Author: William S. Heywood

Publisher:

Published: 2015-07-09

Total Pages: 612

ISBN-13: 9781331011903

Excerpt from Autobiography of Adin Ballou: 1803 1890; Containing an Elaborate Record and Narrative of His Life From Infancy to Old Age; With Appendixes This volume is one of several prepared by its author and left in manuscript at his decease, the publication of which was duly provided for in specific clauses of his will. Its appearance has been considerably delayed by pre-existing engagements and more urgent duties on the part of him to whose supervision the matter was entrusted, and by other circumstances that could not be easily avoided or overcome. Its contents have been condensed somewhat from the original in order to bring them within desirable limits, but nothing has been eliminated that was deemed necessary to the completeness of the work as a portraiture of the man whose life, character, and career it was designed to outline and illustrate. Save in the particular indicated, the narrative, up to the time when the hand of the writer became incapable of further service by reason of the illness that terminated his mortal life, is given in his own way and mostly in his own language. The plan of the work, the arrangement of topics, its literary style and mode of expression, are distinctively his own, and bear the impress of his marked individuality. The subject of the autobiography was no ordinary personage, and he played no unimportant part in the drama of human affairs during the eventful period in which he lived. Springing from humble and obscure conditions, without ancestral or social prestige or the favor of influential friends; without more than very meagre opportunities for self-improvement and for rising above the common level, he yet became a central figure in the community where most of his days on earth were spent, a great power for good in the world, a noteworthy man of his age. Wherever he was known, he was loved and honored for his elevated and pure spirit, for his many excellences of character, for his broad and disinterested philanthropy, and for his unremitting endeavors to promote the welfare and happiness of his fellowmen. 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.