Old and young, rich and poor, shared equally in these distributions; and he rarely allowed an occasion to pass unimproved when he thought an influence could be exerted by the gift of an appropriate volume.
While waiting one day in his carriage with a friend, in one of the principal thoroughfares of the city, he beckoned to a genteelly-dressed young man who was passing, and handed him a book. Upon being asked whether the young man was an acquaintance, he replied:
"No, he is not; but you remember where it is written, 'Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days.'"
"A barrel of books" is no uncommon item found in his record of articles almost daily forwarded to one and another of his distant beneficiaries.
[CHAPTER XIII.]
CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. WEBSTER.—LETTERS.
(TO HIS SON.)
"February 5, 1830.
"Be sure and visit La Grange before you return; say to General Lafayette that the Bunker Hill Monument will certainly be finished, and that the foolish project of a lottery has been abandoned. If, in the course of Providence, I should be taken away, I hope my children will feel it a duty to continue the efforts that are made in this work, which I have had so much at heart, and have labored so much for."