Lamb's essays were my special delight, but I had at this time no knowledge of the great master of all, Shakespeare, beyond the selected pieces in the school books.

My taste for him I acquired a little later at the old Pittsburgh Theater.
John Phipps, James R.Wilson, Thomas N.Miller, William Cowley--members of our circle--shared with me the invaluable privilege of the use of Colonel Anderson's library.

Books which it would have been impossible for me to obtain elsewhere were, by his wise generosity, placed within my reach; and to him I owe a taste for literature which I would not exchange for all the millions that were ever amassed by man.

Life would be quite intolerable without it.
Nothing contributed so much to keep my companions and myself clear of low fellowship and bad habits as the beneficence of the good Colonel.

Later, when fortune smiled upon me, one of my first duties was the erection of a monument to my benefactor.