AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY: BEING PASSAGES FROM A LIFE NOW PROGRESSING IN THE CITY OF BOSTON, AN INTEREST IN WHICH IS NOT EXCITED SIMPLY BECAUSE FOUNDED ON FACT, BUT THAT THE INCIDENTS THEREIN RELATED ARE THEMSELVES THE FACTS.
BYR. L. B.
"And though calamities have crossed thee; And misery been heaped on thy head."SOLD BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY.
1871.Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1871, by HARRIET G. STORER, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
To THE FRIENDS;
WHO, IN THE SPIRIT OF HUMANITY AND KINDNESS, EXTENDED TO ME IN MY DARKEST HOUR
MATERIAL AID;
AND WHAT IS FAR MORE DELICATE AND RARE,
HEARTFELT
SYMPATHY;
AND
TO THE PUBLIC;
WITH THE HOPE THAT THIS FEARFUL EXPOSÉ OF
DISSIPATION, AS PORTRAYED IN THE PHASE OF DRINK, MAY ADD ITS MITE TOWARDS THE
ERECTION OF A BARRIER MIGHTY TO STAY THE TIDE OF
INTEMPERANCE
ROLLING OVER
THE LAND; AND DESTROYING IN ITS RESISTLESS COURSE THE FAIREST BULWARK,
OUR YOUNG
MEN,
This Book
WITH THE COMPLIMENTS OF THE AUTHOR,
IS RESPECTFULLY
DEDICATED.
CONTENTS.
- INTRODUCTION. 7
- I. I AM BORN. 11
- II. I AM A BABY. 15
- III. I AM A CHILD. 18
- IV. MY GIRLHOOD. 23
- V. THE CIRCUS. 29
- VI. THE TWICE ELOPED. 39
- VII. I AM A WIFE. 46
- VIII. A PRESENTIMENT. 51
- IX. I AM A WIDOW. 56
- X. MY EVIL GENIUS. 63
- XI. FROM GOOD TO BAD. 72
- XII. THE QUIET TOWN OF L——. 78
- XIII. THE FATES. 83
- XIV. LA MAISON DE MAUVAISE FÂME. 89
- XV. ST. LOUIS. 99
- XVI. "THE ISABEL." 104
- XVII. ANITA. 109
- XVIII. THE CAPTAIN'S CLERK. 114
- XIX. THE GRAND ITALIAN OPERA. 118
- XX. L'INCONNU. 123
- XXI. AN INTERVIEW. 131
- page: vi (Table of Contents) -7[View Page vi (Table of Contents) -7]
- XXII. WALTER. 134
- XXIII. THE LETTER. 137
- XXIV. THE HONEYMOON. 142
- XXV. MY CREED. 147
- XXVI. BOSTON'S FEMALE BROKER. 151
- XXVII. OLLA PODRIDA. 158
- XXVIII. PANDEMONIUM. 168
- XXIX. INFERNO. 176
- XXX. THE HEGIRA. 185
- XXXI. THE GRAND FINALE. 194
- XXXII. RESURGAM. 199
- XXXIII. THE CANAL STREET PAWN SHOP. 201
- XXXIV. BOOK AGENTS WANTED. 213
- XXXV. THE "HUB." 227
- XXXVI. THE RECEPTION. 233
- XXXVII. "OUR LORD'S PRAYER." 238
INTRODUCTION.
THE first time I heard Anna Dickinson speak, she stated that she had known poverty.
The time had been she was not able to buy a pair of gloves worth one shilling; that she had worked hard, and yet was poor.
She had decided it would be more profitable to give a poor lecture than receive poor pay.
I indorse her decision; and write a poor book, because of the very same reason,—poor pay.
Byron, by force of inspiration, wrote his "Bride of Abydos" in one night.
I, by force of poverty, write my book in one week.
page: 8-9[View Page 8-9]He wrote for fame!
I write to pay my board.
His motive was the more elevated!
Mine, the more urgent.
- "The butcher, the baker,
- The candlestick maker,"—
Everything I own in the world is at the pawnbroker's,—my watch, my brooch, my wedding-ring; and I see no way of redeeming them.
The spot on earth most sacred has passed into the hands of strangers.
Others walk the halls, enjoy the grounds, bury their dead; where my feet once trod, my eyes once feasted, my dead once reposed.
Reduced thus from affluence to poverty; alone, dwelling upon these things; I determine in some way to recover the lost.
Behold the reason why. I write a book!
That it will be sensational, is not my fault; my life has been one long sensation.
That, "à la Trollope," it will have its white and its black marks, is not my fault; some people are white, others black.
Unknown to friend or foe, I launch this manuscript upon the sea of literature; alike indifferent, whether the frail bark outrides the storm, or founders in sight, so that the purchase money, borne by the retreating wave, be washed to my feet
