Page:Life of Isaiah V Williamson.djvu/81

Rh All things pointed plainly to a new side of Isaiah Williamson's brain. He was more than a merchant, he was also a financier, like Marshall Field, who came along later on the same path.

It was a surprise to both Peter and Isaiah that this unlooked-for development of character and power had come. Other investors were just as diligent, cautious, painstaking, in study of enterprises. But results proved that the keen perceptions and soundness of judgment possessed by Isaiah Williamson were most uncommon and amounted to a talent which, hitherto, had lain dormant.

Therefore, this previously unknown something in the quality of his mind must now be taken into account and worked just the same as the lead or silver veins that might come to light on the owner's farm.

The calm, deliberate discussions of these two kinsfolk slowly settled down to a summing up somewhat like this:

Isaiah was in good health, with a probability of years to give to making money for himself.

He had found out that he could not only