Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 6.djvu/277

 HON. WILLIAM B. SMALL.

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��HON. WILLIAM B. SMALL.

��PA" ELISHA A. KEEP.

��The elements of society are many and varied ; but men are divided into two classes — the few who lead, and the many who are led.

The man of sufficient independence and will-power to oppose what he be- lieves to be wrong, and to defend and maintain the right, regardless of conse- quences, will find a place in the world, and hearts of men awaiting his leader- ship ; and the man of strong personali- ty, added to principle, will be remem- bered. It is of such a man that the writer comes to the pages of the Gran- ite Monthly with this brief sketch.

Well known to many of the people of New Hampshire, and particularly of the south-eastern part, is the name of William B. Small. Though not a native of New Hampshire, enough of his life was spent among her hills to endear to him her many interests and good peo- ple, and to entitle him to a place upon her scroll of honor, and a share in her treasured history. New Hampshire was the scene of his life from boyhood, and the ground upon which be found his way to eminence.

William Bradbury Small was the son of Isaac Small, and was born in Lim- ington, Maine, May 17, 1S17. There he resided until nearly a young man, when he came to New Hampshire with his parents, who settled on a farm in the town of Ossipee, and became awell known and prominent family of Carroll county.

The life of every man, be he great or small, has its first page written in the type of childhood. The figures and marks on this title page, generally out- line and index the course of after years. The aspirations of the youth fore-shad- ow the man, and this case was no ex- ception. He then formed the inclina- tions and desires which later became so prominent in his character as a man.

��The man who leaves any impress of his life, and any mark, is not one who is afraid of soiling his hands by work, but one who patiently and faithfully hews out his way as the day finds it before him. This man fought his own battles, and earned his passage through the world by hard labor. He shirked neither work nor responsibility, nor shared in the fears of so many, lest he should do something without reward.

Most untiring, ready and willing, as a student of life, nature and books, he found the ways of knowledge open to him, as they ever are to such. What- ever came to his hand to do he did with a will and determination that meant something, stamping it with his own individuality and earnestness. From the rugged life and industry of one of the noblest occupations in which a man can engage, — that of tilling the soil, — sprang and developed the ener- getic character and sturdy manhood that made the young man one of prom- ise, and later a successful, upright and able lawyer, a distinguished man and citizen, and a valued friend.

But youth passes by, and William B. Small is a man destined for a broader sphere of thought and life ; to do noble senice for the people of New Hamp- shire who are waiting for him. Hon- ored and attractive as was the home life with his parents on the farm, — -for New Hampshire farms have their at- tractions, — he realized greater possibili- ties in the world of educated thought, and was determined to obtain an edu- cation — the surest weapon of success known to life. Unassisted he availed himself of the advantages of Effingham Academy, and afterward pursued a course of reading and study by himself. Later, he taught in one of the public schools of Exeter, and there decided to follow the profession of law, in which

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