As Ralph grew up from infancy to childhood,
he began to give decided promise of future
distinction. He was fond of sitting down in a
corner and sucking his thumb, which his mother
interpreted as the sign of that brooding disposition
peculiar to poets and men of lofty genius.
At the age of five, he had become sole master
in the house. He slapped his sister Hilda in
the face, or pulled her hair, when she hesitated
to obey him, tyrannized over his nurse, and
sternly refused to go to bed in spite of his
mother's entreaties. On such occasions, the
Colonel would hide his face behind his newspaper,
and chuckle with delight; it was evident
that nature had intended his son for a great
military commander. As soon as Ralph himself
was old enough to have any thoughts about his
future destiny, he made up his mind that he
would like to be a pirate. A few months later,
having contracted an immoderate taste for
candy, he contented himself with the comparatively
humble position of a baker; but when
he had read "Robinson Crusoe," he manifested
a strong desire to go to sea in the hope of being
wrecked on some desolate island. The parents
spent long evenings gravely discussing these
indications of uncommon genius, and each
interpreted them in his or her own way.
"He is not like any other child I ever knew,"
said the mother.
"To be sure," responded the father, earnestly.
"He is a most extraordinary child. I was a
very remarkable child too, even if I do say it
myself; but, as far as I remember, I never
aspired to being wrecked on an uninhabited is
land.
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