Judge Martin was very near-sighted, and it
was amusing to see him with his little basket doing his marketing,
examining scrupulously every article, cheapening everything, and
finally taking the refuse of meats and vegetables, rarely expending
more than thirty cents for the day's provisions. His penurious habits
seemed natural: they had characterized him from the moment he came to
the United States, and were then so complete as not to be intensified
by age and experience. For many years, he had no relative in this
country, and he created no relations, outside of his business, with
the community in which he lived. His antisocial nature and his
miserable manner of living kept every one from him. Secluded, and
studious in his habits, he never seemed solitary, for his books and
papers occupied his entire time. His thirst for knowledge was coequal
with his thirst for money--and why, no one could tell. He never made a
display of the one, or any use of the other but to beget money. There
seemed an innate love for both, and an equal disposition to husband
both. He seemed to have no ulterior view in hoarding--he endowed no
charity, nor sought the world's praise in the grave, by building a
church or endowing a hospital.
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