Isaac Rich of Boston [pp. 321-324]

THE
LADIES' REPOSITORY.
NO VEMBER, i 8 6 8.
ISAAC RICH.
HE life of a merchant, as of a man of let 1ters, affords but little opportunity for those
events that attract every eye. The deeds of
the warrior stun the ear of history so that it
with difficulty can hear any other fame. The
successful politician so dazzles every eye that
they are blinded to all other glory. But the
merchant builds up his being, unseen of the
general eye, and unattractive to the general
heart. And yet, in his career, he may reveal
as great force of character, display as many
brilliant qualities, and unfold as large a nature
as if he worked his way to fame on the field of
politics or of blood.
The obstacles to be overcome, and the process by which they are overcome, are the real
things to be considered in every man's history
if we would rightly measure his merits. A
child, in his mastery of his earliest studies, may
disclose as much ability as Wellington in winning Waterloo. Nothing that the Vermont boy
mathematician has accomplished in hlis later years
of distinguished labor evinces higher powers
than his boyish solutions of puzzling problems.
But not only is the character of the man thus
revealed in his earliest struggles and victories,
it is none the less exhibited in any pursuit in
which he may engage. A lawyer may display
as great powers as a statesman, a mechanic as
a warrior, a merchant as a poet, a preacher as a
prince. Stevenson, the machinist, was as great
and as honored as Peel the Prime Minister.
The former molded nature to his will, the latter
men. But nature was the more intractable. She
had for ages resisted all efforts to make her
obey the behests of man. His victory was,
therefore, against more gigantic powers, and
revealed the more gigantic powers in the victor.
The greatness of Christ is seen in the abilities
wrought out in subduing the world unto himself.
VOL. XXVIII.-2I*
The career of Isaac Rich is a striking example of conflict and conquest. A merchant
may be fortunate in his resources at the start,
or in his earliest business relations; or he may
stumble upon a fortune by ways that show no
more force or foresight than Irving's Dutchman, whose cabbage garden, through the invasion of the city, became a mine of wealth, but
which success the proprietor so attributed to
his own powers that he set up a carriage with
a cabbage for the coat of arms, and "AZlles
Kohf," "all head" for its motto. It is, therefore, no proof of superior ability to become a
leading merchant. Advantage may put money
in his purse, and his brains and blood have no
share in his fame.
Isaac Rich illustrates another style of success. His tact, talents, and energy would have
made him a man of mark in any field. He is
one of those not common in any profession
who have compelled victory to serve their will.
He was born in a sandy town, on the sandy
shore of Cape Cod. Wellfleet is the third town
from the end of Massachusetts and the continent. The tip of that tongue of land, thrust
out into the sea, is occupied with one of the
quaintest and most flourishing towns in the
country. Provincetown fares sumptuously without trees, gardens, cattle, milk, vegetables, hay,
or wood, as its produce. These all are brought
from afar. Yet it is large, wealthy, hospitable,
and abundant in all necessaries and luxuries.
It is sheltered under tall, steep ridges of granulated earth, clean and white as if from a refinery; as, indeed, they are, from that greatest
of refineries, those restless fuller's flails, the
beating waves of the sea.
This side the extreme end of the end, on the
bay side, a Cape Cod cottage, red, and brown,
and low, adapted in its architecture to the
amphibious region in which it is planted, was
the birthplace and home of Isaac Rich. A
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