These papers had been gathered together in 1829. One by one I
turned the yellow leaves and read the story from beginning to end;
it is in brief as follows:

In the summer of 1826 it was rumored throughout Western New York
that one William Morgan, then living in the village of Batavia,
was writing an exposure of the secrets of Free Masonry, under
contract with David Miller, a printer of the same place, who was
to publish the pamphlet.

Morgan was a man entirely without means; he was said to have
served in the War of 1812, and was known to have been a brewer,
but had not made a success in business; he was rooming with a
family in Batavia with his wife and two small children, one a
child of two years, the other a babe of two months. He was quite
irresponsible, and apparently not overscrupulous in either
contracting debts or the use of the property of others.

There is not the slightest reason to believe that his so-called
exposure of Masonry was prompted by any motives other than the
profits he might realize from the sale of the pamphlet. Nor is
there any evidence that he enjoyed the confidence of the community
where he lived. His monument--as in many another case--awards him
virtues he did not possess. The figure of noble bearing on the top
of the shaft is the idealization of subsequent events, and
probably but illy corresponds with the actual appearance of the
impecunious reality. The man's fate made him a hero.

On August 9 the following notice appeared in a newspaper published