Events in childhood shape our destiny. What happens in those formative years may so affect our lives that what follows is as inevitable as if we were a leaf that, once it has fallen into a stream, is carried helplessly away to its ultimate destiny.
Edwin Stearns always knew, down to the day and hour, when a key event in his life occurred: a warm afternoon in August 1879. He was 10 at the time, and had joined his mother Clara and sister Lillian, who was seven, at Oakdale, the family summer retreat. Oakdale consisted of five acres and a sprawling house shaded by tall maples and chestnuts. It overlooked the Hudson River near Stony Point, just north of New York City. His father Elliott, president of First Federal bank, had remained in the city to work.
Edwin had been reading when his mother called him. Descending from his bedroom, he emerged onto a lawn that extended down to the river. Beneath a maple tree near the house was a patio where the family often took meals outdoors. Another woman had joined his mother there.
