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been the cause of his not educating his children; for
he was the stingyest man, I ever knew - too much so
to live well- or even decently - they had not a good
set of knives & forks during the time, I lived with
them - and yet wife, daughters & all were perfectly
cheerful & happy - and so was I, for the good
old Gentleman & Lady were very kind to me, and their
daughters, tho' they labored under great disadvantages
were ladies, and as kind as sisters could have been
to me. I retain for the whole family the most
affectionate regards. In addition to their relations
before mentioned, they were connected by blood &
marriage, with several distinguished families
in Virginia & Kenty - particularly the Clark's
Henderson's & Lewis's. Capt Bullock was indeed
a father to me. I don't think there was any stipulation
between him & my brother as to the
length of time I was to serve - or write in the
office. Kentucky was then a new country, & I
presume the understanding was that I was to remain
until I could get a "clerkship" in
some new county, which I could have done, before
I was fifteen years of age - the clerkship
of Floyd County, being offered to me at that very
tender age, but it was a new, wild mountanous
county, & I was not willing to accept it.
When I went into the office, I found there a very
unpromising looking young fellow, named John
Mitchell, who had been in the office three weeks.
He was probably 16 or 17 years of age, exceedingly
awkward & uncouth in his appearance - wretchedly
dressed. His coat was of blue cloth - had been
made for a large man, but [ragee'd?] to come
near fitting him, his pantaloons (called trousers
then) were of the coarsest kind of striped linsey
woolsey - his shirt of about 500 hemp cloth, shoes he
had none - but he wore a pair of moccasins
that looked like they had been made of un
dressed [undressed] "Bull's hide". I don't think he had any
waistcoat: and yet this "ogre" was a son