He became a railway president and amassed
a great fortune, but was not so successful a husband as he was a
financier. The result was that the Sicilian girl, after some years of
unhappiness and suffering, deserted him and returned to her own country,
leaving her child, then three years old, behind her. To be frank with
you, it was said at the time that my mother's mind had become
unbalanced, or she would not have abandoned me to the care of a loveless
father, but I prefer to think that she had come to hate her husband so
bitterly that she could have no love for his child or else she feared
that her terrible mother would kill me if I came into her power. Her
flight mattered little to my father, except that it made him more stern
and tyrannical toward me. He saw me very seldom and confided my
education to servants. So I grew up practically unloved and uncared for,
and when the proper time arrived I was sent to college. My father now
gave me an ample allowance, and at the close of my college career called
me into his office and ordered me to enter the employ of the railway
company. I objected to this. I did not like the business and had other
plans for my future. But he was stubborn and dictatorial, and when I
continued unsubmissive he threatened to cast me off entirely and leave
his fortune to charity, since he had no other near relatives.
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