ALTHOUGH upon the failure for which he was not responsible of the firm of which he was a member Mr. Field had effected a compromise with the creditors of the firm which had procured his release from all legal obligations, and which satisfied them as the best that they could hope for, it did not satisfy him. He felt that in reality he was still their debtor, and one of the chief incentives to his intense devotion to business in the years following his fresh start was the hope of clearing off the debt, so that no man should have lost by trusting him. In this he succeeded. He himself says in the incomplete autobiography already cited:
“There was no luck about my success, which was remarkable. It was not due to the control or use of large capital, to the help of friends, to speculations or to fortunate turns of events, it was by constant labor and with the ambition to be a successful merchant; and I was rewarded by seeing a steady, even growth of business. I had prospered so that on the 1st of January, 1853, I was worth over $250,000. I then turned to my books for a list of the old claims which I had settled by compromising ten years before, found the amount which my generous creditors had deducted from their claims, added to each one interest for that time, and sent to every man a check for the whole amount principal and with seven per cent. interest, a sum amounting in all to many thousands of dollars.”
The letters that follow tell their own story and how the money was received. Two of them indicate that he made use of his prosperity to release his own debtors at the same time that he was paying in full his creditors:
“Hartford, Conn., 2d March, 1853.
“Cyrus W. Field, Esq., New York:
“Dear Sir,—Your favor of yesterday’s date was duly received, and we would now acknowledge the same, and with no ordinary feeling of satisfaction, for in these degenerate days it is in truth a rare occurrence to find men who like yourself—as is evidenced by this act—are honest from principle, and who never consider themselves morally quit of a just debt, even though legally released, until the debt is paid in full. We would now express to you our thanks for the sum enclosed, not so much for the value thereof in currency as for the proof it affords that ‘honesty still dwells among men.’ With our best wishes for your continued prosperity and an assurance of our high regard,
“We are truly your friends,
“Woodruff & Co.,
“By Sam. Woodruff.”
“Lowell, March 3, 1853.
“C. W. Field, Esq.: