He gave money to those he found were worthy.
And though he was one of the busiest men in America, he always took time to be kind.
His pastor, Mr. Collyer, said this of him:—
"His presence, wherever he went, lay like a bar of sunshine across a dark and troubled day. I have seen it light up the careworn faces of thousands of people. It seemed as if those who looked at him were saying to themselves; 'It cannot be so bad a world as we thought, since Peter Cooper lives in it and blesses us.'"
But how did this poor boy become a millionaire? And how did he get people to love him so?
He did it, boys and girls, by making up his mind to do it at first, and then sticking to it.
Nobody could have had more hard things to overcome than Peter Cooper.
His parents were poor and had nine children.
His father moved from town to town, always hoping to do better.
He forgot the old saying, "A rolling stone gathers no moss."