders in invention, manufacture, transportation, commerce, finance, in political and public life, and in the professions of the ministry, the law, literature and art, to bequeath in their own words the stories of their lives, their ideals, and the lessons of their experience, to the American public, originated with Orison Swett Marden, and contributed in no small degree to the immediate and remarkable popularity of SUCCESS, in which many of these interviews first appeared. The early files of the magazine are long since exhausted, but the interest in, and demand for, these articles is sufficient assurance that they are of enduring merit, and deserve to be collected in permanent form.

We regard them as a trust. We do not feel that we have a right to withhold them from the public. We have accordingly fulfilled our obligation by presenting them in attractive form, and we are well assured that young and old alike who are striving to attain their ideals in life will recognize the fact that the highest form of self-interest will lead them to read and absorb the practical helpfulness contained in these pages. Many and varied careers have been selected, so that each one may find his ideal of success fulfilled in real life, and be aroused to a lofty aspiration and resolute determination to achieve like eminence. With Emerson we say, “Hitch your wagon to a star,” and, with Lowell, “Not failure, but low aim, is crime.”

While for the most part the experiences portrayed in this book occurred upon American soil, in several instances persons born or now living abroad, but prominently identified with American life, have been included.

We acknowledge our indebtedness to the publishers of the “Literary Digest,” of “Collier’s Weekly,” of the “American Review of Reviews,” and others who kindly loaned valuable photographs for reproduction, and also to members of the SUCCESS editorial staff for valuable assistance in the preparation of this volume.

THE PUBLISHERS.

CONTENTS

INVENTION.

CHAPTER PAGE I. Hard Work, the Secret of a Great Inventor’s Genius—_Thomas Alva Edison_ 17

II. A “Down-East” Yankee Who Dictates Peace to the Nations—_Hiram Stevens Maxim_ 35

MANUFACTURE.

III. A Poor Boy Who Once Borrowed Books Now Gives Away Libraries—_Andrew Carnegie_ 51

IV. A Good Shoemaker Becomes Detroit’s Best Mayor and Michigan’s Greatest Governor—_Hazen S. Pingree_ 71

COMMERCE.

V. Determination Not to Remain Poor Made a Farmer Boy Merchant Prince—_Marshall Field_ 80

VI. Honesty the Foundation of a Great Merchant’s Career—_John Wanamaker_ 92

VII. A British Boy Wins Fortune and Title by American Business Methods—_Sir Thomas Lipton_ 108

FINANCE.

VIII. A Self-made Man Who Strives to Give Others a Chance—_Darius Ogden Mills_ 117

IX. Thrift, the Secret of a Fortune Built in a Single Lifetime—_Russell Sage_ 125

X. Cut Out for a Banker, He Rose from Errand Boy to Secretary of the United States Treasury—_Lyman Judson Gage_ 131

XI. A Young Millionaire Not Afraid to Work in Overalls—_Cornelius Vanderbilt_ 138

TRANSPORTATION.

XII. A Messenger Boy’s Zeal Lifts Him to the Head of the World’s Greatest Telegraph System—_Robert C. Clowry_ 144

XIII. Enthusiasm for Railroading Makes a Section Hand Head of the Metropolitan System—_Herbert H. Vreeland_ 152

LABOR.

XIV. A Factory Boy’s Purpose to Improve Labor Makes Him a Great Leader—_Samuel Gompers_ 164

PUBLIC LIFE.

XV. A Puny Boy, by Physical Culture, Becomes the Most Vigorous of American Presidents—_Theodore Roosevelt_ 173

XVI. A Brave Volunteer Fights His Way to the Head of the American Army—_Nelson A. Miles_ 188

XVII. Making the Most of His Opportunities Wins a Coveted Embassy—_Joseph H. Choate_ 196

XVIII. A Village Boy’s Gift of Oratory Earns Him Wealth and Fame—_Chauncey M. Depew_ 207

XIX. A Chance-Found Book the Turning Point in a United States Senator’s Career—_Jonathan P. Dolliver_ 219

XX. Varied Business Training the Foundation of a Long Political Career—_Thomas C. Platt_ 225

XXI. A Magnate, the Courage of His Convictions Makes Him a Reformer—_Tom L. Johnson_ 234

EDUCATION AND LITERATURE.

XXII. A Backwoods Boy Works His Way Through College and Becomes University President—_Jacob Gould Schurman_ 243

XXIII. A “Jack of All Trades” Masters One and Becomes the Poet of the People—_James Whitcomb Riley_ 252

XXIV. A Farm Boy Who Devoured Books Writes One of the Greatest Poems of the Century—_Edwin Markham_ 263

XXV. A Famous Authoress Tells Literary Aspirants the Story of Her Struggle for Recognition—_Ella Wheeler Wilcox_ 272

XXVI. A Printer’s Boy, Self-Taught, Becomes the Dean of American Letters—_William Dean Howells_ 283

XXVII. A Famous Novelist Atones for Wasted School Days by Self-Culture—_General Lew Wallace_ 296

XXVIII. A Social Leader, Having “Eyes That See,” Earns Literary Laurels—_Mrs. Burton Harrison_ 305

ART.

XXIX. Painstaking the Secret of a Celebrated Painter’s Success—_Edwin Austin Abbey_ 311

XXX. A School Girl, Not Afraid of Drudgery, Becomes America’s Foremost Woman Illustrator—_Alice Barber Stephens_ 321

XXXI. A Schoolboy’s Sketches Reveal the Bent of a Talented Illustrator—_Frederic Remington_ 327

XXXII. Rebuffs and Disappointments Fail to Repress a Great Cartoonist’s Genius—_Homer Davenport_ 334

XXXIII. Being Himself in Style and Subjects the Secrets of an Artist’s Wonderful Popularity—_Charles Dana Gibson_ 342

XXXIV. A “Printer’s Devil” Whose Perseverance Wins Him Well-Earned Reputation as a Fun-Maker—_Frederick Burr Opper_ 353

XXXV. “A Square Man in a Round Hole” Rejects $5,000 a Year and Becomes a Sculptor—_F. Wellington Ruckstuhl_ 358

XXXVI. During Leisure Hours he “Found Himself” and Abandoned Law for Art—_Henry Merwin Shrady_ 366

AMUSEMENT.

XXXVII. Deformed in Body, His Cheerful Spirit Makes Him the Entertainer of Princes—_Marshall P. Wilder_ 371

XXXVIII. Energy and Earnestness Win an Actor Fame—_Richard Mansfield_ 379

XXXIX. A Father’s Common-Sense Gives America a Great Bandmaster—_John Philip Sousa_ 384

PHILANTHROPY.

XL. Blind, Deaf and Dumb, Patient Effort Wins Her Culture and Rare Womanhood—_Helen Keller_ 391

XLI. Jay Gould’s Chum Chooses “High Thinking, Not Money-Making,” and Wins Success Without Riches—_John Burroughs_ 402

XLII. A Millionaire’s Daughter Makes Inherited Wealth a Blessing to Thousands—_Helen Miller Gould_ 413

XLIII. A Self-Made Merchant Solves the Problem of Practical Philanthropy—_Nathan Strauss_ 420

DIVINITY.

XLIV. A Varied Career Develops the Resourceful Head of a Great Institutional Church and College—_Russell H. Conwell_ 426

XLV. An Inspiring Personality Wins a Noted Preacher Fame—_Frank W. Gunsaulus_ 432

XLVI. From the Forge to the Pulpit, a Life of Devotion and Application—_Robert Collyer_ 441

CANADIANS.

XLVII. Canada’s Leading Conservative Extols “the Country of the Twentieth Century”—_Robert Laird Borden_ 447

XLVIII. An Eminent Scholar Advocates the Union of Canada and the United States—_Goldwin Smith_ 454

XLIX. After Failure as a Grocer, He Becomes the Ablest Administrator Quebec Has Ever Had—_S. N. Parent_ 460

L. Canada’s Leading Economist Tells Her Sons to Seek Fortune in Her Own Domain—_Andrew G. Blair_ 470

LI. A Distinguished Educator Has Found Contentment in the Simple Life—_James Loudon_ 479

LII. Beginning as Telegraph Operator He Built the Canadian Pacific—_Sir William C. Van Horne_ 485

LIII. An Immigrant Boy Becomes a National Figure in Reform—_Samuel Jones_ 498

LIV. A “Forty-niner” who Seized Opportunities Others Failed to See—_Philip D. Armour_ 511

LV. The Blind Yacht Designer Attributes His Conquests to His Mother’s Early Care—_John B. Herreshoff_ 528

LVI. A Great Vocalist Shows that Only Years of Labor Can Win the Heights of Song—_Lillian Nordica_ 541

INTRODUCTION

Apelles, the great artist, traveled all over Greece for years, studying the fairest points of beautiful women, getting here an eye, there a forehead, and there a nose, here a grace and there a turn of beauty, for his famous portrait of a perfect woman which enchanted the world. It was not a portrait, not an imaginary ideal head, but a composite, a combination from the most perfect features he could find. By combining the perfect points, the graceful curves, the lines of beauty of many individuals, he made his wonderful painting.

The great artist knew that all elements of beauty and perfection of physical form could not be found in one person. He knew, too, that some of the most perfect features and beautiful curves would be found in women who were on the whole anything but beautiful—perhaps repulsive.

The editors of this volume have been for many years in quest of the elements of a grand, healthy, symmetrical, successful man—the ideal man. They knew at the beginning that it would be impossible to find any one man who would illustrate all these points of perfection, who would combine in perfect degree all the success qualities, but they have found in scores of men who have achieved something worth while qualities which, put together, would make a composite ideal man, a man who, in the evolution of civilization, will, perhaps, sometime be possible. Usually, in men who have risen to eminence, some one quality or virtue shines conspicuous, often accompanied with defects, perhaps great weakness, which, to gain the lesson, we must ignore.

The editors have found here a man illustrative of perseverance, here one marked by undaunted ambition, there a life where grit overcame all obstacles, and another where the quick grasping of opportunities led to noble achievement.

They have interviewed successful men and women in the various vocations, trying to get at the secret of their success, the reasons for their advancement. These varied life stories will give the reader the material for constructing the composite character—the ideal man or woman—one that shall combine all the best virtues and qualities, whose imitation will help to insure a useful, profitable and honored life. This composite man will not be a one-sided specialist. He will not be a man cursed with any great weakness. He will be a man raised to the highest power, symmetrical, self-centered, equipoised, ever master of himself.

It does not follow that every man whose name appears in this book is a model in every respect. Napoleon was not a model character, and yet he exemplifies some success qualities in his career in an almost ideal degree.

What question, arising from individual experience, from family life, or from daily observation within the community, is of more poignant human interest than the query: “Why do some men succeed, while others fail?” and the allied question: “What constitutes success in life, and how may it be attained?”

An analysis of the ideals and achievements of these leaders in invention, commerce and finance, in public affairs, and in literature, the arts, and the professions, as set forth by themselves, seems to reveal certain salient life lessons well worthy of most careful consideration. First, it would appear that without exception every successful man or woman at some period of his or her life, whether early or late, has formed a life purpose, and has registered a solemn vow to achieve something more than ordinary in the world. An exception to this rule appears to obtain in the cases of men or women possessed of a strong natural bent or talent, the exercise of which is an instinctive craving that will not be denied. This determination to be or to achieve, or this instinctive bent of thought and action, appears to be the first indication of greatness, and the turning point in great careers.

The next most obvious lesson to be drawn from a careful study of these interviews seems to be, that once a determination to succeed is made, and the first steps, however humble, have been entered upon in the new career, the subject commences to take an _interest_ amounting to positive pleasure in the tasks and duties incident to his chosen life work.

The far-away goal of success, with its reward of fame, wealth, and all that money can procure, appears to fade from the worker’s sight as he advances toward it, and the incitement to labor for material reward is lost in the joy of congenial labor for its own sake. The player loses sight of the hope of victory in the mere zest of the game. This note appears again and again in the life stories of great workers as revealed by themselves, and accounts for the spectacle, so puzzling to many, of the master of millions apparently grasping for more millions in his declining years. There can be no content with present achievement, however great, because all who have achieved great things have discovered that the ends sought are lost in the value of the faculties developed by the search, and they hence seek, not additional reward of toil, but rather the pleasurable exercise of the chase. The joy of labor will not permit men to lay down the harness and relinquish effort this side the grave.

A determination to succeed once formed, and a congenial career once chosen and entered upon, there commences a process of character-building by the formation of life habits. These solidify into personal characteristics, the varying assortment of which in the individual constitutes what we call his personality, wherein one man differs from another. Character, it has been wisely said, is the resultant of choices. It appears again and again in the reminiscences of those who have succeeded, that from time to time they have deliberately chosen a course of action which by force of habit has become a personal characteristic, and has earned them national, if not world-wide, reputation. The name of “Honest” John Wanamaker stands for a reputation having a commercial value of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The acorn from which grew this mighty oak was a young man’s choice of honesty as the foundation of his career.

Books and essays by the score and hundred have been written by theorists upon the principles of success in life. Worthy as are many of the writers, their lives often illustrate the adage of the poet, “It were easier to tell twenty what were good to be done than to be one of the twenty to follow mine own teachings.” Boldly contrasted with such writings are the flesh and blood maxims herein contained, stamped with the mint marks of great personalities, towering mountainous among their fellows, each coined from the life habits which have hardened into enduring character, and have left their impress upon the history of our times.

In a drawing-room or public assemblage he would indeed be unambitious and mean-spirited, who would not choose the company and conversation of the greatest and the best. Carlyle says, “Great men taken up in any way are profitable company.” What privilege could promise equal pleasure and profit with a series of visits at the homes of the most notable personages our land contains, to consult with each on the great questions of success or failure, of what constitutes ideal success, and of how it may be attained?

Such is the privilege contemplated by this volume and freely offered to all who choose to avail themselves of it. Compared with the inspiration, the examples and the wise counsel contained within its covers, the cost of such a volume sinks into insignificance. Benjamin Franklin said that the reading of one good book made him what he was. Henry Clay testified, “to the fact that in the midst of her early poverty my mother provided her home with a few choice books, do I owe my success in life.” Senator Dolliver, in the present volume, regards a chance-found book as the turning point of his career, and like testimony is all but universal. Let the young and the guardians of youth weigh well the thought that there are sins of omission, as well as of commission, and that it may be hardly a less criminal negligence to refuse fit books for the growing mind than food for the growing body.

Quite aside from considerations of profit and duty are the considerations of pleasure offered by a volume of this character. It is a truism that truth is stranger than fiction. The romance of reality is the most thrilling of all romances, and there is a peculiar fascination associated with those glimpses of the inner man which are revealed by a speaker who sets forth his own life story, and places his own interpretation upon it. From this view point, “Little Visits” possesses a wealth of suggestion and of information, alike valuable and interesting to readers of all ages and of every walk in life.

The dominant note of this book, is inspiration; its keynote, helpfulness.

We have tried to drive home every precept and lesson with stirring and inspiring stories of great lives which show that men and women are the architects of their own fortunes, and which will explode the excuses of those who think they have no chance in life. It shows that necessity has ever been the priceless spur that has urged man to struggle with his destiny and develop his greatest strength.

We think the reader will find in these pages the composite character, the all-round success. We have tried to show that there is something better than making a living, and that is making a life—that a man may make millions and be a failure still.

We have shown that a man to succeed must be greater than his calling, that he must overtop his vocation. We have tried to teach that the really successful man must be greater than the book he writes, than the patient he treats, than the goods he sells, than the cause he pleads in the courts—that manhood is above all titles, greater than any career.

THE EDITOR.