and again, of "the beaming eyes, the winning smile, and the earnest
desire of always wanting to do what was just and right."

A bread-winner at fifteen, and for a large family, surely this is the
end of all dreams of scholarship or of professional service. That
depends on the man - and the conditions that surround him. Happily
King's mother was a woman of good mind who knew and loved the best in
literature. Ambitious for her gifted son, she read with him, and for
him, certain of the masters whom to know well is to possess the
foundations of true culture. It is a pretty scene and suggestive - the
lad and his mother, reading together "till the wee small hours"
Plutarch, Grote's History of Greece, Bullfinch's Mythology, Dante and
the plays of William Shakespeare. Fortunately his mother was not his
only helper. Near at hand was Theodore Parker who was said to possess
the best private library in Boston, and whose passion for aiding young
men was well known. He befriended King as he befriended others, and
early discovered in the widow's son superior talents. In those days very
young men used to preach. Before he had reached his majority, King was
often sent to fill engagements under direction and at the suggestion of
Parker. The high esteem of the elder for the younger man is attested by
the following letter to an important church not far from Boston.

"I cannot come to preach for you as I would like, but with your kind
permission I will send Thomas Starr King. This young man is not a
regularly ordained preacher, but he has the grace of God in his heart,
and the gift of tongues. He is a rare sweet spirit and I know that after
you have met with him you will thank me for sending him to you."

This young dry-goods clerk, schoolmaster, and bookkeeper, for he
followed all of these occupations during the years in which he was