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IN THE BEGINNING. +Family and Birth--School Life--His First Visit to New York +City--A Landed Proprietor--The Ethics of Trade--Farm Work and +Keeping Store--Meeting-house and Sunday-school--"The One Thing +Needful." + +CHAPTER II. EARLY YEARS AT BETHEL. +Death of his Grandmother and Father--Left Penniless and +Bare-footed--Work in a Store--His First Love--Trying to buy +Russia--Uncle Bibbin's Duel + +CHAPTER III. BUSINESS LIFE +Removal to Brooklyn--Smallpox--Goes Home to Recover His +Health--Renewed Acquaintance with the Pretty Tailoress--First +Independent Business Venture--Residence in New York--Return to +Bethel--Anecdotes + +CHAPTER IV. TRYING MANY VENTURES. +Visit to Pittsburg--Successful Lottery Business--Marriage--First +Editorial Venture--Libel Suit--Imprisonment and +Liberation--Removal to New York--Hard Times--Keeping a Boarding +House + +CHAPTER V. BEGINNING AS A SHOWMAN. +Finding His True Vocation--The Purchase of Joice Heth--Evidence +as to Her Age--Her Death--Signor Vivalla--Visit to +Washington--Joining a Travelling Circus--Controversies with +Ministers--The Victim of a Practical Joke + +CHAPTER VI. INCIDENTS OF A CIRCUS TOUR. +Beating a Landlord--A Joke on Turner--Barnum as a Preacher and as +a Negro Minstrel--A Bad Man with a Gun--Dealing with a +Sheriff--"Lady Hayes"--An Embarrassed Juggler--Barnum as a +Matrimonial Agent + +CHAPTER VII. HARD TIMES. +Advertising for a Partner--"Quaker Oats"--Diamond the Dancer--A +Dishonest Manager--Return to New York--From Hand to Mouth--The +American Museum + +CHAPTER VIII. THE AMERICAN MUSEUM. +Advertising Extraordinary--A Quick-witted Performer--Niagara +Falls with Real Water--Other Attractions--Drummond Light + +CHAPTER IX. INCREASED POPULARITY OF THE MUSEUM. +The American Flag and St. Paul's--St. Patrick's Day--The Baby +Show--Grand Buffalo Hunt--N. P. Willis--The First Wild West Show + +CHAPTER X. GIANTS AND DWARFS. +Science for the Public--Mesmerism Extraordinary--Killing off a +Rival--The Two Giants--Discovery of "Tom Thumb"--Seeking Other +Worlds to Conquer--First Visit to England + +CHAPTER XI. TOM THUMB IN LONDON. +An Aristocratic Visitor--Calling at Buckingham Palace and +Hobnobbing with Royalty--Getting a Puff in the "Court +Circular"--The Iron Duke--A Great Social and Financial Success + +CHAPTER XII. IN FRANCE. +Arrival in Paris--Visit to the Tuilleries--Longchamps--"Tom +Ponce" all the Rage--Bonaparte and Louis Phillipi--Tour through +France--Barnum's Purchase + +CHAPTER XIII. IN BELGIUM. +Presented to King Leopold and the Queen--The General's Jewels +stolen--The Field of Waterloo--An Accident--An Expensive +Equipage--The Custom of the Country + +CHAPTER XIV. IN ENGLAND AGAIN. +Egyptian Hall and the Zoological Garden--The Special +Relics--Purchase of the Happy Family--Return to America + +CHAPTER XV. AT HOME. +Partnership with Tom Thumb--Visit to Cuba--Iranistan, his Famous +Palace at Bridgeport--Barnum's Game-Keeper and the Great Game +Dinner--Frank Leslie + +CHAPTER XVI. JENNY LIND. +A Daring Venture--Barnum's Ambassador--Unprecedented Terms +offered--Text of the Contract--Hard Work to Raise the Guarantee +Fund--Educating the American Mind to receive the Famous Singer + +CHAPTER XVII. ARRIVAL OF JENNY LIND. +First Meeting with Barnum--Reception in New York--Poems in Her +Honor--A Furore of Public Interest--Sale of Tickets for the First +Concert--Barnum's Change in Terms--Ten Thousand Dollars for +Charity--Enormous Success of the First Concert + +CHAPTER XVIII. CONTINUED TRIUMPH. +Successful Advertising--The Responsibilities of Riches--Visit to +Iranistan--Ovations at Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and +Washington--Visit to Mt. Vernon--Charleston--Havana--Fredericka +Brerner + +CHAPTER XIX. HAVANA. +Conquest of the Habaneros--The Italian and his Dog--Mad +Bennett--A Successful Ruse--Return to New Orleans--Ludicrous +Incident--Up the Mississippi--Legerdemain + +CHAPTER XX. THE TRIALS OF AN IMPRESSARIO. +St Louis--The Secretary's Little Game--Legal Advice--Smooth +Waters Again--Barnum's Efforts Appreciated--An Extravagant +Encomium + +CHAPTER XXI. CLOSING THE GRAND TOUR. +April Fool Jokes at Nashville--A Trick at Cincinnati--Return to +New York--Jenny Lind Persuaded to Leave Barnum--Financial Results +of the Enterprise + +CHAPTER XXII. A FEW SIDE ISSUES. +The Expedition to Ceylon--Harnessing an Elephant to a +Plow--Barnum and Vanderbilt--The Talking Machine--A Fire at +Iranistan--Mountain Grove Cemetery + +CHAPTER XXIII. SOME DOMESTIC ENTERPRISES. +Putting a Pickpocket on Exhibition--Traveling Incognito--The +Pequonnock Bank--The New York Crystal Palace--A Poem on an +Incident at Iranistan + +CHAPTER XXIV. THE JEROME CLOCK COMPANY. +Founding East Bridgeport--Growth of the City--The Jerome Clock +Bubble--A Ruined Man--Paying Honest Debts--Down in the Depths + +CHAPTER XXV. THE WHEAT AND THE CHAFF. +False and True Friends--Meeting of Bridgeport Citizens--Barnum's +Letter--Tom Thumb's Offer--Shillaber's Poem--Barnum's Message to +the Creditors of the Jerome Clock Company--Removal to New +York--Beginning Life Anew at Forty-six + +CHAPTER XXVI. IDLENESS WITHOUT REST. +Annoying Persecutions of Creditors--Summer on Long Island--The +Black Whale Pays the Board Bill--The Wheeler & Wilson Company +Remove to East Bridgeport--Setting Sail for England + +CHAPTER XXVII. A PROSPEROUS EXILE. +His Successful Pupil--Making Many Friends in London--Acquaintance +with Thackeray--A Comedy of Errors in a German Custom +House--Aristocratic Patronage at Fashionable Resorts--Barnum's +Impressions of Holland and the Dutch + +CHAPTER XXVIII. HOME AGAIN. +A Jolly Voyage--Mock Trial on Shipboard--Barnum on Trial for His +Life--Discomfited Witnesses and a Triumphant Prisoner--Fair +Weather Friends--The Burning of Iranistan + +CHAPTER XXIX. THE ART OF MONEY GETTING. +The Lecture Field--Success--Cambridge--Oxford--An Unique +Entertainment--Barnum Equal to the Occasion--Invited to Stay a +Week + +CHAPTER XXX. AN ENTERPRISING ENGLISHMAN. +A New Friend--Dinner to Tom Thumb and Commodore Nutt--Measuring +the Giant--The Two Engines + +CHAPTER XXXI. AT HOME AGAIN. +The Clock Debts Paid--The Museum once more under Barnum's +Management--Enthusiastic Reception--His Speech--Two Poems + +CHAPTER XXXII. THE STORY OF "GRIZZLY ADAMS." +Barnum's Partnership with the Famous Bear Hunter--Fooling Him +with the "Golden Pigeons"--Adams Earns $500 at Desperate +Cost--Tricking Barnum out of a Fine Hunting Suit--Prosperity of +the Museum--Visit of the Prince of Wales + +CHAPTER XXXIII. BUILDING A CITY. +At Home Once More--Growth of East Bridgeport--Barnum's Offer to +Men Wanting Homes of Their Own--Remarkable Progress of the +Place--How the Streets were Named + +CHAPTER XXXIV. A GREAT YEAR AT THE MUSEUM. +Capturing and Exhibiting White Whales--Newspaper Comments--A +Touching Obituary--The Great Behemoth--A Long "Last +Week"--Commodore Nutt--Real Live Indians on Exhibition + +CHAPTER XXXV. GENERAL AND MRS. TOM THUMB. +Miss Lavinia Warren--The Rivals--Miss Warren's Engagement to Tom +Thumb--The Wedding--Grand Reception--Letter From a Would-be +Guest, and Dr Taylor's Reply + +CHAPTER XXXVI. POLITICAL NOTES. +Barnum Becomes a Republican--Illuminating the House of a +Democrat--The Peace Meeting--Elected to the Legislature--War on +the Railroads--Speech on the Amendment + +CHAPTER XXXVII. BURNING OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM. +How Barnum Received the Tidings--Humorous Description of the +Fire--A Public Calamity--Greeley's Advice--Intention to +Re-establish the Museum--Speech at Employees' Benefit + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. POLITICAL LIFE. +In the Connecticut Legislature--The Great Railroad +Fight--Barnum's Effective Stroke--Canvassing for a United States +Senator--Barnum's Congressional Campaign--A Challenge that was +not Accepted + +CHAPTER XXXIX. FIGHTING A NEWSPAPER. +Disposing of the Lease of the Museum Site--The Bargain with Mr. +Bennett--Barnum's Refusal to Back Out--A Long and Bitter War with +"The Herald"--Action of the Other Managers--The Return of Peace + +CHAPTER XL. BRIDGEPORT. +The Fight for the Establishment of Seaside Park--Laying out City +Streets--Impatience with "Old Fogies"--Building a Seaside +Home--Waldemere--A Home in New York City + +CHAPTER XLI. HONORS AND ADULATIONS. +Second Marriage--The King of Hawaii--Elected Mayor of +Bridgeport--Successful Tour of the Hippodrome--Barnum's +Retirement from Office + + + + +CHAPTER I. IN THE BEGINNING. + +FAMILY AND BIRTH--SCHOOL LIFE--HIS FIRST VISIT TO NEW YORK CITY +--A LANDED PROPRIETOR--THE ETHICS OF TRADE--FARM WORK AND KEEPING +STORE--MEETING-HOUSE AND SUNDAY SCHOOL--"THE ONE THING NEEDFUL." + +Among the names of great Americans of the nineteenth century +there is scarcely one more familiar to the world than that of the +subject of this biography. There are those that stand for higher +achievement in literature, science and art, in public life and in +the business world. There is none that stands for more notable +success in his chosen line, none that recalls more memories of +wholesome entertainment, none that is more invested with the +fragrance of kindliness and true humanity. His career was, in a +large sense, typical of genuine Americanism, of its enterprise +and pluck, of its indomitable will and unfailing courage, of its +shrewdness, audacity and unerring instinct for success. + +Like so many of his famous compatriots, Phineas Taylor Barnum +came of good old New England stock. His ancestors were among the +builders of the colonies of Massachusetts and Connecticut. His +father's father, Ephraim Barnum, was a captain in the War of the +Revolution, and was distinguished for his valor and for his +fervent patriotism. His mother's father, Phineas Taylor, was +locally noted as a wag and practical joker. His father, Philo +Barnum, was in turn a tailor, a farmer, a storekeeper, and a +country tavernkeeper, and was not particularly prosperous in any +of these callings. + +Philo Barnum and his wife, Irena Taylor, lived at Bethel, +Connecticut, and there, on July 5, 1810, their first child was +born. He was named Phineas Taylor Barnum, after his maternal +grandfather; and the latter, in return for the compliment, +bestowed upon his first grandchild at his christening the +title-deeds of a "landed estate," five acres in extent, known as +Ivy Island, and situated in that part of, Bethel known as the +"Plum Trees." Of this, more anon. + +In his early years the boy led the life of the average New +England farmer's son of that period. He drove the cows to and +from the pasture, shelled corn, weeded the garden, and "did up +chores." As he grew older he rode the horse in plowing corn, +raked hay, wielded the shovel and the hoe, and chopped wood. At +six years old he began to go to school--the typical district +school. "The first date," he once said, "I remember inscribing +upon my writing-book was 1818." The ferule, or the birch-rod, was +in those days the assistant schoolmaster, and young Barnum made +its acquaintance. He was, however, an apt and ready scholar, +particularly excelling in mathematics. One night, when he was ten +years old, he was called out of bed by his teacher, who had made +a wager with a neighbor that Barnum could calculate the number of +feet in a load of wood in five minutes. Barnum did it in less +than two minutes, to the delight of his teacher and the +astonishment of the neighbor. + +At an early age he manifested a strong development of the good +old Yankee organ of acquisitiveness. Before he was five years old +he had begun to hoard pennies and "fourpences," and at six years +old he was able to exchange his copper bits for a whole silver +dollar, the possession of which made him feel richer than he ever +felt afterward in all his life. Nor did he lay the dollar away in +a napkin, but used it in business to gain more. He would get ten +cents a day for riding a horse before the plow, and he would add +it to his capital. On holidays other boys spent all their +savings, but not so he. Such days were to him opportunities for +gain, not for squandering. At the fair or training of troops, or +other festivity, he would peddle candy and cakes, home-made, or +sometimes cherry rum, and by the end of the day would be a dollar +or two richer than at its beginning. "By the time I was twelve +years old," he tells us, "I was the owner of a sheep and a calf, +and should soon, no doubt, have become a small Croesus had not my +father kindly permitted me to purchase my own clothing, which +somewhat reduced my little store." + +At ten years of age, realizing himself to be a "landed +proprietor" through the christening gift of his waggish +grandsire, young Barnum set out to survey his estate, which he +had not yet seen. He had heard much of "Ivy Island." His +grandfather had often, in the presence of the neighbors, spoken +of him as the richest child in the town, since he owned the whole +of Ivy Island, the richest farm in the State. His parents hoped +he would use his wealth wisely, and "do something for the family" +when he entered upon the possession of it; and the neighbors were +fearful lest he should grow too proud to associate with their +children. + +The boy took all this in good faith, and his eager curiosity to +behold his estate was greatly increased, and he asked his father +to let him go thither. "At last," says Barnum, "he promised I +should do so in a few days, as we should be getting some hay near +'Ivy Island.' The wished-for day arrived, and my father told me +that as we were to mow an adjoining meadow. I might visit my +property in company with the hired man during the 'nooning.' My +grandfather reminded me that it was to his bounty I was indebted +for this wealth, and that had not my name been Phineas I might +never have been proprietor of 'Ivy Island.' To this my mother +added: + +" 'Now, Taylor, don't become so excited when you see your +property as to let your joy make you sick, for remember, rich as +you are, that it will be eleven years before you can come into +possession of your fortune.' + +"She added much more good advice, to all of which I promised to +be calm and reasonable, and not to allow my pride to prevent me +from speaking to my brothers and sisters when I returned home. + +"When we arrived at the meadow, which was in that part of the +'Plum Trees' known as 'East Swamp,' I asked my father where 'Ivy +Island' was. + +" 'Yonder, at the north end of this meadow, where you see those +beautiful trees rising in the distance.' + +"All the forenoon I turned grass as fast as two men could cut it, +and after a hasty repast at noon, one of our hired men, a +good-natured Irishman, named Edmund, took an axe on his shoulder +and announced that he was ready to accompany me to 'Ivy Island.' +We started, and as we approached the north end of the meadow we +found the ground swampy and wet and were soon obliged to leap +from bog to bog on our route. A mis-step brought me up to my +middle in water, and to add to the dilemma a swarm of hornets +attacked me. Attaining the altitude of another bog I was cheered +by the assurance that there was only a quarter of a mile of this +kind of travel to the edge of my property. I waded on. In about +fifteen minutes more, after floundering through the morass, I +found myself half-drowned, hornet-stung, mud covered, and out of +breath, on comparatively dry land. + +" 'Never mind, my boy,' said Edmund, 'we have only to cross this +little creek, and ye'll be upon your own valuable property.' + +"We were on the margin of a stream, the banks of which were +thickly covered with alders. I now discovered the use of Edmund's +axe, for he felled a small oak to form a temporary bridge to my +'Island' property. Crossing over, I proceeded to the centre of my +domain. I saw nothing but a few stunted ivies and straggling +trees. The truth flashed upon me. I had been the laughing-stock +of the family and neighborhood for years. My valuable 'Ivy +Island' was an almost inaccessible, worthless bit of barren land, +and while I stood deploring my sudden downfall, a huge black +snake (one of my tenants) approached me with upraised head. I +gave one shriek and rushed for the bridge. + +"This was my first and last visit to 'Ivy Island.' My father +asked me 'how I liked my property?' and I responded that I would +sell it pretty cheap." + +The year 1822 was a memorable one in his childhood's history. He +was then about twelve years old. One evening, late in January, +Daniel Brown, a cattle-drover, of Southbury, Connecticut, arrived +at Bethel and stopped for the night at Philo Barnum's tavern. He +had with him some fat cattle, which he was driving to the New +York markets; and he wanted both to add to his drove of cattle +and to get a boy to help him drive them. Our juvenile hero heard +him say this, and forthwith made application for the job. His +father and mother gave their consent, and a bargain was quickly +closed with the drover. + +"At daylight next morning," Barnum himself has related, "I +started on foot in the midst of a heavy snow-storm to help drive +the cattle. Before reaching Ridgefield I was sent on horseback +after a stray ox, and, in galloping, the horse fell and my ankle +was sprained. I suffered severely, but did not complain lest my +employer should send me back. We arrived at New York in three or +four days, and put up at the Bull's Head Tavern, where we were to +stay a week while the drover disposed of his cattle. It was an +eventful week for me. Before I left home my mother had given me a +dollar, which I supposed would supply every want that heart could +wish." + +His first outlay was for oranges. "I was told," he says, "that +they were four pence apiece, and as four pence in Connecticut was +six cents, I offered ten cents for two oranges, which was of +course readily taken; and thus, instead of saving two cents, as I +thought, I actually paid two cents more than the price demanded. +I then bought two more oranges, reducing my capital to eighty +cents. Thirty-one cents was the charge for a small gun which +would 'go off' and send a stick some little distance, and this +gun I bought. Amusing myself with this toy in the bar-room of the +Bull's Head, the arrow happened to hit the bar-keeper, who +forthwith came from behind the counter and shook me, and soundly +boxed my ears, telling me to put that gun out of the way or he +would put it into the fire. I sneaked to my room, put my treasure +under the pillow, and went out for another visit to the toy shop. + +"There I invested six cents in 'torpedoes,' with which I intended +to astonish my schoolmates in Bethel. I could not refrain, +however, from experimenting upon the guests of the hotel, which I +did when they were going in to dinner. I threw two of the +torpedoes against the wall of the hall through which the guests +were passing, and the immediate results were as follows: two loud +reports--astonished guests--irate landlord--discovery of the +culprit, and summary punishment--for the landlord immediately +floored me with a single blow with his open hand, and said: + +" 'There, you little greenhorn, see if that will teach you better +than to explode your infernal fire-crackers in my house again.' + +"The lesson was sufficient if not entirely satisfactory. I +deposited the balance of the torpedoes with my gun, and as a +solace for my wounded feelings I again visited the toy shop, +where I bought a watch, breastpin and top, leaving but eleven +cents of my original dollar. + +"The following morning found me again at the fascinating toy +shop, where I saw a beautiful knife with two blades, a gimlet, +and a corkscrew--a whole carpenter shop in miniature, and all for +thirty-one cents. But, alas! I had only eleven cents. Have that +knife I must, however, and so I proposed to the shop-woman to +take back the top and breastpin at a slight deduction, and with +my eleven cents to let me have the knife. The kind creature +consented, and this makes memorable my first 'swap.' Some fine +and nearly white molasses candy then caught my eye, and I +proposed to trade the watch for its equivalent in candy. The +transaction was made, and the candy was so delicious that before +night my gun was absorbed in the same way. The next morning the +torpedoes 'went off' in the same direction, and before night even +my beloved knife was similarly exchanged. My money and my goods +all gone, I traded two pocket-handkerchiefs and an extra pair of +stockings I was sure I should not want for nine more rolls of +molasses candy, and then wandered about the city disconsolate, +sighing because there was no more molasses candy to conquer." + +During that first visit to the metropolis the boy doubtless many +times passed the corner of Ann street and Broadway, where, in +after years, his famous museum stood. After a week in town he +returned to Bethel, riding with Brown in his sleigh, and found +himself a social lion among his young friends. He was plied with +a thousand questions about the great city which he had visited, +and no doubt told many wondrous tales. But at home his reception +was not altogether glorious. His brothers and sisters were +disappointed because he brought them nothing, and his mother, +discovering that during his journey he had lost two handkerchiefs +and a pair of stockings, gave him a spanking and put him to bed. + +A settled aversion to manual labor was strongly developed in the +boy as he grew older, which his father considered simple +laziness. Instead of trying to cure him of his laziness, however, +the father decided to give up the farm, and open a store, hoping +that the boy would take more kindly to mercantile duties. So he +put up a building in Bethel, and in partnership with one Hiram +Weed opened a "general store," of dry goods, hardware, groceries, +etc., and installed young Phineas as clerk. They did a "cash, +credit and barter" business, and the boy soon learned to drive +sharp bargains with women who brought butter, eggs, beeswax and +feathers to exchange for dry goods, and with men who wanted to +trade oats, corn, buckwheat, axehelves, hats and other +commodities for ten-penny nails, molasses or New England rum. It +was a drawback upon his dignity that he was obliged to take down +the shutters, sweep the store and make the fire. He received a +small salary for his services and the perquisites of what profit +he could derive from purchasing candies on his own account to +sell to their younger customers, and, as usual, his father +insisted that he should clothe himself. + +There was much to be learned in a country store, and principally, +as he found, this: that sharp tricks, deception and dishonesty +are by no means confined to the city. More than once, in cutting +open bundles of rags, brought to be exchanged for goods, he found +stones, gravel or other rubbish wrapped up in them, although they +were represented to be "all pure linen or cotton." Often, too, +loads of grain were brought in, warranted to contain so many +bushels, but on measuring them they were found five or six +bushels short. + +In the evenings and on stormy days the store was a general +meeting place for the idlers of the village, and young Barnum +derived much amusement from the story-telling and joke-playing +that went on among them. After the store was closed at night he +would generally go with some of the village boys to their homes +for an hour or two of sport, and then, as late, perhaps, as +eleven o'clock, would creep slyly home and make his way upstairs +barefooted, so as not to wake the rest of the family end be +detected in his late hours. He slept with his brother, who was +sure to report him if he woke him up on coming in, and who laid +many traps to catch Phineas on his return from the evening's +merry-making. But he generally fell fast asleep and our hero was +able to gain his bed in safety. + +Like almost every one in Connecticut at that time he was brought +up to go regularly to church on Sunday, and before he could read +he was a prominent member of the Sunday-school. His pious mother +taught him lessons in the New Testament and Catechism, and spared +no efforts to have him win one of those "Rewards of Merit" which +promised "to pay to the bearer One Mill." Ten of them could be +exchanged for one cent, and by securing one hundred of them, +which might be done by faithful attendance and attention every +Sunday for two years, the happy scholar could secure a book worth +ten cents! + +There was only one church or "meeting-house" in Bethel, and it +was of the Presbyterian faith; but every one in town attended it, +whatever their creed. It was a severely plain edifice, with no +spire and no bell. In summer it was comfortable enough, but in +winter it was awful! There was no arrangement for heating it, and +the congregation had to sit in the cold, shivering, teeth +chattering, noses blue. A stove would have been looked upon as a +sacrilegious innovation. The sermons were often two hours long, +and by the time they were ended the faithful listeners well +deserved the nickname of "blue-skins" which the scoffers gave to +them. A few of the wealthier women carried "foot-stoves" from +their homes to their pews. A "foot-stove" was simply a square tin +box in a wooden frame, with perforations in the sides. In it was +a small square iron dish, which contained a few live coals +covered with ashes. These stoves were usually replenished just +before meeting time at some neighbor's near the meeting-house. + +After many years of shivering and suffering, one of the brethren +had the temerity to propose that the church should be warmed with +a stove. His impious proposition was voted down by an +overwhelming majority. Another year came around, and in November +the stove question was again brought up. The excitement was +immense. The subject was discussed in the village stores and in +the juvenile debating club; it was prayed over in conference; and +finally in general "society's meeting," in December, the stove +was carried by a majority of one and was introduced into the +meeting-house. On the first Sunday thereafter two ancient maiden +ladies were so oppressed by the dry and heated atmosphere +occasioned by the wicked innovation that they fainted away and +were carried out into the cool air, where they speedily returned +to consciousness, especially when they were informed that owing +to the lack of two lengths of pipe no fire had yet been made in +the stove. The next Sunday was a bitter cold day, and the stove, +filled with well-seasoned hickory, was a great gratification to +the many, and displeased only a few. + +During the Rev. Mr. Lowe's ministrations at Bethel he formed a +Bible class, of which young Barnum was a member. They used to +draw promiscuously from a hat a text of Scripture and write a +composition on the text, which compositions were read after +service in the afternoon to such of the congregation as remained +to hear the exercises of the class. Once Barnum drew the text, +Luke x. 42: "But one thing is needful; and Mary hath chosen that +good part which shall not be taken away from her." Question, +"What is the one thing needful?" His answer was nearly as +follows: + +"This question, 'What is the one thing needful?' is capable of +receiving various answers, depending much upon the persons to +whom it is addressed. The merchant might answer that 'the one +thing needful' is plenty of customers, who buy liberally, without +beating down, and pay cash for all their purchases.' The farmer +might reply that 'the one thing needful is large harvests and +high prices.' The physician might answer that 'it is plenty of +patients.' The lawyer might be of opinion that 'it is an unruly +community, always engaging in bickerings and litigations.' The +clergyman might reply, 'It is a fat salary, with multitudes of +sinners seeking salvation and paying large pew rents.' The +bachelor might exclaim, 'It is a pretty wife who loves her +husband, and who knows how to sew on buttons.' The maiden might +answer, 'It is a good husband, who will love, cherish and protect +me while life shall last.' But the most proper answer, and +doubtless that which applied to the case of Mary, would be, 'The +one thing needful is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, follow +in his footsteps, love God and obey His commandments, love our +fellowman, and embrace every opportunity of administering to his +necessities.' In short, 'the one thing needful' is to live a life +that we can always look back upon with satisfaction, and be +enabled ever to contemplate its termination with trust in Him who +has so kindly vouchsafed it to us, surrounding us with +innumerable blessings, if we have but the heart and wisdom to +receive them in a proper manner." + +The reading of a portion of this answer occasioned some amusement +in the congregation, in which the clergyman himself joined, and +the name of "Taylor Barnum" was whispered in connection with the +composition; but at the close of the reading Barnum had the +satisfaction of hearing Mr. Lowe say that it was a well-written +answer to the question, "What is the one thing needful?" + + + +CHAPTER II. EARLY YEARS AT BETHEL. + +DEATH OF HIS GRANDMOTHER AND FATHER--LEFT PENNILESS AND +BAREFOOTED--WORK IN A STORE--HIS FIRST LOVE--TRYING TO BUY +RUSSIA--UNCLE BIBBIN'S DUEL. + +In August, 1825, the aged grandmother met with an accident in +stepping on the point of a rusty nail, which shortly afterwards +resulted in her death. She was a woman of great piety, and before +she died sent for each of her grandchildren--to whom she was +devoted--and besought them to lead a Christian life. Barnum was +so deeply impressed by that death-bed scene that through his +whole life neither the recollection of it, nor of the dying +woman's words, ever left him. + +The elder Barnum was a man of many enterprises and few successes. +Besides being the proprietor of a hotel he owned a livery-stable, +ran a sort of an express, and kept a country store. Phineas was +his confidential clerk, and, if he did not reap much financial +benefit from his position, he at least obtained a good business +education. + +On the 7th of September, 1825, the father, after a six months' +illness, died at the age of forty-eight, leaving a wife and five +children and an insolvent estate. There was literally nothing +left for the family; the creditors seized everything; even the +small sum which Phineas had loaned his father was held to be the +property of a minor, and therefore belonging to the estate. The +boy was obliged to borrow money to buy the shoes he wore to the +funeral. At fifteen he began the world not only penniless but +barefooted. + +He went at once to Grassy Plain, a few miles northwest of Bethel, +where he managed to obtain a clerkship in the store of James S. +Keeler and Lewis Whitlock, at the magnificent salary of six +dollars a month and his board. He had chosen his uncle, Alanson +Taylor, as his guardian, but made his home with Mrs. Jerusha +Wheeler and her two daughters; Mary and Jerusha. He worked hard +and faithfully, and so gained the esteem of his employers that +they afforded him many opportunities for making money on his own +account. His small speculations proved so successful that before +long he found himself in possession of quite a little sum. + +"I made," says Barnum, "a very remarkable trade at one time for +my employers by purchasing, in their absence, a whole wagon-load +of green glass bottles of various sizes, for which I paid in +unsalable goods at very profitable prices. How to dispose of the +bottles was then the problem, and as it was also desirable to get +rid of a large quantity of tin-ware which had been in the shop +for years and was con-siderably 'shop worn,' I conceived the idea +of a lottery, in which the highest prize should be twenty-five +dollars, payable in any goods the winner desired, while there +were to be fifty prizes of five dollars each, payable in goods, +to be designated in the scheme. Then there were one hundred +prizes of one dollar each, one hundred prizes of fifty cents +each, and three hundred prizes of twenty-five cents each. It is +unnecessary to state that the minor prizes consisted mainly of +glass and tin-ware; the tickets sold like wildfire, and the worn +tin and glass bottles were speedily turned into cash." + +Mrs Barnum still continued to keep the village hotel at Bethel, +and Phineas went home every Saturday night, going to church with +his mother on Sunday, and returning to his work Monday morning. +One Saturday evening Miss Mary Wheeler, at whose house the young +man boarded, sent him word that she had a young lady from Bethel +whom she desired him to escort home, as it was raining violently, +and the maiden was afraid to go alone. He assented readily +enough, and went over to "Aunt Rushia's," where he was introduced +to Miss Charity ("Chairy," for short) Hallett. She was a very +pretty girl and a bright talker, and the way home seemed only too +short to her escort. She was a tailoress in the village, and went +to church regularly, but, although Phineas saw her every Sunday +for many weeks, he had no opportunity of the acquaintance that +season. + +Mrs. Jerusha Wheeler and her daughter Jerusha were familiarly +known, the one as "Aunt Rushia," and the other as "Rushia." Many +of the store customers were hatters, and among the many kinds of +furs sold for the nap of hats was one known to the trade as +"Russia." One day a hatter, Walter Dibble, called to buy some +furs. Barnum sold him several kinds, including "beaver" and +"cony," and he then asked for some "Russia." They had none, and +as Barnum wanted to play a joke upon him, he told him that Mrs. +Wheeler had several hundred pounds of "Rushia." + +"What on earth is a woman doing with 'Russia?' " said he. + +Barnum could not answer, but assured him that there were one +hundred and thirty pounds of old Rushia and one hundred and fifty +pounds of young Rushia in Mrs. Wheeler's house, and under her +charge, but whether or not it was for sale he could not say. Off +he started to make the purchase and knocked at the door. Mrs. +Wheeler, the elder, made her appearance. + +"I want to get your Russia," said the hatter. + +Mrs. Wheeler asked him to walk in and be seated. She, of course, +supposed that he had come for her daughter "Rushia." + +"What do you want of Rushia?" asked the old lady. + +"To make hats," was the reply. + +"To trim hats, I suppose you mean?" responded Mrs. Wheeler. + +"No, for the outside of hats," replied the hatter. + +"Well, I don't know much about hats," said the old lady, "but I +will call my daughter." + +Passing into another room where "Rushia" the younger was at work, +she informed her that a man wanted her to make hats. + +"Oh, he means sister Mary, probably. I suppose he wants some +ladies' hats," replied Rushia, as she went into the parlor. + +"This is my daughter," said the old lady. + +"I want to get your Russia," said he, addressing the young lady. + +"I suppose you wish to see my sister Mary; she is our milliner," +said young Rushia. + +"I wish to see whoever owns the property," said the hatter. + +Sister Mary was sent for, and, as she was introduced, the hatter +informed her that he wished to buy her "Russia." + +"Buy Rushia!" exclaimed Mary, in surprise; I don't understand +you." + +"Your name is Miss Wheeler, I believe," said the hatter, who was +annoyed by the difficulty he met with in being understood. + +"It is, sir." + +"Ah! very well. Is there old and young Russia in the house?" + +"I believe there is," said Mary, surprised at the familiar manner +in which he spoke of her mother and sister, who were present. + +"What is the price of old Russia per pound?" asked the hatter. + +"I believe, sir, that old Rushia is not for sale," replied Mary, +indignantly. + +"Well, what do you ask for young Russia?" pursued the hatter. + +"Sir," said Miss Rushia the younger, springing to her feet, "do +you come here to insult defenceless females? If you do, sir, our +brother, who is in the garden, will punish you as you deserve." + +"Ladies!" exclaimed the hatter, in astonishment, "what on earth +have I done to offend you? I came here on a business matter. I +want to buy some Russia. I was told you had old and young Russia +in the house. Indeed, this young lady just stated such to be the +fact, but she says the old Russia is not for sale. Now, if I can +buy the young Russia I want to do so--but if that can't be done, +please to say so, and I will trouble you no further." + +"Mother, open the door and let this man go out; he is undoubtedly +crazy," said Miss Mary. + +"By thunder! I believe I shall be if I remain here long," +exclaimed the hatter, considerably excited. "I wonder if folks +never do business in these parts, that you think a man is crazy +if he attempts such a thing?" + +"Business! poor man!" said Mary soothingly, approaching the door. + +"I am not a poor man, madam," replied the hatter. "My name is +Walter Dibble; I carry on hatting extensively in Danbury; I came +to Grassy Plain to buy fur, and have purchased some 'beaver' and +'cony,' and now it seems I am to be called 'crazy' and a 'poor +man,' because I want to buy a little 'Russia' to make up my +assortment." + +The ladies began to open their eyes; they saw that Mr. Dibble was +quite in earnest, and his explanation threw considerable light +upon the subject. + +"Who sent you here?" asked sister Mary. + +"The clerk at the opposite store," was the reply. + +"He is a wicked young fellow for making all this trouble," said +the old lady; "he has been doing this for a joke." + +"A joke!" exclaimed Dibble, in surprise, "have you no Russia, +then?" + +"My name is Jerusha, and so is my daughter's," said Mrs. Wheeler, +"and that, I suppose, is what he meant by telling you of old and +young Rushia." + +Mr. Dibble, without more words, left the house and made for the +store. "You young villain!" he cried, as he entered, "what did +you mean by sending me over there to buy Russia?" + +"I didn't," answered the young villain, with a perfectly solemn +face, "I thought you were a widower or a bachelor who wanted to +marry Rushia." + +"You lie," said the discomfited Dibble, laughing in spite of +himself; "but never mind, I'll pay you off some day." And +gathering up his furs he departed. + +On another occasion this sense of humor and love of joking was +turned to very practical account. Among the customers at the +store were a half a dozen old Revolutionary pensioners, who were +permitted to buy on credit, leaving their pension papers as +security. One of these pensioners was a romancing old fellow +named Bevans--more commonly known as "Uncle Bibbins." He was very +fond of his glass, and fonder still of relating anecdotes of the +Revolution, in which his own prowess and daring were always the +conspicuous features. His pension papers were in the possession +of Keeler & Whitlock, but it was three months before the money +was due, and they grew very weary of having him for a customer. +They tried delicately suggesting a visit to his relatives in +Guilford, but Uncle Bibbins steadily refused to take the hint. +Finally young Barnum enlisted the services of a journeyman hatter +named Benton, and together they hit on a plan. The hatter was +inspired to call Uncle Bibbins a coward, and to declare his +belief that if the old gentleman was wounded anywhere it must +have been in the back. Barnum pretended to sympathize with the +veteran's just indignation, and finally fired him up to the pitch +of challenging the hatter to mortal combat. The challenge was +promptly accepted, and the weapons chosen were muskets and ball, +at a distance of twenty feet. Uncle Bibbins took his second +(Barnum, of course) aside, and begged him to see that the guns +were loaded only with blank cartridges. He was assured that it +would be so, and that no one would be injured in the encounter. + +The ground was measured back of the store, the principals and +seconds took their places, and the word of command was given. +They fired, Uncle Bibbins, of course, being unhurt, but the +hatter, with a fearful yell, fell to the ground as if dead. +Barnum rushed up to the frightened Bevans and begged him to fly, +promising to let him know when it was safe for him to return. The +old fellow started out of town on a run, and for the next three +months remained very quietly at Guilford. At the end of that time +his faithful second sent for him, with the assurance that his +late adversary had not only recovered from his wound but had +freely forgiven all. Uncle Bibbins then returned and paid up his +debts. Meeting Benton on the street some days later, the two foes +shook hands, Benton apologizing for his insult. Uncle Bibbins +accepted the apology, "but," he added, "you must be careful after +this how you insult a dead-shot." + + + +CHAPTER III. BUSINESS LIFE. + +REMOVAL TO BROOKLYN--SMALLPOX--GOES HOME TO RECOVER HIS +HEALTH--RENEWED ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE PRETTY TAILORESS, FIRST +INDEPENDENT BUSINESS VENTURE--RESIDENCE IN NEW YORK --RETURN TO +BETHEL--ANECDOTES. + +In the fall of 1826, Oliver Taylor, who had removed from Danbury +to Brooklyn, induced Barnum to leave Grassy Plain, offering him a +clerkship in his grocery store, which offer was accepted, and +before long the young man was intrusted with the purchasing of +all goods for the store. He bought for cash, going into lower New +York in search of the cheapest market, frequenting auction sales +of merchandise, and often entering into combines with other +grocers to bid off large lots, which were afterward divided +between them. Thus they were enabled to buy at a much lower rate +than if the goods had passed through the hands of wholesale +dealers, and Barnum's reputation for business tact and shrewdness +increased. + +The following summer he was taken ill with smallpox, and during +his long confinement to the house his stock of ready money became +sadly di-minished. As soon as he was able to travel he went home +to recover his strength, and while there had the happiness of +renewing the acquaintance, so pleasantly begun, with the pretty +tailoress, Charity Hallett. + +His health fully restored he returned to Brooklyn, but not to his +old position. Pleasant as that had been, it no longer contented +the restless, ambitious Barnum. He opened a "porter-home," but +sold out a few months later, at a good profit, and took another +clerkship, this time at 29 Peck Slip, New York, in the store of a +certain David Thorp. He lived in his employer's family, with +which he was a great favorite, and where he had frequent +opportunities of meeting old friends, for Mr. Thorp's place was a +great resort for Bethel and Danbury hatters and combmakers. + +At this time Barnum formed his first taste for the theatre. He +went to the play regularly and soon set up for a critic. It was +his one dissipation, however. A more moral young fellow never +existed; he read his Bible and went to church as regularly as +ever, and to the day of his death was wont to declare that he +owed all that was good in his character to his early observance +of Sunday. + +In the winter of 1898 his grandfather offered to him, rent free, +his carriage-house, which was situated on the main street, if he +would come back to Bethel. The young man's capital was one +hundred and twenty dollars; fifty of this was spent in fixing up +his store, and the remainder he invested in a stock of fruit and +confectionery. Having arranged with fruit dealers of his +acquaintance in New York to receive his orders, he opened his +store on the first of May--in those times known as "training +day." The first day was so successful that long before noon the +proprietor was obliged to call in one of his old schoolmates to +assist in waiting on customers. The total receipts were +sixty-three dollars, which sum was promptly invested in a stock +of fancy goods --pocket-books, combs, knives, rings, beads, etc. +Business was good all summer, and in the fall oysters were added +to the list of attractions. The old grandfather was delighted at +the success of the scheme, and after a while induced Barnum to +take an agency for lottery tickets on a commission of ten per +cent. Lotteries in those days were looked upon as thoroughly +respectable, and the profit gained from the sale of the tickets +was regarded as perfectly legitimate by the agent; his views on +the subject changed very materially later on. + +The store soon became the great village resort, the centre of all +discussions and the scene of many practical jokes. + +The following scene, related by Barnum himself, makes a chapter +in the history of Connecticut, as the State was when "blue laws" +were something more than a dead letter: + +"To swear in those days was according to custom, but contrary to +law. A person from New York State, whom I will call Crofut, who +was a frequent visitor at my store, was equally noted for his +self-will and his really terrible profanity. One day he was in my +little establishment engaged in conversation when Nathan Seelye, +Esq., one of our village justices of the peace, and a man of +strict religious principles, came in, and hearing Crofut's +profane language he told him he considered it his duty to fine +him one dollar for swearing. + +"Crofut responded immediately with an oath, that he did not care +a d----n for the Connecticut blue laws. + +" 'That will make two dollars,' said Mr. Seelye. + +"This brought forth another oath. + +" 'Three dollars,' said the sturdy justice. + +"Nothing but oaths were given in reply, until Esquire Seelye +declared the damage to the Connecticut laws to amount to fifteen +dollars. + +"Crofut took out a twenty-dollar bill and handed it to the +justice of the peace, with an oath. + +" 'Sixteen dollars,' said Mr. Seelye, counting out four dollars +to hand to Mr. Crofut as his change. + +" 'Oh, keep it, keep it,' said Crofut, 'I don't want any change; +I'll d----n soon swear out the balance.' He did so, after which +he was more circumspect in his conversation, remarking that +twenty dollars a day for swearing was about as much as he could +stand." + +About this time Barnum appeared, on at least one occasion, in the +role of lawyer. A man charged with assault and battery was +brought before the justice of the peace, Barnum's grandfather, +for trial. A medical student, Newton by name, had volunteered to +defend the prisoner, and Mr. Couch, the grand juryman, in irony, +offered Phineas a dollar to represent the State. The court was +crowded. The guilt of the prisoner was established beyond a +doubt, but Newton, undaunted, rose to make his speech. It +consisted of a flood of invective against the grand juryman, +Couch; the court listened for five minutes, and then interrupted +a magnificent burst of eloquence by informing the speaker that +Mr. Couch was not the plaintiff in the case at all. + +"Not the plaintiff!" stammered Newton; "well, then, your honor, +who is?" + +"The State of Connecticut," was the answer. + +The young man dropped into his seat, speechless, and the +prosecuting attorney arose and in an elaborate speech declared +the guilt of the prisoner shown beyond question, adding that he +was astonished that both the prisoner and his counsel had not +pleaded guilty at once. In the midst of his soarings the +grandfather interrupted with--"Young man, will you have the +kindness to inform the court which side you represent--the +plaintiff or the defendant?" + +The orator stared helplessly at the justice for a moment, and +then sat down. Amid peals of laughter from the spectators the +prisoner was bound over to the county court for trial. + +But Phineas did not often come out so ingloriously in encounters +with his grandfather. The old gentleman was always ready to lend +his grandson any of his turnouts except one, and this one Phineas +especially desired one day for a sleighing party, in which he was +to escort the fair Charity Hallett. So he boldly went to the +grandfather and asked if he might take Arabian and the new +sleigh. + +"Oh, yes," said the old man, jokingly, "if you have twenty +dollars in your pocket." + +"Really?" + +"Yes, really." + +Whereupon Phineas showed the money, and putting it back in his +pocket, remarked, "You see; I am much obliged for the sleigh." + +Of course, the grandfather had meant to ask an impossible price +for the horse and sleigh; but being caught up so suddenly, there +was nothing to do but to consent, and Phineas and "Chairy" had +the finest turnout of the party. + +There was a young fellow in the town, Jack Mallett, whose +education was rather deficient, and who had been somewhat +unsuccessfully paying his addresses to a fair but hard-hearted +maiden, named Lucretia. One Sunday evening she cruelly refused to +accept his escort after church, and added insult to injury by +walking off before his very eyes with another man. Accordingly, +he determined to write her a letter of remonstrance, and enlisted +the aid of Phineas and another young blade known as "Bill" +Shepherd. The joint effort of the three resulted in the +following: + + "BETHEL,----, 18--. + +"MISS LUCRETIA: I write this to ask an explanation of your +conduct in giving me the mitten on Sunday night last. If you +think, madam, that you can trifle with my affections, and turn me +off for every little whipper-snapper that you can pick up, you +will find yourself considerably mistaken. [We read thus far to +Mallett, and it met his approval. He said he liked the idea of +calling her "madam," for he thought it sounded so "distant," it +would hurt her feelings very much. The term "little +whipper-snapper" also delighted him. He said he guessed that +would make her feel cheap. Shepherd and myself were not quite so +sure of its aptitude, since the chap who succeeded in capturing +Lucretia, on the occasion alluded to, was a head and shoulders +taller than Mallett. However, we did not intimate our thoughts to +Mallett, and he desired us to "go ahead and give her another +dose."] You don't know me, madam, if you think you can snap me up +in this way. I wish you to understand that I can have the company +of girls as much above you as the sun is above the earth, and I +won't stand any of your impudent nonsense no how. [This was duly +read and approved. "Now," said Mallett, "try to touch her +feelings. Remind her of the pleasant hours we have spent +together;" and we continued as follows:] My dear Lucretia, when I +think of the many pleasant hours we have spent together--of the +delightful walks which we have had on moonlight evenings to +Fenner's Rocks, Chestnut Ridge, Grassy Plain, Wild Cat and Puppy +Town--of the strolls which we have taken upon Shelter Rocks, +Cedar Hill--the visits we have made to Old Lane, Wolfpits, Toad +Hole and Plum Trees[1]--when all these things come rushing on my +mind, and when; my dear girl, I remember how often you have told +me that you loved me better than anybody else, and I assured you +that my feelings were the same as yours, it almost breaks my +heart to think of last Sunday night. ["Can't you stick in some +affecting poetry here?" said Mallett. Shepherd could not +recollect any to the point, nor could I; but as the exigency of +the case seemed to require it, we concluded to manufacture a +verse or two, which we did, as follows:] + +[1] These were the euphonious names of localities in the vicinity +of Bethel. + + + Lucretia, dear, what have I done, +That you should use me thus and so, +To take the arm of Tom Beers' son, +And let your dearest true love go? + + Miserable fate, to lose you now, +And tear this bleeding heart asunder! +Will you forget your tender vow? +I can't believe it--no, by thunder. + +[Mallett did not like the word "thunder," but being informed that +no other word could be substituted without destroying both rhyme +and reason, he consented that it should remain, provided we added +two more stanzas of a softer nature; something, he said, that +would make the tears come, if possible, We then ground out the +following:] + + Lucretia, dear, do write to Jack, +And say with Beers you are not smitten; +And thus to me in love come back, +And give all other boys the mitten. + + Do this, Lucretia, and till death +I'll love you to intense distraction; +I'll spend for you my every breath, +And we will live in satisfaction. + +["That will do very well," said Mallett. "Now I guess you had +better blow her up a little more." We obeyed orders as follows:] +It makes me mad to think what a fool I was to give you that +finger-ring and bosom-pin, and spend so much time in your +company, just to be flirted and bamboozled as I was on Sunday +night last. If you continue this course of conduct, we part +forever, and I will thank you to send back that jewelry. I would +sooner see it crushed under my feet than worn by a person who +abused me as you have done. I shall despise you forever if you +don't change your conduct towards me, and send me a letter of +apology on Monday next. I shall not go to meeting to-morrow, for +I would scorn to sit in the same meeting-house with you until I +have an explanation of your conduct. If you allow any young man +to go home with you to-morrow night, I shall know it, for you +will be watched, ["There," said Mallett, "that is pretty strong. +Now, I guess, you had better touch her feelings once more, and +wind up the letter." We proceeded as follows:] My sweet girl, if +you only knew the sleepless nights which I have spent during the +present week, the torments and sufferings which I endure on your +account; if you could but realize that I regard the world as less +than nothing without you, I am certain you would pity me. A +homely cot and a crust of bread with my adorable Lucretia would +be a paradise, where a palace without you would be a hades. +["What in thunder is hades?" inquired Jack. We explained. He +considered the figure rather bold, and requested us to close as +soon as possible.] Now, dearest, in bidding you adieu, I implore +you to reflect on our past enjoyments, look forward with pleasure +to our future happy meetings, and rely upon your affectionate +Jack in storm or calm, in sickness, distress or want, for all +these will be powerless to change my love. I hope to hear from +you on Monday next, and, if favorable, I shall be happy to call +on you the same evening, when in ecstatic joy we will laugh at +the past, hope for the future, and draw consolation from the fact +that "the course of true love never did run smooth." This from +your disconsolate but still hoping lover and admirer, + "JACK MALLETT. + +"P. S.--On reflection I have concluded to go to meeting +to-morrow. If all is well, hold your pocket-handkerchief in your +left hand as you stand up to sing with the choir--in which case I +shall expect the pleasure of giving you my arm to-morrow night. + "J. M." + +The effect of this letter upon Lucretia was not as favorable as +could have been desired. She declined to remove her handkerchief +from her right hand, and she returned the "ring and bosom-pin" to +her disconsolate admirer, while, not many months after, Mallett's +rival led Lucretia to the altar. As for Mallett's agreement to +pay Shepherd and Barnum five pounds of carpet-rags and twelve +yards of broadcloth "lists" for their services, owing to his ill +success, they compromised for one-half the amount. + + + +CHAPTER IV. TRYING MANY VENTURES. + +VISIT TO PITTSBURG--SUCCESSFUL LOTTERY BUSINESS--MARRIAGE--FIRST +EDITORIAL VENTURE--LIBEL SUIT, IMPRISONMENT AND +LIBERATION--REMOVAL TO NEW YORK--HARD TIMES--KEEPING A +BOARDING-HOUSE. + +About this time Barnum, with a Mr. Samuel Sherwood, of +Bridgeport, started for Pittsburg, where they proposed to open a +lottery office. On reaching New York, however, and talking over +the scheme with friends, the venture was abandoned and the two +men took, instead, a pleasure trip to Philadelphia. They stayed a +week, at the end of which time they returned to New York, with +exactly twenty-seven cents between them. Sherwood managed to +borrow two dollars--enough to take him to Newark, where he had a +cousin, who obligingly loaned him fifty dollars. The two friends +remained in New York on the strength of their newly acquired +wealth for several days, and then went home considerably richer +in experience at least. + +Barnum now went into the lottery business exclusively, taking his +uncle, Alanson Taylor, into partnership. They established a +number of agencies throughout the country, and made good profits +from the sale of tickets. Several of the tickets sold by them +took prizes and their office came to be considered "lucky." + +The young man was prospering also in another direction. The fair +tailoress smiled on him as sweetly as ever, and in the summer of +1827 they became formally engaged. In the fall Miss Hallett went +"on a visit" to her uncle, Nathan Beers, in New York. A month +later her lover followed, "to buy goods," and on the 8th of +November, 1829, there was a wedding in the comfortable house at +No. 3 Allen street. Having married at the age of nineteen, Barnum +always expressed his disapproval of early marriages, although his +own was a very happy one. + +Returning to Bethel, Mr. and Mrs. Barnum, after boarding for a +few months, moved into their own house, which was built on a +three acre plat purchased from the grandfather. + +The lottery business still prospered, but it was mostly in the +hands of agents, in Danbury, Norwalk, Stamford and Middletown, +and Barnum began to look around for some field for his individual +energies. He tried travelling as a book auctioneer, but found it +uncongenial and quit the business. In July, 1831, with his uncle +Alanson Taylor, he opened a grocery and general store, but the +venture was not particularly successful, and in the fall the +partnership was dissolved, Barnum buying his uncle's interest. + +The next enterprise was an important one, it being the real +beginning of Phineas T. Barnum's public career. + +In a period of strong political excitement, he wrote several +communications for the Danbury weekly paper, setting forth what +he conceived to be the dangers of a sectarian interference which +was then apparent in political affairs. The publication of these +communications was refused, and he accordingly purchased a press +and types, and October 19, 1831, issued the first number of his +own paper, The Herald of Freedom. + +"I entered upon the editorship of this journal," says Mr. Barnum, +"with all the vigor and vehemence of youth. The boldness with +which the paper was conducted soon excited widespread attention +and commanded a circulation which extended beyond the immediate +locality into nearly every State in the Union. But lacking that +experience which induces caution, and without the dread of +consequences, I frequently laid myself open to the charge of +libel, and three times in three years I was prosecuted. A Danbury +butcher, a zealous politician, brought a civil suit against me +for accusing him of being a spy in a Democratic caucus. On the +first trial the jury did not agree, but after a second trial I +was fined several hundred dollars. Another libel suit against me +was withdrawn. The third was sufficiently important to warrant +the following detail: + +"A criminal prosecution was brought against me for stating in my +paper that a man in Bethel, prominent in church, had 'been guilty +of taking USURY of an orphan boy,' and for severely commenting on +the fact in my editorial columns. When the case came to trial the +truth of my statement was substantially proved by several +witnesses and even by the prosecuting party. But 'the greater the +truth, the greater the libel,' and then I had used the term +'usury,' instead of extortion, or note-shaving, or some other +expression which might have softened the verdict. The result was +that I was sentenced to pay a fine of one hundred dollars and to +be imprisoned in the common jail for sixty days. + +"The most comfortable provision was made for me in Danbury jail. +My room was papered and carpeted; I lived well; I was overwhelmed +with the constant visits of my friends; I edited my paper as +usual and received large accessions to my subscription list; and +at the end of my sixty days' term the event was celebrated by a +large concourse of people from the surrounding country. The court +room in which I was convicted was the scene of the celebration. +An ode, written for the occasion, was sung; an eloquent oration +on the freedom of the press was delivered; and several hundred +gentlemen afterwards partook of a sumptuous dinner followed by +appropriate toasts and speeches. Then came the triumphant part of +the ceremonial, which was reported in my paper of December 12, +1832, as follows: + +" 'P. T. Barnum and the band of music took their seats in a coach +drawn by six horses, which had been prepared for the occasion. +The coach was preceded by forty horsemen, and a marshal, bearing +the national standard. Immediately in the rear of the coach was +the carriage of the orator and the President of the day, followed +by the committee of arrangements and sixty carriages of citizens, +which joined in escorting the editor to his home in Bethel. + +" 'When the procession commenced its march amidst the roar of +cannon, three cheers were given by several hundred citizens who +did not join in the procession. The band of music continued to +play a variety of national airs until their arrival in Bethel (a +distance of three miles), when they struck up the beautiful and +appropriate tune of "Home, Sweet Home!" After giving three hearty +cheers, the procession returned to Danbury. The utmost harmony +and unanimity of feeling prevailed throughout the day, and we are +happy to add that no accident occured to mar the festivities of +the occasion.' " + +The editorial career continued as it had begun. In 1830 The +Herald of Freedom was sold to Mr. George Taylor. + +The mercantile business was also sold to Horace Fairchild, who +had been associated with it as partner since 1831, and a Mr. +Toucey, who formed a partnership under the name of Fairchild & +Co. Barnum had lost considerable money in this store; he was too +speculative for ordinary trade, too ready, also to give credit, +and his ledger was full of unpaid accounts when he finally gave +up business. + +In 1835 he removed his family to New York, taking a house in +Hudson street. For a time he tried to get a position in a +mercantile house, not on a fixed salary, but so as to derive a +commission on his sales, trusting to his ability to make more +money in this way than an ordinary clerk could be expected to +receive. Failing in this he acted as a "drummer" for several +stores until spring, when he was fortunate enough to receive +several hundred dollars from his agent at Bethel. In May he +opened a private boarding-house at 52 Frankfort street, which was +well patronized by his Connecticut acquaintances as often as they +visited the metropolis. This business not occupying his entire +time, he bought an interest in a grocery store at 156 South +street. + +Although the years of manhood brought cares, anxieties, and +struggles for a livelihood, they did not change Barnum's nature, +and the jocose element was still an essential ingredient of his +being. He loved fun, practical fun, for itself and for the +enjoyment which it brought. During the year he occasionally +visited Bridgeport, where he almost always found at the hotel a +noted joker, named Darrow, who spared neither friend nor foe in +his tricks. He was the life of the bar-room, and would always try +to entrap some stranger in a bet and so win a treat for the +company. He made several ineffectual attempts upon Barnum, and at +last, one evening, Darrow, who stuttered, made a final trial, as +follows: + +"Come, Barnum, I'll make you another proposition; I'll bet you +hadn't got a whole shirt on your back." The catch consists in the +fact that generally only one-half of that convenient garment is +on the back; but Barnum had anticipated the proposition --in fact +he had induced a friend, Mr. Hough, to put Darrow up to the +trick--and had folded a shirt nicely upon his back, securing it +there with his suspenders. The bar-room was crowded with +customers who thought that if Barnum made the bet he would be +nicely caught, and he made presence of playing off and at the +same time stimulated Darrow to press the bet by saying: + +"That is a foolish bet to make; I am sure my shirt is whole +because it is nearly new; but I don't like to bet on such a +subject." + +"A good reason why," said Darrow, in great glee; "it's ragged. +Come, I'll bet you a treat for the whole company you hadn't got a +whole shirt on your b-b-b-back!" + +"I'll bet my shirt is cleaner than yours," Barnum replied. + +"That's nothing to do w-w-with the case; it's ragged, and y-y-you +know it." + +"I know it is not," Barnum replied, with pretended anger, which +caused the crowd to laugh heartily. + +"You poor ragged f-f-fellow, come down here from D-D-Danbury, I'm +sorry for you," said Darrow tantalizingly. + +"You would not pay if you lost," Barnum remarked. + +"Here's f-f-five dollars I'll put in Captain Hinman's (the +landlord's) hands. Now b-b-bet if you dare, you ragged +c-c-creature, you." + +Barnum put five dollars in Captain Hinman's hands, and told him +to treat the company from it if he lost the bet. + +"Remember," said Darrow, "I b-b-bet you hadn't got a whole shirt +on your bob-back!" + +"All right," said Barnum, taking off his coat and commencing to +unbutton his vest. The whole company, feeling sure that he was +caught, began to laugh heartily. Old Darrow fairly danced with +delight, and as Barnum laid his coat on a chair he came running +up in front of him, and slapping his hands together, exclaimed: + +"You needn't t-t-take off any more c-c-clothes, for if it ain't +all on your b-b-back, you've lost it." + +"If it is, I suppose you have!" Barnum replied, pulling the whole +shirt from off his back! + +Such a shriek of laughter as burst forth from the crowd was +scarcely ever heard, and certainly such a blank countenance as +old Darrow exhibited it would be hard to conceive. Seeing that he +was most incontinently "done for," and perceiving that his +neighbor Hough had helped to do it, he ran up to him in great +anger, and shaking his fist in his face, exclaimed: + +"H-H-Hough, you infernal r-r-rascal, to go against your own +neighbor in favor of a D-D-Danbury man. I'll pay you for that +some time, you see if I d-d-don't." + +All hands went up to the bar and drank with a hearty good will, +for it was seldom that Darrow got taken in, and he was such an +inveterate joker they liked to see him paid in his own coin. +Never till the day of his death did he hear the last of the +"whole shirt." + + + +CHAPTER V. BEGINNING AS A SHOWMAN. + +FINDING HIS TRUE VOCATION--THE PURCHASE OF JOICE HETH--EVIDENCE +AS TO HER AGE--HER DEATH--SIGNOR VIVALLA--A VISIT TO +WASHINGTON--JOINING A TRAVELLING CIRCUS--CONTROVERSIES WITH +MINISTERS--THE VICTIM OF A PRACTICAL JOKE. + +Barnum was now satisfied that he had not yet found his proper +level. He had not yet entered the business for which nature had +designed him. There was only a prospect of his going on from this +to that, as his father had done before him, trying many callings +but succeeding in none. He had not yet discovered that love of +amusement is one of the strongest passions of the human heart. +This, however, was a lesson that he was soon to learn; and he was +to achieve both fame and fortune as a caterer to the public +desire for entertainment. + +Philosophizing on this theme in later years, Mr. Barnum once +said: "The show business has all phases and grades of dignity, +from the exhibition of a monkey to the exposition of that highest +art in music or the drama which entrances empires and secures for +the gifted artist a worldwide fame which princes well might envy. +Men, women and children, who cannot live on gravity alone, need +something to satisfy their gayer, lighter moods and hours, and he +who ministers to this want is in a business established by the +Author of our nature. If he worthily fulfils his mission, and +amuses without corrupting, he need never feel that he has lived +in vain." + +In the summer of 1835, Mr. Barnum was visited by Mr. Coley +Bartram, of Reading, Connecticut, who told him that he had owned +an interest in a remarkable negro woman, who was confidently +believed to be one hundred and sixty-one years old and to have +been the nurse of Washington. Mr. Bartram showed him a copy of an +advertisement in The Pennsylvania Inquirer for July 15, 1835, as +follows: + +"CURIOSITY.--The citizens of Philadelphia and its vicinity have +an opportunity of witnessing at the Masonic Hall one of the +greatest natural curiosities ever witnessed, viz.: JOICE HETH, a +negress, aged 161 years, who formerly belonged to the father of +General Washington. She has been a member of the Baptist Church +one hundred and sixteen years, and can rehearse many hymns, and +sing them according to former custom. She was born near the old +Potomac River in Virginia, and has for ninety or one hundred +years lived in Paris, Kentucky, with the Bowling family. + +"All who have seen this extraordinary woman are satisfied of the +truth of the account of her age. The evidence of the Bowling +family, which is respectable, is strong, but the original bill of +sale of Augustine Washington, in his own handwriting, and other +evidences which the proprietor has in his possession, will +satisfy even the most incredulous. + +"A lady will attend at the hall during the afternoon and evening +for the accommodation of those ladies who may call." + +Mr. Bartram told him, moreover, that he had sold out his interest +in the woman to R. W. Lindsay, of Jefferson county, Kentucky, who +was then exhibiting her as a curiosity, but was anxious to sell +her. Mr. Barnum had seen in some of the New York papers an +account of Joice Heth, and was so much interested in her that he +at once proceeded to Philadelphia to see her and Mr. Lindsay. How +he was impressed by her he has himself told. "Joice Heth," he +says, "was certainly a remarkable curiosity, and she looked as if +she might have been far older than her age as advertised. She was +apparently in good health and spirits, but from age or disease, +or both, was unable to change her position; she could move one +arm at will, but her lower limbs could not be straightened; her +left arm lay across her breast and she could not remove it; the +fingers of her left hand were drawn down so as nearly to close +it, and were fixed; the nails on that hand were almost four +inches long and extended above her wrist; the nails on her large +toes had grown to the thickness of a quarter of an inch; her head +was covered with a thick bush of grey hair; but she was toothless +and totally blind, and her eyes had sunk so deeply in the sockets +as to have disappeared altogether. + +"Nevertheless she was pert and sociable, and would talk as long +as people would converse with her. She was quite garrulous about +her protege, 'dear little George,' at whose birth she declared +she was present, having been at the time a slave of Elizabeth +Atwood, a half-sister of Augustine Washington, the father of +George Washington. As nurse she put the first clothes on the +infant, and she claimed to have 'raised him.' She professed to be +a member of the Baptist Church, talking much in her way on +religious subjects, and she sang a variety of ancient hymns. + +"In proof of her extraordinary age and pretensions, Mr. Lindsay +exhibited a bill of sale, dated February 5, 1727, from Augustine +Washington, county of Westmoreland, Virginia, to Elizabeth +Atwood, a half-sister and neighbor of Mr. Washington, conveying +'one negro women named Joice Heth, aged fifty-four years, for and +in consideration of the sum of thirty-three pounds lawful money +of Virginia.' It was further claimed that she had long been a +nurse in the Washington family; she was called in at the birth of +George and clothed the newborn infant. The evidence seemed +authentic, and in answer to the inquiry why so remarkable a +discovery had not been made before, a satisfactory explanation +was given in the statement that she had been carried from +Virginia to Kentucky, had been on the plantation of John S. +Bowling so long that no one knew or cared how old she was, and +only recently the accidental discovery by Mr. Bowling's son of +the old bill of sale in the Record Office in Virginia had led to +the identification of this negro woman as 'the nurse of +Washington.' " + +Everything seemed to Barnum to be entirely straightforward, and +he decided, if possible, to purchase the woman. She was offered +to him at $1,000, although Lindsay at first wanted $3,000. Barnum +had $500 in cash, and was able to borrow $500 more. Thus he +secured Joice Heth, sold out his interest in the grocery business +to his partner, and entered upon his career as a showman. He +afterward declared that the least deserving of all his efforts in +the show line was this one which introduced him to the business; +it was a scheme in no sense of his own devising; but it was one +which had been for some time before the public, and which he +honestly and with good reason believed to be genuine. He entered +upon his new work with characteristic enterprise, resorting to +posters, transparencies, advertisements, newspaper paragraphs, +and everything else calculated to attract the attention of the +public, regardless of expense. He exhibited in New York, Boston, +Philadelphia, Albany, and many other places, where his rooms were +thronged and much money made. But in the following February Joice +Heth died of old age, and was buried at Bethel. A postmortem +examination was made by a surgeon and some medical students, who +were inclined to doubt if she really was as old as Lindsay had +said. + +Thus ended Barnum's first enterprise as a showman. It had been +profitable to him, and had pointed out to him the path of +success. His next venture was entirely genuine and +straightforward. He engaged an Italian, who called himself Signor +Antonio, and who was a skilful performer on stilts, on the tight +rope and at juggling. Barnum engaged him for a year at $12 a week +and his expenses, and got him to change his stage name to Signor +Vivalla. He then resorted to his former means of advertising, and +started on his tour. For Vivalla's first week of performances +Barnum received $50, and for the second week three times as much. +At the close of the first performance, in response to loud +applause, Barnum appeared upon the stage and made a speech to the +audience, a performance which he repeated thousands of times in +after years. This engagement was at the Franklin Theatre in New +York. + +The show next appeared in Boston, with great success. Next it +went to Washington and had a most disastrous week, for every +night was stormy. Indeed Barnum found himself literally stranded +there, with not enough money to get away. He was driven to pawn +his watch and chain for $35, and then met a friend who helped him +out of his dilemma. + +"As this was my first visit to Washington, I was much +interested," says Barnum, "in visiting the capitol and other +public buildings. I also satisfied my curiosity in seeing Clay, +Calhoun, Benton, John Quincy Adams, Richard M. Johnson, Polk, and +other leading statesmen of the time. I was also greatly gratified +in calling upon Anne Royall, author of the Black Book, publisher +of a little paper called 'Paul Pry,' and quite a celebrated +personage in her day. I had exchanged The Herald of Freedom with +her journal, and she strongly sympathized with me in my +persecutions. She was delighted to see me, and although she was +the most garrulous old woman I ever saw, I passed a very amusing +and pleasant time with her. Before leaving her I manifested my +showman propensity by trying to hire her to give a dozen or more +lectures on 'Government' in the Atlantic cities, but I could not +engage her at any price, although I am sure the speculation would +have been a very profitable one. I never saw this eccentric woman +again; she died at a very advanced age, October 1, 1854, at her +residence in Washington." + +From Washington the show went to Philadelphia and appeared at the +Walnut Street Theatre. The audiences were small and it was +evident that something must be done to arouse public interest. +"And now," says Barnum, "that instinct which can arouse a +community and make it patronize one, provided the article offered +is worthy of patronage, an instinct which served me greatly in +later years, astonishing the public and surprising me, came to my +relief, and the help, curiously enough, appeared in the shape of +an emphatic hiss from the pit! + +"This hiss, I discovered, came from one Roberts, a circus +performer, and I had an interview with him. He was a professional +balancer and juggler, who boasted that he could do all Vivalla +had done and something more. I at once published a card in +Vivalla's name, offering $1,000 to any one who would publicly +perform Vivalla's feats at such place as should be designated, +and Roberts issued a counter card accepting the offer. I then +contracted with Mr. Warren, treasurer of the Walnut Street +Theatre, for one-third of the proceeds, if I should bring the +receipts up to $400 a night--an agreement he could well afford to +make as his receipts the night before had been but seventy-five +dollars. From him I went to Roberts, who seemed disposed to 'back +down,' but I told him that I should not insist upon the terms of +his published card, and ask him if he was under any engagement? +Learning that he was not I offered him thirty dollars to perform +under my direction one night at the Walnut, and he accepted. A +great trial of skill between Roberts and Vivalla was duly +announced by posters and through the press. Meanwhile, they +rehearsed privately to see what tricks each could perform, and +the 'business' was completely arranged. + +"Public excitement was at fever heat, and on the night of the +trial the pit and upper boxes were crowded to the full. The +'contest' between the performers was eager, and each had his +party in the house. So far as I could learn, no one complained +that he did not get all he paid for on that occasion. I engaged +Roberts for a month, and his subsequent 'contests' with Vivalla +amused the public and put money in my purse." + +In the spring of 1836 Barnum joined his show with Aaron Turner's +travelling circus, himself acting as ticket seller, secretary and +treasurer, at thirty dollars a month and one-fifth of the total +profits, while Vivalla was to get fifty dollars a month. Barnum +was himself paying Vivalla eighty dollars a month, so that he +really had left for himself only his one-fifth share of the +profits. The combined show set out from Danbury, Connecticut, for +West Springfield, Massachusetts, on April 26. On the first day, +Barnum relates, instead of stopping for dinner, Turner simply +distributed to the company three loaves of rye bread and a pound +of butter, which he bought at a farmhouse for fifty cents. On +April 28 they began their performances at West Springfield, and +as their band of music had not arrived from Providence, as +expected, Barnum made a speech to the audience in place of it, +which seemed to please everybody. The engagement was successful, +and the tour was continued during the summer through numerous +towns and cities in New England, the Middle States, Maryland, +Virginia and North Carolina. + +Many incidents, humorous and otherwise, marked their progress. At +Cabotville, Massachusetts, on going to bed one night one of the +company threw a lighted cigar stump into a box of sawdust, and +the result was that, an hour or two later, they all narrowly +escaped suffocation from the smoke. At Lenox, Massachusetts, they +spent Sunday and Barnum went to church as usual. The sermon was +directed against the circus, denouncing it in very abusive terms +as an immoral and degrading institution. "Thereupon," says +Barnum, "when the minister had read the closing hymn, I walked up +the pulpit stairs and handed him a written request, signed 'P. T. +Barnum, connected with the circus, June 5, 1836,' to be permitted +to reply to him. He declined to notice it, and after the +benediction I lectured him for not giving me an opportunity to +vindicate myself and those with whom I was connected. The affair +created considerable excitement, and some of the members of the +church apologized to me for their clergyman's ill behavior. A +similar affair happened afterward at Port Deposit, on the lower +Susquehanna, and in this instance I addressed the audience for +half an hour, defending the circus company against the attacks of +the clergyman, and the people listened, though their pastor +repeatedly implored them to go home. Often have I collected our +company on Sunday and read to them the Bible or a printed sermon, +and one or more of the men frequently accompanied me to church. +We made no pretense of religion, but we were not the worst people +in the world, and we thought ourselves entitled to at least +decent treatment when we went to hear the preaching of the +Gospel." + +Turner, the proprietor of the circus, was a self-made man. He had +made himself rich through industry, as he believed any other man +with common sense could do, and he was very proud of the fact. He +was also an inveterate practical joker, and once, at Annapolis, +Maryland, he played upon Barnum a trick which came very near +having a serious result. They got there on Saturday night, and +the next morning Barnum went out for a walk, wearing a fine new +suit of black clothes. As he passed through the bar-room and out +of the hotel Turner said to some bystanders, who did not know +Barnum: + +"I think it very singular that you permit that rascal to march +your streets in open day. It wouldn't be allowed in Rhode Island, +and I suppose that is the reason the scoundrel has come down this +way." + +"Why, who is he?" they demanded. + +"Don't you know? Why, that is the Rev. E. K. Avery, the murderer +of Miss Cornell." + +Instantly there was a rush of the whole crowd to the door, eager +to get another look at Barnum, and uttering threats of vengeance. +This man Avery had only lately been tried in Rhode Island for the +murder of Miss Cornell, whose dead body was discovered in a +stack-yard, and though he was acquitted by the court everybody +believed him guilty. Accordingly, Barnum soon found himself +overtaken and surrounded by a mob of one hundred or more and his +ears saluted with such remarks as "the lecherous old hypocrite," +"the sanctified murderer," "the black-coated villain," "lynch +him," "tar and feather him," and others still more harsh and +threatening. Then one man seized him by the collar, while others +brought a fence rail and some rope. + +"Come," said the man who collared him, "old chap, you can't walk +any further; we know you, and as we always make gentlemen ride in +these parts, you may just prepare to straddle that rail!" + +His surprise may be imagined. "Good heavens!" he exclaimed, as +they all pressed around, "gentlemen, what have I done?" + +"Oh, we know you," exclaimed half a dozen voices; "you needn't +roll your sanctimonious eyes; that game don't take in this +country. Come, straddle the rail, and REMEMBER THE STACK-YARD!" + +He grew more and more bewildered; he could not imagine what +possible offence he was to suffer for, and he continued to +exclaim, "Gentlemen, what have I done? Don't kill me, gentlemen, +but tell me what I have done." + +"Come, make him straddle the rail; we'll show him how to hang +poor factory girls," shouted a man in the crowd. + +The man who had him by the collar then remarked "Come, MR. AVERY, +it's no use; you see, we know you, and we'll give you a touch of +lynch law, and start you for home again." + +"My name is NOT Avery, gentlemen; you are mistaken in your man," +he exclaimed. + +"Come, come, none of your gammon; straddle the rail, Ephraim." + +The rail was brought and Barnum was about to be placed on it, +when the truth flashed upon him. + +"Gentlemen," he exclaimed, "I am not Avery; I despise that +villain as much as you can; my name is Barnum; I belong to the +circus which arrived here last night, and I am sure Old Turner, +my partner, has hoaxed you with this ridiculous story." + +"If he has we'll lynch him," said one of the mob. + +"Well, he has, I'll assure you, and if you will walk to the hotel +with me, I'll convince you of the fact." + +This they reluctantly assented to, keeping, however, a close hand +upon him. As they walked up the main street, the mob received a +re-enforcement of some fifty or sixty, and Barnum was marched +like a malefactor up to the hotel. Old Turner stood on the piazza +ready to explode with laughter. Barnum appealed to him for +heaven's sake to explain this matter, that he might be liberated. +He continued to laugh, but finally told them "he believed there +was some mistake about it. The fact is," said he, "my friend +Barnum has a new suit of black clothes on and he looks so much +like a priest that I thought he must be Avery." + +The crowd saw the joke and seemed satisfied. Barnum's new coat +had been half-torn from his back, and he had been very roughly +handled. But some of the crowd apologized for the outrage, +declaring that Turner ought to be served in the same way, while +others advised Barnum to "get even with him." Barnum was very +much offended, and when the mob-dispersed he asked Turner what +could have induced him to play such a trick. + +"My dear Mr. Barnum," he replied, "it was all for our good. +Remember, all we need to insure success is notoriety. You will +see that this will be noised all about town as a trick played by +one of the circus managers upon the other, and our pavilion will +be crammed to-morrow night." + +It was even so; the trick was told all over town, and every one +came to see the circus managers who were in a habit of playing +practical jokes upon each other. They had fine audiences while +they remained at Annapolis, but it was a long time before Barnum +forgave Turner for his rascally "joke." + + + +CHAPTER VI. INCIDENTS OF A CIRCUS TOUR. + +BEATING A LANDLORD--A JOKE ON TURNER--BARNUM AS A PREACHER AND AS +A NEGRO MINSTREL--A BAD MAN WITH A GUN--DEALING WITH A +SHERIFF--"LADY HAYES"--AN EMBARASSED JUGGLER--BARNUM AS A +MATRIMONIAL AGENT. + +At almost every place visited by the travelling company, some +notable incident occurred. At Hanover Court House, Virginia, for +example, it was raining so heavily that they could not give a +performance, and Turner therefore decided to start for Richmond +immediately after dinner. Their landlord, however, said that as +their agent had engaged three meals and lodgings for the whole +troupe, the whole bill must be paid whether they went then or +stayed until next morning. No compromise could be made with the +stubborn fellow, and Turner was equally stubborn in his +determination both to go at once and also to have the worth of +his money. The following programme was accordingly carried out, +Turner insisting upon every detail: + +Dinner was ordered at twelve o'clock and was duly prepared and +eaten. As soon as the table was cleared, supper was ordered, at +half past twelve. After eating as much of this as their dinner +had left room for, the whole company went to bed at one o'clock +in the afternoon. Each man insisted upon taking a lighted candle +to his room, and the whole thirty-six of them undressed and went +to bed as though they proposed to stay all night. Half an hour +later they arose and dressed again and went down to breakfast, +which Turner had ordered served at two o'clock sharp. They could +eat but little of this meal, of course, but they did the best +they could, and at half past two in the afternoon were on their +way to Richmond. Throughout the whole absurd proceedings the +landlord was furiously angry. Turner was as solemn as a corpse, +and the rest of the company were convulsed with laughter. + +After the performance one evening at Richmond, Barnum tried to +pay Turner for that practical joke about the Rev. Mr. Avery. A +score of the company were telling stories and singing songs in +the sitting room of the hotel. Presently somebody began +propounding some amusing arithmetical problems. Then Turner +proposed one, which was readily solved. Barnum's turn came next, +and he offered the following, for Turner's especial benefit: + +"Suppose a man is thirty years of age, and he has a child one +year of age; he is thirty times older than his child. When the +child is thirty years old, the father, being sixty, is only twice +as old as his child. When the child is sixty the father is +ninety, and therefore only one-third older than the child. When +the child is ninety the father is one hundred and twenty, and +therefore only one-fourth older than the child. Thus you see, the +child is gradually but surely gaining on the parent, and as he +certainly continues to come nearer and nearer, in time he must +overtake him. The question therefore is, suppose it was possible +for them to live long enough, how old would the father be when +the child overtook him and became of the same age?" + +The company generally saw the catch; but Turner was very much +interested in the problem, and although he admitted he knew +nothing about arithmetic, he was convinced that as the son was +gradually gaining on the father he must reach him if there was +time enough--say, a thousand years, or so--for the race. But an +old gentleman gravely remarked that the idea of a son becoming as +old as his father while both were living, was simply nonsense, +and he offered to bet a dozen of champagne that the thing was +impossible, even "in figures." Turner, who was a betting man, and +who thought the problem might be proved, accepted the wager; but +he was soon convinced that however much the boy might relatively +gain upon his father, there would always be thirty years +difference in their ages. The champagne cost him $25, and he +failed to see the fun of Barnum's arithmetic, though at last he +acknowledged that it was a fair offset to the Avery trick. + +From Richmond they went to Petersburg, and thence to Warrenton, +North Carolina, and there, on October 30, Barnum and Turner +separated, Barnum's engagement having expired with a clear profit +to himself of about $1,200. Barnum took Vivalla, a negro singer +and dancer named James Sandford, several musicians, horses and +wagons, and a small canvas tent. With these he proposed to carry +on a travelling show of his own. His first stop was on Saturday, +November 12, 1836, at Rocky Mount Falls, North Carolina. The next +day, being Sunday, Barnum set out for church. "I noticed," he +says, "a stand and benches in a grove near by, and determined to +speak to the people if I was permitted. The landlord who was with +me said that the congregation, coming from a distance to attend a +single service, would be very glad to hear a stranger, and I +accordingly asked the venerable clergyman to announce that after +service I would speak for half an hour in the grove. Learning +that I was not a clergyman, he declined to give the notice, but +said that he had no objection to my making the announcement, +which I did, and the congregation, numbering about three hundred, +promptly came to hear me. + +"I told them I was not a preacher, and had very little experience +in public speaking, but I felt a deep interest in matters of +morality and religion, and would attempt in a plain way, to set +before them the duties and privileges of man. I appealed to every +man's experience, observation and reason, to confirm the Bible +doctrine of wretchedness in vice and happiness in virtue. We +cannot violate the laws of God with impunity, and He will not +keep back the wages of well-doing. The outside show of things is +of very small account. We must look to realities and not to +appearances. 'Diamonds may glitter on a vicious breast,' but 'the +soul's calm sunshine and the heart-felt joy is virtue's prize.' +The rogue, the passionate man, the drunkard, are not to be envied +even at the best, and a conscience hardened by sin is the most +sorrowful possession we can think of." + +Barnum proceeded in this strain with various scriptural +quotations and familiar illustrations, for three-quarters of an +hour. At the end of his address several persons came up to shake +hands with him, saying that they had been greatly pleased and +edified by his remarks and asking to know his name. He went away +feeling that possibly he had done some good by means of his +impromptu preaching. + +The negro singer and dancer, Sandford, abruptly deserted the show +at Camden, South Carolina, and left Barnum in a bad plight. An +entertainment of negro songs had been advertised, and no one was +able to fill Sandford's place. Barnum was determined, however, +that his audience should not be disappointed, and so he blackened +his own face and went on the stage himself, singing a number of +plantation melodies. His efforts were received with great +applause, and he was recalled several times. This performance was +repeated for several evenings. + +One night after thus personating a negro, Barnum heard a +disturbance outside the tent. Hastening to the spot he found a +man quarreling with one of his company. He interfered, whereupon +the man drew a pistol and pointing it at Barnum's head, +exclaimed, "you black scoundrel! How dare you use such language +to a white man?" He evidently took Barnum for a real negro, and +in another moment would have blown his brains out. But quick as a +flash the showman exclaim, "I am as white as you!" and at the +same moment rolled up his sleeves showing the white skin of his +arm. The other man dropped his pistol in consternation and humbly +begged Barnum's pardon. + +"On four different occasions in my life," said Mr. Barnum not +long before his death, "I have had a loaded pistol pointed at my +head and each time I have escaped death by what seemed a miracle. +I have also often been in deadly peril by accidents, and when I +think of these things I realize my indebtedness to an +all-protecting Providence. Reviewing my career, too, and +considering the kind of company I kept for years and the +associations with which I was surrounded and connected, I am +surprised as well as grateful that I was not ruined. I honestly +believe that I owe my preservation from the degradation of living +and dying a loafer and a vagabond, to the single fact that I was +never addicted to strong drink. To be sure, I have in times past +drank liquor, but I have generally wholly abstained from +intoxicating beverages, and for many years, I am glad to say, I +have been a strict 'teetotaller.' " + +At Camden, Barnum also lost one of his musicians, a Scotchman +named Cochran. This man was arrested and, in spite of Barnum's +efforts to save him, imprisoned for many months for advising a +negro barber who was shaving him to run away to the Free States +or to Canada. To fill up his ranks Barnum now hired Bob White, a +negro singer, and Joe Pentland, a clown, ventriloquist, comic +singer, juggler, and sleight-of-hand performer, and also bought +four horses and two wagons. He called this enlarged show +"Barnum's Grand Scientific and Musical Theatre." + +At Raleigh, North Carolina, Barnum had sold a half interest in +his show to a man called Henry,--not his real name. The latter +now acted as treasurer and ticket taker. When they reached +Augusta, Georgia, the Sheriff served a writ upon Henry for a debt +of $500. As Henry had $600 of the Company's money in his pockets, +Barnum at once secured a bill of sale of all his property in the +exhibition. Armed with this he met Henry's creditor and his +lawyer, who demanded the key of the stable, so that they might +levy on the horses and wagons. Barnum asked them to wait a little +while until he could see Henry, to which they agreed. Henry was +anxious to cheat his creditor, and accordingly was glad to sign +the bill of sale. Then Barnum returned and told the creditor and +his lawyer that Henry would neither pay nor compromise the claim. +The Sheriff thereupon demanded the stable key, so that he might +attach Henry's share of the property. "Not yet," said Barnum, +pulling out the bill of sale, "I am in possession as entire owner +of this property. I have already purchased it, and you have not +yet levied on it. You will touch my property at your peril." + +The creditor and the sheriff were thus baffled, but they +immediately arrested Henry and took him to prison. The next day +Barnum learned that Henry really owed $1,300, and that he had +promised his creditor that he would pay him $500 of the company's +money and a bill of sale of his interest in the show at the end +of the Saturday night performance, in consideration of which the +creditor was to allow him to take one of the horses and run away, +leaving Barnum in the lurch. Learning this, Barnum was not +disposed to help Henry any further. Finding that Henry had +intrusted the $500 to Vivalla, to keep it from the sheriff, +Barnum secured it from Vivalla on Henry's order, under pretense +of securing bail for the prisoner. Then he paid the creditor the +full amount obtained from Henry as the price of his half-interest +and received in return an assignment of $500 of the creditor's +claim and a guarantee that he should not be troubled by Henry for +it. Thus his own promptness rescued Barnum from one of the most +unpleasant situations in which he was ever placed. + +After this they got into one of the most desolate parts of +Georgia. One night their advance agent, finding it impossible to +reach the next town, arranged for the whole show to spend the +night at a miserable and solitary hovel owned by an old woman +named Hayes. The horses were to be picketed in a field, and the +company were to sleep in the tent and the out houses. Posters +were scattered over the country, announcing that a performance +would be given there the next day, the agent thinking that, as a +show was a rarity in that region, a considerable number of small +farmers would be glad to attend. + +"Meanwhile," says Barnum, "our advertiser, who was quite a wag, +wrote back informing us of the difficulty of reaching a town on +that part of our route, and stating that he had made arrangements +for us to stay over night on the plantation of 'Lady Hayes,' and +that although the country was sparsely settled, we could +doubtless give a profitable performance to a fair audience. + +"Anticipating a fine time on this noble 'plantation,' we started +at four o'clock in the morning so as to arrive at one o'clock, +thus avoiding the heat of the afternoon. Towards noon we came to +a small river where some men, whom we afterwards discovered to be +down-east Yankees, from Maine, were repairing a bridge. Every +flooring plank had been taken up, and it was impossible for our +teams to cross. 'Could the bridge be fixed so that we could go +over?' I inquired. 'No; it would take half a day, and meantime, +if we must cross, there was a place about sixteen miles down the +river where we could get over. 'But we can't go so far as that; +we are under engagement to perform on Lady Hayes's place +to-night, and we must cross here. Fix the bridge and we will pay +you handsomely.' + +"They wanted no money, but if we would give them some tickets to +our show they thought they might do something for us. I gladly +consented, and in fifteen minutes we crossed that bridge. The +cunning rascals had seen our posters and knew we were coming; so +they had taken up the planks of the bridge and had hidden them +till they had levied upon us for tickets, when the floor was +re-laid in a quarter of an hour. + +"Towards dinner-time we began to look out for the grand mansion +of 'Lady Hayes,' and seeing nothing but little huts we quietly +pursued our journey. At one o'clock--the time when we should have +arrived at our destination--I became impatient, and riding up to +a poverty-stricken hovel and seeing a ragged, bare-footed old +woman, with her sleeves rolled up to her shoulders, who was +washing clothes in front of the door, I inquired--" 'Hello! can +you tell me where Lady Hayes lives?' + +"The old woman raised her head, which was covered with tangled +locks and matted hair, and exclaimed--" 'Hey?' + +" 'No, Hayes, Lady Hayes; where is her plantation?' + +" 'This is the place,' she answered; 'I'm Widder Hayes, and you +are all to stay here to-night.' + +"We could not believe our ears or eyes; but after putting the +dirty old woman through a severe cross-examination she finally +produced a contract, signed by our advertiser, agreeing for board +and lodging for the company, and we found ourselves booked for +the night. It appeared that our advertiser could find no better +quarters in that forlorn section, and he had indulged in a joke +at our expense by exciting our appetites and imaginations in +anticipation of the luxuries we should find in the magnificent +mansion of 'Lady Hayes.' + +"Joe Pentland grumbled, Bob White indulged in some very strong +language, and Signor Vivalla laughed. He had travelled with his +monkey and organ in Italy and could put up with any fare that +offered. I took the disappointment philosophically, simply +remarking that we must make the best of it and compensate +ourselves when we reached a town next day. + +"The next forenoon we arrived at Macon, and congratulated +ourselves that we had reached the regions of civilization. + +"In going from Columbus, Ga., to Montgomery, Ala., we were +obliged to cross a thinly-settled, desolate tract, known as the +'Indian Nation,' and as several persons had been murdered by +hostile Indians in that region, it was deemed dangerous to travel +the road without an escort. Only the day before we started, the +mail stage had been stopped and the passengers murdered, the +driver alone escaping. We were well armed, however, and trusted +that our numbers would present too formidable a force to be +attacked, though we dreaded to incur the risk. Vivalla alone was +fearless and was ready to encounter fifty Indians and drive them +into the swamp. + +"Accordingly, when we had safely passed over the entire route to +within fourteen miles of Montgomery, and were beyond the reach of +danger, Joe Pentland determined to test Vivalla's bravery. He had +secretly purchased at Mt. Megs, on the way, an old Indian dress +with a fringed hunting shirt and moccasins and these he put on, +after coloring his face with Spanish brown. Then shouldering his +musket he followed Vivalla and the party, and, approaching +stealthily leaped into their midst with a tremendous whoop. + +"Vivalla's companions were in the secret, and they instantly fled +in all directions. Vivalla himself ran like a deer and Pentland +after him, gun in hand and yelling horribly. After running a full +mile the poor little Italian, out of breath and frightened nearly +to death, dropped on his knees and begged for his life. The +'Indian' leveled his gun at his victim, but soon seemed to +relent, and signified that Vivalla should turn his pockets inside +out--which he did, producing and handing over a purse containing +eleven dollars. The savage then marched Vivalla to an oak, and +with a handkerchief tied him in the most approved Indian manner +to the tree, leaving him half dead with fright. + +"Pentland then joined us, and washing his face and changing his +dress, we all went to the relief of Vivalla. He was overjoyed to +see us, and when he was released his courage returned; he swore +that after his companions left him, the Indian had been +re-inforced by six more, to whom, in default of a gun or other +means to defend himself, Vivalla had been compelled to surrender. +We pretended to believe his story for a week, and then told him +the joke, which he refused to credit, and also declined to take +the money which Pentland offered to return, as it could not +possibly be his since seven Indians had taken his money. We had a +great deal of fun over Vivalla's courage, but the matter made him +so cross and surly that we were finally obliged to drop it +altogether. From that time forward, however, Vivalla never +boasted of his prowess." + +At the end of February, 1837, they reached Montgomery, and there +Barnum sold a half interest in his show to Henry Hawley, a +sleight-of-hand performer. He was a very clever fellow and was +never known to be non-plussed or embarrassed in his tricks, +except upon one occasion. This was when he was performing the +well-known egg and bag trick, which he did with great success, +taking egg after egg from the bag and finally breaking one to +show that they were genuine. "Now," said he "I will show you the +old hen that laid them." But it happened that the negro boy to +whom had been intrusted the duty of supplying "properties," had +made a slight mistake. The result was that Hawley triumphantly +produced not "the old hen that laid the eggs," but a most +palpable and evident rooster. The audience roared with laughter, +and Hawley, completely taken aback, fled in confusion to his +dressing room, uttering furious maledictions upon the boy who was +the author of his woe. + +The show visited various places in Alabama, Tennessee and +Kentucky, and finally disbanded at Nashville in May, 1837. +Vivalla went to New York and gave some performances on his own +account before sailing for Cuba. Hawley remained in Tennessee, +and Barnum went home to his family. Early in July, however, he +formed a new company and went back to rejoin Hawley. But they +were not successful, and in August they parted again, Barnum +forming a new partnership with one Z. Graves. He then went to +Tiffin, Ohio, where he re-engaged Joe Pentland and got together +the nucleus of a new company. + +During his short stay at Tiffin, Barnum got into a discussion +with various gentlemen on religious subjects, and in response to +their invitation lectured, or preached, in the school-house on +Sunday afternoon and evening. He also went to the neighboring +town of Republic and delivered two lectures. + +On his way back to Kentucky, just before he reached Cincinnati, +he met a drove of hogs. One of the drivers made an insolent +remark because the circus wagons interfered with the driving of +the hogs, and Barnum responded angrily. Thereupon the fellow +jumped from his horse, pointed a pistol at Barnum's breast and +swore he would shoot him if he did not apologize. Barnum asked +permission to speak first to a friend in the next wagon, after +which, he said, he would give the man full satisfaction. The +"friend" proved to be a loaded double barrelled gun, which Barnum +leveled at the hog-driver's head, saying: + +"Now, sir, you must apologize, or have your brains blown out. You +drew a weapon upon me for a careless remark. You seem to hold +human life at a cheap price. Now you have the choice between a +load of shot and an apology." + +The man apologized promptly, a pleasant conversation ensued, and +they parted excellent friends. + +On this tour they exhibited at Nashville, where Barnum visited +General Jackson at the Hermitage; at Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, +Vicksburg and various other places, generally doing well. At +Vicksburg they bought a steamboat and went down the river, +stopping at every important landing to exhibit. At Natchez their +cook deserted them, and Barnum set out to find another. He found +a white woman who was willing to go, only she expected to marry a +painter in that town, and did not want to leave him. Barnum went +to see the painter and found that he had not fully made up his +mind whether to marry the woman or not. Thereupon the +enterprising showman told the painter that if he would marry the +woman the next morning he would hire him for $25 a month as +painter, and his bride at the same wages as cook, give them both +their board and add a cash bonus of $50. There was a wedding on +the boat the next day, and they had a good cook and a good +dinner. + +During one evening performance at Francisville, Louisiana, a man +tried to pass Barnum at the door of the tent, claiming that he +had paid for admittance. Barnum refused him entrance; and as he +was slightly intoxicated, he struck Barnum with a slung shot, +mashing his hat and grazing what phrenologists call "the organ of +caution." He went away and soon returned with a gang of armed and +half-drunken companions, who ordered the showmen to pack up their +"traps and plunder" and to get on board their steamboat within an +hour. The big tent speedily came down. No one was permitted to +help, but the company worked with a will, and within five minutes +of the expiration of the hour they were on board and ready to +leave. The scamps who had caused their departure escorted them +and their last load, waving pine torches, and saluted them with a +hurrah as they swung into the stream. + +The New Orleans papers of March 19th, 1838, announced the arrival +of the "Steamer Ceres, Captain Barnum, with a theatrical +company." After a week's performance, they started for the +Attakapas country. At Opelousas they exchanged the steamer for +sugar and molasses; the company was disbanded, and Barnum started +for home, arriving in New York. June 4th, 1838. + + + +CHAPTER VII. HARD TIMES. + +ADVERTISING FOR A PARTNER--"QUAKER OATS"--DIAMOND THE DANCER--A +DISHONEST MANAGER--RETURN TO NEW YORK--FROM HAND TO MOUTH--THE +AMERICAN MUSEUM. + +Looking around now for some permanent business, Barnum at last +resorted to the expedient of advertising for a partner, stating +that he had $2,500 to invest, and was willing to add his entire +personal attention to the business. He was immediately +overwhelmed with answers, the most of them coming from sharpers. +One was a counterfeiter who wanted $2,500 to invest in paper, +ink, and dies. + +One applicant was a sedate individual dressed in sober drab; he +proposed to buy a horse and wagon and sell oats in bags, trusting +that no one would be particular in measuring after a Quaker. + +"Do you mean to cheat in measuring your oats?" asked Barnum. + +"Well," said the Quaker, with a significant leer, "I shall +probably make them hold out." + +Finally Barnum decided to go into business with a good-looking, +plausible German, named Proler, who was a manufacturer of +paste-blacking, cologne, and bear's grease. They opened a store +at No. 101 1/2 Bowery, where Proler manufactured the goods, and +Barnum kept accounts and attended to sales in the store. The +business prospered, or appeared to, until the capital was +exhausted, and early in 1840 Barnum sold out his interest to +Proler, taking the German's note for $2,600, which was all he +ever got, Proler shortly afterward running away to Rotterdam. + +Barnum had formed the acquaintance of a very clever young dancer +named John Diamond, and soon after leaving the paste-blacking +enterprise, he gathered together a company of singers, etc., +which, with the dancer, Diamond, he placed in the hands of an +agent, not caring to have his name appear in the transaction. He +hired the Vauxhall Garden Saloon in New York and gave a variety +of performances. This, however, proved unprofitable, and was +abandoned after a few months. + +Much as Barnum dreaded resuming the life of an itinerant showman, +there seemed nothing else to be done, so January 2d, 1841, found +him in New Orleans, with a company consisting of C. D. Jenkins, +an excellent Yankee character artist; Diamond, the dancer; a +violinist, and one or two others. His brother-in-law, John +Hallett, acted as advance agent. The venture was fairly +successful, though after the first two weeks in New Orleans, the +manager and proprietor of the show was obliged to pledge his +watch as security for the board-bill. A dancing match between +Diamond and a negro from Kentucky put nearly $500 into Barnum's +pocket, and they continued to prosper until Diamond, after +extorting as much money as possible from his manager, finally ran +away. The other members of the troop caused considerable trouble +later. Jenkins, the Yankee character man, went to St. Louis, and +having enticed Francis Lynch, an orphan protege of Barnum's into +the scheme, proceeded to the Museum, where he exhibited Lynch as +the celebrated dancer, John Diamond. Barnum poured out his wrath +at this swindler in a letter, for which Jenkins threatened suit, +and actually did instigate R. W. Lindsay to bring an action +against Barnum for a pipe of brandy, alleged to have been +included in his contract. Being among strangers, Barnum had some +difficulty in procuring the $500 bond required, and was committed +to jail until late in the afternoon. As soon as he was released, +he had Jenkins arrested for fraud, and then went on his way +rejoicing. + +After an absence of eight months Barnum found himself back in New +York, resolved never again to be a traveling showman. Contracting +with the publisher, Robert Sears, for five hundred copies of +"Sear's Pictorial Illustrations of the Bible," and accepting the +United States agency for the book, he opened an office at the +corner of Beekman and Nassau Streets. He advertised widely, had +numerous agents, and sold thousands of books, but for all that, +lost money. + +While engaged in this business the Vauxhall Saloon was re-opened, +under the management of John Hallett, Mrs. Barnum's brother. At +the end of the season they had cleared about $200. This sum was +soon exhausted, and for the rest of the winter Barnum managed to +eke out a living by writing for the Sunday papers, and getting up +unique advertisements for the Bowery Amphitheatre. + +His ambition received a stimulus at last from a friend in +Danbury, who held a mortgage on a piece of property owned by Mr. +Barnum. Mr. Whittlesey wrote that as he was convinced of Mr. +Barnum's inability to lay up money, he thought he might as well +demand the five hundred dollars then as at any time. Barnum's +flagging energies were aroused, and he began in earnest to look +for some permanent investment. + +In connection with the Bowery Amphitheatre, the information came +to him that the collection of curiosities comprising Scudder's +American Museum, at the corner of Broadway and Ann Streets, was +for sale. The original proprietor had spent $50,000 on it, and at +his death had left a large fortune as the result of the +speculation. It was now losing money and the heirs offered it for +sale, at the low price of $15,000. Realizing that with tact, +energy, and liberality, the business might be made as profitable +as ever, Barnum resolved to buy it. + +"You buy the American Museum!" exclaimed a friend to whom he +confided the scheme. "What will you buy it with?" + +"With brass," answered Barnum, "for silver and gold have I none." + +And buy it with brass he did, as the story of the transaction +testifies. + +The Museum building belonged to Mr. Francis W. Olmsted, a retired +merchant, to whom he wrote, stating his desire to buy the +collection, and that although he had no means, if it could be +purchased upon reasonable credit, he was confident that his tact +and experience, added to a determined devotion to business, would +enable him to make the payments when due. Barnum therefore asked +him to purchase the collection in his own name; to give a writing +securing it to Barnum, provided he made the payments punctually, +including the rent of his building; to allow Barnum twelve +dollars and a half a week on which to support his family; and if +at any time he failed to meet the installment due, he would +vacate the premises, and forfeit all that might have been paid to +that date. "In fact, Mr. Olmsted." Barnum continued, earnestly, +"you may bind me in any way, and as tightly as you please--only +give me a chance to dig out, or scratch out, and I will do so or +forfeit all the labor and trouble I may have incurred." + +In reply to this letter, which Barnum took to his house himself, +Mr. Olmsted named an hour when he could call on him. Barnum was +there at the exact moment, and Olmsted was pleased with his +punctuality. He inquired closely as to Barnum's habits and +antecedents, and the latter frankly narrated his experiences as a +caterer for the public, mentioning his amusement ventures in +Vauxhall Garden, the circus, and in the exhibitions he had +managed at the South and West. + +"Who are your references?" Olmsted inquired. + +"Any man in my line," Barnum replied, "from Edmund Simpson, +manager of the Park Theatre, or William Niblo, to Messrs. Welch, +June, Titus, Turner, Angevine, or other circus or menagerie +proprietors; also Moses Y. Beach, of the New York Sun." + +"Can you get any of them to call on me?" + +Barnum told him that he could, and the next day Mr. Niblo rode +down and had an interview with Mr. Olmsted, while Mr. Beach and +several other gentlemen also called. The following morning Barnum +waited upon him for his decision. + +"I don't like your references, Mr. Barnum," said Mr. Olmsted, +abruptly, as soon as he entered the room. + +Barnum was confused, and said, "he regretted to hear it." + +"They all speak too well of you," Olmsted added, laughing; "in +fact, they all talk as if they were partners of yours, and +intended to share the profits." + +"Nothing could have pleased me better," says Barnum. "He then +asked me what security I could offer in case he concluded to make +the purchase for me, and it was finally agreed that, if he should +do so, he should retain the property till it was entirely paid +for, and should also appoint a ticket-taker and accountant (at my +expense), who should render him a weekly statement. I was further +to take an apartment hitherto used as a billiard-room in his +adjoining building, allowing therefor $500 a year, making a total +rental of $3,000 per annum, on a lease of ten years. He then told +me to see the administrator and heirs of the estate, to get their +best terms, and to meet him on his return to town a week from +that time. + +"I at once saw Mr. John Heath, the administrator, and his price +was $15,000. I offered $10,000, payable in seven annual +installments, with good security. After several interviews, it +was finally agreed that I should have it for $12,000, payable as +above --possession to be given on the 15th of November. Mr. +Olmsted assented to this, and a morning was appointed to draw and +sign the writings. Mr. Heath appeared, but said he must decline +proceeding any further in my case, as he had sold the collection +to the directors of Peale's Museum (an incorporated institution) +for $15,000, and had received $1,000 in advance. + +"I was shocked, and appealed to Mr. Heath's honor. He said that +he had signed no writing with me; was in no way legally bound, +and that it was his duty to do the best he could for the heirs. +Mr. Olmsted was sorry but could not help me; the new tenants +would not require him to incur any risk, and my matter was at an +end. + +"Of course I immediately informed myself as to the character of +Peale's Museum Company. It proved to be a band of speculators who +had bought Peale's collection for a few thousand dollars, +expecting to unite the American Museum with it, issue and sell +stock to the amount of $50,000, pocket $30,000 profits, and +permit the stockholders to look out for themselves. + +"I went immediately to several of the editors, including Major M. +M. Noah, M. Y. Beach, my good friends West, Herrick, and Ropes, +of the Atlas, and others, and stated my grievances. 'Now,' said +I, 'if you will grant me the use of your columns, I'll blow that +speculation sky-high.' They all consented, and I wrote a large +number of squibs, cautioning the public against buying the Museum +stock, ridiculing the idea of a board of broken-down bank +directors engaging in the exhibition of stuffed monkeys and +gander-skins; appealing to the case of the Zoological Institute, +which had failed by adopting such a plan as the one now proposed; +and finally, I told the public that such a speculation would be +infinitely more ridiculous than Dickens's 'Grand United +Metropolitan Hot Muffin and Crumpit-baking and Punctual Delivery +Company.' + +"The stock was 'as dead as a herring!' I then went to Mr. Heath +and asked him when the directors were to pay the other $14,000.' +On the 26th day of December, or forfeit the $1,000 already paid,' +was the reply. I assured him that they would never pay it, that +they could not raise it, and that he would ultimately find +himself with the Museum collection on his hands, and if once I +started off with an exhibition for the South, I could not touch +the Museum at ANY price. 'Now,' said I, 'if you will agree with +me confidentially, that in case these gentlemen do not pay you on +the 26th of December I may have it on the 27th for $12,000, I +will run the risk, and wait in this city until that date.' He +readily agreed to the proposition, but said he was sure they +would not forfeit their $1,000. + +" 'Very well,' said I; 'all I ask of you is, that this +arrangement shall not be mentioned.' He assented. 'On the 27th +day of December, at ten o'clock A. M., I wish you to meet me in +Mr. Olmsted's apartments, prepared to sign the writings, provided +this incorporated company do not pay you $14,000 on the 26th. He +agreed to this, and by my request put it in writing. + +"From that moment I felt that the Museum was mine. I saw Mr. +Olmsted, and told him so. He promised secrecy, and agreed to sign +the document if the other parties did not meet their engagement. +This was about November 15th, and I continued my shower of +newspaper squibs at the new company, which could not sell a +dollar's worth of its stock. Meanwhile, if any one spoke to me +about the Museum, I simply replied that I had lost it." + +This newspaper war against the Peales was kept up unceasingly +until one morning in December, "I received a letter from the +secretary of that company (now calling itself the 'New York +Museum Company'), requesting me to meet the directors at the +Museum on the following Monday morning. I went, and found the +directors in session. The venerable president of the board, who +was also the ex-president of a broken bank, blandly proposed to +hire me to manage the united museums, and though I saw that he +merely meant to buy my silence, I professed to entertain the +proposition, and in reply to an inquiry as to what salary I +should expect, I specified the sum of $3,000 a year. This was at +once acceded to, the salary to begin January 1st, 1842, and after +complimenting me on my ability, the president remarked: 'Of +course, Mr. Barnum, we shall have no more of your squibs through +the newspapers.' To which I replied that I should 'ever try to +serve the interests of my employers,' and I took my leave. + +"It was as clear to me as noonday that, after buying my silence +so as to appreciate their stock, these directors meant to sell +out to whom they could, leaving me to look to future stockholders +for my salary. They thought, no doubt, that they had nicely +entrapped me, but I knew I had caught them. + +"For, supposing me to be out of the way, and having no other +rival purchaser, these directors postponed the advertisement of +their stock to give people time to forget the attacks I had made +on it, and they also took their own time for paying the money +promised to Mr Heath, December 26th--indeed, they did not even +call on him at the appointed time. But on the following morning, +as agreed, I was promptly and hopefully at Mr. Olmsted's +apartments with my legal adviser, at half-past nine o'clock; Mr. +Heath came with his lawyer at ten, and before two o'clock that +day I was in formal possession of the American Museum. My first +managerial act was to write and dispatch the following +complimentary note: + + " 'AMERICAN MUSEUM, NEW YORK, Dec. 27th, 1841. +" 'To the President and Directors of the New York Museum: + +" 'GENTLEMEN: It gives me great pleasure to inform you that you +are placed upon the Free List of this establishment until furthur +notice. + " 'P. T. BARNUM, Proprietor.' + +"It is unnecessary to say that the 'President of the New York +Museum' was astounded, and when he called upon Mr. Heath, and +learned that I had bought and was really in possession of the +American Museum, he was indignant. He talked of prosecution, and +demanded the $1,000 paid on his agreement, but he did not +prosecute, and he justly forfeited his deposit money." + + + +CHAPTER VIII. THE AMERICAN MUSEUM. + +ADVERTISING EXTRAORDINARY--A QUICK-WITTED PERFORMER--NIAGARA +FALLS WITH REAL WATER--OTHER ATTRACTIONS--DRUMMOND LIGHTS. + +With great hopes for the success of his project, Barnum entered +upon the management of the Museum. It was a new epoch in his +career, he felt that the opportunity of his life had presented +itself--in the show business, to be sure, but in a permanent, +substantial phase of it. + +He must pay for the establishment within the stipulated time, or +forfeit all he had paid on account. A rigid plan of economy was +determined upon, his wife agreeing to support the family on $600 +a year, or even on four hundred if necessary. Barnum himself made +every possible personal retrenchment. One day, some six months +after the purchase had been made, Mr. Olmsted happened into the +ticket office, while the proprietor was eating his lunch of cold +corned beef and bread. + +"Is that all you eat for dinner?" asked Mr. Olmsted. + +"I have not eaten a warm dinner, except on Sundays, since I +bought the Museum," was the reply, "and I don't intend to, until +I am out of debt." + +"That's right," said Mr. Olmsted, heartily, "and you'll pay for +the Museum before the year is out." + +And he was right. + +The nucleus of this establishment, Scudder's Museum, was formed +in 1810. It was begun in Chatham Street, and was afterward +transferred to the old City Hall, and from small beginnings, by +purchases, and to a considerable degree by presents, it had grown +to be a large and valuable collection. People in all parts of the +country had sent in relics and rare curiosities. Sea captains for +years had brought and deposited strange things from foreign +lands; and besides all these gifts, the previous proprietor had +actually expended, as was stated, $50,000 in making the +collection, which valuable as it was when Barnum bought it, was +only the beginning of its subsequent greatness. In 1842 the +entire contents of Peale's Museum was purchased, and in 1850 the +Peale collection of Philadelphia was added. In 1865 the space +occupied for museum purposes was more than twice as large as in +1842. The Lecture Room, originally narrow, ill-contrived, and +inconvenient, was so enlarged and improved that it became one of +the most commodious and beautiful amusement halls in the city of +New York. At first the attractions and inducements were merely +the collection of curiosities by day, and an evening +entertainment, consisting of such variety performances as were +current in ordinary shows. Then Saturday afternoons and, soon +afterward, Wednesday afternoons, were devoted to entertainments, +and the popularity of the Museum grew so rapidly that it was +presently found expedient and profitable to open the great +Lecture Room every afternoon, as well as every evening, on every +weekday in the year. The first experiments in this direction more +than justified expectations, for the day exhibitions were always +more thronged than those of the evening. + +Holidays, of course, were made the most of, and there is a record +of twelve performances, to as many audiences, being given in one +day. + +By degrees the character of the stage performances were changed. +The transient attractions of the Museum were constantly +diversified, and educated dogs, industrious fleas, automatons, +jugglers, ventriloquists, living statuary, tableaux, gypsies, +Albinoes, fat boys, giants, dwarfs, rope-dancers, live "Yankees," +pantomime, instrumental music, singing and dancing in great +variety, dioramas, panoramas, models of Niagara, Dublin, Paris, +and Jerusalem; Hannington's dioramas of the Creation, the Deluge, +Fairy Grotto, Storm at Sea; the first English Punch and Judy in +this country, Italian Fantoceini, mechanical figures, fancy +glass-blowing, knitting machines, and other triumphs in the +mechanical arts; dissolving views, American Indians, who enacted +their warlike and religious ceremonies on the stage--these, among +others, were all exceedingly successful. + +No man ever understood the art of advertising better than Barnum. +Knowing that mammon is ever caught with glare, he took pains that +his posters should be larger, his transparencies more brilliant, +his puffing more persistent than anybody elses. And if he +resorted to hyperbole at times in his advertisements, it was +always his boast that no one ever went away from his Museum, +without having received the worth of his money. It used to amuse +Mr. Barnum later in life, to relate some of the unique +advertising dodges which his inventive genius devised. Here is a +fair sample, as he once told it: + +"One morning a stout, hearty-looking man came into my +ticket-office and begged some money. I asked him why he did not +work and earn his living? He replied that he could get nothing to +do, and that he would be glad of any job at a dollar a day. I +handed him a quarter of a dollar, told him to go and get his +breakfast and return, and I would employ him, at light labor, at +a dollar and a half a day. When he returned I gave him five +common bricks. + +" 'Now,' said I, 'go and lay a brick on the sidewalk, at the +corner of Broadway and Ann Street; another close by the Museum; a +third diagonally across the way, at the corner of Broadway and +Vesey Street, by the Astor House; put down the fourth on the +sidewalk, in front of St. Paul's Church opposite; then, with the +fifth brick in hand, take up a rapid march from one point to the +other, making the circuit, exchanging your brick at every point, +and say nothing to any one.' + +" 'What is the object of this?' inquired the man. + +" 'No matter,' I replied: 'all you need to know is that it brings +you fifteen cents wages per hour. It is a bit of my fun, and to +assist me properly you must seem to be as deaf as a post; wear a +serious countenance; answer no questions; pay no attention to any +one; but attend faithfully to the work, and at the end of every +hour, by St. Paul's clock, show this ticket at the Museum door; +enter, walking solemnly through every hall in the building; pass +out, and resume your work.' " + +With the remark that "it was all one to him, so long as he could +earn his living," the man placed his bricks, and began his round. +Half an hour afterward, at least five hundred people were +watching his mysterious movements. He had assumed a military step +and bearing, and, looking as sober as a judge, he made no +response whatever to the constant inquiries as to the object of +his singular conduct. At the end of the first hour, the sidewalks +in the vicinity were packed with people, all anxious to solve the +mystery. The man, as directed, then went into the Museum, +devoting fifteen minutes to a solemn survey of the halls, and +afterward returning to his round. This was repeated every hour +until sundown, and whenever the man went into the Museum a dozen +or more persons would buy tickets and follow him, hoping to +gratify their curiosity in regard to the purpose of his +movements. This was continued for several days--the curious +people who followed the man into the Museum considerably more +than paying his wages--till finally the policeman, to whom Barnum +had imparted his object, complained that the obstruction of the +sidewalk by crowds, had become so serious that he must call in +his "brick man." This trivial incident excited considerable talk +and amusement; it advertised Barnum; and it materially advanced +his purpose of making a lively corner near the Museum. + +Barnum realized above all that to have people pleased with his +attractions was the best advertisement he could possibly have, +and he tried honestly to keep the Museum supplied with every +novelty. A curiosity which possessed some merit, and considerable +absurdity was the celebrated model of Niagara, "with real water." + +One day the enterprising proprietor was called before the Board +of Water Commissioners, and informed that he must pay a large +extra compensation for the immense amount of water that supplied +his Niagara. To the astonishment of the Board Mr. Barnum gave his +assurance that a single barrel of water per month served to run +the machine. + +Apropos of this wonderful model, Barnum used to tell how he got +even with his friend, Louis Gaylord Clark, editor of the +Knickerbocker, an inveterate joker, and who was fond of guying +the Museum. The first time Clark viewed "Niagara" he assumed +great admiration. + +"Well, Barnum, I declare, this is quite an idea; I never saw the +like of this before in all my life." + +"No?" inquired Barnum, quite pleased. + +"No," said Clark, fervently, "and I hope to the Lord, I never +will." + +Barnum might have forgiven this, but Clark's next joke was too +much to bear. He came in one day and asked Barnum if he had the +club with which Captain Cook was killed. The Museum boasted a +large collection of Indian curiosities, and Barnum showed one +warlike weapon which he assured Clark was the identical club and +he had all the documents to prove it. + +"Poor Cook! Poor Cook!" said Clark, musingly. "Well, Mr. Barnum," +he continued, with great gravity, at the same time extending his +hand, "I am really very much obliged to you for your kindness. I +had an irrepressible desire to see the club that killed Captain +Cook, and I felt quite confident you could accommodate me. I have +been in half a dozen smaller museums, and as they all had it, I +was sure a large establishment like yours would not be without +it." + +But Barnum's turn came. A few weeks afterward, he wrote to Clark +that if he would come to his office he was anxious to consult him +on a matter of great importance. He came, and Barnum said: + +"Now, I don't want any of your nonsense, but I want your sober +advice." + +Clark assured him that he would serve him in any way in his +power, and Barnum proceeded to tell him about a wonderful fish +from the Nile, offered for exhibition at $100 a week, the owner +of which was willing to forfeit $5,000, if, within six weeks, +this fish did not pass through a transformation in which the tail +would disappear and the fish would then have legs. + +"Is it possible!" asked the astonished Clark. + +Barnum assured him that there was no doubt of it. + +Thereupon Clark advised Barnum to engage the wonder at any price; +that it would startle the naturalists, wake up the whole +scientific world, draw in the masses, and make $20,000 for the +Museum. Barnum told him that he thought well of the speculation, +only he did not like the name of the fish. + +"That makes no difference whatever," said Clark; "what is the +name of the fish?" + +"Tadpole," Barnum replied, with becoming gravity, "but it is +vulgarly called 'pollywog.' " + +"Sold, by thunder!" exclaimed Clark, and he left. + +Another story is illustrative of some of the trials incident to +theatrical management. + +An actor named La Rue presented himself as an imitator of +celebrated histrionic personages, including Macready, Forrest, +Kemble, the elder Booth, Kean, Hamblin, and others. Taking him +into the green-room for a private rehearsal, and finding his +imitations excellent, Barnum engaged him. For three nights he +gave great satisfaction, but early in the fourth evening he +staggered into the Museum so drunk that he could hardly stand, +and in half an hour he must be on the stage! Barnum called an +assistant, and they took La Rue and marched him up Broadway as +far as Chambers Street, and back to the lower end of the Park, +hoping to sober him. At this point they put his head under a pump +and gave him a good ducking, with visible beneficial effect, then +a walk around the Park and another ducking, when he assured them +that he should be able to give his imitations "to a charm." + +"You drunken brute," said Barnum, "if you fail, and disappoint my +audience, I will throw you out of the window." + +He declared that he was "all right," and Barnum led him behind +the scenes, where he waited with considerable trepidation to +watch his movements on the stage. La Rue began by saying: + +"Ladies and gentlemen: I will now give you an imitation of Mr. +Booth, the eminent tragedian." + +His tongue was thick, his language somewhat incoherent, and +Barnum had great misgivings as he proceeded; but as no token of +disapprobation came from the audience, he began to hope he would +go through with his parts without exciting suspicion of his +condition. But before he had half finished his representation of +Booth, in the soliloquy in the opening act of Richard III, the +house discovered that he was very drunk, and began to hiss. This +only seemed to stimulate him to make an effort to appear sober, +which, as is usual in such cases, only made matters worse, and +the hissing increased. Barnum lost all patience, and, going on +the stage and taking the drunken fellow by the collar, apologized +to the audience, assuring them that he should not appear before +them again. Barnum was about to march him off, when he stepped to +the front, and said: + +"Ladies and gentlemen: Mr. Booth has often appeared on the stage +in a state of inebriety, and I was simply giving you a truthful +representation of him on such occasions. I beg to be permitted to +proceed with my imitations." + +The audience at once supposed it was all right, and cried out, +"go on, go on"; which he did, and at every imitation of Booth, +whether as Richard, Shylock, or Sir Giles Overreach, he received +a hearty round of applause. Barnum was quite delighted with his +success; but when he came to imitate Forrest and Hamblin, +necessarily representing them as drunk also, the audience could +be no longer deluded; the hissing was almost deafening, and +Barnum was forced to lead the actor off. It was his last +appearance on that stage. + +Barnum always denied that the "Feejee Mermaid," which attained +such lasting notoriety, was an invention of his own. It was first +exhibited in London in 1822, where it was purchased by Mr. Moses +Kimball, of the Boston Museum, who sold it to Barnum. The +creature was really most ingeniously constructed, probably by +some Japanese. It drew like magic, and afterward served as a good +advertisement, sent throughout the country for exhibition, the +posters reading, "From Barnum's Great American Museum, New York." + +Barnum believed in making his place of exhibition as attractive +as possible, and the building was decorated with flags and +banners, the posters were of the most sensational character, and +the first "Drummond Lights" ever seen in New York were placed on +top of the Museum, flooding the streets around with brilliance. + + + +CHAPTER IX. INCREASED POPULARITY OF THE MUSEUM. + +THE AMERICAN FLAG AND ST. PAUL'S--ST, PATRICK'S DAY--THE BABY +SHOW--GRAND BUFFALO HUNT--N. P. WILLIS--THE FIRST WILD-WEST SHOW. + +The fame of the American Museum rose higher and higher. It is +doubtful if any place of entertainment ever attracted such +enthusiastic crowds. It was the first place visited by strangers +in the city. + +The small Lecture Room had been converted into a large and +beautiful theatre, and in it many afterward celebrated actors and +actresses made their first appearance; Sothern, Barney Williams, +and the charming Mary Garmon. On holidays there were lecture +performances every hour. The actors kept on their stage clothes +from eleven o'clock in the morning until ten at night, their +meals were served in the green-room, and the company received +extra pay. + +The 4th of July, 1842, was a great day in the history of the +Museum. Barnum had planned a magnificent display of American +flags, as one of the outside attractions, and applied to the +vestrymen of St. Paul's Church, opposite the Museum, for +permission to attach his flag-rope to a tree in the church-yard. +Their reply was an indignant refusal. Returning to the Museum, +Barnum directed that his original order concerning the +disposition of the flags be carried out to the letter. + +The morning dawned, and the crowds on Broadway were admiring the +display, when two representatives of the baffled vestry rushed +into the office and demanded that the ropes be taken down. "The +Church of St. Paul's, where Washington worshiped, attached to a +Museum! Sacrilege!" + +Barnum assumed a conciliatory tone, reminding them that he always +stopped his band playing during their week-day services, and +suggesting the fairness of the obligation being made mutual. + +"If those flags are not down in ten minutes," cried one of the +vestrymen, "I will cut them down." + +Then Barnum sprang to his feet and exclaimed loudly enough for +the crowd to hear: + +"Well, Mister, I should just like to see you dare to cut down the +American flag on the Fourth of July; you must be a 'Britisher' to +make such a threat as that; but I'll show you a thousand pairs of +Yankee hands in two minutes, if you dare to attempt to take down +the Stars and Stripes on this great birthday of American +freedom!" + +"What's that John Bull a-saying?" asked a brawny fellow, placing +himself in front of the irate vestryman. "Look here, old fellow," +he continued, "if you want to save a whole bone in your body, you +had better slope, and never dare to talk again about hauling down +the American flag in the city of New York." + +Throngs of excited, exasperated men crowded around, and the +vestryman, seeing the effect of the ruse, smiled faintly and +said, "Oh, of course it is all right," and he and his companion +quietly edged out of the crowd. + +By one o'clock that day, the Museum was so densely packed that no +more visitors could be admitted, and the proprietor saw with +despair the crowds being turned away from the door. Rushing +down-stairs, he directed the carpenter to cut down the partition +and floor in the rear and to put in a temporary flight of stairs. +The egress was ready by three o'clock, and people poured out into +Ann Street, while the crowd from Broadway poured in. After that, +the egress was always ready on holidays. One of Barnum's most +amusing reminiscences related to this egress. + +"Early in the following March I received notice from some of the +Irish population that they meant to visit me in great numbers on +'St. Patrick's day in the morning.' 'All right,' said I to my +carpenter, 'get your egress ready for March 17th;' and I added, +to my assistant manager: 'If there is much of a crowd, don't let +a single person pass out at the front, even if it were St. +Patrick himself; put every man out through the egress in the +rear.' The day came, and before noon we were caught in the same +dilemma as we were on the Fourth of July; the Museum was jammed, +and the sale of tickets was stopped. I went to the egress and +asked the sentinel how many hundreds had passed out? + +" 'Hundreds,' he replied, 'why only three persons have gone out +by this way, and they came back, saying that it was a mistake and +begging to be let in again.' + +" 'What does this mean?' I inquired; 'surely thousands of people +have been all over the Museum since they came in.' + +" 'Certainly,' was the reply; 'but after they have gone from one +saloon to another, and have been on every floor, even to the +roof, they come down and travel the same route over again.' + +"At this time I espied a tall Irish woman with two good-sized +children whom I had happened to notice when they came in early in +the morning. + +" 'Step this way, madam,' said I, politely; 'you will never be +able to get into the street by the front door without crushing +these dear children. We have opened a large egress here, and you +can thus pass by these rear stairs into Ann Street, and thus +avoid all danger.' + +" 'Sure,' replied the woman, indignantly, 'an' I'm not going out +at all, at all, nor the children either, for we've brought our +dinners and we are going to stay all day.' + +"Further investigation showed that pretty much all of the +visitors had brought their dinners with the evident intention of +literally 'making a day of it.' No one expected to go home till +night; the building was overcrowded, and hundreds were waiting at +the front entrance to get in when they could. In despair, I +sauntered upon the stage behind the scenes, biting my lips with +vexation, when I happened to see the scene-painter at work, and a +happy thought struck me. 'Here,' I exclaimed, 'take a piece of +canvas four feet square and paint on it, as soon as you can, in +large letters, + + {pointing finger} TO THE EGRESS.' + +"Seizing his brush, he finished the sign in fifteen minutes, and +I directed the carpenter to nail it over the door leading to the +back stairs. He did so, and as the crowd, after making the entire +tour of the establishment, came pouring down the main stairs from +the third-story, they stopped and looked at the new sign, while +some of them read audibly: 'To the Aigress.' + +" 'The Aigress,' said others, 'sure that's an animal we haven't +seen,' and the throng began to pour down the back-stairs only to +find that the 'Aigress ' was the elephant, and that the elephant +was all out o' doors, or so much of it as began with Ann Street. +Meanwhile, I began to accommodate those who had long been waiting +with their money at the Broadway entrance." + +Barnum had planned to expend the entire profits of the first year +in advertising, but so fast did the money pour in, that he was +often embarrassed to devise means to get rid of it, according to +his first idea. One of the most expensive advertisements +consisted of a large number of oil paintings of every animal in +zoology. These paintings were prepared secretly, and were put +between the windows of the building at night. The town was +paralyzed with astonishment, and the daily receipts took an +upward jump of nearly a hundred dollars. + +Flower shows, dog shows, poultry and bird shows, with prizes to +the best specimens, had long been features of the Museum, and at +last Barnum rashly decided on a baby show. There was a prize of +one hundred dollars attached, and a committee of ladies were +appointed to decide on the best baby. The unsuspecting Barnum +stepped into the circle and announced the prize winner, but to +his astonishment the verdict did not suit anybody but the mother +of one baby. The other ninety-nine indignant mothers "jumped on" +to Mr Barnum and the committee, and denounced the whole +proceeding as impartial and unjust. Barnum offered to let them +select a new committee, and even agreed to give another hundred +dollar prize, but the storm raged with unabating fury. There were +baby shows after that, but the verdict was delivered in writing, +and Mr. Barnum never gave the prize in person. + +In June, 1843, a herd of yearling buffaloes was on exhibition in +Boston. Barnum bought the lot, brought them to New Jersey, hired +the race-course at Hoboken, chartered the ferry-boats for one +day, and advertised that a hunter had arrived with a herd of +buffaloes, and that august 31st there would be a "Grand Buffalo +Hunt" on the Hoboken race-course--all persons to be admitted free +of charge. + +The appointed day was warm and delightful, and no less than +twenty-four thousand people crossed the North River in the +ferry-boats to enjoy the cooling breeze and to see the "Grand +Buffalo Hunt." The hunter was dressed as an Indian, and mounted +on horseback; he proceeded to show how the wild buffalo is +captured with a lasso, but unfortunately the yearlings would not +run till the crowd gave a great shout, expressive at once of +derision and delight at the harmless humbug. This shout started +the young animals into a weak gallop and the lasso was duly +thrown over the head of the largest calf. The crowd roared with +laughter, listened to the balcony band, which was also furnished +"free," and then started for New York, little dreaming who was +the author of this sensation, or what was its object. + +Mr. N. P. Willis, then editor of the Home Journal, wrote an +article illustrating the perfect good nature with which the +American public submit to a clever humbug. He said that he went +to Hoboken to witness the buffalo hunt. It was nearly four +o'clock when the boat left the foot of Barclay Street, and it was +so densely crowded that many persons were obliged to stand on the +railings and hold on to the awning-posts. When they reached the +Hoboken side a boat equally crowded was coming out of the slip. +The passengers just arriving cried out to those who were coming +away, "Is the buffalo hunt over?" To which came the reply, "Yes, +and it was the biggest humbug you ever heard of!" Willis added +that passengers on the boat with him instantly gave three cheers +for the author of the humbug, whoever he might be. + +After the public had enjoyed their laugh over the Buffalo hunt, +Barnum let it become known that he was the author of the joke. Of +course, their cry of "charlatan," "humbug," and "swindler" was +louder than ever from that time, but Barnum never objected to +being celled names. The more advertising the better. + +About this time Barnum engaged a band of Indians from Iowa. + +The party comprised large and noble specimens of the untutored +savage, as well as several very beautiful squaws, with two or +three interesting "papooses." They lived and lodged in a large +room on the top floor of the Museum, and cooked their own +victuals in their own way. They gave their war-dances on the +stage in the Lecture Room with great vigor and enthusiasm, much +to the satisfaction of the audiences. But these wild Indians +seemed to consider their dances as realities. Hence, when they +gave a real war-dance, it was dangerous for any parties, except +their manager and interpreter to be on the stage, for the moment +they had finished their war-dance, they began to leap and peer +about behind the scenes in search of victims for their tomahawks +and scalping knives! Indeed, lest in these frenzied moments they +might make a dash at the orchestra or the audience, Barnum had a +high rope barrier placed between them and the savages on the +front of the stage. + +Barnum counted one incident in connection with his Indian show as +notable, being one of the few occasions when he played the losing +card. + +"After they had been a week in the Museum," he said, "I proposed +a change of performance for the week following by introducing new +dances. Among these was the Indian wedding dance. At that time I +printed but one set of posters (large bills) per week, so that +whatever was announced for Monday was repeated every day and +evening during that week. Before the wedding dance came off on +Monday afternoon, I was informed that I was to provide a large, +new, red woolen blanket, at a cost of ten dollars, for the +bridegroom to present to the father of the bride. I ordered the +purchase to be made, but was considerably taken aback when I was +informed that I must have another new blanket for the evening, +inasmuch as the savage old Indian chief, father-in-law to the +bridegroom, would not consent to his daughter's being approached +with the wedding dance unless he had his blanket present, + +"I undertook to explain to the chief, through the interpreter, +that this was only a 'make believe' wedding; but the old savage +shrugged his shoulders, and gave such a terrific 'Ugh!' that I +was glad to make my peace by ordering another blanket. As we gave +two performances per day, I was out of pocket $120 for twelve +'wedding blankets' that week." + +One of the beautiful squaws named Do-humme died in the Museum. +She had been a great favorite with many ladies. Do-humme was +buried on the border of Sylvan Water, at Greenwood Cemetery, +where a small monument erected by her friends, designates her +last resting-place. The poor Indians were very sorrowful for many +days, and desired to get back again to their Western wilds. The +father and the betrothed of Do-humme cooked various dishes of +food and placed them upon the roof of the Museum, where they +believed the spirit of their departed friend came daily for its +supply; and these dishes were renewed every morning during the +stay of the Indians at the Museum. + + + +CHAPTER X. GIANTS AND DWARFS. + +SCIENCE FOR THE PUBLIC--MESMERISM EXTRAORDINARY--KILLING OF A +RIVAL--THE TWO GIANTS--DISCOVERY OF "TOM THUMB"--SEEKING OTHER +WORLDS TO CONQUER--FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND. + +Barnum would never submit to being outdone by a rival. In "poker" +parlance, he would "see him and go one better." His chief +competitor now was Peale, who was running Peale's Museum, and +proudly proclaiming it to be a more scientific institution than +Barnum's. Thus, he said, he was catering to a higher class of +patrons. + +"Science, indeed!" said Barnum. "I'll give him science to his +heart's content!" + +Mesmerism was then a great novelty, and Peale was given +exhibitions of it. He had one subject on whom he operated daily, +with most surprising results; though at times she was +unimpressionable, and the people who had paid to come in and see +her performances complained loudly that they were being swindled. +Barnum saw here a great opportunity to squelch a rival and +increase his own fame at a single stroke. He engaged a bright +little girl who was exceedingly susceptible to such mesmeric +influences as he could induce. That is, she learned her lesson +thoroughly, and when he had apparently put her to sleep with a +few passes and stood behind her, she seemed to be duly +"impressed," as he desired; raised her hands as he willed, fell +from her chair to the floor; and if he put candy or tobacco into +his own mouth, she was duly delighted or disgusted. She never +failed in these routine performances. Strange to say, believers +in mesmerism used to witness her performances with the greatest +pleasure, and adduce them as positive proofs that there was +something in mesmerism, and they applauded tremendously--up to a +certain point. + +That point was reached when, leaving the girl "asleep," Barnum +called up some one in the audience, promising to put him "in the +same state" within five minutes, or forfeit fifty dollars. Of +course, all his "passes" would not put a man in the mesmeric +state; at the end of three minutes he was as wide awake as ever. + +"Never mind," Barnum would say, "looking at his watch; "I have +two minutes more, and meantime, to show that a person in this +state is utterly insensible to pain, I propose to cut off one of +the fingers of the little girl who is still asleep." He would +then take out a knife and feel of the edge, and when he turned +around to the girl whom he left on the chair, she had fled behind +the scenes, to the intense amusement of the greater part of the +audience, and to the amazement of the mesmerists who were +present. + +"Why! where's my little girl?" he asked, with feigned +astonishment. + +"Oh! she ran away when you began to talk about cutting off +fingers." + +"Then she was wide awake, was she?" + +"Of course she was, all the time." + +"I suppose so; and, my dear sir, I promised that you should be +'in the same state' at the end of five minutes, and as I believe +you are so, I do not forfeit fifty dollars." + +Barnum kept up this performance for several weeks, till he quite +killed Peale's "genuine" mesmerism in the rival establishment. At +the end of six months he bought Peale's Museum, and the whole, +including the splendid gallery of American portraits, was removed +to the American Museum, and he immediately advertised the great +card of a "Double Attraction," and "Two Museums in One," without +extra charge. + +Barnum was now devoting all his attention and energy to this +enterprise, and was achieving great success. He made everything +contribute to its popularity. When a politician asked him for +what candidate he was going to vote, he would answer, "For the +American Museum;" and this was an index of his whole demeanor. + +Among the genuine and literally "great" features of his show were +several giants. They often gave both the showman and his patrons +food for much amusement as well as wonder. The Quaker giant, +Hales, was quite a wag in his way. He went once to see the new +house of an acquaintance who had suddenly become rich, but who +was a very ignorant man. When he came back he described the +wonders of the mansion, and said that the proud proprietor showed +him everything from basement to attic; parlors, bed-rooms, +dining-room, and, said Hales, "what he calls his +'study'--meaning, I suppose, the place where he intends to study +his spelling-book!" + +He had at one time two famous men, the French giant, M. Bihin, a +very slim man, and the Arabian giant, Colonel Goshen. These men +generally got on together very well, though, of course, each was +jealous of the other, and of the attention the rival received, or +the notice he attracted. One day they quarreled, and a lively +interchange of compliments ensued, the Arabian calling the +Frenchman a "Shanghai," and receiving in return the epithet of +"Nigger." From words both were eager to proceed to blows, and +both ran to the collection of arms, one seizing the club with +which Captain Cook, or any other man, might have been killed, if +it were judiciously wielded, and the other laying hands on a +sword of the terrific size which is supposed to have been +conventional in the days of the Crusades. + +The preparations for a deadly encounter, and the high words of +the contending parties, brought a dozen of the Museum attaches to +the spot, and these men threw themselves between the gigantic +combatants. Hearing the disturbance, Barnum ran from his private +office to the dueling ground, and said: + +"Look here! This is all right; if you want to fight each other, +maiming and perhaps killing one or both of you, that is your +affair; but my interest lies here: you are both under engagement +to me, and if this duel is to come off, I and the public have a +right to participate. It must be duly advertised, and must take +place on the stage of the Lecture Room. No performance of yours +would be a greater attraction, and if you kill each other, our +engagement can end with your duel." + +This proposition, made in apparent earnest, so delighted the +giants that they at once burst into a laugh, shook hands, and +quarreled no more. + +From giants to dwarfs. None of Barnum's attractions has been more +famous than "Tom Thumb." The story of his discovery and +engagement is dated in November, 1842. Barnum was then at +Bridgeport, Conn. One day he heard that there belonged in one of +the families of the place a phenomenally small child, and he got +his brother, Philo F. Barnum, to bring the little fellow to his +hotel. "He was," Barnum afterward said, "not two feet high; he +weighed less than sixteen pounds, and was the smallest child I +ever saw that could walk alone; he was a perfectly formed +bright-eyed little fellow, with light hair and ruddy cheeks, and +he enjoyed the best of health. He was exceedingly bashful, but +after some coaxing, he was induced to talk with me, and he told +me that he was the son of Sherwood E. Stratton, and that his own +name was Charles S. Stratton. After seeing him and talking with +him, I at once determined to secure his services from his parents +and to exhibit him in public. I engaged him for four weeks, at +three dollars a week, with all traveling and boarding charges for +himself and his mother at my expense. They came to New York +Thanksgiving day, December 8th, 1842, and I announced the dwarf +on my Museum bills as 'General Tom Thumb.' " + +Barnum took the greatest pains to educate and train the +diminutive prodigy, devoting many hours to the task by day and by +night, and he was very successful, for the boy was an apt pupil, +with a great deal of native talent, and a keen sense of the +ludicrous. Barnum afterward re-engaged him for one year, at seven +dollars a week with a gratuity of fifty dollars at the end of the +engagement, and the privilege of exhibiting him anywhere in the +United States, in which event his parents were to accompany him +and Barnum was to pay all traveling expenses. He speedily became +a public favorite, and long before the year was out, Barnum +voluntarily increased his weekly salary to twenty-five dollars, +and he fairly earned it. + +For two years Barnum had been the owner of the Museum. He had +enjoyed great prosperity. Long ago he had paid every dollar of +the purchase-money out of the profits of the place. All rivals +had been driven from the field. He was out of debt, and had a +handsome balance in the bank. The experimental stage was passed, +and the enterprise was an established success. It was, indeed, in +such perfect order that Barnum felt safe in leaving it to his +lieutenants, while he went forth to seek new realms of conquest. +Accordingly he made an agreement for General Tom Thumb's services +for another year, at fifty dollars a week and all expenses, with +the privilege of exhibiting him in Europe. He proposed to test +the curiosity of men and women on the other side of the Atlantic. + +After arranging his business affairs for a long absence, and +making every preparation for an extended foreign tour, on +Thursday, January 18th, 1844, he went on board the new and fine +sailing ship "Yorkshire," Captain D. G. Bailey, bound for +Liverpool. The party included General Tom Thumb, his parents, his +tutor, and Professor Guillaudeu, a French naturalist. They were +accompanied by several personal friends, and the City Brass Band +kindly volunteered to escort them to Sandy Hook. + +They were met at Liverpool by a large crowd of sight-seers, who +had been attracted thither by the fame of "Tom Thumb." The +curiosity of the populace was not gratified, however, for Barnum +had the child smuggled ashore unseen, under his mother's shawl. + +"My letters of introduction," said the showman, many excellent +families, and I was induced to hire a hall and present the +General to the public, for a short season in Liverpool. I had +intended to proceed directly to London, and begin operations at +'headquarters,' that is, in Buckingham Palace, if possible; but I +had been advised that the royal family was in mourning for the +death of Prince Albert's father, and would not permit the +approach of any entertainments. Meanwhile, confidential letters +from London informed me that Mr. Maddox, Manager of Princess's +Theatre, was coming down to witness my exhibition, with a view to +making an engagement. He came privately, but I was fully informed +as to his presence and object. A friend pointed him out to me in +the hall, and when I stepped up to him, and called him by name, +he was 'taken all aback,' and avowed his purpose in visiting +Liverpool. An interview resulted in an engagement of the General +for three nights at Princess's Theatre. I was unwilling to +contract for a longer period, and even this short engagement, +though on liberal terms, was acceded to only as a means of +advertisement. So soon, therefore, as I could bring my short, but +highly successful, season in Liverpool to a close, we went to +London." + + + +CHAPTER XI. TOM THUMB IN LONDON. + +AN ARISTOCRATIC VISITOR--CALLING AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE AND +HOB-NOBBING WITH ROYALTY--GETTING A PUFF IN THE "COURT CIRCULAR" +--THE IRON DUKE--A GREAT SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL SUCCESS. + +The first public appearance of Tom Thumb in London occurred soon +after the arrival of the party there, at the Princess's Theatre. +A short engagement only had been made, but it was exceedingly +successful. The spectators were delighted, the manager overjoyed, +and Barnum himself pleased beyond measure. This brief engagement +answered his purpose, in arousing public interest and curiosity. +That was all the shrewd showman wanted for the present. +Accordingly, when the manager of the theatre urged a renewal of +the engagement, at a much higher price, Barnum positively +declined it. He had secured the desired advertising; now he would +exhibit on his own account and in his own way. + +He therefore took a splendid mansion in Grafton Street, Bond +Street, in the fashionable and aristocratic West End of London. +Lord Talbot had lived in it, and Lord Brougham lived close by. It +was an audacious stroke for the Yankee showman to invade this +select and exclusive region, but it was successful. In response +to his invitations members of the nobility came eagerly flocking +to the house to see the wonderful child. Barnum showed himself as +exclusive as any of them, for he gave orders to his servants that +no callers were to be received who did not present cards of +invitation. This procedure he afterward explained, was entirely +proper. He had not yet announced himself as a public showman. He +was simply an American citizen visiting London, and it was +incumbent upon him to maintain the dignity of his position! His +servants, of course, exercised proper tact, and no offense was +given, although many of the nobility and gentry, who drove to his +door in carriages adorned with crests and coats of arms, were +thus turned away. + +Among the early callers was the Hon. Edward Everett, the American +minister to England. He was much pleased with Mr. Barnum and his +tiny ward, and had them dine with him the next day. He also +promised that they should, if possible, be received by the Queen +at Buckingham Palace. + +A few evenings afterward the Baroness Rothschild sent her +carriage for them. They were received by a half a dozen servants, +and were ushered up a broad flight of marble stairs to the +drawing-room, where they met the Baroness and a party of twenty +or more ladies and gentlemen. In this sumptuous mansion of the +richest banker in the world, they spent about two hours, and when +they took their leave a well-filled purse was quietly slipped +into Mr. Barnum's hand. The golden shower had begun to fall. + +Mr. Barnum now thought the time ripe for beginning his public +exhibitions. He engaged Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, and announced +that Tom Thumb was to be seen there. The rush of visitors was +tremendous. The aristocracy of London thronged the hall night +after night, and a phenomenal success was assured. Barnum did not +look beyond such work. True, Everett had spoken of an audience +with the Queen, but Barnum had no idea that it would ever be +granted. One day, however, he met Mr. Murray, Master of the +Queen's Household, at Everett's at breakfast, and that gentleman +asked him what were his plans for the future. Barnum replied that +he expected presently to go to the Continent, but he would most +gladly stay in London if he could get the favor of an audience +with Her Majesty. + +Mr. Murray kindly offered his good offices in the case, and the +next day one of the Life Guards, a tall, noble-looking fellow, +bedecked as became his station, brought a note, conveying the +Queen's invitation to General Tom Thumb and his guardian Mr. +Barnum, to appear at Buckingham Palace on an evening specified. +Special instructions were the same day orally given by Mr. +Murray, by Her Majesty's command, to suffer the General to appear +before her, as he would appear anywhere else, without any +training in the use of the titles of royalty, as the Queen +desired to see him act naturally and without restraint. + +Determined to make the most of the occasion, Mr. Barnum put a +placard on the door of the Egyptian Hall: "Closed this evening, +General Tom Thumb being at Buckingham Palace by command of Her +Majesty." + +When they arrived at the palace, a Lord-in-Waiting met them, and +began "coaching" them on points of court etiquette. Mr. Barnum, +especially, was told that he must in no event speak directly to +Her Majesty, but through the medium of the aforesaid Lord. He +must also keep his face constantly turned toward the Queen, and +so, in retiring from the royal presence, must walk backward. +Having thus been instructed in the ways of royalty, Mr. Barnum +and the diminutive General were led to the presence of the Queen. + +They passed through a long corridor to a broad flight of marble +steps, which led to the picture gallery, and there the Queen and +Prince Albert, the Duchess of Kent, the Duke of Wellington, and +others were awaiting their arrival. They were standing at the +further end of the room when the doors were thrown open, and the +General walked in, looking like a wax doll gifted with the power +of locomotion. Surprise and pleasure were depicted on the +countenances of the royal circle at beholding this remarkable +specimen of humanity so much smaller than they had evidently +expected to find him. + +The General advanced with a firm step, and, as he came within +hailing distance, made a very graceful bow, and exclaimed, "Good +evening, ladies and gentlemen." + +A burst of laughter followed this salutation. The Queen then took +him by the hand, led him about the gallery, and asked him many +questions, the answers to which kept the party in an +uninterrupted strain of merriment. The General familiarly +informed the Queen that her picture gallery was "first-rate," and +told her he should like to see the Prince of Wales. The Queen +replied that the Prince had retired to rest, but that he should +see him on some future occasion. The General then gave his songs, +dances, and imitations, and after a conversation with Prince +Albert, and all present, which continued for more than an hour, +they were permitted to depart. + +But before this Mr. Barnum had broken the instructions in +etiquette which had been so carefully impressed upon him by the +Lord-in-Waiting. When the Queen began asking him questions, he +answered her, as she addressed him, through the lordly medium, as +he had been told. That was inconvenient and irksome, however, and +presently Barnum addressed his reply directly to her. The +Lord-in-Waiting was horror-struck, but the Queen did not appear +to be displeased, for she instantly followed her guest's example, +and spoke thereafter directly to him. In a few minutes Her +Majesty and the Yankee showman were talking together with the +greatest ease and freedom. + +"I felt," said Mr. Barnum afterward, "entirely at ease in her +presence, and could not avoid contrasting her sensible and +amiable manners with the stiffness and formality of upstart +gentility at home or abroad. + +"The Queen was modestly attired in plain black, and wore no +ornaments. Indeed, surrounded as she was by ladies arrayed in the +highest style of magnificence, their dresses sparkling with +diamonds, she was the last person whom a stranger would have +pointed out in that circle as the Queen of England. + +"The Lord-in-Waiting was perhaps mollified toward me when he saw +me following his illustrious example in retiring from the royal +presence. He was accustomed to the process, and therefore was +able to keep somewhat ahead (or rather aback) of me, but even _I_ +stepped rather fast for the other member of the retiring party. +We had a considerable distance to travel in that long gallery +before reaching the door, and whenever the General found he was +losing ground, he turned around and ran a few steps, then resumed +his position of backing out, then turned around and ran, and so +continued to alternate his methods of getting to the door, until +the gallery fairly rang with the merriment of the royal +spectators. It was really one of the richest scenes I ever saw; +running, under the circumstances, was an offense sufficiently +heinous to excite the indignation of the Queen's favorite poodle +dog, and he vented his displeasure by barking so sharply as to +startle the General from his propriety. He, however, recovered +immediately, and with his little cane, commenced an attack on the +poodle, and a funny fight ensued, which renewed and increased the +merriment of the royal party. + +"This was near the door of exit. We had scarcely passed into the +ante-room, when one of the Queen's attendants came to us with the +expressed hope of her Majesty that the General had sustained no +damage, to which the Lord-in-Waiting playfully added, that in +case of injury to so renowned a personage, he should fear a +declaration of war by the United States!" + +The visitors were then escorted about the Palace, and treated to +refreshments. Before leaving Mr. Barnum bethought him of the +"Court Circular," in which the doings of the Royal Family were +chronicled to the world. Would his reception by the Queen be +mentioned in it? Certainly. Well, then, would it not be possible +to secure something more than mere mention; some words of special +commendation; a "free advertisement" in fact? He would try it! So +he inquired where he could find the gentleman who prepared the +circular, and was informed that that functionary was in the +Palace at that very moment. + +"He was sent for," related Mr. Barnum, "by my solicitation, and +promptly acceded to my request for such a notice as would attract +attention. He even generously desired me to give him an outline +of what I sought, and I was pleased to see afterward, that he had +inserted my notice verbatim. + +"This notice of my visit to the Queen wonderfully increased the +attraction of 'Gen. Tom Thumb,' and compelled me to obtain a more +commodious hall for my exhibition. I accordingly moved to a +larger room in the same building." + +On their second visit to the Queen, they were received in what is +called the Yellow Drawing Room, a magnificent apartment. It is on +the north side of the gallery, and is entered from that +apartment. It was hung with drapery of rich yellow satin damask, +the couches, sofas, and chairs being covered with the same +material. The vases, urns, and ornaments were all of the most +exquisite workmanship. The room was panelled in gold, and the +heavy cornices beautifully carved and gilt. The tables, pianos, +etc., were mounted with gold, inlaid with pearl of various hues, +and of the most elegant designs. + +They were ushered into this gorgeous drawing-room before the +Queen and royal circle had left the dining-room, and, as they +approached, the General bowed respectfully, and remarked to Her +Majesty, "that he had seen her before," adding, "I think this is +a prettier room than the picture gallery; that chandelier is very +fine." + +The Queen smilingly took him by the hand, and said she hoped he +was very well. + +"Yes, ma'am," he replied, "I am first-rate." + +"General," continued the Queen, "this is the Prince of Wales." + +"How are you, Prince?" said the General, shaking him by the hand, +and then standing beside the Prince, he remarked, "the prince is +taller than I am, but I feel as big as anybody," upon which he +strutted up and down the room as proud as a peacock, amid shouts +of laughter from all present. + +The Queen then introduced the Princess Royal, and the General +immediately led her to his elegant little sofa, which he took +with him, and with much politeness sat down beside her. Then, +rising from his seat, he went through his various performances, +and the Queen handed him an elegant and costly souvenir, which +had been expressly made for him by her order, for which, he told +her, "he was very much obliged, and would keep it as long as he +lived." The Queen of the Belgians (daughter of Louis Philippe) +was present on this occasion. She asked the General where he was +going when he left London. + +"To Paris," he replied. + +"Whom do you expect to see there?" she continued. + +Of course all expected he would answer, "the King of the French," +but the little fellow replied. + +"Monsieur Guillaudeu." + +The two queens looked inquiringly, and when Mr. Barnum informed +them that M. Guillaudeu was his French naturalist, they laughed +most heartily. + +On their third visit to Buckingham Palace, Leopold, King of the +Belgians, was also present. He was highly pleased, and asked a +multitude of questions. Queen Victoria desired the General to +sing a song, and asked him what song he preferred to sing. + +"Yankee Doodle," was the prompt reply. + +This answer was as unexpected to Mr. Barnum as it was to the +royal party. When the merriment it occasioned had somewhat +subsided, the Queen good-humoredly remarked, "that is a very +pretty song, General, sing it, if you please." The General +complied, and soon afterward retired. + +The Queen sent to Barnum a handsome fee for each of his visits, +but that was only a small part of the benefits which his +acquaintance with her brought to him. Such was the force of Court +example that it was now deemed unfashionable, almost disloyal, +not to have seen Tom Thumb. Carriages of the nobility, fifty or +sixty at a time, were to be seen at Barnum's door in Piccadilly. +Egyptian Hall was crowded at every exhibition, and the net +profits there were on the average more than $500 per day from +March 20th to July 20th. Portraits of the tiny General were for +sale everywhere, and were eagerly purchased by thousands. Musical +compositions were dedicated to him, and songs were sung in his +honor. Week after week he was the subject of Punch's wittiest +cartoons; and of course all this was just so much free +advertising. Besides his three public performances per day, the +little General attended three or four private parties per week, +for which they were paid eight to ten guineas each. Frequently he +would visit two parties in the same evening, and the demand in +that line was much greater than the supply. The Queen Dowager +Adelaide requested the General's attendance at Marlborough House +one afternoon. He went in his court dress, consisting of a richly +embroidered brown silk-velvet coat and short breeches, white +satin vest with fancy colored embroidery, white silk stockings +and pumps, wig, bagwig, cocked hat, and dress sword. + +"Why, General," said the Queen Dowager, "I think you look very +smart to-day." + +"I guess I do," said the General, complacently. + +A large party of the nobility were present. The old Duke of +Cambridge offered the little General a pinch of snuff, which he +declined. The General sang his songs, performed his dances, and +cracked his jokes, to the great amusement and delight of the +distinguished circle of visitors. + +"Dear little General," said the kind-hearted Queen, taking him +upon her lap, "I see you have no watch. Will you permit me to +present you with a watch and chain?" + +"I would like them very much," replied the General, his eyes +glistening with joy as he spoke. + +"I will have them made expressly for you," responded the Queen +Dowager; and at the same moment she called a friend and desired +him to see that the proper order was executed. A few weeks +thereafter they were called again to Marlborough House. A number +of the children of the nobility were present, as well as some of +their parents. After passing a few compliments with the General, +Queen Adelaide presented him with a beautiful little gold watch, +placing the chain around his neck with her own hands. + +This watch, also, served the purpose of an advertisement, and a +good one, too. It was not only duly heralded, but was placed upon +a pedestal in the hall of exhibition, together with the presents +from Queen Victoria, and covered with a glass vase. These +presents, to which were soon added an elegant gold snuff-box +mounted with turquois, presented by his grace the Duke of +Devonshire, and many other costly gifts of the nobility and +gentry, added to the attraction of the exhibition. + +The Duke of Wellington called frequently to see the little +General at his public levees. The first time he called, the +General was personating Napoleon Bonaparte, marching up and down +the platform, and apparently taking snuff in deep meditation. He +was dressed in the well-known uniform of the Emperor. Barnum +introduced him to the "Iron Duke," who inquired the subject of +his meditations. "I was thinking of the loss of the battle of +Waterloo," was the little General's immediate reply. This display +of wit was chronicled throughout the country, and was of itself +worth thousands of pounds to the exhibition. + +General Tom Thumb had visited the King of Saxony and also Ibrahim +Pacha, who was then in London. At the different parties he +attended, he met, in the course of the season, nearly all of the +nobility. Scarcely a nobleman in England failed to see General +Tom Thumb at his own house, at the house of a friend, or at the +public levees at Egyptian Hall. The General was a decided pet +with some of the first personages in the land, among whom were +Sir Robert and Lady Peel, the Duke and Duchess of Buckingham, +Duke of Bedford, Duke of Devonshire, Count d'Orsay, Lady +Blessington, Daniel O'Connell, Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, Lord +Chesterfield, and many other persons of distinction They had the +free entree to all the theatres, public gardens, and places of +entertainment, and frequently met the principal artists, editors, +poets, and authors of the country. Albert Smith wrote a play for +the General, entitled "Hop o' my Thumb," which was presented with +great success at the Lyceum Theatre, London, and in several of +the provincial theatres. + +Thus the London visit and the tour of England were successful +beyond all anticipation, and it was with an overflowing purse +that Barnum set out with his charge for the French capital. + + + +CHAPTER XII. IN FRANCE. + +ARRIVAL IN PARIS--VISIT TO THE TUILERIES--LONGCHAMPS--"TOM PONCE" +ALL THE RAGE--BONAPARTE AND LOUIS PHILIPPE--TOUR THROUGH +FRANCE--BARNUM'S PURCHASE. + +Barnum having returned from a preliminary trip to France, in +which all arrangements, even to starting the first paragraphs in +the Paris papers were made, now went back accompanied by Tom +Thumb. They reached Paris some days before the exhibition was +opened, but on the day following their arrival, a special command +reached them to appear at the Tuileries on the next Sunday +evening. + +At the appointed hour the General and his manager were ushered +into the presence of the King, the Queen, the Count de Paris, +Prince de Joinville, the Duchess d'Orleans, and a dozen more +distinguished persons, among whom was the editor of the Journal +des Debats. + +At the close of the General's performances, which he went through +with to the evident delight of all present, the King gave him a +large emerald and diamond brooch, at the same time saying to Mr. +Barnum: "You may put it on the General, if you please." Which +command was obeyed, to the gratification of the King and the +immense delight of the General. + +The King was so condescending and affable that Mr. Barnum at +length ventured to ask a favor of him. The Longchamps celebration +was close at hand--a day once devoted to religious ceremony, but +now conspicuous for the display of court and fashionable +equipages in the various drives and parks--and after the King had +conversed with Mr. Barnum on various topics in a familiar manner, +the diplomatic showman remarked that he had hastened his arrival +in Paris for the express purpose of taking part in the Longchamps +celebration. The General's carriage, he explained, with its +ponies and little coachman and footman, was so small that it +would be in great danger in the crowd unless the King would +graciously permit it to appear in the avenue reserved for the +court and the diplomatic corps + +The King smiled, and after a few minutes' consultation with one +of the officers of his household. said: "Call on the Prefect of +Police to-morrow afternoon and you will find a permit ready for +you." + +After a two hours' visit they retired, the General loaded with +presents. + +The next morning all the newspapers chronicled the royal +audience, the Journal des Debats giving a full account of the +interview and of the General's performances. + +Thus all Paris knew that Tom Thumb, in all his glory, was in the +city. + +Longchamps day arrived, and conspicuous among the splendid +equipages on the grand avenue, Tom Thumb's beautiful little +carriage, with four ponies and liveried and powdered coachman and +footman, rode along in the line of carriages bearing the +ambassadors to the Court of France. The air was fairly rent with +cheers for "le General Tom Ponce." + +The first day's receipts were 5,500 francs--over three hundred +dollars, and this sum might have been doubled had there been room +for more visitors. The elite of Paris flocked to the exhibition. +There were afternoon and evening performances, and seats were +reserved in advance at an extra price for the entire two months. + +The papers were full of praises for the performance; Figaro gave +a picture of an immense mastiff running away with the General's +horse and carriage in his mouth. + +Statuettes and pictures of "Tom Ponce" appeared everywhere; a +cafe on one of the boulevards took the name of "Tom Ponce," with +a life-size statue of the General for a sign. Eminent painters +here, as in London, asked to paint his portrait, but the +General's engagements were so pressing that he had little time to +sit to artists. All the leading actors and actresses came to see +him, and he received many fine presents from them. The daily +receipts continued to increase, and the manager had to take a cab +to carry home the silver at night. + +Twice more was the General summoned to appear before the royal +family at the Tuileries, and on the King's birthday a special +invitation was sent him to view the display of fireworks in honor +of the anniversary. + +The last visit to the Court was made at St. Cloud. The papers, in +speaking of the General's characterizations, mentioned that there +was one costume which Tom Thumb wisely kept at the bottom of his +trunk. This was the uniform of Napoleon Bonaparte, and by special +request of the King, it was worn at St. Cloud. The affair was +quite sub rosa, however, none of the papers mentioning it. + +At the end of the visit each of the royal company gave the +General a magnificent present, overwhelmed him with kisses, +wishing him a safe journey through France, and a long and happy +life. After making their adieux they retired to another part of +the palace to permit the General to change his costume and to +partake of a collation which was served them. As they were +leaving the palace they passed the sitting-room where the royal +family were spending the evening. The door was open, and some one +spying the General there was a call for him to come in and shake +hands once more. They went in, finding the Queen and her ladies +engaged in embroidering, while one young lady read aloud. They +all kissed and petted the General many times around before +finally permitting him to depart. + +After leaving Paris they made a most profitable tour, including +the cities of Rouen, Orleans, Brest, and Bordeaux, where they +were invited to witness a review of 20,000 soldiers by the Dukes +de Nemours and d'Aumale. Thence to Toulon, Montpelier, Nismes, +Marseilles, and many other less important places. At Nantes, +Bordeaux, and Marseilles the General appeared in the theatres in +a part written for him in a French play called "Petit Poncet." + +During their stay in Paris, Barnum made a characteristically +profitable investment. A Russian Prince, who had lived in great +splendor in Paris, died suddenly, and his household effects were +sold at auction. There was a magnificent gold tea-set, a dinner +service of silver, and some rare specimens of Sevres china, the +value of which were impaired by the Prince's initials being on +them. The initials were "P. T ," and Mr. Barnum bought them, and +adding "B." to the other letters, had a very fine table service +appropriately marked. + + + +CHAPTER XIII. IN BELGIUM. + +PRESENTED TO KING LEOPOLD AND THE QUEEN--THE GENERAL'S JEWELS +STOLEN--THE FIELD OF WATERLOO--AN ACCIDENT--AN EXPENSIVE +EQUIPAGE--"THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY." + +The day after the arrival of the party in Brussels they were +summoned to the palace. The king and queen had seen the General +in London, but they wished their children and the distinguished +people of the court to have the same pleasure. + +After a delightful visit they came away, the General, as usual, +laden with gifts. + +The following day the exhibition opened, and from the first was +crowded by throngs of the best people in the city. One day, in +the midst of the exhibition, it was discovered that the case +containing all the valuable presents Tom Thumb had received from +royalty' etc., was missing. + +The alarm was instantly given, and the police notified. A reward +was offered of 2,000 francs, and, after a day or two, the thief +was captured and the jewels returned. After that the case of +presents was more carefully guarded. + +Everyone who goes to Brussels is supposed to visit the field of +Waterloo; so, before they left, the entire party--Tom Thumb, +Barnum, Prof. Pinte (tutor), and Mr. Stratton (father of the +General), and Mr. H. G. Sherman, went together. + +After visiting the church in the village of Waterloo and viewing +the memorial tablets there, they passed to the house where Lord +Uxbridge--Marquis of Anglesey--had had his leg amputated. There +is a little monument in the garden over the shattered limb, and a +part of the boot that covered it was seen in the house. Barnum +procured a three-inch bit of the boot for his Museum, at the same +time remarking, that if the lady in charge was as liberal to all +visitors, that boot had held out wonderfully since 1815. + +On approaching the ground they were beset by a dozen or more +guides, each one professing to know the exact spot where every +man had stood, and each claiming to have himself taken part in +the struggle, although most of them were less than twenty-five, +and the battle had been fought some thirty years before. They +finally accepted one old man, who at first declared that he had +been killed in the front ranks, but afterward acknowledged that +he had only been wounded and left on the field for dead three +days. + +After having the location of Napoleon's Guard, the Duke of +Wellington, the portion of the field where Blucher entered with +the Prussian army, pointed out to them, and the spots where fell +Sir Alexander Gordon and other celebrities, they asked the guide +if he knew where Captain Tippitiwichet, of Connecticut, was +killed? "Oh, oui, Monsieur," replied the guide confidently. After +pointing out the precise spots where fictitious friends from +Coney Island, New Jersey, Cape Cod and Saratoga had received +their death-wounds, they paid the old humbug and dismissed him. + +Upon leaving the field they were met by another crowd of peasants +with relics of the battle for sale. Barnum bought a large number +of pistols, bullets, brass French eagles, buttons, etc., for the +Museum, and the others were equally liberal in their purchases. +They bought also maps, guide-books and pictures, until Mr. +Stratton expressed his belief that the "darned old battle of +Waterloo" had cost more since it was fought than it ever did +before. + +Some months afterwards, while they were in Birmingham, they made +the acquaintance of a firm who manufactured and sent to Waterloo +barrels of these "relics" every year. + +Four or five miles on the road home they had the misfortune to +break the axle-tree of the carriage. It was past one o'clock, and +the exhibition was advertised to commence in Brussels at two. Of +course, they could not expect to walk the distance in less than +three hours, and Barnum was disposed to give up the afternoon +performance altogether. But Mr. Stratton could not bear the idea +of losing six or eight hundred francs, so, accompanied by the +interpreter, Prof. Pinte, he rushed down the road to a +farm-house, followed leisurely by the rest of the party. + +Mr. Stratton asked the old farmer if he had a carriage. He had +not. "Have you no vehicle?" he inquired. + +"Yes, I have that vehicle," he replied, pointing to an old cart +filled with manure, and standing in his barnyard. + +"Thunder! is that all the conveyance you have got?" asked +Stratton. Being assured that it was, Stratton concluded that it +was better to ride in a manure-cart than not to get to Brussels +in time. + +"What will you ask to drive us to Brussels in three-quarters of +an hour?" demanded Stratton. + +"It is impossible," replied the farmer; "I should want two hours +for my horse to do it in." + +"But ours is a very pressing case, and if we are not there in +time we lose more than five hundred francs," said Stratton. + +The old farmer pricked up his ears at this, and agreed to get +them to Brussels in an hour for eighty francs. Stratton tried to +beat him down, but it was of no use. + +"Oh, go it, Stratton," said Sherman; "eighty francs you know is +only sixteen dollars, and you will probably save a hundred by it, +for I expect a full house at our afternoon exhibition to-day." + +"But I have already spent about ten dollars for nonsense," said +Stratton, "and we shall have to pay for the broken carriage +besides." + +"But what can you do better?" chimed in Professor Pinte. + +"It is an outrageous extortion to charge sixteen dollars for an +old horse and cart to go ten miles. Why, in old Bridgeport, I +could get it done for three dollars," replied Stratton, in a tone +of vexation + +"It is the custom of the country," said Professor Pinte, "and we +must submit to it." + +"Well, it's a thundering mean custom, anyhow," said Stratton, +"and I won't stand such imposition." + +"But what shall we do?" earnestly inquired Mr. Pinte. "It may be +a high price, but it is better to pay that than to lose our +afternoon performance and five or six hundred francs." + +This appeal to the pocket touched Stratton's feelings; so, +submitting to the extortion, he replied to our interpreter, +"Well, tell the old robber to dump his dung-cart as soon as +possible, or we shall lose half an hour in starting." + +The cart was "dumped" and a large, lazy-looking Flemish horse was +attached to it with a rope harness. Some boards were laid across +the cart for seats, the party tumbled into the rustic vehicle, a +red-haired boy, son of the old farmer, mounted the horse, and +Stratton gave orders to "get along." "Wait a moment," said the +farmer, "you have not paid me yet." "I'll pay your boy when we +get to Brussels, provided he gets there within the hour," replied +Stratton. + +"Oh, he is sure to get there in an hour," said the farmer, "but I +can't let him go unless you pay in advance." The minutes were +flying rapidly, the anticipated loss of the day exhibition of +General Tom Thumb flitted before his eyes, and Stratton, in very +desperation, thrust his hand into his pocket and drew forth +sixteen five-franc pieces, which he dropped, one at a time, into +the hand, of the farmer, and then called out to the boy, "There +now, do try to see if you can go ahead." + +The boy did go ahead, but it was with such a snail's pace that it +would have puzzled a man of tolerable eyesight to have determined +whether the horse was moving or standing still. To make it still +more interesting, it commenced raining furiously. As they had +left Brussels in a coach, and the morning had promised a pleasant +day, they had omitted umbrellas. They were soon soaked to the +skin, but they "grinned and bore it" a while without grumbling. +At length Stratton, who was almost too angry to speak, desired +Mr. Pinte to ask the red haired boy if he expected to walk his +horse all the way to Brussels. + +"Certainly," replied the boy; "he is too big and fat to do +anything but walk. We never trot him." + +Stratton was terrified as he thought of the loss of the day +exhibition; and he cursed the boy, the cart, the rain, the luck, +and even the battle of Waterloo itself. But it was all of no use; +the horse would not run, but the rain did--down their backs. + +At two o'clock, the time appointed for the exhibition, they were +yet some seven miles from Brussels. The horse walked slowly and +philosophically through the pitiless storm, the steam +majestically rising from the old manure-cart, to the no small +disturbance of their unfortunate olfactories. "It will take two +hours to get to Brussels at this rate," growled Stratton. "Oh, +no," replied the boy; "it will only take about two hours from the +time we started." + +"But your father agreed to get us there in an hour," answered +Stratton. + +"I know it," responded the boy, "but he knew it would take more +than two." + +"I'll sue him for damages, by thunder!" said Stratton. + +"Oh, there would be no use in that," chimed in Mr. Pinte, "for +you could get no satisfaction in this country." + +"But I shall lose more than a hundred dollars by being two hours +instead of one," said Stratton. + +"They care nothing about that; all they care for is your eighty +francs," remarked Pinte. + +"But they have lied and swindled me," replied Stratton. + +"Oh, you must not mind that; it is the custom of the country." + +The party arrived in Brussels precisely two hours and a half from +the time they left the farmer's house. Of course it was too late +for the afternoon performance, and hundreds of people had been +turned away disappointed. + + + +CHAPTER XIV. IN ENGLAND AGAIN. + +EGYPTIAN HALL AND THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS--THE SPECIAL +TRAIN--OXFORD--STRATFORD-ON-AVON--GUY OF WARWICK RELICS--PURCHASE +OF THE "HAPPY FAMILY"--RETURN TO AMERICA. + +In London the General again opened his levees in Egyptian Hall, +with increased success. His unbounded popularity on the +Continent, and his receptions by King Louis Philippe, of France, +and King Leopold, of Belgium, had added greatly to his prestige +and fame. Those who had seen him when he was in London months +before came to see him again, and new visitors crowded by +thousands to the General's levees. + +Besides giving these daily entertainments, the General appeared +occasionally for an hour, during the intermissions, at some place +in the suburbs; and for a long time he appeared every day at the +Surrey Zoological Gardens, under the direction of the proprietor, +Mr. W. Tyler. This place subsequently became celebrated for its +great music hall, in which Spurgeon, the sensational preacher, +first attained his notoriety. The place was always crowded, and +when the General had gone through with his performances on the +little stage, in order that all might see him, he was put into a +balloon, which, secured by ropes, was then passed around the +ground, just above the people's heads. Some forty men managed the +ropes and prevented the balloon from rising; but, one day, a +sudden gust of wind took the balloon fairly out of the hands of +half the men who had hold of the ropes, while others were lifted +from the ground, and had not an alarm been instantly given, which +called at least two hundred to the rescue, the little General +would have been lost. + +In October Barnum made a flying visit to America, remaining long +enough to renew the lease of the Museum building, and to attend +to various other business matters. When he returned he was +accompanied by his wife and daughters. They took a furnished +house, which, during all their three months' residence, was the +scene of constant hospitality, all the distinguished people in +London being entertained there. + +When the engagement at Egyptian Hall expired they made an +extensive tour through England and Scotland, going as far north +as Aberdeen. The General's Scotch costumes, his national dances +and the "bit of dialect" which he had acquired had long been a +feature of the performance and was especially admired in +Scotland. The party travelled much of the time in Barnum's own +carriage, the General's carriage, ponies and other properties +being conveyed in a huge van. They found this way of travelling +more comfortable than the other, besides enabling them to visit +out of the way places, where often the most successful +exhibitions were given. + +There was one occasion when their carriage broke down, and, as +they had advertised a performance in Rugby that evening, they +decided to take the cars; but on arriving at the station they +found the last train gone. Barnum immediately looked up the +superintendent and told him that they must have an extra train +for Rugby, without an instant's delay. + +"Extra train?" said he, with surprise and a half-sneer, "extra +train? why you can't have an extra train to Rugby for less than +sixty pounds." + +"Is that all? well, get up your train immediately, and here are +your sixty pounds. What in the world are sixty pounds to me, when +I wish to go to Rugby, or elsewhere, in a hurry." + +The astonished superintendent took the money, bustled about, and +the train was soon ready. He was greatly puzzled to know what +distinguished person--he thought he must be dealing with some +prince, or, at least, a duke--was willing to give so much money +to save a few hours of time, and he hesitatingly asked whom he +had the honor of serving. + +"General Tom Thumb." + +The performance at Rugby netted L160, which not only covered +expenses but left a handsome margin. + +When they were in Oxford, a dozen or more of the students came to +the conclusion that, as the General was a little fellow, the +admission fee to his entertainments should be paid in the +smallest kind of money. They accordingly provided themselves with +farthings, and as each man entered, instead of handing in a +shilling for his ticket, he laid down forty-eight farthings. The +counting of these small coins was a great annoyance to Mr. +Stratton, the General's father, who was ticket-seller, and after +counting two or three handfuls, vexed at the delay which was +preventing a crowd of ladies and gentlemen from buying tickets, +Mr. Stratton lost his temper, and cried out: + +"Blast your quarter-pennies! I am not going to count them! you +chaps who haven't bigger money can chuck your copper into my hat +and walk in." + +Mr. Stratton was a genuine Yankee, and thoroughly conversant with +the Yankee vernacular which he used freely. In exhibiting the +General, Barnum often said to visitors that Tom Thumb's parents, +and the rest of the family, were persons of the ordinary size, +and that the gentleman who presided in the ticket-office was the +General's father. This made poor Stratton an object of no little +curiosity, and he was pestered with all sorts of questions; on +one occasion an old dowager said to him: + +"Are you really the father of General Tom Thumb?" + +"Wa'al," replied Stratton, "I have to support him!" + +This evasive answer is common enough in New England, but the +literal dowager had her doubts, and promptly rejoined: + +"I rather think he supports you!" + +Although Barnum was in Europe on business, he made the most of +his opportunities for sight-seeing, and in his few leisure hours +managed to visit nearly every place of interest both in England +and on the continent. + +While in Birmingham, with his friend Albert Smith, then author +and afterwards a successful showman, he visited +Stratford-on-Avon, where lived and wrote the greatest of English +poets--Shakespeare. + +While breakfasting at the Red House Inn, at Stratford, they +called for a guide-book of the town, and to Barnum's great +delight the volume proved to be Washington Irving's +"Sketch-book." His pleasure was even more increased when he +discovered, on reading the vivid and picturesque description of +Stratford, that Irving had stopped at the very same hotel where +they were awaiting breakfast. + +After visiting the house as well as the church where is the tomb +of the poet, they took a post-chaise for Warwick Castle, fourteen +miles away. + +The Earl of Warwick and his family being absent, the visitors +were shown through the apartments. One guide took them over the +Castle, another escorted them to the top of "Guy's Tower," +another showed them the famous Warwick Vase. They were +congratulating themselves on not being called upon for any more +tips, when the old porter at the lodge informed them that for a +consideration he could show them more interesting things +connected with the Castle than any they had yet seen. They tossed +him his fee, and he produced what purported to be Guy of +Warwick's sword, shield, helmet, breastplate, walking-staff, etc. +The armor must have weighed two hundred pounds and the sword +alone one hundred. Barnum listened, and gazed in silence at the +horse-armor, large enough for an elephant, and a pot called +"Guy's porridge-pot," which could have held seventy gallons, but +when the old man produced the ribs of a mastodon which he +declared had belonged to a huge dun cow, which had done much +injury to many persons before being slain by the dauntless Guy, +he drew a long breath, and feelingly congratulated the old porter +on his ability to concentrate more lies than anyone had ever +before heard in so small a compass. + +"I suppose," said Barnum, "that you have told these marvellous +tales so often that you almost believe them yourself." + +"Almost," answered the old man, with a broad grin. + +"Come now, old fellow," continued Barnum, "what will you take +for the entire lot of these old traps? I want them for my Museum +in America." + +"No money would buy these priceless relics of a bygone age," +replied the porter, leering. + +"Never mind," exclaimed the showman; "I'll have them duplicated +for my Museum, so that Americans can see them without coming +here, and in that way I'll burst up your old show." + +The porter was paralyzed with astonishment at this threat, and +Albert Smith was convulsed with laughter. He afterwards told +Barnum that he first derived his idea of becoming a showman from +this day at Warwick, and Barnum's talk about his doings and +adventures in the business. + +They visited that same day Kenilworth and Coventry, in which +latter place Barnum discovered the exhibition known as the "Happy +Family," about two hundred birds and animals of opposite natures, +dwelling in one cage in perfect harmony. He was so delighted with +it that he bought it on the spot, and hired the manager to +accompany the exhibition to New York, where it became a famous +feature of the Museum. + +Albert Smith afterwards published a chapter in Bentley's +Magazine, entitled "A Day with Barnum," in which he said they +accomplished business with such rapidity that, when he attempted +to write out the accounts of the day, he found the whole thing so +confused in his brain that he came near locating "Peeping Tom" in +the house of Shakespeare, while Guy of Warwick WOULD stick his +head above the ruins of Kenilworth, and the Warwick Vase appeared +in Coventry. + +With the exception of two brief trips to America, Barnum had been +abroad with General Tom Thumb three years. The season had been +one of unbroken pleasure and profit. They had visited nearly +every city and town in France, Belgium, England, Scotland, and +the cities of Belfast and Dublin in Ireland. After this truly +triumphant tour, they set sail in February, 1847, for New York. + +Barnum was a man who never could bear to see injustice done. On +one of his business trips to America he took passage on a Cunard +steamer, commanded by a Captain Judkins. Among the passengers was +the celebrated preacher, Robert Baird. One Sunday after dinner +Barnum asked Mr. Baird if he would be willing to preach to the +passengers in the forward cabin. The captain had read the +Episcopal service that morning, but it was done as a mere matter +of form, without the slightest suggestion of devotion in its +observance. + +Mr. Baird consented to preach, and Barnum, after mentioning it to +the other passengers, who were delighted at the prospect, went to +the captain and said: "Captain, the passengers desire to have Dr. +Baird conduct a religious service in the forward cabin. I suppose +there is no objection?" The rest of the story may as well be told +in Barnum's own words. To his inquiry, the captain replied +gruffly: + +"Decidedly there is, and it will not be permitted." + +"Why not?" + +"It is against the rules of the ship." + +"What! to have religious services on board?" + +"There have been religious services once to-day, and that is +enough. If the passengers do not think that is good enough, let +them go without," was the captain's hasty and austere reply. + +"Captain," Barnum replied, "do you pretend to say you will not +allow a respectable and well-known clergyman to offer a prayer +and hold religious services on board your ship at the request of +your passengers?" + +"That, sir, is exactly what I say. So, now, let me hear no more +about it." + +By this time a dozen passengers were crowding around his door, +and expressing their surprise at his conduct. Barnum was +indignant, and used sharp language. + +"Well," said he, "this is the most contemptible thing I ever +heard of on the part of the owners of a public passenger ship. +Their meanness ought to be published far and wide." + +"You had better 'shut up,' " said Captain Judkins, with great +sternness. + +"I will not 'shut up,' " he replied; "for this thing is perfectly +outrageous. In that out-of-the-way forward cabin you allow, on +week-days, gambling, swearing, smoking and singing till late at +night; and yet on Sunday you have the impudence to deny the +privilege of a prayer-meeting, conducted by a gray-haired and +respected minister of the gospel. It is simply infamous!" + +Captain Judkins turned red in the face; and, no doubt feeling +that he was "monarch of all he surveyed," exclaimed in a loud +voice: + +"If you repeat such language, I will put you in irons." + +"Do it, if you dare," said Barnum, feeling his indignation rising +rapidly. "I dare and defy you to put your finger on me. I would +like to sail into New York harbor in handcuffs, on board a +British ship, for the terrible crime of asking that religious +worship may be permitted on board. So you may try it as soon as +you please; and, when we get to New York, I'll show you a touch +of Yankee ideas of religious intolerance." + +Turning on his heel, he walked over to Mr. Baird and told him how +matters stood, adding, with a laugh: + +"Doctor, it may be dangerous for you to tell of this incident +when you get on shore; for it would be a pretty strong draught +upon the credulity of many of my countrymen if they were told +that my zeal to hear an orthodox minister preach was so great +that it came near getting me into solitary confinement. But I am +not prejudiced, and I like fair play." + +The old doctor replied: "Well, you have not lost much; and, if +the rules of this ship are so stringent I suppose we must +submit." + +The captain afterwards came to Barnum and apologized for the rude +manner in which he had carried out the rules of the ship. Barnum +was not at the time a teetotaler, and the two men "washed down" +their differences in a bottle of champagne, and were excellent +friends from that moment. + + + +CHAPTER XV. AT HOME. + +PARTNERSHIP WITH TOM THUMB--VISIT TO CUBA--IRANISTAN, HIS FAMOUS +PALACE AT BRIDGEPORT--AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCES--BARNUM'S +GAME-KEEPER AND THE GREAT GAME DINNER--FRANK LESLIE. + +One of Barnum's principal objects in returning to America at this +time was to insure the permanence of his "American Museum." He +had a lease of the property, which had yet three years to run. +But he wanted to make sure of it after that term had expired. Mr. +Olmsted, the former owner, was now dead, and It was not certain +that the new proprietor would renew the lease. If not, another +home for the great show must be secured, and Barnum decided that +in that event he would buy land on Broadway and erect a building +to suit him. The new owner of the old property was persuaded, +however, to renew the lease for a term of twenty-five years. The +building covered an area of fifty-six by one hundred feet and was +four stories high. Barnum agreed to pay for it a rental of +$10,000 a year in addition to the taxes and all assessments. +Then, as the place was not large enough for his purposes, he +rented and connected with it the upper floors of several adjacent +buildings. The Museum was at this time enormously prosperous, and +was thronged with visitors from morning to late at night. + +Tom Thumb's European reputation was of course a great +advertisement, and it was "worked for all it was worth." He +appeared at the Museum daily for four weeks, and drew such crowds +of visitors as had never been seen there before. He afterwards +spent a month in Bridgeport with his kindred. To prevent being +annoyed by the curious, who would be sure to throng the houses of +his relatives, he exhibited two days at Bridgeport, and the +receipts, amounting to several hundred dollars, were presented to +the Bridgeport Charitable Society. + +Barnum's contract with Tom Thumb had expired on January 1, 1845, +while they were in England, and they had then formed a +partnership, dividing equally between them the profits of their +enterprise; excepting during the first four weeks of their return +to New York, during which time the General waived his partnership +rights and exhibited himself for a salary of $50 a week. Mr. +Stratton, Tom Thumb's father, was now a rich man, and he settled +a handsome fortune upon his tiny son. + +Soon a tour of America was arranged, the party consisting of Mr. +Barnum and Tom Thumb and his parents. They began at Washington, +in April, 1847, where they visited President and Mrs. Polk at the +White House. Thence they went to Richmond, to Baltimore, and to +Philadelphia, where they took in $5,594.91 in twelve days. Next +they visited Boston and Lowell; Providence, where they received +nearly $1,000 in a day; New Bedford, Fall River, Salem, +Worcester, Springfield, Albany, Troy, Niagara Falls, Buffalo and +various other places. During the whole year's tour their receipts +averaged from $400 to $500 per day, and their expenses only from +$25 to $30. On their way back to New York they stopped at all +large towns along the Hudson river, and then went to New Haven, +Hartford, Portland and some other New England cities. + +Absence did not make them forgotten in New York, however, but +only increased public interest in them. When he returned to his +Museum Mr. Barnum found that he himself had come to be regarded +as one of its chief curiosities. "If I showed myself about the +Museum, or wherever else I was known, I found eyes peering and +fingers pointing at me, and could frequently overhear the remark, +'There's Barnum.' On one occasion, soon after my return, I was +sitting in the ticket-office, reading a newspaper. A man came and +purchased a ticket of admission. 'Is Mr. Barnum in the Museum?' +he asked. The ticket-seller, pointing to me, answered, 'This is +Mr. Barnum.' Supposing the gentleman had business with me, I +looked up from the paper. 'Is this Mr. Barnum?' he asked. 'It +is,' I replied. He stared at me for a moment, and then, throwing +down his ticket, exclaimed, 'It's all right; I have got the worth +of my money;' and away he went, without going into the Museum at +all." + +In the fall of 1847 they went South, visiting and giving +exhibitions at Charleston, Columbia, Augusta, Savannah, +Milledgeville, Macon, Columbus, Montgomery, Mobile and New +Orleans. At the last-named place they spent three weeks, +including the Christmas holidays. After New Year's they went to +Cuba, and were received at Havana by the Captain-General and the +aristocracy of the city. For a month they gave exhibitions in +Havana and Matanzas with great success. The only serious drawback +was the hotels, which they did not find good; indeed, it was +difficult for them to get enough to eat. The Washington House, at +Havana, where they lived for some time, was characterized by Mr. +Barnum as "first-rate bad!" + +From Cuba they returned to New Orleans, and thence to New York by +way of the Mississippi river, St. Louis, Louisville, Cincinnati +and Pittsburg. And then, in May, 1848, it was agreed that Barnum +should travel no more with the little General. "I had," says +Barnum, "competent agents who could exhibit him without my +personal assistance, and I preferred to relinquish a portion of +the profits rather than continue to be a travelling showman. I +had now been a straggler from home most of the time for thirteen +years, and I cannot describe the feelings of gratitude with which +I reflected that, having by the most arduous toil and +deprivations succeeded in securing a satisfactory competence, I +should henceforth spend my days in the bosom of my family." + +Barnum had selected the city of Bridgeport, Conn., for his home, +and thither he now repaired. He wanted to be near New York, and +he considered the northern shore of Long Island Sound the most +beautiful country he had ever seen. Bridgeport was about the +right distance from New York, and was well situated. It was also +an enterprising place, with the promise of a prosperous future. +Some three or four years before this time Barnum had purchased +seventeen acres of land at the western side of the city, and for +two years had been building a palace upon it, the famous +"Iranistan," which was now nearly ready for him to occupy. + +In telling how he came to erect this gorgeous and eccentric home, +Barnum once said that in visiting Brighton, England, he had been +greatly pleased with the pavilion built there by George IV. It +was at that time the only specimen of Oriental architecture in +England, and the style had not been introduced into America. "I +concluded to adopt it, and engaged a London architect to furnish +me a set of drawings after the general plan of the pavilion, +differing sufficiently to be adapted to the spot of ground +selected for my homestead. On my second return visit to the +United States, I brought these drawings with me and engaged a +competent architect and builder, giving him instructions to +proceed with the work, not 'by the job' but 'by the day,' and to +spare neither time nor expense in erecting a comfortable, +convenient, and tasteful residence. The work was thus begun and +continued while I was still abroad, and during the time when I +was making my tour with General Tom Thumb through the United +States and Cuba. Elegant and appropriate furniture was made +expressly for every room in the house. I erected expensive +water-works to supply the premises. The stables, conservatories +and out-buildings were perfect in their kind. There was a +profusion of trees set out on the grounds. The whole was built +and established literally 'regardless of expense,' for I had no +desire even to ascertain the entire cost." + +Into this splendid place he moved on November 14, 1848, nearly a +thousand fellow-citizens of Bridgeport, rich and poor alike, +participating in the "housewarming" as his guests. The estate was +called, in reference to its Oriental appearance, Iranistan, which +being interpreted means "a Persian home." This name was the +subject of many a joke, as the place itself was of much +wonderment and admiration. + +The next two years were spent by Mr. Barnum chiefly at home with +his family, though he paid frequent visits to his various places +of business and amusement; business for him, amusement for the +world. He had for several years a fine Museum in Baltimore, which +was afterward the property of John E. Owens, the actor. In 1849 +he also opened a Museum in Philadelphia, at the corner of +Chestnut and Seventh streets. He spent some time in Philadelphia, +until the Museum was profitably established, and then turned it +over to a manager. Two years later he sold it for a good price. +While he was running it, however, his old rival, Peale, conducted +a strong opposition show in Masonic Hall, near by. The +competition between them proved disastrous to Peale, who failed +and was sold out by the sheriff. Barnum and his friend, Moses +Kimball, purchased most of his effects and divided them between +Barnum's American Museum in New York and Kimball's Museum in +Boston. + +Barnum took an active interest in the affairs of Bridgeport and +of the State of Connecticut. In 1848, soon after settling in +Iranistan, he was elected President of the Fairfield County +Agricultural Society. He was not much of a practical farmer, +although he had bought a hundred or more acres of farm land near +his residence and felt a deep interest in agricultural affairs. +He had imported a lot of choice livestock, which he had at +Iranistan, and had gone pretty deeply into fancy poultry raising. +So he was considered eligible to the office of President of the +Agricultural Society. + +In 1849 the Society insisted that he should deliver the annual +address. "I begged to be excused on the ground of incompetency," +he said, "but my excuses were of no avail, and as I could not +instruct my auditors in farming, I gave them the benefit of +several mistakes which I had committed. Among other things, I +told them that in the fall of 1848 my head-gardener reported that +I had fifty bushels of potatoes to spare. I thereupon directed +him to barrel them up and ship them to New York for sale. He did +so, and received two dollars per barrel, or about sixty-seven +cents per bushel. But, unfortunately, after the potatoes had been +shipped, I found that my gardener had selected all the largest +for market, and left my family nothing but 'small potatoes' to +live on during the winter. But the worst was still to come. My +potatoes were all gone before March, and I was obliged to buy, +during the spring, over fifty bushels of potatoes, at $1.25 per +bushel! I also related my first experiment in the arboricultural +line, when I cut from two thrifty rows of young cherry-trees any +quantity of what I supposed to be 'suckers,' or 'sprouts,' and +was thereafter informed by my gardener that I had cut off all his +grafts!" + +A friend of Barnum's, Mr. J. D. Johnson, had a fine place near +Iranistan; and Barnum owned a couple of acres just beyond and +adjoining his property. This plot Barnum presently converted into +a deer park, stocking it with fine animals from the Rocky +Mountains. From its location, however, everybody supposed it to +be a part of Johnson's estate, and to confirm this notion--in a +waggish spirit--a member of Johnson's family put up in the park a +conspicuous sign, which every passer-by on the street could read: + +"All persons are forbid trespassing on these grounds, or +disturbing the deer. + --J. D. JOHNSON." + +Barnum "acknowledged the corn," and was much pleased with the +joke. Johnson was delighted, and bragged considerably of having +got ahead of Barnum, and the sign remained undisturbed for +several days. It happened, at length, that a party of friends +came to visit him from New York, arriving in the evening. Johnson +told them that he had got a capital joke on Barnum; he would not +explain, but said they should see it for themselves the next +morning. Bright and early he led them into the street, and, after +conducting them a proper distance, wheeled them around in front +of the sign. To his dismay he discovered that I had added +directly under his name the words "Game-keeper to P. T. Barnum." + +Thereafter Mr. Johnson was known among his friends and +acquaintances as "Barnum's gamekeeper." + +Johnson had his revenge, however. Some time afterward Barnum +became president of the Pequonnock Bank, and gave each year a +grand dinner at Iranistan to the directors. In preparing for +these banquets he would send to the West for some boxes of +prairie chickens and other choice game. So, one day, Johnson saw +a big case at the railroad station, addressed to Barnum, and +marked "Game." + +"See here," said he to the station-master, "I am Mr. Barnum's +game-keeper, and I'll take charge of that!" + +And he did so, taking it to his house, and then notifying Barnum +that it could only be redeemed at cost of a new hat. He knew very +well that Barnum would rather give him a dozen hats than lose the +box; and he added that unless he got the hat very soon he would +give a game dinner on his own account! Barnum sent an order for +the hat in a hurry, and recovered his game, enjoying the whole +joke as much as Johnson did. + +In 1848, Mr. Frank Leslie, afterward famous as a publisher, came +to America, bringing letters of introduction to Barnum from +friends in England, and Barnum gave him a start in business by +employing him to prepare an elaborate illustrated catalogue of +the American Museum. This he did in an admirable manner, and +hundreds of thousands of copies of it were distributed throughout +the country. + + + +CHAPTER XVI. JENNY LIND. + +DARING VENTURE--BARNUM'S AMBASSADOR--UNPRECEDENTED TERMS +OFFERED--TEXT OF THE CONTRACT--HARD WORK TO RAISE THE GUARANTEE +FUND--EDUCATING THE AMERICAN MIND TO RECEIVE THE FAMOUS SINGER. + +The next enterprise undertaken by Barnum was an entirely new +departure. It was justly regarded by him as bold in its +conception, complete in its development, and astounding in its +success. To the end of his days he looked upon it with pride and +satisfaction. Probably it did more than anything else in all his +career to give him a permanent and supreme position in the esteem +of the public. + +This enterprise was the bringing of Jenny Lind to America for a +concert tour. + +Miss Lind, often called the "Swedish Nightingale," was one of the +most remarkable singers of the world, in that or any generation. +All Europe was enraptured by her art, and her fame had encircled +the globe. Barnum had never heard her, as she had not visited +London until a few weeks after his return to America. But her +reputation was enough to determine him to engage her, if +possible, for an American tour. So he sent Mr. J. H. Wilton, an +English musician, who was visiting New York, back to London to +negotiate terms with her. Barnum agreed to pay Wilton his +expenses if he had to return without her; but a handsome sum if +he succeeded in bringing the songstress to America with him. He +told Wilton to engage her on shares if possible. If not, to +engage her for any sum up to a thousand dollars a night, for any +number of nights up to 150, besides paying all her expenses, +including servants, carriages, etc., and not more than three +musical assistants. He also offered to secure her by placing the +whole $150,000 in the hands of her London bankers in advance! + +Wilton went to London, had some correspondence with her, and then +went to Lubeck, where she was singing. She told him frankly that +she had, since he first wrote to her, been busy making inquiries +about Barnum's character, trustworthiness, etc., and that she was +perfectly satisfied with what she had found out. There were, +however, four other men negotiating with her to the same end. One +of these gentlemen was a well-known opera manager in London; +another, a theatrical manager in Manchester; a third, a musical +composer and conductor of the orchestra of Her Majesty's Opera in +London; and the fourth, Chevalier Wyckoff, who had conducted a +successful speculation some years previously by visiting America +in charge of the celebrated danseuse, Fanny Ellsler. + +She also insisted that, under whatever auspices she should go to +America, she should have as an accompanist Mr.--afterwards +Sir--Julius Benedict, the composer, and Signor Belletti, an +eminent Italian singer. + +Finally, on January 9, 1850, Wilton succeeded in his mission. +Miss Lind agreed to come to America under Barnum's management, +and an elaborate contract was drawn up and signed This historic +document was as follows: + +MEMORANDUM of an agreement entered into this ninth day of +January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and +fifty, between John Hall Wilton, as agent for PHINEAS T. BARNUM, +of New York, in the United States of North America, of the one +part, and Mademoiselle JENNY LIND, Vocalist, of Stockholm, in +Sweden, of the other part, wherein the said Jenny Lind doth +agree: + +First. To sing for the said Phineas T. Barnum in one hundred and +fifty concerts, including oratorios within (if possible) one year +or eighteen months from the date of her arrival in the city of +New York--the said concerts to be given in the United States of +North America and Havana. She, the said Jenny Lind, having full +control as to the number of nights or concerts in each week, and +the number of pieces in which she will sing in each concert, to +be regulated conditionally with her health and safety of voice, +but the former never less than one or two, nor the latter less +than four; but in no case to appear in operas. + +Second. In consideration of said services, the said John Hall +Wilton, as agent for the said Phineas T. Barnum, of New York, +agrees to furnish the said Jenny Lind with a servant as +waiting-maid, and a male servant to and for the sole service of +her and her party; to pay the travelling and hotel expenses of a +friend to accompany her as a companion; to pay also a secretary +to superintend her finances; to pay all her and her party's +travelling expenses from Europe, and during the tour in the +United States of North America and Havana; to pay all hotel +expenses for board and lodging during the same period; to place +at her disposal in each city a carriage and horses with their +necessary attendants, and to give her in addition the sum of two +hundred pounds sterling, or one thousand dollars, for each +concert or oratorio in which the said Jenny Lind shall sing. + +Third. And the said John Hall Wilton, as agent for the said +Phineas T. Barnum, doth further agree to give the said Jenny Lind +the most satisfactory security and assurance for the full amount +of her engagement, which will be placed in the hands of Messrs. +Baring Brothers, of London, previous to the departure, and +subject to the order of the said Jenny Lind, with its interest +due on its current reduction by her services in the concerts or +oratorios. + +Fourth. And the said John Hall Wilton, on the part of the said +Phineas T. Barnum, further agrees, that should the said Phineas +T. Barnum, after seventy-five concerts, have realized so much as +shall, after paying all current expenses, have returned to him +all the sums disbursed, either as deposits at interest, for +securities of salaries, preliminary outlay, or moneys in any way +expended consequent on this engagement, and in addition, have +gained a clear profit of at least fifteen thousand pounds +sterling, then the said Phineas T. Barnum will give the said +Jenny Lind, in addition to the former sum of one thousand dollars +current money of the United States of North America, nightly, +one-fifth part of the profits arising from the remaining +seventy-five concerts or oratorios, after deducting every expense +current and appertaining thereto; or the said Jenny Lind agrees +to try, with the said Phineas T. Barnum, fifty concerts or +oratorios on the aforesaid and first-named terms, and if then +found to fall short of the expectations of the said Phineas T. +Barnum, then the said Jenny Lind agrees to reorganize this +agreement, on terms quoted in his first proposal, as set forth in +the annexed copy of his letter; but should such be found +necessary, then the engagement continues up to seventy-five +concerts or oratorios, at the end of which, should the aforesaid +profit of fifteen thousand pounds sterling have not been +realized, then the engagement shall continue as at first--the +sums herein, after expenses for Julius Benedict and Giovanni +Belletti, to remain unaltered, except for advancement. + +Fifth. And the said John Hall Wilton, agent for the said Phineas +T. Barnum, at the request of the said Jenny Lind, agrees to pay +to Julius Benedict, of London, to accompany the said Jenny Lind, +as musical director, pianist, and superintendent of the musical +department, also to assist the said Jenny Lind in one hundred and +fifty concerts or oratorios, to be given in the United States of +North America and Havana, the sum of five thousand pounds +(L5,000) sterling, to be satisfactorily secured to him with +Messrs. Baring Brothers, of London, previous to his departure +from Europe, and the said John Hall Wilton agrees further, for +the said Phineas T. Barnum, to pay all his travelling expenses +from Europe, together with his hotel and travelling expenses +during the time occupied in giving the aforesaid one hundred and +fifty concerts or oratorios--he, the said Julius Benedict, to +superintend the organization of oratorios if required. + +Sixth. And the said John Hall Wilton, at the request, selection, +and for the aid of the said Jenny Lind, agrees to pay to Giovanni +Belletti, barytone vocalist, to accompany the said Jenny Lind +during her tour and in one hundred and fifty concerts or +oratorios in the United States of North America and Havana, and +in conjunction with the aforesaid Julius Benedict, the sum of two +thousand five hundred pounds (L2,500) sterling, to be +satisfactorily secured to him previous to his departure from +Europe, in addition to all his hotel and travelling expenses. + +Seventh. And it is further agreed that the said Jenny Lind shall +be at full liberty to sing at any time she may think fit for +charitable institutions, or purposes independent of the +engagement with the said Phineas T. Barnum, with a view to +mutually agreeing as to the time and its propriety, it being +understood that in no case shall the first or second concert in +any city selected for the tour be for such purpose, or wherever +it shall appear against the interests of the said Phineas T. +Barnum. + +Eighth. It is further agreed that should the said Jenny Lind, by +any act of God, be incapacitated to fulfil the entire engagement +before mentioned, that an equal proportion of the terms agreed +upon shall be given to the said Jenny Lind, Julius Benedict, and +Giovanni Belletti, for services rendered to that time. + +Ninth. It is further agreed and understood, that the said Phineas +T. Barnum shall pay every expense appertaining to the concerts or +oratorios before mentioned, excepting those for charitable +purposes, and that all accounts shall be settled and rendered by +all parties weekly. + +Tenth. And the said Jenny Lind further agrees that she will not +engage to sing for any other person during the progress of this +said engagement with the said Phineas T. Barnum, of New York, for +one hundred and fifty concerts or oratorios, excepting for +charitable purposes as before mentioned; and all travelling to be +first and best class. + +In witness hereof to the within written memorandum of agreement +we set hereunto our hand and seal. + +[L. S.] JOHN HALL WILTON, Agent for Phineas + + T. Barnum, of New York, U. S. + +[L. S.] JENNY LIND. + +[T. S.] JULIUS BENEDICT. + +[L. S.] GIOVANNI BELLETTI. + +In the presence of C. ACHILLING, Consul of His Majesty the King +of Sweden and Norway. + +Extract from a letter addressed to John H. Wilton by Phineas T. +Barnum, and referred to in paragraph No. 4 of the annexed +agreement: + + NEW YORK, November 6, 1849. + +MR. J. HALL WILTON: + +Sir. In reply to your proposal to attempt a negotiation with +Mlle. Jenny Lind to visit the United States professionally, I +propose to enter into an arrangement with her to the following +effect: I will engage to pay all her expenses from Europe, +provide for and pay for one principal tenor, and one pianist, +their salaries not exceeding together one hundred and fifty +dollars per night; to support for her a carriage, two servants, +and a friend to accompany her and superintend her finances. I +will furthermore pay all and every expense appertaining to her +appearance before the public, and give her half of the gross +receipts arising from concerts or operas. I will engage to travel +with her personally, and attend to the arrangements, provided she +will undertake to give not less than eighty, nor more than one +hundred and fifty concerts, or nights' performances. + PHINEAS T. BARNUM. + +I certify the above to be a true extract from the letter. + J. H. WILTON. + +There was no Atlantic cable in those days, and Barnum did not +know the result of Wilton's embassy until the latter returned to +America. Barnum was in Philadelphia when Wilton landed in New +York, on February 19. Wilton at once telegraphed to him that he +had secured the singer, who was to come over and begin her +concerts in September. The great showman was startled, and felt +pretty nervous; and as so long a time was to elapse before she +came over, he thought it best to keep the whole matter a secret +for a time. + +When we reflect how thoroughly Jenny Lind, her musical powers, +her character, and wonderful successes, were subsequently known +by all classes in this country as well as throughout the +civilized world, it is difficult to realize that, at the time +this engagement was made, she was comparatively unknown on this +side the water. We can hardly credit the fact that millions of +persons in America had never heard of her, that other millions +had merely read her name, but had no distinct idea of who or what +she was. Only a small portion of the public were really aware of +her great musical triumphs in the Old World, and this portion was +confined almost entirely to musical people, travellers who had +visited the Old World, and the conductors of the press. + +Barnum telegraphed to Wilton to keep the matter secret, and next +morning set out for New York. But it was too late. When he got to +New York, he found the news of the engagement in full in all the +papers. Everybody was talking about it, and wondering who Jenny +Lind was, and Barnum soon perceived that he must improve the +time, from then to September, in educating the public up to an +approximate appreciation of her worth. + +His first act was to send, as per agreement, the sum of $187,000 +to Miss Lind's bankers in London. It was not altogether easy for +him to do this. After he had scraped together all his available +cash he was still short a large sum. He had plenty of securities +in the form of second mortgages that were perfectly good, but no +one in Wall street would lend him a dollar on them. + +In his extremity, he at last went to the president of the bank +where he had transacted his business for the past eight years. "I +offered him," said Barnum afterward, "as security for a loan, my +second mortgages, and, as additional security, I offered to make +over to him my contract with Jenny Lind, with a written guaranty +that he should appoint a receiver, who, at my expense, should +take charge of all the receipts over and above $3,000 per night, +and appropriate them toward the payment of my loan He laughed in +my face, and said: 'Mr. Barnum, it is generally believed in Wall +street that your engagement with Jenny Lind will ruin you. I do +not think you will ever receive so much as $3,000 at a single +concert.' I was indignant at his want of appreciation, and +answered him that I would not at that moment take $150,000 for my +contract; nor would I. I found, upon further inquiry, that it was +useless in Wall street to offer the 'Nightingale' in exchange for +'Goldfinches.' I finally was introduced to Mr. John L. Aspinwall, +of the firm of Messrs. Howland & Aspinwall, and he gave me a +letter of credit from his firm on Baring Brothers, for a large +sum on collateral securities, which a spirit of genuine respect +for my enterprise induced him to accept. + +"After disposing of several pieces of property for cash, I footed +up the various amounts, and still discovered myself $5,000 short. +I felt that it was indeed the last feather that breaks the +camel's back.' Happening casually to state my desperate case to +the Rev. Abel C. Thomas, of Philadelphia, for many years a friend +of mine, he promptly placed the requisite amount at my disposal. +I gladly accepted his proffered friendship, and felt that he had +removed a mountain-weight from my shoulders." + +And now nothing remained to do but to arouse public curiosity and +interest. Barnum was a master-hand at that work, and never did he +show himself more of a master than on this occasion. He kept the +press literally teeming with notices in one form or another. Here +is a sample of the strain in which he wrote: + +"Perhaps I may not make any money by this enterprise; but I +assure you that if I knew I should not make a farthing profit, I +would ratify the engagement, so anxious am I that the United +States should be visited by a lady whose vocal powers have never +been approached by any other human being, and whose character is +charity, simplicity, and goodness personified. + +"Miss Lind has great anxiety to visit America. She speaks of this +country and its institutions in the highest terms of praise. In +her engagement with me (which includes Havana), she expressly +reserves the right to give charitable concerts whenever she +thinks proper. + +Since her debut in England, she has given to the poor from her +own private purse more than the whole amount which I have engaged +to pay her, and the proceeds of concerts for charitable purposes +in Great Britain, where she has sung gratuitously, have realized +more than ten times that amount." + +And so it came to pass that, before September rolled around, +curiosity, interest and enthusiasm over the great singer were at +fever heat, and New York thought and dreamed only of her coming. + +Never, in the history of music or in the history of +entertainments in America, has the advent of a foreign artist +been hailed with so much enthusiasm. + +A large share of this public interest was natural and genuine, +and would, in any event, have been accorded to Miss Lind. But a +considerable portion of it was due to the shrewd and energetic +advertising of Mr. Barnum. Under any auspices the great singer's +tour in America would have been successful; but under no other +management would it have approximated to what it was under +Barnum. + + + +CHAPTER XVII. ARRIVAL OF JENNY LIND. + +FIRST MEETING WITH BARNUM--RECEPTION IN NEW YORK--POEMS IN HER +HONOR--A FURORE OF PUBLIC INTEREST--SALE OF TICKETS FOR THE FIRST +CONCERT--BARNUM'S CHANGE IN TERMS--TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR +CHARITY--ENORMOUS SUCCESS OF THE FIRST CONCERT. + +Jenny Lind sailed for America on Wednesday morning, August 21, +1850. She was accompanied by Messrs. Benedict and Belletti, Mr. +Wilton, her two cousins, and three or four servants. She also +brought with her a piano for her use. Mr. Barnum had engaged the +necessary accommodations for the company on the steamship +Atlantic, and their departure from England was an event of great +public interest. In America their coming was looked upon much as +the visit of a royal personage would have been. It was expected +that the steamer would reach New York on Sunday, September 1st. +Mr. Barnum, however, determined to be on hand to meet his +distinguished guest at no matter what time she reached the port. +He, therefore, went on Saturday to Staten Island, and spent the +night at the house of his friend, Dr. Doane, the health officer +of the port. + +The steamship was sighted just before noon on Sunday, and soon +afterward Mr. Barnum, who went out with the health officer, was +standing on the deck where, for the first time, he met the famous +singer. After they had shaken hands and uttered a few commonplace +words of greeting Miss Lind asked him when and where he had heard +her sing. + +"I never had the pleasure of seeing you before in my life," he +replied. + +"How is it possible that you dared risk so much money on a person +whom you never heard sing?" she asked in great surprise. + +"I risked it," answered Barnum, "on your reputation, which in +musical matters I would much rather trust than my own judgment." + +The fact was that, although Barnum did rely largely upon Miss +Lind's reputation as an artist, he also took into account her +equally great reputation for benevolence, generosity and general +loveliness of disposition. He knew that these traits of character +would appeal with a special force to the warm-hearted and +enthusiastic American public. Indeed, he afterward confessed that +had it not been for this peculiarity of her disposition, he never +would have ventured to make the engagement with her; and he +always believed that as many people came to see and hear her on +this account as on account of her skill as a singer. + +Seldom has any visitor to New York received a more remarkable +greeting than did the "Swedish Nightingale." Mr. Barnum's efforts +to arouse public interest in her had not been in vain. The whole +city was anxious to get the first possible glimpse of her. But +beside this bona fide interest in her, Mr. Barnum had seen to it +that her landing was made all possible use of as an +advertisement. On the wharf at which she landed a bower of green +trees, decorated with flags, had been prepared. There were also +two handsome triumphal arches, on one of which was inscribed, +"Welcome, Jenny Lind!" and on the other, "Welcome to America!" + +Probably the singer thought, and possibly some of the general +public also imagined, that these decorations had been erected by +the city government, or at least by some committee of +public-spirited citizens. Mr. Barnum, however, never found fault +with any one for suspecting that he was chiefly responsible for +them, and there is every reason to believe that the cost of them +was to be found entered in his books, charged to the account of +advertising. + +Thousands of people were thronged along the water front, on the +piers and on the shipping, to greet the Atlantic as it reached +its dock. So great was the rush to see the illustrious guest that +one man was crowded overboard, an incident which Miss Lind +herself witnessed, and at which she was much alarmed. He was +rescued with no other harm than a thorough wetting. Barnum's +carriage was in waiting for Miss Lind, and the great showman +himself, after placing her within it, mounted the box at the +driver's side. He took that seat as a legitimate advertisement, +and his presence there aided those who filled the windows and +sidewalks along the entire way to the Irving House, and there +were many thousands of them, in coming to the conclusion that +Jenny Lind had really arrived. + +Five minutes after Miss Lind had entered the hotel, Barnum +invited her to look out of a window opening on Broadway. When she +did so she saw a throng of not less than twenty thousand persons +gathered to do her honor. And there that throng remained all the +rest of the afternoon and until late in the evening. At her +request Barnum took dinner with her that afternoon. According to +the European custom she offered to pledge his health in a glass +of wine, and was doubtless much surprised at his response. He +said to her: "Miss Lind, I do not think you can ask any other +favor on earth which I would not gladly grant. But I am a +teetotaler, and must beg to be permitted to drink to your health +and happiness in a glass of cold water." + +Late that night Miss Lind was serenaded by the New York Musical +Fund Society, which numbered, on that occasion, two hundred +musicians. They were escorted to the hotel by about three hundred +firemen, clad in their picturesque uniform and bearing flaming +torches. Fully thirty thousand spectators were at this hour +gathered about the hotel, and in response to their vociferous +calls Miss Lind stepped upon the balcony and bowed to them. + +Such was the great singer's first day in America, and for several +weeks thereafter the public interest in her was scarcely less +demonstrative. Her rooms were thronged by visitors, among whom +were the most notable people in society, in the learned +professions and in public life. The street before the hotel was +almost blocked day after day by the carriages of fashionable +people, and Barnum's only anxiety was lest the aristocratic part +of the community should monopolize her altogether, and thus mar +his interest by cutting her off from the sympathy she had excited +among the common people. The shop-keepers of the city showered +their attentions upon her, sending her cart-loads of specimens of +their most valuable wares, for which they asked no other return +than her acceptance and her autograph acknowledgment. Gloves, +bonnets, shawls, gowns, chairs, carriages, pianos, and almost +every imaginable article of use or ornament was named for her. +Songs and musical compositions were dedicated to her, and poems +were published in her honor. Day after day and week after week +her doings formed the most conspicuous news in the daily +journals. + +Some weeks before Miss Lind's arrival in America Barnum had +offered a prize of two hundred dollars for the best ode, to be +set to music and sung by her at her first concert. Its topic was +to be, "Greeting to America." In response several hundred poems +were sent in, mostly pretty poor stuff; though several of them +were very good. After a great deal of hard work in reading and +considering them, the Prize Committee selected as the best the +one offered by Bayard Taylor. It was set to music by Julius +Benedict, and was as follows: + +GREETING TO AMERICA + +WORDS BY BAYARD TAYLOR--MUSIC BY JULIUS BENEDICT. + + I greet with a full heart the Land of the West, + Whose Banner of Stars o'er a world is unrolled; + Whose empire o'ershadows Atlantic's wide breast, + And opens to sunset its gateway of gold! + The land of the mountain, the land of the lake, + And rivers that roll in magnificent tide-- + Where the souls of the mighty from slumber awake, + And hallow the soil for whose freedom they died! + + Thou Cradle of empire! though wide be the foam + That severs the land of my fathers and thee, + I hear, from thy bosom, the welcome of home, + For song has a home in the hearts of the Free! + And long as thy waters shall gleam in the sun, + And long as thy heroes remember their scars, + Be the hands of thy children united as one, + And Peace shed her light on thy Banner of Stars! + + This award gave general satisfaction, although a few +disappointed competitors complained. This remarkable competition +and the other features of Miss Lind's reception in America, +attracted so much attention in England that the London Times in +one day devoted several columns of space to the subject. + +Of course the American press literally teemed with matter about +Miss Lind and Barnum. The poetical competition demanded much +attention, and presently a witty pamphlet was published, entitled +"Barnum's Parnassus; being Confidential Disclosures of the Prize +Committee on the Jenny Lind Song." It pretended to give all or +most of the poems that had been offered in the competition, +though of course none of them were genuine. Many of them, +however, contained fine satirical hits on the whole business; +such, for example, as the following: + +BARNUMOPSIS. + +A RECITATIVE. + + When to the common rest that crowns his days, + Dusty and worn the tired pedestrian goes, + What light is that whose wide o'erlooking blaze + A sudden glory on his pathway throws? + + 'Tis not the setting sun, whose drooping lid + Closed on the weary world at half-past six; + 'Tis not the rising moon, whose rays are hid + Behind the city's sombre piles of bricks. + + It is the Drummond Light, that from the top + Of Barnum's massive pile, sky-mingling there, + Dart's its quick gleam o'er every shadowed shop, + And gilds Broadway with unaccustomed glare. + + There o'er the sordid gloom, whose deep'ning tracks + Furrow the city's brow, the front of ages, + Thy loftier light descends on cabs and hacks, + And on two dozen different lines of stages! + + O twilight Sun, with thy far darting ray, + Thou art a type of him whose tireless hands + Hung thee on high to guide the stranger's way, + Where, in its pride, his vast Museum stands. + + Him, who in search of wonders new and strange, + Grasps the wide skirts of Nature's mystic robe + Explores the circles of eternal change, + And the dark chambers of the central globe. + + He, from the reedy shores of fabled Nile, + Has brought, thick-ribbed and ancient as old iron, + That venerable beast, the crocodile, + And many a skin of many a famous lion. + + Go lose thyself in those continuous halls, + Where strays the fond papa with son and daughter; + And all that charms or startles or appals, + Thou shalt behold, and for a single quarter. + + Far from the Barcan deserts now withdrawn, + There, huge constrictors coil their scaly backs; + There, cased in glass, malignant and unshorn, + Old murderers glare in sullenness and wax. + + There many a varied form the sight beguiles, + In rusty broadcloth decked and shocking hat, + And there the unwieldy Lambert sits and smiles, + In the majestic plenitude of fat. + + Or for thy gayer hours, the orang-outang + Or ape salutes thee with his strange grimace, + And in their shapes, stuffed as on earth they sprang, + Thine individual being thou canst trace! + + And joys the youth in life's green spring, who goes + With the sweet babe and the gray headed nurse, + To see those Cosmoramic orbs disclose + The varied beauties of the universe. + + And last, not least, the marvellous Ethiope, + Changing his skin by preternatural skill, + Whom every setting sun's diurnal slope + Leaves whiter than the last, and whitening still. + + All that of monstrous, scaly, strange and queer, + Has come from out the womb of earliest time, + Thou hast, O Barnum, in thy keeping here, + Nor is this all--for triumphs more sublime + + Await thee yet! I, Jenny Lind, who reigned + Sublimely throned, the imperial queen of song, + Wooed by thy golden harmonies, have deigned + Captive to join the heterogeneous throng. + + Sustained by an unfaltering trust in coin, + Dealt from thy hand, O thou illustrious man, + Gladly I heard the summons come to join + Myself the immeasurable caravan. + +A number of complimentary greetings in verse were also sent in to +Miss Lind by various writers of more or less eminence, among them +being the following from Mrs. Lydia H. Sigourney: + +THE SWEDISH SONGSTRESS AND HER CHARITIES. + +BY MRS. L. H. SIGOURNEY. + + Blest must their vocation be + Who, with tones of melody, + Charm the discord and the strife + And the railroad rush of life, + + And with Orphean magic move + Souls inert to life and love. + But there's one who doth inherit + Angel gift and angel spirit, + Bidding tides of gladness flow + Through the realms of want and woe; + 'Mid lone age and misery's lot, + Kindling pleasures long forgot, + Seeking minds oppressed with night, + And on darkness shedding light, + She the seraph's speech doth know, + She hath done their deeds below; + So, when o'er this misty strand + She shall clasp their waiting hand, + They will fold her to their breast, + More a sister than a guest. + + The first concert was announced for the evening of September +11th, and it was to take place in the great hall of Castle +Garden, afterward famous as the landing-place for emigrants at +New York. The tickets for this occasion were sold at auction, and +the first one was bid up to the extraordinary figure of $225. +This was bid and the ticket was secured by John N. Genin, a +hatter; and the public notice which was thereby attracted to him +was such a great advertisement for his business that within a few +years thereafter he amassed a fortune. It was afterward stated +that Mr. Genin was Barnum's brother-in-law, and that his high bid +for this ticket was a pre-arranged job; but there was no truth in +this whatever. The auction itself was regarded as an occasion of +such public interest that the proprietors of the Garden, where it +was held, charged a shilling admission fee to it. No less than +3,000 persons paid this fee and attended the auction, and the +first day's sale aggregated 1,000 tickets, which brought a total +sum of $10,141. + +A few days after her arrival Barnum told Miss Lind that it would +be desirable to make a change in the terms of their contract, if +she would consent. She was startled at this, and asked him what +the change was to be. "I am convinced," replied Barnum, "that +this enterprise will be far more successful than either of us +anticipated. So I wish to stipulate that you shall receive not +only $1,000 for each concert, beside all expenses, but also that, +after taking out $5,500 per night for expenses and for my +services, the balance shall be equally divided between you and +me." + +She looked at him in utter bewilderment, unable to understand his +proposition. He repeated it, and at last made her realize what it +was that he proposed to do. Then she grasped him by the hand and +exclaimed: "Mr. Barnum, you are a gentleman of honor; you are +generous; it is just as I was told. I will sing for you as long +as you please. I will sing for you in America--in +Europe--anywhere!" + +The day before the first concert Mr. Barnum told Miss Lind that, +judging by appearances, her portion of the proceeds of the first +concert, over and above her fee of $1,000, would amount to at +least $10,000. She immediately resolved to devote every dollar of +it to charity, and forthwith sent for the Mayor of the city, +under whose advice she acted in selecting the various +institutions among which it was to be distributed. + +The amount of money actually received for tickets for the first +concert was $17,864.05. So it appeared that Barnum's estimate had +been a little too high, and Miss Lind's portion was too small to +realize the $10,000 which she was to give to charity. Barnum +therefore proposed to make a similar arrangement for the second +concert, and to count neither of these first two in the regular +engagement. To this she agreed. The second concert was given on +September 13th, and the receipts, which amounted to $14,203.03, +were disposed of as before, and she was thus enabled to give the +$10,000 to charity. The third concert, which was the first of the +regular series, was given on September 17th. + +Barnum's arrangements of the concert-room for the singer's +appearance were very complete. One hundred ushers, adorned with +rosettes and carrying wands tipped with ribbons, looked after the +seating of the audience. In order to prevent confusion the doors +were opened at five o'clock, although the concert was not to +commence until eight. The result was that the five thousand +persons who attended made their entry without crowding and +without confusion. + +The reception of Jenny Lind, on her first appearance, in point of +enthusiasm, was probably never before equalled. As Mr. Benedict +led her towards the footlights, the entire audience rose to their +feet and welcomed her with three cheers, accompanied by the +waving of thousands of hats and handkerchiefs. This was perhaps +the largest audience to which Jenny Lind had ever sung. She was +evidently much agitated, but the orchestra commenced, and before +she had sung a dozen notes of "Casta Diva," she began to recover +her self-possession, and long before the scena was concluded she +was as calm as if she was in her own drawing-room. Towards the +last portion of the cavatina, the audience were so completely +carried away by their feelings, that the remainder of the air was +drowned in a perfect tempest of acclamation. Enthusiasm had been +wrought to its highest pitch, but the musical powers of Jenny +Lind exceeded all the brilliant anticipations which had been +formed, and her triumph was complete. At the conclusion of the +concert Jenny Lind was loudly called for, and was obliged to +appear three times before the audience could be satisfied. Then +they called vociferously for "Barnum," and he "reluctantly" +responded to their demand. + +On this first night Julius Benedict firmly established with the +American people his European reputation as a most accomplished +conductor and musical composer; while Signor Belletti inspired an +admiration which grew warmer and deeper in the minds of the +public, to the end of his career in this country. + +"The Rubicon was passed," says Barnum. "The successful issue of +the Jenny Lind enterprise was established. I think there were a +hundred men in New York, the day after her first concert, who +would have willingly paid me $200,000 for my contract. I received +repeated offers for an eighth, a tenth, or a sixteenth, +equivalent to that price. But mine had been the risk, and I was +determined mine should be the triumph." + +The triumph of Jenny Lind is a legitimate part of Barnum's +history, and it will be of interest to the present generation to +read what the musical critics of that day thought of that +wonderful singer. Here is the New York Tribune's account of her +opening concerts in America: + +"Jenny Lind's first concert is over, and all doubts are at an +end. She is the greatest singer we have ever heard and her +success is all that was anticipated from her genius and her fame. +As this is something of an era in our history of art, we give a +detailed account of all that took place on the occasion. + +"All the preparatory arrangements for the concert were made with +great care, and from the admirable system observed, none of the +usual disagreeable features of such an event were experienced. +Outside of the gate there was a double row of policemen extending +up the main avenue of the Battery grounds. Carriages only were +permitted to drive up to the gate from the Whitehall side, and +pass off into Battery-place. At one time the line of carriages +extended to Whitehall and up State street into Broadway. +Everything was accomplished in a quiet and orderly manner. The +chief of police, with about sixty men, came on the ground at 5 +o'clock, and maintained the most complete order to the end. + +"Mr. Barnum, according to promise, had put up a substantial +frame-work, and thrown an immense awning over the bridge, which +is some 200 feet in length. This was brilliantly lighted, and had +almost the appearance of a triumphal avenue on entering the gate. + +"There was an immense crowd on the Battery, clustering around the +gates during the whole evening, but no acts of disorder occurred. +When Jenny Lind's carriage came, but very few persons knew it, +and no great excitement followed. The principal annoyance was +occasioned by a noisy crowd of boys in boats, who gathered around +the outer wall of the castle, and being by their position secure +from the police, tried to disturb those within by a hideous +clamor of shouts and yells, accompanied by a discordant din of +drums and fifes. There must have been more than 200 boats and a +thousand persons on the water. They caused some annoyance to that +portion of the audience in the back seats of the balcony, but the +nuisance was felt by none in the parquet. By 10 o'clock they had +either become tired or ashamed of the contemptible outrage they +were attempting, and dispersed. We may here remark that if the +river police asked for by Chief Matsell had been in existence +this attempt could not have been made. + +"On entering the castle, a company of ushers, distinguished by +their badges, were in readiness to direct the visitors to that +part of the hall where their seats were located. Colored lamps +and hangings suspended to the pillars indicated at a glance the +different divisions, and the task of seating the whole audience +of near seven thousand persons was thus accomplished without the +least inconvenience. The hall was brilliantly lighted, though +from its vast extent the stage looked somewhat dim. The wooden +partition which was built up in place of the drop-curtain, is +covered with a painting representing the combined standards of +America and Sweden, below which are arabesque ornaments in white +and gold. Considering the short time allowed for these +improvements, the change was remarkable. The only instance of bad +taste which we noticed was a large motto, worked in flowers, +suspended over the pillars of the balcony directly in front of +the stage. 'Welcome, Sweet Warbler' (so ran the words), was not +only tame and commonplace, but decidedly out of place. + +"The sight of the grand hall, with its gay decoration, its +glittering lamps, and its vast throng of expectant auditors, was +in itself almost worth a $5 ticket. We were surprised to notice +that not more than one-eighth of the audience were ladies. They +must stay at home, it seems, when the tickets are high, but the +gentlemen go, nevertheless. For its size, the audience was one of +the most quiet, refined and appreciative we ever saw assembled in +this city. Not more than one-third were seated before 7 o'clock, +and when the eventful hour arrived they were still coming in. A +few of the seats were not taken when the orchestra had assembled, +and Mr. Benedict, who was greeted with loud cheers on his +appearance, gave the first flourish of his baton. + +"The musical performance commenced with Jules Benedict's overture +to his opera, The Crusaders, himself conducting the orchestra of +60 instruments. It was an admirably balanced and effective +orchestra, and notwithstanding that we had to listen as it were +round a corner, we felt the unity and full force of its strong +chords, and traced the precise and delicate outline of its +melodies with a distinctness which proved that a clear musical +idea was there, too clearly embodied to be lost even in that vast +space. We liked the first half of the composition best; it had +the dark shading and wild vigor and pathos of Von Weber; the +allegro which set in upon it was more in the light popular manner +of Auber and the French. Yet Mr. Benedict has proved his mastery +in this work, which the vast audience acknowledged with very +hearty plaudits. + +"Signor Belletti was the next mark of expectation. In one of +Rossini's most ornate and florid bravura songs (from Maometto +Secondo) he produced a barytone of such warm, rich, solid, +resonant and feeling quality as we perhaps have never heard in +this country (though without closer observation from the less +remote position in which a barytone naturally requires to be +heard, we hardly dare to place it above Badiali's); while in +refinement of conception and of execution he left little to be +desired. + +"Now came a moment of breathless expectation. A moment more, and +Jenny Lind, clad in a white dress, which well became the frank +sincerity of her face, came forward through the orchestra. It is +impossible to describe the spontaneous burst of welcome which +greeted her. The vast assembly rose as one man, and for some +minutes nothing could be seen but the waving of hands and +handkerchiefs, nothing heard but a storm of tumultuous cheers. +The enthusiasm of the moment, for a time beyond all bounds, was +at last subdued after prolonging itself by its own fruitless +efforts to subdue itself, and the divine songstress, with that +perfect bearing, that air of all dignity and sweetness, blending +a child-like simplicity and half-trembling womanly modesty with +the beautiful confidence of genius and serene wisdom of art, +addressed herself to song, as the orchestral symphony prepared +the way for the voice in Casta Diva. A better test-piece could +not have been selected for her debut. Every soprano lady has sung +it to us; but nearly every one has seemed only trying to make +something of it, while Jenny Lind WAS the very music of it for +the time being. We would say no less than that; for the wisest +and honestest part of criticism on such a first hearing of a +thing so perfect, was to give itself purely up to it, without +question, and attempt no analysis of what too truly fills one to +have yet begun to be an object of thought. + +"If it were possible, we would describe the quality of that +voice, so pure, so sweet, so fine, so whole and all-pervading, in +its lowest breathings and minutest fioriture as well as in its +strongest volume. We never heard tones which in their sweetness +went so far. They brought the most distant and ill-seated auditor +close to her. They WERE tones, every one of them, and the whole +air had to take the law of their vibrations. The voice and the +delivery had in them all the good qualities of all the good +singers. Song in her has that integral beauty which at once +proclaims it as a type for all, and is most naturally worshipped +as such by the multitude. + +"Of those who have been before her we were most frequently +reminded of Madame Bishop's quality (not quantity) of voice. +Their voices are of metal somewhat akin. Jenny Lind's had +incomparably more power and more at all times in reserve; but it +had a shade of that same veiled quality in its lowest tones, +consistently with the same (but much more) ripeness and +sweetness, and perfect freedom from the crudeness often called +clearness, as they rise. There is the same kind of versatile and +subtile talent, too, in Jenny Lind, as appeared later in the +equal inspiration and perfection of her various characters and +styles of song. Her's is a genuine soprano, reaching the extra +high notes with that ease and certainty which make each highest +one a triumph of expression purely, and not a physical marvel. +The gradual growth and sostenuto of her tones; the light and +shade, the rhythmic undulation and balance of her passages; the +bird-like ecstacy of her trill; the faultless precision and +fluency of her chromatic scales; above all, the sure reservation +of such volume of voice as to crown each protracted climax with +glory, not needing a new effort to raise force for the final +blow; and indeed all the points one looks for in a mistress of +the vocal art were eminently her's in Casta Diva. But the charm +lay not in any POINT, but rather in the inspired vitality, the +hearty, genuine outpouring of the whole--the real and yet truly +ideal humanity of all her singing. That is what has won the world +to Jenny Lind; it is that her whole soul and being goes out in +her song, and that her voice becomes the impersonation of that +song's soul if it have any, that is, if it BE a song. There is +plainly no vanity in her, no mere aim to effect; it is all frank +and real and harmoniously earnest. + +"She next bewitched all by the delicate naivete and sparkling +espieglerie, interchanged with true love pathos, of her duet with +Belletti, from Rossini's I Turchi in Italia, the music being in +the same voice with that of his 'Barber of Seville.' The distinct +rapidity, without hurry, of many passages, was remarkable in both +performers. But perhaps the most wonderful exhibition of her +vocal skill and pliancy and of her active intimacy with nature +was in the Trio Concertante, with two flutes, from Meyerbeer's +'Camp of Silesia.' Exquisitely her voice played in echo between +the tasteful flute-warblings of Messrs. Kyle and Siede. + +"But do not talk of her flute-like voice; the flute-tone is not +one a real voice need cultivate; except where it silvers the +edges of a dark mass of orchestral harmony, the flute's +unmitigated sweetness must and should contrast with the more +clarionet and reed-like quality of a voice as rich and human as +that of Jenny Lind. + +"Naturally the favorites of the evening were the two national +songs. Her Swedish 'Herdsman's Song' was singularly quaint, wild +and innocent. The odd musical interval (a sharp seventh) of the +the echo, as if her singing had brought the very mountains there, +were extremely characteristic. This was loudly encored and +repeated; and when again encored was of course answered with her +'Greeting to America,' the National Prize Song, written by Bayard +Taylor, and set to a vigorous and familiar style of music, well +harmonizing with the words, by Benedict. The greeting had a soul +in it coming from those lips. + +"We have but now to acknowledge the fine style of Belletti's +Largo al Factotum (though the gay barber's song always requires +the stage) and the admirable orchestra performance of Weber's +Overture to Oberon. + +"We are now sure of Jenny Lind, the singer and the artist. Last +night she was herself, and well accompanied, and gloriously +responded to. But we have yet to hear her in the kind of music +which seems to us most to need and to deserve such a singer--in +the Agatha of Der Freyschutz, and in Mozart and the deep music of +the great modern German operas. + +"At the close the audience (who made no movement to leave till +the last note had been uttered) broke out in a tempest of cheers, +only less vehement than those which welcomed her in Casta Diva. +She came forward again, bowed with a bright, grateful face, and +retired. The cheers were now mingled with shouts of 'Barnum!' who +at last came forward, and with some difficulty obtained +sufficient order to speak. 'My friends,' said he, 'you have often +heard it asked, 'Where's Barnum?" Amid the cheers and laughter +which followed, we only caught the words: 'Henceforth, you may +say, 'Barnum's nowhere!' ' + +"Mr. Barnum, after expressing his gratification at the splendid +welcome which had been given Mdlle. Lind, stated that he would +disclose a piece of news which he could no longer keep secret, +and which would show how well that welcome was deserved. Mdlle. +Lind on Monday morning informed him that it was her intention to +give her share of the net proceeds of the present concert, +amounting to considerable more than $10,000, to the various +charities in the city. + +"The announcement was a signal for another storm. We did not +count the number of cheers given, but we never witnessed such a +pitch of enthusiasm. Mr. Barnum then proceeded to read the list +of her donations, interrupted at every name by a fresh burst of +applause: + + To the Fire Department Fund . . . . . . . . . $3,000 + + Musical Fund Society. . . . . . . . . . . .2,000 + + Home for the Friendless . . . . . . . . . . .500 + + Society for the Relief of Indigent Females. .500 + + Dramatic Fund Association . . . . . . . . . .500 + + Home for Colored and Aged Persons . . . . . .500 + + Colored and Orphan Association. . . . . . . .500 + + Lying-in Asylum for Destitute Females . . . .500 + + New York Orphan Asylum. . . . . . . . . . . .500 + + Protestant Half-Orphan Asylum . . . . . . . .500 + + Roman Catholic Half-Orphan Asylum . . . . . .500 + + Old Ladies' Asylum. . . . . . . . . . . . . .500 + + Total . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000 + + + +"In case the money coming to her shall exceed this sum, she will +hereafter designate the charity to which it is to be +appropriated. Mr. Barnum was then about retiring, when there was +a universal call for Jenny Lind. The songstress, however, had +already taken her departure, and the excited crowd, after giving +a few more cheers, followed her example, and slowly surged out of +the castle door, and down the canopied bridge, in a glow of +good-humor and admiration. A few disorderly vagrants collected on +the bridges leading to the Bath Houses, hooted at the throng as +it passed out, but everybody went home quietly, with a new joy at +his heart, and a new thought in his brain. + +"Jenny Lind's second concert was in every respect as complete a +triumph as the first. The audience numbered upward of SEVEN +THOUSAND, filling the vast amphitheatre to the topmost circles of +the gallery. The sight of that dense sea of heads, from either +extremity of the balcony, reminded us of one of Martin's grand, +gloomy pictures, and the resemblance was further increased by the +semi-oriental appearance of the hall, with its long, light +pillars dropping from the centre, as well as by the dimness of +its illumination, the lamps, many and bright as they were, being +lost in the immense area of the building. + +"The concert was a repetition of the first, with the only +difference that the orchestra volunteered the "Wedding March," +from Mendelssohn's "Midsummer Night's Dream," whose short, +crackling blaze of harmony received full justice from the sure +and well-tempered brass instruments. Weber's overture to "Oberon" +was finely rendered, and the composition is as fine a specimen of +musical fairy-land as could be found before young Mendelssohn +dreamed Shakspere's dream over in his own way. + +"In Jenny Lind we still feel that it is not easy to separate the +singer from the person. She sings herself. She does not, like +many skilful vocalists, merely recite her musical studies, and +dazzle you with splendid feats unnaturally acquired; her singing, +through all her versatile range of parts and styles, is her own +proper and spontaneous activity--integral, and whole. Her +magnificent voice, always true and firm, and as far beyond any +instrument as humanity is beyond nature, seems like the audible +beauty of her nature and her character. That she is an artist in +the highest sense is a question long since settled, and any +little incidental variation from the bold and perfect outline of +success in any special effort, as the faltering of her voice from +natural embarrassment in the commencing of Casta Diva that first +night, could not to a true listener at all impede the recognition +of the wonderful art which could afford a little to humanity on +so trying an occasion. For she was as it were beginning her +career anew; literally to her was this a new world; and she felt +for a moment as if in her first blushing maidenhood of song. This +second time the hesitation of the voice in that commencement was +not felt. The note began soft and timid and scarce audible, as +the prayer of Norma might have done; but how it gradually swelled +with the influx of divine strength into the soul! The grand +difficulty in the opening andante movement of Casta Diva lies in +its broad, sustained phrasing, in the long, generous undulation +of its rhythm, which with most singers drags or gets broken out +of symmetry. Jenny Lind conceived and did it truly. The +impassioned energy of the loud-pleading syncopated cries in which +the passage attains its climax; the celestial purity and +penetrating sweetness of that highest note afterward; the +exquisite cadenza to the andante; and the inspiring eloquence of +the allegro: Ah! bello a me ritorna, were far beyond anything WE +have had the fortune hitherto to hear. + +"They that sat, or even stood, in Castle Garden, may mark down a +white day in their calendar. In point of audience, programme, +execution and inspiration, it was the greatest concert, so far. +If anything more had been needed to confirm the impression which +Jenny Lind had previously made on an American public, and to +place her continued success beyond the possibility of doubt, last +night's experience certainly supplied it. + +"It was foreseen in the morning that the attendance would be +greater even than on Friday night. The American Museum and Hall's +Music Store were besieged through the whole day and up to the +very hour of commencement. At the former place the crowding for +tickets was tremendous, the very sidewalk in front being +blockaded most of the time. At seven o'clock, when we took up the +line of march for Castle Garden, both sides of Broadway were +thronged, and the main avenue of the Battery was filled with a +steady stream of persons pressing into the Castle gate. As on the +first night, a double line of policemen had been formed, which +effectually prevented all disorder. A few more lamps were +introduced into the hall, rendering its aspect much more light +and cheerful. By eight o'clock the vast hall was crowded to +overflowing. Scarcely a foot of space was unoccupied; from the +very edge of the ceiling to the orchestral platform in the +centre, around the immense span of the building, there was but +one dense mass of heads. We should, at a rough guess, estimate +the number in the auditory at SEVEN THOUSAND. A much larger +proportion than on former nights were ladies, and for the first +time we caught glimpses of the fashionable society from above +Bleecker. It is worthy of note, that the first and second +concerts, immense as they were, were composed almost entirely of +the intelligent and appreciative middle class. + +"Some disturbance was created by a rush to obtain seats, made by +those who had promenade tickets for the balcony, the moment the +orchestra began to collect. This proceeding, in violation of the +specified arrangements, was most disgraceful. The ushers did all +they could to prevent it, but in spite of all their efforts many +persons who arrived before the hour of commencement were deprived +of their seats. It would be a good plan to have a few policemen +in the balcony on future occasions. + +"The orchestra commenced with Rossini's Overture to "William +Tell"--perhaps the finest piece of instrumental picture music +since Haydn's Creation and the Pastoral Symphony of Beethoven. +Its fresh and vivid coloring, its atmospheric changes, its smart +Alpine vigor and heroic ensemble, were made as present and as +real as any sixty instruments could make them. Exquisitely did +those three violoncellos sketch the first scene of soft, cool +sunset on the unruffled lake; the mellow Corno Anglaise, male +partner to the oboe, sweetly woke the flute-like mountain echoes; +the low moan and whistle of the storm rose life like in the +crescendo of the violins, and as it died away the startling +quick-step of liberty leaped strong and simultaneous from such a +tutti as we have hardly heard from any orchestra. We can believe +that Mr. Benedict was quite sincere in telling them he had not +conducted a better orchestra in Europe. The other Overture to +Masaniello was also splendidly played, but the composition is, to +our taste, too hackneyed to fill out the programme of a Jenny +Lind before the largest audience in the world. The accompaniments +to the singing were usually given with sympathetic precision, and +subdued shading or vigorous seconding, as the case required. We +cannot speak too well of M. Benedict's control of his forces. + +"The second piece was the Viravviso ("As I View Now") from La +Somnambula, delivered in the richest and most vibrating barytone +that WE Americans have heard, by Sig. Belletti. Now that we have +heard him from a nearer position, we have not a doubt left of his +superiority in voice, style, execution to all our Italian +favorites of the same register hitherto. He absolutely glorified +the cavatina which rapidly grew commonplace with Brough, and had +but half recovered even in the hands of the worthy Italian +artists who have since sung it on the stage for us. His crowning +achievement last night, however, was the actual singing of a +Tarentella by Rossini--a kind of movement which we have hitherto +heard only from instruments--a whirling, spinning, delirious, +top-like movement in which the singer seems galvanized and +tyrannized by one too happy and all-mastering idea in spite of +himself. The audience too, in spite of themselves, were sucked +into its whirling ecstacy, and it was imperatively encored. In +Mozart's Non piu Andrai the chaster prototype of Rossini's Largo +al factotum, his vocalization was elastic, spirited and elegant, +but the effect of such a piece was necessarily lost upon the +outer circles of so vast an auditory. + +"For other variety there was a brilliant show duett on themes +from La Somnambula for piano and violin by Messrs. Benedict and +Noll, and a solo on the pianoforte by that most promising young +artist, Hoffman. For this he chose De Meyer's fantasy on +Semiramide, decidedly of the modern monster school of pianoforte +composition, though quite a vigorous, graceful and redeeming +specimen thereof. + +"And now for the 'Queen of Song'--or, if so qualifying it will +better suit the Italians, the NORTHERN Queen of Song. + +"She commenced with one of the most tender and graceful, and +hereabouts least hackneyed airs of Bellini--the Qui la Voce from +I Puritani. Her liquid purity of voice and graceful gliding +through its flowery labyrinthine passages was to us not more +remarkable than the true but quiet fervor which animated it. +Jenny Lind shows no feeling! and excites none! draws no tears! +True Art supplies the place of tears by touching the emotions +which are deeper and serener, and not a whit less human. But of +this more fully when we have room. + +"The splendid song from Mozart's 'Magic Flute,' Non Paventar, +brought into play the salient diamonds of her highest voice, +which arches like the tall shaft of a fountain sparkling in the +sun. The introduction, a bold, exhorting strain, in grandiose +style, full of large intervals, was given with a glorious fervor, +and no lark ever carolled more blithely or more at ease than her +voice as it soared to F in alt! Benedict's English ballad, 'Take +this Lute,' she sang with a simplicity and pathos that won the +audience completely; and no part seemed more genuine or more +expressive than the difficult cadenza at its close. + +"The romanza from Robert le Diable was perhaps the most +fascinating of her more studied performances. This, like all her +brilliant things, if not impassioned in the cheaper superficial +sense, was at all events vital, and from the soul. She is never +mechanical, whatever you may say about want of passion. Is any +tragic pathos, such as is ready on the smallest occasion, or on +none, more admirable and more inspiring, more from the inmost +soul, than is that gushing up of a full, glad, true heart which +is her native mood of song, and which was so glorious last night +in the Ah! non Giunge from Somnambula? The rapturous encore to +this was answered by the Swedish 'Herdsman's Song.' + +"It was in the song from Mozart's 'Magic Flute' that we first +fully KNEW the voice and art and soul of Jenny Lind. She warmed +to that music. It is narrow criticism which imprisons such a +singer within the partial scope, albeit classical, of the Italian +School; ignores that vital part of her which may exceed the +conventional requirements of such a School, and condemns whatever +in her is most characteristic, and in contrast with its models. +It has been well said by those who make the most intelligent +reference to those models and that school, that the style of the +Swedish Nightingale is sui generis, as marked as her own +personality. True, you would not say of her, in the conventional +Italian sense of the word, what is often said in first +acknowledgment of a good singer: 'She has STYLE'--meaning the one +style which is assumed as the standard. If we are to limit style +to that sense, Mdlle. Lind has more than style; she has +genius--Northern genius, to be sure, which is precisely what she +should have to make her greatness genuine. Song is original in +her; and from her singing we drink in new life, after long +satiety of such passion-sweets as have become habits rather than +fresh inspirations in the delightful--we may almost say +perfected--but yet confined music of the Italians. + +"It is, perhaps, too late to await the advent of a Queen of Song +from the warm South. The South has had its turn; it has fulfilled +its mission; the other end of the balance now comes up. The +Northern Muse must sing her lesson to the world. Her fresher, +chaster, more intellectual, and (as they only SEEM to some) her +colder strains come in due season to recover our souls from the +delicious languor of a Music which has been so wholly of the +Feelings, that, for the want of some intellectual tonic and some +spiritual temper, Feeling has degenerated into mere Sensibility +and a very cheap kind of superficial, skin-deep excitability that +usurps the name of Passion. + +"We admire and feel and love the Melody of Italy. We reverence +her native gift of song, her popular sensibility to it. We have +been again and again transported by her best vocal artists who +have visited these shores, and they are not THE best--the +world-wide celebrities, we have to confess, are only traditions +to us--traditions, however, to which we yield ourselves in full +faith. From what we HAVE heard and experienced of Italian +singing, we know, as well as if we had heard Grisi, Pasta and +Rubini, that it is not IN the genius of the Italian School to +produce or hardly to appreciate such a new revelation of song as +this human nightingale or canary of Sweden. + +"Is this underrating the Italian music? By no means. That is an +established fact, and has its characteristic worth. Equally so, +but in a contrasted way has the music of the North, which, till +this Nightingale appeared, had found its utterance mainly through +instruments and orchestras. Now it finds worthy utterance in +song. But of its peculiar characteristic we must take another +time to speak." + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. CONTINUED TRIUMPH. + +SUCCESSFUL ADVERTISING--THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF RICHES--VISIT TO +IRANISTAN--OVATIONS AT BOSTON, PHILADELPHIA, BALTIMORE AND +WASHINGTON--VISIT TO MT. VERNON--CHARLESTON--HAVANA--FREDERICKA +BREMER. + +All of Barnum's inventive powers were called into play +effectually to advertise his song-bird. Biographies of Jenny Lind +were circulated. "Foreign correspondence" raved over her talents, +narratives of her benevolence filled the papers; her pictures and +her name were seen everywhere. So when she made her first +appearance, it was before an audience already wrought up to a +high pitch of enthusiasm in her behalf. Never before, or after +for that matter, was any singer so lauded by the press. The +following editorial from the New York Herald of September 10th, +1850, is a fair sample: + +"What ancient monarch was he, either in history or in fable, who +offered half his kingdom (the price of box-tickets and choice +seats in those days) for the invention of an original sensation, +or the discovery of a fresh pleasure? That sensation--that +pleasure which royal power in the Old World failed to +discover--has been called into existence at a less price, by Mr. +Barnum, a plain republican, and is now about to be enjoyed by the +sovereigns of the New World. + +"Jenny Lind, the most remarkable phenomenon in the musical art +which has for the last century flashed across the horizon of the +Old World, is now among us, and will make her debut to-morrow +night to a house of nearly ten thousand listeners, yielding in +proceeds by auction, a sum of forty or fifty thousand dollars. +For the last ten days our musical reporters have furnished our +readers with every matter connected with her arrival in this +metropolis, and the steps adopted by Mr. Barnum in preparation +for her first appearance. The proceedings of yesterday, +consisting of the sale of the remainder of the tickets, and the +astonishing, the wonderful sensation produced at her first +rehearsal on the few persons, critics in musical art, who were +admitted on the occasion, will be found elsewhere in our columns. + +"We concur in everything that has been said by our musical +reporter, describing her extraordinary genius--her unrivalled +combination of power and art. Nothing has been exaggerated, not +an iota. Three years ago, more or less, we heard Jenny Lind on +many occasions, when she made the first great sensation in +Europe, by her debut at the London Opera House. Then she was +great in power--in art--in genius; now she is greater in all. We +speak from experience and conviction. Then she astonished, and +pleased, and fascinated the thousands of the British aristocracy; +now she will fascinate, and please, and delight, and almost make +mad with musical excitement, the millions of the American +democracy. To-morrow night, this new sensation--this fresh +movement--this excitement excelling all former excitements--will +be called into existence, when she pours out the notes of Casta +Diva, and exhibits her astonishing powers--her wonderful +peculiarities, that seem more of heaven than of earth--more of a +voice from eternity, than from the lips of a human being. + +"We speak soberly--seriously--calmly. The public expectation has +run very high for the last week--higher than at any former period +of our past musical annals. But high as it has risen, the +reality--the fact--the concert--the voice of Jenny Lind--will far +surpass all past expectations. Jenny Lind is a wonder, and a +prodigy in song--and no mistake." + +Barnum had not hoped to manage such an enormous enterprise as +this one, without some trouble and anxiety, but he soon +discovered that in this case, realization far exceeded +anticipation. He often declared that from the first concert, +September 11th, 1850, until the ninety-third concert, June 9th, +1851, he did not experience a single waking moment that was free +from care. + +Miss Lind was utterly unprepared for the enthusiasm of her +American audience, and it is scarcely to be wondered at that she +should appear to listen at first to the dishonorable counsels of +some of her friends, who constantly besought her to break her +contract with Barnum, who, they urged, was "coining money out of +her genius," and to take the enterprise into her own hands. But +whether Miss Lind realized that Mr. Barnum's management was +largely responsible for her triumph, or whether she was simply +too high-minded to consider such a breach of honor, certain it is +that she continued to stand by her contract. John Jay, her +lawyer, took every occasion to interfere, and Barnum suffered +much from his unreasonable intrusions. The following letter, +written to Mr. Joshua Bates of Baring Bros. & Co., London, will +show the difficulties which beset the perplexed manager: + + "NEW YORK, October 23, 1850. + +"JOSHUA BATES, Esq.: + +"Dear Sir: I take the liberty to write you a few lines, merely to +say that we are getting along as well as could reasonably be +expected. In this country you are aware that the rapid +accumulation of wealth always creates much envy, and envy soon +augments to malice. Such are the elements at work to a limited +degree against myself, and although Miss Lind, Benedict and +myself have never, as yet, had the slightest feelings between us, +to my knowledge, except those of friendship, yet I cannot well +see how this can long continue in the face of the fact that, +nearly every day they allow persons (some moving in the first +classes of society) to approach them, and spend hours in +traducing me; even her attorney, Mr. John Jay, has been so blind +to her interests, as to aid in poisoning her mind against me, by +pouring into her ears the most silly twaddle, all of which +amounts to nothing and less than nothing--such as the regret that +I was a showman, exhibiter of Tom Thumb, etc., etc. + +"Without the elements which I possess for business, as well as my +knowledge of human nature, acquired in catering for the public, +the result of her concerts here would not have been pecuniarily +one-half as much as the present--and such men as the Hon. Edward +Everett, G. G. Howland, and others, will tell you that there is +no charlatanism or lack of dignity in my management of these +concerts. I know as well as any person, that the merits of Jenny +Lind are the best capital to depend upon to secure public favor, +and I have thus far acted on this knowledge. Everything which +money and attention can procure for their comfort, they have, and +I am glad to know that they are satisfied on this score. All I +fear is, that these continued backbitings, if listened to by her, +will, by and by, produce a feeling of distrust or regret, which +will lead to unpleasant results. + +"The fact is, her mind ought to be as free as air, and she +herself as free as a bird, and being satisfied of my probity and +ability, she should turn a deaf ear to all envious and malevolent +attacks on me. I have hoped that by thus briefly stating to you +the facts in the case, you might be induced for her interests as +well as mine to drop a line of advice to Mr. Benedict and another +to Mr. Jay on this subject. If I am asking or expecting too much, +I pray you to not give it a thought, for I feel myself fully able +to carry through my rights alone, although I should deplore +nothing so much as to be obliged to do so in a feeling of +unfriendliness. I have risked much money on the issue of this +speculation--it has proved successful. I am full of perplexity +and anxiety, and labor continually for success, and I cannot +allow ignorance or envy to rob me of the fruits of my enterprise. + "Sincerely and gratefully yours, + "P. T. BARNUM." + +Miss Lind's benevolence had been so largely extolled that it was +not surprising that she should have been continually beset by +applicants for charity. + +In almost all cases she gave liberally in sums varying from $20 +to $1,000, and to one Swedish friend, it is said, she actually +gave $5,000. + +On her return from Boston to New York the whole party stopped at +Iranistan, Mr. Barnum's Bridgeport place. The next morning Miss +Lind was escorted over the grounds, the beauty of which delighted +her. "Do you know, Mr. Barnum," she said, "that if you had not +built Iranistan, I should never have come to America for you?" +Mr. Barnum, much surprised, asked her to explain. + +"I had received several applications to visit the United States," +she continued, "but I did not much like the appearance of the +applicants, nor did I relish the idea of crossing 3,000 miles of +ocean; so I declined them all. But the first letter which Mr. +Wilton, your agent, addressed me, was written upon a sheet headed +with a beautiful engraving of Iranistan. It attracted my +attention. I said to myself, a gentleman who has been so +successful in his business as to be able to build and reside in +such a palace cannot be a mere 'adventurer.' So I wrote to your +agent, and consented to an interview, which I should have +declined, if I had not seen the picture of Iranistan." + +"That, then, fully pays me for building it," replied Barnum. + +The night after Miss Lind's arrival in Boston, there was a +display of fireworks, in her honor, in front of the Revere House, +which was followed by a torchlight procession by the Germans of +the city. At Philadelphia, they were met by such a dense throng +of people that it was with the greatest difficulty that they +pressed through the crowds to their hotel. Jenny was suffering +from a very severe headache and retired at once to her rooms. +Outside, the streets were packed with the thousands that had +followed them to the door, and were now clamoring for Jenny Lind. + +Knowing that the noise would seriously disturb the sensitive +songstress, Barnum tried to induce the crowd to disperse; but +they declared they would not until Miss Lind appeared on the +balcony. In despair he finally put Jenny's bonnet and shawl on +her companion, Miss Ahmansen, who went out on the balcony and +bowed gracefully to the multitude, who gave three hearty cheers +and dispersed. + +Miss Lind hated crowds, and always wished her arrival in any city +kept secret, so as to avoid the excitement of a public reception, +but Barnum knew that the success of the enterprise depended in a +large measure on this very excitement. + +One day Miss Lind remarked to Mr. Barnum, "I have just heard that +you and I are to be married. Now how do you suppose such a report +ever originated?" + +"Probably from the fact that we are 'engaged,' suggested Barnum, +the inveterate punster. + +Miss Lind always went to church when she could do so without +attracting too much attention, always inquiring for the Swedish +church wherever it could be found. + +One Sunday in Baltimore, Miss Caroline Barnum, now Mrs. David W. +Thompson, of New York, went with a friend of hers who resided in +the city, into the choir, where she joined in the singing. + +A number of people in the audience had seen her with her father +the day previous and supposed her to be Jenny Lind. Like +lightning the news that Jenny Lind was in the choir, flew through +the church, and when Miss Barnum, whose voice was not at all +extraordinary, rose with the rest to sing, the congregation +listened breathlessly. "Heavenly!" "Exquisite!" "Angelic!" sighed +the excited audience. The two young ladies, all unconscious of +the furore they had inspired were utterly astonished when, after +church, the crowd pressed round them so closely that they had the +greatest difficulty in reaching their carriage. + +The day after their appearance in Washington, President Fillmore +called, and left his card, Miss Lind being out. Jenny was very +much flurried when she returned, and was prepared to call at the +White House immediately, as would have been proper had Mr. +Fillmore been the head of any European country. Barnum assured +her, however, that etiquette was not so strict in America, and +she postponed her visit until the next day, when with Benedict, +Belletti and Mr. Barnum she spent several delightful hours in the +President's family. + +The President, the Cabinet and nearly every member of Congress +attended both concerts. The great Statesman Webster was so +pleased with one of her songs that he drew himself up to his full +height and bowed profoundly, to Miss Lind's great gratification. +Of all the distinguished men who called upon her in Washington, +none impressed her like Webster. She walked up and down in great +excitement after he had gone, exclaiming: "Ah! Mr. Barnum, what a +man! I have never before seen such a man!" + +Miss Lind was escorted through both Houses of Congress and +through the Capitol and grounds, by Hon. C. F. Cleveland, +Representative from Connecticut. She was very much pleased with +everything and asked innumerable questions about the American +Government. + +During their stay in Washington, they were invited by Colonel +Washington, then owner of Mt. Vernon, to visit the home and the +tomb of the first President. + +The party first visited the tomb and then proceeded to the house +where they were introduced to Mrs. Washington and several other +ladies. + +Much interest was shown by Miss Lind in examining the various +mementos of the great man, and when before leaving, Mrs. +Washington presented her with a book from the library with +Washington's autograph on the title page, she was overwhelmed +with emotion. + +Miss Lind had been through so much excitement in the North that +she determined to see no callers during her stay in the South. +One young lady, the daughter of a wealthy planter, was so +determined to see her, that she bribed a maid to lend her her cap +and apron, and let her carry in Miss Lind's tea. This incident +amused Barnum immensely, but Miss Lind was much vexed, declaring +the young lady's motive to be curiosity rather than admiration. +The voyage from Wilmington to Charleston had been very rough, the +trip requiring over thirty-six hours. When they arrived at last, +the vessel had been given up for lost and the wreck had been +telegraphed all over the country. The voyage to Havana was very +much pleasanter, however. + +Arriving there, they found the house which Mr. Barnum had sent a +man on to provide for them, anything but comfortable. Miss Lind, +especially, was much displeased, and, hiring a carriage, she +drove off, accompanied by an interpreter. She was gone four +hours, to the great alarm of the rest of the party. Returning, +she announced that she had hired a charming house in the suburbs, +and invited the whole company to be her guests during their stay +in Havana. It is needless to say they accepted her invitation. + +There, freed from all care and annoyance and away from the too +zealous counsellors, she spent a delightful month, seeing no +callers, coming and going as she pleased, and romping like a +schoolgirl in the great court-yard back of the house. She used to +force Mr. Barnum to play ball with her until he was exhausted and +fain to beg off. Then she would laugh and say: "Oh, Mr. Barnum! +you are too fat and lazy; you cannot stand it to play ball with +me." + +The celebrated Swedish authoress, Fredericka Bremer, spent a few +days with them in their Havana retreat. + + + +CHAPTER XIX. HAVANA. + +CONQUEST OF THE HABANEROS--THE ITALIAN AND HIS DOG--MAD +BENNETT--A SUCCESSFUL RUSE--RETURN TO NEW ORLEANS--A LUDICROUS +INCIDENT--UP THE MISSISSIPPI--LEGERDEMAIN. + +Soon after arriving at Havana, Barnum made a discovery. The +Habaneros, not accustomed to the high prices which opera tickets +command in the States, had determined that they would force +Barnum to lower the admission fee. This the manager refused to +do, and it soon became evident that although they attended the +concerts, they were not disposed to show the singer the least +favor. It was, therefore, with much inward trepidation that +Barnum watched the curtain rise on the first concert. The +following account of that concert is taken from the New York +Tribune: + +"Jenny Lind soon appeared, led on by Signor Belletti. Some three +or four hundred persons clapped their hands at her appearance, +but this token of approbation was instantly silenced by at least +two thousand five hundred decided hisses. Thus having settled the +matter that there should be no forestalling of public opinion, +and that it applause was given to Jenny Lind in that house it +should first be incontestably earned, the most solemn silence +prevailed. I have heard the Swedish Nightingale often in Europe +as well as in America, and have ever noticed a distinct +tremulousness attending her first appearance in any city. Indeed +this feeling was plainly manifested in her countenance as she +neared the foot-lights; but when she witnessed the kind of +reception in store for her--so different from anything she had +reason to expect--her countenance changed in an instant to a +haughty self-possession, her eyes flashed defiance, and, becoming +immovable as a statue, she stood there perfectly calm and +beautiful. She was satisfied that she now had an ordeal to pass +and a victory to gain worthy of her powers. In a moment her eye +scanned the immense audience, the music began and then +followed--how can I describe it?--such heavenly strains as I +verily believe mortal never breathed except Jenny Lind, and +mortal never heard except from her lips. Some of the oldest +Castilians kept a frown upon their brow and a curling sneer upon +their lips; their ladies, however, and most of the audience began +to look surprised. The gushing melody flowed on, increasing in +beauty and glory. The caballeros, the senoras and senoritas began +to look at each other; nearly all, however, kept their teeth +clenched and their lips closed, evidently determined to resist to +the last. The torrent flowed deeper and faster, the lark flew +higher and higher, the melody grew richer and grander; still +every lip was compressed. By and by, as the rich notes came +dashing in rivers upon our enraptured ears, one poor critic +involuntarily whispered a 'brava.' This outbursting of the soul +was instantly hissed down. The stream of harmony rolled on till, +at the close, it made a clean sweep of every obstacle, and +carried all before it. Not a vestige of opposition remained, but +such a tremendous shout of applause as went up I never before +heard. + +"The triumph was most complete. And how was Jenny Lind affected? +She who stood a few moments previous like adamant, now trembled +like a reed in the wind before the storm of enthusiasm which her +own simple notes had produced. Tremblingly, slowly, and almost +bowing her face to the ground, she withdrew. The roar and +applause of victory increased. 'Encore! encore! encore!' came +from every lip. She again appeared, and courtesying low, again +withdrew; but again, again and again did they call her out and at +every appearance the thunders of applause rang louder and louder. +Thus five times was Jenny Lind called out to receive their +unanimous and deafening plaudits." + +With tears of joy rolling down his cheeks, Barnum rushed behind +the scenes, and met her as she was withdrawing after the fifth +encore. + +"God bless you, Jenny," he cried, "you've settled them!" + +"Are you satisfied?" said the singer, throwing her arms around +his neck and weeping for joy. This was the first she had known of +the opposition, all hint of it having been kept from her by Mr. +Barnum, but she fully sympathized with him in his determination +not to lower the prices. + +The papers continued to cry out for a reduction, and this caused +many people to stay away from the concerts, expecting Barnum to +yield. But when, after three concerts, it was announced that the +next one, devoted to charity, was also to be Miss Lind's +farewell, they became very much excited. Committees waited on +them to request more concerts, which resulted only in refusals: +some of the leading Dons offered to guarantee them $25,000, for +three concerts, but Barnum assured them that there was not money +enough in the Island of Cuba to induce him to consent. + +The proceeds of the fourth concert were distributed between two +hospitals and a convent, besides giving $500 to Barnum's old +protege Vivalla, the little Italian plate-dancer, whom they had +met in Havana. The poor fellow's fortunes were at a very low ebb, +having lost the use of his left side from paralysis. He supported +himself by exhibiting a performing dog, which turned a spinning +wheel and did several other tricks. Miss Lind had heard of his +case and was very anxious that part of the benefit money should +be given him. + +The morning after the concert the bell rang and Barnum found, on +going to the door, a procession of children from the convent +which had received a large sum of money from Miss Lind. The +children were attended by ten or twelve priests in rich +vestments. They had come to see the songstress and to thank her +in person. But Jenny shrank from appearing before such a stately +deputation: "Tell them I cannot see them," she exclaimed. "They +have nothing to thank me for. If I have done good it was no more +than my duty." And the grand procession with its wreaths and +banners, were obliged to depart. + +The same day, Vivalla called and brought her a basket of fruit. +With tears of joy, he called down every blessing on the head of +the benevolent lady. "I shall go back to Italy! I shall see my +brothers and sisters again!" he cried. Miss Lind had gone for a +drive, but Barnum promised to give her the fruit and the message. +As he was passing out the door he hesitated end said: "Mr. +Barnum, I should like so much to have the good lady see my dog +turn a wheel. It is very nice; he can spin very good; shall I +bring the dog and the wheel for her? She is such a good lady, I +wish to please her very much." Mr. Barnum told the grateful +fellow that Miss Lind had refused to see the priests from the +convent that morning, because she never received thanks for +favors, and that he was quite welcome to the money. + +When Miss Lind returned and heard the story, she exclaimed: "Poor +man, poor man, do let him come; its all the good creature can do +for me;" then with tears rolling down her face--"I like that, I +like that; do let him come and bring his dog. It will make him so +happy." + +"God bless you, it WILL make him happy," said Barnum. "He shall +come to-morrow." And he went himself to tell Vivalla that Jenny +Lind would see his dog perform, the next day at four precisely. + +"I will be punctual," said Vivalla, quite overcome with emotion, +"but I was SURE she would like to see my dog perform." + +For full half an hour before the time appointed did Jenny Lind +sit in her window on the second floor and watch for Vivalla and +his dog. A few minutes before the appointed hour, she saw him +coming. "Ah, here he comes! here he comes!" she exclaimed in +delight, as she ran down stairs and opened the door to admit him. +A negro boy was bringing the small spinning-wheel, while Vivalla +led the dog. Handing the boy a silver coin, she motioned him +away, and taking the wheel in her arms, she said, "This is very +kind of you to come with your dog. Follow me. I will carry the +wheel up stairs." Her servant offered to take the wheel, but no, +she would let no one carry it but herself. She called the whole +party to her parlor, and for one full hour did she devote herself +to the happy Italian. She went down on her knees to pet the dog +and to ask Vivalla all sorts of questions about his performances, +his former course of life, his friends in Italy, and his present +hopes and determinations. Then she sang and played for him, gave +him some refreshments, finally insisted on carrying his wheel to +the door, and her servant accompanied Vivalla to his +boarding-house. + +Poor Vivalla! He was probably never so happy before, but his +enjoyment did not exceed that of Miss Lind. A few months later, +however, the Havana correspondent of the New York Herald +announced the death of Vivalla, and stated that the poor +Italian's last words were about Jenny Lind and Mr. Barnum. + +In the party which accompanied Barnum to Havana was a man who had +formerly kept the Peale Museum in New York, afterwards managing +the establishment for Mr. Barnum. At present he was acting as +ticket-taker. + +He was a curious fellow, at times full of fun and gayety and at +other times melancholy to the verge of insanity. Madness ran in +his family, and one of his brothers, in a moment of frenzy had +blown his brains out. Barnum knew of Bennett's tendency to +melancholy and watched him constantly. When they were on board +the steamer "Falcon" on their way back to New Orleans, a +thrilling incident occurred which Barnum afterwards related in +this way: + +Mr. James Gordon Bennett, editor of the New York Herald, and his +wife, were also passengers. After permitting one favorable notice +in his paper, Bennett had turned around, as usual, and had abused +Jenny Lind and bitterly attacked me. I was always glad to get +such notices, for they served as inexpensive advertisements to my +museum. + +"Ticket-taker Bennett, however, took much to heart the attacks of +Editor Bennett upon Jenny Lind. When Editor Bennett came on board +the 'Falcon,' his violent name-sake said to a by-stander: + +" 'I would willingly be drowned if I could see that old scoundrel +go to the bottom of the sea.' + +"Several of our party overheard the remark and I turned +laughingly to Bennett and said: Nonsense; he can't harm any one, +and there is an old proverb about the impossibility of drowning +those who are born for another fate.' + +"That very night, however, as I stood near the cabin door, +conversing with my treasurer and other members of my company, +Henry Bennett came up to me with a wild air, and hoarsely +whispered: + +" 'Old Bennett has gone forward alone in the dark--and I am going +to throw him overboard!' + +"We were all startled, for we knew the man, and he seemed +terribly in earnest. Knowing how most effectively to address him +at such times, I exclaimed: + +" 'Ridiculous! you would not do such a thing.' + +" 'I swear I will,' was his savage reply. I expostulated with +him, and several of our party joined me. + +" 'Nobody will know it,' muttered the maniac, 'and I shall be +doing the world a favor.' + +"I endeavored to awaken him to a sense of the crime he +contemplated, assuring him that it could not possibly benefit any +one, and that from the fact of the relations existing between the +editor and myself, I should be the first to be accused of his +murder. I implored him to go to his stateroom, and he finally did +so, accompanied by some of the gentlemen of our party. I took +pains to see that he was carefully watched that night, and, +indeed, for several days, till he became calm again. He was a +large, athletic man, quite able to pick up his name-sake and drop +him overboard. The matter was too serious for a joke, and we made +little mention of it; but more than one of our party said then, +and has said since, what I really believe to be true, that 'James +Gordon Bennett would have been drowned that night had it not been +for P. T. Barnum.' " + +Bennett's end was tragic, as might be expected. Sometime after +the Havana journey Barnum sent him to London. He conducted the +business successfully, wrote up the accounts to a penny, then +handing the papers to a mutual friend with directions to give +them to Barnum when he should arrive, he went to his lodgings and +committed suicide. + +"In New Orleans the wharf was crowded by a great concourse of +persons, as the steamer "Falcon" approached. Jenny Lind had +enjoyed a month of quiet, and dreaded the excitement which she +must now again encounter. + +"Mr Barnum, I am sure I can never get through that crowd," she +said in despair. + +"Leave that to me. Remain quiet for ten minutes, and there shall +be no crowd here," replied Barnum. + +Taking his daughter on his arm, she drew her vail over her face +and they descended the gangway. + +"That's Barnum, I know him," called out several persons at the +top of their voices. + +"Open the way, if you please for Mr. Barnum and Miss Lind!" cried +Le Grand Smith over the railing of the ship, the deck of which he +had just reached from the wharf. + +"Don't crowd her, if you please, gentlemen," said Barnum, and so +pushing and squeezing they reached the carriage and drove to Miss +Lind's apartments. A few minutes later Jenny and her companion +came quietly in a carriage and were in the house before the ruse +was discovered. In answer to the calls of the crowd she appeared +on the balcony, and bowed to the throng, which gave her three +cheers and dispersed. + +A very funny incident occurred in New Orleans. Next to the +theatre where the concerts were given, was an exhibition in the +large open lots of mammoth hogs, grizzly bears and other animals. + +A gentleman had a son about twelve years old, who had a wonderful +ear for music. He could whistle or sing any tune after hearing it +once. His father did not know nor care for a single note, but so +anxious was he to please his son, that he paid thirty dollars for +two tickets to the concert. + +"I liked the music better than I expected," said he the next day, +"but my son was in raptures. He was so perfectly enchanted that +he scarcely spoke the whole evening, and I would on no account +disturb his delightful reveries. When the concert was finished we +came out of the theatre. Not a word was spoken. I knew that my +musical prodigy was happy among the clouds, and I said nothing. I +could not help envying him his love of music, and considered my +thirty dollars as nothing, compared to the bliss which it secured +to him. Indeed, I was seriously thinking of taking him to the +next concert, when he spoke. We were just passing the numerous +shows upon the vacant lots. One of the signs attracted him, and +he said, 'Father, let us go in and see the big hog!' The little +scamp! I could have horse-whipped him!' said the father, who +loving a joke, could not help laughing at the ludicrous incident. + +The party took passage to Cairo, Illinois, in the beautiful river +steamer "Magnolia." They had made arrangements with the captain +to delay in Natchez and in Memphis where concerts were given. + +The time on board the steamer was pleasantly spent in reading and +watching the scenery. One day they had a musicale in the ladies' +cabin for the gratification of the passengers, at which Miss Lind +volunteered to sing. Barnum amused the passengers with his +inexhaustible fund of anecdotes and stories, and the tricks of +legerdemain, which he had learned and used in the South under +rather different circumstances. Among other tricks, he made a +silver piece disappear so mysteriously that the negro barber who +witnessed the feat, came to the conclusion that the great man +must be in league with the devil. "The next morning," says Mr. +Barnum, "I seated myself in the barber's chair and the darkey +began to talk: + +" 'Beg pardon, Mr. Barnum, but I have heard a great deal about +you, and I saw more than I wanted to see last night. Is it true +that you have sold yourself to the devil, so that you can do what +you've a mind to?' + +" 'Oh, yes," was my reply, 'that is the bargain between us.' + +" 'How long did you agree for?' was the question next in order. + +" 'Only nine years,' said I. 'I have had three of them already. +Before the other six are out, I shall find a way to nonplus the +old gentleman, and I have told him so to his face.' + +"At this avowal, a larger space of white than usual was seen in +the darkey's eyes, and he inquired, 'Is it by this bargain that +you get so much money?' + +" 'Certainly. No matter who has money, nor where he keeps it, in +his box or till, or anywhere about him, I have only to speak the +words and it comes.' + +"The shaving was completed in silence, but thought had been busy +in the barber's mind, and he embraced the speediest opportunity +to transfer his bag of coin to the iron safe in charge of the +clerk. + +The movement did not escape me, and immediately a joke was afoot. +I had barely time to make two or three details of arrangement +with the clerk, and resume my seat in the cabin, ere the barber +sought a second interview, bent on testing the alleged powers of +Beelzebub's colleague. + +" 'Beg pardon, Mr. Barnum, but where is my money? Can you get +it?' + +" 'I do not want your money,' was the quiet answer. 'It is safe.' + +" 'Yes, I know it is safe--ha! ha!--it is in the iron safe in the +clerk's office--safe enough from you?' + +" 'It is not in the iron safe!' said I. This was said so quietly, +yet positively, that the colored gentleman ran to the office, and +inquired if all was safe. 'All right,' said the clerk. 'Open, and +let me see,' replied the barber. The safe was unlocked and lo! +the money was gone! + +"In mystified terror the loser applied to me for relief. 'You +will find the bag in your drawer,' said I, and there it was +found! + +"His curiosity was still great. 'Please do another trick,' said +he. + +" 'Very well,' I replied, 'stand perfectly still.' + +"He did so, and I commenced muttering some mysterious words, as +if performing an incantation. + +" 'What are you doing?' said the barber. + +" 'I am changing you into a black cat,' I replied, 'but don't be +afraid; I will change you back again, if I don't forget the words +to do it with.' + +"This was too much for the terrified darkey; with an awful +screech he rushed to the side of the boat resolved to drown +rather than undergo such a transformation. + +"He was captured and brought back to me, when I dispelled his +fright by explaining the way in which I had tricked him. Relieved +and reassured, he clapped his hands and executed an impromtu jig, +exclaiming, 'Ha! ha! when I get back to New Orleans won't I come +de Barnum ober dem niggers!' " + + + +CHAPTER XX. THE TRIALS OF AN IMPRESSARIO. + +ST. LOUIS--THE SECRETARY'S LITTLE GAME--LEGAL ADVICE--SMOOTH +WATERS AGAIN--BARNUM'S EFFORTS APPRECIATED--AN EXTRAVAGANT +ENCONIUM. + +The concerts at Natchez and Memphis were extremely successful. +The sixty-first concert was given in St. Louis, and on the +morning of their arrival in the city Miss Lind's secretary came +to Mr. Barnum, commissioned, as he claimed, by the singer, and +told the Manager that as sixty concerts had already been given, +Miss Lind proposed to avail herself of one of the conditions of +the contract and cancel the engagement next morning. Much +startled by this sudden complication, but outwardly undisturbed, +Barnum asked if Miss Lind had authorized the notice. "I so +understand it," was the secretary's reply. Thinking that it might +be another scheme of her advisers and that Miss Lind herself +might possibly know nothing of it, Barnum told the secretary that +he would see him again in an hour. He then proceeded to his old +friend Sol Smith for legal advice. They went over the contract +together, Barnum telling his friend of the annoyances he had +suffered from Miss Lind's advisers, and they both agreed that if +she broke the contract thus suddenly, she was bound to pay back +all that she had received over the stipulated $1000, for each +concert. As she had been paid $137,000, for sixty concerts, this +extra money amounted to something like $77,000. + +Barnum then went back to the secretary and told him that he was +ready to settle with Miss Lind and to close the engagement. + +"But," said he, evidently much surprised, "you have already +advertised concerts in Louisville and Cincinnati, have you not?" + +"Yes," answered Barnum calmly, "but you may take the contracts +for halls and printing off my hands at cost." He further offered +the assistance of his agent and his own personal services to give +Miss Lind a good start on her own account. + +The secretary emboldened by this liberality then made a +proposition so extraordinary that Barnum at once saw that Miss +Lind could have had nothing to do with the scheme. + +"Now suppose," he asked, "Miss Lind should wish to give some +fifty concerts in this country, what would you charge as +manager?" + +"A million dollars a concert," answered Barnum promptly; then he +added, "Now see here; I don't believe Miss Lind has authorized +you to make this proposition. If she has, just bring me a line to +that effect, over her own signature, and her check for the amount +due me by the terms of our contract, some $77,000, and we will +close our business connection at once." + +"But why not make a new arrangement," persisted the secretary, +"for fifty more concerts, by which Miss Lind will pay you +liberally, say $1,000 a concert?" + +"For the simple reason that I hired Miss Lind, and not she me," +replied Barnum, "and because I ought never to take a farthing +less for my risk and trouble than the contract gives me. I have +voluntarily given Miss Lind more than twice as much as I +originally contracted to give her, or as she expected to receive +when she engaged with me. Now if she is not satisfied I wish to +settle instantly and finally. If you do not bring me her decision +to-day, I shall ask her for it in the morning." + +The next morning Barnum asked him again for the written +communication from Miss Lind; the secretary replied that it was +all a "joke," and that he merely wanted to see what the manager +would say to the proposition. He begged that nothing would be +said to Miss Lind concerning it. So it is altogether likely that +she knew nothing of it. The four concerts at St. Louis were given +and the program as arranged for the other cities was carried out, +with no more troublous incidents occurring. + +To show that Barnum's efforts as manager of the Jenny Lind +enterprise were appreciated, we copy the dedication of Sol +Smith's Autobiography published in 1854. Smith was one of the +characters of his time, being celebrated as a comedian, an +author, a manager and a lawyer: + +"TO PHINEAS T. BARNUM, PROPRIETOR OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM, ETC. + +"Great Impressario. Whilst you were engaged in your grand Jenny +Lind speculation, the following conundrum went the rounds of the +American newspapers: + +" 'Why is it that Jenny Lind and Barnum will never fall out?' +Answer: 'Because he is always for-getting, and she is always +for-giving.' + +"I have never asked you the question directly, whether you, Mr. +Barnum, started that conundrum, or not; but I strongly suspect +that you did. At all events, I noticed that your whole policy was +concentrated into one idea--to make an angel of Jenny, and +depreciate yourself in contrast. + +"You may remember that in this city (St. Louis), I acted in one +instance as your 'legal adviser,' and as such, necessarily became +acquainted with all the particulars of your contract with the +so-called Swedish Nightingale, as well as the various +modifications claimed by that charitable lady, and submitted to +by you after her arrival in this country; which modifications (I +suppose it need no longer be a secret) secured to her--besides +the original stipulation of one thousand dollars for every +concert, attendants, carriages, assistant artists, and a pompous +and extravagant retinue, fit (only) for a European +princess--one-half of the profits of each performance. You may +also remember the legal advice I gave you on the occasion +referred to, and the salutary effect of your following it. You +must remember the extravagant joy you felt afterwards, in +Philadelphia, when the 'Angel' made up her mind to avail herself +of one of the stipulations in her contract, to break off at the +end of a hundred nights, and even bought out seven of that +hundred--supposing that she could go on without your aid as well +as with it. And you cannot but remember, how, like a rocket-stick +she dropped, when your business connection with her ended, and +how she 'fizzed out' the remainder of her concert nights in this +part of the world, and soon afterwards retired to her domestic +blissitude in Sweden. + +"You know, Mr. Barnum, if you would only tell, which of the two +it was that was 'for-getting,' and which 'for-giving;' and you +also know who actually gave the larger portion of those sums +which you heralded to the world as the sole gifts of the 'divine +Jenny.' + +"Of all your speculations--from the negro centenarian, who didn't +nurse General Washington, down to the Bearded Woman of +Genoa--there was not one which required the exercise of so much +humbuggery as the Jenny Lind concerts; and I verily believe there +is no man living, other than yourself, who could, or would, have +risked the enormous expenditure of money necessary to carry them +through successfully--travelling, with sixty artists; four +thousand miles, and giving ninety-three concerts, at an actual +cost of forty-five hundred dollars each, is what no other man +would have undertaken --you accomplished this, and pocketed by +the operation but little less than two hundred thousand dollars! +Mr. Barnum, you are yourself, alone! + +"I honor you, oh! Great Impressario, as the most successful +manager in America or any other country. Democrat, as you are, +you can give a practical lesson to the aristocrats of Europe how +to live. At your beautiful and tasteful residence, 'Iranistan' (I +don't like the name, though), you can and do entertain your +friends with a warmth of hospitality, only equalled by that of +the great landed proprietors of the old country, or of our own +'sunny South.' Whilst riches are pouring into your coffers from +your various 'ventures' in all parts of the world, you do not +hoard your immense means, but continually 'cast them forth upon +the waters,' rewarding labor, encouraging the arts, and lending a +helping hand to industry in all its branches. Not content with +doing all this, you deal telling blows, whenever opportunity +offers, upon the monster Intemperance. Your labors in this great +cause alone should entitle you to the thanks of all good men, +women and children in the land. Mr. Barnum, you deserve all your +good fortune, and I hope you may long live to enjoy your wealth +and honor. + +"As a small installment towards the debt, I, as one of the +community, owe you, and with the hope of affording you an hour's +amusement (if you can spare that amount of time from your +numerous avocations to read it), I present you with this little +volume, containing a very brief account of some of my +'journey-work' in the South and West; and remain, very +respectfully, + "Your friend, and affectionate uncle, + "SOL SMITH. + +"CHOUTEAU AVENUE, ST. LOUIS, +"NOV. 1, 1854." + +Although Barnum never acknowledged it, there was a vast deal of +truth in Mr. Smith's statements. + +Whenever Miss Lind sang for charity she gave what she might have +earned at a regular concert; Barnum always insisted upon paying +for the hall, orchestra, printing and other expenses. But Miss +Lind received the entire credit for liberality and benevolence. + +It is but just to say, however, that she frequently remonstrated +with Barnum and declared that the expenses ought to be deducted +from the proceeds of the concert, but he always insisted on doing +what he called his share. + + + +CHAPTER XXI. CLOSING THE GRAND TOUR. + +APRIL FOOL JOKES AT NASHVILLE--A TRICK AT CINCINNATI--RETURN TO +NEW YORK--JENNY LIND PERSUADED TO LEAVE BARNUM--FINANCIAL RESULTS +OF THE ENTERPRISE. + +Five concerts were given at St. Louis, and then they went to +Nashville, Tenn., where the sixty-sixth and sixty-seventh of the +series were given. At the latter place, Jenny Lind, accompanied +by Barnum and his daughter, Mrs. Lyman, visited "The Hermitage," +where Barnum himself had years before seen "Old Hickory" Jackson. +While there, the prima donna heard, for the first time in her +life, wild mocking birds singing in the trees, and great was her +delight thereat. + +They spent the first of April, 1851, at Nashville. In the +forenoon of the day, the various members of the party amused +themselves by playing little "April Fool" jokes on Barnum, and +after dinner he took his revenge upon them. Securing a supply of +telegraph blanks and envelopes, he set to work preparing messages +full of the most sensational and startling intelligence, for most +of the people in the party. Almost every one of them presently +received what purported to be a telegraphic despatch. Barnum's +own daughter did not escape. She was informed that her mother, +her cousin, and several other relatives, were waiting for her in +Louisville, and various other important and extraordinary items +of domestic intelligence were communicated to her. Mr. Le Grand +Smith was told by a despatch from his father that his native +village in Connecticut, was in ashes, including his own +homestead, etc. Several of Barnum's employees had most liberal +offers of engagements from banks and other institutions at the +North. Burke, and others of the musical professors, were offered +princely salaries by opera managers, and many of them received +most tempting inducements to proceed immediately to the World's +Fair in London. + +One married gentleman received the gratifying intelligence that +he had for two days been the father of a pair of bouncing boys +(mother and children doing well), an event which he had been +anxiously looking for during the week, though on a somewhat more +limited scale. In fact, nearly every person in the party engaged +by Barnum received some extraordinary telegraphic intelligence; +and, as the great impressario managed to have the despatches +delivered simultaneously, each recipient was for some time busily +occupied with his own personal news. + +By and by each began to tell his neighbor his good or bad +tidings; and each was, of course, rejoiced or grieved, according +to circumstances. Several gave Mr. Barnum notice of their +intention to leave him, in consequence of better offers; and a +number of them sent off telegraphic despatches and letters by +mail, in answer to those received. + +The man who had so suddenly become the father of twins, +telegraphed to his wife to "be of good cheer," and that he would +"start for home to-morrow." And so cleverly did Barnum manage the +whole business that his victims did not discover how they had +been fooled until next morning, when they read the whole story in +a local newspaper, to which it had been given by Barnum himself. + +From Nashville, Jenny Lind and a few of the party went to the +Mammoth Cave, and thence to Louisville, the others going directly +to the latter point by steamer. There they were joined by Signor +Salvi, whom Barnum had engaged at Havana. Three concerts were +given at Louisville, and they then proceeded to Cincinnati, +accompanied by George D. Prentice, the famous editor of The +Louisville Journal. A stop was made at Madison long enough to +give one concert, and they reached Cincinnati the next morning. +There was a tremendous crowd on the wharf, and Barnum was afraid +that an attempt to repeat the ruse he had played with his +daughter at New Orleans would not work here, as an account of it +had been published in the Cincinnati papers, and everyone would +be suspecting it. But he was fertile in expedients, and quickly +devised another scheme. + +So he took Miss Lind on his arm and boldly started to walk down +the gang-plank in the face of the crowd. As he did so, Le Grand +Smith, who was in the plot, called out from the deck of the boat, +as if he had been one of the passengers, "That's no go, Mr. +Barnum; you can't pass your daughter off for Jenny Lind this +time." The remark elicited a peal of merriment from the crowd, +several persons calling out, "that won't do, Barnum! You may fool +the New Orleans folks, but you can't come it over the 'Buckeyes.' +We intend to stay here until you bring out Jenny Lind!" They +readily allowed him to pass with the lady whom they supposed to +be his daughter, and in five minutes afterwards the Nightingale +was complimenting Mr. Coleman upon the beautiful and commodious +apartments which were devoted to her in the Burnett House. + +A concert was given at Wheeling, and another at Pittsburg, and +then, early in May, the company returned to New York. There they +gave fourteen concerts, partly at Castle Garden and partly at +Metropolitan Hall, making ninety-two of the regular series. + +Miss Lind now came within the influence of various legal and +other advisers, who seemed intent on creating trouble between her +and her manager. Barnum soon discovered this state of affairs, +but was little troubled by it. Indeed he really hoped that they +would persuade her to stop at the hundredth concert, for he was +already worn out with the constant excitement and unremitting +exertions of the tour. He thought that perhaps it would be well +for Miss Lind to try giving a few concerts on her own account, or +under some other manager, in order to disprove what her friends +had told her, namely, that Mr. Barnum had not managed the +enterprise as successfully as he might have done. + +Accordingly he was much pleased when, after the eighty-fifth +concert, she told him that she had decided to pay the forfeit of +$25,000, and terminate the concert tour after the one hundredth +performance. After the second series of concerts in New York, +they went to Philadelphia, where Barnum had advertised the +ninety-third and ninety-fourth concerts. As he did not care +enough for the probable profits of the last seven of the hundred +concerts to run the risk of disturbing the very friendly +relations which had so far existed between him and Miss Lind, he +now offered to relinquish the engagement, if she desired it, at +the end of the ninety-third concert. The only terms he required +were that she would allow him $1,000 for each of the remaining +seven concerts, besides the $25,000 forfeit already agreed upon. +She accepted this offer, and the engagement was forthwith ended. + +After parting with Barnum, Miss Lind gave a number of concerts, +with varied success. Then she went to Niagara Falls for a time, +and afterward to Northampton, Massachusetts. While living at the +latter place she visited Boston, and was there married to Otto +Goldschmidt. He was a German composer and pianist, who had +studied music with her in Germany, and to whom she had long been +much attached. He had, indeed, travelled with her and Barnum +during a portion of their tour, and had played at several of the +concerts. + +After the end of their engagement, Barnum and Miss Lind met on +several occasions, always in the friendliest manner. Once, at +Bridgeport, she complained rather bitterly to him of the +unpleasant experiences she had had since leaving him. "People +cheat me and swindle me very much," said she, "and I find it very +annoying to give concerts on my own account." + +"I was always," said Mr. Barnum, sometime afterward, "supplied +with complimentary tickets when she gave concerts in New York, +and on the occasion of her last appearance in America I visited +her in her room back of the stage, and bade her and her husband +adieu, with my best wishes. She expressed the same feeling to me +in return. She told me she should never sing much, if any more, +in public; but I reminded her that a good Providence had endowed +her with a voice which enabled her to contribute in an eminent +degree to the enjoyment of her fellow beings, and if she no +longer needed the large sums of money which they were willing to +pay for this elevating and delightful entertainment, she knew by +experience what a genuine pleasure she would receive by devoting +the money to the alleviation of the wants and sorrows of those +who needed it." + +"Ah! Mr. Barnum," she replied, "that is very true; and it would +be ungrateful in me to not continue to use, for the benefit of +the poor and lowly, that gift which our kind Heavenly Father has +so graciously bestowed upon me. Yes, I will continue to sing so +long as my voice lasts, but it will be mostly for charitable +objects, for I am thankful to say that I have all the money which +I shall ever need." + +It is pleasant to add that this noble resolution was carried out. +A large proportion of the concerts which she gave after her +return to Europe and during the remainder of her entire public +career, were devoted to objects of charity. If she consented, for +example, to sing for a charitable object in London, the fact was +not advertised at all, but the tickets were readily disposed of +in private for from $5 to $10 each. + +As for Mr. Barnum, he was glad to enjoy a season of rest and +quiet after such an arduous campaign. After leaving Miss Lind, in +Philadelphia, therefore, he went to Cape May for a week and then +to his home Iranistan, where he spent the remainder of the +summer. + +It is interesting, as a matter of record, to review at this +point, the financial results of this notable series of concerts. +The following recapitulation is entirely accurate, being taken +from Mr. Barnum's own account books: + +JENNY LIND CONCERTS. + +TOTAL RECEIPTS, EXCEPTING OF CONCERTS DEVOTED TO CHARITY. +---- +New York .............. $17,864.05 + " .............. 14,203.03 + ----------- +No. 1. "................ 12,519.59 + 2. "................ 14,266.09 + 3. "................ 12,174.74 + 4. "................ 16,028.39 + 5. Boston............ 16,479.50 + 6. "................ 11,848.62 + 7. "................ 8,639 92 + 8. "................ 10,169.25 + 9. Providence........ 6,525.54 + 10. Boston............ 10,524.87 + 11. "................ 5,240.00 + 12. "................ 7,586.00 + 13. Philadelphia...... 9,291.25 + 14. "................ 7,547.00 + 15. "................ 8,458.65 + 16. New York.......... 6,415.90 + 17. "................ 4,009.70 + 18. "................ 5,982.00 + 19. "................ 8,007.10 + 20. "................ 6,334.20 + 21. "................ 9,429.15 + 22. "................ 9,912.17 + 23. "................ 5,773.40 + 24. "................ 4,993.50 + 25. "................ 6,670.15 + 26. "................ 9,840.33 + 27. "................ 7,097.15 + 28. "................ 8,263.30 + 29. "................ 10,570.25 + 30. "................ 10,646.45 + 31. Philadelphia...... 5,480.75 + 32. "................ 5,728.65 + 33. "................ 3,709.88 + 34. "................ 4,815.48 + 35. Baltimore......... 7,117.00 + 36. "................ 8,357.05 + 37. "................ 8,406.50 + 38. "................ 8,121.33 + 39. Washington City... 6,878.55 + 40. "................ 8,507.05 + 41. Richmond.......... 12,385.21 + 42. Charleston........ 6,775.00 + 43. "................ 3,653.75 + 44. Havana............ 4,666.17 + 45. "................ 2,837.92 + 46. Havana............ 2,931.95 + 47. New Orleans....... 12,599.85 + 48. "................ 10,210.42 + 49. "................ 8,131.15 + 50. "................ 6,019.85 + 51. "................ 6,644.00 + 52. "................ 9,720.80 + 53. "................ 7,545.50 + 54. "................ 6,053.50 + 55. "................ 4,850.25 + 56. "................ 4,495.35 + 57 "................ 6,630.35 + 58. "................ 4,745.10 + 59. Natchez........... 5,000.00 + 60. Memphis........... 4,539.56 + 61. St. Louis......... 7,811.85 + 62. "................ 7,961.92 + 63. "................ 7,708.70 + 64. "................ 4,086.50 + 65. "................ 3,044.70 + 66. Nashville......... 7,786.30 + 67. "................ 4,248.00 + 68. Louisville........ 7,833.90 + 69. "................ 6,595.60 + 70. "................ 5,000.00 + 71. Madison........... 3,693.25 + 72. Cincinnati........ 9,339.75 + 73. "................ 11,001.50 + 74. "................ 8,446.30 + 75. "................ 8,954.18 + 76. "................ 6,500.40 + 77. Wheeling.......... 5,000.00 + 78. Pittsburg......... 7,210.58 + 79. New York.......... 6,858.42 + 80. "................ 5,453.00 + 81. "................ 5,463.70 + 82. "................ 7,378.35 + 83. "................ 7,179.27 + 84. "................ 6,641.00 + 85. "................ 6,917.13 + 86. New York.......... 6,642.04 + 87. "................ 3,738.75 + 88. "................ 4,335.28 + 89. "................ 5,339.23 + 90. "................ 4,087.03 + 91. "................ 5,717.00 + 92. "................ 9,525.80 + 93. Philadelphia...... 3,852.75 + +Of Miss Lind's half receipts of the first two Concerts she +devoted $10,000 to charity in New York. She afterwards gave +Charity Concerts in Boston, Baltimore, Charleston, Havana, New +Orleans, New York and Philadelphia, and donated large sums for +the like purposes in Richmond, Cincinnati and elsewhere. There +were also several Benefit Concerts, for the Orchestra, Le Grand +Smith, and other persons and objects. + +RECAPITULATION. + +New York 35 Concerts. Receipts, $286,216.64 Average, $8,177.50 + +Philadelphia 8 " " 48,884,41 " 6,110 55 +Boston 7 " " 70,388.16 " 10,055.45 +Providence 1 " " 6,525.54 " 6,525.54 +Baltimore 4 " " 32,101.83 " 8,000.47 +Washington 2 " " 15,385 60 " 7,692.80 +Richmond 1 " " 12,385.21 " 12,385.21 +Charleston 2 " " 10,428.75 " 5,214.37 +Havana 3 " " 10,436.04 " 3478.68 +New Orleans l2 " " 87,646.12 " 7,303.84 +Natchez 1 " " 5,000.00 " 5,000.00 +Memphis 1 " " 4,539.56 " 4,539.56 +St. Louis 5 " " 30,613.67 " 6,122.73 +Nashville 2 " " 12,034 30 " 6,017.15 +Louisville 3 " " 19,429.50 " 6,476.50 +Madison 1 " " 3,693.25 " 3,693.25 +Cincinnati 5 " " 44,242.13 " 8,848.43 +Wheeling 1 " " 5,000.00 " 5,000.00 +Pittsburg 1 " " 7,210.58 " 7,210.58 + +Total 95 Concerts. Receipts, $712,161.34 Average, $7,496.43 + +JENNY LIND'S RECEIPTS. + +From the Total Receipts of Ninety-five Concerts.....$712,161.34 +Deduct the receipts of the first two, which, as between P. T. +Barnum and Jenny Lind were aside from the contract, and are not +numbered in the table.....32,067.08 + +Total Receipts of Concerts from No. 1 to No. 93....$680,094.26 +Deduct the Receipts of the 28 Concerts, each of which fell short +of $5,500.....$123,311.15 Also deduct $5,500 for each of the +remaining 65 Concerts.........................357,500.00 +480,811.15 + +Leaving the total excess, as above....$199,283.11 Being equally +divided, Miss Lind's portion was....$99,641.55 Barnum paid her +$1,000 for each of the 93 Concerts.....93,000.00 Also one-half +the receipts of the first two Concerts...16,033.54 + +Amount paid to Jenny Lind.....................$208,675.09 She +refunded to Barnum as forfeiture, per contract, in case she +withdrew after the 100th Concert..........$25,000 She also paid +him $1,000 each for the seven concerts +relinquished..........................7,000 $32,000.00 + +JENNY LIND'S net avails of 95 concerts................$176,675.09 +P. T. BARNUM'S gross receipts, after paying Miss Lind +....535,486.25 + +TOTAL RECEIPTS of 95 Concerts $712,161.34 + +The highest prices paid for tickets were at auction, as follows: +John N. Genin, in New York, $225; Ossian E. Dodge, in Boston, +$625; Col. William C. Ross, in Providence, $650; M. A. Root, in +Philadelphia, $625; Mr. D'Arcy, in New Orleans, $240; a keeper of +a refreshment saloon in St. Louis, $150; a Daguerrotypist, in +Baltimore, $100. After the sale of the first ticket the premium +usually fell to $20, and so downward in the scale of figures. The +fixed price of tickets ranged from $7 to $3. Promenade tickets +were from $2 to $1 each. + + + +CHAPTER XXII. A FEW SIDE ISSUES. + +THE EXPEDITION TO CEYLON--HARNESSING AN ELEPHANT TO A +PLOW--BARNUM AND VANDERBILT--THE TALKING MACHINE--A FIRE AT +IRANISTAN--MOUNTAIN GROVE CEMETERY. + +The great showman did not allow even so great an enterprise as +the Jenny Lind concerts to monopolize his attention. In 1849 he +planned the formation of a great travelling show, combining the +features of a museum, a menagerie and a circus. In this he +associated with himself Mr. Seth B. Howes, who was already a +noted and successful showman, and also Mr. Stratton, the father +of Tom Thumb. In order to procure a supply of novelties for this +show they chartered the ship "Regatta," and sent it from New York +in May, 1850, to Ceylon. The object of this voyage, was to +procure, either by purchase or by capture, a number of living +elephants and other wild animals. To make sure of a sufficient +supply of fodder for them, nearly a thousand tons of hay were +purchased in New York and taken out aboard the ship. Five hundred +tons of it were left at the Island of St. Helena, to be taken up +on the return trip, and a great supply of staves and hoops were +also left there for the construction of water casks. + +This extraordinary mission was successful. In almost exactly a +year from the day of sailing the ship returned to New York. Its +novel cargo was unloaded, the ten elephants which had been +secured were harnessed in pairs to a gigantic chariot, and the +whole show paraded up Broadway past the Irving House. It was +reviewed from the window of that hotel by Jenny Lind, who was +stopping there on her second visit to New York. An elaborate +outfit of horses, wagons, tents, etc., was added, the whole +costing over $100,000, and then the show went on the road under +the nominal leadership of Tom Thumb. It was called, "Barnum's +Great Asiatic Caravan, Museum and Menagerie;" it travelled about +the country for four years, and yielded to its proprietors +enormous profits. + +At the end of this tour Barnum sold out the entire establishment, +including animals, cages, chariots and everything else, excepting +one elephant. This huge brute he took to his farm at Bridgeport, +for advertising purposes. It occurred to him that if he should +keep the animal there for a time and put him to some novel use, +such as working on the farm, it would set people to talking and +greatly add to public curiosity and interest in his American +Museum. + +He accordingly took the elephant to Bridgeport and put him in +charge of a competent keeper, who was dressed in a striking +Oriental costume. A six acre field close by the New York and New +Haven railroad track was set apart for their use. Barnum gave the +keeper a time-table of the road and directed him to make a point, +whenever trains were passing, always to be busily engaged with +the elephant at plowing or other agricultural work as close to +the track as possible. Of course the passengers noticed the +strange spectacle, items concerning it appeared in the +newspapers, extending even to the press of foreign lands, and +thousands of people came from all parts of the country to witness +the strange sight. Every mail brought numerous letters inquiring +about it. Many of these were from the officers of agricultural +societies in all parts of the United States, making serious and +earnest inquiry as to the utility of the elephant as an +agricultural animal. These letters were greatly diversified in +tone, but the substance of their inquires was about as follows: + +1. "Is the elephant a profitable agricultural animal?" + +2. "How much can an elephant plow in a day?" + +3. "How much can he draw?" + +4. "How much does he eat?"--this question was invariably asked, +and was a very important one. + +5. "Will elephants make themselves generally useful on a farm?" + +6. "What is the price of an elephant?" + +7. "Where can elephants be purchased?" + +Then would follow a score of other inquiries, such as, whether +elephants were easily managed; if they would quarrel with cattle; +if it was possible to breed them; how old calf elephants must be +before they would earn their own living; and so on indefinitely. + +Barnum presently began to be alarmed lest some one should buy an +elephant and thus share the fate of the man who drew one in a +lottery and did not know what to do with him. "Accordingly," he +says, "I had a general letter printed, which I mailed to all my +anxious inquirers. It was headed 'strictly confidential,' and I +then stated, begging my correspondents 'not to mention it,' that +to me the elephant was a valuable agricultural animal, because he +was an excellent advertisement to my museum; but that to other +farmers he would prove very unprofitable for many reasons. In the +first place, such an animal would cost from $3,000 to $10,000; in +cold weather he could not work at all; in any weather he could +not earn half his living; he would eat up the value of his own +head, trunk and body every year; and I begged my correspondents +not to do so foolish a thing as to undertake elephant farming." + +The result of this experiment in advertising was highly +successful. Newspaper correspondents sent highly colored accounts +of it all over the world, and numerous pictures of the elephant +harnessed to a plow appeared in the illustrated papers and +magazines. After the field had been plowed over fifty or sixty +times, Barnum concluded that the elephant had been "worked for +all he was worth," and sold him to Van Amburgh's menagerie. + +In 1851 Mr. Barnum became a part owner of the steamship "North +America," which he proposed to run between America and Ireland as +a passenger and freight vessel. This idea was presently +abandoned, and the ship was sent around Cape Horn to San +Francisco and put into service on the Pacific Mail Line, +Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt having purchased a one-half +interest in it and Mr. Barnum retaining one-third interest in the +remaining half. After she had made several trips Barnum called +upon Mr. Vanderbilt at his office and introduced himself. It was +their first meeting, and this is Barnum's own account of the +interview: + +" 'Is it possible you are Barnum?' exclaimed the Commodore, in +surprise, 'why, I expected to see a monster, part lion, part +elephant, and a mixture of rhinoceros and tiger! Is it possible,' +he continued, 'that you are the showman who has made so much +noise in the world?' + +"I laughingly replied that I was, and added that if I too had +been governed in my anticipation of his personal appearance by +the fame he had achieved in his line, I should have expected to +have been saluted by a steam whistle, and to have seen him +dressed in a pea jacket, blowing off steam, and crying out 'all +aboard that's going.' + +" 'Instead of which,' replied Mr. Vanderbilt, 'I suppose you have +come to ask me to walk up to the Captain's office and settle.' + +"After this interchange of civilities, we talked about the +success of the 'North America' in having got safely around the +Horn, and of the acceptable manner in which she was doing her +duty on the Pacific side. + +" 'We have received no statement of her earnings yet,' said the +Commodore, 'but if you want money, give your receipt to our +treasurer, and take some.' + +"A few months subsequent to this, I sold out my share in the +steamship to Mr. Daniel Drew." + +Numerous smaller enterprises also marked this stage of Mr. +Barnum's career. Some of these were connected with his museum, +while others were entirely independent of it. Thus in 1844, in +Paris, besides purchasing Robt. Houdin's ingenius automatic +writer and other costly curiosities for the museum, he had made +at great expense, a huge panorama of the funeral of Napoleon +Bonaparte. This gigantic picture showed every event of that +pageant, beginning with the embarkation of the body at St. Helena +and ending with its final entombment at the Hotel des Invalides. +This exhibition, after having had its day at the American Museum, +was sold, and extensively and profitably exhibited elsewhere. +While Barnum was in London, during the same year, he engaged a +company of "Campanalogians, or Lancashire Bell Ringers," then +performing in Ireland, to make an American tour. They were really +admirable performers, and by means of their numerous bells of +various sizes, they produced the most delightful music. They +attracted much attention in various parts of the United States, +in Canada, and in Cuba. + +After the loss of the bell ringers to the English public Barnum +secured and sent thither a party of sixteen North American +Indians, who were widely exhibited. On his return to America +after his first visit to Europe he engaged an ingenious workman +to construct an automatic orator. This was a life-size and +remarkably life-like figure, and when worked from a key-board +similar to that of a piano it actually uttered words and +sentences with surprising distinctness. It was exhibited for +several months in London and elsewhere in England, but though it +was really a wonderful machine and attracted the earnest +attention of some people, it was not a popular success. The Duke +of Wellington visited it several times, and at first he thought +that the "voice" proceeded from the exhibiter, whom he assumed to +be a skilful ventriloquist. He was asked to touch the keys with +his own fingers, and, after some instruction in the method of +operating, he was able to make the machine speak, not only in +English but also in German, with which language the Duke seemed +familiar. Thereafter, he entered his name on the exhibiter's +autograph book, and certified that the "Automaton Speaker" was an +extraordinary production of mechanical genius. + +Barnum also secured duplicates of the models of machinery +exhibited at the Royal Polytechnic Institution in London and a +great many interesting panoramas and pictures. These were all +exhibited at his museum in New York and afterwards sold to other +travelling showmen who exhibited them throughout the country. In +the summer of 1850 he added to the museum his famous Chinese +collection, including a Chinese family of two men, two "small +footed" women, and two children. + +Few of his curiosities attracted more attention than the +performances of the "Scotch Boys." One of these was securely +blindfolded, and then, in answer to questions put by the other, +accurately described any objects presented by persons who +attended the surprising exhibition. The mystery, which was merely +the result of patient practice, consisted wholly in the manner in +which the question was propounded; in fact, the question +invariably carried its own answer; for instance: + +"What is this?" meant gold; "Now what is this?" silver; "Say, +what is this?" copper; "Tell me what this is?" iron; "What is the +shape?" long; "Now, what shape?" round; "Say what shape?" square; +"Please say what this is," a watch; "Can you tell what is in this +lady's hand?" a purse; "Now, please say what this is?" a key; +"Come now, what is this?" money; "How much?" a penny; "Now, how +much?" sixpence; "Say how much," a quarter of a dollar; "What +color is this?" black; "Now, what color is this?" red; "Say what +color?" green; and so on, ad infinitum. To such perfection was +this brought that it was almost impossible to present any object +that could not be quite closely described by the blindfolded boy. + +In 1850, the celebrated Bateman children acted for several weeks +at the American Museum, and in June of that year Barnum sent them +to London with their father and Mr. Le Grand Smith, where they +played in the St. James Theatre, and afterwards in the principal +provincial theatres. The elder of these children, Miss Kate +Bateman, subsequently attained the highest histrionic distinction +in America and abroad, and reached the head of her profession. + +Miss Catharine Hayes and Herr Begnis were engaged by Barnum in +the fall of 1852 to give a series of sixty concerts in +California, and the enterprise proved highly profitable, although +Mr. Barnum intrusted its execution to his agents, not caring +himself to travel so far. Before she set out for California Miss +Hayes, with her mother and sister, spent several days at +Iranistan to attend the marriage of Barnum's eldest daughter, +Caroline, to Mr. David W. Thompson. + +The wedding was to take place in the evening, and on the +afternoon of that day Mr. Barnum went to Bridgeport to get shaved +for the occasion. While he was lying in the barber's chair, half +of his face shaved and the other half covered with lather, his +prospective son-in-law, Mr. Thompson, drove up to the door of the +shop and rushed in, exclaiming excitedly, "Mr. Barnum, Iranistan +is in flames!" Barnum jumped up from the chair and, half shaved +and with the lather still on his face, jumped into the wagon and +started for home with the horse on a run. "I was greatly +alarmed," he afterward said, "for the house was full of visitors +who had come from a distance to attend the wedding, and all the +costly presents, dresses, refreshments, and everything prepared +for a marriage celebration to which nearly a thousand guests had +been invited, were already in my house. Mr. Thompson told me he +had seen the flames bursting from the roof, and it seemed to me +that there was little hope of saving the building. + +"My mind was distressed, not so much at the great pecuniary loss +which the destruction of Iranistan would involve, as at the +possibility that some of my family or visitors would be killed or +seriously injured in attempting to save something from the fire. +Then I thought of the sore disappointment this calamity would +cause to the young couple, as well as to those who were invited +to the wedding. I saw that Mr. Thompson looked pale and anxious. + +" 'Never mind!' said I; 'we can't help these things; the house +will probably be burned; but if no one is killed or injured, you +shall be married to-night, if we are obliged to perform the +ceremony in the coach-house.' + +"On our way, we overtook a fire company, and I implored them to +'hurry up their machine.' Arriving in sight of Iranistan, we saw +huge volumes of smoke rolling out from the roof and many men on +the top of the house were passing buckets of water to pour upon +the fire. Fortunately, several men had been engaged during the +day in repairing the roof, and their ladders were against the +house. By these means and with the assistance of the men employed +upon my grounds, water was passed very rapidly, and the flames +were soon subdued without serious damage. The inmates of +Iranistan were thoroughly frightened; Catherine Hayes and other +visitors, packed their trunks and had them carried out on the +lawn; and the house came as near destruction as it well could and +escape." + +While Miss Hayes was at Bridgeport she gave, at Barnum's request, +a concert for the benefit of "Mountain Grove Cemetery," and the +large proceeds were devoted to the erection of the stone tower +and gateway that now adorn the entrance to that beautiful resting +place of the dead. Barnum had bought the eighty acres of land for +this cemetery a few years before from several farmers. He had +been in the habit of tramping over it, gunning, and while thus +engaged, had observed its admirable fitness for the purposes of a +cemetery. After the title deeds for the property were secured, it +was offered for a cemetery, and at a meeting of citizens, several +lots were subscribed for. enough. indeed, to cover the amount of +the purchase money. Thus was begun the "Mountain Grove Cemetery," +which is now beautifully laid out and adorned with many tasteful +and costly monuments. Among these are Barnum's own substantial +granite monument, the family monuments of Harral, Bishop, +Hubbell, Lyon, Wood, Loomis, Wordin, Hyde, and others, and +General Tom Thumb erected a tall marble shaft which is surmounted +by a life-size statue of himself. There is no more charming +burial-ground in the whole country; yet when the project was +suggested, many persons preferred an intermural cemetery to this +rural resting-place for their departed friends; though now all +concur in considering it fortunate that this adjunct was secured +to Bridgeport before the land could be permanently devoted to +other purposes. + +Mr. Dion Boucicault also lectured at Bridgeport for the benefit +of this cemetery and Tom Thumb gave an entertainment for the same +object. At Barnum's request and under his management, Tom Thumb +and his wife, and Commodore Nutt and his wife, gave several +exhibitions and entertainments for the benefit of the Bridgeport +Charitable Society, the Bridgeport Library, and other local +institutions. + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. SOME DOMESTIC ENTERPRISES. + +PUTTING A PICKPOCKET ON EXHIBITION--TRAVELLING INCOGNITO--THE +PEQUONNOCK BANK--THE NEW YORK CRYSTAL PALACE--A POEM ON AN +INCIDENT AT IRANISTAN. + +In the summer of 1853 Alfred Bunn, formerly manager of Drury Lane +Theatre, London, arrived in Boston. He was then one of the most +notable figures in the theatrical world. It was he who had made +the first engagement with Jenny Lind to appear in London. She had +been induced to break this engagement, however, through the +solicitations of Mr. Lumley, of Her Majesty's Theatre, with the +result that Mr. Lumley had to pay to Mr. Bunn heavy damages for +the breach of contract. Barnum and Bunn had never met, though +they knew each other well by reputation, and indeed Bunn labored +under the delusion that he had met Barnum, for soon after his +arrival he hastened to New York and entered Barnum's private +office at the Museum with the exclamation, "Well, Barnum, do you +remember me?" + +Barnum was confident that he had never seen him before, and +indeed did not really know who he was. But, quick as a flash, he +thought that the ex-manager of Drury Lane must be the only living +Englishman with presumption enough to accost him in this way. So +he answered without hesitation, "Why, this is Mr. Bunn, isn't +it?" + +"Ah, my boy," said Bunn, slapping him familiarly on the back, "I +thought you would remember me. Well, Barnum, how have you been +since I last saw you?" + +Barnum replied in a manner that encouraged his impression that +they were old acquaintances, and during the next two hours they +had much gossip about men and affairs in London. Bunn called upon +Barnum several times after that, and probably never realized that +Barnum really had been in London two or three years without +making his acquaintance. When Barnum went to London again in 1858 +he renewed his acquaintance with Bunn and they became great +chums. + +The years 1851, 1852 and 1853 were mostly spent at Bridgeport, +with frequent visits to New York of a day or two each. In the +last-named year he resigned the office of President of the +Fairfield County Agricultural Society, but in accepting his +resignation the society insisted that it should not go into +effect until after the annual fair of 1854 His administration of +the affairs of the society had been very successful, especially +in relation to the fairs and cattle shows. + +The manner in which Barnum turned every circumstance to account +in the interest of these fairs is well shown in his dealings with +a pickpocket at the fair of 1853. The man was caught in the act +of taking a pocket-book from a country farmer, and on arrest was +found to be a notorious English thief. He had already victimized +many other visitors to the fair, and there was almost a state of +panic among the visitors. The fair was to close the next day. + +Early the next morning the thief was taken before a justice, +legally examined, and was bound over for trial. Barnum then +obtained consent from the Sheriff that the fellow should be put +on the fair grounds, for the purpose of giving those who had been +robbed an opportunity of identifying him. For this purpose he was +handcuffed and placed in a conspicuous position, where of course +he was "the observed of all observers." Then Barnum papered the +country round about with handbills, stating that, for the last +day of the fair, the managers had secured an extraordinary +attraction. They would, he said, exhibit, safely handcuffed, and +without extra charge, a live pickpocket, who had on the day +preceding been caught in the act of robbing an honest farmer. +Crowds of people rushed in to see the show, parents for miles +around brought their children to see the awful example of +iniquity, and great was the profit to the treasury of the fair. + +At the close of his presidency in 1854 Barnum was asked to +deliver the opening speech at the County Fair at Stamford. He did +so, delivering simply a portion of his lecture on "The Philosophy +of Humbug." The next morning, as he was being shaved in the +village barber's shop, which was at the time crowded with +customers, the ticket-seller to the fair came in. Here is +Barnum's own account of what followed: + +"What kind of a house did you have last night?" asked one of the +gentlemen in waiting. + +"Oh, first-rate, of course. Barnum always draws a crowd," was the +reply of the ticket-seller, to whom I was not known. + +Most of the gentlemen present, however, knew me, and they found +much difficulty in restraining their laughter. + +"Did Barnum make a good speech?" I asked. + +"I did not hear it. I was out in the ticket-office. I guess it +was pretty good, for I never heard so much laughing as there was +all through his speech. But it makes no difference whether it was +good or not," continued the ticket-seller, "the people will go to +see Barnum." + +"Barnum must be a curious chap," I remarked. + +"Well, I guess he is up to all the dodges." + +"Do you know him?" I asked. + +"Not personally," he replied; "but I always get into the Museum +for nothing. I know the doorkeeper, and he slips me in free." + +"Barnum would not like that, probably, if he knew it," I +remarked. + +"But it happens he don't know it," replied the ticket-seller, in +great glee. + +"Barnum was on the cars the other day, on his way to Bridgeport," +said I, "and I heard one of the passengers blowing him up +terribly as a humbug. He was addressing Barnum at the time, but +did not know him. Barnum joined in lustily, and indorsed +everything the man said. When the passenger learned whom he had +been addressing, I should think he must have felt rather flat." + +"I should think so, too," said the ticket-seller. + +This was too much, and we all indulged in a burst of laughter; +still the ticket-seller suspected nothing. After I had left the +shop, the barber told him who I was. I called into the +ticket-office on business several times during the day, but the +poor ticket-seller kept his face turned from me, and appeared so +chapfallen that I did not pretend to recognize him as the hero of +the joke in the barber's shop. + +There were many incidents similar to the foregoing in Barnum's +career. One occurred on board a steamboat, going from New York to +Bridgeport. As they entered the harbor of the latter city a +stranger asked the great showman to point out "Barnum's house" +from the deck. Barnum did so, and then another bystander +remarked, "I know all about that house, for I did a lot of +painting there for several months while Barnum was in Europe." He +went on to say that it was the meanest and worst contrived house +he ever saw, and added, "It will cost old Barnum a mint of money +and not be worth two cents after it is finished." "I suppose from +that that old Barnum didn't pay you very punctually," observed +Barnum himself. "Oh, yes; he pays promptly every Saturday night," +said the other; "there's no trouble about that. He has made half +a million by exhibiting a little boy whom he took from Bridgeport +and whom we never thought any great shakes until Barnum took him +and trained him." + +Presently one of the other passengers told this man who Barnum +was, and nothing more was seen of him. + +On another occasion, says Barnum, I went to Boston by the Fall +River route. Arriving before sunrise, I found but one carriage at +the depot. I immediately engaged it, and, giving the driver the +check for my baggage, told him to take me directly to the Revere +House, as I was in great haste, and enjoined him to take in no +other passengers, and I would pay his demands. He promised +compliance with my wishes, but soon afterwards appeared with a +gentleman, two ladies, and several children, whom he crowded into +the carriage with me, and, placing their trunks on the +baggage-rack, started off. I thought there was no use in +grumbling, and consoled myself with the reflection that the +Revere House was not far away. He drove up one street and down +another for what seemed to me a very long time, but I was wedged +in so closely that I could not see what route he was taking. + +After half an hour's drive he halted, and I found we were at the +Lowell Railway Depot. Here my fellow-passengers alighted, and +after a long delay the driver delivered their baggage, received +his fare, and was about closing the carriage door preparatory to +starting again. I was so thoroughly vexed at the shameful manner +in which he had treated me, that I remarked: + +"Perhaps you had better wait till the Lowell train arrives; you +may possibly get another load of passengers. Of course my +convenience is of no consequence. I suppose if you land me at the +Revere House any time this week, it will be as much as I have a +right to expect." + +"I beg your pardon," he replied, "but that was Barnum and his +family. He was very anxious to get here in time for the first +train, so I stuck him for $2, and now I'll carry you to the +Revere House free." + +"What Barnum is it?" I asked. + +"The Museum and Jenny Lind man," he replied. + +The compliment and the shave both having been intended for me, I +was of course mollified, and replied, "You are mistaken, my +friend, _I_ am Barnum." + +"Coachee" was thunderstruck, and offered all sorts of apologies. + +"A friend at the other depot told me that I had Mr. Barnum on +board," said he, "and I really supposed he meant the other man. +When I come to notice you, I perceive my mistake, but I hope you +will forgive me. I have carried you frequently before, and hope +you will give me your custom while you are in Boston. I never +will make such a mistake again." + +The Pequonnock Bank of Bridgeport was organized in the spring of +1851. Barnum had no interest whatever in it, not holding a single +share of the stock. He was, however, unanimously elected +President of it. He accepted the office, but as he knew he could +not devote much time to it, requested that Mr. Hubbell, then +Mayor of Bridgeport, should be made Vice-President. + +Mr. Barnum also invested $20,000, as special partner, in a +company for the publication of an illustrated weekly newspaper in +New York. This was The Illustrated News. The first number was +issued on the 1st of January, 1853, and within a month it had +seventy thousand circulation. Various complications arose, which +greatly annoyed Barnum, and at the end of the first year the +whole concern was sold out without loss. + +He was earnestly urged, in February, 1854, to accept the +presidency of the Universal Exposition, which was held in New +York in the famous Crystal Palace. At first he positively +declined. But the matter was persistently urged upon him by many +influential gentlemen, who represented to him that the success of +the enterprise depended upon his acceptance of the position. The +result was that at last he did accept it, and he entered upon its +duties with all the vigor he could command. The concern was +almost bankrupt, and to save it from utter ruin Barnum advanced +large sums of money from his own purse. By this means and by +various other efforts, such as the re-inauguration, the famous +Jullien concerts, etc., here stored a semblance of prosperity. +But it was uphill work, and after a time he resigned the +presidency and abandoned the institution to its fate. + +A little incident which occurred at Iranistan, in the winter of +1852, was observed by a lady from Philadelphia who was visiting +there at the time. She afterward made it the subject of a poem, +which Mr. Barnum prized highly. It was as follows: + +WINTER BOUQUETS. + +AN INCIDENT IN THE LIFE OF AN AMERICAN CITIZEN. + + The poor man's garden lifeless lay + Beneath a fall of snow; + But Art in costly greenhouses, + Keeps Summer in full glow. + And Taste paid gold for bright bouquets, + The parlor vase that drest, + That scented Fashion's gray boudoir, + Or bloomed on Beauty's breast. + + A rich man sat beside the fire, + Within his sculptured halls; + Brave heart, clear head, and busy hand + Had reared those stately walls. + He to his gardener spake, and said + In tone of quiet glee-- + "I want a hundred fine bouquets-- + Canst make them, John, for me? + + John's eyes became exceeding round, + This question when he heard; + He gazed upon his master, + And he answered not a word. + "Well, John," the rich man laughing said, + "If these too many be, + What sayest to half the number, man? + Canst fifty make for me?" + + Now John prized every flower, as 'twere + A daughter or a son; + And thought, like Regan--"What the need + Of fifty, or of one?" + But, keeping back the thought, he said, + "I think, sir, that I might; + But it would leave my lady's flowers + In very ragged plight." + + "Well, John, thy vegetable pets + Must needs respected be; + We'll halve the number once again-- + Make twenty-five for me. + And hark ye, John, when they are made + Come up and let me know; + And I'll give thee a list of those + To whom the flowers must go," + + The twenty-five bouquets were made, + And round the village sent; + And to whom thinkest thou, my friend, + These floral jewels went? + Not to the beautiful and proud-- + Not to the rich and gay-- + Who, Dives-like, at Luxury's feast + Are seated every day. + + An aged Pastor, on his desk + Saw those fair preachers stand; + A Widow wept upon the gift, + And blessed the giver's hand. + Where Poverty bent o'er her task, + They cheered the lonely room; + And round the bed where sickness lay, + They breathed Health's fresh perfume + + Oh! kindly heart and open hand-- + Those flowers in dust are trod, + But they bloom to weave a wreath for thee, + In the Paradise of God. + Sweet is the Minstrel's task, whose song + Of deeds like these may tell; + And long may he have power to give, + Who wields that Dower so well! + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. THE JEROME CLOCK COMPANY. + +FOUNDING EAST BRIDGEPORT--GROWTH OF THE CITY--THE JEROME CLOCK +BUBBLE--A RUINED MAN--PAYING HONEST DEBTS--DOWN IN THE DEPTHS. + +In the year 1851 Mr. Barnum had purchased from William H. Noble, +of Bridgeport, Conn., the undivided half of his late father's +homestead--fifty acres of land on the east side of the river, +opposite the city of Bridgeport. Together they bought the one +hundred and seventy-four acres adjoining, and laid out the entire +property in regular streets, and lined them with trees. A +beautiful grove of eight acres was reserved for a park. This they +intended for a nucleus of a new city, to be known as East +Bridgeport. + +They then commenced selling alternate lots, at the same price as +the land had cost them by the acre, always on condition that a +suitable dwelling-house, store or manufactory should be erected +on the ground within a year; that every building should be placed +at a certain distance from the street; that the style of +architecture should be approved by the sellers; that the grounds +be inclosed with suitable fences, and that in all respects the +locality should be kept desirable for respectable residents. + +A new foot-bridge was built across the river, connecting the new +town with the city of Bridgeport, and a public toll-bridge, which +belonged to Barnum and Noble, was thrown open to the public free. +They also erected a covered drawbridge at a cost of $16,000, +which was made free to the public for several years. + +They built and leased to a union company of young coach-makers a +large manufactory, which was one of the first buildings erected +in the town, and which went into operation on the first day of +the year 1852. + +In addition to the inducements of low prices for the lots, the +owners advanced one-half, two-thirds, and sometimes all the funds +to erect buildings, permitting the purchasers to repay them in +small sums at their own convenience. The town, under such +favorable auspices, began to develop and to grow with great +rapidity. + +No one of Barnum's schemes had ever interested him as this one +did. He was willing to listen to any one who thought they had a +project favorable to the advancement of the new city. It was the +man's weak spot, and it was this weak spot which was destined to +be touched once too often. + +There was a small clock factory in the town of Litchfield, in +which Barnum was a stockholder. Thinking always of his beloved +enterprise, it occurred to him at length that if the Litchfield +clock company could be transferred to East Bridgeport, it would +necessarily bring with it numerous families to swell the +population. A new stock company was formed, under the name of the +"Terry and Barnum Manufacturing Company," and in 1852 a factory +was built in East Bridgeport. + +It will be seen how recklessly the owners of the site were +spending money. They looked for their profits wholly from the +sale of the reserved lots, which they felt sure would bring high +values. + +In 1855 Mr. Barnum was visited by the President of the Jerome +Clock Company, Mr. Chauncey Jerome, with a proposition that the +concern, which was reputed to be very wealthy, should be removed +to East Bridgeport. Negotiations were opened, and at last Barnum +was offered a transfer of the great manufactory with its seven +hundred to one thousand employees, if he would lend his name as +security for $110,000 in aid of the company. + +He was shown an official report of the directors of the company, +exhibiting a capital of $400,000 with a surplus of $187,000. They +were in need of money to tide over a dull season and a market +glutted with goods. The company also was represented as being +extremely loth to dismiss any of their employees, who would +suffer greatly if their means of livelihood were taken from them. +The company was reputed to be rich; the President, Mr. Chauncey +Jerome, had built a church in New Haven, at a cost of $40,000, +and proposed to present it to a congregation; he had given a +clock to a church in Bridgeport, and these things showed that he, +at least, thought he was wealthy. The Jerome clocks were for sale +all over the world, even in China, where the Celestials were said +to take out the "movements," and use the cases for little temples +for their idols, "Thus proving that faith was possible without +'works,' " as Mr. Barnum said. + +Further testimony came in the form of a letter from the cashier +of one of the New Haven banks, expressing the highest confidence +in the financial strength of the company. Barnum afterwards +learned that his correspondent represented a bank which was one +of the largest creditors of the concern. + +Barnum finally agreed to lend the clock company his notes for a +sum not to exceed $50,000, and to accept drafts to an amount not +to exceed $60,000. He also received the written guarantee of the +President, Chauncey Jerome, that in no event should he lose by +the loan, as he would be personally responsible for the +repayment. Mr. Barnum was willing that his notes should be taken +up and renewed an indefinite number of times just so the maximum +of $110,000 was not exceeded. Upon the representation that it was +impossible to say exactly when it would be necessary to use the +notes, Barnum was induced to put his name to several notes for +$3,000, $5,000 and $10,000, leaving the date of payment blank, it +being stipulated that the blanks should be filled to make the +notes payable in five, ten, or even sixty days from date. On the +other hand, it was agreed that the Jerome Company should exchange +its stock with the Terry and Barnum stockholders, thus absorbing +that concern, and unite the whole business in East Bridgeport. + +Three months later Barnum's memoranda showed that the entire +$110,000 had been used. He was then solicited by the New York +agent of the company for five additional notes for $5,000 each. +The request was refused unless they would return an equal amount +of his own cancelled notes, since the agent assured him that they +were cancelling these notes "every week." The cancelled notes +were brought him next day and he renewed them. This he did +afterwards very frequently, until at last his confidence in their +integrity became so firmly established that he ceased to ask to +see the notes that had been taken up, but furnished new paper as +often as it was desired. + +But gradually the rumor that the banks were hesitating about +discounting his paper came to Barnum's ears. Wondering at this, +he made a few inquiries, which resulted in the startling +discovery that his notes had never been taken up, as represented +by the Jerome Company, and that some of the blank-date notes had +been made payable in twelve, eighteen and twenty-four months. +Further investigation revealed the fact that he had indorsed for +the company to the amount of over half a million dollars, and +that most of the notes had been exchanged for old Jerome Company +notes due to the banks and other creditors. + +Barnum simply went to work, paid every debt he owed in the world, +and--failed! + +The Jerome Company also failed, and in addition to absorbing +Barnum's fortune, was able to pay only about fifteen per cent. of +its own obligations. Of course it never removed to East +Bridgeport at all. + +The failure was a nine-days' wonder all over the country. Never +had Barnum achieved such notoriety. As he expressed it, he was +taken to pieces, analyzed, put together again, kicked, "pitched +into," tumbled about, preached to, preached about, and made to +serve every purpose to which a sensation loving world could put +him. + +Barnum declared that he could stand the abuse, the cooling of +false friends and even the loss of fortune, but it made him +furious to read and hear the moralizings over the "instability of +ill-gotten gains." His fortune, if made quickly, had been +honestly worked for and honorably acquired, though envious people +pretended not to believe it. + + + +CHAPTER XXV. THE WHEAT AND THE CHAFF. + +FALSE AND TRUE FRIENDS--MEETING OF BRIDGEPORT CITIZENS--BARNUM'S +LETTER--TOM THUMB'S OFFER--SHILLABER'S POEM--BARNUM'S MESSAGE TO +THE CREDITORS OF THE JEROME CLOCK COMPANY--REMOVAL TO NEW +YORK--BEGINNING LIFE ANEW AT FORTY-SIX. + +But while misfortune reveals a man his foes, it also shows him +his friends. Barnum was overwhelmed with offers of assistance, +funds were declared at his disposal, both for the support of his +family and to re-establish him in business. "Benefits" by the +score were offered him, and there was even a proposition among +leading citizens of New York to give a series of benefits. + +Every one of these offers Barnum declined on his unvarying +principle of never accepting a money favor. The following +correspondence is taken from the New York papers of the time, and +will show the stand he took in the matter: + + NEW YORK, June 2d, 1856. + +MR. P. T. BARNUM: + +Dear Sir. The financial ruin of a man of acknowledged energy and +enterprise is a public calamity. The sudden blow, therefore, that +has swept away, from a man like yourself, the accumulated wealth +of years, justifies, we think, the public sympathy. The better to +manifest our sincere respect for your liberal example in +prosperity, as well as exhibit our honest admiration of your +fortitude under overwhelming reverses, we propose to give that +sympathy a tangible expression by soliciting your acceptance of a +series of benefits for your family, the result of which may +possibly secure for your wife and children a future home, or at +least rescue them from the more immediate consequences of your +misfortune. + +Freeman Hunt, E. K. Collins, Isaac V. Fowler, James Phalen, +Cornelius Vanderbilt, F. B. Cutting, James W. Gerard, Simeon +Draper, Thomas McElrath, Park Godwin, R. F. Carman, Gen. C. W. +Sanford, Philo Hurd, President H. R. R.; Wm. Ellsworth, President +Brooklyn Ins. Co.; George S. Doughty, President Excelsior Ins. +Co.; Chas. T. Cromwell, Robert Stuyvesant, E. L. Livingston, R. +Busteed, Wm. P. Fettridge, E. N. Haughwout, Geo. F. Nesbitt, +Osborne Boardman & Townsend, Charles H. Delavan, I. & C. Berrien, +Fisher & Bird, Solomon & Hart, B. Young, M. D., Treadwell, Acker +& Co., St. Nicholas Hotel; John Wheeler, Union Square Hotel; S. +Leland & Co., Metropolitan Hotel; Albert Clark, Brevoort House; +H. D. Clapp, Everett House; John Taylor, International Hotel; +Sydney Hopman, Smithsonian Hotel; Messrs. Delmonico, Delmonico's; +Geo. W. Sherman, Florence's Hotel; Kingsley & Ainslee, Howard +Hotel; Libby & Whitney, Lovejoy's Hotel; Howard & Brown, Tammany +Hall; Jonas Bartlett, Washington Hotel; Patten & Lynde, Pacific +Hotel; J. Johnson, Johnson's Hotel, and over 1,000 others. + +To this gratifying communication he replied as follows: + + LONG ISLAND, Tuesday, June 3d, 1856. + +GENTLEMEN: I can hardly find words to express my gratitude for +your very kind proposition. The popular sympathy is to me far +more precious than gold, and that sympathy seems in my case to +extend from my immediate neighbors, in Bridgeport, to all parts +of our Union. + +Proffers of pecuniary assistance have reached me from every +quarter, not only from friends, but from entire strangers. Mr. +Wm. E. Burton, Miss Laura Keene, and Mr. Wm. Niblo have in the +kindest manner tendered me the receipts of their theatres for one +evening, Mr. Gough volunteered he proceeds of one of his +attractive lectures; Mr. James Phalon generously offered me the +free use of the Academy of Music; many professional ladies and +gentlemen have urged me to accept their gratuitous services. I +have, on principle, respectfully declined them all, as I beg, +with the most grateful acknowledgments (at least for the +present), to decline yours--not because a benefit, in itself, is +an objectionable thing, but because I have ever made it a point +to ask nothing of the public on personal grounds, and should +prefer, while I can possibly avoid that contingency, to accept +nothing from it without the honest conviction that I had +individually given it in return a full equivalent. + +While favored with health, I feel competent to earn an honest +livelihood for myself and family. More than this I shall +certainly never attempt with such a load of debt suspended in +terrorem over me. While I earnestly thank you, therefore, for +your generous consideration, gentlemen, I trust you will +appreciate my desire to live unhumiliated by a sense of +dependence, and believe me, sincerely yours, + P. T. BARNUM. + +To Messrs. FREEMAN HUNT, E. K. COLLINS, and others. + +And with other offers of assistance from far and near, came the +following from a little gentleman who did not forget his old +friend and benefactor in the time of trial: + + JONES HOTEL, PHILADELPHIA, May 12th, 1856. + +MY DEAR MR. BARNUM: I understand your friends, and that means +"all creation," intend to get up some benefits for your family. +Now, my dear sir, just be good enough to remember that I belong +to that mighty crowd, and I must have a finger (or at least a +"thumb") in that pie. I am bound to appear on all such occasions +in some shape, from "Jack the Giant killer," Up-stairs, to the +door-keeper down, whichever may serve you best; and there are +some feats that I can perform as well as any other man of my +inches. I have just started out on my Western tour, and have my +carriage, ponies, and assistants all here, but I am ready to go +on to New York, bag and baggage, and remain at Mrs. Barnum's +service as long as I, in a small way, can be useful. Put me into +any "heavy" work, if you like. Perhaps I can not lift as much as +some other folks, but just take your pencil in hand and you will +see I can draw a tremendous load. I drew two hundred tons at a +single pull to-day, embracing two thousand persons, whom I hauled +up safely and satisfactorily to all parties, at one exhibition. +Hoping that you will be able to fix up a lot of magnets that will +attract all New York, and volunteering to sit on any part of the +loadstone, I am, as ever, your little but sympathizing friend, + GEN. TOM THUMB. + +All the prominent papers published editorials and paragraphs full +of sympathy for the great man's misfortune, the Saturday Evening +Gazette of Boston breaking out in the following poem. + +BARNUM REDIVIVUS. + +A WORD FOR BARNUM. + + BARNUM, your hand! Though you are "down," + And see full many a frigid shoulder, + Be brave, my brick, and though they frown, + Prove that misfortune makes you bolder. + There's many a man that sneers, my hero, + And former praise converts to scorning, + Would worship--when he fears--a Nero, + And bend "where thrift may follow fawning." + + You humbugged us--that we have seen, + WE GOT OUR MONEY'S WORTH, old fellow, + And though you thought our MINDS were GREEN, + We never thought your HEART was YELLOW. + We knew you liberal, generous, warm, + Quick to assist a falling brother, + And, with such virtues, what's the harm + All memories of your faults to smother? + + We had not heard the peerless Lind, + But for your spirit enterprising, + You were the man to raise the wind, + And make a coup confessed surprising. + You're reckoned in your native town + A friend in need, a friend in danger, + You ever keep the latch-string down, + And greet with open hand the stranger. + + Stiffen your upper lip. You know + Who are your friends and who your foes now; + We pay for knowledge as we go; + And though you get some sturdy blows now, + You've a fair field--no favors crave-- + The storm once passed will find you braver-- + In virtue's cause long may you wave, + And on the right side, never waver. + +The editor of the paper was Mr. B. P. Shillaber, better known as +"Mrs. Partington," and to him Barnum years later wrote to find +out the author of this effusion. Mr. Shillaber replied as +follows: + CHELSEA, April 25th, 1868. + +MY DEAR MR. BARNUM: The poem in question was written by A. +Wallace Thaxter, associate editor with Mr. Clapp and myself, on +the Gazette--since deceased, a glorious fellow--who wrote th poem +from a sincere feeling of admiration for yourself. Mr. Clapp +(Hon. W. W. Clapp) published it with his full approbation. I +heard of your new trouble, in my sick chamber, where I have been +all winter, with regret, and wish you as ready a release from +attending difficulty as your genius has hitherto achieved under +like circumstances. + Yours, very truly + B. F. SHILLABER. + +The manifestations of sympathy from his fellow-citizens in +Bridgeport gratified Barnum more than all the rest. The Mayor +headed and more than 300 leading citizens signed a call for a +mass meeting of sympathy. + +At the hour appointed for the meeting a large assemblage crowded +Washington Hall, the principal hall of the city. Many people +thronged the door, unable to gain entrance. + +Mr. Charles B. Hubbell, President of the Pequonnock Bank, was +appointed President; Messrs. Charles Foote, Cashier of the +Connecticut Bank; Stephen Tomlinson, President of the Farmers' +Bank; Samuel F. Hurd, President of the Bridgeport City Bank, +Hanford Lyon, Dwight Morris, E. Ferris Bishop, A. P. Houston, and +Wm. H. Noble, Vice-Presidents, and Messrs. Samuel M. Chesney and +Julius L. Hanover, Secretaries. + +Mr. Dwight Morris said that they had met for the purpose of +expressing their sympathy with their former fellow-citizen, P. T. +Barnum, in his pecuniary reverses. It was well known how much Mr. +Barnum had done for Bridgeport. He had expended large sums to +build up their city, had accommodated many of them with the means +of securing themselves homes, and it was principally to him that +they owed their present beautiful resting-place for the dead. +[Applause.] The citizens of Bridgeport hoped that his misfortunes +would soon pass away, and that he would ere long resume his +position in Bridgeport, and among the citizens of Fairfield +County. [Prolonged applause.] + +Mr. Wm. H. Noble read the following resolutions. + +WHEREAS, Our late neighbor and friend, P. T. Barnum, has become +involved in financial misfortune which seems likely to be +irretrievable, and to prevent his again residing in our +vicinity--Resolved, That we as citizens of Bridgeport deem it an +act of justice no less than a slight return for the many acts of +liberality, philanthropy, and public spirit in our midst, which +have marked his prosperity, to offer him our tribute of respect +and sympathy in this the hour of his trouble. + +Resolved, That in his intercourse with us in the private and +social relations of life, Mr. Barnum is remembered as a man of +upright dealings and honorable sentiments--a kind and genial +neighbor, and exemplary character, a beneficent philanthropist, +and a most generous friend. + +Resolved, That in his more extended capacity as a citizen he has +enduringly associated his name with numerous objects, which +remain as monuments among us, connected with the institutions of +religion, education, and commercial prosperity--with the +advancement of the mechanical, agricultural, and other useful +arts and sciences--with the spirit of public improvement and +public morals; and that so long as these remain to us matters of +interest, we shall never forget that he has been of them all +among the foremost, most liberal, and most efficient promoters. + +Resolved, That we hereby express to him our heartfelt sympathy in +his misfortunes, our unshaken confidence in his integrity, and +our admiration of the dignified fortitude and composure with +which he has met the reverses into which he has been dragged, +through no fault of his own, except a too generous confidence in +pretended friends, and our earnest hope that he may yet return to +that wealth which he has so nobly employed and to the community +he has so signally benefited. + +Resolved, That copies of these resolutions, signed by the +President and other officers of this meeting, be transmitted to +Mr. Barnum, and also to the press of this city. + +Mr. E. B. Goodsell said that Mr. Barnum had been the friend of +the poor, and his hospitalities had been extended to men of every +State in the Union. The citizens of Bridgeport should be proud to +claim as one of their citizens P. T. Barnum. His name was written +upon every charity in their city, and the temples of God bore its +impress. By a few fell strokes of an ugly pen, he has been drawn +into that whirlpool of destruction to himself and almost +destruction to many in the city. In the midst of his prosperity, +while he was building up a city on the east side of their little +harbor, he had fallen by the hand of traitors. He hoped that he +might survive his misfortunes and come back to live in their +midst. He did not expect that he could ever return with that +"pocketful of rocks" which he used to talk so much about; but, if +he would come, he for one was ready to pledge himself that he +should never starve in the city of Bridgeport. [Loud and +prolonged applause.] + +Mr. Oakley was loudly called for. He said that he had deep regard +for Mr. Barnum in his distress. He was one of the very few people +in Bridgeport who had never received any aid from Mr. Barnum, but +he was ready to join in any expression of sympathy, and saw no +reason why it should not assume a material form [loud applause]. +He would only allude to Mr. Barnum's unostentatious benevolence. +To one of the churches of the city Mr. Barnum gave $500--to one +of their churches in which he felt no interest beyond his +interest for Bridgeport, and this was but a specimen of his +munificence. Nobody could say that Mr. Barnum had not made the +best and most benevolent use of his money [Applause]. He had been +the means of adding a large number to the population of +Bridgeport. He never yet had found a man who was more eminently +the friend of the poor man than P. T. Barnum [Cheers]. He had +alleviated the sufferings of many a broken heart, and he had +aided many a young man to start in business. If Mr. Barnum had +erred, it was only an error of judgment [Cheers]. He sympathized +with Mr. Barnum. He had talents which would cope with those of +most of the human race. He did not believe that there was a man +in the city who had so little soul as to begrudge a tear to him +in his misfortune [loud applause]. They should at least send him +assurance that there were thousands of hearts in his own city +which appreciated his noble benevolence, and loved and honored +his character. + +Mr. Noble read the following letter from Mr. Barnum: + + "NEW YORK, April 25th, 1856. +"DEAR SIR: I have just received a slip containing a call for a +public meeting of the citizens of Bridgeport, to sympathize with +me in my trouble. It is headed by his Honor the Mayor, and is +signed by most of our prominent citizens, as well as by many more +who by hard labor earn their daily bread, and who appreciate a +calamity which at a single blow strips a man of his fortune, his +dear home, and all the worldly comfort which years of diligent +labor has acquired. It is due to truth to say that I knew nothing +of this movement until your letter informed me of it. In +misfortune, the true sympathy of neighbors is more consoling and +precious than anything which money can purchase. This voluntary +offering of my fellow-citizens, though it thrills me with painful +emotions and causes tears of gratitude, yet it imparts renewed +strength and fills my heart with thankfulness to Providence for +raising up to my sight, above all this wreck, kind hearts which +soar above the sordid atmosphere of 'dirty dollars.' I can never +forget this unexpected kindness from my old friends and +neighbors. I trust I am not blind to my many faults and +shortcomings; I, however, do feel great consolation in believing +that I never used money or position to oppress the poor or wrong +my fellowmen, and that I never turned empty away whom I had the +power to assist. My poor sick wife, who needs the bracing air +which our dear home (made beautiful by her willing hand) would +now have afforded her, is driven by the orders of her physician +to a secluded spot on Long Island, where the sea-wind lends its +healthful influence, and where I have also retired for the double +purpose of consoling her and recruiting my own constitution, +which, through the excitement of the last few months, has most +seriously failed me. In our quiet and humble retreat that which I +most sincerely pray for is tranquillity and contentment. I am +sure that the remembrance of the kindness of my Bridgeport +friends will aid me in securing these cherished blessings. No man +who has not passed through similar scenes, can fully comprehend +the misery which has been crowded into the last few months of my +life; but I have endeavored to preserve my integrity, and I +humbly hope and believe that I am being taught humility and +reliance upon Providence, which will yet afford a thousand times +more peace and true happiness than can be acquired in the dire +strife and turmoil, excitements and struggles of this +money-worshiping age. The man who coins his brain and blood into +gold, who wastes all of his time and thought upon the almighty +dollar, who looks no higher than blocks of houses and tracts of +lands, and whose iron chest is crammed with stocks and mortgages, +tied up with his own heart-strings, may console himself with the +idea of safe investments; but he misses a pleasure which I firmly +believe this lesson was intended to secure to me, and which it +will secure, if I can fully bring my mind to realize its wisdom. +I think I hear you say, + +When the devil was sick, +The devil a saint would be, +But when the devil got well, +The devil a saint was he.' + +"Granted, but after all the man who looks upon the loss of money +as anything compared to the loss of honor, or health, or +self-respect, or friends; a man who can find no source of +happiness except in riches, is to be pitied for his blindness. I +certainly feel that the loss of money, of home and my home +comforts, is dreadful; that to be driven again to find a resting +place away from the friends that I loved, and from where I had +fondly hoped I was to end my days. And when I had lavished time, +money, and everything to make my descent to the grave placid and +pleasant, is indeed a severe lesson; but after all I firmly +believe it is for the best, and though my heart may break I will +not repine. I regret, beyond expression, that any man should be a +loser for having trusted to my name; it would not have been so if +I had not myself been deceived. As it is, I am gratified in +knowing that all my individual obligations will be met. It would +have been much better if clock creditors had accepted the best +offers that it was in my power to make them. But it was not so to +be, it is now too late, and as I willingly give up all I possess, +I can do no more. Wherever my future lot may be cast, I shall +ever fondly cherish the kindness which I have always received +from the citizens of Bridgeport. I am, my dear sir, + "Truly yours, P. T. BARNUM." + +The reading of the letter excited much sensation, applause, and +laughter. + +The resolutions were re-read and passed unanimously. + +Mr. William Bishop said it was unusual for citizens to meet +together to express sympathy with one who had lost his fortune. +It was very common for the people and the press to eulogize a man +when he was beyond the reach of human sympathy. He thought it was +far better to tender a man the marks of approval while he was yet +alive and could appreciate it. [Applause] For along time in this +city they were accustomed to bury their dead among the living. +Mr. Barnum had done more than any other man to secure to this +city the most beautiful-cemetery in Connecticut. He alone had +secured to the city what it had never had before--a public +square. On the east side of the river he had almost completed a +school-house, a thing which could be said of no other man. [Loud +cheering.] If material aid were needed, he should be proud to +assist in raising it. There was one clause in the resolutions +which he did not believe. He did not believe that "in all +probability he could ever retrieve" his fortune. [Prolonged +cheering.] + +Mr. J. E. Dunham made a brief but earnest speech. He hoped this +meeting would put down the sneers which were in circulation in +relation to Mr. Barnum's sincerity, by showing that those +estimated him most who knew him best. + +Mr. Nathaniel Greene and Mr. Bowles made short but effective +speeches. + +The meeting was characterized throughout by the greatest +enthusiasm, and adjourned with three loud cheers for Barnum. + +Nor was sympathy all his neighbors offered him; shortly after +this meeting a number of gentlemen in Bridgeport offered him a +loan of $50,000, if that sum would meet the exigency. + +Little by little the magnitude of the fraud practiced upon +Barnum's too confiding nature dawned upon him. Not only had his +notes been used to five times the amount stipulated, but the +money had been applied, not to relieving the temporary +embarrassment of the company, but almost entirely to the +redemption of the old claims of years gone by. Barnum sent two of +his friends to New Haven to ask for a meeting of the creditors, +authorizing them to say for him in substance: + +"GENTLEMEN: This is a capital practical joke! Before I negotiated +with your clock company at all, I was assured by several of you, +and particularly by a representative of the bank which was the +largest creditor of the concern, that the Jerome Company was +eminently responsible, and that the head of the same was +uncommonly pious. On the strength of such representations solely, +I was induced to agree to indorse and accept paper for that +company to the extent of $110,000--no more. That sum I am now +willing to pay for my own verdancy, with an additional sum of +$40,000 for your 'cuteness, making a total of $150,000, which you +can have if you cry 'quits' with the fleeced showman and let him +off." + +Many of the old creditors favored this proposition; but it was +found that the indebtedness was so scattered it would be +impracticable to attempt a settlement by an unanimous compromise +of the creditors. + +Barnum therefore turned over his Bridgeport property to +Connecticut assignees, moved his family to New York, and made an +assignment there of all his other property, real estate and +personal effects. + +About this time he received a letter from Philadelphia proffering +the loan of $500 in case he really was in need. The wording of +the letter made Barnum suspicious that it was a trick to +ascertain whether he really had any property or if he made an +honest settlement to the best of his ability. To this letter +Barnum replied that he did need $500, and as he had expected the +money never came. + +But the Philadelphia banks which were holding the Jerome paper +for a higher percentage, at once acceded to the terms which Mr. +Barnum had announced himself able to pay, + +Every dollar which he owed on his own account he had already +paid, and for the liabilities incurred by the swindle which had +involved him he offered such a percentage which he thought his +estate, when sold, would eventually pay. Mrs. Barnum also gave up +certain portions of her own property to redeem such notes as +could be secured upon these terms. + +They went to live in a hired furnished house in New York, the +landlady and her family boarding with them. At forty-six Barnum +found himself once more at the foot of the ladder--beginning life +anew. + +"The situation is disheartening," he said, "but I have +experience, energy, health, and hope." + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. IDLENESS WITHOUT REST. + +ANNOYING PERSECUTIONS OF CREDITORS--SUMMER ON LONG ISLAND--THE +BLACK WHALE PAYS THE BOARD BILL--THE WHEELER & WILSON COMPANY +REMOVE TO EAST BRIDGEPORT--SETTING SAIL FOR ENGLAND. + +In the summer of 1855 Barnum had sold the American Museum to +Messrs. John Greenwood, Jr., and Henry D. Butler. They paid +nearly twice as much for the collection as it had originally +cost, giving notes for nearly the entire amount, securing the +notes by a chattel mortgage, and hiring the premises from Mrs. +Barnum, who owned the Museum property lease, and on which, by +agreement of the lessees, she realized something like $19,000 a +year. The chattel mortgage was, of course, turned over to the New +York assignees with the other property. + +Barnum's widespread reputation for shrewdness was, in his present +difficulties, destined to be the cause of considerable annoyance +to him. Certain outside creditors who had bought clock notes at a +tremendous discount, believing that Barnum's means were still +ample, made up their minds that they must be paid at once without +waiting for the sale of the property by assignees. + +They, therefore, took what is known as "supplementary +proceedings," by which is meant an examination before a judge, +compelling the debtor to disclose, under oath, everything in +regard to his property, his present means of living, and so on. + +"Putting Barnum through a course of sprouts," as they expressed +it, came to be a very frequent occurrence. One creditor after +another hauled him up, and the attorneys would ask the same +questions which had already been answered a dozen times. + +This persistent and unnecessary annoyance created a great deal of +sympathy for the man, the papers took his part, and even the +judges before whom he appeared, personally sided with him, +although they were obliged to administer the law. After a while, +the judges ruled that he need not answer any questions propounded +by an attorney, if he had already answered the same question in +any previous examination. + +In fact, one of the judges lost all patience on one occasion, and +said sharply to the examining attorney: + +"This, sir, has become simply a case of persecution. Mr. Barnum +has many times answered every question that can properly be put +to him, to elicit the desired information; and I think it is time +to stop these examinations. I advise him not to answer one +interrogatory which he has replied to under any previous +inquiries. + +One consequential little lawyer commenced his examination in +behalf of a note-shaver, who held a thousand dollar note which he +had bought for seven hundred. After the oath had been +administered, he arranged his pen, ink, and paper, and in a loud +tone of voice asked: + +"What is your name, sir?" + +The answer was given, and the next question delivered in a +louder, more peremptory tone was: + +"What is your business?" + +"Attending bar," answered Barnum. + +"Attending bar!" exclaimed the lawyer; "attending bar! Why, I +thought you were a teetotaler." + +"So I am," declared the witness. + +"And yet, sir, you have the audacity to assert that you peddle +rum all day, and drink none yourself?" + +"That is not a relevant question," said Barnum. + +"I will appeal to his Honor the Judge if you don't answer it +instantly," said the lawyer, gleefully. + +"Very well; I do attend bar, and yet never drink intoxicating +liquors." + +"Where do you attend bar, and for whom?" pursued the lawyer. + +"I attend the bar of this court nearly every day, for the benefit +of two-penny lawyers and their greedy clients," replied the +disgusted Barnum. + +On another occasion a young lawyer who had been pushing his +inquiries to a great length, said in a half-laughing tone of +apology: + +"You see, Mr. Barnum, I am searching after the small thing; I am +willing to take even the crumbs that fall from the rich man's +table." + +"Which are you, then, Lazarus or one of the dogs?" asked Barnum, +wearily. + +"I guess a blood-hound would not smell out much on this trial," +returned the lawyer, good-naturedly, adding that he had no more +questions to ask. + +On account of Mrs. Barnum's continued ill-health, the family +spent the summer in a farm-house at Westhampton, Long Island. The +farm lay close to the ocean, and the place was very cool and +delightful. The respite from active life, and the annoyance +attendant to his financial troubles was of the greatest benefit +to Mr. Barnum, who spent the time shooting, fishing, and driving. + +One morning they discovered that the waves had thrown up on the +beach a young black whale, nearly twelve feet long. The animal +was dead, but still hard and fresh, and Barnum bought it for a +few dollars from the man who claimed it by right of discovery. He +sent it at once to the Museum, where it was exhibited in a huge +refrigerator for a few days, where crowds came to see it. The +managers very properly gave Barnum a share of the profits, which +amounted to a sum sufficient to pay the board-bill of the family +for the entire season. + +"Well," said the amazed landlord, when he heard of it, "you do +beat all for luck. Here you come and board for four months with +your family, and when the time is nearly up and you're getting +ready to leave, out rolls a big black whale on our beach, a thing +never heard of before in this vicinity, and you take that whale +and pay your board-bill with it!" + +Shortly after his return to New York an unforeseen event occurred +which Barnum realized was likely to extricate him from his +difficulties. + +The new city which had led him into ruin now promised to be his +redemption. + +The now gigantic Wheeler & Wilson Sewing-Machine Company was then +doing a comparatively small yet rapidly growing business at +Watertown, Connecticut. The Terroy & Barnum clock factory was +standing idle, almost worthless, in East Bridgeport, and Wheeler +& Wilson saw in the empty building, the situation, the ease of +communication with New York, and other advantages, precisely what +they wanted, provided they could procure the premises at a rate +which would compensate them for the expense and trouble of +removing their establishment from Watertown. The clock factory +was sold for a trifle and the wheeler & Wilson Company moved into +it and speedily enlarged it. + +This important occurrence gave Barnum great hope for the +increased value of the land belonging to his estate. And moreover +Mr. Wheeler offered him a loan of $5,000 without security, which +sum Barnum accepted, and devoted it, together with Mrs. Barnum's +money, to purchasing the East Bridgeport property at the +assignees' sale and also taking up such clock notes as could be +purchased at a reasonable percentage. Though this new plan did +eventually result in putting more money in his pocket than the +Jerome complication had taken out, yet the process was a slow +one. But Barnum concluded to let it work itself out, and +meanwhile, with the idea of doing something to help out the +accumulation and even saving something to add to the amount, he +made up his mind to go to Europe again. + +He set sail in 1857, taking with him Tom Thumb and little +Cordelia Howard, who had attained celebrity for her artistic +rendering of juvenile characters, + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. A PROSPEROUS EXILE. + +HIS SUCCESSFUL PUPIL--MAKING MANY FRIENDS IN LONDON--ACQUAINTANCE +WITH THACKERAY--A COMEDY OF ERRORS IN A GERMAN CUSTOM +HOUSE--ARISTOCRATIC PATRONAGE AT FASHIONABLE RESORTS--BARNUM'S +IMPRESSIONS OF HOLLAND AND THE DUTCH. + +Years ago Barnum had known Albert Smith in London as a dentist, +literary "hack," occasional writer for Punch and various +magazines, etc., not achieving notable success in any of these +undertakings. He now found him the most eminent and successful +showman in the city, occupying Barnum's old quarters in Egyptian +Hall. The chief attraction of his show was a panorama of Mont +Blanc, accompanying which he gave a lecture, descriptive of the +mountain and relating his own experiences in climbing it. When +Barnum called upon him he found him just as unassuming and +cordial as ever; he was forthwith entered on the free list at all +of Smith's entertainments, and the two often dined together at +the Garrick Club. + +The first time Barnum attended Smith's exhibition, the latter +gave him a sly wink from the stage at the moment of his +describing a scene in the golden chamber of St. Ursula's church +in Cologne, where the old sexton narrating the story of the ashes +and bones to the eleven thousand innocent virgins, who, according +to tradition, were sacrificed on a certain occasion. One of the +characters whom he pretended to have met several times on his +trip to Mont Blanc, was a Yankee, whom he named "Phineas +Cutecraft." The wink came at the time he introduced Phineas in +the Cologne church, and made him say at the end of the sexton's +story about the virgins' bones: + +"Old fellow, what will you take for that hull lot of bones? I +want them for my museum in America!" + +When the question had been interpreted to the old German, he +exclaimed in horror, according to Albert Smith: + +"Mine Gott! it is impossible! We will never sell the virgins' +bones!" + +"Never mind," replied Phineas Cutecraft, "I'll send another lot +of bones to my museum, swear mine are the real bones of the +Virgins of Cologne, and burst up your show!" + +This always excited the heartiest laughter; but Mr. Smith knew +very well that Barnum would at once recognize it as a paraphrase +of the scene wherein they, too, had figured in 1844, at the +porter's lodge of Warwick Castle. "In the course of the +entertainment," says Barnum, "I found he had woven in numerous +anecdotes I had told him at that time, and many incidents of our +excursion were also travestied and made to contribute to the +interest of his description of the ascent of Mont Blanc." + +When they dined together at the club that day, Smith introduced +Barnum to several of his acquaintances as his teacher in the show +business. He also remarked to Barnum that he must have recognized +as old friends many of the incidents and jokes in the lecture. +Barnum replied that he did. "Well," said Smith, "of course you as +a showman, know very well that, to win popular success. we have +to appropriate and adapt to our uses everything of the sort that +we can get hold of." + +By thus engrafting his various experiences upon this Mont Blanc +entertainment, Albert Smith succeeded in serving up a salmagundi +feast which was relished alike by royal and less distinguished +palates. + +When William Makepeace Thackeray first visited this country, he +brought a letter of introduction to Barnum, from Albert Smith, +and called on the showman at his New York museum. He spent an +hour or more there, asking much advice of Barnum in regard to the +management of the course of lectures on "The English Humorists of +the Eighteenth Century," which he proposed to deliver, as he did +afterwards, with very great success, in the principal cities of +the Union. Barnum gave him the best advice he could as to +management, and the cities he ought to visit, for which he was +very grateful, and he called on Barnum whenever he was in New +York. Barnum also saw him repeatedly when he came to America the +second time with his lectures on "The Four Georges," which, it +will be remembered, he delivered in the United States in the +season of 1855-56, before he read them to audiences in Great +Britain. Barnum's relations with this great novelist were cordial +and intimate; and now, when he called upon him, in 1857, at his +own house, Thackeray grasped him heartily by the hand, and said: + +"Mr. Barnum, I admire you more than ever I have read the accounts +in the papers of the examinations you underwent in New York +courts; and the positive pluck you exhibit under your pecuniary +embarrassments is worthy of all praise. You would never have +received credit for the philosophy you manifest if these +financial misfortunes had not overtaken you." + +Barnum thanked him for his compliment, and he continued: + +"But tell me, Barnum, are you really in need of present +assistance? For if you are you must be helped." + +"Not in the least," the showman replied, laughing "I need more +money in order to get out of bankruptcy, and I intend to earn it; +but so far as daily bread is concerned, I am quite at ease, for +my wife is worth L30,000 or L40,000." + +"Is it possible!??" he exclaimed, with evident delight; "well, +now, you have lost all my sympathy; why, that is more than I ever +expect to be worth; I shall be sorry for you no more." + +During his stay in London, Barnum met Thackeray several times, +and on one occasion dined with him. He repeatedly expressed his +obligations to Barnum for the advice and assistance he had given +him on the occasion of his first lecturing visit to the United +States. + +Soon after Barnum arrived in London he was visited by Mr. Otto +Goldschmidt, who had married Jenny Lind. They were then living in +Dresden, but Madame Goldschmidt had insisted on his hurrying over +to England to see her old manager, and ascertain whether he +really was in want. Barnum assured him that he was getting on +comfortably, though he had to exercise economy, and that his +family would presently come over and live with him in London. +Goldschmidt urged him to come to Dresden to live. "It is much +cheaper living there," he said, "and my wife will be so glad to +find a suitable house for you." But Barnum declined the offer. +His business prospects would be better in London than in Dresden. + +Barnum's old friends, Julius Benedict and Signor Belletti, also +called on him frequently, and made him feel much at home. Among +others whom he met in London, some of them quite frequently at +dinners, were Mr. George Augustus Sala, Mr. Edmund Yates, Mr. +Horace Mayhew, Mr. Alfred Bunn, Mr Lumley, of Her Majesty's +Theatre; Mr. Buckstone; of the Haymarket; Mr. Charles Kean, our +princely countryman; Mr. George Peabody, Mr. J. M. Morris, the +manager, Mr. Bates, of Baring Brothers & Co.; Mr. Oxenford, +dramatic critic of the London Times, Dr. Ballard, the American +dentist, and many other eminent persons. + +He had numerous offers from professional friends on both sides of +the Atlantic, who supposed him to be in need of employment. Mr. +Barney Williams, who had not then acted in England, proposed, in +the kindest manner, to make him his agent for a tour through +Great Britain, and to give him one-third of the profits which he +and Mrs. Williams might make by their acting. Mr. Pettengill, of +New York, the newspaper advertising agent, offered him the fine +salary of $10,000 a year to transact business for him in Great +Britain. He wrote: "When you failed in consequence of the Jerome +clock notes, I felt that your creditors were dealing hard with +you; that they should have let you up and give you a chance, and +they would have fared better, and I wish I was a creditor, so as +to show what I would do." These offers, both from Mr. Williams +and Mr. Pettengill, Barnum felt obliged to decline. + +Mr. Lumley, manager of Her Majesty's Theatre, used to send him an +order for a private box for every opera night, and Barnum +frequently availed himself of his courtesy. + +Meanwhile the showman was by no means idle. Cordelia Howard as +"Little Eva," with her mother as the inimitable "Topsy," were +highly successful in London and other large cities, while General +Tom Thumb, returning after so long an absence, drew crowded +houses wherever he went. These were strong spokes in the wheel +that was moving slowly but surely in the effort to get Barnum out +of debt, and, if possible, to save some portion of his real +estate. Of course, it was not generally known that he had any +interest whatever in either of these exhibitions; if it had been, +possibly some of the clock creditors would have annoyed him; but +he busied himself in these and in other ways, working +industriously and making much money, which he constantly remitted +to his trusty agent at home. + +Barnum spent some weeks in London and then went to Germany. He +was accompanied by Tom Thumb, and they went by the way of Paris, +Strasburg, and Baden-Baden. At the frontier they had a terrible +time with the thick-headed customs-inspector. This was at Kehl, +near Strasburg. "I knew," said Barnum in telling the story, "that +I had no baggage which was rightfully subject to duty, as I had +nothing but my necessary clothing, and the package of placards +and lithographs, illustrating the General's exhibitions. As the +official was examining my trunks, I assured him in French, that I +had nothing subject to duty; but he made no reply and +deliberately handled every article in my luggage. He then cut the +strings to the large packages of show-bills. I asked him in +French, whether he understood that language. He gave a grunt, +which was the only audible sound I could get out of him, and then +laid my show-bills and lithographs on his scales as if to weigh +them. I was much excited. An English gentleman, who spoke German, +kindly offered to act as my interpreter. + +" 'Please to tell him,' said I, 'that those bills and lithographs +are not articles of commerce; that they are simply +advertisements.' + +"My English friend did as I requested; but it was of no use; the +custom-house officer kept piling them upon his scales. I grew +more excited. + +" 'Please tell him I give them away,' I said. The translation of +my assertion into German did not help me; a double grunt from the +functionary, was the only response. Tom Thumb, meanwhile, jumped +about like a little monkey, for he was fairly delighted at my +worry and perplexity. Finally, I said to my new found English +friend: 'Be good enough to tell the officer to keep the bills if +he wants them, and that I will not pay duty on them, any how.' + +"He was duly informed of my determination, but he was immovable. +He lighted his huge Dutch pipe, got the exact weight, and, +marking it down, handed it to a clerk, who copied it on his book, +and solemnly passed it over to another clerk, who copied it on +still another book; a third clerk then took it, and copied it on +to a printed bill, the size of a half letter sheet, which was +duly stamped in red ink with several official devices. By this +time I was in a profuse perspiration; and, as the document passed +from clerk to clerk, I told them they need not trouble themselves +to make out a bill, for I would not pay it; they would get no +duty and they might keep the property. + +"To be sure, I could not spare the placards for any length of +time, for they were exceedingly valuable to me as advertisements, +and I could not easily have duplicated them in Germany; but I was +determined that I would not pay duties on articles which were not +merchandise. Every transfer, therefore, of the bill to a new +clerk, gave me a fresh twinge, for I imagined that every clerk +added more charges, and that every charge was a tighter turn to +the vise which held my fingers. Finally, the last clerk defiantly +thrust in my face the terrible official document, on which were +scrawled certain cabalistic characters, signifying the amount of +money I should be forced to pay to the German government before I +could have my property. I would not touch it but resolved I would +really leave my packages until I could communicate with one of +our consuls in Germany, and I said as much to the English +gentleman who had kindly interpreted for me. + +"He took the bill, and, examining it, burst into a loud laugh, +'Why, it is but fifteen kreutzers!' he said. + +" 'How much is that?' I asked, feeling for the golden sovereigns +in my pocket. + +" 'Sixpence!' was the reply. + +"I was astonished and delighted, and, as I handed out the money, +I begged him to tell the officials that the custom-house charge +would not pay the cost of the paper on which it was written. But +this was a very fair illustration of sundry red-tape dealings in +other countries as well as in Germany." + +Baden-Baden was found to be an uncommonly pleasant place, the +neatest and cleanest little city he had ever seen, Barnum +thought. As soon as they were fairly settled there, Tom Thumb +began driving out on the streets in his tiny carriage, with his +ponies and liveried coachmen and footmen. Public curiosity was +greatly excited. The place was thronged with visitors, it being +one of the most popular resorts in Europe. There were kings and +queens, and minor royalties and members of the nobility without +number. All these soon forgot their other amusements and +entertainments in their interest in the little General. They +crowded his rooms at his reception every day, and Barnum, seeing +the quality of his patrons, put the entrance fee higher than it +ever was at any other place. Their stay at this resort was +exceedingly profitable. + +Thence they proceeded to the other German watering places, such +as Ems, Weisbaden and Hamburg. They saw that it paid to strike +for high game. No matter how high their fee, the crowned, titled, +rich, aristocratic throng came to their show by thousands. Among +them was the King of Holland, who was particularly interested in +Tom Thumb. So profitable was the tour, that Barnum was able to +send many thousands of dollars to his agents in America, to buy +back his real estate and settle up the remains of the disastrous +clock business. + +Other German cities visited were Frankfort-on-the-Main, Mayence +and Cologne. At the latter place, they remained for some time, +seeing as well as giving shows. Then they went on to Rotterdam +and Amsterdam. + +The shrewd and enterprising Yankee was much impressed by the +thrift and industry of Holland. "It gave me," he afterwards said, +"more genuine satisfaction than any other foreign country I have +ever visited, if I except Great Britain. Redeemed as a large +portion of the whole surface of the land has been from the bottom +of the sea, by the wonderful dykes, which are monuments of the +industry of whole generations of human beavers, Holland seems to +me the most curious, as well as interesting country in the world. +The people, too, with their quaint costumes, their extraordinary +cleanliness, their thrift, industry and frugality, pleased me +very much. It is the universal testimony of all travellers, that +the Hollanders are the neatest and most economical people among +all nations. So far as cleanliness is concerned, in Holland it is +evidently not next to, but far ahead of godliness. It is rare, +indeed, to meet a ragged, dirty, or drunken person. The people +are very temperate and economical in their habits; and even the +very rich--and there is a vast amount of wealth in the +country--live with great frugality, though all of the people live +well. + +"As for the scenery, I cannot say much for it, since it is only +diversified by thousands of windmills, which are made to do all +kinds of work, from grinding grain to pumping water from the +inside of the dykes back to the sea again. As I exhibited the +General only in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and to no great profit +in either city, we spent most of our time in rambling about to +see what was to be seen. In the country villages it seemed as if +every house was scrubbed twice and whitewashed once every day in +the week, excepting Sunday. Some places were almost painfully +pure, and I was in one village where horses and cattle were not +allowed to go through the streets and no one was permitted to +wear their boots or shoes in the houses. There is a general and +constant exercise of brooms, pails, floor-brushes and mops all +over Holland, and in some places, even, this kind of thing is +carried so far, I am told, that the only trees set out are +scrub-oaks." + +Barnum thought that the reason why his exhibitions were not +better patronized here was that the people were too frugal to +spend much money for mere amusements. "But they and their habits +and ways afforded us so much amusement, that we were quite +willing they should give our entertainment the 'go by,' as they +generally did. We were in Amsterdam at the season of 'Kremis,' or +the annual fair, which is held in all the principal towns, and +where shows of all descriptions are open, at prices for admission +ranging from one to five pennies, and are attended by nearly the +whole population. For the people generally, this one great +holiday seems all-sufficient for the whole year. I went through +scores of booths, where curiosities and monstrosities of all +kinds were exhibited, and was able to make some purchases and +engagements for the American Museum. Among these was the Albino +family, consisting of a man, his wife, and son, who were by far +the most interesting and attractive specimens of their class I +had ever seen. + +"We visited the Hague, the capital and the finest city in +Holland. It is handsomely and regularly laid out, and contains a +beautiful theatre, a public picture gallery, which contains some +of the best works of Vandyke, Paul Potter, and other Dutch +masters, while the museum is especially rich in rarities from +China and Japan. When we arrived at the Hague, Mr. August +Belmont, who had been the United States Minister at that court, +had just gone home, but I heard many encomiums passed upon him +and his family, and I was told some pretty good stories of his +familiarity with the king, and of the 'jolly times' these two +personages frequently enjoyed together. I did not miss visiting +the great government museum, as I wished particularly to see the +rich collection of Japan ware and arms, made during the many +years when the Dutch carried on almost exclusively the entire +foreign trade with the Japanese. I spent several days in minutely +examining these curious manufactures of a people who were then +almost as little known to nations generally as are the +inhabitants of the planet Jupiter." + +On the first day of his visits to this museum, Barnum stood for +an hour before a large case containing a most unique and +extraordinary collection of fabulous animals, made from paper and +other materials, and looking as natural and genuine as the +stuffed skins of any animals in the American Museum. There were +serpents two yards long, with a head and a pair of feet at each +end; frogs as large as a man, with human hands and feet; turtles +with three heads; monkeys with two heads and six legs; scores of +equally curious monstrosities; and at least two dozen mermaids, +of all sorts and sizes. Looking at these "sirens" he easily +divined from whence the Feejee mermaid originated. + +After a delightful visit in Holland, he went back to England; and +proceeding to Manchester, opened his exhibition. For several days +the hall was crowded to overflowing at each of the three, and +sometimes four, entertainments they gave every day. By this time, +his wife and two youngest daughters had come over to London, and +he hired furnished lodgings in the suburbs where they could live +within the strictest limits of economy. It was necessary now for +him to return for a few weeks to America, to assist personally in +forwarding a settlement of the clock difficulties. So leaving the +little General in the hands of trusty and competent agents to +carry on the exhibitions in his absence, he set his face once +more towards home and the west, and took steamer at Liverpool for +New York. + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. HOME AGAIN. + +JOLLY VOYAGE--MOCK TRIALS ON SHIPBOARD--BARNUM ON TRIAL FOR HIS +LIFE--DISCOMFITED WITNESSES AND A TRIUMPHANT PRISONER--FAIR +WEATHER FRIENDS--THE BURNING OF IRANISTAN + +Barnum made in his life many voyages across the Atlantic, but +none, perhaps, pleasanter than this. On every such trip he got +under rest and relief from his multitudinous business cares and +arduous labors; and he always contrived to organize plenty of +merry-making among his fellow-passengers. On this occasion he +felt in uncommonly good spirits because he was so rapidly +retrieving his well-nigh fallen fortunes. The feature of the +voyage was a series of mock trials, in which a judge was +selected, jurymen drawn, prisoners arraigned, counsel employed, +and all the formalities of a court established. "I have the +vanity to think," said he, afterwards, in telling in his own +inimitable way the story of this voyage, "that if my good fortune +had directed me to that profession, I should have made a very +fair lawyer for I have always had a great fondness for debate and +especially for the cross-examination of witnesses, unless that +witness was P. T. Barnum in examination under supplementary +proceedings at the instance of some note shaver, who had bought a +clock note at a discount of thirty-six per cent. In this mock +court, I was unanimously chosen as prosecuting attorney, and, as +the court was established expressly to convict, I had no +difficulty in carrying the jury and securing the punishment of +the prisoner. A small fine was generally imposed, and the fund +thus collected was given to a poor sailor boy who had fallen from +the mast and broken his leg." + +"After several of these trials had been held, a dozen or more of +the passengers secretly put their heads together and resolved to +place the 'showman' on trial for his life. An indictment, +covering twenty pages, was drawn up by several legal gentlemen +among the passengers, charging him with being the Prince of +Humbugs, and enumerating a dozen special counts, containing +charges of the most absurd and ridiculous description. Witnesses +were then brought together, and privately instructed what to say +and do. Two or three days were devoted to arranging this mighty +prosecution, 'When everything was ready, I was arrested, and the +formidable indictment read to me. I saw at a glance that time and +talent had been brought into requisition, and that my trial was +to be more elaborate than any that had preceded it. I asked for +half an hour to prepare for my defense, which was granted. +Meanwhile, seats were arranged to accommodate the court and +spectators, and extra settees were placed for the ladies on the +upper deck, where they could look down, see and hear all that +transpired. Curiosity was on tip-toe, for it was evident that +this was to be a long, exciting and laughable trial. At the end +of half an hour the judge was on the bench the jury had taken +their places; the witnesses were ready; the counsel for the +prosecution, four in number, with pens, ink, and paper in +profusion, were seated, and everything seemed ready. I was +brought in by a special constable, the indictment read, and I was +asked to plead guilty, or not guilty. I rose and In a most solemn +manner, stated that I could not conscientiously plead guilty or +not guilty; that I had, in fact, committed many of the acts +charged in the indictment, but these acts, I was ready to show, +were not criminal, but on the contrary, worthy of praise. My plea +was received and the first witness called. + +"He testified to having visited the prisoner's museum, and of +being humbugged by the Feejee mermaid; the nurse of Washington; +and by other curiosities, natural and unnatural. The questions +and answers having been all arranged in advance, everything +worked smoothly. Acting as my own counsel, I cross-examined the +witness by simply asking whether he saw anything else in the +museum besides what he had mentioned. + +" 'Oh! yes, I saw thousands of other things.' + +" 'Were they curious?' + +" 'Certainly; many of them very astonishing.' + +" 'Did you ever witness a dramatic representation in the museum?' + +" 'Yes, sir, a very good one.' + +" 'What did you pay for all this?' + +" 'Twenty-five cents.' + +" 'That will do, sir; you can step down.' + +"A second, third and fourth witness were called, and the +examination was similar to the foregoing. Another witness then +appeared to testify in regard to another count in the indictment. +He stated that for several weeks he was the guest of the +prisoner, at his country residence Iranistan and he gave a most +amusing description of the various schemes and contrivances which +were there originated for the purpose of being carried out at +some future day in the museum. + +" 'How did you live there?' asked one of the counsel for the +prosecution. + +" 'Very well, indeed, in the daytime,' was the reply; 'plenty of +the best to eat and drink except liquors. In bed, however, it was +impossible to sleep. I rose the first night, struck a light, and +on examination found myself covered with myriads of tattle bugs, +so small as to be almost imperceptible. By using my microscope I +discovered them to be infantile bedbugs. After the first night I +was obliged to sleep in the coach-house in order to escape this +annoyance.' + +"Of course this elicited much mirth. The first question put on +the cross-examination was this: + +" 'Are you a naturalist, sir?' + +"The witness hesitated. In all the drilling that had taken place +before the trial, neither the counsel nor witnesses had thought +of what questions might come up in the cross-examination, and +now, not seeing the drift of the question, the witness seemed a +little bewildered, and the counsel for the prosecution looked +puzzled. + +"The question was repeated with some emphasis. + +" 'No, sir,' replied the witness, hesitatingly, 'I am not a +naturalist.' + +" 'Then, sir, not being a naturalist, dare you affirm that those +microscopic insects were not humbugs instead of bedbugs'--(here +the prisoner was interrupted by a universal shout of laughter, in +which the solemn judge himself joined)--land if they were +humbugs, I suppose that even the learned counsel opposed to me +will not claim that they were out of place. + +" 'They may have been humbugs,' replied the witness. + +" 'That will do, sir; you may go,' said I; and at the same time, +turning to the array of counsel, I remarked, with a smile, 'You +had better have a naturalist for your next witness, gentlemen.' + +" 'Don't be alarmed, sir, we have got one, and we will now +introduce him,' replied the counsel. + +"The next witness testified that he was a planter from Georgia, +that some years since the prisoner visited his plantation with a +show, and that while there he discovered an old worthless donkey +belonging to the planter, and bought him for five dollars. The +next year the witness visited Iranistan, the country seat of the +prisoner, and, while walking about the grounds, his old donkey, +recognizing his former master, brayed; 'whereupon,' continued the +witness, 'I walked up to the animal and found that two men were +engaged in sticking wool upon him, and this animal was afterwards +exhibited by the prisoner as the woolly horse.' + +"The whole court--spectators, and even the 'prisoner' +himself--were convulsed with laughter at the gravity with which +the planter gave his very ludicrous testimony. + +" 'What evidence have you,' I inquired, 'that this was the same +donkey which you sold to me?' + +" 'The fact that the animal recognized me, as was evident from +his braying as soon as he saw me.' + +" 'Are you a naturalist, sir?' + +" 'Yes, I am,' replied the planter, with firm emphasis, as much +as to say, you can't catch me as you did the other witness. + +" 'Oh! you are a naturalist, are you? Then, sir, I ask you, as a +naturalist, do you not know it to be a fact in natural history +that one jackass always brays as soon as he sees another?' + +"This question was received with shouts of laughter, in the midst +of which the nonplussed witness backed out of court, and all the +efforts of special constables, and even the high sheriff himself, +were unavailing in getting him again on the witness stand. + +"This trial lasted two days, to the great delight of all on +board. After my success with the 'naturalist,' not one-half of +the witnesses would appear against me. In my final argument I +sifted the testimony, analyzed its bearings, ruffled the learned +counsel, disconcerted the witnesses, flattered the judge and +jury, and when the judge had delivered his charge, the jury +acquitted me without leaving their seats. The judge received the +verdict, and then announced that he should fine the naturalist +for the mistake he made, as to the cause of the donkey's braying, +and he should also fine the several witnesses, who, through fear +of the cross-fire, had refused to testify." + +The trial afforded a pleasant topic of conversation for the rest +of the voyage; and the morning before arriving in port, a vote of +thanks was passed to Barnum, in consideration of the amusement he +had intentionally and unintentionally furnished to the passengers +during the voyage. + +The treatment to which Barnum was subjected on his arrival in New +York, was in strange and discreditable contrast to that which he +had enjoyed abroad. He sometimes spoke of it in later life, +though without any bitterness. He was too much of a philosopher +to take it to heart. "After my arrival," he would say, "often, in +passing up and down Broadway, I saw old and prosperous friends +coming, but before I came anywhere near them, if they espied me, +they would dodge into a store, or across the street, or +opportunely meet some one with whom they had pressing business, +or they would be very much interested in something that was going +on over the way, or on top of the City Hall. I was delighted at +this, for it gave me at once a new sensation and a new +experience. 'Ah, ha!' I said to myself, 'my butterfly friends, I +know you now; and, what is more to the point, if ever I get out +of this bewilderment of broken clock-wheels, I shall not forget +you;' and I heartily thanked the old clock concern for giving me +the opportunity to learn this sad but most needful lesson. I had +a very few of the same sort of experiences in Bridgeport, and +they proved valuable to me." + +One of Barnum's assignees was his neighbor and quondam +"gamekeeper," Mr. Johnson, and he it was who had written to +Barnum to return to America, to facilitate the settlement of his +affairs. He now told him that there was no probability of +disposing of Iranistan at present, and that therefore he might as +well move back into his old home. That was August. In September, +Barnum's family followed him to America, and they decided to take +Mr. Johnson's advice and re-occupy Iranistan. They went to +Bridgeport, to superintend arrangements, and there Barnum's +second daughter, Helen, was married to Mr. S. W. Hurd, on October +20, 1857. + +"Meanwhile, Iranistan, which had been closed and unoccupied for +more than two years, was once more opened to the carpenters and +painters whom Mr. Johnson sent there to put the house in order. +He agreed with Barnum that it was best to keep the property as +long as possible, and in the interval, till a purchaser for the +estate appeared, or till it was forced to auction, to take up the +clock notes, whenever they were offered. The workmen who were +employed in the house were specially instructed not to smoke +there, but nevertheless, it was subsequently discovered that some +of the men were in the habit occasionally of going into the main +dome to eat their dinners which they brought with them, and that +they stayed there awhile after dinner to smoke their pipes. In +all probability, one of these lighted pipes was left on the +cushion which covered the circular seat in the dome and ignited +the tow with which the cushion was stuffed. It may have been days +and even weeks before this smouldering tow fire burst into flame. + +Barnum was staying at the Astor House, in New York, when, on the +morning of December 18, 1857, he received a telegram from his +brother, Philo F. Barnum, dated at Bridgeport, and informing him +that Iranistan was burned to the ground that morning. The alarm +was given at eleven o'clock on the night of the 17th, and the +fire burned till one o'clock on the morning of the 18th. + +This was, of course, a considerable loss to Barnum's estate, for +the house had cost about $150,000. It was also generally regarded +as a public calamity. This house had been the only building in +its peculiar style of architecture of any pretension in America, +and many persons had visited Bridgeport every year expressly to +see it. The insurance on the mansion had usually been about +$62,000, but Barnum had let some of the policies expire without +renewing them, so that at the time of the fire there was only +$28,000 insurance on the property. Most of the furniture and +pictures were saved, generally in a damaged state. + +Subsequently, the assignees sold the grounds and outhouses of +Iranistan to Elias Howe, Jr., the inventor of the sewing-machine. +The property brought $50,000, which, with the $28,000 insurance +went into Barnum's assets to satisfy clock creditors. It was Mr. +Howe's intention to erect a splendid mansion on the estate, but +his untimely and lamented death prevented the fulfilment of the +plan. + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. THE ART OF MONEY GETTING. + +THE LECTURE FIELD--SUCCESS--CAMBRIDGE--OXFORD--AN UNIQUE +ENTERTAINMENT--BARNUM EQUAL TO THE OCCASION--INVITED TO STAY A +WEEK. + +Seeing the necessity of making more money to assist in +extricating his affairs from financial disorder, Barnum went back +to England, taking with him Tom Thumb, whom he exhibited in all +the principal places of England, Scotland and Wales; this was +early in 1858. + +The tour was a profitable one, and the money, as fast as it came +in, was remitted to his agents and assignees in America. + +At the suggestion of some of his American friends In London, +Barnum next appeared on the lecture platform. The subject chosen +was "The Art of Money Getting," although Barnum told his friends +that in the light of recent events he felt more competent to +speak on the art of money losing. But they assured him that his +name having been associated with the Jenny Lind concerts and +other great money-making enterprises, the lecture would +undoubtedly prove both attractive and profitable. + +The lecture was widely advertised, of course, and at the +appointed time the great St. James' Hall, Regent Street, +Piccadilly, was completely filled. It was the evening of December +29, 1858. We subjoin extracts from the lecture, which was closely +listened to and well received by many more audiences than the one +which heard it first at St. James' Hall. + +Those who really desire to attain an independence, have only to +set their minds upon it, and adopt the proper means, as they do +in regard to any other object which they wish to accomplish, and +the thing is easily done. But however easy it may be found to +make money, I have no doubt many of my hearers will agree it is +the most difficult thing in the world to keep it. The road to +wealth is, as Dr. Franklin truly says, "as plain as the road to +mill." It consists simply in expending less than we earn; that +seems to be a very simple problem. Mr. Micawber, one of those +happy creations of the genial Dickens, puts the case in a strong +light when he says that to have an income of twenty pounds per +annum, and spend twenty pounds and sixpence, is to be the most +miserable of men; whereas, to have an income of only twenty +pounds, and spend but nineteen pounds and sixpence, is to be the +happiest of mortals. Many of my hearers may say, "we understand +this; this is economy, and we know economy is wealth; we know we +can't eat our cake and keep it also." Yet I beg to say that +perhaps more cases of failure arise from mistakes on this point +than almost any other. The fact is, many people think they +understand economy when they really do not. + +True economy is misapprehended, and people go through life +without properly comprehending what that principle is. One says, +"I have an income of so much, and here is my neighbor who has the +same; yet every year he gets something ahead and I fall short; +why is it? I know all about economy." He thinks he does, but he +does not. There are many who think that economy consists in +saving cheese-parings and candle-ends, in cutting off twopence +from the laundress' bill and doing all sorts of little mean, +dirty things. Economy is not meanness. The misfortune is, also, +that this class of persons let their economy apply in only one +direction. They fancy they are so wonderfully economical in +saving a half-penny where they ought to spend twopence, that they +think they can afford to squander in other directions. A few +years ago, before kerosene oil was discovered or thought of, one +might stop over night at almost any farmer's house in the +agricultural districts and get a very good supper, but after +supper he might attempt to read in the sitting-room, and would +find it impossible with the inefficient light of one candle. The +hostess, seeing his dilemma, would say: "It is rather difficult +to read here evenings; the proverb says 'you must have a ship at +sea in order to be able to burn two candles at once;' we never +have an extra candle except on extra occasions." These extra +occasions occur, perhaps, twice a year. In this way the good +woman saves five, six, or ten dollars in that time; but the +information which might be derived from having the extra light +would, of course, far outweigh a ton of candles. + +But the trouble does not end here. Feeling that she is so +economical in tallow candles, she thinks she can afford to go +frequently to the village and spend twenty or thirty dollars for +ribbons and furbelows, many of which are not necessary. This +false economy may frequently be seen in men of business, and in +those instances it often runs to writing-paper. You find good +business men who save all the old envelopes and scraps, and would +not tear a new sheet of paper, if they could avoid it, for the +world. This is all very well; they may in this way save five or +ten dollars a year, but being so economical (only in note-paper), +they think they can afford to waste time; to have expensive +parties, and to drive their carriages. + +True economy consists in always making the income exceed the +out-go. Wear the old clothes a little longer if necessary; +dispense with the new pair of gloves; mend the old dress; live on +plainer food if need be; so that, under all circumstances, unless +some unforeseen accident occurs, there will be a margin in favor +of the income. A penny here, and a dollar there, placed at +interest, goes on accumulating, and in this way the desired +result is attained. It requires some training, perhaps, to +accomplish this economy, but when once used to it, you will find +there is more satisfaction in rational saving than in irrational +spending. Here is a recipe which I recommend; I have found it to +work an excellent cure for extravagance, and especially for +mistaken economy: When you find that you have no surplus at the +end of the year, and yet have a good income, I advise you to take +a few sheets of paper and form them into a book and mark down +every item of expenditure. Post it every day or week in two +columns, one headed "necessaries" or even "comforts," and the +other headed "luxuries," and you will find that the latter column +will be double, treble, and frequently ten times greater than the +former. The real comforts of life cost but a small portion of +what most of us can earn. + +The foundation of success in life is good health; that is the +substratum of fortune; it is also the basis of happiness. A +person cannot accumulate a fortune very well when he is sick. He +has no ambition; no incentive; no force. Of course, there are +those who have bad health and cannot help it; you cannot expect +that such persons can accumulate wealth; but there are a great +many in poor health who need not be so. + +If, then, sound health is the foundation of success and happiness +in life, how important it is that we should study the laws of +health, which is but another expression for the laws of nature! +The closer we keep to the laws of nature the nearer we are to +good health, and yet how many persons there are who pay no +attention to natural laws, but absolutely transgress them, even +against their own natural inclination. We ought to know that the +"sin of ignorance" is never winked at in regard to the violation +of nature's laws; their infraction always brings the penalty. A +child may thrust its finger into the flames without knowing it +will burn, and so suffers; repentance, even, will not stop the +smart. Many of our ancestors knew very little about the principle +of ventilation. They did not know much about oxygen, whatever +other "gin" they might have been acquainted with; and +consequently, they built their houses with little seven-by-nine +feet bedrooms, and these good old pious Puritans would lock +themselves up in one of these cells, say their prayers and go to +bed. In the morning they would devoutly return thanks for the +"preservation of their lives" during the night, and nobody had +better reason to be thankful. Probably some big crack in the +window, or in the door, let in a little fresh air, and thus saved +them. + +Many persons knowingly violate the laws of nature against their +better impulses, for the sake of fashion. For instance, there is +one thing that nothing living except a vile worm ever naturally +loved, and that is tobacco; yet how many persons there are who +deliberately train an unnatural appetite, and overcome this +implanted aversion for tobacco, to such a degree that they get to +love it. They have got hold of a poisonous, filthy weed, or +rather that takes a firm hold of them. Here are married men who +run about spitting tobacco-juice on the carpet and floors, and +sometimes even upon their wives besides. They do not kick their +wives out-of-doors like drunken men, but their wives, I have no +doubt, often wish they were outside of the house. Another +perilous feature is that this artificial appetite, like jealousy, +"grows by what it feeds on;" when you love that which is +unnatural, a stronger appetite is created for the hurtful thing +than the natural desire for what is harmless. There is an old +proverb which says that "habit is second nature," but an +artificial habit is stronger than nature. Take, for instance, an +old tobacco-chewer; his love for the "quid" is stronger than his +love for any particular kind of food. He can give up roast beef +easier than give up the weed. + +These remarks apply with tenfold force to the use of intoxicating +drinks. To make money, requires a clear brain. A man has got to +see that two and two make four; he must lay all his plans with +reflection and forethought, and closely examine all the details +and the ins and outs of business. As no man can succeed in +business unless he has a brain to enable him to lay his plans, +and reason to guide him in their execution, so, no matter how +bountifully a man may be blessed with intelligence, if the brain +is muddled, and his judgment warped by intoxicating drinks, it is +impossible for him to carry on business successfully. How many +good opportunities have passed, never to return, while a man was +sipping a "social glass" with his friend! How many foolish +bargains have been made under the influence of the "nervine," +which temporarily makes its victim think he is rich. How many +important chances have been put off until to-morrow, and then +forever, because the wine-cup has thrown the system into a state +of lassitude, neutralizing the energies so essential to success +in business. Verily, "wine is a mocker." The use of intoxicating +drinks as a beverage is as much an infatuation as is the smoking +of opium by the Chinese, and the former is quite as destructive +to the success of the business man as the latter. It is an +unmitigated evil, utterly indefensible in the light of +philosophy, religion or good sense. It is the parent of nearly +every other evil in our country. + +The safest plan, and the one most sure of success for the young +man starting in life, is to select the vocation which is most +congenial to his tastes. Parents and guardians are often quite +too negligent in regard to this. It is very common for a father +to say, for example: "I have five boys. I will make Billy a +clergyman; John a lawyer; Tom a doctor, and Dick a farmer." He +then goes into town and looks about to see what he will do with +Sammy. He returns home, and says: "Sammy, I see watchmaking is a +nice, genteel business; I think I will make you a goldsmith." He +does this, regardless of Sam's natural inclinations or genius. + +We are all, no doubt, born for a wise purpose. There is as much +diversity in our brains as in our countenances. Some are born +natural mechanics, while some have great aversion to machinery. +Let a dozen boys of ten years get together, and you will soon +observe two or three are "whittling" out some ingenious device; +working with locks or complicated machinery. When they were but +five years old their father could find no toy to please them like +a puzzle. They are natural mechanics; but the other eight or nine +boys have different aptitudes I belong to the latter class; I +never had the slightest love for mechanism; on the contrary, I +have a sort of abhorrence for complicated machinery. I never had +ingenuity enough to whittle a cider-tap so it would not leak. I +never could make a pen that I could write with, or understand the +principle of a steam-engine. If a man was to take such a boy as I +was, and attempt to make a watchmaker of him, the boy might, +after an apprenticeship of five or seven years be able to take +apart and put together a watch; but all through life he would be +working uphill and seizing every excuse for leaving his work and +idling away his time. Watchmaking is repulsive to him. + +Unless a man enters upon the vocation intended for him by nature, +and best suited to his peculiar genius, he cannot succeed. I am +glad to believe that the majority of persons do find their right +vocation. Yet we see many who have mistaken their calling from +the blacksmith up (or down) to the clergyman. You will see, for +instance, that extraordinary linguist, the "learned blacksmith," +who ought to have been a teacher of languages; and you may have +seen lawyers, doctors and clergymen who were better fitted by +nature for the anvil or the lapstone. + +Avoid debt. Young men starting in life should avoid running into +debt. There is scarcely anything that drags a person down like +debt. It is a slavish position to get in, yet we find many a +young man, hardly out of his "teens," running in debt. He meets a +chum, and says, "Look at this: I have got trusted for a new suit +of clothes." He seems to look upon the clothes as so much given +to him; well, it frequently is so, but, if he succeeds in paying +and then gets trusted again, he is adopting a habit which will +keep him in poverty through life. Debt robs a man of his +self-respect, and makes him almost despise himself. Grunting and +groaning and working for what he has eaten up or worn out, and +now when he is called upon to pay up he has nothing to show for +his money; this is properly termed "working for a dead horse." I +do not speak of merchants buying and selling on credit, or of +those who buy on credit in order to turn the purchase to a +profit. The old Quaker said to his farmer son, "John, never get +trusted; but if thee gets trusted for anything, let it be for +'manure,' because that will help thee pay it back again." + +Mr. Beecher advised young men to get in debt if they could to a +small amount in the purchase of land in the country districts. +"If a young man," he says, "will only get in debt for some land +and then get married, these two things will keep him straight, or +nothing will." This may be safe to a limited extent, but getting +in debt for what you eat and drink and wear is to be avoided. +Some families have a foolish habit of getting credit at "the +stores," and thus frequently purchase many things which might +have been dispensed with. + +It is all very well to say, "I have got trusted for sixty days, +and if I don't have the money the creditor will think nothing +about it." There is no class of people in the world who have such +good memories as creditors. When the sixty days run out you will +have to pay. If you do not pay, you will break your promise, and +probably resort to a falsehood. You may make some excuse or get +in debt elsewhere to pay it, but that only involves you the +deeper. + +A good-looking, lazy young fellow, was the apprentice boy, +Horatio. His employer said, "Horatio, did you ever see a snail?" +"I--think--I--have," he drawled out. "You must have met him, +then, for I am sure you never overtook one," said the "boss." +Your creditor will meet you or overtake you and say, "Now, my +young friend, you agreed to pay me; you have not done it, you +must give me your note." You give the note on interest and it +commences working against you; "it is a dead horse." The creditor +goes to bed at night and wakes up in the morning better off than +when he retired to bed, because his interest has increased during +the night, but you grow poorer while you are sleeping, for the +interest is accumulating against you. + +Among the maxims of the elder Rothschild was one, an apparent +paradox: "Be cautious and bold." This seems to be a contradiction +in terms, but it is not, and there is great wisdom in the maxim. +It is, in fact, a condensed statement of what I have already +said. It is to say, "you must exercise your caution in laying +your plans, but be bold in carrying them out." A man who is all +caution will never dare to take hold and be successful; and a man +who is all boldness is merely reckless, and must eventually fail. +A man may go on "'change" and make fifty or one hundred thousand +dollars in speculating in stocks at a single operation. But if he +has simple boldness without caution, it is mere chance, and what +he gains to-day he will lose to-morrow. You must have both the +caution and the boldness to insure success. + +The Rothschilds have another maxim: "Never have anything to do +with an unlucky man or place." That is to say, never have +anything to do with a man or place which never succeeds, because, +although a man may appear to be honest and intelligent, yet if he +tries this or that thing and always fails, it is on account of +some fault or infirmity that you may not be able to discover, but +nevertheless which must exist. + +There is no such thing in the world as luck. There never was a +man who could go out in the morning and find a purse full of gold +in the street to-day, and another to-morrow, and so on, day after +day. He may do so once in his life; but so far as mere luck is +concerned, he is as liable to lose it as to find it. "Like causes +produce like effects." If a man adopts the proper methods to be +successful, "luck" will not prevent him. If he does not succeed, +there are reasons for it, although, perhaps, he may not be able +to see them. + +We all depend, more or less, upon the public for our support. We +all trade with the public--lawyers, doctors, shoemakers, artists, +blacksmiths, showmen, opera singers, railroad presidents, and +college professors. Those who deal with the public must be +careful that their goods are valuable; that they are genuine, and +will give satisfaction. When you get an article which you know is +going to please your customers, and that when they have tried it +they will feel they have got their money's worth, then let the +fact be known that you have got it. Be careful to advertise it in +some shape or other, because it is evident that if a man has ever +so good an article for sale, and nobody knows it, it will bring +him no return. In a country like this, where nearly everybody +reads, and where newspapers are issued and circulated in editions +of five thousand to two hundred thousand, it would be very unwise +if this channel was not taken advantage of to reach the public in +advertising. A newspaper goes into the family, and is read by +wife and children, as well as the head of the house; hence +hundreds and thousands of people may read your advertisement, +while you are attending to your routine business. Many, perhaps, +read it while you are asleep. The whole philosophy of life is, +first "sow," then "reap." That is the way the farmer does; he +plants his potatoes and corn, and sows his grain, and then goes +about something else, and the time comes when he reaps. But he +never reaps first and sows afterwards. This principle applies to +all kinds of business, and to nothing more eminently than to +advertising. If a man has a genuine article, there is no way in +which he can reap more advantageously than by "sowing" to the +public in this way. He must, of course, have a really good +article, and one which will please his customers; anything +spurious will not succeed permanently, because the public is +wiser than many imagine. Men and women are selfish, and we all +prefer purchasing where we can get the most for our money; and we +try to find out where we can most surely do so. + +You may advertise a spurious article, and induce many people to +call and buy it once, but they will denounce you as an impostor +and swindler, and your business will gradually die out and leave +you poor. This is right. Few people can safely depend upon chance +custom. You all need to have your customers return and purchase +again. A man said to me, "I have tried advertising and did not +succeed; yet I have a good article." + +I replied, "My friend, there may be exceptions to a general rule. +But how do you advertise?" + +"I put it in a weekly newspaper three times, and paid a dollar +and a half for it." I replied: "Sir, advertising is like +learning--'a little is a dangerous thing!' " + +A French writer says that "The reader of a newspaper does not see +the first insertion of an ordinary advertisement; the second +insertion he sees, but does not read; the third insertion he +reads; the fourth insertion, he looks at the price; the fifth +insertion, he speaks of it to his wife; the sixth insertion, he +is ready to purchase, and the seventh insertion, he purchases." +Your object in advertising is to make the public understand what +you have got to sell, and if you have not the pluck to keep +advertising, until you have imparted that information, all the +money you have spent is lost. + +Work at it, if necessary, early and late, in season and out of +season, not leaving a stone unturned, and never deferring for a +single hour that which can be done just as well now. The old +proverb is full of truth and meaning: "Whatever is worth doing at +all, is worth doing well." Many a man acquires a fortune by doing +his business thoroughly, while his neighbor remains poor for +life, because he only half does it. Ambition, energy, industry, +perseverance, are indispensable requisites for success in +business. + +Fortune always favors the brave, and never helps a man who does +not help himself. It won't do to spend your time like Mr. +Micawber, in waiting for something to "turn up." To such men one +of two things usually "turns up:" the poor-house or the jail; for +idleness breeds bad habits, and clothes a man in rags. The poor +spendthrift vagabond said to a rich man: + +"I have discovered there is money enough in the world for all of +us, if it was equally divided; this must be done, and we shall +all be happy together." + +"But," was the response, "if everybody was like you, it would be +spent in two months, and what would you do then?" + +"Oh! divide again; keep dividing, of course!" + +I was recently reading in a London paper an account of a like +philosophic pauper, who was kicked out of a cheap boarding-house +because he could not pay his bill, but he had a roll of papers +sticking out of his coat pocket, which, upon examination, proved +to be his plan for paying off the national debt of England +without the aid of a penny. People have got to do as Cromwell +said: "Not only trust in Providence, but keep the powder dry." Do +your part of the work, or you cannot succeed. Mahomet, one night, +while encamping in the desert, overheard one of his fatigued +followers remark: "I will loose my camel, and trust it to God." +"No, no, not so," said the prophet; "tie thy camel, and trust it +to God." Do all you can for yourselves, and then trust to +Providence, or luck, or whatever you please to call it, for the +rest. + +Some men have a foolish habit of telling their business secrets. +If they make money they like to tell their neighbors how it was +done. Nothing is gained by this, and ofttimes much is lost. Say +nothing about your profits, your hopes, your expectations, your +intentions. And this should apply to letters as well as to +conversation. Goethe makes Mephistophiles say: "Never write a +letter nor destroy one." Business men must write letters, but +they should be careful what they put in them. If you are losing, +money, be specially cautious and not tell of it or you will lose +your reputation. + +Preserve your integrity. It is more precious than, diamonds or +rubies. The old miser said to his sons: "Get money; get it +honestly, if you can, but get money." This advice was not only +atrociously wicked, but it was the very essence of stupidity. It +was as much as to say, "if you find it difficult to obtain money +honestly, you can easily get it dishonestly. Get it in that way." +Poor fool! Not to know that the most difficult thing in life is +to make money dishonestly! not to know that our prisons are full +of men who attempted to follow this advice; not to understand +that no man can be dishonest without soon being found out, and +that when his lack of principle is discovered, nearly every +avenue to success is closed against him forever. The public very +properly shun all whose integrity is doubted. No matter how +polite and pleasant and accommodating a man may be, none of us +dare to deal with him if we suspect "false weights and measures." +Strict honesty not only lies at the foundation of all success in +life (financially), but in every other respect. Uncompromising +integrity of character is invaluable. It secures to its possessor +a peace and joy which cannot be attained without it--which no +amount of money, or houses and lands, can purchase. A man who is +known to be strictly honest, may be ever so poor, but he has the +purses of all the community at his disposal--for all know that if +he promises to return what he borrows, he will never disappoint +them. As a mere matter of selfishness, therefore, if a man had no +higher motive for being honest, all will find that the maxim of +Dr. Franklin can never fail to be true--that "honesty is the best +policy." + +I hold that no man ought ever to indorse a note or become +security for any man, be it his father or brother, to a greater +extent than he can afford to lose and care nothing about, without +taking good security. Here is a man that is worth twenty thousand +dollars; he is doing a thriving manufacturing or mercantile +trade; you are retired and living on your money; he comes to you +and says: + +"You are aware that I am worth twenty thousand dollars, and don't +owe a dollar: if I had five thousand dollars in cash, I could +purchase a particular lot of goods and double my money in a +couple of months; will you indorse my note for that amount?" + +You reflect that he is worth twenty thousand dollars, and you +incur no risk by indorsing his note; you like to accommodate him, +and you lend your name without taking the precaution of getting +security. Shortly after, he shows you the note with your +indorsement cancelled, and tells you, probably truly, "that he +made the profit that he expected by the operation;" you reflect +that you have done a good action, and the thought makes you feel +happy. By and by the same thing occurs again and you do it again; +you have already fixed the impression in your mind that it is +perfectly safe to indorse his notes without security. + +But the trouble is, this man is getting money too easily. He has +only to take your note to the bank, get it discounted, and take +the cash. He gets money for the time being without effort; +without inconvenience to himself. Now mark the result. He sees a +chance for speculation outside of his business. A temporary +investment of only $10,000 is required. It is sure to come back +before a note at the bank would be due. He places a note for that +amount before you. You sign it almost mechanically. Being firmly +convinced that your friend is responsible and trustworthy, you +indorse his notes as a "matter of course." + +Unfortunately the speculation does not come to a head quite so +soon as was expected, and another $10,000 note must be discounted +to take up the last one when due. Before this note matures the +speculation has proved an utter failure and all the money is +lost. Does the loser tell his friend, the indorser, that he has +lost half of his fortune? Not at all. He don't even mention that +he has speculated at all. But he has got excited; the spirit of +speculation has seized him; he sees others making large sums in +this way (we seldom hear of the loser), and, like other +speculators, he "looks for his money where he loses it." He tries +again. Indorsing notes has become chronic with you, and at every +loss he gets your signature for whatever amount he wants. Finally +you discover your friend has lost all of his property and all of +yours. You are overwhelmed with astonishment and grief, and you +say "it is a hard thing; my friend here has ruined me," but, you +should add, "I have also ruined him." If you had said in the +first place, "I will accommodate you, but I never indorse without +taking ample security," he could not have gone beyond the length +of his tether, and he would never have been tempted away from his +legitimate business. It is a very dangerous thing, therefore, at +any time, to let people get possession of money too easily; it +tempts them to hazardous speculations, if nothing more. Solomon +truly said, "He that hateth suretiship is sure." + +We sometimes see men who have obtained fortunes suddenly become +poor. In many cases this arises from intemperance, and often from +gaming and other bad habits. Frequently it occurs because a man +has been engaged in "outside operations" of some sort. When he +gets rich in his legitimate business, he is told of a grand +speculation where he can make a score of thousands. He is +constantly flattered by his friends, who tell him that he is born +lucky, that everything he touches turns into gold. Now if he +forgets that his economical habits, his rectitude of conduct and +a personal attention to a business which he understood, caused +his success in life, he will listen to the siren voices. He says: + +"I will put in twenty thousand dollars. I have been lucky, and my +good luck will soon bring me back sixty thousand dollars." + +A few days elapse, and it is discovered he must put in ten +thousand dollars more; soon after he is told "it is all right," +but certain matters not foreseen require an advance of twenty +thousand dollars more, which will bring him a rich harvest; but +before the time comes around to realize the bubble bursts, he +loses all he is possessed of, and then he learns what he ought to +have known at the first, that however successful a man may be in +his own business, if he turns from that and engages in a business +which he don't understand, he is like Samson when shorn of his +locks--his strength has departed, and he becomes like other men. + +If a man has plenty of money, he ought to invest something in +everything that appears to promise success, and that will +probably benefit mankind; but let the sums thus invested be +moderate in amount, and never let a man foolishly jeopardize a +fortune that he has earned in a legitimate way by investing it in +things in which he has had no experience. + +When a man is in the right path he must persevere. I speak of +this because there are some persons who are "born tired;" +naturally lazy and possessing no self-reliance and no +perseverance. But they can cultivate these qualities, as Davy +Crockett said: + + "This thing remember, when I am dead, + Be sure you are right, then go ahead." + +It is this go-aheaditiveness, this determination not to let the +"horrors" or the "blues" take possession of you, so as to make +you relax your energies in the struggle for independence, which +you must cultivate. + +How many have almost reached the goal of their ambition, but, +losing faith in themselves, have relaxed their energies, and the +golden prize has been lost forever. + +It is, no doubt, often true, as Shakespeare says: + + "There is a tide in the affairs of men, + Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." + + If you hesitate, some bolder hand will stretch out before you +and get the prize. Remember the proverb of Solomon: "He becometh +poor that dealeth with a slack hand; but the hand of the diligent +maketh rich." + +Perseverance is sometimes but another word for self-reliance. +Many persons naturally look on the dark side of life, and borrow +trouble. They are born so. Then they ask for advice, and they +will be governed by one wind and blown by another, and cannot +rely upon themselves. Until you can get so that you can rely upon +yourself, you need not expect to succeed. I have known men, +personally, who have met with pecuniary reverses, and absolutely +committed suicide, because they thought they could never overcome +their misfortune. But I have known others who have met more +serious financial difficulties, and have bridged them over by +simple perseverance, aided by a firm belief that they were doing +justly, and that Providence would "overcome evil with good." + +Learn something useful. Every man should make his son or daughter +learn some trade or profession, so that in these days of changing +fortunes--of being rich to-day and poor to-morrow--they may have +something tangible to fall back upon. This provision might save +many persons from misery, who by some unexpected turn of fortune +have lost all their means. + +Let hope predominate, but be not too visionary. Many persons are +always kept poor because they are too visionary. Every project +looks to them like certain success, and therefore they keep +changing from one business to another, always in hot water, +always "under the harrow." The plan of "counting the chickens +before they are hatched" is an error of ancient date, but it does +not seem to improve by age. + +Do not scatter your powers. Engage in one kind of business only, +and stick to it faithfully until you succeed, or until your +experience shows that you should abandon it. A constant hammering +on one nail will generally drive it home at last, so that it can +be clinched. When a man's undivided attention is centred on one +object, his mind will constantly be suggesting improvements of +value, which would escape him if his brain was occupied by a +dozen different subjects at once. Many a fortune has slipped +through a man's fingers because he was engaged in too many +occupations at a time. There is good sense in the old caution +against having too many irons in the fire at once. + +Be systematic. Men should be systematic in their business. A +person who does business by rule, having a time and place for +everything, doing his work promptly, will accomplish twice as +much and with half the trouble of him who does it carelessly and +slipshod. By introducing system into all your transactions, doing +one thing at a time, always meeting appointments with +punctuality, you will find leisure for pastime and recreation; +whereas the man who only half does one thing, and then turns to +something else, and half does that, will have his business at +loose ends, and will never know when his day's work is done, for +it never will be done. Of course, there is a limit to all these +rules. We must try to preserve the happy medium, for there is +such a thing as being too systematic. There are men and women, +for instance, who put away things so carefully that they can +never find them again. It is too much like the "red-tape" +formality at Washington, and Mr. Dick-ens' "Circumlocution +Office,"--all theory and no result. + +To get rich is not always equivalent to being successful. "there +are many rich poor men," while there are many others, honest and +devout men and women, who have never possessed so much money as +some rich persons squander in a week, but who are nevertheless +really richer and happier than any man can ever be while he is a +transgressor of the higher laws of his being. + +The inordinate love of money, no doubt, may be and is "the root +of all evil," but money itself, when properly used, is not only a +"handy thing to have in the house," but affords the gratification +of blessing our race by enabling its possessor to enlarge the +scope of human happiness and human influence. The desire for +wealth is nearly universal, and none can say it is not laudable, +provided the possessor of it accepts its responsibilities, and +uses it as a friend to humanity. + +The history of money-getting, which is commerce, is a history of +civilization, and wherever trade has flourished most, there, too, +have art and science produced the noblest fruits. In fact, as a +general thing, money-getters are the benefactors of our race. To +them in a great measure, are we indebted for our institutions of +learning and of art, our academies, colleges and churches. It is +no argument against the desire for, or the possession of, wealth, +to say that there are sometimes misers who hoard money only for +the sake of hoarding, and who have no higher aspiration than to +grasp everything which comes within their reach. As we have +sometimes hypocrites in religion, and demagogues in politics, so +there are occasionally misers among money-getters. These, +however, are only exceptions to the general rule. But when, in +this country, we find such a nuisance and stumbling block as a +miser, we remember with gratitude that in America we have no laws +of primogeniture, and that in the due course of nature the time +will come when the hoarded dust will be scattered for the benefit +of mankind. To all men and women, therefore, do I conscientiously +say, make money honestly, and not otherwise, for Shakespeare has +truly said, "He that wants money, means and content, is without +three good friends." + +Money is in some respects like fire; it is a very excellent +servant but a terrible master. When you have it mastering you; +when interest is constantly piling up against you, it will keep +you down in the worst kind of slavery. But let money work for +you, and you have the most devoted servant in the world. It is no +"eye-servant." There is nothing animate or inanimate that will +work so faithfully as money when placed at interest, well +secured. It works night and day, and in wet or dry weather. + +Do not let it work against you; if you do, there is no chance for +success in life so far as money is concerned. John Randolph, the +eccentric Virginian, once exclaimed in Congress, "Mr. Speaker, I +have discovered the philosopher's stone: pay as you go." This is, +indeed, nearer to the philosopher's stone than any alchemist has +ever yet arrived. + +Barnum and the newspapers had always been on the best of terms, +and in nearly every instance the press praised the lecture in +most unqualified terms. The following extract from the London +Times is a fair sample of many notices which he received: + +"We are bound to admit that Mr. Barnum is one of the most +entertaining lecturers that ever addressed an audience on a theme +universally intelligible. The appearance of Mr. Barnum, it should +be added, has nothing of the 'charlatan' about it, but is that of +the thoroughly respectable man of business; and he has at command +a fund of dry humor that convulses everybody with laughter, while +he himself remains perfectly serious. A sonorous voice and an +admirably clear delivery complete his qualifications as a +lecturer, in which capacity he is no 'humbug,' either in a higher +or lower sense of the word." + +During the year 1859 he delivered this lecture nearly one hundred +times in London and in different parts of England, always with +great success. + +Remembering his experiences with Tom Thumb at Oxford and +Cambridge, and knowing the fondness of the college men for +joking, Barnum made up his mind to endure any amount of friendly +chaff when he visited their cities. + +He commenced at Cambridge, where he was greeted with a crowded +house, composed largely of under-graduates. Soon after he began +to speak, one of the young men called out: "Where is Joice Heth?" +to which Barnum replied: "Young gentleman, please to restrain +yourself till the close of the lecture, when I shall take great +pleasure in affording you all the information I possess +concerning your deceased relative." + +This turned the laugh against the youthful inquirer, and kept the +students quiet for a few moments. Questions of a similar +character were occasionally propounded and as promptly answered, +and on the whole the lecture was interrupted less than Barnum had +anticipated, while the receipts were over one hundred pounds +sterling. + +At Oxford the hall was filled to suffocation half an hour before +the time announced for the lecture to begin, and the sale of +tickets was stopped. + +Barnum therefore stepped upon the platform, and said: "Ladies and +gentlemen: as every seat is now occupied and the ticket-office is +closed, I propose to begin my lecture now and not keep you +waiting till the advertised hour." + +"Good for you, old Barnum,"--"Time is money,"--"Nothing like +economy," yelled the audience. Holding up his hand for silence, +Barnum proceeded: + +"Young gentlemen, I have a word or two to say, in order that we +may have a thorough understanding between ourselves at the +outset. I see symptoms of a pretty jolly time here this evening, +and you have paid me liberally for the single hour of my time, +which is at your service. I am an old traveller and an old +showman, and I like to please my patrons. Now, it is quite +immaterial to me; you may furnish the entertainment for the hour, +or I will endeavor to do so, or we will take portions of the time +by turns --you supplying a part of the amusement and I a part--as +we say sometimes in America, 'you pays your money, and you takes +your choice.' " + +This frankness pleased the students, who agreed to this unique +proposition unhesitatingly. + +The lecture proceeded for fifteen minutes, when a voice called +out: "Come, old chap! you must be tired by this time. Hold up now +till we sing Yankee Doodle." Whereupon they all joined in that +honorable song with lusty good-will, Barnum meanwhile sitting +down comfortably, to show them that he was quite satisfied with +their manner of passing the time. When the song was concluded, +the leader of the party said: "Now, Mr. Barnum, you may go ahead +again." + +The lecture went on, or rather A lecture, for Barnum began to +adapt his remarks to the occasion. Every few minutes would come +some interruption, which was always as much enjoyed by Barnum as +by the audience. When the entertainment concluded, the young men +crowded to the platform to shake hands with the speaker, +declaring that they had had a "jolly good time," while the leader +said: "Stay with us a week, Barnum, and we'll dine you, wine you, +and give you full houses every night." + +Barnum would have accepted the invitation had he not been +announced to lecture in London the next evening, and he told the +students so. They asked him all sorts of questions about America, +the Museum and other shows, and expressed the hope that he would +come out of his troubles all right. + +At least a score of them invited him to breakfast with them the +next morning, but he declined, until one young gentleman insisted +on personal grounds. "My dear sir," said he, "you must breakfast +with me. I have almost split my throat here to-night, and it is +only fair for you to repay me by coming to see me in the +morning." This appeal was irresistible, and Barnum agreed to +come. + +The boys were pleased with his nerve and good nature, but they +confided to him that they liked better to get people angry. A few +weeks before Howard Paul had left them in disgust, because they +insisted on smoking when his wife was on the stage. They added +that the entertainment was excellent, and Howard Paul might have +made a thousand pounds if he had kept his temper. + +Some time later Barnum was offered L1,200, or $6,000, for the +copyright of his lecture; the offer was, however, refused. + + + +CHAPTER XXX. AN ENTERPRISING ENGLISHMAN. + +A NEW FRIEND--DINNER TO TOM THUMB AND COMMODORE NUTT--MEASURING +THE GIANT--THE TWO ENGINES. + +The morning after the lecture in Manchester a gentleman named +John Fish called at the hotel where Barnum was staying. He said +that he had attended the lecture the evening before, and added +that he was pretty well acquainted with the lecturer, having read +his autobiography. He went on to say that he was joint proprietor +with another gentleman in a cotton-mill near Manchester, +"although," he said, "a few years ago I was working as a +journeyman, and probably should have been at this time had I not +read your book." + +Observing Mr. Barnum's surprise, he continued: + +"The fact is, Mr. Barnum, upon reading your autobiography, I +thought I perceived you tried to make yourself out worse than you +really were; for I discovered a pleasant spirit and a good heart +under the rougher exterior in which you chose to present yourself +to the public; but," he added, "after reading your life, I found +myself in possession of renewed strength, and awakened energies +and aspirations, and I said to myself, 'Why can't I go ahead and +make money, as Barnum did? He commenced without money and +succeeded; why may not I?' In this train of thought," he +continued, "I went to a newspaper office and advertised for a +partner with money to join me in establishing a cotton-mill. I +had no applications, and, remembering your experiences when you +had money and wanted a partner, I spent half a crown in a similar +experiment. I advertised for a partner to join a man who had +plenty of capital. Then I had lots of applicants ready to +introduce me into all sorts of occupations, from that of a banker +to that of a horsejockey or gambler, if I would only furnish the +money to start with. After a while, I advertised again for a +partner, and obtained one with money. We have a good mill. I +devote myself closely to business, and have been very successful. +I know every line in your book; so, indeed, do several members of +my family; and I have conducted my business on the principles +laid down in your published 'Rules for Money-making.' I find them +correct principles; and, sir, I have sought this interview in +order to thank you for publishing your autobiography, and to tell +you that to that act of yours I attribute my present position in +life." + +"Your statement is certainly flattering," said Mr. Barnum, "and I +am glad if I have been able in any manner, through my +experiences, to aid you in starting in life. But I presume your +genius would have found vent in time if I had not written the +book." + +"No, indeed, it would not," he replied, in an earnest tone; "I am +sure I should have worked as a mill-hand all my life if it had +not been for you. Oh, I have made no secret of it," he continued; +"the commercial men with whom I deal know all about it; indeed, +they call me 'Barnum' on 'change here in Manchester." + +On one occasion, when General Tom Thumb exhibited in Bury, Mr. +Fish closed his mill, and gave each of his employees a ticket to +the exhibition; out of respect, as he said, to Barnum. On a +subsequent occasion, when the little General visited England the +last time, Mr. Fish invited him, his wife, Commodore Nutt, Minnie +Warren, and the managers of "the show," to a splendid and +sumptuous dinner at his house, which the distinguished little +party enjoyed exceedingly. + +Soon after his return to America, Barnum read an account of a +French giant then exhibiting in Paris, and said to be over eight +feet in height. As this was considerably taller than anything +that the showman had ever beheld, he wrote to his friend Fish, +who had expressed a wish to do him any service in his power, and +requested him to go to Paris, and, by actual measurement, find +out the exact height of the giant. He inclosed an offer, +arranging the prices on a sliding scale, commencing at eight +feet, and descending to seven feet two inches, for if he were not +taller than that he was not to be desired. + +Mr. Fish put a two-foot rule in his pocket, and started for +Paris, where, after several days' delay and much trouble beside, +he finally succeeded in gaining an interview. The giant was shown +Barnum's letter, and read the tempting offers made for his +services, provided he measured eight feet, or within six inches +of that height. + +"Oh, I measure over eight feet," said he. + +"Very likely," responded Mr. Fish, "but you see my orders are to +measure you." + +"There's no need of that; you can see for yourself," stretching +himself up a few inches by aid of a peculiar knack which giants +and dwarfs possess to increase or diminish their apparent +stature. + +"No doubt you are right," persisted Mr. Fish, "but you see I must +obey orders, and if I am not permitted to measure you I shall not +engage you." + +"Well," said the giant, "if you can't take my word for it, look +at that door. You see my head is more than two feet above the top +(giving his neck a severe stretch); just measure the door." + +But Mr. Fish refused. The giant was now desperate, and, +stretching himself up to his full height, exclaimed: "Well, be +quick! Put your rule to my feet and measure me; but hurry up, +please!" + +Mr. Fish regarded him coolly. "Look here!" said he, "this sort of +thing won't do, you know. I don't understand this contrivance +around the soles of your boots, but it seems to me you've got a +set of springs there which aids your height when you desire it. +Now I will not stand any more nonsense. If I engage you at all, +you must first take off your boots, and lie flat upon your back +in the middle of the floor." + +The giant protested, but Mr. Fish was firm, and at last he slowly +took off his coat and lay down on the floor. Mr. Fish applied his +rule, and to his own astonishment and the giant's indignation the +latter proved to be barely seven feet one and one-half inches. So +he was not engaged at all. + +Some time afterwards Barnum wrote to his friend and asked his +permission to put him into a new book then in course of +preparation. He wrote in return the following characteristic +letter: + +Had I made a fortune of L100,000 I should have been proud of a +place in your Autobiography; but as I have only been able to make +(here he named a sum which in this country would be considered +almost a fortune), I feel I should be out of place in your pages; +at all events, if you mention me at all, draw it mildly, if you +please. + +The American war has made sad havoc in our trade, and it is only +by close attention to business that I have lately been at all +successful. I have built a place for one thousand looms, and +have, as you know, put in a pair of engines, which I have named +"Barnum" and "Charity." Each engine has its name engraved on two +large brass plates at either end of the cylinder, which has often +caused much mirth when I have explained the circumstances to +visitors. I started and christened "Charity" on the 14th of +January last, and she has saved me L12 per month in coals ever +since. The steam from the boiler goes first to "Charity" (she is +high pressure), and "Barnum" only gets the steam after she has +done with it. He has to work at low pressure (a condensing +engine), and the result is a saving. Barnum was extravagant when +he took steam direct, but since I fixed Charity betwixt him and +the boiler, he can only get what she gives him. This reminds me +that you state in your "Life" you could always make money, but +formerly did not save it. Perhaps you never took care of it till +Charity became Chancellor of Exchequer. When I visited you at the +Bull Hotel, in Blackburn, you pointed to General Tom Thumb, and +said: "That is my piece of goods; I have sold it hundreds of +thousands of times, and have never yet delivered it!" That was +ten years ago, in 1858. If I had been doing the same with my +pieces of calico, I must have been wealthy by this time; but I +have been hammering at one (cotton) nail several months, and, as +it did not offer to clinch, I was almost tempted to doubt one of +your "rules," and thought I would drive at some other nail; but, +on reflection, I knew I understood cotton better than anything +else, and so I back up your rule and stick to cotton, not +doubting it will be all right and successful. + +Mr. Fish was one of the large class of English manufacturers who +suffered seriously from the effects of the rebellion in the +United States. As an Englishman, he could not have a patriot's +interest in the progress of that terrible struggle; but he made a +practical exhibition of sympathy for the suffering soldiers, in a +pleasant and characteristic manner. + +At the great Sanitary Fair in New York, during the war, Mr. Fish +sent two monster "Simuel cakes," covered with miniature forts, +cannon, armies, and all the panoply of war, which attracted great +attention from every one present. + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. AT HOME AGAIN. + +THE CLOCK DEBTS PAID--THE MUSEUM ONCE MORE UNDER BARNUM'S +MANAGEMENT--ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION--HIS SPEECH--TWO POEMS. + +In 1859, Barnum returned to the United States. During his trip +abroad he had secured many novelties for the Museum, the Albino +Family, Thiodon's Mechanical Theatre, and others. + +These afforded him a liberal commission, and he had beside made +considerable money from the Tom Thumb exhibitions and his +lectures. + +All this, his wife's income, as well as a large sum derived from +the sale of some of her property, was faithfully devoted to the +one object of their lives--paying off the clock debts. + +Mrs. Barnum and her daughter, Pauline, had either boarded in +Bridgeport or lived in a small house in the suburbs during the +entire four years of struggle. The land purchased by Mrs. Barnum +at the assignee's sale in East Bridgeport had increased in value +meanwhile, and they felt justified in borrowing on it, some of +the single lots were sold, and all this money went toward the +discharge of the debts. + +At last, in March, 1860, all the clock indebtedness was +extinguished, except $20,000, which Barnum bound himself to take +up within a certain time, his friend James D. Johnson +guaranteeing his bond to that effect. + +On the seventeenth day of March, Messrs. Butler and Greenwood +signed an agreement to sell and deliver to Barnum on the +following Saturday their entire good-will and interest in the +Museum collection. This fact was thoroughly circulated, and +blazing posters, placards, and advertisements announced that +"Barnum is on his feet again." It was furthermore stated that the +Museum would be closed for one week, opening March 31st, under +the management and proprietorship of its original owner. It was +also promised that Barnum would address the audience on the night +of closing. + +The Museum, decked in its holiday dress of flags and banners, was +crowded to its utmost capacity when Barnum made his appearance. +His reception was an enthusiastic one, cheers and shouts rent the +air, and tears filled the showman's eyes as he thought of this +triumphant conclusion of his four years' struggle. + +Recovering himself, he bowed his acknowledgments for the +reception, and addressed the audience as follows: + +"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I should be more or less than human, if I +could meet this unexpected and overwhelming testimonial at your +hands, without the deepest emotion. My own personal connection +with the Museum is now resumed, and I avail myself of the +circumstance to say why it is so. Never did I feel stronger in my +worldly prosperity than in September, 1855. Three months later I +was so deeply embarrassed that I felt certain of nothing, except +the uncertainty of everything. A combination of singular efforts +and circumstances tempted me to put faith in a certain clock +manufacturing company, and I placed my signature to papers which +ultimately broke me down. After nearly five years of hard +struggle to keep my head above water, I have touched bottom at +last, and here to-night I am happy to announce that I have waded +ashore. Every clock debt of which I have any knowledge has been +provided for. Perhaps, after the troubles and turmoils I have +experienced, I should feel no desire to re-engage in the +excitements of business; but a man like myself, less than fifty +years of age, and enjoying robust health, is scarcely old enough +to be embalmed and put in a glass case in the Museum as one of +its million of curiosities. 'It is better to wear out than rust +out.' Besides, if a man of active temperament is not busy, he is +apt to get into mischief. To avoid evil, therefore, and since +business activity is a necessity of my nature, here I am, once +more, in the Museum, and among those with whom I have been so +long and so pleasantly identified. I am confident of a cordial +welcome, and hence feel some claim to your indulgence while I +briefly allude to the means of my present deliverance from utter +financial ruin. Need I say, in the first place, that I am +somewhat indebted to the forbearance of generous creditors. In +the next place, permit me to speak of sympathizing friends, whose +volunteered loans and exertions vastly aided my rescue. When my +day of sorrow came, I first paid or secured every debt I owed of +a personal nature. This done, I felt bound in honor to give up +all of my property that remained toward liquidating my 'clock +debts.' I placed it in the hands of trustees and receivers for +the benefit of all the 'clock' creditors. But at the forced sale +of my Connecticut real estate, there was a purchaser behind the +screen, of whom the world had little knowledge. In the day of my +prosperity I made over to my wife much valuable property, +including the lease of this Museum building--a lease then having +about twenty-two years to run, and enhanced in value to more than +double its original worth. I sold the Museum collection to +Messrs. Greenwood & Butler, subject to my wife's separate +interest in the lease, and she has received more than $80,000 +over and above the sums paid to the owners of the building. +Instead of selfishly applying this amount to private purposes, my +family lived with a due regard to economy, and the savings +(strictly belonging to my wife) were devoted to buying in +portions of my estate at the assignees' sales and to purchasing +'clock notes' bearing my indorsements. The Christian name of my +wife is Charity. I may well acknowledge, therefore, that I am not +only a proper 'subject of charity,' but that 'without Charity, I +am nothing.' + +"But, ladies and gentlemen, while Charity thus labored in my +behalf, Faith and Hope were not idle. I have been anything but +indolent during the last four years. Driven from pillar to post, +and annoyed beyond description by all sorts of legal claims and +writs, I was perusing protests and summonses by day, and dreaming +of clocks run down by night. My head was ever whizzing with +dislocated cog-wheels and broken main-springs; my whole mind (and +my credit) was running upon tick, and everything pressing on me +like a dead weight. + +"In this state of affairs I felt that I was of no use on this +side of the Atlantic, so, giving the pendulum a swing, and +seizing time by the forelock, I went to Europe. There I furtively +pulled the wires of several exhibitions, among which that of Tom +Thumb may be mentioned for example. I managed a variety of +musical and commercial speculations in Great Britain, Germany, +and Holland. These enterprises, together with the net profits of +my public lectures, enabled me to remit large sums to +confidential agents for the purchase of my obligations. In this +manner, I quietly extinguished, little by little, every dollar of +my clock liabilities. I could not have achieved this difficult +feat, however, without the able assistance of enthusiastic +friends--and among the chief of them let me gratefully +acknowledge the invaluable services of Mr. James D. Johnson, a +gentleman of wealth, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Other gentlemen +have been generous with me. Some have loaned me large sums +without security, and have placed me under obligations which must +ever command my honest gratitude "but Mr. Johnson has been a +'friend in deed,' for he has been truly a 'friend in need.' + +"You must not infer, from what I have said, that I have +completely recovered from the stunning blow to which I was +subjected four years ago. I have lost more in the way of tens of +thousands, yes, hundreds of thousands, than I care to remember. A +valuable portion of my real estate in Connecticut, however, has +been preserved, and as I feel all the ardor of twenty years ago, +and the prospect here is so flattering, my heart is animated with +the hope of ultimately, by enterprise and activity, obliterating +unpleasant reminiscences, and retrieving the losses of the past. +Experience, too, has taught me not only that, even in the matter +of money, 'enough is as good as a feast,' but that there are, in +this world, some things vastly better than the Almighty Dollar! +Possibly I may contemplate, at times, the painful day when I said +'Othello's occupation's gone'; but I shall the more frequently +cherish the memory of this moment, when I am permitted to +announce that Richard's himself again.' + +"Many people have wondered that a man considered so acute as +myself should have been deluded into embarrassments like mine, +and not a few have declared, in short meter, that 'Barnum was a +fool.' I can only reply that I never made pretensions to the +sharpness of a pawnbroker, and I hope I shall never so entirely +lose confidence in human nature as to consider every man a scamp +by instinct, or a rogue by necessity. 'It is better to be +deceived sometimes, than to distrust always,' says Lord Bacon, +and I agree with him. + +"Experience is said to be a hard schoolmaster, but I should be +sorry to feel that this great lesson in adversity has not brought +forth fruits of some value. I needed the discipline this +tribulation has given me, and I really feel, after all, that +this, like many other apparent evils, was only a blessing in +disguise. Indeed, I may mention that the very clock factory which +I built in Bridgeport for the purpose of bringing hundreds of +workmen to that city, has been purchased and quadrupled in size +by the Wheeler & Wilson Sewing-Machine Company, and is now filled +with intelligent New England mechanics, whose families add two +thousand to the population, and who are doing a great work in +building up and beautifying that flourishing city. So that the +same concern which prostrated me seems destined as a most +important agent toward my recuperation. I am certain that the +popular sympathy has been with me from the beginning; and this, +together with a consciousness of rectitude, is more than an +offset to all the vicissitudes to which I have been subjected. + +"In conclusion, I beg to assure you and the public that my chief +pleasure, while health and strength are spared me, will be to +cater for your and their healthy amusement and instruction. In +future, such capabilities as I possess will be devoted to the +maintenance of this Museum as a popular place of family resort, +in which all that is novel and interesting shall be gathered from +the four quarters of the globe, and which ladies and children may +visit at all times unattended, without danger of encountering +anything of an objectionable nature. The dramas introduced in the +Lecture Room will never contain a profane expression or a vulgar +allusion; on the contrary, their tendency will always be to +encourage virtue and frown upon vice. + +"I have established connections in Europe, which will enable me +to produce here a succession of interesting novelties otherwise +inaccessible. Although I shall be personally present much of the +time, and hope to meet many of my old acquaintances, as well as +to form many new ones, I am sure you will be glad to learn that I +have re-secured the services of one of the late proprietors, and +the active manager of this Museum, Mr. John Greenwood, Jr. As he +is a modest gentleman, who would be the last to praise himself, +allow me to add that he is one to whose successful qualities as a +caterer for the popular entertainments, the crowds that have +often filled this building may well bear testimony. But, more +than this, he is the unobtrusive one to whose integrity, +diligence, and devotion I owe much of my present position of +self-congratulation. Mr. Greenwood will hereafter act as +assistant manager, while his late co-partner, Mr. Butler, has +engaged in another branch of business. Once more, thanking you +all for your kind welcome, I bid you, till the re-opening, 'an +affectionate adieu.' " + +The speech was received with wild enthusiasm, and after the +re-opening of the Museum the number of visitors was at once +almost doubled. + +Among the many newspaper congratulations he received, none gave +Barnum more pleasure than a poem from his old admirer on the +Boston Saturday Evening Gazette. + +ANOTHER WORD FOR BARNUM. + + Barnum, your hand! The struggle o'er, + You face the world and ask no favor; + You stand where you have stood before, + The old salt hasn't lost its savor. + You now can laugh with friends, at foes' + Ne'er heeding Mrs. Grundy's tattle; + You've dealt and taken sturdy blows, + Regardless of the rabble's prattle. + + Not yours the heart to harbor ill + 'Gainst those who've dealt in trivial jesting; + You pass them with the same good will + Erst shown when they their wit were testing. +You're the same Barnum that we knew, + You're good for years, still fit for labor, + Be as of old, be bold and true, + Honest as man, as friend, as neighbor. + +At about this period, the following poem was published in a +Pottsville, Pa., paper, and copied by many journals of the-day: + +A HEALTH TO BARNUM. + + Companions! fill your glasses round + And drink a health to one + Who has few coming after him, + To do as he has done; + Who made a fortune for himself, + Made fortunes, too, for many, + Yet wronged no bosom of a sigh, + No pocket of a penny. + Come! shout a gallant chorus, + And make the glasses ring, + Here's health and luck to Barnum! + The Exhibition King. + + Who lured the Swedish Nightingale + To Western woods to come? + Who prosperous and happy made + The life of little Thumb? + Who oped Amusement's golden door + So cheaply to the crowd, + And taught Morality to smile + On all HIS stage allowed? + Come! shout a gallant chorus, + Until the glasses ring-- + Here's health and luck to Barnum! + The Exhibition King. + + And when the sad reverses came, + As come they may to all, + Who stood a Hero, bold and true, + Amid his fortune's fall? + Who to the utmost yielded up + What Honor could not keep, + Then took the field of life again + With courage calm and deep? + Come! shout a gallant chorus, + Until the glasses dance-- + Here's health and luck to Barnum, + The Napoleon of Finance + + Yet, no--OUR hero would not look + With smiles on such a cup; + Throw out the wine--with water clear, + Fill the pure crystal up + Then rise, and greet with deep respect, + The courage he has shown, + And drink to him who well deserves + A seat on Fortune's throne. + Here's health and luck to Barnum! + An ELBA he has seen, + And never may his map of life + Display a ST HELENE! + +It is of interest to observe that the phrase "Napoleon of +Finance," which has in recent years been applied to several Wall +Street speculators, was first coined in honorable description of +Phineas T. Barnum, because of his honesty as well as his signal +success. + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. THE STORY OF "GRIZZLY ADAMS." + +BARNUM'S PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FAMOUS BEAR HUNTER--FOOLING HIM +WITH THE "GOLDEN PIGEONS"--ADAMS EARNS $500 AT DESPERATE +COST--TRICKING BARNUM OUT OF A FINE HUNTING SUIT--PROSPERITY OF +THE MUSEUM--VISIT OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. + +The famous old American Museum was now the centre of Barnum's +interests, and he devoted himself to its development with such +energy as never before. His enterprise in securing new +curiosities, and his skill in presenting them to the public in +the most attractive light, surpassed all previous efforts. To his +office, as to their Mecca, flocked all the "freaks" of the land, +and all who possessed any objects of rare or marvelous nature. +Foremost among these visitors was one veteran frontiersman, who +had attained--and well deserved--much fame as a fighter of the +most savage wild beasts. His name was James C. Adams, but he was +universally known as "Grizzly Adams," from the fact that he had +captured a great many grizzly bears at the risk and cost of +fearful encounters and perils. He was brave, and with his bravery +there was enough of the romantic in his nature to make him a real +hero. For many years a hunter and trapper in the Rocky and Sierra +Nevada Mountains, he acquired a recklessness, which, added to his +natural invincible courage, rendered him one of the most striking +men of the age, and he was emphatically a man of pluck. A month +after Barnum had re-purchased the Museum, Adams arrived in New +York with his famous collection of California animals, captured +by himself, consisting of twenty or thirty immense grizzly bears, +at the head of which stood "Old Samson," together with several +wolves, half a dozen different species of California bears, +California lions, tigers, buffalo, elk, and "Old Neptune," the +great sea-lion from the Pacific. + +Old Adams had trained all these monsters so that with him they +were as docile as kittens, though many of the most ferocious +among them would attack a stranger without hesitation, if he came +within their grasp. In fact, the training of these animals was no +fool's play, as Old Adams learned to his cost, for the terrific +blows which he received from time to time, while teaching them +"docility," finally cost him his life. + +Adams called on Barnum immediately on his arrival in New York. He +was dressed in his hunter's suit of buckskin, trimmed with the +skins and bordered with the hanging tails of small Rocky Mountain +animals; his cap consisting of the skin of a wolf's head and +shoulders, from which depended several tails, and under which +appeared his stiff bushy, gray hair and his long, white, grizzly +beard; in fact, Old Adams was quite as much of a show as his +beasts. They had come around Cape Horn on the clipper ship +"Golden Fleece," and a sea voyage of three and a half months had +probably not added much to the beauty or neat appearance of the +old bear-hunter. During their conversation Grizzly Adams took off +his cap, and showed Barnum the top of his head. His skull was +literally broken in. It had, on various occasions, been struck by +the fearful paws of his grizzly students; and the last blow, from +the bear called "General Fremont," had laid open his brain so +that its workings were plainly visible. Barnum remarked that he +thought it was a dangerous wound and might possibly prove fatal. + +"Yes," replied Adams, "that will fix me out. It had nearly +healed; but old Fremont opened it for me, for the third or fourth +time, before I left California, and he did his business so +thoroughly, I'm a used-up man. However, I reckon I may live six +months or a year yet." This was spoken as coolly as if he had +been talking about the life of a dog. + +This extraordinary man had come to see Barnum about the +"California Menagerie," of which he, Adams, was the owner. Barnum +had shortly before, however, purchased one-half interest in it +from a man who had claimed to be Adams's equal partner. This +Adams disputed, declaring that he had merely borrowed from the +man some money on the security of the show, that the man was not +his partner, and that he had no right to sell one-half or any +portion of the menagerie. As a matter of fact, however, the man +did have a bill of sale for one-half of the show, and Adams was +soon convinced that Barnum's purchase was entirely legitimate. +The result was that Barnum and Adams formed a regular +partnership, the former to attend to all business affairs, the +latter to exhibit the animals. The show was opened in a huge +canvas tent on Broadway, at the corner of Thirteenth Street. + +On the morning of opening, a band of music preceded a procession +of animal cages down Broadway and up the Bowery, old Adams, +dressed in his hunting costume, heading the line, with a platform +wagon on which were placed three immense grizzly bears, two of +which he held by chains, while he was mounted on the back of the +largest grizzly, which stood in the centre and was not secured in +any manner whatever. This was the bear known as "General +Fremont," and so docile had he become that Adams said he had used +him as a pack-bear, to carry his cooking and hunting apparatus +through the mountains for six months, and had ridden him hundreds +of miles. But apparently docile as were many of these animals, +there was not one among them that would not occasionally give +Adams a sly blow or a sly bite when a good chance offered; hence +old Adams was but a wreck of his former self, and expressed +pretty nearly the truth when he said: + +"Mr. Barnum, I am not the man I was five years ago. Then I felt +able to stand the hug of any grizzly living, and was always glad +to encounter, single handed, any sort of an animal that dared +present himself. But I have been beaten to a jelly, torn almost +limb from limb, and nearly chawed up and spit out by these +treacherous grizzly bears. However, I am good for a few months +yet, and by that time I hope we shall gain enough to make my old +woman comfortable, for I have been absent from her some years." + +His wife came from Massachusetts to New York and nursed him. Dr. +Johns dressed his wounds every day, and not only told Adams he +could never recover, but assured his friends that probably a very +few weeks would lay him in his grave. But Adams was as firm as +adamant and as resolute as a lion. Among the thousands who saw +him dressed in his grotesque hunter's suit, and witnessed the +seeming vigor with which he "performed" the savage monsters, +beating and whipping them into apparently the most perfect +docility, probably not one suspected that this rough, +fierce-looking, powerful semi-savage, as he appeared to be, was +suffering intense pain from his broken skull and fevered system, +and that nothing kept him from stretching himself on his +death-bed but his most indomitable and extraordinary will. + +Adams was an inveterate story-teller, and often "drew the long +bow" with daring hand. He loved to astonish people with +extraordinary tales, which were sheer inventions, but which no +one could disprove. He pretended, too, to have been everywhere +and to have seen everything. This weakness made him good game for +Barnum, who determined to expose his foibles to him at the first +opportunity. The opportunity soon came. One day, amid the +innumerable caravan of cranks that moved to the weird realm of +Barnum's wonder-house, there appeared a fat, stolid German, +carrying in his hand a small basket, which he guarded with +jealous care. + +"I have come," he said, "to see if you would not like some golden +pigeons to buy?" + +"Yes," Barnum replied, "I would like a flock of golden pigeons, +if I could buy them for their weight in silver; for there are no +'golden pigeons' in existence, unless they are made from the pure +metal." + +"You shall some golden pigeons alive see," he replied, at the +same time entering the office, and closing the door after him. He +then removed the lid from the basket, and sure enough, there were +snugly ensconced a pair of beautiful, living ruff-necked pigeons, +as yellow as saffron, and as bright as a double-eagle fresh from +the Mint. + +Barnum was somewhat staggered at this sight, and quickly asked +the man where those birds came from. A dull, lazy smile crawled +over the sober face of the German visitor, as he replied in a +slow, guttural tone of voice: + +"What you think yourself?" + +Catching his meaning, Barnum quickly replied: + +"I think it is a humbug." + +"Of course, I know you will so say; because you 'forstha' such +things; so I shall not try to humbug you; I have them myself +colored." + +It then came out that the man was a chemist, and that he had +invented a process by which he could dye the feathers of living +birds any color he pleased, retaining at the same time all the +natural gloss of the plumage. Barnum at once closed a bargain +with him for the birds, for ten dollars, and then put them in his +"Happy Family" at the Museum. He marked them "Golden Pigeons, +from California," and then gleefully awaited Adams' next visit, +feeling sure that the old fellow would be completely taken in. + +Sure enough, next morning Adams came along, saw the pigeons, +looked at them earnestly for a few minutes, and then went +straight to the office. + +"Mr. Barnum," said he, "you must let me have those California +pigeons." + +"I can't spare them," said Barnum. + +"But you must spare them. All the birds and animals from +California ought to be together. You own half of my California +menagerie, and you must lend me those pigeons." + +"Mr. Adams, they are too rare and valuable a bird to be hawked +about in that manner." + +"Oh, don't be a fool," replied Adams. "Rare bird, indeed! Why, +they are just as common in California as any other pigeon! I +could have brought a hundred of them from San Francisco, if I had +thought of it." + +"But why did you not think of it?" with a suppressed smile. + +"Because they are so common there," said Adams. "I did not think +they would be any curiosity here." + +Barnum was ready to burst with laughter to see how readily Adams +swallowed the bait, but, maintaining the most rigid gravity, he +replied: + +"Oh! well, Mr. Adams, if they are really so common in California, +you had probably better take them, and you may write over and +have half a dozen pairs sent to me for the Museum." + +A few weeks later Barnum, being in the California Menagerie, +noticed that something ailed the pigeons. They had a +sadly-mottled appearance. Their feathers had grown out, and they +were half white. Adams had not yet noticed it, being too busy +with his bears. But Barnum called him at once to the pigeon cage. + +"Look here, Adams," he said, "I'm afraid you are going to lose +your Golden Pigeons. They must be very sick. Just see how pale +they look! Good thing they're so common in California, so you can +easily get some more, eh?" + +Adams looked at them a moment in astonishment, then turning to +Barnum, and seeing that he could not suppress a smile, he +indignantly exclaimed: + +"Blast the Golden Pigeons! You had better take them back to the +Museum. You can't humbug me with your painted pigeons!" + +This was too much, and Barnum laughed till he cried, to witness +the mixed look of astonishment and vexation which marked the +grizzly features of old Adams. + +After the exhibition on Thirteenth Street and Broadway had been +open six weeks, the doctor insisted that Adams should sell out +his share in the animals and settle up his worldly affairs, for +he assured him that he was growing weaker every day, and his +earthly existence must soon terminate. "I shall live a good deal +longer than you doctors think for," replied Adams, doggedly; and +then, seeming after all to realize the truth of the doctor's +assertion, he turned and said: "Well, Mr. Barnum, you must buy me +out." + +A bargain was soon concluded. Arrangements had been made to +exhibit the bears in Connecticut and Massachusetts during the +summer, in connection with the Museum, and Adams insisted that +Barnum should engage him to travel for the season and manage the +bears. He offered to do it for $60 a week and expenses. Barnum +replied that he would gladly make such an arrangement, but he +feared Adams was not strong enough to stand it. + +"You are growing weaker every day," he said; "and would better go +to your home and rest." + +"What will you give me extra if I will travel and exhibit the +bears every day for ten weeks?" added old Adams, eagerly. + +"Five hundred dollars." + +"Done!" exclaimed Adams, "I will do it, so draw up an agreement +to that effect at once. But mind you, draw it payable to my wife, +for I may be too weak to attend to business after the ten weeks +are up, and if I perform my part of the contract, I want her to +get the $500 without any trouble." + +Barnum drew up a contract to pay him $60 per week for his +services, and if he continued to exhibit the bears for ten +consecutive weeks, to hand him, or his wife, $500 extra. + +"You have lost your $500!" exclaimed Adams on taking the +contract; "for I am bound to live and earn it." + +"I hope you may, with all my heart, and a hundred years more if +you desire it," replied Barnum. + +"Call me a fool if I don't earn the $500!" exclaimed Adams, with +a triumphant laugh. + +The "show" started off in a few days, and at the end of a +fortnight Barnum met it at Hartford, Connecticut. + +"Well" said he, "Adams, you seem to stand it pretty well. I hope +you and your wife are comfortable?" + +"Yes," he replied with a laugh; "and you may as well try to be +comfortable, too, for your $500 is a goner." + +"All right," Barnum replied, "I hope you will grow better every +day." + +But the case was hopeless. Adams was dying. When Barnum met him +three weeks later at New Bedford his eyes were glassy and his +hands trembling, but his courage and will were strong as ever. + +"This hot weather tells on me," he said, "but I'll last the ten +weeks and more, and get your $500." + +Barnum urged him to quit work, to take half of the $500 and go +home. But, no. He would not listen to it. And he did actually +serve through the whole ten weeks, and got the $500; remarking, +as he pocketed the cash, + +"Barnum, it's too bad you're a teetotaler, for I'd like to stand +treat with you on this." + +When Adams set out on this last tour, Barnum had a fine new +hunting-suit made of beaver-skins. He had procured it for Herr +Driesbach, the animal tamer, whom he had engaged to take Adams' +place whenever the latter should give out. Adams had asked him to +loan him the suit, to wear occasionally when he had great +audiences, as his own suit was badly worn. Barnum did so; and at +the end of the engagement, as he received the $500, Adams said: + +"Mr. Barnum, I suppose you are going to give me this new +hunting-dress." + +"Oh, no," Barnum replied, "I got that for your successor, who +will exhibit the bears to-morrow, besides, you have no possible +use for it." + +"Now, don't be mean, but lend me the dress, if you won't give it +to me, for I want to wear it home to my native village." + +Barnum could not refuse the poor old man anything, and he +therefore replied: + +"Well, Adams, I will lend you the dress, but you will send it +back to me?" + +"Yes, when I have done with it," he replied, with an evident +chuckle of triumph. + +Barnum thought, "he will soon be done with it," and replied: +"That's all right." + +A new idea evidently struck Adams, for, with a brightening look +of satisfaction, he said: + +"Now, Barnum, you have made a good thing out of the California +menagerie, and so have I; but you will make a heap more. So if +you won't give me this new hunter's dress, just draw a little +writing, and sign it, saying that I may wear it until I have done +with it." + +Barnum knew that in a few days, at longest, he would be "done" +with this world altogether, and, to gratify him, he cheerfully +drew and signed the paper. + +"Come, old Yankee, I've got you this time--see. if I hadn't!" +exclaimed Adams, with a broad grin, as he took the paper. + +Barnum smiled, and said: + +"All right, my dear fellow; the longer you live the better I +shall like it," + +They parted, and Adams went to Charlton, Worcester County, +Massachusetts, where his wife and daughter lived. He took at once +to his bed, and never rose from it again. The excitement had +passed away, and his vital energies could accomplish no more, The +fifth day after arriving home, the physician told him he could +not live until the next morning. He received the announcement in +perfect calmness, and with the most apparent indifference; then, +turning to his wife, with a smile he requested her to have him +buried in the new hunting-suit. "For," said he, "Barnum agreed to +let me have it until I have done with it, and I was determined to +fix his flint this time. He shall never see that dress again." +That dress was indeed the shroud in which he was entombed. + +After Adams' death, Barnum incorporated the California Menagerie +with the American Museum, for a time, but afterward sold most of +the animals. The Museum was now most prosperous, and Barnum was +making steady progress toward paying off the debts that burdened +him. + +In the fall of 1860 the Museum was visited by the Prince of Wales +and his suite, in response to an invitation from Barnum. +Unfortunately, Barnum himself had gone to Bridgeport that very +morning, the invitation not having been accepted until about an +hour before the visit. Mr. Greenwood, the manager, when he heard +that the Prince was coming, caused the performance in the +lecture-room to be commenced half an hour before the usual time, +so as to clear the floors of a portion of the crowd, in order +that he might have a better opportunity to examine the +curiosities. When the Prince arrived, there was a great crowd +outside the Museum, and hundreds more were soon added to the +numbers assembled within the building. He was received by Mr. +Greenwood, and immediately conducted to the second story, where +the first object of interest pointed out was the "What Is It?" in +which his Royal Highness manifested much curiosity. In compliance +with his wish, the keeper went through the regular account of the +animal. Here, also, the party were shown the Albino family, +concerning whom they made inquiries. The Siamese twins, the +sea-lions, and the seal were also pointed out, and some of the +animals were fed in the presence of the Prince at his own +request. He was conducted through the building, and his attention +was called to many objects of special interest. At the close of a +short visit, the Prince asked for Mr. Barnum, and regretted that +he had not an opportunity of seeing him also. "We have," he said, +"missed the most interesting feature of the establishment." + +A few days later Barnum called on the Prince in Boston and was +cordially received. The Prince was much interested and amused at +Barnum's reminiscences of the visits to Buckingham Palace with +Tom Thumb. He told Barnum that he had been much pleased with the +Museum, and had left his autograph there as a memento of his +visit. + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. BUILDING A CITY. + +AT HOME ONCE MORE--GROWTH OF EAST BRIDGEPORT--BARNUM'S OFFER TO +MEN WANTING HOMES OF THEIR OWN--REMARKABLE PROGRESS OF THE +PLACE--HOW THE STREETS WERE NAMED. + +It was now about five years since Barnum had had a settled home. +The necessities of his business combined with the adversities of +fortune had kept him knocking about from pillar to post. +Sometimes they lived in boarding-houses, and sometimes they kept +house in temporary quarters. Mr. and Mrs. Barnum were now alone, +two of their daughters being married and the third being away at +a boarding-school. Mrs. Barnum's health was much impaired, and it +was desirable that she should have a comfortable and permanent +home. Accordingly, in 1860, Barnum built a pleasant house at +Bridgeport, next to that of his daughter Caroline and not far +from the ruins of Iranistan. + +His unfortunate enterprise in the clock business had not +discouraged him from further business ventures. His pet city, +East Bridgeport, was growing rapidly. An enormous sewing-machine +factory had been built, employing a thousand workmen. Other large +factories were springing up, many private residences were being +erected, and there was a great demand for houses of all kinds, +but especially for small cottages suitable for mechanics and +other laboring men. The farm-land which Barnum had purchased only +a few years before was rapidly becoming a city. + +It was characteristic of Barnum to place himself in the forefront +in this city-building movement, and in the double role of +speculator and public benefactor. The enterprise which he +undertook was calculated both to help those who were willing to +help themselves to obtain independent homes, and at the same time +to pay a handsome profit to Mr. Barnum. His scheme was described +by himself as follows in the Bridgeport Standard: + + "NEW HOUSES IN EAST BRIDGEPORT. +"EVERY MAN TO OWN THE HOUSE HE LIVES IN. + +"There is a demand at the present moment for two hundred more +dwelling-houses in East Bridgeport. It is evident that if the +money expended in rent can be paid towards the purchase of a +house and lot, the person so paying will in a few years own the +house he lives in, instead of always remaining a tenant. In view +of this fact, I propose to loan money at six per cent. to any +number, not exceeding fifty, industrious, temperate and +respectable individuals, who desire to build their own houses. + +"They may engage their own builders, and build according to any +reasonable plan (which I may approve), or I will have it done for +them at the lowest possible rate, without a farthing profit to +myself or agent, I putting the lot at a fair price and advancing +eighty per cent. of the entire cost; the other party to furnish +twenty per cent. in labor, material, or money, and they may pay +me in small sums weekly, monthly, or quarterly, any amount not +less than three per cent. per quarter, all of which is to apply +on the money advanced until it is paid. + +"It has been ascertained that by purchasing building materials +for cash, and in large quantities, nice dwellings, painted, and +furnished with green blinds, can be erected at a cost of $1,500 +or $1,800, for house, lot, fences, etc., all complete, and if six +or eight friends prefer to join in erecting a neat block of +houses with verandas in front, the average cost need not exceed +about $1,300 per house and lot. If, however, some parties would +prefer a single or double house that would cost $2,500 to $3,000, +I shall be glad to meet their views. + "P. T. BARNUM. "February 16, 1864." + +On this the editor of the paper commented as follows: + +"AN ADVANTAGEOUS OFFER.--We have read with great pleasure Mr. +Barnum's advertisement, offering assistance to any number of +persons, not exceeding fifty, in the erection of dwelling-houses. +This plan combines all the advantages and none of the objections +of building associations. Any individual who can furnish in cash, +labor, or material, one-fifth only of the amount requisite for +the erection of a dwelling-house, can receive the other +four-fifths from Mr. Barnum, rent his house, and by merely paying +what may be considered as only a fair rent, for a few years, find +himself at last the owner, and all further payments cease. In the +meantime, he can be making such inexpensive improvements in his +property as would greatly increase its market value, and besides +have the advantage of any rise in the value of real estate. It is +not often that such a generous offer is made to working men. It +is a loan on what would be generally considered inadequate +security, at six per cent., at a time when a much better use of +money can be made by any capitalist. It is therefore generous. +Mr. Barnum may make money by the operation. Very well, perhaps he +will, but if he does, it will be by making others richer, not +poorer; by helping those who need assistance, not by hindering +them, and we can only wish that every rich man would follow such +a noble example, and thus, without injury to themselves, give a +helping hand to those who need it. Success to the enterprise. We +hope that fifty men will be found before the week ends, each of +whom desires in such a manner to obtain a roof which he can call +his own." + +A considerable number of men immediately availed themselves of +Barnum's offer, and succeeded after a time in paying for their +homes without much effort. There were many others, however, who +did not fully accept his proposals. They would not sign the +temperance pledge, and they would not give up the use of tobacco. +The result was, that they continued month after month and year +after year to pay rent on hired tenements. "The money they have +expended for whiskey and tobacco," remarked Mr. Barnum, +moralizing upon this topic, "would have given them homes of their +own if it had been devoted to that object, and their positions, +socially and morally, would have been far better. How many +infatuated men there are in all parts of the country who could +now be independent, and even owners of their own carriages, but +for their slavery to these miserable habits!" + +This East Bridgeport land was originally purchased by Barnum at +an average cost of about $200 per acre. A few years after the +above-described enterprise, a considerable part of it was +assessed in the tax list at from $3,000 to $4,000 per acre. It +was presently annexed to the city, and connected with it by three +bridges across the river. A horse-railroad was also built, of +which Mr. Barnum was one of the original stockholders. + +This part of the city was laid out by General Noble and Mr. +Barnum, and various streets were named after members of the two +families. Hence there are Noble street, Barnum street, William +street (General Noble's first name), Harriet street (Mrs. Noble's +name), Hallett street (Mrs. Barnum's maiden name), and Caroline +street, Helen street, and Pauline street, the names of Barnum's +three daughters. A public school was also named for Mr. Barnum. +The streets were lined with beautiful shade trees, set out by +thousands by Barnum; and Noble, and the same gentlemen gave to +the city its beautiful Washington Park of seven acres. + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. GREAT YEAR AT THE MUSEUM. + +CAPTURING AND EXHIBITING WHITE WHALES NEWSPAPER COMMENTS--A +TOUCHING OBITUARY--THE GREAT BEHEMOTH--A LONG "LAST +WEEK"--COMMODORE NUTT--REAL LIVE INDIANS ON EXHIBITION. + +The year 1861 was notable in the history of the American Museum. +Barnum heard that some fishermen at the mouth of the St. Lawrence +river had captured alive a fine white whale. He was also told +that such an animal, if packed in a box filled with sea-weed and +salt water, could be transported over land a considerable +distance without danger to its life or health. He accordingly +determined to secure and place on exhibition in his Museum a +couple of live whales. So he built in the basement of the +building a tank of masonry, forty feet long and eighteen feet +wide, to contain them. Then he went to the St. Lawrence river on +a whaling expedition. His objective point was the Isle au +Coudres, which was populated by French Canadians. There he +engaged a party of twenty-four fishermen, and instructed them to +capture for him, alive and unharmed, a couple of the white whales +which at almost any time were to be seen in the water not far +from the island. + +The plan decided upon was to plant in the river a "kraal," +composed of stakes driven down in the form of a V, leaving the +broad end open for the whales to enter. This was done in a +shallow place, with the point of the kraal towards shore; and if +by chance one or more whales should enter the trap at high water, +the fishermen were to occupy the entrance with their boats, and +keep up a tremendous splashing and noise till the tide receded, +when the frightened whales would find themselves nearly "high and +dry," or with too little water to enable them to swim, and their +capture would be next thing in order. This was to be effected by +securing a slip-noose of stout rope over their tails, and towing +them to the sea-weed lined boxes in which they were to be +transported to New York. + +Many times fine whales were seen gliding close by the entrance to +the trap, but they did not enter it, and the patience of Barnum +and his fishermen was sorely tried. One day one whale did enter +the kraal, and the fishermen proposed to capture it, but Barnum +was determined to have two, and while they waited for the second +one to enter the first one went out again. After several days of +waiting, Barnum was aroused early one morning by the excited and +delighted shouts of his men. Hastily dressing, he found that two +whales were in the trap and were sure of being captured. Leaving +the rest of the task to his assistants, he hurried back to New +York. At every station on the route he gave instructions to the +telegraph operators to take off all whaling messages that passed +over the wires to New York, and to inform their fellow-townsmen +at what hour the whales would pass through each place. + +The result of these arrangements may be imagined; at every +station crowds of people came to the cars to see the whales which +were travelling by land to Barnum's Museum, and those who did not +see the monsters with their own eyes, at least saw some one who +had seen them, and thus was secured a tremendous advertisement, +seven hundred miles long, for the American Museum. + +Arrived in New York, dispatches continued to come from the +whaling expedition every few hours. These were bulletined in +front of the Museum and copies sent to the papers. The excitement +was intense, and, when at last, these marine monsters arrived and +were swimming in the tank that had been prepared for them, +anxious thousands literally rushed to see the strangest +curiosities ever exhibited in New York. + +Barnum's first whaling expedition was thus a great success. +Unfortunately he did not know how to feed or take care of the +animals. A supply of salt water could not be obtained, so they +were put into fresh water artificially salted, and this did not +agree with them. The basement of the Museum building was also +poorly ventilated and the air was unwholesome. As the result of +these circumstances the whales died within a week, although not +until they had been seen by thousands of people. Barnum +immediately resolved to try again. In order to secure a better +home for his pets, he laid an iron pipe under the streets of the +city, from his Museum clear out into New York bay. Through this, +by means of a steam-engine, he was able to secure a constant +supply of genuine sea-water. In order that the whales should have +good air to breathe, he constructed for them another tank on the +second floor of the Museum building. This tank had a floor of +slate, and the sides were made of French plate-glass, in huge +pieces six feet long, five feet wide, and one inch thick. These +plates were imported by Barnum expressly for the purpose. The +tank was twenty-four feet square. Two more white whales were soon +caught in the same manner as before, and were conveyed in a ship +to Quebec and thence by rail to New York. + +Barnum was always proud of this enterprise, and it yielded him +handsome profits. The second pair of whales, however, soon died. +Barnum remarked that their sudden and immense popularity was too +much for them. But a third pair was quickly secured to take their +place. Envious and hostile critics declared that they were not +whales at all, but only porpoises, but this did no harm. Indeed, +Barnum might well have paid them to start these malicious +reports, for much good advertising was thereby secured. The +illustrious Agassiz was appealed to. He came to see the animals, +gave Barnum a certificate that they were genuine white whales, +and this document was published far and wide. + +The manner in which the showman advertised his curiosities may be +seen from the following, taken from one of the daily papers of +the time: + +BARNUM'S AMERICAN MUSEUM. ----After months of unwearied labor, +and spending NEARLY TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS NEARLY TEN THOUSAND +DOLLARS NEARLY TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS + +in capturing and transporting them from that part of the Gulf of +St. Lawrence nearest Labrador, the Manager is enabled to offer +his visitors + +TWO LIVING WHALES, TWO LIVING WHALES, TWO LIVING WHALES, TWO +LIVING WHALES, TWO LIVING WHALES, TWO LIVING WHALES, + +a male and a female. Everybody has heard of WHALES + +IN NURSERY TALES and "SAILOR'S YARNS," IN NURSERY TALES and +"SAILOR'S YARNS," + +everybody has read of WHALES in story, song, and history, and +everybody + +WANTS TO SEE A WHALE, WANTS TO SEE A WHALE, WANTS TO SEE A WHALE, +WANTS TO SEE A WHALE, + +and now they have the opportunity. Barnum has + +CAPTURED TWO OF THE LEVIATHANS, CAPTURED TWO OF THE LEVIATHANS, +CAPTURED TWO OF THE LEVIATHANS, + +has built a small ocean in his Museum, filled it from the briny +deep, and there + +THE TWO LIVING WHALES, THE TWO LIVING WHALES, THE TWO LIVING +WHALES, THE TWO LIVING WHALES, + +measuring respectively fifteen and twenty feet in length, may be +seen at all hours sporting in their native element. Who will miss +the opportunity of seeing them? Another may not offer in a +lifetime. Embrace this ere it be too late. See Mr. Barnum's card +below. + +LAST TWO DAYS OF WILLIAM TILLMAN AND WILLIAM STEDDING, + +The Colored Steward and German Sailor of the + +SCHOONER S. J. WARING, + +Who slew three of the piratical prize crew, and rescued +themselves and the vessel from their power. + +WHAT IS IT? OR, MAN MONKEY. + +MADAGASCAR ALBINOS, PURE WHITE NEGROES, OR MOORS. SEA LION, +MAMMOTH BEAR SAMSON, with a variety of other living Bears; +MONSTER SNAKES, AQUARIA, HAPPY FAMILY, LIVING SEAL, WAX FIGURES, +&c. + +In the Lecture-Room, a great Dramatic Novelty is offered, + +EMBRACING FARCE, VAUDEVILLE and BURLETTA, with a brilliant and +talented company, including LITTLE LOLA, THE INFANT WONDER, + +Mr. and Mrs. C. B. REYNOLDS; + +Miss DORA DAWRON, DOUBLE-VOICED SINGER, LA PETITE ADDIE LE BRUN, + +The favorite Juvenile Danseuse, always popular. + +MARIE; THE CHILD OF SORROW, + +With a laughable farce, every day at 3 and 7 3/4 o'clock. +Admission to all, 25 cents; Children under 10, 15 cents. +-------------------------------------------------------------A +CARD FROM P. T. BARNUM.--LIVING WHALES on exhibition.--Having +learned from fishermen and eminent naturalists, including the +written statement of the celebrated Prof. Agassiz, that the White +Whale could be found in that portion of the Gulf of St. Lawrence +nearest to Labrador, I made a journey there in June last, +accompanied by my agent. I remained there a fortnight, and made +every arrangement for capturing and keeping alive two of these +monsters. This arrangement included the service of thirty-five +men, beside my special agent. I then returned and had erected in +the Museum a reservoir fifty feet in length and twenty-five feet +in width, in which was placed sea-water, and arrangements made +for a continual fresh supply. I also made arrangements with +steamers and railroads to convey these leviathans to New York at +the fastest possible speed, without regard to the expense. + +I am highly gratified in being able to assure the public that +they have arrived safe and well, a MALE and FEMALE, from 15 to 20 +feet long, and are now swimming in the miniature ocean in my +Museum, to the delight of visitors. As it is very doubtful +whether these wonderful creatures can be kept alive more than a +few days, the public will see the importance of seizing the first +moment to see them. + P. T. BARNUM. + +AMERICAN MUSEUM, Thursday, August 8, 1861. + +"A real live whale," said an editorial writer in the New York +Tribune of that date, "is as great a curiosity as a live lord or +prince, being much more difficult to catch, and far more +wonderful in its appearance and habits. After all people are +people, and have much the same ways of feeling and doing. But +when we get among the whales, we catch glimpses of a new and neat +thing in nose, recall the narrative of Jonah without throwing a +shadow of a doubt upon its authenticity, and appreciate keenly +the difficulties with which mermaid society must have to contend. + +"We owe the presence of two whales in our midst to the enterprise +of Mr. P. T. Barnum. He has had them in tow for a long while, but +has kept his secret well, and it was not until his own special +whaler telegraphed from Troy that he had come so far into the +bowels of the earth with his submarine charge, and all well, that +he felt warranted in whispering whale to the public. The public +was delighted, but not surprised, because it feels that the +genius that is equal to a What Is It is also equal to the biggest +thing, and would experience no unusual thrill of wonder if a real +iceberg, or a section of the identical North Pole, should be +announced on the bills of the Museum. + +"But flocks of the public sought the Museum yesterday, and were +not disappointed. They saw not, as Polonius, something 'very like +a whale,' but the original animal in its original element. The +bears, and the anacondas, the hatchet, and the seal, sank into +merited insignificance, although they will have their day again +if the whales should expire. The transfer of the fish was neatly +effected. They travelled the whole distance in first-class +hermetical boxes, filled with water and thickly lined with +seaweed, and were landed, if the expression may be used, in the +new and excellent tank provided for them in the basement of the +Museum. This tank is fifty feet deep and twenty-five in width, +has seven feet of sea-water in it, and seems to suit the whales +eminently. Mr. Barnum has fears that the pets will have but a +brief, if brilliant, career, in their new quarters, but we prefer +to predict for them a long and happy one. + +"These are white whales, and were taken near the Labrador coast +by a crew of thirty-five men. The largest has attained the +extreme size reached by this species, and is about 22 feet long; +the other is 18 feet long. Their form and motion are graceful, +and their silver backs and bellies show brightly through the +water. A long-continued intimacy has endeared them to each other, +and they go about quite like a pair of whispering lovers, blowing +off their mutual admiration in a very emphatic manner. Just at +present they are principally engaged in throwing their eyes +around the premises, and pay small attention to visitors, upon +whom, indeed, the narrative of Jonah has a strong hold. And yet +neither of these whales could make a single mouthful of a man of +ordinary size. Even if one of them should succeed in swallowing a +man, he could just stand up with the whale, and make it, at +least, as uncomfortable as himself. + +"Here is a real 'sensation.' We do not believe the enterprise of +Mr. Barnum will stop at white whales. It will embrace sperm +whales and mermaids, and all strange things that swim or fly or +crawl, until the Museum will become one vast microcosm of the +animal creation. A quarter seems positively contemptible weighed +against such a treat." + +And this was the public tribute, from the same pen, to the first +of the cetaceans that died through too much publicity: + +"The community was shocked to hear of the death of one of +Barnum's whales yesterday morning. Death apparently loves a +shining mark. It seems but yesterday--in fact it was the day +before--we gazed upon the youthful form, instinct with life, and +looking forward to a useful and pleasant career. The whale shared +not the forebodings of its friends. Mr. Barnum was possessed with +a strange presentiment of calamity, and summoned the public to +either a house of mourning or a house of joy, he knew not which, +but at all events to be quick. At daybreak, we believe, the great +natural curiosity passed away. + +"The blow is a severe one. To Mr. Barnum it must be a shocking +reminder of the emptiness of all human plans. Enterprise, liberal +expenditure, courage--what are they all before the fell +destroyer? Even whales have their time to sink and rise no more. +To the dear companion of all the joys and sorrows of the troubled +life of the deceased the bereavement must be sore indeed. +Delicacy forbids that we should lay bare such sorrows. No +twenty-five cent ticket should admit to them, including the +lecture-room. Such as witnessed the tender endearments between +these white whales, and saw how they had hearts that beat as one, +and how they were not happy when they were not pretty near each +other in the tank, may, perhaps, realize the anguish of their +separation. We are not surprised to learn, indeed, that the +affliction has borne so heavily upon the survivor that there may +be tidings at any moment of the flight of its spirit also. May +both whales meet again in the open seas of immortality! The loss +of the public is great, although not irreparable. The world moves +on, and many natural curiosities remain to fill up the gaps +caused by death. Mr. Barnum's spirit, although saddened, is not +broken. He sees the objects of his care and best management +snatched from him, and yet he announces that he will immediately +send on for two more whales of the same sort. We shall soon +forget the lost whales in contemplation of the new. Such is life, +it is well known. + +"The decease may be attributed in a great measure to bear. It is +true that there might have been something injurious to the health +of the fish in a long overland journey. 'A fish out of water' is +a case that tries the utmost skill of the faculty. If a man were +confined in the most comfortable of water-tight boxes and +carried, under the care of a special agent, hundreds of miles +beneath the water, we should not be startled to hear that his +constitution was much shattered at the end of the journey. And +yet we are more encouraged to think that the whale owed his death +to other causes than the overland transportation, because the sea +lion does so well, and the fishes in the aquaria appear to be so +hearty and contented. To bear, then, we must attribute our loss. +This animal abounded in the basement where the tank is, and +whether through jealousy of the fame of the new-comers, or +through some settled antipathy between flesh and fish, or simply +through his natural beastliness, he communicated effluvia to the +atmosphere that were perfectly unendurable by whale, which +promptly expired from want of good breath. + +"This agent of destruction will be removed from the premises +before the next whales arrive, and suitable measures will be +taken to guard against such a mournful catastrophe. There is a +whale in Boston whose health is so good that it never requires +medical attendance. + +"The deceased was about sixty years of age. It bore an excellent +character. Its patience and sweet disposition under the most +trying circumstances will long be remembered. The remains, +weighing not less than twenty-six hundred pounds, will be +suitably disposed off. While the public mourns it may also +console itself with the reflection that there are plenty more +where it came from, and that the energy of Barnum is not to be +abated by any of the common disasters of life, and may hopefully +anticipate a speedy announcement of an entirely new whale. Vale! +Vale!" + +The tank in the basement of the Museum was now devoted to a yet +more interesting exhibition. On August 12, 1861, Barnum placed in +it the first live hippopotamus that had ever been seen in +America. The brute was advertised most extensively and +ingeniously as "the great behemoth of the Scriptures," and +thousands of scientific men, biblical students, clergymen and +others, besides the great host of the common people, flocked to +see it. There was fully as much excitement in New York over this +wonder in the animal creation as there was in London when the +first hippopotamus was placed in the Regent's Park "Zoo." + +Barnum began by advertising that the animal was on exhibition for +a short time only. Then he announced the "last week" of the novel +show. Then, "by special request," another week was added. And +thus the "last week of the hippopotamus" was prolonged through +many months. The following is a fair sample of the advertisements +with which the daily papers literally teemed: + +BARNUM'S MUSEUM ----SECOND WEEK OF THAT WONDERFUL LIVING +HIPPOPOTAMUS, + +FROM THE RIVER NILE IN EGYPT THE GREAT BEHEMOTH OF THE SCRIPTURES +AND THE MARVEL OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. + +The history of this animal is full of interest, and to every +class, especially the educated and intelligent, but above all to +the biblical student, who has read with interest the glowing +description of + +THE GREAT BEHEMOTH + +in the Book of Job. He is strictly an + +AMPHIBIOUS ANIMAL, + +living in the water and out of it; under the water, or on the top +of it, floats on its surface with perfect ease, or beneath the +surface, midway between the top and the bottom. In their natural +state these animals are wild and ferocious; though on the land, +they are not very formidable, but when pursued they fly to the +rivers, + +DESCEND TO THE BOTTOM AND WALK ACROSS, + +frequently appearing on the opposite side without the least +indication of their course on the surface of the stream. If +exasperated by assaults, in the water they are the most + +FRIGHTFUL ANTAGONISTS, + +their gigantic proportions and herculean strength, giving them +power over every opposing force, frequently destroying whole +boat-loads of men and their boats, crushing with their huge jaws +everything that comes in their way. In the Museum the specimen +here exhibited has an + +ARTIFICIAL OCEAN OR RIVER, + +where he is to be seen in all his natural peculiarities, floating +on, and swiming beneath the surface, walking on the bottom +several feet beneath, exhibiting, in short, all the peculiarities +of his nature; and to perfect the scene, native + +ARABIAN KEEPER, SALAAMA, + +who is himself a curiosity as a specimen of that historic tribe +of men, who exhibits all the stolidity and Arabian dignity of +that Oriental race; the only man who can control or exhibit his +hippopotamiship, is in constant attendance. They are both to be +seen at all hours, DAY and EVENING. + +This is the + +FIRST AND ONLY REAL HIPPOPOTAMUS + +ever seen in America. He is engaged at a cost of many thousand of +dollars, and will remain + +A SHORT TIME ONLY. A SHORT TIME ONLY. + +Also just obtained at great expense, and now to be seen swimming +in the large tank in the Aquarial Hall, + +A LIVING SHARK, + +beside a great variety of other living Fish, Turtles, &c., &c. + +WHAT IS IT? OR, MAN MONKEY. SEA LION, MAMMOTH BEAR SAMSON, +MONSTER SNAKES, AQUARIA, HAPPY FAMILY, LIVING SEAL, &c. + +The Lecture-Room Entertainments embrace PETITE DRAMA, VAUDEVILLE, +BURLETTA and FARCE. By a company of rare musical and dramatic +talent. Miss DAWRON, DOUBLE-VOICED VOCALIST, Mlle. MATILDA E. +TOEDT, + +The Talented Young Violinist, &c. + +Admission to all, 25 cents; Children under 10, 15 cents. + +Nor did the monster fail to receive much other notice in the +press. Said one writer: "Nothing discomfitted by the sudden death +that overtook the gentle and loving whales, Mr. Barnum has again +invested untold heaps of money in a tremendous water-monster. The +great tank has again a tenant, and the great public have huge +amphibious matter for their wonderment. The new curiosity comes +to us staggering under the unwieldy name of Hippo-potamus. He is +a comely gentleman, fair and beauteous to look upon; and the +strange loveliness of his countenance cannot fail to captivate +the crowd. His youth, too, gives him a special claim to the +consideration of the ladies, for he is a little darling of only +three years--a very baby of a hippopotamus in fact, who, only a +few months ago, daily sucked his few gallons of lacteal +nourishment from the fond bosom of mamma Hippo, at the bottom of +some murmuring Egyptian river. The young gentleman is about as +heavy as an ox, and gives you the idea that he is the result of +the amalgamation of a horse, a cow, two pigs, a seal, a dozen +India-rubber blankets, and an old-fashioned horse-hide covered +trunk. Big as he is, unwieldy as he is, strange, uncouth, and +monstrous as he is, he appears after all to be most mild and +even-tempered. In truth, he is no more vicious than a +good-natured muley cow; and if by chance he should hurt anybody, +he would have to achieve it much in the same manner that such a +cow would, by running against him, or rolling over upon him. So +that the red-breeched individual, who so valiantly gets over the +railing and stands by the side of young Hippo, doesn't, after +all, do a deed of such superhuman daring, for all he does it with +such an air of reckless sacrifice of self for the public good. +The hippopotamus is certainly one of the most interesting and +attractive of all the strange creatures ever yet caught by Mr. +Barnum, and offered for the delectation of the paying public. He +is well worth a visit, and an hour's inspection. He receives +daily, from 9 A.M. to some time after dark." + +Having now a good supply of salt water Barnum greatly enlarged +his aquarium, which was the first show of the kind ever seen in +America. He exhibited in it living sharks, porpoises, sea-horses +and many rare fishes. For several seasons he kept a boat cruising +the ocean in search of marine novelties. In this way he secured +many of the beautiful angel fishes and others that never had been +seen in New York before. He also purchased the Aquarial Gardens +in Boston, and removed the entire collection to his Museum. + +The story of another of Barnum's greatest hits must be told in +his own words: "In December, 1861," he related, "I was visited at +the Museum by a most remarkable dwarf, who was a sharp, +intelligent little fellow, with a deal of drollery and wit. He +had a splendid head, was perfectly formed, and was very +attractive, and, in short, for a 'showman,' he was a perfect +treasure. His name, he told me, was George Washington Morrison +Nutt, and his father was Major Rodnia Nutt, a substantial farmer, +of Manchester, New Hampshire. I was not long in dispatching an +efficient agent to Manchester, and in overcoming the competition +with other showmen who were equally eager to secure this +extraordinary pigmy. The terms upon which I engaged him for three +years were so large that he was christened the $30,000 Nutt; I, +in the meantime, conferring upon him the title of Commodore. As +soon as I engaged him, placards, posters and the columns of the +newspapers proclaimed the presence of 'Commodore Nutt' at the +Museum. I also procured for the Commodore a pair of Shetland +ponies, miniature coachman and footman, in livery, gold-mounted +harness, and an elegant little carriage, which, when closed, +represented a gigantic English walnut. The little Commodore +attracted great attention, and grew rapidly in public favor. +General Tom Thumb was then travelling in the South and West. For +some years he had not been exhibited in New York, and during +these years he had increased considerably in rotundity and had +changed much in his general appearance. It was a singular fact, +however, that Commodore Nutt was almost a fac-simile of General +Tom Thumb, as he looked half-a-dozen years before. Consequently, +very many of my patrons, not making allowance for the time which +had elapsed since they had last seen the General, declared that +there was no such person as 'Commodore Nutt;' but that I was +exhibiting my old friend Tom Thumb under a new name. + +"Commodore Nutt enjoyed the joke very much. He would sometimes +half admit the deception, simply to add to the bewilderment of +the doubting portion of my visitors. + +"It was evident that here was an opportunity to turn all doubts +into hard cash, by simply bringing the two dwarf Dromios +together, and showing them on the same platform. I therefore +induced Tom Thumb to bring his Western engagements to a close, +and to appear for four weeks, beginning with August 11, 1862, in +my Museum. Announcements headed 'The Two Dromios,' and 'Two +Smallest Men, and Greatest Curiosities Living,' as I expected, +drew large crowds to see them, and many came especially to solve +their doubts with regard to the genuineness of the 'Nutt.' But +here I was considerably nonplussed, for, astonishing as it may +seem, the doubts of many of the visitors were confirmed! The +sharp people who were determined 'not to be humbugged, anyhow,' +still declared that Commodore Nutt was General Tom Thumb, and +that the little fellow whom I was trying to pass off as Tom +Thumb, was no more like the General than he was like the man in +the moon. It is very amusing to see how people will sometimes +deceive themselves by being too incredulous. + +"In 1862 I sent the Commodore to Washington, and, joining him +there, I received an invitation from President Lincoln to call at +the White House with my little friend. Arriving at the appointed +hour, I was informed that the President was in a special Cabinet +meeting, but that he had left word if I called to be shown in to +him with the Commodore. These were dark days in the rebellion, +and I felt that my visit, if not ill-timed, must at all events be +brief. When we were admitted, Mr. Lincoln received us cordially, +and introduced us to the members of the Cabinet. When Mr. Chase +was introduced as the Secretary of the Treasury, the little +Commodore remarked: + +" 'I suppose you are the gentleman who is spending so much of +Uncle Sam's money?' + +" 'No, indeed,' said the Secretary of War, Mr. Stanton, very +promptly; 'I am spending the money.' + +" 'Well,' said Commodore Nutt, 'it is in a good cause, anyhow, +and I guess it will come out all right.' + +"His apt remark created much amusement. Mr. Lincoln then bent +down his long, lank body, and taking Nutt by the hand, he said: + +" 'Commodore, permit me to give you a parting word of advice. +When you are in command of your fleet, if you find yourself in +danger of being taken prisoner, I advise you to wade ashore.' + +The Commodore found the laugh was against him, but placing +himself at the side of the President, and gradually raising his +eyes up the whole length of Mr. Lincoln's very long legs, he +replied: + +" 'I guess, Mr. President, you could do that better than I +could.' " + +In no place did extremes ever meet in a more practical sense than +in the American Museum. Commodore Nutt was the shortest of men; +and at the same time the Museum contained the tallest of women. +Her name was Anna Swan, and she came from Nova Scotia. Barnum +first heard of her through a Quaker, who was visiting the Museum. +This visitor came to Barnum's office, and told him of a wonderful +girl, only seventeen years old, who lived near him at Pictou. +Barnum soon sent an agent up there, who brought the young lady +back to New York. She was an intelligent girl, and, despite her +enormous stature, was decidedly good-looking. For a long time she +was a leading attraction at Barnum's Museum, and afterwards went +to England and attracted great attention there. + +For many years Barnum had been in the habit of engaging parties +of American Indians from the far West to exhibit at the Museum. +He had also sent several parties of them to Europe, where they +were regarded as extraordinary curiosities. + +In 1864 ten or twelve chiefs, of as many different tribes, +visited the President of the United States, at Washington. By a +pretty liberal outlay of money, Barnum succeeded in inducing the +interpreter to bring them to New York, and to pass some days at +the Museum. Of course, getting these Indians to dance, or to give +any illustration of their games or pastimes, was out of the +question. They were real chiefs of powerful tribes, and would no +more have consented to give an exhibition of themselves than the +chief magistrate of our own nation would have done. Their +interpreter could not therefore promise that they would remain at +the Museum for any definite time; "for," said he, "you can only +keep them just so long as they suppose all your patrons come to +pay them visits of honor. If they suspected that your Museum was +a place where people paid for entering," he continued, "you could +not keep them a moment after the discovery." + +On their arrival at the Museum, therefore, Barnum took them upon +the stage and personally introduced them to the public. The +Indians liked this attention from him, as they had been informed +that he was the proprietor of the great establishment in which +they were invited and honored guests. His patrons were of course +pleased to see these old chiefs, as they knew they were the "REAL +thing," and several of them were known to the public, either as +being friendly or cruel to the whites. After one or two +appearances on the stage, Barnum took them in carriages and +visited the Mayor of New York in the Governor's room at the City +Hall. Here the Mayor made them a speech of welcome, which, being +interpreted to the savages, was responded to by a speech from one +of the chiefs, in which he thanked the "Great Father" of the city +for his pleasant words, and for his kindness in pointing out the +portraits of his predecessors hanging on the walls of the +Governor's room. + +On another occasion Barnum took them by special invitation to +visit one of the large public schools up town. The teachers were +pleased to see them, and arranged an exhibition of special +exercises by the scholars, which they thought would be most +likely to gratify their barbaric visitors. At the close of these +exercises, one old chief arose, and simply said: "This is all new +to us. We are mere unlearned sons of the forest, and cannot +understand what we have seen and heard." + +On other occasions he took them to ride in Central Park, and +through different portions of the city. At every street-corner +which they passed they would express their astonishment to each +other, at seeing the long rows of houses which extended both ways +on either side of each cross-street. Of course, after each of +these outside visits Barnum would return with them to the Museum, +and secure two or three appearances upon the stage to receive the +people who had there congregated "to do them honor." + +As they regarded him as their host, they did not hesitate to +trespass upon his hospitality. Whenever their eyes rested upon a +glittering shell among his specimens of conchology, especially if +it had several brilliant colors, one would take off his coat, +another his shirt, and insist that he should exchange the shell +for the garment. When he declined the exchange, but on the +contrary presented the coveted article, he soon found he had +established a dangerous precedent. Immediately they all commenced +to beg for everything in the vast collection which they happened +to take a liking to. This cost Barnum many valuable specimens, +and often "put him to his trumps" for an excuse to avoid giving +them things which he could not part with. + +The chief of one of the tribes one day discovered an ancient +shirt of chain-mail which hung in one of the cases of antique +armor. He was delighted with it, and declared he must have it. +Barnum tried all sorts of excuses to prevent his getting it, for +it had cost a hundred dollars, and was a great curiosity. But the +old man's eyes glistened, and he would not take "no" for an +answer. "The Utes have killed my little child," he said through +the interpreter; and now he must have this steel shirt to protect +himself; and when he returned to the Rocky Mountains he would +have his revenge. Barnum remained inexorable until the chief +finally brought a new buckskin Indian suit, which he insisted +upon exchanging. Barnum then felt compelled to accept his +proposal; and never did anyone see a man more delighted than the +Indian seemed to be when he took the mailed shirt into his hands. +He fairly jumped up and down with joy. He ran to his +lodging-room, and soon appeared again with the coveted armor upon +his body, and marched down one of the main halls of the Museum, +with folded arms, and head erect, occasionally patting his breast +with his right hand, as much as to say, "Now, Mr. Ute, look +sharp, for I will soon be on the war-path!" + +Among these Indians were War Bonnet, Lean Bear, and +Hand-in-the-water, chiefs of the Cheyennes; Yellow Buffalo, of +the Kiowas; Yellow Bear, of the same tribe; Jacob, of the Caddos; +and White Bull, of the Apaches. The little wiry chief known as +Yellow Bear had killed many whites as they had travelled through +the "far West." He was a sly, treacherous, bloodthirsty savage, +who would think no more of scalping a family of women and +children than a butcher would of wringing the neck of a chicken. +But now he was on a mission to the "Great Father" at Washington, +seeking for presents and favors for his tribe, and he pretended +to be exceedingly meek and humble, and continually urged the +interpreter to announce him as a "great friend to the white man." +He would fawn about Barnum, and although not speaking or +understanding a word of our language, would try to convince him +that he loved him dearly. + +In exhibiting these Indian warriors on the stage, Barnum +explained to the large audiences the names and characteristics of +each. When he came to Yellow Bear he would pat him familiarly +upon the shoulder, which always caused him to look up with a +pleasant smile, while he softly stroked Barnum's arm with his +right hand in the most loving manner. Knowing that he could not +understand a word he said, Barnum pretended to be complimenting +him to the audience, while he was really saying something like +the following: + +"This little Indian, ladies and gentlemen, is Yellow Bear, chief +of the Kiowas. He has killed, no doubt, scores of white persons, +and he is probably the meanest black-hearted rascal that lives in +the far West." Here Barnum patted him on the head, and he, +supposing he was sounding his praises, would smile, fawn upon +him, and stroke his arm, while he continued: "If the bloodthirsty +little villain understood what I was saying, he would kill me in +a moment; but as he thinks I am complimenting him, I can safely +state the truth to you, that he is a lying, thieving, +treacherous, murderous monster. He has tortured to death poor, +unprotected women, murdered their husbands, brained their +helpless little ones; and he would gladly do the same to you or +to me, if he thought he could escape punishment. This is but a +faint description of the character of Yellow Bear." Here Barnum +gave him another patronizing pat on the head, and he, with a +pleasant smile, bowed to the audience, as much as to say that the +words were quite true, and that he thanked Barnum very much for +the high encomiums he had so generously heaped upon him. + +After the Indians had been at the Museum about week they +discovered the real character of the place. They found they were +simply on exhibition, and that people paid a fee for the +privilege of coming in and gazing at them. Forthwith there was an +outcry of discontent and anger. Nothing would induce them again +to appear upon the stage. Their dignity had been irretrievably +offended, and Barnum was actually fearful lest they should wreak +vengeance upon him with physical violence. It was with a feeling +of great relief that he witnessed their departure for Washington +the next day. + +In the fall of this year Barnum produced at his Museum a +dramatization of Dickens's "Great Expectations." On the opening +night of the play, before the curtain rose, the great showman +himself went upon the stage and made this poetical address of +welcome to the audience: + +LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: + + "That Prince of Humbugs, Barnum," so it appears + Some folks have designated me for several years. + Well, I don't murmur; indeed, when they embellish it, + To tell the truth, my friends, I rather relish it, + Since your true humbug's be, who as a host, + For the least money entertains you most. + In this sense I'm a "humbug," I succumb! + Who as a "General" thing brought out Tom Thumb? + Who introduced (you can't say there I sinned) + The Swedish Nightingale, sweet Jenny Lind? + Who brought you Living Whales from Labrador? + The Hippopotamus from Nilus's shore, + The Bearded Lady with her (h)airs and graces, + The Aztec Children with their normal faces, + The Twins of Siam--rarest of dualities-- + Two ever separate, ne'er apart realities? + The Family of Albinos? the Giraffe? + The famous Baby Show that made you laugh? + The Happy Family--cats, rats, doves, hawks, harmonious? + Their voices blend in tones euphonious. + The great Sea Lion from Pacific's coast, + The "Monarch of the Ocean," no empty boast; + Old Adam's Bears, cutest of brute performers, + In modern "peace meetings" models for reformers. + That living miracle, the Lightning Calculator, + Those figures confound Hermann the "Prestidigitator." + The Grand Aquaria, an official story + Of life beneath the waves ill all its glory; + The curious "What is It?" which you, though spunky, + Won't call a man and cannot call a monkey. + These things and many more time forbids to state, + I first introduced, if I did not originate; + "The World's Seven Wonders," pooh! let them invite you, + Here "seven" saloons all wonder-full delight you. + To call this "humbug" admits of no defence, + For all is shown for five and twenty cents. + And now, good friends, to use less rhyme than reason, + To-day re-opens our dramatic season; + Therefore I welcome you! And though we're certain + To raise "Great Expectations" with the curtain, + And "play the Dickens" afternoon and nightly, + I bid you welcome none the less politely, + To these my "quarters," merry and reliable, + That yours are always welcome 'tis undeniable! + And Patrick Henry like I say, I boast of it, + If that be "humbug," gentlemen, "make the most of it." + +The foregoing address may be correctly said to have as much truth +as poetry. It is a graceful summary of the curiosities which +Barnum had brought before the world up to his sixtieth year. It +does not include the Sacred White Elephant of Siam, the mammoth +Jumbo and other wonders of nature which he was yet to reveal to +astonished and delighted millions. Nor does it indicate that +grand genius of aggregation by which in later years he surpassed +all his previous performances--masterly as they were. Not till +the veteran had reached the age of seventy--the allotted span of +life--did he gather and create "The Greatest Show on Earth." + +In connection with the dramatization of Dickens' novel, it seems +surprising that the Great Showman had little intercourse with the +Great Novelist. He was on intimate terms with Thackeray and gave +him useful hints for his lecturing tour in the United States, by +which the humorist duly profited. But Dickens, who reached the +popular heart as Barnum did their senses, seems to have held +aloof from one whose knowledge of men rivalled his own. + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. GENERAL AND MRS. TOM THUMB. + +MISS LAVINIA WARREN--THE RIVALS--MISS WARREN'S ENGAGEMENT TO TOM +THUMB--THE WEDDING--GRAND RECEPTION--LETTER FROM A WOULD-BE +GUEST, AND DR. TAYLOR'S REPLY. + +In 1862 Mr. Barnum heard of an extraordinary dwarf girl named +Lavinia Warren, who was living at Middleboro, Massachusetts, and +sent an invitation to her and her parents to visit him at +Bridgeport: they came, and Barnum found her to be a very +intelligent and refined young lady. He immediately made a +contract with her for several years, she agreeing to visit the +Old World. + +He purchased a splendid wardrobe for her, including many elegant +dresses, costly jewels and everything else that could add to her +naturally charming person. She was placed on exhibition at the +Museum, and from the first was a great success. Commodore Nutt +was exhibited with her, and although he was several years her +junior, he at once took a violent fancy to her. One day Mr. +Barnum gave Miss Warren a diamond and emerald ring, and as it did +not exactly fit her finger, he offered to get her another one +just like it, and told her to present this one to Commodore Nutt +in her own name. She did so, and the Commodore, who possessed a +full proportion of masculine vanity, construed the gift to be a +love token, and poor Lavinia was much distressed, for she +considered herself quite a woman, and the Commodore only "a nice +boy." Still she did not like to offend him, and continued to +treat him kindly, while not actually encouraging his attentions. + +At the time Tom Thumb was not on exhibition at the Museum; he was +taking a vacation at his home in Bridgeport. One day he came to +New York quite unexpectedly, and naturally called on Mr. Barnum +at the Museum. Lavinia was holding one of her levees when he came +in, and he was presented to her. + +After a short interview with her he went directly to Mr. Barnum's +private office and asked to see him alone. The door was closed +and the General sat down. His first question gave Mr. Barnum a +slight inkling of the object of the interview. The General wanted +to know all about the family of Lavinia Warren. Mr. Barnum gave +him all information, and the General said, earnestly, "That is +the most charming little lady I ever saw, and I believe she was +created to be my wife. Now, Mr. Barnum, you've always been a +friend of mine, and I want you to say a good word for me to her. +I've got plenty of money and I want to marry and settle down, and +I really feel as though I must marry that young lady." + +Mr. Barnum laughed, and recalling his ancient joke, said: +"Lavinia is already engaged, General." + +"To whom? Commodore Nutt?" asked Tom Thumb, jealously. + +"No, to me." + +"Oh!" laughed the General, much relieved. "Never mind; you may +exhibit her for a while, and then give up the engagement; but I +do hope you will favor my suit with her." + +"Well, General," replied Barnum, "I will not oppose your suit, +but you must do your own courting. I will tell you, however, that +Commodore Nutt will be jealous of you, and more than that, Miss +Warren is nobody's fool, and you will have to proceed very +cautiously if you succeed in winning her." + +The General promised to be very discreet. A change now came over +him. He had been very fond of his country home at Bridgeport, +where he spent all his leisure time with his horses and his +yacht, for he had a great passion for the water; but now he was +constantly running down to the city, and the horses and yacht +were sadly neglected. He had a married sister living in New York, +and his visits to her multiplied to such an extent that his +mother, who lived in Bridgeport, remarked that Charles had never +before shown so much brotherly affection, nor so much fondness +for city life. + +His visits to the Museum were frequent, and it was very amusing +to watch his new relations with Commodore Nutt, who strutted +around like a bantam rooster whenever the General approached +Lavinia. One day the rivals got into a friendly scuffle in the +dressing-room, and the Commodore laid the General very neatly on +his back. + +But while the Commodore was performing on the stage, and on +Sunday afternoons and evenings, the General found plenty of +opportunities to talk to Lavinia, and it was evident that his +suit was progressing. + +Finally, Tom Thumb returned to Bridgeport, and privately begged +Mr. Barnum to bring Lavinia up the next Saturday evening, and +also to invite him to the house. + +His immediate object was that his mother might see Miss Warren. +Mr. Barnum agreed to the proposition, and on the following +Friday, while Miss Warren and the Commodore were sitting in the +green-room, he said: + +"Lavinia, would you like to go up to Bridgeport with me +to-morrow, and stay until Monday?" + +"I thank you," she replied, "it will be a great relief to get +into the country for a couple of days." + +"Mr. Barnum," said the Commodore, "I should like to go up to +Bridgeport to-morrow." + +"What for?" asked Barnum. + +"I want to see my ponies; I have not seen them for several +months;" he replied. + +Mr. Barnum remarked that he was afraid he could not spare the +Commodore from the Museum, but he said: + +"Oh! I can perform at half past seven o'clock and then jump on +the evening train and go up by myself, reaching Bridgeport at +eleven, and return early Monday morning." + +Fearing a clash of interests between the two little men, but +wishing to please the Commodore, Mr. Barnum consented, especially +as Miss Warren seemed to favor it. + +The Commodore had made his feelings almost as plain to the +manager as had General Tom Thumb, but Lavinia Warren's secret was +her own. She kept up a wonderful self-possession under the +circumstances, for she must have known the reason of the +General's frequent visits to the Museum. Barnum was afraid that +she intended to reject Tom Thumb, and he told him as much; the +General was nervous but determined; hence his anxiety to have +Lavinia meet his mother, and also to see the extent of his +possessions in Bridgeport. + +The General met his lady-love and Mr. Barnum at the station +Saturday morning, and drove them to the latter's house in his own +carriage--the coachman being tidily dressed, with a broad velvet +ribbon and a silver buckle on his hat, especially for the +occasion. + +After resting for a half hour at Lindencroft, he came back and +took Lavinia out to drive. They stopped at his mother's house, +where she saw the apartments which had been built for him and +filled with the most gorgeous furniture, all corresponding to his +diminutive size. Then he took her to East Bridgeport, and +undoubtedly took occasion to point out all of the houses which he +owned, for he depended much on his wealth making an impression on +her. + +He stayed to lunch at Lindencroft, and was much pleased when +Lavinia expressed her opinion that "Mr. Barnum or Tom Thumb owned +about all Bridgeport." + +The General took his leave and returned to five o'clock dinner, +accompanied by his mother, who was delighted with Lavinia. The +General took Mr. Barnum aside and begged him for an invitation to +stay all night, "For," said he, "I intend to ask her to marry me +before the Commodore arrives." + +After tea Lavinia and the General sat down to play backgammon. By +and by the rest went to their separate rooms, but Tom Thumb had +volunteered to sit up for the Commodore, and persuaded Miss +Warren to keep him company. + +The General was beaten at backgammon, and after sitting a few +minutes, he evidently thought it time to put a clincher on his +financial abilities. So he drew from his pocket a policy of +insurance and handed it to Lavinia, asking her if she knew what +it was. + +Examining it, she replied, "It is an insurance policy. I see you +keep your property insured." + +"But the beauty of it is, it is not my property," replied the +General, "and yet I get the benefit of the insurance in case of +fire. You will see," he continued, unfolding the policy, "this is +the property of Mr. Williams, but here, you will observe, it +reads 'loss, if any, payable to Charles S. Stratton, as his +interest may appear.' The fact is, I loaned Mr. Williams three +thousand dollars, took a mortgage on his house, and made him +insure it for my benefit. In this way, you perceive, I get my +interest, and he has to pay the taxes." + +"That is a very wise way, I should think," remarked Lavinia. + +"That is the way I do all my business," replied the General, +complacently, as he returned the huge insurance policy to his +pocket. "You see," he continued, "I never lend any of my money +without taking bond and mortgage security, then I have no trouble +with taxes; my principal is secure, and I receive my interest +regularly." + +The explanation seemed satisfactory to Lavinia, and the General's +courage began to rise. Drawing his chair a little nearer to hers, +he said: + +"So you are going to Europe, soon?" + +"Yes," replied Lavinia, "Mr. Barnum intends to take me over in a +couple of months." + +"You will find it very pleasant," remarked the General; "I have +been there twice, in fact I have spent six years abroad, and I +like the old countries very much." + +"I hope I shall like the trip, and I expect I shall," responded +Lavinia; "for Mr. Barnum says I shall visit all the principal +cities, and he has no doubt I will be invited to appear before +the Queen of England, the Emperor and Empress of France, the King +of Prussia, the Emperor of Austria, and at the courts of any +other countries which we may visit. Oh! I shall like that, it +will be so new to me." + +"Yes, it will be very interesting indeed. I have visited most of +the crowned heads," remarked the General, with an evident feeling +of self-congratulation. "But are you not afraid you will be +lonesome in a strange country?" asked the General. + +"No, I think there is no danger of that, for friends will +accompany me," was the reply. + +"I wish I was going over, for I know all about the different +countries, and could explain them all to you," remarked Tom +Thumb. + +"That would be very nice," said Lavinia. + +"Do you think so?" said the General, moving his chair still +closer to Lavinia's. + +"Of course," replied Lavinia, coolly, "for I, being a stranger to +all the habits and customs of the people, as well as to the +country, it would be pleasant to have some person along who could +answer all my foolish questions." + +"I should like it first rate, if Mr. Barnum would engage me," +said the General. + +"I thought you remarked the other day that you had money enough, +and was tired of traveling," said Lavinia, with a slightly +mischievous look from one corner of her eye. + +"That depends upon my company while traveling," replied the +General. + +"You might not find my company very agreeable." + +"I would be glad to risk it." + +"Well, perhaps Mr. Barnum would engage you, if you asked him," +said Lavinia. + +"Would you really like to have me go?" asked the General, quietly +insinuating his arm around her waist, but hardly close enough to +touch her. + +"Of course I would," was the reply. + +The little General's arm clasped the waist closer as he turned +his face nearer to hers, and said: + +"Don't you think it would be pleasanter if we went as man and +wife?" + +And after a little hesitation she agreed that it would. + +A moment later a carriage drove up to the door, the bell rang and +the Commodore entered. + +"You here, General?" said the Commodore as he espied his rival. + +"Yes," said Lavinia, "Mr. Barnum asked him to stay, and we were +waiting for you." + +"Where is Mr. Barnum?" asked the Commodore. + +"He has gone to bed," answered Tom Thumb, "but a supper has been +prepared for you." + +"I am not hungry, thank you," said the Commodore petulantly, +"What room does Mr. Barnum sleep in?" + +He was answered, and immediately went to Mr. Barnum whom he found +reading in bed. + +"Mr. Barnum," he said sarcastically, "does Tom Thumb BOARD here?" + +"No," said Mr. Barnum, "Tom Thumb does not BOARD here. I invited +him to stop over night, so don't be foolish, but go to bed." + +"Oh, it's no affair of mine. I don't care anything about it. Only +I thought he'd taken up his residence here." And off he went to +bed, in a very bad humor. + +Ten minutes after, Tom Thumb rushed into the room in the greatest +excitement, and cried joyfully: "We're engaged, Mr. Barnum! We're +engaged!" + +"Is that possible?" said Barnum. + +"Yes sir, indeed it is," responded the General, "but you must'nt +mention it. We've agreed to tell no one, so don't say a word. I'm +going to ask her Mother's consent Tuesday." + +Barnum swore secrecy, and the General went off radiant with +happiness. + +The next day the family plied Lavinia with all sorts of +questions, but not a breath passed her lips that would give the +slightest indication as to what had transpired. She was most +amiable to the Commodore, and as the General concluded to go home +the next morning, the Commodore's happiness and good humor were +fully restored. The General made a call Sunday evening and +managed to have an interview with Lavinia. The next morning she +and the Commodore returned to New York, without Mr. Barnum. + +The General called on Monday to tell Mr. Barnum that he had +concluded to send his letter to Lavinia's mother by his friend, +Mr. Wells, who had consented to go to Middleboro' the next day, +and to urge the General's suit if necessary. + +The General went to New York on Wednesday to wait there for Mr. +Wells's return. That same day he and Lavinia came to Mr. Barnum, +and Tom Thumb said: "Mr. Barnum, I want somebody to tell the +Commodore that Lavinia and I are engaged, for I'm afraid there +will be a row when he hears of it." + +"Why don't you do it yourself, General?" asked Barnum. + +"Oh!" said the General, almost shuddering, "I would not dare do +it, he might knock me down." + +"I will do it myself," said Lavinia. So the General retired and +the Commodore was sent for. When he had joined them, Mr. Barnum +began by saying, "Commodore, do you know what this little witch +has been doing?" + +"No, I don't," he answered. + +"Well, she has been cutting up the greatest prank you ever heard +of. She almost deserves to be shut up for daring to do it. Can't +you guess what it is?" + +He mused a moment, and then said in a low tone, and looking full +at her, "Engaged?" + +"Yes," said Barnum, "actually engaged to be married to General +Tom Thumb. Did you ever hear of such a thing?" + +"Is it so, Lavinia?" he asked, earnestly. + +"Yes," said Lavinia, "it is really so." + +The Commodore turned pale, choked a little, and turning on his +heel, he said, in a broken voice: + +"I hope you may be happy." + +As he passed out the door a tear rolled down his cheek. "That's +pretty hard," said Barnum. + +"Yes it is hard," said Lavinia, "and I am very sorry. Only I +couldn't help it. It was all the fault of your emerald and +diamond ring." + +Half an hour later the Commodore returned to the office and said: + +"Mr. Barnum do you think it would be right for Miss Warren to +marry Charlie Stratton if her mother should object?" + +"No, indeed," replied Mr. Barnum. + +"Well, she says she will marry him anyway; that she gives her +mother the chance to consent, but if she objects, she will have +her way and marry him." + +"On the contrary," said Barnum, "I will not permit it. She is +engaged to go to Europe with me, and I will not release her if +her mother does not consent to her marriage." + +The Commodore's eyes glistened, and he said: "Between you and me, +Mr. Barnum, I don't believe she will consent." + +But she did, although at first she had objected, thinking that it +might be merely a money-making scheme; but after she read Tom +Thumb's letter, and heard Mr. Barnum's assurance that he would +release her from her engagement with him, in event of the +marriage, she consented. + +After the Commodore heard the news Mr. Barnum said to him: + +"Never mind, Commodore; Minnie Warren is a better match for you +anyhow. She is two years younger than you, and Lavinia is older." + +But the Commodore replied grandly; "Thank you sir, but I would +not marry the best woman living. I don't believe in women." + +Barnum then suggested that he stand with Minnie, as groom and +bridesmaid, but he declined. A few weeks later, however, he told +Barnum that Tom Thumb had asked him to stand with Minnie, and +that he was going to do so. + +"And when I asked you, you refused," said Barnum. + +"It was not your business to ask me," said the Commodore +pompously, "when the proper person asked me, I accepted." + +The approaching wedding was announced and created an immense +excitement. Lavinia's levees were crowded and she not +infrequently sold three hundred dollars' worth of photographs in +a day. The General was engaged to exhibit and his own photograph +was largely in demand. The Museum was so well attended, the daily +receipts being nearly three thousand dollars, that Barnum offered +them fifteen thousand dollars if they would postpone their +wedding for a month and continue the levees. + +"No sir," said the General excitedly, "not for fifty thousand +dollars." + +"Good for you Charlie," said Lavinia, "only you should have said +one hundred thousand." + +It was suggested to Barnum to have the wedding take place in the +Academy of Music and charge a good admission. + +But Barnum refused. + +Grace Church, at Broadway and Tenth St., was the scene of this +historic wedding, which occurred at noon of Tuesday, Feb. 10, +1863. Long before the hour designated the entire neighborhood was +thronged by expectant and smiling crowds awaiting the arrival of +the happy pair with their attendants, and looking with +ill-concealed envy upon the scores of carriages that bore to the +scene of action the fortunate possessors of cards of invitation. +At the entrance the ubiquitous Brown was to be seen, bland and +smiling, looking more like an honest Alderman of yore than a +sexton, and recognizing in each new deposit of youth or beauty or +wealth another star to shed lustre upon the extraordinary +occasion. + +Excellent police arrangements, no less than the self-respect and +decorum that always characterizes an American crowd, secured the +utmost quiet and order. The truth was that an outsider could only +have discovered the marriage to have been one of peculiar +interest from the snatches of feminine gossip that met the ear, +in which small-sized adjectives were profusely employed. + +The church was crowded with a gay assemblage of ladies and +gentlemen, the former appearing in full opera costume, and the +latter in dress coats and white neck-cloths. In front of the +altar a platform three feet high covered with Brussels carpet had +been erected. Pending the arrival of the wedding cortege, Mr. +Morgan performed a number of operatic selections on the organ. + +At high noon the murmuring of the swarming throng outside and the +turning of all heads townward presaged the arrival of the bridal +party; its undoubted arrival was announced by the arrival of +Barnum himself. + +The bridal party quickly entered the church, and proceeding up +the middle aisle, took proper positions upon the platform. +Commodore Nutt acting as groomsman, and Miss Minnie Warren as +bridesmaid. + +After several operatic performances on the organ, the marriage +services were commenced, the Rev. Dr. Taylor and the Rev. Junius +M. Willey officiating. The petite bride was given away by the +Rev. Mr. Palmer, at the request of her parents. Dr. Taylor +pronounced the marital benediction, when the party left the +church and were rapidly driven to the Metropolitan Hotel, the +street, stoops, buildings and windows in the neighborhood of +which were crowded with men, women and children. + +At 1 o'clock the reception commenced, the bride and groom, +attended by the Commodore and Miss Minnie Warren, occupying a +dais in one of the front parlors. The crowd soon resolved into a +perfect jam, and for some time great confusion prevailed. After a +time, certain arrangements were made by which the company were +enabled to pay their respects to the little couple. + +The graceful form of Mrs. Charles S. Stratton was shown to +advantage in her bridal robe, which was composed of plain white +satin, the skirt en traine, being decorated with a flounce of +costly point lace, headed by tulle puffings; the berthe to match. +Her hair, slightly waved, was rolled a la Eugenie, and +elaborately puffed in noeuds behind, in which the bridal veil was +looped: natural orange blossoms breathed their perfume above her +brow, and mingled their fragrance with the soft sighs of her +gentle bosom. Roses and japonicas composed a star-shaped bouquet, +which she held in her just-bestowed hand. + +Her jewels consisted of diamond necklace, bracelets, earrings, +and a star-shaped ornament en diadem, with brooch to match. + +Mr. Stratton was attired in a black dress coat and a vest of +white corded silk, with an undervest of blue silk. + +The Commodore was similarly attired, and Miss Minnie Warren +appeared in a white silk skirt, with a white illusion overdress, +trimmed half way up the skirt with bouillonnes of the same +material, dotted with pink rosebuds. The corsage was decollete, +with berthe to match. + +At 3 o'clock the bridal party left the reception room, and +retired to their private parlor, when the company soon after +dispersed. Upon leaving the hotel the guests were supplied with +wedding cake, over two thousand boxes being thus distributed. In +a parlor adjoining that used for the reception were exhibited the +bridal presents. + +The jewelry and silverware were displayed in glass cases. + +That night, at 10 o'clock, the New York Excelsior Band serenaded +the bridal party at the Metropolitan, when Mr. Stratton appeared +upon the balcony and made the following speech to the large +assemblage in front of the hotel: + +"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN--I thank you most sincerely for this and +many other tokens of kindness showered upon me to-day. After +being for more than twenty years before the public, I little +expected at this late day, to attract so much attention. Indeed +if I had not become a family man I should never have known how +high I stood in public favor, and I assure you I appreciate +highly and am truly grateful for this evidence of your esteem and +consideration. I am soon off for foreign lands, but I shall take +with me the pleasant recollection of your kindness to-day. But, +ladies and gentlemen, a little woman in the adjoining apartment +is very anxious to see us, and I must, therefore, make this +speech, like myself, short. I kindly thank the excellent band of +music for its melody, the sweetness of which is only exceeded by +my anticipations of happiness in the new life before me. And now, +Ladies and Gentlemen, wishing you all health and happiness, I bid +you all a cordial good-night." [Applause.] + +The following entirely authentic correspondence, the only +suppression being the name of the person who wrote to Dr. Taylor, +and to whom Dr. Taylor's reply is addressed, shows how a certain +would-be "witness" was not a witness of the famous wedding. In +other particulars the correspondence speaks for itself. + +TO THE REV. DR. TAYLOR. + +Sir: The object of my unwillingly addressing you this note is to +inquire what right you had to exclude myself and other owners of +pews in Grace Church from entering it yesterday, enforced, too, +by a cordon of police for that purpose. If my pew is not my +property, I wish to know it; and if it is, I deny your right to +prevent me from occupying it whenever the church is open, even at +a marriage of mountebanks, which I would not take the trouble to +cross the street to witness. + Respectfully, your obedient servant, + W*** S*** + + 804 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, Feb. 16, 1863. +MR. W*** S*** + +Dear Sir: I am sorry, my valued friend, that you should have +written me the peppery letter that is now before me. If the +matter of which you complain be so utterly insignificant and +contemptible as "a marriage of mountebanks, which you would not +take the trouble to cross the street to witness," it surprises me +that you should have made such strenuous, but ill-directed +efforts to secure a ticket of admission. And why, permit me to +ask, in the name of reason and philosophy, do you still suffer it +to disturb you so sadly? It would, perhaps, be a sufficient +answer to your letter, to say that your cause of complaint exists +only in your imagination. You have never been excluded from your +pew. As rector, I am the only custodian of the church, and you +will hardly venture to say that you have ever applied to me for +permission to enter, and been refused. + +Here I might safely rest, and leave you to the comfort of your +own reflections in the case. But as you, in common with many +other worthy persons, would seem to have very crude notions as to +your rights of "property" in pews, you will pardon me for saying +that a pew in a church is property only in a peculiar and +restricted sense. It is not property, as your house or horse is +property. It vests you with no fee in the soil; you cannot use it +in any way, and in every way, and at all times, as your pleasure +or caprice may dictate; you cannot put it to any common or +unhallowed uses; you cannot remove it, nor injure it, nor destroy +it. In short, you hold by purchase, and may sell the right to, +the undisturbed possession of that little space within the church +edifice which you call your pew during the hours of divine +service. But even that right must be exercised decorously, and +with a decent regard for time and place, or else you may at any +moment be ignominiously ejected from it. + +I regret to be obliged to add that, by the law of custom, you +may, during those said hours of divine service (but at no other +time) sleep in your pew; you must, however, do so noiselessly and +never to the disturbance of your sleeping neighbors; your +property in your pew has this extent and nothing more. Now, if +Mr. W*** S*** were at any time to come to me and say, "Sir, I +would that you should grant me the use of Grace Church for a +solemn service (a marriage, a baptism, or a funeral, as the case +may be), and as it is desirable that the feelings of the parties +should be protected as far as possible from the impertinent +intrusion and disturbance of a crowd from the streets and lanes +of the city, I beg that no one may be admitted within the doors +of the church during the very few moments that we expect to be +there, but our invited friends only,"--it would certainly, in +such a case, be my pleasure to comply with your request, and to +meet your wishes in every particular; and I think that even Mr. +W*** S*** will agree that all this would be entirely reasonable +and proper. Then, tell me, how would such a case differ from the +instance of which you complain? Two young persons, whose only +crimes would seem to be that they are neither so big, nor so +stupid, nor so ill-mannered, nor so inordinately selfish as some +other people, come to me and say, sir, we are about to be +married, and we wish to throw around our marriage all the +solemnities of religion. We are strangers in your city, and as +there is no clergyman here standing in a pastoral relation to us, +we have ventured to ask the favor of the bishop of New York to +marry us, and he has kindly consented to do so; may we then +venture a little further and request the use of your church in +which the bishop may perform the marriage service? We assure you, +sir, that we are no shams, no cheats, no mountebanks; we are +neither monsters nor abortions; it is true we are little, but we +are as God made us, perfect in our littleness. Sir, we are simply +man and woman of like passions and infirmities with you and other +mortals. The arrangements for our marriage are controlled by no +"showman," and we are sincerely desirous that everything should +be ordered with a most scrupulous regard to decorum. We hope to +invite our relations and intimate friends, together with such +persons as may in other years have extended civilities to either +of us; but we pledge ourselves to you most sacredly that no +invitation can be bought with money. Permit us to say further, +that as we would most gladly escape from the insulting jeers, and +ribald sneers and coarse ridicule of the unthinking multitude +without, we pray you to allow us, at our own proper charges, so +to guard the avenues of access from the street, as to prevent all +unseemly tumult and disorder. + +I tell you, sir, that whenever, and from whomsoever, such an +appeal is made to my Christian courtesy, although it should come +from the very humblest of the earth, I would go calmly and +cheerfully forward to meet their wishes, although as many W*** +S***'s as would reach from here to Kamtschatka, clothed in furs +and frowns, should rise up to oppose me. + +In conclusion, I will say, that if the marriage of Charles S. +Stratton and Lavinia Warren is to be regarded as a pageant, then +it was the most beautiful pageant it has ever been my privilege +to witness. If, on the contrary, it is rather to be thought of as +a solemn ceremony, then it was as touchingly solemn as a wedding +can possibly be rendered. It is true the bishop was not present, +but Mr. Stratton's own pastor, the Rev. Mr. Willey, of +Bridgeport, Connecticut, read the service with admirable taste +and impressiveness, and the bride was given away by her mother's +pastor and her own "next friend," a venerable Congregational +clergyman from Massachusetts. Surely, there never was a gathering +of so many hundreds of our best people, when everybody appeared +so delighted with everything; surely it is no light thing to call +forth so much innocent joy in so few moments of passing time; +surely it is no light thing, thus to smooth the roughness and +sweeten the acerbities which mar our happiness as we advance upon +the wearing journey of life. Sir, it was most emphatically a high +triumph of "Christian civilization!" + Respectfully submitted, by your obedient servant, + THOMAS HOUSE TAYLOR. + +Not long after the wedding, a lady called at Barnum's office and +called his attention to a little six-paged pamphlet which she +said she had written. It was called "Priests and Pigmies," and +she asked Barnum to read it. He glanced at the title, and at once +estimating the character of the publication, promptly declined to +devote any portion of his valuable time to its perusal. + +"But you had better look at it, Mr. Barnum; it deeply interests +you, and you may think it worth your while to buy it." + +"Certainly, I will buy it, if you desire," said he, tendering her +a sixpence, which he supposed to be the price of the little +pamphlet. + +"Oh! you quite misunderstand me; I mean buy the copyright and the +entire edition, with the view of suppressing the work. It says +some frightful things, I assure you," urged the author. + +He lay back in his chair and fairly roared at this exceedingly +feeble attempt at blackmail. + +"But," persisted the lady, "suppose it says that your Museum and +Grace Church are all one, what then?" + +"My dear madam," he replied, "you may say what you please about +me or about my Museum; you may print a hundred thousand copies of +a pamphlet stating that I stole the communion service, after the +wedding, from Grace Church altar, or anything else you choose to +write; only have the kindness to say something about me, and then +come to me and I will properly estimate the money value of your +services to me as an advertising agent. Good morning, +madam,"--and she departed. + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. POLITICAL NOTES. + +BARNUM BECOMES A REPUBLICAN--ILLUMINATING THE HOUSE OF A +DEMOCRAT--THE PEACE MEETING--ELECTED TO THE LEGISLATURE--WAR ON +THE RAILROADS---SPEECH ON THE AMENDMENT. + +While he had always taken an active interest in politics, it was +many years before Barnum consented to run for any office. In 1852 +he was strongly urged to submit his name to the State Convention, +as a candidate for the office of Governor, and although the +Democratic party (to which he then belonged) was in the +ascendancy, and the nomination was equivalent to election, he +still refused. + +In 1860 his political convictions were changed, and he identified +himself with the Republican party. During the exciting campaign +of that year, which resulted in Lincoln's first election to the +presidency, it will be remembered that the "Wide-Awake" +associations, with their uniforms and torchlight processions, +were organized in every city, town and village throughout the +North. + +One day Mr. Barnum arrived home from New York and learned that +the Bridgeport "Wide Awakes?" were to parade that evening and +intended to march out to Lindencroft. Ordering two boxes of +candles he prepared for an illumination of every window in the +house. Many of his neighbors, among them several Democrats, came +to Lindencroft that evening to witness the parade, and to see the +illumination. His next door neighbor, Mr. T., was a strong +Democrat, and before he left home, he ordered his servants to +stay in the basement, and not show a light, thus proving by the +darkness of his premises, the firmness of his Democratic +principles. + +Barnum urged his friend James D. Johnson, who was not less a +joker than a Democrat, to engage the attention of Mr. and Mrs. +T., and to keep their faces turned toward Bridgeport and the +approaching procession, while he and Mr. George A. Wells, also a +Democrat, ran over and illuminated Mr. T.'s. house. As the +Wide-Awakes approached and saw that the house of Mr. T. was in a +blaze with light, they concluded that he had changed his +politics, and gave three rousing cheers for him. Hearing his +name, he turned and saw his house lighted from basement to attic, +and uttering one single emphatic ejaculation, he rushed for home. +But he was not able to extinguish the lights before the +Wide-Awakes had gone on their way rejoicing over his apparent +conversion. + +When the war broke out in 1861, Barnum was too old for active +service in the field, but he sent four substitutes and +contributed largely from his means to the support of the Union. + +After Bull Run, July 21st, 1861, "Peace Meetings" began to be +held in different parts of the North, and especially in +Connecticut. At these meetings it was usual to display a white +flag bearing the word "Peace," above the national flag, and to +listen to speeches denunciatory of the war. + +One of these meetings was held August 24, 1861, at Stepney, ten +miles north of Bridgeport, and Mr. Barnum and Elias Howe, Jr., +inventor of the sewing machine needle, agreed to attend and hear +for themselves whether the speeches were loyal or not. They +communicated their intention to a number of their friends, asking +them to go also, and at least twenty accepted the invitation. It +was their plan to listen quietly to the harangues, and if they +found any opposition to the government or anything calculated to +create disaffection in the community, or liable to deter +enlistments,--to report the matter to the authorities at +Washington and ask that measures be taken to suppress the +gatherings. + +As the carriages of these gentlemen turned into Main street they +discovered two large omnibuses filled with soldiers who were home +on a furlough, and who were going to Stepney. The lighter +carriages soon outran the omnibuses, and the party arrived at +Stepney in time to see the white flag run up above the stars and +stripes. They stood quietly in the crowd, while the meeting was +organized, and a preacher--Mr. Charles Smith--was invited to open +the proceedings with prayer. "The Military and Civil History of +Connecticut, during the war of 1861-65," by W. A. Croffut and +John M. Morris, thus continues the account of the meeting: + +"He (Smith) had not, however, progressed far in his supplication, +when he slightly opened his eyes, and beheld, to his horror, the +Bridgeport omnibuses coming over the hill, garnished with Union +banners, and vocal with loyal cheers. This was the signal for a +panic; Bull Run, on a small scale was re-enacted. The devout +Smith, and the undelivered orators, it is alleged, took refuge in +a field of corn. The procession drove straight to the pole +unresisted, the hostile crowd parting to let them pass; and a +tall man--John Platt--amid some mutterings, climbed the pole, +reached the halliards, and the mongrel banners were on the +ground. Some of the peace-men, rallying, drew weapons on 'the +invaders,' and a musket and a revolver were taken from them by +soldiers at the very instant of firing. Another of the defenders +fired a revolver, and was chased into the fields. Still others, +waxing belligerent, were disarmed, and a number of loaded muskets +found stored in an adjacent shed were seized. The stars and +stripes were hoisted upon the pole, and wildly cheered. P. T. +Barnum was then taken on the shoulders of the boys in blue, and +put on the platform, where he made a speech full of patriotism, +spiced with the humor of the occasion. Captain James E. Dunham +also said a few words to the point. * * * * 'The Star Spangled +Banner' was then sung in chorus, and a series of resolutions +passed, declaring that 'loyal men are the rightful custodians of +the peace of Connecticut.' Elias Howe, Jr., chairman, made his +speech, when the crowd threatened to shoot the speakers. 'If they +fire a gun, boys, burn the whole town, and I'll pay for it!' +After giving the citizens wholesome advice concerning the +substituted flag, and their duty to the government, the +procession returned to Bridgeport with the white flag trailing in +the mud behind an omnibus. * * * * They were received at +Bridgeport by approving crowds, and were greeted with continuous +cheers as they passed along." + +In the Spring of 1865, Barnum accepted from the Republican party +a nomination to the Connecticut Legislature, from the town of +Fairfield, and he did so mainly because he wished to vote for the +then proposed amendment to the Constitution, to abolish slavery +forever from the land. + +He was elected, and on arriving at Hartford the night before the +session began, found the wire pullers at work, laying their plans +for the election of a Speaker of the House. + +Barnum, with his usual penetration and shrewdness, saw that the +railroad interests had combined in support of one of the +candidates, and seeing in this, no promise of good to the +community at large, he at once consulted with a few friends in +the Legislature, and they resolved to defeat the railroad "ring," +if possible, in caucus. Their efforts were successful and the +railroad's candidate was not elected. + +Immediately after the caucus, Barnum sought the successful +nominee, Hon. E. K. Foster, of New Haven, and begged him not to +appoint as chairman of the Railroad Committee the man who had +held the office for several successive years, and who was, in +fact, the great railroad factotum of the State. The speaker +complied with Barnum's request, and he soon saw how important it +was to check the strong and growing monopoly; for, as he said, +the "outside pressure" to secure the appointment of the +objectionable party was terrible. + +Although Barnum had not foreseen such a thing until he reached +Hartford, he soon discovered that a battle with the railroad +commissioners would be necessary, and his course was shaped +accordingly. A majority of the commissioners were mere tools in +the hands of the railroad companies, and one of them was actually +a hired clerk in the office of the New York and New Haven +Railroad Company. It was also shown that the chairman of the +commissioners permitted most of the accidents which occurred on +that road to be taken charge of and reported upon by their paid +lobby agent. + +This was so manifestly destructive to the interests of all +parties who might suffer from accidents on the road, or have any +controversy with the company, that the farmers, and the +anti-monopolist element united to defeat the chairman of the +railroad commissioners, who was a candidate for re-election, and +to put their own candidate in his place. + +Through Barnum's efforts a law was passed that no person in the +employ of any railroad in the State, should serve as railroad +commissioner. + +But the great struggle, which lasted through the entire session, +was upon the subject of railroad passenger commutations. +Commodore Vanderbilt had secured control of the Hudson River and +Harlem railroads, and had increased the price of commuters' +tickets, from two hundred to four hundred per cent. Many men +living on the line of these roads, ten to fifty miles from New +York, had built fine residences in the country on the strength of +cheap transit to and from the city, and were now compelled to +submit to the extortion. Commodore Vanderbilt was also a large +shareholder in the New York and New Haven road, and it seemed +evident that the same practice would be introduced there Barnum +therefore enlisted as many as he could in a strong effort to +strangle the outrage before it became too strong to grapple with. +Several lawyers in the Assembly promised their aid, but before +the final struggle came, all but one, in the whole body, had +enlisted in favor of the railroads. + +What influence had been at work with these gentlemen was, of +course, a matter of conjecture. + +Certain it is that all the railroad interests in the State were +combined; and while they had plenty of money with which to carry +out their designs, the chances were small indeed for those +members of the legislature who were struggling for simple +justice, and who had no pecuniary interests at stake. + +Nevertheless, every inch of ground was fought over, day after +day, before the legislative railroad committee; examinations and +cross-examinations of railroad commissioners and lobbyists were +kept up. Scarcely more than one man, Senator Ballard, of Darien, +lent his personal aid to Barnum in the investigation, but +together they left not a stone unturned. + +The man who was prevented from being appointed chairman succeeded +in becoming one of the railroad commissioners, but so much light +was thrown on his connection with railroad reports, railroad laws +and lobbying, by the indefatigable Barnum, the, the man took to +his bed, some ten days before the close of the session, and +actually staid there "sick " until the legislature adjourned. + +The amendment to the United States Constitution abolishing +slavery met with little opposition; but the proposed amendment to +the State Constitution, giving the right of suffrage to the +negro, was violently opposed by the Democratic members. The +report from the minority of the committee to whom the question +was referred gave certain reasons for rejecting the contemplated +amendment, and in reply to this minority report, Barnum spoke, +May 26th, 1865, as follows:--ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. + +Mr. Speaker: I will not attempt to notice at any length the +declamation of the honorable gentleman from Milford, for +certainly I have heard nothing from his lips approaching to the +dignity of argument. I agree with the gentleman that the right of +suffrage is "dearly and sacredly cherished by the white man"; and +it is because this right is so dear and sacred, that I wish to +see it extended to every educated moral man within our State, +without regard to color. He tells us that one race is a vessel to +honor, and another to dishonor; and that he has seen on ancient +Egyptian monuments the negro represented as "a hewer of wood and +a drawer of water." This is doubtless true, and the gentleman +seems determined always to KEEP the negro a "vessel of dishonor," +and a "hewer of wood." We, on the other hand, propose to give him +the opportunity of expanding his faculties and elevating himself +to true manhood. He says he "hates and abhors, and despises +demagogism." I am rejoiced to hear it, and I trust we shall see +tangible evidence of the truth of what he professes in his +abandonment of that slavery to party which is the mere trick and +trap of the demagogue. + +When, a few days since, this honorable body voted unanimously for +the Amendment of the United States Constitution, abolishing human +slavery, I not only thanked God from my heart of hearts, but I +felt like going down on my knees to the gentlemen of the +opposition, for the wisdom they had exhibited in bowing to the +logic of events by dropping that dead weight of slavery which had +disrupted the Democratic party, with which I had been so long +connected. And on this occasion I wish again to appeal to the +wisdom and loyalty of my Democratic friends. I say Democratic +"friends," for I am and ever was, a thorough, out and out +Democrat. I supported General Jackson, and voted for every +Democratic president after him, up to and including Pierce; for I +really thought Pierce was a Democrat until he proved the +contrary, as I conceived, in the Kansas question. My democracy +goes for the greatest good to the greatest number, for equal and +exact justice to all men, and for a submission to the will of the +majority. It was the repudiation by the Southern Democracy of +this great democratic doctrine of majority rule which opened the +rebellion. + +And now, Mr. Speaker, let me remind our Democratic friends that +the present question simply asks that a majority of the legal +voters, the white citizens of this State, may decide whether or +not colored men of good moral character, WHO ARE ABLE TO READ, +and who possess all the qualifications of white voters, shall be +entitled to the elective franchise. The opposition may have their +own ideas, or may be in doubt upon this subject; but surely no +true Democrat will dare to refuse permission to our +fellow-citizens to decide the question. + +Negro slavery, and its legitimate outgrowths of ignorance, +tyranny and oppression, have caused this gigantic rebellion, +which has cost our country thousands of millions of treasure, and +hundreds of thousands of human lives in defending a principle. +And where was this poor, down-trodden colored race in this +rebellion? Did they seize the "opportunity" when their masters +were engaged with a powerful foe, to break out in insurrection, +and massacre those tyrants who had so long held them in the most +cruel bondage? No, Mr. Speaker, they did not do this. My +"Democratic" friends would have done it. I would have done it. +Irishmen, Chinamen, Portuguese, would have done it; any white man +would have done it; but the poor black man is like a lamb in his +nature compared with the white man. The black man possesses a +confiding disposition, thoroughly tinctured with religious +enthusiasm, and not characterized by a spirit of revenge. No, the +only barbarous massacres we heard of, during the war, were those +committed by their white masters on their poor, defenceless white +prisoners, and to the eternal disgrace of southern white +"Democratic" rebels, be it said, these instances of barbarism +were numerous all through the war. When this rebellion first +broke out, the northern Democracy raised a hue-and-cry against +permitting the negroes to fight; but when such a measure seemed +necessary, in order to put down traitors, these colored men took +their muskets in hand and made their bodies a wall of defence for +the loyal citizens of the North. And now, when our grateful white +citizens ask from this assembly the privilege of deciding by +their votes whether these colored men, who at least, were +partially our saviours in the war, may or may not, under proper +restrictions, become participants in that great salvation, I am +amazed that men calling themselves Democrats dare refuse to grant +this democratic measure. We wish to educate ignorant men, white +or black. Ignorance is incompatible with the genius of our free +institutions. In the very nature of things it jeopardizes their +stability, and it is always unsafe to transgress the laws of +nature. We cannot safely shut ourselves up with ignorance and +brutality; we must educate and Christianize those who are now by +circumstances our social inferiors. + +Years ago, I was afraid of foreign voters. I feared that when +Europe poured her teeming millions of working people upon our +shores, our extended laws of franchise would enable them to swamp +our free institutions, and reduce us to anarchy. But much +reflection has satisfied me that we have only to elevate these +millions and their descendants to the standard of American +citizenship, and we shall find sufficient of the leaven of +liberty in our system of government to absorb all foreign +elements and assimilate them to a truly democratic form of +government. + +Mr. Speaker: We cannot afford to carry passengers and have them +live under our government with no real vital interest in its +perpetuity. Every man must be a joint owner. + +The only safe inhabitants of a free country are educated citizens +who vote. + +Nor in a free government can we afford to employ journeymen; they +may be apprenticed until they learn to read, and study our +institutions; and then let them become joint proprietors and feel +a proportionate responsibility. The two learned and distinguished +authors of the minority report have been studying the science of +ethnology and have treated us with a dissertation on the races. +And what have they attempted to show? Why, that a race which, +simply on account of the color of the skin, has long been buried +in slavery at the South, and even at the North has been tabooed +and scarcely permitted to rise above the dignity of whitewashers +and boot-blacks, does not exhibit the same polish and refinement +that the white citizens do who have enjoyed the advantages of +civilization, education, Christian culture and self-respect which +can only be attained by those who share in making the laws under +which they live. + +Do our Democratic friends assume that the negroes are not human? +I have heard professed Democrats claim even that; but do the +authors of this minority report insist that the negro is a beast? +Is his body not tenanted by an immortal spirit? If this is the +position of the gentlemen, then I confess a beast cannot reason, +and this minority committee are right in declaring that "the +negro can develop no inventive faculties or genius for the arts." +For although the elephant may be taught to plow, or the dog to +carry your market-basket by his teeth, you cannot teach them to +shave notes, to speculate in gold, or even to vote; whereas, the +experience of all political parties shows that men may be taught +to vote, even when they do not know what the ticket means. + +But if the colored man is indeed a man, then his manhood with +proper training can be developed. His soul may appear dormant, +his brain inactive, but there is a vitality there; and Nature +will assert herself if you will give her the opportunity. + +Suppose an inhabitant of another planet should drop down upon +this portion of our globe at mid-winter. He would find the earth +covered with snow and ice, and congealed almost to the +consistency of granite. The trees are leafless, everything is +cold and barren; no green thing is to be seen; the inhabitants +are chilled, and stalk about shivering, from place to place; he +would exclaim, "Surely this is not life; this means annihilation. +No flesh and blood can long endure this; this frozen earth is +bound in the everlasting embraces of adamantine frost, and can +never develop vegetation for the sustenance of any living thing." +He little dreams of the priceless myriads of germs which +bountiful Nature has safely garnered in the warm bosom of our +mother earth; he sees no evidence of that vitality which the +beneficent sun will develop to grace and beautify the world. But +let him remain till March or April, and as the snow begins to +melt away, he discovers the beautiful crocus struggling through +the half-frozen ground; the snow-drops appear in all their chaste +beauty; the buds of the swamp-maple shoot forth; the beautiful +magnolia opens her splendid blossoms; the sassafras adds its +evidence of life; the pearl-white blossoms of the dog-wood light +up every forest: and while our stranger is rubbing his eyes in +astonishment, the earth is covered with her emerald velvet +carpet; rich foliage and brilliant colored blossoms adorn the +trees; fragrant flowers are enwreathing every wayside; the +swift-winged birds float through the air and send forth joyous +notes of gratitude from every tree-top; the merry lambs skip +joyfully around their verdant pasture-grounds; and everywhere is +our stranger surrounded with life, beauty, joy and gladness. + +So it is with the poor African. You may take a dozen specimens of +both sexes from the lowest type of man found in Africa; their +race has been buried for ages in ignorance and barbarism, and you +can scarcely perceive that they have any more of manhood or +womanhood than so many orang-outangs or gorillas. You look at +their low foreheads, their thick skulls and lips, their woolly +heads, their flat noses, their dull, lazy eyes, and you may he +tempted to adopt the language of this minority committee, and +exclaim: Surely these people have "no inventive faculties, no +genius for the arts, or for any of those occupations requiring +intellect and wisdom." But bring them out into the light of +civilization; let them and their children come into the genial +sunshine of Christianity; teach them industry, self-reliance, and +self-respect; let them learn what too few white Christians have +yet understood, that cleanliness is akin to godliness, and a part +of godliness; and the human soul will begin to develop itself. +Each generation, blessed with churches and common schools will +gradually exhibit the result of such culture; the low foreheads +will be raised and widened by an active and expanded brain; the +vacant eye of barbarism, ignorance and idleness will light up +with the fire of intelligence, education, ambition, activity and +Christian civilization; and you will find the immortal soul +asserting her dignity, by the development of a man who would +startle by his intelligence the honorable gentleman from +Wallingford, who has presumed to compare beings made in God's +image with "oxen and asses." That honorable gentleman, if he is +rightly reported in the papers (I did not have the happiness to +hear his speech), has mistaken the nature of the colored man. The +honorable gentleman reminds me of the young man who went abroad, +and when he returned, there was nothing in America that could +compare with what he had seen in foreign lands. Niagara Falls was +nowhere; the White Mountains were "knocked higher than a kite" by +Mont Blanc; our rivers were so large that they were vulgar, when +contrasted with the beautiful little streams and rivulets of +Europe; our New York Central Park was eclipsed by the Bois de +Bologne and the Champs Elysees of Paris, or Hyde or Regent Park +of London, to say nothing of the great Phoenix Park at Dublin. + +"They have introduced a couple of Venetian gondolas on the large +pond in Central Park," remarked a friend. + +"All very well," replied the verdant traveler, "but between you +and me, these birds can't stand our cold climate more than one +season." The gentleman from Wallingford evidently had as little +idea of the true nature of the African as the young swell had of +the pleasure-boats of Venice. + +Mr. Johnson, of Wallingford: "The gentleman misapprehends my +remarks. The gentleman from Norwich had urged that the negro +should vote because they have fought in our battles. I replied +that oxen and asses can fight, and therefore should, on the same +grounds, be entitled to vote." + +Mr. Barnum: I accept the gentleman's explanation. Doubtless +General Grant will feel himself highly complimented when he +learns that it requires no greater capacity to handle the musket, +and meet armed battalions in the field, than "oxen and asses" +possess. + +Let the educated free negro feel that he is a man; let him be +trained in New England churches, schools and workshops; let him +support himself, pay his taxes, and cast his vote, like other +men, and he will put to everlasting shame the champions of modern +Democracy, by the overwhelming evidence he will give in his own +person of the great Scripture truth, that "God has made of one +blood all the nations of men." A human soul, "that God has +created and Christ died for," is not to be trifled with. It may +tenant the body of a Chinaman, a Turk, an Arab or a Hottentot--it +is still an immortal spirit; and, amid all assumptions of caste, +it will in due time vindicate the great fact that, without regard +to color or condition, all men are equally children of the common +Father. + +A few years since, an English lord and his family were riding in +his carriage in Liverpool. It was an elegant equipage; the +servants were dressed in rich livery; the horses caparisoned in +the most costly style; and everything betokened that the +establishment belonged to a scion of England's proudest +aristocracy. The carriage stopped in front of a palatial +residence. At this moment a poor beggar woman rushed to the side +of the carriage, and gently seizing the lady by the hand, +exclaimed, "For the love of God give me something to save my poor +sick children from starvation. You are rich; I am your poor +sister, for God is our common Father." + +"Wretch!" exclaimed the proud lady, casting the woman's hand +away; "don't call me sister; I have nothing in common with such +low brutes as you." And the great lady doubtless thought she was +formed of finer clay than this suffering mendicant; but when a +few days afterward she was brought to a sick bed by the smallpox, +contracted by touching the hand of that poor wretch, she felt the +evidence that they belonged to the same great family, and were +subject to the same pains and diseases. + +The State of Connecticut, like New Jersey, is a border State of +New York. New York has a great commercial city, where aldermen +rob by the tens of thousands, and where principal is studied much +more than principle. I can readily understand how the negro has +come to be debased at the North as well as at the South. The +interests of the two sections in the product of negro labor were +nearly identical. The North wanted Southern cotton and the South +was ready in turn to buy from the North whatever was needed in +the way of Northern supplies and manufactures. This community of +commercial interests led to an identity in political principles, +especially in matters pertaining to the negro race--the working +race of the South--which produced the cotton and consumed so much +of what Northern merchants and manufacturers sold for plantation +use. The Southern planters were good customers and were worth +conciliating. So when Connecticut proposed in 1818 to continue to +admit colored men to the franchise, the South protested against +thus elevating the negroes, and Connecticut succumbed. No other +New England State has ever so disgraced herself; and now +Connecticut Democrats are asked to permit the white citizens of +this State to express their opinion in regard to reinstating the +colored man where our Revolutionary sires placed him under the +Constitution. Now, gentlemen, "Democrats," as you call +yourselves, you who speak so flippantly of your "loyalty," your +"love for the Union" and your "love for the people"; you who are +generally talking right and voting wrong, we ask you to come +forward and act "democratically," by letting your masters, the +people, speak. + +The word "white" in the Constitution cannot be strictly and +literally construed. The opposition express great love for white +blood. Will they let a mulatto vote half the time, a quadroon +three-fourths, and an octoroon seven-eighths of the time? If not, +why not? Will they enslave seven-eighths of a white man because +one-eighth is not Caucasian? Is this democratic? Shall not the +majority seven control the minority one? Out on such "democracy." + +But a Democratic minority committee (of two) seem to have done +something besides study ethnology. They have also paid great +attention to fine arts, and are particularly anxious that all +voters shall have a "genius for the arts." I would like to ask +them if it has always been political practice to insist that +every voter in the great "unwashed" and "unterrified" of any +party should become a member of the Academy of Arts before he +votes the "regular" ticket? I thought he was received into the +full fellowship of a political party if he could exhibit +sufficient "inventive faculties and genius for the arts," to +enable him to paint a black eye. Can a man whose "genius for the +arts" enables him to strike from the shoulder scientifically, be +admitted to full fellowship in a political party? Is it evident +that the political artist has studied the old masters, if he +exhibits his genius by tapping an opponent's head with a +shillelah? The oldest master in this school of art was Cain; and +so canes have been made to play their part in politics, at the +polls and even in the United States Senate Chamber. + +Is "genius for the arts and those occupations requiring intellect +and wisdom" sufficiently exemplified in adroitly stuffing +ballot-boxes, forging soldiers' votes, and copying a directory, +as has been done, as the return list of votes? Is the "inventive +faculty" of "voting early and often" a passport to political +brotherhood? Is it satisfactory evidence of "artistic" genius, to +head a mob? and a mob which is led and guided by political +passion, as numerous instances in our history prove, is the worst +of mobs. Is it evidence of "high art" to lynch a man by hanging +him to the nearest tree or lamp-post? Is a "whisky scrimmage" one +of the lost arts restored? We all know how certain "artists" are +prone to embellish elections and to enhance the excitements of +political campaigns by inciting riots, and the frequency with +which these disgraceful outbreaks have occurred of late, +especially in some of the populous cities, is cause for just +alarm. It is dangerous "art." + +Mr. Speaker: I repeat that I am a friend to the Irishman. I have +traveled through his native country and have seen how he is +oppressed. I have listened to the eloquent and patriotic appeals +of Daniel O'Connell, in Conciliation Hall, in Dublin, and I have +gladly contributed to his fund for ameliorating the condition of +his countrymen. I rejoice to see them rushing to this land of +liberty and independence; and it is because I am their friend +that I denounce the demagogues who attempt to blind and mislead +them to vote in the interests of any party against the interests +of humanity, and the principles of true democracy. My neighbors +will testify that at mid-winter I employ Irishmen by the hundred +to do work that is not absolutely necessary, in order to help +them support their families. + +After hearing the minority report last week, I began to feel that +I might be disfranchised, for I have no great degree of "genius +for the arts;" I felt, therefore, that I must get "posted" on +that subject as soon as possible. I at once sauntered into the +Senate Chamber to look at the paintings: there I saw portraits of +great men, and I saw two empty frames from which the pictures had +been removed. These missing paintings, I was told, were portraits +of two ex-Governors of the State, whose position on political +affairs was obnoxious to the dominant party in the Legislature; +and especially obnoxious were the supposed sentiments of these +governors on the war. Therefore, the Senate voted to remove the +pictures, and thus proved, as it would seem, that there is an +intimate connection between politics and art. + +I have repeatedly traveled through every State in the South, and +I assert, what every intelligent officer and soldier who has +resided there will corroborate, that the slaves, as a body are +more intelligent than the poor whites. No man who has not been +there can conceive to what a low depth of ignorance the poor +snuff-taking, clay-eating whites of some portions of the South +have descended. I trust the day is not far distant when the +"common school" shall throw its illuminating rays through this +Egyptian pall. + +I have known slave mechanics to be sold for $3,000, and even +$5,000 each, and others could not be bought at all; and I have +seen intelligent slaves acting as stewards for their masters, +traveling every year to New Orleans, Nashville, and even to +Cincinnati, to dispose of their masters' crops. The tree colored +citizens of Opelousas, St. Martinsville, and all the Attakapas +country in Louisiana, are as respectable and intelligent as an +ordinary community of whites. They speak the French and English +languages, educate their children in music and "the arts," and +they pay their taxes on more than fifteen millions of dollars. + +Gentlemen of the opposition, I beseech you to remember that our +State and our country ask from us something more than party +tactics. It is absolutely necessary that the loyal blacks at the +South should vote, in order to save the loyal whites. Let +Connecticut, without regard to party, set them an example that +shall influence the action at the South, and prevent a new form +of slavery from arising there, which shall make all our +expenditure of blood and treasure fruitless. + +But some persons have this color prejudice simply by the force of +education, and they say, "Well, a nigger is a nigger, and he +can't be anything else. I hate niggers, anyhow." Twenty years ago +I crossed the Atlantic, and among our passengers was an Irish +judge, who was coming out to Newfoundland as chief justice. He +was an exceedingly intelligent and polished gentleman, and +extremely witty. The passengers from the New England States and +those from the South got into a discussion on the subject of +slavery, which lasted three days. The Southerners were finally +worsted, and when their arguments were exhausted, they fell back +on the old story, by saying: "Oh! curse a nigger, he ain't half +human anyhow; he had no business to be a nigger, etc." One of the +gentlemen then turned to the Irish judge, and asked his opinion +of the merits of the controversy. The judge replied: + +"Gentlemen, I have listened with much edification to your +arguments pro and con during three days. I was quite inclined to +think the anti-slavery gentlemen had justice and right on their +side, but the last argument from the South has changed my mind. I +say a 'nigger has no business to be a nigger,' and we should kick +him out of society and trample him under foot--always provided, +gentlemen, you prove he was born black at his own particular +request. If he had no word to say in the matter, of course he is +blameless for his color, and is entitled to the same respect that +other men are who properly behave themselves!" + +Mr. Speaker: I am no politician; I came to this legislature +simply because I wish to have the honor of voting for the two +constitutional amendments--one for driving slavery entirely out +of our country; the other to allow men of education and good +moral character to vote, regardless of the color of their skins. +To give my voice for these two philanthropic, just and Christian +measures is all the glory I ask legislativewise. I care nothing +whatever for any sect or party under heaven, as such. I have no +axes to grind, no logs to roll, no favors to ask. All I desire is +to do what is right, and prevent what is wrong. I believe in no +"expediency" that is not predicated of justice, for in all +things--politics, as well as everything else--I know that +"honesty is the best policy." A retributive Providence will +unerringly and speedily search out all wrong-doing; hence, right +is always the best in the long run. Certainly,, in the light of +the great American spirit of liberty and equal rights which is +sweeping over this country, and making the thrones of tyrants +totter in the Old World, no party can afford to carry slavery, +either of body or of mind. Knock off your manacles and let the +man go free. Take down the blinds from his intellect, and let in +the light of education and Christian culture. When this is done +you have developed a man. Give him the responsibility of a man +and the self-respect of a man, by granting him the right of +suffrage, Let universal education, and the universal franchise be +the motto of free America, and the toiling millions of Europe, +who are watching you with such intense interest, will hail us as +their saviours. Let us loyally sink "party" on this question, and +go for "God and our Country." Let no man attach an eternal stigma +to his name by shutting his eyes to the great lesson of the hour, +and voting against permitting the people to express their opinion +on this important subject. Let us unanimously grant this truly +democratic boon. Then, when our laws of franchise are settled on +a just basis, let future parties divide where they honestly +differ on State or national questions which do nor trench upon +the claims of manhood or American citizenship. + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. BURNING OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM. + +HOW BARNUM RECEIVED THE TIDINGS--HUMOROUS DESCRIPTION OF THE +FIRE--A PUBLIC CALAMITY--GREELEY'S ADVICE--INTENTION TO +RE-ESTABLISH THE MUSEUM--SPEECH AT EMPLOYEES' BENEFIT. + +On the 13th day of July, 1865, when Barnum was speaking in the +Legislature at Hartford, against the railroad schemes, a telegram +was handed him from his son-in-law and assistant manager in New +York, S. H. Hurd, saying that the American Museum was in flames +and its total destruction certain. + +Barnum glanced at the dispatch, folded and laid it in his desk, +and went calmly on with his speech. At the conclusion of his +remarks, the bill which he was advocating was voted upon and +carried, and the House adjourned. + +Not until then did Barnum hand the telegram to his friend, +William G. Coe, of Winsted, who immediately communicated the +intelligence to several members. + +Warm sympathizers at once crowded around him, and one of his +strongest opponents pushing forward, seized his hand, and said: +"Mr. Barnum, I am truly sorry to hear of your great misfortune." + +"Sorry," replied Barnum; "why, my dear sir, I shall not have time +to be sorry in a week! It will take me at least that length of +time before I can get over laughing at having whipped you all so +nicely on that bill." + +But he did find time to be sorry when, next day, he went to New +York and saw nothing of what had been the American Museum but a +smouldering mass of debris. + +Here was destroyed, in a few hours, the result of many years' +toil in accumulating from every part of the world myriads of +curious productions of nature and art--a collection which a half +a million of dollars and a quarter of a century could not +restore. + +In addition to these, there were many Revolutionary relics and +other articles of historical interest that could never be +duplicated. Not a thousand dollars worth of property was saved; +the loss was irreparable, and the insurance was only forty +thousand dollars. + +The fire probably originated in the engine-room, where steam was +constantly kept up to pump fresh air into the waters of the +aquaria and to propel the immense fans for cooling the atmosphere +of the rooms. + +All the New York newspapers made a great "sensation" of the fire, +and the full particulars were copied in journals throughout the +country. A facetious reporter; Mr. Nathan D. Urner, of the +Tribune, wrote the following amusing account, which appeared in +that journal, July 14, 1865, and was very generally quoted from +and copied by provincial papers, many of whose readers accepted +every line of the glowing narrative as "gospel truth": + +"Soon after the breaking out of the conflagration, a number of +strange and terrible howls and moans proceeding from the large +apartment in the third floor of the Museum, corner of Ann street +and Broadway, startled the throngs who had collected in front of +the burning building, and who were at first under the impression +that the sounds must proceed from human beings unable to effect +their escape. Their anxiety was somewhat relieved on this score, +but their consternation was by no means decreased upon learning +that the room in question was the principal chamber of the +menagerie connected with the Museum, and that there was imminent +danger of the release of the animals there confined, by the +action of the flames. Our reporter fortunately occupied a room on +the north corner of Ann street and Broadway, the windows of which +looked immediately into this apartment; and no sooner was he +apprised of the fire than he repaired there, confident of finding +items in abundance. Luckily the windows of the Museum were +unclosed, and he had a perfect view of almost the entire interior +of the apartment. The following is his statement of what +followed, in his own language. + +"Protecting myself from the intense heat as well as I could by +taking the mattress from the bed and erecting it as a bulwark +before the window, with only enough space reserved on the top so +as to look out, I anxiously observed the animals in the opposite +room. Immediately opposite the window through which I gazed was a +large cage containing a lion and lioness. To the right hand was +the three-storied cage, containing monkeys at the top, two +kangaroos in the second story, and a happy family of cats, rats, +adders, rabbits, etc., in the lower apartment. To the left of the +lions' cage was the tank containing the two vast alligators, and +still further to the left, partially hidden from my sight, was +the grand tank containing the great white whale, which has +created such a furore in our sightseeing midst for the past few +weeks. Upon the floor were caged the boa-constrictor, anacondas +and rattlesnakes, whose heads would now and then rise menacingly +through the top of the cage. In the extreme right was the cage, +entirely shut from my view at first, containing the Bengal tiger +and the Polar bear, whose terrific growls could be distinctly +heard from behind the partition. With a simultaneous bound the +lion and his mate sprang against the bars, which gave way and +came down with a great crash, releasing the beasts, which for a +moment, apparently amazed at their sudden liberty, stood in the +middle of the floor lashing their sides with their tails and +roaring dolefully. + +"Almost at the same moment the upper part of the three-storied +cage, consumed by the flames, fell forward, letting the rods drop +to the floor, and many other animals were set free. Just at this +time the door fell through and the flames and smoke rolled in +like a whirlwind from the Hadean river Cocytus. A horrible scene +in the right-hand corner of the room, a yell of indescribable +agony, and a crashing, grating sound, indicated that the tiger +and Polar bear were stirred up to the highest pitch of +excitement. Then there came a great crash, as of the giving way +of the bars of their cage. The flames and smoke momentarily +rolled back, and for a few seconds the interior of the room was +visible in the lurid light of the flames, which revealed the +tiger and the lion, locked together in close combat. + +"The monkeys were perched around the windows, shivering with +dread, and afraid to jump out. The snakes were writhing about, +crippled and blistered by the heat, darting out their forked +tongues, and expressing their rage and fear in the most sibilant +of hisses. The 'Happy Family' were experiencing an amount of +beatitude which was evidently too cordial for philosophical +enjoyment. A long tongue of flame had crept under the cage, +completely singing every hair from the cat's body. The felicitous +adder was slowly burning in two and busily engaged in +impregnating his organic system with his own venom. The joyful +rat had lost his tail by a falling bar of iron; and the beatific +rabbit, perforated by a red-hot nail, looked as if nothing would +be more grateful than a cool corner in some Esquimaux farm-yard. +The members of the delectated convocation were all huddled +together in the bottom of their cage, which suddenly gave way, +precipitating them out of view in the depths below, which by this +time were also blazing like the fabled Tophet. + +"At this moment the flames rolled again into the room, and then +again retired. The whale and alligators were by this time +suffering dreadful torments. The water in which they swam was +literally boiling. The alligators dashed fiercely about, +endeavoring to escape, and opening and shutting their great jaws +in ferocious torture; but the poor whale, almost boiled, with +great ulcers bursting from his blubbery sides, could only feebly +swim about, though blowing excessively, and every now and then +sending up great fountains of spray. At length, crack went the +glass sides of the great cases, and whale and alligators rolled +out on the floor with the rushing and steaming water. The whale +died easily, having been pretty well used up before. A few great +gasps and a convulsive flap or two of his mighty flukes were his +expiring spasm. One of the alligators was killed almost +immediately by falling across a great fragment of shattered +glass, which cut open his stomach and let out the greater part of +his entrails to the light of day. The remaining alligator became +involved in a controversy with an anaconda, and joined the melee +in the centre of the flaming apartment. + +"A number of birds which were caged in the upper part of the +building were set free by some charitably inclined person at the +first alarm of fire, and at intervals they flew out. There were +many valuable tropical birds, parrots, cockatoos, mockingbirds, +humming-birds, etc., as well as some vultures and eagles, and one +condor. Great excitement existed among the swaying crowds in the +streets below as they took wing. There were confined in the same +room a few serpents, which also obtained their liberty; and soon +after the rising and devouring flames began to enwrap the entire +building, a splendid and emblematic sight was presented to the +wondering and upgazing throngs. Bursting through the central +casement, with flap of wings and lashing coils, appeared an eagle +and a serpent wreathed in fight. For a moment they hung poised in +mid-air, presenting a novel and terrible conflict. It was the +earth and air (or their respective representatives) at war for +mastery; the base and the lofty, the groveller and the soarer, +were engaged in deadly battle. At length the flat head of the +serpent sank; his writhing, sinuous form grew still; and wafted +upward by the cheers of the gazing multitude, the eagle, with a +scream of triumph, and bearing his prey in his iron talons, +soared towards the sun. Several monkeys escaped from the burning +building to the neighboring roofs and streets; and considerable +excitement was caused by the attempts to secure them. One of the +most amusing incidents in this respect, was in connection with +Mr. James Gordon Bennett. The veteran editor of the Herald was +sitting in his private office, with his back to the open window, +calmly discussing with a friend the chances that the Herald +establishment would escape the conflagration, which at that time +was threateningly advancing up Ann street towards Nassau street. +In the course of his conversation, Mr. Bennett observed: +'Although I have usually had good luck in cases of fire, they say +that the devil is ever at one's shoulder, and'--here an +exclamation from his friend interrupted him, and turning quickly +he was considerably taken aback at seeing the devil himself, or +something like him, at his very shoulder as he spoke. Recovering +his equanimity, with the ease and suavity which is usual with him +in all company, Mr. Bennett was about to address the intruder, +when he perceived that what he had taken for the gentleman in +black was nothing more than a frightened orang-outang. The poor +creature, but recently released from captivity, and doubtless +thinking that he might fill some vacancy in the editorial corps +of the paper in question, had descended by the water-pipe and +instinctively taken refuge in the inner sanctum of the +establishment. Although the editor--perhaps from the fact that he +saw nothing peculiarly strange in the visitation--soon regained +his composure, it was far otherwise with his friend, who +immediately gave the alarm. Mr. Hudson rushed in and boldly +attacked the monkey, grasping him by the throat. The book-editor +next came in, obtaining a clutch upon the brute by the ears; the +musical critic followed and seized the tail with both hands, and +a number of reporters, armed with inkstands and sharpened +pencils, came next, followed by a dozen policemen with brandished +clubs; at the same time, the engineer in the basement received +the preconcerted signal and got ready his hose, wherewith to pour +boiling hot water upon the heads of, those in the streets, in +case it should prove a regular systematized attack by gorillas, +Brazil apes, and chimpanzees. Opposed to this formidable +combination the rash intruder fared badly, and was soon in +durance vile. Numerous other incidents of a similar kind +occurred; but some of the most amusing were in connection with +the wax figures. + +"Upon the same impulse which prompts men in time of fire to fling +valuable looking-glasses out of three-story windows, and at the +same time tenderly to lower down feather beds--soon after the +Museum took fire, a number of sturdy firemen rushed into the +building to carry out the wax figures. There were thousands of +valuable articles which might have been saved if there had been +less of solicitude displayed for the miserable effigies which are +usually exhibited under the appellation of 'wax figures.' As it +was, a dozen firemen rushed into the apartment where the figures +were kept, amid a multitude of crawling snakes, chattering +monkeys and escaped paroquets. The 'Dying Brigand' was +unceremoniously throttled and dragged towards the door; liberties +were taken with the tearful 'Senorita' who has so long knelt and +so constantly wagged her doll's head at his side; the mules of +the other bandits were upset, and they themselves roughly seized. +The full-length statue of P. T. Barnum fell down of its own +accord, as if disgusted with the whole affair. A red-shined +fireman seized with either hand Franklin Pierce and James +Buchanan by their coat-collars, tucked the Prince Imperial of +France under one arm and the Veiled Murderess under the other, +and coolly departed for the street. Two ragged boys quarreled +over the Tom Thumb, but at length settled the controversy by one +of them taking the head, the other satisfying himself with the +legs below the knees. They evidently had Tom under their thumbs, +and intended to keep him down. While the curiosity-seeking +policeman was garroting Benjamin Franklin, with the idea of +abducting him, a small monkey, flung from the windowsill by the +strong hand of an impatient fireman, made a straight dive, +hitting Poor Richard just below the waistcoat, and passing +through his stomach, as fairly as the Harlequin in the 'Green +Monster' pantomime ever pierced the picture with the slit in it, +which always hangs so conveniently low and near. Patrick Henry +had his teeth knocked out by a flying missile, and in carrying +Daniel Lambert down stairs, he was found to be so large that they +had to break off his head in order to get him through the door. +At length the heat became intense, the 'figgers' began to +perspire freely, and the swiftly approaching flames compelled all +hands to desist from any further attempt at rescue. Throwing a +parting glance behind as we passed down the stairs, we saw the +remaining dignitaries in a strange plight. Some one had stuck a +cigar in General Washington's mouth, and thus, with his chapeau +crushed down over his eyes and his head leaning upon the ample +lap of Moll Pitcher, the Father of his Country led the van of as +sorry a band of patriots as not often comes within one's +experience to see. General Marion was playing a dummy game of +poker with General Lafayette; Governor Morris was having a set-to +with Nathan Lane, and James Madison was executing a Dutch polka +with Madam Roland on one arm and Luicretia Borgia on the other. +The next moment the advancing flames compelled us to retire. + +"We believe that all the living curiosities were saved; but the +giant girl, Anna Swan, was only rescued with the utmost +difficulty. There was not a door through which her bulky frame +could obtain a passage. It was likewise feared that the stairs +would break down, even if she should reach them. Her best friend, +the living skeleton, stood by her as long as he dared, but then +deserted her, while, as the heat grew in intensity, the +perspiration rolled from her face in little brooks and rivulets, +which pattered musically upon the floor. At length, as a last +resort, the employees of the place procured a lofty derrick which +fortunately happened to be standing near, and erected it +alongside of the Museum. A portion of the wall was then broken +off on each side of the window, the strong tackle was got in +readiness, the tall woman was made fast to one end and swung over +the heads of the people in the street, with eighteen men grasping +the other extremity of the line, and lowered down from the third +story, amid enthusiastic applause. A carriage of extraordinary +capacity was in readiness, and, entering this, the young lady was +driven away to a hotel. + +"When the surviving serpents, that were released by the partial +burning of the box in which they were contained, crept along on +the floor to the balcony of the Museum and dropped on the +sidewalk, the crowd, seized with St. Patrick's aversion to the +reptiles, fled with such precipitate haste that they knocked each +other down and trampled on one another in the most reckless and +damaging manner. + +"Hats were lost, coats torn, boots burst and pantaloons dropped +with magnificent miscellaneousness, and dozens of those who rose +from the miry streets into which they had been thrown looked like +the disembodied spirits of a mud bank. The snakes crawled on the +sidewalk and into Broadway, where some of them died from injuries +received, and others were dispatched by the excited populace. +Several of the serpents of the copper-head species escaped the +fury of the tumultuous masses, and, true to their instincts, +sought shelter in the World and News offices. A large black bear +escaped from the burning Museum into Ann street, and then made +his way into Nassau, and down that thoroughfare into Wall, where +his appearance caused a sensation. Some superstitious persons +believed him the spirit of a departed Ursa Major, and others of +his fraternity welcomed the animal as a favorable omen. The bear +walked quietly along to the Custom House, ascended the steps of +the building, and became bewildered, as many a biped bear has +done before him. He seemed to lose his sense of vision, and, no +doubt, endeavoring to operate for a fall, walked over the side of +the steps and broke his neck. He succeeded in his object, but it +cost him dearly. The appearance of Bruin in the street sensibly +affected the stock market, and shares fell rapidly; but when he +lost his life in the careless manner we have described, shares +advanced again, and the Bulls triumphed once more. + +"Broadway and its crossings have not witnessed a denser throng +for months than assembled at the fire yesterday. Barnum's was +always popular, but it never drew so vast a crowd before. There +must have been forty thousand people on Broadway, between Maiden +Lane and Chambers street, and a great portion stayed there until +dusk. So great was the concourse of people that it was with +difficulty pedestrians or vehicles could pass. + +"After the fire several high-art epicures, groping among the +ruins, found choice morsels of boiled whale, roasted kangaroo and +fricasseed crocodile, which, it is said, they relished; though +the many would have failed to appreciate such rare edibles. +Probably the recherche epicures will declare the only true way to +prepare those meats is to cook them in a Museum wrapped in +flames, in the same manner that the Chinese, according to Charles +Lamb, first discovered roast pig in a burning house, and ever +afterward set a house on fire with a pig inside, when they wanted +that particular food." + +All the New York journals, and many more in other cities, +editorially expressed their sympathy with the misfortune, and +their sense of the loss the community had sustained in the +destruction of the American Museum. The following editorial is +from the New York Tribune of July 14, 1865: + +"The destruction of no building in this city could have caused so +much excitement and so much regret as that of Barnum's Museum. +The collection of curiosities was very large, and though many of +them may not have had much intrinsic or memorial value, a +considerable portion was certainly of great worth for any Museum. +But aside from this, pleasant memories clustered about the place, +which for so many years has been the chief resort for amusement +to the common people who cannot often afford to treat themselves +to a night at the more expensive theatres, while to the children +of the city, Barnum's has been a fountain of delight, ever +offering new attractions as captivating and as implicitly +believed in as the Arabian Nights Entertainments: Theatre, +Menagerie and Museum, it amused, instructed, and astonished. If +its thousands and tens of thousands of annual visitors were +bewildered sometimes with a Wooly Horse, a What is It? or a +Mermaid, they found repose and certainty in a Giraffe, a Whale or +a Rhinoceros. If wax effigies of pirates and murderers made them +shudder lest those dreadful figures should start out of their +glass cases and repeat their horrid deeds, they were reassured by +the presence of the mildest and most amiable of giants, and the +fattest of mortal women, whose dead weight alone could crush all +the wax figures into their original cakes. It was a source of +unfailing interest to all country visitors, and New York to many +of them was only the place that held Barnum's Museum. It was the +first thing--often the only thing--they visited when they came +among us, and nothing that could have been contrived, out of our +present resources, could have offered so many attractions, unless +some more ingenious showman had undertaken to add to Barnum's +collection of waxen criminals by putting in a cage the live +Boards of the Common Council. We mourn its loss, but not as +without consolation. Barnum's Museum is gone, but Barnum himself, +happily, did not share the fate of his rattlesnakes and his, at +least, most "un-Happy Family." There are fishes in the seas and +beasts in the forest; birds still fly in the air, and strange +creatures still roam in the deserts; giants and pigmies still +wander up and down the earth; the oldest man, the fattest woman, +and the smallest baby are still living, and Barnum will find +them. + +"Or even if none of these things or creatures existed, we could +trust to Barnum to make them out of hand. The Museum, then, is +only a temporary loss, and much as we sympathize with the +proprietor, the public may trust to his well-known ability and +energy to soon renew a place of amusement which was a source of +so much innocent pleasure, and had in it so many elements of +solid excellence." + +As already stated, Mr. Barnum's insurance was but forty thousand +dollars while the loss was fully four hundred thousand, and as +his premium was five per cent., he had already paid the insurance +companies more than they returned to him. + +His first impulse, on reckoning up his losses, was to retire from +active life and all business occupations, beyond what his real +estate interests in Bridgeport and New York would compel. He went +to his old friend, Horace Greeley, and asked for advice on the +subject. + +"Accept this fire as a notice to quit, and go a-fishing," said +Mr. Greeley. + +"What?" exclaimed Barnum. + +"Yes, go a-fishing," replied Greeley. "Why, I have been wanting +to go for thirty years, and have never yet found time to do so." + +And but for two considerations Barnum might have taken this +advice. One hundred and fifty employees were thrown out of work +at a season when it would have been difficult to get anything +else to do. That was the most important consideration. Then, too, +Barnum felt that a large city like New York needed a good Museum, +and that his experience of a quarter of a century in that +direction afforded the greatest facilities for founding another +establishment of the kind. So he took a few days for reflection. + +The Museum employees were tendered a benefit at the Academy of +Music, at which most of the dramatic artists in the city gave +their services. At the conclusion Barnum was called for, and made +a brilliant speech, in which he announced that he had decided to +establish another Museum, and that, in order to give present +occupation to his employees, he had engaged the Winter Garden +Theatre for a few weeks, his new establishment promising to be +ready by fall. + +The New York Sun commented on the speech as follows: + +"One of the happiest impromptu oratorical efforts that we have +heard for some time was that made by Barnum at the benefit +performance given for his employees on Friday afternoon. If a +stranger wanted to satisfy himself how the great showman had +managed so to monopolize the ear and eye of the public during his +long career, he could not have had a better opportunity of doing +so than by listening to this address. Every word, though +delivered with apparent carelessness, struck a key-note in the +hearts of his listeners. Simple, forcible and touching, it showed +how thoroughly this extraordinary man comprehends the character +of his countrymen, and how easily he can play upon their +feelings. + +"Those who look upon Barnum as a mere charlatan, have really no +knowledge of him. It would be easy to demonstrate that the +qualities that have placed him in his present position of +notoriety and affluence would, in another pursuit, have raised +him to far greater eminence. In his breadth of views, his +profound knowledge of mankind, his courage under reverses, his +indomitable perseverance, his ready eloquence and his admirable +business tact, we recognize the elements that are conducive to +success in most other pursuits. More than almost any other living +man, Barnum may be said to be a representative type of the +American mind." + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. POLITICAL LIFE. + +IN THE CONNECTICUT LEGISLATURE--THE GREAT RAILROAD +FIGHT--BARNUM'S EFFECTIVE STROKE--CANVASSING FOR A UNITED STATES +SENATOR--BARNUM'S CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN--A CHALLENGE THAT WAS +NOT ACCEPTED. + +During his legislative career Mr. Barnum made many new friends +and pleasant acquaintances, and there were many events great and +small which tended to make the session memorable. Barnum was by +no means an idle member. On several occasions, indeed, he took a +most conspicuous part in debates and in framing legislation. On +one occasion, a Representative, who was a lawyer, introduced +resolutions to reduce the number of Representatives, urging that +the "House" was too large and ponderous a body to work smoothly; +that a smaller number of persons could accomplish business more +rapidly and completely; and, in fact, that the Connecticut +Legislature was so large that the members did not have time to +get acquainted with each other before the body adjourned sine +die. Barnum replied, that the larger the number of +Representatives, the more difficult it would be to tamper with +them; and if they all could not become personally acquainted, so +much the better, for there would be fewer "rings," and less +facilities for forcing improper legislation. + +"As the House seems to be thin now, I will move to lay my +resolutions on the table," remarked the member; "but I shall call +them up when there is a full House." + +"According to the gentleman's own theory," Barnum replied, "the +smaller the number, the surer are we to arrive at correct +conclusions. Now, therefore, is just the time to decide; and I +move that the gentleman's resolutions be considered." This +proposition was seconded amid a roar of laughter; and the +resolutions were almost unanimously voted down, before the member +fairly comprehended what was going on. He afterwards acknowledged +it as a pretty fair joke, and at any rate as an effective one. + +At this time Connecticut had two capitals, Hartford and New +Haven. The State House at Hartford was a wretched old building, +too small and entirely unfit for the purposes to which it was +devoted; and that at New Haven was scarcely better. Barnum made a +strong effort to secure the erection of new buildings in both +cities, and was made chairman of the committee having the matter +in charge. During his investigations he ascertained that +Bridgeport, Middletown and Meriden would each be willing to erect +a fine new State House at its own cost, for the sake of being +made the capital of the State. Thus the jealousy of Hartford and +New Haven was greatly aroused, and committees of citizens waited +upon Mr. Barnum, beseeching him not to press the matter of +removing the capital. In the end nothing definite was done, but +years afterward Hartford was made the sole capital and one of the +finest public buildings in the world was erected there. + +The most notable event of the whole session however occurred near +its close, when Barnum introduced a bill to amend the railroad +law of the State by inserting in it the following: + +"Section 508. No railroad company, which has had a system of +commutation fares in force for more than four years, shall +abolish, alter, or modify the same, except for the regulation of +the price charged for such commutation; and such price shall, in +no case, be raised to an extent that shall alter the ratio +between such commutation and the rates then charged for way fare, +on the railroad of such company." + +The New York and New Haven Railroad Company seemed determined to +move heaven and earth to prevent the passage of this law. The +halls of legislation were thronged with railroad lobbyists, who +button-holed nearly every member. Barnum's motives were attacked, +and the most foolish slanders were circulated. Not only every +legal man in the House was arrayed against him, but occasionally +a "country member," who had promised to stick by and aid in +checking the cupidity of railroad managers, would drop off, and +be found voting on the other side. "I devoted," says Barnum, +"many hours, and even days, to explaining the true state of +things to the members from the rural regions, and, although the +prospect of carrying this great reform looked rather dark, I felt +that I had a majority of the honest and disinterested members of +the House with me. Finally, Senator Ballard informed me that he +had canvassed the Senate, and was convinced that the bill could +be carried through that body if I could be equally successful +with the House." + +The date of the final debate and vote was fixed for the morning +of July 13. At that time the excitement was intense. The State +House was crowded with railroad lobbyists; for nearly every +railroad in the State had made common cause with the New York and +New Haven Company, and every Representative was in his seat, +excepting the sick man, who had doctored the railroads till he +needed doctoring himself. The debate was led off by skirmishers +on each side, and was finally closed on the part of the railroads +by Mr. Harrison, of New Haven, who was chairman of the railroad +committee. Mr. Harrison was a close and forcible debater and a +clear-headed lawyer. His speech exhibited considerable thought, +and his earnestness and high character as a gentleman of honor +carried much weight. Besides, his position as chairman of the +committee naturally influenced some votes. He claimed to +understand thoroughly the merits of the question, from having, in +his capacity as chairman, heard all the testimony and arguments +which had come before that committee; and a majority of the +committee, after due deliberation, had reported against the +proposed bill. + +Mr. Barnum arose to close the debate. He endeavored to state +briefly the gist of the whole case. "Only a few years before," he +said, "the New York and New Haven Company had fixed their own +price for commuters' tickets along the whole line of the road, +and had thus induced hundreds of New York citizens to remove to +Connecticut with their families, and build their houses on +heretofore unimproved property, thus vastly increasing the value +of the lands, and correspondingly helping our receipts for taxes. +He urged that there was a tacit understanding between the +railroad and these commuters and the public generally, that such +persons as chose thus to remove from a neighboring State, and +bring their families and capital within Connecticut's borders, +should have the right to pass over the railroad on the terms +fixed at the time by the president and directors; 'that any claim +that the railroad could not afford to commute at the prices they +had themselves established was absurd, from the fact that, even +now, if one thousand families who reside in New York, and had +never been in our own State, should propose to the railroad to +remove these families (embracing in the aggregate five thousand +persons) to Connecticut, and build one thousand new houses on the +line of the New York and New Haven Railroad, provided the +railroad would carry the male head of the family at all times for +nothing, the company could well afford to accept the proposition, +because they would receive full prices for transporting all other +members of these families, at all times, as well as full prices +for all their visitors and servants.' + +"And now," he said, "what are the facts? Do we desire the +railroad to carry even one-fifth of these new-comers for nothing? +Do we, indeed, desire to compel them to transport them for any +definitely fixed price at all? On the contrary, we find that +during the late rebellion, when gold was selling for two dollars +and eighty cents per dollar, this company doubled its prices of +commutation, and retains the same prices now, although gold is +but one-half that amount ($1.40). We don't ask them to go back to +their former prices; we don't compel them to rest even here; we +simply say, increase your rates, pile up your demands just as +high as you desire, only you shall not make fish of one and fowl +of another. You have fixed and increased your prices to +passengers of all classes just as you liked, and established your +own ratio between those who pay by the year and those who pay by +the single trip; and now, all we ask is, that you shall not +change the ratio. Charge ten dollars per passenger from New York +to New Haven, if you have the courage to risk the competition of +the steamboats; and whatever percentage you choose to increase +the fare of transient passengers, we permit you to increase the +rates of commuters in the same ratio. + +"The interests of the State, as well as communities, demand this +law; for if it is once fixed by statute that the prices of +commutation are not to be increased, many persons will leave the +localities where extortion is permitted on the railroads, and +will settle in our State. But these railroad gentlemen say they +have no intention to increase their rates of commutation, and +they deprecate what they term 'premature legislation,' and an +uncalled-for meddling with their affairs. Mr. Speaker, 'an ounce +of prevention is worth a pound of cure.' Men engaged in plots +against public interests always ask to be 'let alone.' Jeff Davis +only asked to be 'let alone,' when the North was raising great +armies to prevent the dissolution of the Union. The people cannot +afford to let these railroads alone. This hall, crowded with +railroad lobbyists, as the frogs thronged Egypt, is an admonition +to all honest legislators that it is unsafe to allow the +monopolies the chance to rivet the chains which already fetter +the limbs of those whom circumstances place in the power of these +companies." + +At this point in his speech he was interrupted a messenger, who +placed in his hands a dispatch from his son-in-law in New York, +marked "Urgent." He opened and read it. It announced that his +Museum had been totally destroyed by fire. He laid it upon his +desk, and without the slightest change of manner continued his +argument, as follows: + +"These railroad gentlemen absolutely deny any intention of +raising the fares of commuters, and profess to think it very hard +that disinterested and conscientious gentlemen like them should +be judged by the doings of the Hudson River and Harlem Railroads. +But now, Mr. Speaker, I am going to expose the duplicity of these +men. I have had detectives on their track, for men who plot +against public interest deserve to be watched. I have in my +pocket positive proofs that they did, and do, intend to spring +their trap upon the unprotected commuters on the New York and New +Haven Railroad." + +He then drew from his pocket and read two telegrams received that +morning, one from New York and the other from Bridgeport, +announcing that the New York and New Haven Railroad Directory had +held a secret meeting in New York the day before, for the purpose +of immediately raising the fares of commuters twenty per cent., +so that in case his bill became a law they could get ahead of +him. He continued: + +"Now, Mr. Speaker, I know that these dispatches are true; my +information is from the inside of the camp. I see a director of +the New York and New Haven Railroad sitting in this hall; I know +that he knows these dispatches are true; and if he will go before +the railroad committee and make oath that he don't know that such +a meeting took place yesterday, for exactly this purpose, I will +forfeit and pay one thousand dollars to the families of poor +soldiers in this city. In consideration of this attempt to +forestall the action of this Legislature, I offer an amendment to +the bill now under consideration, by adding after the word +'ratio' the words 'as it existed on the 1st day of July, 1865.' +In this way we shall cut off any action which these sleek +gentlemen may have taken yesterday. It is now evident that these +railroad gentlemen have set a trap for this Legislature; and I +propose that we now spring the trap, and see if we cannot catch +these wily railroad directors in it. Mr. Speaker, I move the +previous question." + +This revelation astounded the opposition, and the "previous +question" was ordered. On the final vote the bill was carried +through triumphantly, and has ever since remained an important +item in the statute-book of the State. + +In the spring of 1866 Barnum was re-elected to represent the town +of Fairfield in the Legislature. He had not intended to serve +again. But one of the directors of the railroad, who had led the +opposition to Barnum's new railroad law, had openly boasted about +the town that Barnum should not be allowed to hold the office +again. It was in response to these boasts that Barnum decided to +accept the nomination, and he was handsomely elected. + +The leading issue before that Legislature was the election of a +United States Senator. Andrew Johnson was then President of the +United States, and had begun to break away from the Republican +party. One of the Connecticut Senators was following him in this +action. The other Senator was now a candidate for re-election. +Barnum had been an earnest admirer of him, but now ascertained +that he too was siding with Johnson. This caused Barnum to take +an active part in opposing him, and the showman-legislator spent +many days and nights endeavoring to impress upon his colleagues +the importance of defeating this candidate and electing the Hon. +O. S. Ferry to the Senatorship. + +Excitement ran high. At first Mr. Ferry had only a few votes. But +under Barnum's skilful leadership he at last obtained a majority +in the party caucus and was accordingly elected. + +During that summer Barnum entertained many eminent politicians +and other public men at his beautiful residence, Lindencroft. +Governor Hawley wanted him to serve as a Commissioner to the +Paris Exposition of 1867, but he was unable to do so. + +In the spring of 1867 he was nominated for Congress by the +Republicans of the Fourth District. In referring to this episode, +he afterward remarked: "Politics were always distasteful to me. I +possessed, naturally, too much independence of mind, and too +strong a determination to do what I believe to be right, +regardless of party expediency, to make a lithe and oily +politician. To be called on to favor applications from +office-seekers, without regard to their merits, and to do the +dirty work too often demanded by political parties; to be "all +things to all men," though not in the apostolic sense; to shake +hands with those whom I despised, and to kiss the dirty babies of +those whose votes were courted, were political requirements which +I felt I could never acceptably fulfil. Nevertheless, I had +become, so far as business was concerned, almost a man of +leisure; and some of my warmest personal friends insisted that a +nomination to so high and honorable a position as a member of +Congress was not to be lightly rejected, and so I consented to +run. Fairfield and Litchfield counties composed the district, +which, in the preceding Congressional election, in 1865, and just +after the close of the war, was Republican. In the year +following, however, the district in the State election went +Democratic. I had this Democratic majority to contend against in +1867, and as the whole State turned over and elected the +Democratic ticket, I lost my election. In the next succeeding +Congressional election, in 1869, the Fourth District also elected +the only Democratic Congressman chosen from Connecticut that +year. + +"I was neither disappointed nor cast down by my defeat. The +political canvass served the purpose of giving me a new +sensation, and introducing me to new phases of human nature--a +subject which I had always great delight in studying. The filth +and scandal, the slanders and vindictiveness, the plottings and +fawnings, the fidelity, meanness and manliness,: which by turns +exhibited themselves in the exciting scenes preceding the +election, were novel to me, and were so far interesting. + +"Shortly after my opponent was nominated I sent him the following +letter, which was also published in the Bridgeport Standard: + +" 'BRIDGEPORT, Conn., February 21, 1867. +" 'W. H. BARNUM, Esq., Salisbury, Conn.: + +" 'Dear Sir: Observing that the Democratic party has nominated +you for Congress from this district, I desire to make you a +proposition. + +" 'The citizens of this portion of our State will be compelled, +on the first Monday in April next, to decide whether you or +myself shall represent their interests and their principles in +the Fortieth Congress of the United States. + +" 'The theory of our government is, that the will of the people +shall be the law of the land. It is important, therefore, that +the people shall vote understandingly, and especially at this +important crisis in our national existence. In order that the +voters of this district shall fully comprehend the principles by +which each of their Congressional candidates is guided, I +respectfully invite you to meet me in a serious and candid +discussion of the important political issues of the day at +various towns in the Fourth Congressional District of +Connecticut, on each week-day evening, from the fourth day of +March until the thirtieth day of the same month, both inclusive. + +" 'If you will consent to thus meet me in a friendly discussion +of those subjects, now so near and dear to every American heart, +and, I may add, possessing at this time such momentous interest +to all civilized nations in the world who are suffering from +misrule, I pledge myself to conduct my portion of the debate with +perfect fairness, and with all due respect for my opponent, and +doubt not you will do the same. + +" 'Never, in my judgment, in our past history as a nation, have +interests and questions more important appealed to the people for +their wise and careful consideration. It is due to the voters of +the Fourth Congressional District that they have an early and +full opportunity to examine their candidates in regard to these +important problems, and I shall esteem it a great privilege if +you will accept this proposition. + +" 'Please favor me with an early answer, and oblige + " 'Truly yours, + " 'P. T. BARNUM.' " + +To this letter Mr. William H. Barnum replied, positively +declining to accept his rival's proposition. + +When Congress met P. T. Barnum was surprised to see in the +newspapers an announcement that the seat of his successful rival +was to be contested on the ground of bribery and fraud. " This," +he said, "was the first intimation that I had ever received of +such an intention, and I was never, at any time before or +afterwards, consulted upon the subject. The movement proved to +have originated with neighbors and townsmen of the successful +candidate, who claimed to be able to prove that he had paid large +sums of money to purchase votes. They also claimed that they had +proof that men were brought from an adjoining State to vote, and +that in the office of the successful candidate naturalization +papers were forged to enable foreigners to vote upon them. But, I +repeat, I took no part nor lot in the matter, but concluded that +if I had been defeated by fraud, mine was the real success.' " + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX. FIGHTING A NEWSPAPER + +DISPOSING OF THE LEASE OF THE MUSEUM SITE--THE BARGAIN WITH MR. +BENNETT--BARNUM'S REFUSAL TO BACK OUT--A LONG AND BITTER WAR WITH +"THE HERALD"--ACTION OF THE OTHER MANAGERS--THE RETURN OF PEACE. + +After the destruction of his museum by fire, Barnum determined to +open another and still finer establishment. It would not be on +the old site, however, but further up town. The unexpired lease +of the two lots at Ann Street and Broadway he proposed to sell; +and he quickly had numerous offers for it. This lease still had +about eleven years to run, and the annual rental was only +$10,000; and there was a provision that, in case of the burning +of the building, the owner was to spend $24,000 in aiding Barnum +to rebuild, and then, at the expiration of the lease, was to pay +Barnum the appraised value of the building, not exceeding +$100,000. This lease had seemed extravagant when Barnum had made +it, but the great growth of the city had so increased the value +of property in that vicinity, that now the rental of $10,000 +seemed ridiculously small. An experienced real estate broker, +whom Barnum engaged for the purpose, estimated the value of the +lease at $275,000. Barnum was so anxious, however, to get the +matter settled at once that he decided to offer the lease for +sale at $225,000. + +The next day he met James Gordon Bennett, the elder, the owner of +the New York Herald. Mr. Bennett told him that he thought of +buying both the lease and the fee simple of the property itself, +and erecting there a fine building for his great newspaper. +Barnum therefore, offered him the lease for $200,000, and after a +few day's consideration Mr. Bennett accepted the offer. His +attorney thereupon handed to Mr. Barnum a check on the Chemical +Bank for $200,000, which Barnum immediately used in the purchase +of Government Bonds. Mr. Bennett had agreed to purchase the fee +of the property for $500,000. He had been informed that the +property was worth some $300,000 to $400,000, and he did not mind +paying $100,000 extra for the purpose of carrying out his plans. +But the parties who estimated for him the value of the land knew +nothing of the fact that there was a lease upon the property, +else of course they would in their estimate have deducted the +$200,000, which the lease would cost. When, therefore, Mr. +Bennett saw it stated in the newspapers that the sum which he had +paid for a piece of land measuring only fifty-six by one hundred +feet was more than was ever paid before in any city in the world +for a tract of that size, he discovered the serious oversight +which he had made; and the owner of the property was immediately +informed that Bennett would not take it. But Bennett had already +signed a bond to the owner, agreeing to pay $100,000 cash, and to +mortgage the premises for the remaining $400,000. + +Supposing that by this step he had shaken off the owner of the +fee, Bennett was not long in seeing that, as he was not to own +the land, he would have no possible use for the lease, for which +he had paid the $200,000; and accordingly his next step was to +shake Barnum off also, and get back the money he had paid him. + +In speaking of what followed, Mr. Barnum afterwards said: "My +business for many years, as manager of the Museum and other +public entertainments, compelled me to court notoriety; and I +always found Bennett's abuse far more remunerative than his +praise, even if I could have had the praise at the same price, +that is for nothing. Especially was it profitable to me when I +could be the subject of scores of lines of his scolding +editorials free of charge, instead of paying him forty cents a +line for advertisements, which would not attract a tenth part so +much attention. Bennett had tried abusing me, off and on, for +twenty years, on one occasion refusing my advertisement +altogether for the space of about a year; but I always managed to +be the gainer by his course. Now, however, when new difficulties +threatened, all the leading managers in New York were members of +the 'Managers' Association,' and as we all submitted to the +arbitrary and extortionate demands of the Herald, Bennett thought +he had but to crack his whip, in order to keep all and any of us +within the traces. Accordingly one day Bennett's attorney wrote +me a letter, saying that he would like to have me call on him at +his office the following morning. Not dreaming of the object, I +called as desired, and after a few pleasant commonplace remarks +about the weather, and other trifles, the attorney said: + +" 'Mr. Barnum, I have sent for you to say that Mr. Bennett has +concluded not to purchase the museum lots, and therefore that you +had better take back the lease, and return the $200,000 paid for +it.' + +" 'Are you in earnest?' I asked with surprise. + +" 'Certainly, quite so,' he answered. + +" 'Really,' I said, smiling, 'I am sorry I can't accommodate Mr. +Bennett; I have not got the little sum about me; in fact, I have +spent the money.' + +" 'It will be better for you to take back the lease,' said the +attorney, seriously. + +" 'Nonsense,' I replied, 'I shall do nothing of the sort; I don't +make child's bargains. The lease was cheap enough, but I have +other business to attend to, and shall have nothing to do with +it.' + +"The attorney said very little in reply; but I could see, by the +almost benignant sorrow expressed upon his countenance, that he +evidently pitied me for the temerity that would doubtless lead me +into the jaws of the insatiable monster of the Herald. The next +morning I observed that the advertisement of my entertainments +with my museum company at Winter Garden was left out of the +Herald columns. I went directly to the editorial rooms of the +Herald; and learning that Bennett was not in, I said to Mr. +Hudson, then managing editor: + +" 'My advertisement is left out of the Herald; is there a screw +loose?' + +" 'I believe there is,' was the reply. + +" 'What is the matter?' I asked. + +" 'You must ask the Emperor,' said Mr. Hudson, meaning of course +Bennett. + +" 'When will the "Emperor" be in?' I inquired. 'Next Monday,' was +the answer. + +" 'Well, I shall not see him,' I replied; 'but I wish to have +this thing settled at once. Mr. Hudson, I now tender you the +money for the insertion of my museum advertisement on the same +terms as are paid by other places of amusement; will you publish +it?' + +" 'I will not,' Mr. Hudson peremptorily replied. + +" 'That is all,' I said. Mr. Hudson then smilingly and blandly +remarked, 'I have formally answered your formal demand, because I +suppose you require it; but you know, Mr. Barnum, I can only obey +orders.' I assured him that I understood the matter perfectly, +and attached no blame to him in the premises. I then proceeded to +notify the secretary of the 'Managers' Association' to call the +managers together at twelve o'clock the following day; and there +was a full meeting at the appointed time. I stated the facts in +the case in the Herald affair, and simply remarked, that if we +did not make common cause against any newspaper publisher who +excluded an advertisement from his columns simply to gratify a +private pique, it was evident that either and all of us were +liable to imposition at any time. + +"One of the managers immediately made a motion that the entire +Association should stop their advertising and bill printing at +the Herald office, and have no further connection with that +establishment. Mr. Lester Wallack advised that this motion should +not be adopted until a committee had waited upon Bennett, and had +reported the result of the interview to the Association. +Accordingly, Messrs. Wallack, Wheatley and Stuart were delegated +to go, down to the Herald office to call on Mr. Bennett. + +"The moment Bennett saw them, he evidently suspected the object +of their mission, for he at once commenced to speak to Mr. +Wallack in a patronizing manner; told him how long he had known, +and how much he respected his late father, who was a true English +gentleman of the old school,' with much more in the same strain. +Mr. Wallack replied to Bennett that the three managers were +appointed a committee to wait upon him to ascertain if he +insisted upon excluding from his columns the museum +advertisements--not on account of any objection to the contents +of the advertisements, or to the museum itself, but simply +because he had a private business disagreement with the +proprietor; intimating that such a proceeding, for such a reason, +and no other, might lead to a rupture of business relations with +other managers. In reply, Mr. Bennett had something to say about +the fox that had suffered tailwise from a trap, and thereupon +advised all other foxes to cut their tails off; and he pointed +the fable by setting forth the impolicy of drawing down upon the +Association the vengeance of the Herald. The committee, however, +coolly insisted upon a direct answer to their question. + +"Bennett then answered: 'I will not publish Barnum's +advertisement; I do my business as I please, and in my own way.' + +" 'So do we,' replied one of the managers, and the committee +withdrew. + +"The next day the Managers' Association met, heard the report, +and unanimously resolved to withdraw their advertisements from +the Herald, and their patronage from the Herald job +establishment, and it was done. Nevertheless, the Herald for +several days continued to print gratutitously the advertisements +of Wallack's Theatre and Niblo's Garden, and inordinately puffed +these establishments, evidently in order to ease the fall, and to +convey the idea that some of the theatres patronized the Herald, +and perhaps hoping by praising these managers to draw them back +again, and so to nullify the agreement of the Association in +regard to the Herald. Thereupon, the mangers headed their +advertisements in all the other New York papers with the line, +'This establishment does not advertise in the New York Herald,' +and for many months this announcement was kept at the top of +every theatrical advertisement and on the posters and playbills. + +"The Herald then began to abuse and villify the theatrical and +opera managers, their artists and their performances, which, of +course, was well understood by the public, and relished +accordingly. Meanwhile the theatres prospered amazingly. Their +receipts were never larger, and their houses never more thronged. +The public took sides in the matter with the managers and against +the Herald, and thousands of people went to the theatres merely +to show their willingness to support the managers and to spite +'Old Bennett.' The editor was fairly caught in his own trap. +Other journals began to estimate the loss the Herald sustained by +the action of the managers, and it was generally believed that +this loss in advertising and job printing was not less than from +$75,000 to $100,000 a year. The Herald's circulation also +suffered terribly, since hundreds of people, at the hotels and +elsewhere, who were accustomed to buy the paper solely for the +sake of seeing what amusements were announced for the evening, +now bought other papers. This was the hardest blow of all, and it +fully accounted for the abuse which the Herald daily poured out +upon the theatres. + +"Bennett evidently felt ashamed of the whole transaction. He +would never publish the facts in his columns, though he once +stated in an editorial that it had been reported that he had been +cheated in purchasing the Broadway property; that the case had +gone to court, and the public would soon know all the +particulars. Some persons supposed by this that Bennett had sued +me; but this was far from being the case. The owner of the lots +sued Bennett, to compel him to take the title and pay for the +property as per agreement; and that was all the 'law' there was +about it. He held James Gordon Bennett's bond, that he would pay +him half a million of dollars for the land, as follows: $100,000 +cash, and a bond and mortgage upon the premises for the remaining +$400,000. The day before the suit was to come to trial, Bennett +came forward, took the deed, and paid $100,000 cash, and gave a +bond and mortgage of the entire premises for $400,000. + +"Had I really taken back the lease, as Bennett desired, he would +have been in a worse scrape than ever; for having been compelled +to take the property, he would have been obliged, as my landlord, +to go on and assist in building a Museum for me, according to the +terms of my lease, and a Museum I should certainly have built on +Bennett's property, even if I had owned a dozen Museums up town. + +"In the autumn of 1868, the associated managers came to the +conclusion that the punishment of Bennett for two years was +sufficient, and they consented to restore their advertisements to +the Herald. I was then carrying on my new Museum, and although I +did not immediately resume advertising in the Herald, I have +since done so." + +Such is the account Barnum gave, in his own words, of this +extraordinary quarrel. He was, it will be seen, unsparing of +criticism and denunciation. Kindly as was his nature, he was "a +good hater," and never was there a more relentless fighter. In +denouncing Mr. Bennett he was perfectly sincere, and believed +himself to be entirely in the right. At the same time he never +hesitated to give a full meed of appreciative praise to the great +journalist, for his extraordinary enterprise and commanding +talents. Both the men are now dead, after careers of marvellous +success, and the animosity that raged between them is also long +dead; it perished years before they did. It is here rehearsed +merely as an integral and essential part of this biography, to be +regarded in a spirit of philosophic contemplation, entirely +devoid of bitterness or acrimony, + + + +CHAPTER XL. BRIDGEPORT. + +THE FIGHT FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SEASIDE PARK--LAYING OUT CITY +STREETS IMPATIENCE WITH "OLD FOGIES"--BUILDING A SEASIDE +HOME--WALDEMERE--A HOME IN NEW YORK CITY. + +A remarkable feature of Mr. Barnum's life was his loyalty to the +place he had chosen as his home, and his devotion to its +interests. He had great faith in Bridgeport, and worked +unceasingly to justify it. He looked far ahead, saw the +prospective growth of the place, and laid broad plans of +preparation for the future. + +Apart from his great services in laying out East Bridgeport, he +was the author of the improvements on the water-front known as +Seaside Park. The idea of such a thing occurred to him first in +1863, when he rode over the ground and observed its fitness for +the purpose. He then began agitating the matter, and urging the +immediate acquirement by the city of land for a park and public +drive-way along the margin of the Sound. It was necessary, he +represented, to do it at once, before the natural increase in the +value of the land made such an undertaking too expensive. That it +would be a profitable venture he felt certain; for such an +improvement would make every bit of real estate in the city more +valuable, and would attract many new residents to the place. + +There were, however, many conservatives, "old fogies" he called +them, who opposed him. He then approached the farmers who owned +the land lying immediately upon the shore, and tried to convince +them that, if they would give the city, free, a deep slip next to +the water, to be used as a public park, it would increase in +value the rest of their land so much as to make it a profitable +operation for them. But it was like beating against the wind. +They were "not so stupid as to think that they could become +gainers by giving away their property." + +He succeeded, however, in getting the active aid and co-operation +of Messrs. Nathaniel Wheeler, James Loomis, Francis Ives, +Frederick Wood, and some others, who went with him to the +landowners and added their persuasions to his. After much urging, +they finally got the terms upon which the proprietors would give +a portion and sell another portion of their land, which fronted +on the water, provided the land thus disposed of should forever +be appropriated to the purposes of a public park. But, +unfortunately, a part of the land it was desirable to include was +a farm, of some thirty acres, then belonging to an unsettled +estate, and neither the administrator nor the heirs could or +would give away a rod of it. But the whole farm was for +sale--and, to overcome the difficulty in the way of its transfer +for the public benefit, Barnum bought it for about $12,000, and +then presented the required front to the park. He did not want +this land or any portion of it, for his own purposes or profit, +and he offered a thousand dollars to any one who would take his +place in the transaction; but no one accepted, and he was quite +willing to contribute so much of the land as was needed for so +noble an object. Besides this, he gave $1,400 toward purchasing +other land and improving the park, and, after months of +persistent personal effort, he succeeded in raising, by private +subscription, the sum necessary to secure the land needed. This +was duly paid for, deeded to, and accepted by the city, and +Barnum had the pleasure of naming this new and great public +improvement, "Seaside Park." + +When Mr. Barnum first selected Bridgeport as his home, as already +stated in a preceding chapter, the place was commended to him by +its nearness to New York, its convenience of access, and the +beauty of its situation. "Nowhere," said he, "in all my travels +in America and abroad had I seen a city whose very position +presented so many and varied attractions. Situated on Long Island +Sound, with that vast water-view in front, and on every other +side a beautiful and fertile country with every variety of inland +scenery, and charming drives which led through valleys rich with +well-cultivated farms, and over hills thick-wooded with +far-stretching forests of primeval growth--all these natural +attractions appeared to me only so many aids to the advancement +the beautiful and busy city might attain, if public spirit, +enterprise, and money grasped and improved the opportunities the +locality itself extended. I saw that what Nature had so freely +lavished must be supplemented by yet more liberal Art." + +It was in pursuance of this object that he built the famous +Iranistan; and when he did so he felt confident that this superb +place would so increase the value of surrounding property that +none but first-class residences would be erected in the vicinity. +He, however, went on to improve the surrounding property as much +as possible. He opened numerous fine avenues through land +purchased by himself, and freely gave them to the city. In this +way he opened miles of new streets and planted them with +thousands of shade trees. The planting of trees was almost a +mania with him, in pursuit of the doctrine laid down in Scott's +"Heart of Mid-Lothian": "When ye hae naething else to do, ye may +be aye sticking in a tree; it will be growing when ye're +sleeping." + +Barnum was always for enterprise and progress. "Conservatism," he +said, "may be a good thing in the State, or in the Church, but it +is fatal to the growth of cities, and the conservative notions of +old fogies make them indifferent to the requirements which a very +few years in the future will compel, and blind to their own best +interests. Such men never look beyond the length of their noses, +and consider every investment a dead loss unless they can get the +sixpence profit into their pockets before they go to bed. My own +long training and experience as a manager impelled me to carry +into such private enterprises as the purchase of real estate that +best and most essential managerial quality of instantly deciding, +not only whether a venture was worth undertaking, but what, all +things considered, that venture would result in. Almost any man +can see how a thing will begin, but not every man is gifted with +the foresight to see how it will end, or how, with the proper +effort, it may be made to end. In East Bridgeport where we had no +'conservatives' to contend with, we were only a few years in +turning almost tenantless farms into a populous and prosperous +city. On the other side of the river, while the opening of new +avenues, the planting of shade trees, and the building of many +houses, have afforded me the highest pleasures of my life, I +confess that not a few of my greatest annoyance's have been +occasioned by the opposition of those who seem to be content to +simply vegetate through their existence, and who looked upon me +as a restless, reckless innovator, because I was trying to remove +the moss from everything around them, and even from their own +eyes." + +Mrs. Barnum's health continued to decline, and in the summer of +1867 her doctor commended her to live on the seashore. +Accordingly her husband sold Lindencroft, and they removed for +the summer to a small farm-house adjoining Seaside Park. So +delighted were they with life by the water during the hot days of +the summer that they determined thereafter to spend every summer +on the very shore of Long Island Sound. Finding it impossible to +prepare a house of their own in time for the next season, they +spent the summer of 1868 in a new and handsome house which Mr. +Barnum owned but which he had built for sale. In the fall of +1868, however, he purchased a large and beautiful grove of +hickory trees adjoining Seaside Park, and decided to build a +permanent residence there. + +But there was a vast deal to do in grading and preparing the +ground, in opening new streets and avenues as approaches to the +property, and in setting out trees near the proposed site of the +house; so that ground was not broken for the foundation till +October. He planned a house which should combine the greatest +convenience with the highest comfort, keeping in mind always that +houses were made to live in as well as to look at, and to be +"homes" rather than mere residences. So the house was made to +include abundant room for guests, with dressing-rooms and baths +to every chamber; water from the city throughout the premises; +gas manufactured on the ground; and that greatest of all +comforts, a semi-detached kitchen, so that the smell as well as +the secrets of the cuisine might be confined to its own locality. +The stables and gardens were located far from the mansion, on the +opposite side of one of the newly-opened avenues, so that in the +immediate vicinity of the house, on either side and before both +fronts, stretched large lawns, broken only by the grove, single +shade-trees, rock-work, walks, flower-beds, and drives. The whole +scheme as planned was faithfully carried out in less than eight +months The first foundation stone was laid in October, 1868; and +they moved into the completed house in June following, in 1869. + +On taking possession of this new residence, Barnum formally named +it "Waldemere." Literally this name was "Wald-am-Meer," or +"Woods-by-the Sea," but Barnum preferred the more euphonious +form. On the same estate he built at the same time two beautiful +cottages, called "Petrel's Nest," and "Wavewood," the homes of +his two daughters, Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Seeley--the latter his +youngest. Here Barnum decided to speed five months of every year, +and for his home during the other seven months he purchased a +splendid mansion on Murray Hill, in New York City, at the corner +of Fifth Avenue and 38th Street. + + + +CHAPTER XLI. HONORS AND ADULATIONS. + +SECOND MARRIAGE--THE KING OF HAWAII--ELECTED MAYOR OF +BRIDGEPORT--SUCCESSFUL TOUR OF THE HIPPODROME--BARNUM'S +RETIREMENT FROM OFFICE. + +In the autumn of 1874 Mr. Barnum married the daughter of his old +English friend, John Fish. The wedding took place in the Church +of the Divine Paternity, Fifth Avenue, New York, and after a +brief bridal tour, they returned to Waldemere. + +In December, 1874, David Kalakau, King of the Sandwich Islands, +visited New York, and with his suite was invited to attend the +Hippodrome. + +During the performance Barnum sat beside the King, who kept up a +pleasant conversation with him for two hours. The King expressed +himself as highly delighted with the entertainment, and said he +was always fond of horses and racing. + +Some twelve thousand spectators were present, and before the +exhibition was finished they began to call loudly "The King! The +King!" + +Turning to his host, Kalakau inquired the meaning of their +excitement. "Your Majesty," replied Barnum, "this vast audience +wishes to give you an ovation. The building is so large that they +cannot distinguish your Majesty from every part of the house, and +are anxious that you should ride around the circle in order that +they may greet you." + +At the moment, Barnum's open barouche was driven into the circle +and approached the royal box. + +"No doubt your Majesty would greatly gratify my countrymen, if +you would kindly step into this carriage and ride around the +circle." + +The King immediately arose, and amidst tremendous cheering, +stepped into the carriage. Barnum took a seat by his side, and +the King smilingly remarked, "We are all actors." + +The audience rose to their feet, cheered and waved their +handkerchiefs, as the King rode around the circle, raising his +hat and bowing. The excitement was simply tremendous. + +In March, 1875, the nomination for Mayor of Bridgeport was +offered Barnum, but he refused it, until assured that the +nomination was intended as a compliment, and that both parties +would sustain it. Politically the city is largely Democratic, but +Barnum led the Republican ticket, and was easily elected. + +His Inaugural address before the new Common Council, April 12, is +given below. + +GENTLEMEN OF THE COMMON COUNCIL:--Intrusted as we are, by the +votes of our fellow-citizens, with the care and management of +their interests, it behooves us to endeavor to merit the +confidence reposed in us. We are sometimes called the "fathers of +the city." Certainly our duty is, and our pleasure should be, to +administer the municipal government as a good and wise father +conducts his household, caring for all, partial to none. No +personal feelings should dictate our official acts. We are not +placed here to gratify personal or party resentment, nor to +extend personal or party favor in any manner that may in the +remotest degree conflict with the best interests of our city. As +citizens we enjoy a great common interest. Each individual is a +member of the body corporate, and no member can be unduly favored +or unjustly oppressed without injury to the entire community. No +person or party can afford to be dishonest. Honesty is always the +best policy, for "with what measure ye mete it shall be measured +to you again." + +A large portion of this honorable body are now serving officially +for the first time, and therefore may not be fully acquainted +with the details of its workings; but we are all acquainted with +the great principles of Justice and Right. If we fail to work +according to these eternal principles, we betray the confidence +placed in us, and this our year of administration will be +remembered with disapprobation and contempt. + +Let us bring to our duties careful judgment and comprehensive +views with regard to expenditure, so that we may be neither +parsimonious nor extravagant, but, like a prudent householder, +ever careful that expenses shall be less than the income. + +Our city is peculiarly adapted for commercial purposes, it should +be our care, therefore, to adopt such measures as tend to promote +trade, manufactures and commerce. Its delightful and healthy +locality makes it also a desirable place of residence. We should +strive to enhance its natural beauty, to improve our streets and, +with moderate expenditure, to embellish our parks, by which means +we shall attract refined and wealthy residents. + +As conservators of the public peace and morals it is our duty to +prevent, so far as possible, acts which disturb one or the other, +and to enforce the laws in an impartial and parental spirit. + +The last report of our Chief of Police says: " 'Tis a sad and +painful duty, yet candor compels us to state that at least ninety +per cent. of the causes of all the arrests during the year are +directly traceable to the immoderate use of intoxicating liquors, +not to speak of the poverty and misery it has caused families +which almost daily come under our observation." + +In the town of Vineland, N. J., where no intoxicating drinks are +sold, the overseer of the poor stated in his annual report that +in a population of 10,000 there was but one indictment in six +months, and that the entire police expenses were but seventy-five +dollars per year--the sum paid to him--and the poor expenses a +mere trifle. He further says: "We practically have no debt, and +our taxes are only one per cent. on the valuation. "Similar +results are reported in the town of Greeley, Colorado, where no +liquors are sold. + +Our laws license the sale of intoxicating drinks under certain +restrictions on week days, but no man can claim the right under +such license to cause mobs, riots, bloodshed or murder. Hence no +man has, or can have, any right by license or otherwise to +dispense liquors to intoxicated persons, nor to furnish +sufficient liquor to cause intoxication. Our duty is therefore to +see that the police aid in regulating to the extent of their +legal power a traffic which our laws do not wholly prohibit. +Spirituous liquors of the present day are so much adulterated and +doubly poisoned that their use fires the brain and drives their +victims to madness, violence and murder. The money annually +expended for intoxicating drinks, and the cost of their evil +results in Bridgeport, or any other American city where liquor +selling is licensed, would pay the entire expenses of the city +(if liquors were not drank), including the public schools, give a +good suit of clothes to every poor person of both sexes, a barrel +of flour to every poor family living within its municipal +boundaries, and leave a handsome surplus on hand. Our enormous +expenses for the trial and punishment of criminals, as well as +for the support of the poor, are mainly caused by this traffic. +Surely, then, it is our duty to do all we can, legally, to limit +and mitigate its evil. As no person ever became a drunkard who +did not sincerely regret that he or she ever tasted intoxicating +drinks, it is a work of mercy, as well as justice, to do all in +our power to lessen this leprous hindrance to happiness. We +should strive to exterminate gambling, prostitution and other +crimes which have not yet attained to the dignity of a "license." + +The public health demands that we should pay attention to +necessary drainage, and prevent the sale of adulterated food. The +invigorating breezes from Long Island Sound, and the absence of +miasmatic marshes serve to make ours one of the most healthy +cities in America. Scientific experiments made daily during the +whole of last year have established the fact that our atmosphere +is impregnated with OZONE, or concentrated oxygen, to an extent +not hitherto discovered on this continent. No city of the same +size in America is so extensively known throughout our own land +and in Europe as Bridgeport. It should be our pleasure to +strengthen all natural advantages which we possess as a city by +maintaining a government of corresponding excellence. + +It is painful to the industrious and moral portions of our people +to see so many loungers about the streets, and such a multitude +whose highest aspirations seem to be to waste their time in +idleness, or at base ball, billiards, etc. + +No person needs to be unemployed who is not over fastidious about +the kind of occupation. There are too many soft hands (and heads) +waiting for light work and heavy pay. Better work for half a loaf +than beg or steal a whole one. Mother earth is always near by, +and ready to respond to reasonable drafts on her never-failing +treasury. A patch of potatoes raised "on shares" is preferable to +a poulticed pate earned in a whisky scrimmage. Some modern +Micawbers stand with folded hands waiting for the panic to pass, +as the foolish man waited for the river to run dry and allow him +to walk over. + +The soil is the foundation of American prosperity. When +multitudes of our consumers become producers; when fashion +teaches economy, instead of expending for a gaudy dress what +would comfortably clothe the family; when people learn to walk +until they can afford to ride; when the poor man ceases to spend +more for tobacco than for bread; when those who complain of +panics learn that "we cannot eat our cake and keep it," that a +sieve will not hold water, that we must rely on our own exertions +and earn before we expend, then will panics cease and prosperity +return. While we should by no means unreasonably restrict healthy +recreation, we should remember that "time is money," that +idleness leads to immoral habits, and that the peace, prosperity +and character of a city depend on the intelligence, integrity, +industry and frugality of its inhabitants. + +Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper of July 24th, contained a +picture entitled "His Honor, P. T. Barnum, Mayor of Bridgeport, +Presiding at a Meeting of the Common Council of that City." The +editor's remarks are as follows:--"Mayor Barnum's message was a +model of brevity and practical thought. Having at the beginning +of his official career declared war against the whisky dealers, +he next proceeded to open the struggle. For twenty years the +saloons had been kept open on Sundays, and it was declared +impossible to close them. Mr. Barnum has all his life acted upon +the quaint French aphorism that 'nothing is so possible as the +impossible.' He gave notice that the saloons must be closed. A +select committee of citizens volunteered to aid in collecting +testimony in case the sellers should disregard the proclamation, +and leave the latch-string to their back doors displayed on the +outside. Although the doors were open, the keepers refused to +sell except to personal friends. The committee-men stood opposite +the saloons, and took the names of a dozen or so who were +admitted. The next morning the saloon-keepers were arrested, and +when they found their 'friends' had been subpoenaed to appear as +witnesses, they pleaded guilty and immediately brought out their +pocket-books to pay the judicial 'shot.' This plan effectually +broke up Sunday traffic in liquor, thus insuring a quiet day for +the citizens, and greatly accommodating the saloon-keepers, the +best portion of whom really favor a general closing on Sunday. + +"By nature an organizer of men and systems, he is his own best +executive officer. No one knows so well as he how men may be best +governed, and no one can so pleasantly polish off the rough sides +of mankind. Successful beyond the usual measure as an +intelligent, courteous and considerate showman, he has already +proved himself the most acceptable of Mayors." + +In 1875, the Hippodrome was transported by rail throughout the +United States, going as far east as Portland, Maine, and west to +Kansas City, Missouri. Notwithstanding the depressed state of +finances generally that year, the season was a fairly profitable +one. + +A very painful event in connection with the show, occurred in +July. The aeronaut, Donaldson, made his customary daily ascension +from the Hippodrome grounds at Chicago, and was never heard from +afterward. He took with him Mr. N. S. Grimwood, a reporter of the +Chicago Journal, whose body was found a few weeks later in Lake +Michigan. There was a terrible storm the night of the ascension +and it was doubtless then that the men perished. + +About the middle of June Barnum visited Niagara Falls with Mrs. +Barnum and a party of English friends. Leaving the party at +Niagara, Mr. and Mrs. Barnum went to Akron, Ohio, where the +"Travelling World's Fair" was to exhibit. The Mayor of Akron +called upon them and invited them to a concert, where, in +response to loud calls, Barnum gave a short speech; they were +afterward tendered a reception and a serenade at the hotel. The +next day they were escorted to Buchtel College by the founder of +the institution, Mr. J. R. Buchtel, and the Reverend D. C. +Tomlinson. The students received Barnum enthusiastically, and he +gave them one of his delightful speeches. + +Returning to Buffalo, they rejoined their friends, and also met +the Hippodrome. Early in the morning of the second day of the +exhibition Barnum despatched a special train to Niagara Falls, +with some hundreds of the Hippodrome Company, to whom he wished +to give the pleasure of viewing the cataract. The band which +accompanied them crossed Suspension Bridge playing "God Save the +Queen," and "Yankee Doodle," and returned to Buffalo in time for +the afternoon performance. In July, Barnum visited the Hippodrome +at St Louis and Chicago, and then returned to Waldemere for the +rest of the summer. + +During the autumn of 1875, under the auspices of the Redpath +Lyceum Bureau, in Boston, Mr. Barnum found time to deliver some +thirty times, a lecture on "The World and How to Live in It," +going as far east as Thomaston, Maine, and west to Leavenworth, +Kansas. When the tour was finished the Bureau wrote him that "In +parting for the season please allow us to say that none of our +best lecturers have succeeded in delighting our audiences and +lecture committees so well as yourself." + +The National Jubilee year was celebrated by the Hippodrome +Company in a very patriotic manner. It was said, that they gave +the people, a Fourth of July celebration every day. The +establishment traveled in three trains of railroad cars; they +took along a battery of cannon, and every morning fired a salute +of thirteen guns. Groups of persons costumed in the style of +Continental troops, and supplemented with the Goddess of Liberty, +a live eagle and some good singers, sang patriotic songs, +accompanied with bands of music, and also with cannon placed +outside the tents and fired by means of electricity. The +performance was closed by singing "America," the entire audience +rising and joining in the chorus. At night there were fireworks +in which Revolutionary scenes were brilliantly depicted. The +street parade was a gorgeous feature. It began to move when the +salute was fired, and the town bells were always rung to aid the +effect of the National Jubilee. + +Barnum's official term as Mayor of Bridgeport, expired April 3, +1876. Preferring to travel part of the time with his Centennial +show, he refused a renomination. The last meeting of the Common +Council under his administration, met March 29. + +The New York Daily Graphic, of March 30, read:--"Mr. P. T. +Barnum, Mayor of Bridgeport, has uttered his valedictory message. +The document is very much like the man. He disapproves of the +reports of the Chief of Police and Clerk of the Police +Commissioners, because they declare that liquor saloons and +brothels cannot be closed, and he even reproves the latter for +his 'flippant manner' of dealing with the subject. Barnum must +have his joke or two, withal, and he can no more subsist without +his fun than could a former Mayor of this city. He ventures to +allude in this solemn document to the management of the New York +and New Haven Railroad Company, as 'the good bishop and his +directors;' makes a first rate pun on the names of two citizens; +and says to the Aldermen, 'And now we have, like the Arabs, only +to 'fold our tents and silently steal away,' congratulating +ourselves that this is the only stealing which has been performed +by this honorable body.' Mr. Barnum's administration in +Bridgeport has been mild, but characterized by firmness and +independence. His trouble with the Jews was of short duration, +for he is most respectful toward all theologies. He has not been +able to carry out his extreme temperance views; but he has made a +very good Mayor of a city, for whose prosperity he has labored +for half a lifetime." + +It can safely be said that Barnum amused and instructed more +persons than any men who ever lived. In the course of his career +as manager of public entertainments, the number of his patrons +was enormous. Here is his own estimate, in 1889:--"During the +forty years that I have been a manager of public amusements, the +number of my patrons has been almost incredible. From a careful +examination of my account books for the different exhibitions +which I have owned and controlled, I find that more than +eighty-two millions of tickets, in the aggregate, were disposed +of, and numerous exhibitions which I have had at various times +are not included in this statement." + +The traveling exhibitions which I managed during +the six years preceding my purchase of the New York +American Museum, in 1841, were attended by . . . . . 1,500,000 +persons. +The American Museum which I managed from 1841 +to 1865, when it was destroyed by fire, sold . . . . 37,560,000 +tickets. +My Broadway Museum, in 1865-6-7 and 8, sold . . . . . 3,640,000 +My Philadelphia Museum, 1849, 1850 and 1851, sold . . 1,800,000 +My Baltimore Museum, sold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900,000 +My traveling Asiatic Caravan, Museum and Menagerie, +in 1851-2-3 and 4, sold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5,824,000 +My great traveling World's Fair and Hippodrome, in +1871-2-3-4-5 and 6, sold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,920,000 + ------------ + Carried forward, 59,144,000 + +My other traveling exhibitions in America and Europe, +sold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,200,000 +tickets. +General Tom Thumb has exhibited for me 34 years, +and sold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,400,000 +" +Jenny Lind's Concerts, under my management, were +attended by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600,000 +persons +Catharine Hayes's 60 Concerts in California, under my +contract, sold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120,000 +tickets. + ---------------- +Thus, my patrons amount to the enormous number of 82,464,000 + +In addition to that, he delivered over seven hundred public +lectures which were attended in the aggregate by 1,300,000 +persons, and wrote three books of reminiscences. Is it to be +wondered at, that such a well-known character should receive a +letter from New Zealand addressed simply, "Mr. Barnum, America"? + + + +SOME REMINISCENCES OF P. T. BARNUM + + My first recollection of Mr. Barnum goes back to the period of +my small-boyhood, when he came to the country village near my +home to lecture upon temperance. I still remember the animation +of his discourse on that occasion; its humor and its anecdote; +and, with what absorbing interest the large audience sat out the +hour and a half or more which the speaker so well filled. In +describing the drunkard and the illusions which master him, he +showed a keen perception of human nature; and, in every part of +his address there was no end of spirited appeal and analysis, +mingled with unbounded mirth and pathos, as the fluctuating +argument went on. + +A few years later, when I had grown old enough to visit the +metropolis, I made it one of the chief items of my concern to +visit the old museum on the corner of Ann Street and Broadway, +where the Herald Building now stands. There was, even then, no +curiosity there more impressive than its proprietor, who was the +very embodiment of life, kindly feeling, and wholesome joy. I +noticed that he was in all parts of the museum in very rapid +succession, and that nothing escaped his attention. Something in +his manner caught every eye. It was said of Daniel Webster that +when he walked through the streets of London, strangers who met +him turned around for another look after he passed by. And, I +confess I yielded in Mr. Barnum's presence, as others did, to +this same sight-seeing inclination. It was not merely that he was +so well known, and that his name had gone about the world with +the circuit of the sun; it was because the force that made this +thing possible worked also in other ways, and compelled you to +give its owner attention. + +He had a kind word or an entertaining one for everybody who came +near him, as occasion offered, whether he was an old acquaintance +or a stranger. The occasion did not come to me, though I remember +wishing it had, when I left the museum. Probably I should have +deliberately sought it if I had had more assurance and experience +at that time; and if I had known, too, that we were afterward to +meet intimately, and that for more than twenty years the +latch-string of his different homes, in Bridgeport and New York, +was to respond so many dozens of times to my touch, for days and +weeks of remarkable hospitality. + +My opportunity for knowing Mr. Barnum personally came about when +I was, as a young man, conducting, almost single-handed, a +lecture course in a very small country town in the later sixties, +soon after the close of the war. The night for Mr. Barnum to come +to us was a very cold and forbidding one in February. A +snow-storm, the most formidable one of the winter, sprang up to +apparently thwart the success of the performance; and so certain +was Mr. Barnum that nobody would appear to hear him, he offered +not only to release me from the contract between us, but, in +addition to that, would pay me the price I was to pay him, or +more, to be permitted to return to New York. "There is nothing on +earth I hate to do so much," said he, "as to lecture to empty +benches." + +I said to him: "Please trust me for the avoidance of that. If it +had been a pleasant night, instead of this howling storm, I would +have filled the hall and the yard in front to the front gate. +But, as it now is, I will still guarantee to fill the hall." And +filled it was, to our equal delight. + +Before entering and discovering this fact, I ventured to say to +Mr. Barnum that, owing to the general untowardness and inclemency +of the night, I would introduce him in my own way, and not in the +conventional one, if he did not object. "By all means," said he; +"if you can awaken any warmth or hilarity on as sorrowful an +outlook as this, do not spare ME, or hesitate for a moment." + +On arriving at our seats on the platform, I arose and said, in +some such words as these: + +"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:--You will bear me out in saying it has +been my usual custom to introduce the speaker of the evening in +the briefest way possible, and not to trouble you with any talk +of my own. To-night, in view of the storm, and while Mr. Barnum +is resting for a moment, I will break my rule and tell you a +story. Some years ago a queer fellow from the country went to New +York, and, among the sights and experiences he had planned for, +he went to Barnum's Museum. Mr. Greenwood was then its manager, +and noticed with some interest his patron's rusticity when he +called for a ticket. He asked Mr. Greenwood, after having paid +for the card of admittance, 'Where is Barnum?' As Mr. Barnum +happened to be in sight on the entrance floor, Mr. Greenwood, +pointing to him said, There he is.' + +"At once the querist started in the direction named. He got very +near Mr. Barnum and stood looking intently at him. Then he moved +a little segment in the circle he was describing, and looked +again. Several times he repeated these inspections, until he had +from all points viewed the object of his curiosity and had +completed the circle, when he started for the door, Mr. Greenwood +watching him all the time. When he came near enough Mr. Greenwood +said to him: 'My friend, you have not seen the Museum yet. There +is a whale downstairs and any number of things up-stairs, a moral +play soon to come off, etc.' 'I know it,' said the rustic, 'and I +don't care. I've seen Barnum, and I've got my money's worth.' + +"Now, ladies and gentlemen, I have not been able to bring to you +the American Museum to-night, but I have done what is better--I +have brought to you Mr. Barnum." + + Mr. Barnum then arose, not in the least nonplussed, but greatly +pleased with the packed house and the hearty cheers which greeted +him: + + "MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:--I cannot, for the life of +me, see why you should have sent so far as New York for me to +come and address you. I am not really a lyceum lecturer at all. I +am only a showman, and it seems you have a man here who can show +up the showman." + +The whole story may read very weakly in print; for Mr. Barnum's +tones of voice, and gestures and mobility of feature are not +communicable to cold type. But the playfulness of this unusual +preface not only stirred the audience on a dismal night, but put +the lecturer at his very best. Mr. Barnum's lecture was elastic. +It might be shaped for an hour, as it was not fully written, or +it might consume more time. On this occasion it was two hours and +over. While the snow was still falling in open sleighs, that +could find no shelter, their owners, not minding this, were +enjoying one of the most delightful evenings of a whole +winter--of many winters, perhaps. + +And all this leads me to say that Mr. Barnum, while claiming no +part of a professional lecturer's endowment, and only made +oratory a casual--if it was sometimes a frequent--matter, was, +nevertheless, admirably equipped to entertain an audience. He +could tell a story inimitably. His mimetic faculty, like Gough's, +gave him something of the quality of an actor, so that he +illustrated well what he had to say. No lectures have proved much +more instructive and entertaining than Mr. Barnum's on The Art of +Money Getting; and, wherever he went to address an audience, he +was sure to be called again. + +When I met him in Bridgeport for the first time, I found he was +easily the chief man of the place. He was living then at +Lindencroft, on Fairfield Avenue. His Oriental palace, Iranistan, +had burned down some years before. But, wherever he lived, his +house gave open welcome to many guests, illustrious and other; +and no one who had the good fortune to enter it, ever went away +without connecting with his visit the happiest of memories. At +the table he especially shone. Wit, repartee, and even puns, when +occasion offered, coruscated over the meal, and diffused +universal good humor. He had always at hand innumerable +anecdotes, which he made peculiarly his own, and which he told +with inimitable grace and unction. I am sure nobody will ever +tell them again as he told them; for, contrary to the proverb, +the prosperity of the jest in his case lay, nine-tenths, in his +way of relating it--though it was never a dull one. + +It mattered not what the business of the day might be, or what +obstacles or discouragements had been encountered, his +cheerfulness was perennial and unfailing. Mirth and good cheer +were apparently inborn and organic with him. He could no more +suppress them than a fountain could cease bubbling up, or a river +turn backward in its course. And what men and women he has had, +first and last, at his table; it is impossible to exhaust the +list or exaggerate its quality. Horace Greeley, Henry Ward +Beecher, E. H. Chapin, Bayard Taylor, Mark Twain, and the Cary +sisters, were a few among Americans; and Thackeray, Matthew +Arnold, George Augustus Sala, and I know not how many others, +from abroad. No catalogue of them, but only types can be given +here. He was almost never without people who made no claim to +distinction; and to them, too, he was the genial, urbane, and +entertaining host. + +There was a depth of warm humanity in Mr. Barnum's inmost texture +that his public fame does not fully disclose. That children liked +him has been already often said; but those in maturer +youth--young gentlemen and ladies--felt, somehow, that he never +ceased, at any age, to be their contemporary. No younger and more +hopeful thoughts were offered than his. If, as sometimes +happened, when he organized, as he persistently did, the summer +picnic, inland or on the coast, there was a party made for each +direction, the struggle was to see which could capture Mr. +Barnum. Which way the rest of us might go was not of so much +consequence; but the party which lost him in behalf of the other, +felt like one trying to enjoy Hamlet with the chief character +missing. + +At one time he actually kept a seaside caterer at a distant beach +to receive his guests of twenty or more on a place of his own, +whenever, on summer days, he could collect guests enough and give +them attention. It was only necessary to send word in the +morning, and the tables were ready, and the party was conveyed to +the shady grounds from Mr. Barnum's door. Swings were not +forgotten for the children, nor was anything forgotten that +conduced to rational joy. If some poor sick person was heard of +in the city, one carriage, Mr. Barnum's own, would go somewhat +out of the way to stop and leave delicacies and presents, not +without a few words of sympathy and comfort. When, on one +occasion that I remember, he took two or three hundred people +from several towns in the State, and from New York, to Charles +Island, a summer place midway between Bridgeport and New Haven, +the hospitality was royal, and even the steamboat tickets were +mysteriously provided for all. + +I have never noticed, in the multitude of printed sketches of Mr. +Barnum's doings, any general mention of his lavish hospitality +poured out for years, but there will be hundreds who can testify +to and will remember it. It was as if he had said: "As we go +along through life let us make others happy." And he did this +with no niggardliness or stint, in his private life as well as in +his public career. + +There is a series of stories of Mr. Barnum's humane endeavors +longer than Aesop's or Pilpays' fables combined, and it is +impossible to relate them all. But I have heard one recently that +will very well illustrate the beneficial manner of his charity, +and which shows that, by native sagacity, he had early learned +the scientific way of giving--to give so that the gift may be +more than its surface expression, and so as not to produce +chronic pauperism. + +It seems that a poor widow, some years ago, went to Mr. Barnum's +house and told him she was very poor, and had a large family to +support; she could not, in fact, decently support them. But if +Mr. Barnum would only loan her $75 with which to buy a +sewing-machine, she assured him she could do enough better to be +able to save a little, and to pay the money back. Mr. Barnum, +thinking her honest and truthful, said she might have the money +on the terms suggested, but told her when she had saved the +requisite amount to bring it to him. After some struggle and +privation, in due time she did this, and laid it before him. +"Well," said he, "my good woman, you have now fairly earned your +sewing-machine, and you have done one thing more, YOU HAVE +LEARNED HOW TO SAVE." And thereupon he handed back the money, and +told her to put it in safe keeping. + +Mr. Barnum's deep attachment for Bridgeport grew year by year, +and was most strikingly manifessed. The thousands of trees he had +set out there, the new streets he opened, and the Seaside Park, +which was his creation mainly, are but a few of the evidences of +his public enterprise. The Barnum Historical and Scientific +Institute, and the Barnum Gymnasium were among his latest +endowments, East Bridgeport he practically gave existence to, and +both that and the city proper are so essentially his monument +that you cannot now divorce the name of Bridgeport from that of +Barnum. + +Some years ago, when certain experiments were made to test the +presence of ozone in the air, and much was said of its value to +health, Mr. Barnum had the air at Bridgeport put on trial, and +proved exultingly that no climate in this country was so +salubrious as that of Bridgeport, especially in the region of the +Seaside Park. He was very enthusiastic on the subject, and wrote +to the local papers, to myself, and to others about it to give +the fact publicity and proper emphasis. + +It may be said by some that Mr. Barnum, in many of his real +estate enterprises, made money; and so he did, by his foresight, +faith, and sagacity concerning his adopted town. He partly +foresaw the future of Bridgeport, and then largely made it. But +if he had not made money--and his example was open for others to +follow--he could have had no money to give. He used to say +himself, half jokingly: "I believe in a profitable philanthropy," +which illustrates one of his characteristic traits--his absolute +frankness. In fact, he was so open-hearted about himself that no +account he ever gave of his private doings was ever flattering or +exalted. He wore no phylacteries, and was as far away as possible +from Pecksniffian pretensions. + +In early life he suffered hardship and deprivations, and no Mark +Tapley ever met them with more composure and, on occasions, with +more hilarity. But he knew well what comfort and convenience are, +and when they were at his command he enjoyed their best gifts. He +once told me that it pained him to see Mr. Greeley omit those +little cares for himself in later life to which he was surely +entitled, and so, when he was his guest for many days together, +he took care to provide him with a loose morning coat and +comfortable slippers, and would not have him drop in an ordinary +chair by accident, but secured for him the easiest one. + +Busy as Mr. Barnum was, he found many hours for social and other +pleasures. He did this by his systematic allotment of his time. +All the machinery of his household and his business ran with a +smoothness and punctuality that would have delighted George +Washington. Everything was on time; his meals were regular--not +movable feasts. It was a wonder how he wrote so many letters, +foreign and domestic; dispatched so promptly his household and +his city affairs, and his out-of-town business; met all sorts of +callers on all sorts of errands; and yet spared time for rides, a +social game or talk, and an evening out with so much frequency. +Absolute idleness was positively painful to him; occupation of +some sort he must have, and to the very end he had and enjoyed +it. + +I can scarcely realize, even now, that he is really gone--so +clear of mind and active was he to the very last. Nor can it be +easily imagined how Bridgeport in this generation can accustom +itself to so great a loss. To hear that the average man--of +distinction even--has died, seems common and credible. But the +message which announced Mr. Barnum's death came like a troubled +dream from which we somehow expect to awaken. That one so full of +life as to be its very embodiment, should leave us, it will take +time to fully comprehend. If, in the world, his demise leaves a +striking and peculiar void, to a multitude of friends it comes +with a tender sorrow that shall tincture indelibly many flowing +years. J. B. + +---- + +Among letters that have come to hand we select the following as +the tribute of a representative American divine: + + BROOKLYN, April 16th, 1891. +Dear Mr. Benton: + +There was a Mr. Barnum whom all the world knew, and whose name is +familiar in every civilized land; but there was another Mr. +Barnum whom we, his intimate friends knew, and regarded with a +hearty affection. That he was a most courteous gentleman and the +entertaining companion at his table and hospitable fireside, is +but a part of the truth. He had a big warm heart that bound all +his friends to him with hooks of steel. + +I first met him on the platform of a grand temperance banquet, in +Tripler Hall, New York, thirty-nine years ago--where he and Mr. +Beecher, and Dr. Chapin, Hon. Horace Mann, Gen. Houston, of +Texas, and myself were the speakers. + +A gold medal was presented that evening to the Hon. Neal Dow, of +Maine, the father of the "Prohibitory Law." Mr. Barnum made a +very vivacious and vigorous address. In after years he delivered +several addresses in behalf of Total Abstinence in my church, and +they were admirable specimens of close argument, most pungently +presented. He indulged in but few witticisms or amusing stories; +for, as he well said, "The Temperance Reform was too SERIOUS a +matter for trifling jokes and buffooneries." + +During the first year of my married life, 1853, Mr. Barnum +visited me at Trenton, N. J., and he often spoke of the happy +hour he spent at our table, and the cozy dinner my young wife +prepared for him. In after years he often sat at my table, and on +two occasions he entertained me with princely hospitality at his +Bridgeport mansion. On one occasion he invited the leading +clergymen of the town to meet me. + +We differed very decidedly in our religious creeds, and never +fell into arguments about them. I honored his conscientious +convictions, and his staunch adherence to what he believed to be +the right interpretation of God's Word. With the scoffing +scepticism of the day he had no sympathy, and utterly abhorred +it. His kind heart made him a philanthropist, and in his own +peculiar way he loved to do good to his fellow-men. Surrounded by +innumerable temptations, he maintained a clean, chaste, and +honest life, and found his happiest hours in the society of wife +and children, under his own roof-tree. Had Mr. Barnum devoted +himself to political life he would have made an excellent figure; +for he had keen sagacity, vast and varied observations of human +nature, and sturdy common sense. In conversation with +intellectual men he always held his own with admirable acumen and +vigor of expression. He was altogether one of the most unique +characters that his native State has produced, and when his name +ceases to be connected with shows and zoological exhibitions, he +will be lovingly remembered as the genial friend, the sturdy +patriot, the public-spirited and philanthropic neighbor, and the +honest, true-hearted man. + Yours respectfully, + THEODORE L. CUYLER. + + THE FUNERAL. + + April 10th, 1891, was the day set for Mr. Barnum's funeral. The +morning was cold, gray, and dismal. Nature's heart, with the +spring joy put back and deadened, symboled the melancholy that +had fallen upon Bridgeport. No town was ever more transformed +than was this city by one earthly event. On the public and +private buildings were hung the habiliments of woe; flags were at +half mast, and, in the store windows were to be seen innumerable +portraits and likenesses of the dead citizen, surrounded by dark +drapery, or embedded in flowers. + +Nor was this all. The people on the street and in the windows of +their houses seemed to be thinking of but one thing--their common +loss. The pedestrian walked slower; the voices of talkers, even +among the rougher classes, were more subdued, and in their looks +was imprinted the unmistakable signal of no common or ordinary +bereavement. + +The large church was not only filled, with its lecture-room, a +considerable time before the hour set for the services; but +thousands of people crowded the sidewalks near-by for hours, +knowing they could only see the arrival and departure of the +funeral cortege. The private services at the house, "Marina," +near the Seaside Park, which preceded the public services in the +church, were simple and were only witnessed and participated in +by the relatives and immediate friends. + +---- + + DR. COLLYER'S TRIBUTE. + +The immense congregation that filled to repletion the South +Congregational Church, while the last services were being held +over the remains of Hon. P. T. Barnum, were deeply impressed with +the touching tribute which was paid the great showman and public +benefactor by his old friend, Rev. Robert Collyer, D. D. + +It was a pathetic picture which met the eyes of the vast throng. +The aged preacher, with long white hair hanging loosely on his +shoulders, and an expression of keen sorrow on his kindly face, +standing in a small pulpit looking down on the remains of his old +and cherished friend. The speaker's voice was strong and steady +throughout his sermon. Each word of that sad panegyric could be +distinctly heard in all parts of the edifice, but in offering up +the last prayer, he broke down. The aged preacher made a strong +effort to control himself, but his voice finally became husky, +and tears streamed down his wrinkled cheeks. The audience was +deeply touched by this display of feeling, and many ladies among +the congregation joined with the preacher and wept freely. + +The immense gathering were unusually quiet when the aged minister +took his place in the pulpit, and his words were strangely clear, +and distinct in all portions of the church, In his feeling +tribute, Dr. Collyer said: + +"P. T. Barnum was a born fighter for the weak against the strong, +for the oppressed against the oppressor. The good heart, tender +as it was brave, would always spring up at the cry for help and +rush on with the sword of assistance. This was not all that made +him loved, for the good cheer of his nature was like a halo about +him. He had always time to right a wrong and always time to be a +good citizen and patriot of the town, State, or republic in which +he lived. His good, strong face, was known almost as well on the +other side. You may be proud of him as he was proud of his town. +He helped to strengthen and beautify it, and he did beautify it +in many places. 'It is said that the hand that grasps takes away +the strength from the hand that ought to give,' and that such a +man must die without friends or blessings. He was not that man. +He was always the open and generous man, who could not do too +much for Bridgeport. He often told me of his desire to help this +place, and he was not content to wait until after death. What he +has done for Bridgeport is the same as he has done for other +noble works. As my brother, Rev. Mr. Fisher, said today, there +was never anything proposed in this city that had any promise of +goodness but that he was ready to pour out money and assistance +for it. + +"Faith in one's self fails in the spring if one has not faith in +God also. He had that faith I know. He had worship, reverence, +and love in his heart, and as he rests from his labors we meet +and linger here for a few minutes and pay respect and honor to +the memory of a great and good man. We can forget that we belong +to divers churches, and stand here as children of one faith and +one baptism, honoring for the last time one who has finished his +labors here and with a crown of glory for his reward, has joined +in his eternal home the Father he served so well." + +When the church services were over, the procession moved to +Mountain Cemetery, a mile or more distant, where, in a beautiful +plat, long ago arranged, with a modest monument above it, rest +the remains of Mr. Barnum's first wife. Here, in a place made +beautiful by nature and improved by art, was consigned the mortal +part of him whose story we have tried, weakly, perhaps, to tell. +Great masses of flowers, similar to those displayed in the house +and church, were upon the grave and about it, and the people, who +came there in large numbers, did not leave for hours after the +religious service had been read. + +A book of good size might be made of the notable expressions +called forth by Mr. Barnum's death from leading journals and men +known to fame. It is impossible to give any fair sample of them +here, but the London Times' leader of April 8th may serve, +perhaps, as a good specimen: + + "Barnum is gone. That fine flower of Western civilization, that +arbiter elegantiarum to Demos, has lived. At the age of eighty, +after a life of restless energy and incessant publicity, the +great showman has lain down to rest. He gave, in the eyes of the +seekers after amusement, a lustre to America. * * * He created +the metier of showman on a grandiose scale worthy to be professed +by a man of genius. He early realized that essential feature of a +modern democracy, its readiness to be led to what will amuse and +instruct it. He knew that 'the people' means crowds, paying +crowds; that crowds love the fashion and will follow it; and that +the business of the great man is to make and control the fashion. +To live on, by, and before the public was his ideal. For their +sake and his own, he loved to bring the public to see, to +applaud, and to pay. His immense activity, covering all those +years, marked him out as one of the most typical and conspicuous +of Yankees. From Jenny Lind to Jumbo, no occasion of a public +'sensation' came amiss to him. + +"Phineas Taylor Barnum, born in 1810, at Bethel, Connecticut--how +serious and puritanical it sounds! --would have died with a +merely local reputation unless chance had favored him by putting +in his way something to make a hit with. He stumbled across +Charles H. Stratton, the famous, the immortal 'General Tom Thumb' +of our childhood. Together they came to Europe and held +'receptions' everywhere. It was the moment when the Queen's +eldest children were in the nursery, and Barnum saw that a +fortune depended on his bringing them into friendly relations +with Tom Thumb. He succeeded; and the British public flocked to +see the amusing little person who had shown off his mature yet +miniature dimensions by the side of the baby Heir Apparent. Then +came the Jenny Lind furore. Then came a publicity of a different +sort. Mr. Barnum became a legislator for his State, and even, in +1875, Mayor of Bridgeport. Why not? The man who can organize the +amusements of the people may very well be trusted to organize a +few of their laws for them. + +"When, in 1889, the veteran brought over his shipload of giants +and dwarfs, chariots and waxworks, spangles and circus-riders, to +entertain the people of London, one wanted a Carlyle to come +forward with a discourse upon 'the Hero as Showman.' It was the +ne plus ultra of publicity. * * * There was a three-fold +show--the things in the stalls and cages, the showman, and the +world itself. And of the three perhaps Barnum himself was the +most interesting. The chariot races and the monstrosities we can +get elsewhere, but the octogenarian showman was unique. His name +is a proverb already, and a proverb it will continue." + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext of A Unique Story of a Marvellous Career +Life of Hon. Phineas T. 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