Lanterna Rally

Author: Henry Atlee Ingram

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2018-03-11

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 9780364346990

Excerpt from The Life and Character of Stephen Girard, of the City of Philadelphia, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Mariner and Merchant: With an Appendix Descriptive of Girard College Any one, says Professor Wagner in his first lec ture upon Girard, who will read this biography of Mr. Girard, which I thus publicly pronounce a tissue of lies, sticking out on every page, will perceive that the whole account is embittered and venomous, and that the author has tortured his imagination to find an opportunity to falsify and pervert. Now, before dilating upon it, let us inquire for a moment who this biographer was. When the charter of the old Bank of the United States expired and Mr. Girard purchased the building, establishing in it his own Bank, he appointed George Simpson, the cashier of the former institution, to the same position in his new concern. Stephen Simpson was the son of this latter, and, with Mr. Girard's consent, was appointed by his father to the situation of clerk in the Bank, in which position he continued until the death of his father. Stephen then aspired to the cashiership that his father had held, but, unfortunately for him, Joseph Roberts, the first teller, stood between him and the coveted office. Mr. Girard had confidence in Roberts, but very little in Simpson, the result being that the former received the appointment, and the latter became thereupon the uncompromising enemy of Mr. Girard. This feeling of resentment having been reinforced by the punishment of a reduction of salary upon the occasion of Simpson's assault upon a fellow-bookkeeper in the Bank,1 every invention of fancy and perversion of facts has been resorted to by him to injure the reputation and tarnish the fame of that benevolent man - with which statement before you, for the truth of which I vouch, can you expect a calm or dispassionate narrative from a biographer so influenced? As well might you expect clear water from a muddy pool. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.