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| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-04 22:54:06 -0800 |
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| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-02-04 22:54:06 -0800 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2e51d90 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50115 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50115) diff --git a/old/50115-0.txt b/old/50115-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d50d836..0000000 --- a/old/50115-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,26434 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Struggles amd Triumphs: or, Forty Years' -Recollections of P.T. Barnum, by Phineas. T. Barnum - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Struggles amd Triumphs: or, Forty Years' Recollections of P.T. Barnum - -Author: Phineas. T. Barnum - -Release Date: October 2, 2015 [EBook #50115] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPHS *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - [Illustration: PHINEAS T. BARNUM.] - - - - - STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPHS: - - OR, - - FORTY YEARS’ RECOLLECTIONS - - OF - - P. T. BARNUM. - - WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. - - AUTHOR’S EDITION. - - [BIOGRAPHY COMPLETE TO APRIL, 1872.] - - “----a map of busy life, - Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.” - - BUFFALO, N. Y. - WARREN, JOHNSON & CO. - - 1872. - - Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by - - P. T. BARNUM, - - In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. - - Entered also at Stationer’s Hall, London, England. - - TO - - MY WIFE AND FAMILY - - I DEDICATE - - THIS STORY OF A LIFE WHICH HAS BEEN LARGELY - - DEVOTED TO THEIR - - INTERESTS AND SERVICE. - - - - -CARD INTRODUCTORY. - - -_To the Public_:--Although the large octavo edition of STRUGGLES AND -TRIUMPHS, upon fine paper, has enjoyed an unprecedented large sale at -$3.50 and upwards, according to styles of binding; yet determined to -supply the popular demand for a cheaper edition, and thus in a measure -render to the great American people, who have lavished upon me so many -favors, a due recognition of their claims upon my gratitude and -esteem,--I have purchased, of the original publishers, the electrotype -plates of text and engravings together with the copyright of the work; -and, now enabled to control the publication myself, I give the same -precise text with the original, (together with an additional chapter -bringing the biography down to April 2d, 1872,) at the low price of -$1.50. - -Copies of the cheap edition can be had on application to the American -News Company, New York, Warren, Johnson & Co., Buffalo, and elsewhere. - -Your obedient humble servant, - -PHINEAS T. BARNUM. - -No. 438 Fifth Avenue, New York City, April 2d, 1872. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -This book is my Recollections of Forty Busy Years. Few men in civil life -have had a career more crowded with incident, enterprise, and various -intercourse with the world than mine. With the alternations of success -and defeat, extensive travel in this and foreign lands; a large -acquaintance with the humble and honored; having held the preëminent -place among all who have sought to furnish healthful entertainment to -the American people, and, therefore, having had opportunities for -garnering an ample storehouse of incident and anecdote, while, at the -same time, needing a sagacity, energy, foresight and fortitude rarely -required or exhibited in financial affairs, my struggles and experiences -(it is not altogether vanity in me to think) can not be without interest -to my fellow countrymen. - -Various leading publishers have solicited me to place at their disposal -my Recollections of what I have been, and seen, and done. These -proposals, together with the partiality of friends and kindred, have -constrained me, now that I have retired from all active participation in -business, to put in a permanent form what, it seems to me, may be -instructive, entertaining and profitable. - -Fifteen years since, for the purpose, principally, of advancing my -interests as proprietor of the American Museum, I gave to the press -some personal reminiscences and sketches. Having an extensive sale, they -were, however, very hastily, and, therefore, imperfectly, prepared. -These are not only out of print, but the plates have been destroyed. -Though including, necessarily, in common with them, some of the facts of -my early life, in order to make this autobiography a complete and -continuous narrative, yet, as the latter part of my life has been the -more eventful, and my recollections so various and abundant, this book -is new and independent of the former. It is the matured and leisurely -review of almost half a century of work and struggle, and final success, -in spite of fraud and fire--the story of which is blended with amusing -anecdotes, funny passages, felicitous jokes, captivating narratives, -novel experiences, and remarkable interviews--the sunny and sombre so -intermingled as not only to entertain, but convey useful lessons to all -classes of readers. - -These Recollections are dedicated to those who are nearest and dearest -to me, with the feeling that they are a record which I am willing to -leave in their hands, as a legacy which they will value. - -And above and beyond this personal satisfaction, I have thought that the -review of a life, with the wide contrasts of humble origin and high and -honorable success; of most formidable obstacles overcome by courage and -constancy; of affluence that had been patiently won, suddenly wrenched -away, and triumphantly regained--would be a help and incentive to the -young man, struggling, it may be, with adverse fortune, or, at the -start, looking into the future with doubt or despair. - -All autobiographies are necessarily egotistical. If my pages are as -plentifully sprinkled with “I’s” as was the chief ornament of Hood’s -peacock, “who thought he had the eyes of Europe on his tail,” I can only -say, that the “I’s” are essential to the story I have told. It has been -my purpose to narrate, not the life of another, but that career in which -I was the principal actor. - -There is an almost universal, and not unworthy curiosity to learn the -methods and measures, the ups and downs, the strifes and victories, the -mental and moral _personnel_ of those who have taken an active and -prominent part in human affairs. But an autobiography has attractions -and merits superior to those of a “Life” written by another, who, -however intimate with its subject, cannot know all that helps to give -interest and accuracy to the narrative, or completeness to the -character. The story from the actor’s own lips has always a charm it can -never have when told by another. - -That my narrative is interspersed with amusing incidents, and even the -recital of some very practical jokes, is simply because my natural -disposition impels me to look upon the brighter side of life, and I hope -my humorous experiences will entertain my readers as much as they were -enjoyed by myself. And if this record of trials and triumphs, struggles -and successes, shall stimulate any to the exercise of that energy, -industry, and courage in their callings, which will surely lead to -happiness and prosperity, one main object I have in yielding to the -solicitations of my friends and my publishers will have been -accomplished. - -P. T. BARNUM. - -WALDEMERE, BRIDGEPORT, } -Connecticut, July 5, 1869. } - - - - -[Illustration: LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - -BY -FAY & COX -105 NASSAU ST. -N.Y.] - - - PAGE. - -1. PORTRAIT OF P. T. BARNUM, _Frontispiece_ - -2. MY PROPERTY AND MY TENANT, 32 - -3. MY DELIVERY FROM IMPRISONMENT, 65 - -4. BARNUM ON A RAIL, 84 - -5. THE COWARD AND THE “BRAVE,” 100 - -6. VICTORY OVER VESTRYMEN, 138 - -7. SQUALLS AND BREEZES, 146 - -8. BATTLE OF THE GIANTS, 162 - -9. THE GREAT DUKE AND THE LITTLE GENERAL, 184 - -10. ROYAL HONORS TO THE GENERAL, 192 - -11. MANURE CART EXPRESS, 217 - -12. PUT ME IN IRONS, 243 - -13. IRANISTAN, 263 - -14. WELCOME TO JENNY LIND, 288 - -15. J. G. BENNETT AND HIS MONKEY, 327 - -16. ELEPHANTINE AGRICULTURE, 358 - -17. MOUNTAIN GROVE CEMETERY, 369 - -18. THE “CUSTOMS” OF THE COUNTRY, 432 - -19. “THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT,” 510 - -20. GRIZZLY ADAMS AND HIS FAMILY, 530 - -21. THE PRINCE IN THE MUSEUM, 543 - -22. EAST BRIDGEPORT, 549 - -23. CAPTURING WHITE WHALES, 562 - -24. TROUBLE IN A TURKISH HAREM, 580 - -25. MARRIAGE IN MINIATURE, 603 - -26. ALARM AT LINDENCROFT, 616 - -27. THE GREAT UNKNOWN, 680 - -28. AFTER THE FIRE, 702 - -29. BARNUM FIVE SECONDS AHEAD, 705 - -30. A GROTESQUE FIRE COMPANY, 720 - -31. HALF-SHAVED, 726 - -32. SEA SIDE PARK, 758 - -33. WALDEMERE, 768 - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -CHAPTER I.--EARLY LIFE. - -MY BIRTH--FIRST PROPERTY--FARMER BOY LIFE--GOING TO SCHOOL--EARLY -ACQUISITIVENESS--A HOLIDAY PEDDLER--FIRST VISIT TO NEW YORK--LEARNING TO -“SWAP”--MISERIES FROM MOLASSES CANDY--“IVY ISLAND”--ENTERING UPON MY -ESTATE--CLERKSHIP IN A COUNTRY STORE--TRADING MORALS--THE BETHEL -MEETING-HOUSE--STOVE QUESTION--SUNDAY SCHOOL AND BIBLE CLASS--MY -COMPOSITION--THE ONE THING NEEDFUL,......25 - -CHAP. II.--INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES. - -DEATH OF MY GRANDMOTHER--MY FATHER--HIS CHARACTER--HIS DEATH--BEGINNING -THE WORLD BAREFOOTED--GOING TO GRASSY PLAINS--THE TIN WARE AND GREEN -BOTTLE LOTTERY--“CHARITY” HALLETT--OUR FIRST MEETING--EVENING RIDE TO -BETHEL--A NOVEL FUR TRADE--OLD “RUSHIA” AND YOUNG “RUSHIA”--THE BUYER -SOLD--COUNTRY STORE EXPERIENCES--OLD “UNCLE BIBBINS”--A TERRIBLE DUEL -BETWEEN BENTON AND BIBBINS--FALL OF BENTON--FLIGHT OF BIBBINS,......38 - -CHAP. III.--IN BUSINESS FOR MYSELF. - -MY CLERKSHIP IN BROOKLYN--UNEASINESS AND DISSATISFACTION--THE SMALL -POX--GOING HOME TO RECRUIT--“CHARITY” HALLETT AGAIN--BACK TO -BROOKLYN--OPENING A PORTER-HOUSE--SELLING OUT--MY CLERKSHIP IN NEW -YORK--MY HABITS--OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY--IN BETHEL ONCE MORE--BEGINNING -BUSINESS ON MY OWN ACCOUNT--OPENING DAY--LARGE SALES AND GREAT -PROFITS--THE LOTTERY BUSINESS--VIEWS THEREON--ABOUT A POCKET-BOOK--WITS -AND WAGS--SWEARING OUT A FINE--FIRST APPEARANCE AT THE BAR--SECURING -“ARABIAN”--A MODEL LOVE-LETTER,......48 - -CHAP. IV.--STRUGGLES FOR A LIVELIHOOD. - -PLEASURE VISIT TO PHILADELPHIA--LIVING IN GRAND STYLE--THE BOTTOM OF THE -PILE--BORROWING MONEY--MY MARRIAGE--RETURN TO BETHEL--EARLY -MARRIAGES--MORE PRACTICAL JOKING--SECOND APPEARANCE AS COUNSEL--GOING TO -HOUSEKEEPING--SELLING BOOKS AT AUCTION--THE “YELLOW STORE”--A NEW -FIELD--“THE HERALD OF FREEDOM”--MY EDITORIAL CAREER--LIBEL SUITS--FINED -AND IMPRISONED--LIFE IN THE DANBURY JAIL--CELEBRATION OF MY -LIBERATION--POOR BUSINESS AND BAD DEBTS--REMOVAL TO NEW YORK--SEEKING MY -FORTUNE--“WANTS” IN THE “SUN”--WM. NIBLO--KEEPING A BOARDING-HOUSE--A -WHOLE SHIRT ON MY BACK,......59 - -CHAP. V.--MY START AS A SHOWMAN. - -THE AMUSEMENT BUSINESS--DIFFERENT GRADES--CATERING FOR THE PUBLIC--MY -CLAIMS, AIMS AND EFFORTS--JOICE HETH--APPARENT GENUINENESS OF HER -VOUCHERS--BEGINNING LIFE AS A SHOWMAN--SUCCESS OF MY FIRST -EXHIBITION--SECOND STEP IN THE SHOW LINE--SIGNOR VIVALLA--MY FIRST -APPEARANCE ON ANY STAGE--AT WASHINGTON--ANNE ROYALL STIMULATING THE -PUBLIC--CONTESTS BETWEEN VIVALLA AND ROBERTS--EXCITEMENT AT FEVER -HEAT--CONNECTING MYSELF WITH A CIRCUS--BREAD AND BUTTER DINNER FOR THE -WHOLE COMPANY--NARROW ESCAPE FROM SUFFOCATION--LECTURING AN ABUSIVE -CLERGYMAN--AARON TURNER--A TERRIBLE PRACTICAL JOKE--I AM REPRESENTED TO -BE A MURDERER--RAILS AND LYNCH LAW--NOVEL MEANS FOR SECURING -NOTORIETY,......71 - -CHAP. VI.--MY FIRST TRAVELING COMPANY. - -THREE MEALS AND LODGING IN ONE HOUR--TURNING THE TABLES ON TURNER--A SON -AS OLD AS HIS FATHER--LEAVING THE CIRCUS WITH TWELVE HUNDRED DOLLARS--MY -FIRST TRAVELLING COMPANY--PREACHING TO THE PEOPLE--APPEARING AS A NEGRO -MINSTREL--THREATENED WITH ASSASSINATION--ESCAPES FROM -DANGER--TEMPERANCE--REPORT OF MY ARREST FOR MURDER--RE-ENFORCING MY -COMPANY--“BARNUM’S GRAND SCIENTIFIC AND MUSICAL THEATRE”--OUTWITTING A -SHERIFF--“LADY HAYES’S” MANSION AND PLANTATION--A BRILLIANT -AUDIENCE--BASS DRUM SOLO--CROSSING THE INDIAN NATION--JOE PENTLAND AS A -SAVAGE--TERROR AND FLIGHT OF VIVALLA--A NONPLUSSED LEGERDEMAIN -PERFORMER--A MALE EGG-LAYER--DISBANDING MY COMPANY--A NEW -PARTNERSHIP--PUBLIC LECTURING--DIFFICULTY WITH A DROVER--THE STEAMBOAT -“CERES”--SUDDEN MARRIAGE ON BOARD--MOBBED IN LOUISIANA--ARRIVAL AT NEW -ORLEANS,......86 - -CHAP. VII.--AT THE FOOT OF THE LADDER. - -DISGUST AT THE TRAVELLING BUSINESS--ADVERTISING FOR AN ASSOCIATE--RUSH -OF THE MILLION-MAKERS--COUNTERFEITERS, CHEATS AND QUACKS--A NEW -BUSINESS--SWINDLED BY MY PARTNER--DIAMOND THE DANCER--A NEW -COMPANY--DESERTIONS--SUCCESSES AT NEW ORLEANS--TYRONE POWER AND FANNY -ELLSLER--IN JAIL AGAIN--BACK TO NEW YORK--ACTING AS A BOOK -AGENT--LEASING VAUXHALL--FROM HAND TO MOUTH--DETERMINATION TO MAKE -MONEY--FORTUNE OPENING HER DOOR--THE AMERICAN MUSEUM FOR -SALE--NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE PURCHASE--HOPES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS--THE -TRAIN LAID--SMASHING A RIVAL COMPANY,......104 - -CHAP. VIII.--THE AMERICAN MUSEUM. - -A TRAP SET FOR ME--I CATCH THE TRAPPERS--I BECOME PROPRIETOR OF THE -AMERICAN MUSEUM--HISTORY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT--HARD WORK AND COLD -DINNERS--ADDITIONS TO THE MUSEUM--EXTRAORDINARY ADVERTISING--BARNUM’S -BRICK-MAN--EXCITING PUBLIC CURIOSITY--INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES--A DRUNKEN -ACTOR--IMITATIONS OF THE ELDER BOOTH--PLEASING MY PATRONS--SECURING -TRANSIENT NOVELTIES--LIVING CURIOSITIES--MAKING PEOPLE TALK--A -WILDERNESS OF WONDERS--NIAGARA FALLS WITH REAL WATER--THE CLUB THAT -KILLED COOK--SELLING LOUIS GAYLORD CLARK--THE FISH WITH LEGS--THE FEJEE -MERMAID--HOW IT CAME INTO MY POSSESSION--THE TRUE STORY OF THAT -CURIOSITY--JAPANESE MANUFACTURE OF FABULOUS ANIMALS--THE USE I MADE OF -THE MERMAID--WHOLESALE ADVERTISING AGAIN--THE BALCONY BAND--DRUMMOND -LIGHTS,......116 - -CHAP. IX.--THE ROAD TO RICHES. - -THE MOST POPULAR PLACE OF AMUSEMENT IN THE WORLD--THE MORAL -DRAMA--REFORMING THE ABUSES OF THE STAGE--FAMOUS ACTORS AND ACTRESSES AT -THE MUSEUM--ADDING TO THE SALOONS--AFTERNOON AND HOLIDAY -PERFORMANCES--FOURTH OF JULY FLAGS--THE MUSEUM CONNECTED WITH ST. -PAUL’S--VICTORY OVER THE VESTRYMEN--THE EGRESS--ST. PATRICK’S DAY IN THE -MORNING--A WONDERFUL ANIMAL, THE “AIGRESS”--INPOURING OF -MONEY--ZOOLOGICAL ERUPTION--THE CITY ASTOUNDED--BABY SHOWS, AND THEIR -OBJECT--FLOWER, BIRD, DOG AND POULTRY SHOWS--GRAND FREE BUFFALO HUNT IN -HOBOKEN--N. P. WILLIS--THE WOOLLY HORSE--WHERE HE CAME FROM--COLONEL -BENTON BEATEN--PURPOSE OF THE EXHIBITION--AMERICAN INDIANS--P. T. BARNUM -EXHIBITED--A CURIOUS SPINSTER--THE TOUCHING STORY OF CHARLOTTE -TEMPLE--SERVICES IN THE LECTURE ROOM--A FINANCIAL VIEW OF THE MUSEUM--AN -“AWFUL RICH MAN,”......133 - -CHAP. X.--ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SPECULATION. - -PEALE’S MUSEUM--MYSTERIOUS MESMERISM--YANKEE HILL--HENRY BENNETT--THE -RIVAL MUSEUMS--THE ORPHEAN AND ORPHAN FAMILIES--THE FUDGEE -MERMAID--BUYING OUT MY RIVAL--RUNNING OPPOSITION TO MYSELF--ABOLISHING -THEATRICAL NUISANCES--NO CHECKS AND NO BAR--THE MUSEUM--MY MANIA--MY -FIRST INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES S. STRATTON--GENERAL TOM THUMB IN NEW -YORK--RE-ENGAGEMENT--AN APT PUPIL--FREE FROM DEBT--THE PROFITS OF TWO -YEARS--IN SEARCH OF A NEW FIELD--STARTING FOR LIVERPOOL--THE GOOD SHIP -“YORKSHIRE”--MY PARTY--ESCORT TO SANDY HOOK--THE VOYAGE--A TOBACCO -TRICK--A BRAGGING JOHN BULL OUTWITTED--ARRIVAL AT LIVERPOOL--A GENTLEMAN -BEGGAR--MADAME CELESTE--CHEAP DWARFS--TWO-PENNY SHOWS--EXHIBITION OF -GENERAL TOM THUMB IN LIVERPOOL--FIRST-CLASS ENGAGEMENT FOR -LONDON,......156 - -CHAP. XI.--GENERAL TOM THUMB IN ENGLAND. - -ARRIVAL IN LONDON--THE GENERAL’S DEBUT IN THE PRINCESS’S -THEATRE--ENORMOUS SUCCESS--MY MANSION AT THE WEST END--DAILY LEVEES FOR -THE NOBILITY AND GENTRY--HON. EDWARD EVERETT--HIS INTEREST IN THE -GENERAL--VISIT TO THE BARONESS ROTHSCHILD--OPENING IN EGYPTIAN HALL, -PICCADILLY--MR. CHARLES MURRAY, MASTER OF THE QUEEN’S HOUSEHOLD--AT -BUCKINGHAM PALACE BY COMMAND OF HER MAJESTY--A ROYAL RECEPTION--THE -FAVORABLE IMPRESSION MADE BY THE GENERAL--AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE -VISIT--BACKING OUT--FIGHT WITH A POODLE--COURT JOURNAL NOTICE--SECOND -VISIT TO THE QUEEN--THE PRINCE OF WALES AND PRINCESS ROYAL--THE QUEEN OF -THE BELGIANS--THIRD VISIT TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE--KING LEOPOLD, OF -BELGIUM--ASSURED SUCCESS--THE BRITISH PUBLIC EXCITED--EGYPTIAN HALL -CROWDED--QUEEN DOWAGER ADELAIDE--THE GENERAL’S WATCH--NAPOLEON AND THE -DUKE OF WELLINGTON--DISTINGUISHED FRIENDS,......173 - -CHAP. XII.--IN FRANCE. - -GOING OVER TO ARRANGE PRELIMINARIES--PREVIOUS VISIT TO PARIS--ROBERT -HOUDIN--WONDERFUL MECHANICAL TOYS--THE AUTOMATON LETTER-WRITER--DION -BOUCICAULT--TAX ON NATURAL CURIOSITIES--HOW I COMPROMISED--THE GENERAL -AND PARTY IN PARIS--FIRST VISIT TO KING LOUIS PHILIPPE--A SPLENDID -PRESENT--DIPLOMACY--I ASK A FAVOR AND GET IT--LONG CHAMPS--THE GENERAL’S -EQUIPAGE--THE FINEST ADVERTISEMENT EVER KNOWN--ALL PARIS IN A -FUROR--OPENING OF THE LEVEES--“TOM POUCE” EVERYWHERE--THE GENERAL AS AN -ACTOR--“PETIT POUCET”--SECOND AND THIRD VISITS AT THE -TUILERIES--INVITATION TO ST. CLOUD--THE GENERAL PERSONATING NAPOLEON -BONAPARTE--ST. DENIS--THE INVALIDES--REGNIER--ANECDOTE OF -FRANKLIN--LEAVING PARIS--TOUR THROUGH FRANCE--DEPARTURE FOR -BRUSSELS,......186 - -CHAP. XIII.--IN BELGIUM. - -CROSSING THE FRONTIER--PROFESSOR PINTE--QUALIFICATIONS OF A GOOD -SHOWMAN--“SOFT SUP”--GENEROUS DISTRIBUTION OF MEDALS--PRINCE CHARLES -STRATTON--AT BRUSSELS--PRESENTATION TO KING LEOPOLD AND HIS QUEEN--THE -GENERAL’S JEWELS STOLEN--THE THIEF CAUGHT--RECOVERY OF THE PROPERTY--THE -FIELD OF WATERLOO--MIRACULOUSLY MULTIPLIED RELICS--CAPTAIN -TIPPITIWITCHET OF THE CONNECTICUT FUSILEERS--AN ACCIDENT--GETTING BACK -TO BRUSSELS IN A CART--STRATTON SWINDLED--LOSING AN EXHIBITION--TWO -HOURS IN THE RAIN ON THE ROAD--THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY--A STRICT -CONSTRUCTIONIST--STRATTON’S HEAD SHAVED--“BRUMMAGEM” RELICS--HOW THEY -ARE PLANTED AT WATERLOO--WHAT LYONS SAUSAGES ARE MADE OF--FROM BRUSSELS -TO LONDON,......208 - -CHAP. XIV.--IN ENGLAND AGAIN. - -LEVEES IN EGYPTIAN HALL--UNDIMINISHED SUCCESS--OTHER ENGAGEMENTS--“UP IN -A BALLOON”--PROVINCIAL TOUR--TRAVELLING BY POST--GOING TO AMERICA--A. T. -STEWART--SAMUEL ROGERS--AN EXTRA TRAIN--AN ASTONISHED RAILWAY -SUPERINTENDENT--LEFT BEHIND AND LOCKED UP--SUNDAYS IN LONDON--BUSINESS -AND PLEASURE--ALBERT SMITH--A DAY WITH HIM AT WARWICK--STRATFORD ON -AVON--A POETICAL BARBER--WARWICK CASTLE--OLD GUY’S TRAPS--OFFER TO BUY -THE LOT--THREAT TO BURST THE SHOW--ALBERT SMITH AS A SHOWMAN--LEARNING -THE BUSINESS FROM BARNUM--THE WARWICK RACE’S RIVAL DWARFS--MANUFACTURED -GIANTESSES--THE HAPPY FAMILY--THE ROAD FROM WARWICK TO COVENTRY--PEEPING -TOM--THE YANKEE GO-AHEAD PRINCIPLE--ALBERT SMITH’S ACCOUNT OF A DAY WITH -BARNUM,......223 - -CHAP. XV.--RETURN TO AMERICA. - -THE WIZARD OF THE NORTH--A JUGGLER BEATEN AT HIS OWN TRICKS--SECOND -VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES--REVEREND DOCTOR ROBERT BAIRD--CAPTAIN -JUDKINS THREATENS TO PUT ME IN IRONS--VIEWS WITH REGARD TO SECTS--A -WICKED WOMAN--THE SIMPSONS IN EUROPE--REMINISCENCES OF TRAVEL--SAUCE AND -“SASS”--TEA TOO SWEET--A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE--ROAST DUCK--SNOW IN -AUGUST--TALES OF TRAVELLERS--SIMPSON NOT TO BE TAKEN IN--HOLLANDERS IN -BRUSSELS--WHERE ALL THE DUTCHMEN COME FROM--THREE YEARS IN EUROPE--WARM -PERSONAL FRIENDS--DOCTOR C. S. BREWSTER--HENRY SUMNER--GEORGE S. AND -LORENZO DRAPER--GEORGE P. PUTNAM--OUR LAST PERFORMANCE IN DUBLIN--DANIEL -O’CONNELL--END OF OUR TOUR--DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA--ARRIVAL IN NEW -YORK,......239 - -CHAP. XVI.--AT HOME. - -RENEWING THE LEASE OF THE MUSEUM BUILDING--TOM THUMB IN AMERICA--TOUR -THROUGH THE COUNTRY--JOURNEY TO CUBA--BARNUM A CURIOSITY--RAISING -TURKEYS--CEASING TO BE A TRAVELLING SHOWMAN--RETURN TO -BRIDGEPORT--ADVANTAGES AND CAPABILITIES OF THAT CITY--SEARCH FOR A -HOME--THE FINDING--BUILDING AND COMPLETION OF IRANISTAN--GRAND -HOUSE-WARMING--BUYING THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM--OPENING THE PHILADELPHIA -MUSEUM--CATERING FOR QUAKERS--THE TEMPERANCE PLEDGE AT THE -THEATRE--PURCHASING PEALE’S PHILADELPHIA COLLECTION--MY AGRICULTURAL AND -ARBORCULTURAL DOINGS--“GERSY BLEW” CHICKENS--HOW I SOLD MY POTATOES--HOW -I BOUGHT OTHER PEOPLES’ POTATOES--CUTTING OFF GRAFTS--MY DEER PARK--MY -GAME-KEEPER--FRANK LESLIE--PLEASURES OF HOME,......255 - -CHAP. XVII.--THE JENNY LIND ENTERPRISE. - -GRAND SCHEME--CONGRESS OF ALL NATIONS--A BOLD AND BRILLIANT -ENTERPRISE--THE JENNY LIND ENGAGEMENT--MY AGENT IN EUROPE--HIS -INSTRUCTIONS--CORRESPONDENCE WITH MISS LIND--BENEDICT AND -BELLETTI--JOSHUA BATES--CHEVALIER WYCKOFF--THE CONTRACT SIGNED--MY -RECEPTION OF THE NEWS--THE ENTIRE SUM OF MONEY FOR THE ENGAGEMENT SENT -TO LONDON--MY FIRST LIND LETTER TO THE PUBLIC--A POOR PORTRAIT--MUSICAL -NOTES IN WALL STREET--A FRIEND IN NEED,......270 - -CHAP. XVIII.--THE NIGHTINGALE IN NEW YORK. - -FINAL CONCERTS IN LIVERPOOL--DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA--ARRIVAL OFF STATEN -ISLAND--MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH JENNY LIND--THE TREMENDOUS THRONG AT THE -WHARF--TRIUMPHAL ARCH--“WELCOME TO AMERICA”--EXCITEMENT IN THE -CITY--SERENADE AT THE IRVING HOUSE--THE PRIZE ODE--BAYARD TAYLOR THE -PRIZEMAN--“BARNUM’S PARNASSUS”--“BARNUMOPSIS”--FIRST CONCERT IN CASTLE -GARDEN--A NEW AGREEMENT--RECEPTION OF JENNY LIND--UNBOUNDED -ENTHUSIASM--BARNUM CALLED OUT--JULIUS BENEDICT--THE SUCCESS OF THE -ENTERPRISE ESTABLISHED--TWO GRAND CHARITY CONCERTS IN NEW YORK--DATE OF -THE FIRST - -REGULAR CONCERT,......286 - -CHAP. XIX.--SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT. - -HEAD-WORK AND HAND-WORK--MANAGING PUBLIC OPINION--CREATING A FUROR--THE -NEW YORK HERALD--JENNY LIND’S EVIL ADVISERS--JOHN JAY--MISS LIND’S -CHARITIES--A POOR GIRL IN BOSTON--THE NIGHTINGALE AT IRANISTAN--RUMOR OF -HER MARRIAGE TO P. T. BARNUM--THE STORY BASED ON OUR “ENGAGEMENT”--WHAT -IRANISTAN DID FOR ME--AVOIDING CROWDS--IN PHILADELPHIA AND BALTIMORE--A -SUBSTITUTE FOR MISS LIND--OUR ORCHESTRA--PRESIDENT FILLMORE, CLAY, -FOOTE, BENTON, SCOTT, CASS, AND WEBSTER--VISIT TO MT. VERNON--CHRISTMAS -PRESENTS--NEW YEAR’S EVE--WE GO TO HAVANA--PLAYING BALL--FREDERIKA -BREMER--A HAPPY MONTH IN CUBA,......301 - -CHAP. XX.--INCIDENTS OF THE TOUR. - -PROTEST AGAINST PRICES IN HAVANA--THE CUBANS SUCCUMB--JENNY LIND TAKES -THE CITY BY STORM--A MAGNIFICENT TRIUMPH--COUNT PENALVER--A SPLENDID -OFFER--MR. BRINCKERHOFF--BENEFIT FOR THE HOSPITALS--REFUSING TO RECEIVE -THANKS--VIVALLA AND HIS DOG--HENRY BENNETT--HIS PARTIAL INSANITY--OUR -VOYAGE TO NEW ORLEANS--THE EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK HERALD ON BOARD--I -SAVE THE LIFE OF JAMES GORDON BENNETT--ARRIVAL AT THE CRESCENT -CITY--CHEATING THE CROWD--A DUPLICATE MISS LIND--A BOY IN RAPTURES--A -MAMMOTH HOG--UP THE MISSISSIPPI--AMUSEMENTS ON BOARD--IN LEAGUE WITH THE -EVIL ONE--AN AMAZED MULATTO,......319 - -CHAP. XXI.--JENNY LIND. - -ARRIVAL AT ST. LOUIS--SURPRISING PROPOSITION OF MISS LIND’S -SECRETARY--HOW THE MANAGER MANAGED--READINESS TO CANCEL THE -CONTRACT--CONSULTATION WITH “UNCLE SOL.”--BARNUM NOT TO BE HIRED--A -“JOKE”--TEMPERANCE LECTURE IN THE THEATRE--SOL. SMITH--A COMEDIAN, -AUTHOR, AND LAWYER--UNIQUE DEDICATION--JENNY LIND’S CHARACTER AND -CHARITIES--SHARP WORDS FROM THE WEST--SELFISH ADVISERS--MISS LIND’S -GENEROUS IMPULSES--HER SIMPLE AND CHILDLIKE CHARACTER--CONFESSIONS OF A -MANAGER--PRIVATE REPUTATION AND PUBLIC RENOWN--CHARACTER AS A STOCK IN -TRADE--LE GRAND SMITH--MR. DOLBY--THE ANGELIC SIDE KEPT OUTSIDE--MY OWN -SHARE IN THE PUBLIC BENEFITS--JUSTICE TO MISS LIND AND MYSELF,......334 - -CHAP. XXII.--CLOSE OF THE CAMPAIGN. - -PENITENT TICKET PURCHASERS--VISIT TO THE “HERMITAGE”--“APRIL-FOOL” -FUN--THE MAMMOTH CAVE--SIGNOR SALVI--GEORGE D. PRENTICE--PERFORMANCE IN -A PORK HOUSE--RUSE AT CINCINNATI--ANNOYANCES AT PITTSBURGH--LE GRAND -SMITH’S GRAND JOKE--RETURN TO NEW YORK--THE FINAL CONCERTS IN CASTLE -GARDEN AND METROPOLITAN HALL--THE ADVISERS APPEAR--THE NINETY-THIRD -CONCERT--MY OFFER TO CLOSE THE ENGAGEMENT--MISS LIND’S LETTER ACCEPTING -MY PROPOSITION--STORY ABOUT AN “IMPROPER PLACE”--JENNY’S CONCERTS ON HER -OWN ACCOUNT--HER MARRIAGE TO MR. OTTO GOLDSCHMIDT--CORDIAL RELATIONS -BETWEEN MRS. LIND GOLDSCHMIDT AND MYSELF--AT HOME AGAIN--STATEMENT OF -THE TOTAL RECEIPTS OF THE CONCERTS,......344 - -CHAP. XXIII.--OTHER ENTERPRISES. - -ANOTHER VENTURE--“BARNUM’S GREAT ASIATIC CARAVAN, MUSEUM, AND -MENAGERIE”--HUNTING ELEPHANTS--GENERAL TOM THUMB--ELEPHANT PLOWING IN -CONNECTICUT--CURIOUS QUESTIONS FROM ALL QUARTERS--THE PUBLIC INTEREST IN -MY NOVEL FARMING--HOW MUCH AN ELEPHANT CAN REALLY “DRAW”--SIDE-SHOWS AND -VARIOUS ENTERPRISES--OBSEQUIES OF NAPOLEON--THE CRYSTAL -PALACE--CAMPANALOGIANS--AMERICAN INDIANS IN LONDON--AUTOMATON -SPEAKER--THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON--ATTEMPT TO BUY SHAKESPEARE’S -HOUSE--DISSOLVING VIEWS--THE CHINESE COLLECTION--WONDERFUL SCOTCH -BOYS--SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF DOUBLE SIGHT--THE BATEMAN -CHILDREN--CATHERINE HAYES--IRANISTAN ON FIRE--MY ELDEST DAUGHTER’S -MARRIAGE--BENEFITS FOR THE BRIDGEPORT LIBRARY AND THE MOUNTAIN GROVE -CEMETERY,......358 - -CHAP. XXIV.--WORK AND PLAY. - -ALFRED BUNN, OF DRURY LANE THEATRE--AMUSING INTERVIEW--MR. LEVY, OF THE -LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH--VACATIONS AT HOME--MY PRESIDENCY OF THE -FAIRFIELD COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY--EXHIBITING A -PICKPOCKET--PHILOSOPHY OF HUMBUG--A CHOP-FALLEN TICKET-SELLER--A PROMPT -PAYMASTER--BARNUM IN BOSTON--A DELUDED HACK-DRIVER--PHILLIPS’S FIRE -ANNIHILATOR--HONORABLE ELISHA WHITTLESEY--TRIAL OF THE ANNIHILATOR IN -NEW YORK--PEQUONNOCK BANK OF BRIDGEPORT--THE ILLUSTRATED NEWS--THE -WORLD’S FAIR IN NEW YORK--MY PRESIDENCY OF THE ASSOCIATION--ATTEMPT TO -EXCITE PUBLIC INTEREST--MONSTER JULLIEN CONCERTS--RESIGNATION OF THE -CRYSTAL PALACE PRESIDENCY--FAILUREOF THE CONCERN,......371 - -CHAP. XXV.--THE JEROME CLOCK COMPANY ENTANGLEMENT. - -THE EAST BRIDGEPORT ENTERPRISE--W. H. NOBLE--PLANS FOR A NEW CITY--DR. -TIMOTHY DWIGHT’S TESTIMONY--INVESTING A FORTUNE--SELLING CITY -LOTS--MONEY-MAKING A SECONDARY CONSIDERATION--CLOCK COMPANY IN -LITCHFIELD--THE “TERRY AND BARNUM MANUFACTURING COMPANY”--THE JEROME -CLOCK COMPANY--BAITING FOR BITES--FALSE REPRESENTATIONS--HOW I WAS -DELUDED--WHAT I AGREED TO DO--THE COUNTER AGREEMENT--NOTES WITH BLANK -DATES--THE LIMIT OF MY RESPONSIBILITY--HOW IT WAS EXCEEDED--STARTLING -DISCOVERIES--A RUINED MAN--PAYING MY OWN HONEST DEBTS--BARNUM DUPED--MY -FAILURE--THE BARNUM AND JEROME CLOCK BUBBLE--MORALISTS MAKING USE OF MY -MISFORTUNES--WHAT PREACHERS, PAPERS, AND PEOPLE SAID ABOUT ME--DOWN IN -THE DEPTHS,......384 - -CHAP. XXVI.--CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE. - -FRIENDS TO THE RESCUE--MONEY OFFERS REFUSED--BENEFITS -DECLINED--MAGNIFICENT OFFER OF PROMINENT NEW YORK CITIZENS--WILLIAM E. -BURTON--LAURA KEENE--WILLIAM NIBLO--GENERAL TOM THUMB--EDITORIAL -SYMPATHY--“A WORD FOR BARNUM” IN BOSTON--LETTER FROM “MRS. -PARTINGTON”--CITIZENS’ MEETING IN BRIDGEPORT--RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT AND -CONDOLENCE--MY LETTER ON THE SITUATION--TENDER OF FIFTY THOUSAND -DOLLARS--MAGNITUDE OF THE DECEPTION PRACTICED UPON ME--PROPOSITION OF -COMPROMISE WITH MY CREDITORS--A TRAP LAID FOR ME IN PHILADELPHIA--THE -SILVER LINING TO THE CLOUD--THE BLOW A BENEFIT TO MY FAMILY--THE REV. -DR. E. H. CHAPIN--MY DAUGHTER HELEN--A LETTER WORTH TEN THOUSAND -DOLLARS--OUR NEW HOME IN NEW YORK,......395 - -CHAP. XXVII.--REST, BUT NOT RUST. - -SALE OF THE MUSEUM COLLECTION--SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS OF MY -CREDITORS--EXAMINATIONS IN COURT--BARNUM AS A BAR -TENDER--PERSECUTION--THE SUMMER SEASON ON LONG ISLAND--THE MUSEUM MAN ON -SHOW--CHARLES HOWELL--A GREAT NATURAL CURIOSITY--VALUE OF A -HONK--PROPOSING TO BUY IT--A BLACK WHALE PAYS MY SUMMER’S BOARD--A TURN -IN THE TIDE--THE WHEELER AND WILSON SEWING MACHINE COMPANY--THEIR -REMOVAL TO EAST BRIDGEPORT--THE TERRY AND BARNUM CLOCK FACTORY -OCCUPIED--NEW CITY PROPERTY LOOKING UP--A LOAN OF $5,000--THE CAUSE OF -MY RUIN PROMISES TO BE MY REDEMPTION--SETTING SAIL FOR ENGLAND--GENERAL -TOM THUMB--LITTLE CORDELIA HOWARD,......406 - -CHAP. XXVIII.--ABROAD AGAIN. - -OLD FRIENDS IN OLD ENGLAND--ALBERT SMITH AS A SHOWMAN--HIS ASCENT OF -MONT BLANC--POPULARITY OF THE ENTERTAINMENT--THE GARRICK CLUB--“PHINEAS -CUTECRAFT”--THE ELEVEN THOUSAND VIRGINS OF COLOGNE--UTILIZING -INCIDENTS--SUBTERRANEAN TERRORS--A PANIC--EGYPTIAN DARKNESS IN EGYPTIAN -HALL--WILLIAM M. THACKERAY--HIS TWO VISITS TO AMERICA--FRIENDLY -RELATIONS WITH THE NOVELIST--I LOSE HIS SYMPATHY--HIS WARM REGARD FOR -HIS AMERICAN FRIENDS--OTTO GOLDSCHMIDT AND JENNY LIND -GOLDSCHMIDT--TENDER OF THEIR AID--THE FORGED LIND LETTER--BENEDICT AND -BELLETTI--GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA--CHARLES KEAN--EDMUND YATES--HORACE -MAYHEW--GEORGE PEABODY--MR. BUCKSTONE--MY EXHIBITIONS IN ENGLAND--S. M. -PETTINGILL--MR. LUMLEY,......419 - -CHAP. XXIX.--IN GERMANY. - -FROM LONDON TO BADEN-BADEN--TROUBLE IN PARIS--STRASBOURG--SCENE IN A -GERMAN CUSTOM-HOUSE--A TERRIBLE BILL--SIX CENTS WORTH OF AGONY--GAMBLING -AT BADEN-BADEN--SUICIDES--GOLDEN PRICES FOR THE GENERAL--A CALL FROM THE -KING OF HOLLAND--THE GERMAN SPAS--HAMBURG, EMS AND WIESBADEN--THE BLACK -FOREST ORCHESTRION MAKER--AN OFFERED SACRIFICE--THE SEAT OF THE -ROTHSCHILDS--DIFFICULTIES IN FRANKFORT--A POMPOUS COMMISSIONER OF -POLICE--RED-TAPE--AN ALARM--HENRY J. RAYMOND--CALL ON THE -COMMISSIONER--CONFIDENTIAL DISCLOSURES--HALF OF AN ENTIRE FORTUNE IN AN -AMERICAN RAILWAY--ASTOUNDING REVELATIONS--DOWN THE RHINE--DEPARTURE FOR -HOLLAND,......430 - -CHAP. XXX.--IN HOLLAND. - -THE FINEST AND FLATTEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD--SUPER-CLEANLINESS--HABITS -AND CUSTOMS--“KREMIS”--THE ALBINO FAMILY--THE HAGUE--AUGUST -BELMONT--JAPANESE MUSEUM--MANUFACTURED FABULOUS ANIMALS--A GENEROUS -OFFER--VALUABLE PICTURES--AN ASTONISHED SUPERINTENDENT--BACK TO -ENGLAND--EXHIBITIONS IN MANCHESTER--I RETURN AGAIN TO AMERICA--FUN ON -THE VOYAGE--MOCK TRIALS--BARNUM AS A PROSECUTOR AND AS A PRISONER--COLD -SHOULDERS IN NEW YORK--PREPARING TO MOVE INTO MY OLD HOME--CARELESS -PAINTERS AND CARPENTERS--IRANISTAN BURNED TO THE GROUND--NEXT TO NO -INSURANCE--SALE OF THE PROPERTY--ELIAS HOWE, JR.,......441 - -CHAP. XXXI.--THE ART OF MONEY GETTING. - -BACK ONCE MORE TO ENGLAND--TOUR THROUGH SCOTLAND AND WALES--HOW I CAME -TO LECTURE--ADVICE OF MY FRIENDS--MY LECTURE--HOW TO MAKE MONEY AND HOW -TO KEEP IT--WHAT THE PAPERS SAID ABOUT ME--PRAISE OF THE LONDON -PRESS--LECTURING IN THE PROVINCES--PERFORMANCES AT CAMBRIDGE--CALL FOR -JOICE HETH--EXTRAORDINARY FUN AT OXFORD--THE AUDIENCE AND LECTURER -TAKING TURNS--A UNIVERSITY BREAKFAST--MAGNIFICENT OFFER FOR A -COPYRIGHT--SUCCESS OF MY ENTERPRISE--MORE MONEY FOR THE CLOCK -CREDITORS,......456 - -CHAP. XXXII.--AN ENTERPRISING ENGLISHMAN. - -AN ENGLISH YANKEE--MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH HIM--HIS PLANS BASED ON -BARNUM’S BOOK--ADVERTISING FOR PARTNERS--HOW MY RULES MADE HIM -RICH--METHOD IN MADNESS--THE “BARNUM” OF BURY--DINNER TO TOM THUMB AND -COMMODORE NUTT--MY AGENT IN PARIS--MEASURING A MONSTER--HOW GIANTS AND -DWARFS STRETCH AND CONTRACT--AN UNWILLING FRENCHMAN--A PERSISTENT -MEASURER--A GIGANTIC HUMBUG--THE STEAM-ENGINES “BARNUM” AND -“CHARITY”--WHAT “CHARITY” DID FOR “BARNUM”--SELLING THE SAME GOODS A -THOUSAND TIMES--THE GREAT CAKES--SIMNAL SUNDAY--THE SANITARY COMMISSION -FAIR,......506 - -CHAP. XXXIII.--RICHARD’S HIMSELF AGAIN. - -AT HOME--EXTINGUISHMENT OF THE CLOCK DEBTS--A RASCALLY -PROPOSITION--BARNUM ON HIS FEET AGAIN--RE-PURCHASE OF THE MUSEUM--A GALA -DAY--MY RECEPTION BY MY FRIENDS--THE STORY OF MY TROUBLES--HOW I WADED -ASHORE--PROMISES TO THE PUBLIC--THE PUBLIC RESPONSE--MUSEUM -VISITORS--THE RECEIPTS DOUBLED--HOW THE PRESS RECEIVED THE NEWS OF -RESTORATION--THE SYCOPHANTS--OLD AND FAST FRIENDS--ROBERT -BONNER--CONSIDERATION AND COURTESY OF CREDITORS--THE BOSTON SATURDAY -EVENING GAZETTE AGAIN--ANOTHER WORD FOR BARNUM,......516 - -CHAP. XXXIV.--MENAGERIE AND MUSEUM MEMORANDA. - -A REMARKABLE CHARACTER--OLD GRIZZLY ADAMS--THE CALIFORNIA -MENAGERIE--TERRIBLY WOUNDED BY BEARS--MY UP-TOWN SHOW--EXTRAORDINARY -WILL AND VIGOR--A LESSON FOR MUNCHAUSEN--THE CALIFORNIA GOLDEN -PIGEONS--PIGEONS OF ALL COLORS--PROCESS OF THEIR CREATION--M. -GUILLAUDEU--A NATURALIST DECEIVED--THE MOST WONDERFUL BIRDS IN THE -WORLD--THE CURIOSITIES TRANSFERRED TO THE MENAGERIE--OLD ADAMS TAKEN -IN--A CHANGE OF COLOR--MOTLEY THE ONLY WEAR--OLD GRIZZLY -UNDECEIVED--TOUR OF THE BEAR-TAMER THROUGH THE COUNTRY--A BEAUTIFUL -HUNTING SUIT--A LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLE FOR A WAGER--OLD ADAMS WINS--HIS -DEATH--THE LAST JOKE ON BARNUM--THE PRINCE OF WALES VISITS THE MUSEUM--I -CALL ON THE PRINCE IN BOSTON--STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS--“BEFORE AND AFTER” IN -A BARBER SHOP--HOW TOM HIGGINSON “DID” BARNUM--THE MUSEUM -FLOURISHING,......529 - -CHAP. XXXV.--EAST BRIDGEPORT. - -ANOTHER NEW HOME--LINDENCROFT--PROGRESS OF MY PET CITY--THE CHESTNUT -WOOD FIRE--HOW IT BECAME OLD HICKORY--INDUCEMENTS TO SETTLERS--MY -OFFER--EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE-OWNER--WHISKY AND TOBACCO--RISE IN -REAL-ESTATE--PEMBROKE LAKE--WASHINGTON PARK--GREAT -MANUFACTORIES--WHEELER AND WILSON--SCHUYLER, HARTLEY AND -GRAHAM--HOTCHKISS, SON AND COMPANY--STREET NAMES--MANY THOUSAND SHADE -TREES--BUSINESS IN THE NEW CITY--UNPARALLELED GROWTH AND -PROSPERITY--PROBABILITIES IN THE FUTURE--SITUATION OF BRIDGEPORT--ITS -ADVANTAGES AND PROSPECTS--THE SECOND, IF NOT THE FOREMOST CITY IN -CONNECTICUT,......549 - -CHAP. XXXVI.--MORE ABOUT THE MUSEUM. - -ANOTHER RE-OPENING--A CHERRY-COLORED CAT--THE CAT LET OUT OF THE BAG--MY -FIRST WHALING EXPEDITION--PLANS FOR CAPTURE--SUCCESS OF THE -SCHEME--TRANSPORTING LIVING WHALES BY LAND--PUBLIC EXCITEMENT--THE GREAT -TANK--SALT WATER PUMPED FROM THE BAY TO THE MUSEUM--MORE -WHALES--EXPEDITION TO LABRADOR--THE FIRST HIPPOPOTAMUS IN -AMERICA--TROPICAL FISH--COMMODORE NUTT AND HIS FIRST “ENGAGEMENT”--THE -TWO DROMIOS--PRESIDENT LINCOLN SEES COMMODORE NUTT--WADING ASHORE--A -QUESTION OF LEGS--SELF-DECEPTION--THE GOLDEN ANGEL FISH--ANNA SWAN, THE -NOVA SCOTIA GIANTESS--THE TALLEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD--INDIAN -CHIEFS--EXPEDITION TO CYPRUS--MY AGENT IN A PASHA’S HAREM,......560 - -CHAP. XXXVII.--MR. AND MRS. GENERAL TOM THUMB. - -MISS LAVINIA WARREN--A CHARMING LITTLE LADY--SUPPOSED TO BE THE $30,000 -NUTT IN DISGUISE--HER WARDROBE AND PRESENTS--STORY OF A RING--THE LITTLE -COMMODORE IN LOVE--TOM THUMB SMITTEN--RIVALRY OF THE DWARFS--JEALOUSY OF -THE GENERAL--VISIT AT BRIDGEPORT--THE GENERAL’S STYLISH TURN-OUT--MISS -WARREN IMPRESSED--CALL OF THE GENERAL--A LILLIPUTIAN LOVE SCENE--TOM -THUMB’S INVENTORY OF HIS PROPERTY--HE PROPOSES AND IS ACCEPTED--ARRIVAL -OF THE COMMODORE--HIS GRIEF--EXCITEMENT OVER THE ENGAGEMENT--THE WEDDING -IN GRACE CHURCH--REVEREND JUNIUS WILLEY--A SPICY LETTER BY DOCTOR -TAYLOR--GRAND RECEPTION OF MR. AND MRS. STRATTON--THE COMMODORE IN -SEARCH OF A GREEN COUNTRY GIRL,......582 - -CHAP. XXXVIII.--POLITICAL AND PERSONAL. - -MY POLITICAL PRINCIPLES--REASONS FOR MY CHANGE OF PARTIES--KANSAS AND -SECESSION--WIDE-AWAKES--GRAND ILLUMINATION OF LINDENCROFT--JOKE ON A -DEMOCRATIC NEIGHBOR--PEACE MEETINGS--THE STEPNEY EXCITEMENT--TEARING -DOWN A PEACE FLAG--A LOYAL MEETING--RECEPTION IN BRIDGEPORT--DESTRUCTION -OF THE “FARMER” OFFICE--ELIAS HOWE, JR.--SAINT PETER AND -SALTPETRE--DRAFT RIOTS--BURGLARS AT LINDENCROFT--MY ELECTION TO THE -LEGISLATURE--BEGINNING OF MY WAR ON RAILROAD -MONOPOLIES--WIRE-PULLING--THE XIV. AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES -CONSTITUTION--STRIKING THE WORD “WHITE” FROM THE CONNECTICUT -CONSTITUTION--MY SPEECH,......609 - -CHAP. XXXIX.--THE AMERICAN MUSEUM IN RUINS. - -A TERRIBLE LOSS--HOW I RECEIVED THE NEWS--BURNING OF THE AMERICAN -MUSEUM--DETAILS OF THE DISASTER--FAITH IN HERRING’S SAFES--BAKED AND -BOILED WHALES--THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE ON THE DESTRUCTION OF THE MUSEUM--A -PUBLIC CALAMITY--SYMPATHY OF THE LEADING EDITORS--AMOUNT OF MY -LOSS--SMALL INSURANCE--MY PROPERTY--INTENTION TO RETIRE TO PRIVATE -LIFE--HORACE GREELEY ADVISES ME TO GO A-FISHING--BENEFIT TO THE MUSEUM -EMPLOYEES AT THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC--MY SPEECH--WHAT THE NEW YORK SUN SAID -ABOUT IT--THE NEW UP-TOWN MUSEUM--OPENING THE ESTABLISHMENT TO THE -PUBLIC,......638 - -CHAP. XL.--MY WAR ON THE RAILROADS. - -SCENES IN THE LEGISLATURE--SHARP-SHOOTING--PROPOSITIONS FOR A NEW -CAPITAL OF CONNECTICUT--THE RIVALRY OF CITIES--CULMINATION OF THE -RAILROAD CONTROVERSY--EXCITEMENT AMONG THE LOBBYISTS--A BILL FOR THE -BENEFIT OF COMMUTERS--PEOPLE PROTECTED FROM THE PLUNDERERS--HOW SETTLERS -ARE DRAWN INTO A STATE AND THEN CHEATED BY THE RAILROAD COMPANIES--EQUAL -RIGHTS FOR COMMUTERS AND TRANSIENT PASSENGERS--WHAT COMMODORE VANDERBILT -DID--WHAT THE NEW YORK AND NEW HAVEN RAILROAD COMPANY WANTED TO -DO--EXPOSURE OF THEIR PLOT--CONSTERNATION OF THE CONSPIRATORS--MY -VICTORY--AGAIN ELECTED TO THE LEGISLATURE--UNITED STATES SENATOR -FERRY--EX-GOVERNOR W. A. BUCKINGHAM--THEODORE TILTON--GOVERNOR -HAWLEY--FRIENDS AT LINDENCROFT--NOMINATED FOR CONGRESS AND -DEFEATED,......649 - -CHAP. XLI.--BENNETT AND THE HERALD. - -THE AMERICAN MUSEUM LEASE--ITS VALUE--BENNETT OF THE HERALD BUYS IT FOR -$200,000--HE PURCHASES THE PROPERTY--OVERESTIMATE OF ITS WORTH--MAX -MARETZEK--MISS CLARA LOUISE KELLOGG’S ESTIMATE OF CERTAIN PEOPLE--THE -POWER BEHIND THE HERALD THRONE--THE HERALD’S INFLUENCE--AND HARD -EXPERIENCE--HIS LAWYER INSISTS UPON MY TAKING BACK THE MUSEUM LEASE--I -DECLINE--BENNETT REFUSES MY ADVERTISEMENTS--INTERVIEW WITH MR. -HUDSON--WAR OF THE MANAGERS UPON THE HERALD--BENNETT HUMBLED--LOSS OF -THE HERALD’S PRESTIGE--MONEY DAMAGE TO BENNETT’S ESTABLISHMENT--THE -EDITOR SUED--PEACE BETWEEN THE HERALD AND THE MANAGERS,......665 - -CHAP. XLII.--PUBLIC LECTURING. - -MY TOUR AT THE WEST--THE CURIOSITY EXHIBITOR HIMSELF A CURIOSITY--BUYING -A FARM IN WISCONSIN--HELPING THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES--A RIDE ON A -LOCOMOTIVE--PUNCTUALITY IN MY ENGAGEMENTS--TRICKS TO SECURE SEATS IN THE -LADIES’ CAR--I SUDDENLY BECAME FATHER TO A YOUNG MARRIED COUPLE--MY -IDENTITY DENIED--PITY AND CHARITY--REVEREND DOCTOR CHAPIN PULLS THE -BELL--TEMPERANCE--HOW I BECAME A TEETOTALER--MODERATE DRINKING AND ITS -DANGERS--DOCTOR CHAPIN’S LECTURE IN BRIDGEPORT--MY OWN EFFORTS IN THE -TEMPERANCE CAUSE--LECTURING THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY--NEWSPAPER -ARTICLES--THE STORY OF VINELAND, IN NEW JERSEY,......676 - -CHAP. XLIII.--THE NEW MUSEUM. - -A GIGANTIC AMUSEMENT COMPANY--IMMENSE ADDITIONS TO THE NEW -COLLECTION--CURIOSITIES FROM EVERYWHERE--THE GORDON CUMMINGS’ COLLECTION -FROM AFRICA--THE GORILLA--WHAT THE PAPERS SAID ABOUT THE MONSTER--MY -PRIVATE VIEW OF THE ANIMAL--AMUSING INTERVIEW WITH PAUL DU CHAILLU--A -SUPERB MENAGERIE--THE NEW THEATRE--PROJECT FOR A FREE NATIONAL -INSTITUTION--MESSRS. E. D. MORGAN, WILLIAM C. BRYANT, HORACE GREELEY AND -OTHERS FAVOR MY PLAN--PRESIDENT JOHNSON INDORSES IT--DESTRUCTION OF MY -SECOND MUSEUM BY FIRE--THE ICE-CLAD RUINS--A SAD, YET SPLENDID -SPECTACLE--OUT OF THE BUSINESS--FOOT RACES AT THE WHITE MOUNTAINS--HOW I -WAS NOT BEATEN--OPENING OF WOOD’S MUSEUM IN NEW YORK--MY ONLY INTEREST -IN THE ENTERPRISE,......692 - -CHAP. XLIV.--CURIOUS COINCIDENCES.--NUMBER THIRTEEN. - -POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS--UNLUCKY FRIDAY--UNFORTUNATE SATURDAY--RAINY -SUNDAYS--TERRIBLE THIRTEEN--THE BRETTELLS OF LONDON--INCIDENTS OF MY -WESTERN TRIP--SINGULAR FATALITY--NUMBER THIRTEEN IN EVERY HOTEL--NO -ESCAPE FROM THE FRIGHTFUL FIGURE--ADVICE OF A CLERICAL FRIEND--THE -THIRTEEN COLONIES--THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OF CORINTHIANS--THIRTEEN AT MY -CHRISTMAS DINNER PARTY--THIRTEEN DOLLARS AT A FAIR--TWO DISASTROUS -DAYS--THE THIRTEENTH DAY IN TWO MONTHS--THIRTEEN PAGES OF -MANUSCRIPT,......708 - -CHAP. XLV.--A STORY CHAPTER. - -“EVERY MAN TO HIS VOCATION” AND “NATURE WILL ASSERT HERSELF”--REST BY -THE WAYSIDE--A HALF-SHAVED PARTY--CONSTERNATION OF A CLERGYMAN--NATIVES -IN NEW YORK--DOCTORING A CORN-DOCTOR--RELIGIOUS RAILWAYS--THE BRIGHTON -BUGLE BUSINESS--CASH AND CONSCIENCE--CASTLES IN THE AIR--A DELUDED -ANTIQUARIAN--GAMBLING AND POLITICS--IRISH WIT--ABOUT CONDUCTORS--DR. -CHAPIN AS A PUNSTER--FOWL ATTEMPTS--A PAIR O’ DUCKS--CUTTING A SICK -FRIEND--REV. RICHARD VARICK DEY--HIS CRIME AND ITS -CONSEQUENCES--FOREORDINATION--PRACTICAL JOKING BY MY FATHER--A VALUABLE -RACE-HORSE--HOW HE WAS LET AND THEN KILLED--AGONY OF THE -HORSE-KILLER--THE FINAL “SELL”--FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC -FRENCH--COCKNEYISM--WICKED WORDS IN EXETER HALL,......718 - -CHAP. XLVI.--SEA-SIDE PARK. - -INTEREST IN PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS--OLD PARK PROJECTS--OPPOSITION OF OLD -FOGIES--THE SOUND SHORE AT BRIDGEPORT--INACCESSIBLE PROPERTY--THE EYE OF -FAITH--TALKING TO THE FARMERS--REACHING THE PUBLIC THROUGH THE -PAPERS--HOW THE LAND WAS SECURED FOR A GREAT PLEASURE-GROUND--GIFTS TO -THE PEOPLE--OPENING OF SEA-SIDE PARK--THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GROUND BETWEEN -NEW YORK AND BOSTON--MAGNIFICENT DRIVES--THE ADVANTAGES OF THE -LOCATION--MUSIC FOR THE MILLION--BY THE SEA-SIDE--FUTURE OF THE PARK--A -PERPETUAL BLESSING TO POSTERITY,......758 - -CHAP. XLVII.--WALDEMERE. - -MY PRIVATE LIFE--PLANS FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT IN BRIDGEPORT--OPENING -AVENUES--PLANTING SHADE-TREES--OLD FOGIES--CONSERVATISM A CURSE TO -CITIES--BENEFITING BARNUM’s PROPERTY--SALE OF LINDENCROFT--LIVING IN A -FARM-HOUSE--BY THE SEA-SHORE--ANOTHER NEW HOME--WALDEMERE--HOW IT CAME -TO BE BUILT--MAGIC AND MONEY--WAVEWOOD AND THE PETREL’S NEST--MY -FARM--THE HOLLAND BLANKET CATTLE--MY CITY RESIDENCE--COMFORTS OF CITY -LIFE--BEGGING LETTERS--MY FAMILY--RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS--MY FIFTY-NINTH -BIRTHDAY--THE END OF THE RECORD,......768 - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -EARLY LIFE. - - MY BIRTH--FIRST PROPERTY--FARMER-BOY LIFE--GOING TO SCHOOL--EARLY - ACQUISITIVENESS--A HOLIDAY PEDDLER--FIRST VISIT TO NEW - YORK--LEARNING TO “SWAP”--MISERIES FROM MOLASSES CANDY--“IVY - ISLAND”--ENTERING UPON MY ESTATE--CLERKSHIP IN A COUNTRY - STORE--TRADING MORALS--THE BETHEL MEETING-HOUSE--STOVE - QUESTION--SUNDAY SCHOOL AND BIBLE CLASS--MY COMPOSITION--THE ONE - THING NEEDFUL. - - -I was born in the town of Bethel, in the State of Connecticut, July 5, -1810. My name, Phineas Taylor, is derived from my maternal grandfather, -who was a great wag in his way, and who, as I was his first grandchild, -gravely handed over to my mother at my christening a gift-deed, in my -behalf, of five acres of land situated in that part of the parish of -Bethel known as the “Plum Trees.” I was thus a real estate owner almost -at my very birth; and of my property, “Ivy Island,” something shall be -said anon. - -My father, Philo Barnum, was the son of Ephraim Barnum, of Bethel, who -was a captain in the revolutionary war. My father was a tailor, a -farmer, and sometimes a tavern-keeper, and my advantages and -disadvantages were such as fall to the general run of farmers’ boys. I -drove cows to and from the pasture, shelled corn, weeded the garden; as -I grew larger, I rode horse for ploughing, turned and raked hay; in due -time I handled the shovel and the hoe, and when I could do so I went to -school. - -I was six years old when I began to go to school, and the first date I -remember inscribing upon my writing-book was 1818. The ferule, in those -days, was the assistant school-master; but in spite of it, I was a -willing, and, I think, a pretty apt scholar; at least, I was so -considered by my teachers and schoolmates, and as the years went on -there were never more than two or three in the school who were deemed my -superiors. In arithmetic I was unusually ready and accurate, and I -remember, at the age of twelve years, being called out of bed one night -by my teacher who had wagered with a neighbor that I could calculate the -correct number of feet in a load of wood in five minutes. The dimensions -given, I figured out the result in less than two minutes, to the great -delight of my teacher and to the equal astonishment of his neighbor. - -My organ of “acquisitiveness” was manifest at an early age. Before I was -five years of age, I began to accumulate pennies and “four-pences,” and -when I was six years old my capital amounted to a sum sufficient to -exchange for a silver dollar, the possession of which made me feel far -richer and more independent than I have ever since felt in the world. - -Nor did my dollar long remain alone. As I grew older I earned ten cents -a day for riding the horse which led the ox team in ploughing, and on -holidays and “training days,” instead of spending money, I earned it. I -was a small peddler of molasses candy (of home make), ginger-bread, -cookies and cherry rum, and I generally found myself a dollar or two -richer at the end of a holiday than I was at the beginning. I was always -ready for a trade, and by the time I was twelve years old, besides other -property, I was the owner of a sheep and a calf, and should soon, no -doubt, have become a small Crœsus, had not my father kindly permitted -me to purchase my own clothing, which somewhat reduced my little store. - -When I was nearly twelve years old I made my first visit to the -metropolis. It happened in this wise: Late one afternoon in January, -1822, Mr. Daniel Brown, of Southbury, Connecticut, arrived at my -father’s tavern, in Bethel, with some fat cattle he was driving to New -York to sell. The cattle were put into our large barnyard, the horses -were stabled, and Mr. Brown and his assistant were provided with a warm -supper and lodging for the night. After supper I heard Mr. Brown say to -my father that he intended to buy more cattle, and that he would be glad -to hire a boy to assist in driving the cattle. I immediately besought my -father to secure the situation for me, and he did so. My mother’s -consent was also gained, and at daylight next morning, after a slight -breakfast, 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. But he considerately permitted me to ride behind -him on his horse; and, indeed, did so most of the way to New York, where -we arrived in three or four days. - -We put up at the Bull’s Head Tavern, where we were to stay a week while -the drover was disposing of his cattle, and we were then to return home -in a sleigh. 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. My first outlay was for oranges which I was told -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 -barkeeper, 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. - -I doubt not that in these first wanderings about the city I often passed -the corner of Broadway and Ann Street--never dreaming of the stir I was -destined at a future day to make in that locality as proprietor and -manager of the American Museum. - -After wandering, gazing and wondering, for a week, Mr. Brown took me in -his sleigh and on the evening of the following day we arrived in Bethel. -I had a thousand questions to answer, and then and for a long time -afterwards I was quite a lion among my mates because I had seen the -great metropolis. My brothers and sisters, however, were much -disappointed at my not bringing them something from my dollar, and when -my mother examined my wardrobe and found two pocket handkerchiefs and -one pair of stockings missing she whipped me and sent me to bed. Thus -ingloriously terminated my first visit to New York. - -Previous to my visit to New York, I think it was in 1820, when I was ten -years of age, I made my first expedition to my landed property, “Ivy -Island.” This, it will be remembered, was the gift of my grandfather, -from whom I derived my name. From the time when I was four years old I -was continually hearing of this “property.” My grandfather always spoke -of me (in my presence) to the neighbors and to strangers as the richest -child in town, since I owned the whole of “Ivy Island,” one of the most -valuable farms in the State. My father and mother frequently reminded me -of my wealth and hoped I would do something for the family when I -attained my majority. The neighbors professed to fear that I might -refuse to play with their children because I had inherited so large a -property. - -These constant allusions, for several years, to “Ivy Island” excited at -once my pride and my curiosity and stimulated me to implore my father’s -permission to visit my property. At last, he promised I should do so in -a few days, as we should be getting some hay near “Ivy Island.” The -wished for day at length 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 -misstep brought me up to my middle in water. 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, I need not say, my last visit to “Ivy Island.” -My father asked me “how I liked my property?” and I responded that I -would sell it pretty cheap. My grandfather congratulated me upon my -visit to my property as seriously as if it had been indeed a valuable -domain. My mother hoped its richness had fully equalled my -anticipations. The neighbors desired to know if I was not now glad I was -named Phineas, and for five years forward I was frequently reminded of -my wealth in “Ivy Island.” - -As I grew older, my settled aversion to manual labor, farm or other -kind, was manifest in various ways, which were set down to the general -score of laziness. In despair of doing better with me, my father -concluded to - -[Illustration: _MY PROPERTY AND MY TENANT._] - -make a merchant of me. He erected a building in Bethel, and with Mr. -Hiram Weed as a partner, purchased a stock of dry goods, hardware, -groceries, and general notions and installed me as clerk in this country -store. - -Of course I “felt my oats.” It was condescension on my part to talk with -boys who did out-door work. I stood behind the counter with a pen over -my ear, was polite to the ladies, and was wonderfully active in waiting -upon customers. We kept a cash, credit and barter store, and I drove -some 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, axe-helves, hats, and other commodities for -tenpenny nails, molasses, or New England rum. But it was a drawback upon -my dignity that I was obliged to take down the shutters, sweep the -store, and make the fire. I received a small salary for my services and -the perquisite of what profit I could derive from purchasing candies on -my own account to sell to our younger customers, and, as usual, my -father stipulated that I should clothe myself. - -There is a great deal to be learned in a country store, and principally -this--that sharp trades, tricks, dishonesty, and deception are by no -means confined to the city. More than once, in cutting open bundles of -rags, brought to be exchanged for goods, and warranted to be all linen -and cotton, I have discovered in the interior worthless woolen trash and -sometimes stones, gravel or ashes. Sometimes, too, when measuring loads -of oats, corn or rye, declared to contain a specified number of bushels, -say sixty, I have found them four or five bushels short. In such cases, -some one else was always to blame, but these happenings were frequent -enough to make us watchful of our customers. In the evenings and on wet -days trade was always dull, and at such times the story-telling and -joke-playing wits and wags of the village used to assemble in our store, -and from them I derived considerable amusement, if not profit. After the -store was closed at night, I frequently joined some of the village boys -at the houses of their parents, where, with story-telling and play, a -couple of hours would soon pass by, and then as late, perhaps, as eleven -o’clock, I went home and slyly crept up stairs so as not to awaken my -brother with whom I slept, and who would be sure to report my late -hours. He made every attempt, and laid all sorts of plans to catch me on -my return, but as sleep always overtook him, I managed easily to elude -his efforts. - -Like most people in Connecticut in those days, I was brought up to -attend church regularly on Sunday, and long before I could read I was a -prominent scholar in the Sunday school. My good mother taught me my -lessons in the New Testament and the Catechism, and my every effort was -directed to win one of those “Rewards of Merit,” which promised to pay -the bearer one mill, so that ten of these prizes amounted to one cent, -and one hundred of them, which might be won by faithful assiduity every -Sunday for two years, would buy a Sunday school book worth ten cents. -Such were the magnificent rewards held out to the religious ambition of -youth. - -There was but one church or “meeting-house” in Bethel, which all -attended, sinking all differences of creed in the Presbyterian faith. -The old meeting-house had neither steeple nor bell and was a plain -edifice, comfortable enough in summer, but my teeth chatter even now -when I think of the dreary, cold, freezing hours we passed in that place -in winter. A stove in a meeting-house in those days would have been a -sacrilegious innovation. The sermons were from an hour and one half to -two hours long, and through these the congregation would sit and shiver -till they really merited the title the profane gave them of “blue -skins.” Some of the women carried a “foot-stove” consisting of a small -square tin box in a wooden frame, the sides perforated, and in the -interior there 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. After the -benediction, an old deacon rose and requested the congregation to -remain, and called upon them to witness that he had from the first -raised his voice against the introduction of a stove into the house of -the Lord; but the majority had been against him and he had submitted; -now, if they _must_ have a stove, he insisted upon having a large one, -since the present one did not heat the whole house, but drove the cold -to the back outside pews, making them three times as cold as they were -before! In the course of the week, this deacon was made to comprehend -that, unless on unusually severe days, the stove was sufficient to warm -the house, and, at any rate, it did not drive all the cold in the house -into one corner. - -During the Rev. Mr. Lowe’s ministrations at Bethel, he formed a Bible -class, of which I was a member. We 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, I -remember, I 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?” My 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 engaged 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 fellow-man, 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 I had the satisfaction of hearing Mr. Lowe say -that it was a well written and truthful answer to the question, “What is -the one thing needful?” - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES. - - DEATH OF MY GRANDMOTHER--MY FATHER--HIS CHARACTER--HIS - DEATH--BEGINNING THE WORLD BAREFOOTED--GOING TO GRASSY PLAINS--THE - TIN WARE AND GREEN BOTTLE LOTTERY--“CHAIRY” HALLETT--OUR FIRST - MEETING--EVENING RIDE TO BETHEL--A NOVEL FUR TRADE--OLD “RUSHIA” - AND YOUNG “RUSHIA”--THE BUYER SOLD--COUNTRY STORE EXPERIENCES--OLD - “UNCLE BIBBINS”--A TERRIBLE DUEL BETWEEN BENTON AND BIBBINS--FALL - OF BENTON--FLIGHT OF BIBBINS. - - -In the month of August, 1825, my maternal grandmother met with an -accident in stepping on the point of a rusty nail, and, though the -matter was at first considered trivial, it resulted in her death. -Alarming symptoms soon made her sensible that she was on her death-bed; -and while she was in full possession of her faculties, the day before -she died she sent for her grandchildren to take final leave of them. I -shall never forget the sensations I experienced when she took me by the -hand and besought me to lead a religious life, and especially to -remember that I could in no way so effectually prove my love to God as -by loving all my fellow-beings. The impressions of that death-bed scene -have ever been among my most vivid recollections, and I trust they have -proved in some degree salutary. A more exemplary woman, or a more -sincere Christian than my grandmother, I have never known. - -My father, for his time and locality, was a man of much enterprise. He -could, and actually did, “keep a hotel”; he had a livery stable and ran, -in a small way, what in our day would be called a Norwalk Express; and -he also kept a country store. With greater opportunities and a larger -field for his efforts and energies, he might have been a man of mark and -means. Not that he was successful, for he never did a profitable -business; but I, who saw him in his various pursuits, and acted as his -clerk, caught something of his enterprising spirit, and, perhaps without -egotism, I may say I inherited that characteristic. My business -education was as good as the limited field afforded, and I soon put it -to account and service. - -On the 7th of September, 1825, my father, who had been sick since the -month of March, died at the age of forty-eight years. My mother was left -with five children, of whom I, at fifteen years of age, was the eldest, -while the youngest was but seven. It was soon apparent that my father -had provided nothing for the support of his family; his estate was -insolvent, and it did not pay fifty cents on the dollar. My mother, by -economy, industry, and perseverance, succeeded in a few years afterwards -in redeeming the homestead and becoming its sole possessor; but, at the -date of the death of my father, the world looked gloomy indeed; the few -dollars I had accumulated and loaned to my father, holding his note -therefor, were decided to be the property of a minor, belonging to the -father and so to the estate, and my small claim was ruled out. I was -obliged to get trusted for the pair of shoes I wore to my father’s -funeral. I literally began the world with nothing, and was barefooted at -that. - -Leaving Mr. Weed, I went to Grassy Plain, a mile northwest of Bethel, -and secured a situation as clerk in the store of James S. Keeler & Lewis -Whitlock at six dollars a month and my board. I lived with Mrs. Jerusha -Wheeler and her daughters, Jerusha and Mary, and found an excellent -home. I chose my uncle, Alanson Taylor, as my guardian. I did my best to -please my employers and soon gained their confidence and esteem and was -regarded by them as an active clerk and a ‘cute trader. They afforded me -many facilities for making money on my own account and I soon entered -upon sundry speculations and succeeded in getting a small sum of money -ahead. - -I made 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 considerably “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. - -As my mother continued to keep the village tavern at Bethel, I usually -went home on Saturday night and stayed till Monday morning, going to -church with my mother on Sunday. This habit was the occasion of an -experience of momentous consequence to me. One Saturday evening, during -a violent thunder shower, Miss Mary Wheeler, a milliner, sent me word -that there was a girl from Bethel at her house, who had come up on -horseback to get a new bonnet; that she was afraid to go back alone; and -if I was going to Bethel that evening she wished me to escort her -customer. I assented, and went over to “Aunt Rushia’s” where I was -introduced to “Chairy” (Charity) Hallett, a fair, rosy-cheeked, buxom -girl, with beautiful white teeth. I assisted her to her saddle, and -mounting my own horse, we trotted towards Bethel. - -My first impressions of this girl as I saw her at the house were -exceedingly favorable. As soon as we started I began a conversation with -her and finding her very affable I regretted that the distance to Bethel -was not five miles instead of one. A flash of lightning gave me a -distinct view of the face of my fair companion and then I wished the -distance was twenty miles. During our ride I learned that she was a -tailoress, working with Mr. Zerah Benedict, of Bethel. We soon arrived -at our destination and I bid her good night and went home. The next day -I saw her at church, and, indeed, many Sundays afterwards, but I had no -opportunity to renew the acquaintance that season. - -Mrs. Jerusha Wheeler, with whom I boarded, and her daughter Jerusha were -familiarly known, the one as “Aunt Rushia,” and the other as “Rushia.” -Many of our store customers were hatters, and among the many kinds of -furs we 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. I sold him -several kinds, including “beaver” and “cony,” and he then asked for -some “Russia.” We had none, and, as I wanted to play a joke upon him, I -told him that Mrs. Wheeler had several hundred pounds of “Russia.” - -“What on earth is a woman doing with ‘Russia?’” said he. - -I could not answer, but I 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 I 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, we will soon call -our brother, who is in the garden, and he 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 -Plains 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 about old and young -Rushia.” - -Mr. Dibble bolted through the door without another word and made -directly for our store. “You young scamp!” said he as he entered; “what -did you mean by sending me over there to buy Russia?” - -“I did not send you to _buy_ Rushia; I supposed you were either a -bachelor or widower and wanted to _marry_ Rushia,” I replied, with a -serious countenance. - -“You lie, you young dog, and you know it; but never mind, I’ll pay you -off some day”; and taking his furs, he departed with less ill-humor than -could have been expected under the circumstances. - -Among our customers were three or four old Revolutionary pensioners, who -traded out the amounts of their pensions before they were due, leaving -their papers as security. One of these pensioners was old Bevans, -commonly known as “Uncle Bibbins,” a man who loved his glass and was -very prone to relate romantic Revolutionary anecdotes and adventures, in -which he, of course, was conspicuous. At one time he was in our debt, -and though we held his pension papers, it would be three months before -the money could be drawn. It was desirable to get him away for that -length of time, and we hinted to him that it would be pleasant to make a -visit to Guilford, where he had relations, but he would not go. Finally, -I hit upon a plan which “moved” him. - -A journeyman hatter, named Benton, who was fond of a practical joke, was -let into the secret, and was persuaded to call “Uncle Bibbins” a coward, -to tell him that he had been wounded in the back, and thus to provoke a -duel, which he did, and at my suggestion “Uncle Bibbins” challenged -Benton to fight him with musket and ball at a distance of twenty yards. -The challenge was accepted, I was chosen second by “Uncle Bibbins,” and -the duel was to come off immediately. My principal, taking me aside, -begged me to put nothing in the guns but blank cartridges. I assured him -it should be so, and therefore that he might feel perfectly safe. This -gave the old man extra courage; he declared that he had not been so long -in bloody battles “for nothing,” and that he would put a bullet through -Benton’s heart at the first shot. - -The ground was measured in the lot at the rear of our store, and the -principals and seconds took their places. At the word given both parties -fired. “Uncle Bibbins,” of course, escaped unhurt, but Benton leaped -several feet into the air, and fell upon the ground with a dreadful -yell, as if he had been really shot. “Uncle Bibbins” was frightened. As -his second, I ran to him, told him I had neglected to extract the bullet -from his gun (which was literally true, as there was no bullet in it to -extract), and he supposed, of course, he had killed his adversary. I -then whispered to him to go immediately to Guilford, to keep quiet, and -he should hear from me as soon as it would be safe to do so. He started -up the street on a run, and immediately quit the town for Guilford, -where he kept himself quiet until it was time for him to return and sign -his papers. I then wrote him that “he could return in safety; that his -adversary had recovered from his wound, and now forgave him all, as he -felt himself much to blame for having insulted a man of his known -courage.” - -“Uncle Bibbins” returned, signed the papers, and we obtained the pension -money. A few days thereafter he met Benton. - -“My brave old friend,” said Benton, “I forgive you my terrible wound and -long confinement on the brink of the grave, and I beg you to forgive me -also. I insulted you without a cause.” - -“I forgive you freely,” said “Uncle Bibbins”; “but,” he added, “you must -be careful next time how you insult a dead shot.” - -Benton promised to be more circumspect in future, and “Uncle Bibbins” -supposed to the day of his death that the duel, wound, danger, and all, -were matters of fact. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -IN BUSINESS FOR MYSELF. - - MY CLERKSHIP IN BROOKLYN--UNEASINESS AND DISSATISFACTION--THE SMALL - POX--GOING HOME TO RECRUIT--“CHAIRY” HALLETT AGAIN--BACK TO - BROOKLYN--OPENING A PORTER-HOUSE--SELLING OUT--MY CLERKSHIP IN NEW - YORK--MY HABITS--OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY--IN BETHEL ONCE - MORE--BEGINNING BUSINESS ON MY OWN ACCOUNT--OPENING DAY--LARGE - SALES AND GREAT PROFITS--THE LOTTERY BUSINESS--VIEWS THEREON--ABOUT - A POCKET-BOOK--WITS AND WAGS--SWEARING OUT A FINE--FIRST APPEARANCE - AT THE BAR--SECURING “ARABIAN”--A MODEL LOVE-LETTER. - - -Mr. Oliver Taylor removed from Danbury to Brooklyn, Long Island, where -he kept a grocery store and also had a large comb factory and a comb -store in New York. In the fall of 1826 he offered me a situation as -clerk in his Brooklyn store, and I accepted it. I soon became conversant -with the routine of my employer’s business and before long he entrusted -to me the purchasing of all goods for his store. I bought for cash -entirely, going into the lower part of New York City in search of the -cheapest market for groceries, often attending auctions of teas, sugars, -molasses, etc., watching the sales, noting prices and buyers, and -frequently combining with other grocers to bid off large lots, which we -subsequently divided, giving each of us the quantity wanted at a lower -rate than if the goods had passed into other hands, compelling us to pay -another profit. - -Situated as I was, and well treated as I was by my employer, who -manifested great interest in me, still I was dissatisfied. A salary was -not sufficient for me. My disposition was of that speculative character -which refused to be satisfied unless I was engaged in some business -where my profits might be enhanced, or, at least, made to depend upon my -energy, perseverance, attention to business, tact, and “calculation.” -Accordingly, as I had no opportunity to speculate on my own account, I -became uneasy, and, young as I was, I began to talk of setting up for -myself; for, although I had no capital, several men of means had offered -to furnish the money and join me in business. I was in that uneasy, -transitory state between boyhood and manhood when I had unbounded -confidence in my own abilities, and yet needed a discreet counsellor, -adviser and friend. - -In the following summer, 1827, I was taken down with the small-pox and -was confined to the house for several months. This sickness made a sad -inroad upon my means. When I was sufficiently recovered, I started for -home to recruit, taking passage on board a sloop for Norwalk, but the -remaining passengers were so frightened at the appearance of my face, -which still bore the marks of the disease, that I was obliged to go -ashore again, which I did, stopping at Holt’s, in Fulton Street, going -to Norwalk by steamboat next morning, and arriving at Bethel in the -afternoon. - -During my convalescence at my mother’s house, I visited my old friends -and neighbors and had the opportunity to slightly renew my acquaintance -with the attractive tailoress, “Chairy” Hallett. A month afterwards, I -returned to Brooklyn, where I gave Mr. Taylor notice of my desire to -leave his employment; and I then opened a porter-house on my own -account. In a few months I sold out to good advantage and accepted a -favorable offer to engage as clerk in a similar establishment, kept by -Mr. David Thorp, 29 Peck Slip, New York. It was a great resort for -Danbury and Bethel comb makers and hatters and I thus had frequent -opportunities of seeing and hearing from my fellow-townsmen. I lived in -Mr. Thorp’s family and was kindly treated. I was often permitted to -visit the theatre with friends who came to New York, and, as I had -considerable taste for the drama, I soon became, in my own opinion, a -discriminating critic--nor did I fail to exhibit my powers to my -Connecticut friends who accompanied me to the play. Let me gratefully -add that my habits were not bad. Though I sold liquors to others, I do -not think I ever drank a pint of liquor, wine, or cordials before I was -twenty-two years of age. I always had a Bible, which I frequently read, -and I attended church regularly. These habits, so far as they go, are in -the right direction, and I am thankful to-day that they characterized my -early youth. However worthy or unworthy may have been my later years, I -_know_ that I owe much of the better part of my nature to my youthful -regard for Sunday and its institutions--a regard, I trust, still strong -in my character. - -In February, 1828, I returned to Bethel and opened a retail fruit and -confectionery store in a part of my grandfather’s carriage-house, which -was situated on the main street, and which was offered to me rent free -if I would return to my native village and establish some sort of -business. This beginning of business on my own account was an eventful -era in my life. My total capital was one hundred and twenty dollars, -fifty of which I had expended in fitting up the store, and the remaining -seventy dollars purchased my stock in trade. I had arranged with fruit -dealers whom I knew in New York, to receive my orders, and I decided to -open my establishment on the first Monday in May--our “general -training” day. - -It was a “red letter” day for me. The village was crowded with people -from the surrounding region and the novelty of my little shop attracted -attention. Long before noon I was obliged to call in one of my old -schoolmates to assist in waiting upon my numerous customers and when I -closed at night I had the satisfaction of reckoning up sixty-three -dollars as my day’s receipts. Nor, although I had received the entire -cost of my goods, less seven dollars, did the stock seem seriously -diminished; showing that my profits had been large. I need not say how -much gratified I was with the result of this first day’s experiment. The -store was a fixed fact. I went to New York and expended all my money in -a stock of fancy goods, such as pocket-books, combs, beads, rings, -pocket-knives, and a few toys. These, with fruit, nuts, etc., made the -business good through the summer, and in the fall I added stewed oysters -to the inducements. - -My grandfather, who was much interested in my success, advised me to -take an agency for the sale of lottery tickets, on commission. In those -days, the lottery was not deemed objectionable on the score of morality. -Very worthy people invested in such schemes without a thought of evil, -and then, as now, churches even got up lotteries, with this -difference--that then they were called lotteries, and now they go under -some other name. While I am very glad that an improved public sentiment -denounces the lottery in general as an illegitimate means of getting -money, and while I do not see how any one, especially in or near a New -England State, can engage in a lottery without feeling a reproach which -no pecuniary return can compensate; yet I cannot now accuse myself for -having been lured into a business which was then sanctioned by good -Christian people, who now join with me in reprobating enterprises they -once encouraged. But as public sentiment was forty years ago, I obtained -an agency to sell lottery tickets on a commission of ten per cent, and -this business, in connection with my little store, made my profits quite -satisfactory. - -I used to have some curious customers. On one occasion a young man -called on me and selected a pocket-book which pleased him, asking me to -give him credit for a few weeks. I told him that if he wanted any -article of necessity in my line, I should not object to trust him for a -short time, but it struck me that a pocket-book was a decided -superfluity for a man who had no money; I therefore declined to trust -him as I did not see the necessity for his possessing such an article -till he had something to put into it. Later in life I have been credited -with the utterance of some sagacious remarks, but this with regard to -the pocket-book, trivial as the matter is in itself, seems to me quite -as deserving of note as any of my ideas which have created more -sensation. - -My store had much to do in giving shape to my future character as well -as career, in that it became a favorite resort; the theatre of village -talk, and the scene of many practical jokes. For any excess of the -jocose element in my character, part of the blame must attach to my -early surroundings as a village clerk and merchant. In that true resort -of village wits and wags, the country store, fun, pure and simple, will -be sure to find the surface. My Bethel store was the scene of many most -amusing incidents, in some of which I was an immediate participant, -though in many, of course, I was only a listener or spectator. - -The following scene 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 a man of property, and 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--d -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. - -On another occasion, a man arrested for assault and battery was to be -tried before my grandfather; who was a justice of the peace. A young -medical student named Newton, volunteered to defend the prisoner, and -Mr. Couch, the grand-juryman, came to me and said that as the prisoner -had engaged a pettifogger, the State ought to have some one to represent -its interests and he would give me a dollar to present the case. I -accepted the fee and proposition. The fame of the “eminent counsel” on -both sides drew quite a crowd to hear the case. As for the case itself, -it was useless to argue it, for the guilt of the prisoner was -established by evidence of half a dozen witnesses. However, Newton was -bound to display himself, and so, rising with much dignity, he addressed -my grandfather with, “May it please the honorable court,” etc., -proceeding with a mixture of poetry and invective against Couch, the -grand-juryman whom he assumed to be the vindictive plaintiff in this -case. After alluding to him as such for the twentieth time, my -grandfather stopped Newton in the midst of his splendid peroration and -informed him that Mr. Couch was not the plaintiff in the case. - -“Not the plaintiff! Then may it please your honor I should like to know -who is the plaintiff?” inquired Newton. - -He was quietly informed that the State of Connecticut was the plaintiff, -whereupon Newton dropped into his seat as if he had been shot. -Thereupon, I rose with great confidence, and speaking from my notes, -proceeded to show the guilt of the prisoner from the evidence; that -there was no discrepancy in the testimony; that none of the witnesses -had been impeached; that no defence had been offered; that I was -astonished at the audacity of both counsel and prisoner in not pleading -guilty at once; and then, soaring aloft on general principles, I began -to look about for a safe place to alight, when my grandfather -interrupted me with-- - -“Young man, will you have the kindness to inform the court which side -you are pleading for--the plaintiff or the defendant?” - -It was my turn to drop, which I did amid a shout of laughter from every -corner of the court-room. Newton, who had been very downcast, looked up -with a broad grin and the two “eminent counsel” sneaked out of the room -in company, while the prisoner was bound over to the next County Court -for trial. - -While my business in Bethel continued to increase beyond my -expectations, I was also happy in believing that my suit with the fair -tailoress, Charity Hallett, was duly progressing. Of all the young -people with whom I associated in our parties, picnics, and sleigh-rides, -she stood highest in my estimation and continued to improve upon -acquaintance. - -How I managed at one of our sleigh rides is worth narrating. My -grandfather would, at any time, let me have a horse and sleigh, always -excepting his new sleigh, the finest in the village, and a favorite -horse called “Arabian.” I especially coveted this turnout for one of our -parties, knowing that I could eclipse all my comrades, and so I asked -grandfather if I could have “Arabian” and the new sleigh. - -“Yes, if you have twenty dollars in your pocket,” was the reply. - -I immediately showed the money, and, putting it back in my pocket, said -with a laugh: “you see I have the money. I am much obliged to you; I -suppose I can have ‘Arab’ and the new sleigh?” - -Of course, he meant to deny me by making what he thought to be an -impossible condition, to wit: that I should hire the team, at a good -round price, if I had it at all, but I had caught him so suddenly that -he was compelled to consent, and “Chairy” and I had the crack team of -the party. - -There was a young apprentice to the tailoring trade in Bethel, whom I -will call John Mallett, whose education had been much neglected, and who -had been paying his addresses to a certain “Lucretia” for some six -months, with a strong probability of being jilted at last. On a Sunday -evening she had declined to take his arm, accepting instead the arm of -the next man who offered, and Mallett determined to demand an -explanation. He accordingly came to me the Saturday evening following, -asking me, when I had closed my store, to write a strong and -remonstratory “love-letter” for him. I asked Bill Shepard, who was -present, to remain and assist, and, in due time, the joint efforts of -Shepard, Mallett, and myself resulted in the following production. I -give the letter as an illustrative chapter in real life. In novels such -correspondence is usually presented in elaborate rhetoric, with studied -elegance of phrase. But the true language of the heart is always nearly -the same in all time and in all tongues, and when the blood is up the -writer is far more intent upon the matter than the manner, and aims to -be forcible rather than elegant. The subjoined letter is certainly not -after the manner of Chesterfield, but it is such a letter as a -disappointed lover, spurred by - - The green-eyed monster, which doth mock - The meat it feeds on, - -frequently indites. With a demand from Mallett that we should begin in -strong terms, and Shepard acting as scribe, we concocted 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. Shepard 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 Plains, Wildcat, 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[A]--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 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. Shepard - 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:] - - 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. - - [A] These were the euphonious names of localities in the vicinity of - Bethel. - - [“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 for ever, 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 for ever 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, I regret to say, was not as -favorable as could have been desired or expected. 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 Shepard and myself five pounds of carpet rags and twelve yards of -broadcloth “lists,” for our services, owing to his ill success, we -compromised for one-half the amount. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -STRUGGLES FOR A LIVELIHOOD. - - PLEASURE VISIT TO PHILADELPHIA--LIVING IN GRAND STYLE--THE BOTTOM - OF THE PILE--BORROWING MONEY--MY MARRIAGE--RETURN TO BETHEL--EARLY - MARRIAGES--MORE PRACTICAL JOKING--SECOND APPEARANCE AS - COUNSEL--GOING TO HOUSEKEEPING--SELLING BOOKS AT AUCTION--THE - “YELLOW STORE”--A NEW FIELD--“THE HERALD OF FREEDOM”--MY EDITORIAL - CAREER--LIBEL SUITS--FINED AND IMPRISONED--LIFE IN THE DANBURY - JAIL--CELEBRATION OF MY LIBERATION--POOR BUSINESS AND BAD - DEBTS--REMOVAL TO NEW YORK--SEEKING MY FORTUNE--“WANTS’, IN THE - “SUN”--WM. NIBLO--KEEPING A BOARDING-HOUSE--A WHOLE SHIRT ON MY - BACK. - - -During this season I made arrangements with Mr. Samuel Sherwood, of -Bridgeport, to go on an exploring expedition to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, -where we understood there was a fine opening for a lottery office and -where we meant to try our fortunes, provided the prospects should equal -our expectations. We went to New York where I had an interview with Mr. -Dudley S. Gregory, the principal business man of Messrs. Yates and -McIntyre, who dissuaded me from going to Pittsburg, and offered me the -entire lottery agency for the State of Tennessee, if I would go to -Nashville and open an office. The offer was tempting, but the distance -was too far from a certain tailoress in Bethel. - -As the Pittsburg trip was given up, Sherwood and I went to Philadelphia -for a pleasure excursion and put up at Congress Hall in Chestnut Street -where we lived in much grander style than we had been accustomed to. The -array of waiters and display of dishes were far ahead of our former -experiences and for a week we lived in clover. At the end of that time, -however, when we concluded to start for home, the amount of our hotel -bill astounded us. After paying it and securing tickets for New York, -our combined purses showed a balance of but twenty-seven cents. - -Twenty-five cents of this sum went to the boot-black, and as our -breakfast was included in our bill we secured from the table a few -biscuits for our dinner on the way to New York. - -Arriving in New York we carried our own baggage to Holt’s Hotel. The -next morning Sherwood obtained a couple of dollars from a friend, and -went to Newark and borrowed fifty dollars from his cousin, Dr. Sherwood, -loaning me one-half the sum. After a few days’ sojourn in the city we -returned home. - -During our stay in New York, I derived considerable information from the -city managers with regard to the lottery business, and thereafter I -bought my tickets directly from the Connecticut lottery managers at what -was termed “the scheme price,” and also established agencies throughout -the country, selling considerable quantities of tickets at handsome -profits. My uncle, Alanson Taylor, joined me in the business, and, as we -sold several prizes, my office came to be considered “lucky,” and I -received orders from all parts of the country. - -During this time I kept a close eye upon the attractive tailoress, -Charity Hallett, and in the summer of 1829 I asked her hand in marriage. -My suit was accepted, and the wedding day was appointed; I, meanwhile, -applying myself closely to business, and no one but the parties -immediately interested suspecting that the event was so near at hand. -Miss Hallett went to New York in October, ostensibly to visit her uncle, -Nathan Beers, who resided at No. 3 Allen Street. I followed in November, -pressed by the necessity of purchasing goods for my store; and the -evening after my arrival, November 8, 1829, the Rev. Dr. McAuley married -us in the presence of sundry friends and relatives of my wife, and I -became the husband of one of the best women in the world. In the course -of the week we went back to Bethel and took board in the family where -Charity Barnum as “Chairy” Hallett had previously resided. - -I do not approve or recommend early marriages. The minds of men and -women taking so important a step in life should be somewhat matured, and -hasty marriages, especially marriages of boys and girls, have been the -cause of untold misery in many instances. But although I was only little -more than nineteen years old when I was married, I have always felt -assured that if I had waited twenty years longer I could not have found -another woman so well suited to my disposition and so admirable and -valuable in every character as a wife, a mother, and a friend. - -My business occupations amply employed nearly all my time, yet so strong -was my love of fun that when the opportunity for a practical joke -presented itself, I could not resist the temptation. On one occasion I -engaged in the character of counsel to conduct a case for an Irish -peddler whose complaint was that one of our neighbors had turned him out -of his house and had otherwise abused him. - -The court was just as “real” as the attorney,--no more,--and consisted -of three judges, one a mason, the second a butcher, and the third an -old gentleman of leisure who was an ex-justice of the peace. The -constable was of my own appointment, and my “writ” arrested the culprit -who had turned my client out of house and home. The court was convened, -but as the culprit did not appear, and as it seemed necessary that my -client should get testimonials as to his personal character; the court -adjourned nominally for one week, the client consenting to “stand treat” -to cover immediate expenses. - -I supposed that this was the end of it. But at the time named for the -re-assembling of the “court,” a _real_ lawyer from Newtown put in an -appearance. He had been engaged by the Irishman to assist me in -conducting the case! I saw at once that the joke was likely to prove a -sorry one, and immediately notified the members of the “court,” who were -quite as much alarmed as I was at the serious turn the thing had taken. -I need not say that while the danger threatened we all took precious -good care to keep out of the way. However, the affair was explained to -Mr. Belden, the lawyer, who in turn set forth the matter to the client, -but not in such a manner as to soothe the anger so natural under the -circumstances--in fact, he advised the Irishman to get out of the place -as soon as possible. The Irishman threatened me and my “court” with -prosecution--a threat I really feared he would carry into execution, but -which, to the great peace of mind of myself and my companions, he -concluded not to follow up. Considering the vexation and annoyance of -this Irishman, it was a mitigation to know that he was the party in the -wrong and that he really deserved a severer punishment than my practical -joke had put upon him. - -In the winter of 1829-30, my lottery business had so extended that I had -branch offices in Danbury, Norwalk, Stamford and Middletown, as well as -agencies in the small villages for thirty miles around Bethel. I had -also purchased from my grandfather three acres of land on which I built -a house and went to housekeeping. My lottery business, which was with a -few large customers, was so arranged that I could safely entrust it to -an agent, making it necessary for me to find some other field for my -individual enterprise. - -So I tried my hand as an auctioneer in the book trade. I bought books at -the auctions and from dealers and publishers in New York, and took them -into the country, selling them at auction and doing tolerably well; only -at Litchfield, Connecticut, where there was then a law school. At -Newburgh, New York, several of my best books were stolen, and I quit the -business in disgust. - -In July, 1831, my uncle, Alanson Taylor, and myself opened a country -store, in a building, which I had put up in Bethel in the previous -spring, and we stocked the “yellow store,” as it was called, with a full -assortment of groceries, hardware, crockery, and “notions”; but we were -not successful in the enterprise, and in October following, I bought out -my uncle’s interest and we dissolved partnership. - -About this time, circumstances partly religious and partly political in -their character led me into still another field of enterprise which -honorably opened to me that notoriety of which in later life I surely -have had a surfeit. Considering my youth, this new enterprise reflected -credit upon my ability, as well as energy, and so I may be excused if I -now recur to it with something like pride. - -In a period of strong political excitement, I wrote several -communications for the Danbury weekly paper, setting forth what I -conceived to be the dangers of a sectarian interference which was then -apparent in political affairs. The publication of these communications -was refused and I accordingly purchased a press and types, and October -19, 1831, I issued the first number of my own paper, _The Herald of -Freedom_. - -I entered upon the editorship of this journal with all the vigor and -vehemence of youth. The boldness with which the paper was conducted soon -excited wide-spread 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 and need not be mentioned -further. 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 the 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 - -[Illustration: _MY DELIVERY FROM IMPRISONMENT_] - -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 occurred to mar the festivities of the occasion.” - -My editorial career was one of continual contest. I however published -the 160th number of _The Herald of Freedom_ in Danbury, November 5, -1834, after which my brother-in-law, John W. Amerman, issued the paper -for me at Norwalk till the following year, when the _Herald_ was sold to -Mr. George Taylor. - -Meanwhile, I had taken Horace Fairchild into partnership in my -mercantile business, in 1831, and I had sold out to him and to a Mr. -Toucey, in 1833, they forming a partnership under the firm of Fairchild -& Co. So far as I was concerned my store was not a success. Ordinary -trade was too slow for me. I bought largely and in order to sell I was -compelled to give extensive credits. Hence I had an accumulation of bad -debts; and my old ledger presents a long series of accounts balanced by -“death,” by “running away,” by “failing,” and by other similarly -remunerative returns. I had expended money as freely as I had gained it, -for I had already learned that I could make money rapidly and in large -sums, when I set about it with a will, and hence I did not realize the -worth of what I seemed to gain so readily. I looked forward to a future -of saving when I should see the need of accumulation. - -There was nothing more for me to do in Bethel; and in the winter of -1834-5, I removed my family to New York, where I hired a house in Hudson -Street. I had no pecuniary resources, excepting such as might be derived -from debts left for collection with my agent at Bethel, and I went to -the metropolis literally to seek my fortune. I hoped to secure a -situation in some mercantile house, not at a fixed salary, but so as to -derive such portion of the profits as might be due to my individual -tact, energy, and perseverance in the interests of the business. But I -could find no such position; my resources began to fail; my family were -in ill health; I must do something for a living; and so I acted as -“drummer” to several concerns which allowed me a small commission on -sales to customers of my introduction. - -Every morning I used to look at the “wants” in the _Sun_ for something -that would suit me; and I had many a wildgoose chase in following up -those “wants.” In some instances success depended upon my advancing from -three hundred to five hundred dollars; in other cases a new patent -life-pill, or a self-acting mouse trap was to make my fortune. An -advertisement announcing “An immense speculation on a small capital! -$10,000 easily made in one year!” turned out to be an offer of Professor -Somebody at Scudder’s American Museum to sell a hydro-oxygen microscope, -offered to me at two thousand dollars--one thousand in cash and the -balance in sixty and ninety days, on good security,--and warranted to -secure an independence after a short public exhibition through the -country. If I had the desire to undertake this exhibition and -experiment, I had not the capital. Other and many similar temptations -were extended, but none of them seemed to open the door of fortune to -me. - -The advertisement in the _Sun_, of Mr. William Niblo, of Niblo’s Garden, -for a barkeeper first brought me in contact with that gentlemanly and -justly-popular proprietor. He wanted a well-recommended, well-behaved, -trustworthy man to fill a vacant situation, but as he wished him to bind -himself to remain three years, I, who was only seeking the means of -temporary support, was precluded from accepting the position. - -Nor did all my efforts secure a situation for me during the whole -winter; but, in the spring, I received several hundred dollars from my -agent in Bethel, and finding no better business, May 1, 1835, I opened a -small private boarding-house at No. 52 Frankfort Street. We soon had a -very good run of custom from our Connecticut acquaintances who had -occasion to visit New York, and as this business did not sufficiently -occupy my time, I bought an interest with Mr. John Moody in a grocery -store, No. 156 South Street. - -Although the years of manhood brought cares, anxieties, and struggles -for a livelihood, they did not change my nature and the jocose element -was still an essential ingredient of my being. I loved fun, practical -fun, for itself and for the enjoyment which it brought. During the year, -I occasionally visited Bridgeport where I 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 me, 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 hain’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 I had -anticipated the proposition--in fact I had induced a friend, Mr. Hough, -to put Darrow up to the trick,--and had folded a shirt nicely upon my -back, securing it there with my suspenders. The bar-room was crowded -with customers who thought that if I made the bet I should be nicely -caught, and I made pretence 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 hain’t got a whole shirt -on your b-b-b-back!” - -“I’ll bet my shirt is cleaner than yours,” I 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,” I 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,” I 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.” - -I put five dollars in Captain Hinman’s hands, and told him to treat the -company from it if I lost the bet. - -“Remember,” said Darrow, “I b-b-bet you hain’t got a whole shirt on your -b-b-back!” - -“All right,” said I, taking off my coat and commencing to unbutton my -vest. The whole company, feeling sure that I was caught, began to laugh -heartily. Old Darrow fairly danced with delight, and as I laid my coat -on a chair he came running up in front of me, and slapping his hands -together, exclaimed: - -“You needn’t t-t-take off any more c-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!” I replied, pulling the whole shirt from -off my back! - -Such a shriek of laughter as burst forth from the crowd I 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 n-n-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. - -MY START AS A SHOWMAN. - - THE AMUSEMENT BUSINESS--DIFFERENT GRADES--CATERING FOR THE - PUBLIC--MY CLAIMS, AIMS AND EFFORTS--JOICE HETH--APPARENT - GENUINENESS OF HER VOUCHERS--BEGINNING LIFE AS A SHOWMAN--SUCCESS - OF MY FIRST EXHIBITION--SECOND STEP IN THE SHOW LINE--SIGNOR - VIVALLA--MY FIRST APPEARANCE ON ANY STAGE--AT WASHINGTON--ANNE - ROYALL--STIMULATING THE PUBLIC--CONTESTS BETWEEN VIVALLA AND - ROBERTS--EXCITEMENT AT FEVER HEAT--CONNECTING MYSELF WITH A - CIRCUS--BREAD AND BUTTER DINNER FOR THE WHOLE COMPANY--NARROW - ESCAPE FROM SUFFOCATION--LECTURING AN ABUSIVE CLERGYMAN--AARON - TURNER--A TERRIBLE PRACTICAL JOKE--I AM REPRESENTED TO BE A - MURDERER--RAILS AND LYNCH LAW--NOVEL MEANS FOR SECURING NOTORIETY. - - -By this time it was clear to my mind that my proper position in this -busy world was not yet reached. I had displayed the faculty of getting -money, as well as getting rid of it; but the business for which I was -destined, and, I believe, made, had not yet come to me; or rather, I had -not found that I was to cater for that insatiate want of human -nature--the love of amusement; that I was to make a sensation on two -continents; and that fame and fortune awaited me so soon as I should -appear before the public in the character of a showman. These things I -had not foreseen. I did not seek the position or the character. The -business finally came in my way; I fell into the occupation, and far -beyond any of my predecessors on this continent, I have succeeded. - -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 -world-wide fame which princes well might envy. Such art is merchantable, -and so with the whole range of amusements, from the highest to the -lowest. The old word “trade” as it applies to buying cheap and selling -at a profit, is as manifest here as it is in the dealings at a -street-comer stand or in Stewart’s store covering a whole square. This -is a trading world, and 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. - -Whether I may claim a pre-eminence of grandeur in my career as a -dispenser of entertainment for mankind, I may not say. I have sometimes -been weak enough to think so, but let others judge; and whether I may -assume that on the whole, I have sought to make amusement harmless, and -have succeeded to a very great degree, in eliminating from public -entertainments certain corruptions which have made so many theatrical -“sensations” positively shameful, may safely be left, I think, to the -thousands upon thousands who have known me and the character of my -amusement so long and so well. - -But I shall by no means claim entire faultlessness in my history as a -showman. I confess that I have not always been strong enough to rise out -of the exceptional ways which characterize the art of amusing--not more, -however, than any other art of trade. When, in beginning business under -my own name in Bethel, in 1831, I advertised that I would sell goods “25 -per cent cheaper” than any of my neighbors, I was guilty of a trick of -trade, but so common a trick, that very few who saw my promise were -struck with a sense of any particular enormity therein, while, -doubtless, a good many, who claim to be specially exemplary, thought -they were reading one of their own advertisements. And in the show -business I was never guilty of a greater sin than this against -truthfulness and fair dealing. - -The least deserving of all my efforts in the show line was the one which -introduced me to the business; a scheme in no sense of my own devising; -one which had been sometime before the public and which had so many -vouchers for its genuineness that at the time of taking possession of it -I honestly believed it to be genuine; something, too, which, as I have -said, I did not seek, but which by accident came in my way and seemed -almost to compel my agency--such was the “Joice Heth” exhibition which -first brought me forward as a showman. - -In the summer of 1835, Mr. Coley Bartram, of Reading, Connecticut, -informed me that he had owned an interest in a remarkable negro woman -whom he believed to be one hundred and sixty-one years old, and whom he -also believed to have been the nurse of General Washington. He then -showed me a copy of the following advertisement in the _Pennsylvania -Inquirer_, of July 15, 1835: - - 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: JOYCE 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 further stated that he had sold out his interest to his -partner, R. W. Lindsay, of Jefferson County, Kentucky, who was then -exhibiting Joice Heth in Philadelphia, but was anxious to sell out and -go home--the alleged reason being that he had very little tact as a -showman. As the New York papers had also contained some account of Joice -Heth, I went on to Philadelphia to see Mr. Lindsay and his exhibition. - -Joice Heth 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 woman, 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 as she had long been a nurse in the Washington family she was -called in at the birth of George and clothed the new-born 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 so straightforward that I was anxious to become -proprietor of this novel exhibition, which was offered to me at one -thousand dollars, though the price first demanded was three thousand. I -had five hundred dollars, borrowed five hundred dollars more, sold out -my interest in the grocery business to my partner, and began life as a -showman. At the outset of my career I saw that everything depended upon -getting people to think, and talk, and become curious and excited over -and about the “rare spectacle.” Accordingly, posters, transparencies, -advertisements, newspaper paragraphs--all calculated to extort -attention--were employed, regardless of expense. My exhibition rooms in -New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Albany and in other large and small -cities, were continually thronged and much money was made. In the -following February, Joice Heth died, literally of old age, and her -remains received a respectable burial in the town of Bethel. - -At a post-mortem examination of Joice Heth by Dr. David L. Rogers, in -the presence of some medical students, it was thought that the absence -of ossification indicated considerably less age than had been assumed -for her; but the doctors disagreed, and this “dark subject” will -probably always continue to be shrouded in mystery. - -I had at last found my true vocation. Indeed, soon after I began to -exhibit Joice Heth, I had entrusted her to an agent and had entered upon -my second step in the show line. The next venture, whatever it may have -been in other respects, had the merit of being, in every essential, -unmistakably genuine. I engaged from the Albany Museum an Italian who -called himself “Signor Antonio” and who performed certain remarkable -feats of balancing, stilt-walking, plate-spinning, etc. He had gone from -England to Canada, and thence to Albany, and had performed in other -American cities. I made terms with him for one year to exhibit anywhere -in the United States at twelve dollars a week and expenses, and induced -him to change his stage name to “Signor Vivalla.” I then wrote a notice -of his wonderful qualities and performances, printed it in one of the -Albany papers as news, sent copies to the theatrical managers in New -York and in other cities, and went with Vivalla to the metropolis. - -Manager William Dinneford, of the Franklin Theatre, had seen so many -performances of the kind that he declined to engage my “eminent Italian -artist”; but I persuaded him to try Vivalla one night for nothing and by -the potent aid of printer’s ink the house was crammed. I appeared as a -supernumerary to assist Vivalla in arranging his plates and other -“properties”; and to hand him his gun to fire while he was hopping on -one stilt ten feet high. This was “my first appearance on any stage.” -The applause which followed Vivalla’s feats was tremendous, and Manager -Dinneford was so delighted that he engaged him for the remainder of the -week at fifty dollars. At the close of the performance, in response to a -call from the house, I made a speech for Vivalla, thanking the audience -for their appreciation and announcing a repetition of the exhibition -every evening during the week. - -Vivalla remained a second week at the Franklin Theatre, for which I -received $150. I realized the same sum for a week in Boston. We then -went to Washington to fulfil an engagement which was far from -successful, since my remuneration depended upon the receipts, and it -snowed continually during the week. I was a loser to such an extent that -I had not funds enough to return to Philadelphia. I pawned my watch and -chain for thirty-five dollars, when fortunately Manager Wemyss arrived -on Saturday morning and loaned me the money to redeem my property. - -As this was my first visit to Washington I was much interested 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. - -I went with Vivalla to Philadelphia and opened at the Walnut Street -Theatre. Though his performances were very meritorious and were well -received, theatricals were dull and houses were slim. It was evident -that something must be done to stimulate the public. - -And now that instinct--I think it must be--which can arouse a community -and make it patronize, provided the article offered is worthy of -patronage--an instinct which served me strangely 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 $1000 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 St. 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 I should not -insist upon the terms of his published card, and asked 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; indeed sales of tickets to -these localities were soon stopped, for there were no seats to sell. 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. - -Vivalla continued to perform for me in various places, including Peale’s -Museum, in New York, and I took him to different towns in Connecticut -and in New Jersey, with poor success sometimes, as frequently the -expenses exceeded the receipts. - -In April, 1836, I connected myself with Aaron Turner’s travelling circus -company as ticket-seller, secretary and treasurer, at thirty dollars a -month and one-fifth of the entire profits, while Vivalla was to receive -a salary of fifty dollars. As I was already paying him eighty dollars a -month, our joint salaries reimbursed me and left me the chance of twenty -per cent of the net receipts. We started from Danbury for West -Springfield, Massachusetts, April 26th, and on the first day, instead of -halting to dine, as I expected, Mr. Turner regaled the whole company -with three loaves of rye bread and a pound of butter, bought at a farm -house at a cost of fifty cents, and, after watering the horses, we went -on our way. - -We began our performances at West Springfield, April 28th, and as our -expected band of music had not arrived from Providence, I made a -prefatory speech announcing our disappointment, and our intention to -please our patrons, nevertheless. The two Turner boys, sons of the -proprietor, rode finely. Joe Pentland, one of the wittiest, best, and -most original of clowns, with Vivalla’s tricks and other performances in -the ring, more than made up for the lack of music. In a day or two our -band arrived and our “houses” improved. My diary is full of incidents of -our summer tour through numerous villages, towns, and cities in New -England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, -District of Columbia, Virginia, and North Carolina. - -While we were at Cabotville, Massachusetts, on going to bed one night -one of my room-mates threw a lighted stump of a cigar into a spit-box -filled with sawdust and the result was that about one o’clock T. V. -Turner, who slept in the room, awoke in the midst of a dense smoke and -barely managed to crawl to the window to open it, and to awaken us in -time to save us from suffocation. - -At Lenox, Massachusetts, one Sunday I attended church as usual, and the -preacher denounced our circus and all connected with it as immoral, and -was very abusive; whereupon when he 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 afterwards 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 pretence -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. - -The proprietor of the circus, Aaron Turner, was a self-made man, who had -acquired a large fortune by his industry. He believed that any man with -health and common sense could become rich if he only resolved to be so, -and he was very proud of the fact that he began the world with no -advantages, no education, and without a shilling. Withal, he was a -practical joker, as I more than once discovered to my cost. While we -were at Annapolis, Maryland, he played a trick upon me which was fun to -him, but was very nearly death to me. - -We arrived on Saturday night and as I felt quite “flush” I bought a fine -suit of black clothes. On Sunday morning I dressed myself in my new suit -and started out for a stroll. While passing through the bar-room Turner -called the attention of the company present to me and said: - -“I think it very singular 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 black-coated scoundrel has come down this way.” - -“Why, who is he?” asked half a dozen at once. - -“Don’t you know? Why that is the Rev. E. K. Avery, the murderer of Miss -Cornell!” - -“Is it possible!” they exclaimed, all starting for the door, eager to -get a look at me, and swearing vengeance. - -It was only recently that the Rev. Ephraim K. Avery had been tried in -Rhode Island for the murder of Miss Cornell, whose body was discovered -in a stack-yard, and though Avery was acquitted in court, the general -sentiment of the country condemned him. It was this Avery whom Turner -made me represent. I had not walked far in my fine clothes, before I was -overtaken by a mob of a dozen, which rapidly increased to at least a -hundred, and my ears were suddenly saluted with such observations as, -“the lecherous old hypocrite,” “the sanctified murderer,” “the -black-coated villain,” “lynch the scoundrel,” “let’s tar and feather -him,” and like remarks which I had no idea applied to me till one man -seized me by the collar, while five or six more appeared on the scene -with a rail. - -“Come,” said the man who collared me, “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!” - -My surprise may be imagined. “Good heavens!” I exclaimed, as they all -pressed around me, “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_!” - -I grew more and more bewildered; I could not imagine what possible -offence I was to suffer for, and I 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; well show him how to hang poor -factory girls,” shouted a man in the crowd. - -The man who had me 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,” I -exclaimed. - -“Come, come, none of your gammon; straddle the rail, Ephraim.” - -The rail was brought and I was about to be placed on it, when the truth -flashed upon me. - -“Gentlemen,” I 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 -me. As we walked up the main street, the mob received a re-enforcement -of some fifty or sixty, and I was marched like a malefactor up to the -hotel. Old Turner stood on the piazza ready to explode with laughter. I -appealed to him for heaven’s sake to explain this matter, that I 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. My new coat had been half -torn from my back and I 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 me to “get even with him.” -I was very much offended, and when the mob dispersed I asked Turner what -could have induced him to play such a trick upon me. - -[Illustration: _BARNUM ON A RAIL._] - -“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. We had fine audiences while we remained at Annapolis, -but it was a long time before I forgave Turner for his rascally “joke.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -MY FIRST TRAVELLING COMPANY. - - THREE MEALS AND LODGING IN ONE HOUR--TURNING THE TABLES ON - TURNER--A SON AS OLD AS HIS FATHER--LEAVING THE CIRCUS WITH TWELVE - HUNDRED DOLLARS--MY FIRST TRAVELLING COMPANY--PREACHING TO THE - PEOPLE--APPEARING AS A NEGRO MINSTREL--THREATENED WITH - ASSASSINATION--ESCAPES FROM DANGER--TEMPERANCE--REPORT OF MY ARREST - FOR MURDER--RE-ENFORCING MY COMPANY--“BARNUM’S GRAND SCIENTIFIC AND - MUSICAL THEATRE”--OUTWITTING A SHERIFF--“LADY HAYES’S” MANSION AND - PLANTATION--A BRILLIANT AUDIENCE--BASS DRUM SOLO--CROSSING THE - INDIAN NATION--JOE PENTLAND AS A SAVAGE--TERROR AND FLIGHT OF - VIVALLA--A NONPLUSSED LEGERDEMAIN PERFORMER--A MALE - EGG-LAYER--DISBANDING MY COMPANY--A NEW PARTNERSHIP--PUBLIC - LECTURING--DIFFICULTY WITH A DROVER--THE STEAMBOAT “CERES”--SUDDEN - MARRIAGE ON BOARD--MOBBED IN LOUISIANA--ARRIVAL AT NEW ORLEANS. - - -An amusing incident occurred when we were at Hanover Court House, in -Virginia. It rained so heavily that we could not perform there and -Turner decided to start for Richmond immediately after dinner, when he -was informed by the landlord that as our agent had engaged three meals -and lodging for the whole company, the entire bill must be paid whether -we went then, or next morning. No compromise could be effected with the -stubborn landlord and so Turner proceeded to get the worth of his money -as follows: - -He ordered dinner at twelve o’clock, which was duly prepared and eaten. -The table was cleared and re-set for supper at half-past twelve. At one -o’clock we all went to bed, every man carrying a lighted candle to his -room. There were thirty-six of us and we all undressed and tumbled into -bed as if we were going to stay all night. In half an hour we rose and -went down to the hot breakfast which Turner had demanded and which we -found smoking on the table. Turner was very grave, the landlord was -exceedingly angry, and the rest of us were convulsed with laughter at -the absurdity of the whole proceeding. We disposed of our breakfast as -if we had eaten nothing for ten hours and then started for Richmond with -the satisfaction that we fairly settled with our unreasonable landlord. - -At Richmond, after performances were over one night, I managed to -partially pay Turner for his Avery trick. A dozen or more of us were -enjoying ourselves in the sitting room of the hotel, telling stories and -singing songs, when some of the company proposed sundry amusing -arithmetical questions, followed by one from Turner, which was readily -solved. Hoping to catch Turner I then proposed the following problem: - -“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 my -arithmetic, though at last he acknowledged that it was a fair offset to -the Avery trick. - -We went from Richmond to Petersburg, and from that place to Warrenton, -North Carolina, where, October 30th, my engagement expired with a profit -to myself of $1,200. I now separated from the circus company, taking -Vivalla, James Sanford, (a negro singer and dancer,) several musicians, -horses, wagons, and a small canvas tent with which I intended to begin a -travelling exhibition of my own. My company started and Turner took me -on the way in his own carriage some twenty miles. We parted reluctantly -and my friend wished me every success in my new venture. - -On Saturday, November 12, 1836, we halted at Rocky Mount Falls, North -Carolina, and on my way to the Baptist Church, Sunday morning, I noticed -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. I went on in this way, with some scriptural -quotations and familiar illustrations, for three-quarters of an hour. At -the close of my address several persons took me by the hand, expressing -themselves as greatly pleased and desiring to know my name; and I went -away with the feeling that possibly I might have done some good in the -beautiful grove on that charming Sunday morning. - -When we were at Camden, South Carolina, Sanford suddenly left me, and as -I had advertised negro songs and none of my company was competent to -fill Sanford’s place, not to disappoint my audience, I blacked myself -and sung the advertised songs, “Zip Coon,” etc., and to my surprise was -much applauded, while two of the songs were encored. One evening after -singing my songs I heard a disturbance outside the tent and going to the -spot found a person disputing with my men. I took part on the side of -the men, when the person who was quarrelling with them drew a pistol and -exclaiming, “you black scoundrel! how dare you use such language to a -white man,” he proceeded to cock it. I saw that he thought I was a negro -and meant to blow my brains out. Quick as thought I rolled my sleeve up, -showed my skin, and said, “I am as white as you are, sir.” He dropped -his pistol in positive fright and begged my pardon. My presence of mind -saved me. - -On four different occasions in my life 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 more than twenty years past, I am glad -to say, I have been a strict “teetotaller.” - -At Camden I lost one of my musicians, a Scotchman named Cochran, who was -arrested for advising the negro barber who was shaving him to run away -to the Free States or to Canada. I made every effort to effect Cochran’s -release, but he was imprisoned more than six months. - -While I was away from home I generally wrote twice a week to my family -and received letters nearly as often from my wife. One of her letters, -which I received in Columbia, South Carolina, informed me it was -currently reported in Connecticut that I was under sentence of death in -Canada for murder! The story grew out of a rumor about a difficulty in -Canada between some rowdies and a circus company--not Turner’s,--for we -met his troupe at Columbia, December 5, 1836. That company was then to -be disbanded and I bought four horses and two wagons and hired Joe -Pentland and Robert White to join my company. White, as a negro-singer, -would relieve me from that roll, and Pentland, besides being a capital -clown, was celebrated as a ventriloquist, comic singer, balancer, and -legerdemain performer. My re-enforced exhibition was called “Barnum’s -Grand Scientific and Musical Theatre.” - -Some time previously, in Raleigh, North Carolina, I had sold one-half of -my establishment to a man, whom I will call Henry, who now acted as -treasurer and ticket-taker. At Augusta, Georgia, the sheriff served a -writ upon this Henry for a debt of $500. As Henry had $600 of the -company’s money in his possession, I immediately procured a bill of sale -of all his property in the exhibition and returned to the theatre where -Henry’s creditor and the creditor’s lawyer were waiting for me. They -demanded the keys of the stable so as to levy on the horses and wagons. -I begged delay till I could see Henry, and they consented. Henry was -anxious to cheat his creditor and he at once signed the bill of sale. I -returned and informed the creditor that Henry refused to pay or -compromise the claim. The sheriff then demanded the keys of the stable -door to attach Henry’s interest in the property. “Not yet,” said I, -showing a bill of sale, “you see I am in full possession of the property -as entire owner. You confess that you have not yet levied on it, and if -you touch my property, you do it at your peril.” - -They were very much taken aback and the sheriff immediately conveyed -Henry to prison. The next day I learned that Henry owed his creditors -thirteen hundred dollars and that he had agreed when the Saturday -evening performance was ended to hand over five hundred dollars (company -money) and a bill of sale of his interest, in consideration of which one -of the horses was to be ready for him to run away with, leaving me in -the lurch! Learning this, I had very little sympathy for Henry and my -next step was to secure the five hundred dollars he had secreted. -Vivalla had obtained it from him to keep it from the sheriff; I received -it from Vivalla, on Henry’s order, as a supposed means of procuring bail -for him on Monday morning. I then paid the creditor the full amount -obtained from Henry as the price of his half interest in the exhibition -and received in return an assignment of five hundred dollars of the -creditor’s claims and a guaranty that I should not be troubled by my -late partner on that score. Thus, promptness of action and good luck -relieved me from one of the most unpleasant positions in which I had -ever been placed. - -While travelling with our teams and show through a desolate part of -Georgia, our advertiser, who was in advance of the party, finding the -route, on one occasion, too long for us to reach a town at night, -arranged with a poor widow woman named Hayes to furnish us with meals -and let us lodge in her hut and out-houses. It was a beggarly place, -belonging to one of the poorest of “poor whites.” Our horses were to -stand out all night, and a farmer, six miles distant, was to bring a -load of provender on the day of our arrival. Bills were then posted -announcing a performance under a canvas tent near Widow Hayes’s, for, as -a show was a rarity in that region, it was conjectured that a hundred or -more small farmers and “poor whites” might be assembled and that the -receipts would cover the expenses. - -Meanwhile, our advertiser, who was quite a wag, wrote back informing us -of the difficulties 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. We laughed heartily -at the trick and were very glad to cross so cheaply. - -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, barefooted old woman, with her sleeves rolled -up to her shoulders, who was washing clothes in front of the door, I -inquired-- - -“Hallo! 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. - -When the old woman called us to dinner we crept into her hut and found -that she had improvised benches at her table by placing boards upon the -only four chairs in her possession, and at that, some of us were obliged -to stand. The dinner consisted of a piece of boiled smoked bacon, a -large dish of “greens,” and corn bread. Three plates, two knives, and -three forks made up the entire table furniture and compelled a resort to -our jack-knives. “A short horse is soon curried,” and dinner was -speedily despatched. It did not seem possible for an audience to -assemble in that forsaken quarter, and we concluded not to take the -canvas tent out of the wagon. - -By three o’clock, however, at least fifty persons had arrived on the -ground to attend the night show and they reported “more a coming.” -Accordingly we put up the tent and arranged our small stage and -curtains, preparing seats for two hundred people. Those who had already -arrived were mostly women, many of them from sixteen to twenty years -old--poor, thin, sallow-faced creatures, wretchedly clad, some of them -engaged in smoking pipes, while the rest were chewing snuff. This latter -process was new to me; each chewer was provided with a short stick, -softened at one end, by chewing it, and this stick was occasionally -dipped into a snuff box and then stuck into the mouth, from whence it -protruded like a cigar. The technical term for the proceeding is -“snuff-dipping.” - -Before night, stragglers had brought the number of people on Lady Hayes’ -plantation up to one hundred, and soon after dark, we opened our -exhibition to an audience of about two hundred. The men were a pale, -haggard set of uncombed, uncouth creatures, whose constantly-moving jaws -and the streams of colored saliva exuding from the corners of their -mouths indicated that they were confirmed tobacco chewers. I never saw a -more stupid and brutish assemblage of human beings. The performance -delighted them; Pentland’s sleight-of-hand tricks astonished them and -led them to declare that he must be in league with the evil one; Signor -Vivalla’s ball-tossing and plate spinning elicited their loudest -applause; and Bob White’s negro songs and break-downs made them fairly -scream with laughter. - -At last, the performance terminated and Pentland stepped forward and -delivered the closing address, which he had repeated, word for word, a -hundred times, and which was precisely as follows: - -“Ladies and Gentlemen: The entertainments of the evening have now come -to a conclusion, and, we hope, to your general satisfaction.” - -But now came a dilemma; the meaning of this announcement was quite -above the comprehension of the audience; they had not the remotest idea -that the performance was finished, and they sat like statues. - -With a hearty laugh at Pentland I told him that his language was not -understood in this locality and that he must try again. He was -chagrined, and declared that he would not say another word. Little -Vivalla laughed, danced around like a monkey, and said, in his broken -English: - -“Ah, ha! Signor Pentland; you no speak good Eenglish, hah! These -educated peoples no understand you, eh? By gar what d----d fools. Ah, -Signor Barnum, let me speaks to them; I will make them jump double -queek.” - -I quite enjoyed the fun and said, “Well, Signor, go ahead.” - -The little Italian jumped upon the stage and with a broad grimace and -tremendous gesture exclaimed-- - -“Eet is feenish!” - -He then retired behind the curtain, but, of course, the audience did not -understand that he had told them the performance was finished. No one -would have understood him. Hence, the spectators sat still, wondering -what would come next. “By gar,” said Vivalla, losing his temper, “I will -give them a hint,” and he loosened the cord and down fell the curtain on -one side of the stage. - -“Good, good,” cried out an enthusiastic “poor white,” giving his quid a -fresh roll to the other side of his mouth, “now we are going to have -something new.” - -“I reckon they’s totin’ that plunder off to get ready for a dance,” said -a delicate “dipper,” making a lunge into her box for another mouthful of -the dust. - -Things were becoming serious, and I saw that in order to get rid of -these people they must be addressed in plain language; so, walking upon -the stage, I simply said, making at the same time a motion for them to -go,-- - -“It is all over; no more performance; the show is out.” - -This was understood, but they still stood upon the order of their going -and were loth to leave, especially as the, to them, extraordinary -announcements of Pentland and Vivalla had prepared them for something -fresh. Several days before, our band of musicians had left us, reducing -our orchestra to an organ and pipes, ground and blown by an Italian whom -we had picked up on the road. We had, in addition, a large bass drum, -with no one to beat it, and this drum was espied by some of the audience -in going out. Very soon I was waited upon by a masculine committee of -three, who informed me that “the young ladies were very anxious to hear -a tune on the big drum.” Pentland heard the request and replied, “I will -accommodate the young ladies,” and strapping on the drum he took a stick -in each hand and began to pound tremendously. Occasionally he would rap -the sticks together, toss one of them into the air, catching it as it -came down, and then pound away again like mad. In fact, he cut up all -sorts of pranks with that big drum and when he was tired out and -stopped, he was gratified at being told by the “young ladies” that they -had never heard a big drum before, but he “played it splendid,” and they -thought it was altogether the best part of the entire performance! - -The next forenoon we arrived at Macon, and congratulated ourselves that -we had again reached the regions of civilization. - -In going from Columbus, Georgia, to Montgomery, Alabama, 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 Mount 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” levelled 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-enforced 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. - -We arrived at Montgomery, February 28th, 1837. Here I met Henry Hawley a -legerdemain performer, about forty-five years of age, but as he was -prematurely gray he looked at least seventy, and I sold him one-half of -my exhibition. He had a ready wit, a happy way of localizing his tricks, -was very popular in that part of the country, where he had been -performing for several years, and I never saw him nonplussed but once. -This was when he was performing on one occasion the well-known egg and -bag trick, which he did with his usual success, producing egg after egg -from the bag and - -[Illustration: _THE COWARD AND THE “BRAVE.”_] - -finally breaking one to show that they were genuine. “Now,” said Hawley, -“I will show you the old hen that laid them.” It happened, however, that -the negro boy to whom had been intrusted the duty of supplying the bag -had made a slight mistake which was manifest when Hawley triumphantly -produced, not “the old hen that laid the eggs,” but a rooster! The whole -audience was convulsed with laughter and the abashed Hawley retreated to -the dressing room cursing the stupidity of the black boy who had been -paid to put a hen in the bag. - -After performing in different places in Alabama, Kentucky, and -Tennessee, we disbanded at Nashville in May, 1837, Vivalla going to New -York, where he performed on his own account for a while previous to -sailing for Cuba, Hawley staying in Tennessee to look after our horses -which had been turned out to grass, and I returning home to spend a few -weeks with my family. - -Early in July, returning west with a new company of performers, I -rejoined Hawley and we began our campaign in Kentucky. We were not -successful; one of our small company was incompetent; another was -intemperate--both were dismissed; and our negro-singer was drowned in -the river at Frankfort. Funds were low and I was obliged to leave -pledges here and there, in payment for bills, which I afterwards -redeemed. Hawley and I dissolved in August and making a new partnership -with Z. Graves, I left him in charge of the establishment and went to -Tiffin, Ohio, where I re-engaged Joe Pentland, buying his horses and -wagons and taking him, with several musicians, to Kentucky. - -During my short stay at Tiffin, a religious conversation at the hotel -introduced me to several gentlemen who requested me to lecture on the -subjects we had discussed, and I did so to a crowded audience in the -school-house Sunday afternoon and evening. At the solicitation of a -gentleman from Republic, I also delivered two lectures in that town on -the evenings of September 4th and 5th. - -On our way to Kentucky, just before we reached Cincinnati, we met a -drove of hogs and one of the drivers making an insolent remark because -our wagons interfered with his swine, I replied in the same vein, when -he dismounted and pointing a pistol at my breast swore he would shoot me -if I did not apologize. I begged him to permit me to consult with a -friend in the next wagon, and the misunderstanding should be -satisfactorily settled. My friend was a loaded double-barreled gun which -I pointed at him and said: - -“Now, sir, _you_ must apologize, for your brains are in danger. You drew -a weapon upon me for a trivial remark. You seem to hold human life at a -cheap price; and now, sir, you have the choice between a load of shot -and an apology.” - -This led to an apology and a friendly conversation in which we both -agreed that many a life is sacrificed in sudden anger because one or -both of the contending parties carry deadly weapons. - -In our subsequent southern tour we exhibited at Nashville (where I -visited General Jackson, at the Hermitage), Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, -Vicksburg and intermediate places, doing tolerably well. At Vicksburg we -sold all our land conveyances, excepting the band wagon and four horses, -bought the steamboat “Ceres” for six thousand dollars, hired the captain -and crew, and started down the river to exhibit at places on the way. -At Natchez our cook left us and in the search for another I found a -white widow who would go, only she expected to marry a painter. I called -on the painter who had not made up his mind whether to marry the widow -or not, but I told him if he would marry her the next morning I would -hire her at twenty-five dollars a month as cook, employ him at the same -wages as painter, with board for both, and a cash bonus of fifty -dollars. There was a wedding on board the next day and we had a good -cook and a good dinner. - -During one of our evening performances at Francisville, Louisiana, a man -tried to pass me at the door of the tent, claiming that he had paid for -admittance. I refused him entrance; and as he was slightly intoxicated -he struck me with a slung shot, mashing my 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 us -to pack up our “traps and plunder” and to get on board our steamboat -within an hour. The big tent speedily came down. No one was permitted to -help us, but the company worked with a will and within five minutes of -the expiration of the hour we were on board and ready to leave. The -scamps who had caused our departure escorted us and our last load, -waving pine torches, and saluted us with a hurrah as we swung into the -stream. - -The New Orleans papers of March 19, 1838, announced the arrival of the -“Steamer Ceres, Captain Barnum, with a theatrical company.” After a -week’s performances, we started for the Attakapas country. At Opelousas -we exchanged the steamer for sugar and molasses; our company was -disbanded, and I started for home, arriving in New York, June 4, 1838. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -AT THE FOOT OF THE LADDER. - - DISGUST AT THE TRAVELLING BUSINESS--ADVERTISING FOR AN - ASSOCIATE--RUSH OF THE MILLION-MAKERS--COUNTERFEITERS, CHEATS AND - QUACKS--A NEW BUSINESS--SWINDLED BY MY PARTNER--DIAMOND THE - DANCER--A NEW COMPANY--DESERTIONS--SUCCESSES AT NEW ORLEANS--TYRONE - POWER AND FANNY ELLSLER--IN JAIL AGAIN--BACK TO NEW YORK--ACTING AS - A BOOK AGENT--LEASING VAUXHALL--FROM HAND TO MOUTH--DETERMINATION - TO MAKE MONEY--FORTUNE OPENING HER DOOR--THE AMERICAN MUSEUM FOR - SALE--NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE PURCHASE--HOPES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS--THE - TRAIN LAID--SMASHING A RIVAL COMPANY. - - -I have said that the show business has as many grades of dignity as -trade, which ranges all the way from the mammoth wholesale establishment -down to the corner stand. The itinerant amusement business is at the -bottom of the ladder. I had begun there, but I had no wish to stay -there; in fact, I was thoroughly disgusted with the trade of a -travelling showman, and although I felt that I could succeed in that -line, yet I always regarded it, not as an end, but as a means to -something better. - -Longing now for some permanent respectable business, I advertised for a -partner, stating that I had $2,500 to invest and would add my -unremitting personal attention to the capital and the business. This -advertisement gave me an altogether new insight into human nature. -Whoever wishes to know how some people live, or want to live, let him -advertise for a partner, at the same time stating that he has a large or -small capital to invest. I was flooded with answers to my advertisements -and received no less than ninety-three different propositions for the -use of my capital. Of these, at least one-third were from porter-house -keepers. Brokers, pawnbrokers, lottery-policy dealers, patent medicine -men, inventors, and others also made application. Some of my -correspondents declined to specifically state the nature of their -business, but they promised to open the door to untold wealth. - -I had interviews with some of these mysterious million-makers. One of -them was a counterfeiter, who, after much hesitation and pledges of -secrecy showed me some counterfeit coin and bank notes; he wanted $2,500 -to purchase paper and ink and to prepare new dies, and he actually -proposed that I should join him in the business which promised, he -declared, a safe and rich harvest. Another sedate individual, dressed in -Quaker costume, wanted me to join him in an oat speculation. By buying a -horse and wagon and by selling oats, bought at wholesale, in bags, he -thought a good business could be done, especially as people would not be -particular to measure after a Quaker. - -“Do you mean to cheat in measuring your oats?” I asked. - -“O, I should probably make them hold out,” he answered, with a leer. - -One application came from a Pearl street wool merchant, who failed a -month afterwards. Then came a “perpetual motion” man who had a -fortune-making machine, in which I discovered a main-spring slyly hid in -a hollow post, the spring making perpetual motion--till it ran down. -Finally, I went into partnership with a German, named Proler, who was a -manufacturer of paste-blacking, water-proof paste for leather, Cologne -water and bear’s grease. We took the store No. 101½ Bowery, at a rent -(including the dwelling) of $600 per annum, and opened a large -manufactory of the above articles. Proler manufactured and sold the -goods at wholesale in Boston, Charleston, Cleveland, and various other -parts of the country. I kept the accounts, and attended to sales in the -store, wholesale and retail. For a while the business seemed to -prosper--at least till my capital was absorbed and notes for stock began -to fall due, with nothing to meet them, since we had sold our goods on -long credits. In January, 1840, I dissolved partnership with Proler, he -buying the entire interest for $2,600 on credit, and then running away -to Rotterdam without paying his note, and leaving me nothing but a few -recipes. Proler was a good-looking, plausible, promising--scamp. - -During my connection with Proler, I became acquainted with a remarkable -young dancer named John Diamond. He was one of the first and best of the -numerous negro and “break-down” dancers who have since surprised and -amused the public, and I entered into an engagement with his father for -his services, putting Diamond in the hands of an agent, as I did not -wish to appear in the transaction. In the spring of 1840, I hired and -opened the Vauxhall Garden saloon, in New York, and gave a variety of -performances, including singing, dancing, Yankee stories, etc. In this -saloon Miss Mary Taylor, afterwards so celebrated as an actress and -singer, made her first appearance on the stage. The enterprise, however, -did not meet my expectation and I relinquished it in August. - -What was to be done next? I dreaded resuming the life of an itinerant -showman, but funds were low, I had a family to care for, and as nothing -better presented I made up my mind to endure the vexations and -uncertainties of a tour in the West and South. I collected a company, -consisting of Mr. C. D. Jenkins, an excellent singer and delineator of -Yankee and other characters; Master John Diamond, the dancer; Francis -Lynch, an orphan vagabond, fourteen years old, whom I picked up at Troy, -and a fiddler. My brother-in-law, Mr. John Hallett, preceded us as agent -and advertiser, and our route passed through Buffalo, Toronto, Detroit, -Chicago, Ottawa, Springfield, the intermediate places, and St. Louis, -where I took the steamboat for New Orleans with a company reduced by -desertions to Master Diamond and the fiddler. - -Arriving in New Orleans, January 2, 1841, I had but $100 in my purse, -and I had started from New York four months before with quite as much in -my pocket. Excepting some small remittances to my family I had made -nothing more than current expenses; and, when I had been in New Orleans -a fortnight, funds were so low that I was obliged to pledge my watch as -security for my board bill. But on the 16th, I received from the St. -Charles Theatre $500 as my half share of Diamond’s benefit; the next -night I had $50; and the third night $479 was my share of the proceeds -of a grand dancing match at the theatre between Diamond and a negro -dancer from Kentucky. Subsequent engagements at Vicksburg and Jackson -were not so successful, but returning to New Orleans we again succeeded -admirably and afterwards at Mobile. Diamond, however, after extorting -considerable sums of money from me, finally ran away, and, March 12th, I -started homeward by way of the Mississippi and the Ohio. - -While I was in New Orleans I made the acquaintance of that genial man, -Tyrone Power, who was just concluding an engagement at the St. Charles -Theatre. In bidding me farewell, he wished me every success and hoped we -should meet again. Alas, poor Power! All the world knows how he set sail -from our shores, and he and his ship were never seen again. Fanny -Ellsler was also in New Orleans, and when I saw seats in the dress -circle sold at an average of four dollars and one-half, I gave her -agent, Chevalier Henry Wyckoff, great credit for exciting public -enthusiasm to the highest pitch and I thought the prices enormous. I did -not dream then that, within twelve years, I should be selling tickets in -the same city for full five times that sum. - -At Pittsburg, where I arrived March 30th, I learned that Jenkins, who -had enticed Francis Lynch away from me at St. Louis, was exhibiting him -at the Museum under the name of “Master Diamond,” and visiting the -performance, the next day I wrote Jenkins an ironical review for which -he threatened suit and he actually instigated R. W. Lindsay, from whom I -hired Joice Heth in Philadelphia in 1835, and whom I had not seen since, -though he was then residing in Pittsburg, to sue me for a pipe of brandy -which, it was pretended, was promised in addition to the money paid him. -I was required to give bonds of $500, which, as I was among strangers, I -could not immediately procure, and I was accordingly thrown into jail -till four o’clock in the afternoon, when I was liberated. The next day I -caused the arrest of Jenkins for trespass in assuming Master Diamond’s -name and reputation for Master Lynch, and he was sent to jail till four -o’clock in the afternoon. Each having had his turn at this amusement, we -adjourned our controversy to New York where I beat him. As for Lindsay, -I heard nothing more of his claim or him till twelve years afterwards -when he called on me in Boston with an apology. He was very poor and I -was highly prosperous, and I may add that Lindsay did not lack a friend. - -I arrived in New York, April 23rd, 1841, after an absence of eight -months; finding my family in good health, I resolved once more that I -would never again be an itinerant showman. Three days afterwards I -contracted with Robert Sears, the publisher, for five hundred copies of -“Sears’ Pictorial Illustrations of the Bible,” at $500, and accepting -the United States agency, I opened an office, May 10th, at the corner of -Beekman and Nassau Streets, the site of the present Nassau Bank. I had -had a limited experience with that book in this way: When I was in -Pittsburg, an acquaintance, Mr. C. D. Harker, was complaining that he -had nothing to do, when I picked up a New York paper and saw the -advertisement of “Sears’s Pictorial Illustrations of the Bible, price $2 -a copy.” Mr. Harker thought he could get subscribers, and I bought him a -specimen copy, agreeing to furnish him with as many as he wanted at -$1.37½ a copy, though I had never before seen the work and did not know -the wholesale price. The result was that he obtained eighty subscribers -in two days, and made $50. My own venture in the work was not so -successful; I advertised largely, had plenty of agents, and, in six -months, sold thousands of copies; but irresponsible agents used up all -my profits and my capital. - -While engaged in this business I once more leased Vauxhall saloon, -opening it June 14th, 1841, employing Mr. John Hallett, my -brother-in-law, as manager under my direction, and at the close of the -season, September 25th, we had cleared about two hundred dollars. This -sum was soon exhausted, and with my family on my hands and no employment -I was glad to do anything that would keep the wolf from the door. I -wrote advertisements and notices for the Bowery Amphitheatre, receiving -for the service four dollars a week, which I was very glad to get, and I -also wrote articles for the Sunday papers, deriving a fair remuneration -and managing to get a living. But I was at the bottom round of fortune’s -ladder, and it was necessary to make an effort which would raise me -above want. - -I was specially stimulated to this effort by a letter which I received, -about this time, from my esteemed friend, Hon. Thomas T. Whittlesey, of -Danbury. He held a mortgage of five hundred dollars on a piece of -property I owned in that place, and, as he was convinced that I would -never lay up anything, he wrote me that I might as well pay him then as -ever. This letter made me resolve to live no longer from hand to mouth, -but to concentrate my energies upon laying up something for the future. - -While I was forming this practical determination I was much nearer to -its realization than my most sanguine hopes could have predicted. The -road to fortune was close by. Without suspecting it, I was about to -enter upon an enterprise, which, while giving full scope for whatever -tact, industry and pluck I might possess, was to take me from the foot -of the ladder and place me many rounds above. - -As outside clerk for the Bowery Amphitheatre I had casually learned that -the collection of curiosities comprising Scudder’s American Museum, at -the corner of Broadway and Ann Street, was for sale. It belonged to the -daughters of Mr. Scudder, and was conducted for their benefit by John -Furzman, under the authority of Mr. John Heath, administrator. The price -asked for the entire collection was fifteen thousand dollars. It had -cost its founder, Mr. Scudder, probably fifty thousand dollars, and from -the profits of the establishment he had been able to leave a large -competency to his children. The Museum, however, had been for several -years a losing concern, and the heirs were anxious to sell it. Looking -at this property, I thought I saw that energy, tact and liberality, were -only needed to make it a paying institution, and I determined to -purchase it if possible. - -“You buy the American Museum!” said a friend, who knew the state of my -funds, “what do you intend buying it with?” - -“Brass,” I replied, “for silver and gold have I none.” - -The Museum building belonged to Mr. Francis W. Olmsted, a retired -merchant, to whom I wrote stating my desire to buy the collection, and -that although I had no means, if it could, be purchased upon reasonable -credit, I was confident that my tact and experience, added to a -determined devotion to business, would enable me to make the payments -when due. I therefore asked him to purchase the collection in his own -name; to give me a writing securing it to me provided I made the -payments punctually, including the rent of his building; to allow me -twelve dollars and a half a week on which to support my family; and if -at any time I failed to meet the instalment due, I would vacate the -premises and forfeit all that might have been paid to that date. “In -fact, Mr. Olmsted,” I continued in my earnestness, “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 I took to his house myself, he named an -hour when I could call on him, and as I was there at the exact moment, -he expressed himself pleased with my punctuality. He inquired closely as -to my habits and antecedents, and I frankly narrated my experiences as a -caterer for the public, mentioning my amusement ventures in Vauxhall -Garden, the circus, and in the exhibitions I had managed at the South -and West. - -“Who are your references?” he inquired. - -“Any man in my line,” I 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?” he continued. - -I told him that I could, and the next day my friend Niblo rode down and -had an interview with Mr. Olmsted, while Mr. Beach and several other -gentlemen also called, and the following morning I waited upon him for -his decision. - -“I don’t like your references, Mr. Barnum,” said Mr. Olmsted, abruptly, -as soon as I entered the room. - -I was confused, and said “I regretted to hear it.” - -“They all speak too well of you,” he 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. 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 an adjoining building, allowing therefor, $500 a year, -making a total rent 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 instalments, 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 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 farther 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 join 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 monkey and gander skins; appealing to the case of the -Zoölogical 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 Crumpet-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 -would 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 documents 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. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE AMERICAN MUSEUM. - - A TRAP SET FOR ME--I CATCH THE TRAPPERS--I BECOME PROPRIETOR OF THE - AMERICAN MUSEUM--HISTORY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT--HARD WORK AND COLD - DINNERS--ADDITIONS TO THE MUSEUM--EXTRAORDINARY - ADVERTISING--BARNUM’S BRICK-MAN--EXCITING PUBLIC - CURIOSITY--INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES--A DRUNKEN ACTOR--IMITATIONS OF - THE ELDER BOOTH--PLEASING MY PATRONS--SECURING TRANSIENT - NOVELTIES--LIVING CURIOSITIES--MAKING PEOPLE TALK--A WILDERNESS OF - WONDERS--NIAGARA FALLS WITH REAL WATER--THE CLUB THAT KILLED - COOK--SELLING LOUIS GAYLORD CLARK--THE FISH WITH LEGS--THE FEJEE - MERMAID--HOW IT CAME INTO MY POSSESSION--THE TRUE STORY OF THAT - CURIOSITY--JAPANESE MANUFACTURE OF FABULOUS ANIMALS--THE USE I MADE - OF THE MERMAID--WHOLESALE ADVERTISING AGAIN--THE BALCONY - BAND--DRUMMOND LIGHTS. - - -My newspaper squib war against the Peale combination was vigorously kept -up; when one morning, about the first of 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 1, 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. -Olmstead’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 despatch the following complimentary note: - - -AMERICAN MUSEUM, NEW YORK, Dec. 27, 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 further - 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. - -And now that I was proprietor and manager of the American Museum I had -reached a new epoch in my career which I felt was the beginning of -better days, though the full significance of this important step I did -not see. I was still in the show business, but in a settled, substantial -phase of it, that invited industry and enterprise, and called for ever -earnest and ever heroic endeavor. Whether I should sink or swim depended -wholly upon my own energy. I must pay for the establishment within a -stipulated time, or forfeit it with whatever I had paid on account. I -meant to make it my own, and brains, hands and every effort were devoted -to the interests of the Museum. - -The nucleus of this establishment, Scudder’s Museum, was formed in 1810, -the year in which I was born. It was begun in Chatham Street, and was -afterwards 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, I have no doubt that the previous proprietor had actually -expended, as was stated, $50,000 in making the collection. No one could -go through the halls, as they were when they came under my -proprietorship, and see one-half there was worth seeing in a single day; -and then, as I always justly boasted afterwards, no one could visit my -Museum and go away without feeling that he had received the full worth -of his money. In looking over the immense collection, the accumulation -of so many years, I saw that it was only necessary to properly present -its merits to the public, to make it the most attractive and popular -place of resort and entertainment in the United States. - -Valuable as the collection was when I bought it, it was only the -beginning of the American Museum as I made it. In my long proprietorship -I considerably more than doubled the permanent attractions and -curiosities of the establishment. In 1842, I bought and added to my -collection the entire contents of Peale’s Museum; in 1850, I purchased -the large Peale collection in Philadelphia; and year after year, I -bought genuine curiosities, regardless of cost, wherever I could find -them, in Europe or America. - -At the very outset, I was determined to deserve success. My plan of -economy included the intention to support my family in New York on $600 -a year, and my treasure of a wife not only gladly assented, but was -willing to reduce the sum to $400, if necessary. Some six months after I -had bought the Museum, Mr. Olmsted happened in at my ticket-office at -noon and found me eating a frugal dinner of cold corned beef and bread, -which I had brought from home. - -“Is this the way you eat your dinner?” he asked. - -“I have not eaten a warm dinner, except on Sundays,” I replied, “since I -bought the Museum, and I never intend to, on a week day, till I am out -of debt.” - -“Ah!” said he, clapping me on the shoulder, “you are safe, and will pay -for the Museum before the year is out.” - -And he was right, for within twelve months I was in full possession of -the property as my own and it was entirely paid for from the profits of -the business. - -In 1865, the space occupied for my Museum purposes was more than double -what it was 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, my 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 afterwards, Wednesday afternoons were devoted to -entertainments and the popularity of the Museum grew so rapidly that I -presently found it expedient and profitable to open the great Lecture -Room every afternoon, as well as every evening, on every week-day in the -year. The first experiments in this direction, more than justified my -expectations, for the day exhibitions were always more thronged than -those of the evening. Of course I made the most of the holidays, -advertising extensively and presenting extra inducements; nor did -attractions elsewhere seem to keep the crowd from coming to the Museum. -On great holidays, I gave as many as twelve performances to as many -different audiences. - -By degrees the character of the stage performances was changed. The -transient attractions of the Museum were constantly diversified, and -educated dogs, industrious fleas, automatons, jugglers, ventriloquists, -living statuary, tableaux, gipsies, 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 Fantoccini, 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. - -I thoroughly understood the art of advertising, not merely by means of -printer’s ink, which I have always used freely, and to which I confess -myself so much indebted for my success, but by turning every possible -circumstance to my account. It was my monomania to make the Museum the -town wonder and town talk. I often seized upon an opportunity by -instinct, even before I had a very definite conception as to how it -should be used, and it seemed, somehow, to mature itself and serve my -purpose. As an illustration, 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 resumé 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 -afterwards, 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 afterwards -returning to his round. This was repeated every hour till 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 I had -imparted my object, complained that the obstruction of the sidewalk by -crowds had become so serious that I must call in my “brick man.” This -trivial incident excited considerable talk and amusement; it advertised -me; and it materially advanced my purpose of making a lively corner near -the Museum. - -I am tempted to relate some of the incidents and anecdotes which -attended my career as owner and manager of the Museum. The stories -illustrating merely my introduction of novelties would more than fill -this book, but I must make room for a few of them. - -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, I 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! Calling an -assistant, we took La Rue between us, 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 we 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 me that he should be able to -give his imitations “to a charm.” - -“You drunken brute,” said I, “if you fail, and disappoint my audience, I -will throw you out of the window.” - -He declared that he was “all right,” and I led him behind the scenes, -where I waited with considerable trepidation to watch his movements on -the stage. He 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 I had great -misgivings as he proceeded; but as no token of disapprobation came from -the audience, I 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. I lost all patience, and going on the stage and -taking the drunken fellow by the collar, I apologized to the audience, -assuring them that he should not appear before them again. I was about -to march him off, when he stepped to the front, and said: - -“Ladies and gentlemen: Mr. Booth 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. I 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 I was forced to lead the actor off. It was his last -appearance on my stage. - -From the first, it was my study to give my patrons a superfluity of -novelties, and for this I make no special claim to generosity, for it -was strictly a business transaction. To send away my visitors more than -doubly satisfied, was to induce them to come again and to bring their -friends. I meant to make people talk about my Museum; to exclaim over -its wonders; to have men and women all over the country say: “There is -not another place in the United States where so much can be seen for -twenty-five cents as in Barnum’s American Museum.” It was the best -advertisement I could possibly have, and one for which I could afford to -pay. I knew, too, that it was an honorable advertisement, because it was -as deserved as it was spontaneous. And so, in addition to the permanent -collection and the ordinary attractions of the stage, I labored to keep -the Museum well supplied with transient novelties; I exhibited such -living curiosities as a rhinoceros, giraffes, grizzly bears, -ourang-outangs, great serpents, and whatever else of the kind money -would buy or enterprise secure. - -Knowing that a visit to my varied attractions and genuine curiosities -was well worth to any one three times the amount asked as an entrance -fee, I confess that I was not so scrupulous, as possibly I should have -been, about the methods used to call public attention to my -establishment. The one end aimed at was to make men and women think and -talk and wonder, and, as a practical result, go to the Museum. This was -my constant study and occupation. - -It was the world’s way then, as it is now, to excite the community with -flaming posters, promising almost everything for next to nothing. I -confess that I took no pains to set my enterprising fellow-citizens a -better example. I fell in with the world’s way; and if my “puffing” was -more persistent, my advertising more audacious, my posters more glaring, -my pictures more exaggerated, my flags more patriotic and my -transparencies more brilliant than they would have been under the -management of my neighbors, it was not because I had less scruple than -they, but more energy, far more ingenuity, and a better foundation for -such promises. In all this, if I cannot be justified, I at least find -palliation in the fact that I presented a wilderness of wonderful, -instructive and amusing realities of such evident and marked merit that -I have yet to learn of a single instance where a visitor went away from -the Museum complaining that he had been defrauded of his money. Surely -this is an offset to any eccentricities to which I may have resorted to -make my establishment widely known. - -Very soon after introducing my extra exhibitions, I purchased for $200, -a curiosity which had much merit and some absurdity. It was a model of -Niagara Falls, in which the merit was that the proportions of the great -cataract, the trees, rocks, and buildings in the vicinity were -mathematically given, while the absurdity was in introducing “real -water” to represent the falls. Yet the model served a purpose in making -“a good line in the bill”--an end in view which was never neglected--and -it helped to give the Museum notoriety. One day I was summoned to appear -before the Board of Croton Water Commissioners, and was informed that as -I paid only $25 per annum for water at the Museum, I must pay a large -extra compensation for the supply for my Niagara Falls. I begged the -board not to believe all that appeared in the papers, nor to interpret -my show-bills too literally, and assured them that a single barrel of -water, if my pump was in good order, would furnish my falls for a month. - -It was even so, for the water flowed into a reservoir behind the scenes, -and was forced back with a pump over the falls. On one occasion, Mr. -Louis Gaylord Clark, the editor of the _Knickerbocker_, came to view my -museum, and introduced himself to me. As I was quite anxious that my -establishment should receive a first-rate notice at his hands, I took -pains to show him everything of interest, except the Niagara Falls, -which I feared would prejudice him against my entire show. But as we -passed the room the pump was at work, warning me that the great cataract -was in full operation, and Clark, to my dismay, insisted upon seeing it. - -“Well, Barnum, I declare, this is quite a new idea; I never saw the like -before.” - -“No?” I faintly inquired, with something like reviving hope. - -“No,” said Clark, “and I hope, with all my heart, I never shall again.” - -But the _Knickerbocker_ spoke kindly of me, and refrained from all -allusions to “the Cataract of Niagara, with real water.” Some months -after, Clark came in breathless one day, and asked me if I had the club -with which Captain Cook was killed? As I had a lot of Indian war clubs -in the collection of aboriginal curiosities, and owing Clark something -on the old Niagara Falls account, I told him I had the veritable club -with documents which placed its identity beyond question, and I showed -him the warlike weapon. - -“Poor Cook! poor Cook!” said Clark, musingly. “Well, Mr. Barnum,” he -continued, with great gravity, at the same time extending his hand and -giving mine a hearty shake, “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.” - -A few weeks afterwards, I wrote to Clark that if he would come to my -office I was anxious to consult him on a matter of great importance. He -came, and I said: - -“Now, I don’t want any of your nonsense, but I want your sober advice.” - -He assured me that he would serve me in any way in his power, and I -proceeded to tell him about a wonderful fish from the Nile, offered to -me 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. - -I assured him that there was no doubt of it. - -Thereupon he advised me 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. I told him that I thought well -of the speculation, only I did not like the name of the fish. - -“That makes no difference whatever,” said Clark; “what is the name of -the fish?” - -“Tadpole,” I replied with becoming gravity, “but it is vulgarly called -‘pollywog.’” - -“Sold, by thunder!” exclaimed Clark, and he left. - -A curiosity, which in an extraordinary degree served my ever-present -object of extending the notoriety of the Museum was the so-called “Fejee -Mermaid.” It has been supposed that this mermaid was manufactured by my -order, but such is not the fact. I was known as a successful showman, -and strange things of every sort were brought to me from all quarters -for sale or exhibition. In the summer of 1842, Mr. Moses Kimball, of the -Boston Museum, came to New York and showed me what purported to be a -mermaid. He had bought it from a sailor whose father, a sea captain, had -purchased it in Calcutta, in 1822, from some Japanese sailors. I may -mention here that this identical preserved specimen was exhibited in -London in 1822, as I fully verified in my visit to that city in 1858, -for I found an advertisement of it in an old file of the London _Times_, -and a friend gave me a copy of the _Mirror_, published by J. Limbird, -335 Strand, November 9, 1822, containing a cut of this same creature and -two pages of letter-press describing it, together with an account of -other mermaids said to have been captured in different parts of the -world. The _Mirror_ stated that this specimen was “the great source of -attraction in the British metropolis, and three to four hundred people -every day pay their shilling to see it.” - -This was the curiosity which had fallen into Mr. Kimball’s hands. I -requested my naturalist’s opinion of the genuineness of the animal and -he said he could not conceive how it could have been manufactured, for -he never saw a monkey with such peculiar teeth, arms, hands, etc., and -he never saw a fish with such peculiar fins; but he did not believe in -mermaids. Nevertheless, I concluded to hire this curiosity and to -modify the general incredulity as to the possibility of the existence of -mermaids, and to awaken curiosity to see and examine the specimen, I -invoked the potent power of printer’s ink. - -Since Japan has been opened to the outer world it has been discovered -that certain “artists” in that country manufacture a great variety of -fabulous animals, with an ingenuity and mechanical perfection well -calculated to deceive. No doubt my mermaid was a specimen of this -curious manufacture. I used it mainly to advertise the regular business -of the Museum, and this effective indirect advertising is the only -feature I can commend, in a special show of which, I confess, I am not -proud. I might have published columns in the newspapers, presenting and -praising the great collection of genuine specimens of natural history in -my exhibition, and they would not have attracted nearly so much -attention as did a few paragraphs about the mermaid which was only a -small part of my show. Newspapers throughout the country copied the -mermaid notices, for they were novel and caught the attention of -readers. Thus was the fame of the Museum, as well as the mermaid, wafted -from one end of the land to the other. I was careful to keep up the -excitement, for I knew that every dollar sown in advertising would -return in tens, and perhaps hundreds, in a future harvest, and after -obtaining all the notoriety possible by advertising and by exhibiting -the mermaid at the Museum, I sent the curiosity throughout the country, -directing my agent to everywhere advertise it as “From Barnum’s Great -American Museum, New York.” The effect was immediately felt; money -flowed in rapidly and was readily expended in more advertising. - -While I expended money liberally for attractions for the inside of my -Museum, and bought or hired everything curious or rare which was offered -or could be found, I was prodigal in my outlays to arrest or arouse -public attention. When I became proprietor of the establishment, there -were only the words: “American Museum,” to indicate the character of the -concern; there was no bustle or activity about the place; no posters to -announce what was to be seen;--the whole exterior was as dead as the -skeletons and stuffed skins within. My experiences had taught me the -advantages of advertising. I printed whole columns in the papers, -setting forth the wonders of my establishment. Old “fogies” opened their -eyes in amazement at a man who could expend hundreds of dollars in -announcing a show of “stuffed monkey skins”; but these same old fogies -paid their quarters, nevertheless, and when they saw the curiosities and -novelties in the Museum halls, they, like all other visitors, were -astonished as well as pleased, and went home and told their friends and -neighbors and thus assisted in advertising my business. - -For other and not less effective advertising,--flags and banners, began -to adorn the exterior of the building. I kept a band of music on the -front balcony and announced “Free Music for the Million.” People said, -“Well, that Barnum is a liberal fellow to give us music for nothing,” -and they flocked down to hear my outdoor free concerts. But I took pains -to select and maintain the poorest band I could find--one whose -discordant notes would drive the crowd into the Museum, out of earshot -of my outside orchestra. Of course, the music was poor. When people -expect to get “something for nothing” they are sure to be cheated, and -generally deserve to be, and so, no doubt, some of my out-door patrons -were sorely disappointed; but when they came inside and paid to be -amused and instructed, I took care to see that they not only received -the full worth of their money, but were more than satisfied. Powerful -Drummond lights were placed at the top of the Museum, which, in the -darkest night, threw a flood of light up and down Broadway, from the -Battery to Niblo’s, that would enable one to read a newspaper in the -street. These were the first Drummond lights ever seen in New York, and -they made people talk, and so advertise my Museum. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE ROAD TO RICHES. - - THE MOST POPULAR PLACE OF AMUSEMENT IN THE WORLD--THE MORAL - DRAMA--REFORMING THE ABUSES OF THE STAGE--FAMOUS ACTORS AND - ACTRESSES AT THE MUSEUM--ADDING TO THE SALOONS--AFTERNOON AND - HOLIDAY PERFORMANCES--FOURTH OF JULY FLAGS--THE MUSEUM CONNECTED - WITH ST. PAUL’S--VICTORY OVER THE VESTRYMEN--THE EGRESS--ST. - PATRICK’S DAY IN THE MORNING--A WONDERFUL ANIMAL, THE - “AIGRESS”--INPOURING OF MONEY--ZOOLOGICAL ERUPTION--THE CITY - ASTOUNDED--BABY SHOWS, AND THEIR OBJECT--FLOWER, BIRD, DOG AND - POULTRY SHOWS--GRAND FREE BUFFALO HUNT IN HOBOKEN--N. P. - WILLIS--THE WOOLLY HORSE--WHERE HE CAME FROM--COLONEL BENTON - BEATEN--PURPOSE OF THE EXHIBITION--AMERICAN INDIANS--P. T. BARNUM - EXHIBITED--A CURIOUS SPINSTER--THE TOUCHING STORY OF CHARLOTTE - TEMPLE--SERVICES IN THE LECTURE ROOM--A FINANCIAL VIEW OF THE - MUSEUM--AN “AWFUL RICH MAN.” - - -The American Museum was the ladder by which I rose to fortune. Whenever -I cross Broadway at the head of Vesey Street, and see the _Herald_ -building and that gorgeous pile, the Park Bank, my mind’s eye recalls -that less solid, more showy edifice which once occupied the site and was -covered with pictures of all manner of beasts, birds and creeping -things, and in which were treasures that brought treasures and notoriety -and pleasant hours to me. The Jenny Lind enterprise was more audacious, -more immediately remunerative, and I remember it with a pride which I do -not attempt to conceal; but instinctively I often go back and live over -again the old days of my struggles and triumphs in the American Museum. - -The Museum was always open at sunrise, and this was so well known -throughout the country that strangers coming to the city would often -take a tour through my halls before going to breakfast or to their -hotels. I do not believe there was ever a more truly popular place of -amusement. I frequently compared the annual number of visitors with the -number officially reported as visiting (free of charge), the British -Museum in London, and my list was invariably the larger. Nor do I -believe that any man or manager ever labored more industriously to -please his patrons. I furnished the most attractive exhibitions which -money could procure; I abolished all vulgarity and profanity from the -stage, and I prided myself upon the fact that parents and children could -attend the dramatic performances in the so-called Lecture Room, and not -be shocked or offended by anything they might see or hear; I introduced -the “Moral Drama,” producing such plays as “The Drunkard,” “Uncle Tom’s -Cabin,” “Moses in Egypt,” “Joseph and His Brethren,” and occasional -spectacular melodramas produced with great care and at considerable -outlay. - -Mr. Sothern, who has since attained such wide-spread celebrity at home -and abroad as a character actor, was a member of my dramatic company for -one or two seasons. Mr. Barney Williams also began his theatrical career -at the Museum, occupying, at first, quite a subordinate position, at a -salary of ten dollars a week. During the past twelve or fifteen years, I -presume his weekly receipts, when he has acted, have been nearly $3,000. -The late Miss Mary Gannon also commenced at the Museum, and many more -actors and actresses of celebrity have been, from time to time, engaged -there. What was once the small Lecture Room was converted into a -spacious and beautiful theatre, extending over the lots adjoining the -Museum, and capable of holding about three thousand persons. The saloons -were greatly multiplied and enlarged, and the “egress” having been made -to work to perfection, on holidays I advertised Lecture Room -performances every hour through the afternoon and evening, and -consequently the actors and actresses were dressed for the stage as -early as eleven o’clock in the morning, and did not resume their -ordinary clothes till ten o’clock at night. In these busy days the meals -for the company were brought in and served in the dressing-rooms and -green-rooms, and the company always received extra pay. - -Leaving nothing undone that would bring Barnum and his Museum before the -public, I often engaged some exhibition, knowing that it would directly -bring no extra dollars to the treasury, but hoping that it would incite -a newspaper paragraph which would float through the columns of the -American press and be copied, perhaps, abroad, and my hopes in this -respect were often gratified. - -I confess that I liked the Museum mainly for the opportunities it -afforded for rapidly making money. Before I bought it, I weighed the -matter well in my mind, and was convinced that I could present to the -American public such a variety, quantity and quality of amusement, -blended with instruction, “all for twenty-five cents, children half -price,” that my attractions would be irresistible, and my fortune -certain. I myself relished a higher grade of amusement, and I was a -frequent attendant at the opera, first-class concerts, lectures, and the -like; but I worked for the million, and I knew the only way to make a -million from my patrons was to give them abundant and wholesome -attractions for a small sum of money. - -About the first of July, 1842, I began to make arrangements for extra -novelties, additional performances, a large amount of extra advertising, -and an outdoor display for the “Glorious Fourth.” Large particolored -bills were ordered, transparencies were prepared, the free band of music -was augmented by a trumpeter, and columns of advertisements, headed with -large capitals, were written and put on file. - -I wanted to run out a string of American flags across the street on that -day, for I knew there would be thousands of people passing the Museum -with leisure and pocket-money, and I felt confident that an unusual -display of national flags would arrest their patriotic attention, and -bring many of them within my walls. Unfortunately for my purpose, St. -Paul’s Church stood directly opposite, and there was nothing to which I -could attach my flag-rope, unless it might be one of the trees in the -church-yard. I went to the vestrymen for permission to so attach my flag -rope on the Fourth of July, and they were indignant at what they called -my “insulting proposition”; such a concession would be “sacrilege.” I -plied them with arguments, and appealed to their patriotism, but in -vain. - -Returning to the Museum I gave orders to have the string of flags made -ready, with directions at daylight on the Fourth of July to attach one -end of the rope to one of the third story windows of the Museum, and the -other end to a tree in St. Paul’s churchyard. The great day arrived, and -my orders were strictly followed. The flags attracted great attention, -and before nine o’clock I have no doubt that hundreds of additional -visitors were drawn by this display into the Museum. By half-past nine -Broadway was thronged, and about that time two gentlemen in a high -state of excitement rushed into my office, announcing themselves as -injured and insulted vestrymen of St. Paul’s Church. - -“Keep cool, gentlemen,” said I; “I guess it is all right.” - -“Right!” indignantly exclaimed one of them, “do you think it is right to -attach your Museum to our Church? We will show you what is ‘right’ and -what is law, if we live till to-morrow; those flags must come down -instantly.” - -“Thank you,” I said, “but let us not be in a hurry. I will go out with -you and look at them, and I guess we can make it all right.” - -Going into the street I remarked: “Really, gentlemen, these flags look -very beautiful; they do not injure your tree; I always stop my balcony -music for your accommodation whenever you hold week-day services, and it -is but fair that you should return the favor.” - -“We could indict your ‘music,’ as you call it, as a nuisance, if we -chose,” answered one vestryman, “and now I tell you that if these flags -are not taken down in ten minutes, _I_ will cut them down.” - -His indignation was at the boiling point. The crowd in the street was -dense, and the angry gesticulation of the vestryman attracted their -attention. I saw there was no use in trying to parley with him or coax -him, and so, assuming an angry air, I rolled up my sleeves, and -exclaimed, in a loud tone,-- - -“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 birth-day 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 my ruse, smiled faintly and said, “Oh, of course it -is all right,” and he and his companion quietly edged out of the crowd. -The flags remained up all day and all night. The next morning I sought -the vanquished vestrymen and obtained formal permission to make this use -of the tree on following holidays, in consideration of my willingness to -arrest the doleful strains of my discordant balcony band whenever -services were held on week days in the church. - -On that Fourth of July, at one o’clock, P. M., my Museum was so densely -crowded that we could admit no more visitors, and we were compelled to -stop the sale of tickets. I pushed through the throng until I reached -the roof of the building, hoping to find room for a few more, but it was -in vain. Looking down into the street it was a sad sight to see the -thousands of people who stood ready with their money to enter the -Museum, but who were actually turned away. It was exceedingly harrowing -to my feelings. Rushing down stairs, I told my carpenter and his -assistants to cut through the partition and floor in the rear and to put -in a temporary flight of stairs so as to let out people by that egress -into Ann Street. By three o’clock the egress - -[Illustration: _VICTORY OVER VESTRYMEN._] - -was opened and a few people were passed down the new stairs, while a -corresponding number came in at the front. But I lost a large amount of -money that day by not having sufficiently estimated the value of my own -advertising, and consequently not having provided for the thousands who -had read my announcements and seen my outside show, and had taken the -first leisure day to visit the Museum. I had learned one lesson, -however, and that was to have the egress ready on future holidays. - -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 17”; 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 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 aither, for we’ve brought our dinners and we -are going to stay all day.” - -Further, investigation showed that pretty much all of my 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 meanwhile 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-- - - ☞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. - -Notwithstanding my continual outlays for additional novelties and -attractions, or rather I might say, because of these outlays, money -poured in upon me so rapidly that I was sometimes actually embarrassed -to devise means to carry out my original plan for laying out the entire -profits of the first year in advertising. I meant to sow first and reap -afterwards. I finally hit upon a plan which cost a large sum, and that -was to prepare large oval oil paintings to be placed between the windows -of the entire building, representing nearly every important animal known -in zoology. These paintings were put on the building in a single night, -and so complete a transformation in the appearance of an edifice is -seldom witnessed. When the living stream rolled down Broadway the next -morning and reached the Astor House corner, opposite the Museum, it -seemed to meet with a sudden check. I never before saw so many open -mouths and astonished eyes. Some people were puzzled to know what it all -meant; some looked as if they thought it was an enchanted palace that -had suddenly sprung up; others exclaimed, “Well, the animals all seem to -have ‘broken out’ last night,” and hundreds came in to see how the -establishment survived the sudden eruption. At all events, from that -morning the Museum receipts took a jump forward of nearly a hundred -dollars a day, and they never fell back again. Strangers would look at -this great pictorial magazine and argue that an establishment with so -many animals on the outside must have something on the inside, and in -they would go to see. Inside, I took particular pains to please and -astonish these strangers, and when they went back to the country, they -carried plenty of pictorial bills and lithographs, which I always -lavishly furnished, and thus the fame of Barnum’s Museum became so -wide-spread, that people scarcely thought of visiting the city without -going to my establishment. - -In fact, the Museum had become an established institution in the land. -Now and then some one would cry out “humbug” and “charlatan,” but so -much the better for me. It helped to advertise me, and I was willing to -bear the reputation--and I engaged queer curiosities, and even -monstrosities, simply to add to the notoriety of the Museum. - -Dr. Valentine will be remembered by many as a man who gave imitations -and delineations of eccentric characters. He was quite a card at the -Museum when I first purchased that establishment, and before I -introduced dramatic representations into the “Lecture Room.” His -representations were usually given as follows: A small table was placed -in about the centre of the stage; a curtain reaching to the floor -covered the front and two ends of the table; under this table, on little -shelves and hooks, were placed caps, hats, coats, wigs, moustaches, -curls, cravats, and shirt collars, and all sorts of gear for changing -the appearance of the upper portion of the person. Dr. Valentine would -seat himself in a chair behind the table, and addressing his audience, -would state his intention to represent different peculiar characters, -male and female, including the Yankee tin peddler; “Tabitha Twist,” a -maiden lady; “Sam Slick, Jr.,” the precocious author; “Solomon -Jenkins,” a crusty old bachelor, with a song; the down-east -school-teacher with his refractory pupils, with many other characters; -and he simply asked the indulgence of the audience for a few seconds -between each imitation, to enable him to stoop down behind the table and -“dress” each character appropriately. - -The Doctor himself was a most eccentric character. He was very nervous, -and was always fretting lest his audience should be composed of persons -who would not appreciate his “imitations.” During one of his engagements -the Lecture Room performances consisted of negro minstrelsy and Dr. -Valentine’s imitations. As the minstrels gave the entire first half of -the entertainment, the Doctor would post himself at the entrance to the -Museum to study the character of the visitors from their appearance. He -fancied that he was a great reader of character in this way, and as most -of my visitors were from the country, the Doctor, after closely perusing -their faces, would decide that they were not the kind of persons who -would appreciate his efforts, and this made him extremely nervous. When -this idea was once in his head, it took complete possession of the poor -Doctor, and worked him up into a nervous excitement which it was often -painful to behold. Every country-looking face was a dagger to the -Doctor, for he had a perfect horror of exhibiting to an unappreciative -audience. When so much excited that he could stand at the door no -longer, the disgusted Doctor would come into my office and pour out his -lamentations in this wise: - -“There, Barnum, I never saw such a stupid lot of country bumpkins in my -life. I shan’t be able to get a smile out of them. I had rather be -horse-whipped than attempt to satisfy an audience who have not got the -brains to appreciate me. Sir, mine is a highly intellectual -entertainment, and none but refined and educated persons can comprehend -it.” - -“Oh, I think you will make them laugh some, Doctor,” I replied. - -“Laugh, sir, laugh! why, sir, they have no laugh in them, sir; and if -they had, your devilish nigger minstrels would get it all out of them -before I commenced.” - -“Don’t get excited, Doctor,” I said; “you will please the people.” - -“Impossible, sir! I was a fool to ever permit my entertainment to be -mixed up with that of nigger singers.” - -“But you could not give an entire entertainment satisfactorily to the -public; they want more variety.” - -“Then you should have got something more refined, sir. Why, one of those -cursed nigger break-downs excites your audience so they don’t want to -hear a word from me. At all events, I ought to commence the -entertainment and let the niggers finish up. I tell you, Mr. Barnum, I -won’t stand it! I would rather go to the poor-house. I won’t stay here -over a fortnight longer! It is killing me!” - -In this excited state the Doctor would go upon the stage, dressed very -neatly in a suit of black. Addressing a few pleasant words to the -audience, he would then take a seat behind his little table, and with a -broad smile covering his countenance would ask the audience to excuse -him a few seconds, and he would appear as “Tabitha Twist,” a literary -spinster of fifty-five. On these occasions I was usually behind the -scenes, standing at one of the wings opposite the Doctor’s table, where -I could see and hear all that occurred “behind the curtain.” The moment -the Doctor was down behind the table, a wonderful change came over that -smiling countenance. - -“Blast this infernal, stupid audience! they would not laugh to save the -city of New York!” said the Doctor, while he rapidly slipped on a lady’s -cap and a pair of long curls. Then, while arranging a lace handkerchief -around his shoulders, he would grate his teeth and curse the Museum, its -manager, the audience and everybody else. The instant the handkerchief -was pinned, the broad smile would come upon his face, and up would go -his head and shoulders showing to the audience a rollicking specimen of -a good-natured old maid. - -“How do you do, ladies and gentlemen? You all know me, Tabitha Twist, -the happiest maiden in the village; always laughing. Now, I’ll sing you -one of my prettiest songs.” - -The mock maiden would then sing a lively, funny ditty, followed by faint -applause, and down would bob the head behind the table to prepare for a -presentation of “Sam Slick, junior.” - -“Curse such a set of fools” (off goes the cap, followed by the curls). -“They think it’s a country Sunday school” (taking off the lace -handkerchief). “I expect they will hiss me next, the donkeys” (on goes a -light wig of long, flowing hair). “I wish the old Museum was sunk in the -Atlantic” (puts on a Yankee round-jacket, and broadbrimmed hat). “I -never will be caught in this infernal place, curse it;” up jump head -and shoulders of the Yankee, and Sam Slick, junior, sings out a merry-- - -“Ha! ha! why, folks, how de dew. Darn glad to see you, by hokey; I came -down here to have lots of fun, for you know I always believe we must -laugh and grow fat.” - -After five minutes of similar rollicking nonsense, down would bob the -head again, and the cursing, swearing, tearing, and teeth-grating would -commence, and continue till the next character appeared to the audience, -bedecked with smiles and good-humor. - -On several occasions I got up “Baby shows,” at which I paid liberal -prizes for the finest baby, the fattest baby, the handsomest twins, for -triplets, and so on. I always gave several months’ notice of these -intended shows and limited the number of babies at each exhibition to -one hundred. Long before the appointed time, the list would be full and -I have known many a fond mother to weep bitterly because the time for -application was closed and she could not have the opportunity to exhibit -her beautiful baby. These shows were as popular as they were unique, and -while they paid in a financial point of view, my chief object in getting -them up was to set the newspapers to talking about me, thus giving -another blast on the trumpet which I always tried to keep blowing for -the Museum. Flower shows, dog shows, poultry shows and bird shows, were -held at intervals in my establishment and in each instance the same end -was attained as by the baby shows. I gave prizes in the shape of medals, -money and diplomas and the whole came back to me four-fold in the shape -of advertising. - -There was great difficulty, however, in awarding the - -[Illustration: _SQUALLS AND BREEZES._] - -principal prize of $100 at the baby shows. Every mother thought her own -baby the brightest and best, and confidently expected the capital prize. - - For where was ever seen the mother - Would give her baby for another? - -Not foreseeing this when I first stepped into the expectant circle and -announced in a matter of fact way that a committee of ladies had decided -upon the baby of Mrs. So and So as entitled to the leading prize, I was -ill-prepared for the storm of indignation that arose on every side. -Ninety-nine disappointed, and as they thought, deeply injured, mothers -made common cause and pronounced the successful little one the meanest, -homeliest baby in the lot, and roundly abused me and my committee for -our stupidity and partiality. “Very well, ladies,” said I in the first -instance, “select a committee of your own and I will give another $100 -prize to the baby you shall pronounce to be the best specimen.” This was -only throwing oil upon flame; the ninety-nine confederates were deadly -enemies from the moment and no new babies were presented in competition -for the second prize. Thereafter, I took good care to send in a written -report and did not attempt to announce the prize in person. - -At the first exhibition of the kind, there was a vague, yet very current -rumor, that in the haste of departure from the Museum several young -mothers had exchanged babies (for the babies were nearly all of the same -age and were generally dressed alike) and did not discover the mistake -till they arrived home and some such conversation as this occurred -between husband and wife: - -“Did our baby take the prize?” - -“No! the darling was cheated out of it.” - -“Well, why didn’t you bring home the same baby you carried to the -Museum?” - -I am glad to say that I could not trace this cruel rumor to an authentic -source. - -In June 1843, a herd of yearling buffaloes was on exhibition in Boston. -I 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--I was careful not to state -their age--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 my balcony band, which I 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 a laugh for several days over the Hoboken -“Free Grand Buffalo Hunt,” I permitted it to be announced that the -proprietor of the American Museum was responsible for the joke, thus -using the buffalo hunt as a sky-rocket to attract public attention to my -Museum. The object was accomplished and although some people cried out -“humbug,” I had added to the notoriety which I so much wanted and I was -satisfied. As for the cry of “humbug,” it never harmed me, and I was in -the position of the actor who had much rather be roundly abused than not -to be noticed at all. I ought to add, that the forty-eight thousand -sixpences--the usual fare--received for ferry fares, less what I paid -for the charter of the boats on that one day, more than remunerated me -for the cost of the buffaloes and the expenses of the “hunt,” and the -enormous gratuitous advertising of the Museum must also be placed to my -credit. - -With the same object--that is, advertising my Museum,--I purchased, for -$500, in Cincinnati, Ohio, a “Woolly Horse” I found on exhibition in -that city. It was a well formed, small sized horse, with no mane, and -not a particle of hair on his tail, while his entire body and legs were -covered with thick, fine hair or wool, which curled tight to his skin. -This horse was foaled in Indiana, and was a remarkable freak of nature, -and certainly a very curious looking animal. - -I had not the remotest idea, when I bought this horse, what I should do -with him; but when the news came that Colonel John C. Fremont (who was -supposed to have been lost in the snows of the Rocky Mountains) was in -safety, the “Woolly Horse” was exhibited in New York, and was widely -advertised as a most remarkable animal that had been captured by the -great explorer’s party in the passes of the Rocky Mountains. The -exhibition met with only moderate success in New York, and in several -Northern provincial towns, and the show would have fallen flat in -Washington, had it not been for the over-zeal of Colonel Thomas H. -Benton, then a United States Senator from Missouri. He went to the show, -and then caused the arrest of my agent for obtaining twenty-five cents -from him under “false pretences.” No mention had been made of this -curious animal in any letter he had received from his son-in-law, -Colonel John C. Fremont, and therefore the Woolly Horse had not been -captured by any of Fremont’s party. The reasoning was hardly as sound as -were most of the arguments of “Old Bullion,” and the case was dismissed. -After a few days of merriment, public curiosity no longer turned in that -direction, and the old horse was permitted to retire to private life. My -object in the exhibition, however, was fully attained. When it was -generally known that the proprietor of the American Museum was also the -owner of the famous “Woolly Horse,” it caused yet more talk about me -and my establishment, and visitors began to say that they would give -more to see the proprietor of the Museum than to view the entire -collection of curiosities. As for my ruse in advertising the “Woolly -Horse” as having been captured by Fremont’s exploring party, of course -the announcement neither added to nor took from the interest of the -exhibition; but it arrested public attention, and it was the only -feature of the show that I now care to forget. - -It will be seen that very much of the success which attended my many -years proprietorship of the American Museum was due to advertising, and -especially to my odd methods of advertising. Always claiming that I had -curiosities worth showing and worth seeing, and exhibited “dog cheap” at -“twenty-five cents admission, children half price”--I studied ways to -arrest public attention; to startle, to make people talk and wonder; in -short, to let the world know that I had a Museum. - -About this time, I engaged a band of Indians from Iowa. They had never -seen a railroad or steamboat until they saw them on the route from Iowa -to New York. Of course they were wild and had but faint ideas of -civilization. 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, we had a high rope barrier -placed between them and the savages on the front of the stage. - -After they had been a week in the Museum, 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 woollen 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,--among whom I can especially -name Mrs. C. M. Sawyer, wife of the Rev. Dr. T. J. Sawyer. 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. - -It was sometimes very amusing to hear the remarks of strangers who came -to visit my Museum. One afternoon a prim maiden lady from Portland, -Maine, walked into my private office, where I was busily engaged in -writing, and taking a seat on the sofa she asked: - -“Is this Mr. Barnum?” - -“It is,” I replied. - -“Is this Mr. P. T. Barnum, the proprietor of the Museum?” she asked. - -“The same,” was my answer. - -“Why, really, Mr. Barnum,” she continued, “you look much like other -common folks, after all.” - -I remarked that I presumed I did; but I could not help it, and I hoped -she was not disappointed at my appearance. - -“Oh, no,” she said; “I suppose I have no right to be disappointed, but I -have read and heard so much about you and your Museum that I was quite -prepared to be astonished.” - -I asked her if she had been through the establishment. - -“I have,” she replied; “I came in immediately after breakfast; I have -been here ever since, and, I can say I think with the Queen of Sheba, -that ‘the half had not been told me.’ But, Mr. Barnum,” she, continued, -“I have long felt a desire to see you; I wanted to attend when you -lectured on temperance in Portland, but I had a severe cold and could -not go out.” - -“Do you like my collection as well as you do the one in the Boston -Museum?” I asked. - -“Dear me! Mr. Barnum,” said she, “I never went to any Museum before, nor -to any place of amusement or public entertainment, excepting our school -exhibitions; and I have sometimes felt that they even may be wicked, for -some parts of the dialogues seemed frivolous; but I have heard so much -of your ‘moral drama’ and the great good you are doing for the rising -generation that I thought I must come here and see for myself.” - -“We represent the pathetic story of ‘Charlotte Temple’ in the Lecture -Room to-day,” I remarked, with an inward chuckle at the peculiarities of -my singular visitor, who, although she was nearly fifty years of age, -had probably never been in an audience of a hundred persons, unless it -might be at a school exhibition, or in Sunday school, or in church. - -“Indeed! I am quite familiar with the sad history of Miss Temple, and I -think I can derive great consolation from witnessing the representation -of the touching story.” - -At this moment the gong sounded to announce the opening of the Lecture -Room, and the crowd passed on in haste to secure seats. My spinster -visitor sprang to her feet and anxiously inquired: - -“Are the services about to commence?” - -“Yes,” I replied, “the congregation is now going up.” - -She marched along with the crowd as demurely as if she was going to a -funeral. After she was seated, I watched her, and in the course of the -play I noticed that she was several times so much overcome as to be -moved to tears. She was very much affected, and when the “services” were -over, without seeking another interview with me, she went silently and -tearfully away. - -One day, two city boys who had thoroughly explored the wonders of the -Museum, on their way out passed the open door of my private office, and -seeing me sitting there, one of them exclaimed to his companion: - -“There! That’s Mr. Barnum.” - -“No! is it?” asked the other, and then with his mind full of the glories -of the stuffed gander-skins, and other wealth which had been displayed -to his wondering eyes in the establishment, he summed up his views of -the vastness and value of the whole collection, and its fortunate -proprietor in a single sentence: - -“Well, he’s an awful rich old cuss, ain’t he!” - -Those boys evidently took a strictly financial view of the -establishment. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SPECULATION. - - PEALE’S MUSEUM--MYSTERIOUS MESMERISM--YANKEE HILL--HENRY - BENNETT--THE RIVAL MUSEUMS--THE ORPHEAN AND ORPHAN FAMILIES--THE - FUDGEE MERMAID--BUYING OUT MY RIVAL--RUNNING OPPOSITION TO - MYSELF--ABOLISHING THEATRICAL NUISANCES--NO CHECKS AND NO BAR--THE - MUSEUM MY MANIA--MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES S. - STRATTON--GENERAL TOM THUMB IN NEW YORK--RE-ENGAGEMENT--AN APT - PUPIL--FREE FROM DEBT--THE PROFITS OF TWO YEARS--IN SEARCH OF A NEW - FIELD--STARTING FOR LIVERPOOL--THE GOOD SHIP “YORKSHIRE”--MY - PARTY--ESCORT TO SANDY HOOK--THE VOYAGE--A TOBACCO TRICK--A - BRAGGING JOHN BULL OUTWITTED--ARRIVAL AT LIVERPOOL--A GENTLEMAN - BEGGAR--MADAME CELESTE--CHEAP DWARFS--TWO-PENNY SHOWS--EXHIBITION - OF GENERAL TOM THUMB IN LIVERPOOL--FIRST-CLASS ENGAGEMENT FOR - LONDON. - - -The president and directors of the “New York Museum Company” not only -failed to buy the American Museum as they confidently expected to do, -but, after my newspaper squib war and my purchase of the Museum, they -found it utterly impossible to sell their stock. By some arrangement, -the particulars of which I do not remember, if, indeed, I ever cared to -know them, Mr. Peale was conducting Peale’s Museum which he claimed was -a more “scientific” establishment than mine, and he pretended to appeal -to a higher class of patrons. Mesmerism was one of his scientific -attractions, and he had a subject upon whom he operated at times with -the greatest seeming success, and fairly astonished his audiences. But -there were times when the subject was wholly unimpressible and then -those who had paid their money to see the woman put into the mesmeric -state cried out “humbug,” and the reputation of the establishment -seriously suffered. - -It devolved upon me to open a rival mesmeric performance, and -accordingly I engaged a bright little girl who was exceedingly -susceptible to such mesmeric influences as I could induce. That is, she -learned her lesson thoroughly, and when I had apparently put her to -sleep with a few passes and stood behind her, she seemed to be duly -“impressed” as I desired; raised her hands as I willed; fell from her -chair to the floor; and if I put candy or tobacco into my 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,” I 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 my “passes” would -not put any man in the mesmeric state; at the end of three minutes he -was as wide awake as ever. - -“Never mind,” I would say, looking at my 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.” I would then take out my knife and -feel of the edge, and when I turned around to the girl whom I 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?” I 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.” - -I kept up this performance for several weeks, till I quite killed -Peale’s “genuine” mesmerism in the rival establishment. After Peale, -“Yankee” Hill undertook the management of that Museum, but in a little -while he failed. It was then let to Henry Bennett, who reduced the -entrance price to one shilling,--a half price which led me to -characterize his concern as “cheap and nasty,”--and he began a serious -rivalry with my Museum. His main reliances were burlesques and -caricatures of whatever novelties I was exhibiting; thus, when I -advertised an able company of vocalists, well-known as the Orphean -Family, Bennett announced the “Orphan Family;” my Fejee Mermaid he -offset with a figure made of a monkey and codfish joined together and -called the “Fudg-ee Mermaid.” These things created some laughter at my -expense, but they also served to advertise my Museum. - -When the novelty of this opposition died away, Bennett did a decidedly -losing business. I used to send a man with a shilling to his place every -night and I knew exactly how much he was doing and what were his -receipts. The holidays were coming and might tide him over a day or two, -but he was at the very bottom and I said to him, one day: - -“Bennett, if you can keep open one week after New Year’s I will give you -a hundred dollars.” - -He made every effort to win the money, and even went to the landlord and -offered him the entire receipts for a week if he would only let him stay -there; but he would not do it, and the day after New Year’s, January 2, -1843, Bennett shut up shop, having lost his last dollar and even failing -to secure the handsome premium I offered him. - -The entire collection fell into the hands of the landlord for arrearages -of rent, and I privately purchased it for $7,000 cash, hired the -building, and secretly engaged Bennett as my agent. We ran a very -spirited opposition for a long time and abused each other terribly in -public. It was very amusing when actors and performers failed to make -terms with one of us and went to the other, carrying from one to the -other the price each was willing to pay for an engagement. We thus used -to hear extraordinary stories about each other’s “liberal terms,” but -between the two we managed to secure such persons as we wanted at about -the rates at which their services were really worth. While these people -were thus running from one manager to the other, supposing we were -rivals, Bennett said to me one day: - -“You and I are like a pair of shears; we seem to cut each other, but we -only cut what comes between.” - -I ran my opposition long enough to beat myself. It answered every -purpose, however, in awakening public attention to my Museum, and was an -advantage in preventing others from starting a genuine opposition. At -the end of six months, the whole establishment, including the splendid -gallery of American portraits, was removed to the American Museum and I -immediately advertised the great card of a “Double attraction” and “Two -Museums in One,” without extra charge. - -A Museum proper obviously depends for patronage largely upon country -people who visit the city with a worthy curiosity to see the novelties -of the town. As I had opened a dramatic entertainment in connection with -my curiosities, it was clear that I must adapt my stage to the wants of -my country customers. While I was disposed to amuse my provincial -patrons, I was determined that there should be nothing in my -establishment, where many of my visitors would derive their first -impressions of city life, that could contaminate or corrupt them. At -this period, it was customary to tolerate very considerable license on -the stage. Things were said and done and permitted in theatres that -elsewhere would have been pronounced highly improper. The public seemed -to demand these things, and it is an axiom in political economy, that -the demand must regulate the supply. But I determined, at the start, -that, let the demand be what it might, the Museum dramatic -entertainments should be unexceptionable on the score of morality. - -I have already mentioned some of the immediate reforms I made in the -abuses of the stage. I went farther, and, at the risk of some pecuniary -sacrifice, I abolished what was common enough in other theatres, even -the most “respectable,” and was generally known as the “third tier.” Nor -was a bar permitted on my premises. To be sure, I had no power to -prevent my patrons from going out between the acts and getting liquor if -they chose to do so, and I gave checks, as is done in other theatres, -and some of my city customers availed themselves of the opportunity to -go out for drinks and return again. Practically, then, it was much the -same as if I had kept a bar in the Museum, and so I abolished the check -business. There was great reason to apprehend that such a course would -rob me of the patronage of a considerable class of play-goers, but I -rigidly adhered to the new rule, and what I may have lost in money, I -more than gained in the greater decorum which characterized my -audiences. - -The Museum became a mania with me and I made everything possible -subservient to it. On the eve of elections, rival politicians would ask -me for whom I was going to vote, and my answer invariably was, “I vote -for the American Museum.” In fact, at that time, I cared very little -about politics, and a great deal about my business. Meanwhile the Museum -prospered wonderfully, and everything I attempted or engaged in seemed -at the outset an assured success. - -The giants whom I exhibited from time to time were always literally -great features in my establishment, and they oftentimes afforded me, as -well as my 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 called his ‘study’--meaning, I suppose, the place where he -intends to study his spelling-book!” - -I 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 quarrelled, 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 my 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, I ran from my private -office to the duelling 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 quarrelled no more. - -I now come to the details of one of the most interesting, as well as -successful, of all the show enterprises in which I have engaged--one -which not only taxed all my ingenuity and industry, but which gave -unqualified - -[Illustration: _BATTLE OF THE GIANTS._] - -delight to thousands of people on two continents and put enormous sums -of money into many pockets besides my own. - -In November, 1842, I was in Albany on business, and as the Hudson River -was frozen over, I returned to New York by the Housatonic Railroad, -stopping one night at Bridgeport, Connecticut, with my brother, Philo F. -Barnum, who at that time kept the Franklin Hotel. I had heard of a -remarkably small child in Bridgeport, and, at my request, my brother -brought him to the hotel. He was not two feet high; he weighed less than -sixteen pounds, and was the smallest child I ever saw that could walk -alone; but 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. - -But as he was only five years of age, to exhibit him as a “dwarf” might -provoke the inquiry “How do you know he is a dwarf?” Some liberty might -be taken with the facts, but even with this license, I felt that the -venture was only an experiment, and I engaged him for four weeks at -three dollars a week, with all travelling and boarding charges for -himself and his mother at my expense. They came to New York, -Thanksgiving day, December 8, 1842, and Mrs. Stratton was greatly -surprised to see her son announced on my Museum bills as “General Tom -Thumb.” - -I took the greatest pains to educate and train my diminutive prodigy, -devoting many hours to the task by day and by night, and I was very -successful, for he was an apt pupil with a great deal of native talent, -and a keen sense of the ludicrous. He made rapid progress in preparing -himself for such performances as I wished him to undertake and he became -very much attached to his teacher. - -When the four weeks expired, I 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 I was to -pay all travelling expenses. He speedily became a public favorite, and, -long before the year was out, I voluntarily increased his weekly salary -to twenty-five dollars, and he fairly earned it. Sometimes I exhibited -him for several weeks in succession at the Museum, and when I wished to -introduce other novelties I sent him to different towns and cities, -accompanied by my friend, Mr. Fordyce Hitchcock, and the fame of General -Tom Thumb soon spread throughout the country. - -Two years had now elapsed since I bought the Museum and I had long since -paid for the entire establishment from the profits; I had bought out my -only rival; I was free from debt, and had a handsome surplus in the -treasury. The business had long ceased to be an experiment; it was an -established success and was in such perfect running order, that it could -safely be committed to the management of trustworthy and tried agents. - -Accordingly, looking for a new field for my individual efforts, I -entered into 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. I proposed to test the curiosity of men and -women on the other side of the Atlantic. Much as I hoped for success, in -my most sanguine moods, I could not anticipate the half of what was in -store for me; I did not foresee nor dream that I was shortly to be -brought in close contact with kings, queens, lords and illustrious -commoners, and that such association, by means of my exhibition, would -afterwards introduce me to the great public and the public’s money, -which was to fill my coffers. Or, if I saw some such future, it was -dreamily, dimly, and with half-opened eyes, as the man saw the “trees -walking.” - -After arranging my business affairs for a long absence, and making every -preparation for an extended foreign tour, on Thursday, January 18, 1844, -I went on board the new and fine sailing ship “Yorkshire,” Captain D. G. -Bailey, bound for Liverpool. Our party included General Tom Thumb, his -parents, his tutor, and Professor Guillaudeu, the French naturalist. We -were accompanied by several personal friends, and the City Brass Band -kindly volunteered to escort us to Sandy Hook. - -My name has been so long associated with mirthful incidents that I -presume many persons do not suppose I am susceptible of sorrowful, or -even sentimental emotions; but when the bell of the steamer that towed -our ship down the bay announced the hour of separation, and then -followed the hastily-spoken words of farewell, and the parting grasp of -friendly hands, I confess that I was very much in the “melting mood,” -and when the band played “Home, Sweet Home,” I was moved to tears. - -A voyage to Liverpool is now an old, familiar story, and I abstain from -entering into details, though I have abundant material respecting my own -experiences of my first sea-voyage in the first two of a series of one -hundred letters which I wrote in Europe as correspondent of the New York -_Atlas_. But some of the incidents and adventures of my voyage on the -“Yorkshire” are worth transcribing in these pages of my personal -history. - -Occasional calms and adverse winds protracted our passage to nineteen -days, but a better ship and a more competent captain never sailed. I was -entirely exempt from sea-sickness, and enjoyed the voyage very much. -Good fellowship prevailed among the passengers, the time passed rapidly, -and we had a good deal of fun on board. - -Several of the passengers were English merchants from Canada and one of -the number, who reckoned himself “A, No. 1,” and often hinted that he -was too ‘cute for any Yankee, boasted so much of his shrewdness that a -Yankee friend of mine confederated with me to test it. I thought of an -old trick and arranged with my friend to try it on the boastful John -Bull. Coming out of my state-room, with my hand to my face, and -apparently in great pain, I asked my fellow passengers what was good for -the tooth-ache. My friend and confederate recommended heating tobacco, -and holding it to my face. I therefore borrowed a little tobacco, and -putting it in a paper of a peculiar color, placed it on the stove to -warm. I then retired for a few minutes, during which time the Yankee -proposed playing a trick on me by emptying the tobacco, and filling the -paper with ashes, which our smart Englishman thought would be a very -fine joke, and he himself made the substitution, putting ashes into the -paper and throwing the tobacco into the fire. - -I soon reappeared and gravely placed the paper to my face to the great -amusement of the passengers and walked up and down the cabin as if I was -suffering terribly. At the further end of the cabin I slyly exchanged -the paper for another in my pocket of the same color and containing -tobacco and then walked back again a picture of misery. Whereupon, the -Merry Englishman cried out: - -“Mr. Barnum, what have you got in that paper?” - -“Tobacco,” I replied. - -“What will you bet it is tobacco?” said the Englishman. - -“Oh, don’t bother me,” said I; “my tooth pains me sadly; I know it is -tobacco, for I put it there myself.” - -“I’ll bet you a dozen of champagne that it is not tobacco,” said the -Englishman. - -“Nonsense,” I replied, “I will not bet, for it would not be fair; I know -it is tobacco.” - -“I’ll bet you fifty dollars it is not,” said John Bull, and he counted -ten sovereigns upon the table. - -“I’ll not bet the money,” I replied, “for I tell you I know it is -tobacco; I placed it there myself.” - -“You dare not bet!” he rejoined. - -At last, merely to accommodate him, I bet a dozen of champagne. The -Englishman fairly jumped with delight, and roared out: - -“Open the paper! open the paper!” - -The passengers crowded round the table in great glee to see me open the -paper, for all but the Yankee thought I was taken in. I quietly opened -the paper, and remarked: - -“There, I told you it was tobacco--how foolish you were to suppose it -was not--for, as I told you, I put it there myself.” - -The passengers, my confederate excepted, were amazed and the Englishman -was absolutely astounded. It was the biter bitten. But he told the -steward to bring the champagne, and turning to my confederate who had so -effectually assisted in “selling” him, he pronounced the affair “a -contemptible Yankee trick.” It was several days before he recovered his -good humor, but he joined at last with the rest of us in laughing at the -joke, and we heard no more about his extraordinary shrewdness. - -On our arrival at Liverpool, quite a crowd had assembled at the dock to -see Tom Thumb, for it had been previously announced that he would arrive -in the “Yorkshire,” but his mother managed to smuggle him ashore -unnoticed, for she carried him, as if he was an infant, in her arms. We -went to the Waterloo Hotel, and, after an excellent dinner, walked out -to take a look at the town. While I was viewing the Nelson monument a -venerable looking, well-dressed old gentleman volunteered to explain to -me the different devices and inscriptions. I looked upon him as a -disinterested and attentive man of means who was anxious to assist a -stranger and to show his courtesy; but when I gave him a parting bow of -thanks, half ashamed that I had so trespassed on his kindness, he put -out the hand of a beggar and said that he would be thankful for any -remuneration I saw fit to bestow upon him for his trouble. I was -certainly astonished, and I thrust a shilling into his hand and walked -rapidly away. - -In the evening of the same day, a tall, raw-boned man came to the hotel -and introduced himself to me as a brother Yankee, who would be happy in -pointing out the many wonders in Liverpool that a stranger would be -pleased to see. - -I asked him how long he had been in Liverpool, and he replied, “Nearly a -week.” I declined his proffered services abruptly, remarking that if he -had been there only a week, I probably knew as much about England as he -did. - -“Oh,” said he, “you are mistaken. I have been in England before, though -never till recently in Liverpool.” - -“What part of England?” I inquired. - -“Opposite Niagara Falls,” he replied; “I spent several days there with -the British soldiers.” - -I laughed in his face, and reminded him that England did not lie -opposite Niagara Falls. The impudent fellow was confused for a moment, -and then triumphantly exclaimed: - -“I didn’t mean England. I know what country it is as well as you do.” - -“Well, what country is it?” I asked, quite assured that he did not know. - -“Great Britain, of course,” he replied. - -It is needless to add that the honor of his company as a guide in -Liverpool was declined, and he went off apparently in a huff because his -abilities were not appreciated. - -Later in the evening, the proprietor of a cheap wax-works show, at three -ha’ pence admission, called upon me. He had heard of the arrival of the -great American curiosity, and he seized the earliest opportunity to make -the General and myself the magnificent offer of ten dollars a week if -we would join ourselves to his already remarkable and attractive -exhibition. I could not but think, that dwarfs must be literally at a -“low figure” in England, and my prospects were gloomy indeed. I was a -stranger in the land; my letters of introduction had not been delivered; -beyond my own little circle, I had not seen a friendly face, nor heard a -familiar voice. I was “blue,” homesick, almost in despair. Next morning, -there came a ray of sunshine in the following note: - - “Madame CELESTE presents her compliments to Mr. Barnum, and begs to - say that her private box is quite at his service, any night, for - himself and friends. - - “Theatre Royal, Williamson Square.” - -This polite invitation was thankfully accepted, and we went to the -theatre that evening. Our party, including the General, who was partly -concealed by his tutor’s cloak, occupied Celeste’s box, and in the box -adjoining sat an English lady and gentleman whose appearance indicated -respectability, intelligence and wealth. The General’s interest in the -performance attracted their attention, and the lady remarked to me: - -“What an intelligent-looking child you have! He appears to take quite an -interest in the stage.” - -“Pardon me, madam,” said I, “this is not a child. This is General Tom -Thumb.” - -“Indeed!” they exclaimed. They had seen the announcements of our visit -and were greatly gratified at an interview with the pigmy prodigy. They -at once advised me in the most complimentary and urgent manner to take -the General to Manchester, where they resided, assuring me that an -exhibition in that place would be highly remunerative. I thanked my new -friends for their counsel and encouragement, and ventured to ask them -what price they would recommend me to charge for admission. - -“The General is so decidedly a curiosity,” said the lady, “that I think -you might put it as high as tuppence!” (two-pence.) - -She was, however, promptly interrupted by her husband, who was evidently -the economist of the family: “I am sure you would not succeed at that -price,” said he; “you should put admission at one penny, for that is the -usual price for seeing giants and dwarfs in England.” - -This was worse than the ten dollars a week offer of the wax-works -proprietor, but I promptly answered “Never shall the price be less than -one shilling sterling and some of the nobility and gentry of England -will yet pay gold to see General Tom Thumb.” - -My letters of introduction speedily brought me into friendly relations -with 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 -“head-quarters,” 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. - -GENERAL TOM THUMB IN ENGLAND. - - ARRIVAL IN LONDON--THE GENERAL’S DEBUT IN THE PRINCESS’S - THEATRE--ENORMOUS SUCCESS--MY MANSION AT THE WEST END--DAILY LEVEES - FOR THE NOBILITY AND GENTRY--HON. EDWARD EVERETT--HIS INTEREST IN - THE GENERAL--VISIT TO THE BARONESS ROTHSCHILD--OPENING IN EGYPTIAN - HALL, PICCADILLY--MR. CHARLES MURRAY, MASTER OF THE QUEEN’S - HOUSEHOLD--AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE BY COMMAND OF HER MAJESTY--A ROYAL - RECEPTION--THE FAVORABLE IMPRESSION MADE BY THE GENERAL--AMUSING - INCIDENTS OF THE VISIT--BACKING OUT--FIGHT WITH A POODLE--COURT - JOURNAL NOTICE--SECOND VISIT TO THE QUEEN--THE PRINCE OF WALES AND - PRINCESS ROYAL--THE QUEEN OF THE BELGIANS--THIRD VISIT TO - BUCKINGHAM PALACE--KING LEOPOLD, OF BELGIUM--ASSURED SUCCESS--THE - BRITISH PUBLIC EXCITED--EGYPTIAN HALL CROWDED--QUEEN DOWAGER - ADELAIDE--THE GENERAL’S WATCH--NAPOLEON AND THE DUKE OF - WELLINGTON--DISTINGUISHED FRIENDS. - - -Immediately after our arrival in London, the General came out at the -Princess’s Theatre, and made so decided a “hit” that it was difficult to -decide who was best pleased, the spectators, the manager, or myself. The -spectators were delighted because they could not well help it; the -manager was satisfied because he had coined money by the engagement; and -I was greatly pleased because I now had a visible guaranty of success in -London. I was offered far higher terms for a re-engagement, but my -purpose had been already answered; the news was spread everywhere that -General Tom Thumb, an unparalleled curiosity, was in the city; and it -only remained for me to bring him before the public, on my own account -and in my own time and way. - -I took a furnished mansion in Grafton Street, Bond Street, West End, in -the very centre of the most fashionable locality. The house had -previously been occupied for several years by Lord Talbot, and Lord -Brougham and half a dozen families of the aristocracy and many of the -gentry were my neighbors. From this magnificent mansion, I sent letters -of invitation to the editors and several of the nobility, to visit the -General. Most of them called, and were highly gratified. The word of -approval was indeed so passed around in high circles, that uninvited -parties drove to my door in crested carriages, and were not admitted. - -This procedure, though in some measure a stroke of policy, was neither -singular nor hazardous, under the circumstances. I had not yet announced -a public exhibition, and as a private American gentleman, it became me -to maintain the dignity of my position. I therefore instructed my -liveried servant to deny admission to see my “ward,” excepting to -persons who brought cards of invitation. He did it in a proper manner, -and no offence could be taken, though I was always particular to send an -invitation immediately to such as had not been admitted. - -During our first week in London, the Hon. Edward Everett, the American -Minister, to whom I had letters of introduction, called and was highly -pleased with his diminutive though renowned countryman. We dined with -him the next day, by invitation, and his family loaded the young -American with presents. Mr. Everett kindly promised to use influence at -the Palace in person, with a view to having Tom Thumb introduced to Her -Majesty Queen Victoria. - -A few evenings afterwards the Baroness Rothschild sent her carriage for -us. Her mansion is a noble structure in Piccadilly, surrounded by a high -wall, through the gate of which our carriage was driven, and brought up -in front of the main entrance. Here we were received by half a dozen -servants, and were ushered up the broad flight of marble stairs to the -drawing-room, where we met the Baroness and a party of twenty or more -ladies and gentlemen. In this sumptuous mansion of the richest banker in -the world, we spent about two hours, and when we took our leave a -well-filled purse was quietly slipped into my hand. The golden shower -had begun to fall, and that it was no dream was manifest from the fact -that, very shortly afterwards, a visit to the mansion of Mr. Drummond, -another eminent banker, came to the same golden conclusion. - -I now engaged the “Egyptian Hall,” in Piccadilly, and the announcement -of my unique exhibition was promptly answered by a rush of visitors, in -which the wealth and fashion of London were liberally represented. I -made these arrangements because I had little hope of being soon brought -to the Queen’s presence, (for the reason before mentioned,) but Mr. -Everett’s generous influence secured my object. I breakfasted at his -house one morning, by invitation, in company with Mr. Charles Murray, an -author of creditable repute, who held the office of Master of the -Queen’s Household. In the course of conversation, Mr. Murray inquired as -to my plans, and I informed him that I intended going to the Continent -shortly, though I should be glad to remain if the General could have an -interview with the Queen--adding that such an event would be of great -consequence to me. - -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 me 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 me 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, I 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.” - -On arriving at the Palace, the Lord in Waiting put me “under drill” as -to the manner and form in which I should conduct myself in the presence -of royalty. I was to answer all questions by Her Majesty through him, -and in no event to speak directly to the Queen. In leaving the royal -presence I was to “back out,” keeping my face always towards Her -Majesty, and the illustrious lord kindly gave me a specimen of that sort -of backward locomotion. How far I profited by his instructions and -example, will presently appear. - -We were conducted through a long corridor to a broad flight of marble -steps, which led to the Queen’s magnificent picture gallery, where Her -Majesty and Prince Albert, the Duchess of Kent, and twenty or thirty of -the nobility were awaiting our arrival. They were standing at the -farther 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, we were permitted to -depart. - -Before describing the process and incidents of “backing out,” I must -acknowledge how sadly I broke through the counsel of the Lord in -Waiting. While Prince Albert and others were engaged with the General, -the Queen was gathering information from me in regard to his history, -etc. Two or three questions were put and answered through the process -indicated in my drill. It was a round-about way of doing business not at -all to my liking, and I suppose the Lord in Waiting was seriously -shocked, if not outraged, when I entered directly into conversation with -Her Majesty. She, however, seemed not disposed to check my boldness, for -she immediately spoke directly to me in obtaining the information which -she sought. I felt 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 the 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 offence 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 courtesies of the Palace were not yet exhausted, for we were -escorted to an apartment in which refreshments had been provided for us. -We did ample justice to the viands, though my mind was rather looking -into the future than enjoying the present. I was anxious that the “Court -Journal” of the ensuing day should contain more than a mere line in -relation to the General’s interview with the Queen, and, on inquiry, I -learned that the gentleman who had charge of that feature in the daily -papers was then in the Palace. He was sent for 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 afterwards, that he had inserted my -notice _verbatim_. - -This notice of my visit to the Queen wonderfully increased the -attraction of my exhibition and compelled me to obtain a more commodious -hall for my exhibition. I accordingly removed to the larger room in the -same building, for some time previously occupied by our countryman, Mr. -Catlin, for his great Gallery of Portraits of American Indians and -Indian Curiosities, all of which remained as an adornment. - -On our second visit to the Queen, we were received in what is called the -“Yellow Drawing-Room,” a magnificent apartment, surpassing in splendor -and gorgeousness anything of the kind I had ever seen. 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 modern patterns, and 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. - -We 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 we took with us, -and with much politeness sat himself 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: - -“I shall see Monsieur Guillaudeu in Paris.” - -The two Queens looked inquiringly to me, and when I informed them that -M. Guillaudeu was my French naturalist, who had preceded me to Paris, -they laughed most heartily. - -On our 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 me as it was to the royal party. When -the merriment it occasioned somewhat subsided, the Queen good-humoredly -remarked, “That is a very pretty song, General. Sing it if you please.” -The General complied, and soon afterwards we retired. I ought to add, -that after each of our three visits to Buckingham Palace, a very -handsome sum was sent to me, of course by the Queen’s command. This, -however, was the smallest part of the advantage derived from these -interviews, as will be at once apparent to all who consider the force of -Court example in England. - -The British public were now fairly excited. Not to have seen General -Tom Thumb was decidedly unfashionable, and from March 20th until July -20th, the levees of the little General at Egyptian Hall were continually -crowded, the receipts averaging during the whole period about five -hundred dollars per day, and sometimes going considerably beyond that -sum. At the fashionable hour, between fifty and sixty carriages of the -nobility have been counted at one time standing in front of our -exhibition rooms in Piccadilly. - -Portraits of the little General were published in all the pictorial -papers of the time. Polkas and quadrilles were named after him, and -songs were sung in his praise. He was an almost constant theme for the -London _Punch_, which served up the General and myself so daintily that -it no doubt added vastly to our receipts. - -Besides his three public performances per day, the little General -attended from three to four private parties per week, for which we were -paid eight to ten guineas each. Frequently we 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, bag-wig, cocked hat, and a 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 got 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 we 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. The little fellow was delighted, and scarcely knew how -sufficiently to express his thanks. The good Queen gave him some -excellent advice in regard to his morals, which he strictly promised to -obey. - -After giving his performances, we withdrew from the royal presence, and -the elegant little watch presented by the hands of Her Majesty the Queen -Dowager was not only duly heralded, but was also 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 turquoise, presented -by his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, and many other costly gifts of the -nobility and gentry, added greatly to the attractions 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. I 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. - -While we were in London the Emperor Nicholas, of Russia, visited Queen -Victoria, and I saw him on several public occasions. I was present at -the grand review of troops in Windsor Park in honor of and before the -Emperor of Russia and the King of Saxony. - -General Tom Thumb had visited the King of Saxony and also Ibrahim Pacha -who was then in London. At the different parties we attended, we met, in -the course of the season, nearly all of the nobility. I do not believe -that a single 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 may be mentioned 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, Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Bates, of the firm of Baring -Brothers & - -[Illustration: _THE GREAT DUKE AND THE LITTLE GENERAL._] - -Co., and many other persons of distinction. We had the free entrée 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 was a particular friend of mine. He 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. Our visit in London and tour through the provinces -were enormously successful, and after a brilliant season in Great -Britain I made preparations to take the General to Paris. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -IN FRANCE. - - GOING OVER TO ARRANGE PRELIMINARIES--PREVIOUS VISIT TO - PARIS--ROBERT HOUDIN--WONDERFUL MECHANICAL TOYS--THE AUTOMATON - LETTER-WRITER--DION BOUCICAULT--TALK ON NATURAL CURIOSITIES--HOW I - COMPROMISED--THE GENERAL AND PARTY IN PARIS--FIRST VISIT TO KING - LOUIS PHILIPPE--A SPLENDID PRESENT--DIPLOMACY--I ASK A FAVOR AND - GET IT--LONG CHAMPS--THE GENERAL’S EQUIPAGE--THE FINEST - ADVERTISEMENT EVER KNOWN--ALL PARIS IN A FUROR--OPENING OF THE - LEVEES--“TOM POUCE” EVERYWHERE--THE GENERAL AS AN ACTOR--“PETIT - POUCET”--SECOND AND THIRD VISITS AT THE TUILERIES--INVITATION TO - ST. CLOUD--THE GENERAL PERSONATING NAPOLEON BONAPARTE--ST. - DENIS--THE INVALIDES--REGNIER--ANECDOTE OF FRANKLIN--LEAVING - PARIS--TOUR THROUGH FRANCE--DEPARTURE FOR BRUSSELS. - - -Before taking the little General and party to Paris, I went over alone -to arrange the preliminaries for our campaign in that city. Paris was -not altogether a strange place to me. Months before, when I had -successfully established my exhibition in London, I ran over to Paris to -see what I could pick up in the way of curiosities for my Museum in New -York, for during my whole sojourn abroad, and amid all the excitements -of my new career, I never forgot the interests of my many and generous -patrons at home. The occasion which first called me to France was the -“quinquennial exposition” in Paris. At that time, there was an -assemblage, every five years, of inventors and manufacturers who -exhibited specimens of their skill, especially in articles of curious -and ingenious mechanism, and I went from London mainly to attend this -exposition. - -There I met and became well acquainted with Robert Houdin, the -celebrated conjurer. He was a watchmaker by trade, but very soon -displayed a wonderful ability and ingenuity which he devoted with so -much assiduity to the construction of a complicated machine, that he -lost all mental power for a considerable period. When he recovered, he -employed himself with great success in the manufacture of mechanical -toys and automata which attracted much attention, and afterwards he -visited Great Britain and other countries, giving a series of juggling -exhibitions which were famous throughout Europe. - -At this quinquennial exposition which I attended, he received a gold -medal for his automata, and the best figure which he had on exhibition I -purchased at a good round price. It was an automaton writer and artist, -a most ingenious little figure, which sat at a table, and readily -answered with the pencil certain questions. For instance: if asked for -an emblem of fidelity, the figure instantly drew a correct picture of a -handsome dog; the emblem of love was shown in an exquisite drawing of a -little Cupid; the automaton would also answer many questions in writing. -I carried this curious figure to London and exhibited it for some time -in the Royal Adelaide Gallery, and then sent it across the Atlantic to -the American Museum. - -During my very brief visit to Paris, Houdin was giving evening -performances in the Palais Royale, in legerdemain, and I was frequently -present by invitation. Houdin also took pains to introduce me to other -inventors of moving figures which I purchased freely, and made a -prominent feature in my Museum attractions. I managed, too, during my -short stay, to see something of the surface of the finest city in the -world. - -And now, going to Paris the second time, I was very fortunate in making -the acquaintance of Mr. Dion Boucicault, who was then temporarily -sojourning in that city, and who at once kindly volunteered to advise -and assist me in regard to numerous matters of importance relating to -the approaching visit of the General. He spent a day with me in the -search for suitable accommodations for my company, and by giving me the -benefit of his experience, he saved me much trouble and expense. I have -never forgotten the courtesy extended to me by this gentleman. - -I stopped at the Hotel Bedford, and securing an interpreter, began to -make my arrangements. The first difficulty in the way was the government -tax for exhibiting natural curiosities, which was no less than -one-fourth of the gross receipts, while theatres paid only eleven per -cent. This tax was appropriated to the benefit of the city hospitals. -Now, I knew from my experience in London, that my receipts would be so -large as to make twenty-five per cent of them a far more serious tax -than I thought I ought to pay to the French government, even for the -benefit of the admirable hospitals of Paris. Accordingly, I went to the -license bureau and had an interview with the chief. I told him I was -anxious to bring a “dwarf” to Paris, but that the percentage to be paid -for a license was so large as to deter me from bringing him; but letting -the usual rule go, what should I give him in advance for a two months’ -license? - -“My dear sir,” he answered, “you had better not come at all; these -things never draw, and you will do nothing, or so little that the -percentage need not trouble you.” - -I expressed my willingness to try the experiment and offered one -thousand francs in advance for a license. The chief would not consent -and I then offered two thousand francs. This opened his eyes to a chance -for a speculation and he jumped at my offer; he would do it on his own -account, he said, and pay the amount of one-quarter of my receipts to -the hospitals; he was perfectly safe in making such a contract, he -thought, for he had 15,000 francs in bank. - -But I declined to arrange this with him individually, so he called his -associates together and presented the matter in such a way that the -board took my offer on behalf of the government. I paid down the 2,000 -francs and received a good, strong contract and license. The chief was -quite elated and handed me the license with the remark: - -“Now we have made an agreement, and if you do not exhibit, or if your -dwarf dies during the two months you shall not get back your money.” - -“All right,” thought I; “if you are satisfied I am sure I have every -reason to be so.” I then hired at a large rent, the Salle Musard, Rue -Vivienne, in a central and fashionable quarter close by the boulevards, -and engaged an interpreter, ticket-seller, and a small but excellent -orchestra. In fact, I made the most complete arrangements, even to -starting the preliminary paragraphs in the Paris papers; and after -calling on the Honorable William Rufus King, the United States Minister -at the Court of France--who assured me that after my success in London -there would be no difficulty whatever in my presentation to King Louis -Philippe and family--I returned to England. - -I went back to Paris with General Tom Thumb and party some time before I -intended to begin my exhibitions, and on the very day after my arrival I -received a special command to appear at the Tuileries on the following -Sunday evening. It will be remembered that Louis Philippe’s daughter, -the wife of King Leopold, of Belgium, had seen the General at Buckingham -Palace--a fact that had been duly chronicled in the French as well as -English papers, and I have no doubt that she had privately expressed her -gratification at seeing him. With this advantage, and with the prestige -of our receptions by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, we went to the -Tuileries with full confidence that our visit and reception would be -entirely satisfactory. - -At the appointed hour the General and I, arrayed in the conventional -court costume, were ushered into a grand saloon of the palace where we -were introduced to the King, the Queen, Princess Adelaide, the Duchess -d’Orleans and her son the Count de Paris, Prince de Joinville, Duke and -Duchess de Nemours, the Duchess d’Aumale, and a dozen or more -distinguished persons, among whom was the editor of the official -_Journal des Debats_. The court circle entered into conversation with us -without restraint, and were greatly delighted with the little General. -King Louis Philippe was minute in his inquiries about my country and -talked freely about his experiences when he wandered as an exile in -America. He playfully alluded to the time when he earned his living as a -tutor, and said he had roughed it generally and had even slept in Indian -wigwams. General Tom Thumb then went through with his various -performances to the manifest pleasure of all who were present, and at -the close the King presented to him a large emerald brooch set with -diamonds. The General expressed his gratitude, and the King, turning to -me, said: “you may put it on the General, if you please,” which I did, -to the evident gratification of the King as well as the General. - -King Louis Philippe was so condescending and courteous that I felt quite -at home in the royal presence, and ventured upon a bit of diplomacy. The -Longchamps celebration was coming--a day once devoted to religious -ceremony, but now conspicuous for the display of court and fashionable -equipages in the Champs Élysées and the Bois de Boulogne, and as the -King was familiarly conversing with me, I ventured to say that I had -hurried over to Paris to take part in the Longchamps display and I asked -him if the General’s carriage could not be permitted to appear in the -avenue reserved for the court and the diplomatic corps, representing -that the General’s small but elegant establishment, with its ponies and -little coachman and footman, would be in danger of damage in the general -throng unless the special privilege I asked was accorded. - -The King smilingly turned to one of the officers of his household and -after conversing with him for a few moments he said to me: - -“Call on the Prefect of Police to-morrow afternoon and you will find a -permit ready for you.” - -Our visit occupied two hours, and when we went away the General was -loaded with fine presents. The next morning all the newspapers noticed -the visit, and the _Journal des Debats_ gave a minute account of the -interview and of the General’s performances, taking occasion to say, in -speaking of the character parts, that “there was one costume which the -General wisely kept at the bottom of his box.” That costume, -however,--the uniform of Bonaparte--was once exhibited, by particular -request, as will be seen anon. - -Longchamps day arrived, and among the many splendid equipages on the -grand avenue, none attracted more attention than the superb little -carriage with four ponies and liveried and powdered coachman and -footman, belonging to the General, and conspicuous in the line of -carriages containing the Ambassadors to the Court of France. Thousands -upon thousands rent the air with cheers for “General Tom Pouce.” There -never was such an advertisement; the journals next day made elaborate -notices of the “turnout,” and thereafter whenever the General’s carriage -appeared on the boulevards, as it did daily, the people flocked to the -doors of the cafés and shops to see it pass. - -Thus, before I opened the exhibition all Paris knew that General Tom -Thumb was in the city. The French are exceedingly impressible; and what -in London is only excitement, in Paris becomes furor. Under this -pressure, with the prestige of my first visit to the Tuileries and the -numberless paragraphs in the papers, I opened my doors to an eager -throng. The élite of the city came to the exhibition; the first day’s -receipts were 5,500 francs, which would have been doubled if I could -have made room for more patrons. There were afternoon and evening -performances and from that day secured seats at an extra price were -engaged in advance for the entire two months. The season was more than a -success, it was a triumph. - -It seemed, too, as if the whole city was advertising me. The papers were -profuse in their praises of the General and his performances. _Figaro_, -the _Punch_ of - -[Illustration: _ROYAL HONORS TO THE GENERAL_.] - -Paris, gave a picture of an immense mastiff running away with the -General’s carriage and horses in his mouth. Statuettes of “Tom Pouce” -appeared in all the windows, in plaster, Parian, sugar and chocolate; -songs were written about him and his lithograph was seen everywhere. A -fine café on one of the boulevards took the name of “Tom Pouce” and -displayed over the door a life-size statue of the General. In Paris, as -in London, several eminent painters expressed their desire to paint his -portrait, but the General’s engagements were so pressing that he found -little time to sit to artists. All the leading actors and actresses came -to the General’s levees and petted him and made him many presents. -Meanwhile, the daily receipts continued to swell, and I was compelled to -take a cab to carry my bag of silver home at night. - -The official, who had compromised with me for a two months’ license at -2,000 francs, was amazed as well as annoyed at the success of my -“dwarf.” He came, or sent a man, to the levees to take account of the -receipts and every additional thousand francs gave him an additional -twinge. He seriously appealed to me to give him more money; but when I -reminded him of the excellent bargain he supposed he was making, -especially when he added the conditional clause that I should forfeit -the 2,000 francs if I did not exhibit or if the General died, he smiled -faintly and said something about a “Yankee trick.” I asked him if he -would renew our agreement for two months more on the same terms; and he -shrugged his shoulders and said: - -“No, Monsieur Barnum; you will pay me twenty-five per cent of your -receipts when the two months of our contract expires.” - -But I did not; for I appealed to the authorities, claiming that I should -pay only the ordinary theatrical tax, since the General’s exhibition -consisted chiefly of character imitations in various costumes, and he -was more attractive as an actor than as a natural curiosity. My view of -the case was decided to be correct, and thereafter, in Paris and -throughout France, with few exceptions, I paid only the eleven per cent -theatrical tax. - -Indeed, in Paris, the General made a great hit as an actor and was -elected a member of the French Dramatic Society. Besides holding his -levees, he appeared every night at the Vaudeville Theatre in a French -play, entitled “Petit Poucet,” and written expressly for him, and he -afterwards repeated the part with great success in other cities. The -demands upon our time were incessant. We were invited everywhere to -dinners and entertainments, and as many of these were understood to be -private performances of the General, we were most liberally remunerated -therefor. M. Galignani invited us to a soiree and introduced us to some -of the most prominent personages, including artists, actors and editors, -in Paris. The General was frequently engaged at a large price to show -himself for a quarter of an hour at some fancy or charitable fair, and -much money was made in this way. On Sundays, he was employed at one or -another of the great gardens in the outskirts, and thus was seen by -thousands of working people who could not attend his levees. All classes -became acquainted with “Tom Pouce.” - -We were commanded to appear twice more at the Tuileries, and we were -also invited to the palace on the King’s birthday to witness the display -of fireworks in honor of the anniversary. Our fourth and last visit to -the royal family was by special invitation at St. Cloud. On each -occasion we met nearly the same persons, but the visit to St. Cloud was -by far the most interesting of our interviews. On this one occasion, and -by the special request of the King, the General personated Napoleon -Bonaparte in full costume. Louis Philippe had heard of the General in -this character, and particularly desired to see him; but the affair was -quite “on the sly,” and no mention was made of it in the papers, -particularly in the _Journal des Debats_, which thought, no doubt, that -costume was still “at the bottom of the General’s box.” We remained an -hour, and at parting, each of the royal company gave the General a -splendid present, almost smothered him with kisses, wished him a safe -journey through France, and a long and happy life. After bidding them -adieu, we retired to another portion of the palace to make a change of -the General’s costume, and to partake of some refreshments which were -prepared for us. Half an hour afterwards, as we were about leaving the -palace, we went through a hall leading to the front door, and in doing -so passed the sitting-room in which the royal family were spending the -evening. The door was open, and some of them happening to espy the -General, called out for him to come in and shake hands with them once -more. We entered the apartment, and there found the ladies sitting -around a square table, each provided with two candles, and every one of -them, including the Queen, was engaged in working at embroidery, while a -young lady was reading aloud for their edification. I am sorry to say, I -believe this is a sight seldom seen in families of the aristocracy on -either side of the water. At the church fairs in Paris, I had frequently -seen pieces of embroidery for sale, which were labelled as having been -presented and worked by the Duchess d’Orleans, Princess Adelaide, -Duchess de Nemours, and other titled ladies. - -We also visited, by invitation, the Napoleon School for young ladies, -established by the First Napoleon, at St. Denis, five miles north of -Paris, and the General greatly delighted the old pensioners at the -Invalides by calling upon them, and shaking many of them by the hand. If -the General could have been permitted to present to these survivors of -Waterloo his representation of their chief and Emperor, he would have -aroused their enthusiasm as well as admiration. - -On the Fourth of July, 1844, I was in Grenelle, outside the barriers of -Paris, when I remembered that I had the address of Monsieur Regnier, an -eminent mechanician, who lived in the vicinity. Wishing to purchase a -variety of instruments such as he manufactured, I called at his -residence. He received me very politely, and I soon was deeply -interested in this intelligent and learned man. He was a member of many -scientific institutions, was “Chevalier of the Legion of Honor,” etc. - -While he was busy in making out my bill, I was taking a cursory view of -the various plates, drawings, etc., which adorned his walls, when my -eyes fell on a portrait which was familiar to me. I was certain that I -could not be mistaken, and on approaching nearer it proved to be, as I -expected, the engraved portrait of Benjamin Franklin. It was placed in a -glazed frame, and on the outside of the glass were arranged thirteen -stars made of metal, forming a half circle round his head. - -“Ah!” I exclaimed, “I see you have here a portrait of my -fellow-countryman, Dr. Franklin.” - -“Yes,” replied M. Regnier, “and he was a great and an excellent man. -When he was in Paris in ’98, he was honored and respected by all who -knew him, and by none more so than by the scientific portion of the -community. At that time, Dr. Franklin was invited by the President of -the Society of Emulation to decide upon the merits of various works of -art submitted for inspection, and he awarded my father, for a -complicated lock, the prize of a gold medal. - -“While my father was with him at his hotel, a young Quaker called upon -the Doctor. He was a total stranger to Franklin, but at once proceeded -to inform him that he had come to Paris on business, had unfortunately -lost all his money, and wished to borrow six hundred francs to enable -him to return to his family in Philadelphia. Franklin inquired his -family name, and upon hearing it immediately counted out the money, gave -the young stranger some excellent advice, and bade him adieu. My father -was struck by the generosity of Dr. Franklin, and as soon as the young -man had departed, he told the Doctor that he was astonished to see him -so free with his money to a stranger; that people did not do business in -that way in Paris; and what he considered very careless was, that -Franklin took no receipt, not even a scratch of a pen from the young -man. Franklin replied that he always felt a duty and pleasure in -relieving his fellow-men, and especially in this case, as he knew the -family; and they were honest and worthy persons. My father, himself a -generous man,” continued M. Regnier, “was affected nearly to tears, and -begged the Doctor to present him with his portrait. He did so, and this -is it. My father has been dead some years. He bequeathed the portrait -to me, and there is not money enough in Paris to buy it.” - -I need not say that I was delighted with this recital. I remarked to M. -Regnier that he should double the number of stars, as we now (in 1844) -had twenty-six States instead of thirteen, the original number. - -“I am aware of that,” he replied; “but I do not like to touch the work -which was left by my father. I hold it sacred; and,” added he, “I -suppose you are not aware of the uses we make of these stars?” Assuring -him in the negative--“Those stars,” said he, “are made of steel, and on -the night of every anniversary of American Independence (which is this -night), it was always the practice of my father, and will always be -mine, to collect our family and children together, darken the room, and -by means of electricity, these stars, which are connected, are lighted -up, and the portrait illuminated by electricity, Franklin’s favorite -science--thus forming a halo of glory about his head, and doing honor to -the name of a man whose fame should be perpetuated to eternity.” - -In continuing the conversation, I found that this good old gentleman was -perfectly acquainted with the history of America, and he spoke feelingly -of what he believed to be the high and proud destiny of our republic. He -insisted on my remaining to supper, and witnessing his electrical -illumination. Need I say that I accepted the invitation? Could an -American refuse? - -We partook of a substantial supper, upon which the good old gentleman -invoked the blessing of our Father in Heaven, and at the conclusion he -returned hearty thanks. At nine o’clock the children and family of M. -Regnier and his son-in-law were called in, the room was darkened, the -electrical battery was charged, and the wire touched to one of the outer -stars. The whole thirteen became instantly bright as fire, and a -beautiful effect was produced. What more simple and yet beautiful and -appropriate manner could be chosen to honor the memory of Franklin? And -what an extraordinary coincidence it was that I, a total stranger in -Paris, should meet such a singular man as M. Regnier at all, and more -especially on that day of days, the anniversary of our Independence! At -ten o’clock I took my leave of this worthy family, but not till we had -all joined in the following toast proposed by M. Regnier: - -“Washington, Franklin, and Lafayette--heroes, philosophers, patriots, -and honest men: May their names stand brightest on the list of earthly -glory, when, in after ages, this whole world shall be one universal -republic, and every individual under Heaven shall acknowledge the truth -that man is capable of self-government.” - -It will not be considered surprising that I should feel at home with -Monsieur Regnier. Both the day and the man conspired to excite and -gratify my patriotism; and the presence of Franklin, my love of my -native land. - -During my stay in Paris, a Russian Prince, who had been living in great -splendor in that city, suddenly died, and his household and personal -effects were sold at auction. I attended the sale for several days in -succession, buying many articles of vertu, and, among others, a -magnificent gold tea-set, and a silver dining-service, and many rare -specimens of Sevres china. These articles bore the initials of the -family name of the Prince, and his own, “P. T.,” thus damaging the -articles, so that the silver and gold were sold for their weight value -only. I bought them, and adding “B.” to the “P. T.,” had a very fine -table service, still in my possession, and bearing my own initials, “P. -T. B.” - -While dining one day with my friend, Dr. Brewster, in Paris, all the -company present were in raptures over some very fine “Lafitte” wine on -the table, and the usual exclamations, “delicious!” and “fruity!” were -heard on all sides. When I went to the south of France, the Doctor gave -me a letter of introduction to Lafitte’s agent, Mr. Good, at Bordeaux, -and I was shown through the extensive cellar of the establishment. The -agent talked learnedly, almost affectionately, about the choice and -exclusive vineyards of the establishment, and how the stones in the -ground retailed the warmth derived from the sun during the day -throughout the night, thus mellowing and maturing the grapes, and -resulting in the production of a peculiar wine which was possible to no -other plot of ground in the entire grape country. - -I afterwards learned, however, that this exclusive establishment bought -up the entire wine product of all the vineyards in the region round -about--it was like the celebrated “Cabana” cigars in Havana. One day a -friend was dining with me in Bordeaux and I called for a bottle of -“Lafitte,” which, purchased on the very ground of its manufacture, was -of course genuine and deliciously “fruity.” It was very old wine of some -famous year, and the bottle as brought up from the bin was covered with -cobwebs and dust. But while we were sipping the wine and exclaiming -“fruity” at proper intervals, I happened to take out my knife and quite -inadvertently cut off a bit of the label. The next day when my friend -was again dining with me I called for another bottle of the peculiar -Lafitte which had so delighted us yesterday. It came cobwebbed and -dust-covered and was duly discussed and pronounced deliciously “fruity.” -But horrors! all at once, something caught my attention and I exclaimed: - -“Do you see that cut label? That is the very bottle which held the rare -old wine of yesterday; there is the ‘ear-mark’ which I left with my -knife on the bottle”--and I summoned the landlord and thus addressed -him: - -“What do you mean, you scoundrel, by putting your infernal _vin -ordinaire_ into old bottles, and passing it off upon us as genuine -‘Lafitte?’” - -He protested that such a thing was impossible; we were at the very -fountain head of the wine, and no one would dare to attempt such a -fraud, especially upon experienced wine-tasters like ourselves. But I -showed him my careless but remembered mark on the bottle, and proved by -my friend that we had the same bottle for our wine of the day before. -This was shown so conclusively and emphatically that the landlord -finally confessed his fraud, and said that though he had sold thousands -of bottles of so-called “Lafitte” to his guests, he never had two dozen -bottles of the genuine article in his possession in his life! - -Every one who has been in the wine district knows that the wine is -trodden from the grapes by the bare feet of the peasants, and while I -was there, desiring a new experience, I myself trod out a half barrel or -so with my own naked feet, dancing vigorously the while to the sound of -a fiddle. - -In spite of the extraordinary attention and unbounded petting the little -General received at the hands of all classes, he was in no sense a -“spoiled child,” but retained throughout that natural simplicity of -character and demeanor which added so much to the charm of his -exhibitions. He was literally the pet of Paris, and after a protracted -and most profitable season we started on a tour through France. The -little General’s small Shetland ponies and miniature carriage would be -sure to arouse the enthusiasm of the “Provincials,” so I determined to -take them along with us. We went first to Rouen, and from thence to -Toulon, visiting all the intermediate towns, including Orleans, Nantes, -Brest, Bordeaux,--where I witnessed a review by the Dukes de Nemours and -d’Aumale, of 20,000 soldiers who were encamped near the city. From -Bordeaux we went to Toulouse, Montpellier, Nismes, Marseilles, and many -other less important places, holding levees for a longer or shorter -time. While at Nantes, Bordeaux and Marseilles the General also appeared -in the theatres in his French part of “Petit Poucet.” - -Very soon after leaving Paris for our tour through France, I found that -there were many places where it would be impossible to proceed otherwise -than by post. General Tom Thumb’s party numbered twelve persons, and -these, with all their luggage, four little ponies, and a small carriage, -must be transported in posting vehicles of some description. I therefore -resolved that as posting in France was as cheap, and more independent -than any other method of travel, a purchase of posting vehicles should -be made for the sole use of the renowned General Tom Thumb and suite. -One vehicle, however large, would have been insufficient for the whole -company and “effects,” and, moreover, would have been against the -regulations. These regulations required that each person should pay for -the use of one horse, whether using it or not, and I therefore made the -following arrangements: I purchased a post-chaise to carry six persons, -to be drawn by six horses; a vehicle on springs, with seats for four -persons, and room for the General’s four ponies and carriage, to be -drawn by four horses; and lastly, a third vehicle for conveying the -baggage of the company, including the elegant little house and furniture -set on the stage in the General’s performances of “Petit Poucet” at the -theatres, the whole drawn by two horses. - -With such a retinue the General “cut quite a swell” in journeying -through the country, travelling, indeed, in grander style than a Field -Marshal would have thought of doing in posting through France. All this -folly and expense, the uninitiated would say, of employing twelve horses -and twelve persons, to say nothing of the General’s four ponies, in -exhibiting a person weighing only fifteen pounds! But when this retinue -passed along the roads, and especially when it came into a town, people -naturally and eagerly inquired what great personage was on his travels, -and when told that it was “the celebrated General Tom Thumb and suite,” -everybody desired to go and see him. It was thus the best advertising we -could have had, and was really, in many places, our cheapest and in some -places, our only mode of getting from point to point where our -exhibitions were to be given. - -During most of the tour I was a week or two ahead of the company, making -arrangements for the forthcoming exhibitions, and doing my entire -business without the aid of an interpreter, for I soon “picked up” -French enough to get along very well indeed. I did not forget that -Franklin learned to speak French when he was seventy years of age, and I -did not consider myself too old to learn, what, indeed, I was obliged -to learn in the interests of my business. As for the little General, who -was accompanied by a preceptor and translator, he very soon began to -give his entire speaking performances in French, and his piece “Petit -Poucet” was spoken as if he were a native. - -In fact, I soon became the General’s _avant courier_, though not doing -the duties of an _avant courier_ to an ordinary exhibition, since these -duties generally consist in largely puffing the “coming man” and -expected show, thus endeavoring to create a public appetite and to -excite curiosity. My duties were quite different; after engaging the -largest theatre or saloon to be found in the town, I put out a simple -placard, announcing that the General would appear on such a day. -Thereafter, my whole energies were directed, apparently, to keeping the -people quiet; I begged them not to get excited; I assured them through -the public journals, that every opportunity should be afforded to permit -every person to see “the distinguished little General, who had delighted -the principal monarchs of Europe, and more than a million of their -subjects,” and that if one exhibition in the largest audience room in -the town would not suffice, two or even three would be given. - -This was done quietly, and yet, as an advertisement, effectively, for, -strange as it may seem, people who were told to keep quiet, would get -terribly excited, and when the General arrived and opened his -exhibitions, excitement would be at fever heat, the levees would be -thronged, and the treasury filled! - -Numerous were the word battles I had with mayors, managers -of theatres, directors of hospitals, and others, relative to what I -considered--justly, I think--the outrageous imposition which the laws -permitted in the way of taxes upon “exhibitions.” Thus the laws -required, for the sake of charity, twenty-five per cent of my gross -receipts for the hospitals; while to encourage a local theatre, or -theatres, which might suffer from an outside show, twenty per cent more -must be given to the local managers. - -Of course this law was nearly a dead letter; for, to have taken -forty-five per cent of my gross receipts at every exhibition would soon -have driven me from the provinces, so the hospitals were generally -content with ten per cent, and five or ten francs a day satisfied the -manager of a provincial theatre. But at Bordeaux the manager of the -theatre wished to engage the General to appear in his establishment, and -as I declined his offer, he threatened to debar me from exhibiting -anywhere in town, by demanding for himself the full twenty per cent the -law allowed, besides inducing the directors of the hospitals to compel -me to pay them twenty-five per cent more. - -Here was a dilemma! I must yield and take half I thought myself entitled -to and permit the General to play for the manager, or submit to legal -extortion, or forego my exhibitions. I offered the manager six per cent -of my receipts and he laughed at me. I talked with the hospital -directors and they told me that as the manager favored them, they felt -bound to stand by him. I announced in the public journals that the -General could not appear in Bordeaux on account of the cupidity and -extortionate demands of the theatre manager and the hospital directors. -The people talked and the papers denounced; but manager and directors -remained as firm as rocks in their positions. Tom Thumb was to arrive -in two days and I was in a decided scrape. The mayor interceded for me, -but to no avail; the manager had determined to enforce an almost -obsolete law unless I would permit the General to play in his theatre -every night. My Yankee “dander” was up and I declared that I would -exhibit the General gratis rather than submit to the demand. Whereupon, -the manager only laughed at me the more to think how snugly he had got -me. - -Now it happened that, once upon a time, Bordeaux, like most cities, was -a little village, and the little village of Vincennes lay one mile east -of it. Bordeaux had grown and stretched itself and thickly settled far -beyond Vincennes, bringing the latter nearly in the centre of Bordeaux; -yet, strange to say, Vincennes maintained its own identity, and had its -own Mayor and municipal rights quite independent of Bordeaux. I could -scarcely believe my informant who told me this, but I speedily sought -out the Mayor of Vincennes, found such a personage, and cautiously -inquired if there was a theatre or a hospital within his limits? He -assured me there was not. I told him my story, and asked: - -“If I open an exhibition within your limits will there be any -percentages to pay from my receipts?” - -“Not a sou,” replied the Mayor. - -“Will you give me a writing to that effect?” - -“With the greatest pleasure,” replied the Mayor, and he did so at once. - -I put this precious paper in my pocket, and in a few moments I hired the -largest dancing saloon in the place, a room capable of holding over -2,000 people. I then announced, especially to the delighted citizens of -Bordeaux, that the General would open his exhibitions in Vincennes, -which he soon did to an overflowing house. For thirteen days we -exhibited to houses averaging more than 3,000 francs per day, and for -ten days more at largely increased receipts, not one sou of which went -for taxes or percentages. The manager and directors, theatre and -hospital, got nothing, instead of the fair allowance I would willingly -have given them. Oh, yes! they got something,--that is, a lesson,--not -to attempt to offset French Shylockism against Yankee shrewdness. - -We were in the South of France in the vintage season. Nothing can -surpass the richness of the country at that time of the year. We -travelled for many miles where the eye could see nothing but vineyards -loaded with luscious grapes and groves of olive trees in full bearing. -It is literally a country of wine and oil. Our remunerative and -gratifying round of mingled pleasure and profit, brought us at last to -Lille, capital of the department of Nord, and fifteen miles from the -Belgian frontier, and from there we proceeded to Brussels. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -IN BELGIUM. - - CROSSING THE FRONTIER--PROFESSOR PINTE--QUALIFICATIONS OF A GOOD - SHOWMAN--“SOFT SUP”--GENEROUS DISTRIBUTION OF MEDALS--PRINCE - CHARLES STRATTON--AT BRUSSELS--PRESENTATION TO KING LEOPOLD AND HIS - QUEEN--THE GENERAL’S JEWELS STOLEN--THE THIEF CAUGHT--RECOVERY OF - THE PROPERTY--THE FIELD OF WATERLOO--MIRACULOUSLY MULTIPLIED - RELICS--CAPTAIN TIPPITIWITCHET OF THE CONNECTICUT FUSILEERS--AN - ACCIDENT--GETTING BACK TO BRUSSELS IN A CART--STRATTON - SWINDLED--LOSING AN EXHIBITION--TWO HOURS IN THE RAIN ON THE - ROAD--THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY--A STRICT - CONSTRUCTIONIST--STRATTON’S HEAD SHAVED--“BRUMMAGEM” RELICS--HOW - THEY ARE PLANTED AT WATERLOO--WHAT LYONS SAUSAGES ARE MADE OF--FROM - BRUSSELS TO LONDON. - - -In crossing the border from France into Belgium, Professor Pinte, our -interpreter and General Tom Thumb’s preceptor, discovered that he had -left his passport behind him--at Lille, at Marseilles, or elsewhere in -France, he could not tell where, for it was a long time since he had -been called upon to present it. I was much annoyed and indignantly told -him that he “would never make a good showman, because a good showman -never forgot anything.” I could see that my allusion to him as a -“showman” was by no means pleasant, which leads me to recount the -circumstances under which I was first brought in contact with the -Professor. - -He was really a “Professor” and teacher of English in one of the best -educational establishments in Paris. Very soon after opening my -exhibitions in that city, I saw the necessity of having a translator who -was qualified to act as a medium between the General and the highly -cultivated audiences that daily favored us at our levees. I had begun -with a not over-cultivated interpreter, who, when the General personated -Cupid, for instance, would cry out “Coopeed,” to which some one would be -sure to respond “Stoopeed,” to the annoyance of myself and the amusement -of the audience. I accordingly determined to procure the best -interpreter I could find and I was directed to call upon Professor -Pinte. I saw him and briefly stated what I wanted, in what capacity I -proposed to employ him, and what salary I would pay him. He was highly -indignant and informed me that he was “no showman,” and had no desire to -learn or engage in the business. - -“But, my dear sir,” said I, “it is not as a showman that I wish to -employ your valuable services, but as a preceptor to my young and -interesting ward, General Tom Thumb, whom I desire to have instructed in -the French language and in other accomplishments you are so competent to -impart. At the same time, I should expect that you would be willing to -accompany my ward and your pupil and attend his public exhibitions for -the purpose of translating, as may be necessary, to the cultivated -people of your own class who are the principal patrons of our -entertainments.” - -This seemed to put an entirely new face upon the matter, especially as I -had offered the Professor a salary five times larger, probably, than he -was then receiving. So he rapidly revolved the subject in his mind and -said: - -“Ah! while I could not possibly accept a situation as a showman, I -should be most happy to accept the terms and the position as preceptor -to your ward.” - -He was engaged, and at once entered upon his duties, not only as -preceptor to the General, but as the efficient and always excellent -interpreter at our exhibitions, and wherever we needed his services on -the route. As he had lost his passport, when we came to Courtrai on the -Belgian frontier, I managed to procure a permit for him which enabled -him to proceed with the party. This was but the beginning of -difficulties, for I had all our property, including the General’s ponies -and equipage, to pass through the Custom-house, and among other things -there was a large box of medals, with a likeness of the General on one -side and of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on the other side, which -were sold in large numbers as souvenirs at our exhibitions. They were -struck off at a considerable expense in England, and commanded a ready -sale. - -The Custom-house officers were informed, however, that these medals were -mere advertising cards, as they really were, of our exhibitions, and I -begged their acceptance of as many as they pleased to put in their -pockets. They were beautiful medals, and a few dozen were speedily -distributed among the delighted officials, who forthwith passed our -show-bills, lithographs and other property with very little trouble. -They wanted, however, to charge a duty upon the General’s ponies and -carriage, but when I produced a document showing that the French -government had admitted them duty-free, they did the same. This superb -establishment led these officials to think he must be a very -distinguished man, and they asked what rank he held in his own country. - -“He is Prince Charles Stratton, of the Dukedom of Bridgeport, in the -Kingdom of Connecticut,” said Sherman. - -Whereupon they all reverently raised their hats when the General -entered the car. Some of the railway men who had seen the distribution -of medals among the Custom-house officers came to me and begged similar -“souvenirs” of their distinguished passenger, and I gave the medals very -freely, till the applications became so persistent as to threaten a -serious pecuniary loss. At last I handed out a final dozen in one -package, and said: “There, that is the last of them; the rest are in the -box, and beyond my reach.” - -All this while Professor Pinte was brooding over my remark to him about -the loss of his passport; the word “showman” rankled, and he asked me: - -“Mr. Barnum, do you consider me a showman?” - -I laughingly replied, “Why, I consider you the eminent Professor Pinte, -preceptor to General Tom Thumb; but, after all, we are all showmen.” - -Finding himself so classed with the rest of us, he ventured to inquire -“what were the qualifications of a good showman,” to which I replied: - -“He must have a decided taste for catering for the public; prominent -perceptive faculties; tact; a thorough knowledge of human nature; great -suavity; and plenty of ‘soft soap.’” - -“Soft sup!” exclaimed the interested Professor, “what is ‘soft sup.’” - -I explained, as best I could, how the literal meaning of the words had -come to convey the idea of getting into the good graces of people and -pleasing those with whom we are brought in contact. Pinte laughed, and -as he thought of the generous medal distribution, an idea struck him: - -“I think those railway officials must have very dirty hands--you are -compelled to use so much ‘soft sup.’” - -Brussels is Paris in miniature and is one of the most charming cities I -ever visited. We found elegant quarters, and the day after our arrival -by command we visited King Leopold and the Queen at their palace. The -King and Queen had already seen the General in London, but they wished -to present him to their children and to the distinguished persons whom -we found assembled. After a most agreeable hour we came away--the -General, as usual, receiving many fine presents. - -The following day, I opened the exhibition in a beautiful hall, which on -that day and on every afternoon and evening while we remained there, was -crowded by throngs of the first people in the city. On the second or -third day, in the midst of the exhibition, I suddenly missed the case -containing the valuable presents the General had received from kings, -queens, noblemen and gentlemen, and instantly gave the alarm; some thief -had intruded for the express purpose of stealing these jewels, and, in -the crowd, had been entirely successful in his object. - -The police were notified, and I offered 2,000 francs reward for the -recovery of the property. A day or two afterwards a man went into a -jeweller’s shop and offered for sale, among other things, a gold -snuff-box, mounted with turquoises, and presented by the Duke of -Devonshire to the General. The jeweller, seeing the General’s initials -on the box, sharply questioned the man, who became alarmed and ran out -of the shop. An alarm was raised, and the man was caught. He made a -clean breast of it, and in the course of a few hours the entire property -was returned, to the great delight of the General and myself. Wherever -we exhibited afterwards, no matter how respectable the audience, the -case of presents was always carefully watched. - -While I was in Brussels I could do no less than visit the battle-field -of Waterloo, and I proposed that our party should be composed of -Professor Pinte, Mr. Stratton, father of General Tom Thumb, Mr. H. G. -Sherman, and myself. Going sight-seeing was a new sensation to Stratton, -and as it was necessary to start by four o’clock in the morning, in -order to accomplish the distance (sixteen miles) and return in time for -our afternoon performance, he demurred. - -“I don’t want to get up before daylight and go off on a journey for the -sake of seeing a darned old field of wheat,” said Stratton. - -“Sherwood, do try to be like somebody, once in your life, and go,” said -his wife. - -The appeal was irresistible, and he consented. We engaged a coach and -horses the night previous, and started punctually at the hour appointed. -We stopped at the neat little church in the village of Waterloo, for the -purpose of examining the tablets erected to the memory of some of the -English who fell in the contest. Thence we passed to the house in which -the leg of Lord Uxbridge (Marquis of Anglesey) was amputated. A neat -little monument in the garden designates the spot where the shattered -member had been interred. In the house is shown a part of the boot which -is said to have once covered the unlucky leg. The visitor feels it but -considerate to hand a franc or two to the female who exhibits the -monument and limb. I did so, and Stratton, though he felt that he had -not received the worth of his money, still did not like to be considered -penurious, so he handed over a piece of silver coin to the attendant. I -expressed a desire to have a small piece of the boot to exhibit in my -Museum; the lady cut off, without hesitation, a slip three inches long -by one in width. I handed her a couple more francs, and Stratton -desiring, as he said, to “show a piece of the boot in old Bridgeport,” -received a similar slip, and paid a similar amount. I could not help -thinking that if the lady was thus liberal in dispensing pieces of the -“identical boot” to all visitors, this must have been about the -ninety-nine thousandth boot that had been cut as the “Simon pure” since -1815. - -With the consoling reflection that the female purchased all the cast-off -boots in Brussels and its vicinity, and rejoicing that somebody was -making a trifle out of that accident besides the inventor of the -celebrated “Anglesey leg,” we passed on towards the battle-field, lying -about a mile distant. - -Arriving at Mont Saint Jean, a quarter of a mile from the ground, we -were beset by some eighteen or twenty persons, who offered their -services as guides, to indicate the most important localities. Each -applicant professed to know the exact spot where every man had been -placed who had taken part in the battle, and each, of course, claimed to -have been engaged in that sanguinary contest, although it had occurred -thirty years before, and some of these fellows were only, it seemed, -from twenty-five to twenty-eight years of age! We accepted an old man, -who, at first declared that he was killed in the battle, but perceiving -our looks of incredulity, consented to modify his statement so far as to -assert that he was horribly wounded, and lay upon the ground three days -before receiving assistance. - -Once upon the ground, our guide, with much gravity, pointed out the -place where the Duke of Wellington took his station during a great part -of the action; the locality where the reserve of the British army was -stationed; the spot where Napoleon placed his favorite guard; the little -mound on which was erected a temporary observatory for his use during -the battle; the portion of the field at which Blucher entered with the -Prussian army; the precise location of the Scotch Greys; the spot where -fell Sir Alexander Gordon, Lieut. Col. Canning, and many others of -celebrity. I asked him if he could tell me where Captain Tippitiwichet, -of the Connecticut Fusileers, was killed. “Oui, Monsieur,” he replied, -with perfect confidence, for he felt bound to know, or to pretend to -know, every particular. He then proceeded to point out exactly the spot -where my unfortunate Connecticut friend had breathed his last. After -indicating the locations where some twenty more fictitious friends from -Coney Island, New Jersey, Cape Cod and Saratoga Springs, had given up -the ghost, we handed him his commission and declined to give him further -trouble. Stratton grumbled at the imposition as he handed out a couple -of francs for the information received. - -Upon quitting the battle-field we were accosted by a dozen persons of -both sexes with baskets on their arms or bags in their hands, containing -relics of the battle for sale. These consisted of a great variety of -implements of war, pistols, bullets, etc., besides brass French eagles, -buttons, etc. I purchased a number of them for the Museum, and Stratton -was equally liberal in obtaining a supply for his friends in “Old -Bridgeport.” We also purchased maps of the battle-ground, pictures of -the triumphal mound surmounted by the colossal Belgic Lion in bronze, -etc., etc. These frequent and renewed taxations annoyed Stratton very -much, and as he handed out a five franc piece for a “complete -guide-book,” he remarked, that “he guessed the battle of Waterloo had -cost a darned sight more since it was fought than it did before!” - -But his misfortunes did not terminate here. When we had proceeded four -or five miles upon our road home, crash went the carriage. We alighted, -and found that the axle-tree was broken. It was now a quarter past one -o’clock. The little General’s exhibition was advertised to commence in -Brussels at two o’clock, and could not take place without us. We were -unable to walk the distance in double the time at our disposal, and as -no carriage was to be got in that part of the country, I concluded to -take the matter easy, and forego all idea of exhibiting before evening. -Stratton, however, could not bear the thought of losing the chance of -taking in six or eight hundred francs, and he determined to take matters -in hand, in order, if possible, to get our party into Brussels in time -to save the afternoon exhibition. He hastened to a farm-house, -accompanied by the interpreter, Professor Pinte, Sherman and myself -leisurely bringing up the rear. 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 get to Brussels in time. - -“What will you ask to drive us to Brussels in three-quarters of an -hour?” demanded Stratton. - -[Illustration: _MANURE CART EXPRESS._] - -“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 us 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.” - -By the way, this was a favorite expression of the Professor’s. Whenever -we were imposed upon, or felt that we were not used right, Pinte would -always endeavor to smooth it over by informing us it was “the custom of -the country.” - -“Well, it’s a thundering mean custom, any how,” said Stratton, “and I -wont stand such an 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 we had left Brussels in a coach, and -the morning had promised us a pleasant day, we had omitted our -umbrellas. We were soon soaked to the skin. We “grinned and bore it” -awhile 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 any thing 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 our backs. - -At two o’clock, the time appointed for our exhibition, we 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 our 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 damage, 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.” - -Stratton gave “the country,” and its “customs,” another cursing. - -All things will finally have an end, and our party did at length -actually arrive in Brussels, cart and all, in precisely two hours and a -half from the time we left the farmers house. Of course we were too late -to exhibit the little General. Hundreds of visitors had gone away -disappointed. - -With feelings of utter desperation, Stratton started for a barber’s -shop. He had a fine, black, bushy head of hair, of which he was a little -proud, and every morning he submitted it to the curling-tongs of the -barber. His hair had not been cut for several weeks, and after being -shaved, he desired the barber to trim his flowing locks a little. The -barber clipped off the ends of the hair, and asked Stratton if that was -sufficient. “No,” he replied, “I want it trimmed a little shorter; cut -away, and I will tell you when to stop.” - -Stratton had risen from bed at an unusual hour, and after having passed -through the troubles and excitements of the unlucky morning, he began to -feel a little drowsy. This feeling was augmented by the soothing -sensations of the tonsorial process, and while the barber quietly -pursued his avocation, Stratton as quietly fell asleep. The barber went -entirely over his head, cutting off a couple of inches of hair with -every clip of his scissors. He then rested for a moment; expecting his -customer would tell him that it was sufficient; but the unconscious -Stratton uttered not a word, and the barber, thinking he had not cut the -hair close enough, went over the head again. Again did he wait for an -answer, little thinking that his patron was asleep. Remembering that -Stratton had told him to “cut away, and he would tell him when to -stop,” the innocent barber went over the head the third time, cutting -the hair nearly as close as if he had shaved it with a razor! Having -finished, he again waited for orders from his customer, but he uttered -not a word. The barber was surprised, and that surprise was increased -when he heard a noise which seemed very like a snore coming from the -nasal organ of his unconscious victim. - -The poor barber saw the error that he had committed, and in dismay, as -if by mistake, he hit Stratton on the side of the head with his -scissors, and woke him. He started to his feet, looked in the glass, and -to his utter horror saw that he was unfit to appear in public without a -wig! He swore like a trooper, but he could not swear the hair back on to -his head, and putting on his hat, which dropped loosely over his eyes, -he started for the hotel. His despair and indignation were so great that -it was some time before he could give utterance to words of explanation. -His feelings were not allayed by the deafening burst of laughter which -ensued. He said it was the first time that he ever went a sight-seeing, -and he guessed it would be the last! - -Several months subsequent to our visit to Waterloo, I was in Birmingham, -and there made the acquaintance of a firm who manufactured to order, and -sent to Waterloo, barrels of “relics” every year. At Waterloo these -“relics” are planted, and in due time dug up, and sold at large prices -as precious remembrances of the great battle. Our Waterloo purchases -looked rather cheap after this discovery. - -While we were in Brussels, Mrs. Stratton, the mother of the General, -tasted some sausages which she declared the best things she had eaten in -France or Belgium; in fact, she said “she had found little that was fit -to eat in this country, for every thing was so Frenchified and covered -in gravy, she dared not eat it; but there was something that tasted -natural about these sausages; she had never eaten any as good, even in -America.” She sent to the landlady to inquire the name of them, for she -meant to buy some to take along with her. The answer came that they were -called “saucisse de Lyon,” (Lyons sausages,) and straightway Mrs. -Stratton went out and purchased half a dozen pounds. Mr. Sherman soon -came in, and, on learning what she had in her package, he remarked: -“Mrs. Stratton, do you know what Lyons sausages are made of?” - -“No,” she replied; “but I know that they are first-rate!” - -“Well,” replied Sherman, “they may be good, but they are made from -donkeys!” which is said to be the fact. Mrs. Stratton said she was not -to be fooled so easily--that she knew better, and that she should stick -to the sausages. - -Presently Professor Pinte entered the room. “Mr. Pinte,” said Sherman, -“you are a Frenchman, and know every thing about edibles; pray tell me -what Lyons sausages are made of.” - -“Of asses,” replied the inoffensive professor. - -Mrs. Stratton seized the package, the street window was open, and, in -less than a minute, a large brindle dog was bearing the “Lyons sausages” -triumphantly away. - -There were many other amusing incidents during our brief stay at -Brussels, but I have no space to record them. After a very pleasant and -successful week, we returned to London. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -IN ENGLAND AGAIN. - - LEVEES IN EGYPTIAN HALL--UNDIMINISHED SUCCESS--OTHER - ENGAGEMENTS--“UP IN A BALLOON”--PROVINCIAL TOUR--TRAVELLING BY - POST--GOING TO AMERICA--A. T. STEWART--SAMUEL ROGERS--AN EXTRA - TRAIN--AN ASTONISHED RAILWAY SUPERINTENDENT--LEFT BEHIND AND LOCKED - UP--SUNDAYS IN LONDON--BUSINESS AND PLEASURE--ALBERT SMITH--A DAY - WITH HIM AT WARWICK--STRATFORD ON AVON--A POETICAL BARBER--WARWICK - CASTLE--OLD GUY’S TRAPS--OFFER TO BUY THE LOT--THREAT TO BURST THE - SHOW--ALBERT SMITH AS A SHOWMAN--LEARNING THE BUSINESS FROM - BARNUM--THE WARWICK RACES--RIVAL DWARFS--MANUFACTURED - GIANTESSES--THE HAPPY FAMILY--THE ROAD FROM WARWICK TO - COVENTRY--PEEPING TOM--THE YANKEE GO-AHEAD PRINCIPLE--ALBERT - SMITH’S ACCOUNT OF A DAY WITH BARNUM. - - -In London the General again opened his levees in Egyptian Hall with -undiminished 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 -Zoölogical Gardens, under the direction of the proprietor, my particular -friend 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 addition to other engagements, the General frequently performed in -Douglass’s Standard Theatre, in the city, in the play “Hop o’ my Thumb,” -which was written for him by my friend, Albert Smith, whom I met soon -after my first arrival in London and with whom I became very intimate. -After my arrival in Paris, seeing the decided success of “Petit Poucet,” -it occurred to me that I should want such a play when I returned to -England and the United States. So I wrote to Mr. Albert Smith, inviting -him to make me a visit in Paris, intending to have him see this play and -either translate or adapt it, or write a new one in English. He came and -stayed with me a week, visiting the Vaudeville Theatre to see “Petit -Poucet” nearly every night, and we compared notes and settled upon a -plan for “Hop o’ my Thumb.” He went back to London and wrote the play -and it was very popular indeed. - -During our stay of three months, at this time, in Egyptian Hall, we made -occasional excursions and gave exhibitions at Brighton, Bath, -Cheltenham, Leamington and other watering places and fashionable -resorts. It was at the height of the season in these places, and our -houses were very large and our profits in proportion. - -In October, 1844, I made my first return visit to the United States, -leaving General Tom Thumb in England, in the hands of an accomplished -and faithful agent, who continued the exhibitions during my absence. One -of the principal reasons for my return at this time, was my anxiety to -renew the Museum building lease, although my first lease of five years -had still three years longer to run. I told Mr. Olmsted that if he would -not renew my lease on the same terms, for at least five years more, I -would immediately put up a new building, remove my Museum, close his -building during the last year of my lease, and cover it from top to -bottom with placards, stating where my new Museum was to be found. -Pending an arrangement, I went to Mr. A. T. Stewart, who had just -purchased the Washington Hall property, at the corner of Broadway and -Chambers Street, intending to erect a store on the site, and proposed to -join him in building, he to take the lower floor of the new store for -his business, and I to own and occupy the upper stories for my Museum. -He said he would give me an answer in the course of a week. Meanwhile, -Mr. Olmsted gave me the additional five years lease I asked, and I so -notified Mr. Stewart. Seeing the kind of building that Mr. Stewart -erected on his lots, I do not know if he seriously entertained my -proposition to join him in the enterprise; but he was by no means the -great merchant then he afterwards became, and neither of us then -thought, probably, of the gigantic enterprises we were subsequently to -undertake, and the great things we were to accomplish. Having completed -my business arrangements in New York, I returned to England with my wife -and daughters, and hired a house in London. My house was the scene of -constant hospitality which I extended to my numerous friends in return -for the many attentions shown to me. It seemed then as if I had more and -stronger friends in London than in New York. I had met and had been -introduced to “almost everybody who was anybody,” and among them all, -some of the best soon became to me much more than mere acquaintances. - -Among the distinguished people whom I met, I was introduced to the -poet-banker, Samuel Rogers. I saw him at a dinner party at the residence -of the American Minister, the Honorable Edward Everett. The old banker -was very feeble, but careful nursing and all the appliances that -unbounded wealth could bring, still kept the life in him and he managed, -not only to continue to give his own celebrated breakfasts, but to go -out frequently to enjoy the hospitality of others. As we were going in -to dinner, I stepped aside, so that Mr. Rogers who was tottering along -leaning on the arm of a friend, could go in before me, when Mr. Rogers -said: - -“Pass in, Mr. Barnum, pass in; I always consider it an honor to follow -an American.” - -When our three months’ engagement at Egyptian Hall had expired, I -arranged for a protracted provincial tour through Great Britain. I had -made a flying visit to Scotland before we went to Paris--mainly to -procure the beautiful Scotch costumes, daggers, etc., which were -carefully made for the General at Edinburgh, and to teach the General -the Scotch dances, with a bit of the Scotch dialect, which added so much -to the interest of his exhibitions in Paris and elsewhere. My second -visit to Scotland, for the purpose of giving exhibitions, extended as -far as Aberdeen. - -In England we went to Manchester, Birmingham, and to almost every city, -town, and even village of importance. We travelled by post much of the -time--that is, I had a suitable carriage made for my party, and a van -which conveyed the General’s carriage, ponies, and such other “property” -as was needed for our levees,--and we never had the slightest difficulty -in finding good post horses at every station where we wanted them. This -mode of travelling was not only very comfortable and independent, but it -enabled us to visit many out of the way places, off from the great lines -of travel, and in such places we gave some of our most successful -exhibitions. We also used the railway lines freely, leaving our -carriages at any station, and taking them up again when we returned. - -I remember once making an extraordinary effort to reach a branch-line -station, where I meant to leave my teams and take the rail for Rugby. I -had a time-table, and knew at what hour exactly I could hit the train; -but unfortunately the axle to my carriage broke, and as an hour was lost -in repairing it, I lost exactly an hour in reaching the station. The -train had long been gone, and I must be in Rugby, where we had -advertised a performance. I stormed around till I found the -superintendent, and told him “I must instantly have an extra train to -Rugby.” - -“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?” I asked; “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.” - -We reached Rugby in time to give our performance, as announced, and our -receipts were £160, which quite covered the expense of our extra train -and left a handsome margin for profit. - -When we 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 handsful, 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.” - -At Cambridge, some of the under-graduates pretended to take offence -because our check-taker would not permit them to smoke in the exhibition -hall, and one of them managed to involve him in a quarrel which ended -with a challenge from the student to the check-taker, who was sure he -must fight a duel at sunrise the next morning, and as he expected to be -shot, he suffered the greatest mental agony. About midnight, however, -after he had been sufficiently scared, I brought him the gratifying -intelligence that I had succeeded in settling the dispute. His gratitude -at the relief thus afforded, knew no bounds. - -Mr. Stratton was a genuine Yankee, and thoroughly conversant with the -Yankee vernacular, which he used freely. In exhibiting the General, I -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 method of answering is common enough in New England, but -the literal dowager had her doubts, and promptly rejoined: - -“I rather think he supports you!” - -In my journeyings through England, I always tried to get back to London -Saturday night, so as to pass Sunday with my family, and to meet the -friends whom we invited to dine with us on the only day in the week when -I could be at home. The railway facilities are so excellent in England, -that, no matter how far I might be from London, I could generally reach -that city by Sunday morning, and yet do a full week’s work in the -provinces. This, however, necessitated travel Saturday night, and while -I travelled I must sleep. Sleeping cars were, and, I believe, still are -unknown in that country; but I travelled so much, and was, by this time, -so well known to the guards on the leading lines, that I could -generally secure one of the compartments in a first-class “coach” to -myself, and my method for obtaining a good night’s sleep, was to lay the -seat-cushions on the floor of the car, thus, with my blanket to cover -me, making a tolerable bed. - -On one of these Saturday night excursions, I lay down on my extemporized -couch, with the expectation of arriving at London at five o’clock in the -morning. When I awoke the car was standing still, and the sun was well -up in the heavens. Thinking we were very much behind time, and wondering -why the train did not go on, at last I got up and looked out of the -window, and, to my utter amazement, I found my car locked up in a yard, -surrounded by a high fence. Espying a man who seemed to have charge of -the premises, I shouted to him to come and let me out of the car, which -was also locked. It instantly flashed across my mind that at this -station, the guard, seeing no person sitting on the seats in the car, -and concluding that it was empty, had detached it from the train, and -switched it off into the yard. The astonished man whom I summoned to my -assistance, informed me that I was sixty miles from London, and that -there would not be another train to the city till evening. It was ten -o’clock, and I was to have been home at five. I raised a great row, and -demanded as my right an extra train to carry me to London, to meet the -friends whom it was all-important I should see that day. I had to wait, -however, till evening, and I arrived home at seven or eight o’clock, -long after my friends had gone, though to the great gratification of my -family, who thought some serious accident must have happened to me. - -It must not be supposed that during my protracted stay abroad I confined -myself wholly to business or limited my circle of observation with a -golden rim. To be sure, I ever had “an eye to business,” but I had also -two eyes for observation and these were busily employed in leisure -hours. I made the most of my opportunities and saw, hurriedly, it is -true, nearly everything worth seeing in the various places which I -visited. All Europe was a great curiosity shop to me and I willingly -paid my money for the show. - -While in London, my friend Albert Smith, a jolly companion, as well as a -witty and sensible author, promised that when I reached Birmingham he -would come and spend a day with me in “sight-seeing,” including a visit -to the house in which Shakespeare was born. - -Early one morning in the autumn of 1844, my friend Smith and myself took -the box-seat of an English mail-coach, and were soon whirling at the -rate of twelve miles an hour over the magnificent road leading from -Birmingham to Stratford. The distance is thirty miles. At a little -village four miles from Stratford, we found that the fame of the bard of -Avon had travelled thus far, for we noticed a sign over a miserable -barber’s shop, “Shakespeare hair-dressing--a good shave for a penny.” In -twenty minutes more we were set down at the door of the Red Horse Hotel, -in Stratford. The coachman and guard were each paid half a crown as -their perquisites. - -While breakfast was preparing, we called for a guide-book to the town, -and the waiter brought in a book, saying that we should find in it the -best description extant of the birth and burial place of Shakespeare. I -was not a little proud to find this volume to be no other than the -“Sketch-Book” of our illustrious countryman, Washington Irving; and in -glancing over his humorous description of the place, I discovered that -he had stopped at the same hotel where we were then awaiting breakfast. - -After examining the Shakespeare House, as well as the tomb and the -church in which all that is mortal of the great poet rests, we ordered a -post-chaise for Warwick Castle. While the horses were harnessing, a -stage-coach stopped at the hotel, and two gentlemen alighted. One was a -sedate, sensible-looking man; the other an addle-headed fop. The former -was mild and unassuming in his manners; the latter was all talk, without -sense or meaning--in fact, a regular Charles Chatterbox. He evidently -had a high opinion of himself, and was determined that all within -hearing should understand that he was--somebody. Presently the sedate -gentleman said: - -“Edward, this is Stratford. Let us go and see the house where -Shakespeare was born.” - -“Who the devil is Shakespeare?” asked the sensible young gentleman. - -Our post-chaise was at the door; we leaped into it, and were off, -leaving the “nice young man” to enjoy a visit to the birth-place of an -individual of whom he had never before heard. The distance to Warwick is -fourteen miles. We went to the Castle, and approaching the door of the -Great Hall, were informed by a well-dressed porter that the Earl of -Warwick and family were absent, and that he was permitted to show the -apartments to visitors. He introduced us successively into the “Red -Drawing-Room,” “The Cedar Drawing-Room,” “The Gilt Room,” “The State -Bed-Room,” “Lady Warwick’s Boudoir,” “The Compass Room,” “The Chapel,” -and “The Great Dining-Room.” As we passed out of the Castle, the polite -porter touched his head (he of course had no hat on it) in a style which -spoke plainer than words, “Half a crown each, if you please, gentlemen.” -We responded to the call, and were then placed in charge of another -guide, who took us to the top of “Guy’s Tower,” at the bottom of which -he touched his hat a shilling’s worth; and placing ourselves in charge -of a third conductor, an old man of seventy, we proceeded to the -Greenhouse to see the Warwick Vase--each guide announcing at the end of -his short tour: “Gentlemen, I go no farther,” and indicating that the -bill for his services was to be paid. The old gentleman mounted a -rostrum at the side of the vase, and commenced a set speech, which we -began to fear was interminable; so tossing him the usual fee, we left -him in the middle of his oration. - -Passing through the porter’s lodge on our way out, under the impression -that we had seen all that was interesting, the old porter informed us -that the most curious things connected with the Castle were to be seen -in his lodge. Feeling for our coin, we bade him produce his relics, and -he showed us a lot of trumpery, which, he gravely informed us, belonged -to that hero of antiquity, Guy, Earl of Warwick. Among these were his -sword, shield, helmet, breast-plate, walking-staff, and tilting-pole, -each of enormous size--the horse armor nearly large enough for an -elephant, a large pot which would hold seventy gallons, called “Guy’s -Porridge Pot,” his flesh-fork, the size of a farmer’s hay-fork, his -lady’s stirrups, the rib of a mastodon which the porter pretended -belonged to the great “Dun Cow,” which, according to tradition, haunted -a ditch near Coventry, and after doing injury to many persons, was slain -by the valiant Guy. The sword weighed nearly 200 pounds, and the armor -400 pounds. - -I told the old porter he was entitled to great credit for having -concentrated more lies than I had ever before heard in so small a -compass. He smiled, and evidently felt gratified by the compliment. - -“I suppose,” I continued, “that you have told these marvellous stories -so often, that you believe them yourself?” - -“Almost!” replied the porter, with a grin of satisfaction that showed he -was “up to snuff,” and had really earned two shillings. - -“Come now, old fellow,” said I, “what will you take for the entire lot -of those traps? I want them for my Museum in America.” - -“No money would buy these valuable historical mementos of a by-gone -age,” replied the old porter with a leer. - -“Never mind,” I exclaimed; “I’ll have them duplicated for my Museum, so -that Americans can see them and avoid the necessity of coming here, and -in that way I’ll burst up your show.” - -Albert Smith laughed immoderately at the astonishment of the porter when -I made this threat, and I was greatly amused, some years afterwards, -when Albert Smith became a successful showman and was exhibiting his -“Mont Blanc” to delighted audiences in London, to discover that he had -introduced this very incident into his lecture, of course, changing the -names and locality. He often confessed that he derived his very first -idea of becoming a showman from my talk about the business and my -doings, on this charming day when we visited Warwick. - -The “Warwick races” were coming off that day, within half a mile of the -village, and we therefore went down and spent an hour with the -multitude. There was very little excitement regarding the races, and we -concluded to take a tour through the “penny shows,” the vans of which -lined one side of the course for the distance of a quarter of a mile. On -applying to enter one van, which had a large pictorial sign of -giantesses, white negro, Albino girls, learned pig, big snakes, etc., -the keeper exclaimed: - -“Come, Mister, you is the man what hired Randall, the giant, for -‘Merika, and you shows Tom Thumb; now can you think of paying less than -sixpence for going in here?” - -The appeal was irresistible; so, satisfying his demands, we entered. -Upon coming out, a whole bevy of showmen from that and neighboring vans -surrounded me, and began descanting on the merits and demerits of -General Tom Thumb. - -“Oh,” says one, “I knows two dwarfs what is better ten times as Tom -Thumb.” - -“Yes,” says another, “there’s no use to talk about Tom Thumb while Melia -Patton is above the ground.” - -“Now, I’ve seen Tom Thumb,” added a third, “and he is a fine little -squab, but the only ‘vantage he’s got is he can chaff so well. He chaffs -like a man; but I can learn Dick Swift in two months, so that he can -chaff Tom Thumb crazy.” - -“Never mind,” added a fourth, “I’ve got a chap training what you none on -you knows, what’ll beat all the ‘thumbs’ on your grapplers.” - -“No, he can’t,” exclaimed a fifth, “for Tom Thumb has got the name, and -you all know the name’s everything. Tom Thumb couldn’t never shine, even -in my van, ‘long side of a dozen dwarfs I knows, if this Yankee hadn’t -bamboozled our Queen,--God bless her--by getting him afore her half a -dozen times.” - -“Yes, yes,--that’s the ticket,” exclaimed another; “our Queen patronizes -everything foreign, and yet she wouldn’t visit my beautiful wax-works to -save the crown of Hingland.” - -“Your beautiful wax-works!” they all exclaimed, with a hearty laugh. - -“Yes, and who says they haint beautiful?” retorted the other; “they was -made by the best Hitalian hartist in this country.” - -“They was made by Jim Caul, and showed all over the country twenty years -ago,” rejoined another; “and arter that they laid five years in pawn in -old Moll Wiggin’s cellar, covered with mould and dust.” - -“Well, that’s a good ’un, that is!” replied the proprietor of the -beautiful wax-works, with a look of disdain. - -I made a move to depart, when one of the head showmen exclaimed, “Come, -Mister, don’t be shabby; can you think of going without standing treat -all round?” - -“Why should I stand treat?” I asked. - -“‘Cause ’tain’t every day you can meet such a bloody lot of jolly -brother-showmen,” replied Mr. Wax-works. - -I handed out a crown, and left them to drink bad luck to the “foreign -wagabonds what would bamboozle their Queen with inferior dwarfs, -possessing no advantage over the ‘natyves’ but the power of chaffing.” - -While in the showmen’s vans seeking for acquisitions to my Museum in -America, I was struck with the tall appearance of a couple of females -who exhibited as the “Canadian giantesses, each seven feet in height.” -Suspecting that a cheat was hidden under their unfashionably long -dresses, which reached to the floor and thus rendered their feet -invisible, I attempted to solve the mystery by raising a foot or two of -the superfluous covering. The strapping young lady, not relishing such -liberties from a stranger, laid me flat upon the floor with a blow from -her brawny hand. I was on my feet again in tolerably quick time, but not -until I had discovered that she stood upon a pedestal at least eighteen -inches high. - -We returned to the hotel, took a post-chaise, and drove through -decidedly the most lovely country I ever beheld. Since taking that tour, -I have heard that two gentlemen once made a bet, each, that he could -name the most delightful drive in England. Many persons were present, -and the two gentlemen wrote on separate slips of paper the scene which -he most admired. One gentleman wrote, “The road from Warwick to -Coventry;” the other had written, “The road from Coventry to Warwick.” - -In less than an hour we were set down at the outer walls of Kenilworth -Castle, which Scott has greatly aided to immortalize in his celebrated -novel of that name. This once noble and magnificent castle is now a -stupendous ruin, which has been so often described that I think it -unnecessary to say anything about it here. We spent half an hour in -examining the interesting ruins, and then proceeded by post-chaise to -Coventry, a distance of six or eight miles. Here we remained four hours, -during which time we visited St. Mary’s Hall, which has attracted the -notice of many antiquaries. We also took our own “peep” at the effigy -of the celebrated “Peeping Tom,” after which we visited an exhibition -called the “Happy Family,” consisting of about two hundred birds and -animals of opposite natures and propensities, all living in harmony -together in one cage. This exhibition was so remarkable that I bought it -and hired the proprietor to accompany it to New York, and it became an -attractive feature in my Museum. - -We took the cars the same evening for Birmingham, where we arrived at -ten o’clock, Albert Smith remarking, that never before in his life had -he accomplished a day’s journey on the Yankee go-ahead principle. He -afterwards published a chapter in _Bentley’s Magazine_ entitled “A Day -with Barnum,” in which he said we 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. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -RETURN TO AMERICA. - - THE WIZARD OF THE NORTH--A JUGGLER BEATEN AT HIS OWN TRICKS--SECOND - VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES--REVEREND DOCTOR ROBERT BAIRD--CAPTAIN - JUDKINS THREATENS TO PUT ME IN IRONS--VIEWS WITH REGARD TO SECTS--A - WICKED WOMAN--THE SIMPSONS IN EUROPE--REMINISCENCES OF - TRAVEL--SAUCE AND “SASS”--TEA TOO SWEET--A UNIVERSAL - LANGUAGE--ROAST DUCK--SNOW IN AUGUST--TALES OF TRAVELLERS--SIMPSON - NOT TO BE TAKEN IN--HOLLANDERS IN BRUSSELS--WHERE ALL THE DUTCHMEN - COME FROM--THREE YEARS IN EUROPE--WARM PERSONAL FRIENDS--DOCTOR C. - S. BREWSTER--HENRY SUMNER--GEORGE SAND--LORENZO DRAPER--GEORGE P. - PUTNAM--OUR LAST PERFORMANCE IN DUBLIN--DANIEL O’CONNELL--END OF - OUR TOUR--DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA--ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK. - - -While I was at Aberdeen, in Scotland, I met Anderson, the “Wizard of the -North.” I had known him for a long time, and we were on familiar terms. -The General’s exhibitions were to close on Saturday night, and Anderson -was to open in the same hall on Monday evening. He came to our -exhibition, and at the close we went to the hotel together to get a -little supper. After supper we were having some fun and jokes together, -when it occurred to Anderson to introduce me to several persons who were -sitting in the room, as the “Wizard of the North,” at the same time -asking me about my tricks and my forthcoming exhibition. He kept this up -so persistently that some of our friends who were present, declared that -Anderson was “too much for me,” and, meanwhile, fresh introductions to -strangers who came in, had made me pretty generally known in that -circle as the “Wizard of the North,” who was to astonish the town in the -following week. I accepted the situation at last, and said: - -“Well, gentlemen, as I perform here for the first time, on Monday -evening, I like to be liberal, and I should be very happy to give orders -of admission to those of you who will attend my exhibition.” - -The applications for orders were quite general, and I had written thirty -or forty, when Anderson, who saw that I was in a fair way of filling his -house with “dead-heads,” cried out-- - -“Hold on! I am the ‘Wizard of the North.’ I’ll stand the orders already -given, but not another one.” - -Our friends, including the “Wizard” himself, began to think that I had -rather the best of the joke. - -During our three years’ stay abroad, I made a second hasty visit to -America, leaving the General in England in the hands of my agents. I -took passage from Liverpool on board a Cunard steamer, commanded by -Captain Judkins. One of my fellow passengers was the celebrated divine, -Robert Baird. I had known him as the author of an octavo volume, -“Religion in America”; and while that work had impressed me as -exhibiting great ability and an outspoken honesty of purpose, it had -also given me the notion that its author must be very rigid and -intolerant as a sectarian. Still I was happy to make his acquaintance on -board the steamship, and soon regarded with favor the venerable -Presbyterian divine. - -Dr. Baird had been for some time a missionary in Sweden. He was now -paying a visit to his native land. I found him a shrewd, well-informed -Christian gentleman, and I took much pleasure in hearing him converse. -One night it was storming furiously. The waves, rolling high, afforded a -sight of awful grandeur, to witness which I was tempted to put on a -pea-jacket, go upon the deck, and lash myself to the side of the ship. -After I had been there nearly an hour, wrapt in meditation and wonder, -not unmixed with awe, Dr. Baird came up in the darkness, feeling his way -cautiously along the deck. As he came where I was, I hailed him; and he -asked what I was doing so long up there. - -“Listening to the preaching, Doctor,” I replied; “and I think it beats -even yours, although I have never had the pleasure of hearing you.” - -“Ah!” he replied, “none of us can preach like this. How humble and -insignificant we all feel in the presence of such a display of the -Almighty power; and how grateful we should be to remember that infinite -love guides this power.” - -The Sunday following, divine service was held as usual in the large -after cabin. Of course it was the Episcopal form of worship. The captain -conducted the services, assisted by the clerk and the ship’s surgeon. A -dozen or two of the sailors, shaved, washed, and neatly dressed, were -marched into the cabin by the mate; most of the passengers were also -present. - -Those who have witnessed this service, as conducted by Captain Judkins, -need not be reminded that he does it much as he performs his duties on -deck. He speaks as one having authority; and a listener could hardly -help feeling that there would be some danger of a “row” if the petitions -(made as a sort of command) were not speedily answered. - -After dinner I asked Dr. Baird if he would be willing to preach to the -passengers in the forward cabin. He said he would cheerfully do so if it -was desired. I mentioned it to the passengers, and there was a -generally-expressed wish among them that he should preach. I went into -the forward cabin, and requested the steward to arrange the chairs and -tables properly for religious service. He replied that I must first get -the captain’s consent. Of course, I thought this was a mere matter of -form; so I went to the captain’s office, and said: - -“Captain, the passengers desire to have Dr. Baird conduct a religious -service in the forward cabin. I suppose there is no objection.” - -“Decidedly there is,” replied the captain, gruffly; “and it will not be -permitted.” - -“Why not?” I asked, in astonishment. - -“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,” I 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. I was indignant, and used -sharp language. - -“Well,” said I, “this is the most contemptible thing I ever heard of on -the part of the owners of a public - -[Illustration: _PUT ME IN IRONS._] - -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,’” I 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 I, feeling my 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.” - -The captain made no reply; and, at the request of friends, I walked to -another part of the ship. I told the Doctor how the matter stood, and -then, laughingly, said to him: - -“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 and myself had no further intercourse for five or six days; -not until a few hours before our arrival in New York. Being at dinner, -he sent his champagne bottle to me, and asked to “drink my health,” at -the same time stating that he hoped no ill-feeling would be carried -ashore. I was not then, as I am now, a teetotaler; so I accepted the -proffered truce, and I regret that I must add I “washed down” my wrath -in a bottle of Heidsick--a poor example, which I hope never to repeat. -We have frequently met since, and always with friendly greetings; but I -have ever felt that his manners were unnecessarily coarse and offensive -in carrying out an arbitrary and bigoted rule of the steamship company. - -Though I have never lacked definite opinions, or hesitated to exhibit -decided preferences in regard to the different religious creeds, I have -never been so sectarian as to imagine that any one of the denominations -is without any truth, or exists for no good purpose. On the contrary, I -hold that every faith has somewhat of truth; and that each sect, in its -way, does a work which perhaps no one of the other sects can do as well. -I was strongly confirmed in this general belief by an impromptu -utterance of Dr. Baird, during one of our conversations, which, under -the circumstances, was not a little amusing, as it certainly evinced a -good deal of insight into human nature. It is well known that the old -Doctor was very rigid in his theological views, and in his career never -spared either the Methodists or the people of the so-called liberal -opinions. During our passage across the Atlantic, we very naturally had -considerable tilting in regard to opinions which divided us, though in a -thoroughly good-natured way. At last I recalled the case of a woman, -somewhat noted among her neighbors for coarseness of speech, including -profanity, making her altogether such a person as needed the refining -influence of religious teaching. Describing the very unpromising -condition of this woman, I said: - -“Well, Doctor, if you can do anything with your creed to improve that -woman, I should be glad to see you undertake the job.” - -I was at once struck with the business air in which he considered the -exigencies of what was undoubtedly a hard case. It was clear that he had -dropped the character of the sectarian, and was taking a common-sense -view of the problem. The problem was soon solved, and he replied: - -“Mr. Barnum, it is of no use for you, with your opinions, to attempt to -do anything for that sort of a person; and it is equally useless for me, -with my views, to attempt it either. But, if you could contrive a way to -set some fiery, rousing Methodist to work upon her, why, he is just the -man to do it!” - -There were a number of pretty wild young men among our passengers, and -on several occasions they tried their wits upon Dr. Baird. But he was a -man of sterling common sense, and with that, very quick at repartee; and -they never made anything out of him. On one occasion, at dinner, they -were in great glee, and, for a “lark,” they sent him their champagne -bottle to drink a glass of wine with them. They, of course, supposed he -was a teetotaler, as, indeed, I believe he was; but when the waiter -handed him the bottle, he quietly poured a spoonful or two into his -glass, and, gracefully bowing to the young gentlemen, placed it to his -lips, but not tasting it. Of course, they could say nothing. - -Early one morning, several of these youths came upon deck, and, meeting -the Doctor there, one of them exclaimed: - -“It is cold as hell this morning, ain’t it, Doctor?” - -“I am unable to state the exact height of the thermometer in that -locality,” said he, gravely; “but I am afraid you will know all about it -some time, if you are not careful.” - -The laugh was decidedly against the young man; but one of his -companions, who thought considerably of himself, seemed anxious to take -up the cudgel, and he remarked: - -“Dr. Baird, your brother clergymen are making a great ado in New York -about the state of crime there; and they have got a smelling-committee, -who go about and smell out all filthy places there, and report them to -the public. Indeed, they do say that several of the clergy, and some -laymen of the Arthur Tappan stripe, have got a book in which they have -written down a list of all the bad houses in New York. I should like to -see that book. Ha! ha! I wonder if they have really got one?” - -“I don’t know how that is,” replied Doctor Baird; “but,” casting his -eyes heavenward, “I can assure you there is a book in which all such -places are recorded, as well as the names of those who occupy or visit -them; and in due time it will be opened to public gaze.” - -The young man looked cowed, and extending his hand to Doctor Baird, -said: - -“Sir, I confess I have made too light of a serious matter. I sincerely -beg your pardon, if I have offended you.” - -“You have not offended me,” said the Doctor, with a benignant smile; -“but I am rejoiced to perceive that you have offended your own sense of -propriety and morality. I trust you will not forget it.” - -This was the last attempt on board that ship to try a lance with Doctor -Baird. - -Several years later, when I was engaged in the Jenny Lind enterprise, -Doctor Baird called upon me. Having been so long a missionary in Sweden, -the native land of the great songstress, he had a special desire to make -her acquaintance and listen to her singing. I introduced him to her, and -gave him the _entrée_ to her concerts. He improved the opportunity, and -he also made frequent calls upon her. She became much interested in him. -Indeed, on several occasions she contributed liberally to the charitable -institutions he had recommended to her favorable notice. - -During my residence in London I made the acquaintance of an American, -whom I will call Simpson, and his wife. They had originally been poor, -and accustomed to pretty low society. Their opportunities for education -had been limited, and they were what we should term vulgar, ignorant, -common people. But by a turn of Fortune’s wheel they became suddenly -rich, and like some other fools who know nothing of their own country, -they must rush to make the tour of Europe. - -Mr. Simpson was an ignorant, good-natured fellow, fond of sporting large -amounts of jewelry; was very social with Englishmen; always bragging of -our “glorious country”; and was particularly given to boasting that he -was once poor and now he was rich. Whenever he met Americans he was -delighted, and insisted on the privilege of “standing treats” to all -around, familiarly slapping on the back, and treating as an old chum, -any American gentleman, however refined, whom he might come in contact -with. - -Mrs. Simpson was a coarse woman, yet always studying politeness, and -particularly the proper pronunciation of words. She was ever trying to -appear refined; and she prided herself upon understanding all the rules -of etiquette and fashion. She was continually purchasing new dresses and -fashionable articles of apparel. She loaded herself down with diamonds -and tawdry jewelry, and would frequently appear in the streets with six -or eight different dresses in a day. But, strange to say, with all her -pride and vanity with regard to being considered the perfection of -refinement, she had an awful habit of using profane language! She really -seemed to think this an evidence of good breeding. Perhaps she thought -it a luxury which rich people were entitled to enjoy. This peculiarity -occasionally led to most ludicrous scenes. - -The Simpsons were from New England; and in their conversation they had -the nasal Yankee twang, and the peculiar pronunciation of the illiterate -class of the New England people. - -Those who have heard John E. Owens in “Solon Shingle,” are aware that -preserved fruits are in New England called “sauce,” by the vulgar -pronounced “sass.” But when Mrs. Simpson heard the word in England -pronounced sauce, she was very anxious that John, her husband, should -adopt the new pronunciation. He tried hard to learn, but would -frequently forget himself and say “sass.” Mrs. Simpson would lose her -patience on such occasions, and reprove her husband sharply. Indeed, if -he escaped without receiving some profane epithet from the lips of his -would-be fashionable wife, it was a wonder. - -On one occasion I happened to meet them at dinner with an English family -in London, to whom I had, in the way of business, introduced them a few -weeks previously. We had scarcely taken our seats at the table before -Simpson happened to discover a dish of sweetmeats at the further corner -of the table. Turning to the servant he said: - -“Please pass me that sass.” - -Mrs. Simpson’s eyes flashed indignantly, and she angrily exclaimed, -almost in a scream: - -“Say sauce; don’t say ‘sass.’ I’d rather hear you say h--l a d--d -sight!” - -That our English hostess was amazed and shocked it is needless to say, -although she preserved her equanimity better than could be expected. As -for myself, I confess I could not refrain from laughing, which, of -course, served only to increase the wrath of Mrs. Simpson. - -Fourteen years subsequent to this event, I called on this English lady -in company with an American friend. In the course of conversation, I -happened to ask her if she remembered about Mrs. Simpson’s “sass.” She -took from a drawer her memorandum book, and showed us the above -expression verbatim, which, she said, she wrote down the same day it was -uttered; and she added she had never been able to think of it since -without laughing. - -I met Simpson and his wife at a hotel in Marseilles, France, in the -summer of 1845. Mrs. Simpson said she and Simpson had almost determined -not to go to France at all when they “heard it was necessary to hire an -interpreter to tell what folks said.” Said she, “I told Simpson I didn’t -want to go among a set of folks who were such cussed fools they couldn’t -speak English! But of course we must go to France just for the speech of -the people when we get home, so here we are. For my part,” she -continued, “I speak English to these Frenchmen anyhow, and if they can’t -understand me they can go without understanding. The other morning, I -told the waiter my tea was too sweet. I found afterwards that too sweet -(_toute de suite_) was French for ‘very quick.’” - -“‘Oui, madame,’ he replied, ‘oui, oui, que voulez vous?’ (what will you -have?)” - -“‘Too sweet, too sweet,’ I repeated, ‘too sweet, too sweet.’ Then I -pointed to my tea, and said again, ‘Too sweet, d--n your stupid head, -can’t you understand too sweet?’ The fool jumped around like a hen with -her head cut off, and kept saying, ‘Oui, oui, madame, too sweet, qu’est -ceque c’est? (What is it?)’ Finally an English gentleman asked me what -was the matter, and when I told him, he explained by telling me that -_too sweet_ (toute de suite) in French meant quick, very quick, and that -was what made the stupid waiter jump around so.” - -“But d--n the French waiters,” she continued, “I have got quit of them -finally, for I have found out a language we both understand. - -“The same day my tea was too sweet, Simpson was out at dinner time; and -I went to the table alone. I called for soup, and the sap-heads brought -me some sort of preserves. I then called for fish, and the fools could -not understand me. Then I said, ‘Bring me some chicken,’ and d--n ’em, -they danced about in a quandary till I thought I should starve to death. -But finally I thought of roast duck. I am dreadfully fond of duck, and I -knew they always had stuffed ducks at dinner time. So I called to the -waiter once more, and pointed to my plate and said, ‘_quack_, _quack_, -_quack_, now do you understand?’ and the fool began to laugh, and said, -‘Oui, madame, oui, oui,’ and off he ran, and soon brought me the nicest -piece of duck you ever saw. So now every day at dinner, I say ‘_quack_, -_quack_,’ and I always get some first-rate duck.” - -I congratulated her on having discovered a universal language. - -The same day, I met a young Englishman in the hotel, who had been -travelling in Spain. During our conversation we were summoned to dinner. -At the table d’hote, Simpson happened to be seated exactly opposite us. -As we continued our conversation, Simpson heard it, and his attention -was particularly arrested--it being something of a novelty to meet a -stranger in these parts, who spoke our native tongue. The English -gentleman mentioned that he ascended the Pyrenees the week previous. - -“I should like to have been with you,” I remarked, “but I am almost too -fat and lazy to climb high mountains. I suppose you found it pretty hard -work.” - -“Yes, we had to rough it some; we encountered considerable snow,” he -replied. - -“Snow!” exclaimed Simpson, in astonishment. - -The Englishman looked with surprise at this interruption; for he did -not know Simpson, nor had he ever heard him speak before. However, he -quietly replied, “Yes, sir, snow.” - -“Not by a d--d sight, you didn’t,” replied Simpson, emphatically. “That -wont go down. Snow in August wont do. I have seen snow myself in -Connecticut, the last of September, but it wont do in August, by a -thundering sight.” - -The Englishman sprang to his feet, but I hit him a nudge, and said, “It -is all right. Excuse me; let me introduce my friend, Mr. Simpson, from -America. He has travelled some, and it is pretty hard to take him in -with big stories.” - -He comprehended the matter instantly and sat down. - -“Yes, sir,” remarked Simpson, “I have heard travellers before, but -August is a leetle too early for snow.” - -“But suppose I should say it was not this year’s snow?” said the -Englishman, who was ready now to carry on the joke. - -“Worse and worse,” exclaimed Simpson, with a triumphant laugh; “if it -would not melt in August, when in thunder would it melt! You might as -well say it would lay all the year round.” - -“I give it up,” said the Englishman, “you are too sharp for me.” - -Simpson was delighted, and took special pains for several days to inform -the interpreters in the neighboring hotels and billiard saloons, that he -had “took down” an impudent John Bull, who had tried to stuff him with -the idea that he had seen snow in August. - -I met the Simpsons afterwards in Brussels, and the head of the family, -who had heard nothing but French spoken, outside of his own circle, for -a long time, called me in great glee to the door, to see and hear some -Dutchmen, who were conversing together in the street. - -“There!” exclaimed Simpson, “those fellows are Dutchmen; I know by their -talk.” - -“Very well,” said I, “how far do you suppose those Dutchmen are from -their native place?” - -“Why,” replied Simpson, “I suppose they came from Western Pennsylvania; -that’s where I have always seen ’em.” - -With the exception of the brief time passed in making two short visits -to America, I had now passed three years with General Tom Thumb in Great -Britain and on the Continent. The entire period had been a season of -unbroken pleasure and profit. I had immensely enlarged my business -experiences and had made money and many friends. Among those to whom I -am indebted for special courtesies while I was abroad are Dr. C. S. -Brewster, whose prosperous professional career in Russia and France is -well known, and Henry Sumner, Esq., who occupied a high position in the -social and literary circles of Paris and who introduced me to George -Sand and to many other distinguished persons. To both these gentlemen, -as well as to Mr. John Nimmo, an English gentleman connected with -_Galignani’s Messenger_, Mr. Lorenzo Draper, the American Consul, and -Mr. Dion Boucicault, I was largely indebted for attention. In London, -two gentlemen especially merit my warm acknowledgments for many valuable -favors. I refer to the late Thomas Brettell, publisher, Haymarket; and -Mr. R. Fillingham, Jr., Fenchurch Street. I was also indebted to Mr. G. -P. Putnam, at that time a London publisher, for much useful -information. - -We had visited nearly every city and town in France and Belgium, all the -principal places in England and Scotland, besides going to Belfast and -Dublin, in Ireland. I had several times met Daniel O’Connell in private -life and in the Irish capital I heard him make an eloquent and powerful -public Repeal speech in Conciliation Hall. In Dublin, after exhibiting a -week in Rotunda Hall, our receipts on the last day were £261, or $1,305, -and the General also received £50, or $250, for playing the same evening -at the Theatre Royal. Thus closing a truly triumphant tour, we set sail -for New York, arriving in February 1847. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -AT HOME. - - RENEWING THE LEASE OF THE MUSEUM BUILDING--TOM THUMB IN - AMERICA--TOUR THROUGH THE COUNTRY--JOURNEY TO CUBA--BARNUM A - CURIOSITY--RAISING TURKEYS--CEASING TO BE A TRAVELLING - SHOWMAN--RETURN TO BRIDGEPORT--ADVANTAGES AND CAPABILITIES OF THAT - CITY--SEARCH FOR A HOME--THE FINDING--BUILDING AND COMPLETION OF - IRANISTAN--GRAND HOUSE-WARMING--BUYING THE BALTIMORE - MUSEUM--OPENING THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM--CATERING FOR QUAKERS--THE - TEMPERANCE PLEDGE AT THE THEATRE--PURCHASING PEALE’S PHILADELPHIA - COLLECTION--MY AGRICULTURAL AND ARBORICULTURAL DOINGS--“GERSY BLEW” - CHICKENS--HOW I SOLD MY POTATOES--HOW I BOUGHT OTHER PEOPLE’S - POTATOES--CUTTING OFF GRAFTS--MY DEER PARK--MY GAME-KEEPER--FRANK - LESLIE--PLEASURES OF HOME. - - -One of my main objects in returning home at this time, was to obtain a -longer lease of the premises occupied by the American Museum. My lease -had still three years to run, but Mr. Olmsted, the proprietor of the -building, was dead, and I was anxious to make provision in time for the -perpetuity of my establishment, for I meant to make the Museum a -permanent institution in the city, and if I could not renew my lease, I -intended to build an appropriate edifice on Broadway. I finally -succeeded, however, in getting the lease of the entire building, -covering fifty-six feet by one hundred, for twenty-five years, at an -annual rent of $10,000 and the ordinary taxes and assessments. I had -already hired in addition the upper stories of three adjoining -buildings. My Museum receipts were more in one day, than they formerly -were in an entire week, and the establishment had become so popular -that it was thronged at all hours from early morning to closing time at -night. - -On my return, I promptly made use of General Tom Thumb’s European -reputation. He immediately appeared in the American Museum, and for four -weeks 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. The receipts, -amounting to several hundred dollars, were presented to the Bridgeport -Charitable Society. The Bridgeporters were much delighted to see their -old friend, “little Charlie,” again. They little thought, when they saw -him playing about the streets a few years previously, that he was -destined to create such a sensation among the crowned heads of the old -world; and now, returning with his European reputation, he was, of -course, a great curiosity to his former acquaintances, as well as to the -public generally. His Bridgeport friends found that he had not increased -in size during the four and a half years of his absence, but they -discovered that he had become sharp and witty, “abounding in foreign -airs and native graces”; in fact, that he was quite unlike the little, -diffident country fellow whom they had formerly known. - -“We never thought Charlie much of a phenomenon when he lived among us,” -said one of the first citizens of the place, “but now that he has become -‘Barnumized,’ he is a rare curiosity.” - -But there was really no mystery about it; the whole change made by -training and travel, had appeared to me by degrees, and it came to the -citizens of Bridgeport suddenly. The terms upon which I first engaged -the lad showed that I had no over-sanguine expectations of his success -as a “speculation.” When I saw, however, that he was wonderfully -popular, I took the greatest pains to engraft upon his native talent all -the instruction he was capable of receiving. He was an apt pupil, and I -provided for him the best of teachers. Travel and attrition with so many -people in so many lands did the rest. The General left America three -years before, a diffident, uncultivated little boy; he came back an -educated, accomplished little man. He had seen much, and had profited -much. He went abroad poor, and he came home rich. - -On January 1, 1845, my engagement with the General at a salary ceased, -and we made a new arrangement by which we were equal partners, the -General, or his father for him, taking one-half of the profits. A -reservation, however, was made of the first four weeks after our arrival -in New York, during which he was to exhibit at my Museum for two hundred -dollars. When we returned to America, the General’s father had acquired -a handsome fortune, and settling a large sum upon the little General -personally, he placed the balance at interest, secured by bond and -mortgage, excepting thirty thousand dollars, with which he purchased -land near the city limits of Bridgeport, and erected a large and -substantial mansion, where he resided till the day of his death, and in -which his only two daughters were married, one in 1850, the other in -1853. His only son, besides the General, was born in 1851. All the -family, except “little Charlie,” are of the usual size. - -After spending a month in visiting his friends, it was determined that -the General and his parents should travel through the United States. I -agreed to accompany them, with occasional intervals of rest at home, for -one year, sharing the profits equally, as in England. We proceeded to -Washington city, where the General held his levees in April, 1847, -visiting President Polk and lady at the White House--thence to Richmond, -returning to Baltimore and Philadelphia. Our receipts in Philadelphia in -twelve days were $5,594.91. The tour for the entire year realized about -the same average. The expenses were from twenty-five dollars to thirty -dollars per day. From Philadelphia we went to Boston, Lowell, and -Providence. Our receipts on one day in the latter city were $976.97. We -then visited New Bedford, Fall River, Salem, Worcester, Springfield, -Albany, Troy, Niagara Falls, Buffalo, and intermediate places, and in -returning to New York we stopped at the principal towns on the Hudson -River. After this we visited New Haven, Hartford, Portland, Me., and -intermediate towns. - -I was surprised to find that, during my long absence abroad, I had -become almost as much of a curiosity to my patrons as I was to the -spinster from Maine who once came to see me and to attend the “services” -in my Lecture Room. 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 November, 1847, we started for Havana, taking the steamer from New -York to Charleston, where the General exhibited, as well as at Columbia, -Augusta, Savannah, Milledgeville, Macon, Columbus, Montgomery, Mobile -and New Orleans. At this latter city we remained three weeks, including -Christmas and New Year’s. We arrived in Havana by the schooner Adams -Gray, in January, 1848, and were introduced to the Captain-General and -the Spanish nobility. We remained a month in Havana and Matanzas, the -General proving an immense favorite. In Havana he was the especial pet -of Count Santovania. In Matanzas we were very much indebted to the -kindness of a princely American merchant, Mr. Brinckerhoff. Mr. J. S. -Thrasher, the American patriot and gentleman, was also of great -assistance to us, and placed me under deep obligations. - -The hotels in Havana are not good. An American who is accustomed to -substantial living, finds it difficult to get enough to eat. We stopped -at the Washington House, which at that time was “first-rate bad.” It was -filthy, and kept by a woman who was drunk most of the time. Several -Americans boarded there who were regular gormandizers. One of them, -seeing a live turkey on a New Orleans vessel, purchased and presented it -to the landlady. It was a small one, and when it was carved, there was -not enough of it to “go round.” An American, (a large six-footer and a -tremendous eater,) who resided on a sugar plantation near Havana, -happened to sit near the carver, and seeing an American turkey so near -him, and feeling that it was a rare dish for that latitude, kept helping -himself, so that when the carving was finished, he had eaten about one -half of the turkey. Unfortunately the man who bought it was sitting at -the further end of the table, and did not get a taste of the coveted -bird. He was indignant, especially against the innocent gormandizer from -the sugar plantation, who, of course, was not acquainted with the -history of the turkey. When they arose from the table, the planter -smacked his lips, and patting his stomach, remarked, “That was a -glorious turkey. I have not tasted one before these two years. I am very -fond of them, and when I go back to my plantation I mean to commence -raising turkeys.” - -“If you don’t raise one before you leave town, you’ll be a dead man,” -said the disappointed poultry purchaser. - -From Havana we went to New Orleans, where we remained several days, and -from New Orleans we proceeded to St. Louis, stopping at the principal -towns on the Mississippi river, and returning _via_ Louisville, -Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh. We reached the latter city early in May, -1848. From this point it was agreed between Mr. Stratton and myself, -that I should go home and henceforth travel no more with the little -General. I had 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. I was fully determined that no pecuniary temptation should -again induce me to forego the enjoyments to be secured only in the -circle of home. I reached my residence in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in -the latter part of May, rejoiced to find my family and friends in good -health, and delighted to find myself once more at home. - -My new home, which was then nearly ready for occupancy, was the -well-known Iranistan. More than two years had been employed in building -this beautiful residence. In 1846, finding that fortune was continuing -to favor me, I began to look forward eagerly to the time when I could -withdraw from the whirlpool of business excitement and settle down -permanently with my family, to pass the remainder of my days in -comparative rest. - -I wished to reside within a few hours of New York. I had never seen more -delightful locations than there are upon the borders of Long Island -Sound, between New Rochelle, New York, and New Haven, Connecticut; and -my attention was therefore turned in that direction. Bridgeport seemed -to be about the proper distance from the great metropolis. It is -pleasantly situated at the terminus of two railroads, which traverse the -fertile valleys of the Naugatuck and Housatonic rivers. The New York and -New Haven Railroad runs through the city, and there is also daily -steamboat communication with New York. The enterprise which -characterized the city, seemed to mark it as destined to become the -first in the State in size and opulence; and I was not long in -deciding, with the concurrence of my wife, to fix our future residence -in that vicinity. - -I accordingly purchased seventeen acres of land, less than a mile west -of the city, and fronting with a good view upon the Sound. Although -nominally in Bridgeport, my property was really in Fairfield, a few rods -west of the Bridgeport line. In deciding upon the kind of house to be -erected, I determined, first and foremost, to consult convenience and -comfort. I cared little for style, and my wife cared still less; but as -we meant to have a good house, it might as well, at the same time, be -unique. In this, I confess, I had “an eye to business,” for I thought -that a pile of buildings of a novel order might indirectly serve as an -advertisement of my Museum. - -In visiting Brighton, in England, I had been greatly pleased with the -Pavilion erected by George IV. It was 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. New and magnificent avenues were - -[Illustration: _IRANISTAN._] - -opened in the vicinity of my property. The building progressed slowly, -but surely and substantially. 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. All -I cared to know was that it suited me, and that would have been a small -consideration with me if it had not also suited my family. - -The whole was finally completed to my satisfaction. My family removed -into the premises, and, on the fourteenth of November, 1848, nearly one -thousand invited guests, including the poor and the rich, helped us in -the old-fashioned custom of “house-warming.” - -When the name “Iranistan” was announced, a waggish New York editor -syllabled it, I-ran-i-stan, and gave as the interpretation, that “I ran -a long time before I could stan’!” Literally, however, the name -signifies, “Eastern Country Place,” or, more poetically, “Oriental -Villa.” - -The plot of ground upon which Iranistan was erected, was at the date of -my purchase, in March 1846, a bare field. But I transplanted many -hundreds of fruit and forest trees, some of the latter of very large -growth when they were moved, and thus in a few years my premises were -adorned with what, in the ordinary process of growth, would have -required a whole generation. I have never waited for my trees to grow, -if money would transplant them of nearly full growth at the start. - -The years 1848 and 1849 were mainly spent with my family, though I went -every week to New York to look after the interests of the American -Museum. While I was in Europe, in 1845, my agent, Mr. Fordyce Hitchcock, -had bought out for me the Baltimore Museum, a fully-supplied -establishment, in full operation, and I placed it under the charge of my -uncle, Alanson Taylor. He died in 1846, and I then sold the Baltimore -Museum to the “Orphean Family,” by whom it was subsequently transferred -to Mr. John E. Owens, the celebrated comedian. After my return from -Europe, I opened, in 1849, a Museum in Dr. Swain’s fine building, at the -corner of Chestnut and Seventh streets, in Philadelphia. - -This was in all respects a first-class establishment. It was elegantly -fitted up, and contained, among other things, a dozen fine large -paintings, such as “The Deluge,” “Cain and his Family,” and other -similar subjects which I had ordered copied, when I was in Paris, from -paintings in the gallery of the Louvre. There was also a complete and -valuable collection of curiosities and I sent from New York, from time -to time, my transient novelties in the way of giants, dwarfs, fat boys, -animals and other attractions. There was a lecture room and stage for -dramatic entertainments; but I was catering for a Quaker population, and -was careful to introduce or permit nothing which could possibly be -objectionable. While the Museum contained such wax-works as “The -Temperate Family,” “The Intemperate Family,” and Mrs. Pelby’s -representation of “The Last Supper,” the theatre presented “The -Drunkard” and other moral dramas. The most respectable people in the -city patronized the Museum and attended the theatre. “The Drunkard” was -exceedingly well played and it made a great impression. There was a -temperance pledge in the box-office, which was signed by thousands -during the run of the piece. Almost every hour during the day and -evening, women could be seen bringing their husbands to the Museum to -sign the pledge. - -I stayed in Philadelphia long enough to identify myself with this Museum -and to successfully start the enterprise and then left it in the hands -of different managers who profitably conducted it till 1851, when, -finding that it occupied too much of my time and attention, I sold it to -Mr. Clapp Spooner for $40,000. At the end of that year, the building and -contents were destroyed by fire. The loss was a serious one to -Philadelphia, and the people were very desirous that Mr. Spooner should -rebuild the establishment; but a highly profitable business connection -with the Adams Express Company prevented him from doing so. - -While my Philadelphia Museum was in full operation, Peale’s Museum ran -me a strong opposition at the Masonic Hall. That enterprise proved -disastrous, and I purchased the collection at sheriff’s sale, for five -or six thousand dollars, on joint account of my friend Moses Kimball and -myself. The curiosities were equally divided, one-half going to his -Boston Museum and the other half to my American Museum in New York. - -In 1848 I was elected President of the Fairfield County Agricultural -Society in Connecticut. Although not practically a farmer, I had -purchased about one hundred acres of land in the vicinity of my -residence, and felt and still feel a deep interest in the cause of -agriculture. I had begun by importing some blood stock for Iranistan, -and, as I was at one time attacked by the “hen fever,” I erected -several splendid poultry-houses on my grounds. These were built for me -by a carpenter who wrote an application for a situation, sending me a -frightfully mis-spelled letter, in which he said that he was “youste” to -hard work. I thought if his work was as strong as his spelling, he was -the man I wanted, and I employed him. When the time came to prepare for -our agricultural fair in the fall, he made a series of gorgeous cages in -which to exhibit my shanghaes, bantams, and other fancy fowls. I went -out to see them before they were sent away, and was horrified to find -that he had marked the cages in his own peculiar style, describing my -“Jersey Blues,” for instance, in startling capitals as “Gersy Blews.” I -called for a jack-plane to remove every mark on the cages and told the -astonished carpenter that he might do anything in the world for me, -except to spell. - -In 1849 it was determined by the Society that I should deliver the -annual address. I begged to be excused on the ground of incompetency, -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 is 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 mine, Mr. James D. Johnson, lived in a fine house a quarter -of a mile west of Iranistan, and as I owned several acres of land at the -corner of two streets directly adjoining his homestead, I surrounded the -ground with high pickets, and introducing a number of Rocky Mountain -elk, reindeer, and American deer, I converted it into a deer park. -Strangers passing by would naturally suppose that it belonged to -Johnson’s estate, and to render the illusion more complete, his -son-in-law, Mr. S. H. Wales, of the Scientific American, placed a sign -in the park, fronting on the street, and reading: - - “ALL PERSONS ARE FORBID TRESPASSING ON THESE GROUNDS, OR DISTURBING - THE DEER. J. D. JOHNSON.” - -I “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 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.” His friends, as soon as -they understood the joke, enjoyed it mightily, but it was said that -neighbor Johnson laughed out of “the wrong side of his mouth.” - -Thereafter, Mr. Johnson was known among his friends and acquaintances as -“Barnum’s game-keeper.” Sometime afterwards when I was President of the -Pequonnock Bank, it was my custom every year to give a grand dinner at -Iranistan to the directors, and in making preparations I used to send to -certain friends in the West for prairie chickens and other game. On one -occasion a large box, marked “P. T. Barnum, Bridgeport; Game,” was lying -in the express office, when Johnson seeing it, and espying the word -“game,” said: - -“Look here! I am ‘Barnum’s game-keeper,’ and I’ll take charge of this -box.” - -And “take charge” of it he did, carrying it home and notifying me that -it was in his possession, and that as he was my game-keeper he would -“keep” this, unless I sent him an order for a new hat. He knew very well -that I would give fifty dollars rather than be deprived of the box, and -as he also threatened to give a game dinner at his own house, I speedily -sent the order for the hat, acknowledged the good joke, and my own -guests enjoyed the double “game.” - -During the year 1848, Mr. Frank Leslie, since so widely known as the -publisher of several illustrated journals, came to me with letters of -introduction from London, and I employed him to get up for me an -illustrated catalogue of my Museum. This he did in a splendid manner, -and hundreds of thousands of copies were sold and distributed far and -near, thus adding greatly to the renown of the establishment. - -I count these two years--1848 and 1849--among the happiest of my life. I -had enough to do in the management of my business, and yet I seemed to -have plenty of leisure hours to pass with my family and friends in my -beautiful home of Iranistan. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE JENNY LIND ENTERPRISE. - - GRAND SCHEME--CONGRESS OF ALL NATIONS--A BOLD AND BRILLIANT - ENTERPRISE--THE JENNY LIND ENGAGEMENT--MY AGENT IN EUROPE--HIS - INSTRUCTIONS--CORRESPONDENCE WITH MISS LIND--BENEDICT AND - BELLETTI--JOSHUA BATES--CHEVALIER WYCKOFF--THE CONTRACT SIGNED--MY - RECEPTION OF THE NEWS--THE ENTIRE SUM OF MONEY FOR THE ENGAGEMENT - SENT TO LONDON--MY FIRST LIND LETTER TO THE PUBLIC--A POOR - PORTRAIT--MUSICAL NOTES IN WALL STREET--A FRIEND IN NEED. - - -Many of my most fortunate enterprises have fairly startled me by the -magnitude of their success. When my sanguine hopes predicted a steady -flow of fortune, I have been inundated; when I calculated upon making a -curious public pay me liberally for a meritorious article, I have often -found the same public eager to deluge me with compensation. Yet, I never -believed in mere luck and I always pitied the simpleton who relies on -luck for his success. Luck is in no sense the foundation of my fortune; -from the beginning of my career I planned and worked for my success. To -be sure, my schemes often amazed me with the affluence of their results, -and, arriving at the very best, I sometimes “builded better” than “I -knew.” - -For a long time I had been incubating a plan for an extraordinary -exhibition which I was sure would be a success and would excite -universal attention and commendation in America and abroad. This was -nothing less than a “Congress of Nations”--an assemblage of -representatives of all the nations that could be reached by land or sea. -I meant to secure a man and woman, as perfect as could be procured, from -every accessible people, civilized and barbarous, on the face of the -globe. I had actually contracted with an agent to go to Europe to make -arrangements to secure “specimens” for such a show. Even now, I can -conceive of no exhibition which would be more interesting and which -would appeal more generally to all classes of patrons. As it was, and -while positively preparing for such a congress, it occurred to me that -another great enterprise could be undertaken at less risk, with far less -real trouble, and with more remunerative results. - -And now I come to speak of an undertaking which my worst enemy will -admit was bold in its conception, complete in its development, and -astounding in its success. It was an enterprise never before or since -equalled in managerial annals. As I recall it now, I almost tremble at -the seeming temerity of the attempt. That I am proud of it I freely -confess. It placed me before the world in a new light; it gained me many -warm friends in new circles; it was in itself a fortune to me--I risked -much but I made more. - -It was in October 1849, that I conceived the idea of bringing Jenny Lind -to this country. I had never heard her sing, inasmuch as she arrived in -London a few weeks after I left that city with General Tom Thumb. Her -reputation, however, was sufficient for me. I usually jump at -conclusions, and almost invariably find that my first impressions are -correct. It struck me, when I first thought of this speculation, that if -properly managed it must prove immensely profitable, provided I could -engage the “Swedish Nightingale” on any terms within the range of -reason. As it was a great undertaking, I considered the matter seriously -for several days, and all my “cipherings” and calculations gave but one -result--immense success. - -Reflecting that very much would depend upon the manner in which she -should be brought before the public, I saw that my task would be an -exceedingly arduous one. It was possible, I knew, that circumstances -might occur which would make the enterprise disastrous. “The public” is -a very strange animal, and although a good knowledge of human nature -will generally lead a caterer of amusements to hit the people, they are -fickle, and ofttimes perverse. A slight misstep in the management of a -public entertainment, frequently wrecks the most promising enterprise. -But I had marked the “divine Jenny” as a sure card, and to secure the -prize I began to cast about for a competent agent. - -I found in Mr. John Hall Wilton, an Englishman who had visited this -country with the Sax-Horn Players, the best man whom I knew for that -purpose. A few minutes sufficed to make the arrangement with him, by -which I was to pay but little more than his expenses if he failed in his -mission, but by which also he was to be paid a large sum if he succeeded -in bringing Jenny Lind to our shores, on any terms within a liberal -schedule which I set forth to him in writing. - -On the 6th of November, 1849, I furnished Wilton with the necessary -documents, including a letter of general instructions which he was at -liberty to exhibit to Jenny Lind and to any other musical notables whom -he thought proper, and a private letter, containing hints and -suggestions not embodied in the former. I also gave him letters of -introduction to my bankers, Messrs. Baring Brothers & Co., of London, as -well as to many friends in England and France. - -The sum of all my instructions, public and private, to Wilton amounted -to this: He was to engage her on shares, if possible. I, however, -authorized him to engage her at any rate, not exceeding one thousand -dollars a night, for any number of nights up to one hundred and fifty, -with all her expenses, including servants, carriages, secretary, etc., -besides also engaging such musical assistants, not exceeding three in -number, as she should select, let the terms be what they might. If -necessary, I should place the entire amount of money named in the -engagement in the hands of London bankers before she sailed. Wilton’s -compensation was arranged on a kind of sliding scale, to be governed by -the terms which he made for me--so that the farther he kept below my -utmost limits, the better he should be paid for making the engagements. -He proceeded to London, and opened a correspondence with Miss Lind, who -was then on the Continent. He learned from the tenor of her letters, -that if she could be induced to visit America at all, she must be -accompanied by Mr. Julius Benedict, the accomplished composer, pianist, -and musical director, and also she was impressed with the belief that -Signor Belletti, the fine baritone, would be of essential service. -Wilton therefore at once called upon Mr. Benedict and also Signor -Belletti, who were both then in London, and in numerous interviews was -enabled to learn the terms on which they would consent to engage to -visit this country with Miss Lind. Having obtained the information -desired, he proceeded to Lubeck, in Germany, to seek an interview with -Miss Lind herself. Upon arriving at her hotel, he sent his card, -requesting her to specify an hour for an interview. She named the -following morning, and he was punctual to the appointment. - -In the course of the first conversation, she frankly told him that -during the time occupied by their correspondence, she had written to -friends in London, including my friend Mr. Joshua Bates, of the house of -Baring Brothers, and had informed herself respecting my character, -capacity, and responsibility, which she assured him were quite -satisfactory. She informed him, however, that at that time there were -four persons anxious to negotiate with her for an American tour. 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, a person who had conducted a successful -speculation some years previously by visiting America in charge of the -celebrated danseuse, Fanny Ellsler. Several of these parties had called -upon her personally, and Wyckoff upon hearing my name, attempted to -deter her from making any engagement with me, by assuring her that I was -a mere showman, and that, for the sake of making money by the -speculation, I would not scruple to put her into a box and exhibit her -through the country at twenty-five cents a head. - -This, she confessed, somewhat alarmed her, and she wrote to Mr. Bates on -the subject. He entirely disabused her mind, by assuring her that he -knew me personally, and that in treating with me she was not dealing -with an “adventurer” who might make her remuneration depend entirely -upon the success of the enterprise, but I was able to carry out all my -engagements, let them prove never so unprofitable, and she could place -the fullest reliance upon my honor and integrity. - -“Now,” said she to Mr. Wilton, “I am perfectly satisfied on that point, -for I know the world pretty well, and am aware how far jealousy and envy -will sometimes carry persons; and as those who are trying to treat with -me are all anxious that I should participate in the profits or losses of -the enterprise, I much prefer treating with you, since your principal is -willing to assume all the responsibility, and take the entire management -and chances of the result upon himself.” - -Several interviews ensued, during which she learned from Wilton that he -had settled with Messrs. Benedict and Belletti, in regard to the amount -of their salaries, provided the engagement was concluded, and in the -course of a week, Mr. Wilton and Miss Lind had arranged the terms and -conditions on which she was ready to conclude the negotiations. As these -terms were within the limits fixed in my private letter of instructions, -the following agreement was duly drawn in triplicate, and signed by -herself and Wilton, at Lubeck, January 9, 1850; and the signatures of -Messrs. Benedict and Belletti were affixed in London a few days -afterwards: - - 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: - -1st. 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. - -2d. 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. - -3d. 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 shall 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. - -4th. 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 unnecessary, 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. - -5th. 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 (£5,000) 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. - -6th. 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, -baritone 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 (£2,500) sterling, -to be satisfactorily secured to him previous to his departure from -Europe, in addition to all his hotel and travelling expenses. - -7th. 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, she, the said Jenny Lind, consulting 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 -whereever it shall appear against the interests of the said Phineas T. -Barnum. - -8th. 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. - -9th. 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. - -10th. 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. - - [L. 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 Hall 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. - - - -I was at my Museum in Philadelphia when Wilton arrived in New York, -February 19, 1850. He immediately telegraphed to me, in the cipher we -had agreed upon, that he had signed an engagement with Jenny Lind, by -which she was to commence her concerts in America in the following -September. I was somewhat startled by this sudden announcement; and -feeling that the time to elapse before her arrival was so long that it -would be policy to keep the engagement private for a few months, I -immediately telegraphed him not to mention it to any person, and that I -would meet him the next day in New York. - -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. - -The next morning I started for New York. On arriving at Princeton we met -the New York cars, and purchasing the morning papers, I was surprised to -find in them a full account of my engagement with Jenny Lind. However, -this premature announcement could not be recalled, and I put the best -face on the matter. Anxious to learn how this communication would strike -the public mind, I informed the conductor, whom I well knew, that I had -made an engagement with Jenny Lind, and that she would surely visit this -country in the following August. - -“Jenny Lind! Is she a dancer?” asked the conductor. - -I informed him who and what she was, but his question had chilled me as -if his words were ice. Really, thought I, if this is all that a man in -the capacity of a railroad conductor between Philadelphia and New York -knows of the greatest songstress in the world, I am not sure that six -months will be too long a time for me to occupy in enlightening the -public in regard to her merits. - -I had an interview with Wilton, and learned from him that, in accordance -with the agreement, it would be requisite for me to place the entire -amount stipulated, $187,500, in the hands of the London bankers. I at -once resolved to ratify the agreement, and immediately sent the -necessary documents to Miss Lind and Messrs. Benedict and Belletti. - -I then began to prepare the public mind, through the newspapers, for the -reception of the great songstress. How effectually this was done, is -still within the remembrance of the American public. As a sample of the -manner in which I accomplished my purpose, I present the following -extract from my first letter, which appeared in the New York papers of -February 22, 1850: - -“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 _débût_ 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.” - -The people soon began to talk about Jenny Lind, and I was particularly -anxious to obtain a good portrait of her. Fortunately, a fine -opportunity occurred. One day, while I was sitting in the office of the -Museum, a foreigner approached me with a small package under his arm. He -informed me in broken English that he was a Swede, and said he was an -artist, who had just arrived from Stockholm, where Jenny Lind had kindly -given him a number of sittings, and he now had with him the portrait of -her which he had painted upon copper. He unwrapped the package, and -showed me a beautiful picture of the Swedish Nightingale, inclosed in an -elegant gilt frame, about fourteen by twenty inches. It was just the -thing I wanted; the price was fifty dollars, and I purchased it at once. -Upon showing it to an artist friend the same day, he quietly assured me -that it was a cheap lithograph pasted on a tin back, neatly varnished, -and made to appear like a fine oil painting. The intrinsic value of the -picture did not exceed thirty-seven and one half cents! - -After getting together all my available funds for the purpose of -transmitting them to London in the shape of United States bonds, I found -a considerable sum still lacking to make up the amount. I had some -second mortgages which were perfectly good, but I could not negotiate -them in Wall Street. Nothing would answer there short of first mortgages -on New York or Brooklyn city property. - -I went to the president of the bank where I had done all my business for -eight years. I offered him, as security for a loan, my second mortgages, -and as an additional inducement, I proposed 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 three thousand dollars per night, and appropriate them -towards 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 three thousand dollars 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 five thousand dollars -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. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE NIGHTINGALE IN NEW YORK. - - FINAL CONCERTS IN LIVERPOOL--DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA--ARRIVAL OFF - STATEN ISLAND--MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH JENNY LIND--THE TREMENDOUS - THRONG AT THE WHARF--TRIUMPHAL ARCHES--“WELCOME TO - AMERICA”--EXCITEMENT IN THE CITY--SERENADE AT THE IRVING HOUSE--THE - PRIZE ODE--BAYARD TAYLOR THE PRIZEMAN--“BARNUM’S - PARNASSUS”--“BARNUMOPSIS”--FIRST CONCERT IN CASTLE GARDEN--A NEW - AGREEMENT--RECEPTION OF JENNY LIND--UNBOUNDED ENTHUSIASM--BARNUM - CALLED OUT--JULIUS BENEDICT--THE SUCCESS OF THE ENTERPRISE - ESTABLISHED--TWO GRAND CHARITY CONCERTS IN NEW YORK--DATE OF THE - FIRST REGULAR CONCERT. - - -After the engagement with Miss Lind was consummated, she declined -several liberal offers to sing in London, but, at my solicitation, gave -two concerts in Liverpool, on the eve of her departure for America. My -object in making this request was, to add the _éclat_ of that side to -the excitement on this side of the Atlantic, which was already nearly up -to fever heat. - -The first of the two Liverpool concerts was given the night previous to -the departure of the Saturday steamer for America. My agent had procured -the services of a musical critic from London, who finished his account -of this concert at half past one o’clock the following morning, and at -two o’clock my agent was overseeing its insertion in a Liverpool morning -paper, numbers of which he forwarded to me by the steamer of the same -day. The republication of the criticism in the American papers, -including an account of the enthusiasm which attended and followed this -concert,--her trans-Atlantic,--had the desired effect. - -On Wednesday morning, August 21, 1850, Jenny Lind and Messrs. Benedict -and Belletti, set sail from Liverpool in the steamship Atlantic, in -which I had long before engaged the necessary accommodations, and on -board of which I had shipped a piano for their use. They were -accompanied by my agent, Mr. Wilton, and also by Miss Ahmansen and Mr. -Max Hjortzberg, cousins of Miss Lind, the latter being her Secretary; -also by her two servants, and the valet of Messrs. Benedict and -Belletti. - -It was expected that the steamer would arrive on Sunday, September 1, -but, determined to meet the songstress on her arrival whenever it might -be, I went to Staten Island on Saturday, and slept at the hospitable -residence of my friend, Dr. A. Sidney Doane, who was at that time the -Health Officer of the Port of New York. A few minutes before twelve -o’clock, on Sunday morning, the Atlantic hove in sight, and immediately -afterwards, through the kindness of my friend Doane, I was on board the -ship, and had taken Jenny Lind by the hand. - -After a few moments’ conversation, she asked me when and where I had -heard her sing. - -“I never had the pleasure of seeing you before in my life,” I replied. - -“How is it possible that you dared risk so much money on a person whom -you never heard sing?” she asked in surprise. - -“I risked it on your reputation, which in musical matters I would much -rather trust than my own judgment,” I replied. - -I may as well state, that although I relied prominently upon Jenny -Lind’s reputation as a great musical _artiste_, I also took largely -into my estimate of her success with all classes of the American public, -her character for extraordinary benevolence and generosity. Without this -peculiarity in her disposition, I never would have dared make the -engagement which I did, as I felt sure that there were multitudes of -individuals in America who would be prompted to attend her concerts by -this feeling alone. - -Thousands of persons covered the shipping and piers, and other thousands -had congregated on the wharf at Canal Street, to see her. The wildest -enthusiasm prevailed as the steamer approached the dock. So great was -the rush on a sloop near the steamer’s berth, that one man, in his zeal -to obtain a good view, accidentally tumbled overboard, amid the shouts -of those near him. Miss Lind witnessed this incident, and was much -alarmed. He was, however, soon rescued, after taking to himself a cold -duck instead of securing a view of the Nightingale. A bower of green -trees, decorated with beautiful flags, was discovered on the wharf, -together with two triumphal arches, on one of which was inscribed, -“Welcome, Jenny Lind!” The second was surmounted by the American eagle, -and bore the inscription, “Welcome to America!” These decorations were -not produced by magic, and I do not know that I can reasonably find -fault with those who suspected I had a hand in their erection. My -private carriage was in waiting, and Jenny Lind was escorted to it by -Captain West. The rest of the musical party entered the carriage, and -mounting the box at the driver’s side, I directed him to the Irving -House. I took that seat as a legitimate advertisement, and my presence -on the outside of the carriage aided those who filled the windows and - -[Illustration: _JENNY LIND._] - -sidewalks along the whole route, in coming to the conclusion that Jenny -Lind had arrived. - -A reference to the journals of that day will show, that never before had -there been such enthusiasm in the City of New York, or indeed in -America. Within ten minutes after our arrival at the Irving House, not -less than twenty thousand persons had congregated around the entrance in -Broadway, nor was the number diminished before nine o’clock in the -evening. At her request, I dined with her that afternoon, and when, -according to European custom, she prepared to pledge me in a glass of -wine, she was somewhat surprised at my saying, “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 your -health and happiness in a glass of cold water.” - -At twelve o’clock that night, she was serenaded by the New York Musical -Fund Society, numbering, on that occasion, two hundred musicians. They -were escorted to the Irving House by about three hundred firemen, in -their red shirts, bearing torches. There was a far greater throng in the -streets than there was even during the day. The calls for Jenny Lind -were so vehement that I led her through a window to the balcony. The -loud cheers from the crowds lasted for several minutes, before the -serenade was permitted to proceed again. - -I have given the merest sketch of but a portion of the incidents of -Jenny Lind’s first day in America. For weeks afterwards the excitement -was unabated. Her rooms were thronged by visitors, including the -magnates of the land in both Church and State. The carriages of the -wealthiest citizens could be seen in front of her hotel at nearly all -hours of the day, and it was with some difficulty that I prevented the -“fashionables” from monopolizing her altogether, and thus, as I -believed, sadly marring my interests by cutting her off from the warm -sympathies she had awakened among the masses. Presents of all sorts were -showered upon her. Milliners, mantua-makers, and shopkeepers vied with -each other in calling her attention to their wares, of which they sent -her many valuable specimens, delighted if, in return, they could receive -her autograph acknowledgment. Songs, quadrilles and polkas were -dedicated to her, and poets sung in her praise. We had Jenny Lind -gloves, Jenny Lind bonnets, Jenny Lind riding hats, Jenny Lind shawls, -mantillas, robes, chairs, sofas, pianos--in fact, every thing was Jenny -Lind. Her movements were constantly watched, and the moment her carriage -appeared at the door, it was surrounded by multitudes, eager to catch a -glimpse of the Swedish Nightingale. - -In looking over my “scrap-books” of extracts from the New York papers of -that day, in which all accessible details concerning her were duly -chronicled, it seems almost incredible that such a degree of enthusiasm -should have existed. An abstract of the “sayings and doings” in regard -to the Jenny Lind mania for the first ten days after her arrival, -appeared in the London _Times_ of Sept. 23, 1850, and although it was an -ironical “showing up” of the American enthusiasm, filling several -columns, it was nevertheless a faithful condensation of facts which at -this late day seem even to myself more like a dream than reality. - -Before her arrival I had offered $200 for a prize ode, “Greeting to -America,” to be sung by Jenny Lind at her first concert. Several -hundred “poems” were sent in from all parts of the United States and the -Canadas. The duties of the Prize Committee, in reading these effusions -and making choice of the one most worthy the prize, were truly arduous. -The “offerings,” with perhaps a dozen exceptions, were the merest -doggerel trash. The prize was awarded to Bayard Taylor for the following -ode: - - -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, although it gave general satisfaction, yet was met with -disfavor by several disappointed poets, who, notwithstanding the -decision of the committee, persisted in believing and declaring their -own productions to be the best. This state of feeling was doubtless, in -part, the cause which led to the publication, about this time, of a -witty pamphlet entitled “Barnum’s Parnassus; being Confidential -Disclosures of the Prize Committee on the Jenny Lind song.” - -It gave some capital hits in which the committee, the enthusiastic -public, the Nightingale, and myself, were roundly ridiculed. The -following is a fair specimen from the work in question: - - -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, - Darts 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 innumerable caravan. - -Besides the foregoing, this pamphlet contained eleven poems, most of -which abounded in wit. I have room for but a single stanza. The poet -speaks of the various curiosities in the Museum, and representing me as -still searching for further novelties, makes me address the Swedish -Nightingale as follows: - - “So Jenny, come along! you’re just the card for me, - And quit these kings and queens, for the country of the free; - They’ll welcome you with speeches, and serenades, and rockets, - And you will touch their hearts, and I will tap their pockets; - And if between us both the public isn’t skinned, - Why, my name isn’t Barnum, nor your name Jenny Lind!” - -Various extracts from this brochure were copied in the papers daily, and -my agents scattered the work as widely as possible, thus efficiently -aiding and advertising my enterprise and serving to keep up the public -excitement. - -Among the many complimentary poems sent in, was the following, by Mrs. -L. H. SIGOURNEY, which that distinguished writer enclosed in a letter to -me, with the request that I should hand it to Miss Lind: - - -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. - -Jenny Lind’s first concert was fixed to come off at Castle Garden, on -Wednesday evening, September 11th, and most of the tickets were sold at -auction on the Saturday and Monday previous to the concert. John N. -Genin, the hatter, laid the foundation of his fortune by purchasing the -first ticket at $225. It has been extensively reported that Mr. Genin -and I are brothers-in-law, but our only relations are those of business -and friendship. The proprietors of the Garden saw fit to make the usual -charge of one shilling to all persons who entered the premises, yet -three thousand people were present at the auction. One thousand tickets -were sold on the first day for an aggregate sum of $10,141. - -On the Tuesday after her arrival I informed Miss Lind that I wished to -make a slight alteration in our agreement. “What is it?” she asked in -surprise. - -“I am convinced,” I replied, “that our enterprise will be much more -successful than either of us anticipated. I wish, therefore, to -stipulate that you shall receive not only $1,000 for each concert, -besides all the expenses, as heretofore agreed on, but after taking -$5,500 per night for expenses and my services, the balance shall be -equally divided between us.” - -Jenny looked at me with astonishment. She could not comprehend my -proposition. After I had repeated it, and she fully understood its -import, she cordially grasped me by the hand, and exclaimed, “Mr. -Barnum, you are a gentleman of honor: you are generous; it is just as -Mr. Bates told me; I will sing for you as long as you please; I will -sing for you in America--in Europe--anywhere!” - -Upon drawing the new contract which was to include this entirely -voluntary and liberal advance on my part, beyond the terms of the -original agreement, Miss Lind’s lawyer, Mr. John Jay, who was present -solely to put in writing the new arrangement between Miss Lind and -myself, insisted upon intruding the suggestion that she should have the -right to terminate the engagement at the end of the sixtieth concert, if -she should choose to do so. This proposition was so persistently and -annoyingly pressed that Miss Lind was finally induced to entertain it, -at the same time offering, if she did so, to refund to me all moneys -paid her up to that time, excepting the $1,000 per concert according to -the original agreement. This was agreed to, and it was also arranged -that she might terminate the engagement at the one-hundredth concert, if -she desired, upon paying me $25,000 for the loss of the additional fifty -nights. - -After this new arrangement was completed, I said: “Now, Miss Lind, as -you are directly interested, you must have an agent to assist in taking -and counting the tickets”; to which she replied, “Oh, no! Mr. Barnum; I -have every confidence in you and I must decline to act upon your -suggestion”; but I continued: - -“I never allow myself, if it can be avoided, when I have associates in -the same interests, to be placed in a position where I must assume the -sole responsibility. I never even permitted an actor to take a benefit -at my Museum, unless he placed a ticket-taker of his own at the door.” - -Thus urged, Miss Lind engaged Mr. Seton to act as her ticket-taker, and -after we had satisfactorily arranged the matter, Jay, knowing the whole -affair, had the impudence to come to me with a package of blank printed -affidavits, which he demanded that I should fill out, from day to day, -with the receipts of each concert, and swear to their correctness before -a magistrate! - -I told him that I would see him on the subject at Miss Lind’s hotel that -afternoon, and going there a few moments before the appointed hour, I -narrated the circumstances to Mr. Benedict and showed him an affidavit -which I had made that morning to the effect that I would never directly -or indirectly take any advantage whatever of Miss Lind. This I had made -oath to, for I thought if there was any swearing of that kind to be done -I would do it “in a lump” rather than in detail. Mr. Benedict was very -much opposed to it, and arriving during the interview, Jay was made to -see the matter in such a light that he was thoroughly ashamed of his -proposition, and, requesting that the affair might not be mentioned to -Miss Lind, he begged me to destroy the affidavit. I heard no more about -swearing to our receipts. - -On Tuesday, September 10th, I informed Miss Lind that, judging by -present appearances, her portion of the proceeds of the first concert -would amount to $10,000. She immediately resolved to devote every dollar -of it to charity; and, sending for Mayor Woodhull, she acted under his -and my advice in selecting the various institutions among which she -wished the amount to be distributed. - -My arrangements of the concert room were very complete. The great -_parterre_ and gallery of Castle Garden were divided by imaginary lines -into four compartments, each of which was designated by a lamp of a -different color. The tickets were printed in colors corresponding with -the location which the holders were to occupy, and one hundred ushers, -with rosettes and bearing wands tipped with ribbons of the several hues, -enabled every individual to find his or her seat without the slightest -difficulty. Every seat was of course numbered in color to correspond -with the check, which each person retained after giving up an entrance -ticket at the door. Thus, tickets, checks, lamps, rosettes, wands, and -even the seat numbers were all in the appropriate colors to designate -the different departments. These arrangements were duly advertised, and -every particular was also printed upon each ticket. In order to prevent -confusion, the doors were opened at five o’clock, while the concert did -not commence until eight. The consequence was, that although about five -thousand persons were present at the first concert, their entrance was -marked with as much order and quiet as was ever witnessed in the -assembling of a congregation at church. These precautions were observed -at all the concerts given throughout the country under my -administration, and the good order which always prevailed was the -subject of numberless encomiums from the public and the press. - -The reception of Jenny Lind on her first appearance, in point of -enthusiasm, was probably never before equalled in the world. As Mr. -Benedict led her towards the foot-lights, 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 by far 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. They then called vociferously -for “Barnum,” and I reluctantly responded to their demand. - -On this first night, Mr. 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 American -people, to the end of his career in this country. - -It would seem as if the Jenny Lind mania had reached its culminating -point before she appeared, and I confess that I feared the anticipations -of the public were too high to be realized, and hence that there would -be a reaction after the first concert; but I was happily disappointed. -The transcendent musical genius of the Swedish Nightingale was superior -to all that fancy could paint, and the furor did not attain its highest -point until she had been heard. The people were in ecstasies; the powers -of editorial acumen, types and ink, were inadequate to sound her -praises. The Rubicon was passed. 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. So elated was I -with my success, in spite of all obstacles and false prophets, that I do -not think half a million of dollars would have tempted me to relinquish -the enterprise. - -Upon settling the receipts of the first concert, they were found to be -somewhat less than I anticipated. The sums bid at the auction sales, -together with the tickets purchased at private sale, amounted to more -than $20,000. It proved, however, that several of the tickets bid off at -from $12 to $25 each, were not called for. In some instances, probably -the zeal of the bidders cooled down when they came out from the scene of -excitement, and once more breathed the fresh sea-breeze which came -sweeping up from “the Narrows,” while perhaps, in other instances, bids -were made by parties who never intended to take the tickets. I can only -say, once for all, that I was never privy to a false bid, and was so -particular upon that point, that I would not permit one of my employees -to bid on, or purchase a ticket at auction, though requested to do so -for especial friends. - -The amount of money received for tickets to the first concert was -$17,864.05. As this made Miss Lind’s portion too small to realize the -$10,000 which had been announced as devoted to charity, I proposed to -divide equally with her the proceeds of the first two concerts, and not -count them at all in our regular engagement. Accordingly, the second -concert was given September 13th, and the receipts, amounting to -$14,203.03, were, like those of the first concert, equally divided. Our -third concert, but which, as between ourselves, we called the “first -regular concert,” was given Tuesday September 17, 1850. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT. - - HEAD-WORK AND HAND-WORK--MANAGING PUBLIC OPINION--CREATING A - FUROR--THE NEW YORK HERALD--JENNY LIND’S EVIL ADVISERS--JOHN - JAY--MISS LIND’S CHARITIES--A POOR GIRL IN BOSTON--THE NIGHTINGALE - AT IRANISTAN--RUMOR OF HER MARRIAGE TO P. T. BARNUM--THE STORY - BASED ON OUR “ENGAGEMENT”--WHAT IRANISTAN DID FOR ME--AVOIDING - CROWDS--IN PHILADELPHIA AND BALTIMORE--A SUBSTITUTE FOR MISS - LIND--OUR ORCHESTRA--PRESIDENT FILLMORE, CLAY, FOOTE, BENTON, - SCOTT, CASS, AND WEBSTER--VISIT TO MT. VERNON--CHRISTMAS - PRESENTS--NEW YEAR’S EVE--WE GO TO HAVANA--PLAYING BALL--FREDERIKA - BREMER--A HAPPY MONTH IN CUBA. - - -No one can imagine the amount of head-work and hand-work which I -performed during the first four weeks after Jenny Lind’s arrival. -Anticipating much of this, I had spent some time in August at the White -Mountains to recruit my energies. Of course I had not been idle during -the summer. I had put innumerable means and appliances into operation -for the furtherance of my object, and little did the public see of the -hand that indirectly pulled at their heart-strings, preparatory to a -relaxation of their purse-strings; and these means and appliances were -continued and enlarged throughout the whole of that triumphal musical -campaign. - -The first great assembly at Castle Garden was not gathered by Jenny -Lind’s musical genius and powers alone. She was effectually introduced -to the public before they had seen or heard her. She appeared in the -presence of a jury already excited to enthusiasm in her behalf. She -more than met their expectations, and all the means I had adopted to -prepare the way were thus abundantly justified. - -As a manager, I worked by setting others to work. Biographies of the -Swedish Nightingale were largely circulated; “Foreign Correspondence” -glorified her talents and triumphs by narratives of her benevolence; and -“printer’s ink” was invoked in every possible form, to put and keep -Jenny Lind before the people. I am happy to say that the press generally -echoed the voice of her praise from first to last. I could fill many -volumes with printed extracts which are nearly all of a similar tenor to -the following unbought, unsolicited editorial article, which appeared in -the _New York Herald_ of Sept. 10, 1850 (the day before the first -concert given by Miss Lind in the United States): - - “JENNY LIND AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.--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 musical art which - has for the last century flashed across the horizon of the old - world, is now among us, and will make her _début_ 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 - _début_ 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 and power of Jenny - Lind--will far surpass all past expectation. Jenny Lind is a - wonder, and a prodigy in song--and no mistake.” - -As usual, however, the _Herald_ very soon “took it all back” and roundly -abused Miss Lind and persistently attacked her manager. As usual, too, -the public paid no attention to the _Herald_ and doubled their patronage -of the Jenny Lind concerts. - -After the first month the business became thoroughly systematized, and -by the help of such agents as my faithful treasurer, L. C. Stewart, and -the indefatigable Le Grand Smith, my personal labors were materially -relieved; but from the first concert on the 11th of September, 1850, -until the ninety-third concert on the 9th of June, 1851, a space of nine -months, I did not know a waking moment that was entirely free from -anxiety. - -I could not hope to be exempted from trouble and perplexity in managing -an enterprise which depended altogether on popular favor, and which -involved great consequences to myself; but I did not expect the numerous -petty annoyances which beset me, especially in the early period of the -concerts. Miss Lind did not dream, nor did any one else, of the -unparalleled enthusiasm that would greet her; and the first immense -assembly at Castle Garden somewhat prepared her, I suspect, to listen to -evil advisers. It would seem that the terms of our revised contract were -sufficiently liberal to her and sufficiently hazardous to myself, to -justify the expectation of perfectly honorable treatment; but certain -envious intermeddlers appeared to think differently. “Do you not see, -Miss Lind, that Mr. Barnum is coining money out of your genius?” said -they; of course she saw it, but the high-minded Swede despised and -spurned the advisers who recommended her to repudiate her contract with -me at all hazards, and take the enterprise into her own hands--possibly -to put it into theirs. I, however, suffered much from the unreasonable -interference of her lawyer, Mr. John Jay. Benedict and Belletti behaved -like men, and Jenny afterwards expressed to me her regret that she had -for a moment listened to the vexatious exactions of her legal -counsellor. - -To show the difficulties with which I had to contend thus early in my -enterprise, I copy a letter which I wrote, a little more than one month -after Miss Lind commenced her engagement with me, to my friend Mr. -Joshua Bates, of Messrs. Baring, Brothers & Co., London: - - -NEW YORK, Oct. 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 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,’ exhibitor 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 at 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 continual 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. - - - -It is not my purpose to enter into full details of all of the Lind -concerts, though I have given elsewhere a transcript from the account -books of my treasurer, presenting a table of the place and exact -receipts of each concert. This will gratify curiosity, and at the same -time indicate our route of travel. Meanwhile, I devote a few pages to -interesting incidents connected with Miss Lind’s visit to America. - -Jenny Lind’s character for benevolence became so generally known, that -her door was beset by persons asking charity, and she was in the -receipt, while in the principal cities, of numerous letters, all on the -same subject. Her secretary examined and responded favorably to some of -them. He undertook at first to answer them all, but finally abandoned -that course in despair. I knew of many instances in which she gave sums -of money to applicants, varying in amount from $20, $50, $500, to -$1,000, and in one instance she gave $5,000 to a Swedish friend. - -One night, while giving a concert in Boston, a girl approached the -ticket-office, and laying down $3 for a ticket, remarked, “There goes -half a month’s earnings, but I am determined to hear Jenny Lind.” Miss -Lind’s secretary heard the remark, and a few minutes afterwards coming -into her room, he laughingly related the circumstance. “Would you know -the girl again?” asked Jenny, with an earnest look. Upon receiving an -affirmative reply, she instantly placed a $20 gold-piece in his hand, -and said, “Poor girl! give her that with my best compliments.” He at -once found the girl, who cried with joy when she received the -gold-piece, and heard the kind words with which the gift was -accompanied. - -The night after Jenny’s arrival in Boston, a display of fireworks was -given in her honor, in front of the Revere House, after which followed a -beautiful torchlight procession by the Germans of that city. - -On her return from Boston to New York, Jenny, her companion, and Messrs. -Benedict and Belletti, stopped at Iranistan, my residence in Bridgeport, -where they remained until the following day. The morning after her -arrival, she took my arm and proposed a promenade through the grounds. -She seemed much pleased, and said, “I am astonished that you should have -left such a beautiful place for the sake of travelling through the -country with me.” - -The same day she told me in a playful mood, that she had heard a most -extraordinary report. “I have heard that you and I are about to be -married,” said she; “now how could such an absurd report ever have -originated?” - -“Probably from the fact that we are ‘engaged,’” I replied. She enjoyed a -joke, and laughed heartily. - -“Do you know, Mr. Barnum,” said she, “that if you had not built -Iranistan, I should never have come to America for you?” - -I expressed my surprise, and 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,” I replied; “for I intend -and expect to make more by this musical enterprise than Iranistan cost -me.” - -“I really hope so,” she replied; “but you must not be too sanguine, you -know, ‘man proposes but God disposes.’” - -Jenny Lind always desired to reach a place in which she was to sing, -without having the time of her arrival known, thus avoiding the -excitement of promiscuous crowds. As a manager, however, I knew that the -interests of the enterprise depended in a great degree upon these -excitements. Although it frequently seemed inconceivable to her how so -many thousands should have discovered her secret and consequently -gathered together to receive her, I was not so much astonished, inasmuch -as my agent always had early telegraphic intelligence of the time of -her anticipated arrival, and was not slow in communicating the -information to the public. - -On reaching Philadelphia, a large concourse of persons awaited the -approach of the steamer which conveyed her. With difficulty we pressed -through the crowd, and were followed by many thousands to Jones’s Hotel. -The street in front of the building was densely packed by the populace, -and poor Jenny, who was suffering from a severe headache, retired to her -apartments. I tried to induce the crowd to disperse, but they declared -they would not do so until Jenny Lind should appear on the balcony. I -would not disturb her, and knowing that the tumult might prove an -annoyance to her, I placed her bonnet and shawl upon her companion, Miss -Ahmansen, and led her out on the balcony. She bowed gracefully to the -multitude, who gave her three hearty cheers and quietly dispersed. Miss -Lind was so utterly averse to any thing like deception, that we never -ventured to tell her the part which her bonnet and shawl had played in -the absence of their owner. - -Jenny was in the habit of attending church whenever she could do so -without attracting notice. She always preserved her nationality, also, -by inquiring out and attending Swedish churches wherever they could be -found. She gave $1,000 to a Swedish church in Chicago. - -While in Boston, a poor Swedish girl, a domestic in a family at Roxbury, -called on Jenny. She detained her visitor several hours, talking about -home, and other matters, and in the evening took her in her carriage to -the concert, gave her a seat, and sent her back to Roxbury in a -carriage, at the close of the performances. I have no doubt the poor -girl carried with her substantial evidences of her countrywoman’s -bounty. - -My eldest daughter, Caroline, and her friend, Mrs. Lyman, of Bridgeport, -accompanied me on the tour from New York to Havana, and thence home, -_via_ New Orleans and the Mississippi. - -We were at Baltimore on the Sabbath, and my daughter, accompanying a -friend, who resided in the city, to church, took a seat with her in the -choir, and joined in the singing. A number of the congregation, who had -seen Caroline with me the day previous, and supposed her to be Jenny -Lind, were yet laboring under the same mistake, and it was soon -whispered through the church that Jenny Lind was in the choir! The -excitement was worked to its highest pitch when my daughter rose as one -of the musical group. Every ear was on the alert to catch the first -notes of her voice, and when she sang, glances of satisfaction passed -through the assembly. Caroline, quite unconscious of the attention she -attracted, continued to sing to the end of the hymn. Not a note was lost -upon the ears of the attentive congregation. “What an exquisite singer!” -“Heavenly sounds!” “I never heard the like!” and similar expressions -were whispered through the church. - -At the conclusion of the services, my daughter and her friend found the -passage way to their carriage blocked by a crowd who were anxious to -obtain a nearer view of the “Swedish Nightingale,” and many persons that -afternoon boasted, in good faith, that they had listened to the -extraordinary singing of the great songstress. The pith of the joke is -that we have never discovered that my daughter has any extraordinary -claims as a vocalist. - -Our orchestra in New York consisted of sixty. When we started on our -southern tour, we took with us permanently as the orchestra, twelve of -the best musicians we could select, and in New Orleans augmented the -force to sixteen. We increased the number to thirty-five, forty or -fifty, as the case might be, by choice of musicians residing where the -concerts were given. On our return to New York from Havana, we enlarged -the orchestra to one hundred performers. - -The morning after our arrival in Washington, President Fillmore called, -and left his card, Jenny being out. When she returned and found the -token of his attention, she was in something of a flurry. “Come,” said -she, “we must call on the President immediately.” - -“Why so?” I inquired. - -“Because he has called on me, and of course that is equivalent to a -command for me to go to his house.” - -I assured her that she might make her mind at ease, for whatever might -be the custom with crowned heads, our Presidents were not wont to -“command” the movements of strangers, and that she would be quite in -time if she returned his call the next day. She did so, and was charmed -with the unaffected bearing of the President, and the warm kindnesses -expressed by his amiable wife and daughter, and consented to spend the -evening with them in conformity with their request. She was accompanied -to the “White House” by Messrs Benedict, Belletti and myself, and -several happy hours were spent in the private circle of the President’s -family. - -Mr. Benedict, who engaged in a long quiet conversation with Mr. -Fillmore, was highly pleased with the interview. A foreigner, accustomed -to court etiquette, is generally surprised at the simplicity which -characterizes the Chief Magistrate of this Union. In 1852 I called on -the President with my friend the late Mr. Brettell, of London, who -resided in St. James Palace, and was quite a worshipper of the Queen, -and an ardent admirer of all the dignities and ceremonies of royalty. He -expected something of the kind in visiting the President of the United -States, and was highly pleased with his disappointment. - -Both concerts in Washington were attended by the President and his -family, and every member of the Cabinet. I noticed, also, among the -audience, Henry Clay, Benton, Foote, Cass and General Scott, and nearly -every member of Congress. On the following morning, Miss Lind was called -upon by Mr. Webster, Mr. Clay, General Cass, and Colonel Benton, and all -parties were evidently gratified. I had introduced Mr. Webster to her in -Boston. Upon hearing one of her wild mountain songs in New York, and -also in Washington, Mr. Webster signified his approval by rising, -drawing himself up to his full height, and making a profound bow. Jenny -was delighted by this expression of praise from the great statesman. -When I first introduced Miss Lind to Mr. Webster, at the Revere House, -in Boston, she was greatly impressed with his manners and conversation, -and after his departure, walked up and down the room in great -excitement, exclaiming: “Ah! Mr. Barnum, that is a man; I have never -before seen such a man!” - -We visited the Capitol while both Houses were in session. Miss Lind took -the arm of Hon. C. F. Cleveland, representative from Connecticut, and -was by him escorted into various parts of the Capitol and the grounds, -with all of which she was much pleased. - -While I was in Washington an odd reminiscence of my old show-days in the -South came back to me in a curious way. Some years before, in 1836, my -travelling show company had stopped at a hotel in Jackson, Mississippi, -and, as the house was crowded, soon after I went to bed five or six men -came into the room with cards and a candle and asked permission, as -there was no other place, to sit down and play a quiet game of “brag.” I -consented on condition that I might get up and participate, which was -permitted and in a very little while, as I knew nothing whatever of the -game, I lost fifty dollars. Good “hands” and good fortune soon enabled -me to win back my money, at which point one of the players who had been -introduced to me as “Lawyer Foote” said: - -“Now the best thing you can do is to go back to bed; you don’t know -anything about the game, and these fellows do, and they’ll skin you.” - -I acted upon his advice. And now, years afterwards, when Senator Foote -called upon Miss Lind the story came back to me, and while I was talking -with him I remarked: - -“Fifteen years ago, when I was in the South, I became acquainted with a -lawyer named Foote, at Jackson, Mississippi.” - -“It must have been me,” said the Senator, “I am the only ‘lawyer Foote, -of Jackson, Mississippi.’” - -“Oh! no, it could not have been you,” and I told him the story. - -“It was me,” he whispered in my ear, and added, “I used to gamble like -h--l in those days.” - -During the week I was invited with Miss Lind and her immediate friends, -to visit Mount Vernon, with Colonel Washington, the then proprietor, -and Mr. Seaton, ex-Mayor of Washington, and Editor of the -_Intelligencer_. Colonel Washington chartered a steamboat for the -purpose. We were landed a short distance from the tomb, which we first -visited. Proceeding to the house, we were introduced to Mrs. Washington, -and several other ladies. Much interest was manifested by Miss Lind in -examining the mementoes of the great man whose home it had been. A -beautiful collation was spread out and arranged in fine taste. Before -leaving, Mrs. Washington presented Jenny with a book from the library, -with the name of Washington written by his own hand. She was much -overcome at receiving this present, called me aside, and expressed her -desire to give something in return. “I have nothing with me,” she said, -“excepting this watch and chain, and I will give that if you think it -will be acceptable.” I knew the watch was very valuable, and told her -that so costly a present would not be expected, nor would it be proper. -“The expense is nothing, compared to the value of that book,” she -replied, with deep emotion; “but as the watch was a present from a dear -friend, perhaps I should not give it away.” Jenny Lind, I am sure, never -forgot the pleasurable emotions of that day. - -At Richmond, half an hour previous to her departure, hundreds of young -ladies and gentlemen had crowded into the halls of the house to secure a -glimpse of her at parting. I informed her that she would find difficulty -in passing out. “How long is it before we must start?” she asked. “Half -an hour,” I replied. “Oh, I will clear the passages before that time,” -said she, with a smile; whereupon she went into the upper hall, and -informed the people that she wished to take the hands of every one of -them, upon one condition, viz: they should pass by her in rotation, and -as fast as they had shaken hands, proceed down stairs, and not block up -the passages. They joyfully consented to the arrangement, and in fifteen -minutes the course was clear. Poor Jenny had shaken hands with every -person in the crowd, and I presume she had a feeling remembrance of the -incident for an hour or two at least. She was waited on by many members -of the Legislature while in Richmond, that body being in session while -we were there. - -The voyage from Wilmington to Charleston was an exceedingly rough and -perilous one. We were about thirty-six hours in making the passage, the -usual time being seventeen. There was really great danger of our steamer -being swamped, and we were all apprehensive that we should never reach -the Port of Charleston alive. Some of the passengers were in great -terror. Jenny Lind exhibited more calmness upon this occasion than any -other person, the crew excepted. We arrived safely at last, and I was -grieved to learn that for twelve hours the loss of the steamer had been -considered certain, and had even been announced by telegraph in the -Northern cities. - -We remained at Charleston about ten days, to take the steamer “Isabella” -on her regular trip to Havana. Jenny had been through so much excitement -at the North, that she determined to have quiet here, and therefore -declined receiving any calls. This disappointed many ladies and -gentlemen. One young lady, the daughter of a wealthy planter near -Augusta, was so determined upon seeing her in private, that she paid one -of the servants to allow her to put on a cap and white apron, and carry -in the tray for Jenny’s tea. I afterwards told Miss Lind of the joke, -and suggested that after such an evidence of admiration, she should -receive a call from the young lady. - -“It is not admiration--it is only curiosity,” replied Jenny, “and I will -not encourage such folly.” - -Christmas was at hand, and Jenny Lind determined to honor it in the way -she had often done in Sweden. She had a beautiful Christmas tree -privately prepared, and from its boughs depended a variety of presents -for members of the company. These gifts were encased in paper, with the -names of the recipients written on each. - -After spending a pleasant evening in her drawing-room, she invited us -into the parlor, where the “surprise” awaited us. Each person commenced -opening the packages bearing his or her address, and although every -individual had one or more pretty presents, she had prepared a joke for -each. Mr. Benedict, for instance, took off wrapper after wrapper from -one of his packages, which at first was as large as his head, but after -having removed some forty coverings of paper, it was reduced to a size -smaller than his hand, and the removal of the last envelope exposed to -view a piece of cavendish tobacco. One of my presents, choicely wrapped -in a dozen coverings, was a jolly young Bacchus in Parian marble, -intended as a pleasant hit at my temperance principles! - -The night before New Year’s day was spent in her apartment with great -hilarity. Enlivened by music, singing, dancing and story-telling, the -hours glided swiftly away. Miss Lind asked me if I would dance with her. -I told her my education had been neglected in that line, and that I had -never danced in my life, “That is all the better,” said she; “now dance -with me in a cotillion. I am sure you can do it.” She was a beautiful -dancer, and I never saw her laugh more heartily than she did at my -awkwardness. She said she would give me the credit of being the poorest -dancer she ever saw! - -About a quarter before twelve, Jenny suddenly checked Mr. -Burke,--formerly celebrated as the musical prodigy, “Master Burke,”--who -was playing on the piano, by saying, “Pray let us have quiet; do you -see, in fifteen minutes more, this year will be gone forever!” - -She immediately took a seat, and rested her head upon her hand in -silence. We all sat down, and for a quarter of an hour the most profound -quiet reigned in the apartment. The remainder of the scene I transcribe -from a description written the next day by Mrs. Lyman, who was present -on the occasion: - -“The clock of a neighboring church struck the knell of the dying year. -All were silent--each heart was left to its own communings, and the -bowed head and tearful eye told that memory was busy with the Past. It -was a brief moment, but thoughts and feelings were crowded into it, -which render it one never to be forgotten. A moment more--the last -stroke of the clock had fallen upon the ear--the last faint vibration -ceased; another period of time had passed forever away--a new one had -dawned, in which each felt that they were to live and act. This thought -recalled them to a full consciousness of the present, and all arose and -quietly, but cordially, presented to each other the kind wishes of the -season. As the lovely hostess pressed the hands of her guests, it was -evident that she, too, had wept,--she, the gifted, the admired, the -almost idolized one. Had she, too, cause for tears? Whence were -they?--from the overflowings of a grateful heart, from tender -associations, or from sad remembrances? None knew, none could ask, -though they awakened deep and peculiar sympathy. And from one heart, at -least, arose the prayer, that when the dial of time should mark the last -hour of her earthly existence, she should greet its approach with joy -and not with grief--that to her soul spirit-voices might whisper, ‘Come, -sweet sister! come to the realms of unfading light and love--come, join -your seraphic tones with ours, in singing the praises of Him who loved -us, and gave himself for us’--while she, with meekly-folded hands and -faith-uplifted eye, should answer, ‘Yes, gladly and without fear I come, -for I know that my Redeemer liveth.’” - -I had arranged with a man in New York to transport furniture to Havana, -provide a house, and board Jenny Lind and our immediate party during our -stay. When we arrived, we found the building converted into a -semi-hotel, and the apartments were any thing but comfortable. Jenny was -vexed. Soon after dinner, she took a volante and an interpreter, and -drove into the suburbs. She was absent four hours. Whither or why she -had gone, none of us knew. At length she returned and informed us that -she had hired a commodious furnished house in a delightful location -outside the walls of the city, and invited us all to go and live with -her during our stay in Havana, and we accepted the invitation. She was -now freed from all annoyances; her time was her own, she received no -calls, went and came when she pleased, had no meddlesome advisers about -her, legal or otherwise, and was as merry as a cricket. We had a large -court-yard in the rear of the house, and here she would come and romp -and run, sing and laugh, like a young school-girl. “Now, Mr. Barnum, for -another game of ball,” she would say half a dozen times a day; -whereupon, she would take an india-rubber ball, (of which she had two or -three,) and commence a game of throwing and catching, which would be -kept up until, being completely tired out, I would say, “I give it up.” -Then her rich, musical laugh would be heard ringing through the house, -as she exclaimed, “Oh, Mr. Barnum, you are too fat and too lazy; you -cannot stand it to play ball with me!” - -Her celebrated countrywoman, Miss Frederika Bremer, spent a few days -with us very pleasantly, and it is difficult to conceive of a more -delightful month than was passed by the entire party at Jenny Lind’s -house in the outskirts of Havana. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -INCIDENTS OF THE TOUR. - - PROTEST AGAINST PRICES IN HAVANA--THE CUBANS SUCCUMB--JENNY LIND - TAKES THE CITY BY STORM--A MAGNIFICENT TRIUMPH--COUNT PENALVER--A - SPLENDID OFFER--MR. BRINCKERHOFF--BENEFIT FOR THE - HOSPITALS--REFUSING TO RECEIVE THANKS--VIVALLA AND HIS DOG--HENRY - BENNETT--HIS PARTIAL INSANITY--OUR VOYAGE TO NEW ORLEANS--THE - EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK HERALD ON BOARD--I SAVE THE LIFE OF JAMES - GORDON BENNETT--ARRIVAL AT THE CRESCENT CITY--CHEATING THE CROWD--A - DUPLICATE MISS LIND--A BOY IN RAPTURES--A MAMMOTH HOG--UP THE - MISSISSIPPI--AMUSEMENTS ON BOARD--IN LEAGUE WITH THE EVIL ONE--AN - AMAZED MULATTO. - - -Soon after arriving in Havana, I discovered that a strong prejudice -existed against our musical enterprise. I might rather say that the -Habaneros, not accustomed to the high figure which tickets had commanded -in the States, were determined on forcing me to adopt their opera -prices, whereas I paid one thousand dollars per night for the Tacon -Opera House, and other expenses being in proportion, I was determined to -receive remunerating prices, or give no concerts. This determination on -my part annoyed the Habaneros, who did not wish to be thought penurious, -though they really were so. Their principal spite, therefore, was -against me; and one of their papers politely termed me a “Yankee -pirate,” who cared for nothing except their doubloons. They attended the -concert, but were determined to show the great songstress no favor. I -perfectly understood this feeling in advance, but studiously kept all -knowledge of it from Miss Lind. I went to the first concert, therefore, -with some misgivings in regard to her reception. The following, which I -copy from the Havana correspondence of the _New York Tribune_, gives a -correct account of it: - - * * * * * - - “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 if 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 eye 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 lip; - 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.” - -I cannot express what my feelings were as I watched this scene from the -dress circle. Poor Jenny! I deeply sympathized with her when I heard -that first hiss. I indeed observed the resolute bearing which she -assumed, but was apprehensive of the result. When I witnessed her -triumph, I could not restrain the tears of joy that rolled down my -cheeks; and rushing through a private box, I reached the stage just as -she was withdrawing after the fifth encore. “God bless you, Jenny, you -have settled them!” I exclaimed. - -“Are you satisfied?” said she, throwing her arms around my neck. She, -too, was crying with joy, and never before did she look so beautiful in -my eyes as on that evening. - -One of the Havana papers, notwithstanding the great triumph, continued -to cry out for low prices. This induced many to absent themselves, -expecting soon to see a reduction. It had been understood that we would -give twelve concerts in Havana; but when they saw, after the fourth -concert, which was devoted to charity, that no more were announced, they -became uneasy. Committees waited upon us requesting more concerts, but -we peremptorily declined. Some of the leading Dons, among whom was Count -Penalver, then offered to guarantee us $25,000 for three concerts. My -reply was, that there was not money enough on the island of Cuba to -induce me to consent to it. That settled the matter, and gave us a -pleasant opportunity for recreation. - -We visited, by invitation, Mr. Brinckerhoff, the eminent American -merchant at Matanzas, whom I had met at the same place three years -previously, and who subsequently had visited my family in Connecticut. -The gentlemanly host did everything in his power to render our stay -agreeable; and Miss Lind was so delighted with his attentions and the -interesting details of sugar and coffee plantations which we visited -through his kindness, that as soon as she returned to Havana, she sent -on the same tour of pleasure Mr. Benedict, who had been prevented by -illness from accompanying us. - -I found my little Italian plate-dancer, Vivalla, in Havana. He called on -me frequently. He was in great distress, having lost the use of his -limbs on the left side of his body by paralysis. He was thus unable to -earn a livelihood, although he still kept a performing dog, which turned -a spinning-wheel and performed some curious tricks. One day, as I was -passing him out of the front gate, Miss Lind inquired who he was. I -briefly recounted to her his history. She expressed deep interest in his -case, and said something should be set apart for him in the benefit -which she was about to give for charity. Accordingly, when the benefit -came off, Miss Lind appropriated $500 to him, and I made the necessary -arrangements for his return to his friends in Italy. At the same benefit -$4,000 were distributed between two hospitals and a convent. - -A few mornings after the benefit our bell was rung, and the servant -announced that I was wanted. I went to the door and found a large -procession of children, neatly dressed and bearing banners, attended by -ten or twelve priests, arrayed in their rich and flowing robes. I -inquired their business, and was informed that they had come to see Miss -Lind, to thank her in person for her benevolence. I took their message, -and informed Miss Lind that the leading priests of the convent had come -in great state to see and thank her. “I will not see them,” she replied; -“they have nothing to thank me for. If I have done good, it is no more -than my duty, and it is my pleasure. I do not deserve their thanks, and -I will not see them.” I returned her answer, and the leaders of the -grand procession went away in disappointment. - -The same day Vivalla called, and brought her a basket of the most -luscious fruit that he could procure. The little fellow was very happy -and extremely grateful. Miss Lind had gone out for a ride. - -“God bless her! I am so happy; she is such a good lady. I shall see my -brothers and sisters again. Oh, she is a very good lady,” said poor -Vivalla, overcome by his feelings. He begged me to thank her for him, -and give her the fruit. As he was passing out of the door, he hesitated -a moment, and then 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 wheel for her? She is such a good lady, -I wish to please her very much.” I smiled, and told him she would not -care for the dog; that he was quite welcome to the money, and that she -refused to see the priests from the convent that morning, because she -never received thanks for favors. - -When Jenny came in I gave her the fruit, and laughingly told her that -Vivalla wished to show her how his performing dog could turn a -spinning-wheel. - -“Poor man, poor man, do let him come; it is all the good creature can do -for me,” exclaimed Jenny, and the tears flowed thick and fast down her -cheeks. “I like that, I like that,” she continued; “do let the poor -creature come and bring his dog. It will make him so happy.” - -I confess it made me happy, and I exclaimed, for my heart was full, “God -bless you, it will make him cry for joy; he shall come to-morrow.” - -I saw Vivalla the same evening, and delighted him with the intelligence -that Jenny would see his dog perform the next day, at four o’clock -precisely. - -“I will be punctual,” said Vivalla, in a voice trembling 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 us all up 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. That scene alone would have paid me -for all my labors during the entire musical campaign. 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. - -When Captain Rawlings, of the Steamer “Isabella” made his next return -trip from Charleston, he brought a fine lot of game and invited Messrs. -Benedict, Belletti and myself to a breakfast on board, where we met Mr. -John Howard, of the Irving House, New York, Mr. J. B. Monnot, of the New -York Hotel, Mr. Mixer, of the Charleston Hotel, and Mr. Monroe of one of -the Havana hotels. The breakfast was a very nice one, and was -accompanied by some “very fine old Madeira,” which received the highest -encomiums of the company. - -“Now,” said Captain Rawlings, “you must break your rule once, Mr. -Barnum, and wash down your game with a glass or two of this choice -Madeira. It is very old and fine, as smooth as oil, and the game is -hardly game without it. Do take some.” - -I positively declined, saying I did not doubt that he had the genuine -article for once, but that most of what was offered and sold as wine did -not contain a single drop of the juice of the grape. This led to a -general talk about the impositions practised, even in the best hotels, -in serving customers with “fine old wines and liquors” at the bar and at -the table, and some very curious and amusing stories were told and -confessions made. But there could be no mistake about this Madeira; it -was rich, rare, old, oily, and genuine in flavor and quality; all the -connoisseurs at the table were unanimous in their verdict. - -But when the breakfast was over and we were going ashore, as I was -sitting next the captain in his own boat, he said to me: - -“Barnum, that fine old Madeira is the real ‘game’ of my game breakfast; -I wanted to test those experienced tasters, and I gave them some wine -which I bought for a dollar and a half a gallon at a corner grocery in -Charleston.” - -In the party which accompanied me to Havana, was Mr. Henry Bennett, who -formerly kept Peale’s Museum in New York, afterwards managing the same -establishment for me when I purchased it, and he was now with me in the -capacity of a ticket-taker. He was as honest a man as ever lived, and a -good deal of a wag. I remember his going through the market once and -running across a decayed actor who was reduced to tending a market -stand; Bennett hailed him with “Hallo! what are you doing here; what are -you keeping that old turkey for?” - -“O! for a profit,” replied the actor. - -“Prophet, prophet!” exclaimed Bennett, “patriarch, you mean!” - -With all his waggery he was subject at times to moods of the deepest -despondency, bordering on insanity. Madness ran in his family. His -brother, in a fit of frenzy, had blown his brains out. Henry himself had -twice attempted his own life while in my employ in New York. Some time -after our present journey to Havana, I sent him to London. He conducted -my business precisely as I directed, writing up his account with me -correctly to a penny. Then handing it to a mutual friend with directions -to give it to me when I arrived in London the following week, he went to -his lodgings and committed suicide. - -While we were in Havana, Bennett was so despondent at times that we were -obliged to watch him - -[Illustration: _J. G. BENNETT AND HIS MONKEY._] - -carefully, lest he should do some damage to himself or others. When we -left Havana for New Orleans, on board the steamer “Falcon,” 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. There was an estrangement, no new thing, between the editor -and myself. The _Herald_, in its desire to excite attention, has a habit -of attacking public men and I had not escaped. I was always glad to get -such notices, for they served as inexpensive advertisements to my -Museum, and brought custom to me free of charge. - -Ticket-taker Bennett, however, took much to heart the attacks of Editor -Bennett upon Jenny Lind, and while in New York he threatened to cowhide -his namesake, as so many men have actually done in days gone by, but I -restrained him. When Editor Bennett came on board the “Falcon,” he had -in his arms a small pet monkey belonging to his wife, and the animal was -placed in a safe place on the forward deck. When Henry Bennett saw the -editor he said to a bystander: - -“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 to -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 to feed his monkey, and -d--n him, 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 namesake -and drop him overboard. The matter was too serious for a joke, and we -made little mention of it; but more than one of my 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.” - -This incident has long been known to several of my intimate friends, and -when Mr. Bennett learns the fact from this volume, he may possibly be -somewhat mollified over his payment to me, fifteen years later, of -$200,000 for the unexpired lease of my Museum, concerning which some -particulars will be given anon. - -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,” said she, in -despair. - -“Leave that to me. Remain quiet for ten minutes, and there shall be no -crowd here,” I replied. - -Taking my daughter on my arm, she threw her veil over her face, and we -descended the gangway to the dock. The crowd pressed around. I had -beckoned for a carriage before leaving the ship. - -“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,” I exclaimed, and by dint of -pushing, squeezing and coaxing, we reached the carriage, and drove for -the Montalba buildings, where Miss Lind’s apartments had been prepared, -and the whole crowd came following at our heels. In a few minutes -afterwards, Jenny and her companion came quietly in a carriage, and were -in the house before the ruse was discovered. In answer to incessant -calls, she appeared a moment upon the balcony, waved her handkerchief, -received three hearty cheers, and the crowd dispersed. - -A poor blind boy, residing in the interior of Mississippi, a -flute-player, and an ardent lover of music, visited New Orleans -expressly to hear Jenny Lind. A subscription had been taken up among -his neighbors to defray the expenses. This fact coming to the ears of -Jenny, she sent for him, played and sang for him, gave him many words of -joy and comfort, took him to her concerts, and sent him away -considerably richer than he had ever been before. - -A funny incident occurred at New Orleans. Our concerts were given in the -St. Charles Theatre, then managed by my good friend, the late Sol. -Smith. In the open lots near the theatre were exhibitions of mammoth -hogs, five-footed horses, 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 to me 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. - -Some months afterwards, I was relating this story at my own table to -several guests, among whom was a very matter-of-fact man who had not the -faintest conception of humor. After the whole party had laughed heartily -at the anecdote, my matter-of-fact friend gravely asked: - -“And was it a very large hog, Mr. Barnum?” - -I made arrangements with the captain of the splendid steamer “Magnolia,” -of Louisville, to take our party as far as Cairo, the junction of the -Mississippi and Ohio rivers, stipulating for sufficient delay in -Natchez, Mississippi, and in Memphis, Tennessee, to give a concert in -each place. It was no unusual thing for me to charter a steamboat or a -special train of cars for our party. With such an enterprise as that, -time and comfort were paramount to money. - -The time on board the steamer was whiled away in reading, viewing the -scenery of the Mississippi, and other diversions. One day we had a -pleasant musical festival in the ladies’ saloon for the gratification of -the passengers, at which Jenny volunteered to sing without ceremony. It -seemed to us she never sang so sweetly before. I also did my best to -amuse my fellow passengers with anecdotes and the exhibition of sundry -legerdemain tricks which I had been obliged to learn and use in the -South years before and under far different circumstances than those -which attended the performance now. Among other tricks, I caused a -quarter of a dollar to disappear so mysteriously from beneath a card, -that the mulatto barber on board came to the conclusion that I was in -league with the devil. - -The next morning I seated myself for the operation of shaving, and the -colored gentleman ventured to dip into the mystery. “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! - -Of course, I had a confederate, but the mystification of that mulatto -was immense. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -JENNY LIND. - - ARRIVAL AT ST. LOUIS--SURPRISING PROPOSITION OF MISS LIND’S - SECRETARY--HOW THE MANAGER MANAGED--READINESS TO CANCEL THE - CONTRACT--CONSULTATION WITH “UNCLE SOL.”--BARNUM NOT TO BE HIRED--A - “JOKE”--TEMPERANCE LECTURE IN THE THEATRE--SOL. SMITH--A COMEDIAN, - AUTHOR, AND LAWYER--UNIQUE DEDICATION--JENNY LIND’S CHARACTER AND - CHARITIES--SHARP WORDS FROM THE WEST--SELFISH ADVISERS--MISS LIND’S - GENEROUS IMPULSES--HER SIMPLE AND CHILDLIKE CHARACTER--CONFESSIONS - OF A MANAGER--PRIVATE REPUTATION AND PUBLIC RENOWN--CHARACTER AS A - STOCK IN TRADE--LE GRAND SMITH--MR. DOLBY--THE ANGELIC SIDE KEPT - OUTSIDE--MY OWN SHARE IN THE PUBLIC BENEFITS--JUSTICE TO MISS LIND - AND MYSELF. - - -According to agreement, the “Magnolia” waited for us at Natchez and -Memphis, and we gave profitable concerts at both places. The concert at -Memphis was the sixtieth in the list since Miss Lind’s arrival in -America, and the first concert in St. Louis would be the sixty-first. -When we reached that city, on the morning of the day when our first -concert was to be given, Miss Lind’s secretary came to me, commissioned, -he said, by her, and announced that as sixty concerts had already taken -place, she proposed to avail herself of one of the conditions of our -contract, and cancel the engagement next morning. As this was the first -intimation of the kind I had received, I was somewhat startled, though I -assumed an entirely placid demeanor, and asked: - -“Does Miss Lind authorize you to give me this notice?” - -“I so understand it,” was the reply. - -I immediately reflected that if our contract was thus suddenly -cancelled, Miss Lind was bound to repay to me all I had paid her over -the stipulated $1,000 for each concert, and a little calculation showed -that the sum thus to be paid back was $77,000, since she had already -received from me $137,000 for sixty concerts. In this view, I could not -but think that this was a ruse of some of her advisers, and, possibly, -that she might know nothing of the matter. So I told her secretary that -I would see him again in an hour, and meanwhile I went to my old friend -Mr. Sol. Smith for his legal and friendly advice. - -I showed him my contract and told him how much I had been annoyed by the -selfish and greedy hangers-on and advisers, legal and otherwise, of -Jenny Lind. I talked to him about the “wheels within wheels” which moved -this great musical enterprise, and asked and gladly accepted his advice, -which mainly coincided with my own views of the situation. I then went -back to the secretary and quietly told him that I was ready to settle -with Miss Lind and to close the engagement. - -“But,” said he, manifestly “taken aback,” “you have already advertised -concerts in Louisville and Cincinnati, I believe.” - -“Yes,” I replied; “but you may take my contracts for halls and printing -off my hands at cost.” I further said that he was welcome to the -assistance of my agent who had made these arrangements, and, moreover, -that I would cheerfully give my own services to help them through with -these concerts, thus giving them a good start “on their own hook.” - -My liberality, which he acknowledged, emboldened him to make an -extraordinary proposition: - -“Now suppose,” he asked, “Miss Lind should wish to give some fifty -concerts in this country, what would you charge as manager, per -concert?” - -“A million dollars each, not one cent less,” I replied. I was now -thoroughly aroused; the whole thing was as clear as daylight, and I -continued: - -“Now we might as well understand each other; I don’t believe Miss Lind -has authorized you to propose to me to cancel our contract; but if she -has, just bring me a line to that effect over her signature and her -check for the amount due me by the terms of that contract, some $77,000, -and we will close our business connections at once.” - -“But why not make a new arrangement,” persisted the Secretary, “for -fifty concerts more, by which Miss Lind shall pay you liberally, say -$1,000 per concert?” - -“Simply because I hired Miss Lind, and not she me,” I replied, “and -because I never ought to take a farthing less for my risk and trouble -than the contract gives me. I have voluntarily paid Miss Lind more than -twice as much as I originally contracted to pay her, or as she expected -to receive when she first 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 go to her for it to-morrow morning.” - -I met the secretary soon after breakfast next morning and asked him if -he had a written communication for me from Miss Lind? He said he had not -and that the whole thing was a “joke.” He merely wanted, he added, to -see what I would say to the proposition. I asked him if Miss Lind was -in the “joke,” as he called it? He hoped I would not inquire, but would -let the matter drop. I went on, as usual, and gave four more concerts in -St. Louis, and followed out my programme as arranged in other cities for -many weeks following; nor at that time, nor at any time afterwards, did -Miss Lind give me the slightest intimation that she had any knowledge of -the proposition of her secretary to cancel our agreement or to employ me -as her manager. - -During our stay at St. Louis, I delivered a temperance lecture in the -theatre, and at the close, among other signers, of the pledge, was my -friend and adviser, Sol. Smith. “Uncle Sol,” as every one called him, -was a famous character in his time. He was an excellent comedian, an -author, a manager and a lawyer. For a considerable period of his life, -he was largely concerned in theatricals in St. Louis, New Orleans and -other cities, and acquired a handsome property. He died at a ripe old -age, in 1869, respected and lamented by all who knew him. I esteem it an -honor to have been one of his intimate friends. - -A year or two before he died, he published a very interesting volume, -giving a full account of the leading incidents in his long and varied -career as an actor and manager. He had previously, in 1854, published an -autobiographical work, comprising an account of the “second seven years -of his professional life,” together with sketches of adventure in after -years, and entitled “The Theatrical Journey-Work and Anecdotical -Recollections of Sol. Smith, Comedian, Attorney at Law,” etc. This -unique work was preceded by a dedication which I venture to copy. It was -as follows: - - “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 centenarina, 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 instalment 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. - -HANG -“CHOUTEAU AVENUE, ST. LOUIS, -“Nov. 1, 1854.” - -“Uncle” Sol. Smith must be held solely responsible for his extravagant -estimate of P. T. Barnum, and for his somewhat deprecatory view of the -attributes of the “divine Jenny.” It is true that he derived many of his -impressions of Miss Lind from the annoying circumstances that compelled -me to seek his professional advice and assistance in St. Louis, when -Jenny Lind’s secretary came to me with an assumed authorization from her -to abruptly close our engagement. But when Sol. Smith’s dedication was -first published, there were plenty of people and papers throughout the -land that were eager to catch up and indorse this new view of Miss -Lind’s character. The Athenians were sometimes sick, no doubt, of -hearing Aristides always called “the Just.” Yet, some of the sharp -things which Sol. Smith means to say about Miss Lind, apply rather to -the selfish persons who, unfortunately, were more in her confidence than -I ever aspired to be, and who assumed to advise her and thus easily -perverted her better judgment. - -With all her excellent and even extraordinarily good qualities, however, -Jenny Lind was human, though the reputation she bore in Europe for her -many charitable acts led me to believe, till I knew her, that she was -nearly perfect. I think now that her natural impulses were more simple, -childlike, pure and generous than those of almost any other person I -ever met. But she had been petted, almost worshipped, so long, that it -would have been strange indeed if her unbounded popularity had not in -some degree affected her to her hurt, and it must not be thought -extraordinary if she now and then exhibited some phase of human -weakness. - -Like most persons of uncommon talent, she had a strong will which, at -times, she found ungovernable; but if she was ever betrayed into a -display of ill-temper she was sure to apologize and express her regret -afterwards. Le Grand Smith, who was quite intimate with her, and who was -my right-hand man during the entire Lind engagement, used sometimes to -say to me: - -“Well, Mr. Barnum, you have managed wonderfully in always keeping -Jenny’s ‘angel’ side outside with the public.” - -More than one Englishman--I may instance Mr. Dolby, Mr. Dickens’s agent -during his last visit to America--expressed surprise at the confirmed -impression of “perfection” entertained by the general American public in -regard to the Swedish Nightingale. These things are written with none -but the kindest feelings towards the sweet songstress, and only to -modify the too current ideas of superhuman excellence which cannot be -characteristic of any mortal being. - -As I have before intimated in giving details of my management of the -enterprise, believing, as I did when I engaged her, in her “angelic” -reputation, I am frank enough to confess that I considered her private -character a valuable adjunct, even in a business point of view, to her -renown as a singer. I admit that I took her charities into account as -part of my “stock in trade.” Whenever she sang for a public or private -charity, she gave her voice, which was worth a thousand dollars to her -every evening. At such times, I always insisted upon paying for the -hall, orchestra, printing, and other expenses, because I felt able and -willing to contribute my full share towards the worthy objects which -prompted these benefits. - -This narration would be incomplete if I did not add the following: - -We were in Havana when I showed to Miss Lind a paper containing the -conundrum on “for-getting” and “for-giving,” at which she laughed -heartily, but immediately checked herself and said: - -“O! Mr. Barnum, this is not fair; you know that you really give more -than I do from the proceeds of every one of these charity concerts.” - -And it is but just to her to say that she frequently remonstrated with -me and declared that the actual expenses should be deducted and the thus -lessened sum devoted to the charity for which the concert might be -given; but I always laughingly told her that I must do my part, give my -share, and that if it was purely a business operation, “bread cast upon -the waters,” it would return, perhaps, buttered; for the larger her -reputation for liberality, the more liberal the public would surely be -to us and to our enterprise. - -I have no wish to conceal these facts; and I certainly have no desire to -receive a larger meed of praise than my qualified generosity merits. -Justice to myself and to my management, as well as to Miss Lind, seems -to permit, if not to demand, this explanation. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -CLOSE OF THE CAMPAIGN. - - PENITENT TICKET PURCHASERS--VISIT TO THE “HERMITAGE”--“APRIL FOOL” - FUN--THE MAMMOTH CAVE--SIGNOR SALVI--GEORGE D. - PRENTICE--PERFORMANCE IN A PORK HOUSE--RUSE AT - CINCINNATI--ANNOYANCES AT PITTSBURG--LE GRAND SMITH’S GRAND - JOKE--RETURN TO NEW YORK--THE FINAL CONCERTS IN CASTLE GARDEN AND - METROPOLITAN HALL--THE ADVISERS APPEAR--THE NINETY-THIRD - CONCERT--MY OFFER TO CLOSE THE ENGAGEMENT--MISS LIND’S LETTER - ACCEPTING MY PROPOSITION--STORY ABOUT AN “IMPROPER PLACE”--JENNY’S - CONCERTS ON HER OWN ACCOUNT--HER MARRIAGE TO MR. OTTO - GOLDSCHMIDT--CORDIAL RELATIONS BETWEEN MRS. LIND GOLDSCHMIDT AND - MYSELF--AT HOME AGAIN--STATEMENT OF THE TOTAL RECEIPTS OF THE - CONCERTS. - - -After five concerts in St. Louis, we went to Nashville, Tennessee, where -we gave our sixty-sixth and sixty-seventh concerts in this country. At -the first ticket auction in that city, the excitement was considerable -and the bidding spirited, as was generally the case. After the auction -was over, one of my men, happening in at a dry-goods store in the town, -heard the proprietor say, “I’ll give five dollars to any man who will -take me out and give me a good horse-whipping! I deserve it, and am -willing to pay for having it done. To think that I should have been such -a fool as to have paid forty-eight dollars for four tickets for my wife, -two daughters, and myself, to listen to music for only two hours, makes -me mad with myself, and I want to pay somebody for giving me a -thundering good horse-whipping!” I am not sure that others have not -experienced a somewhat similar feeling, when they became cool and -rational, and the excitement of novelty and competition had passed -away. - -While at Nashville, Jenny Lind, accompanied by my daughter, Mrs. Lyman, -and myself, visited “the Hermitage,” the late residence of General -Jackson. On that occasion, for the first time that season, we heard the -wild mocking-birds singing in the trees. This gave Jenny Lind great -delight, as she had never before heard them sing except in their -wire-bound cages. - -The first of April occurred while we were in Nashville. I was -considerably annoyed during the forenoon by the calls of members of the -company who came to me under the belief that I had sent for them. After -dinner I concluded to give them all a touch of “April fool.” The -following article, which appeared the next morning in the Nashville -_Daily American_, my amanuensis having imparted the secret to the -editor, will show how it was done: - - “A series of laughable jokes came off yesterday at the Veranda in - honor of All Fools’ Day. Mr. Barnum was at the bottom of the - mischief. He managed in some mysterious manner to obtain a lot of - blank telegraphic despatches and envelopes from one of the offices - in this city, and then went to work and manufactured ‘astounding - intelligence’ for most of the parties composing the Jenny Lind - suite. Almost every person in the company received a telegraphic - despatch written under the direction of Barnum. Mr. Barnum’s - daughter 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 in Mr. Barnum’s suite 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.’ At a late hour last night the secret - had not got out, and we presume that many of the victims will first - learn from our columns that they have been taken in by BARNUM and - All Fools’ Day!” - -From Nashville, Jenny Lind and a few friends went by way of the Mammoth -Cave to Louisville, while the rest of the party proceeded by steamboat. - -While in Havana, I engaged Signor Salvi for a few months, to begin about -the 10th of April. He joined us at Louisville, and sang in the three -concerts there, with great satisfaction to the public. Mr. George D. -Prentice, of the Louisville _Journal_, and his beautiful and -accomplished lady, who had contributed much to the pleasure of Miss Lind -and our party, accompanied us to Cincinnati. - -A citizen of Madison had applied to me on our first arrival in -Louisville, for a concert in that place. I replied that the town was too -small to afford it, whereupon he offered to take the management of it -into his own hands, and pay me $5,000 for the receipts. The last concert -at Louisville, and the concerts at Natchez and Wheeling were given under -a similar agreement, though with better pecuniary results than at -Madison. As the steamer from Louisville to Cincinnati would arrive at -Madison about sundown, and would wait long enough for us to give a -concert, I agreed to his proposition. - -We were not a little surprised to learn upon arriving, that the concert -must be given in a “pork house”--a capacious shed which had been fitted -up and decorated for the occasion. We concluded, however, that if the -inhabitants were satisfied with the accommodations, we ought not to -object. The person who had contracted for the concert came $1,300 short -of his agreement, which I consequently lost, and at ten o’clock we were -again on board the fine steamer “Ben Franklin” bound for Cincinnati. - -The next morning the crowd upon the wharf was immense. I was fearful -that an attempt to repeat the New Orleans ruse with my daughter would be -of no avail, as the joke had been published in the Cincinnati papers; so -I gave my arm to Miss Lind, and begged her to have no fears, for I had -hit upon an expedient which would save her from annoyance. We then -descended the plank to the shore, and as soon as we had touched it, Le -Grand Smith called out from 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 me to pass with the lady -whom they supposed to be my 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. -The crowd remained an hour on the wharf before they would be convinced -that the person whom they took for my daughter was in fact the veritable -Swede. When this was discovered, a general laugh followed the -exclamation from one of the victims, “Well, Barnum has humbugged us -after all!” - -In passing up the river to Pittsburg, the boat waited four hours to -enable us to give a concert in Wheeling. It was managed by a couple of -gentlemen in that city, who purchased it for five thousand dollars in -advance, by which they made a handsome profit for their trouble. The -concert was given in a church. - -At Pittsburg, the open space surrounding the concert room became crowded -with thousands of persons, who, foolishly refusing to accommodate each -other by listening to the music, disturbed the concert and determined us -to leave the next morning for Baltimore, instead of giving a second -concert that had been advertised. - -Le Grand Smith here paid me off for my “April fool” joke. He induced a -female of his acquaintance to call on me and reveal an arrangement which -she pretended accidentally to have overheard between some scoundrels, -who were resolved to stop our stage coach on the Alleghany mountains and -commit highway robbery. The story seemed incredible, and yet the woman -related it with so much apparent sincerity, that I swallowed the bait, -and remitting to New York all the money I had, except barely enough to -defray our expenses to Baltimore, I purchased several revolvers for such -members of the company as were not already provided, and we left -Pittsburg armed to the teeth! Fortunately, Jenny Lind and several of the -company had left before I made this grand discovery, and hence she was -saved any apprehensions on the subject. It is needless to say we found -no use for our firearms. - -We reached New York early in May, 1851, and gave fourteen concerts in -Castle Garden and Metropolitan Hall. The last of these made the -ninety-second regular concert under our engagement. Jenny Lind had now -again reached the atmosphere of her legal and other “advisers,” and I -soon discovered the effects of their influence. I, however, cared little -what course they advised her to pursue. I indeed wished they would -prevail upon her to close with her hundredth concert, for I had become -weary with constant excitement and unremitting exertions. I was -confident that if she undertook to give concerts on her own account, she -would be imposed upon and harassed in a thousand ways; yet I felt it -would be well for her to have a trial at it, if she saw fit to credit -her advisers’ assurance that I had not managed the enterprise as -successfully as it might have been done. - -At about the eighty-fifth concert, therefore, I was most happy to learn -from her lips that she had concluded to pay the forfeiture of -twenty-five thousand dollars, and terminate the concerts with the one -hundredth. - -We went to Philadelphia, where I had advertised the ninety-second, -ninety-third, and ninety-fourth concerts, and had engaged the large -National Theatre on Chestnut Street. It had been used for equestrian and -theatrical entertainments, but was now thoroughly cleansed and fitted up -by Max Maretzek for Italian opera. It was a convenient place for our -purpose. One of her “advisers,” a subordinate in her employ, who was -already itching for the position of manager, made the selection of this -building a pretext for creating dissatisfaction in the mind of Miss -Lind. I saw the influences which were at work, and not caring enough for -the profits of the remaining seven concerts, to continue the engagement -at the risk of disturbing the friendly feelings which had hitherto -uninterruptedly existed between that lady and myself, I wrote her a -letter offering to relinquish the engagement, if she desired it, at the -termination of the concert which was to take place that evening, upon -her simply allowing me a thousand dollars per concert for the seven -which would yet remain to make up the hundred, besides paying me the sum -stipulated as a forfeiture for closing the engagement at the -one-hundredth concert. Towards evening I received the following reply: - - -“TO P. T. BARNUM, ESQ. - - “MY DEAR SIR:--I accept your proposition to close our contract - to-night, at the end of the ninety-third concert, on condition of - my paying you seven thousand dollars, in addition to the sum I - forfeit under the condition of finishing the engagement at the end - of one hundred concerts. - -“I am, dear Sir, yours truly, - -“JENNY LIND, - - “PHILADELPHIA, 9th of June, 1851.” - -I met her at the concert in the evening, and she was polite and friendly -as ever. Between the first and second parts of the concert, I introduced -General Welch, the lessee of the National Theatre, who informed her that -he was quite willing to release me from my engagement of the building, -if she did not desire it longer. She replied, that upon trial, she found -it much better than she expected, and she would therefore retain it for -the remainder of the concerts. - -In the mean time, her advisers had been circulating the story that I had -compelled her to sing in an improper place, and when they heard she had -concluded to remain there, they beset her with arguments against it, -until at last she consented to remove her concerts to a smaller hall. - -I had thoroughly advertised the three concerts, in the newspapers within -a radius of one hundred miles from Philadelphia, and had sent admission -tickets to the editors. On the day of the second concert, one of the -new agents, who had indirectly aided in bringing about the dissolution -of our engagement, refused to recognize these tickets. I urged upon him -the injustice of such a course, but received no satisfaction. I then -stated the fact to Miss Lind, and she gave immediate orders that these -tickets should be received. Country editors’ tickets, which were offered -after I left Philadelphia, were however refused by her agents (contrary -to Miss Lind’s wish and knowledge), and the editors, having come from a -distance with their wives, purchased tickets, and I subsequently -remitted the money to numerous gentlemen, whose complimentary tickets -were thus repudiated. - -Jenny Lind gave several concerts with varied success, and then retired -to Niagara Falls, and afterwards to Northampton, Massachusetts. While -sojourning at the latter place, she visited Boston and was married to -Mr. Otto Goldschmidt, a German composer and pianist, to whom she was -much attached, and who had studied music with her in Germany. He played -several times in our concerts. He was a very quiet, inoffensive -gentleman, and an accomplished musician. - -I met her several times after our engagement terminated. She was always -affable. On one occasion, while passing through Bridgeport, she told me -that she had been sadly harassed in giving her concerts. “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 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 I have all the money which I shall ever need.” Pursuant to this -resolution, the larger portion of the concerts which this noble lady has -given since her return to Europe, have been for objects of benevolence. - -If she consents to sing for a charitable object in London, for instance, -the fact is not advertised at all, but the tickets are readily disposed -of in a private quiet way, at a guinea and half a guinea each. - -After so many months of anxiety, labor and excitement, in the Jenny Lind -enterprise, it will readily be believed that I desired tranquility. I -spent a week at Cape May, and then came home to Iranistan, where I -remained during the entire summer. - - -JENNY LIND CONCERTS. - -TOTAL RECEIPTS, EXCEPTING OF CONCERTS DEVOTED TO CHARITY. - - ---- New York, $17,864 05 No. 46. Havana, $2,931 95 - ---- “ 14,203 03 47. New Orleans, 12,599 85 - ---------- 48. “ 10,210 42 - No. 1. “ 12,519 59 49. “ 8,131 15 - 2. “ 14,266 09 50. “ 6,019 85 - 3. “ 12,174 74 51. “ 6,644 00 - 4. “ 16,028 39 52. “ 9,720 80 - 5. Boston, 16,479 50 53. “ 7,545 50 - 6. “ 11,848 62 54. “ 6,053 50 - 7. “ 8,639 92 55. “ 4,850 25 - 8. “ 10,169 25 56. “ 4,495 35 - 9. Providence, 6,525 54 57. “ 6,630 35 - 10. Boston, 10,524 87 58. “ 4,745 10 - 11. “ 5,240 00 59. Natchez, 5,000 00 - 12. “ 7,586 00 60. Memphis, 4,539 56 - 13. Philadelphia, 9,291 25 61. St. Louis, 7,811 85 - 14. “ 7,547 00 62. “ 7,961 92 - 15. “ 8,458 65 63. “ 7,708 70 - 16. New York, 6,415 90 64. “ 4,086 50 - 17. “ 4,009 70 65. “ 3,044 70 - 18. “ 5,982 00 66. Nashville, 7,786 30 - 19. “ 8,007 10 67. “ 4,248 00 - 20. “ 6,334 20 68. Louisville, 7,833 90 - 21. “ 9,429 15 69. “ 6,595 60 - 22. “ 9,912 17 70. “ 5,000 00 - 23. “ 5,773 40 71. Madison, 3,693 25 - 24. “ 4,993 50 72. Cincinnati, 9,339 75 - 25. “ 6,670 15 73. “ 11,001 50 - 26. “ 9,840 33 74. “ 8,446 30 - 27. “ 7,097 15 75. “ 8,954 18 - 28. “ 8,263 30 76. “ 6,500 40 - 29. “ 10,570 25 77. Wheeling, 5,000 00 - 30. “ 10,646 45 78. Pittsburg, 7,210 58 - 31. Philadelphia, 5,480 75 79. New York, 6,858 42 - 32. “ 5,728 65 80. “ 5,453 00 - 33. “ 3,709 88 81. “ 5,463 70 - 34. “ 4,815 48 82. “ 7,378 35 - 35. Baltimore, 7,117 00 83. “ 7,179 27 - 36. “ 8,357 05 84. “ 6,641 00 - 37. “ 8,406 50 85. “ 6,917 13 - 38. “ 8,121 33 86. “ 6,642 04 - 39. Washington City, 6,878 55 87. “ 3,738 75 - 40. “ 8,507 05 88. “ 4,335 28 - 41. Richmond, 12,385 21 89. “ 5,339 23 - 42. Charleston, 6,775 00 90. “ 4,087 03 - 43. “ 3,653 75 91. “ 5,717 00 - 44. Havana, 4,666 17 92. “ 9,525 80 - 45. “ 2,837 92 93. Philadelphia, 3,852 75 - - CHARITY CONCERTS.--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 88 “ 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 “ 3,478 68 - NEW ORLEANS 12 “ “ 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 - I 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 me as forfeiture, per contract, in - case she withdrew after the 100th Concert $25,000 - She also paid me $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 - - -PRICE OF TICKETS.--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. I cannot now recall the names of the last two. 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 XXIII. - -OTHER ENTERPRISES. - - ANOTHER VENTURE--“BARNUM’S GREAT ASIATIC CARAVAN, MUSEUM AND - MENAGERIE”--HUNTING ELEPHANTS--GENERAL TOM THUMB--ELEPHANT PLOWING - IN CONNECTICUT--CURIOUS QUESTIONS FROM ALL QUARTERS--THE PUBLIC - INTEREST IN MY NOVEL FARMING--HOW MUCH AN ELEPHANT CAN REALLY - “DRAW”--COMMODORE VANDERBILT--DAN DREW--SIDE SHOWS AND VARIOUS - ENTERPRISES--OBSEQUIES OF NAPOLEON--THE CRYSTAL - PALACE--CAMPANALOGIANS--AMERICAN INDIANS IN LONDON--AUTOMATON - SPEAKER--THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON--ATTEMPT TO BUY SHAKESPEARE’S - HOUSE--DISSOLVING VIEWS--THE CHINESE COLLECTION--WONDERFUL SCOTCH - BOYS--SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF DOUBLE SIGHT--THE BATEMAN - CHILDREN--CATHERINE HAYES--IRANISTAN ON FIRE--MY ELDEST DAUGHTER’S - MARRIAGE--BENEFITS FOR THE BRIDGEPORT LIBRARY AND THE MOUNTAIN - GROVE CEMETERY. - - -While I was managing the Lind concerts, in addition to the American -Museum I had other business matters in operation which were more than -enough to engross my entire attention and which, of course, I was -compelled to commit to the hands of associates and agents. - -In 1849 I had projected a great travelling museum and menagerie, and, as -I had neither time nor inclination to manage such a concern, I induced -Mr. Seth B. Howes, justly celebrated as a “showman,” to join me, and -take the sole charge. Mr. Sherwood E. Stratton, father of General Tom -Thumb, was also admitted to partnership, the interest being in thirds. - -In carrying out a portion of the plan, we chartered the ship “Regatta,” -Captain Pratt, and despatched her, together with our agents, Messrs. -June and Nutter, to Ceylon. The ship left New York in May, 1850, and was -absent one year. Their mission was to procure, either by capture or -purchase, twelve or more living elephants, besides such other wild -animals as they could secure. In order to provide sufficient drink and -provender for a cargo of these huge animals, we purchased a large -quantity of hay in New York. Five hundred tons were left at the Island -of St. Helena, to be taken on the return trip of the ship, and staves -and hoops of water-casks were also left at the same place. - -As our agents were unable to purchase the required number of elephants, -either in Columbo or Kandy, the principal towns of the island, (Ceylon,) -they took one hundred and sixty native assistants, and plunged into the -jungles, where, after many most exciting adventures, they succeeded in -securing thirteen elephants of a suitable size for their purpose, with a -female and her calf, or “baby” elephant, only six months old. In the -course of the expedition, Messrs. Nutter and June killed large numbers -of the huge beasts, and had numerous encounters of the most terrific -description with the formidable animals, one of the most fearful of -which took place near Anarajah Poora, while they were endeavoring, by -the aid of the natives and trained elephants, to drive the wild herd of -beasts into an Indian kraal. - -They arrived in New York in 1851 with ten of the elephants, and these, -harnessed in pairs to a chariot, paraded up Broadway past the Irving -House, while Jenny Lind was staying at that hotel, on the occasion of -her second visit to New York. Messrs. Nutter and June also brought with -the elephants a native who was competent to manage and control them. We -added a caravan of wild animals and many museum curiosities, the entire -outfit, including horses, vans, carriages, tent, etc., costing $109,000, -and commenced operations, with the presence and under the “patronage” of -General Tom Thumb, who travelled nearly four years as one of the -attractions of “Barnum’s Great Asiatic Caravan, Museum and Menagerie,” -returning us immense profits. - -At the end of that time, after exhibiting in all sections of the -country, we sold out the entire establishment--animals, cages, chariots -and paraphernalia, excepting one elephant, which I retained in my own -possession two months for agricultural purposes. It occurred to me that -if I could put an elephant to plowing for a while on my farm at -Bridgeport, it would be a capital advertisement for the American Museum, -which was then, and always during my proprietorship of that -establishment, foremost in my thoughts. - -So I sent him to Connecticut in charge of his keeper, whom I dressed in -Oriental costume, and keeper and elephant were stationed on a six-acre -lot which lay close beside the track of the New York and New Haven -Railroad. The keeper was furnished with a time-table of the road, with -special instructions to be busily engaged in his work whenever passenger -trains from either way were passing through. Of course, the matter soon -appeared in the papers and went the entire rounds of the press in this -country and even in Europe, and it was everywhere announced that P. T. -Barnum, “Proprietor of the celebrated American Museum in New York”--and -here is where the advertisement came in--had introduced elephants upon -his farm, to do his plowing and heavy draft work. Hundreds of people -came many miles to witness the novel spectacle. Letters poured in upon -me from the secretaries of hundreds of State and County agricultural -societies throughout the Union, stating that the presidents and -directors of such societies had requested them to propound to me a -series of questions in regard to the new power I had put in operation on -my farm. These questions were greatly diversified, but the “general run” -of them were something like the following: - -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?” I -suppose some of my inquirers thought the elephant would pick up chips, -or even pins as they have been taught to do, and would rock the baby and -do all the chores, including the occasional carrying of a trunk, other -than his own, to the depot. - -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. I began to be alarmed -lest some one should buy an elephant, and so share the fate of the man -who drew one in a lottery, and did not know what to do with him. I -accordingly 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 - -[Illustration: _ELEPHANTINE AGRICULTURE._] - -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 even 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. - -Newspaper reporters came from far and near, and wrote glowing accounts -of the elephantine performances. One of them, taking a political view of -the matter, stated that the elephant’s sagacity showed that he knew more -than did any laborer on the farm, and yet, shameful to say, he was not -allowed to vote. Another said that Barnum’s elephant built all the stone -wall on the farm; made all the rail fences; planted corn with his trunk, -and covered it with his foot; washed my windows and sprinkled the walks -and lawns, by taking water from the fountain-basin with his trunk; -carried all the children to school, and put them to bed at night, -tucking them up with his trunk; fed the pigs; picked fruit from branches -that could not otherwise be reached; turned the fanning mill and -corn-sheller; drew the mowing machine, and turned and cocked the hay -with his trunk; carried and brought my letters to and from the -post-office (it was a male elephant); and did all the chores about the -house, including milking the cows, and bringing in eggs. Pictures of -Barnum’s plowing elephant appeared in illustrated papers at home and -abroad, and as the cars passed the scene of the performance, passengers’ -heads were out of every window, and among many and varied exclamations, -I heard of one man’s saying: - -“Well, I declare! That is certainly a real elephant and any man who has -so many elephants that he can afford to work them on his farm, must have -lots of wild animals and curious ‘critters’ in his Museum, and I am -bound to go there the first thing after my arrival in New York.” - -The six acres were plowed over at least sixty times before I thought the -advertisement sufficiently circulated, and I then sold the elephant to -Van Amburgh’s Menagerie. - -A substantial farmer friend of mine, Mr. Gideon Thompson, called at -Iranistan during the elephant excitement and asked me to accompany him -to the field to let him see “how the big animal worked.” I knew him to -be a shrewd, sharp man and a good farmer, and I tried to excuse myself, -as I did not wish to be too closely questioned. Indeed, for the same -reason, I made it a point at all times to avoid being present when the -plowing was going on. But the old farmer was a particular friend and he -refused to take “no” for an answer; so I went with him “to see the -elephant.” - -Arriving at the field, Mr. Thompson said nothing, but stood with folded -arms and sedately watched the elephant for at least fifteen minutes. -Then he walked out on to the plowed ground, and found it so mellow that -he sank nearly up to his knees; for it had already been plowed over and -over many times. As usual, several spectators were present. Mr. Thompson -walked up to where I was standing, and, looking me squarely in the eyes, -he asked with much earnestness: - -“What is your object, sir, in bringing that great Asiatic animal on to a -New England farm?” - -“To plow,” I replied very demurely. - -“To plow!” said Thompson; “don’t talk to me about plowing! I have been -out where he has plowed, and the ground is so soft I thought I should go -through and come out in China. No, sir! You can’t humbug me. You have -got some other object in bringing that elephant up here; now what is -it?” - -“Don’t you see for yourself that I am plowing with him?” I asked. - -“Nonsense,” said Thompson “that would never pay; I have no doubt he eats -more than he earns every day; you have some other purpose in view, I am -sure you have.” - -“Perhaps he does not eat so much as you think,” I replied; “and you see -he draws nobly--in fact, I expect he will be just the animal by and by, -to draw saw logs to mill, and do other heavy work.” - -But Uncle Gid., was not to be put aside so easily so he asked very -sharply: - -“How much does he eat in a day?” - -“Oh,” I replied carelessly, “not more than a quarter of a ton of hay and -three or four bushels of oats.” - -“Exactly,” said Thompson, his eyes glistening with delight; “that is -just about what I expected. He can’t draw so much as two pair of my oxen -can, and he costs more than a dozen pair.” - -“You are mistaken, friend Thompson,” I replied with much gravity; “that -elephant is a powerful animal; he can draw more than forty yoke of oxen, -and he pays me well for bringing him here.” - -“Forty yoke of oxen!” contemptuously replied the old farmer; “I don’t -want to tell you I doubt your word, but I would just like to know what -he can draw.” - -“He can draw the attention of twenty millions of American citizens to -Barnum’s Museum,” I replied. - -“Oh, you can make him pay in that way, of course,” responded the old -farmer. - -“None but a greenhorn could ever have expected he would pay in any other -way,” I replied. - -The old man gave a hearty laugh, and said, “Well, I give it up. I have -been a farmer thirty-five years, and I have only just discovered that an -elephant is a very useful and profitable animal on a farm--provided the -farmer also owns a museum.” - -In 1851 I became a part owner of the steamship “North America.” Our -intention in buying it was to run it to Ireland as a passenger and -freight ship. The project was, however, abandoned, and Commodore -Cornelius Vanderbilt bought one half of the steamer, while the other -half was owned by three persons, of whom I was one. The steamer was sent -around Cape Horn to San Francisco, and was put into the Vanderbilt line. - -After she had made several trips I called upon Mr. Vanderbilt, at his -office, and introduced myself, as this was the first time we had met. - -“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. The day after closing with Mr. Drew, I discovered an -error of several hundred dollars (a matter of interest on some portion -of the purchase money, which had been overlooked). I called on Mr. Drew, -and asked him to correct it, but could get no satisfaction. I then wrote -him a threatening letter, but received no response. I was on the eve of -suing him for the amount due me, when the news came that the steamship -“North America” was lying at the bottom of the Pacific. It turned out -that she was sunk several days before I sold out, and as the owners were -mulcted in the sum of many thousands of dollars damages by their -passengers, besides suffering a great loss in their steamship, I said no -more to the millionnaire Drew about the few hundreds which he had -withheld from the showman. - -Some reference to the various enterprises and “side shows” connected -with and disconnected from my Museum, is necessary to show how -industriously I have catered for the public’s amusement, not only in -America but abroad. When I was in Paris in 1844, in addition to the -purchase of Robert Houdin’s ingenious automaton writer, and many other -costly curiosities for the Museum, I ordered, at an expense of $3,000, a -panoramic diorama of the obsequies of Napoleon. Every event of that -grand pageant, from the embarkation of the body at St. Helena, to its -entombment at the Hotel des Invalides, amid the most gorgeous parade -ever witnessed in France, was wonderfully depicted. This exhibition, -after having had its day at the American Museum, was sold, and -extensively and profitably exhibited elsewhere. While I was in London, -during the same year, I 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. - -As a compensation to England for the loss of the Bell Ringers, I -despatched an agent to America for a party of Indians, including squaws. -He proceeded to Iowa, and returned to London with a company of sixteen. -They were exhibited by Mr. Catlin on our joint account, and were finally -left in his sole charge. - -On my first return visit to America from Europe, I engaged Mr. Faber, an -elderly and ingenious German, who had constructed an automaton speaker. -It was of life-size, and when worked with keys similar to those of a -piano, it really articulated words and sentences with surprising -distinctness. My agent exhibited it for several months in Egyptian Hall, -London, and also in the provinces. This was a marvellous piece of -mechanism, though for some unaccountable reason it did not prove a -success. The Duke of Wellington visited it several times, and at first -he thought that the “voice” proceeded from the exhibitor, whom he -assumed to be a skillful 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 exhibitor’s autograph book, and -certified that the “Automaton Speaker” was an extraordinary production -of mechanical genius. - -During my first visit to England I obtained, verbally, through a friend, -the refusal of the house in which Shakespeare was born, designing to -remove it in sections to my Museum in New York; but the project leaked -out, British pride was touched, and several English gentlemen interfered -and purchased the premises for a Shakespearian Association. Had they -slept a few days longer, I should have made a rare speculation, for I -was subsequently assured that the British people, rather than suffer -that house to be removed to America, would have bought me off with -twenty thousand pounds. I did not hesitate to engage, or attempt to -secure anything, at any expense, to please my patrons in the United -States, and I made an effort to transfer Madame Tussaud’s world-wide -celebrated wax-work collection entire to New York. The papers were -actually drawn up for this engagement, but the enterprise finally fell -through. - -The models of machinery exhibited in the Royal Polytechnic Institution -in London, pleased me so well that I procured a duplicate; also -duplicates of the “Dissolving Views,” the Chromatrope and Physioscope, -including many American scenes painted expressly to my order, at an -aggregate cost of $7,000. After they had been exhibited in my Museum, -they were sold to itinerant showmen, and some of them were afterwards on -exhibition in various parts of the United States. - -In June 1850, I added the celebrated Chinese Collection to the -attractions of the American Museum. I also engaged the Chinese Family, -consisting of two men, two “small-footed” women and two children. My -agent exhibited them in London during the World’s Fair. It may be stated -here, that I subsequently sent to London the celebrated artist De Lamano -to paint a panorama of the Crystal Palace, in which the World’s Fair was -held, and Colonel John S. Dusolle, an able and accomplished editor, whom -I sent with De Lamano, wrote an accompanying descriptive lecture. Like -most panoramas, however, the exhibition proved a failure. - -The giants whom I sent to America were not the greatest of my -curiosities, though the dwarfs might have been the least. The “Scotch -Boys” were interesting, not so much on account of their weight, as for -the mysterious method by which one of them, though blindfolded, answered -questions put by the other respecting 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. This is the key -to all exhibitions of what is called “second sight.” - -In 1850, the celebrated Bateman children acted for several weeks at the -American Museum and in June of that year I 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 very head -of her profession. - -In October, 1852, having stipulated with Mr. George A. Wells and Mr. -Bushnell that they should share in the enterprise and take the entire -charge, I engaged Miss Catherine Hayes and Herr Begnis to give a series -of sixty concerts in California, and the engagement was fulfilled to our -entire satisfaction. Mr. Bushnell afterwards went to Australia with Miss -Hayes and they were subsequently married. Both of them are dead. - -Before setting out for California, Miss Catherine Hayes, her mother and -sister spent several days at Iranistan and were present at the marriage -of my eldest daughter, Caroline, to Mr. David W. Thompson. The wedding -was to take place in the evening, and in the afternoon I was getting -shaved in a barber-shop in Bridgeport, when Mr. Thompson drove up to -the door in great haste and exclaimed: - -“Mr. Barnum, Iranistan is in flames!” - -I ran out half-shaved, with the lather on my face, jumped into his wagon -and bade him drive home with all speed. I was greatly alarmed, 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 that 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 - -[Illustration: _MOUNTAIN GROVE CEMETERY._] - -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 in Bridgeport I induced her to give a concert for -the benefit of the “Mountain Grove Cemetery,” and the large proceeds -were devoted to the erection of the beautiful stone tower and gateway at -the entrance of that charming ground. The land for this cemetery, about -eighty acres, had been bought by me, years before, from several farmers. -I had often shot over the ground while hunting a year or two before, and -had then seen its admirable capabilities for the purpose to which it was -eventually devoted. After 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 my own substantial granite monument, the -family monuments of Harral, Bishop, Hubbell, Lyon, Wood, Loomis, Wordin, -Hyde, and others, and General Tom Thumb has 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. - -Some time afterwards, when Mr. Dion Boucicault visited me at Bridgeport, -at my solicitation he gave a lecture for the benefit of this cemetery. I -may add that on several occasions I have secured the services of General -Tom Thumb and others for this and equally worthy objects in Bridgeport. -When the General first returned with me from England, he gave -exhibitions for the benefit of the Bridgeport Charitable Society. -September 28, 1867, I induced him and his wife, with Commodore Nutt and -Minnie Warren to give their entertainment for the benefit of the -Bridgeport Library, thus adding $475 to the funds of that institution; -and on one occasion I lectured to a full house in the Methodist Church, -and the entire receipts were given to the library, of which I was -already a life member, on account of previous subscriptions and -contributions. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -WORK AND PLAY. - - ALFRED BUNN, OF DRURY LANE THEATRE--AMUSING INTERVIEW--MR. LEVY, OF - THE LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH--VACATIONS AT HOME--MY PRESIDENCY OF THE - FAIRFIELD COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY--EXHIBITING A - PICKPOCKET--PHILOSOPHY OF HUMBUG--A CHOP-FALLEN TICKET-SELLER--A - PROMPT PAYMASTER--BARNUM IN BOSTON--A DELUDED HACK - DRIVER--PHILLIPS’S FIRE ANNIHILATOR--HONORABLE ELISHA - WHITTLESEY--TRIAL OF THE ANNIHILATOR IN NEW YORK--PEQUONNOCK BANK - OF BRIDGEPORT--THE ILLUSTRATED NEWS--THE WORLD’S FAIR IN NEW - YORK--MY PRESIDENCY OF THE ASSOCIATION--ATTEMPT TO EXCITE PUBLIC - INTEREST--MONSTER JULLIEN CONCERTS--RESIGNATION OF THE CRYSTAL - PALACE PRESIDENCY--FAILURE OF THE CONCERN. - - -In the summer, I think, of 1853, I saw it announced in the newspapers -that Mr. Alfred Bunn, the great ex-manager of Drury Lane Theatre, in -London, had arrived in Boston. Of course, I knew Mr. Bunn by reputation, -not only from his managerial career, but from the fact that he made the -first engagement with Jenny Lind to appear in London. This engagement, -however, Mr. Lumley, of Her Majesty’s Theatre, induced her to break, he -standing a lawsuit with Mr. Bunn, and paying heavy damages. I had never -met Mr. Bunn, but he took it for granted that I had seen him, for one -day after his arrival in this country, a burly Englishman abruptly -stepped into my private office in the Museum, and assuming a theatrical -attitude, addressed me: - -“Barnum, do you remember me?” - -I was confident I had never seen the man before, but it struck me at -once that no Englishman I ever heard of would be likely to exhibit more -presumption or assumption than the ex-manager of Drury Lane, and I -jumped at the conclusion: - -“Is not this Mr. Bunn?” - -“Ah! Ah! my boy!” he exclaimed, slapping me familiarly on the back, “I -thought you would remember me. Well, Barnum, how have you been since I -last saw you?” - -I replied in a manner that would humor his impression that we were old -acquaintances, and during his two hours’ visit we had much gossip about -men and things in London. He called upon me several times, and it -probably never entered into his mind that I could possibly have been in -London two or three years without having made the personal acquaintance -of so great a lion as Alfred Bunn. - -I met Mr. Bunn again in 1858, in London, at a dinner party of a mutual -friend, Mr. Levy, proprietor of the London Daily Telegraph. Of course, -Bunn and I were great chums and very old and intimate acquaintances. At -the same dinner, I met several literary and dramatic gentlemen. - -In 1851, 1852, and 1853, I spent much of my time at my beautiful home in -Bridgeport, going very frequently to New York, to attend to matters in -the Museum, but remaining in the city only a day or two at a time. I -resigned the office of President of the Fairfield County Agricultural -Society in 1853, but the members accepted my resignation, only on -condition that it should not go into effect until after the fair of -1854. During my administration, the society held six fairs and -cattle-shows,--four in Bridgeport and two in Stamford,--and the interest -in these gatherings increased from year to year. - -Pickpockets are always present at these country fairs, and every year -there were loud complaints of the depredations of these operators. In -1853 a man was caught in the act of taking a pocket-book from a country -farmer, nor was this farmer the only one who had suffered in the same -way. The scamp was arrested, and proved to be a celebrated English -pickpocket. As the Fair would close the next day, and as most persons -had already visited it, we expected our receipts would be light. - -Early in the morning the detected party was legally examined, plead -guilty, and was bound over for trial. I obtained consent from the -sheriff that the culprit should be put in the Fair room for the purpose -of giving those who had been robbed an opportunity to identify him. For -this purpose he was handcuffed, and placed in a conspicuous position, -where of course he was “the observed of all observers.” I then issued -handbills, stating that as it was the last day of the Fair, the managers -were happy to announce that they had secured extra attractions for the -occasion, and would accordingly exhibit, safely handcuffed, and without -extra charge, a live pickpocket, who had been caught in the act of -robbing an honest farmer the day previous. Crowds of people rushed in -“to see the show.” Some good mothers brought their children ten miles -for that purpose, and our treasury was materially benefited by the -operation. - -At the close of my presidency in 1854, I was requested to deliver the -opening speech at our County Fair, which was held at Stamford. As I was -not able to give agricultural advice, I delivered a portion of my -lecture on the “Philosophy of Humbug.” The next morning, as I 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. - -“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 chap-fallen that I did not pretend to recognize -him as the hero of the joke in the barber’s shop. - -This incident reminds me of numerous similar ones which have occurred at -various times. On one occasion--it was in 1847--I was on board the -steamboat from New York to Bridgeport. As we approached the harbor of -the latter city, a stranger desired me to point out “Barnum’s house” -from the upper deck. I did so, whereupon a bystander remarked, “I know -all about that house, for I was engaged in painting there for several -months while Barnum was in Europe.” He then proceeded to say that it was -the meanest and most ill-contrived house he ever saw. “It will cost old -Barnum a mint of money, and not be worth two cents after it is -finished,” he added. - -“I suppose old Barnum don’t pay very punctually,” I remarked. - -“Oh, yes, he pays punctually every Saturday night--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 considered any great shakes -till Barnum took him and trained him.” - -Soon afterwards one of the passengers told him who I was, whereupon he -secreted himself, and was not seen again while I remained on the boat. - -On another occasion, 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.” -I had to be satisfied. - -Late in August, 1851, I was visited at Bridgeport by a gentleman who was -interested in an English invention patented in this country, and known -as Phillips’ Fire Annihilator. He showed me a number of certificates -from men of eminence and trustworthiness in England, setting forth the -merits of the invention in the highest terms. The principal value of the -machine seemed to consist in its power to extinguish flame, and thus -prevent the spread of fire when it once broke out. Besides, the steam or -vapor generated in the Annihilator was not prejudicial to human life. -Now, as water has no effect whatever upon flame, it was obvious that the -Annihilator would at the least prove a great _assistant_ in -extinguishing conflagrations, and that, especially in the incipient -stage of a fire, it would extinguish it altogether, without damage to -goods or other property, as is usually the case with water. - -Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, First Comptroller of the United States Treasury -at Washington, was interested in the American patent, and the gentleman -that called upon me desired that I should also take an interest in it. I -had no disposition to engage in any speculation; but, believing this -might prove a beneficent invention, and be the means of saving a vast -amount of human life as well as property, I visited Washington City for -the purpose of conferring with Mr. Whittlesey, Hon. J. W. Allen and -other parties interested. - -I was there shown numerous certificates of fires having been -extinguished by the machine in Great Britain, and property to the amount -of many thousands of pounds saved. I also saw that Lord Brougham had -proposed in Parliament that every Government vessel should be compelled -to have the Fire Annihilator on board. Mr. Whittlesey expressed his -belief in writing, that “if there is any reliance to be placed on human -testimony, it is one of the greatest discoveries of this most -extraordinary age.” I fully agreed with him, and have never yet seen -occasion to change that opinion. - -I agreed to join in the enterprise. Mr. Whittlesey was elected -President, and I was appointed Secretary and General Agent of the -Company. I opened the office of the Company in New York, and sold and -engaged machines and territory in a few months to the amount of -$180,000. I refused to receive more than a small portion of the purchase -money until a public experiment had tested the powers of the machine, -and I voluntarily delivered to every purchaser an agreement, signed by -myself, in the following words: - -“If the public test and demonstration are not perfectly successful, I -will at any time when demanded, within ten days after the public trial, -refund and pay back every shilling that has been paid into this office -for machines or territory for the sale of the patent.” - -The public trial came off in Hamilton Square on the 18th December, 1851. -It was an exceedingly cold and inclement day. Mr. Phillips, who -conducted the experiment, was interfered with and knocked down by some -rowdies who were opposed to the invention, and the building was ignited -and consumed after he had extinguished the previous fire. Subsequently -to this unexpected and unjust opposition, I refunded every cent which I -had received, sometimes against the wishes of those who had purchased, -for they were willing to wait the result of further experiments; but I -was utterly disgusted with the course of a large portion of the public -upon a subject in which they were much more deeply interested than I -was. - -The arrangements of the Annihilator Company with Mr. Phillips, the -inventor, predicated all payments which he was to receive on _bona fide_ -sales which we should actually make; therefore he really received -nothing, and the entire losses of the American Company, which were -merely for advertising and the expense of trying the experiments, hire -of an office, etc., amounted to nearly $30,000, of which my portion was -less than $10,000. - -In the spring of 1851 the Connecticut Legislature chartered the -Pequonnock Bank of Bridgeport, with a capital of two hundred thousand -dollars. I had no interest whatever in the charter, and did not even -know that an application was to be made for it. More banking capital was -needed in Bridgeport in consequence of the great increase of trade and -manufactures in that growing and prosperous city, and this fact -appearing in evidence, the charter was granted as a public benefit. The -stock-books were opened under the direction of State Commissioners, -according to the laws of the Commonwealth, and nearly double the amount -of capital was subscribed on the first day. The stock was distributed by -the Commissioners among several hundred applicants. Circumstances -unexpectedly occurred which induced me to accept the presidency of the -bank, in compliance with the unanimous vote of its directors. Feeling -that I could not, from my many avocations, devote the requisite personal -attention to the duties of the office, C. B. Hubbell, Esq., then Mayor -of Bridgeport, was at my request appointed Vice-President of the -institution. - -In the fall of 1852 a proposition was made by certain parties to -commence the publication of an illustrated weekly newspaper in the City -of New York. The field seemed to be open for such an enterprise, and I -invested twenty thousand dollars in the concern, as special partner, in -connection with two other gentlemen, who each contributed twenty -thousand dollars, as general partners. Within a month after the -publication of the first number of the _Illustrated News_, which was -issued on the first day of January, 1853, our weekly circulation had -reached seventy thousand. Numerous and almost insurmountable -difficulties, for novices in the business, continued however to arise, -and my partners becoming weary and disheartened with constant -over-exertion, were anxious to wind up the enterprise at the end of the -first year. The good-will and the engravings were sold to _Gleasons -Pictorial_, in Boston, and the concern was closed without loss. - -In 1851, when the idea of opening a World’s Fair in New York was first -broached, I was waited upon by Mr. Riddell and the other originators of -the scheme, and invited to join in getting it up. I declined, giving as -a reason that such a project was, in my opinion, premature. I felt that -it was following quite too closely upon its London prototype, and -assured the projectors that I could see in it nothing but certain loss. -The plan, however, was carried out, and a charter obtained from the New -York Legislature. The building was erected on a plot of ground upon -Reservoir Square, leased to the association, by the City of New York, -for one dollar per annum. The location, being four miles distant from -the City Hall, was enough of itself to kill the enterprise. The stock -was readily taken up, however, and the Crystal Palace opened to the -public in July, 1853. Many thousands of strangers were brought to New -York, and however disastrous the enterprise may have proved to the -stockholders, it is evident that the general prosperity of the city has -been promoted far beyond the entire cost of the whole speculation. - -In February, 1854, numerous stockholders applied to me to accept the -Presidency of the Crystal Palace, or, as it was termed, “The Association -for the Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations.” I utterly declined -listening to such a project, as I felt confident that the novelty had -passed away, and that it would be difficult to revive public interest in -the affair. - -Shortly afterwards, however, I was waited upon by numerous influential -gentlemen, and strongly urged to allow my name to be used. I repeatedly -objected to this, and at last consented, much against my own judgment. -Having been elected one of the directors, I was by that body chosen -President. I accepted the office conditionally, reserving the right to -decline if I thought, upon investigation, that there was no vitality -left in the institution. Upon examining the accounts said to exist -against the Association, many were pronounced indefensible by those who -I supposed knew the facts in the case, while various debts existing -against the concern were not exhibited when called for, and I knew -nothing of their existence until after I accepted the office of -President. I finally accepted it, only because no suitable person could -be found who was willing to devote his entire time and services to the -enterprise, and because I was frequently urged by directors and -stockholders to take hold of it for the benefit of the city at large, -inasmuch as it was well settled that the Palace would be permanently -closed early in April, 1854, if I did not take the helm. - -These considerations moved me, and I entered upon my duties with all the -vigor which I could command. To save it from bankruptcy, I advanced -large sums of money for the payment of debts, and tried by every -legitimate means to create an excitement and bring it into life. By -extraneous efforts, such as the Re-inauguration, the Monster Concerts of -Jullien, the Celebration of Independence, etc., it was temporarily -galvanized, and gave several life-like kicks, generally without material -results, except prostrating those who handled it too familiarly; but it -was a corpse long before I touched it, and I found, after a thorough -trial, that my first impression was correct, and that so far as my -ability was concerned, “the dead could not be raised.” I therefore -resigned the presidency and the concern soon went into liquidation. - -In 1854, my esteemed friend, Reverend Moses Ballou, wrote, and Redfield, -of New York, published a volume entitled “The Divine Character -Vindicated” in which he reviewed some of the principal features of a -work by the Rev. E. Beecher, brother of Henry Ward Beecher, “The -Conflict of Ages; or, the Great Debate on the Moral Relations of God and -Man.” The dedication in Rev. Mr. Ballou s volume was as follows: - - -To P. T. BARNUM, ESQ., IRANISTAN. - - _My Dear B._:--I am more deeply indebted to you for personal favors - than to any other living man, and I feel that it is but a poor - acknowledgment to beg your acceptance of this volume. Still, I know - that you will value it somewhat, not only for the sake of our - personal friendship, but because it is an advocate of that - interpretation of Christianity of which you have ever been a most - generous and devoted patron. With renewed assurances of my best - regards, - -I am, yours, always, - -M. B. - - BRIDGEPORT, January 22, 1854. - -The following trifling incident which occurred at Iranistan in the -winter of 1852, has been called to my mind by a lady friend from -Philadelphia, who was visiting us at the time. The poem was sent to me -soon after the occurrence, but was lost and the subject forgotten until -my Philadelphia friend recently sent it to me with the wish that I -should insert it in the present volume: - - -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 gay 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 power so well! - -MRS. ANNA BACHE. - -PHILADELPHIA. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -THE JEROME CLOCK COMPANY ENTANGLEMENT. - - THE EAST BRIDGEPORT ENTERPRISE--W. H. NOBLE--PLANS FOR A NEW - CITY--DR. TIMOTHY DWIGHT’S TESTIMONY--INVESTING A FORTUNE--SELLING - CITY LOTS--MONEY MAKING A SECONDARY CONSIDERATION--CLOCK COMPANY IN - LITCHFIELD--THE “TERRY AND BARNUM MANUFACTURING COMPANY”--THE - JEROME CLOCK COMPANY--BAITING FOR BITES--FALSE REPRESENTATIONS--HOW - I WAS DELUDED--WHAT I AGREED TO DO--THE COUNTER AGREEMENT--NOTES - WITH BLANK DATES--THE LIMIT OF MY RESPONSIBILITY--HOW IT WAS - EXCEEDED--STARTLING DISCOVERIES--A RUINED MAN--PAYING MY OWN HONEST - DEBTS--BARNUM DUPED--MY FAILURE--THE BARNUM AND JEROME CLOCK - BUBBLE--MORALISTS MAKING USE OF MY MISFORTUNES--WHAT PREACHERS, - PAPERS, AND PEOPLE SAID ABOUT ME--DOWN IN THE DEPTHS. - - -I now come to a series of events which, all things considered, -constitute one of the most remarkable experiences of my life--an -experience which brought me much pain and many trials; which humbled my -pride and threatened me with hopeless financial ruin; and yet, -nevertheless, put new blood in my veins, fresh vigor in my action, -warding off all temptation to rust in the repose which affluence -induces, and developed, I trust, new and better elements of manliness in -my character. This trial carried me through a severe and costly -discipline, and now that I have passed through it and have triumphed -over it, I can thank God for sending it upon me, though I feel no -special obligations to the human instruments employed in the severe -chastening. - -When the blow fell upon me, I thought that I could never recover; the -event has shown, however, that I have gained both in character and -fortune, and what threatened, for years, to be my ruin, has proved one -of the most fortunate happenings of my career. The “Bull Run” of my -life’s battle was a crushing defeat, which, unknown to me at the time, -only presaged the victories which were to follow. - -In my general plan of presenting the facts and incidents of my life in -chronological order, I shall necessarily introduce in the history of the -next seven years, an account of my entanglement in the “Jerome Clock -Company,”--how I was drawn into it, how I got out of it, and what it did -to me and for me. The great notoriety given to my connection with this -concern--the fact that the journals throughout the country made it the -subject of news, gossip, sympathy, abuse, and advice to and about me, my -friends, my persecutors, and the public generally--seems to demand that -the story should be briefly but plainly told. The event itself has -passed away and with it the passions and excitements that were born of -it; and I certainly have no desire now to deal in personalities or to go -into the question of the motives which influenced those who were -interested, any farther than may be strictly essential to a fair and -candid statement of the case. - -It is vital to the narrative that I should give some account of the new -city, East Bridgeport, and my interests therein, which led directly to -my subsequent complications with the Jerome Clock Company. - -In 1851, I purchased from Mr. William H. Noble, of Bridgeport, the -undivided half of his late father’s homestead, consisting of fifty acres -of land; lying on the east side of the river, opposite the City of -Bridgeport. We intended this as the nucleus of a new city, which we -concluded could soon be built up, in consequence of many natural -advantages that it possesses. - -Before giving publicity to our plans, however, we purchased one hundred -and seventy-four acres contiguous to that which we already owned, and -laid out the entire property in regular streets, and lined them with -trees, reserving a beautiful grove of six or eight acres, which we -inclosed, and converted into a public park. We then commenced selling -alternate lots, at the same price which the land cost us by the acre. -Our sales were always made on the condition that a suitable -dwelling-house, store, or manufactory should be erected upon the land, -within one year from the date of purchase; that every building should be -placed at a certain distance from the street, in a style of architecture -approved by us; that the grounds should be enclosed with acceptable -fences, and kept clean and neat, with other conditions which would -render the locality a desirable one for respectable residents, and -operate for the mutual benefit of all persons who should become settlers -in the new city. - -This entire property consists of a beautiful plateau of ground, lying -within less than half a mile of the centre of Bridgeport city. -Considering the superiority of the situation, it is a wonder that the -City of Bridgeport was not originally founded upon that side of the -river. The late Dr. Timothy Dwight, for a long time President of Yale -College, in his “Travels in New England in 1815,” says of the locality: - -“There is not in the State a prettier village than the borough of -Bridgeport. In the year 1783, there were scarcely half a dozen houses -in this place. It now contains probably more than one hundred, built on -both sides of Pughquonnuck (Pequonnock) river, a beautiful mill-stream, -forming at its mouth the harbor of Bridgeport. The situation of this -village is very handsome, particularly on the eastern side of the river. -A more cheerful and elegant piece of ground can scarcely be imagined -than the point which stretches between the Pughquonnuck and the old -mill-brook; and the prospects presented by the harbors at the mouths of -these streams, the Sound, and the surrounding country, are, in a fine -season, gay and brilliant, perhaps without a parallel.” - -This “cheerful and elegant piece of ground,” as Dr. Dwight so truly -describes it, had only been kept from market by the want of means of -access. A new foot-bridge was built, connecting this place with the City -of Bridgeport, and a public toll-bridge which belonged to us was thrown -open to the public free. We also obtained from the State Legislature a -charter for erecting a toll-bridge between the two bridges already -existing, and under that charter we put up a fine covered draw-bridge at -a cost of $16,000 which also we made free to the public for several -years. We built and leased to a union company of young coach makers a -large and elegant coach manufactory, which was one of the first -buildings erected there, and which went into operation on the first of -January, 1852, and was the beginning of the extensive manufactories -which were subsequently built in East Bridgeport. - -Besides the inducement which we held out to purchasers to obtain their -lots at a merely nominal price, we advanced one half, two-thirds, and -frequently all the funds necessary to erect their buildings, permitting -them to repay us in sums as small as five dollars, at their own -convenience. This arrangement enabled many persons to secure and -ultimately pay for homes which they could not otherwise have obtained. -We looked for our profits solely to the rise in the value of the -reserved lots, which we were confident must ensue. Of course, these -extraordinary inducements led many persons to build in the new city, and -it began to develop and increase with a rapidity rarely witnessed in -this section of the country. Indeed, our speculation, which might be -termed a profitable philanthropy, soon promised to be so remunerative, -that I offered Mr. Noble for his interest in the estate, $60,000 more -than the prime cost, which offer he declined. - -It will thus be seen that, in 1851, my pet scheme was to build up a city -in East Bridgeport. I had made a large fortune and was anxious to be -released from the harassing cares of active business. But I could not be -idle, and if I could be instrumental in giving value to land -comparatively worthless; if I could by the judicious investment of a -portion of my capital open the way for new industries and new homes, I -should be of service to my fellow men and find grateful employment for -my energies and time. I saw that in case of success there was profit in -my project, and I was enough like mankind in general to look upon the -enlargement of my means as a consummation devoutly and legitimately to -be wished. - -Yet, I can truly say that mere money-making was a secondary -consideration in my scheme. I wanted to build a city on the beautiful -plateau across the river; in the expressive phrase of the day, I “had -East Bridgeport on the brain.” Whoever approached me with a project -which looked to the advancement of my new city, touched my weak side and -found me an eager listener. The serpent that beguiled me was any -plausible proposition that promised prosperity to East Bridgeport, and -it was in this way that the coming city connected me with that source of -so many annoyances and woes, the Jerome Clock Company. - -There was a small clock manufactory in the town of Litchfield, -Connecticut, in which I became a stockholder to the amount of six or -seven thousand dollars, and my duties as a director in the company -called me occasionally to Litchfield and made me somewhat acquainted -with the clock business. Thinking of plans to forward my pet East -Bridgeport enterprise, it occurred to me that if the Litchfield clock -concern could be transferred to my prospective new city, it would -necessarily bring many families, thus increasing the growth of the place -and the value of the property. Negotiations were at once commenced and -the desired transfer of the business was the result. A new stock company -was formed under the name of the “Terry & Barnum Manufacturing Company,” -and in 1852 a factory was built in East Bridgeport. - -In 1855, I received a suggestion from a citizen of New Haven, that the -Jerome Clock Company, then reputed to be a wealthy concern, should be -removed to East Bridgeport, and shortly afterwards I was visited at -Iranistan by Mr. Chauncey Jerome, the President of that company. The -result of this visit was a proposition from the agent of the company, -who also held power of attorney for the president, that I should lend my -name as security for $110,000 in aid of the Jerome Clock Company, and -the proffered compensation was the transfer of this great manufacturing -concern, with its seven hundred to one thousand operatives, to my -beloved East Bridgeport. It was just the bait for the fish; I was all -attention; yet I must do my judgment the justice to say that I called -for proofs, strong and ample, that the great company deserved its -reputation as a substantial enterprise that might safely be trusted. - -Accordingly, I was shown an official report of the directors of the -company, exhibiting a capital of $400,000, and a surplus of $187,000, in -all, $587,000. The need for $110,000 more, was on account of a dull -season, and the market glutted with the goods, and immediate money -demands which must be met. I was also impressed with the pathetic tale -that the company was exceedingly loth to dismiss any of the operatives, -who would suffer greatly if their only dependence for their daily food -was taken away. - -The official statement seemed satisfactory, and I cordially sympathized -with the philanthropic purpose of keeping the workmen employed, even in -the dull season. 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.” So wealthy and so widely-known a -company would surely be a grand acquisition to my city. - -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 concern, and much satisfaction that I -contemplated giving temporary aid which would keep so many workmen and -their families from suffering, and perhaps starvation. I had not, at the -time, the slightest suspicion that my voluntary correspondent had any -interest in the transfer of the Jerome Company from New Haven to East -Bridgeport, though I was subsequently informed that the bank, of which -my correspondent was the cashier, was almost the largest, if not the -largest, creditor of the clock company. - -Under all the circumstances, and influenced by the rose-colored -representations made to me, not less than by my mania to push the growth -of my new city, I finally accepted the proposition and consented to an -agreement that I would lend the clock company my notes for a sum not to -exceed $50,000, and accept drafts to an amount not to exceed $60,000. It -was thoroughly understood that I was in no case to be responsible for -one cent in excess of $110,000. I also received the written guaranty of -Chauncey Jerome that in no event should I lose by the loan, as he would -become personally responsible for the repayment. I was willing that my -notes, when taken up, should be renewed, I cared not how often, provided -the stipulated maximum of $110,000 should never be exceeded. I was weak -enough, however, under the representation that it was impossible to say -exactly when it would be necessary to use the notes, to put my name to -several notes for $3,000, $5,000, and $10,000, leaving the date of -payment blank; but it was agreed that the blanks should be filled to -make the notes payable in five, ten, or even sixty days from date, -according to the exigencies of the case, and I was careful to keep a -memorandum of the several amounts of the notes. - -On the other side it was agreed that the Jerome Company should exchange -its stock with the Terry & Barnum stockholders and thus absorb that -company and unite the entire business in East Bridgeport. It was -scarcely a month before the secretary wrote me that the company would -soon be in condition to “snap its fingers at the banks.” - -Nevertheless, three months after the consolidation of the companies, a -reference to my memoranda showed that I had already become responsible -for the stipulated sum of $110,000. I was then called upon in New York -by the agent who wanted five notes of $5,000 each and I declined to -furnish them, unless I should receive in return an equal amount in my -own cancelled notes, since he assured me they were cancelling these -“every week.” The cancelled notes were brought to me next day and I -renewed them. This I did frequently, always receiving cancelled notes, -till finally my confidence in the company became so established that I -did not ask to see the notes that had been taken up, but furnished new -accommodation paper as it was called for. - -By and by I heard that the banks began to hesitate about discounting my -paper, and knowing that I was good for $110,000 several times over, I -wondered what was the matter, till the discovery came at last that my -notes had not been taken up as was represented, and that some of the -blank date notes had been made payable in twelve, eighteen, and -twenty-four months. Further investigation revealed the frightful fact -that I had endorsed for the clock company to the extent of more than -half a million dollars, and most of the notes had been exchanged for old -Jerome Company notes due to the banks and other creditors. My agent who -made these startling discoveries came back to me with the refreshing -intelligence that I was a ruined man! - -Not quite; I had the mountain of Jerome debts on my back, but I found -means to pay every claim against me at my bank, all my store and shop -debts, notes to the amount of $40,000, which banks in my neighborhood, -relying upon my personal integrity, had discounted for the Clock -Company, and then I--failed! - -What a dupe had I been! Here was a great company pretending to be worth -$587,000, asking temporary assistance to the amount of $110,000, coming -down with a crash, so soon as my helping hand was removed, and sweeping -me down with it. It failed; and even after absorbing my fortune, it paid -but from twelve to fifteen per cent of its obligations, while, to cap -the climax, it never removed to East Bridgeport at all, notwithstanding -this was the only condition which ever prompted me to advance one dollar -to the rotten concern! - -If at any time my vanity had been chilled by the fear that after my -retirement from the Jenny Lind enterprise the world would forget me, -this affair speedily reassured me; I had notice enough to satisfy the -most inordinate craving for notoriety. All over the country, and even -across the ocean, “Barnum and the Jerome Clock Bubble” was the great -newspaper theme. I 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 -me. Well! I was now in training, in a new school, and was learning new -and strange lessons. - -Yet, these new lessons conveyed the old, old story. There were those who -had fawned upon me in my prosperity, who now jeered at my adversity; -people whom I had specially favored, made special efforts to show their -ingratitude; papers which, when I had the means to make it an object for -them to be on good terms with me, overloaded me with adulation, now -attempted to overwhelm me with abuse; and then the immense amount of -moralizing over the “instability of human fortunes,” and especially the -retributive justice that is sure to follow “ill-gotten gains,” which my -censors assumed to be the sum and substance of my honorably acquired and -industriously worked for property. I have no doubt that much of this -kind of twaddle was believed by the twaddlers to be sincere; and thus my -case was actual capital to certain preachers and religious editors who -were in want of fresh illustrations wherewith to point their morals. - -As for myself, I was in the depths, but I did not despond. I was -confident that with energetic purpose and divine assistance I should, if -my health and life were spared, get on my feet again; and events have -since fully justified and verified the expectation and the effort. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE. - - FRIENDS TO THE RESCUE--MONEY OFFERS REFUSED--BENEFITS - DECLINED--MAGNIFICENT OFFER OF PROMINENT NEW YORK CITIZENS--WILLIAM - E. BURTON--LAURA KEENE--WILLIAM NIBLO--GENERAL TOM THUMB--EDITORIAL - SYMPATHY--“A WORD FOR BARNUM” IN BOSTON--LETTER FROM “MRS. - PARTINGTON”--CITIZENS’ MEETING IN BRIDGEPORT--RESOLUTIONS OF - RESPECT AND CONDOLENCE--MY LETTER ON THE SITUATION--TENDER OF FIFTY - THOUSAND DOLLARS--MAGNITUDE OF THE DECEPTION PRACTISED UPON - ME--PROPOSITION OF COMPROMISE WITH MY CREDITORS--A TRAP LAID FOR ME - IN PHILADELPHIA--THE SILVER LINING TO THE CLOUD--THE BLOW A BENEFIT - TO MY FAMILY--THE REV. DR. E. H. CHAPIN--MY DAUGHTER HELEN--A - LETTER WORTH TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS--OUR NEW HOME IN NEW YORK. - - -Happily, there is always more wheat than there is chaff. While my -enemies and a few envious persons and misguided moralists were abusing -and traducing me, my very misfortunes revealed to me hosts of hitherto -unknown friends who tendered to me something more than mere sympathy. -Funds were offered to me in unbounded quantity for the support of my -family and to re-establish me in business. I declined these tenders -because, on principle, I never accepted a money favor, unless I except -the single receipt of a small sum which came to me by mail at this time -and anonymously so that I could not return it. Even this small sum I at -once devoted to charity towards one who needed the money far more than I -did. - -The generosity of my friends urged me to accept “benefits” by the score, -the returns of which would have made me quite independent. There was a -proposition among leading citizens in New York to give a series of -benefits which I felt obliged to decline though the movement in my favor -deeply touched me. To show the class of men who sympathized with me in -my misfortunes and also the ground which I took in the matter I venture -to copy the following correspondence which appeared in the New York -papers of the day: - - -NEW YORK, June 2, 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 Y. Fowler, James Phalen, - Cornelius Vanderbilt, F. B. Cuting, 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 I replied as follows: - - -LONG ISLAND, Tuesday, June 3, 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 the 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 12, 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 doorkeeper 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 my small way, can - be useful. Put me into any “heavy” work, if you like. Perhaps I - cannot 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. - - - -Even this generous offer from my little friend I felt compelled to -refuse. But kind words were written and spoken which I could not -prevent, nor did I desire to do so, and which were worth more to me than -money. I should fail to find space, if I wished it, to copy one-tenth -part of the cordial and kind articles and paragraphs that appeared about -me in newspapers throughout the country. The following sentence from an -editorial article in a prominent New York journal was the key-note to -many similar kind notices in all parts of the Union: “It is a fact -beyond dispute that Mr. Barnum’s financial difficulties have accumulated -from the goodness of his nature; kind-hearted and generous to a fault, -it has ever been his custom to lend a helping hand to the struggling; -and honest industry and enterprise have found his friendship prompt and -faithful.” The _Boston Journal_ dwelt especially upon the use I had made -of my money in my days of prosperity in assisting deserving laboring men -and in giving an impulse to business in the town where I resided. It -seems only just that I should make this very brief allusion to these -things, if only as an offset to the unbounded abuse of those who -believed in kicking me merely because I was down; nor can I refrain from -copying the following from the _Boston Saturday Evening Gazette_, of May -3, 1856: - - -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 latchstring 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. - -Desirous of knowing who was the author of this kindly effusion, I wrote, -while preparing this autobiography, to Mr. B. P. Shillaber, one of the -editors of the journal, and well known to the public as “Mrs. -Partington.” In reply, I received the following letter in which it will -be seen that he makes sympathetic allusion to the burning of my last -Museum, only a few weeks before the date of his letter: - - -CHELSEA, April 25, 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 the 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. P. SHILLABER. - - - -But the manifestations of sympathy which came to me from Bridgeport, -where my home had been for more than ten years, were the most gratifying -of all, because they showed unmistakably that my best friends, those who -were most constant in their friendship and most emphatic in their -esteem, were my neighbors and associates who, of all people, knew me -best. With such support I could easily endure the attacks of traducers -elsewhere. The _New York Times_, April 25, 1856, under the head of -“Sympathy for Barnum,” published a full report of the meeting of my -fellow-citizens of Bridgeport, the previous evening, to take my case -into consideration. - -In response to a call headed by the mayor of the city, and signed by -several hundred citizens, this meeting was held in Washington Hall “for -the purpose of sympathizing with P. T. Barnum, Esq., in his recent -pecuniary embarrassments, and of giving some public expression to their -views in reference to his financial misfortunes.” It was the largest -public meeting which, up to that time, had ever been held in Bridgeport. -Several prominent citizens made addresses, and resolutions were adopted -declaring “that respect and sympathy were due to P. T. Barnum in return -for his many acts of liberality, philanthropy and public spirit,” -expressing unshaken confidence in his integrity, admiration for the -“fortitude and composure with which he has met reverses into which he -has been dragged through no fault of his own except a too generous -confidence in pretended friends,” and hoping that he would “yet return -to that wealth which he has so nobly employed, and to the community he -has so signally benefited.” During the evening the following letter was -read: - - -NEW YORK, Thursday, April 24, 1856. - -WM. H. NOBLE, Esq., - - _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 troubles. It is headed by His Honor the Mayor, and is signed - by most of your prominent citizens, as well as by many men 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 comforts which years of diligent labor had - 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 imparts to me 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 fellow-men, and - that I never turned empty away those whom I had the power to - assist. - - My poor sick wife, who needs the bracing air which our own dear - home (made beautiful by her willing hands) 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 of recruiting my own constitution, which, through the - excitements 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 neighbors 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 din, strife and turmoil, excitements and struggles - of this money-worshipping 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 land, 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 those I love, and from where I had fondly - supposed I was to end my days, and where I had lavished time, - money, 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 offer 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. - - - -Shortly after this sympathetic meeting, a number of gentlemen in -Bridgeport offered me a loan of $50,000 if that sum would be -instrumental in extricating me from my entanglement. I could not say -that this amount would meet the exigency; I could only say, “wait, wait, -and hope.” - -Meanwhile, my eyes were fully opened to the entire magnitude of the -deception that had been practised upon my too confiding nature. I not -only discovered that my notes had been used to five times the amount I -stipulated or expected, but that they had been applied, not to relieving -the company from temporary embarrassment after my connection with it, -but almost wholly to the redemption of old and rotten claims of years -and months gone by. To show the extent to which the fresh victim was -deliberately bled, it may be stated that I was induced to become surety -to one of the New Haven banks in the sum of $30,000 to indemnify the -bank against future losses it might incur from the Jerome company after -my connection with it, and by some legerdemain this bond was made to -cover past obligations which were older even than my knowledge of the -existence of the company. In every way it seemed as if I had been -cruelly swindled and deliberately defrauded. - -As the clock company had gone to pieces and was paying but from twelve -to fifteen per cent for its paper, I sent two of my friends to New Haven -to ask for a meeting of the creditors and I instructed them to say in -substance for me as follows: - -“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. It was -necessary to liquidation that my property should go into the hands of -assignees; I therefore at once turned over my Bridgeport property to -Connecticut assignees and I removed my family to New York, where I also -made an assignment of all my real and personal estate, excepting what -had already been transferred in Connecticut. - -About this time I received a letter from Philadelphia proferring $500 in -case my circumstances were such that I really stood in need of help. The -very wording of the letter awakened the suspicion in my mind that it was -a trick to ascertain whether I really had any property, for I knew that -banks and brokers in that city held some of my Jerome paper which they -refused to compound or compromise. So I at once wrote that I did need -$500, and, as I expected, the money did not come, nor was my letter -answered; but, as a natural consequence, the Philadelphia bankers who -were holding the Jerome paper for a higher percentage at once acceded to -the terms which I had announced myself able and willing to pay. - -Every dollar which I honestly owed on my own account I had already paid -in full or had satisfactorily arranged. For the liabilities incurred by -the deliberate deception which had involved me I offered such a -percentage as I thought my estate, when sold, would eventually pay; and -my wife, from her own property, advanced from time to time money to take -up such notes as could be secured upon these terms. It was, however, a -slow process. More than one creditor would hold on to his note, which -possibly he had “shaved” at the rate of two or three per cent a month, -and say: - -“Oh! you can’t keep Barnum down; he will dig out after a while; I shall -never sell my claim for less than par and interest.” - -Of course, I knew very well that if all the creditors took this view I -should never get out of the entanglement in which I had been involved by -the old creditors of the Jerome Company, who had so ingeniously managed -to make me take their place. All I could do was to take a thorough -survey of the situation, and consider, now that I was down, how I could -get up again. - -“Every cloud,” says the proverb, “has a silver lining,” and so I did not -despair. “This blow,” I thought “may be beneficial to my children, if -not to me.” They had been brought up in luxury; accustomed to call on -servants to attend to every want; and almost unlimited in the -expenditure of money. My daughter Helen, especially, was naturally -extravagant. She was a warm-hearted, generous girl, who knew literally -nothing of the value of money and the difficulty of acquiring it. At -this time she was fifteen years old, and was attending a French boarding -school in the City of Washington. A few days after the news of my -failure was published in the papers, my friend, the Rev. Dr. E. H. -Chapin, of New York, was at my house. He had long been intimate with my -family, and was well acquainted with the extravagant ideas and ways of -my daughter Helen. One morning, I received a letter from her, filled -with sympathy and sorrow for my misfortunes. She told me how much -shocked she was at hearing of my financial disasters, and added: “Do -send for me immediately, for I cannot think of remaining here at an -expense which my parents cannot afford. I have learned to play the piano -well enough to be able to take some little girls as pupils, and in this -way I can be of some assistance in supporting the family.” - -On reading this I was deeply affected; and, handing the letter to Dr. -Chapin, I said: “There, sir, is a letter which is worth ten thousand -dollars.” - -“Twenty thousand, at the least!” was the exclamation of the Doctor when -he had read it. - -We were now living in a very frugal manner in a hired furnished house in -Eighth Street, near Sixth Avenue, in New York, and our landlady and her -family boarded with us. At the age of forty-six, after the acquisition -and the loss of a handsome fortune, I was once more nearly at the bottom -of the ladder, and was about to begin the world again. The situation was -disheartening, but I had energy, experience, health and hope. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -REST, BUT NOT RUST. - - SALE OF THE MUSEUM COLLECTION--SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS OF MY - CREDITORS--EXAMINATIONS IN COURT--BARNUM AS A BAR - TENDER--PERSECUTION--THE SUMMER SEASON ON LONG ISLAND--THE MUSEUM - MAN ON SHOW--CHARLES HOWELL--A GREAT NATURAL CURIOSITY--VALUE OF A - HONK--PROPOSING TO BUY IT--A BLACK WHALE PAYS MY SUMMER’S BOARD--A - TURN IN THE TIDE--THE WHEELER AND WILSON SEWING MACHINE - COMPANY--THEIR REMOVAL TO EAST BRIDGEPORT--THE TERRY AND BARNUM - CLOCK FACTORY OCCUPIED--NEW CITY PROPERTY LOOKING UP--A LOAN OF - $5,000--THE CAUSE OF MY RUIN PROMISES TO BE MY REDEMPTION--SETTING - SAIL FOR ENGLAND--GENERAL TOM THUMB--LITTLE CORDELIA HOWARD. - - -In the summer of 1855, previous to my financial troubles, feeling that I -was independent and could retire from active business, I sold the -American Museum collection and good will to Messrs. John Greenwood, -Junior, and Henry D. Butler. They paid me double the amount the -collection had originally cost, giving me notes for nearly the entire -amount secured by a chattel mortgage, and hired the premises from my -wife, who owned the Museum property lease, and on which, by the -agreement of Messrs. Greenwood and Butler, she realized a profit of -$19,000 a year. The chattel mortgage of Messrs. Greenwood and Butler, -was, of course, turned over to the New York assignee with the other -property. - -And now there came to me a new sensation which was at times terribly -depressing and annoying. My wides-pread reputation for shrewdness as a -showman had induced the general belief that my means were still ample, -and certain outside creditors who had bought my clock notes at a -tremendous discount and entirely on speculation, made up their minds -that they must be paid at once without waiting for the slow process of -the sale of my property by the assignees. - -They therefore took what are termed “supplementary proceedings,” which -enabled them to haul me any day before a judge for the purpose, as they -phrased it, of “putting Barnum through a course of sprouts,” and which -meant an examination of the debtor under oath, compelling him to -disclose everything with regard to his property, his present means of -living, and so on. - -I repeatedly answered all questions on these points; and reports of the -daily examinations were published. Still another and another, and yet -another creditor would haul me up; and his attorney would ask me the -same questions which had already been answered and published half a -dozen times. This persistent and unnecessary annoyance created -considerable sympathy for me, which was not only expressed by letters I -received daily from various parts of the country, but the public press, -with now and then an exception, took my part, and even the Judges, -before whom I appeared, said to me on more than one occasion, that as -men they sincerely pitied me, but as judges of course they must -administer the law. After a while, however, the judges ruled that I need -not answer any question propounded to me by an attorney, if I had -already answered the same question to some other attorney in a previous -examination in behalf of other creditors. In fact, one of the judges, on -one occasion, said pretty sharply to an 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 to not answer one interrogatory which he has -replied to under any previous inquiries.” - -These things gave me some heart, so that at last, I went up to the -“sprouts” with less reluctance, and began to try to pay off my -persecutors in their own coin. - -On one occasion, a dwarfish little lawyer, who reminded me of “Quilp,” -commenced his examination in behalf of a note-shaver who held a thousand -dollar note, which it seemed he had bought for seven hundred dollars. -After the oath had been administered the little “limb of the law” -arranged his pen, ink and paper, and in a loud voice, and with a most -peremptory and supercilious air, asked: - -“What is your name, sir?” - -I answered him, and his next question, given in a louder and more -peremptory tone, was: - -“What is your business?” - -“Attending bar,” I meekly replied. - -“Attending bar!” he echoed, with an appearance of much surprise; -“Attending bar! Why, don’t you profess to be a temperance man--a -teetotaler?” - -“I do,” I replied. - -“And yet, sir, do you have the audacity to assert that you peddle rum -all day, and drink none yourself?” - -“I doubt whether that is a relevant question,” I said in a low tone of -voice. - -“I will appeal to his honor the judge, if you don’t answer it -instantly,” said Quilp in great glee. - -“I attend bar, and yet never drink intoxicating liquors,” I replied. - -“Where do you attend bar, and for whom?” was the next question. - -“I attend the bar of this court, nearly every day, for the benefit of -two-penny, would-be lawyers and their greedy clients,” I answered. - -A loud tittering in the vicinity only added to the vexation which was -already visible on the countenance of my interrogator, and he soon -brought his examination to a close. - -On another occasion, a young lawyer was pushing his inquiries to a great -length, when, in a half laughing, apologetic tone, he said: - -“You see, Mr. Barnum, I am searching after the small things; I am -willing to take even the crumbs which fall from the rich man’s table!” - -“Which are you, Lazarus, or one of the dogs?” I asked. - -“I guess a blood-hound would not smell out much on this trail,” he said -good-naturedly, adding that he had no more questions to ask. - -I still continued to receive many offers of pecuniary assistance, which, -whenever proposed in the form of a gift, I invariably refused. In a -number of instances, personal friends tendered me their checks for $500, -$1,000, and other sums, but I always responded in substance: “Oh, no, I -thank you; I do not need it; my wife has considerable property, besides -a large income from her Museum lease. I want for nothing; I do not owe a -dollar for personal obligations that is not already secured, and when -the clock creditors have fully investigated and thought over the matter, -I think they will be content to divide my property among themselves and -let me up.” - -Just after my failure, and on account of the ill-health of my wife, I -spent a portion of the summer with my family in the farmhouse of Mr. -Charles Howell, at Westhampton, on Long Island. The place is a mile west -of Quogue, and was then called “Ketchebonneck.” The thrifty and -intelligent farmers of the neighborhood were in the habit of taking -summer boarders, and the place had become a favorite resort. Mr. -Howell’s farm lay close upon the ocean and I found the residence a cool -and delightful one. Surf bathing, fishing, shooting and fine roads for -driving made the season pass pleasantly and the respite from active life -and immediate annoyance from my financial troubles was a very great -benefit to me. - -Our landlord was an eccentric character, who took great pleasure in -showing me to his friends and neighbors as “the Museum man,” and -consequently, as a great curiosity; for in his estimation, the American -Museum was chief among the institutions of New York. He was in a habit -of gathering shells and such rarities as came within his reach, which he -took to the city and disposed of at the Museum. He often spoke of -certain phenomena in his neighborhood, which he thought would take well -with the public, if they were properly brought out. One day he said: - -“Mr. Barnum, I am going to Moriches this morning, and I want you to go -along with me and see a great curiosity there is there.” - -“What is it?” I asked. - -“It is a man who has got a natural ‘honk’” replied Howell, “and it is -worth fifty dollars a year to him.” - -“A what?” I inquired. - -“A honk! a honk! a perfectly natural honk! he makes fifty dollars a year -out of it,” Howell reiterated. - -I could not comprehend what a “honk” was, but concluded that if it was -worth fifty dollars a year among the Long Island fishermen and farmers -who could hardly be expected to pay much for mere sight-seeing, it would -be much more valuable to exhibit in the Museum. So I remarked that as I -was authorized by Messrs. Greenwood and Butler to purchase curiosities -for them, I would go with him and buy the honk from its possessor if I -could get it at a reasonable price. - -“Buy it!” exclaimed Howell; “I guess you can’t buy it! You don’t seem to -understand me; the man has got a natural honk, I tell you; that is, he -honks exactly like a wild goose; when flocks are flying over he goes out -and honks and the geese, supposing that some goose has settled and is -honking for the rest of the flock to come down and feed, all fly towards -the ground and he ‘lets into ’em’ with his gun, thus killing a great -many, and in this way his honk is worth fifty dollars a year to him, and -perhaps more.” - -I decided not to attempt to buy the “honk,” but my eagerness to do so -and my entire ignorance of the character of the curiosity furnished food -for laughter to Howell and his neighbors for a long time. - -One morning we discovered that the waves had thrown upon the beach a -young black whale some twelve feet long. It was dead, but the fish was -hard and fresh and I bought it for a few dollars from the men who had -taken possession of it. I sent it at once to the Museum, where it was -exhibited in a huge refrigerator for a few days, creating considerable -excitement, the general public considering it “a big thing on ice,” and -the managers gave me a share of the profits, which amounted to a -sufficient sum to pay the entire board bill of my family for the season. - -This incident both amused and amazed my Long Island landlord. “Well, I -declare,” said he, “that beats all; you are the luckiest man I ever -heard of. Here you come and board for four months with your family, and -when your time is nearly up, and you are getting ready to leave, out -rolls a black whale on our beach, a thing never heard of before in this -vicinity, and you take that whale and pay your whole bill with it! I -wonder if that ain’t ‘providential’? Why, that beats the ‘natural honk’ -all to pieces!” This was followed by such a laugh as only Charles Howell -could give, and like one of his peculiar sneezes, it resounded, echoed, -and re-echoed through the whole neighborhood. - -Soon after my return to New York, something occurred which I foresaw, I -thought, at the time, was likely indirectly to lead me out of the -wilderness into a clear field again, and, indeed, it eventually did so. -Strange to say, my new city which had been my ruin was to be my -redemption, and dear East Bridgeport which plunged me into the slough -was to bring me out again. “Dear” as the place had literally proved to -me, it was to be yet dearer, in another and better sense, hereafter. - -The now gigantic Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Machine Company was then doing -a comparatively small, yet rapidly growing business at Watertown, -Connecticut. The Terry & 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. It -is enough to say here, that the clock factory was sold for a trifle and -the Wheeler & Wilson Company moved into it and speedily enlarged it. I -felt then that this was providential; the fact that the empty building -could be cheaply purchased was the main motive for the removal of this -Watertown enterprise to East Bridgeport, and was one of the first -indications that my failure might prove a “blessing in disguise.” It was -a fresh impulse towards the building up of the new city and the -consequent increase of the value of the land belonging to my estate. -Many persons did not see these things in the same light in which they -were presented to me, but I had so long pondered upon the various means -which were to make the new city prosperous, that I was quick to catch -any indication which promised benefit to East Bridgeport. - -This important movement of the Wheeler and Wilson Company gave me the -greatest hope, and moreover, Mr. Wheeler kindly offered me a loan of -$5,000, without security, and as I was anxious to have it used in -purchasing the East Bridgeport property, when sold at public auction by -my assignees, and also in taking up such clock notes as could be bought -at a reasonable percentage, I accepted the offer and borrowed the -$5,000. This sum, with many thousand dollars more belonging to my wife, -was devoted to these purposes. - -It seemed as if I had now got hold of the thread which would eventually -lead me out of the labyrinth of financial difficulty in which the Jerome -entanglement had involved me. Though the new plan promised relief, and -actually did succeed, even beyond my most sanguine expectations, -eventually putting more money into my pocket than the Jerome -complication had taken out--yet I also foresaw that the process would -necessarily be very slow. In fact, two years afterwards I had made very -little progress. But I concluded to let the new venture work out itself -and it would go on as well without my personal presence and attention, -perhaps even better. Growing trees, money at interest, and rapidly -rising real estate, work for their owners all night as well as all day, -Sundays included, and when the proprietors are asleep or away, and with -the design of coöperating in the new accumulation and of saving -something to add to the amount, I made up my mind to go to Europe again. -I was anxious for a change of scene and for active employment, and -equally desirous of getting away from the immediate pressure of troubles -which no effort on my part could then remove. While my affairs were -working out themselves in their own way and in the speediest manner -possible, I might be doing something for myself and for my family. - -Accordingly, leaving all my business affairs at home in the hands of my -friends, early in 1857 I set sail once more for England, taking with me -General Tom Thumb, and also little Cordelia Howard and her parents. This -young girl had attained an extended reputation for her artistic -personation of “Little Eva,” in the play of “Uncle Tom,” and she -displayed a precocious talent in her rendering of other juvenile -characters. With these attractions, and with what else I might be able -to do myself, I determined to make as much money as I could, intending -to remit the same to my wife’s friends, for the purpose of repurchasing -a portion of my estate, when it was offered at auction, and of redeeming -such of the clock notes as could be obtained at reasonable rates. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -ABROAD AGAIN. - - OLD FRIENDS IN OLD ENGLAND--ALBERT SMITH AS A SHOWMAN--HIS ASCENT - OF MONT BLANC--POPULARITY OF THE ENTERTAINMENT--THE GARRICK - CLUB--“PHINEAS CUTECRAFT”--THE ELEVEN THOUSAND VIRGINS OF - COLOGNE--UTILIZING INCIDENTS--SUBTERRANEAN TERRORS--A - PANIC--EGYPTIAN DARKNESS IN EGYPTIAN HALL--WILLIAM M. - THACKERAY--HIS TWO VISITS TO AMERICA--FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH THE - NOVELIST--I LOSE HIS SYMPATHY--HIS WARM REGARD FOR HIS AMERICAN - FRIENDS--OTTO GOLDSCHMIDT AND JENNY LIND GOLDSCHMIDT--TENDER OF - THEIR AID--THE FORGED LIND LETTER--BENEDICT AND BELLETTI--GEORGE - AUGUSTUS SALA--CHARLES KEAN--EDMUND YATES--HORACE MAYHEW--GEORGE - PEABODY--MR. BUCKSTONE--MY EXHIBITIONS IN ENGLAND--S. M. - PETTINGILL--MR. LUMLEY. - - -On arriving at Liverpool, I found that my old friends, Mr. and Mrs. -Lynn, of the Waterloo Hotel, had changed very little during my ten -years’ absence from England. Even the servants in the hotel were mainly -those whom I left there when I last went away from Liverpool--which -illustrates, in a small way, how much less changeable, and more -“conservative” the English people are than we are. The old head-waiter, -Thomas, was still head-waiter, as he had been for full twenty years. His -hair was more silvered, his gait was slower, his shoulders had rounded, -but he was as ready to receive, as I was to repeat, the first order I -ever gave him, to wit: “Fried soles and shrimp sauce.” - -And among my many friends in Liverpool and London, but one death had -occurred, and with only two exceptions they all lived in the same -buildings, and pursued the same vocations as when I left them in 1847. -When I reached London, I found one of these exceptions to be Mr. Albert -Smith, who, when I first knew him, was a dentist, a literary hack, a -contributor to _Punch_, and a writer for the magazines,--and who was now -transformed to a first-class showman in the full tide of success, in my -own old exhibition quarters in Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly. - -A year or two before, he had succeeded in reaching the top of Mont -Blanc, and after publishing a most interesting account, which was -re-published and translated into several languages, the whole world -over, he concluded to make further use of his expedition by adapting it -to a popular entertainment. He therefore illustrated his ascent by means -of a finely painted and accurate panorama, and he accompanied the -exhibition with a descriptive lecture full of amusing and interesting -incidents, illustrative of his remarkable experiences in accomplishing -the difficult ascent. He also gave a highly-colored and exciting -narrative of his entire journey from London to Switzerland, and back -again, including his trip up and down the Rhine, and introducing the -many peculiar characters of both sexes, he claimed to have met at -different points during his tour. These he imitated and presented in so -life-like a manner, as to fairly captivate and convulse his audiences. - -It was one of the most pleasing and popular entertainments ever -presented in London, and was immensely remunerative to the -projector,--resulting, indeed, in a very handsome fortune. The -entertainments were patronized by the most cultivated classes, for -information was blended with amusement, and in no exhibition then in -London was there so much genuine fun. Two or three times Albert Smith -was commanded to appear before the Queen at Buckingham Palace, and at -Windsor, and as he gave his entertainment with great success on these -occasions, spite of the fact that he could not take his panorama with -him, it can readily be imagined that the frame was quite as good as the -picture, and that the lecture as compared with the panorama, admirable -as both were, was by no means the least part of the “show.” - -Calling upon Albert Smith, I found him the same kind, cordial friend as -ever, and he at once put me on the free list at his entertainment, and -insisted upon my dining frequently with him at his favorite club, the -Garrick. - -The first time I witnessed his exhibition he gave me 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 was narrating the -story of the ashes and bones of 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 I would at once recognize it as a paraphrase of the scene wherein -he had figured with me in 1844 at the porter’s lodge of Warwick Castle. -In the course of the entertainment, 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 we went to the Garrick club that day, Albert Smith introduced me to -several of his acquaintances as his “teacher in the show business.” As -we were quietly dining together, he remarked that I must have recognized -several old acquaintances in the anecdotes at his entertainment. Upon my -answering that I did, “indeed,” he remarked, “you are too old a showman -not to know that in order to be popular, we must snap up and localize -all the good things which we come across.” 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. - -At one of the Egyptian Hall matinees, Albert Smith, espying me in the -audience, sent an usher to me with a note of invitation to dine with him -and a number of friends immediately after the close of the -entertainment. To this invitation he added the request that as soon as -he concluded his lecture I should at once come to him through the small -door under the stage at the end of the orchestra, and by thus getting -ahead of the large crowd of ladies and gentlemen composing the audience -we should save time and reach the club at an hour for an early dinner. - -As soon as he uttered the last word of his lecture, I pushed for the -little door, the highly distinguished audience, which on this occasion -was mainly made up of ladies, meanwhile slowly progressing towards the -exits, while the orchestra was “playing them out” with selections of -popular music. Closing the stage door behind me, I instantly found -myself enveloped in that Egyptian darkness which was peculiar, I -suppose, if not appropriate, to that part of Egyptian Hall. I could hear -Smith and his assistants walking on the stage over my head, but I dare -not call out lest some nervous Duchess or Countess should faint under -the apprehension that the hall was on fire, or that some other severe -disaster threatened. - -Groping my way blindly and hitting my head several times against sundry -beams, at last, to my joy, I reached the knob of the door which led me -into this hole, but to my dismay it had been locked from the outside! In -feeling about, however, I discovered a couple of bell pulls, both of -which I desperately jerked and heard a faint tinkling in two opposite -directions. Next, I heard the heavy canvas drop-curtain roll down -rapidly till it struck the stage with a thud. Then the music in the -orchestra suddenly ceased, and I could readily understand by the shrieks -of the women and the loud protestations of masculine voices that the gas -had been turned off and the whole house left in darkness. This was -followed by hurried and heavy footsteps on the stage, the imprecations -of stage carpenters and gasmen, jargon of foreign musicians in the -orchestra, and the earnest voice of my friend Smith excitedly -exclaiming: “Who rung those bells? why are we all left in the dark? -Light up here at once; bless my soul! what does all this mean?” - -I was amazed, yet amused and half alarmed. What to do, I did not know, -so I sat still on a box which I had stumbled over, as well as upon, -afraid to move or put out my hand lest I might touch some machinery -which would give the signal for thunder and lightning, or an earthquake, -or more likely, a Mont Blanc avalanche. Restored tranquillity overhead -assured me that the gas had been relighted. I knew Smith must be -anxiously awaiting me, for he was not a man to be behind time when so -important a matter as dinner was the motive of the appointment. -Something desperate must be done; so I carefully groped my way to the -stage door again and with a strong effort managed to wrench it open. -Covered with dust and perspiration I followed behind the rear of the -out-going audience and found Smith, to whom I narrated my under-ground -experiences. - -Brushes, water and towels soon put me once more in presentable condition -and we went to the Garrick Club where we dined with several gentlemen of -note. Smith could not refrain from relating my mishaps and their -consequences in my search for him under difficulties, and worse yet, -under his stage, and great was the merriment over the idea that an old -manager like myself should so lose his reckoning in a place with which -he might well be supposed to be perfectly familiar. - -When the late William M. Thackeray made his first visit to the United -States, I think in 1852, he called on me at the Museum with a letter of -introduction from our mutual friend Albert Smith. He spent an hour with -me, mainly for the purpose of asking my advice 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. I gave -him the best advice I could as to management, and the cities he ought to -visit, for which he was very grateful and he called on me whenever he -was in New York. I also saw him repeatedly when he came to America the -second time with his admirable 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 these lectures to audiences in Great Britain. My -relations with this great novelist, I am proud to say, were cordial and -intimate; and now, when I called upon him, in 1857, at his own house he -grasped me 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 the 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.” - -I 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,” I 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 £30,000 or -£40,000.” - -“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 my stay in London, I met Thackeray several times, and on one -occasion I dined with him. He was a most genial, noble-hearted -gentleman. In our conversations he spoke with the warmest appreciation -of America, and of his numerous friends in this country, and he -repeatedly expressed his obligations to me for the advice and assistance -I had given him on the occasion of his first lecturing visit to the -United States. - -The late Charles Kean, then manager of the Princess’s Theatre, in -London, was also exceedingly polite and friendly to me. He placed a box -at my disposal at all times, and took me through his theatre to show me -the stage, dressing rooms, and particularly the valuable “properties” he -had collected. Among other things, he had twenty or more complete suits -of real armor and other costumes and appointments essential to the -production of historical plays, in the most complete and authentic -manner. In the mere matter of stage-setting, Charles Kean has never been -surpassed. - -Otto Goldschmidt, the husband of Jenny Lind, also called on me in -London. He and his wife were then living in Dresden, and he said the -first thing his wife desired him to ask me was, whether I was in want. I -assured him that I was not, although I was managing to live in an -economical way and my family would soon come over to reside in London. -He then advised me to take them to Dresden, saying that living was very -cheap there; and, he added, “my wife will gladly look up a proper house -for you to live in.” I thankfully declined his proffered kindness, as -Dresden was too far away from my business. A year subsequent to this, a -letter was generally published in the American papers, purporting to -have been written to me by Jenny Lind, and proffering me a large sum of -money. I immediately pronounced the letter a forgery, and I soon -afterwards received a communication from a young reporter in -Philadelphia acknowledging himself as the author, and saying that he -wrote it from a good motive, hoping it would benefit me. On the contrary -it annoyed me exceedingly. - -My old friends Julius Benedict and Giovanni Belletti, called on me and -we had some very pleasant dinners together, when we talked over -incidents of their travels in America. Among the gentlemen whom I 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 countrymen 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. - -I had numerous offers from professional friends on both sides of the -Atlantic who supposed me to be in need of employment. Mr. Barney -Williams, who had not then acted in England, proposed in the kindest -manner to make me his agent for a tour through Great Britain, and to -give me one-third of the profits which he and Mrs. Williams might make -by their acting. Mr. S. M. Pettengill, of New York, the newspaper -advertising agent, offered me the fine salary of $10,000 a year to -transact business for him in Great Britain. He wrote to me: “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, I was obliged to decline. - -Mr. Lumley, manager of Pier Majesty’s Theatre, used to send me an order -for a private box for every opera night, and I frequently availed myself -of his courtesy. I had an idea that much money might be made by -transferring his entire opera company, which then included Piccolomini -and Titjiens to New York for a short season. The plan included the -charter of a special steamer for the company and the conveyance of the -entire troup, including the orchestra, with their instruments, and the -chorus, costumes, scores, and properties of the company. It was a -gigantic scheme, which would no doubt have been pecuniarily successful, -and Mr. Lumley and I went so far as to draw up the preliminaries of an -arrangement, in which I was to share a due proportion of the profits for -my assistance in the management; but after a while, and to the evident -regret of Mr. Lumley, the scheme was given up. - -Meanwhile, I 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 me out of debt, and, if possible, to save some portion of my real -estate. Of course, it was not generally known that I had any interest -whatever in either of these exhibitions; if it had been, possibly some -of the clock creditors would have annoyed me; but I busied myself in -these and in other ways, working industriously and making much money, -which I constantly remitted to my trusty agent at home. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -IN GERMANY. - - FROM LONDON TO BADEN-BADEN--TROUBLE IN PARIS--STRASBOURG--SCENE IN - A GERMAN CUSTOM-HOUSE--A TERRIBLE BILL--SIX CENTS WORTH OF - AGONY--GAMBLING AT BADEN-BADEN--SUICIDES--GOLDEN PRICES FOR THE - GENERAL--A CALL FROM THE KING OF HOLLAND--THE GERMAN SPAS--HAMBURG, - EMS AND WIESBADEN--THE BLACK FOREST ORCHESTRION MAKER--AN OFFERED - SACRIFICE--THE SEAT OF THE ROTHSCHILDS--DIFFICULTIES IN - FRANKFORT--A POMPOUS COMMISSIONER OF POLICE--RED-TAPE--AN - ALARM--HENRY J. RAYMOND--CALL ON THE COMMISSIONER--CONFIDENTIAL - DISCLOSURES--HALF OF AN ENTIRE FORTUNE IN AN AMERICAN - RAILWAY--ASTOUNDING REVELATIONS--DOWN THE RHINE--DEPARTURE FOR - HOLLAND. - - -After a pleasant and successful season of several weeks in London and in -the provinces, I took the little General into Germany, going from London -to Paris and from thence to Strasbourg and Baden-Baden. I had not been -in Paris since the times of King Louis Philippe, and while I noticed -great improvements in the city, in the opening of the new boulevards and -the erection of noble buildings, I could see also with sorrow that there -was less personal liberty under the Emperor Napoleon III., than there -was under the “Citizen King.” The custom-house officials were -overbearing and unnecessarily rigid in their exactions; the police were -over-watchful and intolerant; the screws were turned on everywhere. I -had a lot of large pictorial placards of General Tom Thumb, which were -merely _in transitu_, as I wished only to forward them to Germany to be -used as advertisements of the forthcoming exhibitions. These the French -custom-house officers determined to examine in detail, and when they -discovered that one of the pictures represented the General in the -costume of the First Napoleon, the whole of the bills were seized and -sent to the Prefecture of Police. I was compelled to stay three days in -Paris before I could convince the Prefect of Police that there was no -treason in the Tom Thumb pictures. I was very glad to get out of Paris -with my baggage and taking a seat in the express train on the Paris and -Strasbourg railway I soon forgot my custom-house annoyances. - -One would suppose that by this time I had had enough to do with clocks -to last me my lifetime, but passing one night and a portion of a day at -Strasbourg, I did not forget or fail to witness the great church clock -which is nearly as famous as the cathedral itself. At noon precisely a -mechanical cock crows; the bell strikes; figures of the twelve apostles -appear and walk in procession; and other extraordinary evidences of -wonderful mechanical art are daily exhibited by this curious old clock. - -From Strasbourg we went to Baden-Baden. I had been abroad so much that I -could understand and manage to speak French, but I had never been in -Germany and I did not know six words of the language of that country. As -a consequence, I dreaded to pass the custom-house at Kehl, nearly -opposite Strasbourg, and the first town on the German border at that -point. When the diligence stopped at this place I fairly trembled. I -knew 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. This was the -package which had given me so much trouble in Paris, and 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 almost distracted, when 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 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 - -[Illustration: _THE “CUSTOMS” OF THE COUNTRY._] - -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. - -I found Baden a delightful little town, cleaner and neater than any city -I had ever visited. I learned afterwards that Mr. Benazet, the lessee of -the kurasal and gambling house, was compelled annually to expend large -sums for keeping the streets and public places clean. Indeed, he could -well afford to do so, as one would readily perceive upon witnessing the -vast amounts of money which were daily lost by the men and women of -nearly all nations, upon his tables of roulette and _rouge et noir_. - -The town has all the characteristics and accompaniments of a first-class -watering-place,--a theatre, public library, and several very fine -hotels. The springs are presumed to be the inducements which draw -hundreds of invalids to Baden-Baden every summer, but the gaming tables -are the real attractions to thousands of far weaker persons who spend -the entire season in gambling. It is no unusual thing to see ladies -sitting around these gaming tables, betting their silver and gold -pieces, until they lose five hundred or a thousand dollars, while men -frequently “invest” many times these amounts. If they happen to be -winners, they are very sure to be tempted to try again; and thus in the -long run succumb to the “advantage” which is given in the game to the -bankers over the “betters.” - -The games open at eleven o’clock every morning, Sundays included, and -close at eleven o’clock at night. Players have been known to sit at the -table, without once rising, even to eat or to drink, through the entire -day and night session. Very early in the day, however, many a player -finds himself penniless, and, in such case, if he does not step to some -quiet place and blow his brains out, the proprietor of the “hell” will -present to him money enough to carry him at least fifty miles from -Baden-Baden. - -A few days before my arrival, a young lady hung herself. Indeed, several -suicides occur in all the German spas every year from the one -cause--ruin by gambling; but so callous do the players, as well as the -card-dealers become, that I can easily credit a story told me at -Homburg, the greatest gambling place in Europe: A Frenchman, sitting at -the table where scores of others were betting their money, lost his last -sou, and immediately drew a razor from his pocket and cut his throat. -The circumstance was scarcely sufficient to induce the players to raise -their eyes from the cards;--it was a mere incident, an episode in -matters more important. A sheet was thrown over the body, and as the -servants quietly removed the corpse, some one slipped into the vacated -chair, the dealer crying out in French, “make your bets, gentlemen,” and -the play went on as usual. - -In due time, when our preliminary arrangements were completed, the -General’s attendants, carriage, ponies and liveried coachman and footmen -arrived at Baden-Baden and were soon seen in the streets. The excitement -was intense and increased from day to day. Several crowned heads, -princes, lords and ladies who were spending the season at Baden-Baden, -with a vast number of wealthy pleasure seekers and travellers, crowded -the saloon in which the General exhibited during the entire time we -remained in the place. The charges for admission were much higher than -had been demanded in any other city. - -Some time before I left America I received several letters from a young -man residing in the Black Forest in regard to a wonderful orchestrion -which he was building and which he wished to sell or send to me for -exhibition. When he saw the accounts of my arrival with Tom Thumb at -Baden-Baden, he announced his willingness to bring his orchestrion and -set it up in that place so that I could see and hear it. His letter was -forwarded to me at Frankfort and I replied that my engagements were made -many days in advance, that my time was invaluable, but that if he would -have his orchestrion set up and in perfect order at such a time on such -a day I would be there promptly to see it. Arriving at the appointed -time, I found that he had not completed his work. The beautiful case was -up, but the interior was unfinished. I was much disappointed, but not -nearly so much so as was the orchestrion builder. - -“Oh! Mr. Barnum,” said he, “I have worked with my men all last night and -all to-day and I will work all night again and have it in readiness -to-morrow morning. If you will only stay, I will go down on my knees to -you; yes, Mr. Barnum, I will cut off one of my fingers for you, if you -will only wait.” - -But I could not wait, even under this strong and certainly extraordinary -inducement, and was obliged to return to my engagements without hearing -the orchestrion, which, I afterwards learned, was sold and set up in St. -Petersburg. - -From Baden-Baden we went to other celebrated German Spas, including Ems, -Homburg and Weisbaden. These are all fashionable gambling as well as -watering places, and during our visits they were crowded with visitors -from all parts of Europe. Our exhibitions were attended by thousands who -paid the same high prices that were charged for admission at -Baden-Baden, and at Wiesbaden, among many distinguished persons, the -King of Holland came to see the little General. These exhibitions were -among the most profitable that had ever been given, and I was able to -remit thousands of dollars to my agents in the United States to aid in -re-purchasing my real estate and to assist in taking up such clock notes -as were offered for sale. A short but very remunerative season at -Frankfort-on-the-Maine, the home and starting-place of the great house -of the Rothschilds, assisted me largely in carrying out these purposes. - -There was the greatest difficulty, however, in getting permission to -hold our exhibitions in Frankfort. When I applied for a permit at the -office of the Commissary of Police, I was told that office hours were -ended for the day, and that the chief official, who alone could give me -the permit, had gone home to dinner. As I was in a great hurry to begin, -I went to the residence of the Commissary, where I was met at the door -by a gorgeously arrayed flunkey, to whom I stated my business, and who -informed me that I could on no account see the distinguished official -till dinner was over. - -I waited one hour and a half by my watch for that mighty man to dine, -and then he condescended to admit me to his presence. When I had stated -my business, he demanded to know why I had not applied to him at his -office in the proper hours, declaring that he would do no business with -me at his house, and that I must come to him to-morrow. I went, and -after a great deal of questioning and delay, I received the sought-for -license to exhibit; but I have never seen more red-tape wound up on a -single reel. All my men, all Tom Thumb’s attendants, the General and -myself, in addition to showing our passports, were obliged to register -our names, ages, occupations, and what not, in a huge book, and to -answer all sorts of questions. At last we were permitted to go, and we -opened our doors to the throng that came to see the General. - -But a day or two after our exhibitions began, came a messenger with a -command that I should appear before the Commissary of Police. I was very -much frightened, I confess; I was sure that some of my men had been -doing or saying something which had offended the authorities, and -although I was conscious that my own conduct had been circumspect, I -started for the police office in fear and trembling. On the way, I met -Mr. Henry J. Raymond, editor of the _New York Times_, who was in company -with a gentleman from Ohio, to whom he introduced me, and thereupon I -stated my trouble, and my opinion that I was about to be fined, -imprisoned, possibly beheaded,--I knew not what. - -“Don’t be alarmed,” said Mr. Raymond, “we will keep an eye on the -proceedings, and if you get into trouble we will try to get you out.” - -Arriving at head-quarters, I was solemnly shown into the private office -of the Commissary who asked me to be seated, and then rose and locked -the door. This movement was by no means calculated to calm my agitation, -and I at once exclaimed, in the best French I could summon: - -“Sir, I demand an interpreter.” - -“We do not need one,” he replied; “I can understand your French, and you -can understand mine; I wish to consult you confidentially on a very -private matter, and one that concerns me deeply.” - -Somewhat reassured at this remarkable announcement, I begged him to -proceed, which he did as follows: - -“Do not be uneasy, sir, as this matter wholly affects me; I must state -to you in entire secrecy that the half of my whole fortune is invested -in the bonds of one of your American railways (giving me the name of the -road), and as I have received no interest for a long time I am naturally -alarmed for the safety of my property. I wish to know if the road is -good for anything, and if so, why the interest on the bonds is not -paid.” - -I was happy to tell him that I had met that very morning a gentleman -from Ohio who was well acquainted with the condition of this road, which -was in his vicinity at home, and that I would speedily derive from him -the desired information. The Commissary overwhelmed me with profuse -thanks, adding: “Remember, the half of my entire fortune is at stake.” - -Impressed with the magnitude of the loss he might be called upon to -suffer, I ventured, as I was going out, to ask him the amount of his -investment. - -“Four thousand dollars,” was the reply. - -When I thought of his liveried lackeys, his house, his style, his -dignity, and his enormous consequence, I could not but smile to think -that all these things were supported on his small salary and an “entire” -fortune of $8,000, one-half of which was invested in the bonds of a -doubtful American railway company. - -We exhibited at Mayence and several other places in the vicinity, -reaping golden harvests everywhere, and then went down the Rhine to -Cologne. The journey down the river was very pleasant and we duly “did” -the scenery and lions on the way. The boats were very ill-provided with -sleeping accommodations, and one night, as I saw our party must sit up, -I suggested that we should play a social game of euchre if we could get -the cards. The clerk of the boat was prompt in affording the gratifying -intelligence that he had cards to sell and I bought a pack, paying him a -good round price. Immediately thereafter, the clerk, pocketing the -money, stated that “it was nine o’clock and according to the regulations -he must turn out all the lights”--which he did, leaving us to play -cards, if we wished to, in the dark. - -The slowness of the boat was a great annoyance and on one occasion I -said to the captain: - -“Look here! confound your slow old boat. I have a great mind to put on -an opposition American line and burst up your business.” - -He knew me, and knew something of Yankee enterprise, and he was -evidently alarmed, but a thought came to his relief: - -“You cannot do it,” he triumphantly exclaimed; “the government will not -permit you to run more than nine miles an hour.” - -We remained at Cologne only long enough to visit the famous cathedral -and to see other curiosities and works of art, and then pushed on to -Rotterdam and Amsterdam. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -IN HOLLAND. - - THE FINEST AND FLATTEST COUNTRY IN THE - WORLD--SUPER-CLEANLINESS--HABITS AND CUSTOMS--“KREMIS”--THE ALBINO - FAMILY--THE HAGUE--AUGUST BELMONT--JAPANESE MUSEUM--MANUFACTURED - FABULOUS ANIMALS--A GENEROUS OFFER--VALUABLE PICTURES--AN - ASTONISHED SUPERINTENDENT--BACK TO ENGLAND--EXHIBITIONS IN - MANCHESTER--I RETURN AGAIN TO AMERICA--FUN ON THE VOYAGE--MOCK - TRIALS--BARNUM AS A PROSECUTOR AND AS A PRISONER--COLD SHOULDERS IN - NEW YORK--PREPARING TO MOVE INTO MY OLD HOME--CARELESS PAINTERS AND - CARPENTERS--IRANISTAN BURNED TO THE GROUND--NEXT TO NO - INSURANCE--SALE OF THE PROPERTY--ELIAS HOWE, JR. - - -Holland gave me 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 white-washed -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. - -The reason, I think, why our exhibitions were not more successful in -Rotterdam and Amsterdam, is that the people are too frugal to spend much -money for amusement, 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 my visit to this museum, I 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 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” I easily divined from whence the Fejee -mermaid originated. - -While I was standing near this remarkable cabinet the superintendent of -the Museum came, and, introducing himself to me, asked me from what -country I came and how I liked the Museum. I told him that I was an -American and that the collection was interesting and remarkable, adding: - -“You seem to have a great variety of mermaids here.” - -“Yes,” he replied; “the Japanese exercise great ingenuity in -manufacturing fabulous animals, especially mermaids; and by the way,” he -added, “your great showman, Barnum, is said to have succeeded in -humbugging the Americans to a very considerable extent, by means of what -he claimed to be a veritable mermaid.” - -I said that such was the story, though I believed that Barnum only used -the mermaid as an advertisement for his Museum. - -“Perhaps so,” responded the superintendent, “but he is a shrewd and -industrious manager. We have had frequent applications from his European -agents for duplicates from our collection and have occasionally sold -some to them to be sent to America.” - -The superintendent then politely asked me to go into his office, as he -had something to offer me, which, as an American gentleman, he was sure -I would prize highly; but the business was of a strictly confidential -character. He asked me to be seated, and cautiously locking the door and -drawing his chair near to mine, he informed me in a tone scarcely above -a whisper that he was the executor of the estate of a wealthy gentleman, -recently deceased, with power to dispose of the property, which included -a large number of exceedingly valuable ancient and modern paintings. - -“You must be well aware,” he continued, “that my countrymen would be -extremely unwilling to permit these precious specimens of art to leave -Holland, but,” and here he gave my hand a slight but most friendly -squeeze, “I have such a high respect, I might almost say reverence for -your great republic that I am only too happy in the opportunity now -afforded me of allowing you to take a very few of these fine paintings -to America at an unprecedentedly low price.” - -I thought he was a little too generous, and I gave him what the Irishman -called an “evasive answer;” but this only seemed to stimulate him to -further efforts to effect a sale,--so he turned to his memorandum book -and pointed out the names of gentlemen from Boston, Philadelphia, -Baltimore, and New Orleans, who had ordered one or more cases from this -large gallery of paintings. This exhibition was conclusive, and I at -once said that I would not decide to purchase till I returned from -Amsterdam. I quite understood the whole thing; but not to leave my -anxious friend too long in suspense I quietly handed my card to him, -remarking, “Perhaps you have heard of that name before.” - -His cheeks were fairly crimson; “surely,” said he, “you are not Mr. -Barnum, of the New York Museum?” - -“Nobody else,” I replied with a laugh. - -He stammered out an apology for his mermaid remarks, but I patted him on -the shoulder in a friendly way, telling him it was “all right,” and that -I considered it a capital joke. This re-assured him and we then had a -very pleasant half-hour’s conversation, in which he gave me several -valuable hints of curiosities to be procured at the Hague and elsewhere -in Holland, and we parted good friends. - -A week afterwards, a young gentleman from Boston introduced himself to -me at Amsterdam and remarked that he knew I was there for he had been so -informed by the museum superintendent at the Hague. “And, by the by,” he -added, “as soon as this superintendent discovered I was from America, he -told me if I would go into his office he would show me the greatest -curiosity in the Museum. I went, and he pointed to the card of ‘P. T. -Barnum’ which he had conspicuously nailed up over his desk; he then told -me about your visit to the museum last week.” - -“Did he sell you any paintings?” I asked. - -“No,” was the reply; “but he informed me that as executor of an estate, -including a fine gallery, he could sell me a few cases at a very low -price, mainly on account of his high regard for the great republic to -which I belonged.” - -I have no doubt that this estate is still unsettled, and that a few of -the valuable paintings, if cheap Dutch artists keep up the supply, are -still for sale to the public generally, and to representatives of the -revered republic especially. Undoubtedly this kind of business will -continue so long as Waterloo relics are manufactured at Birmingham, and -are sent to be plowed in and dug up again on the memorable field where -Wellington met Napoleon. And how many very worthy persons there are, -like the superintendent of the Hague Museum, who have been terribly -shocked at the story of the Fejee Mermaid and the Woolly Horse! - -After a truly delightful visit in Holland, we went back to England; and, -proceeding to Manchester, opened our exhibition. For several days the -hall was crowded to overflowing at each of the three, and sometimes -four, entertainments we gave every day. By this time, my wife and two -youngest daughters had come over to London, and I hired furnished -lodgings in the suburbs where they could live within the strictest -limits of economy. It was necessary now for me 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 my absence, I set my -face once more towards home and the west, and took steamer at Liverpool -for New York. - -The trip, like most of the passages which I have made across the -Atlantic, was an exceedingly pleasant one. These frequent voyages were -to me the rests, the reliefs from almost unremitting industry, anxiety, -and care, and I always managed to have more or less fun on board ship -every time I crossed the ocean. During the present trip, for amusement -and to pass away the time, the passengers got up a number of mock trials -which afforded a vast deal of fun. A judge was selected, jurymen drawn, -prisoners arraigned, counsel employed, and all the formalities of a -court established. I have the vanity to think 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 defence, 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 Fejee 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 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 little 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 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)--“and 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 me, in consideration of the amusement I had intentionally and -unintentionally furnished to the passengers during the voyage. - -After my arrival in New York, oftentimes 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. - -Mr. James D. Johnson, of Bridgeport, one of my assignees, who had -written to me that my personal presence might facilitate a settlement of -my affairs, told me soon after my arrival that there was no probability -of disposing of Iranistan at present, and that I might as well move my -family into the house. I had arrived in August and my family followed me -from London in September, and October 20, 1857, my second daughter, -Helen, was married in the house of her elder sister, Mrs. D. W. -Thompson, in Bridgeport, to Mr. Samuel H. Hurd. - -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 me 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. - -I was staying at the Astor House, in New York, when, on the morning of -December 18, 1857, I received a telegram from my brother Philo F. -Barnum, dated at Bridgeport and informing me 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. My beautiful Iranistan was gone! This was not only a -serious loss to my estate, for it had probably cost at least $150,000, -but it was generally regarded as a public calamity. It was the only -building in its peculiar style of architecture, of any pretension, in -America, and many persons visited Bridgeport every year expressly to see -Iranistan. The insurance on the mansion had usually been about $62,000, -but I 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, my assignees sold the grounds and out-houses of Iranistan -to the late Elias Howe, Jr., the celebrated inventor of the needle for -sewing-machines. The property brought $50,000, which, with the $28,000 -insurance, went into my 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. The -estate (in 1869) was to be divided among Mr. Howe’s three children and -in all probability three houses will be built upon the beautiful -grounds. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - -THE ART OF MONEY GETTING. - - BACK ONCE MORE TO ENGLAND--TOUR THROUGH SCOTLAND AND WALES--HOW I - CAME TO LECTURE--ADVICE OF MY FRIENDS--MY LECTURE--HOW TO MAKE - MONEY AND HOW TO KEEP IT--WHAT THE PAPERS SAID ABOUT ME--PRAISE OF - THE LONDON PRESS--LECTURING IN THE PROVINCES--PERFORMANCES AT - CAMBRIDGE--CALL FOR JOICE HETH--EXTRAORDINARY FUN AT OXFORD--THE - AUDIENCE AND LECTURER TAKING TURNS--A UNIVERSITY - BREAKFAST--MAGNIFICENT OFFER FOR A COPYRIGHT--SUCCESS OF MY - ENTERPRISE--MORE MONEY FOR THE CLOCK CREDITORS. - - -Seeing the necessity of making more money to assist in extricating me -from my financial difficulties, and leaving my affairs in the hands of -Mr. James D. Johnson--my wife and youngest daughter, Pauline, boarding -with my eldest daughter, Mrs. Thompson, in Bridgeport--early in 1858, I -went back to England, and took Tom Thumb to all the principal places in -Scotland and Wales, giving many exhibitions and making much money which -was remitted, as heretofore, to my agents and assignees in America. - -Finding, after a while, that my personal attention was not needed in the -Tom Thumb exhibitions and confiding him almost wholly to agents who -continued the tour through Great Britain, under my general advice and -instruction, I turned my individual attention to a new field. At the -suggestion of several American gentlemen, resident in London, I prepared -a lecture on “The Art of Money-Getting.” I told my friends that, -considering my clock complications, I thought I was more competent to -speak on “The Art of Money Losing”; but they encouraged me by reminding -me that I could not have lost money, if I had not previously possessed -the faculty of making it. They further assured me that my name having -been intimately associated with the Jenny Lind concerts and other great -money-making enterprises, the lecture would be sure to prove attractive -and profitable. - -The old clocks ticked in my ear the reminder that I should improve every -opportunity to “turn an honest penny,” and my lecture was duly announced -for delivery in the great St. James’ Hall, Regent Street, Piccadilly. It -was thoroughly advertised--a feature I never neglected--and, at the -appointed time, the hall, which would hold three thousand people, was -completely filled, at prices of three and two shillings, (seventy-five -and fifty cents,) per seat, according to location. It was the evening of -December 29, 1858. Since my arrival in Great Britain the previous -spring, I had spent months in travelling with General Tom Thumb, and now -I was to present myself in a new capacity to the English public as a -lecturer. I could see in my audience all my American friends who had -suggested this effort; all my theatrical and literary friends; and as I -saw several gentlemen whom I knew to be connected with the leading -London papers, I felt sure that my success or failure would be duly -chronicled next morning. There was, moreover, a general audience that -seemed eager to see the “showman” of whom they had heard so much, and to -catch from his lips the “art” which, in times past, had contributed so -largely to his success in life. Stimulated by these things, I tried to -do my best, and I think I did it. The following is the lecture -substantially as it was delivered, though it was interspersed with many -anecdotes and illustrations which are necessarily omitted; and I should -add, that the subjoined copy being adapted to the meridian in which it -has been repeatedly delivered, contains numerous local allusions to men -and matters in the United States, which, of course, did not appear in -the original draft prepared for my English audiences: - - -THE ART OF MONEY GETTING. - -In the United States, where we have more land than people, it is not at -all difficult for persons in good health to make money. In this -comparatively new field there are so many avenues of success open, so -many vocations which are not crowded, that any person of either sex who -is willing, at least for the time being, to engage in any respectable -occupation that offers, may find lucrative employment. - -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. Some say, “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 two pence 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 two pence, 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. This is an illustration of Dr. Franklin’s “saving -at the spigot and wasting at the bung-hole”; “penny wise and pound -foolish.” _Punch_ in speaking of this “one-idea” class of people says -“they are like the man who bought a penny herring for his family’s -dinner and then hired a coach and four to take it home.” I never knew a -man to succeed by practising this kind of economy. - -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. Dr. Franklin says “it is the eyes of others and not our own eyes -which ruin us. If all the world were blind except myself I should not -care for fine clothes or furniture.” It is the fear of what Mrs. Grundy -may say that keeps the noses of many worthy families to the grindstone. -In America many persons like to repeat “we are all free and equal,” but -it is a great mistake in more senses than one. - -That we are born “free and equal” is a glorious truth in one sense, yet -we are not all born equally rich, and we never shall be. One may say, -“there is a man who has an income of fifty thousand dollars per annum, -while I have but one thousand dollars; I knew that fellow when he was -poor like myself; now he is rich and thinks he is better than I am; I -will show him that I am as good as he is; I will go and buy a horse and -buggy;--no, I cannot do that but I will go and hire one and ride this -afternoon on the same road that he does, and thus prove to him that I am -as good as he is.” - -My friend, you need not take that trouble, you can easily prove that you -are “as good as he is”; you have only to behave as well as he does, but -you cannot make anybody believe that you are as rich as he is. Besides, -if you put on these “airs,” and waste your time and spend your money, -your poor wife will be obliged to scrub her fingers off at home, and buy -her tea two ounces at a time, and everything else in proportion, in -order that you may keep up “appearances,” and after all, deceive nobody. -On the other hand, Mrs. Smith may say that her next-door neighbor -married Johnson for his money, and “everybody says so.” She has a nice -one thousand dollar camel’s hair shawl, and she will make Smith get her -an imitation one and she will sit in a pew right next to her neighbor in -church, in order to prove that she is her equal. - -My good woman you will not get ahead in the world, if your vanity and -envy thus take the lead. In this country, where we believe the majority -ought to rule, we ignore that principle in regard to fashion, and let a -handful of people, calling themselves the aristocracy, run up a false -standard of perfection, and in endeavoring to rise to that standard, we -constantly keep ourselves poor; all the time digging away for the sake -of outside appearances. How much wiser to be a “law unto ourselves” and -say, “we will regulate our out-go by our income, and lay up something -for a rainy day.” People ought to be as sensible on the subject of -money-getting as on any other subject. Like causes produce like effects. -You cannot accumulate a fortune by taking the road that leads to -poverty. It needs no prophet to tell us that those who live fully up to -their means, without any thought of a reverse in this life, can never -attain a pecuniary independence. - -Men and women accustomed to gratify every whim and caprice, will find it -hard, at first, to cut down their various unnecessary expenses, and will -feel it a great self denial to live in a smaller house than they have -been accustomed to, with less expensive furniture, less company, less -costly clothing, fewer servants, a less number of balls, parties, -theatre goings, carriage ridings, pleasure excursions, cigar smokings, -liquor drinkings, and other extravagances; but, after all, if they will -try the plan of laying by a “nest-egg,” or in other words, a small sum -of money, at interest or judiciously invested in land, they will be -surprised at the pleasure to be derived from constantly adding to their -little “pile,” as well as from all the economical habits which are -engendered by this course. - -The old suit of clothes, and the old bonnet and dress, will answer for -another season; the Croton or spring water will taste better than -champagne; a cold bath and a brisk walk will prove more exhilarating -than a ride in the finest coach; a social chat, an evening’s reading in -the family circle, or an hour’s play of “hunt the slipper” and “blind -man’s buff,” will be far more pleasant than a fifty or a five hundred -dollar party, when the reflection on the difference in cost is indulged -in by those who begin to know the pleasures of saving. Thousands of men -are kept poor, and tens of thousands are made so after they have -acquired quite sufficient to support them well through life, in -consequence of laying their plans of living on too broad a platform. -Some families expend twenty thousand dollars per annum, and some much -more, and would scarcely know how to live on less, while others secure -more solid enjoyment frequently on a twentieth part of that amount. -Prosperity is a more severe ordeal than adversity, especially sudden -prosperity. “Easy come, easy go,” is an old and true proverb. A spirit -of pride and vanity, when permitted to have full sway, is the undying -canker worm which gnaws the very vitals of a man’s worldly possessions, -let them be small or great, hundreds or millions. Many persons, as they -begin to prosper, immediately expand their ideas and commence expending -for luxuries, until in a short time their expenses swallow up their -income, and they become ruined in their ridiculous attempts to keep up -appearances, and make a “sensation.” - -I know a gentleman of fortune who says, that when he first began to -prosper, his wife would have a new and elegant sofa. “That sofa,” he -says, “cost me thirty thousand dollars!” When the sofa reached the -house, it was found necessary to get chairs to match; then side-boards, -carpets and tables “to correspond” with them, and so on through the -entire stock of furniture; when at last it was found that the house -itself was quite too small and old-fashioned for the furniture, and a -new one was built to correspond with the new purchases; “thus,” added my -friend, “summing up an outlay of thirty thousand dollars caused by that -single sofa, and saddling on me, in the shape of servants, equipage, and -the necessary expenses attendant upon keeping up a fine -‘establishment,’ a yearly outlay of eleven thousand dollars, and a tight -pinch at that; whereas, ten years ago, we lived with much more real -comfort, because with much less care, on as many hundreds. The truth -is,” he continued, “that sofa would have brought me to inevitable -bankruptcy, had not a most unexampled tide of prosperity kept me above -it, and had I not checked the natural desire to ‘cut a dash.’” - -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 flame 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. - -Young lads regret that they are not men; they would like to go to bed -boys and wake up men; and to accomplish this they copy the bad habits of -their seniors. Little Tommy and Johnny see their fathers or uncles smoke -a pipe and they say, “If I could only do that I would be a man too; -uncle John has gone out and left his pipe of tobacco, let us try it.” -They take a match and light it, and then puff away. “We will learn to -smoke; do you like it Johnny?” That lad dolefully replies: “Not very -much; it tastes bitter”; by and by he grows pale, but he persists, and -he soon offers up a sacrifice on the altar of fashion; but the boys -stick to it and persevere until at last they conquer their natural -appetites and become the victims of acquired tastes. - -I speak “by the book,” for I have noticed its effects on myself, having -gone so far as to smoke ten or fifteen cigars a day, although I have not -used the weed during the last fourteen years, and never shall again. The -more a man smokes, the more he craves smoking; the last cigar smoked, -simply excites the desire for another, and so on incessantly. - -Take the tobacco-chewer. In the morning when he gets up, he puts a quid -in his mouth and keeps it there all day, never taking it out except to -exchange it for a fresh one, or when he is going to eat; oh! yes, at -intervals during the day and evening, many a chewer takes out the quid -and holds it in his hand long enough to take a drink, and then pop it -goes back again. This simply proves that the appetite for rum is even -stronger than that for tobacco. When the tobacco chewer goes to your -country seat and you show him your grapery and fruit house and the -beauties of your garden, when you offer him some fresh, ripe fruit, and -say, “My friend, I have got here the most delicious apples and pears -and peaches and apricots; I have imported them from Spain, France and -Italy,--just see those luscious grapes; there is nothing more delicious -nor more healthy than ripe fruit, so help yourself; I want to see you -delight yourself with these things,” he will roll the dear quid under -his tongue and answer, “No, I thank you, I have got tobacco in my -mouth.” His palate has become narcotized by the noxious weed, and he has -lost, in a great measure, the delicate and enviable taste for fruits. -This shows what expensive, useless and injurious habits men will get -into. I speak from experience. I have smoked until I trembled like an -aspen leaf, the blood rushed to my head, and I had a palpitation of the -heart which I thought was heart disease, till I was almost killed with -fright. When I consulted my physician, he said “break off tobacco -using.” I was not only injuring my health and spending a great deal of -money, but I was setting a bad example. I obeyed his counsel. No young -man in the world ever looked so beautiful, as he thought he did, behind -a fifteen cent cigar or a meerschaum! - -These remarks apply with ten-fold 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. - -DON’T MISTAKE YOUR VOCATION.--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 watch-making 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 up -hill and seizing every excuse for leaving his work and idling away his -time. Watch making 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 the 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. - -SELECT THE RIGHT LOCATION.--After securing the right vocation, you must -be careful to select the proper location. You may have been cut out for -a hotel keeper, and they say it requires a genius to “know how to keep a -hotel.” You might conduct a hotel like clockwork, and provide -satisfactorily for five hundred guests every day; yet, if you should -locate your house in a small village where there is no railroad -communication or public travel, the location would be your ruin. It is -equally important that you do not commence business where there are -already enough to meet all demands in the same occupation. I remember a -case which illustrates this subject. When I was in London in 1858, I was -passing down Holborn with an English friend and came to the “penny -shows.” They had immense cartoons outside, portraying the wonderful -curiosities to be seen “all for a penny.” Being a little in the “show -line” myself, I said “let us go in here.” We soon found ourselves in the -presence of the illustrious showman, and he proved to be the sharpest -man in that line I had ever met. He told us some extraordinary stories -in reference to his bearded ladies, his Albinos, and his Armadillos, -which we could hardly believe, but thought it “better to believe it than -look after the proof.” He finally begged to call our attention to some -wax statuary, and showed us a lot of the dirtiest and filthiest wax -figures imaginable. They looked as if they had not seen water since the -Deluge. - -“What is there so wonderful about your statuary?” I asked. - -“I beg you not to speak so satirically,” he replied, “Sir, these are not -Madam Tussaud’s wax figures, all covered with gilt and tinsel and -imitation diamonds, and copied from engravings and photographs. Mine, -sir, were taken from life. Whenever you look upon one of those figures, -you may consider that you are looking upon the living individual.” - -Glancing casually at them, I saw one labelled “Henry VIII.,” and feeling -a little curious upon seeing that it looked like Calvin Edson, the -living skeleton, I said: - -“Do you call that ‘Henry the Eighth’?” - -He replied, “Certainly, sir; it was taken from life at Hampton Court by -special order of his majesty, on such a day.” - -He would have given the hour of the day if I had insisted; I said -“everybody knows that ‘Henry VIII,’ was a great stout old king, and that -figure is lean and lank; what do you say to that?” - -“Why,” he replied, “you would be lean and lank yourself, if you sat -there as long as he has.” - -There was no resisting such arguments. I said to my English friend, “Let -us go out; do not tell him who I am; I show the white feather; he beats -me.” - -He followed us to the door, and seeing the rabble in the street he -called out, “ladies and gentlemen, I beg to draw your attention to the -respectable character of my visitors,” pointing to us as we walked away. -I called upon him a couple of days afterwards; told him who I was, and -said: - -“My friend, you are an excellent showman, but you have selected a bad -location.” - -He replied, “This is true, sir; I feel that all my talents are thrown -away; but what can I do?” - -“You can go to America,” I replied. “You can give full play to your -faculties over there; you will find plenty of elbow room in America; I -will engage you for two years; after that you will be able to go on your -own account.” - -He accepted my offer and remained two years in my New York Museum. He -then went to New Orleans and carried on a travelling show business -during the summer. To-day he is worth sixty thousand dollars, simply -because he selected the right vocation and also secured the proper -location. The old proverb says, “Three removes are as bad as a fire,” -but when a man is in the fire, it matters but little how soon or how -often he removes. - -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. - -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. - -I was born in the blue law State of Connecticut, where the old Puritans -had laws so rigid that it was said, “they fined a man for kissing his -wife on Sunday.” Yet these rich old Puritans would have thousands of -dollars at interest, and on Saturday night would be worth a certain -amount; on Sunday they would go to church and perform all the duties of -a Christian. On waking up on Monday morning, they would find themselves -considerably richer than the Saturday night previous, simply because -their money placed at interest had worked faithfully for them all day -Sunday, according to law! - -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. - -PERSEVERE.--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 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.” You will see this -illustrated in any sphere of life. - -Take two Generals; both understand military tactics, both educated at -West Point, if you please, both equally gifted; yet one, having this -principle of perseverance, and the other lacking it, the former will -succeed in his profession, while the latter will fail. One may hear the -cry, “the enemy are coming, and they have got cannon.” - -“Got cannon?” says the hesitating General. - -“Yes.” - -“Then halt every man.” - -He wants time to reflect; his hesitation is his ruin. The enemy passes -unmolested, or overwhelms him. The General of pluck, perseverance and -self reliance goes into battle with a will, and amid the clash of arms, -the booming of cannon, and the shrieks of the wounded and dying, you -will see this man persevering, going on, cutting and slashing his way -through with unwavering determination, and if you are near enough, you -will hear him shout, “I will fight it out on this line if it takes all -summer.” - -WHATEVER YOU DO, DO WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT.--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. - -DEPEND UPON YOUR OWN PERSONAL EXERTIONS.--The eye of the employer is -often worth more than the hands of a dozen employees. In the nature of -things, an agent cannot be so faithful to his employer as to himself. -Many who are employers will call to mind instances where the best -employees have overlooked important points which could not have escaped -their own observation as a proprietor. No man has a right to expect to -succeed in life unless he understands his business, and nobody can -understand his business thoroughly unless he learns it by personal -application and experience. A man may be a manufacturer; he has got to -learn the many details of his business personally; he will learn -something every day, and he will find he will make mistakes nearly every -day. And these very mistakes are helps to him in the way of experiences -if he but heeds them. He will be like the Yankee tin-peddler, who, -having been cheated as to quality in the purchase of his merchandise, -said: “All right, there’s a little information to be gained every day; I -will never be cheated in that way again.” Thus a man buys his -experience, and it is the best kind if not purchased at too dear a rate. - -I hold that every man should, like Cuvier, the French naturalist, -thoroughly know his business. So proficient was he in the study of -natural history, that you might bring to him the bone or even a section -of a bone of an animal which he had never seen described, and reasoning -from analogy, he would be able to draw a picture of the object from -which the bone had been taken. On one occasion his students attempted to -deceive him. They rolled one of their number in a cow skin and put him -under the Professor’s table as a new specimen. When the philosopher came -into the room, some of the students asked him what animal it was. -Suddenly the animal said “I am the devil and I am going to eat you.” It -was but natural that Cuvier should desire to classify this creature, and -examining it intently, he said, “Divided hoof; graminivorous! it cannot -be done.” - -He knew that an animal with a split hoof must live upon grass and grain, -or other kind of vegetation, and would not be inclined to eat flesh, -dead or alive, so he considered himself perfectly safe. The possession -of a perfect knowledge of your business is an absolute necessity in -order to insure success. - -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. - -USE THE BEST TOOLS.--Men in engaging employees should be careful to get -the best. Understand, you cannot have too good tools to work with, and -there is no tool you should be so particular about as living tools. If -you get a good one, it is better to keep him, than keep changing. He -learns something every day, and you are benefited by the experience he -acquires. He is worth more to you this year than last, and he is the -last man to part with, provided his habits are good and he continues -faithful. If, as he gets more valuable, he demands an exorbitant -increase of salary on the supposition that you can’t do without him, let -him go. Whenever I have such an employee, I always discharge him; first, -to convince him that his place may be supplied, and second, because he -is good for nothing if he thinks he is invaluable and cannot be spared. - -But I would keep him, if possible, in order to profit from the result of -his experience. An important element in an employee is the brain. You -can see bills up, “Hands Wanted,” but “hands” are not worth a great deal -without “heads.” Mr. Beecher illustrates this, in this wise: - -An employee offers his services by saying, “I have a pair of hands and -one of my fingers thinks.” “That is very good,” says the employer. -Another man comes along, and says “he has two fingers that think.” “Ah! -that is better.” But a third calls in and says that “all his fingers and -thumbs think.” That is better still. Finally another steps in, and says, -“I have a brain that thinks; I think all over; I am a thinking as well -as a working man!” “You are the man I want,” says the delighted -employer. - -Those men who have brains and experience are therefore the most valuable -and not to be readily parted with; it is better for them, as well as -yourself, to keep them, at reasonable advances in their salaries from -time to time. - -DON’T GET ABOVE YOUR BUSINESS.--Young men after they get through their -business training, or apprenticeship, instead of pursuing their -avocation and rising in their business, will often lie about doing -nothing. They say, “I have learned my business, but I am not going to be -a hireling; what is the object of learning my trade or profession, -unless I establish myself?” - -“Have you capital to start with?” - -“No, but I am going to have it.” - -“How are you going to get it?” - -“I will tell you confidentially; I have a wealthy old aunt, and she will -die pretty soon; but if she does not, I expect to find some rich old man -who will lend me a few thousands to give me a start. If I only get the -money to start with I will do well.” - -There is no greater mistake than when a young man believes he will -succeed with borrowed money. Why? Because every man’s experience -coincides with that of Mr. Astor, who said, ‘it was more difficult for -him to accumulate his first thousand dollars, than all the succeeding -millions that made up his colossal fortune.’ Money is good for nothing -unless you know the value of it by experience. Give a boy twenty -thousand dollars and put him in business and the chances are that he -will lose every dollar of it before he is a year older. Like buying a -ticket in the lottery, and drawing a prize, it is “easy come, easy go.” -He does not know the value of it; nothing is worth anything, unless it -costs effort. Without self denial and economy, patience and -perseverance, and commencing with capital which you have not earned, you -are not sure to succeed in accumulating. Young men instead of “waiting -for dead men’s shoes” should be up and doing, for there is no class of -persons who are so unaccommodating in regard to dying as these rich old -people, and it is fortunate for the expectant heirs that it is so. Nine -out of ten of the rich men of our country to-day, started out in life as -poor boys, with determined wills, industry, perseverance, economy and -good habits. They went on gradually, made their own money and saved it; -and this is the best way to acquire a fortune. Stephen Girard started -life as a poor cabin boy, and died worth nine million dollars. A. T. -Stewart was a poor Irish boy; now he pays taxes on a million and a half -dollars of income, per year. John Jacob Astor was a poor farmer boy, and -died worth twenty millions. Cornelius Vanderbilt began life rowing a -boat from Staten Island to New York; now he presents our government with -a steamship worth a million of dollars, and he is worth fifty millions. - -“There is no royal road to learning,” says the proverb, and I may say it -is equally true, “there is no royal road to wealth.” But I think there -is a royal road to both. The road to learning is a royal one; the road -that enables the student to expand his intellect and add every day to -his stock of knowledge, until, in the pleasant process of intellectual -growth, he is able to solve the most profound problems, to count the -stars, to analyze every atom of the globe, and to measure the -firmament--this is a regal highway, and it is the only road worth -travelling. - -So in regard to wealth. Go on in confidence, study the rules, and above -all things, study human nature; for “the proper study of mankind is -man,” and you will find that while expanding the intellect and the -muscles, your enlarged experience will enable you every day to -accumulate more and more principal, which will increase itself by -interest and otherwise, until you arrive at a state of independence. You -will find, as a general thing, that the poor boys get rich and the rich -boys get poor. For instance, a rich man at his decease, leaves a large -estate to his family. His eldest sons, who have helped him earn his -fortune, know by experience the value of money, and they take their -inheritance and add to it. The separate portions of the young children -are placed at interest, and the little fellows are patted on the head, -and told a dozen times a day, “you are rich; you will never have to -work, you can always have whatever you wish, for you were born with a -golden spoon in your mouth.” The young heir soon finds out what that -means; he has the finest dresses and playthings; he is crammed with -sugar candies and almost “killed with kindness,” and he passes from -school to school, petted and flattered. He becomes arrogant and -self-conceited, abuses his teachers, and carries everything with a high -hand. He knows nothing of the real value of money, having never earned -any; but he knows all about the “golden spoon” business. At college, he -invites his poor fellow-students to his room where he “wines and dines” -them. He is cajoled and caressed, and called a glorious good fellow, -because he is so lavish of his money. He gives his game suppers, drives -his fast horses, invites his chums to fêtes and parties, determined to -have lots of “good times.” He spends the night in frolics and -debauchery, and leads off his companions with the familiar song, “we -won’t go home till morning.” He gets them to join him in pulling down -signs, taking gates from their hinges and throwing them into back yards -and horse-ponds. If the police arrest them, he knocks them down, is -taken to the lock-up, and joyfully foots the bills. - -“Ah! my boys,” he cries, “what is the use of being rich, if you can’t -enjoy yourself?” - -He might more truly say, “if you can’t make a fool of yourself”; but he -is “fast,” hates slow things, and don’t “see it.” Young men loaded down -with other people’s money are almost sure to lose all they inherit, and -they acquire all sorts of bad habits which, in the majority of cases, -ruins them in health, purse and character. In this country, one -generation follows another, and the poor of to-day are rich in the next -generation, or the third. Their experience leads them on, and they -become rich, and they leave vast riches to their young children. These -children, having been reared in luxury, are inexperienced and get poor; -and after long experience another generation comes on and gathers up -riches again in turn. And thus “history repeats itself,” and happy is he -who by listening to the experience of others avoids the rocks and shoals -on which so many have been wrecked. - -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 engaging 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 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. Dickens’ “Circumlocution -Office,”--all theory and no result. - -When the “Astor House” was first started in New York City, it was -undoubtedly the best hotel in the country. The proprietors had learned a -good deal in Europe regarding hotels, and the landlords were proud of -the rigid system which pervaded every department of their great -establishment. When twelve o’clock at night had arrived and there were a -number of guests around, one of the proprietors would say, “Touch that -bell, John”; and in two minutes sixty servants with a water bucket in -each hand, would present themselves in the hall. “This,” said the -landlord, addressing his guests, “is our fire bell; it will show you we -are quite safe here; we do everything systematically.” This was before -the Croton water was introduced into the city. But they sometimes -carried their system too far. On one occasion when the hotel was -thronged with guests, one of the waiters was suddenly indisposed, and -although there were fifty waiters in the hotel, the landlord thought he -must have his full complement, or his “system” would be interfered with. -Just before dinner time he rushed down stairs and said, “There must be -another waiter, I am one waiter short, what can I do?” He happened to -see “Boots” the Irishman. “Pat,” said he, “wash your hands and face; -take that white apron and come into the dining room in five minutes.” -Presently Pat appeared as required, and the proprietor said: “Now Pat, -you must stand behind these two chairs and wait on the gentlemen who -will occupy them; did you ever act as a waiter?” - -“I know all about it sure, but I never did it.” - -Like the Irish pilot, on one occasion when the captain, thinking he was -considerably out of his course, asked, “Are you certain you understand -what you are doing?” - -Pat replied, “Sure and I knows every rock in the channel.” - -That moment “bang” thumped the vessel against a rock. - -“Ah! be jabers, and that is one of ’em,” continued the pilot. But to -return to the dining-room. “Pat,” said the landlord, “here we do -everything systematically. You must first give the gentlemen each a -plate of soup, and when they finish that, ask them what they will have -next.” - -Pat replied, “Ah! an’ I understand parfectly the vartues of shystem.” - -Very soon in came the guests. The plates of soup were placed before -them. One of Pat’s two gentlemen ate his soup, the other did not care -for it. He said “Waiter, take this plate away and bring me some fish.” -Pat looked at the untasted plate of soup, and remembering the -injunctions of the landlord in regard to “system,” replied: - -“Not till ye have ate yer supe!” - -Of course that was carrying “system” entirely too far. - -READ THE NEWSPAPERS.--Always take a trustworthy newspaper and thus keep -thoroughly posted in regard to the transactions of the world. He who is -without a newspaper is cut off from his species. In these days of -telegraphs and steam, many important inventions and improvements in -every branch of trade are being made, and he who don’t consult the -newspapers will soon find himself and his business left out in the cold. - -BEWARE OF “OUTSIDE OPERATIONS.”--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 syren 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 -Sampson 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. - -DON’T INDORSE WITHOUT SECURITY.--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 losers), and like other -speculators, he “looks for his money where he loses it.” He tries again. -Indorsing his 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.” - -So with the young man starting in business; let him understand the value -of money by earning it. When he does understand its value, then grease -the wheels a little in helping him to start business, but remember men -who get money with too great facility cannot usually succeed. You must -get the first dollars by hard knocks, and at some sacrifice, in order to -appreciate the value of those dollars. - -ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS.--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 imposter 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. You are like the fellow who told the -gentleman if he would give him ten cents it would save him a dollar. -“How can I help you so much with so small a sum?” asked the gentleman in -surprise. “I started out this morning (hiccupped the fellow) with the -full determination to get drunk, and I have spent my only dollar to -accomplish the object, and it has not quite done it. Ten cents worth -more of whiskey would just do it, and in this manner I should save the -dollar already expended.” - -So a man who advertises at all must keep it up until the public know who -and what he is, and what his business is, or else the money invested in -advertising is lost. - -Some men have a peculiar genius for writing a striking advertisement, -one that will arrest the attention of the reader at first sight. This -tact, of course, gives the advertiser a great advantage. Sometimes a man -makes himself popular by an unique sign or a curious display in his -window. Recently I observed a swing sign extending over the sidewalk in -front of a store, on which was the inscription, in plain letters, - - “DON’T READ THE OTHER SIDE.” - -Of course I did, and so did everybody else, and I learned that the man -had made an independence by first attracting the public to his business -in that way and then using his customers well afterwards. - -Genin, the hatter, bought the first Jenny Lind ticket at auction for two -hundred and twenty-five dollars, because he knew it would be a good -advertisement for him. “Who is the bidder?” said the auctioneer, as he -knocked down that ticket at Castle Garden. “Genin, the hatter,” was the -response. Here were thousands of people from the Fifth Avenue, and from -distant cities in the highest stations in life. “Who is ‘Genin,’ the -hatter?” they exclaimed. They had never heard of him before. The next -morning the newspapers and telegraph had circulated the facts from Maine -to Texas, and from five to ten millions of people had read that the -tickets sold at auction for Jenny Lind’s first concert amounted to about -twenty thousand dollars, and that a single ticket was sold at two -hundred and twenty-five dollars, to “Genin, the hatter.” Men throughout -the country involuntarily took off their hats to see if they had a -“Genin” hat on their heads. At a town in Iowa it was found that in the -crowd around the Post Office, there was one man who had a “Genin” hat, -and he showed it in triumph, although it was worn out and not worth two -cents. “Why,” one man exclaimed, “you have a real ‘Genin’ hat; what a -lucky fellow you are.” Another man said “Hang on to that hat, it will be -a valuable heir-loom in your family.” Still another man in the crowd, -who seemed to envy the possessor of this good fortune, said, “come, give -us all a chance; put it up at auction!” He did so, and it was sold as a -keepsake for nine dollars and fifty cents! What was the consequence to -Mr. Genin? He sold ten thousand extra hats per annum, the first six -years. Nine-tenths of the purchasers bought of him, probably, out of -curiosity, and many of them, finding that he gave them an equivalent for -their money, became his regular customers. This novel advertisement -first struck their attention, and then as he made a good article, they -came again. - -Now, I don’t say that everybody should advertise as Mr. Genin did. But I -say if a man has got goods for sale, and he don’t advertise them in some -way, the chances are that some day the sheriff will do it for him. Nor -do I say that everybody must advertise in a newspaper, or indeed use -“printers’ ink” at all. On the contrary, although that article is -indispensable in the majority of cases, yet doctors and clergymen, and -sometimes lawyers and some others can more effectually reach the public -in some other manner. But it is obvious, they must be known in some way, -else how could they be supported? - -BE POLITE AND KIND TO YOUR CUSTOMERS. Politeness and civility are the -best capital ever invested in business. Large stores, gilt signs, -flaming advertisements, will all prove unavailing if you or your -employees treat your patrons abruptly. The truth is, the more kind and -liberal a man is, the more generous will be the patronage bestowed upon -him. “Like begets like.” The man who gives the greatest amount of goods -of a corresponding quality for the least sum (still reserving to himself -a profit) will generally succeed best in the long run. This brings us to -the golden rule, “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to -them,” and they will do better by you than if you always treated them as -if you wanted to get the most you could out of them for the least -return. Men who drive sharp bargains with their customers, acting as if -they never expected to see them again, will not be mistaken. They never -will see them again as customers. People don’t like to pay and get -kicked also. - -One of the ushers in my Museum once told me he intended to whip a man -who was in the lecture room as soon as he came out. - -“What for?” I inquired. - -“Because he said I was no gentleman,” replied the usher. - -“Never mind,” I replied, “he pays for that, and you will not convince -him you are a gentleman by whipping him. I cannot afford to lose a -customer. If you whip him, he will never visit the Museum again, and he -will induce friends to go with him to other places of amusement instead -of this, and thus, you see, I should be a serious loser.” - -“But he insulted me,” muttered the usher. - -“Exactly,” I replied, “and if he owned the Museum, and you had paid him -for the privilege of visiting it, and he had then insulted you, there -might be some reason in your resenting it, but in this instance he is -the man who pays, while we receive, and you must, therefore, put up with -his bad manners.” - -My usher laughingly remarked, that this was undoubtedly the true policy, -but he added that he should not object to an increase of salary if he -was expected to be abused in order to promote my interests. - -BE CHARITABLE.--Of course men should be charitable, because it is a duty -and a pleasure. But even as a matter of policy, if you possess no higher -incentive, you will find that the liberal man will command patronage, -while the sordid, uncharitable miser will be avoided. - -Solomon says: “There is that scattereth and yet increaseth; and there is -that withholdeth more than meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” Of course -the only true charity is that which is from the heart. - -The best kind of charity is to help those who are willing to help -themselves. Promiscuous almsgiving, without inquiring into the -worthiness of the applicant, is bad in every sense. But to search out -and quietly assist those who are struggling for themselves, is the kind -that “scattereth and yet increaseth.” But don’t fall into the idea that -some persons practise, of giving a prayer instead of a potato, and a -benediction instead of bread, to the hungry. It is easier to make -Christians with full stomachs than empty. - -DON’T BLAB.--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.” - -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.” - -Nearly every paper in London had something to say about my lecture, and -in almost every instance the matter and manner of the lecturer were -unqualifiedly approved. Indeed, the profusion of praise quite -overwhelmed me. The London _Times_, December 30, 1858, concluded a -half-column criticism with the following paragraph: - - “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.” - -The London _Morning Post_, the _Advertiser_, the _Chronicle_, the -_Telegraph_, the _Herald_, the _News_, the _Globe_, the _Sun_, and other -lesser journals of the same date, all contained lengthy and favorable -notices and criticisms of my lecture. My own lavish advertisements were -as nothing to the notoriety which the London newspapers voluntarily and -editorially gave to my new enterprise. The weekly and literary papers -followed in the train; and even _Punch_, which had already done so much -to keep Tom Thumb before the public, gave me a half-page notice, with an -illustration, and thereafter favored me with frequent paragraphs. The -city thus prepared the provinces to give me a cordial reception. - -During the year 1859, I delivered this lecture nearly one hundred times -in different parts of England, returning occasionally to London to -repeat it to fresh audiences, and always with pecuniary success. Every -provincial paper had something to say about Barnum and “The art of Money -Getting,” and I was never more pleasantly or profusely advertised. The -tour, too, made me acquainted with many new people and added fresh and -fast friends to my continually increasing list. My lecturing season is -among my most grateful memories of England. - -Remembering my experiences, some years before, with General Tom Thumb at -Oxford and Cambridge, and the fondness of the undergraduates for -practical joking, I was quite prepared when I made up my mind to visit -those two cities, to take any quantity of “chaff” and lampooning which -the University boys might choose to bring. I was sure of a full house in -each city, and as I was anxious to earn all the money I could, so as to -hasten my deliverance from financial difficulties, I fully resolved to -put up with whatever offered--indeed, I rather liked the idea of an -episode in the steady run of praise which had followed my lecture -everywhere, and I felt, too, in the coming encounter that I might give -quite as much as I was compelled to take. - -I commenced at Cambridge, and, as I expected, to an overflowing house, -largely composed of undergraduates. Soon after I began to speak, one of -the young men called out: “Where is Joice Heth?” to which I very coolly -replied: - -“Young gentleman, please to restrain yourself till the conclusion of the -lecture, when I shall take great delight in affording you, or any others -of her posterity, all the information I possess concerning your deceased -relative.” - -This reply turned the laugh against the youthful and anxious inquirer -and had the effect of keeping other students quiet for a half hour. -Thereafter, questions of a similar character were occasionally -propounded, but as each inquirer generally received a prompt Roland for -his Oliver, there was far less interruption than I had anticipated. The -proceeds of the evening were more than one hundred pounds sterling, an -important addition to my treasury at that time. At the close of the -lecture, several students invited me to a sumptuous supper where I met, -among other undergraduates, a nephew of Lord Macaulay, the historian. -This young gentleman insisted upon my breakfasting with him at his rooms -next morning, but as I was anxious to take an early train for London, I -only called to leave my card, and after his “gyp” had given me a strong -cup of coffee, I hastened away, leaving the young Macaulay, whom I did -not wish to disturb, fast asleep in bed. - -At Oxford the large hall was filled half an hour before the time -announced for the lecture to begin and the sale of tickets was stopped. -I then stepped upon the platform, and said: “Ladies and Gentlemen: As -every seat is occupied and the ticket-office is closed, I propose to -proceed with my lecture now, and not keep you waiting till the -advertised hour.” - -“Good for you, old Barnum,” said one; “Time is money,” said another; -“Nothing like economy,” came from a third, and other remarks and -exclamations followed which excited much laughter in the audience. -Holding up my hand as a signal that I was anxious to say something so -soon as silence should be restored, I thus addressed my audience: - -“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.’” - -My auditors were in the best of humor from the beginning, and my -frankness pleased them. “Good for you, old Barnum,” cried their leader; -and I went on with my lecture for some 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 pleasing air -with a vigor which showed that they had thoroughly prepared themselves -for the occasion, and meanwhile I took a chair and sat down to show them -that I 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.” - -I looked at my watch and quietly remarked, “Oh! there is time for lots -of fun yet; we have nearly forty minutes of the hour remaining,” and I -proceeded with my lecture, or rather a lecture, for I began to adapt my -remarks to the audience and the occasion. At intervals of ten minutes, -or so, came interruptions which I, as my audience saw, fully enjoyed as -much as the house did. When this miscellaneous entertainment was -concluded, and I stopped short at the end of the hour, crowds of the -young men pressed forward to shake hands with me, declaring that they -had had a “jolly good time,” while the leader said: “Stay with us a -week, Barnum, and we will dine you, wine you, and give you full houses -every night.” But I was announced to lecture in London the next evening -and I could not accept the pressing invitation, though I would gladly -have stayed through the week. They asked me all sorts of questions about -America, the Museum, my various shows and successes, and expressed the -hope that I would come out of my clock troubles all right. - -At least a score of them pressed me to breakfast with them next morning, -but I declined, till one young gentleman put it on this purely personal -ground: “My dear sir, you must breakfast with me; I have almost split my -throat in screaming here to-night and it is only fair that you should -repay me by coming to see me in the morning.” This appeal was -irresistible, and at the appointed time I met him and half a dozen of -his friends at his table and we spent a very pleasant hour together. -They complimented me on the tact and equanimity I had exhibited the -previous evening, but I replied: “Oh! I was quite inclined to have you -enjoy your fun, and came fully prepared for it.” - -But they liked better, they said, to get the party angry. A fortnight -before, they told me, my friend Howard Paul had left them in disgust, -because they insisted upon smoking while his wife was on the stage, -adding that the entertainment was excellent and that Howard Paul could -have made a thousand pounds if he had not let his anger drive him away. -My new-found friends parted with me at the railway station, heartily -urging me to come again, and my ticket seller returned £169 as the -immediate result of an evening’s good-natured fun with the Oxford boys. - -After delivering my lecture many times in different places, a prominent -publishing house in London, offered me £1,200 ($6,000,) for the -copyright. This offer I declined, not that I thought the lecture worth -more money, but because I had engaged to deliver it in several towns and -cities, and I thought the publication would be detrimental to the public -delivery of my lecture. It was a source of very considerable emolument -to me, bringing in much money, which went towards the redemption of my -pecuniary obligations, so that the lecture itself was an admirable -illustration of “The Art of Money Getting.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII - -AN ENTERPRISING ENGLISHMAN. - - AN ENGLISH YANKEE--MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH HIM--HIS PLANS BASED ON - BARNUM’S BOOK--ADVERTISING FOR PARTNERS--HOW MY RULES MADE HIM - RICH--METHOD IN MADNESS--THE “BARNUM” OF BURY--DINNER TO TOM THUMB - AND COMMODORE NUTT--MY AGENT IN PARIS--MEASURING A MONSTER--HOW - GIANTS AND DWARFS STRETCH AND CONTRACT--AN UNWILLING FRENCHMAN--A - PERSISTENT MEASURER--A GIGANTIC HUMBUG--THE STEAM-ENGINES “BARNUM” - AND “CHARITY”--WHAT “CHARITY” DID FOR “BARNUM”--SELLING THE SAME - GOODS A THOUSAND TIMES--THE GREAT CAKES--SIMNEL SUNDAY--THE - SANITARY COMMISSION FAIR. - - -While visiting Manchester, in 1858, I was invited by Mr. Peacock, the -lessee, to deliver a lecture in “Free Trade Hall.” I gave a lecture, the -title of which I now forget; but I well remember it contained numerous -personal reminiscences. The next day a gentleman sent his card to my -room at the hotel where I was stopping. I requested the servant to show -the gentleman up at once, and he soon appeared and introduced himself. -At first he seemed somewhat embarrassed, but gradually broke the ice by -saying he had been pleased in listening to my lecture the previous -evening, and added that he knew my history pretty well, as he had read -my autobiography. As his embarrassment at first meeting with a stranger -wore away, he informed me that he was joint proprietor with another -gentleman in a “cotton-mill” in Bury, near Manchester, “although,” he -modestly added, “only a few years ago I was working as a journeyman, and -probably should have been at this time, had it not been for your book.” -Observing my surprise at this announcement, he continued: - -“The fact is, Mr. Barnum, upon reading your autobiography, I thought I -perceived you tried to make yourself out something 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 horse-jockey 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.” - -Of course, I was pleased and surprised at this revelation, and, feeling -that my new friend, whom I will call Mr. Wilson,[B] had somewhat -exaggerated the results of my labors as influencing his own, I said: - -“Your statement is certainly very flattering, 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 good time if -I had never written a 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.” - - [B] By his consent I state that his name is John Fish. - -This singular yet gratifying interview led to several others, and from -that time a warm personal friendship sprung up between us. In our -conversations, my enthusiastic friend would often quote entire pages -from my autobiography, which I had almost forgotten; and, after he had -frequently visited me by appointment where I happened to be stopping in -different parts of Great Britain, he would write me letters, often -quoting scraps of my conversation, and extolling what he called the -“wisdom” of these careless remarks. I laughed at him, and told him he -was about half Barnum-crazy. “Well,” he replied, “then there is method -in my madness, for whenever I follow the Barnum rules I am always -successful.” - -On one occasion, when General Tom Thumb exhibited in Bury, Mr. Wilson -closed his mill, and gave each of his employés 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. -Wilson 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; and several -interesting incidents occurred on that pleasant occasion, which the -miniature guests will never cease to remember with gratitude. When I was -about to leave England for home, in 1859, my friend Wilson made an -appointment to come to Liverpool to see me off. He came the day before I -sailed, and brought his little daughter, some twelve years old, with -him. We had a remarkably pleasant and social time, and I did not part -with them until the tug was almost dropping off from the steamer in the -river Mersey. It was a very reluctant parting. We waved our -handkerchiefs until we could no longer distinguish each other; and up to -the present writing we have never again met. To my numerous invitations -to him and his family, to visit me in America, he sends but one -response,--that, as yet, his business will not permit him to leave home. -I hope ere long to receive a different answer. Our correspondence has -been regularly kept up ever since we parted. - -My friend Wilson expressed himself extremely anxious to do any service -for me which might at any time be in his power. Soon after I arrived in -America, I read an account of a French giant, then exhibiting in Paris, -and said to be over eight feet in height. As this was a considerably -greater altitude than any specimen of the _genus homo_ within my -knowledge had attained, I wrote to my friend to take a trip to Paris for -me, secure an interview with this modern Anak, and by actual measurement -obtain for me his exact height. I enclosed an offer for this giant’s -services, arranging the price on a sliding scale, according to what his -height should actually prove to be,--commencing at eight feet, and -descending to seven feet two inches; and if he was not taller than the -latter figure, I did not want him at all. - -Mr. Wilson, placing an English two-foot rule in his pocket, started for -Paris; and, after much difficulty and several days’ delay in trying to -speak with the giant, who was closely watched by his exhibitor, Mr. -Wilson succeeded, by the aid of an interpreter, in exchanging a few -words with him, and appointing an interview at his own (the giant’s) -lodgings. And now came a trouble which required all the patience and -diplomacy which my agent could command. Mr. Wilson, arriving at the -place of rendezvous, told the giant who he was, and the object of his -visit. In fact, he showed him my letter, and read the tempting offers -which I made for his services, provided he measured eight feet, or even -came within six inches of that height. - -“Oh, I measure over eight feet in height,” said the giant. “Very -likely,” replied my faithful agent, “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 that peculiar muscular -knack which giants and dwarfs exercise when they desire to extend or -diminish their apparent stature. “No doubt you are right,” persisted the -agent; “but you see that is not according to orders.” “Well, stand -alongside of me; see, the top of your hat don’t come to my shoulder,” -said the giant, as he swung his arm completely over Mr. Wilson’s head, -hat and all. - -But my wary agent happened just then to be watching - -[Illustration: “_THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT._”] - -the giant’s feet and knees, and he thought he saw a movement around the -“understandings” that materially helped the elevation of the -“upperworks.” “It is all very well,” said Mr. Wilson; “but I tell you I -have brought a two-foot rule from England, and, if I am not permitted to -measure your height with that, I shall not engage you.” My offer had -been very liberal; in fact, provided he was eight feet high, it was more -than four times the amount the giant was then receiving; it was -evidently a great temptation to his “highness,” and quite as evidently -he did not want to be fairly measured. “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 and every muscle in his -body a severe stretch:) “just measure the height of that door.” My -English friend plainly saw that the giant felt that he could not come up -to the mark, and he laughed at this last _ruse_. “Oh, I don’t want to -measure the door; I prefer to measure you,” said Mr. Wilson, coolly. The -giant was now desperate, and, stretching himself up to the highest -point, he exclaimed: “Well, be quick! put your rule down to my feet and -measure me; no delay, if you please.” - -The giant knew he could not hold himself up many seconds to the few -extra inches he had imparted to his extended muscles; but his remark had -drawn Mr. Wilson’s attention to his feet, and from the feet to the -boots, and he began to open his eyes. “Look here, Monsieur,” he -exclaimed with much earnestness, “this sort of thing wont do, you know. -I don’t understand this contrivance around the soles of your boots, but -it seems to me you have got a set of springs in there which materially -aids your altitude a few inches when you desire it. Now, I shall stand -no 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; there you -will have no purchase, and you may stretch as much as you like; and for -every inch you fairly measure above seven feet two inches you know what -I am authorized to give you.” The giant grumbled and talked about his -word being doubted and his honor assailed, but Mr. Wilson calmly -persisted, until at length he slowly took off his coat and gradually got -down on the floor. Stretched upon his back, he made several vain efforts -to extend his natural height. Mr. Wilson carefully applied his English -two-foot rule, the result of the measurement causing him much -astonishment and the giant more indignation, the giant measuring exactly -seven feet one and one half inches. So he was not engaged, and my agent -returned to England and wrote me a most amusing letter, giving the -particulars of the gigantic interview. - -On the occasion of the erection of a new engine in his mill, Mr. Wilson -proposed naming it after his daughter, but she insisted it should be -christened “Barnum,” and it was so done, with considerable ceremony. -Subsequently he introduced a second engine into his enlarged mill, and -named this, after my wife, “Charity.” - -A short time since, I wrote informing him that I desired to give some of -the foregoing facts in my book, and asked him to give me his consent, -and also to furnish me some particulars in regard to the engines, and -the capacity of his mill. He wrote in return a modest letter, which is -so characteristic of my whole-souled friend that I cannot forbear making -the following extracts from it: - - Had I made a fortune of £100,000 I should have been proud of such a - place in your book as Albert Smith has 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 £12 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. Wilson 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. - -The great fair of the Sanitary Commission, held in New York during the -war, affords one of the most interesting chapters in American history. -It meant cordial for the sick and suffering in the hospitals, and balm -and relief for the wounded in the field. None of those who visited the -Fair will forget, in the multiplicity of offerings to put money into the -treasury of the Commission, two monster cakes, which were as strange in -shape and ornament as they were fairly mammoth in their proportions. One -of these great cakes was covered with miniature forts, ships of war, -cannon, armies, arms of the whole “panoply of war,” and it excited the -attention of all visitors. This strange cake was what is called in Bury, -England, where name, cake and custom originated, a “Simnel cake,” and an -interesting history pertains to it. - -There is an anniversary in Bury, and I believe only in that place in -England, called “Simnel Sunday.” Like many old observances, its origin -is lost in antiquity; but on the fourth Sunday in Lent, which is Simnel -Sunday, everybody in Bury eats Simnel cake. It is a high day for the -inhabitants, and the streets are thronged with people. During the -preceding week, the shop windows of the confectioners exhibit a plethora -of large, flat cakes, of a peculiar pattern and of toothsome -composition. Every confectioner aims to outdo his rivals in the bigness -of the one show-cake which nearly fills his window, and in the moulding -and ornamental accessories. A local description, giving the requisite -characteristics, says: “The great Simnel must be rich, must be big, and -must be novel in ornamentation.” Such is the Simnel cake, the specialty -of Simnel Sunday, in the town of Bury, in Old England. - -And such was the monster cake, with its warlike emblems, which attracted -so much attention at the Fair, and added considerably to the receipts -for the Sanitary Commission. It was sent to me expressly for this Fair, -by my friend Wilson, and, while it was in itself a generous gift, it was -doubly so as coming from an English manufacturer who had suffered by the -war. The second great Simnel cake which stood beside it in the Fair was -sent to me personally by Mr. Wilson; but with his permission I took much -pleasure in contributing it, with his own offering, for the benefit of -our suffering soldiers. - -It may thus be seen that my friend Wilson is not only “an enterprising -Englishman,” but that he is also a generous, noble-hearted man,--one who -in a great struggle like the late civil war in America, could sincerely -sympathize with suffering humanity, notwithstanding, as he expressed it, -“the American war has made sad havoc in our trade.” His soul soars above -“pounds, shillings and pence”; and I take great pleasure in expressing -admiration for a gentleman of such marked enterprise, philanthropy and -integrity. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII. - -RICHARD’S HIMSELF AGAIN. - - AT HOME--EXTINGUISHMENT OF THE CLOCK DEBTS--A RASCALLY - PROPOSITION--BARNUM ON HIS FEET AGAIN--RE-PURCHASE OF THE MUSEUM--A - GALA DAY--MY RECEPTION BY MY FRIENDS--THE STORY OF MY TROUBLES--HOW - I WADED ASHORE--PROMISES TO THE PUBLIC--THE PUBLIC RESPONSE--MUSEUM - VISITORS--THE RECEIPTS DOUBLED--HOW THE PRESS RECEIVED THE NEWS OF - RESTORATION--THE SYCOPHANTS--OLD AND FAST FRIENDS--ROBERT - BONNER--CONSIDERATION AND COURTESY OF CREDITORS--THE BOSTON - SATURDAY EVENING GAZETTE AGAIN--ANOTHER WORD FOR BARNUM. - - -In 1859 I returned to the United States. During my last visit abroad I -had secured many novelties for the Museum, including the Albino Family, -which I engaged at Amsterdam, and Thiodon’s mechanical theatre, which I -found at Southampton, beside purchasing many curiosities. These things -all afforded me a liberal commission, and thus, by constant and earnest -effort, I made much money, besides what I derived from the Tom Thumb -exhibitions, my lectures, and other enterprises. All of this money, as -well as my wife’s income and a considerable sum raised by selling a -portion of her property, was faithfully devoted to the one great object -of my life at that period--my extrication from those crushing clock -debts. I worked and I saved. When my wife and youngest daughter were not -boarding in Bridgeport, they lived frugally in the suburbs, in a small -one-story house which was hired at the rate of $150 a year. I had now -been struggling about four years with the difficulties of my one great -financial mistake, and the end still seemed to be far off. I felt that -the land, purchased by my wife in East Bridgeport at the assignees’ -sale, would, after a while, increase rapidly in value; and on the -strength of this expectation more money was borrowed for the sake of -taking up the clock notes, and some of the East Bridgeport property was -sold in single lots, the proceeds going to the same object. - -At last, in March 1860, all the clock indebtedness was satisfactorily -extinguished, excepting some $20,000 which I had bound myself to take up -within a certain number of months, my friend, James D. Johnson, -guaranteeing my bond to that effect. Mr. Johnson was by far my most -effective agent in working me through these clock troubles, and in -aiding to bring them to a successful conclusion. Another man, however, -who pretended to be my friend, and whom I liberally paid to assist in -bringing me out of my difficulties, gained my confidence, possessed -himself of a complete knowledge of the situation of my affairs, and then -coolly proposed to Mr. Johnson to counteract all my efforts to get out -of debt, and to divide between them what could be got out of my estate. -Failing in this, the scoundrel, taking advantage of the confidence -reposed in him, slyly arranged with the owners of clock notes to hold on -to them, and share with him whatever they might gain by adopting his -advice, he assuming that he knew all my secrets and that I would soon -come out all right again. Thus I had to contend with foes from within as -well as without; but the “spotting” of this traitor was worth something, -for it opened my eyes in relation to former transactions in which I had -intrusted large sums of money to his hands, and it put me on guard for -the future. But I bear no malice towards him; I only pity him, as I do -any man who knows so little of the true road to contentment and -happiness as to think that it lies in the direction of dishonesty. - -I need not dwell upon the details of what I suffered from the doings of -those heartless, unscrupulous men who fatten upon the misfortunes of -others. It is enough to say that I triumphed over them and all my -troubles. I was once more a free man. At last I was able to make -proclamation that “Richard’s himself again”; that Barnum was once more -on his feet. The Museum had not flourished greatly in the hands of -Messrs. Greenwood & Butler, and so, when I was free, I was quite willing -to take back the property upon terms that were entirely satisfactory to -them. I had once retired from the establishment a man of independent -fortune; I was now ready to return, to make, if possible, another -fortune. - -On the 17th of March, 1860, Messrs. Butler & Greenwood signed an -agreement to sell and deliver to me on the following Saturday, March -24th, their good will and entire interest in the Museum collection. This -fact was thoroughly circulated and it was everywhere announced in -blazing posters, placards and advertisements which were headed, “Barnum -on his feet again.” It was furthermore stated that the Museum would be -closed, March 24th, for one week for repairs and general renovation, to -be re-opened, March 31st, under the management and proprietorship of its -original owner. It was also announced that on the night of closing I -would address the audience from the stage. - -The American Museum, decorated on that occasion, as on holidays, with a -brilliant display of flags and banners, was filled to its utmost -capacity, and I experienced profound delight at seeing hundreds of old -friends of both sexes in the audience. I lacked but four months of being -fifty years of age; but I felt all the vigor and ambition that fired me -when I first took possession of the premises twenty years before; and I -was confident that the various experiences of that score of years would -be valuable to me in my second effort to secure an independence. - -At the rising of the curtain and before the play commenced, I stepped on -the stage and was received by the large and brilliant audience with an -enthusiasm far surpassing anything of the kind I had ever experienced or -witnessed in a public career of a quarter of a century. Indeed, this -tremendous demonstration nearly broke me down, and my voice faltered and -tears came to my eyes as I thought of this magnificent conclusion to the -trials and struggles of the past four years. Recovering myself, however, -I bowed my grateful 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 towards 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 and Butler, subject to my wife’s separate interest in -the lease, and she has received more than eighty thousand dollars 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 -indeed,’ 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 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 metre, that ‘Barnum was a fool.’ I can only -reply that I never made pretensions to the sharpness of a pawn-broker, -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 and 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 towards 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.’” - -This off-hand speech was received with almost tumultuous applause. At -nearly fifty years of age, I was now once more before the public with -the promise to put on a full head of steam, to “rush things,” to give -double or treble the amount of attractions ever before offered at the -Museum, and to devote all my own time and services to the enterprise. In -return, I asked that the public should give my efforts the patronage -they merited, and the public took me at my word. The daily number of -visitors at once more than doubled, and my exertions to gratify them -with rapid changes and novelties never tired. - -The announcement that “Richard’s himself again”--that I was at last out -of the financial entanglement--was variously received in the community. -That portion of the press which had followed me with abuse when I was -down, under the belief that my case was past recovery, were chary in -allusions to the new state of things, or passed them over without -comment. The sycophants always knew I would get up again, “and said so -at the time;” the many and noble journals which had stood by me and -upheld me in my misfortunes, were of course rejoiced, and their words of -sincere congratulation gave me a higher satisfaction than I have power -of language to acknowledge. Letters of congratulation came in upon me -from every quarter. Friendly hands that had never been withheld during -the long period of my misfortune were now extended with a still heartier -grip. I never knew till now the warmth and number of my friends. - -My editorial friend, Mr. Robert Bonner, of the New York _Ledger_, -sincerely congratulated me upon my full and complete restoration. I had -some new plays which were adapted from very popular stories which had -been written for Mr. Bonner’s paper, and I went to him to purchase, if I -could, the large cuts he had used to advertise these stories in his -street placards. He at once generously offered to lend them to me as -long as I wished to use them and tendered me his services in any way. -Mr. Bonner was the boldest of advertisers, following me closely in the -field in which I was the pioneer, and to his judicious use of printers’ -ink, he owes the fine fortune which he so worthily deserves and enjoys. - -Nor must I neglect to state that a large number of my creditors who held -the clock notes, proved very magnanimous in taking into consideration -the gross deception which had put me in their power. Not a few of them -said to me in substance: “you never supposed you had made yourself -liable for this debt; you were deluded into it; it is not right that it -should be held over you to keep you hopelessly down; take it, and pay me -such percentage as, under the circumstances, it is possible for you to -pay.” But for such men and such consideration I fear I should never have -got on my feet again; and of the many who rejoiced in my bettered -fortune, not a few were of this class of my creditors. - -My old friend, the Boston _Saturday Evening Gazette_, which printed a -few cheering poetical lines of consolation and hope when I was down, now -gave me the following from the same graceful pen, conveying glowing -words of congratulation at my rise again: - - -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_! - -MRS. ANNA BACHE. - -PHILADELPHIA. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV. - -MENAGERIE AND MUSEUM MEMORANDA. - - A REMARKABLE CHARACTER--OLD GRIZZLY ADAMS--THE CALIFORNIA - MENAGERIE--TERRIBLY WOUNDED BY BEARS--MY UP-TOWN - SHOW--EXTRAORDINARY WILL AND VIGOR--A LESSON FOR MUNCHAUSEN--THE - CALIFORNIA GOLDEN PIGEONS--PIGEONS OF ALL COLORS--PROCESS OF THEIR - CREATION--M. GUILLAUDEU--A NATURALIST DECEIVED--THE MOST WONDERFUL - BIRDS IN THE WORLD--THE CURIOSITIES TRANSFERRED TO THE - MENAGERIE--OLD ADAMS TAKEN IN--A CHANGE OF COLOR--MOTLEY THE ONLY - WEAR--OLD GRIZZLY UNDECEIVED--TOUR OF THE BEAR-TAMER THROUGH THE - COUNTRY--A BEAUTIFUL HUNTING SUIT--A LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLE FOR A - WAGER--OLD ADAMS WINS--HIS DEATH--THE LAST JOKE ON BARNUM--THE - PRINCE OF WALES VISITS THE MUSEUM--I CALL ON THE PRINCE IN - BOSTON--STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS--“BEFORE AND AFTER” IN A BARBER - SHOP--HOW TOM HIGGINSON “DID” BARNUM--THE MUSEUM FLOURISHING. - - -I was now fairly embarked on board the good old ship American Museum, to -try once more my skill as captain, and to see what fortune the voyage -would bring me. Curiosities began to pour into the Museum halls, and I -was eager for enterprises in the show line, whether as part of the -Museum itself, or as outside accessories or accompaniments. Among the -first to give me a call, with attractions sure to prove a success, was -James C. Adams, of hard-earned, grizzly-bear fame. This extraordinary -man was eminently what is called “a character.” 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 I had re-purchased the Museum, he 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 Sampson,” 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 me 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 - -[Illustration: _GRIZZLY ADAMS AND HIS FAMILY._] - -the old bear-hunter. During our conversation, Grizzly Adams took off his -cap, and showed me 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. I remarked that I 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. The -immediate object of “old Adams” in calling upon me was this; I had -purchased, a week previously, one-half interest in his California -menagerie, from a man who had come by way of the Isthmus from -California, and who claimed to own an equal interest with Adams in the -show. Adams declared that the man had only advanced him some money, and -did not possess the right to sell half of the concern. However, the man -held a bill of sale for half of the “California Menagerie,” and old -Adams finally consented to accept me as an equal partner in the -speculation, saying that he guessed I could do the managing part, and he -would show up the animals. I obtained a canvas tent, and erecting it on -the present site of Wallack’s Theatre, Adams there opened his novel -California Menagerie. 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 demi-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. - -Old Adams liked to astonish others, as he often did, with his astounding -stories, but no one could astonish him; he had seen everything and knew -everything, and I was anxious to get a chance of exposing this weak -point to him. A fit occasion soon presented itself. One day, while -engaged in my office at the Museum, a man with marked Teutonic features -and accent approached the door and asked if I would like to buy a pair -of living golden pigeons. - -“Yes,” I 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 see some golden pigeons alive,” he replied, at the same time -entering my office, and closing the door after him. He then removed the -lid from a small basket which he carried in his hand, 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. - -I confess I 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 my German visitor, as he replied in a slow, guttural tone -of voice: - -“What you think yourself?” - -Catching his meaning, I quickly replied: - -“I think it is a humbug.” - -“Of course, I know you will say so; because you ‘forstha’ such things; -so I shall not try to humbug you; I have color them myself.” - -On further inquiry I learned that this German was a chemist, and that he -possessed the art of coloring birds any hue desired, and yet retain a -natural gloss on the feathers, which gave every shade the appearance of -reality. - -“I can paint a green pigeon or a blue pigeon, a gray pigeon or a black -pigeon, a brown pigeon or a pigeon half blue or half green,” said the -German; “and if you prefer it, I can paint them pink or purple, or give -you a little of each color, and make you a rainbow pigeon.” - -The “rainbow pigeon” did not strike me as particularly desirable; but -thinking here was a good chance to catch “Grizzly Adams,” I bought the -pair of golden pigeons for ten dollars, and sent them up to the “Happy -Family” (where I knew Adams would soon see them), marked, “Golden -Pigeons, from California.” Mr. Taylor, the great pacificator, who had -charge of the Happy Family, soon came down in a state of excitement. - -“Really, Mr. Barnum,” said he, “I could not think of putting those -elegant golden pigeons into the Happy Family,--they are too valuable a -bird, and they might get injured; they are by far the most beautiful -pigeons I ever saw; and as they are so rare, I would not jeopardize -their lives for anything.” - -“Well,” said I, “you may put them in a separate cage, properly -labelled.” - -Monsieur Guillaudeu, the naturalist and taxidermist of the Museum, had -been attached to that establishment since the year it was founded, in -1810. He is a Frenchman, and has read nearly everything upon natural -history that was ever published in his own or in the English language. -When he saw the “Golden Pigeons from California,” he was considerably -astonished. He examined them with great delight for half an hour, -expatiating upon their beautiful color and the near resemblance which -every feature bore to the American ruff-necked pigeon. He soon came to -my office, and said: - -“Mr. Barnum, these golden pigeons are superb, but they cannot be from -California. Audubon mentions no such bird in his work upon American -Ornithology.” - -I told him he had better take Audubon home with him that night, and -perhaps by studying him attentively he would see occasion to change his -mind. - -The next day, the old naturalist called at my office and remarked: - -“Mr. Barnum, those pigeons are a more rare bird than you imagine. They -are not mentioned by Linnæus, Cuvier, Goldsmith, or any other writer on -natural history, so far as I have been able to discover. I expect they -must have come from some unexplored portion of Australia.” - -“Never mind,” I replied, “we may get more light on the subject, perhaps, -before long. We will continue to label them ‘California Pigeons’ until -we can fix their nativity elsewhere.” - -The next morning, “Old Grizzly Adams,” passed through the Museum when -his eyes fell on the “Golden California Pigeons.” He looked a moment and -doubtless admired. He soon after came to my office. - -“Mr. Barnum,” said he, “you must let me have those California pigeons.” - -“I can’t spare them,” I replied. - -“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?” I asked, with a suppressed smile. - -“Because they are so common there,” said Adams, “I did not think they -would be any curiosity here. I have eaten them in pigeon-pies hundreds -of times, and have shot them by the thousands!” - -I was ready to burst with laughter to see how readily Adams swallowed -the bait, but maintaining the most rigid gravity, I 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.” - -“All right,” said Adams, “I will send over to a friend in San Francisco, -and you shall have them here in a couple of months.” - -I told Adams that, for certain reasons, I would prefer to have him -change the label so as to have it read: “Golden Pigeons from Australia.” - -“Well, I will call them what you like,” said Adams; “I suppose they are -probably about as plenty in Australia as they are in California.” - -Six or eight weeks after this incident, I was in the California -Menagerie, and noticed that the “Golden Pigeons” had assumed a -frightfully mottled appearance. Their feathers had grown out and they -were half white. Adams had been so busy with his bears that he had not -noticed the change. I called him up to the pigeon cage, and remarked: - -“Mr. Adams, I fear you will lose your Golden Pigeons; they must be very -sick; I observe they are turning quite pale.” - -Adams looked at them a moment with astonishment, then turning to me, and -seeing that I 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 “I laughed till I 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 all 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 to me and said: “Well, Mr. Barnum, -you must buy me out.” He named his price for his half of the “show,” and -I accepted his offer. We had arranged to exhibit the bears in -Connecticut and Massachusetts during the summer, in connection with a -circus, and Adams insisted that I should hire him to travel for the -season and exhibit the bears in their curious performances. He offered -to go for $60 per week and travelling expenses of himself and wife. I -replied that I would gladly engage him as long as he could stand it, but -I advised him to give up business and go to his home in Massachusetts; -“for,” I remarked, “you are growing weaker every day, and at best cannot -stand it more than a fortnight.” - -“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,” I replied, with a laugh. - -“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.” - -I 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 I was then 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,” I replied. - -“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 I -met it at Hartford, Connecticut. - -“Well,” said I, “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,” I replied, “I hope you will grow better every day.” - -But I saw by his pale face and other indications that he was rapidly -failing. In three weeks more, I met him again at New Bedford, -Massachusetts. It seemed to me, then, that he could not live a week, for -his eyes were glassy and his hands trembled, but his pluck was as great -as ever. - -“This hot weather is pretty bad for me,” he said, “but my ten weeks are -half expired, and I am good for your $500, and, probably, a month or two -longer.” - -This was said with as much bravado as if he was offering to bet upon a -horse-race. I offered to pay him half of the $500 if he would give up -and go home; but he peremptorily declined making any compromise -whatever. I met him the ninth week in Boston. He had failed considerably -since I last saw him, but he still continued to exhibit the bears -although he was too weak to lead them in, and he chuckled over his -almost certain triumph. I laughed in return, and sincerely congratulated -him on his nerve and probable success. I remained with him until the -tenth week was finished, and handed him his $500. He took it with a leer -of satisfaction, and remarked, that he was sorry I was a teetotaler, for -he would like to stand treat! - -Just before the menagerie left New York, I had paid $150 for a new -hunting suit, made of beaver skins, similar to the one which Adams had -worn. This I intended for Herr Driesbach, the animal tamer, who was -engaged by me to take the place of Adams, whenever he should be -compelled to give up. Adams, on starting from New York, asked me to loan -this new dress to him to perform in once in a while in a fair day, where -he had a large audience, for his own costume was considerably soiled. I -did so, and now when I handed him his $500, he remarked: - -“Mr. Barnum, I suppose you are going to give me this new hunting dress?” - -“Oh, no,” I 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.” - -I could not refuse the poor old man anything, and I 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. - -I thought to myself, he will soon be done with it, and replied: “That’s -all right.” - -A new idea evidently struck him, 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.” - -Of course, I knew that in a few days at longest, he would be “done” with -this world altogether, and, to gratify him, I cheerfully drew and -signed the paper. - -“Come, old Yankee, I’ve got you this time--see if I haint!” exclaimed -Adams, with a broad grin, as he took the paper. - -I smiled, and said: - -“All right, my dear fellow; the longer you live the better I shall like -it.” - -We parted, and he went to Neponset, a small town near Boston, 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.” His -wife assured him that his request should be complied with. He then sent -for the clergyman and they spent several hours in communing together. - -Adams, who, rough and untutored, had nevertheless, a natural eloquence, -and often put his thoughts in good language, said to the clergyman, that -though he had told some pretty big stories about his bears, he had -always endeavored to do the straight thing between man and man. “I have -attended preaching every day, Sundays and all,” said he, “for the last -six years. Sometimes an old grizzly gave me the sermon, sometimes it was -a panther; often it was the thunder and lightning, the tempest, or the -hurricane on the peaks of the Sierra Nevada, or in the gorges of the -Rocky Mountains; but whatever preached to me, it always taught me the -majesty of the Creator, and revealed to me the undying and unchanging -love of our kind Father in heaven. Although I am a pretty rough -customer,” continued the dying man, “I fancy my heart is in about the -right place, and look with confidence for that rest which I so much -need, and which I have never enjoyed upon earth.” He then desired the -clergyman to pray with him, after which he took him by the hand, thanked -him for his kindness, and bade him farewell. In another hour his spirit -had taken its flight. It was said by those present, that his face -lighted into a smile as the last breath escaped him, and that smile he -carried into his grave. Almost his last words were: “Won’t Barnum open -his eyes when he finds I have humbugged him by being buried in his new -hunting dress?” That dress was indeed the shroud in which he was -entombed. - -And that was the last on earth of “Old Grizzly Adams.” - -After the death of Adams, the grizzly bears and other animals were added -to the collection in my Museum, and I employed Herr Driesbach, the -celebrated lion-tamer, as an exhibitor. Some time afterwards the bears -were sold to a menagerie company, but I kept “old Neptune,” the -sea-lion, for several years, sending him occasionally for exhibition in -other cities, as far west as Chicago. This noble and ferocious animal -was a very great curiosity and attracted great attention. He was kept in -a large tank, which was supplied with salt water every day from the Fall -River steamboats, whose deck hands filled my barrels on every passage to -the - -[Illustration: THE PRINCE IN THE MUSEUM.] - -city with salt water from the deepest part of Long Island Sound. On his -tours through the country the sea-lion lived very well in fresh water. - -It was at one time my serious intention to engage in an American Indian -Exhibition on a stupendous scale. I proposed to secure at the far West -not less than one hundred of the best specimens of full-blood Indians, -with their squaws and papooses, their paint, ponies, dresses, and -weapons, for a general tour throughout the United States and Europe. The -plan comprehended a grand entry at every town and city where the Indians -were to exhibit--the Indians in all the glory of paint and feathers, -beads and bright blankets, riding on their ponies, followed by tame -buffaloes, elks and antelopes; then an exhibition on a lot large enough -to admit of a display of all the Indian games and dances, their method -of hunting, their style of cooking, living, etc. Such an exhibition is -perfectly practicable now to any one who has the capital and tact to -undertake it, and a sure fortune would follow the enterprise. - -On the 13th of October, 1860, the Prince of Wales, then making a tour in -the United States, in company with his suite, visited the American -Museum. This was a very great compliment, since it was the only place of -amusement the Prince attended in this country. Unfortunately, I was in -Bridgeport at the time, and the Museum was in charge of my manager, Mr. -Greenwood. Knowing that the name of the American Museum was familiar -throughout Europe, I was quite confident of a call from the Prince, and -from regard to his filial feelings I had, a day or two after his arrival -in New York, ordered to be removed to a dark closet a frightful wax -figure of his royal mother, which, for nineteen years, had excited the -admiration of the million and which bore a placard with the legend, “An -exact likeness of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, taken from life.” Mr. -Greenwood, who was an Englishman, was deeply impressed with the -condescension of the Prince, and backed his way through the halls, -followed by the Prince, the Duke of Newcastle, and other members of the -royal suite, and he actually trembled as he attempted to do the -reception honors. - -Presently they arrived in front of the platform on which were exhibited -the various living human curiosities and monstrosities. The tall giant -woman made her best bow; the fat boy waddled out and kissed his hand; -the “negro turning white” showed his ivory and his spots; the dwarfs -kicked up their heels, and like the clown in the ring, cried “here we -are again”; the living skeleton stalked out, reminding the Prince, -perhaps, of the wish of Sidney Smith in a hot day that he could lay off -his flesh and sit in his bones; the Albino family went through their -performances; the “What is it?” grinned; the Infant Drummer-boy beat a -tattoo; and the Aztec children were shown and described as specimens of -a remarkable and ancient race in Mexico and Central America. The Prince -and his suite seemed pleased, and Greenwood was duly delighted. He was, -however, quite overwhelmed with the responsibility of his position, -especially whenever the Prince addressed him, and leading the way to the -wax figure hall he called attention to the figures of the Siamese Twins -and the Quaker Giant and his wife. - -“I suppose,” said the Prince, “these figures are representatives of -different living curiosities exhibited from time to time in your -Museum?” - -“Yes, your Royal Highness, all of them,” replied the confused Greenwood, -and as “all of them” included very fair figures of the Emperors Nicholas -and Napoleon, the Empress Eugenie, and other equally distinguished -personages, the Prince must have thought that the Museum had contained, -in times past, some famous “living curiosities.” On leaving the Museum, -the Prince asked to see Mr. Barnum, and when he was told that I was out -of town, he remarked: “We have missed the most interesting feature of -the establishment.” A few days afterwards, when the Prince was in -Boston, happening to be in that city, I sent my card to him at the -Revere House, and was cordially received. He smiled when I reminded him -that I had seen him when he was a little boy, on the occasion of one of -my visits to Buckingham Palace with General Tom Thumb. The Prince told -me that he was much pleased with his recent inspection of my Museum, and -that he and his suite had left their autographs in the establishment, as -mementos of their visit. - -When I arrived in Boston, by the by, on this visit, the streets were -thronged with the military and citizens assembled to receive the Prince -of Wales, and I had great difficulty, in starting from the depot to the -Revere House, in getting through the assembled crowd. At last, a -policeman espied me, and taking me for Senator Stephen A. Douglas, he -cried out, at the top of his voice: “Make way there for Judge Douglas’s -carriage.” The crowd opened a passage for my carriage at short notice, -and shouted out “Douglas, Douglas, hurrah for Douglas.” I took off my -hat and bowed, smiling from the windows on each side of my carriage; the -cheers and enthusiasm increased as I advanced, and all the way to the -Revere House I continued to bow Judge Douglas’s grateful acknowledgments -for the enthusiastic reception. There must have been at least fifty -thousand people who joined in this spontaneous demonstration in honor of -Judge Douglas. - -When Douglas ran for the presidency in 1860, my democratic friend, J. D. -Johnson, bet me a hat that the Judge would be elected. Douglas passed -through Bridgeport on his electioneering tour down East, and made a -brief speech from the rear platform of the car, to the people assembled -at the depot. The next day Mr. Johnson met me in a crowded barber shop -and asked me if I had ever seen Douglas? I answered that I had, and -Johnson then asked what sort of a looking man he was. Remembering our -hat bet, and knowing that Johnson expected a pretty hard description of -his favorite candidate, I said: - -“He is a red-nosed, blear-eyed, dumpy, swaggering chap, looking like a -regular bar-room loafer.” - -“I thought as much,” said Johnson, “for here is the New Haven paper of -this morning, which says that he is the very image, in personal -appearance, of P. T. Barnum.” - -When the roar that followed subsided, I told Johnson I must have had -some other man in my mind’s eye, when I answered his question. - -One day I went out of the Museum in great haste to Tom Higginson’s -barber shop, in the Park Hotel, where my daily tonsorial operations were -performed, and finding a rough-looking Hibernian just ahead of me, I -told him that if he would be good enough to give me his “turn,” I would -pay his bill; to which he consented, and taking his turn and my own -shave, I speedily departed, saying to Tom, as I went out: “Fix out this -man, and for whatever he has done I will pay the bill.” - -Two or three clerks and reporters, who were in the shop, and who knew -me, put their freshly-dressed heads together and suggested to Tom that -here was an opportunity to perpetrate a practical joke on Barnum, and -they explained the plan, in which Higginson readily acquiesced. - -“Now,” says one of them to the Irishman, “get everything done which you -like, and it will cost you nothing; it will be charged to the gentleman -to whom you gave your turn.” - -“Sure and a liberal gintleman he must be,” said Pat. - -“Will you take a bath?” asked the barber. - -“That indade I will, if the gintleman pays,” was the reply. - -When he came out of the bath he was asked if he would be shampooed. “And -what is that?” asked the bewildered Hibernian. The process was explained -and he consented to go through with the operation. Thereafter, moved and -instigated thereto by the barber and his confederates, Pat permitted -Higginson to dye his red hair and whiskers a beautiful brown, and then -to curl them. When all was done, the son of Erin looked in the mirror -and could scarcely believe the evidence of his own eyes. A more thorough -transformation could scarcely be conceived, and as he went out of the -door he said to Higginson: - -“Give the generous gintleman me best complements and tell him he can -have my turn ony day on the same terms.” - -One of the newspaper reporters, who assisted in the joke, published the -whole story the next day, and when I called at the barber shop a bill -for $1.75 was presented, which, of course, I could do no less than to -pay. The joke went the rounds of the papers; and after a few months, an -English friend sent me the whole story in a copy of the London _Family -Herald_--a publication that issues about half a million of copies -weekly. Mr. Currier, the lithographer, put the joke into pictorial form, -representing the Irishman as he appeared before, also as he appeared -after the “barbar-ous” operations. After all, it was a good -advertisement for me, as well as for Higginson; and it would have been -pretty difficult to serve me up about these times in printers’ ink in -any form that I should have objected to. - -Meanwhile, the Museum flourished better than ever; and I began to make -large holes in the mortgages which covered the property of my wife in -New York and in Connecticut. Still, there was an immense amount of debts -resting upon all her real estate, and nothing but time, economy, -industry and diligence would remove the burdens. - -[Illustration: _EAST BRIDGEPORT._] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV. - -EAST BRIDGEPORT. - - ANOTHER NEW HOME--LINDENCROFT--PROGRESS OF MY PET CITY--THE - CHESTNUT WOOD FIRE--HOW IT BECAME OLD HICKORY--INDUCEMENTS TO - SETTLERS--MY OFFER--EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE-OWNER--WHISKEY AND - TOBACCO--RISE IN REAL-ESTATE--PEMBROKE LAKE--WASHINGTON PARK--GREAT - MANUFACTORIES--WHEELER AND WILSON--SCHUYLER, HARTLEY AND - GRAHAM--HOTCHKISS, SON AND COMPANY--STREET NAMES--MANY THOUSAND - SHADE TREES--BUSINESS IN THE NEW CITY--UNPARALLELED GROWTH AND - PROSPERITY--PROBABILITIES IN THE FUTURE--SITUATION OF - BRIDGEPORT--ITS ADVANTAGES AND PROSPECTS--THE SECOND, IF NOT THE - FOREMOST CITY IN CONNECTICUT. - - -For nearly five years my family had been knocked about, the sport of -adverse fortune, without a settled home. Sometimes we boarded, and at -other times we lived in a small hired house. Two of my daughters were -married, and my youngest daughter, Pauline, was away at boarding school. -The health of my wife was much impaired, and she especially needed a -fixed residence which she could call “home.” Accordingly, in 1860, I -built a pleasant house adjoining that of my daughter Caroline, in -Bridgeport, and one hundred rods west of the grounds of Iranistan. I had -originally a tract of twelve acres, but half of it had been devoted to -my daughter, and on the other half I now proposed to establish my own -residence. To prepare the site it was necessary to cart in several -thousands of loads of dirt to fill up the hollow and to make the broad, -beautiful lawn, in the centre of which I erected the new house, and -after supplying the place with fountains, shrubbery, statuary and all -that could adorn it, I named my new home “Lindencroft.” It was, in -truth, a very delightful place, complete and convenient in all respects, -and there is scarcely a more beautiful residence in Bridgeport now. - -Meanwhile, my pet city, East Bridgeport, was progressing with giant -strides. The Wheeler and Wilson Sewing Machine manufactory had been -quadrupled in size, and employed about a thousand workmen. Numerous -other large factories had been built, and scores of first-class houses -were erected, besides many neat, but smaller and cheaper houses for -laborers and mechanics. That piece of property, which, but eight years -before, had been farm land, with scarcely six houses upon the whole -tract, was now a beautiful new city, teeming with busy life, and looking -as neat as a new pin. The greatest pleasure which I then took, or even -now take, was in driving through those busy streets, admiring the -beautiful houses and substantial factories, with their thousands of -prosperous workmen, and reflecting that I had, in so great a measure, -been the means of adding all this life, bustle and wealth to the City of -Bridgeport. And reflection on this subject only confirmed in my mind the -great doctrine of compensations. How plain was it in my case, that an -“apparent evil” was a “blessing in disguise!” How palpable was it now, -that, had it not been for the clock failure, this prosperity could not -have existed here. An old citizen of Bridgeport used to say to me, when, -a few years before, he had noticed my zeal in trying to build up the -east side: - -“Mr. Barnum, your contemplated new city is like a fire made with -chestnut wood; it burns so long as you keep blowing it, and when you -stop, it goes out!” - -I like, now-a-days to laugh at him about his “chestnut wood fire.” Of -course, I did blow the fire in all possible ways, but the result proved -that the wood which fed the fire was not chestnut, but the best and -soundest old hickory. The situation was everything that could be -desired, and I knew that in order to induce manufacturers to establish -their business in the new city, a prime requisite was the advantage I -could offer to employers, agents and workmen, to secure good and cheap -homes in the vicinity of their place of labor. To show the method I -adopted to secure this end, I copy from the files of the Bridgeport -_Standard_, an offer which I made, and the editorial comment thereon. -This offer, I may add, was not so much for the purpose of blowing the -fire, which was already fairly roaring with a lively blaze, as for the -sake of helping those who were willing to help themselves, and, at the -same time, contribute to my happiness, as well as their own, by -forwarding the growth of the new city. - - - “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.” - -The editor of the _Standard_ printed the following upon my announcement: - - “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 mean time, - he can be making such inexpensive improvements in his property as - would greatly improve 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.” - -Quite a number of men at once availed themselves of my offer, and -eventually succeeded in paying for their homes without much effort. I am -sorry to add, that rent is still paid, month after month, by many men -who would long ago have owned neat homesteads, free from all -incumbrances, if they had accepted my proposals and had signed and kept -the temperance pledge, and given up the use of tobacco. The money they -have since expended for whiskey and tobacco, would have given them a -house of their own, if the money had been devoted to that object, and -their positions, socially and morally, would have been far better than -they are to-day. 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! - -I built a number of houses to let, in order to accommodate those who -were unable to buy. I find this the most unpleasant part of my -connection with the new city. The interest on the investment, the taxes, -repairs, wear and tear, and insurance render tenant-houses the most -unprofitable property to own; besides which the landlord is often looked -upon by the tenants as an overbearing, grasping man and one whose -property it is their highest duty to injure as much as possible; for all -concerned therefore, it is much better that every person should somehow -manage to own the roof he sleeps under. Men are more independent and -feel happier who live in their own houses; they keep the premises in -neater order, and they make better citizens. Hence I always encourage -poor people to become householders if possible, for I find that -oftentimes when they have lived long in one of my houses they think it -very hard if the property is not given to them. They argue that the -landlord is rich and would never feel the loss of one little place, not -stopping to consider that the aggregate of a great many “little places” -thus given away would make the landlord poor,--nor would the tenants be -benefited so much by homes that were given to them as they would by -homes that were the fruits of their own industry and economy. - -The land in East Bridgeport was originally purchased by me at from $50 -to $75, and from those sums to $300 per acre; and the average cost of -all I bought on that side of the river was $200 per acre. Some portions -of this land are now assessed in the Bridgeport tax-list at from $3,000 -to $4,000 per acre. At the time I joined Mr. Noble in this enterprise, -the site we purchased was not a part of the City of Bridgeport. It is -now, however, a most important section of the city, and the three -bridges connecting the two banks of the river, and originally chartered -as toll-bridges, have been bought by the city and thrown open as free -highways to the public. A horse railroad, in which I took one-tenth part -of the stock, connects the two portions of the city, extending westerly -beyond Iranistan and Lindencroft, while a branch road runs to the -beautiful “Sea-side Park” on the Sound shore. - -The eastern line of East Bridgeport, when I first purchased so large a -portion of the property, was bounded by a long, narrow swale or valley -of salt meadow, through which a small stream passed, and which was -flooded with salt water at every tide. At considerable expense, I -erected a dam at the foot of this meadow, and thus converted this -heretofore filthy, repulsive, mosquito-inhabited and malaria-breeding -marsh into a charming sheet of water, which is now known as Pembroke -Lake. If this improvement had not been made, in all probability the -eastern portion of my property would never have been devoted to dwelling -houses; as it is, Barnum Street has been extended by means of a bridge -across the lake, and the eastern shore is already studded with houses. -The land on that side of the lake lies in the town of Stratford, and the -growth of the new settlement promises to be as rapid as that of East -Bridgeport. - -General Noble, in laying out the first portion of our new city, named -several streets after members of his own family, and also of mine. -Hence, we have a “Noble” Street--and a noble street it is; a “Barnum” -Street; while other streets are named “William,” from Mr. Noble; -“Harriet,” the Christian name of Mrs. Noble; “Hallett,” the maiden name -of my wife; and “Caroline,” “Helen,” and “Pauline,” the names of my -three daughters. There is also the “Barnum School District” and -school-house; so that it seems as if, for a few scores of years at -least, posterity would know who were the founders of the new, -flourishing and beautiful city. We have yet another enduring and -ever-growing monument in the many thousands of trees which we set out -and which now line and gratefully shade the streets of East Bridgeport. - -Figures can scarcely give an appreciable idea of the rapid growth and -material prosperity of this important portion of the City of Bridgeport; -but the city records show that my first purchase of land on that side of -the river was appraised in the Bridgeport assessment list, in October, -1851, at $36,000, while in July, 1859, the same real estate, with -improvements, less the Washington Park, the Public School lot in Barnum -District, the land for streets, and four church lots, was valued in the -city assessment list at $1,200,000. When we bought the property there -were but six old farm houses on the entire tract, when the centre bridge -was built and opened. Now there are on the same land hundreds of -dwelling-houses, some of them as fine as any in the State. Three -handsome churches, Methodist, Episcopal and Congregational, front on the -beautiful Washington Park of seven acres, which Mr. Noble and myself -presented to the city, and which would be worth $100,000 to-day for -building lots. This pleasant park is enclosed by a substantial iron -fence, and contains a fine, natural grove of full-grown trees, while the -surrounding streets are lined with charming residences, and, on one or -more evenings in the week during the summer, the city band, or the -Wheeler & Wilson band, plays in the Park for the amusement and benefit -of the citizens of East Bridgeport. - -Some of the largest and most prosperous manufactories in the United -States are located in the new city. Among these are the Wheeler & Wilson -Sewing Machine Manufactories, which cover four entire squares, with -fire-proof buildings, are rapidly extending, and employ more than one -thousand operators; the Howe Sewing Machine Factory is also an immense -edifice, employing nearly the same number of men; Schuyler, Hartley, -Graham & Company’s great cartridge and ammunition works, almost supply -the armies of the world with the means of destruction; besides these, -the Winchester Arms Manufactory for making the “twenty-shooter -breech-loader”; a large brass manufactory; an immense hat manufactory; -and Hotchkiss, Sons & Company’s Hardware Manufactory, are among the more -prominent establishments, and other and like concerns are constantly -adding. Indeed, at this time (1869) one-fourth of the population and -three-fourths of the manufacturing capital and business of Bridgeport -are located on the east side within limits which, in 1850, contained -only six old farm houses. - -The following details respecting the business of some of the largest -establishments will give an idea of the manufacturing industries of East -Bridgeport. The Wheeler and Wilson Manufacturing Company employ more -than $4,000,000 in their business. Their employees number ten hundred, -and they manufacture an average of three hundred sewing machines per -day; the total number of machines manufactured up to July 1, 1869, is -over four hundred thousand, and the factories cover six and one-half -acres of ground. The Union Metallic Cartridge Company, Messrs. Schuyler, -Hartley, Graham & Co., have a capital of $350,000, employ two hundred -and fifty men, and manufacture cartridges and primers of Berdan’s patent -military and sporting caps, and elastic gun waddings, at the rate of -1,000,000 cartridges, 720,000 primers, and 720,000 caps per week, and to -July 1, 1869, they had manufactured 50,000,000 cartridges. The -Bridgeport Brass Company employ two hundred men, have a capital of -$150,000, and manufacture rolled brass wire and tubing, kerosene -burners, lamp goods, corset steels, oil cans, etc., and roll and use in -these goods 1,000,000 pounds of brass a year. The Winchester Arms -Company have a capital of $450,000, employ three hundred men, and -manufacture the Winchester rifle, cartridges and ammunition. The Howe -Machine Company have a capital of $300,000, employ five hundred men, and -manufacture sewing machines at the rate of one hundred and fifty per -day. Messrs. Hotchkiss and Sons, with a capital of $162,500, and one -hundred and twenty-five men, manufacture hardware, currycombs, game -traps, and harness snaps to the amount of $20,000 per month. The -Bridgeport Manufacturing Company, with fifty men, and a capital of -$300,000, manufacture the American submerged pump. The Odorless Rubber -Company, with fifty men, and $200,000 capital, manufacture soft rubber -goods, hose, clothing, etc. The American Silver Steel Company, -manufacture steel from the Mine Hill, Roxbury, Connecticut, Spathic -ore, and employ two hundred and fifty men, and a capital of $500,000. -Messrs. Glover Sanford and Sons, employ two hundred and fifty men, and -manufacture two hundred and fifty dozen wool hats per day. The New York -Tap and Die Company, with a capital of $150,000, and one hundred men, -manufacture taps, dies, drills, bits, etc. These companies thus employ -about six and one-half millions in capital, and nearly twenty-seven -hundred men, and expend more than $2,000,000 a year in wages to the -operatives. - -In addition, there are several substantial brick blocks devoted to -business; there are book stores, drug stores, dry goods stores, jewelry -stores, boot and shoe shops and stores, tailoring and furnishing -establishments, more than twenty grocery stores, six meat markets, three -fish markets, coal, wood, lumber and brick yards, steam flouring mills, -and a large brick hotel. The water and gas supplies are the same as -those afforded on the other side of the river. It is quite within the -bounds of probability that in the course of twenty years, the east side -will contain the larger proportion of the inhabitants. A post-office and -a railway station will soon be built on that side of the river. A new -iron bridge is about to connect the two parts of the city, affording -additional facilities for inter-communication. In 1868, March 2, a -special committee of the Common Council reported the census of the City -of Bridgeport as follows: First ward, 7,397; Second ward, 4,237; Third -ward, East Bridgeport, 5,497; total, 17,131. In this enumeration, our -new city contained nearly one-third of the entire population, and its -increase since has been far more rapid than that of any other part of -Bridgeport. - -The entire City of Bridgeport is advancing in population and prosperity -with a rapidity far beyond that of any other city in Connecticut, and -everything indicates that it will soon take its proper position as the -second, if not the first, city in the State. Its situation as the -terminus of the Naugatuck and the Housatonic railways, its accessibility -to New York, with its two daily steamboats to and from the metropolis, -and its dozen daily trains of the New York and Boston and Shore Line -railways, are all elements of prosperity which are rapidly telling in -favor of this busy, beautiful and charming city. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI. - -MORE ABOUT THE MUSEUM. - - ANOTHER RE-OPENING--A CHERRY-COLORED CAT--THE CAT LET OUT OF THE - BAG--MY FIRST WHALING EXPEDITION--PLANS FOR CAPTURE--SUCCESS OF THE - SCHEME--TRANSPORTING LIVING WHALES BY LAND--PUBLIC EXCITEMENT--THE - GREAT TANK--SALT WATER PUMPED FROM THE BAY TO THE MUSEUM--MORE - WHALES--EXPEDITION TO LABRADOR--THE FIRST HIPPOPOTAMUS IN - AMERICA--TROPICAL FISH--COMMODORE NUTT AND HIS FIRST - “ENGAGEMENT”--THE TWO DROMIOS--PRESIDENT LINCOLN SEES COMMODORE - NUTT--WADING ASHORE--A QUESTION OF LEGS--SELF-DECEPTION--THE GOLDEN - ANGEL FISH--ANNA SWAN, THE NOVA SCOTIA GIANTESS--THE TALLEST WOMAN - IN THE WORLD--INDIAN CHIEFS--EXPEDITION TO CYPRUS--MY AGENT IN A - PASHA’S HAREM. - - -On the 13th of October, 1860, the American Museum was the scene of -another re-opening, which was, in fact, the commencement of the fall -dramatic season, the summer months having been devoted to pantomime. A -grand flourish of trumpets in the way of newspaper advertisements and -flaming posters drew a crowded house. Among other attractions, it was -announced that Mr. Barnum would introduce a mysterious novelty never -before seen in that establishment. I appeared upon the stage behind a -small table, in front of which was nailed a white sack, on which was -inscribed, in large letters, “The cat let out of the bag.” I then stated -that, having spent two of the summer months in the country, leaving the -Museum in charge of Mr. Greenwood, he had purchased a curiosity with -which he was not satisfied; but, for my part, I thought he had received -his money’s worth, and I proposed to exhibit it to the audience, for -the purpose of getting their opinion on the subject. I stated that a -farmer came in from the country, and said he had got a “cherry-colored -cat” at home which he would like to sell; that Mr. Greenwood gave him a -writing promising to pay him twenty-five dollars for such a cat -delivered in good health, provided it was not artificially colored; and -that the cat was then in the bag in front of the table, ready for -exhibition. Whereupon, my assistant drew from the bag a common black -cat, and I informed the audience that when the farmer brought his -“cherry-colored cat,” he quietly remarked to Mr. Greenwood, that, of -course, he meant “a cat of the color of black cherries.” The laughter -that followed this narration was uproarious, and the audience -unanimously voted that the “cherry-colored cat,” all things considered, -was well worth twenty-five dollars. The cat, adorned with a collar -bearing the inscription, “The Cherry-colored Cat,” was then placed in -the cage of the “Happy Family,” and the story getting into the -newspapers, it became another advertisement of the Museum. - -In 1861, I learned that some fishermen at the mouth of the St. Lawrence -had succeeded in capturing a living white whale, and I was also informed -that a whale of this kind, if placed in a box lined with sea-weed and -partially filled with salt water, could be transported by land to a -considerable distance, and be kept alive. It was simply necessary that -an attendant, supplied with a barrel of salt water and a sponge, should -keep the mouth and blow-hole of the whale constantly moist. It seemed -incredible that a living whale could be “expressed” by railroad on a -five days’ journey, and although I knew nothing of the white whale or -its habits, since I had never seen one, I determined to experiment in -that direction. Landsman as I was, I believed that I was quite as -competent as a St. Lawrence fisherman to superintend the capture and -transportation of a live white whale. - -When I had fully made up my mind to attempt the task, I made every -provision for the expedition, and took precaution against every -conceivable contingency. I determined upon the capture and transport to -my Museum of at least two living whales, and prepared in the basement of -the building a brick and cement tank, forty feet long, and eighteen feet -wide, for the reception of the marine monsters. When this was done, -taking two trusty assistants, I started upon my whaling expedition. -Going by rail to Quebec, and thence by the Grand Trunk Railroad, ninety -miles, to Wells River, where I chartered a sloop to Elbow Island (Isle -au Coudres), in the St. Lawrence River, and found the place populated by -Canadian French people of the most ignorant and dirty description. They -were hospitable, but frightfully filthy, and they gained their -livelihood by farming and fishing. Immense quantities of maple-sugar are -made there, and in exploring about the island, we saw hundreds of -birch-bark buckets suspended to the trees to catch the sap. After -numerous consultations, extending over three whole days, with a party of -twenty-four fishermen, whose gibberish was almost as untranslatable as -it was unbearable, I succeeded in contracting for their services to -capture for me, alive and unharmed, a couple of white whales, scores of -which could at all times be discovered by their “spouting” within sight -of the island. I was to pay these men a stipulated price per day for -their labor, and if they secured the whales, they were to have a liberal -bonus. - -[Illustration: _CAPTURING WHITE WHALES._] - -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, my 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 the 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. - -All this was simple enough “on paper”; but several days elapsed before a -single spout was seen inside the kraal, though scores of whales were -constantly around and near it. In time, it became exceedingly -aggravating to see the whales glide so near the trap without going into -it, and our patience was sorely tried. One day a whale actually went -into the kraal, and the fishermen proposed to capture it; but I wanted -another, and while we waited for number two to go in, number one knowing -the proverb, probably, and having an eye to his own interests, went out. -Two days afterwards, I was awakened at daylight by a great noise, and -amid the clamor of many voices, I caught the cheering news that two -whales were even then within the kraal, and hastily dressing myself, I -took a boat for the exciting scene. The real difficulty, which was to -get the whales into the trap, was now over, and the details of capture -and transportation could safely be left to my trusty assistants and the -fishermen. What they were to do until the tide went out and thereafter -was once more fully explained; and after depositing money enough to pay -the bill, if the capture was successful, I started at once for Quebec. -There I learned by telegraph that both whales had been caught, boxed, -and put on board sloop for the nearest point where they could be -transhipped in the cars. I had made every arrangement with the railway -officials, and had engaged a special car for the precious and curious -freight. - -Elated as I was at the result of this novel enterprise, I had no idea of -hiding my light under a bushel, and I immediately wrote a full account -of the expedition, its intention, and its success, for publication in -the Quebec and Montreal newspapers. I also prepared a large number of -brief notices which I left at every station on the line, instructing -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 I thus secured a tremendous -advertisement, seven hundred miles long, for the American Museum. - -When I arrived in New York, a dozen despatches had come from the -“whaling expedition,” and they continued to come every few hours. These -I bulletined in front of the Museum and sent copies 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. - -Thus was my first whaling expedition a great success; but I did not know -how to feed or to take care of the monsters, and, moreover, they were in -fresh water, and this, with the bad air in the basement, may have -hastened their death, which occurred a few days after their arrival, but -not before thousands of people had seen them. Not at all discouraged, I -resolved to try again. My plan now was to connect the water of New York -bay with the basement of the Museum by means of iron pipes under the -street, and a steam engine on the dock to pump the water. This I -actually did at a cost of several thousand dollars, with an extra -thousand to the aldermanic “ring” for the privilege, and I constructed -another tank in the second floor of the building. This tank was built of -slate and French glass plates six feet long, five feet broad, and one -inch thick, imported expressly for the purpose, and the tank, when -completed, was twenty-four feet square, and cost $4,000. It was kept -constantly supplied with what would be called Hibernically, “fresh” salt -water, and inside of it I soon had two white whales, caught, as the -first had been, hundreds of miles below Quebec, to which city they were -carried by a sailing vessel, and from thence were brought by railway to -New York. - -Of this whole enterprise, I confess I was very proud that I had -originated it and brought it to such successful conclusion. It was a -very great sensation, and it added thousands of dollars to my treasury. -The whales, however, soon died--their sudden and immense popularity was -too much for them--and I then despatched agents to the coast of -Labrador, and not many weeks thereafter I had two more live whales -disporting themselves in my monster aquarium. Certain envious people -started the report that my whales were only porpoises, but this petty -malice was turned to good account, for Professor Agassiz, of Harvard -University, came to see them, and gave me a certificate that they were -genuine white whales, and this indorsement I published far and wide. - -The tank which I had built in the basement served for a yet more -interesting exhibition. On the 12th of August, 1861, I began to exhibit -the first and only genuine hippopotamus that had ever been seen in -America, and for several weeks the Museum was thronged by the curious -who came to see the monster. I advertised him extensively and -ingeniously, as “the great behemoth of the Scriptures,” giving a full -description of the animal and his habits, and thousands of cultivated -people, biblical students, and others, were attracted to this novel -exhibition. There was quite as much excitement in the city over this -wonder in the animal creation as there was in London when the first -hippopotamus was placed in the zoölogical collection in Regent’s Park. - -Having a stream of salt water at my command at every high tide, I was -enabled to make splendid additions to the beautiful aquarium, which I -was the first to introduce into this country. I not only procured living -sharks, porpoises, sea horses, and many rare fish from the sea in the -vicinity of New York, but in the summer of 1861, I despatched a fishing -smack and crew to the Island of Bermuda and its neighborhood, whence -they brought scores of specimens of the beautiful “angel fish,” and -numerous other tropical fish of brilliant colors and unique forms. These -fish were a great attraction to all classes, and especially to -naturalists and others, who commended me for serving the ends of science -as well as amusement. But as cold weather approached, these tropical -fish began to die, and before the following spring, they were all gone. -I, therefore, replenished this portion of my aquaria during the summer, -and for several summers in succession, by sending a special vessel to -the Gulf for specimens. These operations were very expensive, but I -really did not care for the cost, if I could only secure valuable -attractions. - -In the same year, I bought out the Aquarial Gardens in Boston, and soon -after removed the collection to the Museum. I had now the finest -assemblage of fresh as well as salt water fish ever exhibited, and with -a standing offer of one hundred dollars for every living brook-trout, -weighing four pounds or more, which might be brought to me, I soon had -three or four of these beauties, which trout-fishermen from all parts of -the country came to New York to see. But the trout department of my -Museum required so much care, and was attended with such constant risks, -that I finally gave it up. - -In December, 1861, I made one of my most “palpable hits.” 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, 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 -despatching 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 mean -time, 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 I was trying to play “Mrs. Gamp” with my “Mrs. -Harris”; that there was, in fact, no such person as “Commodore Nutt”; -and that I was exhibiting my old friend Tom Thumb under a new name. The -mistake was very natural, and to me it was very laughable, for the more -I tried to convince people of their error, the more they winked and -looked wise, and said, “It’s pretty well done, but you can’t take me -in.” - -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. After he had been in the Museum a few weeks, I took the -Commodore to Bridgeport to spend a couple of days by way of relaxation. -Many of the citizens of Bridgeport, who had known Tom Thumb from his -birth, would salute the Commodore as the General Tom Thumb. The little -fellow would return these salutes, for he delighted in keeping up the -illusion. - -Going into a crowded barber-shop one morning with the little Commodore, -we met my friend Mr. Gideon Thompson, who was sitting there, and who -called out: - -“Good morning, Charley; how are you? When did you get home?” - -“I’m quite well, thank you, and I arrived last night,” responded the -Commodore, with due gravity. - -“I’ve got a horse now that will beat yours,” said Mr. Thompson. - -“He must be pretty fast, then.” - -“Well, Charley, I’ll drive out by your mother’s the first fine day, and -give you a trial.” - -“All right,” said little Nutt, “but you had better not wager too much on -your fast horse, for you know mine is some pumpkins.” - -“Well, Uncle Gid.,” I exclaimed, “you are ‘had’ this time; this little -gentleman is not General Tom Thumb, but Commodore Nutt.” - -“What!” roared friend Gid.; “do you think I am an infernal fool? Why, I -knew Charley Stratton years before you ever saw him, didn’t I, General?” - -No one in the room suspected that my little friend was any other than -General Tom Thumb, till Mr. William Bassett, the General’s -brother-in-law, came in and remarked the “wonderful resemblance to our -little Charley, as he looked years ago.” - -“Is not this the General?” inquired half a dozen astonished men, who -were speedily assured he was not, but was quite another person. This -gave rise to a proposition to exhibit the Commodore to the General’s -mother, and a coach was procured, and Mr. Bassett, the Commodore, and I -went to Mrs. Stratton’s house. When we arrived, the Commodore shouted -out: - -“How are you, mother?” - -But the mother, of all persons in Bridgeport, was not to be deceived, -though she expressed her astonishment at the very striking likeness the -Commodore bore to her son as he once looked. Mrs. Bassett concurred in -the testimony and said the Commodore looked so much like her brother -that she was loth to let him go. It is no wonder that other people were -deceived by the resemblance. - -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. - -As an illustration--the “Australian Golden Pigeons” which deceived Old -Adams were the occasion of another ludicrous incident. A shrewd lady, -one of my neighbors in Connecticut, was visiting the Museum, and after -inspecting the “Golden Angel Fish” swimming in one of the aquaria, she -abruptly addressed me: - -“You can’t humbug me, Mr. Barnum; that fish is painted!” - -“Nonsense!” said I, with a laugh; “the thing is impossible.” - -“I don’t care, I know it is painted; it is as plain as can be.” - -“But, my dear Mrs. H., paint would not adhere to a fish in the water; -and if it would, it would kill him.” - -She left the Museum not more than half convinced, and in the afternoon -of the same day I met her in the California Menagerie. She knew I was -part proprietor in the establishment, and seeing me in conversation with -Old Adams, she came to me, her eyes glistening with excitement, and -exclaimed-- - -“Oh, Mr. Barnum, I never saw anything so beautiful as those elegant -“Golden Pigeons”; you must give me some of their eggs for my own pigeons -to hatch; I should prize them beyond measure.” - -“Oh, you don’t want ‘Golden Pigeons,’” I said; “they are painted.” - -“No, they are not painted,” said she, with a laugh, “but I half think -the ‘Angel Fish’ is.” - -I could scarcely control my laughter as I explained: “Now, Mrs. H., I -never spoil a good joke, even when the exposure betrays a Museum secret. -I assure you, upon honor, that the “Australian Golden Pigeons,” as they -are labelled, are really painted; I bought them for the sole purpose of -giving Old Adams a lesson; in their natural state they are nothing more -than common white ruff-neck pigeons.” She was convinced, and to this day -she blushes whenever any allusion is made to the “Angel Fish” or the -“Golden Pigeons.” - -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 Secretary of War 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.” - -Commodore Nutt and the Nova Scotia giantess, Anna Swan, illustrate the -old proverb sufficiently to show how extremes occasionally met in my -Museum. He was the shortest of men and she was the tallest of women. I -first heard of her through a quaker who came into my office one day and -told me of a wonderful girl, seventeen years of age, who resided near -him at Pictou, Nova Scotia, and who was probably the tallest girl in the -world. I asked him to obtain her exact height, on his return home, which -he did and sent it to me, and I at once sent an agent who in due time -came back with Anna Swan. She was an intelligent and by no means -ill-looking girl, and during the long period while she was in my employ -she was visited by thousands of persons. After the burning of my second -Museum, she went to England where she attracted great attention. - -For many years I had been in the habit of engaging parties of American -Indians from the far West to exhibit at the Museum, and had sent two or -more Indian companies to Europe, where they were regarded as very great -“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, I succeeded in inducing the interpreter -to bring them to New York, and to pass some days at my 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, I took them upon the stage -and personally introduced them to the public. The Indians liked this -attention from me, as they had been informed that I was the proprietor -of the great establishment in which they were invited and honored -guests. My 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 upon the stage, I 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, I 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, I took them to ride in Central Park, and through -different portions of the city. At every street corner which we 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, between each of these outside visits I 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 me as their host, they did not hesitate to trespass -upon my hospitality. Whenever their eyes rested upon a glittering shell -among my specimens of conchology, especially if it had several brilliant -colors, one would take off his coat, another his shirt, and insist that -I should exchange my shell for their garment. When I declined the -exchange, but on the contrary presented them with the coveted article, I -soon found I had established a dangerous precedent. Immediately, they -all commenced to beg for everything in my vast collection, which they -happened to take a liking to. This cost me many valuable specimens, and -often “put me to my trumps” for an excuse to avoid giving them things -which I 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 my cases of antique armor. He was -delighted with it, and declared he must have it. I tried all sorts of -excuses to prevent his getting it, for it had cost me 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 told me 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. I remained inexorable until he -finally brought me a new buckskin Indian suit, which he insisted upon -exchanging. I felt compelled to accept his proposal; and never did I see -a man more delighted than he 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, -blood-thirsty 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 me, and although not speaking or understanding a word -of our language, would try to convince me that he loved me dearly. - -In exhibiting these Indian warriors on the stage, I explained to the -large audiences the names and characteristics of each. When I came to -Yellow Bear I would pat him familiarly upon the shoulder, which always -caused him to look up to me with a pleasant smile, while he softly -stroked down my arm with his right hand in the most loving manner. -Knowing that he could not understand a word I said, I pretended to be -complimenting him to the audience, while I 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 I patted him on the head, and he, supposing I was sounding his -praises, would smile, fawn upon me, and stroke my arm, while I -continued: “If the blood-thirsty 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 I gave him another -patronizing pat on the head, and he, with a pleasant smile, bowed to the -audience, as much as to say that my words were quite true, and that he -thanked me very much for the high encomiums I had so generously heaped -upon him. - -After they had been about a week at the Museum, one of the chiefs -discovered that visitors paid money for entering. This information he -soon communicated to the other chiefs, and I heard an immediate murmur -of discontent. Their eyes were opened, and no power could induce them to -appear again upon the stage. Their dignity had been offended, and their -wild, flashing eyes were anything but agreeable. Indeed, I hardly felt -safe in their presence, and it was with a feeling of relief that I -witnessed their departure for Washington the next morning. - -In the spring of 1864, the United States Consul at Larnica, Island of -Cyprus, Turkish Dominions, wrote me a letter, declaring that he and the -English Consul, an American physician, resident in the island, and a -large company of Europeans as well as natives, had seen the most -remarkable object, no doubt, in the world,--a _lusus naturæ_, a feminine -phenomenon. This woman was represented to have “four cornicles on her -head, and one large horn, equal in size to an ordinary ram’s horn, -growing out of the side of her head”; and the consistency of the horns -was represented to be similar to that of cows’ or goats’ horns. This -singular story continued: “These horns have been growing for ten or -twelve years, and were carefully concealed by the woman until a few -weeks since, when a vision appeared in the person of an old man, and -warned her to remove the veil she wore, or God would punish her. She -sent to the Greek priest (she being of that persuasion), and confessed -to him, and was ordered to uncover her head, which she at once did.” She -was subsequently seen by the entire population, and the French consul, -in company with others, offered her fifty thousand piastres to go to -Paris for exhibition. The English consul, I was further informed, had -pronounced this woman to be “worth her weight in gold”; and I was -assured that if I wished to add her to my “wonderful Museum, and present -to the American public the most remarkable object yet exhibited,” I had -only to “send an agent immediately to secure the prize.” - -Informing myself of the trustworthiness of my correspondent (who also -wrote a similar account to the New York _Observer_), I was not long in -making up my mind to secure this freak of nature; and I despatched Mr. -John Greenwood, Jr., in the steamer “City of Baltimore,” for Liverpool, -April 30, 1864. He went to London and Paris, and thence to Marseilles, -where he took a Syrian and Egyptian steamer to Palermo, and from thence -proceeded to Cyprus. On arriving, if he could have seen the woman at -once, he could have re-embarked on the steamer, which sailed again in a -few hours for other islands; but unfortunately, the woman was a few -miles in the interior, and poor Greenwood was detained a month on the -island before he could take another steamer to get away. Worse yet, the -woman, spite of the impression she had made upon so many and such -respectable witnesses, was really no curiosity after all, as it proved -upon examination, that her “horns” were not horns at all, but fleshy -excrescences, which may have been singularly shaped tumors, or wens. It -is needless to add that my agent did not engage her; and after a month -of discomfort and hard living, he succeeded in getting away, and sailed -for Constantinople, mainly to see what could be done in the way of -securing one or more Circassian women for exhibition in my Museum. - -On his way through the Mediterranean, he had the following adventure: On -board the steamer, the harem of a Turkish Pasha occupied one side of the -quarter deck, which was divided off from the rest by a hurdle fence run -longitudinally through the middle of the deck. Greenwood was one day -sitting in an easy chair with his back to these women and their -attendants, when, feeling his chair move, he turned and saw one of the -Pasha’s wives getting over the hurdle, and as there was scarcely room -for her to squeeze herself between the chairs in which passengers were -sitting, he moved his own chair out of the way and rising, offered his -hand to assist the woman over the fence. She indignantly jumped back, -and Greenwood was immediately seized by two of the Pasha’s attendants, -violently shaken, and taken to task in Turkish for daring to offer to -touch the hand of one of his Excellency’s women. Greenwood had that day -formed the acquaintance of a fellow-passenger, a young Greek from Scio, -who was going to Beyrout to act as clerk for a merchant in that place. -He spoke good English, and seeing Greenwood in trouble among the Turks, -and knowing that he could speak neither Greek nor Arabic, he went to the -rescue, and demanded an explanation of the difficulty. - -Upon hearing what was the trouble, he informed the - -[Illustration: _TROUBLE IN A TURKISH HAREM._] - -turbulent fellows that Greenwood had no motive in his act beyond simple -common courtesy. The prisoner, however, was still detained in the grasp -of the Turks, till the will of the insulted Pasha could be known. On -deck soon came the irate Pasha, in company with an old gentleman who was -said to have been tutor, formerly, to the present Sultan of Turkey. When -the two heard the charge and the explanation, and had consulted together -a little while, Greenwood was released. But for the friendly -interposition of the Greek, he might have been bastinadoed, or even -bowstrung. - -During the remainder of the voyage he was closely watched, but he was -very careful to be guilty of no act of “politeness,” and he went on -shore at Constantinople without so much as saying good-by to the Pasha. -In Constantinople he had some very singular adventures. To carry out his -purpose of getting access to the very interior of the slave-marts, he -dressed himself in full Turkish costume, learned a few words and phrases -which would be necessary in his assumed character as a slave-buyer, and, -as the Turks are a notably reticent people, he succeeded very well in -passing himself off for what he appeared, though he ran a risk of -detection many times every day. In this manner, he saw a large number of -Circassian girls and women, some of them the most beautiful beings he -had ever seen, and after a month in Constantinople and in other Turkish -cities, he sailed for Marseilles, then went to Paris, picking up many -treasures for my Museum, and returned to New York, after a journey of -13,112 miles. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII - -MR. AND MRS. GENERAL TOM THUMB. - - MISS LAVINIA WARREN--A CHARMING LITTLE LADY--SUPPOSED TO BE THE - $30,000 NUTT IN DISGUISE--HER WARDROBE AND PRESENTS--STORY OF A - RING--THE LITTLE COMMODORE IN LOVE--TOM THUMB SMITTEN--RIVALRY OF - THE DWARFS--JEALOUSY OF THE GENERAL--VISIT AT BRIDGEPORT--THE - GENERAL’S STYLISH TURN-OUT--MISS WARREN IMPRESSED--CALL OF THE - GENERAL--A LILIPUTIAN LOVE SCENE--TOM THUMB’S INVENTORY OF HIS - PROPERTY--HE PROPOSES AND IS ACCEPTED--ARRIVAL OF THE - COMMODORE--HIS GRIEF--EXCITEMENT OVER THE ENGAGEMENT--THE WEDDING - IN GRACE CHURCH--REVEREND JUNIUS WILLEY--A SPICY LETTER BY DOCTOR - TAYLOR--GRAND RECEPTION OF MR. AND MRS. STRATTON--THE COMMODORE IN - SEARCH OF A GREEN COUNTRY GIRL. - - -In 1862 I heard of an extraordinary dwarf girl, named Lavinia Warren, -who was residing with her parents at Middleboro’, Massachusetts, and I -sent an invitation to her and her parents to come and visit me at -Bridgeport. They came, and I found her to be a most intelligent and -refined young lady, well educated, and an accomplished, beautiful and -perfectly-developed woman in miniature. I succeeded in making an -engagement with her for several years, during which she contracted--as -dwarfs are said to have the power to do--to visit Great Britain, France, -and other foreign lands. - -Having arranged the terms of her engagement, I took her to the house of -one of my daughters in New York, where she remained quietly, while I was -procuring her wardrobe and jewelry, and making arrangements for her -début. As yet, nothing had been said in the papers about this -interesting young lady, and one day as I was taking her home with me to -Bridgeport, I met in the cars the wife of a wealthy menagerie -proprietor, who introduced me to her two daughters, young ladies of -sixteen and eighteen years of age, and then said: - -“You have disguised the little Commodore very nicely.” - -“That is not Commodore Nutt,” I replied, “it is a young lady whom I have -recently discovered.” - -“Very well done, Mr. Barnum,” replied Mrs. B., with a look of self -satisfaction. - -“Really,” I repeated, “this _is_ a young lady.” - -“Thank you, Mr. Barnum, but I know Commodore Nutt in whatever costume -you put him; and I recognized him the moment you brought him into the -car.” - -“But, Mrs. B.,” I replied, “Commodore Nutt is now exhibiting in the -Museum, and this is a little lady whom I hope to bring before the public -soon.” - -“Mr. Barnum,” she replied, “you forget that I am a showman’s wife, -conversant with all the showman’s tricks, and that I cannot be -deceived.” - -Seeing there was no prospect of convincing her, I replied in a -confidential whisper, for such chance for a joke was not to be lost: - -“Well, I see you are too sharp for me, but I beg you not to mention it, -for you are the only person on board this train who suspects it is the -Commodore.” - -“I will say nothing,” she replied, “but do please bring the little -fellow over here, for my daughters have never seen him.” - -I stepped and told Lavinia the joke and asked her to help carry it out. -I then took her over where she got a seat in the midst of the three -ladies. - -“Ah, Commodore,” whispered Mrs. B., “you have done it pretty well, but -bless you, I knew those eyes and that nose the moment I saw you.” - -“Your eyes must be pretty sharp, then,” replied Lavinia. - -“Oh, you see people in our line understand these things, and are never -deceived by appearances; but let me introduce you to these two young -ladies, my daughters.” - -“We are happy to see you, sir,” said one of the young ladies. They then -enjoyed a very animated conversation, in the course of which they asked -the “Commodore” all about his family, and Lavinia managed to answer the -questions in such a way as to avoid suspicion. The ladies then informed -the “Commodore” that there was a sweet little lady living in their town -only sixteen years old, and if he would visit them, they would introduce -him; that her family was highly respectable, and she would make him a -capital wife! Lavinia thanked them and promised to visit them if it -should be convenient. As the ladies left the car, they shook hands with -Lavinia, kissed her, and in a whisper said “good morning, sir.” Meeting -the husband of the lady, some weeks afterwards, I told him the joke, and -he enjoyed it so highly that he will probably never let his wife and -daughters hear the last of it. - -I purchased a very splendid wardrobe for Miss Warren, including scores -of the richest dresses that could be procured, costly jewels, and in -fact everything that could add to the charms of her naturally charming -little person. She was then placed on exhibition at the Museum and from -the day of her _débût_ she was an extraordinary success. Commodore Nutt -was on exhibition with her, and although he was several years her -junior he evidently took a great fancy to her. One day I presented to -Lavinia a diamond and emerald ring, and as it did not exactly fit her -finger, I told her I would give her another one and that she might -present this one to the Commodore in her own name. She did so, and an -unlooked-for effect was speedily apparent; the little Commodore felt -sure that this was a love-token, and poor Lavinia was in the greatest -trouble, for she considered herself quite a woman, and regarded the -Commodore only as a nice little boy. But she did not like to offend him, -and while she did not encourage, she did not openly repel his -attentions. Miss Lavinia Warren, however, was never destined to be Mrs. -Commodore Nutt. - -It was by no means an unnatural circumstance that I should be suspected -of having instigated and brought about the marriage of Tom Thumb with -Lavinia Warren. Had I done this, I should at this day have felt no -regrets, for it has proved, in an eminent degree, one of the “happy -marriages.” I only say, what is known to all of their immediate friends, -that from first to last their engagement was an affair of the heart--a -case of “love at first sight”--that the attachment was mutual, and that -it only grows with the lapse of time. But I had neither part nor lot in -instigating or in occasioning the marriage. And as I am anxious to be -put right before the public, and so to correct whatever of false -impression may have gained ground, I have procured the consent of all -the parties to a sketch of the wooing, winning and nuptials. Of course I -should not lay these details before the public, except with the sanction -of those most interested. In this they consent to pay the penalty of -distinction. And if the wooings of kings and queens must be told, why -not the courtship and marriage of General and Mrs. Tom Thumb? The story -is an interesting one, and shall be told alike to exonerate me from the -suspicion named, and to amuse those--and they count by scores of -thousands--who are interested in the welfare of the distinguished -couple. - -In the autumn of 1862, when Lavinia Warren was on exhibition at the -Museum, Tom Thumb had no business engagement with me; in fact, he was -not on exhibition at the time at all; he was taking a “vacation” at his -house in Bridgeport. Whenever he came to New York he naturally called -upon me, his old friend, at the Museum. He happened to be in the city at -the time referred to, and one day he called, quite unexpectedly to me, -while Lavinia was holding one of her levees. Here he now saw her for the -first time, and very naturally made her acquaintance. He had a short -interview with her, after which he came directly to my private office -and desired to see me alone. Of course I complied with his request, but -without the remotest suspicion as to his object. I closed the door, and -the General took a seat. His first question let in the light. He -inquired about the family of Lavinia Warren. I gave him the facts, which -I clearly perceived gave him satisfaction of a peculiar sort. He then -said, with great frankness, and with no less earnestness: - -“Mr. Barnum, that is the most charming little lady I ever saw, and I -believe she was created on purpose to be my wife! Now,” he continued, -“you have always been a friend of mine, and I want you to say a good -word for me to her. I have got plenty of money, and I want to marry and -settle down in life, and I really feel as if I must marry that young -lady.” - -The little General was highly excited, and his general manner betrayed -the usual anxiety, which, I doubt not, most of my readers will -understand without a description. I could not repress a smile, nor -forget my joke; and I said: - -“Lavinia is engaged already.” - -“To whom--Commodore Nutt?” asked Tom Thumb, with much earnestness, and -some exhibition of the “green-eyed monster.” - -“No, General, to me,” I replied. - -“Never mind,” said the General, laughing, “you can exhibit her for a -while, and then give up the engagement; but I do hope you will favor my -suit with her.” - -I told the General that this was too sudden an affair; that he must take -time to think of it; but he insisted that years of thought would make no -difference, for his mind was fully made up. - -“Well, General,” I replied, “I will not oppose you in your suit, but you -must do your own courting. I tell you, however, the Commodore 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 can succeed in winning -her affections.” - -The General thanked me, and promised to be very discreet. A change now -came suddenly over him in several particulars. He had been (much to his -credit) very fond of his country home in Bridgeport, where he spent his -intervals of rest with his horses, and especially with his yacht, for -his fondness for the water was his great passion. But now he was -constantly having occasion to visit the city, and horses and yachts were -strangely neglected. He had a married sister in New York, and his -visits to her multiplied, for, of course, he came to New York “to see -his sister!” His mother, who resided 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 very frequent, and it was noticeable that -new relations were being established between him and Commodore Nutt. The -Commodore was not exactly jealous, yet he strutted around like a bantam -rooster whenever the General approached Lavinia. One day he and the -General got into a friendly scuffle in the dressing-room, and the -Commodore threw the General upon his back in “double quick” time. The -Commodore is lithe, wiry, and quick in his movements, but the General is -naturally slow, and although he was considerably heavier than the -Commodore, he soon found that he could not stand before him in a -personal encounter. Moreover, the Commodore is naturally quick-tempered, -and when excited, he brags about his knowledge of “the manly art of -self-defence,” and sometimes talks about pistols and bowie knives, etc. -Tom Thumb, on the contrary, is by natural disposition decidedly a man of -peace; hence, in this, agreeing with Falstaff as to what constituted the -“better part of valor,” he was strongly inclined to keep his distance, -if the little Commodore showed any belligerent symptoms. - -In the course of several weeks the General found numerous opportunities -to talk with Lavinia, while the Commodore was performing on the stage, -or was otherwise engaged; and, to a watchful discerner, it was evident -he was making encouraging progress in the affair of the heart. He also -managed to meet Lavinia on Sunday afternoons and evenings, without the -knowledge of the Commodore; but he assured me he had not yet dared to -suggest matrimony. - -He finally returned to Bridgeport, and privately begged that on the -following Saturday I would take Lavinia up to my house, and also invite -him. - -His immediate object in this was, that his mother might get acquainted -with Lavinia, for he feared opposition from that source whenever the -idea of his marriage should be suggested. I could do no less than accede -to his proposal, and on the following Friday, while Lavinia and the -Commodore were sitting in the green-room, I said: - -“Lavinia, you may go up to Bridgeport with me to-morrow morning, and -remain until Monday.” - -“Thank you,” she replied; “it will be quite a relief to get into the -country for a couple of days.” - -The Commodore immediately pricked up his ears, and said: - -“Mr. Barnum, _I_ should like to go to Bridgeport to-morrow.” - -“What for?” I asked. - -“I want to see my little ponies; I have not seen them for several -months,” he replied. - -I whispered in his ear, “you little rogue, _that_ is the pony you want -to see,” pointing to Lavinia. - -He insisted I was mistaken. When I remarked that he could not well be -spared from the Museum, he said: - -“Oh! I can perform at half past seven o’clock, and then jump on to the -eight o’clock evening train, and go up by myself, reaching Bridgeport -before eleven, and return early Monday morning.” - -I feared there would be a clashing of interests between the rival -pigmies; but wishing to please him, I consented to his request, -especially as Lavinia also favored it. I wished I could then fathom that -little woman’s heart, and see whether she (who must have discovered the -secret of the General’s frequent visits to the Museum) desired the -Commodore’s visit in order to stir up the General’s ardor, or whether, -as seemed to me the more likely, she was seeking in this way to prevent -a _denouement_ which she was not inclined to favor. Certain it is, that -though I was the General’s confidant, and knew all his desires upon the -subject, no person had discovered the slightest evidence that Lavinia -Warren had ever entertained the remotest suspicion of his thoughts -regarding marriage. If she had made the discovery, as I assume, she kept -the secret well. In fact, I assured Tom Thumb that every indication, so -far as any of us could observe, was to the effect that his suit would be -rejected. The little General was fidgety, but determined; hence he was -anxious to have Lavinia meet his mother, and also see his possessions in -Bridgeport, for he owned considerable land and numerous houses there. - -The General met us at the depot in Bridgeport, on Saturday morning, and -drove us to my house in his own carriage--his coachman being tidily -dressed, with a broad velvet ribbon and silver buckle placed upon his -hat expressly for the occasion. Lavinia was duly informed that this was -the General’s “turn out”; and after resting half an hour at Lindencroft, -he took her out to ride. He stopped a few moments at his mother’s house, -where she saw the apartments which his father had built expressly for -him, and filled with the most gorgeous furniture--all corresponding to -his own diminutive size. Then he took her to East Bridgeport, and -undoubtedly took occasion to point out in great detail all of the houses -which he owned, for he depended much upon having his wealth make some -impression upon her. They returned, and the General stayed to lunch. I -asked Lavinia how she liked her ride; she replied: - -“It was very pleasant, but,” she added, “it seems as if you and Tom -Thumb owned about all of Bridgeport!” - -The General took his leave and returned at five o’clock to dinner, with -his mother. Mrs. Stratton remained until seven o’clock. She expressed -herself charmed with Lavinia Warren; but not a suspicion passed her mind -that little Charlie was endeavoring to give her this accomplished young -lady as a daughter-in-law. The General had privately asked me to invite -him to stay over night, for, said he, “If I get a chance, I intend to -‘pop the question’ before the Commodore arrives.” So I told his mother I -thought the General had better stop with us over night, as the Commodore -would be up in the late train, adding that it would be more pleasant for -the little folks to be together. She assented, and the General was -happy. - -After tea Lavinia and the General sat down to play backgammon. As nine -o’clock approached, I remarked that it was about time to retire, but -somebody would have to sit up until nearly eleven o’clock, in order to -let in the Commodore. The General replied: - -“I will sit up with pleasure, if Miss Warren will remain also.” - -Lavinia carelessly replied, that she was accustomed to late hours, and -she would wait and see the Commodore. A little supper was placed upon -the table for the Commodore, and the family retired. - -Now it happened that a couple of mischievous young ladies were visiting -at my house, one of whom was to sleep with Lavinia. They were suspicious -that the General was going to propose to Lavinia that evening, and, in a -spirit of ungovernable curiosity, they determined, notwithstanding its -manifest impropriety, to witness the operation, if they could possibly -manage to do so on the sly. Of course this was inexcusable, the more so -as so few of my readers, had they been placed under the same temptation, -would have been guilty of such an impropriety! Perhaps I should hesitate -to use the testimony of such witnesses, or even to trust it. But a few -weeks after, they told the little couple the whole story, were forgiven, -and all had a hearty laugh over it. - -It so happened that the door of the sitting room, in which the General -and Lavinia were left at the backgammon board, opened into the hall just -at the side of the stairs, and these young misses, turning out the -lights in the hall, seated themselves upon the stairs in the dark, where -they had a full view of the cosy little couple, and were within easy -ear-shot of all that was said. - -The house was still. The General soon acknowledged himself vanquished at -backgammon, and gave it up. After sitting a few moments, he evidently -thought it was best to put a clincher on the financial part of his -abilities; so he drew from his pocket a policy of insurance, and handing -it to Lavinia, he asked 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 travelling,” said Lavinia, with a slightly mischievous look -from one corner of her eye. - -“That depends upon my company while travelling,” 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?” - -The little fairy quickly disengaged his arm, and remarked that the -General was a funny fellow to joke in that way. - -“I am not joking at all,” said the General, earnestly, “it is quite too -serious a matter for that.” - -“I wonder why the Commodore don’t come?” said Lavinia. - -“I hope you are not anxious for his arrival, for I am sure _I_ am not,” -responded the General, “and what is more, I do hope you will say ‘yes,’ -before he comes at all!” - -“Really, Mr. Stratton,” said Lavinia, with dignity, “if you are in -earnest in your strange proposal, I must say I am surprised.” - -“Well, I hope you are not _offended_,” replied the General, “for I was -never more in earnest in my life, and I hope you will consent. The first -moment I saw you I felt that you were created to be my wife.” - -“But this is so sudden.” - -“Not so very sudden; it is several months since we first met, and you -know all about me, and my family, and I hope you find nothing to object -to in me.” - -“Not at all; on the contrary, I have found you very agreeable, in fact I -like you very much as a friend, but I have not thought of marrying, -and--” - -“And what? my dear,” said the General, giving her a kiss. “Now, I beg -of you, don’t have any ‘buts’ or ‘ands’ about it. You say you like me as -a friend, why will you not like me as a husband? You ought to get -married; I love you dearly, and I want you for a wife. Now, deary, the -Commodore will be here in a few minutes, I may not have a chance to see -you again alone; do say that we will be married, and I will get Mr. -Barnum to give up your engagement.” - -Lavinia hesitated, and finally said: - -“I think I love you well enough to consent, but I have always said I -would never marry without my mother’s consent.” - -“Oh! I’ll ask your mother. May I ask your mother? Come, say yes to that, -and I will go and see her next week. May I do that, pet?” - -Then there was a sound of something very much like the popping of -several corks from as many beer bottles. The young eaves-droppers had no -doubt as to the character of these reports, nor did they doubt that they -sealed the betrothal, for immediately after they heard Lavinia say: - -“Yes, Charles, you may ask my mother.” Another volley of reports -followed, and then Lavinia said, “Now, Charles, don’t whisper this to a -living soul; let us keep our own secrets for the present.” - -“All right,” said the General, “I will say nothing; but next Tuesday I -shall start to see your mother.” - -“Perhaps you may find it difficult to obtain her consent,” said Lavinia. - -At that moment a carriage drove up to the door, and immediately the bell -was rung, and the little 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; come, warm yourself.” - -“I am not cold,” said the Commodore; “where is Mr. Barnum?” - -“He has gone to bed,” remarked the General, “but a nice supper has been -prepared for you.” - -“I am not hungry, I thank you; I am going to bed. Which room does Mr. -Barnum sleep in?” said the little bantam, in a petulant tone of voice. - -His question was answered; the young eaves-droppers scampered to their -sleeping apartments, and the Commodore soon came to my room, where he -found me indulging in the foolish habit of reading in bed. - -“Mr. Barnum, does Tom Thumb board here?” asked the Commodore, -sarcastically. - -“No,” said I, “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; but I -thought he had taken up his board here,” replied the Commodore, and off -he went to bed, evidently in a bad humor. - -Ten minutes afterwards Tom Thumb came rushing into my room, and closing -the door, he caught hold of my hand in a high state of excitement and -whispered: - -“We are engaged, Mr. Barnum! we are engaged! we are engaged!” and he -jumped up and down in the greatest glee. - -“Is that possible?” I asked. - -“Yes, sir, indeed it is; but you must not mention it,” he responded; “we -agreed to tell nobody, so please don’t say a word. I must tell _you_, -of course, but ‘mum is the word.’ I am going, Tuesday, to get her -mother’s consent.” - -I promised secrecy, and the General retired in as happy a mood as I ever -saw him. Lavinia also retired, but not a hint did she give to the young -lady with whom she slept regarding the engagement. Indeed, our family -plied her upon the subject the next day, but not a breath passed her -lips that would give the slightest indication of what had transpired. -She was quite sociable with the Commodore, and as the General concluded -to go home the next morning, the Commodore’s equanimity and good -feelings were fully restored. The General made a call of half an hour -Sunday evening, and managed to have an interview with Lavinia. The next -morning she and the Commodore returned to New York in good spirits, I -remaining in Bridgeport. - -The General called on me Monday, however, bringing a very nice letter -which he had written to Lavinia’s mother. He had concluded to send this -letter by his trusty friend, Mr. George A. Wells, instead of going -himself, and he had just seen Mr. Wells, who had consented to go to -Middleborough with the letter the following day, and to urge the -General’s suit, if it should be necessary. - -The General went to New York on Wednesday, and was there to await Mr. -Wells’ arrival. On Wednesday morning the General and Lavinia walked into -my office, and after closing the door, the little General said: - -“Mr. Barnum, I want somebody to tell the Commodore that Lavinia and I -are engaged, for I am afraid there will be a ‘row’ when he hears of it.” - -“Do it yourself, General,” I replied. - -“Oh,” said the General, almost shuddering, “I would not dare to do it, -he might knock me down.” - -“I will do it,” said Lavinia; and it was at once arranged that I should -call the Commodore and Lavinia into my office, and either she or myself -would tell him. The General, of course, “vamosed.” - -When the Commodore joined us and the door was closed, I said: - -“Commodore, do you know what this little witch has been doing?” - -“No, I don’t,” he answered. - -“Well, she has been cutting up one of the greatest pranks you ever heard -of,” I replied. “She almost deserves to be shut up, for daring to do it. -Can’t you guess what she has done?” - -He mused a moment, and then looking at me, said in a low voice, and with -a serious looking face, “Engaged?” - -“Yes,” said I, “absolutely engaged to be married to General Tom Thumb. -Did you ever hear of such a thing?” - -“Is that so, Lavinia?” asked the Commodore, looking her earnestly in the -face. - -“That is so,” said Lavinia; “and Mr. Wells has gone to obtain my -mother’s consent.” - -The Commodore turned pale, and choked a little, as if he was trying to -swallow something. Then, turning on his heel, he said, in a broken -voice: - -“I hope you may be happy.” - -As he passed out of the door, a tear rolled down his cheek. - -“That is pretty hard,” I said to Lavinia. - -“I am very sorry,” she replied, “but I could not help it. That diamond -and emerald ring which you bade me present in my name, has caused all -this trouble.” - -Half an hour after this incident, the Commodore came to my office, and -said: - -“Mr. Barnum, do you think it would be right for Miss Warren to marry -Charley Stratton if her mother should object?” - -I saw that the little fellow had still a slight hope to hang on, and I -said: - -“No, indeed, it would not be right.” - -“Well, she says she shall marry him any way; that she gives her mother -the chance to consent, but if she objects, she will have her own way and -marry him,” said the Commodore. - -“On the contrary,” I replied, “I will not permit it. She is engaged to -go to Europe for me, and I will not release her, if her mother does not -fully consent to her marrying Tom Thumb.” - -The Commodore’s eyes glistened with pleasure, as he replied: - -“Between you and me, Mr. Barnum, I don’t believe she will give her -consent.” - -But the next day dissipated his hopes. Mr. Wells returned, saying that -Lavinia’s mother at first objected, for she feared it was a contrivance -to get them married for the promotion of some pecuniary advantage; but, -upon reading the letter from the General, and one still more urgent from -Lavinia, and also upon hearing from Mr. Wells that, in case of their -marriage, I should cancel all claims I had upon Lavinia’s services, she -consented. - -After the Commodore had heard the news, I said to him: - -“Never mind, Commodore, Minnie Warren is a better match for you; she is -a charming little creature, and two years younger than you, while -Lavinia is several years your senior.” - -“I thank you, sir,” replied the Commodore, pompously, “I would not marry -the best woman living; I don’t believe in women, any way.” - -I then suggested that he should stand with little Minnie, as groom and -bridesmaid, at the approaching wedding. - -“No, sir!” replied the Commodore, emphatically; “I won’t do it!” - -That idea was therefore abandoned. A few weeks subsequently, when time -had reconciled the Commodore, he told me that Tom Thumb had asked him to -stand as groom with Minnie, at the wedding, and he was going to do so. - -“When I asked you, a few weeks ago, you refused,” I said. - -“It was not your business to ask me,” replied the Commodore, pompously. -“When the proper person invited me I accepted.” - -Of course the approaching wedding was announced. It created an immense -excitement. Lavinia’s levees at the Museum were crowded to suffocation, -and her photographic pictures were in great demand. For several weeks -she sold more than three hundred dollars’ worth of her _cartes de -visite_ each day. And the daily receipts at the Museum were frequently -over three thousand dollars. I engaged the General to exhibit, and to -assist her in the sale of pictures, to which his own photograph, of -course, was added. I could afford to give them a fine wedding, and I did -so. - -The little couple made a personal application to Bishop Potter to -perform the nuptial ceremony, and obtained his consent; but the matter -became public, and outside pressure from some of the most squeamish of -his clergy was brought to bear upon the bishop, and he rescinded his -engagement. - -This fact of itself, as well as the opposition that caused it, only -added to the notoriety of the approaching wedding, and increased the -crowds at the Museum. The financial result to me was a piece of good -fortune, which I was, of course, quite willing to accept, though in this -instance the “advertisement,” so far as the fact of the betrothal of the -parties with its preliminaries were concerned, was not of my seeking, as -the recital now given shows. But seeing the turn it was taking in -crowding the Museum, and pouring money into the treasury, I did not -hesitate to seek continued advantage from the notoriety of the -prospective marriage. Accordingly, I offered the General and Lavinia -fifteen thousand dollars if they would postpone the wedding for a month, -and continue their exhibitions at the Museum. - -“Not for fifty thousand dollars,” said the General, excitedly. - -“Good for you, Charley,” said Lavinia, “only you ought to have said not -for a _hundred thousand_, for I would not!” - -They both laughed heartily at what they considered my discomfiture, and -such, looked at from a business point of view, it certainly was. The -wedding day approached and the public excitement grew. For several days, -I might say weeks, the approaching marriage of Tom Thumb was the New -York “sensation.” For proof of this I did not need what, however, was - -[Illustration: _MARRIAGE IN MINIATURE._] - -ample, the newspaper paragraphs. A surer index was in the crowds that -passed into the Museum, and the dollars that found their way into the -ticket office. - -It was suggested to me that a small fortune in itself could be easily -made out of the excitement. “Let the ceremony take place in the Academy -of Music, charge a big price for admission, and the citizens will come -in crowds.” I have no manner of doubt that in this way twenty-five -thousand dollars could easily have been obtained. But I had no such -thought. I had promised to give the couple a genteel and graceful -wedding, and I kept my word. - -The day arrived, Tuesday, February 10, 1863. The ceremony was to take -place in Grace Church, New York. The Rev. Junius Willey, Rector of St. -John’s Church in Bridgeport, assisted by the late Rev. Dr. Taylor, of -Grace Church, was to officiate. The organ was played by Morgan. I know -not what better I could have done, had the wedding of a prince been in -contemplation. The church was comfortably filled by a highly select -audience of ladies and gentlemen, none being admitted except those -having cards of invitation. Among them were governors of several of the -States, to whom I had sent cards, and such of those as could not be -present in person were represented by friends, to whom they had given -their cards. Members of Congress were present, also generals of the -army, and many other prominent public men. Numerous applications were -made from wealthy and distinguished persons for tickets to witness the -ceremony, and as high as sixty dollars was offered for a single -admission. But not a ticket was sold; and Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren -were pronounced “man and wife” before witnesses. - -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 your 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 clergymen 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. - - - -Several thousand persons attended the reception of Mr. and Mrs. Tom -Thumb the same day at the Metropolitan Hotel. After this they started on -a wedding tour, taking Washington in their way. They visited President -Lincoln at the White House. After a couple of weeks they returned, and, -as they then supposed, retired to private life. - -Habit, however, is indeed second nature. The General and his wife had -been accustomed to excitement, and after a few months’ retirement they -again longed for the peculiar pleasures of a public life, and the public -were eager to welcome them once more. They resumed their public career, -and have since travelled several years in Europe, and considerably in -this country, holding public exhibitions more than half the time, and -spending the residue in leisurely viewing such cities and portions of -the country as they may happen to be in. Commodore Nutt and Minnie -Warren, I should add, usually travel with them. - -I met the little Commodore last summer, after his absence in Europe of -three years, and said: - -“Are you not married yet, Commodore?” - -“No, sir; my fruit is plucked,” he replied. - -“You don’t mean to say you will never marry,” I remarked. - -“No, not exactly,” replied the Commodore, complacently, “but I have -concluded not to marry until I am thirty.” - -“I suppose you intend to marry one of your size?” I said. - -“I am not particular in that respect,” but seeing my jocose mood, he -continued, with a comical leer, “I think I should prefer marrying a -good, green country girl, to anybody else.” - -This was said with a degree of nonchalance, which none can appreciate -who do not know him. - -To make sure that a lack of memory has not misled me as to any of the -facts in regard to the courtship and wedding of Tom Thumb and Lavinia -Warren, I will here say that, after writing out the story, I read it to -the parties personally interested, and they give me leave to say that, -in all particulars, it is a correct statement of the affair, except that -Lavinia remarked: - -“Well, Mr. Barnum, your story don’t lose any by the telling”; and the -Commodore denies the “rolling tear,” when informed of the engagement of -the little pair. - -In June 1869, the report was started, for the third or fourth time, in -the newspapers, that Commodore Nutt and Miss Minnie Warren were -married--this time at West Haven, in Connecticut. The story was wholly -untrue, nor do I think that such a wedding is likely to take place, for, -on the principle that people like their opposites, Minnie and the -Commodore are likely to marry persons whom they can literally “look up -to”--that is, if either of them marries at all it will be a tall -partner. - -Soon after the wedding of General Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren, a lady -came to my office and called my attention to a little six-paged pamphlet -which she said she had written, entitled “Priests and Pigmies,” and -requested me to read it. I glanced at the title, and at once estimating -the character of the publication, I promptly declined to devote any -portion of my 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 I, tendering her a -sixpence, which I 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. - -I lay back in my chair and fairly roared at this exceedingly feeble -attempt at black-mail. - -“But,” persisted the lady, “suppose it says that your Museum and Grace -Church are all one, what then?” - -“My dear madam,” I 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 XXXVIII. - -POLITICAL AND PERSONAL. - - MY POLITICAL PRINCIPLES--REASONS FOR MY CHANGE OF PARTIES--KANSAS - AND SECESSION--WIDE-AWAKES--GRAND ILLUMINATION OF LINDENCROFT--JOKE - ON A DEMOCRATIC NEIGHBOR--PEACE MEETINGS--THE STEPNEY - EXCITEMENT--TEARING DOWN A PEACE FLAG--A LOYAL MEETING--RECEPTION - IN BRIDGEPORT--DESTRUCTION OF THE “FARMER” OFFICE--ELIAS HOWE, - JR.--SAINT PETER AND SALTPETRE--DRAFT RIOTS--BURGLARS AT - LINDENCROFT--MY ELECTION TO THE LEGISLATURE--BEGINNING OF MY WAR ON - RAILROAD MONOPOLIES--WIRE-PULLING--THE XIV. AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED - STATES CONSTITUTION--STRIKING THE WORD “WHITE” FROM THE CONNECTICUT - CONSTITUTION--MY SPEECH. - - -I began my political life as a Democrat, and my newspaper, the _Herald -of Freedom_, was a Jackson-Democratic journal. While always taking an -active interest in political matters, I had no desire for personal -preferment, and, up to a late period, steadily declined to run for -office. Nevertheless, in 1852 or 1853, prominent members of the party -with which I voted, urged the submission of my name to the State -Convention, as a candidate for the office of Governor, and although the -party was then in the ascendancy, and a nomination would have been -equivalent to an election, I peremptorily refused; in spite of this -refusal, which was generally known, several votes were cast for me in -the Convention. The Kansas strifes, in 1854, shook my faith in my party, -though I continued to call myself a Democrat, often declaring that if I -thought there was a drop of blood in me that was not democratic, I would -let it out if I had to cut the jugular vein. When, however, secession -threatened in 1860, I thought it was time for a “new departure,” and I -identified myself with the Republican party. - -During the active and exciting political campaign of 1860, which -resulted in Mr. Lincoln’s first election to the presidency, it will be -remembered that “Wide-Awake” associations, with their uniforms, torches -and processions, were organized in nearly every city, town and village -throughout the North. Arriving at Bridgeport from New York at five -o’clock one afternoon, I was informed that the Wide-Awakes were to -parade that evening and intended to march out to Lindencroft. So I -ordered two boxes of sperm candles, and prepared for a general -illumination of every window in the front of my house. Many of my -neighbors, including several Democrats, came to Lindencroft in the -evening to witness the illumination and see the Wide-Awake procession. -My nearest neighbor, Mr. T., was a strong Democrat, and before he came -to my house, he ordered his servants to stay in the basement, and not to -show a light above ground, thus intending to prove his Democratic -convictions and conclusions by the darkness of his “premises”; and so, -while Lindencroft was all ablaze with a flood of light, the next house -was as black as a coal-hole. - -My neighbor, Mr. James D. Johnson, was also a Democrat, but I knew he -would not spoil a good joke for the sake of politics, and I asked him to -engage the attention of Mr. and Mrs. T., and to keep their faces turned -towards Bridgeport and the approaching procession, the light of whose -torches could already be seen in the distance, while another Democratic -friend, Mr. George A. Wells, and I, ran over and illuminated Mr T.’s -house. This we did with great success, completing our work five minutes -before the procession arrived. As the Wide-Awakes turned into my grounds -and saw that the house of Mr. T. was brilliantly illuminated, they -concluded that he had become a sudden convert to Republicanism, and gave -three rousing cheers for him. Hearing his name thus cheered and -wondering at the cause, he happened to turn and see that his house was -lighted up from basement to attic, and uttering a single profane -ejaculation, he rushed for home. He was not able, however, to put out -the lights till the Wide-Awakes had gone on their way rejoicing under -the impression that one more Republican had been added to their ranks. - -When the rebellion broke out in 1861, I was too old to go to the field, -but I supplied four substitutes, and contributed liberally from my means -for the cause of the Union. After the defeat at Bull Run, July 21, 1861, -“peace meetings” began to be held in different parts of the Northern -States, and especially in Fairfield and Litchfield Counties, in -Connecticut. It was usual in these assemblages to display a white flag, -bearing the word “Peace” above the National flag, and to make and listen -to harangues denunciatory of the war. One of these meetings was -advertised to be held, August 24th, at Stepney, ten miles north of -Bridgeport. On the morning of that day, I met Elias Howe, Jr., who -proposed to me that we should drive up to Stepney, attend the Peace -meeting, and hear for ourselves whether the addresses were disloyal or -not. We agreed to meet at the post-office, at twelve o’clock at noon, -and I went home for my carriage. On the way I met several gentlemen to -whom I communicated my intention, asking them to go also; and as Mr. -Howe invited several of his friends to accompany us, when we met at -noon, at least twenty gentlemen were at the place of rendezvous with -their carriages, ready to start for Stepney. I am quite confident that -not one of us had any other intention in going to this meeting, than to -quietly listen to the harangues, and if they were found to be in -opposition to the government, and calculated to create disturbance or -disaffection in the community, and deter enlistments, it would be best -to represent the matter to the government at Washington, and ask that -measures might be taken to suppress such gatherings. - -As we turned into Main Street, we discovered two large omnibuses filled -with soldiers, who were at home on furlough, and who were going to -Stepney. Our lighter carriages outran them, and so arrived at Stepney in -time to see the white peace flag run up over the stars and stripes, when -we quietly stood in the crowd while the meeting was organized. It was a -very large gathering, and some fifty ladies were on the seats in front -of the platform, on which were the officers and speakers of the meeting. -A “preacher,”--Mr. Charles Smith,--was invited to open the proceedings -with prayer, and “The Military and Civil History of Connecticut, during -the War of 1861-65,” by W. A. Croffut and John M. Morris, thus continues -the record of this extraordinary gathering: - -“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.” - -On our way back to Bridgeport, the soldiers threatened a descent upon -the _Farmer_ office, but I strongly appealed to them to refrain from -such a riotous proceeding, telling them that as law-abiding citizens -they should refrain from acts of violence and especially should make no -appeal to the passions of a mob. So confident was I that the day’s -proceedings had ended with the reception of the soldiers on their return -from Stepney, that in telegraphing a full account of the facts to the -New York papers, I added that there was no danger of an attack upon the -_Farmer_ office, since leading loyal citizens were opposed to such -action as unnecessary and unwise. But the enthusiasm with which the -soldiers had been received, and the excitement of the day, prompted them -to break through their resolutions, and, half an hour after my telegram -had been sent to New York, they rushed into the _Farmer_ office, tumbled -the type into the street, and broke the presses. I did not approve of -this summary suppression of the paper, and offered the proprietors a -handsome subscription to assist in enabling them to renew the -publication of the _Farmer_. One of the editors of this paper went -South, and connected himself with a journal in Augusta, Georgia; the -remaining proprietor shortly afterwards re-issued the _Farmer_, but the -peace meetings which had been advertised for different towns were never -held; the gathering at Stepney was the last of the kind. - -Elias Howe, Jr., although he was a man of wealth and well advanced in -years, enlisted as a private in the Seventeenth regiment of Connecticut -volunteers and served in the Army of the Potomac. Once when his -fellow-soldiers, not having been paid off, were in need of money, he -advanced $13,000 due them, and when his regiment was disbanded and -discharged from service, he chartered, at his own expense, a special -train to bring them from New Haven to Bridgeport, where they had a -public reception. - -Mr. Howe, like all men of his reputed wealth and liberality, was -constantly besieged by solicitors for all sorts of charities, nor was he -free from such applications when he was serving as a common soldier in -Virginia. On one occasion a worthy priest came to him and asked for a -subscription to a church which was then building. “Who is it,” exclaimed -Howe, “that talks of building churches in this time of war?” The priest -ventured to say that he was trying to build in his parish a church which -was to be known as St. Peter’s. - -“St. Peter’s is it?” asked Howe; “well, St. Peter was, in his way, a -fighting man; he drew a sword once and cut off a man’s ear; on the -whole, I think,” he added, as he gave a handsome sum of money to the -priest, “I must do something for St. Peter, though about these days I am -devoting my attention and money mainly to saltpetre.” - -After the draft riots in New York and in other cities, in July, 1863, -myself and other members of the “Prudential Committee” which had been -formed in Bridgeport were frequently threatened with personal violence, -and rumors were especially rife that Lindencroft would some night be -mobbed and destroyed. On several occasions, soldiers volunteered as a -guard and came and stayed at my house, sometimes for several nights in -succession, and I was also provided with rockets, so that in case of an -attempted attack I could signal to my friends in the city and especially -to the night watchman at the arsenal, who would see my rockets at -Lindencroft and give the alarm. Happily these signals were never -needed, but the rockets came in play, long afterwards, in another way. - -My house was provided with a magnetic burglar-alarm and one night the -faithful bell sounded. I was instantly on my feet and summoning my -servants, one ran and rung the large bell on the lawn which served in -the day time to call my coachman from the stable, another turned on the -gas, while I fired a gun out of the window and I then went to the top of -the house and set off several rockets. The whole region round about was -instantly aroused; dogs barked, neighbors half-dressed, but armed, -flocked over to my grounds, every time a rocket went up, and I was by no -means sparing of my supply; the whole place was as light as day, and in -the general glare and confusion we caught sight of two retreating -burglars, one running one way, the other another way, and both as fast -as their legs could carry them; nor do I believe that the panic-stricken -would-be plunderers stopped running till they reached New York. - -It always seemed to me that a man who “takes no interest in politics” is -unfit to live in a land where the government rests in the hands of the -people. Consequently, whether I expressed them or not, I always had -pronounced opinions upon all the leading political questions of the day, -and no frivolous reason ever kept me from the polls. Indeed, on one -occasion, I even hastened my return from Europe, so that I could take -part in a presidential election. I was a party man, but not a partisan, -nor a wire-puller, and I had never sought or desired office, though it -had often been tendered to me. This was notoriously true, among all who -knew me, up to the year 1865, when I accepted - -[Illustration: _ALARM AT LINDENCROFT._] - -from the Republican party a nomination to the Connecticut legislature -from the town of Fairfield, and I did this because I felt that it would -be an honor to be permitted to vote for the then proposed amendment to -the Constitution of the United States to abolish slavery forever from -the land. - -I was elected, and on arriving at Hartford the night before the session -began, I found the wire-pullers at work laying their plans for the -election of a Speaker of the House. Watching the movements closely, I -saw that the railroad interests had combined in support of one of the -candidates, and this naturally excited my suspicion. I never believed in -making State legislation a mere power to support monopolies. I do not -need to declare my full appreciation of the great blessings which -railroad interests and enterprises have brought upon this country and -the world. But the vaster the enterprise and its power for good, the -greater its opportunity for mischief if its power is perverted. The time -was when a whole community was tied to the track of one or two railway -companies, and it was too truthful to be looked upon as satire to call -New Jersey the “State of Camden and Amboy.” A great railroad company, -like fire, is a good servant, but a bad master; and when it is -considered that such a company, with its vast number of men dependent -upon it for their daily bread, can sometimes elect State officers and -legislatures, the danger to our free institutions from such a force may -well be feared. - -Thinking of these things, and seeing in the combination of railroad -interests to elect a speaker, no promise of good to the community at -large, I at once consulted with a few friends in the legislature, and we -resolved to defeat the railroad “ring,” if possible, in caucus. I had -not even seen either of the candidates for the speakership, nor had I a -single selfish end in view to gratify by the election of one candidate -or the other; but I felt that if the railroad favorite could be -defeated, the public interest would be subserved. We succeeded; their -candidate was not nominated, and the railroad men were taken by -surprise. They had had their own way in every legislature since the -first railroad was laid down in Connecticut, and to be beaten now fairly -startled them. - -Immediately after the caucus, I 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 that office for several -successive years, and who was, in fact, the great railroad factotum in -the State. He complied with my request, and he soon found how important -it was to check the strong and growing monopoly; for, as he said, the -“outside pressure” from personal friends in both political parties, to -secure the appointment of the person to whom I had objected, was -terrible. - -Though I had not foreseen nor thought of such a thing until I reached -Hartford, I soon found that a battle with the railroad commissioners -would be necessary, and my course was shaped accordingly. It was soon -discovered that a majority of the railroad commissioners were mere tools -in the hands of the railroad companies, and that 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 railroad -commissioners permitted most of the accidents which occurred on that -road to be taken charge of and reported upon by the paid lobby agent of -that railroad. This was so manifestly destructive to the interests of -all parties who might suffer from accidents on the road, or have any -controversy therefor with the company, that I succeeded in enlisting the -farmers and other true men on the side of right; and we defeated the -chairman of the railroad commissioners, who was a candidate for -re-election, and elected our own candidate in his place. I also carried -through a law that no person who was in the employ of any railroad in -the State should serve as railroad commissioner. - -But the great struggle which lasted nearly 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 at -distances of from 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 compelled to submit to the extortion. Commodore -Vanderbilt was a large shareholder in the New York and New Haven road; -indeed, subsequent elections showed that he had a controlling interest, -and it seemed evident to me that the same practice would be put in -operation on the New Haven Railroad, that commuters were groaning under -on the two other roads. I enlisted as many as I could in an effort to -strangle this outrage before it became too strong to grapple with. -Several lawyers in the Assembly had promised me their aid, but long -before the final struggle came, every lawyer except one in that body was -enlisted in favor of the railroads! - -What potent influence had been at work with these legal gentlemen could -only be surmised. 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 and desires, the chances looked slim in favor of -those members of the legislature who had no pecuniary interest in the -matter, but were struggling simply for justice and the protection of the -people. But “Yankee stick-to-it-iveness” was always a noted feature in -my character. Every inch of the 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, aided me -personally in the investigations which took place. But he was a host in -himself, and we left not a stone unturned; we succeeded by our -persistence, in letting in considerable light upon a dark subject. The -man whom I had prevented from being made chairman, succeeded in becoming -a member of the railroad committee; but, from the mouths of unwilling -witnesses, I exhibited his connection with railroad reports, railroad -laws, and railroad lobbyings, in such a light that he took to his bed -some ten days before the end of the session, and actually remained -there, “sick,” as he said, till the legislature adjourned. - -The speaker offered me the chairmanship of any one of several -committees, and I selected that of the Agricultural committee, because -it would occupy but little of my time, and give me the opportunity I so -much desired to devote my attention to the railway combinations. The -Republicans had a majority in both branches of the legislature; the -Democrats, however, were watchful and energetic. The amendment to the -United States Constitution, abolishing slavery, met with but little open -opposition; but the proposed amendment to the State Constitution, -striking out the word “white” from that clause which defined the -qualifications of voters, 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 offering the -contemplated amendment, and in reply to this, I spoke, May 26, 1865, as -follows: - - -SPEECH OF P. T. BARNUM, - -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. If I thought I had one drop of blood in my -veins which was not democratic, in the light of this definition, I would -have it out, no matter at what trouble or sacrifice. 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 saviors 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. The gentleman from Milford lives near the old Washington -toll-bridge, which spans the Housatonic River, and he doubtless -remembers, as I do, when the Boston and New York stages crossed that -bridge, and the coachman would always denounce the “infernal bridge -monopoly” which compelled him to pay a dollar every time the stage -crossed. The passengers would generally laugh and say: “Let him pay, -it’s nothing to us; we are only passengers.” Some twenty years ago, one -of the gentlemen accustomed to travel in that stage, was crossing the -Atlantic in a steamship. At the hour of midnight, when nearly all were -wrapt in sleep, the fearful cry of “fire” rang through the ship. There -were the poor passengers, threatened by the devouring element, and only -a plank between them and death. Our passenger, not half awake, rubbed -his eyes and probably fancying he was in the old stage-coach, cried out: -“Fire away, I am only a passenger!” Fortunately, it was a false alarm; -but when the gentleman was wide awake, he discovered that there could be -no disinterested passengers on board a burning ship. - -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 until 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 joyful 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 be 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 Elysées -of Paris, or Hyde or Regent Park of London, to say nothing of the great -Phœnix 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 traveller, “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 afterwards she was -brought to a sick bed by the small-pox, 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 re-instating 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 shillelagh? 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 “whiskey -scrimmage” one of the lost arts restored? We all know how the “artists” -of both political parties 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 -travelled 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 travelled 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 -portion 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, travelling every year to -New Orleans, Nashville, and even to Cincinnati, to dispose of their -master’s crops. The free 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 wished 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 saviors. 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 not trench upon the -claims of manhood or American citizenship. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX. - -THE AMERICAN MUSEUM IN RUINS. - - A TERRIBLE LOSS--HOW I RECEIVED THE NEWS--BURNING OF THE AMERICAN - MUSEUM--DETAILS OF THE DISASTER--FAITH IN HERRING’S SAFES--BAKED - AND BOILED WHALES--THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE ON THE DESTRUCTION OF THE - MUSEUM--A PUBLIC CALAMITY--SYMPATHY OF THE LEADING EDITORS--AMOUNT - OF MY LOSS--SMALL INSURANCE--MY PROPERTY--INTENTION TO RETIRE TO - PRIVATE LIFE--HORACE GREELEY ADVISES ME TO GO A-FISHING--BENEFIT TO - THE MUSEUM EMPLOYEES AT THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC--MY SPEECH--WHAT THE - NEW YORK SUN SAID ABOUT IT--THE NEW UP-TOWN MUSEUM--OPENING THE - ESTABLISHMENT TO THE PUBLIC. - - -On the thirteenth day of July, 1865, I was speaking in the Connecticut -Legislature, in session at Hartford, against the railroad schemes, when -a telegram was handed to me from my son-in-law, S. H. Hurd, my assistant -manager in New York, stating that the American Museum was in flames and -that its total destruction was certain. I glanced over the despatch, -folded it, laid it on my desk, and calmly continued my speech as if -nothing had happened. At the conclusion of my remarks, the bill I had -been advocating was carried, and the House adjourned. I then handed the -telegram, announcing my great loss in New York, to my friend and -fellow-laborer, Mr. William G. Coe, of Winsted, who immediately -communicated the intelligence to several members. Warm sympathizers at -once crowded around me, and Mr. Henry B. Harrison, of New Haven, my -strongest railroad opponent, pushing forward, seized me by the hand, and -said: - -“Mr. Barnum, I am really very sorry to hear of your great misfortune.” - -“Sorry,” I replied, “why, my dear sir, I shall not have time to be -‘sorry’ in a week! It will take me that length of time before I can get -over laughing at having whipped you all so nicely in this attempted -railroad imposition.” - -The Speaker of the House and my fellow-members all testified that -neither my face nor my manner betrayed the slightest intimation when I -read the telegram that I had received unpleasant intelligence. One of -the local journals, speaking of this incident, two days after the fire, -said: - - In the midst of Mr. Barnum’s speech a telegram was handed to him, - announcing that his Museum was in flames, with no hope of saving - any portion of his cherished establishment. Without the slightest - evidence of agitation, he laid the telegram upon his desk and - finished his speech. When he went next day to New York he saw only - a pile of black, smouldering ruins. - -Immediately after adjournment that afternoon, I took the cars for -Bridgeport, spending the night quietly at home, and the following -morning I went to New York to see the ruins of my Museum, and to learn -the full extent of the disaster. When I arrived at the scene of the -calamity and saw nothing but the smouldering debris of what a few hours -before was the American Museum, the sight was sad indeed. Here were -destroyed, almost in a breath, the accumulated results of many years of -incessant toil, my own and my predecessors, in gathering from every -quarter of the globe myriads of curious productions of nature and -art--an assemblage of rarities which a half million of dollars could not -restore, and a quarter of a century could not collect. In addition to -these there were many Revolutionary relics and other links in our -national history which never could be duplicated. Not a thousand dollars -worth of the entire property was saved; the destruction was complete; -the loss was irreparable, and the total amount of insurance was but -forty thousand dollars. - -The fire probably originated in the engine room, where steam was -constantly kept up to pump fresh air into the water of the aquaria and -to propel the immense fans for cooling the atmosphere of the halls. The -flames burst through into the manager’s office, and rapidly extended to -all parts of the building. The desk of my son-in-law, Mr. Hurd, was -already in flames when he opened it and took out several thousands of -dollars in bank bills, and reflecting upon the risk he might incur in -carrying it through the surging crowd outside, with remarkable presence -of mind, and faith in Herring’s safes, he hastily thrust this money with -the account books into my safe, which already held many thousand -dollars, and locking the door, left the whole with entire confidence to -the flames. Buttoning his coat, he safely made his way out of the -burning building and through the excited throng in the streets. - -Mr. Hurd’s faith in Herring was well founded; for, when the safe was -recovered from the ruins, its contents were discovered to be in perfect -preservation. Of the curiosities and other contents of the establishment -nothing was saved. When I first gazed upon the ruins, I saw, down in the -depths, the remains of the two white whales, which had arrived only a -week before, and which were swimming in the great glass tank when the -fire broke out. I had never seen these monsters alive, but the -half-consumed carcasses presented to my mind the worst specimens of -baked and boiled fish that could be conceived of. 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 lion’s 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 sight-seeing 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 - farmyard. 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, mocking birds, 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 toward 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, toward 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 toward 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-shirted 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 quarrelled 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 a - curiosity-seeking policeman was garroting Benjamin Franklin, with - the idea of abducting him, a small monkey, flung from the - window-sill 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 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 reclining 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 Lucretia 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 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, siezed 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 despatched 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 grouping 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 my 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 - Woolly 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, my insurance was but $40,000, while the collection, -at the lowest estimate, was worth $400,000, and as my premium was five -per cent I had paid the insurance companies more than they returned to -me. When the fire occurred, my summer pantomime season had just begun -and the Museum was doing an immensely profitable business. My first -impulse, after reckoning up my losses, was to retire from active life -and from all business occupation beyond what my large real estate -interests in Bridgeport, and my property in New York would compel. I -felt that I had still a competence and that after a most active and busy -life, at fifty-five years, I was entitled to retirement, to comparative -rest for the remainder of my days. I called on my old friend, the editor -of the _Tribune_, for advice on the subject. - -“Accept this fire as a notice to quit, and go a-fishing,” said Mr. -Greeley. - -“A-fishing!” I exclaimed. - -“Yes, a-fishing; I have been wanting to go a-fishing for thirty years, -and have not yet found time to do so,” replied Mr. Greeley. - -I really felt that his advice was good and wise, and had I consulted -only my own ease and interest I should have acted upon it. But, two -considerations moved me to pause: First, one hundred and fifty -employees, many of whom depended upon their exertions for their daily -bread, were thrown out of work at a season when it would be difficult -for them to get engagements elsewhere. Second: I felt that a large city -like New York needed a good Museum, and that my experience of a quarter -of a century in that direction, afforded extraordinary facilities for -founding another establishment of the kind, and so I took a few days for -reflection. - -Meanwhile, the Museum employees were tendered a benefit at the Academy -of Music, at which most of the dramatic artists in the city volunteered -their services. I was called out, and made some off-hand remarks in -which I stated that nothing which I could utter in behalf of the -recipients of that benefit, could plead for them half so eloquently as -the smoking ruins of the building where they had so long earned their -support by their efforts to gratify the public. At the same time I -announced that, moved by the considerations I have mentioned, I had -concluded to establish another Museum, and that in order to give present -occupation to my employees, I had engaged the Winter Garden Theatre for -a few weeks, and I hoped to open a new establishment of my own in the -ensuing fall. - -The _New York Sun_ commented upon the few remarks which I was suddenly -and quite unexpectedly called upon to make, in the following flattering -manner: - - One of the happiest impromptu oratorial 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. - -I very soon secured by lease the premises, numbers 535, 537 and 539 -Broadway, seventy-five feet front and rear, by two hundred feet deep, -and known as the Chinese Museum buildings. In less than four months, I -succeeded in converting this building into a commodious Museum and -lecture room, and meanwhile I sent agents through America and Europe to -purchase curiosities. Besides hundreds of small collections, I bought up -several entire museums, and with many living curiosities and my old -company of actors and actresses, I opened to the public, November 13, -1865, “Barnum’s New American Museum,” thus beginning a new chapter in my -career as a manager and showman. - - - - -CHAPTER XL. - -MY WAR ON THE RAILROADS. - - SCENES IN THE LEGISLATURE--SHARP-SHOOTING--PROPOSITIONS FOR A NEW - CAPITAL OF CONNECTICUT--THE RIVALRY OF CITIES--CULMINATION OF THE - RAILROAD CONTROVERSY--EXCITEMENT AMONG THE LOBBYISTS--A BILL FOR - THE BENEFIT OF COMMUTERS--PEOPLE PROTECTED FROM THE PLUNDERERS--HOW - SETTLERS ARE DRAWN INTO A STATE AND THEN CHEATED BY THE RAILROAD - COMPANIES--EQUAL RIGHTS FOR COMMUTERS AND TRANSIENT - PASSENGERS--WHAT COMMODORE VANDERBILT DID--WHAT THE NEW YORK AND - NEW HAVEN RAILROAD COMPANY WANTED TO DO--EXPOSURE OF THEIR - PLOT--CONSTERNATION OF THE CONSPIRATORS--MY VICTORY--AGAIN ELECTED - TO THE LEGISLATURE--UNITED STATES SENATOR FERRY--EX-GOVERNOR W. A. - BUCKINGHAM--THEODORE TILTON--GOVERNOR HAWLEY--FRIENDS AT - LINDENCROFT--NOMINATED FOR CONGRESS AND DEFEATED. - - -During my membership in the Connecticut Legislature of 1865, I made -several new friends and agreeable acquaintances, and many things -occurred, sometimes in the regular proceedings, and sometimes as -episodes, which made the session memorable. 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_. - -I 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,” I 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. - -The State House at Hartford was a disgrace to Connecticut; the Hall of -Representatives was too small; there were no committee rooms, and the -building was utterly unfit for the purposes to which it was devoted. The -State House at New Haven was very little better, and I made a strong -effort to secure the erection of new edifices in both cities. I was -chairman of the committee on new State Houses, and during our -investigations it was ascertained that Bridgeport, Middletown and -Meriden would each be willing to erect a State House at its own cost, if -the city should be selected as the new capital of the State. These -movements aroused the jealousy of Hartford and New Haven, which at once -appointed committees to wait upon us. The whole matter, however, finally -went by default, and the question was never submitted to the people. It -is quite possible, however, that ere long the citizens of Bridgeport or -Meriden will offer to build a capitol, and that one of these two cities -with the entire consent of the rest of the State, including the -inhabitants of Hartford and New Haven, will become the capital of -Connecticut. - -As the session drew near its close, the railroad controversy culminated -by my introduction of a bill to amend the act for the regulation of -railroads by the interpolation of 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. My motives were attacked, and the most foolish -slanders were circulated. Not only every legal man in the house was -arrayed against me, 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 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. At last it was known that the final debate -would take place and the vote be taken on the morning of July 13. - -When the day arrived the excitement was intense. The passages leading to -the hall were 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. Henry B. 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. - -On closing the debate, I endeavored to state briefly the gist of the -case,--that, only a few years before, 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. I 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 our -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, 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 commuters, 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. - -It was at this point in my remarks when I received the telegram from my -son-in-law in New York, announcing the burning of the American Museum. -Reading the despatch, and laying it on my desk without further -attention, I continued: - - 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 - interests 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. - -I then drew from my 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 my bill became a law they -could get ahead of me. I continued: - - Now, Mr. Speaker, I know that these despatches 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 despatches 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 first 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. - -The opposition were astounded at the revelation and the previous -question was ordered. The bill as amended was carried almost with a -“hurrah.” It is now an act in the statute book of the State, and it -annually adds many dollars to the assessment roll of Connecticut, since -the protection afforded to commuters against the extortions practised by -railway companies elsewhere is a strong inducement to permanent settlers -along the lines of Connecticut railways.[C] - - [C] The New York and New Haven Railroad Company never forgave me for - thus securing a righteous law for the protection of its commuters. - Even as lately as 1871, the venders of books on the trains were - prohibited from selling to passengers this book which exposes their - cupidity. A parallel railroad from New York to New Haven would be - good paying stock, and would materially disturb, if not destroy, the - present railroad and express monopolies. - -In the spring of 1866, I was again elected to represent the town of -Fairfield in the Connecticut Legislature. I had not intended to accept a -nomination for that office a second time, but one of the directors of -the New York and New Haven Railroad, who was a citizen of Fairfield and -had been a zealous lobby member of the preceding legislature, had -declared that I should not represent the town again. As the voters of -Fairfield seemed to think that the public interests were of more -importance than the success of railroad conspiracies, combinations, and -monopolies, I accepted their nomination. - -Almost the only exciting question before that legislature was the -election of an United States Senator. President Johnson had begun to -show disaffection towards the Republican party which elected him, and -the zealous members of that party were watching with anxious hearts the -actions of those who offered themselves as candidates for offices of -trust and responsibility. One of the Republican United States Senators -had already abandoned the party and affiliated with Johnson. The other -Senator was a candidate for re-election. He had been a favorite -candidate with me, but when I became convinced that he sympathized with -the recreant Senator and President Johnson, no importunities of -political friends or any other inducement could change my determination -to defeat him, if possible. I devoted days and nights to convincing some -of my fellow numbers that the interests of the State and the country -demanded the election of Hon. O. S. Ferry to that important office. - -Excitement ran high. Ex-Governor Wm. A. Buckingham was also a candidate. -I knew he would make an excellent Senator but he had filled the -gubernatorial chair for eight years; and as the present senator had held -his office twelve years, and he was from the same city as Governor -Buckingham, I urged that Norwich should not carry off all the honors; -that Fairfield County was entitled to the office; and both before and at -the Republican nominating caucus I set forth, so far as I was able, what -I considered the merits and peculiar claims of Mr. Ferry. I suggested -that Mr. Buckingham might rest on his laurels for a couple of years and -be elected to fill the place of the next retiring senator in 1868. Mr. -Ferry started in the ballotings with a very small vote indeed, and it -required the most delicate management to secure a majority for him in -that caucus. But it was done; and as the great strife was between the -two other rival candidates, Mr. Ferry had scarcely a hope of the -nomination and was much surprised the next morning to hear of his -success. He was elected for the term beginning March 4, 1866, and one of -his opposing candidates in the caucus ex-Governor William A. -Buckingham, was elected, two years afterwards, for the senatorial term -commencing March 4, 1869. - -I was again chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, and on the whole -the session at New Haven, in 1866, was very agreeable to me; there were -many congenial spirits in the House and our severer labors were -lightened by some very delightful episodes. - -During the summer, Governor Hawley, Hon. David Gallup, Speaker of the -House, Hon. O. S. Ferry, U. S. Senator, Mr. W. G. Coe, of Winsted, Mr. -A. B. Mygatt, of New Milford, Mr. Theodore Tilton, editor of the New -York _Independent_, Mr. George Pratt, of Norwich, Mr. S. H. Wales, of -the _Scientific American_, Mr. David Clark, of Hartford, Mr. A. H. -Byington, of Norwalk, and many other gentlemen of distinction were -occasional guests at Lindencroft. Several times we had delightful sails, -dinners, and clam-bakes at Charles Island, eight miles east of -Bridgeport, a most cool and charming spot in the warm summer days. The -health of my wife, which had been poor since 1855, prevented many -occasions of festivity for which I had all other facilities; for -Lindencroft was indeed a charming residence, and it afforded every -requisite for the entertainment of large numbers of friends. - -During the summer Governor Hawley appointed me a commissioner to the -Paris Exposition, but I was unable to attend. - -In the spring of 1867, I received from the Republican convention in the -Fourth District in Connecticut the nomination for Congress. As I have -already remarked, politics were always distasteful to me. I possess -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 State election went democratic, although the -republican State ticket was elected. 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, although -the State itself was republican again by a considerable majority. - -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, treachery, -meanness and manliness, which by turns exhibited themselves in the -exciting scenes preceding the election, were novel to me, and were so -far interesting. My personal efforts in the canvass were mainly confined -to the circulation of documents, and I did not spend a dollar to -purchase a vote. - -Shortly after my opponent was nominated, I sent him the following -letter, which was also published in the Bridgeport _Standard_: - - -BRIDGEPORT, CONN., Feb. 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, declining to accept my -proposition to go before the people of the district, and discuss the -political questions of the day. - -During the canvass I received the following letter, which, together with -my reply, was published in the Bridgeport _Standard_ and in the New York -_Tribune_: - - -LITCHFIELD CO., Conn., Feb. 20, 1867. - - P. T. BARNUM.--_Dear Sir_: Although Fairfield County was entitled - to the nomination of the copperhead candidate for Congress from the - Fourth District, and under ordinary circumstances it would have - been given to William F. Taylor, of Danbury, you are, perhaps, - aware that they have changed their tactics and nominated a wealthy - namesake of yours, simply for the purpose of using his money - against you. A democratic ex-Congressman is said to be preparing a - tariff of prices to be paid for votes, and they boast that their - candidate will expend $50,000 to secure his election. Already, I am - credibly informed, the greenbacks are being freely circulated by - his friends. I write to ask what your intentions are in regard to - counteracting this effort of the copperhead party. Do you intend to - fight fire with fire? The day of election is fast approaching, and - we are confident of success, as all our friends are wide awake. - -Respectfully yours, ---- ---- - - - -The New York _Tribune_, commenting upon the correspondence, said: - - Mr. P. T. Barnum, Union candidate for Congress in the Fourth - District of Connecticut, was lately solicited by a friend to spend - money in a manner deemed objectionable by Mr. Barnum, and he - responded as became a patriot. - -The following was my reply to the above letter: - - -BRIDGEPORT, Feb. 23, 1867. - - ---- ESQ.--_Dear Sir_: Your kind letter of the 20th inst. has - caused me painful emotions. I now wish to say, once for all, that - under no conceivable circumstances will I permit a dollar of mine - to be used to purchase a vote, or to induce a voter to act contrary - to his honest convictions. - - The idea that the intelligent reading men of New England can be - bought like sheep in the shambles, and that the sacred principles - which have so far guided them in the terrible struggle between - liberty and slavery can now, in this eventful hour of national - existence, be set up at auction and knocked down to the highest - bidder, seems to me as preposterous as it is shameful and - humiliating. But if it is possible that occasionally a degraded - voter can thus be induced to “sell his birthright for a mess of - pottage,” God grant that I may be a thousand times defeated sooner - than permit one grain of gold to be accursed by using it so basely! - - I will not believe that American citizens can lend themselves to - the contemptible meanness of sapping the very life-blood of our - noble institutions by encouraging a fatal precedent, which ignores - all principle, and would soon prevent any honest man, however - distinguished for his intelligence and loyalty, from representing - his district in our national councils. None could then succeed - except unprincipled vagabonds, who, by the lavish expenditure of - money, would debauch and degrade the freemen whose votes they - coveted. - - No, sir! Grateful as I am for the distinguished honor of receiving - a unanimous nomination for Congress from the loyal Union party in - my district, I have no aspiration for that high position if it is - only to be attained by bringing into disgrace the noble privilege - of the _free elective franchise_. Think for a moment what a deadly - weapon is being placed in the hands of tyrants throughout the - civilized world, with which to destroy such apostles of liberty as - John Bright and Garibaldi, if it can be said with truth that - American citizens have become so corrupt and degraded, so lost to a - just estimate of the value and true nobility of the ballot, that it - is bought and sold for money. - - My dear sir, any party that can gain a temporary ascendancy by such - atrocious means, not only poisons the body politic of a free and - impartial government, but is also sure to bring swift destruction - upon itself. And so it should be. - - I am unaccustomed to political life, and know but little of the - manner of conducting a campaign like the present. I believe, - however, it is customary for the State Central Committee to assess - candidates, in order that they shall defray a proper portion of the - expenses incurred for speakers and documents to _enlighten_ the - voters upon the political issues of the day. To that extent I am - willing and anxious to be taxed; for “light and knowledge” are - always desired by the friends of human rights and of public order. - - But I trust that all money used for any other purpose, in the - pending election will come from the pockets of those who now (as - during the rebellion) are doing their utmost to aid traitors, and - who, still unrepenting, are vindictively striving to secure at the - ballot-box what their Southern allies failed to accomplish on the - field of battle. If any of our friends misapprehend my true - sentiments upon the subject of bribery, corruption and fraud, I - hope you will read them this letter. - -Truly yours, - -P. T. BARNUM. - - P. S.--The following is the law of Connecticut on the bribery of - electors: - - SECTION 64. No person shall offer or receive any money, or other - thing, by way of gift, fee or reward, for giving, or refusing to - give, a vote for electing members of the General Assembly, or any - officer chosen at an electors’ meeting, nor promise, procure, or in - any way confer, any gratuity, reward or preferment, for any vote - given or to be given, in any election; and every person guilty of - so doing shall forfeit the sum of $17, one-half to him who shall - prosecute to effect, and the other half to the treasury of the town - where the offence is committed, and every person who shall be - convicted a second time of a like offence shall be disfranchised. - -That section commends itself to the obedience of every law-abiding -voter, and I shall be the last to consent to its violation. - -P. T. B. - -When Congress met, I was surprised to see by the newspapers that the -seat of my opponent was to be contested on account of alleged bribery, -fraud and corruption in securing his election. This 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 XLI. - -BENNETT AND THE HERALD. - - THE AMERICAN MUSEUM LEASE--ITS VALUE--BENNETT OF THE HERALD BUYS IT - FOR $200,000--HE PURCHASES THE PROPERTY--OVERESTIMATE OF ITS - WORTH--MAX MARETZEK--MISS CLARA LOUISE KELLOGG’S ESTIMATE OF - CERTAIN PEOPLE--THE POWER BEHIND THE HERALD THRONE--THE HERALD’S - INFLUENCE--BENNETT KICKED AND COWHIDED--HIS LAWYER INSISTS UPON MY - TAKING BACK THE MUSEUM LEASE--I DECLINE--BENNETT REFUSES MY - ADVERTISEMENTS--INTERVIEW WITH MR. HUDSON--WAR OF THE MANAGERS UPON - THE HERALD--BENNETT HUMBLED--LOSS OF THE HERALD’S - PRESTIGE--MONEY--DAMAGE TO BENNETT’S ESTABLISHMENT--THE EDITOR - SUED--PEACE BETWEEN THE HERALD AND THE MANAGERS. - - -When the old American Museum burned down, and while the ruins were still -smoking, I had numerous applications for the purchase of the lease of -the two lots, fifty-six by one hundred feet, which had still nearly -eleven years to run. It will be remembered that in 1847 I came back from -England, while my second lease of five years had yet three years more to -run, and renewed that lease for twenty-five years from 1851 at an annual -rental of $10,000. It was also stipulated that in case the building was -destroyed by fire the proprietor of the property should expend -twenty-four thousand dollars towards the erection of a new edifice, and -at the end of the term of lease he was to pay me the appraised value of -the building, not to exceed $100,000. Rents and real estate values had -trebled since I took this twenty-five years’ lease, and hence the -remaining term was very valuable. I engaged an experienced and competent -real estate broker in Pine Street to examine the terms of my lease, and -in view of his knowledge of the cost of erecting buildings and the -rentals they were commanding in Broadway, I enjoined him to take his -time, and make a careful estimate of what the lease was worth to me, and -what price I ought to receive if I sold it to another party. At the end -of several days, he showed me his figures, which proved that the lease -was fully worth $275,000. As I was inclined to have a museum higher up -town, I did not wish to engage in erecting two buildings at once, so I -concluded to offer my museum lease for sale. Accordingly, I put it into -the hands of Mr. Homer Morgan, with directions to offer it for $225,000, -which was $50,000 less than the value at which it had been estimated. - -The next day I met Mr. James Gordon Bennett, who told me that he desired -to buy my lease, and at the same time to purchase the fee of the museum -property, for the erection thereon of a publication building for the New -York _Herald_. I said I thought it was very fitting the _Herald_ should -be the successor of the Museum; and Mr. Bennett asked my price. - -“Please to go or send immediately to Homer Morgan’s office,” I replied, -“and you will learn that Mr. Morgan has the lease for sale at $225,000. -This is $50,000 less than its estimated value; but to you I will deduct -$25,000 from my already reduced price, so you may have the lease for -$200,000.” - -Bennett replied that he would look into the affair closely; and the next -day his attorney sent for my lease. He kept it several days, and then -appointed an hour for me to come to his office. I called according to -appointment. Mr. Bennett and his attorney had thoroughly examined the -lease. It was the property of my wife. Bennett concluded to accept my -offer. My wife assigned the lease to him, and his attorney handed me Mr. -Bennett’s check on the Chemical Bank for $200,000. That same day I -invested $50,000 in United States bonds; and the remaining $150,000 was -similarly invested on the following day. I learned at that time that -Bennett had agreed to purchase the fee of the property for $500,000. He -had been informed that the property was worth some $350,000 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 -before paid 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 me off also, and -get back the money he had paid me. - -At this time Bennett was ruling the managers of the theatres and other -amusements with a rod of iron. He had established a large job printing -office in connection with the _Herald_ office; and woe to the manager -who presumed to have his bills printed elsewhere. Any manager who dared -to decline employing Bennett’s job office to print his small bills and -posters, at Bennett’s exorbitant prices, was ignored in the _Herald_; -his advertisements were refused, and generally, he and his establishment -were black-balled and blackguarded in the columns of the _Herald_. Of -course most of the managers were somewhat sensitive to such attacks, and -therefore submitted to his impositions in the job office, his double -price for newspaper advertisements, and any other overbearing conditions -the _Herald_ might choose to dictate. The advertisements of the Academy -of Music, then under the direction of Mr. Max Maretzek, had been refused -on account of some dissatisfaction in the _Herald_ office in regard to -free boxes, and also because the prima donna, Miss Clara Louise Kellogg, -had certain ideas of her own with regard to social intercourse with -certain people, as Miss Jenny Lind had with regard to the same people, -when she was under my management, and to some degree under my advice, -and these ideas were not particularly relished by the power behind the -_Herald_ throne. - -For my own part, I thoroughly understood Bennett and his concern, and I -never cared one farthing for him or his paper. I had seen for years, -especially as Bennett’s enormously overestimated “influence” applied to -public amusements, that whatever the _Herald_ praised, sickened, -drooped, and if the _Herald_ persisted in praising it, finally died; -while whatever the _Herald_ attacked prospered, and all the more, the -more it was abused. It was utterly impossible for Bennett to injure me, -unless he had some more potent weapon than his _Herald_. And that this -was the general opinion was quite evident from the fact that several -years had elapsed since gentlemen were in the almost daily habit of -cuffing, kicking and cowhiding Bennett in the streets and other public -places for his scurrilous attacks upon them, or upon members of their -families. It had come to be seen that what the _Herald_ said, good or -bad, was, like the editor himself, literally of “no account.” - -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 -any and all of us within the traces. The great Ogre of the _Herald_ -supposed he could at all times frighten the little managerial boys into -any holes which might be left open for them to hide in. 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 -gratuitously 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 managers 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 vilify the theatrical and opera -managers, their artists and their performances, and by way of contrast -profusely praised Tony Pastor’s Bowery show, and Sundry entertainments -of a similar character, thereby speedily bringing some of these -side-shows to grief and shutting up their shops. Meanwhile, the -first-class theatres prospered amazingly under the abuse of Bennett. -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. - -But the more Bennett raved the more the people laughed, and the more -determined did they seem to patronize the managers. Many people came to -the Museum, who said they came expressly to show us that the public were -with us and against the _Herald_. The other managers stated their -experience to be the same in this respect. In fact, it was a subject of -general remark, that, without exception, the associated managers never -had done such a thriving business as during the two years in which they -gave the _Herald_ the cold shoulder. - -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. That lien still exists against the _Herald_ -property. - -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. As it was, Bennett was badly -beaten on every side, and especially by the managers, who forever -established the fact that the _Herald’s_ abuse was profitable, and its -patronage fatal to any enterprise; and who taught Mr. Bennett personally -the lesson of his own insignificance, as he had not learned it since the -days when gentlemen used to kick and cowhide him up and down the whole -length of Nassau Street. 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 associated with the Van Amburgh Company in my new -Museum, and we concluded that the cost of advertising in the _Herald_ -was more than it was worth, and so we did not enter into the new -arrangement made by the Managers’ Association. - - - - -CHAPTER XLII. - -PUBLIC LECTURING. - - MY TOUR AT THE WEST--THE CURIOSITY EXHIBITOR HIMSELF A - CURIOSITY--BUYING A FARM IN WISCONSIN--HELPING THOSE WHO HELP - THEMSELVES--A RIDE ON A LOCOMOTIVE--PUNCTUALITY IN MY - ENGAGEMENTS--TRICKS TO SECURE SEATS IN THE LADIES’ CAR--I SUDDENLY - BECAME FATHER TO A YOUNG MARRIED COUPLE--MY IDENTITY DENIED--PITY - AND CHARITY--REVEREND DOCTOR CHAPIN PULLS THE BELL--TEMPERANCE--HOW - I BECAME A TEETOTALER--MODERATE DRINKING AND ITS DANGERS--DOCTOR - CHAPIN’S LECTURE IN BRIDGEPORT--MY OWN EFFORTS IN THE TEMPERANCE - CAUSE--LECTURING THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY--NEWSPAPER ARTICLES--THE - STORY OF VINELAND, IN NEW JERSEY. - - -During the summer of 1866, Mr. Edwin L. Brown, Corresponding Secretary -of the “Associated Western Literary Societies,” opened a correspondence -with me relative to delivering, in the ensuing season, my lecture on -“Success in Life,” before some sixty lyceums, Young Men’s Christian -Associations, and Literary Societies belonging to the union which Mr. -Brown represented. The scheme embraced an extended tour through -Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and Iowa, and -I was to receive one hundred dollars for every repetition of my lecture, -with all my travelling expenses on the route. Agreeing to these terms, I -commenced the engagement at the appointed time, and, averaging five -lectures a week, I finished the prescribed round just before New Year’s. -Before beginning this engagement, however, I gave the lecture for other -associations at Wheeling, Virginia, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, -Kentucky. I also delivered the lecture in Chicago, for Professor -Eastman, who at that time had one of his Business Colleges in that city. -He engaged the celebrated Crosby Opera House for the occasion, and I -think, with, perhaps, two exceptions, I never spoke before so large and -intelligent an audience as was there assembled. It was estimated that -from five to six thousand ladies and gentlemen were gathered in that -capacious building; and nearly as many more went away unable to obtain -admission. I was glad to observe by the action of the audience, and by -the journals of the following day, that my efforts on that occasion were -satisfactory. Indeed, though it is necessarily egotistical, I may truly -say that with this lecture I always succeeded in pleasing my hearers. I -may add, that I have invariably, as a rule, devoted to charitable -purposes every penny I ever received for lecturing, except while I was -under the great Jerome Clock cloud in England, when I needed all I could -earn. - -My western tour was delightful; indeed it was almost an ovation. I -found, in fact, that when I had strayed so far from home, the curiosity -exhibitor himself became quite a curiosity. On several occasions, in -Iowa, I was introduced to ladies and gentlemen who had driven thirty -miles in carriages to hear me. I insisted, however, that it was more to -see than to hear; and I asked them if that was not really the case. In -several instances they answered in the affirmative. In fact, one quaint -old lady said: “Why, to tell you the truth, Mr. Barnum, we have read so -much about you, and your Museum and your queer carryings-on, that we -were not quite sure but you had horns and cloven feet, and so we came to -satisfy our curiosity; but, la, me! I don’t see but what you look a good -deal like other folks, after all.” - -While at the West, I visited my sister, Mrs. Minerva Drew, and her -family, at Bristol, Wisconsin, where they reside on a farm which I -presented to her about twenty years ago. Her children having grown up -and married, all except her son, Fairchild B. Drew, who had just -attained his majority, his father (Ezekiel Drew) wished to retain his -services on the farm. Fairchild, however, felt that the farm was not -quite large enough for his aspirations. I found also that he coveted a -neighboring farm, which, with its stock, was for sale for less than five -thousand dollars. I bought it for him, on condition that he should -continue the care of the old farm, and that the two should be worked -together. I trust that the arrangement will prove beneficial to all -concerned; for there is great pleasure in helping others who try to help -themselves; without such effort on their part, all good offices in their -favor are thrown away,--it is simply attempting to make a sieve hold -water. - -On my tour, in attempting to make the connection from Cleveland, Ohio, -to Fort Wayne, Indiana, via Toledo, I arrived at the latter city at one -o’clock, P.M., which was about two hours too late to catch the train in -time for the hour announced for my lecture that evening. I went to Mr. -Andrews, the superintendent of the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railway, -and told him I wanted to hire a locomotive and car to run to Fort Wayne, -as I must be there at eight o’clock at night. - -“It is an impossibility,” said Mr. Andrews; “the distance is ninety-four -miles, and no train leaves here till morning. The road is much occupied -by freight trains, and we never run extra trains in this part of the -country, unless the necessity is imperative.” - -I suppose I looked astonished, as well as chagrined. I knew that if I -missed lecturing in Fort Wayne that evening, I could not appoint another -time for that purpose, for every night was engaged during the next two -months. I also felt that a large number of persons in Fort Wayne would -be disappointed, and I grew desperate. Drawing my wallet from my pocket, -I said: - -“I will give two hundred dollars, and even more, if you say so, to be -put into Fort Wayne before eight o’clock to-night; and, really, I hope -you will accommodate me.” - -The superintendent looked me thoroughly over in half a minute, and I -fancied he had come to the conclusion that I was a burglar, a -counterfeiter, or something worse, fleeing from justice. My surmise was -confirmed, when he slowly remarked: - -“Your business must be very pressing, sir.” - -“It is indeed,” I replied; “I am Barnum, the museum man, and am engaged -to speak in Fort Wayne to-night.” - -He evidently did not catch the whole of my response, for he immediately -said: - -“Oh, it is a show, eh? Where is old Barnum himself?” - -“I am Barnum,” I replied, “and it is a lecture which I am advertised to -give to-night; and I would not disappoint the people for anything.” - -“Is this P. T. Barnum?” said the superintendent, starting to his feet. - -“I am sorry to say it is,” I replied. - -“Well, Mr. Barnum,” said he, earnestly, “if you can stand it to ride to -Fort Wayne in the caboose of a freight train, your well-established -reputation for punctuality in keeping your engagements shall not suffer -on account of the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railroad.” - -“Caboose!” said I, with a laugh, “I would ride to Fort Wayne astride of -the engine, or boxed up and stowed away in a freight car, if necessary, -in order to meet my engagement.” - -A freight train was on the point of starting for Fort Wayne; all the -cars were at once ordered to be switched off, except two, which the -superintendent said were necessary to balance the train; the freight -trains on the road were telegraphed to clear the track, and the polite -superintendent pointing to the caboose, invited me to step in. I drew -out my pocket-book to pay, but he smilingly shook his head, and said: -“You have a through ticket from Cleveland to Fort Wayne; hand it to the -freight agent on your arrival, and all will be right.” I was much moved -by this unexpected mark of kindness, and expressing myself to that -effect, I stepped into the caboose, and we started. - -The excited state of mind which I had suffered while under the -impression that the audience in Fort Wayne must be disappointed now -changed, and I felt as happy as a king. In fact, I enjoyed a new -sensation of imperial superiority, in that I was “monarch of all I -surveyed,” emperor of my own train, switching all other trains from the -main track, and making conductors all along the line wonder what grand -mogul had thus taken complete possession and control of the road. -Indeed, as we sped past each train, which stood quietly on a side track -waiting for us to pass, I could not help smiling at the glances of -excited curiosity which were thrown into our car by the agent and -brakemen of the train which had been so peremptorily ordered to clear - -[Illustration: _THE GREAT UNKNOWN._] - -the track; and always stepping at the caboose door, I raised my hat, -receiving in return an almost reverent salute, which the occupants of -the waiting train thought due, no doubt, to the distinguished person for -whom they were ordered by special telegram to make way. - -I now began to reflect that the Fort Wayne lecture committee, upon -discovering that I did not arrive by the regular passenger train, would -not expect me at all, and that probably they might issue small bills -announcing my failure to arrive. I therefore prepared the following -telegram which I despatched to them on our arrival at Napoleon, the -first station at which we stopped: - - Lecture Committee, Fort Wayne:--Rest perfectly tranquil. I am to be - delivered at Fort Wayne by contract by half-past seven - o’clock--special train. - -At the same station I received a telegram from Mr. Andrews, the -superintendent, asking me how I liked the caboose. I replied: - - The springs of the caboose are softer than down; I am as happy as a - clam at high water; I am being carried towards Fort Wayne in a - style never surpassed by Cæsar’s triumphal march into Rome. Hurrah - for the Toledo and Wabash Railroad! - -At the invitation of the engineer, I took a ride of twenty miles upon -the locomotive. It fairly made my head swim. I could not reconcile my -mind to the idea that there was no danger; and intimating to the -engineer that it would be a relief to get where I could not see ahead, I -was permitted to crawl back again to the caboose. - -I reached Fort Wayne in ample time for the lecture; and as the committee -had discreetly kept to themselves the fact of my non-arrival by the -regular train, probably not a dozen persons were aware of the trouble I -had taken to fulfil my engagement, till in the course of my lecture, -under the head of “perseverance,” I recounted my day’s adventures, as an -illustration of exercising that quality when real necessity demanded. -The Fort Wayne papers of the next day published accounts of “Barnum on a -Locomotive,” and “A Journey in a Caboose”; and as I always had an eye to -advertising, these articles were sent marked to newspapers in towns and -cities where I was to lecture, and of course were copied,--thus -producing the desired effects, first, of informing the public that the -“showman” was coming, and next, assuring the lecture committee that -Barnum would be punctually on hand as advertised, unless prevented by -“circumstances over which he had no control.” - -The managers of railroads running west from Chicago pretty rigidly -enforce a rule excluding from certain reserved cars all gentlemen -travelling without ladies. As I do not smoke, I avoided the smoking -cars; and as the ladies’ car was sometimes more select and always more -comfortable than the other cars, I tried various expedients to smuggle -myself in. If I saw a lady about to enter the car alone, I followed -closely, hoping thus to elude the vigilance of the brakeman, who -generally acted as door-keeper. But the car Cerberus is pretty well up -to all such dodges, and I did not always succeed. On one occasion, -seeing a young couple, evidently just married, and starting on a bridal -tour, about to enter the car, I followed closely, but was stopped by the -door-keeper, who called out: - -“How many gentlemen are with this lady.” - -I have always noticed that young newly-married people are very fond of -saying “my husband” and “my wife;” they are new terms which sound -pleasantly to the ears of those who utter them; so in answer to the -peremptory inquiry of the door-keeper, the bridegroom promptly -responded: - -“I am this lady’s husband.” - -“And I guess you can see by the resemblance between the lady and -myself,” said I to Cerberus, “that I am her father.” - -The astounded husband and the blushing bride were too much “taken aback” -to deny their newly-discovered parent, but the brakeman said, as he -permitted the young couple to pass into the car: - -“We can’t pass all creation with one lady.” - -“I hope you will not deprive me of the company of my child during the -little time we can remain together,” I said with a demure countenance. -The brakeman evidently sympathized with the fond “parient” whose -feelings were sufficiently lacerated at losing his daughter through her -finding a husband, and I was permitted to pass. I immediately apologized -to the young bride and her husband, and told them who I was, and my -reasons for the assumed paternity, and they enjoyed the joke so heartily -that they called me “father” during our entire journey together. Indeed, -the husband privately and slyly hinted to me that the first boy should -be christened “P. T.” My friend the Rev. Dr. Chapin, by the by an -inveterate punster, is never tired of ringing the changes on the names -in my family; he says that my wife and I are the most sympathetic couple -he ever saw, since she is “Charity” and I am “Pity” (P. T.) On one -occasion, at my house in New York, he called my attention to the -monogram, P. T. B., on the door and said, “I did it,” “Did what,” I -asked: “Why that,” replied the doctor, “P. T. B.,--Pull The Bell, of -course,” thus literally ringing a new change on my initials. - -At another time during my western lecturing trip, I was following -closely in the wake of a lady who was entering the favorite car, when -the brakeman exclaimed; “You can’t go in there, sir!” - -“I rather guess I can go in with a lady,” said I, pointing to the one -who had just entered. - -“Not with that lady, old fellow; for I happen to know her, and that is -more than you do; we are up to all these travellers’ tricks out here; -it’s no go.” - -I saw indeed that it was “no go,” and that I must try something else; -“Look here, my dear fellow,” said I; “I am travelling every day on the -railroads, on a lecturing tour throughout the West, and I really hope -you will permit me to take a seat in the ladies’ car. I am Barnum, the -Museum man from New York.” - -Looking sharply at me for an instant, the altogether too wide-awake -brakeman exclaimed: “Not by a d--n sight you ain’t! I know Barnum!” - -I could not help laughing; and pulling several old letters from my -pocket, and showing him the directions on the envelopes, I replied: - -“Well, you may know him, but the ‘old fellow’ has changed in his -appearance, perhaps. You see by these letters that I am the ‘crittur.’” - -The brakeman looked astonished, but finally said: “Well, that is a fact -sure enough. I know you when I come to look again, but really I did not -believe you at first. You see we have all sorts of tricks played on us, -and we learn to doubt everybody. You are very welcome to go in, Mr. -Barnum, and I am glad to see you,” and as this conversation was heard -throughout the car, “Barnum, the showman,” was the subject of general -observation and remark. - -I fulfilled my entire engagement, which covered the lecturing season, -and returned to New York greatly pleased with my Western tour. Public -lecturing was by no means a new experience with me; for, apart from my -labors in that direction in England, and occasional addresses before -literary and agricultural associations at home, I had been prominently -in the field for many years as a lecturer on temperance. My attention -was turned to this subject in the following manner: - -In the fall of 1847, while exhibiting General Tom Thumb at Saratoga -Springs, where the New York State Fair was then being held, I saw so -much intoxication among men of wealth and intellect, filling the highest -positions in society, that I began to ask myself the question, What -guarantee is there that _I_ may not become a drunkard? and I forthwith -pledged myself at that time never again to partake of any kind of -spirituous liquors as a beverage. True, I continued to partake of wine, -for I had been instructed, in my European tour, that this was one of the -innocent and charming indispensables of life. I however regarded myself -as a good temperance man, and soon began to persuade my friends to -refrain from the intoxicating cup. Seeing need of reform in Bridgeport, -I invited my friend, the Reverend Doctor E. H. Chapin, to visit us, for -the purpose of giving a public temperance lecture. I had never heard him -on that subject, but I knew that on whatever topic he spoke, he was as -logical as he was eloquent. - -He lectured in the Baptist Church in Bridgeport. His subject was -presented in three divisions: The liquor-seller, the moderate drinker, -and the indifferent man. It happened, therefore, that the second, if not -the third clause of the subject, had a special bearing upon me and my -position. The eloquent gentleman overwhelmingly proved that the -so-called respectable liquor-seller, in his splendid saloon or hotel -bar, and who sold only to “gentlemen,” inflicted much greater injury -upon the community than a dozen common groggeries--which he abundantly -illustrated. He then took up the “moderate drinker,” and urged that he -was the great stumbling-block to the temperance reform. He it was, and -not the drunkard in the ditch, that the young man looked at as an -example when he took his first glass. That when the drunkard was asked -to sign the pledge, he would reply, “Why should I do so? What harm can -there be in drinking, when such men as respectable Mr. A, and moral Mr. -B drink wine under their own roof?” He urged that the higher a man stood -in the community, the greater was his influence either for good or for -evil. He said to the moderate drinker: “Sir, you either do or you do not -consider it a privation and a sacrifice to give up drinking. Which is -it? If you say that you can drink or let it alone, that you can quit it -forever without considering it a self-denial, then I appeal to you as a -man, to do it for the sake of your suffering fellow-beings.” He further -argued that if it was a self-denial to give up wine-drinking, then -certainly the man should stop, for he was in danger of becoming a -drunkard. - -What Doctor Chapin said produced a deep impression upon my mind, and -after a night of anxious thought, I rose in the morning, took my -champagne bottles, knocked off their heads, and poured their contents -upon the ground. I then called upon Doctor Chapin, asked him for the -teetotal pledge, and signed it. He was greatly surprised in discovering -that I was not already a teetotaler. He supposed such was the case, from -the fact that I had invited him to lecture, and he little thought, at -the time of his delivering it, that his argument to the moderate drinker -was at all applicable to me. I felt that I had now a duty to -perform,--to save others, as I had been saved, and on the very morning -when I signed the pledge, I obtained over twenty signatures in -Bridgeport. I talked temperance to all whom I met, and very soon -commenced lecturing upon the subject in the adjacent towns and villages. -I spent the entire winter and spring of 1851-2 in lecturing through my -native State, always travelling at my own expense, and I was glad to -know that I aroused many hundreds, perhaps thousands, to the importance -of the temperance reform. I also lectured frequently in the cities of -New York and Philadelphia, as well as in other towns in the neighboring -States. - -While in Boston with Jenny Lind, I was earnestly solicited to deliver -two temperance lectures in the Tremont Temple, where she gave her -concerts. I did so; and though an admission fee was charged for the -benefit of a benevolent society, the building on each occasion was -crowded. In the course of my tour with Jenny Lind, I was frequently -solicited to lecture on temperance on evenings when she did not sing. I -always complied when it was in my power. In this way I lectured in -Baltimore, Washington, Charleston, New Orleans, Cincinnati, St. Louis, -and other cities, also in the ladies’ saloon of the steamer Lexington, -on Sunday morning. In August, 1853, I lectured in Cleveland, Ohio, and -several other towns, and afterwards in Chicago, Illinois, and in -Kenosha, Wisconsin. An election was to be held in Wisconsin in October, -and the friends of prohibition in that State solicited my services for -the ensuing month, and I could not refuse them. I therefore hastened -home to transact some business which required my presence for a few -days, and then returned, and lectured on my way in Toledo, Norwalk, -Ohio, and Chicago, Illinois. I made the tour of the State of Wisconsin, -delivering two lectures per day for four consecutive weeks, to crowded -and attentive audiences. - -My lecture in New Orleans, when I was in that city, was in the great -Lyceum Hall, in St. Charles Street, and I lectured by the invitation of -Mayor Crossman and several other influential gentlemen. The immense hall -contained more than three thousand auditors, including the most -respectable portion of the New Orleans public. I was in capital humor, -and had warmed myself into a pleasant state of excitement, feeling that -the audience was with me. While in the midst of an argument illustrating -the poisonous and destructive nature of alcohol to the animal economy, -some opponent called out, “How does it affect us, externally or -internally?” - -“_E_-ternally,” I replied. - -I have scarcely ever heard more tremendous merriment than that which -followed this reply, and the applause was so prolonged that it was some -minutes before I could proceed. - -On the first evening when I lectured in Cleveland, Ohio, (it was in the -Baptist Church,) I commenced in this wise: “If there are any ladies or -gentlemen present who have never suffered in consequence of the use of -intoxicating drinks as a beverage, either directly, or in the person of -a dear relative or friend, I will thank them to rise.” A man with a -tolerably glowing countenance arose. “Had you never a friend who was -intemperate?” I asked. - -“Never!” was the positive reply. - -A giggle ran through the opposition portion of the audience. “Really, my -friends,” I said, “I feel constrained to make a proposition which I did -not anticipate. I am, as you are all aware, a showman, and I am always -on the lookout for curiosities. This gentleman is a stranger to me, but -if he will satisfy me to-morrow morning that he is a man of credibility, -and that no friend of his was ever intemperate, I will be glad to engage -him for ten weeks at $200 per week, to exhibit him in my American Museum -in New York, as the greatest curiosity in this country.” - -A laugh that was a laugh followed this announcement. - -“They may laugh, but it is a fact,” persisted my opponent with a look of -dogged tenacity. - -“The gentleman still insists that it is a fact,” I replied. “I would -like, therefore, to make one simple qualification to my offer, I made it -on the supposition that, at some period of his life, he had friends. Now -if he never had any friends, I withdraw my offer; otherwise, I will -stick to it.” - -This, and the shout of laughter that ensued, was too much for the -gentleman, and he sat down. I noticed throughout my speech that he paid -strict attention, and frequently indulged in a hearty laugh. At the -close of the lecture he approached me, and extending his hand, which I -readily accepted, he said, “I was particularly green in rising to-night. -Having once stood up, I was determined not to be put down, but your last -remark fixed me!” He then complimented me very highly on the -reasonableness of my arguments, and declared that ever afterwards he -would be found on the side of temperance. - -Among the most gratifying incidents of my life have been several of a -similar nature to the following: After a temperance speech in -Philadelphia, a man about thirty years of age came forward, signed the -teetotal pledge, and then, giving me his hand, he said, “Mr. Barnum, you -have this night saved me from ruin. For the last two years I have been -in the habit of tippling, and it has kept me continually under the -harrow. This gentleman (pointing to a person at his side) is my partner -in business, and I know he is glad I have signed the pledge to-night.” - -“Yes, indeed I am, George, and it is the best thing you ever did,” -replied his partner, “if you’ll only stick to it.” - -“That will I do till the day of my death; and won’t my dear little wife -Mary cry for joy to-night, when I tell her what I have done!” he -exclaimed in great exultation. At that moment he was a happy man, but he -could not have been more so than I was. - -Sir William Don--who came to this country and acted in several theatres, -afterwards going to Australia, and dying, I believe, soon after his -return to England--once heard me lecture, and immediately afterwards -came forward and signed the pledge. He kept it for a short period only, -although when he signed, he said that strong drink was the bane of his -life. It is the one bane of too many brilliant men, who but for this one -misfortune might attain almost every desirable success in life. - -I may add, that I have lectured in Montreal, Canada, and many towns and -cities in the United States, at my own expense. One of the greatest -consolations I now enjoy is that of believing I have carried happiness -to the bosom of many a family. In the course of my life I have written -much for newspapers, on various subjects, and always with earnestness, -but in none of these have I felt so deep an interest as in that of the -temperance reform. Were it not for this fact, I should be reluctant to -mention, that besides numerous articles for the daily and weekly press, -I wrote a little tract on “The Liquor Business,” which expresses my -practical view of the use and traffic in intoxicating drinks. In every -one of my temperance lectures since the beginning of the year 1869, I -have regularly read the following report, made by Mr. T. T. Cortis, -Overseer of the Poor in Vineland, New Jersey: - - Though we have a population of 10,000 people, for the period of six - months no settler or citizen of Vineland has required relief at my - hands as Overseer of the Poor. Within seventy days, there has only - been one case among what we call the floating population, at the - expense of $4.00. During the entire year, there has only been but - one indictment, and that a trifling case of assault and battery, - among our colored population. So few are the fires in Vineland, - that we have no need of a fire department. There has only been one - house burnt down in a year, and two slight fires, which were soon - put out. We practically have no debt, and our taxes are only one - per cent on the valuation. The police expenses of Vineland amount - to $75.00 per year, the sum paid to me; and our poor expenses a - mere trifle. I ascribe this remarkable state of things, so nearly - approaching the golden age, to the industry of our people, and the - absence of King Alcohol. Let me give you, in contrast to this, the - state of things in the town from which I came, in New England. The - population of the town was 9,500--a little less than that of - Vineland. It maintained forty liquor shops. These kept busy a - police judge, city marshal, assistant marshal, four night watchmen, - six policemen. Fires were almost continual. That small place - maintained a paid fire department, of four companies, of forty men - each, at an expense of $3,000.00 per annum. I belonged to this - department for six years, and the fires averaged about one every - two weeks, and mostly incendiary. The support of the poor cost - $2,500.00 per annum. The debt of the township was $120,000.00. The - condition of things in this New England town is as favorable in - that country as that of many other places where liquor is sold. - -It seems to me that there is an amount of overwhelming testimony and -unanswerable argument in this one brief extract, that makes it in itself -one of the most perfect and powerful temperance lectures ever written. - - - - -CHAPTER XLIII. - -THE NEW MUSEUM. - - A GIGANTIC AMUSEMENT COMPANY--IMMENSE ADDITIONS TO THE NEW - COLLECTION--CURIOSITIES FROM EVERYWHERE--THE GORDON CUMMINGS - COLLECTION FROM AFRICA--THE GORILLA--WHAT THE PAPERS SAID ABOUT THE - MONSTER--MY PRIVATE VIEW OF THE ANIMAL--AMUSING INTERVIEW WITH PAUL - DU CHAILLU--A SUPERB MENAGERIE--THE NEW THEATRE--PROJECT FOR A FREE - NATIONAL INSTITUTION--MESSRS. E. D. MORGAN, WILLIAM C. BRYANT, - HORACE GREELEY AND OTHERS FAVOR MY PLAN--PRESIDENT JOHNSON INDORSES - IT--DESTRUCTION OF MY SECOND MUSEUM BY FIRE--THE ICE-CLAD RUINS--A - SAD, YET SPLENDID SPECTACLE--OUT OF THE BUSINESS--FOOT RACES AT THE - WHITE MOUNTAINS--HOW I WAS NOT BEATEN--OPENING OF WOOD’S MUSEUM IN - NEW YORK--MY ONLY INTEREST IN THE ENTERPRISE. - - -My new Museum on Broadway was liberally patronized from the start, but I -felt that still more attractions were necessary in order to insure -constant success. I therefore made arrangements with the renowned Van -Amburgh Menagerie Company to unite their entire collection of living -wild animals with the Museum. The new company was known as the “Barnum -and Van Amburgh Museum and Menagerie Company,” and as such was chartered -by the Connecticut Legislature, the New York Legislature having refused -us a charter unless I would “see” the “ring” a thousand dollars’ worth, -which I declined. I owned forty per cent and the Van Amburgh Company -held the remaining sixty per cent in the new enterprise, which -comprehended a large travelling menagerie through the country in summer, -and the placing of the wild animals in the Museum in winter. The -capital of the company was one million of dollars, with the privilege of -doubling the amount. As one of the conditions of the new arrangement, it -was stipulated that I should withdraw from all active personal attention -to the Museum, but should permit my name to be announced as General -Manager, and I was also elected President of the company. This -arrangement gave me the comparative tranquillity which I now began to -desire. I spent most of my time in Bridgeport, except in winter, when I -resided in New York. I usually visited the Museum about once a week, but -sometimes was absent for several months. - -Meanwhile, immense additions were made to the curiosity departments of -the new Museum. Every penny of the profits of this Museum and of the two -immense travelling menageries of wild animals was expended in procuring -additional attractions for our patrons. Among other valuable novelties -introduced in this establishment was the famous collection made by the -renowned lion-slayer, Gordon Cummings. This was purchased for me by my -faithful friend, Mr. George A. Wells, who was then travelling in Great -Britain with General Tom Thumb. The collection consisted of many -hundreds of skins, tusks, heads and skeletons of nearly every species of -African animal, including numerous rare specimens never before exhibited -on this continent. It was a great Museum in itself, and as such had -attracted much attention in London and elsewhere, but it was a mere -addition to our Museum and Menagerie; and was exhibited without extra -charge for admission. - -In the summer of 1867, I saw in several New York papers a thrilling -account of an immense gorilla, which had arrived from Africa in charge -of Barnum’s agent, for the Barnum and Van Amburgh Company. The accounts -described the removal of the savage animal in a strong iron cage from -the ship, and his transportation up Broadway to the museum. His cries -and roarings were said to have been terrible, and when he was taken into -the menagerie, he was reported to have bent the heavy iron bars of his -cage, and in his rage to have seized a poker which was thrust at him, -and to have twisted it as if it had been a bit of wire. Nothing so -startlingly sensational in the line of zoölogical description had -appeared since the _Tribune’s_ famous report of the burning of the -American Museum, in 1865. - -For several years I had been trying to secure such an animal, and -several African travellers had promised to do their best to procure one -for me; and I had offered as high as $20,000 for the delivery in New -York of a full-grown, healthy gorilla. From the minute description now -given by the reporters, I was convinced that, at last, the long-sought -prize had been secured. I was greatly elated, and at once wrote from -Bridgeport to our manager, Mr. Ferguson, advising him how to exhibit the -valuable animal, and particularly how to preserve its precious life as -long as might be possible. I have owned many ourang-outangs, and all of -them die ultimately of pulmonary disease; indeed, it is difficult to -keep specimens of the monkey tribe through the winter in our climate, on -account of their tendency to consumption. I therefore advised Mr. -Ferguson to have a cage so constructed that no draught of air could pass -through it, and I further instructed him in methods of guarding against -the gorilla’s taking cold. - -A few days later I went to New York expressly to see the gorilla, and on -visiting the Museum, I was vexed beyond measure to find that the animal -was simply a huge baboon! He was chained down, so that he could not -stand erect, nor turn his back to visitors. His keeper could easily -irritate him, and when the animal was excited, he would seize the iron -bars with both hands, and, uttering horrid screams, would shake the cage -so fiercely that it could be heard and “felt” in the adjoining saloons. -No doubt many of the visitors recalled Du Chaillu’s accounts of the -genuine gorilla, and were convinced that the veritable animal was before -them. But I had been too long in the business to be caught by such -chaff, and approaching the keeper, I asked him why he did not lengthen -the chain, so that the animal could stand up? - -“Because, if I do, he will show his tail,” the keeper confidentially -whispered in my ear. - -The imposition was so silly and transparent that I did not care how soon -it was exposed. As usual, however, I looked at the funny side of the -matter, and immediately enclosed a ticket to my friend Mr. Paul Du -Chaillu, who was then stopping at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, at the same -time writing to the great African traveller, that, much as he had done; -the Barnum and Van Amburgh Company had done more, since he had only -killed gorillas, while we had secured a living one, and brought the -monster safely from Africa to America. I informed him, moreover, that -all the gorillas he had seen and described were tailless, while our far -more remarkable specimen had a tail full four feet long! - -Mr. Du Chaillu came into the Museum that afternoon, in great glee, with -my open letter in his hand. - -“Ah, Mr. Barnum,” he exclaimed, “this is the funniest letter I ever -received. Of course, you know your gorilla’ is no gorilla at all, but -only a baboon. I will not look at him, for when people ask me about -‘Barnum’s gorilla,’ I prefer to be able to say that I have not seen -him.” - -“On the contrary,” said I, “I particularly desire that you should see -the animal, and expose it. The imposition is too ridiculous.” - -“True; but I think your letter is more curious than your animal.” - -“Then I give you full leave to read the letter to all who ask you about -the ‘gorilla.’” - -“Thank you,” said Du Chaillu, “and I wish you would let me read it in my -lectures at the West, where I am soon going on a tour.” - -I consented that he should do so, and I afterwards heard that he was -delighting as well as enlightening western audiences on the subject of -Manager Ferguson’s management of the great “gorilla” in the Barnum and -Van Amburgh Museum and Menagerie. - -The menagerie of living animals was superior in extent to any other -similar collection in America, embracing, as it did, almost every -description of wild animal ever exhibited, including the smallest -African elephant, and the only living giraffe then in the United States. -The collection of lions and royal Bengal tigers was superb. There was a -cage full of young lions that attracted great attention, and the whole -menagerie was an exceedingly valuable one. When I say that to these -attractions was added an able dramatic company, which performed every -afternoon and evening, and that the admission to the entire -establishment was but thirty cents, with no extra charge, except for a -few front seats and private boxes, it is no wonder that this immense -building, five stories high, and covering ground seventy-five by two -hundred feet in area, was thronged “from sunrise to ten P. M.,” and from -top to bottom, with country and city visitors, of both sexes and all -ages. The public was soon thoroughly convinced of the facts; first, that -never before was such an outlay made for so great an assemblage of -useful and amusing attractions, combining instruction with amusement, -and thrown open to the people at so small a charge for admission; and -second, that the surest way of deriving the greatest profit, in the long -run, is to give people as much as possible for their money. That these -facts were fully impressed upon our patrons is instanced in the monthly -returns made to the United States Collector of Internal Revenue for the -district, which showed that our receipts were larger than those of -Wallack’s Theatre, Niblo’s Garden, or any other theatre or place of -amusement in New York, or in America. - -Anxious to gather curiosities from every quarter of the globe, I sent -Mr. John Greenwood, junior, (who went for me to the isle of Cyprus and -to Constantinople, in 1864,) on the “Quaker City” excursion, which left -New York June 8, 1867, and returned in the following November. During -his absence Mr. Greenwood travelled 17,735 miles, and brought back -several interesting relics from the Holy Land, which were duly deposited -in the Museum. - -Very soon after entering upon the premises, I built a new and larger -lecture room, which was one of the most commodious and complete theatres -in New York, and I largely increased the dramatic company. Our -collection swelled so rapidly that we were obliged to extend our -premises by the addition of another building, forty by one hundred -feet, adjoining the Museum. This addition gave us several new halls, -which were speedily filled with curiosities. The rapid expansion of the -establishment, and the immense interest excited in the public mind led -me to consider a plan I had long contemplated, of taking some decided -steps towards the foundation of a great free institution, which should -be similar to and in some respects superior to the British Museum in -London. “The Barnum and Van Amburgh Museum and Menagerie Company,” -chartered with a capital of $2,000,000 had, in addition to the New York -establishment, thirty acres of land in Bridgeport, whereon it was -proposed to erect suitable buildings and glass and wire edifices for -breeding and acclimating rare animals and birds, and training such of -them as were fit for public performances. In time, a new building in New -York, covering a whole square, and farther up town, would be needed for -the mammoth exhibition, and I was not with out hopes that I might be the -means of establishing permanently in the city an extensive zoölogical -garden. - -It was also my intention ultimately to make my Museum the nucleus of a -great free national institution. When the American Museum was burned, -and I turned my attention to the collection of fresh curiosities, I felt -that I needed other assistance than that of my own agents in America and -Europe. It occurred to me that if our government representatives abroad -would but use their influence to secure curiosities in the respective -countries to which they were delegated, a free public Museum might at -once be begun in New York, and I proposed to offer a part of my own -establishment rent-free for the deposit and exhibition of such rarities -as might be collected in this way. Accordingly, a week after the -destruction of the American Museum, a memorial was addressed to the -President of the United States, asking him to give his sanction to the -new effort to furnish the means of useful information and wholesome -amusement, and to give such instructions to public officers abroad as -would enable them, without any conflict with their legitimate duties, to -give efficiency to this truly national movement for the advancement of -the public good, without cost to the government. This memorial was dated -July 20, 1865, and was signed by Messrs. E. D. Morgan, Moses Taylor, -Abram Wakeman, Simeon Draper, Moses H. Grinnell, Stephen Knapp, Benjamin -R. Winthrop, Charles Gould, Wm. C. Bryant, James Wadsworth, Tunis W. -Quick, John A. Pitkin, Willis Gaylord, Prosper M. Wetmore, Henry Ward -Beecher, and Horace Greeley. This memorial was in due time presented, -and was indorsed as follows: - - -“EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C. - -April 27, 1866. - - The purpose set forth in this Memorial is highly approved and - commended, and our Ministers, Consuls and commercial agents are - requested to give whatever influence in carrying out the object - within stated they may deem compatible with the duties of their - respective positions, and not inconsistent with the public - interests. - -ANDREW JOHNSON.” - - - -I went to Washington myself, and had interviews with the President, -Secretaries Seward, McCulloch and Welles, and also with Assistant -Secretary of the Navy, G. V. Fox, who gave me several muskets and other -“rebel trophies.” During my stay at the capital I had a pleasant -interview with General Grant, who told me he had lately visited my -Museum with one of his sons, and had been greatly gratified. Upon my -mentioning, among other projects, that I had an idea of collecting the -hats of distinguished individuals, he at once offered to send an orderly -for the hat he had worn during his principal campaigns. All these -gentlemen cordially approved of my plan for the establishment of a -National Museum in New York. - -But before this plan could be put into effective operation, an event -occurred which is now to be narrated: The winter of 1867-68 was one of -the coldest that had been known for years, and some thirty severe -snowstorms occurred during the season. On Tuesday morning, March 3d, -1868, it was bitter cold. A heavy body of snow was on the ground, and as -I sat at the breakfast table with my wife and an esteemed lady guest, -the wife of my excellent friend Rev. A. C. Thomas, I read aloud the -general news from the morning papers. Leisurely turning to the local -columns, I said, “Hallo! Barnum’s Museum is burned.” - -“Yes,” said my wife, with an incredulous smile, “I suspect it is.” - -“It is a fact,” said I, “just listen; ‘Barnum’s Museum totally destroyed -by fire.’” - -This was read so coolly, and I showed so little excitement, that both of -the ladies supposed I was joking. My wife simply remarked: - -“Yes, it was totally destroyed two years ago, but Barnum built another -one.” - -“Yes, and that is burned,” I replied; “now listen,” and I proceeded very -calmly to read the account of the fire. Mrs. Thomas, still believing -from my manner that it was a joke, stole slyly behind my chair, and -looking over my shoulder at the newspaper, she exclaimed: - -“Why, Mrs. Barnum, the Museum is really burned. Here is the whole -account of it in this morning’s paper.” - -“Of course it is,” I remarked, with a smile, “how could you think I -could joke on such a serious subject!” - -It was indeed too true, and the subject was no doubt “serious” enough; -in fact the pecuniary blow was perhaps even heavier than the loss of the -other Museum, especially as there was probably no Bennett around who -would give me $200,000 for a lease! But during my whole life I had been -so much accustomed to operations of magnitude for or against my -interests, that large losses or gains were not apt to disturb my -tranquillity. Indeed, my second daughter calling in soon after, and -seeing how coolly I took the disaster, said that her husband had -remarked that morning, “Your father wont care half so much about it as -he would if his pocket had been picked of fifty dollars. That would have -vexed him, but he will take this heavier loss as simply the fortune of -war.” - -And this was very nearly the fact. Yet the loss was a large one, and the -complete frustration of our plans for the future was a serious -consideration. But worse than all were the sufferings of the poor wild -animals which were burned to death in their cages. A very few only of -these animals were saved. Even the people who were sleeping in the -building barely escaped with their lives, and next to nothing else, so -sudden was the fire and so rapid its progress. The papers of the -following morning contained full accounts of the fire; and editorial -writers, while manifesting much sympathy for the proprietors, also -expressed profound regret that so magnificent a collection, especially -in the zoölogical department, should be lost to the city. - -The cold was so intense that the water froze almost as soon as it left -the hose of the fire engines; and when at last everything was destroyed, -except the front granite wall of the Museum building, that and the -ladder, signs, and lamp-posts in front, were covered in a gorgeous -frame-work of transparent ice, which made it altogether one of the most -picturesque scenes imaginable. Thousands of persons congregated daily in -that locality in order to get a view of the magnificent ruins. By -moonlight the ice-coated ruins were still more sublime; and for many -days and nights the old Museum was “the observed of all observers,” and -photographs were taken by several artists. - -When the Museum was burnt, I was nearly ready to bring out a new -spectacle, for which a very large extra company had been engaged, and on -which a considerable sum of money had been expended in scenery, -properties, costumes, and especially in enlarging the stage. I had -expended altogether some $78,000 in building the new lecture-room, and -in refitting the saloons. The curiosities were inventoried by the -manager, Mr. Ferguson, at $288,000. I bought the real estate only a -little while before the fire, for $460,000, and there was an insurance -on the whole of $160,000; and in June, 1868, I sold the lots on which -the building stood for $432,000. The cause of the fire was a defective -flue in a restaurant in the basement of the building. - -Thus by the destruction of Iranistan, and two Museums, about a million -of dollars’ worth of my property had been destroyed by fire, and I was -not now long in making up my mind to follow Mr. Greeley’s advice on a -former occasion, to “take this fire as a notice to quit, and go -a-fishing.” - -We all know how difficult it is for a person to stop when he is engaged -in business, and how seldom it is that we find a man who thinks he has -accumulated money enough, and is willing to cease trying to make - -[Illustration: _AFTER THE FIRE_] - -more. An active business life, like everything else, becomes a habit, -and the strife for success in business, through all the changes of -fortune, and ups and downs of trade, becomes an infatuation akin to that -which spurs the gambler. Hence, men often pursue their money-getting -occupations long after the necessity therefor has ceased. Of course, by -wedding themselves to this one ambition they forego many of the higher -pleasures of life, and though they have a vague idea of that “good time -coming,” when they are going to take things easy and enjoy themselves, -that time never comes. Men who are entirely idle are the most miserable -creatures in the world; but when by arduous toil they have secured a -competence, and especially when they have reached a point in life where -they are conscious of a waning of their vital energies, we must admit -that they are unwise if they do not slip out of active business, and -devote a large portion of their time to intellectual pursuits, social -enjoyments, and, if they have not done so through life, to serious -reflections on the ends and aims of human existence. - -It is, perhaps, possible that notwithstanding the active life I have -led, I have after all a lazy streak in my composition; at all events, I -confess it was with no small degree of satisfaction that by this last -burning of the Museum, notwithstanding the serious pecuniary loss it -proved to me, I discovered a way open through which I could retire to a -more quiet and tranquil mode of life. I therefore at once dissolved with -the Van Amburgh Company, and sold out to them all my interest in the -personal property of the concern. I was, however, beset on every side to -start another Museum, and men of capital offered to raise a million of -dollars if necessary, for that purpose, provided I would undertake its -management. My constant reply was, “lead me not into temptation.” I felt -that I had enough to live on, and I earnestly believed the doctrine laid -down in my lecture on “Money Getting,” in regard to the danger of -leaving too much property to children. - -As I now had something like real leisure at my disposal, in the summer -of 1868 I made my third visit to the White Mountains. To me, the -locality and scene are ever fresh and ever wonderful. From the top of -Mount Washington, one can see on every side within a radius of forty -miles peaks piled on peaks, with smiling valleys here and there between, -and, on a very clear day, the Atlantic Ocean off Portland, Maine, is -distinctly visible--sixty miles away. Beauty, grandeur, sublimity, and -the satisfaction of almost every sense combine to remind one of the -ejaculation of that devout English soul who exclaims: “Look around with -pleasure, and upward with gratitude.” - -At the Profile House, near the Notch, in the Franconia range, I met many -acquaintances, some of whom had been there with their families for -several weeks. When tired of scenery-hunting and hill-climbing, and -thrown entirely upon their own resources, they had invented a “sell” -which they perpetrated upon every new-comer. Naturally enough, as I was -considered a capital subject for their fun, before I had been there half -an hour they had made all the arrangements to take me in. The “sell” -consisted in getting up a footrace in which all were to join, and at the -word “go” the contestants were to start and run across the open space in -front of the hotel to a fence opposite, while the last man who should -touch the rail must treat the crowd. - -[Illustration: _BARNUM FIVE SECONDS AHEAD_] - -Of course, no one touched the rail at all, except the victim. I -suspected no trick, but tried to avoid the race, urging in excuse that I -was too old, too corpulent, and besides, as they knew, I was a -teetotaler and would not drink their liquor. - -“Oh, drink lemonade, if you like,” they said, “but no backing out; and -as for corpulence, here is Stephen, our old stage-driver, who weighs -three hundred, and he shall run with the rest.” - -And in good truth, Stephen, in a warm day especially, would be likely to -“run” with the best of them; but I did not know then that Stephen was -the stool-pigeon whom they kept to entrap unwary and verdant youths like -myself; so looking at his portly form I at once agreed that if Stephen -ran I would, as I knew that for a stout man I was pretty quick on my -feet. Accordingly, at the word “go,” I started and ran as if the -traditional enemy of mankind were in me or after me, but before I had -accomplished half the distance, I wondered why at least, one or two of -the crowd had not outstripped me, for, in fact, Stephen was the only one -whom I expected to beat. Looking back and at once comprehending the -“sell,” I decided not to be sold. A correspondent of the New York _Sun_ -told how I escaped the trick and the penalty, and how I subsequently -paid off the tricksters, in a letter from which I quote the following: - - “Barnum threw up his hands before arriving at the railing, and did - not touch it at all! It was acknowledged on all sides that the - ‘biters were bit.’ ‘But you ran well,’ said those who intended the - ‘sell.’ ‘Yes,’ replied Barnum in high glee, ‘I ran better than I - did for Congress; but I was not green enough to touch the rail!’ Of - course a roar of laughter followed, and the ‘sellers’ resolved to - try the game the next morning on some other new-comer; but their - luck had evidently deserted them, for the next man also ‘smelt a - rat,’ and holding up his hands refused to touch the rail. The two - successive failures dampened the ardor of the “sellers,” and they - relinquished that trick as a bad job. But the way Barnum sold - nearly the whole crowd of ‘sellers,’ in detail, on the following - afternoon, by the old ‘sliver trick,’ was a caution to sore sides. - So much laughing in one day was probably never before done in that - locality. One after another succeeded in extracting from the palm - of Barnum’s hand what each at first supposed was a tormenting - ‘sliver,’ but which turned out to be a ‘broom splinter’ a foot long - which was hidden up B.’s sleeve, except the small point which - appeared from under the end of his thumb, apparently protruding - from under the skin of his palm. One ‘weak brother’ nearly fainted - as he saw come forth some twelve inches of what he at first - supposed was a ‘sliver,’ but which he was now thoroughly convinced - was one of the nerves from Barnum’s arm. Mr. O’Brien, the Wall - Street banker, was the first victim. When asked what he thought - upon seeing such a long ‘sliver’ coming from Barnum’s hand, he - solemnly replied, ‘I thought he was a dead man!’ It was - acknowledged by all that Barnum gave them a world of ‘fun,’ and - that he and his friends left the Profile House with flying colors.” - -During the year, Mr. George Wood, a most successful and enterprising -manager, had been engaged in enlarging and refitting Banvard’s building, -at the corner of Broadway and Thirteenth Street, for a Museum and -theatre; and wishing to avoid my competition in the business, he -proposed, that for a consideration, to be governed to some degree by the -receipts, I should bind myself to have no other interest in any Museum -or place of amusement in New York, and that I should give him the -benefit of my experience, influence and information, and thus aid in -advancing his interests and in building up and carrying out his -enterprise. His proposition fully met my views, and I accepted it. -Without incurring risk or responsibility, I could occupy portions of my -time, which otherwise, perhaps, might drag heavily on my hands; my mind -especially would be employed in matters with which I was familiar, and I -might gratify my desire to assist in catering to the healthful, -wholesome amusement of the rising generation and the public. I should -not rust out; and, moreover, the new museum would afford me a pleasant -place to drop into when I felt inclined to do so. Nothing in this -arrangement compelled my presence in New York, or even in the United -States; I could go when and where I chose, and could continue to be, as -I hope to be for the rest of my life, “a man of leisure,” which in my -case, and according to my construction, is far from being a man of -idleness. - -While I was at the White Mountains, I received a telegram from Mr. -George Wood, stating that he could not consider his list of curiosities -complete unless I would consent to be present at the opening of his -Museum, and I accordingly waived all my chances in any intended foot -races, and hastened to New York, making at Mr. Wood’s request the -opening address in his new establishment, August 31, 1868. - - - - -CHAPTER XLIV. - -CURIOUS COINCIDENCES.--NUMBER THIRTEEN. - - POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS--UNLUCKY FRIDAY--UNFORTUNATE SATURDAY--RAINY - SUNDAYS--TERRIBLE THIRTEEN--THE BRETTELLS OF LONDON--INCIDENTS OF - MY WESTERN TRIP--SINGULAR FATALITY--NUMBER THIRTEEN IN EVERY - HOTEL--NO ESCAPE FROM THE FRIGHTFUL FIGURE--ADVICE OF A CLERICAL - FRIEND--THE THIRTEEN COLONIES--THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OF - CORINTHIANS--THIRTEEN AT MY CHRISTMAS DINNER PARTY--THIRTEEN - DOLLARS AT A FAIR--TWO DISASTROUS DAYS--THE THIRTEENTH DAY IN TWO - MONTHS--THIRTEEN PAGES OF MANUSCRIPT. - - -In the summer of 1868, a lady who happened to be at that time an inmate -of my family, upon hearing me say that I supposed we must remove into -our summer residence on Thursday, because our servants might not like to -go on Friday, remarked: - -“What nonsense that is! It is astonishing that some persons are so -foolish as to think there is any difference in the days. I call it rank -heathenism to be so superstitious as to think one day is lucky and -another unlucky”; and then, in the most innocent manner possible, she -added: “I would not like to remove on a Saturday myself, for they say -people who remove on the last day of the week don’t stay long.” - -Of course this was too refreshing a case of undoubted superstition to be -permitted to pass without a hearty laugh from all who heard it. - -I suppose most of us have certain superstitions, imbibed in our youth, -and still lurking more or less faintly in our minds. Many would not like -to acknowledge that they had any choice whether they commenced a new -enterprise on a Friday or on a Monday, or whether they first saw the new -moon over the right or left shoulder. And yet, perhaps, a large portion -of these same persons will be apt to observe it when they happen to do -anything which popular superstition calls “unlucky.” It is a common -occurrence with many to immediately make a secret “wish” if they happen -to use the same expression at the same moment when a friend with whom -they are conversing makes it; nevertheless these persons would protest -against being considered superstitious,--indeed, probably they are not -so in the full meaning of the word. - -Several years ago an old lady who was a guest at my house, remarked on a -rainy Sunday: - -“This is the first Sunday in the month, and now it will rain every -Sunday in the month; that is a sign which never fails, for I have -noticed it many a time.” - -“Well,” I remarked, smiling, “watch closely this time, and if it rains -on the next three Sundays I will give you a new silk dress.” - -She was in high glee, and replied: - -“Well, you have lost that dress, as sure as you are born.” - -The following Sunday it did indeed rain. - -“Ah, ha!” exclaimed the old lady, “what did I tell you? I knew it would -rain.” - -I smiled, and said, “all right, watch for next Sunday.” - -And surely enough the next Sunday it did rain, harder than on either of -the preceding Sundays. - -“Now, what do you think?” said the old lady, solemnly. “I tell you that -sign never fails. It wont do to doubt the ways of Providence,” she added -with a sigh, “for His ways are mysterious and past finding out.” - -The following Sunday the sun rose in a cloudless sky, and not the -slightest appearance of rain was manifested through the day. The old -lady was greatly disappointed, and did not like to hear any allusion to -the subject; but two years afterwards, when she was once more my guest, -it again happened to rain on the first Sunday in the month, and I heard -her solemnly predict that it would, every succeeding Sunday in the -month, for, she remarked, “it is a sign that never fails.” She had -forgotten the failure of two years before; indeed, the continuance and -prevalence of many popular superstitions is due to the fact that we -notice the “sign” when it happens to be verified, and do not observe it, -or we forget it, when it fails. Many persons are exceedingly -superstitious in regard to the number “thirteen.” This is particularly -the case, I have noticed, in Catholic countries I have visited, and I -have been told that superstition originated in the fact of a thirteenth -apostle having been chosen, on account of the treachery of Judas. At any -rate, I have known numbers of French persons who had quite a horror of -this fatal number. Once I knew a French lady who had taken passage in an -ocean steamer, and who, on going aboard, and finding her assigned -state-room to be “No. 13,” insisted upon it that she would not sail in -the ship at all; she had rather forfeit her passage money, though -finally she was persuaded to take another room. And a great many people, -French, English, and American will not undertake any important -enterprise on the thirteenth day of the month, nor sit at table with the -full complement of thirteen persons. With regard to this number to -which so many superstitions cling, I have some interesting experiences -and curious coincidences, which are worth relating as a part of my -personal history. - -When I was first in England with General Tom Thumb, I well remember -dining one Christmas day with my friends, the Brettells, in St. James’s -Palace, in London. Just before the dinner was finished (it is a wonder -it was not noticed before) it was discovered that the number at table -was exactly thirteen. - -“How very unfortunate,” remarked one of the guests; “I would not have -dined under such circumstances for any consideration, had I known it!” - -“Nor I either,” seriously remarked another guest. - -“Do you really suppose there is any truth in the old superstition on -that subject?” I asked. - -“Truth!” solemnly replied an old lady. “Truth! Why I myself have known -three instances, and have heard of scores of others, where thirteen -persons have eaten at the same table, and in every case one of the -number died before the year was out!” - -This assertion, made with so much earnestness, evidently affected -several of the guests, whose nerves were easily excited. I can -truthfully state, however, that I dined at the Palace again the -following Christmas, and although there were seventeen persons present, -every one of the original thirteen who dined there the preceding -Christmas, was among this number, and all in good health; although, of -course, it would have been nothing very remarkable if one had happened -to have died during the last twelve months. - -While I was on my Western lecturing tour in 1866, long before I got out -of Illinois, I began to observe that at the various hotels where I -stopped my room very frequently was No. 13. Indeed, it seemed as if this -number turned up to me as often as four times per week, and so before -many days I almost expected to have that number set down to my name -wherever I signed it upon the register of the hotel. Still, I laughed to -myself, at what I was convinced was simply a coincidence. On one -occasion I was travelling from Clinton to Mount Vernon, Iowa, and was to -lecture in the college of the latter place that evening. Ordinarily, I -should have arrived at two o’clock P. M.; but owing to an accident which -had occurred to the train from the West, the conductor informed me that -our arrival in Mount Vernon would probably be delayed until after seven -o’clock. I telegraphed that fact to the committee who were expecting me, -and told them to be patient. - -When we had arrived within ten miles of that town it was dark. I sat -rather moodily in the car, wishing the train would “hurry up”; and -happening for some cause to look back over my left shoulder, I -discovered the new moon through the window. This omen struck me as a -coincident addition to my ill-luck, and with a pleasant chuckle I -muttered to myself, “Well, I hope I wont get room number thirteen -to-night, for that will be adding insult to injury.” - -I reached Mount Vernon a few minutes before eight, and was met at the -depot by the committee, who took me in a carriage and hurried to the -Ballard House. The committee told me the hall in the college was already -crowded, and they hoped I would defer taking tea until after the -lecture. I informed them that I would gladly do so, but simply wished to -run to my room a moment for a wash. While wiping my face I happened to -think about the new room, and at once stepped outside of my bed-room -door to look at the number. It was “number thirteen.” - -After the lecture I took tea, and I confess that I began to think -“number thirteen” looked a little ominous. There I was, many hundreds of -miles from my family; I left my wife sick, and I began to ask myself -does “number thirteen” portend anything in particular? Without feeling -willing even now to acknowledge that I felt much apprehension on the -subject, I must say I began to take a serious view of things in general. - -I mentioned the coincidence of my luck in so often having “number -thirteen” assigned to me to Mr. Ballard, the proprietor of the hotel, -giving him all the particulars to date. - -“I will give you another room if you prefer it,” said Mr. Ballard. - -“No, I thank you,” I replied with a semi-serious smile; “If it is fate, -I will take it as it comes; and if it means anything I shall probably -find it out in time.” That same night before retiring to rest I wrote a -letter to a clerical friend, then residing in Bridgeport, telling him -all my experiences in regard to “number thirteen.” I said to him in -closing: “Don’t laugh at me for being superstitious, for I hardly feel -so; I think it is simply a series of ‘coincidences’ which appear the -more strange because I am sure to notice every one that occurs.” Ten -days afterwards I received an answer from my reverend friend, in which -he cheerfully said: “It’s all right; go ahead and get ‘number thirteen’ -as often as you can. It is a lucky number,” and he added: - - “Unbelieving and ungrateful man! What is thirteen but the - traditional ‘baker’s dozen,’ indicating ‘good measure, pressed - down, shaken together, and running over,’ as illustrated in your - triumphal lecturing tour? By all means insist upon having room No. - 13 at every hotel; and if the guests at any meal be less than that - charmed complement, send out and compel somebody to come in. - - “What do you say respecting the Thirteen Colonies? Any ill luck in - the number? Was the patriarch Jacob afraid of it when he adopted - Ephraim and Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph, so as to complete the - magic circle of thirteen? - - “Do you not know that chapter thirteen of First Corinthians is the - grandest in the Bible, with verse thirteen as the culmination of - all religious thought? And can you read verse thirteen of the Fifth - chapter of Revelation without the highest rapture?” - -But my clerical friend had not heard of a certain curious circumstance -which occurred to me after I had mailed my letter to him and before I -received his answer. - -On leaving Mount Vernon for Cedar Rapids the next morning, the landlord, -Mr. Ballard, drove me to the railroad depot. As I was stepping upon the -cars, Mr. Ballard shook my hand, and with a laugh exclaimed: “Good-by, -friend Barnum, I hope you wont get room number thirteen at Cedar Rapids -to-day.” “I hope not!” I replied earnestly, and yet with a smile. I -reached Cedar Rapids in an hour. The lecture committee met and took me -to the hotel. I entered my name, and the landlord immediately called out -to the porter: - -“Here John, take Mr. Barnum’s baggage, and show him to ‘number -thirteen!’” - -I confess that when I heard this I was startled. I remarked to the -landlord that it was certainly very singular, but was nevertheless true, -that “number thirteen” seemed to be about the only room that I could get -in a hotel. - -“We have a large meeting of Railroad directors here at present,” he -replied, “and ‘number thirteen’ is the only room unoccupied in my -house.” - -I proceeded to the room, and immediately wrote to Mr. Ballard at Mount -Vernon, assuring him that my letter was written in “number thirteen,” -and that this was the only room I could get in the hotel. During the -remainder of my journey, I was put into “number thirteen” so often in -the various hotels at which I stopped that it came to be quite a matter -of course, though occasionally I was fortunate enough to secure some -other number. Upon returning to New York, I related the foregoing -adventures to my family, and told them I was really half afraid of -“number thirteen.” Soon afterwards, I telegraphed to my daughter who was -boarding at the Atlantic House in Bridgeport, asking her to engage a -room for me to lodge there the next night, on my way to Boston. “Mr. -Hale,” said she to the landlord, “father is coming up to-day; will you -please reserve him a comfortable room?” “Certainly,” replied Mr. Hale, -and he instantly ordered a fire in “room thirteen!” I went to Boston and -proceeded to Lewiston, Maine, and thence to Lawrence, Massachusetts, and -the hotel register there has my name booked for “number thirteen.” - -My experience with this number has by no means been confined to -apartments. In 1867 a church in Bridgeport wanted to raise several -thousand dollars in order to get freed from debt. I subscribed one -thousand dollars, by aid of which they assured me they would certainly -raise enough to pay off the debt. A few weeks subsequently, however, one -of the “brethren” wrote me that they were still six hundred dollars -short, with but little prospect of getting it. I replied that I would -pay one-half of the sum required. The brother soon afterwards wrote me -that he had obtained the other half, and I might forward him my -subscription of “thirteen” hundred dollars. During the same season I -attended a fair in Franklin Hall, Bridgeport, given by a temperance -organization. Two of my little granddaughters accompanied me, and -telling them to select what articles they desired, I paid the bill, -twelve dollars and fifty cents. Whereupon I said to the children, “I am -glad you did not make it thirteen dollars, and I will expend no more -here to-night.” We sat awhile listening to the music, and finally -started for home, and as we were going, a lady at one of the stands near -the door, called out: “Mr. Barnum, you have not patronized me. Please -take a chance in my lottery.” “Certainly,” I replied; “give me a -ticket.” I paid her the price (fifty cents), and after I arrived home, I -discovered that in spite of my expressed determination to the contrary, -I had expended exactly “thirteen” dollars! - -I invited a few friends to a “clam-bake” in the summer of 1868, and -being determined the party should not be thirteen, I invited fifteen, -and they all agreed to go. Of course, one man and his wife were -“disappointed,” and could not go--and my party numbered thirteen. At -Christmas, in the same year, my children and grandchildren dined with -me, and finding on “counting noses,” that they would number the -inevitable thirteen, I expressly arranged to have a high chair placed at -the table, and my youngest grandchild, seventeen months old, was placed -in it, so that we should number fourteen. After the dinner was over, we -discovered that my son-in-law, Thompson, had been detained down town, -and the number at dinner table, notwithstanding my extra precautions, -was exactly thirteen. - -Thirteen was certainly an ominous number to me in 1865, for on the -thirteenth day of July, the American Museum was burned to the ground, -while the thirteenth day of November saw the opening of “Barnum’s New -American Museum,” which was also subsequently destroyed by fire. - -Having concluded this veritable history of superstitious coincidences in -regard to thirteen, I read it to a clerical friend, who happened to be -present; and after reading the manuscript, I paged it, when my friend -and I were a little startled to find that the pages numbered exactly -thirteen. - - - - -CHAPTER XLV. - -A STORY-CHAPTER. - - “EVERY MAN TO HIS VOCATION” AND “NATURE WILL ASSERT HERSELF”--REST - BY THE WAYSIDE--A HALF-SHAVED PARTY--CONSTERNATION OF A - CLERGYMAN--NATIVES IN NEW YORK--DOCTORING A CORN-DOCTOR--RELIGIOUS - RAILWAYS--THE BRIGHTON BUGLE BUSINESS--CASH AND CONSCIENCE--CASTLES - IN THE AIR--A DELUDED ANTIQUARIAN--GAMBLING AND POLITICS--IRISH - WIT--ABOUT CONDUCTORS--DR. CHAPIN AS A PUNSTER--FOWL ATTEMPTS--A - PAIR O’ DUCKS--CUTTING A SICK FRIEND--REV. RICHARD VARICK DEY--HIS - CRIME AND ITS CONSEQUENCES--FORE-ORDINATION--PRACTICAL JOKING BY MY - FATHER--A VALUABLE RACE-HORSE--HOW HE WAS LET AND THEN - KILLED--AGONY OF THE HORSE-KILLER--THE FINAL “SELL”--FOREIGN AND - DOMESTIC FRENCH--COCKNEYISM--WICKED WORDS IN EXETER HALL. - - -And now as a traveller, when almost home, sits down by the wayside to -rest, and meanwhile discourses to his companion about minor matters -relating to the journey, or revives reminiscenses of home and foreign -lands, so I stop to sum up in this chapter some of the incidents and -anecdotes which seem pertinent to my story. - -The old adages, “Every man to his vocation,” and “Nature will assert -herself” are oftentimes amusingly illustrated. Every one knows the fable -of the man who prayed to Jupiter to convert his cat into a woman, and -Jupiter kindly gratified him and the man married the woman. This was -well enough, till one night the feline female heard a mouse scratching -at the door, when she jumped out of bed and began a vigorous hunt, to -the consternation of her husband, if not of the mouse. Something almost -as absurd and quite as illustrative of “instinct,” or “nature” occurred -during my management of the Museum. - -I had brought out a play entitled “The Patriot Fathers,” or something of -the sort; it was patriotic at any rate, and required a great many -people, who had very little to do excepting to dress, group themselves, -and go on and off the stage at the proper times demanded by the -incidents or situations of the play. One night I suddenly found myself -short of supernumeraries to do these subordinate parts, so I sent up to -Centre Market for a supply of young men who were willing to be soldiers, -Indians, or anything else which the exigencies of Revolutionary times -not less than my own immediate necessities demanded. - -Now, it fortunately happened that an engine company near by, the famous -“Forty” of by-gone days, had just returned from a fire, and my messenger -proposed to these men to come down and help me out of my difficulty. The -boys wanted no better fun. At least thirty of them came headed by their -foreman, Mr. William Racey. They were soon dressed, one as a woman, a -mother of the Revolution; others as Indians, British soldiers, Hessian -grenadiers, and Continentals. A very little drilling sufficed to put -these new recruits in order for presentation on the stage, for they had -little to do but to follow directions as to where they must stand, and -when they must go on and off. Numbers, not talent, were needed. They -were apt pupils, and did excellently well from the start. - -But in the very midst of one of those convulsions which threatened the -fate of the struggle for Independence, the City Hall bell sounded out -the alarm for fire. That was enough. Racey shouted out on the stage: - -“Boys, there’s a fire in the Seventh! Put for ‘Forty’”; and the thirty -incontinently fled in post haste for “Forty,” and soon after appeared in -the street, followed by a jeering, cheering crew, the most motley -company that ever dragged a fire engine through the streets of New York. -They were in full costume as they left the Museum. The red-coated -British troops, the Hessians in their tall bear-skin caps, the Indians -in their paint and feathers, and even the “woman” helped to drag the -machine, and at the fire these strange people, including the woman, -helped to “man” the brakes. It is unnecessary to say that they succeeded -in creating in the street, what I hoped they would have done on the -stage, a positive sensation. - -I confess that I am fond of story-telling as well as fun, and I inherit -this I think from my maternal grandfather, whom I have already -chronicled in these pages as a “practical joker of the old school.” One -of the best illustrations of his peculiar fondness for this amusement -appears in the following: - -Danbury and Bethel were and still are manufacturing villages. Hats and -combs were the principal articles of manufacture. The hatters and comb -makers had occasion to go to New York every spring and fall, and they -generally managed to go in parties, frequently taking in a few -“outsiders,” who merely wished to visit the city for the fun of the -thing. They usually took passage on board a sloop at Norwalk, and the -length of their passage depended entirely upon the state of the wind. -Sometimes the run would be made in eight hours, and at other times -nearly as many days were required. It, however, made little difference -with the passengers. They went in for a “spree,” and were sure - -[Illustration: _A GROTESQUE FIRE COMPANY._] - -to have a jolly time whether on land or water. They were all fond of -practical jokes, and before starting they usually entered into a solemn -compact, that any man who got angry at a practical joke should forfeit -and pay the sum of twenty dollars. This agreement frequently saved much -trouble; for occasionally an unexpected and rather severe trick would be -played off, and sadly chafe the temper of the victim. - -Upon one of these occasions a party of fourteen men started from Bethel -on a Monday morning for New York. Among the number were my grandfather, -Capt. Noah Ferry, Benjamin Hoyt, Esq., Uncle Samuel Taylor, (as he was -called by everybody,) Eleazer Taylor, and Charles Dart. Most of these -were proverbial jokers, and it was doubly necessary to adopt the -stipulation in regard to the control of temper. It was therefore done in -writing, duly signed. - -They arrived at Norwalk Monday afternoon. The sloop set sail the same -evening, with a fair prospect of reaching New York early the next -morning. Several strangers took passage at Norwalk, among the rest a -clergyman. He soon found himself in jolly company, and attempted to keep -aloof. But they informed him it was of no use, they expected to reach -New York the next morning, and were determined to “make a night of it,” -so he might as well render himself agreeable, for sleep was out of the -question. His “reverence” remonstrated at first, and talked about “his -rights”; but he soon learned that he was in a company where the rights -of “the majority” were in the ascendant; so he put a smooth face upon -affairs, and making up his mind not to retire that night, he soon -engaged in conversation with several of his fellow-passengers. - -The clergyman was a slim, spare man, standing over six feet high in his -stockings; of light complexion, sandy hair, and wearing a huge pair of -reddish-brown whiskers. Some of the passengers joked him upon the -superfluity of hair upon his face, but he replied that nature had placed -it there, and although he thought proper, in accordance with modern -custom, to shave off a portion of his beard, he considered it neither -unmanly nor unclerical to wear whiskers. It seemed to be conceded that -the clergyman had the best of the argument, and the subject was changed. - -Expectation of a speedy run to New York was most sadly disappointed. The -vessel appeared scarcely to move, and through long weary hours of day -and night, there was not a ripple on the surface of the water. -Nevertheless there was merriment on board the sloop, each voyager -contributing good humor to beguile the tediousness of time. - -Friday morning came, but the calm continued. Five days from home, and no -prospect of reaching New York! We may judge the appearance of the beards -of the passengers. There was but one razor in the company; it was owned -by my grandfather, and he refused to use it, or to suffer it to be used. -“We shall all be shaved in New York,” said he. - -On Saturday morning “all hands” appeared upon deck, and the sloop was -becalmed opposite Sawpits (now Port Chester)! - -This tried the patience of the passengers sadly. - -“I expected to start for home to-day,” said one. - -“I supposed all my combs would have been sold at auction on Wednesday, -and yet here they are on board,” said another. - -“I intended to have sold my hats surely this week, for I have a note to -pay in New-Haven on Monday,” added a third. - -“I have an appointment to preach in New York this evening and -to-morrow,” said the clergyman, whose huge sandy whiskers overshadowed a -face now completely covered with a bright red beard a quarter of an inch -long. - -“Well, there is no use crying, gentlemen,” replied the captain; “it is -lucky for us that we have chickens and eggs on freight, or we might have -to be put upon allowance.” - -After breakfast the passengers, who now began to look like barbarians, -again solicited the loan of my grandfather’s razor. - -“No, gentlemen,” he replied; “I insist that shaving is unhealthy and -contrary to nature, and I am determined neither to shave myself nor loan -my razor until we reach New York.” - -Night came, and yet no wind. Sunday morning found them in the same -position. Their patience was well nigh exhausted, but after breakfast a -slight ripple appeared. It gradually increased, and the passengers were -soon delighted in seeing the anchor weighed and the sails again set. The -sloop glided finely through the water, and smiles of satisfaction forced -themselves through the swamps of bristles which covered the faces of the -passengers. - -“What time shall we reach New York if this breeze continues?” was the -anxious inquiry of half a dozen passengers. - -“About two o’clock this afternoon,” replied the good-natured captain, -who now felt assured that no calm would further blight his prospects. - -“Alas! that will be too late to get shaved,” exclaimed several -voices--“the barber shops close at twelve.” - -“And I shall barely be in time to preach my afternoon sermon,” responded -the red-bearded clergyman. “Mr. Taylor, do be so kind as to loan me your -shaving utensils,” he continued, addressing my grandfather. - -The old gentleman then went to his trunk, and unlocking it, he drew -forth his razor, lather-box and strop. The passengers pressed around -him, as all were now doubly anxious for a chance to shave themselves. - -“Now, gentlemen,” said my grandfather, “I will be fair with you. I did -not intend to lend my razor, but as we shall arrive too late for the -barbers, you shall all use it. But it is evident we cannot all have time -to be shaved with one razor before we reach New York, and as it would be -hard for half of us to walk on shore with clean faces, and leave the -rest on board waiting for their turn to shave themselves, I have hit -upon a plan which I am sure you will all say is just and equitable.” - -“What is it?” was the anxious inquiry. - -“It is that each man shall shave one half of his face, and pass the -razor over to the next, and when we are all half shaved we shall go on -in rotation and shave the other half.” - -They all agreed to this except the clergyman. He objected to appearing -so ridiculous upon the Lord’s day, whereupon several declared that any -man with such enormous reddish whiskers must necessarily always look -ridiculous, and they insisted that if the clergyman used the razor at -all he should shave off his whiskers. - -My grandfather assented to this proposal, and said: “Now, gentlemen, as -I own the razor, I will begin, and as our reverend friend is in a hurry -he shall be next--but off shall come one of his whiskers on the first -turn, or he positively shall not use my razor at all.” - -The clergyman seeing there was no use in parleying, reluctantly agreed -to the proposition. - -In the course of ten minutes one side of my grandfather’s face and chin, -in a straight line from the middle of his nose, was shaved as close as -the back of his hand, while the other looked like a thick brush fence in -a country swamp. The passengers burst into a roar of laughter, in which -the clergyman irresistibly joined, and my grandfather handed the razor -to the clerical gentleman. - -The clergyman had already well lathered one half of his face and passed -the brush to the next customer. In a short time the razor had performed -its work, and the clergyman was denuded of one whisker. The left side of -his face was as naked as that of an infant, while from the other cheek -four inches of a huge red whisker stood out in powerful contrast. -Nothing more ludicrous could well be conceived. A deafening burst of -laughter ensued, and the poor clergyman slunk quietly away to wait an -hour until his turn should arrive to shave the other portion of his -face. - -The next man went through the same operation, and all the rest followed; -a new laugh breaking forth as each customer handed over the razor to the -next in turn. In the course of an hour and a quarter every passenger on -board was half shaved. It was then proposed that all should go upon deck -and take a drink before operations were commenced on the other side of -their faces. When they all gathered upon the deck, the scene was most -ludicrous. The whole party burst again into loud merriment, each man -being convulsed by the ridiculous appearance of the rest. - -“Now, gentlemen,” said my grandfather, “I will go into the cabin and -shave off the other side. You can all remain on deck. As soon as I have -finished, I will come up and give the clergyman the next chance.” - -“You must hurry or you will not all be finished when we arrive,” -remarked the captain; “for we shall touch Peck Slip wharf in half an -hour.” - -My grandfather entered the cabin, and in ten minutes he appeared upon -deck, razor in hand. He was smoothly shaved. - -“Now,” said the clergyman, “it is my turn.” - -“Certainly,” said my grandfather. “You are next, but wait a moment, let -me draw the razor across the strop once or twice.” - -Putting his foot upon the side rail of the deck, and placing one end of -the strop upon his leg, he drew the razor several times across it. Then, -as if by mistake, the razor flew from his hand, and dropped into the -water! My grandfather, with well-feigned surprise, exclaimed in a voice -of terror, “Good heavens! the razor has fallen overboard!” - -Such a picture of consternation as covered one-half of all the -passengers’ faces, was never before witnessed. At first they were -perfectly silent as if petrified with astonishment. But in a few minutes -murmurs began to be heard, and soon swelled into exclamations. “An -infernal hog!” said one. “The meanest thing I ever knew,” remarked -another. “He ought to be thrown overboard himself,” cried several -others; but all remembered that every man who got angry was to pay a -fine of twenty dollars, and they did not repeat their remarks. Presently -all eyes were turned upon the clergyman. He was the most forlorn picture -of despair that could be imagined. - -[Illustration: _HALF-SHAVED._] - -“Oh, this is dreadful!” he drawled, in a tone which seemed as if every -word broke a heart-string. - -This was too much, and the whole crowd broke into another roar. -Tranquillity was restored! The joke, though a hard one, was swallowed. -The sloop soon touched the dock. The half-shaved passengers now agreed -that my grandfather, who was the only person on board who appeared like -a civilized being, should take the lead for the Walton House, in -Franklin Square, and all the rest should follow in “Indian file.” He -reminded them that they would excite much attention in the streets, and -enjoined them not to smile. They agreed, and away they started. They -attracted a crowd of persons before they reached the corner of Pearl -Street and Peck Slip, but they all marched with as much solemnity as if -they were going to the grave. The door of the Walton House was open. Old -Backus, the landlord, was quietly enjoying his cigar, while a dozen or -two persons were engaged in reading the papers, etc. In marched the file -of nondescripts, with the rabble at their heels. Mr. Backus and his -customers started to their feet in astonishment. My grandfather marched -solemnly up to the bar--the passengers followed, and formed double rows -behind him. “Santa Cruz rum for nineteen,” exclaimed my grandfather to -the barkeeper. The astonished liquor-seller produced bottles and -tumblers in double-quick time, and when Backus discovered that the -nondescripts were old friends and customers, he was excited to -uncontrollable merriment. - -“What in the name of decency has happened,” he exclaimed, “that you -should all appear here half shaved?” - -“Nothing at all, Mr. Backus,” said my grandfather, with apparent -seriousness. “These gentlemen choose to wear their beards according to -the prevailing fashion in the place they came from; and I think it is -very hard that they should be stared at and insulted by you Yorkers -because _your_ fashion happens to differ a trifle from theirs.” - -Backus half believed my grandfather in earnest, and the bystanders were -quite convinced such was the fact, for not a smile appeared upon one of -the half-shaved countenances. - -After sitting a few minutes the passengers were shown to their rooms, -and at tea-time every man appeared at the table precisely as he came -from the sloop. The ladies looked astonished, the waiters winked and -laughed, but the subjects of this merriment were as grave as judges. In -the evening they maintained the same gravity in the bar-room, and at ten -o’clock they retired to bed with all due solemnity. In the morning, -however, bright and early, they were in the barber’s shop, undergoing an -operation that soon placed them upon a footing with the rest of mankind. - -It is hardly necessary to explain that the clergyman did not appear in -that singular procession of Sunday afternoon. He tied a handkerchief -over his face, and taking his valise in his hand, started for Market -Street, where it is presumed he found a good brother and a good razor in -season to fill his appointment. - -Let me give an illustration of a “practical joke,” which is quite -professional as well as practical with the operator, and in nine cases -out of ten, no doubt, profitable withal. When I was in Paris in 1845, -there came one day to my room in the Hotel Bedford, where I was -staying, a smart little Frenchman with a case of instruments under his -arm. He announced himself as a chiropodist who could instantly remove -the worst corns, not only without pain, but he promised by means of a -mysterious liniment in his possession to immediately heal the spot from -which he removed the corn. - -Now I had not a corn on my feet, but willing to test his wonderful -powers, I told him to examine my left foot, and to remove a troublesome -corn on the little toe. Surely enough he did remove and exhibit such a -corn as I am sure would have prevented my walking, had I known that I -was so grievously afflicted. He then poured some of his red oil on the -toe and triumphantly showed me that the place had already entirely -healed. Pretending to be delighted with his skill, I held out another -toe for “operation,” and watching him carefully I saw him slip a -manufactured corn into his oil bottle, which, after fumbling awhile and -pretending to pare the unoffending toe, he “extracted.” More delighted -than ever, I rang the bell, and told the servant to send up the -landlord, as I wished him to witness the extraordinary skill of the -corn-doctor. The landlord arrived, and, after a few words of eulogy upon -the chiropodist, I submitted another healthy toe, and forth came another -monstrous corn; for the same process of extraction, with the same -results, could have been performed on the foot of a marble statue. - -It was now my turn, to “operate,” so I rose and bolted the door and took -off my coat, telling the “doctor” that I greatly admired his gold -mounted instruments and the brazen impudence with which he swindled the -public, but that this time he had “caught a Tartar,” and that he could -not leave the room till he had been searched. - -The quack bristled up in grand style at what he termed my ungentlemanly -behavior, and threatened if I touched him to bring me before the -“Tribunal.” I remarked that I rather thought the “Tribunal” was the last -place on earth at which he desired to appear, and then assuring the -landlord that the fellow was an arrant imposter, and that if he would -assist me in searching him I would prove it and warrant that no harm -should come to the searchers, he consented, and collared the -chiropodist. The fellow seeing that we were resolved, quietly submitted. -We first searched his pockets and found nothing; but upon examining his -morocco instrument case, we discovered a drawer in which were eighty -ready-made corns and a small piece of horn which furnished the raw -material for the manufacture! Fortunately, my right foot was not bare, -and I forthwith gave the chiropodist a lesson in the shape of a warm -visitation of shoe-leather, which sent him flying down stairs, where the -dose was doubled by an attentive servant till the chiropodist reached -the street. He did not call at the Hotel Bedford again during my stay. - -I was a good deal amused when I was in Brighton, England, during the -same year, to see how some people manage to reconcile cash and -conscience. Every one knows that Brighton is a fashionable -watering-place, frequented by all sorts of people; but the actual -residents, many of whom are very wealthy, are supposed to be quite -removed from the fashionable and other follies of the visitors from -abroad during the “season.” The millionnaires of Brighton, when I was -there, were great church-goers, and at the same time were extensive -owners in the stock of the railway which brought so many visitors to the -place. It was therefore for their interest that trains should run on -Sundays, as well as on other days, but as such a course would clash with -their religious professions, it was necessary that some plan should be -devised by which a compromise could be effected between profits and -profession, cash and conscience,--for the idea of ever sacrificing -interest to principle never enters the minds of those whose religion may -be in their heads while it never reaches their hearts. The compromise -between the duty and the dividends of the Brighton railway shareholders -was effected as follows: - -After a great deal of talk _pro_ and _con_ on the subject, the trains on -Sunday were permitted to arrive and depart on the following conditions. -But little noise and confusion was manifest and there were fewer porters -employed about the station than on week-days, obliging the arriving and -departing passengers not only to look after, but to lift their baggage, -and as bell-ringing, that is, locomotive bell-ringing, would disturb the -sanctity of the Sabbath, a bugle gave notice of the incoming and -outgoing of the trains. But even this was not enough; it was expressly -stipulated that the bugle-player should play nothing but sacred music! -Thus trains came in to “Old Hundred,” or some similar Psalm tune, and -went out to the air of “Dismission” common to the hymn commencing, -“Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing.” I do not know that this custom is -still kept up at Brighton, but it certainly was so when I was there in -1845; and it was gravely recommended to others who favored a very strict -observance of Sunday, and yet liked their dividends, or were eager for -Sunday mails. In common phrase, it was whipping the Evil One round the -stump in a curious way. - -It reminded me of the good old deacon in Connecticut who was in the -habit of selling milk to his neighbors on all days in the week. One -Sunday, however, his parson came home with him to tea, and while they -were at the table a little girl came in for a quart of milk. The deacon -was afraid of being scandalized in the presence of the parson, and so he -told the girl he did not sell milk on Sunday. The girl, who had been -accustomed to buy on that day as on other days, was much surprised and -turned to go away, when the sixpence in her hand was too much of a -temptation for the deacon, who called out: - -“Here, little girl! you can leave the money now, and call and get the -milk to-morrow!” - -During my journeyings abroad I was not wholly free from the usual -infirmity of travellers, viz, a desire to look at the old castles of -feudal times, whether in preservation or in ruins; but there was one of -our party, Mr. H. G. Sherman, who had a peculiar and irresistible taste -for the antique. He gathered trunks full of stone and timber mementos -from every place of note which we visited; and, if there was anything -which he admired more than all else, it was an old castle. He spent many -hours in clambering the broken walls of Kenilworth, in viewing the -towers and dungeons of Warwick, and climbing the precipices of -Dumbarton. When travelling by coach, Sherman always secured an outside -seat, and, if possible, next to the coachman, so as to be able to make -inquiries regarding everything which he might happen to see. - -On our journey from Belfast to Drogheda, Sherman occupied his usual seat -beside the driver, and asked him a thousand questions. The coachman was -a regular wag, with genuine Irish wit, and he determined to have a -little bit of fun at the expense of the inquisitive Yankee. As we came -within eight miles of Drogheda, the watchful eye of Sherman caught the -glimpse of a large stone pile, appearing like a castle, looming up among -some trees in a field half a mile from the roadside. - -“Oh, look here! what do you call that?” exclaimed Sherman, giving the -coachman an elbowing in the ribs which was anything but pleasant. - -“Faith,” replied the coachman, “you may well ask what we call that, for -divil a call do we know what to call it. That is a castle, sir, beyond -all question the oldest in Ireland; indade, none of the old books nor -journals contain any account of it. It is known, however, that Brian -Borrhoime inhabited it some time, though it is supposed to have been -built centuries before his day.” - -“I’ll give you half-a-crown to stop the coach long enough for me to run -and bring a scrap of it away,” said Sherman. - -“Sure, and isn’t this the royal mail coach? and I would not dare detain -it for half the Bank of Ireland,” replied the honest coachman. - -“How far is it to Drogheda?” inquired Sherman. - -“About eight miles, more or less,” answered the coachman. - -“Stop your coach, and let me down then,” replied Sherman; “I’ll walk to -Drogheda, and would sooner walk three times the distance than not have a -nearer view, and carry off a portion of the oldest castle in Ireland.” - -With that Sherman dismounted, and, raising his umbrella to protect him -from the cold rain which was falling in torrents, he marched off in the -mud, calling out to me that I might expect him in Dublin by the next -train to that which would take us from Drogheda, the railroad being then -completed only to that point from Dublin. - -We arrived in Dublin about five o’clock, cold and uncomfortable; but -warm apartments and good fires were in waiting for us, and in a few -hours we had partaken of an excellent supper, and were as happy as -lords. About nine o’clock in the evening, the door of our parlor was -opened, and who should come in but poor Sherman, drenched to the skin -with cold rain,--the legs of his boots pulled over the bottoms of his -pantaloons, and covered with thick mud to the very tops, and himself -looking like a half-famished, weary and frozen traveller. - -“For Heaven’s sake, let me get to the fire!” exclaimed Sherman, and we -were too much struck with his suffering appearance not to heed it. - -“Well, Sherman,” I remarked, “that must have been a tedious walk for -you,--eight long Irish miles through the rain and mud.” - -“I guess you would have thought so if you had walked it yourself,” -replied Sherman, doggedly. - -“I hope you have brought away trophies enough from the castle to pay you -for all this trouble,” I continued. - -“Oh, curse the castle!” exclaimed Sherman. - -“What do you mean by that?” I asked, in astonishment. - -“Oh, you need not look surprised,” replied Sherman; “for I have no doubt -that you and that bog-trotting Irish coachman have had fun enough at my -expense before this time.” - -I assured him that I positively had not heard the coachman speak on the -subject, and begged him to tell me what had occurred to vex him in this -manner. - -“Why, if you don’t already know,” replied Sherman, “I would not have you -know for twenty pounds, for you would be sure to publish it. However, -now your curiosity is excited, you would be certain to find it all out, -if you had to hire a post-chaise, and ride there on purpose; so I may as -well tell you.” - -“Do tell me,” I replied, “for I confess my curiosity is excited, and I -am unable to guess why you are so angry; for I know you love to see -castles, and that pleasure you surely have enjoyed, for I caught a -glimpse of one myself.” - -“No, you have not seen a castle to-day, nor I either!” exclaimed -Sherman. - -“What on earth was it, then?” I asked. - -“A thundering old lime-kiln!” exclaimed Sherman; “and I only wish I -could pitch that infernal Irish coachman into it while it was under full -blast!” - -It was many a long day before Sherman heard the last of the lime-kiln; -in fact, this trick of the Irish coachman rendered him cautious in -making inquiries of strangers. - -One day we rode to Donnybrook, the place so much celebrated for its -fairs and its black eyes; for it would be quite out of character for Pat -to attend a fair without having a flourish of the shillelah, and a -scrimmage which would result in a few broken heads and bloody noses. - -Near Donnybrook we saw something on the summit of a hill which appeared -like a round stone tower. It was probably sixty feet in circumference -and twenty-five feet high. - -“I would like to know what that is,” said Sherman. - -I advised him to inquire of the first coachman that came along, but, -with a forced smile, he declined my advice. - -“It can’t be a lime-kiln, at any rate,” continued Sherman; “it must be a -castle of some description.” - -The more we looked at it the more mysterious did it appear to us, and -Sherman’s castle-hunting propensities momentarily increased. At last he -exclaimed: “A man who travels with a tongue in his head is a fool if he -don’t use it; and I am not going within a hundred rods of what may be -the greatest curiosity in Ireland, without knowing it.” - -With that he turned our horse’s head towards a fine-looking mansion on -our right, where we halted. Sherman jumped from the carriage, opened the -small gate, proceeded up the alley of the lawn fronting the house, and -rang the bell. A servant appeared at the door; but Sherman, knowing the -stupidity of Irish servants, was determined to apply at head-quarters -for the information he so much desired. - -“Is your master in?” asked Sherman. - -“I will see, sir. What name, if you plaze?” - -“A stranger from the United States of America!” replied Sherman. - -The servant departed, and in a minute returned and invited Sherman to -enter the parlor. He found the gentleman of the mansion sitting by a -pleasant fire, near which were also his lady and several visitors and -members of the family. Sherman was not troubled with diffidence. Being -seated, he hoped he would be excused for having called without an -invitation; but the fact was, he was an American traveller, desirous of -picking up all important information that might fall in his way. - -The gentleman politely replied that no apology was necessary, that he -was most happy to see him, and that any information which he could -impart regarding that or any other portion of the country should be -given with pleasure. - -“Thank you,” replied Sherman; “I will not trouble you except on a single -point. I have seen all that is important in Dublin and its vicinity, and -in and about Donnybrook; there is but one thing respecting which I want -information, and that is the stone tower or castle which we see standing -on the hill, about a quarter of a mile south of your house. If you could -give me the name and history of that pile, I shall feel extremely -obliged.” - -“Oh, nothing is easier,” replied the gentleman, with a smile. “That -‘pile,’ as you call it, was built some forty years ago by my father; and -it was a lucky ‘pile’ for him, for it was the only windmill in these -parts, and always had plenty to do: but a few years ago a hurricane -carried off the wings of the mill, and ever since that it has stood as -it now does, a memorial of its former usefulness. Is there any other -important information that I can give you?” asked the gentleman, with a -smile. - -“Not any,” replied Sherman, rising to depart: “but perhaps I can give -you some; and that is, that Ireland is, beyond all dispute, the meanest -country I ever travelled in. The only two objects worthy of note that I -have seen in all Ireland are a lime-kiln and the foundation for a -windmill!” - -Upon resuming his seat in the carriage, Sherman laughed immoderately, -although he evidently felt somewhat chagrined by this second mistake in -searching for ancient castles. - -Calling one day in one of the principal hotels in Dublin, I noticed -among the “rules” framed and hung in the coffee-room for the warning, -instruction, or entertainment of the guests of the house, the following: - -“No Gambling or Politics will be allowed to _take place_ in this house, -by any parties whatever.” - -How politics could “take place” in an Irish hotel, or elsewhere, would -have been a mystery to me, if I did not remember that the “scrimmages” -and rows, which often follow the mere discussion of politics, seemed to -warrant the landlord in classing politics with gambling, or any other -dangerous amusement which might take place in the coffee-room of an -Irish inn. - -Speaking of Irishmen, I am reminded of an illustration of ready Irish -wit, which is located on the line of the Boston and Fitchburg Railroad. -Some years ago, the Reverend Thomas Whittemore, a wealthy Universalist -minister, who was a large stockholder in the road, was appointed -president of the company; and, as he was exceedingly conscientious in -the discharge of his duty, he once took upon himself to walk over every -foot of the route, to see if every part of the road was in complete -order. Walking along in this way and alone, he came to a place where a -loose rail lay alongside of the track; and, seeing an Irishman near by, -who was apparently employed on the road, Mr. Whittemore called out to -him: - -“Here, Pat, pick up this rail, and lay it alongside of the fence out of -the way, till it is wanted.” - -It never occurred to Mr. Whittemore that every man whom he met did not -know him and his official position; but Pat, not dreaming that his -virtual employer, the president of the railroad company, was giving him -an order, sharply answered: - -“Jist go to the divil, will ye?” - -“My dear friend,” said the smiling Whittemore, who instantly -comprehended “the situation”--that is, that Pat did not know him, and no -particular wonder, either--“‘go to the devil?’ why, that is the last -place I should desire to go to!” - -“An’ faith, an’ I think it’s the last place you _will_ be goin’ to,” -responded Pat. - -Of railroads and railroad travel and employees I have heard and told no -end of stories; but one of the latest and best, I think, is told of a -man in a town “down East,” who had some difficulty with a conductor, and -vowed that not another cent of his money should ever go into the -treasury of that company. - -“But,” said the conductor of the road, “you own property in one place on -the line, and do business in another place, and are obliged to go back -and forth almost every day: how are you going to help paying something -to the company?” - -“Oh! hereafter I shall pay my fare to you in the cars,” was the reply. - -It may be a joke, but conductors themselves, that is, some of them, are -more or less facetious on the subject of what in the vernacular is known -as “knocking down.” Soon after the conductors on the New York and New -Haven Railroad were put in costume while on duty, and were obliged to -wear a badge bearing the initials of the company, my friend Rev. Dr. -Chapin was accompanying me over the road to my Bridgeport home, when -along came a conductor, whom we both knew well, to collect our fares. - -“Ah, I see,” said Dr. Chapin, pointing to the letters on the new badge, -“N. H., N. Y.,--‘Neither Here, Nor Yonder.” - -“No,” whispered the conductor confidentially in the Doctor’s ear; “it -means, ‘New House, Next Year.’” - -It is scarcely necessary to tell the thousands who know Dr. Chapin that -he is a man of most ready wit, and an inveterate punster. One day, when -we were dining together, I was carving a chicken, which the Doctor -pronounced a “hen-ous offence,” when, having some difficulty with a -tough wing, I exclaimed: - -“How shall I get the thing off, anyhow?” - -“Pullet,” gravely answered the Doctor. - -“Eggsactly,” said I. - -Then began what the Doctor called a “battle of the spurs,”--I trying to -“crow” over the Doctor, and he endeavoring to upset my “cackle-ations”; -urging me meanwhile to “scratch away,” till at last I told him, if he -made another pun on that “lay,” he would knock me off the roost. - -“Oh, then,” said the Doctor, finally feathering his nest, “Sha’n’t I -clear?!” - -An equally fowl pun of the Doctor’s was perpetrated in cold blood, or -rather in very cold water, down at Rockport, Massachusetts. Thither -every summer season were wont to congregate, for their vacation, such -celebrated clergymen as Starr King, Dr. Chapin, and others, mainly for -the fine sea-bathing there. One season Dr. Chapin arrived at least a -fortnight behind the rest; and, when they went down bathing together, -the acclimated visitors pronounced the water to be “delightful,” “just -right,” and so on. - -“But isn’t it cold?” asked Dr. Chapin. - -“Oh, no,” replied Starr King; “you have only to go down and up twice, -and you are warm enough.” - -“Ah, I see how it is,” said Dr. Chapin, who tried the experiment and -came up half frozen; “you are warm after down and up twice? Why, that’s -a pair o’ ducks!” - -Fowls naturally suggest the market, and this brings to mind a neighbor -of mine in New York who keeps two things,--a boarding-house, and “bad -hours.” His wife justly suspected him of gambling; but he generally -managed to get in before midnight, and always had money enough in his -pocket to go to market with in the morning. On one occasion, however, -after gambling all night, he did not come home till six o’clock in the -morning, when, after a sound scolding from his wife for staying out all -night and “gambling,” as she insisted, he was sent to market to get -something for breakfast. Returning, he was again berated by his wife for -gambling, he protesting all the while that he had been “spending the -night with a sick friend.” - -His wife might have believed him, if he had not sat down at the head of -the table, half asleep, and solemnly passed the bread to the nearest -boarder with the exclamation,-- - -“Cut!” - -“_That’s_ your ‘sick friend!’” exclaimed the wife, while a general roar -around the table woke the host to the fact that he was passing bread, -and not a pack of cards. - -This story-telling carries me back to my boyhood days at Bethel, and -brings to mind an old clerical acquaintance whom I knew long before I -met Dr. Chapin. The Rev. Richard Varick Dey, who resided at Greenfield, -Connecticut, was in the habit of coming to Bethel to preach on Sabbath -evenings. He was a very eloquent preacher, and an eccentric man. He -possessed fine talents; his sermons were rich in pathos and wit; and he -was exceedingly popular with the world’s people. The more -straight-laced, however, were afraid of him. His remarks both in and out -of the pulpit would frequently rub hard against some popular dogma, or -knock in the head some favorite religious tenet. Mr. Dey was therefore -frequently in hot water with the church, and was either “suspended,” or -about to be brought to trial for some alleged breach of ministerial -duty, or some suspected heresy. While thus debarred from preaching, he -felt that he must do something to support his family. With this view he -visited Bethel, Danbury, and other towns, and delivered “Lectures,” at -the termination of which, contributions for his benefit were taken up. I -remember his lecturing in Bethel on “Charity.” This discourse overflowed -with eloquence and pathos, and terminated in a contribution of more than -fifty dollars. - -It was said that on one occasion Mr. Dey was about to be tried before an -ecclesiastical body at Middletown. There being no railroads in those -days, many persons travelled on horseback. Two days before the trial was -to take place, Mr. Dey started for Middletown alone, and on horseback. -His valise was fastened behind the saddle; and, putting on his large -great-coat surmounted with a half a dozen broad “capes,” as was the -fashion of that period, and donning a broad-brimmed hat, he mounted his -horse and started for the scene of trial. - -On the second day of his journey, and some ten miles before reaching -Middletown, he overtook a brother clergyman, also on horseback, who was -wending his way to the Consociation. - -He was a man perhaps sixty years of age, and his silvered locks stood -out like porcupine quills. His iron visage, which seemed never to have -worn a smile, his sinister expression, small, keen, selfish-looking -eyes, and compressed lips, convinced Mr. Dey that he had no hope of -mercy from that man as one of his judges. The reverend gentlemen soon -fell into conversation. The sanctimonious clergyman gave his name and -residence, and inquired those of Mr. Dey. - -“My name is Mr. Richard,” replied Rev. Richard V. Dey, “and my residence -is Fairfield.” (Greenfield is a parish in the town of Fairfield.) - -“Ah,” exclaimed the other clergyman; “then you live near Mr. Dey: do you -know him?” - -“Perfectly well,” responded the eccentric Richard. - -“Well, what do you think of him?” inquired the anxious brother. - -“He is a wide-awake, cunning fellow, one whom I should be sorry to -offend, for I would not like to fall into his clutches; but, if -compelled to do so, I could divulge some things which would astonish our -Consociation.” - -“Is it possible? Well, of course your duty to the Church and the -Redeemer’s cause will prompt you to make a clean breast of it, and -divulge everything you know against the accused,” responded the excited -clergyman. - -“It is hard to destroy a brother’s reputation and break up the peace of -his family,” answered the meek Mr. Richard. - -“It is the duty of the elect to expose and punish the reprobates,” -replied the sturdy Puritan. - -“But had I not better first tell our brother his fault, and give him an -opportunity to confess and be forgiven?” - -“Our brother, as you call him, is undoubtedly a heretic, and the true -faith is wounded by his presence amongst us. The Church must be purged -from unbelief. We must beware of those who would introduce damnable -heresies.” - -“Are you sure that Mr. Dey is an unbeliever?” inquired the modest Mr. -Richard. - -“I have heard that he throws doubt upon the Trinity,--shrugs his -shoulders at some portions of the Saybrook Platform, and has said that -even reprobates may sincerely repent, pray for forgiveness, and be -saved; ay, that he even doubts the damnation of unregenerate infants!” - -“Horrible!” ejaculated Mr. Richard. - -“Yes, horrible indeed! But I trust that our Consociation will -excommunicate him at once and forever. But what do you know concerning -his belief?” - -“I know nothing specially against his belief,” responded Mr. Richard; -“but I have witnessed some of his acts, which I should be almost sorry -to expose.” - -“A mistaken charity. It is your duty to tell the Consociation all you -know regarding the culprit, and I shall insist upon your doing so.” - -“I certainly desire to do that which is right and just; and, as I am but -young in the ministry, I shall defer to your judgment, founded on age -and experience. But I would prefer at first to state to you what I know, -and then will be guided by your advice in regard to giving my testimony -before the Consociation.” - -“A very proper course. You can state the facts to me, and I will give -you my counsel. Now what do you know?” - -“I know that on more than one occasion I have caught him in the act of -kissing my wife,” replied the injured Mr. Richard. - -“I am not at all astonished,” responded the clergyman; “such conduct -coincides exactly with the opinion I had formed of the man. I -commiserate you, sir, but I honor your sense of duty in divulging such -important facts, even at the expense of exposing serious troubles in -your domestic relations. But, sir, justice must have its course. These -facts must be testified to before the Consociation. Do you know anything -else against the delinquent?” - -“I know something more; but it is of a nature so delicate, and concerns -me personally so seriously, that I must decline divulging it.” - -“Sir, you cannot do that. I will not permit it, but will insist on your -telling the whole truth before our Consociation, though your -heart-strings were to break in consequence. I repeat, sir, that I -sympathize with you personally, but personal feelings must be swallowed -up in the promotion of public good. No sympathy for an individual can be -permitted to clash with the interests of the true Church. You had better -tell me, sir, all you know.” - -“Since you say that duty requires it, I will do so. I have caught him, -under very suspicious circumstances, in my wife’s bedroom,” said the -unfortunate Mr. Richard. - -“Was your wife in bed?” inquired the man with the iron face. - -“She was,” faintly lisped the almost swooning Mr. Richard. - -“Enough, enough,” was the response. “Our Consociation will soon dispose -of the Rev. Richard V. Dey.” - -The two clergymen had now arrived at Middletown. The Rev. Mr. -Vinegarface rode to the parsonage while Mr. Dey, _alias_ “Mr. Richard,” -went to a small and obscure inn. - -The Consociation commenced the next day. This ecclesiastical body was -soon organized, and, after disposing of several minor questions, it was -proposed to take up the charges of heresy against the Rev. Mr. Dey. The -accused, with a most demure countenance, was conversing with his quondam -travelling companion of the day previous, who upon hearing this -proposition instantly sprang to his feet, and informed the reverend -Chairman that providentially he had been put in possession of facts -which must necessarily result in the immediate expulsion of the culprit -from the Church, and save the necessity of examining testimony on the -question of heresy. “In fact,” continued he, “I am prepared to prove -that the Rev. Richard V. Dey has frequently kissed the wife of one of -our brethren, and has also been caught in a situation which affords -strong evidence of his being guilty of the crime of adultery!” - -A thrill of horror and surprise ran through the assembly. Every eye was -turned to Mr. Dey, who was seated so closely to the last speaker that he -touched him as he resumed his seat. Mr. Dey’s countenance was as placid -as a May morning, and it required keen vision to detect the lurking -smile of satisfaction that peeped from a corner of his eye. A few -minutes of dead silence elapsed. - -“Produce your witnesses,” finally said the Chairman, in an almost -sepulchral voice. - -“I call on the Rev. Mr. Richard, of Fairfield, to corroborate under oath -the charges which I have made,” responded the hard-visaged Puritan. - -Not a person moved. Mr, Dey looked as unconcerned as if he was an utter -stranger to all present, and understood not the language which they were -speaking. - -“Where is the Rev. Mr. Richard?” inquired the venerable Chairman. - -“Here he is,” responded the accuser, familiarly tapping Mr. Dey on the -shoulder. - -The whole audience burst into such a roar of laughter as probably never -was heard in a like Consociation before. - -The accuser was almost petrified with astonishment at such inconceivable -conduct on the part of that sedate religious assembly. - -Mr. Dey alone maintained the utmost gravity. - -“That, sir, is the Rev. Richard V. Dey,” replied the Chairman, when -order was restored. - -The look of utter dismay which instantly marked the countenance of the -accuser threw the assembly into another convulsion of laughter, during -which Mr. Dey’s victim withdrew, and was not seen again in Middletown. -The charges of heresy were then brought forward. After a brief -investigation, they were dismissed for want of proof, and Mr. Dey -returned to Greenfield triumphant. - -I have often heard Mr. Dey relate the following anecdote. A young couple -called on him one day at his house in Greenfield. They informed him that -they were from the southern portion of the State, and desired to be -married. They were well dressed, made considerable display of jewelry, -and altogether wore an air of respectability. Mr. Dey felt confident -that all was right, and, calling in several witnesses, he proceeded to -unite them in the holy bonds of wedlock. - -After the ceremonies were concluded, Mr. Dey invited the happy pair (as -was usual in those days) to partake of some cake and wine. They thus -spent a social half-hour together, and, on rising to depart, the -bridegroom handed Mr. Dey a twenty-dollar bank note; remarking that this -was the smallest bill he had, but, if he would be so good as to pay -their hotel bill (they had merely dined and fed their horse at the -hotel), he could retain the balance of the money for his services. Mr. -Dey thanked him for his liberality, and went at once to the hotel with -the lady and gentleman, and informed the landlord that he would settle -their bill. They proceeded on their journey, and the next day it was -discovered that the bank-note was a counterfeit, and that Mr. Dey had to -pay nearly three dollars for the privilege of marrying this loving -couple. - -The newspapers in various parts of the State subsequently published -facts which showed that the affectionate pair got married in every town -they passed through,--thus paying their expenses and fleecing the -clergymen by means of counterfeits. - -One of the deacons of Mr. Dey’s church asked him if he usually kissed -the bride at weddings. “Always,” was the reply. - -“How do you manage when the happy pair are negroes?” was the deacon’s -next question. “In all such cases,” replied Mr. Dey, “the duty of -kissing is appointed to the deacons.” - -My grandfather was a Universalist, and for various reasons, fancied or -real, he was bitterly opposed to the Presbyterians in doctrinal views, -though personally some of them were his warmest and most intimate -friends. Being much attached to Mr. Dey, he induced that gentleman to -deliver a series of Sunday evening sermons in Bethel; and my grandfather -was not only on all these occasions one of the most prominent and -attentive hearers, but Mr. Dey was always his guest. He would generally -stop over Monday and Tuesday with my grandfather, and, as several of the -most social neighbors were called in, they usually had a jolly time of -it. Occasionally “mine host” would attack Mr. Dey good-naturedly on -theological points, and would generally come off second best; but he -delighted, although vanquished, to repeat the sharp answers with which -Mr. Dey met his objections to the “Confession of Faith.” - -One day, when a dozen or more of the neighbors were present, and -enjoying themselves in passing around the bottle, relating anecdotes, -and cracking jokes, my grandfather called out in a loud tone of voice, -which at once arrested the attention of all present: - -“Friend Dey, I believe you pretend to believe in foreordination?” - -“To be sure I do,” replied Mr. Dey. - -“Well, now, suppose I should spit in your face, what would you do?” -inquired my grandfather. - -“I hope that is not a supposable case,” responded Mr. Dey, “for I should -probably knock you down.” - -“That would be very inconsistent,” replied my grandfather, exultingly; -“for if I spat in your face it would be because it was foreordained I -should do so: why then would you be so unreasonable as to knock me -down?” - -“Because it would be foreordained that I should knock you down,” replied -Mr. Dey, with a smile. - -The company burst into a laugh, in which my grandfather heartily -joined. - -My father, as well as my grandfather, was very fond of a practical joke, -and he lost no occasion which offered for playing off one upon his -friends and neighbors. In addition to his store, tavern, and -freight-wagon business to Norwalk, he kept a small livery-stable; and on -one occasion, a young man named Nelson Beers applied to him for the use -of a horse to ride to Danbury, a distance of three miles. Nelson was an -apprentice to the shoe-making business, nearly out of his time, was not -over-stocked with brains, and lived a mile and a half east of our -village. My father thought that it would be better for Nelson to make -his short journey on foot than to be at the expense of hiring a horse, -but he did not tell him so. - -We had an old horse named “Bob.” Having reached an age beyond his teens, -he was turned out in a bog lot near our house to die. He was literally a -“living skeleton,”--much in the same condition of the Yankee’s nag, -which was so weak his owner had to hire his neighbor’s horse to help him -draw his last breath. My father, in reply to Nelson’s application, told -him that the livery horses were all out, and he had none at home except -a famous “race-horse,” which he was keeping in low flesh in order to -have him in proper trim to win a great race soon to come off. - -“Oh, do let me have him, Uncle Phile” (my father’s name was Philo; but, -as it was the custom in that region to call everybody uncle, or aunt, or -squire, or deacon, or colonel, or captain, my father’s general title -among his acquaintances was “Uncle Phile”). “I will ride him very -carefully, and not injure him in the least; besides, I will have him -rubbed down and fed in Danbury,” said Nelson Beers. - -“He is too valuable an animal to risk in the hands of a young man like -you,” responded my father. - -Nelson continued to importune, and my father to play off, until it was -finally agreed that the horse could be had on the condition that he -should in no case be ridden faster than a walk or slow trot, and that he -should be fed four quarts of oats at Danbury. - -Nelson started on his Rosinante, looking for all the world as if he was -on a mission to the carrion crows; but he felt every inch a man, for he -fancied himself astride of the greatest race-horse in the country, and -realized that a heavy responsibility was resting on his shoulders, for -the last words of my father to him were: “Now, Nelson, if any accident -should happen to this animal while under your charge, you could not pay -the damage in a lifetime of labor.” - -Old “Bob” was duly oated and watered at Danbury, and at the end of -several hours Mr. Beers mounted him and started for Bethel. He concluded -to take the “great pasture” road home, that being the name of a new road -cut through swamps and meadows as a shorter route to our village. -Nelson, for the nonce forgetting his responsibility, probably tried the -speed of his race-horse and soon broke him down. At all events something -occurred to weaken old Bob’s nerves, for he came to a stand-still and -Nelson was forced to dismount. The horse trembled with weakness and -Nelson Beers trembled with fright. A small brook was running through the -bogs at the roadside, and Beers, thinking that perhaps his “race-horse” -needed a drink, led him into the stream. Poor old “Bob” stuck fast in -the mud, and, not having strength to withdraw his feet, quietly closed -his eyes, and, like a patriarch as he was, he dropped into the soft bed -that was awaiting him, and died without a single kick. - -No language can describe the consternation of poor Beers. He could not -believe his eyes, and vainly tried to open those of his horse. He placed -his ear at the mouth of poor old Bob, but took it away again in utter -dismay. The breath had ceased. - -At last Nelson, groaning as he thought of meeting my father, and -wondering whether eternity added to time would be long enough for him to -earn the value of the horse, took the bridle from the “dead-head,” and -unbuckling the girth, drew off the saddle, placed it on his own back, -and trudged gloomily towards our village. - -It was about sundown when my father espied his victim coming up the -street with the saddle and bridle thrown across his shoulders, his face -wearing a look of the most complete despair. My father was certain that -old Bob had departed this life, and he chuckled inwardly and quietly, -but instantly assumed a most serious countenance. Poor Beers approached -more slowly and mournfully than if he was following a dear friend to the -grave. - -When he came within hailing distance my father called out, “Why, Beers, -is it possible you have been so careless as to let that race-horse run -away from you?” - -“Oh, worse than that,--worse than that, Uncle Phile,” groaned Nelson. - -“Worse than that! Then he has been stolen by some judge of valuable -horses. Oh, what a fool I was to intrust him to anybody!” exclaimed my -father, with well-feigned sorrow. - -“No, he ain’t stolen, Uncle Phile,” said Nelson. - -“Not stolen! Well, I am glad of that, for I shall recover him again; -but where is he? I am afraid you have lamed him.” - -“Worse than that,” drawled the unfortunate Nelson. - -“Well, what is the matter? where is he? what ails him?” asked my father. - -“Oh, I can’t tell you,--I can’t tell you!” said Beers with a groan. - -“But you must tell me,” returned my father. - -“It will break your heart,” groaned Beers. - -“To be sure it will if he is seriously injured,” replied my father; “but -where is he?” - -“He is dead!” said Beers, as he nerved himself up for the announcement, -and then, closing his eyes, sank into a chair completely overcome with -fright. - -My father groaned in a way that started Nelson to his feet again. All -the sensations of horror, intense agony, and despair were depicted to -the life on my father’s countenance. - -“Oh, Uncle Phile, Uncle Phile, don’t be too hard with me; I wouldn’t -have had it happen for all the world,” said Beers. - -“You can never recompense me for that horse,” replied my father. - -“I know it, I know it, Uncle Phile; I can only work for you as long as I -live, but you shall have my services till you are satisfied after my -apprenticeship is finished,” returned Beers. - -After a short time my father became more calm, and, although apparently -not reconciled to his loss, he asked Nelson how much he supposed he -ought to owe him. - -“Oh, I don’t know; I am no judge of the value of blood horses, but I -have been told they are worth fortunes sometimes,” replied Beers. - -“And mine was one of the best in the world,” said my father, “and in -such perfect condition for running,--all bone and muscle.” - -“Oh, yes, I saw that,” said Beers, despondingly, but with a frankness -that showed he did not wish to deny the great claims of the horse and -his owner. - -“Well,” said my father, with a sigh, “as I have no desire to go to law -on the subject, we had better try to agree upon the value of the horse. -You may mark on a slip of paper what sum you think you ought to owe me -for him, and I will do the same; we can then compare notes, and see how -far we differ.” - -“I will mark,” said Beers, “but, Uncle Phile, don’t be too hard with -me.” - -“I will be as easy as I can, and endeavor to make some allowance for -your situation,” said my father; “but, Nelson, when I think how valuable -that horse was, of course I must mark something in the neighborhood of -the amount of cash I could have received for him. I believe, however, -Nelson, that you are an honest young man, and are willing to do what you -think is about right. I therefore wish to caution you not to mark down -one cent more than you really think, under the circumstances, you ought -to pay me when you are able, and for which you are now willing to give -me your note of hand. You will recollect that I told you, when you -applied for the horse, that I did not wish to let him go.” - -Nelson gave my father a grateful look, and assented to all he said. At -least a dozen of our joke-loving neighbors were witnessing the scene -with great apparent solemnity. Two slips of paper were prepared; my -father marked on one, and after much hesitation, Beers wrote on the -other. - -“Well, let us see what you have marked,” said my father. - -“I suppose you will think it is too low,” replied Beers, handing my -father the slip of paper. - -“Only three hundred and seventy-five dollars!” exclaimed my father, -reading the paper; “well, there is a pretty specimen of gratitude for -you!” - -Nelson was humbled, and could not muster sufficient courage to ask my -father what _he_ had marked. Finally one of our neighbors asked my -father to show his paper--he did so. He had marked, “_Six and a quarter -cents_.” Our neighbor read it aloud, and a shock of mirth ensued, which -fairly lifted Beers to his feet. It was some time before he could -comprehend the joke, and when he became fully aware that no harm was -done, he was the happiest fellow I have ever seen. - -I might fill a volume with these reminiscences of my younger days, but -turning once more to my foreign notebooks, I find material there which -seems to claim a place in this story-chapter. I am never tired of -telling and laughing at some of my mishaps and adventures in trying to -use the French language, when I first went abroad. It was no unusual -thing to travel half a day in a “diligence,” or in the cars, with some -Englishman, as I would afterwards discover, both of us doing our best to -make ourselves intelligible to each other in French, till at last, in -despair, one or the other would utter the conventional conundrum: - -“_Parlez-vous Anglais?_” - -“Why, of course; I am an American” (or an Englishman); and then a mutual -roar would follow. - -American, or English, or Dutch French is generally quite a different -thing from “French French.” Thus I could always understand the Dutchmen -who spoke to me in French in Amsterdam, and I may add, they could -perfectly understand me. We spoke the same _patois_. I wrote to my wife, -I remember, from Amsterdam, that I found they spoke much purer French in -that city than in Paris! - -Once on arriving in Paris at the station of the Northern Railway, I, -with other passengers, was in the room devoted to the examination of -baggage. Among the rest, was a party consisting of a New York merchant -and his wife, with their daughter, a young lady of eighteen, who was at -once volatile and voluble. Undoubtedly, she had spoken the best -Madison-Avenue school French for five years or more; and with this she -fairly overwhelmed the official interpreter who was present. After -hearing her for full five minutes, the interpreter gravely asked: - -“Do you speak English, Miss?” - -“Certainly,” was the reply. - -“Well, speak English then, if you please, for I can understand your -English better than I can your French.” - -I was one evening at the house of my friend, Mr. John Nimmo, in Paris, -and while waiting for him and his family to return from the theatre, was -entertained for an hour or more by two very agreeable young ladies, to -whom I made such reply in French, from time to time, as I could. At last -came the inevitable inquiry as to the capacity of the young ladies in -the English language: - -“Why, bless us, Mr. Barnum,” was the reply; “we are Scotch governesses, -who are here in Paris simply to learn French!” - -The last time I went from France to England, arriving late at night, I -stopped in Dover, at the hotel nearest the custom-house, so as to look -after my luggage next day. Ringing my bell early in the morning, for -shaving-water, half asleep I called out to the serving-maid for “_l’eau -chaude_.” - -“Please, sir,” was the reply, “I do not speak French.” - -“Nor I, either,” said I, promptly; “just bring me some hot water, if you -please.” - -But some of the English have a queer way of speaking their own language, -and the cockney’s management of what he would call the “haspirate” is -sufficiently familiar. Crowding into Exeter Hall, London, at an -entertainment, one evening, I heard the usher just before me shouting -out seats, as he looked at the checks, in this fashion: - -“Letter Ha, first row; letter Hef, sixth row; letter He, fifth row; -letter Hi, ninth row”; and so on. Seeing that my own check was “L,” I -showed it to him, and quietly inquired: - -“Where do I go to, usher?” - -“You go to Hell,” was the prompt response; which was not intended to be -either profane or impolite. - -But I must bring this story-telling chapter--an episode in the narrative -of graver events in my autobiography--to a close, and discourse of -Sea-side Park and Waldemere. - - - - -CHAPTER XLVI. - -SEA-SIDE PARK. - - INTEREST IN PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS--OLD PARK PROJECTS--OPPOSITION OF - OLD FOGIES--THE SOUND SHORE AT BRIDGEPORT--INACCESSIBLE - PROPERTY--THE EYE OF FAITH--TALKING TO THE FARMERS--REACHING THE - PUBLIC THROUGH THE PAPERS--HOW THE LAND WAS SECURED FOR A GREAT - PLEASURE-GROUND--GIFTS TO THE PEOPLE--OPENING OF SEA-SIDE PARK--THE - MOST BEAUTIFUL GROUND BETWEEN NEW YORK AND BOSTON--MAGNIFICENT - DRIVES--THE ADVANTAGES OF THE LOCATION--MUSIC FOR THE MILLION--BY - THE SEA-SIDE--FUTURE OF THE PARK--A PERPETUAL BLESSING TO - POSTERITY. - - -From the time when I first settled in Bridgeport and turned my attention -to opening and beautifying new avenues, and doing whatever lay in my -power to extend and improve that charming city, I was exceedingly -anxious that public parks should be established, especially one where -good drive-ways, and an opportunity for the display of the many fine -equipages for which Bridgeport is celebrated, could be afforded. Mr. -Noble and I began the movement by presenting to the city the beautiful -ground in East Bridgeport now known as Washington Park,--a most -attractive promenade and breathing place and a continual resort for -citizens on both sides of the river, particularly in the summer -evenings, when one of the city bands is an additional attraction to the -pleasant spot. Thus our new city was far in advance of Bridgeport proper -in providing a prime necessity for the health and amusement of the -people. - -Our park projects in the city date as far back as the - -[Illustration: _SEA-SIDE PARK_] - -year 1850. At that time, by an arrangement with Deacon David Sherwood, -who lived in Fairfield, a few rods west of the Bridgeport line, and who -owned land adjoining mine, we agreed to throw open a large plot of -ground free to the public, provided State Street, in Bridgeport, was -continued west so as to pass through this land. But a few “old fogies” -through whose land the street would pass, thereby improving their -property thousands of dollars in value, stupidly opposed the project in -the Fairfield town-meeting, and the measure was defeated. Seventeen -years afterwards, in 1867, after a long sleep, these same old fogies -managed to awake, as did the citizens of Fairfield generally, and then -State Street was extended without opposition; but property, to some -extent, had changed hands and had largely increased in value, so that -the chance of having a free park in that locality was forever lost, and -the town was actually obliged to pay Deacon Sherwood for the privilege -of continuing the highway through his land. How many similar -opportunities for benefiting the public and posterity in all coming time -are carelessly thrown away in every town, through the mere stupidity of -mole-eyed land-owners, who stand as stumbling-blocks not only in the way -of public improvements, but directly in opposition to their individual -interests, and thus for scores of years rob the community of the -pleasures to be derived from broad avenues lined with shade-trees and -from open and free public grounds. - -Up to the year 1865, the shore of Bridgeport west of the public wharves, -and washed by the waters of Long Island Sound, was inaccessible to -carriages, or even to horsemen, and almost impossible for pedestrianism. -The shore edge in fact was strewn with rocks and boulders, which made -it, like “Jordan” in the song, an exceedingly “hard road to travel.” A -narrow lane reaching down to the shore enabled parties to drive near to -the water for the purpose of clamming, and occasionally bathing; but it -was all claimed as private property by the land proprietors, whose farms -extended down to the water’s edge. On several occasions at low tide, I -endeavored to ride along the shore on horseback for the purpose of -examining “the lay of the land,” in the hope of finding it feasible to -get a public drive along the water’s edge. On one occasion, in 1863, I -succeeded in getting my horse around from the foot of Broad Street in -Bridgeport to a lane over the Fairfield line, a few rods west of -“Iranistan Avenue,” a grand street which I have since opened at my own -expense, and through my own land. From the observations I made that day, -I was satisfied that a most lovely park and public drive might be, and -ought to be opened along the whole water-front as far as the western -boundary line of Bridgeport, and even extending over the Fairfield line. - -Foreseeing that in a few years such an improvement would be too late, -and having in mind the failure of the attempt in 1850 to provide a park -for the people of Bridgeport, I immediately began to agitate the subject -in the Bridgeport papers, and also in daily conversations with such of -my fellow-citizens as I thought would take an earnest and immediate -interest in the enterprise. I urged that such an improvement would -increase the taxable value of property in that vicinity many thousands -of dollars, and thus enrich the city treasury; that it would improve the -value of real estate generally in the city; that it would be an -additional attraction to strangers who came to spend the summer with -us, and to those who might be induced from other considerations to make -the city their permanent residence; that the improvement would throw -into market some of the most beautiful building-sites that could be -found anywhere in Connecticut; and I dwelt upon the absurdity, almost -criminality, that a beautiful city like Bridgeport, lying on the shore -of a broad expanse of salt water, should so cage itself in, that not an -inhabitant could approach the beach. With these and like arguments and -entreaties I plied the people day in and day out, till some of them -began to be familiarized with the idea that a public park close upon the -shore of the Sound was at least a possible if not probable thing. - -But certain “conservatives,” as they are called, said: “Barnum is a -hair-brained fellow, who thinks he can open and people a New-York -Broadway through a Connecticut wilderness”; and the “old fogies” added: -“Yes, he is trying to start another chestnut-wood fire for the city to -blow forever; but the city or town of Bridgeport will not pay out money -to lay out or to purchase public parks. If people want to see green -grass and trees, they have only to walk or drive half a mile either way -from the city limits, and they will come to farms where they can see -either or both for nothing; and, if they are anxious to see salt water, -and to get a breath of the Sound breeze, they can take boats at the -wharves, and sail or row till they are entirely satisfied.” - -Thus talked the conservatives and the “old fogies,” who unhappily, even -if they are in a minority, are always a force in all communities. I soon -saw that it was of no use to expect to get the city to pay for a park. -The next thing was to see if the land could not be procured free of -charge, or at a nominal cost, provided the city would improve and -maintain it as a public park. I 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.’ Such trials of -patience as I underwent in a twelvemonth, in the endeavor to carry this -point, few persons who have not undertaken like almost hopeless labor -can comprehend. At last I enlisted the attention of Messrs. Nathaniel -Wheeler, James Loomis, Francis Ives, Frederick Wood, and a few more -gentlemen, and persuaded them to walk with me over the ground, which to -me seemed in every way practicable for a park. These gentlemen, who were -men of taste as well as of enterprise and public spirit, very soon -coincided in my ideas as to the feasibility of the plan and the -advantages of the site; and some of them went with me to talk with the -land-owners, adding their own pleas to the arguments I had already -advanced. At last, after much pressing and persuading, we 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 the small Mallett 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, I bought it for about $12,000, and then presented the required -front to the park. I did not want this land or any portion of it for my -own purposes or profit, and I offered a thousand dollars to any one who -would take my place in the transaction; but no one accepted, and I was -quite willing to contribute so much of the land as was needed for so -noble an object. Indeed, besides this, I gave $1,400 towards purchasing -other land and improving the park; and, after months of persistent and -personal effort, I 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 I had the pleasure of naming this new -and great public improvement, “Sea-side Park.” - -Public journals are generally exponents of public opinion; and how the -people viewed the new purchase, now their own property, may be judged by -the following extracts from the leading local newspapers, when the land -for the new enterprise was finally secured: - - - OUR SEA-SIDE PARK. - - [_From the “Bridgeport Standard,” August 21, 1865._] - - Bridgeport has taken another broad stride of which she may well be - proud. The Sea-side Park is a fixed fact. Yesterday Messrs. P. T. - Barnum, Captain John Brooks, Mr. George Bailey, Captain Burr Knapp, - and Henry Wheeler generously donated to this city sufficient land - for the Park, with the exception of seven or eight acres, which - have been purchased by private subscriptions. Last night the Common - Council appointed excellent Park Commissioners, and work on the - sea-wall and the avenues surrounding the Park will be commenced at - once. Besides securing the most lovely location for a park to be - found between New York and Boston, which for all time will be a - source of pride to our city and State, there is no estimating the - pecuniary advantage which this great improvement will eventually - prove to our citizens. Plans are on foot and enterprises are - agitated in regard to a park hotel, sea-side cottages, horse - railroad branch, and other features, which, when consummated, will - serve to amaze our citizens to think that such a delightful - sea-side frontage has been permitted to lie so long unimproved. To - Mr. P. T. Barnum, we believe, is awarded the credit of originating - this beautiful improvement, and certainly to his untiring, - constant, and persevering personal efforts are we indebted for its - being finally consummated. Hon. James C. Loomis was the first man - who heartily joined with Barnum in pressing the plan of a sea-side - park upon the attention of our citizens, but it is due to our - citizens themselves to say that, with an extraordinary unanimity, - they have not only voted to appropriate $10,000 from the city - treasury to making the avenues around the Park, and otherwise - improving it, but they have also generously aided by private - contributions in purchasing such land as was not freely given for - the Park. Of course, we shall not only, at an early day, publish - the names of such citizens as have subscribed money for this - purpose, but they will also be handed down to posterity, as they - will richly deserve, in the publication of the Park Commissioners. - - -[_From the “Bridgeport Standard,” August 21, 1865._] - - The names of P. T. Barnum, Capt. John Brooks, Mr. George Bailey, - Capt. Burr Knapp and Henry Wheeler have gone into history as the - generous contributors to the best enterprise ever attempted for the - benefit of our city; and the city has accepted the trust with the - most commendable promptness, and appointed its commissioners, who - have already entered upon their duties. We shall watch now with - eager interest the unfolding and development of such a park as can - nowhere be found on either side of the Sound, and one which shall - be “a thing of beauty and a joy forever” to our city. - - It needs but the hand of skilful art, assisted by a proper public - spirit, to render the Sea-side Park a charmed spot of delightful - resort for public drives or private walks. The commissioners chosen - to superintend the inauguration of the laying out and improvements - of the grounds are men of correct taste, of good judgment and of - liberal and comprehensive views as to the wants and demands of a - growing city like Bridgeport. They understand that Nature is here - to be made so attractive by Art, that all classes shall be drawn - hither not merely for the pleasure of enjoying a favorite resort - but also for the profit which comes to the nobler impulses of our - nature, by the contemplation of cunning handicraft upon the - landscape, as God left it for man to adorn and beautify. Here will - be planted trees of every variety that will endure the temperature - of this latitude, and flowers of every hue and perfume; here will - walks serpentine through shady groves, and anon lead out to behold - the broad expanse of the beautiful Sound. - - Some one has aptly said, that one work of art was worth a thousand - lectures on art. Here, then, let the statues of the artist be - placed, to educate the masses by their silent teachings, and win - them to higher ideas and better views of life by their mute - eloquence. One feature of American parks is especially worthy of - mention: they are essentially and emphatically democratic. They are - made for the people, and are in turn appreciated by the people. - They are open alike to the millionnaire with his coach-and-six, and - the poor pedestrian without a penny. The advantages possessed by - Bridgeport as a manufacturing city are becoming daily more and more - appreciated by business-men from various portions of the country. - There is no city in the State which can compare with ours in the - recent erection of large and permanent manufacturing - establishments. This fact brings into our midst a large industrial - population, for which, even now, the supply of dwellings is - inadequate to the demand. This population, commingling and - combining with our own, and possessing energy, enterprise, business - tact and intelligence, will rapidly develop the resources of our - city and its surroundings for mechanical pursuits, and the - productions of the various manufacturing establishments already - erected, or in process of erection. To such a class, the benefits - of a Park, possessing such facilities for recreation and - improvement as the Sea-side Park will present, will be - incalculable, in fostering the health, promoting the happiness, and - elevating the taste of all who can avail themselves of its - beneficial influences. - - To the public-spirited gentlemen who have so generously donated to - the city the land for the Sea-side Park, Bridgeport owes a debt of - gratitude which she can never repay. Their names will descend to - posterity, and be remembered with pride and exultation as among the - noblest of public benefactors, so long as the flowers bloom and the - waves wash the margin of the Sea-side Park. No citizen of - Bridgeport, identified with her growth and prosperity, and having - the future welfare of the city at heart, should fail to contribute, - in such a manner as best he may, to such a grand improvement. Let - our citizens take hold of this noble enterprise with that large and - liberal spirit in which it has been conceived and thus far - consummated, and Bridgeport will ere long possess an attraction - which will draw hither for permanent residence much of the wealth - and intelligence, refinement and virtue of the great metropolis, - which now sequesters itself along the banks of the Hudson, or among - the sand-knolls of New Jersey. - -Thus was my long-cherished plan at length fulfilled; nor did my efforts -end here, for I aided and advised in all important matters in the laying -out and progress of the new park; and in July, 1869, I gave to the city -several acres of land, worth at the lowest valuation $5,000, which were -added to and included in this public pleasure-ground, and now make the -west end of the park. - -At the beginning, the park on paper and the park in reality were two -quite different things. The inaccessibility of the site was remedied by -approaches which permitted the hundreds of workmen to begin to grade the -grounds, and to lay out the walks and drives. The rocks and boulders -over which I had more than once attempted to make my way on foot and on -horseback were devoted to the building of a substantial sea-wall, under -the able superintendence of Mr. David W. Sherwood. Paths were opened, -shade-trees were planted; and fortunately there was in the very centre -of the ground a beautiful grove of full growth, which is one of the most -attractive features of this now charming spot; and a broad and -magnificent drive follows the curves of the shore and encircles the -entire park. Although work is constantly going on and much remains to be -done, yet a considerable portion of the park presents a finished -appearance: a large covered music-stand has been built; and, on a rising -piece of the ground, a substantial foundation has been built for a -Soldiers’ Monument. The corner-stone of this monument was laid with -impressive ceremonies and a military display, in the presence of a large -concourse of citizens and soldiers, among whom were Major-General Alfred -H. Terry, U. S. A.; Major-General and Governor Joseph H. Hawley; -Adjutant-General Charles T. Stanton; Quartermaster-General Julius S. -Gilman; Surgeon-General Philo G. Rockwell; Paymaster-General William B. -Wooster; Aides-de-Camp and Colonel John H. Burnham, Alford P. Rockwell, -William H. Mallory, Charles M. Coit, General S. W. Kellogg, of the First -Brigade; Colonel S. E. Merwin, jr., Colonel Crawford, and other officers -of the Governor’s staff, and of the Connecticut State Militia. - -The branch horse-railroad already reaches one of the main entrances, and -brings down crowds of people every day and evening, and especially on -the evenings in which the band plays. At such times the avenues are not -only thronged with superb equipages and crowds of people, but the whole -harbor is alive with row-boats, sail-boats and yachts. The views on all -sides are charming. In the rear is the city, with its roofs and spires; -Black Rock and Stratford lights are in plain sight; to the eastward and -southward stretches “Old Long Island’s sea-girt shore”; and between lies -the broad expanse of the salt water, with its ever “fresh” breezes, and -the perpetual panorama of sails and steamers. I do not believe that a -million dollars to-day would compensate the city of Bridgeport for the -loss of what is confessed to be the most delightful public -pleasure-ground between New York and Boston. - -For these magnificent results, accomplished in so short a time, the -people of Bridgeport are indebted to the park commissioners, and -especially to Mr. Nathaniel Wheeler, whose untiring energy and exquisite -taste have been mainly instrumental in bringing this work forward to its -present state of completion. - -There is easy and cheap access to this ground by means of the -horse-railroad from East Bridgeport and Fairfield, and numerous avenues -open directly upon the park from Bridgeport. It is the daily resort of -thousands, who go to inhale the salt sea-air; and the main drive is -already, on a lesser scale, to the citizens of Bridgeport, what the -grand avenue in Central Park is to the people of New York; with this -priceless advantage, however, in favor of Sea-side Park, of a frontage -on the Sound, and a shore on which the waves are ever breaking, and -sounding the grand, unending story of the mysteries of the great deep. - -On the western and northern margins of this public ground, in sight of -the Sound and in full view of every part of the park, will hereafter be -built the villas and mansions of the wealthiest citizens, and, when the -hand that now pens these lines is stilled forever, and thousands look -from these sea-side residences across the water to Long-Island shore, -and over the groves and lawns and walks and drives of the beautiful -ground at their feet, it may be a source of gratification and pride to -my posterity to hear the expressions of gratitude that possibly will be -expressed to the memory of their ancestor who secured to all future -generations the benefits and blessings of Sea-side Park. - - - - -CHAPTER XLVII. - -WALDEMERE. - - MY PRIVATE LIFE--PLANS FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT IN - BRIDGEPORT--OPENING AVENUES--PLANTING SHADE-TREES--OLD - FOGIES--CONSERVATISM A CURSE TO CITIES--BENEFITING BARNUM’S - PROPERTY--SALE OF LINDENCROFT--LIVING IN A FARM-HOUSE--BY THE - SEA-SHORE--ANOTHER NEW HOME--WALDEMERE--HOW IT CAME TO BE - BUILT--MAGIC AND MONEY--WAVEWOOD AND THE PETREL’S NEST--MY - FARM--THE HOLLAND BLANKET CATTLE--MY CITY RESIDENCE--COMFORTS OF - CITY LIFE--BEGGING LETTERS--MY FAMILY--RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS--MY - FIFTY-NINTH BIRTHDAY--THE END OF THE RECORD. - - -What I can call, without undue display of egotism or vanity, my “public -life,” may be said to have closed with my formal and final retirement -from the managerial profession, when my second Museum was destroyed by -fire, March 3, 1868. But he must have been a careless reader of these -pages, which record the acts and aspirations of a long and industrious -career, who does not see that what, in opposition to my “public life,” -may be considered my “private life,” has also been largely devoted to -the comfort, convenience, and permanent prosperity of the community with -which so many of my hopes and happiest days are thoroughly identified. I -speak of these things, I trust, with becoming modesty, and yet with less -reluctance than I should do, if my fellow-citizens of Bridgeport had not -generally and generously awarded me sometimes, perhaps, more than my -need of praise for my unremitting and earnest efforts to - -[Illustration: _WALDEMERE._] - -promote whatever would conduce to the growth and improvement of our -charming city. - -When I first selected Bridgeport as a permanent residence for my family, -its nearness to New York and the facilities for daily transit to and -from the metropolis were present and partial considerations only in the -general advantages the location seemed to offer. Nowhere, 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. - -Consequently, and quite naturally, when I projected and established my -first residence in Bridgeport, I was exceedingly desirous that all the -surroundings of Iranistan should accord with the beauty and completeness -of that place. I was never a victim to that mania which possesses many -men of even moderate means to “own everything that joins them,” and I -knew that Iranistan would so increase the value of surrounding property -that none but first-class residences would be possible in the vicinity. -But there was other work to do, which, while affording advantageous -approaches to my property, would at the same time be a lasting benefit -to the public; and so I opened Iranistan Avenue, and other broad and -beautiful streets, through land which I freely purchased and as freely -gave to the public, and these highways are now the most convenient as -well as charming in the city. - -To have opened all these new avenues, in their entire length, at my own -cost, and through my own ground, would have required a confirmation of -Miss Lavinia Warren’s opinion, that what little of the city of -Bridgeport and the adjacent town of Fairfield was not owned by General -Tom Thumb, belonged to P. T. Barnum. It is true that, apart from my East -Bridgeport property, I became a very large owner of real estate on the -other side of the river, in Bridgeport proper and in Fairfield, my -purchases in Fairfield lying on and so near to the boundary -line--Division Street--as virtually to be in Bridgeport. Everywhere -through my own lands I laid out and threw open to the public, streets of -the generous width which distinguished the old “King’s roads” in the -colonies, before grasping farmers and others encroached upon, and fenced -in as private property, land that really belonged to the public forever; -and on both sides of every avenue I laid out and planted a profusion of -elms and other trees. In this way, I have opened miles of new streets, -and have planted thousands of shade-trees in Bridgeport; for I think -there is much wisdom in the advice of the Laird of Dumbiedikes, in -Scott’s “Heart of Mid-Lothian,” who sensibly says: “When ye hae naething -else to do, ye may be aye sticking in a tree; it will be growing when -ye’re sleeping.” But, in establishing new streets, too often, when I had -gone through my own land, the project came literally to an end; some -“old fogy” blocked the way,--my way, his own way, and the highway,--and -all I could do would be to jump over his field, and continue my new -street through land I might own on the other side, till I reached the -desired terminus in the end or continuation of some other street; or -till, unhappily, I came to a dead stand-still at the ground of some -other “old fogy,” who, like the original owners of what is now the -shore-front of Sea-side Park, “did not believe there was money to be -made by giving away their property.” - -And this is the manner in which these old fogies talked: “We don’t -believe in these improvements of Barnum’s. What’s the use of them? We -can get to the city by the old road or street, as we have done for forty -years. The new street will cut the pasture or mowing-lot in two, and -make a checkerboard of the farm. It was bad enough to have the railroad -go through, and we would have prevented that if we could; but this new -street business is all bosh!” And then, singularly enough, every old -fogy would wind up with: “I declare, I believe the whole thing is only -to benefit Barnum, so that he can sell land, which he bought anywhere -from sixty to two hundred dollars an acre, at the rate of five thousand -dollars an acre in building-lots, as he is actually doing to-day.” - -It is strange indeed that these men, who could see the benefit to -“Barnum’s property” by opening new streets which would immediately -convert cheap farm and pasture land into choice and high-priced -building-lots, should not see that precisely the same thing would -proportionately increase the value of their own property. Conservatism -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 annoyances 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. - -In the summer of 1867, the health of my wife continuing to decline, her -physician directed that she should remove nearer to the sea-shore; and, -as she felt that the care of a large establishment like Lindencroft was -more than she could bear, I sold that place. I have already spoken of my -building of this residence. It was emphatically a labor of love. All -that taste and money could do was fairly lavished upon Lindencroft; so -that, when all was finished, it was not only a complete house in all -respects, but it was a perfect home. And a home I meant it to be, in -every and the best sense of the word, for my declining years. -Consequently, from basement to attic, everything was constructed, by -days’ work, in the most perfect manner possible. Convenience and comfort -were first consulted, and thereafter, with no attempt at ostentation, -elegance, pure and simple, predominated and permeated everywhere. No -first-class house in the metropolis was more replete with all that goes -to constitute a complete dwelling-place. Under this new roof I gathered -my library, my pictures, my souvenirs of travel in other lands, and -assembled my household “gods”; while the surrounding grounds, adorned -with statuary and fountains, displayed also, in the walks, the arbors, -the lawns, the garden, the piled-up rocks even, the profusion of trees -and shrubbery, and the wealth of rare and beautiful flowers, my wife’s -exquisite taste, which in times past had made the grounds of our loved -and lost Iranistan so celebrated as well as charming. It was hard indeed -to tear ourselves from this fascinating spot, but there are times when -even the charms of home must be sacrificed to the claims of health. - -Lindencroft was sold July 1, 1867, and we immediately removed for a -summer’s sojourn to a small farm-house adjoining Sea-side Park. During -the hot days of the next three months we found the delightful sea-breeze -so bracing and refreshing that the season passed like a happy dream, and -we resolved that our future summers should be spent on the very shore of -Long Island Sound. I did not, however, perfect my arrangements in time -to prepare my own summer residence for the ensuing season; and during -the hot months of 1868 we resided in a new and very pretty house I had -just completed on State Street, in Bridgeport, and which I subsequently -sold, as I intended doing when I built it. But, towards the end of the -summer, I added by purchase to the Mallett farm, adjoining Sea-side -Park, a large and beautiful hickory grove, which seemed to be all that -was needed to make the site exactly what I desired for a summer -residence. It will be remembered that I bought this Mallett farm, not -for myself, but so that a portion of it could be devoted to the public -park; and, a generous slice having been thus given away, there were -several acres remaining which were admirably adapted to one or more -residences, and the purchase of the grove property made the location -nearly perfect. - -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. I planned a house which -should combine the greatest convenience with the highest comfort, -keeping in mind always that houses are 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 my own 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 we moved into the completed house in June following, in 1869. - -It required a regiment of faithful laborers and mechanics, and a very -considerable expenditure of money, to accomplish so much in so short a -space of time. Those who saw a comparatively barren waste thus suddenly -converted to a blooming garden, and, by the successful transplanting and -judicious placing of very large and full-grown forest trees, made to -seem like a long-settled place, considered the creation of my new summer -home almost a work of magic; but there is no magic when determination -and dollars combine to achieve a work. When we moved into this new -residence, we formally christened the place “Waldemere,”--literally, but -not so euphoniously, “Waldammeer,” “Woods-by-the-Sea,”--for I preferred -to give this native child of my own conception an American name of my -own creation. - -On the same estate, and fronting the new avenue I opened between my own -property and the public park, I built at the same time two beautiful -cottages, one of which is known as the “Petrel’s Nest,” and the other, -occupied by my eldest daughter, Mrs. Thompson, and my youngest daughter, -Mrs. Seeley, as a summer residence, is called “Wavewood.” From the east -front of Waldemere, across the sloping lawn, and through the reaches of -the grove, these cottages are in sight, and before the three residences -stretches the broad Sound, with nothing to cut off the view, and -nothing intervening but the western portion of Sea-side Park. Sea-side -and sea-breezes, however, do not include the sum of rural felicities in -summer; and so I still keep possession of the fine farm which, years -ago, was the scene of the elephant-plowing feats. On this property, -which is in charge of a judicious farmer, I have some very fine imported -stock, including several head of the celebrated white-blanket “Dutch -cattle,” which excite the curiosity and attract the attention of all who -see them. These cattle are black, with a distinctly defined white -“blanket” around their bodies, giving them a very unique appearance; and -when they struck my fancy in Holland, some years ago, I imported several -of them: nor is their singular appearance their best recommendation, for -they are excellent milkers, and my dairy and farm products keep my table -constantly supplied with fresh fruits and vegetables, poultry, and that -choicest of country luxuries, pure cream. - -Amid such comforts, advantages, and luxuries the summer months speed -swiftly and sweetly by. My well-supplied stables afford the means of -enjoying the numberless delightful drives which abound in the vicinity; -and my salt-water-loving friend, Mr. George A. Wells, is always ready to -minister to the pleasure of myself or my guests by tendering the use of -anything in his Sound fleet, from a row-boat to a yacht. The five months -in the year which I devote to rural rest seem all too short for the -enjoyment which is necessarily compressed in the twenty weeks. But I can -feel at the end of the season that it is a consolidation as well as -compression, not only of pleasure, but of capital, in the way of health -and vigor for the winter’s campaign of city living and metropolitan -excitement. - -For, at my time of life, and especially for a man who has had so much to -do with the metropolitan million as I have done, I am convinced that the -city is the most congenial residence during the cooler season of the -year. No matter how active may have been one’s life, as a man grows -older, if he does not become a little lazy, he at least learns to crave -for comfortable ease and seeks for quiet. To such a man, the city in -winter extends numberless pleasures. There is a sense of satisfaction -even in the well-cleared sidewalks after a snow-storm, and an almost -selfish happiness in looking out upon a storm from a well-warmed library -or parlor window. One loves to find the morning papers, fresh from the -press, lying upon the breakfast-table; and the city is the centre of -attractions in the way of operas, concerts, picture-galleries, -libraries, the best music, the best preaching, the best of everything in -æsthetical enjoyments. Having made up my mind to spend seven months of -every year in the city, in the summer of 1867 I purchased the elegant -and most eligibly situated mansion, No. 438 Fifth Avenue, corner of -Thirty-ninth Street, at the crowning point of Murray Hill, in New York, -and moved into it in November. My residence therein in the winter season -has fully confirmed my impressions in its favor. The house is replete -with all that can constitute a pleasant home, and the location is so -near to Central Park that we spend hours of every fine day in that great -pleasure-ground. While I am in town, it is scarcely more than once or -twice a week that I take pains to ascertain by personal observation that -I am living on the edge of a toiling, excited city of a million -inhabitants. My pecuniary interests in Connecticut and in New York -occupy my attention sufficiently to keep me from _ennui_, and an -extended correspondence--for which I do not yet feel the need of a -private secretary--employs an hour or more of every day. I have had -letters from New Zealand, and other remote quarters of the globe, -respecting curiosities, and addressed simply to “Mr. Barnum, America,” -and the post-office officials, knowing of no other Barnum who would be -likely to receive letters from such out-of-the-way places, regularly put -these vaguely addressed letters in my New York box. - -Yet I suppose that not less than two-thirds of all the letters I receive -are earnest petitions for pecuniary aid. This begging-letter business -began to persecute me as long ago as the time of the Jenny Lind -engagement, and even before. Many of these letters ask money as a free -gift, and some of them demand assistance; while others request temporary -loans, or invite me to furnish the capital for enterprises which are -certain to bring the richest returns to all concerned therein. When I -was travelling with Jenny Lind, I received a letter from a woman in -Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, who informed me that she had named her -just-born boy-and-girl twins “P. T. Barnum” and “Jenny Lind,” coolly -adding that we might send $5,000 for their immediate wants, and make -such provision for their future education and support as might be -determined upon at the proper time! In some of these letters, the -amusement afforded by the orthography and grammar was almost a -compensation for the annoyance and impudence of the requests. One very -bad speller, referring me to a former employer of the letter-writer, -wrote: “I Can rePhurr you too Him”; another, urging his petition, -declared; “god Nose I am Poore”; and not long ago I received a -communication from an old man who claimed to be too decrepid to earn a -support, but he urged that he was a religious man, and added: “I tak -grait pleshur in Readin my bibel, speshily the Proffits”; and it did -look a little as if he had a sharp eye to the “Proffits.” - -I have said but little in these pages of the immediate circle which is -nearest and dearest to me. My wife, with whom I have lived so many happy -years, and who has been my support in adversity and my solace in -prosperity, still survives. Our children are all daughters: Caroline C., -the eldest, was married to Mr. David W. Thompson, October 19, 1852; -Helen M., my second daughter, was married to Mr. Samuel H. Hurd, October -20, 1857; Frances J., the third daughter, was born May 1, 1842, and died -April 11, 1844; and Pauline T., the fourth daughter, was married on her -birthday, March 1, 1866, to Mr. Nathan Seeley. For my eldest daughter I -built and furnished a beautiful house on ground near Iranistan, and she -moved into it immediately after her marriage, though of late years she -has resided in New-York in winter and in Bridgeport in summer. For Helen -and Pauline, I bought and furnished handsome houses in Lexington Avenue, -in New-York, within a short distance of my own city residence in Fifth -Avenue. A fine young rising generation of my grandchildren is growing up -around them and me. - -I have written as little as might be, too, about my religious principles -and profession, because I agree with the man who, in answer to the -pressing inquiry, declared that he had “no religion to _speak_ of”; and -I believe with him that true religion is more a matter of work than of -words. When I am in the city, I regularly attend the services and -preaching of the Rev. Dr. E. H. Chapin, and I usually go to the -meetings of the same denomination in Bridgeport. “He builds too low who -builds beneath the skies”; and I can truly say that I have always felt -my entire dependence upon Him who is the dispenser of all adversity, as -well as the giver of all good. With a natural proclivity to look upon -the bright side of things, I am sure that under some of the burdens--the -Jerome entanglement, for instance--which have borne so heavily upon me, -I should have been tempted, as others have been, to suicide, if I had -supposed that my troubles were brought upon me by mere blind chance. I -knew that I deserved what I received; I had placed too much confidence -in mere money and my own personal efforts; I was too much concerned in -material prosperity; and I felt that the blow was wisely intended for my -ultimate benefit,--a chastening, which, like the husks to the prodigal -son, should cause me to “come to myself,” and teach me the lesson that -there is something infinitely better than money or position or worldly -prosperity in our “Father’s house.” - -And I should be ungrateful indeed, if on my birthday, this fifth of -July, 1869, when I enter upon my sixtieth year in full health and vigor, -with the possibility of many happy days to come, I did not reverently -recognize the beneficent Hand that has crowned me with so many comforts, -and surrounded me with so many blessings. It is on this day, in my own -beautiful home of Waldemere, that I write these concluding lines, which -record a long and busy career, with the sincere hope that my -experiences, if not my example, will benefit my fellow-men. - - -(844th page, including engravings.) - - - - -APPENDIX. - -REST ONLY FOUND IN ACTION. - - A NEW EXPERIENCE--“DOING NOTHING” A FAILURE--EXCITEMENT - DEMANDED-VISIT OF ENGLISH FRIENDS--I SHOW THEM OUR COUNTRY--NIAGARA - FALLS--WE VISIT CUBA--NEW ORLEANS--MAMMOTH - CAVE--WASHINGTON--“CASTLE THUNDER”--TRIP TO CALIFORNIA--SALT LAKE - CITY--I OFFER BRIGHAM YOUNG TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO “SHOW” - HIM “DOWN EAST”--AM “INTERVIEWED” AT SACRAMENTO AND SAN - FRANCISCO--THE CHINESE--SEA LIONS--THE GEYSERS--MARIPOSA--THE BIG - TREES--INSPIRATION POINT--YOSEMITE VALLEY--THE REMARKABLE TOWN OF - GREELEY, IN COLORADO--QUEBEC--SAGINAW RIVER--SARATOGA--ALICE - CARY--WILD BUFFALO HUNT IN KANSAS--MY GREAT TRAVELLING SHOW--THE - WINTER EXHIBITION IN NEW YORK--THE EMPIRE RINK--SUCCESS OF THE - SHOW--OPINIONS OF THE PRESS--CURIOSITIES FROM CALIFORNIA--MY - IMITATORS--ATTEMPTS TO DECEIVE AND SWINDLE THE PUBLIC. - - -Every one knows the story of the Emperor Charles the Fifth. His ambition -gratified to satiety in the conquest of kingdoms, and the firm -establishment of his empire, he craved rest. He abdicated his throne, -“retired from business,” content to live on his laurels in the peaceful -shades of the Cloister at Yustee. The tradition is that here he forgot -the world without, withdrew in thought as in person from the cares and -turmoils of state, and found rest and cheerfulness by alternating his -devotions with the tinkering of clocks. Perhaps every one is not so -familiar with the somewhat recent correction by Mr. Stirling of this -romantic story. In fact, the Emperor was never so restless as when he -was taking rest; was never so full of the perplexities of empire as -when, in “due form,” he had shaken them off. In the Cloister he was the -same man that he was in the Camp and the Court, and when he sought to -repress his energies, they simply tormented him. - -Not denying that my egotism is equal to a good deal, I must beg my -readers not to suppose that I assume for my own history a very extended -similarity to that of the greatest monarch of his time. In fact, the -points of difference are quite as striking as those of resemblance. It -is true, we both tried the “clock business;” but I must claim that my -tinkering in that way throws that of the Emperor entirely in the shade. -I was not, however, fool enough to go into a cloister. Let not an -illustration any more than a parable “run on all fours.” But I want a -royal illustration; and the history of Charles the Fifth, in the -particular of abdicating for rest, I find very pertinent to my own -experience. I took a formal, and as I then supposed, a last adieu of my -readers on my fifty-ninth birth-day. I was, as I had flattered myself, -through with travel, with adventure, and with business, save so far as -the care of my competence would require my attention. My book closed -without a suspicion that in any subsequent edition “more of the same -sort” would make possible an ADDITIONAL CHAPTER. It is with a sense of -surprise, and withal a feeling akin to the ludicrous, that in this new -edition, I cannot bring my career up to my sixty-second year, without -filling a few more pages, in their contents not unlike in kind to those -which make the bulk of my book. - -As stated on page 768, my final retirement from the managerial -profession closed with the destruction of my Museum by fire, March 3, -1868. But when I wrote that sentence I had not learned by a three years’ -cessation of business, how utterly fruitless it is to attempt to chain -down energies which are peculiar to my nature. No man not similarly -situated can imagine the _ennui_ which seizes such a nature after it has -lain dormant for a few months. Having “nothing to do,” I thought at -first was a very pleasant, as it was to me an entirely new sensation. - -“I would like to call on you in the summer, if you have any leisure, in -Bridgeport,” said an old friend. - -“I am a man of leisure and thankful that I have nothing to do; so you -cannot call amiss,” I replied with an immense degree of -self-satisfaction. - -“Where is your office down-town when you live in New York?” asked -another friend. - -“I have no office,” I proudly replied. “I have done work enough, and -shall play the rest of my life. I don’t go down-town once a week; but I -ride in the Park every day, and am at home much of my time.” - -I am afraid that I chuckled often, when I saw rich merchants and bankers -driving to their offices on a stormy morning, while I, looking -complacently from the window of my cozy library, said to myself, “Let it -snow and blow, there’s nothing to call _me_ out to-day.” But Nature -_will_ assert herself. Reading is pleasant as a pastime; writing without -any special purpose soon tires; a game of chess will answer as a -condiment; lectures, concerts, operas, and dinner parties are well -enough in their way; but to a robust, healthy man of forty years’ active -_business_ life, something else is needed to satisfy. Sometimes like the -truant school-boy I found all my friends engaged, and I had no -play-mate. I began to fill my house with visitors, and yet frequently we -spent evenings quite alone. Without really perceiving what the matter -was, time hung on my hands, and I was ready to lecture gratuitously for -every charitable cause that I could benefit. - -Then I, who had travelled so many years, that almost all cities seemed -to me as the same old brick and mortar, began now to think I would like -to travel. In the autumn of 1869, after my family had moved for the -winter from Bridgeport to our New York residence, an English friend came -with his eldest daughter to America especially to visit me. This friend -was Mr. John Fish, and he is an old friend of the reader also, for he is -the enterprising cotton-mill proprietor, of Bury, England, fully -described in chapter xxxii of this book, in which he is mentioned as -“Mr. Wilson.” When I was writing that chapter, I had no authority to -append his real name to the faithful photograph of the man; but Mr. Fish -gives me his consent to use it now. I need not say how pleased I was to -see my friend, and how happy I was to show a representative Englishman -whatever was worth seeing in the metropolis and elsewhere in the United -States. - -After enjoying the Christmas and New Year’s festivities in New York; -taking numerous drives in our beautiful Central Park, including several -sleigh-rides, which, to them, were real novelties; going the rounds of -the metropolitan amusements; and “doing” the city in general and in -detail, my English friends wanted to see more of the “New World,” and I -was just in the humor to act as the exhibitor. In fact, I now resumed my -old business of systematically organizing an extensive travelling -expedition, and, almost unconsciously, became a showman of “natural -curiosities” on a most magnificent scale. - -We first went to Niagara Falls, going by the Hudson River and Central -Railroads; and returned by way of the Erie. I saw these scenes through -the eyes of my English friends, and took a special pleasure in -witnessing their surprise and delight. As they extolled the beautiful -Hudson, that stream looked lovelier than ever; the Catskill Mountains -were higher to me than ever before; for the same reason Albany, -Syracuse, and Rochester were more lively than usual; the mammoth -International Hotel at Niagara Falls looked capacious enough to bag the -entire islands of Great Britain; and the immense Cataract seemed large -enough to drown all the inhabitants thereof. The Palace cars of the Erie -Railroad astonished my friends and gave me great satisfaction. The -contagion of their enthusiasm opened my eyes to marvels in spectacles -which I had long dismissed as commonplace. - -They wanted to go to Cuba. I had been there twice; yet I readily agreed -to accompany them. We took steamer from New York in January, 1870. We -had a smooth, pleasant voyage, and did not even know when we passed Cape -Hatteras. In three days we had doffed all winter clothing and arrayed -ourselves in white linen. Three weeks were most truly enjoyed among the -novel scenes of Havana and the peculiar attractions of Mantanzas,--including -a visit to the new and beautiful Cave a few miles from that city. We -made a charming visit to a coffee plantation and orange orchard; another -to a sugar plantation, where my English friends, as well as myself, were -shocked to see the negro slaves, male and female, boys and girls, -cutting and carrying the sugar cane under the lash of the mounted, -booted, and spurred Spanish overseer. - -But riding in our charming volantes from that plantation to the -exceedingly beautiful valley of the Yumurri caused us almost to forget -the sad scene we had witnessed. We all agreed as we stood on the east -side of this almost celestial valley and witnessed the sun dropping -behind the hill, on whose summit the royal palms were holding up their -beautiful plumes, that the valley below, interspersed with its cottages -and streamlets, and its rich tropical trees, shrubs and flowers, was a -scene of surpassing loveliness; and I was not surprised to see the tears -of joy and gratitude roll down the cheeks of the young English lady. I -enjoyed the scene hugely; but as one evidence that this pleasure was -derived from the enjoyment it afforded my trans-Atlantic friends, I will -say that when I was in Cuba with Jenny Lind in 1851, I witnessed the -same scene without emotion, so absorbed was I in business at that time. -And this is a fitting opportunity for saying that in order to enjoy -travelling, and indeed almost anything else, it is of the very first -importance that it be done without care and with congenial companions. - -We feasted upon oranges, pine apples, bananas, and other tropical -fruits, and enjoyed the warm, mild days. The enjoyment was no doubt -enhanced or at least better appreciated, by our reading of the freezing -condition of our New York friends. The quaint buildings, and the novel -manners and customs of a nation speaking a different language from our -own, of course are interesting for a short time. - -We went to New Orleans by steamer. We stopped a few days at the St. -Charles Hotel; “did” the city; and then took passage for Memphis on a -steamer which was so capacious and commodious that my English friends -declared that people at “home” would scarce believe it was a steamer. A -few days sail up the broad Mississippi was a real treat. The -conversations which my English friend held with the Southern planters, -and their manumitted slaves, caused him to somewhat change his opinions -in regard to the merits of our late civil war. - -From Memphis we went by rail to the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky; thence to -Louisville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Harrisburgh, Baltimore and -Washington. A few days’ sojourn at the best hotel in the world, “The -Arlington,” a visit to all the attractions in and around our national -Capital including attendance at Mrs. President Grant’s levee and a talk -with the President, and with numerous Senators and Members of Congress, -terminated our visit. We then proceeded to Richmond; for my friend Fish -had a great desire to see the Confederate Capital, and especially Libby -Prison, and “Castle Thunder.” He was almost indignant when he discovered -that the latter institution was a tobacco warehouse, instead of being a -great castellated fortress, such as his imagination had pictured it. -From Richmond we visited Baltimore and Philadelphia, and returned to New -York. - -In April we made up a small, congenial party of ladies and gentlemen, -and visited California _via_ the Union and Central Pacific Railroads. -And here let me say that this trip is one of the most delightful I ever -made. The Pullman Palace Cars are so convenient and comfortable that -ladies and gentlemen can make the trip to California, a distance of -3,000 miles, with no more real fatigue than they will experience in -their own drawing rooms. They can dress in _dishabille_, read, lounge, -write, converse, play a social game, sleep, or do what they choose, -while a great portion of the route affords a constant succession of -novel and delightful scenes, to be witnessed nowhere else on the face -of the earth. I say emphatically, that for every person who can afford -it, the trip to California is one that ought by all means to be made. -Like a thing of beauty it will prove “a joy forever.” - -When our party arrived at San Francisco, they all agreed in saying that -if they were compelled to return home the next day, they should feel -that they were well paid for their journey. In view of the strange and -interesting scenes we witnessed in Salt Lake City,--a place in many -respects unlike any other in the world; and in fresh remembrance of the -wild, bold, rocky mountain scenery, the vast plains, the wild antelope, -buffalo, and wolves, the mining districts, the curious snow sheds, and -many other scenes and peculiar things brought to our notice,--I think my -friends were right in their conclusions. - -We took our journey leisurely. I lectured in Council Bluffs, in Omaha, -and in Salt Lake City. We stopped several days in this celebrated Mormon -city; and as I wished without prejudice to examine into the habits, -customs, and opinions of the Mormons, we put up at the Townsend House--a -very excellent hotel kept by Mr. Townsend, a New England Mormon with -three or more wives. One of the principal Mormons, an Alderman and an -Apostle, had visited me in New York. He devoted his time to our party -for several successive days; and through his courtesy and influence we -were furnished facilities for obtaining information that not one -stranger in a thousand ever enjoys. We not only visited the Tabernacle -and all the institutions, civil and religious, but were introduced into -the families of several of the dignitaries. In turn, we were visited at -our hotel by all the principal church officers. Without stopping to -discuss their great error--a plurality of wives,--I must say that all of -our party agreed that the Mormons of Salt Lake City were an industrious, -quiet, seemingly conscientious, peaceable, God-fearing people. A serious -defection has taken place in their church. The portion called the -“Liberals” have renounced polygamy for the future; and this example, -together with their rejection of certain theological superstitions, is -giving them great influence and respect. This branch of the Mormons is -growing rapidly; and I have no doubt that their influence, aided by the -great influx of Gentiles caused by the Pacific Railroad, will soon serve -in exterminating the plurality wife system--unless, unhappily, fanatics -and fools give this system renewed strength by recklessly persecuting -its devotees to martyrdom. - -I lectured in the Salt Lake Theatre--a large and commodious building -belonging to the Mormons. A dozen or so of Brigham Young’s wives, and -scores of his children, were among the audience. As I came out of the -theatre one of the Apostles introduced me to five of his wives in -succession! The Mormon wives whom I visited in company of their -husbands, expressed themselves pleased with their positions; but I -confess I doubt their sincerity on this point. All with whom our party -conversed (and some of our ladies talked with these Mormon wives in -secret), expressed their solemn conviction, that polygamy was the only -true domestic system sanctioned by the Almighty, although they -confessed they wished it was right for a man to have but one wife. - -I was introduced by her father to a girl of seventeen, named Barnum. The -old man was an original Mormon. He had moved from Illinois with Brigham -Young and his disciples, when they were driven out and compelled to make -that wonderful and fearful journey over the plains. The daughter was -born in Salt Lake City, and of course knew nothing of any other -religion. I asked her laughingly if she expected to have the fifth part -of a man for her husband? - -“I expect I shall. I believe it is right,” she replied. - -My apostolic friend took me to Brigham Young’s house early in the -morning. Mr. Young had gone to Ogden to accompany some Bishops whom he -was sending abroad. I left my card with his Secretary, and said I would -call at four o’clock. But before noon a servant from President Young -brought a message for me to call on him at one o’clock. At the hour -designated I called with my friends. Brigham Young was standing in front -of one of his houses--the “Bee Hive,” in which was his reception room. -He received us with a smile and invited us to enter. He was very -sociable, asked us many questions, and promptly answered ours. Finally -he said with a chuckle: - -“Barnum, what will you give to exhibit me in New York and the Eastern -cities?” - -“Well, Mr. President,” I replied, “I’ll give you half the receipts, -which I will guarantee shall be $200,000 per year, for I consider you -the best show in America.” - -“Why did you not secure me some years ago when I was of no consequence?” -he continued. - -“Because, you would not have ‘drawn’ at that time,” I answered. - -Brigham smiled and said, “I would like right well to spend a few hours -with you, if you could come when I am disengaged.” I thanked him, and -told him I guessed I should enjoy it; but visitors were crowding into -his reception room, and we withdrew. - -I subsequently met him in the street driving his favorite pair of mules -attached to a nice carriage. He raised his hat and bowed, which -salutation I, of course, returned. I hope that Brigham’s declining years -will prompt him to receive a new “revelation,” commanding a -discontinuance of the wife plurality feature of the Mormon religion. - -Arriving at Sacramento, where the train stopped for half an hour, I was -“interviewed” for the first time in my life by a newspaper reporter. On -the same evening, in the excellent Cosmopolitan Hotel, in San Francisco, -I was again “interviewed” by the chief editor of a morning paper, -accompanied by his reporter. By this time I had become accustomed to -this business, and when the gentlemen informed me they wanted to -interview me, I asked them to be seated, pulled up an extra chair, on -which to rest my feet, and said: - -“Go ahead, gentlemen; I am ready.” - -Well, they did “go ahead,” asking me every conceivable question, on -every conceivable subject. I felt jolly and “spread myself.” The -consequence was, three columns of “Barnum Interviewed” appeared next -morning with a “To be continued” at the bottom; and the succeeding -morning appeared three columns more. This conspicuous advertisement -prepared the way for a lecture I gave in Pratt’s large hall, which was -well attended. - -It took us a week to “do” San Francisco, with its suburbs, including -Oakland, Woodward’s celebrated and beautiful Gardens, and “Seal Rock.” -When I saw that small rocky island lying only ten rods off, covered with -sea lions weighing from eight hundred to two thousand pounds, the “show -fever” began to rise. I offered fifty thousand dollars to have ten of -the large sea lions delivered to me alive in New York, so that I could -fence in a bit of the East River near Jones’ Wood, and give such an -exhibition to citizens and strangers in that city. I little thought at -that time that I should subsequently expend half that sum in procuring -these marine monsters and transport them through the country in huge -water-tanks as a small item in a mammoth travelling show. - -The Chinese quarters,--where were their shops, restaurants and -laundries, their Joss House, and the Chinese Theatre,--gave us a new -sensation, and were quite sufficient to quench a lingering desire I had -long felt to visit China and Japan. The Chinese servants and laborers -are diligent, peaceable, clean, and require no watching. When I -remembered how many thousands of dollars I had paid to “eye servants” -for not doing what I had hired them to do, I did not feel sorry that -there was a prospect of the “Celestials” extending their travels to the -Eastern States. - -While I was in San Francisco, a German named Gabriel Kahn brought to me -his little son--literally a little one, for he is a dwarf more -diminutive in stature than General Tom Thumb was when I first found him. -The parents of this liliputian were anxious that I should engage and -exhibit him. Several showmen had made them very liberal offers, but they -had set their hearts on having “Barnum” bring him out and present him to -the public. - -Of course I felt the compliment, but was inclined to say “no,” as I had -given up the exhibition business and was a man of leisure. But the -marvelous manikin was such a handsome, well-formed, intelligent little -fellow, speaking fluently both English and German, and withal was so -pert and so captivating, that I was induced to engage him for a term of -years and gave him the soubriquet of “Admiral Dot.” Indeed he was but a -“dot”--or as the New York _Evening Post_ put it, the small boy of the -“period”--at any rate, in the matter of growth, at a very early age he -came to a “full stop;” though further, in the matter of punctuation, he -compels an “exclamation” on the part of all who see him, and occasions -numerous “interrogations.” - -I dressed the little fellow in the complete uniform of an Admiral, and -invited the editors of the San Francisco journals and also a number of -ladies and gentlemen to the parlors of the Cosmopolitan Hotel to visit -him. All were astonished and delighted. The newspapers stated as “news” -the facts, and gave interesting details with regard to Barnum’s -“discovery” of this wonderful curiosity who had been living so long -undiscovered under their very noses. It was the old story of Charles -Stratton, (Tom Thumb,) of Bridgeport, over again, with a new liliputian -and a new locality. - -Meanwhile, I told the parents of the Admiral that personally I should -not exhibit their son till I returned to New York; but advised them to -give the San Franciscans the opportunity to see him during the remaining -few weeks of my stay in the Golden State. My friend Woodward, of -Woodward’s Gardens, engaged the Admiral for three weeks, duly -advertising the curious discovery by Barnum of this valuable “nugget,” -further stating that as he would depart for the East in three weeks the -only opportunity for the San Francisco public to see him was then -offered at the Gardens. - -Immediately there was an immense _furore_--thousands of ladies and -children, as well as men, daily thronged the Gardens, saw the little -wonder, and purchased his _carte de visite_. During the short period he -remained there, little “Dot,” as dots are apt to do, “made his mark,” -pocketed more than a thousand dollars for himself, besides drawing more -than twice that sum for Mr. Woodward. Moreover, the extended and -enthusiastic notices of the entire San Francisco press gave the Admiral -a prestige and start which would favorably introduce him wherever he -might show himself throughout the United States. Thus originated the -public exhibition of one of the handsomest, most accomplished, and most -diminutive dwarfs of whom there is any history, and the fame of the -little Admiral already is rapidly spreading all over the world. - -Speaking of dwarfs, it may be mentioned here, that notwithstanding my -announced retirement from public life I still retained business -connections with my old friend, the well-known General Tom Thumb. In -1869, I joined that celebrated dwarf in a fresh enterprise which -proposed an exhibition tour of him and a party of twelve, with a -complete outfit, including a pair of ponies and a carriage, entirely -around the world. - -This party was made up of General Tom Thumb and his wife (formerly -Lavinia Warren), Commodore Nutt and his brother Rodnia, Miss Minnie -Warren, Mr. Sylvester Bleeker and his wife, and Mr. B. S. Kellogg, -besides an advertising agent and musicians. Mr. Bleeker was the manager, -and Mr. Kellogg acted as treasurer. In the Fall of 1869, this little -company went by the Union Pacific Railway to San Francisco, stopping on -the way to give exhibitions at Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and other -places on the route, with great success. In San Francisco Pratt’s Hall, -which the company occupied, was crowded day and evening for several -weeks. Every one went to see them. The exhibition was profusely -hand-billed and posted in Chinese as well as in English, and crowds of -Celestials went to see the smallest specimens of “Mellicans” known in -that region, for Admiral Dot living in San Francisco had not then been -“discovered” by Barnum. - -After a prolonged and most profitable series of exhibitions in San -Francisco, the company visited several leading towns in California and -then started for Australia. On the way they stopped at the Sandwich -Islands and exhibited in Honolulu. From there they went to Japan, -exhibiting in Yeddo, Yokohama and other principle places, and afterwards -at Canton and elsewhere in China. They next made the entire tour of -Australia, drawing immense houses at Sydney, Melbourne, and in other -towns, but they did not go to New Zealand. They then proceeded to the -East Indies, giving exhibitions in the larger towns and cities, -receiving marked attentions from Rajahs and other distinguished -personages. Afterwards they went by the way of the Suez Canal to Egypt, -and gave their entertainments at Cairo; and thence to Italy, exhibiting -at all available points, and arrived in Great Britain in the summer of -1871. Notwithstanding the enormous expenses attending the transportation -of this company around the world, it was one of the few instances of -profitably “swinging round the circle.” The enterprise was a pecuniary -success, and, of course, the opportunity for sight-seeing enjoyed by the -little General and his party was fully appreciated. They travelled to -see as well as to be seen. Fortunately they all preserved the best of -health and met with no accident during the extended tour. My name did -not publicly appear in connection with this enterprise--the exhibition -was conducted under the auspices of “Thumb,” but I had a large “finger -in the pie.” Mr. Sylvester Bleeker, the manager, wrote me from Dublin, -December 6, 1871, a letter from which I extract the following: - - “If any person will perform the feat of travelling with such a - company 48,946 miles, (29,900 miles by sea,) give 1,284 - entertainments in 407 different cities and towns, in all climates - of the world, without losing a single day, or missing a single - performance through illness or accident, let him show his vouchers - and I will give him the belt.” - -While I am about it, I may as well confess my connection, _sub rosa_, -with another little speculation during my three years’ “leisure.” I -hired the well-known Siamese Twins, the giantess, Anna Swan, and a -Circassian lady, and, in connection with Judge Ingalls, I sent them to -Great Britain where, in all the principal places, and for about a year, -their levees were continually crowded. In all probability the great -success attending this enterprise was much enhanced, if not actually -caused by extensive announcements in advance, that the main purpose of -Chang-Eng’s visit to Europe was to consult the most eminent medical and -surgical talent with regard to the safety of separating the twins. - -Eminent surgeons in London and in Edinburgh examined these physiological -phenomena and generally coincided in the declaration that their lives -would be jeopardized and probably be forfeited if surgery should -separate them. Of course, the “Reports” of these examinations were duly -and officially made in all the leading medical and surgical journals, as -well as the reports of lectures delivered by surgeons who had given -their personal attention to the case of the twins, and these accounts in -English and American journals were also translated and were widely -circulated throughout Europe. - -As “this establishment did not advertise in the New York _Herald_,” I -was not a little amused to see several columns of editorial matter in -that sheet published a few weeks before the Siamese Twins sailed for -Europe, giving elaborate scientific reasons why no attempt to separate -them should be made. I quite coincided with my quondam friend Bennett in -his conclusions, as a proof of which I may state that I purchased and -mailed marked copies of his editorial to all the leading newspapers and -magazines abroad, in most of which the matter was republished, thereby -affording the best of advertising and greatly increasing the receipts of -the Twin treasury for many months. - -But to return to my California trip. We visited “the Geysers,” and when -we witnessed the bold mountain scenery through which we passed to get -there, and then saw and heard the puffing, steaming, burning, bubbling -acres of hot springs emitting liquids of a dozen different minerals, and -of as many different colors, we said, “This would pay for coming all the -way from New York, if we saw nothing else,”--and it would. - -In returning from the Geysers to Calistoga we fell into the hands of the -celebrated stage driver, Foss. He had been “laying” for me several days, -and had said he would “give Barnum a specimen of stage driving that -would astonish him.” He did it! Foss is by far the greatest stage driver -of modern times. The way he handles the reins seems marvellous; and -although he dashes his six-horse team, under full gallop, down the most -precipitous mountain roads, making one’s hair continually to stand on -end, his horses are as docile as lambs, and they know every tone of -Foss’ voice and obey accordingly. I suppose that this New Hampshire Jehu -is, after all, as safe a driver as ever held the ribbons. - -Calistoga lies chiefly on made ground. Dig down five feet and you find -water wherein an egg will boil hard in five minutes. A Japanese tea -plantation is started here with prospects of success. - -We devoted a fortnight to visiting the great Yo Semite Valley. We went -by way of Mariposa where we saw the Mariposa grove of “big trees,” -whence I sent to New York a piece of bark thirty-one inches thick! That -bark was taken from a tree 102 feet in circumference, over three hundred -feet high, and according to its annual layers, 837 years old. The Yo -Semite has been so often and so well described that I shall not attempt -a new description. Suffice it to say it is one of those great and real -things in nature that goes in reality far beyond any previous -conception. From the moment I got a bird’s eye view of this wonderful -valley from “Inspiration Point,” until a week afterwards, when we -mounted our horses to emerge from it, I could not help oft repeating, -“Wonderful, wonderful, sublime, indescribable, incomprehensible; I never -before saw anything so truly and appallingly grand; it pays me a hundred -times over for visiting California.” - -On returning to Stockton, I lectured for a Methodist church pursuant to -agreement made to that effect when I left for the Yo Semite twelve days -before. - -On our return home we stopped at Cheyenne and took the Branch Railroad -to Denver, Colorado, afterwards going fifty miles by stage to the mines -at Georgetown, Golden City, Central City, and other notable places. - -Returning from Denver, we stopped at the truly wonderful town of -Greeley, where when we left home in April not ten persons resided, but -where was now settled the “Union Colony.” This company then numbered six -hundred. Greeley is now a city, two years old, containing thousands of -inhabitants and increasing at a rate totally unexampled. There is no -community of interests here except in such public works as the -irrigating canals and the school-houses. Each inhabitant owns whatever -lands and buildings he or she pays for; and real estate and other -property rises in value according to the increase in the number of -inhabitants. Here are millions of acres of rich valley land, which -needed only the irrigation that the Cache de Poudre River is giving -through the canals of the Union Colony. This model town of Greeley will -ever have peace and prosperity within its borders; for no title can -inhere to any land or building where intoxicating drinks are permitted -to be sold. It is a “city of refuge” from the curse of strong drink; and -to it for generations to come will whole families congregate as their -paradise guarded by flaming swords of sobriety and order where they can -live rationally, happily, and prosperously. - -From Greeley we returned to New York, and my family removed to our -Summer quarters in Bridgeport the last of June. Here we were visited by -numerous noble friends. The late Alice Cary spent several weeks with us -at Waldemere, and although her health was feeble she enjoyed the cool -breezes as well as the fine drives, clam-bakes, etc., for which -Bridgeport is specially renowned. Indeed, my own house was the last -which this good and gifted lady ever entered except her own in New York, -to which I accompanied her from Bridgeport. Her sister Phœbe, who so -quickly followed Alice to the other world, was also my guest at -Waldemere. - -But the restless spirit of an energetic man of leisure prompted me again -to travel. I went with friends to Montreal, Quebec, the Saginaw River, -and the regions round about. Returning by way of Saratoga Springs, my -English friends again had occasion to open their eyes at the large Union -Hotel, and Congress Hall, where fifteen hundred persons dine at one -time, and two thousand lodge under a single roof without crowding. - -“Well, this is a big country, and you Americans do everything on a big -scale, that’s a fact,” was the expression for the thousandth time of my -Anglo-Saxon companions. - -In September, I made up a party of ten, including my English friend, and -we started for Kansas on a grand buffalo hunt. General Custar, -commandant at Fort Hayes, was apprized in advance of our anticipated -visit, and he received us like princes. He fitted out a company of fifty -cavalry, furnishing us with horses, arms and ammunition. We were taken -to an immense herd of buffaloes, quietly browsing on the open plain. We -charged on them, and during an exciting chase of a couple of hours, we -slew twenty immense bull buffaloes. We might have killed as many more -had we not considered it wanton butchery. - -My friend George A. Wells, of Bridgeport, who is a great hunter, was one -of the party, and although he had slain two buffaloes, and had lost -himself on the prairie, not only to his own dismay, but to the great -terror for four mortal hours of all his companions, he was by no means -satisfied. He wanted to camp out and hunt buffaloes for several days -longer. Another Bridgeport huntsman, Mr. James Wilson, was of the same -mind. But when the question was put to vote, my English friend, John -Fish, who had made himself sore by hard riding; Mr. Charles B. -Hotchkiss, a Bridgeport bank president, who was quite content with -killing one buffalo; my right bower, David W. Sherwood, who with a -single shot dropped an immense bull (as indeed he now and then has done -with no other weapon than his tongue); David M. Read, a Bridgeport -merchant; another Bridgeporter, Theodore W. Downs--each credited with -one or two carcases on the field; and I who had brought down two and had -half killed another buffalo,--all voted that we had done enough and were -in favor of returning home. Whereupon Wells indignantly exclaimed: - -“I was invited out here for a hunt, but you have made it a race.” - -But every man had killed his buffalo, some had killed two, and we were -satisfied. We had plenty of buffalo and antelope meat, and on the whole -our ten days’ sport afforded another “sensation,”--a feeling so -necessary to one in my state. But “sensations” cannot be made to order -every day. I am, therefore, taught by an experience of three years’ -“retirement” from business, that it is better to be moderately engaged -in some legitimate occupation so long as health and energy permit. If a -man is regularly in “harness,” though he may do but a small portion of -the drawing, he will at least so far occupy his mind as not to need -spasmodic excitements. - -Hence, although my worldly possessions--trivial indeed in comparison -with the wealth of some of America’s millionaires--were yet as ample as -I cared to acquire, nevertheless from the very necessity of my active -nature, in the Autumn of 1870 I began to prepare a great show -enterprise, requiring five hundred men and horses to transport and -conduct it through the country. Selecting as manager of this gigantic -enterprise Mr. William C. Coup, whom I had favorably known for some -years as a capital showman and a man of good judgment, integrity, and -excellent executive ability, we spent several weeks in blocking out and -perfecting our course of action. As one project after another, involving -the outlay of thousands upon thousands of dollars, was laid before -Manager Coup, he began to open his eyes pretty widely, and before we had -been three weeks in consultation, he exclaimed: - -“Why, Mr. Barnum, such a show as you are projecting after a while would -ruin the richest man in America, for the expenses would double the -receipts every day!” - -I begged Mr. Coup not to be alarmed, reminding him that I was not wholly -inexperienced in the show business, and that, in any event, I was to -“foot the bills.” It is true that the enormous expense of this vast -scheme involved a greater risk than any showman had ever before dared to -assume. My main object in setting on foot this great travelling -exhibition was to open a safety valve for my pent up energies, and I -felt far more anxious to put before the public a grand and triumphant -show than I did to add a penny to my competence. - -When my plans were made public, the proprietors of the travelling shows -throughout the country, with scarcely an exception, declared that my -exhibition necessarily must prove a failure, for, they said, “No -travelling show in the world ever took in one-half so much money per day -as Barnum’s daily expenses will be.” I knew that this was nearly true; -but in reply to their ill-omened prognostications, I only said: “Well, -but you see, no show that has travelled ever drew out one-half of the -people; I expect to attract all of them.” I confess I felt that my -reputation for always giving my patrons more than their money’s worth, -and also for scrupulously excluding from my exhibitions everything -objectionable to the refined and moral, would inevitably draw out large -numbers of people who are not in the habit of attending ordinary -travelling shows. With these views, I had confidence in my undertaking -from the start, and I expended money like water in order fully to carry -out my intentions and desires. - -Previous business arrangements prevented my opening, at the first, in -New York; but I did the next best thing by going to the next best place -for the benefit and convenience of my numerous New York friends and -patrons, and opened in Brooklyn April 10, 1871. At the outset the -exhibition was truly a mammoth one. It embraced a museum, menagerie, -caravan and hippodrome--all first-class and unsurpassed in previous -shows--and Dan. Costello’s celebrated circus was added. It was an -exhibition absolutely colossal, exhaustive, and bewilderingly various as -the most liberal expenditure and years of experience could possibly make -it. My motto through life has been: “Get the best, regardless of -expense.” My aim was to combine in the several shows more startling and -entirely novel wonders of creation than were ever before seen in one -collection anywhere in the world, and to furnish my patrons with -wholesome instruction and innocent amusement, without the taint of -anything that should seem immoral or exceptionable. In all this I fully -succeeded, and I declare with pride that this grand combination has -proved to be the crowning success of my managerial life. - -My canvas covered about three acres of ground, and would hold nearly ten -thousand people, yet from the start in Brooklyn, and throughout the -entire Summer tour, it was of daily occurrence that from one thousand to -three thousand people were turned away. After an extraordinarily -successful week in Brooklyn, I visited all the leading places in the -immediate vicinity; then the principal towns in Connecticut; next -through Rhode Island to Boston. How the great combination was received -and appreciated in “the Athens of America” is well set forth in the -following extracts from a two-column article in the Boston _Journal_: - - The arrival in Boston last Monday of Barnum’s new enterprise, - comprising a museum, menagerie, caravan and hippodrome, to which is - gratuitously added Dan. Costello’s mammoth circus, has produced a - sensation in this city never before equalled by any amusement - enterprise known to New England. We have had our anniversaries, - reviews, parades, the Odd Fellows, and to-day shall have Fisk’s - famous “Ninth.” But after all, nothing seems to equal or eclipse - the great Barnum and his immense amusement enterprise, which is the - theme of universal comment and observation here, as elsewhere. - “Have you seen Barnum?” is the question that is heard in the - streets, counting houses, stores and shops, the public being as - anxious to see the veteran Show King as they are to visit his big - show. We confess that Barnum is a curiosity, and always has been - for the last thirty years, during which time he has figured - prominently before the American people, until the fame of him is as - familiar to both worlds as household words. Verily, who has not - heard of P. T. Barnum and the famous American Museum? We don’t mean - that as a specimen of the _genus homo_ Barnum is very different - from other specimens who have gained notoriety and success; but - simply as an embodiment of the very best representative type of a - shrewd, enterprising, wide awake American, who has achieved an - immense success in his specialty as the greatest amusement caterer - of the nineteenth century. Through two disastrous conflagrations - his immense museum collection in New York, however, the - accumulations of half a century, were in a single day almost - entirely swept out of existence. This was a serious loss to the - public, as it was to Mr. Barnum, although he is said to have taken - it as coolly and imperturbably as the apple woman round the corner - would the loss of a Roxbury russet. Already advancing in years, and - thinking, no doubt, he had served the public long enough, Mr. - Barnum concluded, after the loss of his museum, to retire - permanently from the show business, and, taking Horace Greeley’s - advice, go a fishing or seek the shades of a more quiet and private - life for the balance of his days. A man, however, like P. T. - Barnum, who has spent a whole life amid scenes of bustle and - excitement, with a constant tension of muscle and brain, catering - for the ever recurring demands of a curious public, naturally fond - of amusements, especially the marvellous and sensational, is rarely - satisfied to withdraw suddenly, like the tortoise, within his own - shell, and let the outside world “wag” without taking an active - interest in passing events. Thus Mr. Barnum’s retirement, although - surrounded by every luxury that money could furnish, became the - veriest prison to every element, nervous, physical and - intellectual, of his being, and it is no wonder, under these - circumstances, that he became absolutely “restive under rest.” His - ambition, like ancient “Utica,” he felt to be too much “pent up,” - and as “volcanoes bellow ere they disembogue,” so “smoke betrays - the wild consuming fire.” Like Dan. Costello’s famous gymnasts his - vaulting ambition has fairly o’erleapt itself, for by a single - bound he comes before the public in a new role, having on his hands - an “elephant” more ponderous and expensive to manage than the - famous quadruped that used to be seen “plowing” on his Bridgeport - farm, not for agricultural purposes exactly, but as a “rocket - thrown up to attract public attention to my Broadway American - Museum.” About a year ago Mr. Barnum, desirous to do good in his - day and generation, instituted and put on wheels his present - mammoth enterprise, at a cost of nearly three-quarters of a million - dollars, which has met with a success unparalleled in the annals of - the show business. This success is so sudden and complete as to - astonish everybody, and none more so than professionals themselves. - Knowing the interest the public feels in all that pertains to P. T. - Barnum, and especially his “last great effort,” (Barnum himself - calls it his last great “splurge,” which we readily grant in - deference to his known modesty,) we sent one of our reporters to - interview the whole affair, and as his injunctions were imperative - to “stick to facts” (_fiat justitia ruat codum_), our readers will - be able to judge of the big show as it appeared. One thing is very - evident. Since starting from New York, Barnum’s show has been - patronized by the largest concourse of people ever known in New - England. His transit across the country has been like “Sherman’s - March to the Sea,” while his entertainments have been visited by - the great masses, including eminent clergymen and their families, - and the most respectable of all persuasions--in fact, by everybody, - “without reference to race, color, or previous condition,” etc. - Barnum’s great procession, which made its first appearance in the - streets last Monday, is one of the grandest and most magnificent - pageants of the kind that ever appeared in Boston. The great - cortege is varied and almost interminable in length. The cages, - chariots, carriages and vans--no two being painted or finished - alike--are of unique workmanship, elaborate design and gorgeously - painted and gilded. The mottoes inscribed on the cages are - peculiarly curt and Barnamish. The massively carved chariot, called - the Temple of Juno, which, in construction, is somewhat telescopic, - that is, lets up and down to the extent of thirty feet or more, by - means of machinery, is of solid carved work, gilt all over with the - precious metals and studded profusely with plated mirrors, which - give to the tableau a truly gorgeous and magnificent effect. Upon - an elevated seat, just beneath a rich and unique oriental canopy of - the most elaborate finish, sits, in perfect nonchalance, the - representative Queen, surrounded by gods and goddesses in - mythological costume, giving a striking picture of an oriental - pageant, as seen in the days of the Roman Emperors. This gorgeous - car, built in London expressly for Barnum, is forty feet high, and - is rendered picturesque in effect by the team of elephants, camels - and dromedaries which lead or escort the van. The entire procession - is the longest and most varied ever witnessed here, and consisted - of about seventy cages, wagons and chariots, and 250 horses. But - let us follow this grand street demonstration to the grounds - selected for the great exposition, for we are a little anxious to - know what becomes of so many horses, wagons, housings, traps and - paraphernalia in general. The lot on which the three colossal tents - are pitched presents a really novel and interesting sight. From two - to three acres of land are required for all the purposes of - exhibition, hotel caravansary, ecurie, horse tents, etc. - Immediately after returning from the pageant the cages containing - the living wild animals, and all the museum curiosities, are driven - under the spacious tents and arranged in regular order, those - containing the animals being arranged in the caravan and menagerie, - while the others are classified in the museum department. The - horses are detached from the cages, dens and chariots by - experienced grooms and immediately removed to eight long rows of - horse tents, which are located in a separate lot, containing about - thirty horses each, these being principally draft and baggage - horses, as the ring stock is conveyed to hotel and livery stables. - Of the 245 people connected with this varied show, two-thirds were - employed in getting their breakfast. The establishment is equipped - with portable stoves and accomplished cooks. The meals are served - in large tents, and in this way all the attaches but the artists - are fed. Everything connected with the enterprise is first class--a - fact which strikes one, turn which way he will. Not only is - everything done for the comfort and convenience of the people - engaged with it, but the same thoughtfulness is manifested in - behalf of the horses, whether used for draught purposes, or as - accessories to the arenic performances. The tents in which the - horses are kept are large, and ample room is assigned each animal. - In fact they are complete stables with patent mangers and all the - modern stable appointments. The best rye straw is used for bedding, - and never were horses better provided with the little notions which - certainly contribute to their comfort, and which are probably in - exact accordance with a horse’s idea of good living. A veterinary - surgeon is regularly employed, and the health of the horses is, we - have reason to believe, much closer looked after than the health of - many people is by their family physician. The wagons used for the - conveyance of baggage when the company is moving are converted into - sleeping rooms at night, by letting down shelves, which, when - equipped with bedding and blankets form very comfortable berths. - Each wagon accommodates twelve persons. Another feature worthy of - notice is the manner in which the baggage is carried. If each - person carried a “Saratoga,” of course it would require some fifty - wagons to carry the trunks. To obviate this difficulty, the - clothing and other personal effects of the employees are kept in - one large wagon. The possessions of each one are numbered. This - wagon is in charge of a clerk, who has reduced his business to a - science, and with the same skill that a photographer picks out your - old “negative” from among a thousand others, when you order an - additional dozen _cartes de visite_, this gentleman can produce the - article called for at a moment’s notice. Having satisfied ourselves - that Barnum’s numerous employees know how to groom their stock, as - well as how to “keep a hotel,” we will now take our readers with us - to the great show, the doors of which are by this time opened (of - course they must buy their own tickets, for the management are not - in the habit of “papering” their house rather than play to empty - benches), and we shall see whether Phineas has kept faith with the - public, for we have a glimmering recollection that he promised not - long ago to make this last great effort the “crowning success of - his managerial life,” which we are of course bound to believe, - although we have also a sort of inquisitive penchant to “look for - the proofs.” Already the masses of curious sight-seers are - occupying every foot of available ground, the three ticket wagons - being literally besieged, from which the necessary cards of - admission are being rapidly distributed at fifty cents per head for - adults, children half price, and very soon the three colossal tents - are full to overflowing with anxious spectators. The first - impression that one receives on entering is that of bewilderment, - such is the magnitude, extent, variety and uniqueness of the - combination. Here in almost endless variety we see gathered - together from all parts of the earth a miniature representation of - the wonder world, that nobody but Barnum would ever have thought of - securing for a travelling exhibition. - -Then follows in the same article a detailed account of the leading -attractions, which want of space precludes me from copying. The notice -concludes as follows: - - With all these unique and bewildering attractions our faith has - been wonderfully increased, and we shall no longer doubt why it is - that P. T. Barnum is the happiest and most successful show - proprietor that ever came before the American public, and no man - more than he deserves, as he is constantly receiving, their - unstinted and unprecedented patronage. The great show is now on its - triumphant tour through Northern New England, and will no doubt be - visited by myriads everywhere, as it has been here and elsewhere. - -From Boston my exhibition went through New Hampshire and into Maine as -far as Waterville. Why the show did not go to towns beyond in the State -is fully and amusingly explained in the following, which appeared in the -New York _Tribune_, August 19, 1871: - - -BARNUM’S MENAGERIE AND CIRCUS. - - One of the greatest successes ever achieved in the annals of the - sawdust ring has been accomplished the present season by P. T. - Barnum’s Museum, Menagerie and Circus. From the inception of the - enterprise success has crowned its efforts. Mr. Barnum’s name in - itself has been a tower of strength, and to his direction and - general control its success is due. There are few men that have the - courage to invest nearly $500,000 in so precarious a business, and - to run it at a daily expense of nearly $2,500. But Mr. Barnum had - faith that the public would respond liberally to his appeal. One - great secret of his success has been ever to give the public a - great deal for their money, and to fix the prices of admission at - popular rates. But we doubt if he expected so great a success as - has recently, in the State of Maine, been showered upon him. It is - worthy of being recorded as equal to Jenny Lind’s triumphal - American tour. It had originally been the intention to make a tour - with the great show as far east as Bangor, Me., and it was so - announced, but subsequently they found that there were many bridges - over which it was impossible for the large chariots to pass, and - that the show would be obliged to make stands at several small - towns en route which could not possibly pay the running expenses - even if every inhabitant attended, consequently it was decided that - Lewiston, Me., should be the terminus of their eastern tour. The - following letter, dated Winthrop, Me., July 30, from a - correspondent, will best convey the idea of the great interest and - enthusiasm there manifested by the people: - - “The business in Maine has been immense, contrary to the - predictions of showmen generally. Since entering the State, except - at Brunswick, where it rained hard all day, they have been - compelled to show three times daily to accommodate the vast crowds - that flocked from every direction. While exhibiting at Gardiner and - Augusta persons came all the way from Bangor. When they reached - Waterville, a scene occurred which has never been equaled in this - or any other country. The village was crowded with people who had - come from the surrounding country, many of them travelling a - distance of seventy-five miles, and all the morning crowds were - pouring in from all points of the compass in carriages, wagons, - ox-carts, and on foot. Near the circus tents, in an adjoining - field, were several large tents pitched, which had served to - shelter the people the previous night who had come long distances - and encamped there. The authorities of the village had taken the - precaution to stop the sale of all spiritous liquors during that - day, and had caused barrels of water and plenty of ice to be placed - at the street corners, for the free use of all. Carts were provided - at the expense of the village to constantly replenish the barrels. - The early morning performance was commenced and it was found that - they could not accommodate a tithe part of their patrons, and ere - its close an excursion train of twenty-seven cars, crowded in every - part, came in from Bangor, closely followed by another of seventeen - cars from Belfast. Seeing this vast accession to the already large - numbers of visitors, the manager was somewhat puzzled how to - accommodate them. Finally, it was decided to give a continuous - exhibition, giving an act in the circus department every few - moments. This style of performance was kept up without cessation - until nine o’clock in the evening, when a heavy shower of rain - falling, afforded the manager an excuse to close the exhibitions. - The men and horses were completely exhausted, and their next drive - being forty-eight miles to Lewiston, where they were to exhibit - three times, they shipped all the ring horses by railroad, to give - them an opportunity for much needed rest. On driving out of - Augusta, on July 29, they narrowly escaped an accident similar to - the one which happened in New Jersey. One of the passenger wagons, - with twelve passengers and having four horses attached, had driven - down a steep hill, when suddenly they came upon a locomotive - crossing the road immediately in front of them. The driver, with - great presence of mind, suddenly pulled the horses to the right, - making an abrupt turn, which overturned the wagon, breaking the arm - of Mr. Summerfield, one of the business men, bruising several - others, and injuring somewhat severely Josephe, the French giant, - who was compelled to remain behind the show for a couple of days.” - -From Maine we went across Vermont, exhibiting in the more important -places, to Albany and Troy. At Albany it was impossible to secure a -suitable locality for the exhibition short of a distance of two miles -from the city; yet here distance seemed literally to “lend enchantment -to the view,” for every exhibition was thronged, and here as everywhere, -thousands were turned away who were unable to find room. - -Our route from Albany was along the line of the New York Central -Railroad to Buffalo, and back by the Erie Railway to the Hudson River, -exhibiting nearly everywhere, and after exhibitions at Catskill, -Poughkeepsie and Newburg, returning to New York. Our tour through the -country was more than a carnival--it was a perfect ovation; and best of -all, the public and the press, with one accord, pronounced the -exhibition even better and greater than I had advertised. - -At the close of the travelling season I desired to exhibit my great show -to my New York patrons, and to return again to the metropolis where, in -days gone by, the children, the parents, and the grandparents of the -present generation have flocked in millions to my museum. Accordingly I -secured the Empire Rink immediately after the close of the American -Institute Fair, and opened in that building November 13, 1871. At least -ten thousand people were present, and in response to an enthusiastic -welcoming call, I made a few remarks, the report of which I copy from -the next morning’s New York _World_: - - “A popular Eastern poet has said the noblest art a human being can - acquire is the power of giving happiness to others. I sincerely - hope this is true, for my highest ambition during the last thirty - years has been to make the public happy. When I introduced the - Swedish nightingale, Jenny Lind, to the American public in 1851, a - thrill of pleasure was felt throughout the land by our most refined - and intellectual citizens, as well as by every lover of melody in - the humblest walks of life. As a museum proprietor for nearly - thirty years I catered successfully to the pleasures of many - millions of persons. Nor have my efforts been confined to this - continent. As a public exhibitor I have appeared before kings, - queens and emperors in the Old World, and have given gratification - to many millions of their devoted subjects. Fifty years ago some - moralists taught that it was wicked to laugh, but all divines of - the present day have abandoned that untenable and austere position, - and now almost universally agree that laughter is not only - conducive to health, but very proper and to be encouraged, for, as - the bard of Avon justly says: ‘With mirth and laughter let old - wrinkles come.’ In fact, Mr. Beecher permits laughing in his - church, holding that it is as right to laugh as to cry. It has been - said that I have caused more people to laugh than any other man on - this continent. Ten years ago one of our first families in Fifth - avenue were conversing regarding the duties, responsibilities, and - trials of this life. Their little daughter of seven was present. - The father remarked that it was a pretty hard world to live - in--full of struggles, labors, toils and disappointments. The - mother added that there was much poverty and suffering in the - world, etc., but the little girl chirped in, ‘Well, I think it is a - beautiful and pleasant world. I have my dear mamma and papa, and my - good grandma there, besides I have Barnum’s Museum to go to, and - surely I don’t want a happier world than this.’ My great object has - been to elevate the standard of amusements, to render them - instructive as well as amusing, to divest them of all vulgar and - immoral tendencies, and to make all my exhibitions worthy the - patronage of the best and most respectable families. Finally, my - great desire has been to give my patrons ten times the worth of - their money, and in this my last crowning effort to overshadow and - totally eclipse all other exhibitions in the world.” - -And the metropolitan press, people and patronage combined, only repeated -with more emphasis, the universal testimony of the country as to the -extent and merits of this great show. Want of space permits me to copy -only two or three of the favorable articles which appeared from day to -day during the entire exhibition in the columns of the New York press. -The following is from the Baptist _Union_: - - -RARE CURIOSITIES. - - Mr. P. T. Barnum has organized at the Empire Rink a very large - exhibition, combining a Museum, Menagarie, International Zoölogical - Garden, Polytechnic Institute and Hippodrome. Having examined the - various departments of this vast combination, we do not hesitate to - recommend our friends to go with their families to visit it, and - they will enjoy a treat seldom offered in a lifetime. The - department of natural history is especially excellent and - interesting, and embraces the largest and rarest collection of wild - animals ever exhibited together in this or probably in any other - country. Everything connected with the entertainments admirably - harmonizes with the good taste and respectability which give to all - of Mr. Barnum’s enterprises a refinement and morality which commend - them to the most scrupulous. The great Hippodrome Pageant, in which - appear so many elephants, camels, dromedaries, horses and ponies, - with men, women and children in costumes representing the Arabs and - Bedouins of the desert, Roman knights, heralds, warriors, kings, - princes and bashaws of the olden time, is truly interesting and - grand, and is worth going a long distance to see. - -That popular religious journal, the New York _Christian Leader_, edited -by the Rev. G. H. Emerson, speaks as follows: - - -A GOOD SERMON FOR SHOWMEN. - - The success which everywhere attends Barnum’s great show ought to - be evidence to the managers who furnish amusement to the public - that profanity and indecency of speech and gesture--all of which - Mr. Barnum excludes by promptly and indignantly discharging the - offender--are not of the nature of supply meeting a popular demand. - If a man is coarse and vulgar himself, he usually has manhood - enough left not to take his wife and children where coarseness and - vulgarity are sure to be witnessed. Mr. Barnum’s combination is now - doing for canvas what his Jenny Lind enterprise did for public - halls. Its patrons are not individuals, but communities. For - example, the factories of Paterson, N. J., were compelled to - suspend, the operative population having left, _en masse_ for the - show. But this swimming and unsurpassed success would come to a - full stop in one day if profanity and indecency, instead of being - rigorously forbidden, were encouraged. The community at large - respects decency. The show, bewildering, various and mammoth beyond - a precedent, is now on its way through New England, in one sense, - like “Sherman’s march to the sea,” and a patronage never before - anticipated is organized in advance. It is big, and, better still, - it is clean--clean to the eye and to the moral sense. - -“Nym Crinkle,” the Dramatic Critic of the New York _World_, wrote a very -entertaining column about the show for that journal, and “Trinculo” -copied it in full in the “Amusements Gossip” of the New York _Leader_. -The following is extracted from the article: - - -BARNUM’S UNIVERSAL SHOW. - - Barnum, who long ago beat all creation, is now exhibiting his - spoils at the Rink. Animated nature and animated art make a - stunning combination, especially when the combination is all in - active operation, as it generally is about two o clock in the - afternoon and eight o’clock in the evening. Then one can enjoy the - howls of the animals, the rush and scurry of the arena, the - rattlebang of the band, and the delight of ten thousand people, - without stopping to discriminate. It is something for the veteran - showman to say he has been able to stir the metropolis with his - caravan as other and less indifferent villages are stirred by - smaller shows. The combination, as shows are rated, is really an - extraordinary one, and when it arrives at an average Western city - it doubles the population for them, contributing of its own - multitudinous teamsters, tricksters, and stirrers-up about three - hundred people, with as many more ravening beasts thrown in. - - The first living curiosity that one meets at the Rink is Barnum - himself uncaged. He still holds to the notion that it is worth - fifty cents to look at him, and one dollar to read his life; and as - nearly everybody has looked at him and read his life, we presume - the rest of the world agrees with him. Still it is curious to - observe how the healthy and hearty world, thronging to see the - monkeys and the mermaids, mingle awe with their admiration of the - greatest curiosity of all. They are subdued by a sense of the - showman’s power. They skirt carefully round the edges of his - greatness, so as not to attract too much of his attention, for who - could tell at what moment, if he so chose, he would exhibit them. - We say the healthy and hearty world, for of course the unhealthy - and deformed world, which we all know was made to be exhibited, - throngs as of old in supplicating procession after him. - Three-legged women and four-legged men, and double-headed children - may be seen at all hours congregating on the Third avenue in the - vicinity of the Rink, seeking audience of the great showman. - Indeed, the observant traveller on this great thoroughfare will - know, hours before he gets to the Rink, that he is approaching - Barnum, by the strange monstrosities, woolly horses, Albino - children, and living skeletons that will be observed wending their - way from all parts of the world to the great show in hope of - getting engagements. Of course, all this adds to the excitement and - interest of the eager multitude. But the animals and curiosities - inside constitute the real attraction to the public; and a very - fine collection of animals it is. The eight or ten royal Abyssinian - and Babylonian lions roar less like sucking doves than any that - have had their jaws stretched among us since Van Amburgh’s time. As - for the rhinoceros, he deserves especial attention, because, as the - card on his cage informs us, he is the unicorn of Scripture. But he - doesn’t look a bit like the agile fellow that fought for the crown - on his hind legs, (ah, he was an artist,) for he eats too much hay, - and nothing can be more absurd and contrary to the revolutionary - character of the unicorn dear to heraldry than this iron-clad - monster eating hay with the demureness of a cow. Still there is - danger in his cage, the keeper informs us, and he ought to know, - for he probably lived there at some time with him in order to find - him out. And he further assures us that the reason Mr. Barnum - employs him to take care of the beast is that he is an old sailor, - nobody else being able to go round his horn. Time, however would - not suffice to relate the wonders of the yak and guayga and the - wart hog, none of which are popular pets, nor to tell of the - infinite variety of the feline tribe, from _felis leo_ himself to - the tiniest cougar. This collection of animals makes what is called - the Zoölogical Garden, a distinct apartment of the show. There is a - collection of camels--about forty--and several elephants, eating - peanuts with singularly disproportioned taste, at the east end, and - here, we observe, is the menagerie. The camels, each with his hump - tastefully covered with a camel’s hair shawl, wait with meek - patience for the ring-master to call them, and they all slide out - on their cushioned feet like dusty spectres. It would be well to - visit the collection of wild animals after this, and then inspect - the exhibition of animated nature, reserving the caravan till the - last. But the conscientious visitor has the hippodrome, the - hippotheatron, the circus, the arena and the ring to inspect, and - unless he hurries up, he will not get through in time. We have - found it in our experience that the best plan is to cut the arena, - the hippodrome, and the hippotheatron, and stick to the circus. The - circus will be found worthy of the carefulest study. It will be - found to have a largeness that is new, and certainly it would be - difficult to find more performers or have them do more. The Rink, - thanks to Barnum, is a popular resort. We forget how many miles of - promenade there are through the zoölogical department of the - menagerie, but we know that thousands of people may be seen there - of a pleasant afternoon, adding a biological interest to the - zoölogical exhibit that is well worth noting. - -The following is from the New York _Daily Standard_ of Dec. 28, 1871: - - -UNBOUNDED ENTERPRISE. - - Mr. P. T. Barnum is the only man in the show-business who - thoroughly comprehends the demands of the public, and is willing to - satisfy them at any expenditure of time and means. His projects are - conceived on a gigantic scale, very far in advance of the - conservatism so characteristic of even liberal managers. His - expensive expeditions to Labrador, some years ago, to capture white - whales for the American Museum, and another expedition to South - Africa, in 1859, which secured the first and only living - hippopotamus ever seen on this continent, involved an outlay - sufficient to organize and completely furnish a first-class show. A - third even more hazardous expedition was sent to the North Pacific - to capture seals, sea lions, and other marine monsters, which were - transported thousands of miles in immense water tanks. These are - but a few in many instances of that large and comprehensive - liberality that distinguishes all of Mr. Barnum’s enterprises, and - is the source of his managerial triumphs and the foundation of his - financial success. Obstacles, that to others seem insurmountable, - only spur him on to greater effort. No article of real novelty or - merit which will enhance the attractions of his exhibitions is - suffered to escape for lack of energy, or for want of liberal - expenditure of money. It is this spirit that has enabled Mr. Barnum - to combine in one exhibition the most complete and colossal - collection of animate and inanimate curiosities ever assembled in - the world. - - In the spring of 1871, when the great show was about to enter upon - its first campaign, complete as it seemed to the manager and to - other experts, Mr. Barnum thought a most valuable feature might be - added. He telegraphed to the whaling ports of New England, and sent - messages to San Francisco and Alaska, to know if a group of sea - lions and other specimens of the phocine tribe could be secured. - Finally, through his agents in San Francisco, he organized an - expedition to Alaska. By the first of July, several fine specimens - of seals and sea lions, some of the latter weighing more than 1,000 - pounds each, were brought in tanks over the Union Pacific Railway, - were safely landed at Bridgeport, and, thereafter, were forwarded - to the show, then on its travels through New England. As these - delicate animals are likely to die, arrangements have been made to - keep good the supply, and December 16, 1871, Mr. Barnum received a - telegram from San Francisco that six more sea lions had just - arrived at that port for him. Two of these will be sent, by - arrangement, to the Zoölogical Gardens, in Regent’s Park, London, - and the rest, with several seals captured in the same expedition, - will be added to Barnum’s show next spring. - - Mr. Barnum’s active and enterprising agents are in Europe, Asia, - Africa, South America, and elsewhere in the world, wherever - anything rare and valuable--bird, beast, reptile, or other animate - or inanimate curiosity--can be secured, which will add to the - interest of the exhibition. In the menagerie, and the hippodrome - also, experts are constantly engaged in training elephants, camels, - performing horses, and other animals, and are thus preparing new - and attractive features, some of which will be as novel to the show - profession as they will be new and attractive to the public. - -I might fill hundreds of pages with the notices of the New York papers -during the protracted exhibition at the Empire Rink. Every day, almost, -the journals had something new to say about the show, from the simple -fact that nearly every day the addition of some new animal or -attraction, or fresh features in the ring performances compelled new -notices. The exhibition continued with unabated success and patronage -till after the holidays, when necessary preparations for the spring -campaign, including the repainting of all the wagons, compelled me to -close. - -I must make mention merely of two genuine curiosities from -California--the one a section of one of the big trees, and the other a -bright young Digger Indian, who was my guide through the Yosemite -Valley. I little thought when I saw the big trees that I should soon -secure for exhibition in New York a gigantic section of one of them, -with the bark, which, set up as it enclosed the tree, enclosed, on one -occasion, at the Empire Rink, two hundred children from the Howard -Mission. The Digger was equally a curiosity in his way. One day when the -baboon escaped from his cage, and defied all the efforts of the keepers -to capture him, my Digger Indian lassooed him, and brought him down with -a run and a rope in less than no time. His services in, and with, this -“line” on other occasions were more memorable. - -I cannot close this additional narrative without warning my readers, and -the public generally, that the enormous success of my great combination -has stimulated unscrupulous smaller showmen to feeble imitations, which, -in some instances, are, and are intended to be, downright frauds upon -the public. Nearly every circus and menagerie in the country has lately -added what is called a “museum,” and in some cases they have employed a -man named, or supposed to be named, Barnum, intending to advertise under -the title of “Barnum’s Show,” thereby deceiving and swindling the -public. The trick is very transparent, and can be successful, if at all, -only in very rural regions, where the newspapers fail to penetrate. The -so-called “Museums” may embrace a stuffed animal or two, and a small -show of wax-works. Indeed, some of these minor managers have bought -cast-off curiosities from me, and cheap rubbish from old museums, with -which to set up the “new features” in their circuses or menageries. The -whole public knows that there is but one P. T. Barnum, and but one show -in the country of sufficient importance to bear his name. I trust to my -name and my long-worked-for and well-earned reputation to insure the -public against imposition from the attempts of my imitators, who are as -unprincipled as they will be unsuccessful in their efforts to defraud me -and to delude the public. - - - - -CONCLUSION. - - -In sending these last pages to the printer in March, 1872, I may say -that my manager, Mr. Coup, his assistants, and myself, have been busy -ever since New Year’s in reorganizing our great travelling show, -building new wagons and cages, and painting, gilding and repairing the -others. One of the great carved, mirrored and gilded chariots, from -England, used by me in 1871, is a grand affair, made telescopic, and -when extended to its full height reaches an altitude of forty feet, on -the top of which, in our street processions, we place a young lady, -costumed to personate the Goddess of Liberty. The re-gilding of this one -vehicle preparatory to opening our spring campaign cost about five -thousand dollars--enough to build a nice house in the country. The -wintering of my horses and wild animals, salaries of employees and -expense of fitting up properly for the next season, cost over $50,000. -During the winter my agents abroad have shipped me many interesting and -expensive curiosities. Indeed, ship after ship has brought me so many -rare animals and works of art that I have sometimes been puzzled to find -places to store them. - -Two beautiful Giraffes, or Camelopards, were despatched to me, but one -died on the Atlantic, making three of these tender and valuable animals -that I have lost within a year. The only one on this continent at this -present writing is mine. He is a beauty. I own another, which is now in -the Royal Zoölogical Gardens, Regent’s Park, London, ready to be shipped -at any moment should I unfortunately be obliged to send a message by the -Atlantic Cable announcing the death of my present pet. - -[Illustration] - -Other managers gave up trying to import Giraffes several years ago, -owing to the great cost and care attending them. No Giraffe has ever -lived two years in America. These very impediments, however, incited me -to always have a living Giraffe on hand, at whatever cost--for, of -course, their scarcity enhances their attraction and value as -curiosities. I hear that my example has stimulated the manager of a -small show to try and obtain a Giraffe. I am educating the public -curiosity and taste to demand so much that is rare and valuable, that -many managers will soon give up the show business, as several have this -spring, while others must be more liberal and enterprising if they -succeed. - -Hitherto many small showmen who could raise cash and credit to the -amount of $20,000, would get half a dozen cages of cheap animals, two or -three fourth-rate circus riders, a few acrobats or tumblers, a clown, -and three or four broken down “ring horses;” then buying some ready -printed dashy show-bills _mis_-representing their show, they would -announce a great menagerie and circus, and perhaps clear the cost of -their show the first season; for there are some persons who are bound to -go to “the show” whatever may be its merits. But the public are -generally getting sick of this same old story, and as my Broadway -American Museum years ago served to reform or extinguish “one horse -shows,” so I trust that the immensity of my travelling show will serve -to elevate and extend public expectations and improve public -exhibitions. - -[Illustration] - -Several immense Sea Lions and Barking Seals have also been captured by -my agents at Alaska and are added to the “innumerable caravan.” Some of -these marine monsters weigh a thousand pounds each, and each consumes -from sixty to a hundred pounds of fish per day. It is very curious to -see them floundering in and out of the immense water tanks in which I -transport them through the country. Their tremendous roar may often be -heard the distance of a mile. - -Among my equestrian novelties is an Italian Goat taught in Europe to -ride on horseback, leap through hoops and over banners, alighting on his -feet on the back of the horse while at full speed. I named him “Alexis” -in honor of the Russian Prince. He appeared at Niblo’s Garden, New York, -in February, and created much enthusiasm. - -Numerous artists in different parts of Europe have been engaged all -winter in making for my show extraordinary Musical and other Automatons -and Moving Tableaux, so marvelous in their construction as to seem -enchanted or to be possessed of life. - -But perhaps the most rare and curious addition to my great show, and -certainly the most difficult to obtain, is a company of four wild FIJI -CANNIBALS! I have tried in vain for years to secure specimens of these -“man-eaters.” At last the opportunity came. Three of these Cannibals -having fallen into the hands of their Royal enemy, who was about to -execute, and perhaps to eat them, the missionaries and my agent -prevailed upon the copper-colored king to accept a large sum in gold on -condition of his majesty’s granting them a reprieve and leave of absence -to America for three years, my agent also leaving a large sum with the -American Consul to be forfeited if they were not returned within the -time stipulated. Accompanying them is a half-civilized Cannibal woman, -converted and educated by the Methodist missionaries. She reads fluently -and very pleasantly from the Bible printed in the Fijian language, and -she already exerts a powerful moral influence over these savages. They -take a lively interest in hearing her read the history of our Saviour. -They earnestly declare their convictions that eating human flesh is -wrong, and faithfully promise never again to attempt it. They are -intelligent and docile. Their characteristic war dances and rude -marches, as well as their representations of Cannibal manners and -customs, are peculiarly interesting and instructive. It is perhaps -needless to add that the bonds for their return will be forfeited. They -are already learning to speak and read our language, and I hope soon to -put them in the way of being converted to Christianity, even if by so -doing the title of “Missionary” be added to the many already given me by -the public. - -[Illustration] - -The following happy hit is from the pen of Rev. HENRY WARD BEECHER as it -appeared in that excellent paper of which he is editor, the N. Y. -_Christian Union_ of Feb. 28th, 1872: - - “Should not a paternal government set some limit to the enterprise - of Brother Barnum; with reference, at least, to the considerations - of public safety? Here, upon our desk, lies an indication of his - last perilous venture. He invites us “and one friend”--no - conditions as to “condition” specified--to a private exhibition of - _four living cannibals_, which he has obtained from the Fiji - Islands, for his travelling show. We have beaten up, in this - office, among the lean and tough, and those most easily spared in - an emergency, for volunteers to visit the Anthropophagi, and - report; but never has the retiring and self-distrustful disposition - of our employees been more signally displayed. This establishment - was not represented at that exposition. If Barnum had remembered to - specify the “Feeding-time,” we might have dropped in, in a friendly - way, at some other period of the day.” - -I may add that at the above exhibition several editors brought their -daughters. These blooming young ladies refused to sit on the front seat, -in the fear of being eaten; but I remarked that there was more danger of -some of the young gentlemen swallowing them alive, than there was from -the cannibals. The belles subsided and were safe. - -And now comes a joke so huge and ludicrous that I laugh over it daily, -although there is a serious aspect to it. Every shipment of curiosities -that has arrived from abroad this winter has served to put my worthy -Manager Coup in great agony. - -“I tell you, Mr. Barnum, you are getting this show too big,” has been -repeated by my perplexed manager a hundred times since New Year’s. - -“Never mind,” I reply, “we ought to have a _big_ show--the public expect -it, and will appreciate it.” - -“So here must go six thousand dollars more for a Giraffe wagon and the -horses to draw it,” says Coup, “and this makes more than seventy -additional horses that your importations since last fall have rendered -necessary.” - -“Well, friend Coup, we have the _only_ Giraffe in America,” I replied. - -“Yes, sir, that is all very well, but no country can support such an -expensive show as you are putting on the road.” - -And that is poor Coup’s doleful complaint continually. - -But now comes a more serious side, and here is where the joke comes in. -I had wintered about five hundred horses, and was preparing to add at -least another hundred to my retinue. I induced my son-in-law, Mr. S. H. -Hurd, to sell out his business, take stock in the show, and become its -treasurer and assistant manager. Hurd is clear-headed, but he moves -cautiously, and “looks before he leaps.” On a cold, clear morning in -February, 1872, Mr. Coup, Mr. Hurd, and several of our leading -assistants and counsellors called at my house. Their countenances were -solemn, not to say lugubrious; their jaws seemed firmly set, and -altogether I discovered something ominous in their appearance. I saw -that there was solid business ahead, but I said with a smile: - -“Gentlemen, I am right glad to see you. I confess you don’t look very -jolly, but never mind, unbosom yourselves, and tell me what is up.” - -Manager Coup opened the ball. - -“I am very sorry to say, Mr. Barnum,” said that honest, good-hearted -manager, “that our business here is important and serious. Although we, -of course, like to bow to your decisions, and are ready to acknowledge -that your experience is greater than ours, we have had a long and -serious consultation this morning, and have unanimously concluded that -your show is more than twice too large to succeed; that you will lose -nearly four hundred thousand dollars if you try to drag it all through -the country, and that your only chance of success is to sell off more -than half of your curiosities and horses and wagons, or else divide them -into three, or certainly two distinct shows.” - -“Is this a _mutiny_, gentlemen?” I asked, with a feeling and countenance -far from solemn. - -“By no means a mutiny, father,” said Hurd, “but really it is a very -serious affair. We have been making a careful and close calculation.” -Here he drew from his pocket a sheet of paper covered with figures, and -read from it: “The expenses of your exhibitions, including nearly a -thousand men and horses, the printing, board, salaries, &c., will -average more than $4,000 per day. But call it $4,000. You show thirty -weeks--180 days. Thus your expenses for the tenting season, besides -wear and tear and general depreciation, will be at least $720,000. This -is about twice as much as any show ever took in one season, except your -own, last year. This is the year of the presidential election, which, on -account of political excitement and mass meetings, always injures -travelling shows. We have carefully looked over the towns which you will -be able to touch this summer, not going west of Ohio, for you cannot get -beyond that State in a single season, and we compute your receipts at -not over $350,000, which would leave you a loser of $370,000.” - -“Are you not a little mistaken in some of your estimates?” I asked. - -“Mr. Barnum, figures never lie,” exclaimed Mr. Coup, with great -earnestness, and, pulling a pocket-map from his breast pocket, he opened -it, and I saw that he was set down for the next spokesman. - -“Our teams cannot travel with heavy loads more than an average of twenty -miles per day,” continued Coup; “now please follow the lines marked on -this map, and you will find that we are compelled to make seventy-one -stands where there are not people enough within five miles to give us an -average of $1,000 per day. That will involve a loss of $213,000, and, I -tell you, that taking accidents, storms, and other risks, the season -will be ruinous if you don’t reduce the show more than one-half.” - -“Coup,” I replied, “did not thousands of people come fifty, sixty, a -hundred miles last year, by railroad excursions, to see my show?” - -He confessed that they did. - -“Well,” I replied, “if you have lost faith in the discernment of the -public, I have not, and I propose to prove it.” Then, laughing heartily, -I added: - -“Gentlemen, I thank you for your advice; but I won’t reduce the show a -single hair or feather; on the contrary, I will add five or six hundred -dollars per day to my expenses!” - -My assembled “cabinet” rolled their eyes in astonishment. - -“Father, are you crazy?” asked Hurd, with a look of despair. - -“Not much,” I replied. - -“Now,” I continued, “I see the show is too big to drag from village to -village by horse power, and I have long suspected it would be, and have -laid my plans accordingly. I will immediately telegraph to all the -principal railroad centres between here and Omaha, Nebraska, and within -five days I will tell you what it will cost to transport my whole show, -taking leaps of a hundred miles or more in a single night when -necessary, so as to hit good-sized towns every day in the season. If I -can do this with sixty or seventy freight cars, six passenger cars and -three engines, within such a figure as I think it ought to be done for, -I will do it.” - -The “cabinet” adjourned for five days, and it was worth something to see -how astonished, and apparently pleased, the various members looked as -they withdrew. - -At the appointed time all met again. The railroad telegrams were -generally favorable, and we, then and there, resolved to transport the -entire Museum, Menagerie and Hippodrome, all of the coming season, by -rail, enlisting a power which, if expended on traversing common wagon -roads, would be equivalent to _two thousand men and horses_. - -If life and health are spared me till another spring, I will report the -result of thus setting on foot a mighty “army with banners.” But if it -is wisely appointed that some other hand shall record it, I confidently -trust that the American public will bear witness that I found great -pleasure in contributing to their rational enjoyment. - -P T B - - - - -APPENDIX II. - -WRITTEN UP TO FEBRUARY, 1873. - -A REMARKABLE CAMPAIGN. - - RECORD OF EVENTS--IMMENSE BUSINESS--RETROGRADING NOT MY - NATURE--TREASURER’S REPORT--SURPRISED AT LAST--EXCITEMENT IN THE - RURAL DISTRICTS--CAMPING OUT--“SEEING BARNUM”--AN “INCIDENT OF - TRAVEL”--DOWN THE BANK--A TERRIBLE NIGHT--A TEMPERANCE CREW--CLOSE - OF THE TENTING SEASON--WESTWARD HO!--FREE LECTURES--WALDEMERE--A - FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLAR DOOR-YARD--VISIT OF HORACE GREELEY--TRIP TO - COLORADO--MY NEW ENTERPRISE--FOURTEENTH STREET HIPPODROME--GRAND - OPENING--A BRILLIANT AUDIENCE--DEPARTURE FOR THE SOUTH--NEW ORLEANS - IN WINTER--NEWS OF THE CONFLAGRATION--“BUSINESS BEFORE - PLEASURE”--EN ROUTE FOR HOME--SPEECH AT THE ACADEMY--SEASON OF - 1873--CONCLUSION. - - -Readers of the preceding pages will expect in this Appendix a brief -resumé of events relating to my Great Travelling World’s Fair for the -season of 1872. Connected as I have been with so many gigantic -undertakings, and the subject of so many and varied experiences, it can -hardly be thought strange if I have taught myself not to be surprised at -anything in the way of business results. The idea of attempting to -transport by rail any company or combination requiring sixty-five -cars--to be moved daily from point to point--was an experiment of such -magnitude that railroad companies could not supply my demands, and I was -compelled to purchase and own all the cars. Up to this time in life, my -record is clear for never retrograding after once embarking in any -undertaking, and I did not propose to establish a contrary precedent at -this late day, so, at the appointed time, the great combination moved -westward by rail: The result is known. It visited the States of New -Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, -Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, -Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. In order to exhibit only in large -towns, it was frequently necessary to travel one hundred miles in a -single night, arriving in season to give three exhibitions and the usual -street pageant at 8 o’clock A.M. By means of cheap excursion trains, -thousands of strangers attended daily from along the lines of the -various railroads, for a distance of fifty, seventy-five and even a -hundred miles. Other thousands came in wagons, on horse-back and by -every means of conveyance that could be pressed into service, until by -10 o’clock--the hour for the morning exhibition--the streets, sidewalks -and stores were filled with strangers. It was universally conceded that -the money invested by these country customers, who took this opportunity -to visit the town and make purchases, exceeded by many thousands of -dollars the amount I took away. Indeed, my own expenditures at each -point where we exhibited, averaged one-half my gross receipts. - -Some idea of the excitement throughout the country, may be formed from -the fact that, upon arriving at daylight, we usually found wagon loads -of rural strangers--men, women and children--who had come in during the -night, and “pitched camp.” They had arrived at a most unseasonable hour -for pleasure, but this nocturnal experience was no barrier when they had -the ultimatum of “seeing Barnum.” Notwithstanding our transportation was -necessarily done at night, under all the disadvantages of darkness and -usually by three trains, it is gratifying to look back upon the great -railroad campaign of 1872 as entirely free from serious accident. A few -minor casualties occurred. At 1 o’clock on the morning of June 8, -several of our cars and cages were precipitated down an embankment at -Erie, Penn., by the gross carelessness of a switchman, and the utter -recklessness of two locomotive engineers. The accident resulted in no -loss of life, but the crushed cages, the roaring of the animals, the -general excitement, coupled with the fact that the night was one of -Egyptian darkness, all combined to form an “incident of travel” long to -be remembered. It is also a source of satisfaction to record that -nothing like riotous conduct, quarreling or disturbing elements of any -nature have annoyed us during the tenting season. I attribute this to -one fact, _viz._, that my employees are _teetotalers_ and of gentlemanly -behavior; that they fully appreciate the wisdom of my forty years’ -motto--“WE STUDY TO PLEASE”--and consequently make every effort to -preserve decorum, and make visitors as happy as possible during the few -hours they are with us. - -With wonderful unanimity the public and the press acknowledged that I -exhibited much more than I advertised, and that no combination of -exhibitions that ever travelled had shown a tithe of the instructive and -amusing novelties that I had gathered together. This universal -commendation is, to me, the most gratifying feature of the campaign, for -not being compelled to do business merely for the sake of profit, my -highest enjoyment is to delight my patrons. The entire six months’ -receipts of the Great Travelling World’s Fair exceeded one million -dollars. The expenses of 156 days were nearly $5,000 per day, making -about $780,000, besides the interest on a million dollars capital, and -the wear and tear of the whole establishment. Although these daily -expenses were more than double the receipts of any other show ever -organized in any country, the financial result surprised every one, and -even I, who had anticipated so much, was a little “set back” when my -treasurer made his final report. It will be remembered that it was the -year of a heated presidential campaign, when factional strife and -political ambition might be expected to monopolize public attention to -the serious detriment of amusements generally. I think I may with truth -say that no other man in America would have dared to assume such risk. -All well known showmen agree that without _my name_, which is recognized -as the synonym of “OLD RELIABLE--always giving my patrons thrice the -worth of their money,” the enormous outlay I incurred would have swamped -any other proprietor of this vast collection of novelties, requiring the -services of 1,000 men and 300 horses. The tenting season proper, closed -at Detroit October 30th, when we were patronized by the largest -concourse of people ever assembled in the State of Michigan. - -During this season of unparalleled prosperity, I made it my custom to be -present at all large cities and prominent points, and superintend in -person the gigantic combination. Frequently I was invited by leaders in -the temperance cause or by the “Young Men’s Christian Associations” to -lecture on temperance, which invitation I accepted when in my power, but -always upon conditions that the lecture should be free and open to all. -As a matter of fact I may be permitted to say that upon these occasions -more people were turned away than gained admission, but whether these -crowds were attracted by an interest in the temperance cause, or from a -desire to get a glimpse of the old showman, I have never been fully -satisfied. My manager and assistants insist that the latter is true, and -that my free lectures, especially in the large cities, result to my -pecuniary disadvantage, as fully satisfying many who otherwise would -patronize the exhibition to gratify their curiosity. However, as our -immense pavilions are always crowded, I can see no real cause for -complaint. At my stage of life I confess to a deeper interest in the -noble cause of temperance than I ever had in the largest audience ever -assembled under canvas. If but one-half the people who have signed the -pledge at these lectures keep it through life, I shall feel that my -labors in this direction will not have been devoid of valuable and -beneficent results. - -Early in the presidential canvass I published a general invitation -offering the free use of my immense Hippodrome pavilion to either of the -great political parties, for holding mass meetings. No building in the -West would accommodate the masses seeking admission upon these -occasions, and “open air” gatherings were at a discount, even with -enthusiastic politicians. My immense circus canvas had a seating -capacity of 12,000, and was proof against ordinary storms. My offer gave -the free use of this immense tent between the hours of 4 and 6 P.M. The -invitation was accepted in some instances where the exhibition and the -political gathering were billed for the same day. - -When not with the company I spent most of my time at my ideal -home--Waldemere. To me who have travelled so far and seen so much, and -whose life seems destined to be an eventful one, this delightful summer -retreat is invested with new charms at each successive visit. The -beautiful groves seem still more beautiful, the foliage more green, the -entire scenery more picturesque and the broad expanse of water--with the -Long Island shore visible in the mazy background--sparkles in the -sunlight with additional brilliancy. Possibly my affection for Waldemere -is due in some degree to the fact that I can here look upon thriving -shade trees and spacious drives of my own creation, and that wherever -art has beautified nature, it has but utilized plans and carried out -suggestions of my own. In 1871 I attached to Waldemere a new building -for a library. Its architecture was so beautiful and unlike the main -edifice that after expending $10,000 on it, I was obliged to lay out -$30,000 on the house to make it “correspond!” It was the old story of -the man’s new sofa over again. When the building was enlarged, the lawn -on the east side appeared too narrow, so I purchased a slip of land -(seven acres) on that side for $50,000. The land is worth it for -building lots at present prices, but I could not help half agreeing with -a neighboring farmer who said, “well, that Barnum is the queerest man I -ever saw. He’s gone and spent $50,000 for a little potato patch to put -on his door-yard.” The past season my summer home was made still more -attractive by the frequent presence of distinguished personal friends, -whom I took delight in entertaining. Their sojourn I endeavored to make -agreeable, and in after years their recollections of Waldemere will, I -trust, be pleasing reminiscences of a quiet visit and unfeigned -hospitality. In August I received a visit from my esteemed friend, the -late Horace Greeley. Mine was one of the few private residences he -visited during the campaign, and the last, I think, which he sought for -relaxation or pleasure. I have every reason to believe that he spoke the -true sentiment of his heart when he assured me of his enjoyment while at -my house, and never did a careworn journalist, and him too the very -central figure of a heated political campaign, stand more in need of -repose and perfect freedom from mental excitement than did Mr. Greeley -at this time. I arranged an old-fashioned clam bake, at which were -present congenial spirits from home and abroad. Mr. Greeley laid aside -all restraint. He mingled freely with the guests, and his native genial -humor and ready wit contributed greatly to the enjoyment. The keenest -observer could have detected nothing like care or anxiety upon his -countenance, and the stranger would have pointed him out as a quiet -farmer enjoying a day at the sea-side. - -Although not much of a politician I have my political preferences. Mr. -Greeley was my life-long personal friend. I gave him my support. Once I -ventured my opinion that his election was doubtful. He replied that a -more important result than his election would be, that, running upon so -liberal a platform as that adopted at Cincinnati, would compel all -parties to recognize a higher standard regarding public justice and the -rights of others. “My chief concern,” he added, “is to do nothing in -this canvass that I shall look back upon with an unapproving -conscience.” - -In October I visited Colorado accompanied by my English friend John -Fish, and a Bridgeport gentleman who has an interest with me in a -stock-raising ranche in the southern part of that Territory. We took the -Kansas Pacific Railroad to Denver, seeing many thousands of wild -buffalo--our train sometimes being stopped to let them pass. The weather -was delightful. We spent several days in the new and flourishing town of -Greeley. I gave a temperance lecture there; also at Denver. At the -latter city, in the course of my remarks, I told them I never saw so -many disappointed people as at Denver. The large audience looked -surprised, but were relieved when I added, “half the inhabitants came -invalids from the East, expecting to die, and they find they cannot do -it. Your charming climate will not permit it!” And it is a fact. I am -charmed with Colorado, the scenery and delightful air, and particularly -would I recommend as a place of residence to those who can afford it, -the lively, thriving city of Denver. To those who have their fortunes -yet to make, I say “go to Greeley.” - -We took the narrow gauge road from Denver to Pueblo, stopping at -Colorado Springs and the “Garden of the gods.” The novel scenery here -amply paid us for our visit. From Pueblo I proceeded forty miles by -carriage to our cattle ranche, and spent a couple of days there very -pleasantly. We have several thousand head of cattle there, which thrive -through the winter without hay or fodder of any kind. - -At the close in Detroit of the great Western railroad tour, I equipped -and started South a Museum, Menagerie and Circus, which, while it made -no perceptible diminution in the main body, was still the largest and -most complete travelling expedition ever seen in the Southern States. -Louisville was designated as the rendezvous and point of consolidation -of the various departments, and the new expedition gave its initial -exhibition in the Falls City, November 4th. Much of the menagerie -consisted of animals of which I owned the duplicate, and hence could -easily spare them without injuring the variety in my zoölogical -collection. I was aware also that many of the rare specimens would -thrive better in a warmer climate, and as the expense of procuring them -had been enormous, I coupled my humanitarian feelings with my pecuniary -interests and sent them South. - -And now in this routine of events for 1872, I record one important -project with mingled feelings of pleasure and pain. In August I -purchased of Mr. L. B. Lent the building and lease in Fourteenth street, -New York, known as the Hippotheatron. One purpose was to open a Museum, -Menagerie and Hippodrome that would give employment to two hundred of my -people who otherwise would be idle during the winter. Another and main -object was to take the inaugural steps toward the foundation of a -permanent establishment, where the higher order of arenic entertainments -could be witnessed under all the advantages of a thoroughly equipped, -refined and moral dramatic entertainment. My project combined not only a -circus, but a museum of the world’s wonders and a menagerie that should -equal in extent and variety the great zoölogical collection of London. I -realized the importance of an establishment in New York where old and -young could seek innocent amusement, and where Christian parents could -take their children and feel that the exhibition contributed not only to -their enjoyment but to their instruction. The press generally had kindly -acknowledged the success of my efforts in bringing the modern arena up -to its proper standard among the fashionable amusements of the day. By -divesting the ring of all objectionable features, and securing the -highest talent of both hemispheres, my circus had become popularized -among the better classes, for whose good opinion it has ever been my -fortune to cater. At an expense of $60,000 I enlarged and remodeled the -building, so as to admit my valuable collection of animals, museum of -life-size automatons, and living curiosities. The entire edifice was so -thoroughly built over as to leave but little to remind the visitor of -the original structure. The amphitheatre had a seating capacity of -2,800. It consisted of parquette and balcony, each completely encircling -the ring, and the former luxuriously fitted up with cushioned arm-chairs -and sofa seats. The grand opening took place Monday evening, November -18th. In theatrical parlance, the house was crowded from “pit to dome.” -The leading citizens of the metropolis were present, many of whom on -that occasion patronized an equestrian entertainment for the first time. -Viewed from the center of the ring, the vast amphitheatre presented a -scene of bewildering beauty. The dazzling lights, the delightful music -of the orchestra, the gorgeous surroundings, and the brilliant -audience--filling the numerous circles of seats which rose one above -another to the most remote outskirts of the building--all formed a -picture so unlike anything ever before seen in New York, as to bring out -detailed and eulogistic editorials from the press of the following -morning. Being recognized among the audience, I was called into the -ring, when I briefly thanked my friends for their generous appreciation. -From this date the establishment was open daily from 11 A.M. to 10 P.M., -with hippodrome performances afternoon and evening. - -On December 16th, four weeks after the inauguration of the new -Fourteenth street building, I started for New Orleans, to visit my -southern show. I found the Crescent City luxuriating in its usual winter -rains, and paddling through its regular rations of mud and slush--happy -in its very dreariness. The contentment of the native population of New -Orleans reaches the sublime. The average citizen accepts rain and its -kindred elements as special attractions indigenous to that climate; and -unless the levee breaks and the turbulent Mississippi overflows the -city, they see no occasion to murmur. During the brief intervals of -sunshine I rode through the principal streets, met several old -acquaintances, and renewed friendships formed many years ago. Changes I -found, it is true, but they are changes resulting from nature rather -than from human hands. The ravages of time and natural decay seem to -offset all the thrift of which New Orleans can boast. No Northerner--no -matter how frequent his visits--fulfills his destiny until he drives to -the suburbs and plucks his fill of oranges. Upon the occasion of my -visit political dissensions monopolized public attention. What with the -continual skirmishing between the municipal, State and general -governments, the city was in a most disagreeable turmoil; and one -retired at night quite uncertain as to what administration would be in -power in the morning. Once I had occasion to inquire for the governor’s -address, and my companion innocently asked, “Which one?” Compared to the -civic and military imbroglio in New Orleans in December, the political -situation of Mexico was one of placid serenity. - -It was while quietly seated at the breakfast table, at the St. Louis -Hotel, in the Crescent City, on Tuesday, December 24th, that the waiter -handed me a telegram. I had been reading in the morning papers of the -flooding of my show grounds on Canal street, and of the change of -location my manager had been forced to make. These annoyances had -prepared me when I read the despatch to fully appreciate Longfellow’s -words, - -“So disasters come not singly.” - -It was as follows: - - -NEW YORK, Dec. 24. - -_To_ P. T. BARNUM, _New Orleans_: - - About 4 A.M. fire discovered in boiler-room of circus building; - everything destroyed except 2 elephants, 1 camel. - -S. H. HURD, Treasurer. - - Calling for pen, ink and paper, I then and there cabled my European - agents to send duplicates of all animals lost, with positive - instructions to have everything shipped in season to reach New York - by the middle of March. They were further directed to procure at - any cost specimens never seen in America, and through sub-agents to - purchase and forward curiosities--animate and inanimate--from all - parts of the globe. Cable dispatches were also sent to the - celebrated inventors and manufacturers of automatons, in Paris, to - lose no time in making and purchasing everything new and wonderful - in the way of mechanical effects. This feature of my great - exhibition had proved so attractive that I determined at once not - only to duplicate it, but to enlarge this department to double its - original size. I then dispatched the following to my son-in-law: - -NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 24. - -_To_ S. H. HURD, _New York_: - - Tell editors I have cabled European agents to expend half million - dollars for extra attractions; will have new and more attractive - travelling show than ever early in April. - -P. T. BARNUM. - - - -These details attended to, I could see no further occasion for delaying -breakfast and taking a calm view of the situation. - -The total destruction of this beautiful building and its valuable -contents, was an item of news for which I was ill prepared, and the -extent of which calamity I could scarcely comprehend. I could realize in -a measure a vast conflagration, with its excitement and contingent -incidents, but I could not think without a shudder of the terrible -sufferings of one hundred wild beasts, in their frantic, howling efforts -to escape the flames. For a moment I was disposed to censure my agents -and employees for permitting such a wholesale destruction of these poor -animals. Then I remembered the reliable men I employed, and could not -but feel assured that everything in their power had been done. The four -beautiful giraffes--the only ones in the United States, and which alone -cost $80,000--were lost in the general sacrifice. I learned afterwards -that every effort was made to rescue them, but the poor innocent pets -were utterly paralyzed with fear, and could not be made to move, even -after the lattice inclosure had been torn away. Had they escaped the -burning building, the terrible cold night would doubtless have killed -them before they could have been sheltered from the weather. No -pecuniary compensation could satisfy me for the loss of these and many -other rare animals. - -Returning to New York I learned that my loss on building and property -amounted to the neighborhood of $300,000. To meet this I held insurance -polices to the amount of $90,000. My equestrian company, in which I took -great pride, and which I had hoped to give employment during the winter, -was of course left idle until the opening of the summer season. The -members lost their entire wardrobe, a loss of which can only be -appreciated by professionals. I was pleased to see a disposition -manifested to render them some assistance, and encouraged it so far as -lay in my power. A benefit was arranged under the auspices of the -Equestrian Benevolent Association of the United States. The order has -for its object the relief of unfortunate members, and, as in the present -case, its broad mantle of charity includes worthy professionals not -members of the Association. The affair came off at the Academy of Music, -Tuesday, January 7, 1873, afternoon and evening. Many stars in the -Equestrian, Dramatic and Musical firmament volunteered for the occasion, -and the two entertainments were largely attended. Being called upon to -“define my position,” I stepped upon the stage and made a few off-hand -remarks, which were reported in the morning papers as follows: - - LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: I have catered for so many years for the - amusement of the public, that the beneficiaries on this occasion - seem to have thought that the showman himself ought to be a part of - the show; and, at their request, I come before you. I sincerely - thank you, in their behalf, for your patronage on this occasion. - How much they need your substantial sympathy, the ashes across the - street can tell you more eloquently than human tongue could utter. - Those ashes are the remnants of “all the worldly goods” of some who - appeal to you to-day. - - For myself, I have been burned out so often, I am like the singer - who was hissed on the stage; “Hiss away,” said he, “I am used to - it.” My pecuniary loss is very serious, and occurring as it did, - just before the holidays, it is all the more disastrous. - - It may perhaps gratify my friends to know, however, that I am still - enabled to invest another half million of dollars without - disturbing my bank account. The public will have amusements, and - they ought to be those of an elevating and an unobjectionable - character. For many years it has been my pleasure to provide a - class of instructive and amusing entertainments, to which a refined - Christian mother can take her children with satisfaction. - - I believe that no other man in America possesses the desire and - facilities which I have in this direction. I have, therefore, taken - steps, through all my agents in Europe and this country, which will - enable me to put upon the road, early in April, the most gigantic - and complete travelling museum, menagerie and hippodrome ever - organized. - - It has been asked whether I will build up a large museum and - menagerie in New York. Well, I am now nearly sixty-three years of - age. I can buy plenty of building sites and get plenty of leased - lots for a new museum; but I cannot get a new lease of life. - - Younger members of my family desire me to erect in this city an - establishment worthy of New York and of myself. It will be no small - undertaking; for if I erect such an establishment, it will possess - novel and costly features never before attempted. I have it under - consideration, and within a month shall determine whether or not I - shall make another attempt; of one thing, however, you may be - assured, ladies and gentlemen, although conflagrations may, for the - present, disconcert my plans, yet while I have life and health no - fire can burn nor water quench my ambition to gratify my patrons at - whatever cost of money or of effort. I shall never lend my name - where my labors and heart do not go with it, and the public shall - never fail to find at any of my exhibitions their money’s worth ten - times told. - -The following paragraph from the New York _Tribune_ of January 16, 1873, -will give an inkling of what I am about, as I send these last pages to -press: - - -BARNUM AND THE AUTOMATON TALKER. - - Mr. Phineas T. Barnum, the genial showman, contributes a good deal - to our amusement, and all New Yorkers have a kindly side for him. - Here is _The Philadelphia Press’s_ account of his latest - achievement: - - “Early yesterday morning Prof. Faber received a call, at the Girard - House, from the renowned showman, P. T. Barnum, who is now on a - visit to Philadelphia in pursuit of wonders for his great - travelling show. Within two hours Prof. Faber had given notice to - the Emperor of Austria of his forfeiture of £200 for not exhibiting - his talking machine at the Vienna Exposition next summer, and a - contract was signed by Mr. Barnum, agreeing to pay $20,000 for the - services of Mr. and Mrs. Faber and their wonderful automaton talker - during the tenting season of 1873. No more marvelous exhibition was - ever seen in a travelling tent. It is the most wonderful - achievement of ingenuity that this age of new inventions has yet - witnessed. Although it looks no more like a talking machine than an - old-fashioned weaver’s loom, or a modern sewing machine, it - converses plainly and distinctly in all languages, giving every - intonation of the human voice to extraordinary perfection. Mr. - Barnum says that 10,000,000 of visitors will hear this wonderful - wooden conversationalist during the coming Summer.” - -It is amusing to witness the difference in men’s dispositions. I arrived -in New York from New Orleans the night before New Year’s, just a week -after the fire. I found my manager, Mr. Coup, and my son-in-law, Mr. -Hurd, in rather low spirits. I laughed at them and called them my -deacons, but begged them not to go into mourning. - -“It’s astonishing how you can laugh when you know our museum building -and all of our rare animals are burned up, and we cannot get more in -time for the spring show,” drawled the lugubrious Coup, in an injured -tone. - -“If the fire had waited ten days till the holidays were over, we should -have been $50,000 dollars better off,” chimed in the chop-fallen Hurd. - -“If the skies had fallen we should have caught larks,” I replied; “but -as the skies did not fall, let us be content with what is still left -us.” - -“As for you, Coup,” I continued, “you talk about what we _cannot_ do; -now, have I not told you often enough, the word ‘_can’t_’ is not in my -dictionary?” - -“But you can’t help the fire, can you?” retorted Coup. - -“I shall not try, but I can restore all it has destroyed, and much -more,” I replied; “and I will do it within three months at furthest.” - -“That is easier said than done,” responded Coup with a sigh. - -“Surely, Father, you don’t think we can get a new show upon the road -before July, do you?” asked Mr. Hurd. - -“I repeat that I see nothing to prevent our exhibiting the largest and -best show on this earth, three months from to-day,” I replied; “all that -is required are energy, pluck, courage, and a liberal outlay of money. -All our golden chariots and cages, our horses, harness, canvas tents and -wagons are saved, besides which we have thirty new cages nearly -finished. Telegraphs, Atlantic cables and our agents abroad, can supply -us all the curiosities and animals we want, before the last of March -next, if we will supply them with money enough.” - -But my advisers thought I was too sanguine, and they said as much. Coup -even proposed to lie still a year, and start our show again in 1874. But -I replied that my “years” were too few and too precious to be wasted in -that way; and although I would never put a show upon the road that did -not exceed in magnitude and merit that which we had lost, I felt every -confidence in accomplishing this before April, if we would all work -hard. - -Strange enough, before we parted on that evening of December 31st, I -received a cable message from my trusty agent, Robert Fillingham of -London, saying he had purchased for me a pair of giraffes or camelopards -and a full supply of lions, tigers and other animals. He added: “All the -Governmental Zoölogical Gardens here and on the continent sympathize -with you, and are ready to dispose of any animals you wish. The -mechanicians of Paris and Geneva are at work on automatons and other -attractions for your travelling museum.” - -“Don’t that electricity beat the world?” exclaimed Mr. Coup with great -delight. - -“Just put a little of it into your blood,” I replied, “and we will beat -the world.” - -The spirits of my associates were thoroughly revived, and at this -present writing, on the 20th day of February, I have already received -more rare wild animals and other curiosities than I ever had before at -one time, with promise of many more within a month, and Messrs. Hurd -and Coup are in high feather. - -“Mr. Barnum,” said Coup this morning, “this new show of ours, got up in -so short a time, is the _miracle_ of the age.” - -“Well, my dear fellow,” I replied, “the public like miracles; keep -performing them and you are sure of success. You can never do so much -for the public, but they will do more for you in return. Give them the -best show possible, at whatever cost; keep it free from objectionable -features, and never fear; your efforts will surely be appreciated, and -you will receive a generous support. Remember, ‘Excelsior’ is our -motto.” - -These are the feelings which inspire us as we energetically prepare for -our third campaign, and although I see plenty of hard work ahead, I also -see bright skies, smiling faces, and assured success. - - -FINIS. - -In concluding this brief resumé of the last year’s events, I would seem -ungrateful did I fail to acknowledge my heartfelt thankfulness to the -public and the press, for the generous and unqualified expressions of -sympathy on account of the great calamity of December 24th. Editors -throughout the United States and Europe have written of this -conflagration, and of those which preceded it, and have attributed to me -a degree of perseverance I fear beyond my deserts. If the fiery ordeal -has had any visible effect, it has been to increase my desire to -identify my name with a class of entertainments at once moral, amusing -and instructive. Colossal as was the Great Travelling World’s Fair of -1872, that of 1873 will surpass it. - -With full confidence in that just discrimination which recognizes and -rewards true merit, I remain, as ever, the public’s obedient servant. - -P. T. B. - -FEBRUARY, 1873. - - * * * * * - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -MONSTER JULIEN CONCERTS=> MONSTER JULLIEN CONCERTS {pg 18} - -EMS AND WEISBADEN=> EMS AND WIESBADEN {pg 20} - -GUILLADEU=> GUILLAUDEU {pg 21} - -A TERIBLE DUEL BETWEEN BENTON AND BIBBINS=> A TERRIBLE DUEL BETWEEN -BENTON AND BIBBINS {pg 38} - -the opporunity for a practical joke=> the opportunity for a practical -joke {pg 61} - -all such occacasions=> all such occasions {pg 399} - -By using my microsope=> By using my microscope {pg 449} - -road runs to the beatiful=> road runs to the beautiful {pg 554} - -offered for a singe admission=> offered for a single admission {pg 603} - -which ber bulky frame=> which her bulky frame {pg 644} - -the oldest man, the fatest=> the oldest man, the fattest {pg 646} - -tolerably glowing counnance=> tolerably glowing countenance {pg 688} - -my meed of praise=> my need of praise {pg 468} - -thoroughly indentified=> thoroughly identified {pg 468} - -bowed, which salutatation=> bowed, which salutation {pg 850} - -prospect of the the “Celestials”=> prospect of the “Celestials” {pg 851} - -in in days gone by=> in days gone by {pg 861} - -attrractive features=> attractive features {pg 863} - -the interest of the the exhibition=> the interest of the exhibition {pg -863} - - - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Struggles amd Triumphs: or, Forty -Years' Recollections of P.T. 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Barnum, by Phineas. T. Barnum - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Struggles amd Triumphs: or, Forty Years' Recollections of P.T. Barnum - -Author: Phineas. T. Barnum - -Release Date: October 2, 2015 [EBook #50115] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPHS *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Chuck Greif and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="320" height="500" alt="cover" /> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="border: 2px black solid;margin:auto auto;max-width:50%; -padding:1%;"> -<tr><td><p>Some typographical errors have been corrected; -<a href="#transcrib">a list follows the text</a>.</p> -<p class="c"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents.</a></p> - -<p class="c"><a href="#LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">List of Illustrations</a><br /> <span class="nonvis">(In certain versions of this etext [in certain browsers] -clicking on this symbol <img class="enlargeimage" src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" alt="" title="" height="14" width="18" />, -or directly on the image, -will bring up a larger version of the illustration.)</span></p> - -<p class="c">(etext transcriber's note)</p></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><a name="page_004" id="page_004"></a></p> - -<p><a name="front" id="front"></a></p> - -<p><a name="PHINEAS_T_BARNUM" id="PHINEAS_T_BARNUM"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/frontis_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/frontis_sml.jpg" width="339" height="464" alt="PHINEAS T. BARNUM." /></a> -</div> - -<p><a name="page_005" id="page_005"></a></p> - -<h1>STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPHS:<br /> -<br /> -<small>OR,</small><br /> -<br /> -FORTY YEARS’ RECOLLECTIONS</h1> - -<p class="cb">OF<br /> -<br /> -<span class="courr"><big>P. T. BARNUM.</big></span><br /> -<br /> -WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.<br /> -<br /> -A U T H O R’S E D I T I O N.<br /> -<br /> -<small>[BIOGRAPHY COMPLETE TO APRIL, 1872.]</small><br /> </p> - -<div class="poetry"><div class="poem"> -<span style="margin-left: 4em;">“——a map of busy life,</span><br /> -Its fluctuations, and its vast concerns.”<br /> -</div></div> - -<p class="cb"><br /> <span class="courr"> BUFFALO, N. Y.<br /> -WARREN, JOHNSON & CO.</span><br /> -———<br /> -1872.<br /> -<br /> -<a name="page_006" id="page_006"></a><br /> -<br /><small> -Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by<br /> -<br /> -P. T. BARNUM,<br /> -<br /> -In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.<br /> -<br /> -Entered also at Stationer’s Hall, London, England.</small><br /> -<br /> -<a name="page_007" id="page_007"></a><br /> -<br /><br /> -TO<br /> -<br /> -<span class="courr">MY WIFE AND FAMILY<br /> -<br /> -I DEDICATE<br /> -<br /> -THIS STORY OF A LIFE WHICH HAS BEEN LARGELY<br /> -<br /> -DEVOTED TO THEIR<br /> -<br /> -INTERESTS AND SERVICE.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_008" id="page_008"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CARD_INTRODUCTORY" id="CARD_INTRODUCTORY"></a>CARD INTRODUCTORY.</h2> - -<p><i>To the Public</i>:—Although the large octavo edition of <span class="smcap">Struggles and -Triumphs</span>, upon fine paper, has enjoyed an unprecedented large sale at -$3.50 and upwards, according to styles of binding; yet determined to -supply the popular demand for a cheaper edition, and thus in a measure -render to the great American people, who have lavished upon me so many -favors, a due recognition of their claims upon my gratitude and -esteem,—I have purchased, of the original publishers, the electrotype -plates of text and engravings together with the copyright of the work; -and, now enabled to control the publication myself, I give the same -precise text with the original, (together with an additional chapter -bringing the biography down to April 2d, 1872,) at the low price of -$1.50.</p> - -<p>Copies of the cheap edition can be had on application to the American -News Company, New York, Warren, Johnson & Co., Buffalo, and elsewhere.</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span style="margin-right: 4em;">Your obedient humble servant,</span><br /> - -PHINEAS T. BARNUM.<br /> -</p> - -<p>No. 438 Fifth Avenue, New York City, April 2d, 1872.<a name="page_009" id="page_009"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2> - -<p>T<small>HIS</small> book is my Recollections of Forty Busy Years. Few men in civil life -have had a career more crowded with incident, enterprise, and various -intercourse with the world than mine. With the alternations of success -and defeat, extensive travel in this and foreign lands; a large -acquaintance with the humble and honored; having held the preëminent -place among all who have sought to furnish healthful entertainment to -the American people, and, therefore, having had opportunities for -garnering an ample storehouse of incident and anecdote, while, at the -same time, needing a sagacity, energy, foresight and fortitude rarely -required or exhibited in financial affairs, my struggles and experiences -(it is not altogether vanity in me to think) can not be without interest -to my fellow countrymen.</p> - -<p>Various leading publishers have solicited me to place at their disposal -my Recollections of what I have been, and seen, and done. These -proposals, together with the partiality of friends and kindred, have -constrained me, now that I have retired from all active participation in -business, to put in a permanent form what, it seems to me, may be -instructive, entertaining and profitable.</p> - -<p>Fifteen years since, for the purpose, principally, of advancing my -interests as proprietor of the American<a name="page_010" id="page_010"></a> Museum, I gave to the press -some personal reminiscences and sketches. Having an extensive sale, they -were, however, very hastily, and, therefore, imperfectly, prepared. -These are not only out of print, but the plates have been destroyed. -Though including, necessarily, in common with them, some of the facts of -my early life, in order to make this autobiography a complete and -continuous narrative, yet, as the latter part of my life has been the -more eventful, and my recollections so various and abundant, this book -is new and independent of the former. It is the matured and leisurely -review of almost half a century of work and struggle, and final success, -in spite of fraud and fire—the story of which is blended with amusing -anecdotes, funny passages, felicitous jokes, captivating narratives, -novel experiences, and remarkable interviews—the sunny and sombre so -intermingled as not only to entertain, but convey useful lessons to all -classes of readers.</p> - -<p>These Recollections are dedicated to those who are nearest and dearest -to me, with the feeling that they are a record which I am willing to -leave in their hands, as a legacy which they will value.</p> - -<p>And above and beyond this personal satisfaction, I have thought that the -review of a life, with the wide contrasts of humble origin and high and -honorable success; of most formidable obstacles overcome by courage and -constancy; of affluence that had been patiently won, suddenly wrenched -away, and triumphantly regained—would be a help and incentive to the -young man, struggling, it may be, with adverse fortune, or, at the -start, looking into the future with doubt or despair.</p> - -<p>All autobiographies are necessarily egotistical. If<a name="page_011" id="page_011"></a> my pages are as -plentifully sprinkled with “I’s” as was the chief ornament of Hood’s -peacock, “who thought he had the eyes of Europe on his tail,” I can only -say, that the “I’s” are essential to the story I have told. It has been -my purpose to narrate, not the life of another, but that career in which -I was the principal actor.</p> - -<p>There is an almost universal, and not unworthy curiosity to learn the -methods and measures, the ups and downs, the strifes and victories, the -mental and moral <i>personnel</i> of those who have taken an active and -prominent part in human affairs. But an autobiography has attractions -and merits superior to those of a “Life” written by another, who, -however intimate with its subject, cannot know all that helps to give -interest and accuracy to the narrative, or completeness to the -character. The story from the actor’s own lips has always a charm it can -never have when told by another.</p> - -<p>That my narrative is interspersed with amusing incidents, and even the -recital of some very practical jokes, is simply because my natural -disposition impels me to look upon the brighter side of life, and I hope -my humorous experiences will entertain my readers as much as they were -enjoyed by myself. And if this record of trials and triumphs, struggles -and successes, shall stimulate any to the exercise of that energy, -industry, and courage in their callings, which will surely lead to -happiness and prosperity, one main object I have in yielding to the -solicitations of my friends and my publishers will have been -accomplished.</p> - -<p class="r"> -P. T. BARNUM.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="hang"> -<span class="smcap">Waldemere</span>, <span class="smcap">Bridgeport</span>, }<br /> -Connecticut, July 5, 1869. }<br /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_012" id="page_012"></a></p> - -<p><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/illustrations_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/illustrations_sml.jpg" width="265" height="142" alt="LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS -BY -FAY & COX -105 NASSAU ST. -N.Y." /></a> -</div> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td> </td> -<td> </td> -<td align="right"><small>PAGE.</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">1.</td><td><a href="#PHINEAS_T_BARNUM">PORTRAIT OF P. T. BARNUM,</a></td><td align="right"><a href="#front"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">2.</td><td><a href="#MY_PROPERTY_AND_MY_TENANT">MY PROPERTY AND MY TENANT,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_032">32</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">3.</td><td><a href="#MY_DELIVERY_FROM_IMPRISONMENT">MY DELIVERY FROM IMPRISONMENT,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_065">65</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">4.</td><td><a href="#BARNUM_ON_A_RAIL">BARNUM ON A RAIL,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_084">84</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">5.</td><td><a href="#THE_COWARD_AND_THE_BRAVE">THE COWARD AND THE “BRAVE,”</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_100">100</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">6.</td><td><a href="#VICTORY_OVER_VESTRYMEN">VICTORY OVER VESTRYMEN,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_138">138</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">7.</td><td><a href="#SQUALLS_AND_BREEZES">SQUALLS AND BREEZES,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_146">146</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">8.</td><td><a href="#BATTLE_OF_THE_GIANTS">BATTLE OF THE GIANTS,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_162">162</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">9.</td><td><a href="#THE_GREAT_DUKE_AND_THE_LITTLE_GENERAL">THE GREAT DUKE AND THE LITTLE GENERAL,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_184">184</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">10.</td><td><a href="#ROYAL_HONORS_TO_THE_GENERAL">ROYAL HONORS TO THE GENERAL,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_192">192</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">11.</td><td><a href="#MANURE_CART_EXPRESS">MANURE CART EXPRESS,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_217">217</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">12.</td><td><a href="#PUT_ME_IN_IRONS">PUT ME IN IRONS,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_243">243</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">13.</td><td><a href="#IRANISTAN">IRANISTAN,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_263">263</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">14.</td><td><a href="#WELCOME_TO_JENNY_LIND">WELCOME TO JENNY LIND,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_288">288</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">15.</td><td><a href="#J_G_BENNET_AN_HI_MONKEY">J. G. BENNETT AND HIS MONKEY,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_327">327</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">16.</td><td><a href="#ELEPHANTINE_AGRICULTURE">ELEPHANTINE AGRICULTURE,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_358">358</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">17.</td><td><a href="#MOUNTAIN_GROVE_CEMETERY">MOUNTAIN GROVE CEMETERY,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_369">369</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">18.</td><td><a href="#THE_CUSTOMS_OF_THE_COUNTRY">THE “CUSTOMS” OF THE COUNTRY,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_432">432</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">19.</td><td><a href="#THE_LONG_AND_SHORT_OF_IT">“THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT,”</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_510">510</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">20.</td><td><a href="#GRIZZLY_ADAMS_AND_HIS_FAMILY">GRIZZLY ADAMS AND HIS FAMILY,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_530">530</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">21.</td><td><a href="#THE_PRINCE_IN_THE_MUSEUM">THE PRINCE IN THE MUSEUM,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_543">543</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">22.</td><td><a href="#EAST_BRIDGEPORT">EAST BRIDGEPORT,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_549">549</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">23.</td><td><a href="#CAPTURING_WHITE_WHALES">CAPTURING WHITE WHALES,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_562">562</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">24.</td><td><a href="#TROUBLE_IN_A_TURKISH_HAREM">TROUBLE IN A TURKISH HAREM,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_580">580</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">25.</td><td><a href="#MARRIAGE_IN_MINIATURE">MARRIAGE IN MINIATURE,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_603">603</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">26.</td><td><a href="#ALARM_AT_LINDENCROFT">ALARM AT LINDENCROFT,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_616">616</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">27.</td><td><a href="#THE_GREAT_UNKNOWN">THE GREAT UNKNOWN,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_680">680</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">28.</td><td><a href="#AFTER_THE_FIRE">AFTER THE FIRE,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_702">702</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">29.</td><td><a href="#BARNUM_FIVE_SECONDS_AHEAD">BARNUM FIVE SECONDS AHEAD,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_705">705</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">30.</td><td><a href="#A_GROTESQUE_FIRE_COMPANY">A GROTESQUE FIRE COMPANY,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_720">720</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">31.</td><td><a href="#HALF-SHAVED">HALF-SHAVED,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_726">726</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">32.</td><td><a href="#SEA_SIDE_PARK">SEA SIDE PARK,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_758">758</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td align="right">33.</td><td><a href="#WALDEMERE">WALDEMERE,</a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_768">768</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><a name="page_013" id="page_013"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="margin:auto auto;max-width:85%;"> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER. I.—EARLY LIFE.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">MY BIRTH—FIRST PROPERTY—FARMER BOY LIFE—GOING TO SCHOOL—EARLY -ACQUISITIVENESS—A HOLIDAY PEDDLER—FIRST VISIT TO NEW YORK—LEARNING -TO “SWAP”—MISERIES FROM MOLASSES CANDY—“IVY ISLAND”—ENTERING -UPON MY ESTATE—CLERKSHIP IN A COUNTRY STORE—TRADING -MORALS—THE BETHEL MEETING-HOUSE—STOVE QUESTION—SUNDAY -SCHOOL AND BIBLE CLASS—MY COMPOSITION—THE ONE THING NEEDFUL,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_025">25</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAP. II.—INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">DEATH OF MY GRANDMOTHER—MY FATHER—HIS CHARACTER—HIS DEATH—BEGINNING -THE WORLD BAREFOOTED—GOING TO GRASSY PLAINS—THE TIN -WARE AND GREEN BOTTLE LOTTERY—“CHARITY” HALLETT—OUR FIRST -MEETING—EVENING RIDE TO BETHEL—A NOVEL FUR TRADE—OLD “RUSHIA” -AND YOUNG “RUSHIA”—THE BUYER SOLD—COUNTRY STORE EXPERIENCES—OLD -“UNCLE BIBBINS”—A TERRIBLE DUEL BETWEEN BENTON AND BIBBINS—FALL -OF BENTON—FLIGHT OF BIBBINS,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_038">38</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAP. III.—IN BUSINESS FOR MYSELF.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">MY CLERKSHIP IN BROOKLYN—UNEASINESS AND DISSATISFACTION—THE -SMALL POX—GOING HOME TO RECRUIT—“CHARITY” HALLETT AGAIN—BACK -TO BROOKLYN—OPENING A PORTER-HOUSE—SELLING OUT—MY CLERKSHIP -IN NEW YORK—MY HABITS—OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY—IN BETHEL -ONCE MORE—BEGINNING BUSINESS ON MY OWN ACCOUNT—OPENING DAY—LARGE -SALES AND GREAT PROFITS—THE LOTTERY BUSINESS—VIEWS -THEREON—ABOUT A POCKET-BOOK—WITS AND WAGS—SWEARING OUT A -FINE—FIRST APPEARANCE AT THE BAR—SECURING “ARABIAN”—A MODEL -LOVE-LETTER,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_048">48</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAP. IV.—STRUGGLES FOR A LIVELIHOOD.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">PLEASURE VISIT TO PHILADELPHIA—LIVING IN GRAND STYLE—THE BOTTOM -OF THE PILE—BORROWING MONEY—MY MARRIAGE—RETURN TO BETHEL—EARLY -MARRIAGES—MORE PRACTICAL JOKING—SECOND APPEARANCE AS -COUNSEL—GOING TO HOUSEKEEPING—SELLING BOOKS AT AUCTION—THE -“YELLOW STORE”—A NEW FIELD—“THE HERALD OF FREEDOM”—MY -EDITORIAL CAREER—LIBEL SUITS—FINED AND IMPRISONED—LIFE IN THE -DANBURY JAIL—CELEBRATION OF MY LIBERATION—POOR BUSINESS AND -BAD DEBTS—REMOVAL TO NEW YORK—SEEKING MY FORTUNE—“WANTS” -IN THE “SUN”—WM. NIBLO—KEEPING A BOARDING-HOUSE—A WHOLE -SHIRT ON MY BACK,<a name="page_014" id="page_014"></a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_059">59</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAP. V.—MY START AS A SHOWMAN.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">THE AMUSEMENT BUSINESS—DIFFERENT GRADES—CATERING FOR THE PUBLIC—MY -CLAIMS, AIMS AND EFFORTS—JOICE HETH—APPARENT GENUINENESS -OF HER VOUCHERS—BEGINNING LIFE AS A SHOWMAN—SUCCESS OF MY -FIRST EXHIBITION—SECOND STEP IN THE SHOW LINE—SIGNOR VIVALLA—MY -FIRST APPEARANCE ON ANY STAGE—AT WASHINGTON—ANNE ROYALL -STIMULATING THE PUBLIC—CONTESTS BETWEEN VIVALLA AND ROBERTS—EXCITEMENT -AT FEVER HEAT—CONNECTING MYSELF WITH A CIRCUS—BREAD -AND BUTTER DINNER FOR THE WHOLE COMPANY—NARROW ESCAPE FROM -SUFFOCATION—LECTURING AN ABUSIVE CLERGYMAN—AARON TURNER—A -TERRIBLE PRACTICAL JOKE—I AM REPRESENTED TO BE A MURDERER—RAILS -AND LYNCH LAW—NOVEL MEANS FOR SECURING NOTORIETY,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_071">71</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAP. VI.—MY FIRST TRAVELING COMPANY.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">THREE MEALS AND LODGING IN ONE HOUR—TURNING THE TABLES ON TURNER—A -SON AS OLD AS HIS FATHER—LEAVING THE CIRCUS WITH TWELVE -HUNDRED DOLLARS—MY FIRST TRAVELLING COMPANY—PREACHING TO THE -PEOPLE—APPEARING AS A NEGRO MINSTREL—THREATENED WITH ASSASSINATION—ESCAPES -FROM DANGER—TEMPERANCE—REPORT OF MY ARREST -FOR MURDER—RE-ENFORCING MY COMPANY—“BARNUM’S GRAND SCIENTIFIC -AND MUSICAL THEATRE”—OUTWITTING A SHERIFF—“LADY HAYES’S” -MANSION AND PLANTATION—A BRILLIANT AUDIENCE—BASS DRUM SOLO—CROSSING -THE INDIAN NATION—JOE PENTLAND AS A SAVAGE—TERROR AND -FLIGHT OF VIVALLA—A NONPLUSSED LEGERDEMAIN PERFORMER—A MALE -EGG-LAYER—DISBANDING MY COMPANY—A NEW PARTNERSHIP—PUBLIC -LECTURING—DIFFICULTY WITH A DROVER—THE STEAMBOAT “CERES”—SUDDEN -MARRIAGE ON BOARD—MOBBED IN LOUISIANA—ARRIVAL AT NEW -ORLEANS,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_086">86</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAP. VII.—AT THE FOOT OF THE LADDER.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">DISGUST AT THE TRAVELLING BUSINESS—ADVERTISING FOR AN ASSOCIATE—RUSH -OF THE MILLION-MAKERS—COUNTERFEITERS, CHEATS AND QUACKS—A -NEW BUSINESS—SWINDLED BY MY PARTNER—DIAMOND THE DANCER—A -NEW COMPANY—DESERTIONS—SUCCESSES AT NEW ORLEANS—TYRONE -POWER AND FANNY ELLSLER—IN JAIL AGAIN—BACK TO NEW YORK—ACTING -AS A BOOK AGENT—LEASING VAUXHALL—FROM HAND TO MOUTH—DETERMINATION -TO MAKE MONEY—FORTUNE OPENING HER DOOR—THE -AMERICAN MUSEUM FOR SALE—NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE PURCHASE—HOPES -AND DISAPPOINTMENTS—THE TRAIN LAID—SMASHING A RIVAL COMPANY,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_104">104</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAP. VIII.—THE AMERICAN MUSEUM.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">A TRAP SET FOR ME—I CATCH THE TRAPPERS—I BECOME PROPRIETOR OF -THE AMERICAN MUSEUM—HISTORY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT—HARD WORK -AND COLD DINNERS—ADDITIONS TO THE MUSEUM—EXTRAORDINARY ADVERTISING—BARNUM’S -BRICK-MAN—EXCITING PUBLIC CURIOSITY—INCIDENTS -AND ANECDOTES—A DRUNKEN ACTOR—IMITATIONS OF THE ELDER BOOTH—PLEASING -MY PATRONS—SECURING TRANSIENT NOVELTIES—LIVING CURIOSITIES—MAKING -PEOPLE TALK—A WILDERNESS OF WONDERS—NIAGARA -FALLS WITH REAL WATER—THE CLUB THAT KILLED COOK—SELLING LOUIS -GAYLORD CLARK—THE FISH WITH LEGS—THE FEJEE MERMAID—HOW IT -CAME INTO MY POSSESSION—THE TRUE STORY OF THAT CURIOSITY—JAPANESE -MANUFACTURE OF FABULOUS ANIMALS—THE USE I MADE OF THE MERMAID—WHOLESALE -ADVERTISING AGAIN—THE BALCONY BAND—DRUMMOND -LIGHTS,<a name="page_015" id="page_015"></a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_116">116</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAP. IX.—THE ROAD TO RICHES.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">THE MOST POPULAR PLACE OF AMUSEMENT IN THE WORLD—THE MORAL -DRAMA—REFORMING THE ABUSES OF THE STAGE—FAMOUS ACTORS AND -ACTRESSES AT THE MUSEUM—ADDING TO THE SALOONS—AFTERNOON AND -HOLIDAY PERFORMANCES—FOURTH OF JULY FLAGS—THE MUSEUM CONNECTED -WITH ST. PAUL’S—VICTORY OVER THE VESTRYMEN—THE EGRESS—ST. -PATRICK’S DAY IN THE MORNING—A WONDERFUL ANIMAL, THE “AIGRESS”—INPOURING -OF MONEY—ZOOLOGICAL ERUPTION—THE CITY ASTOUNDED—BABY -SHOWS, AND THEIR OBJECT—FLOWER, BIRD, DOG AND POULTRY -SHOWS—GRAND FREE BUFFALO HUNT IN HOBOKEN—N. P. WILLIS—THE -WOOLLY HORSE—WHERE HE CAME FROM—COLONEL BENTON BEATEN—PURPOSE -OF THE EXHIBITION—AMERICAN INDIANS—P. T. BARNUM EXHIBITED—A -CURIOUS SPINSTER—THE TOUCHING STORY OF CHARLOTTE TEMPLE—SERVICES -IN THE LECTURE ROOM—A FINANCIAL VIEW OF THE -MUSEUM—AN “AWFUL RICH MAN,”</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_133">133</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAP. X.—ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SPECULATION.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">PEALE’S MUSEUM—MYSTERIOUS MESMERISM—YANKEE HILL—HENRY BENNETT—THE -RIVAL MUSEUMS—THE ORPHEAN AND ORPHAN FAMILIES—THE FUDGEE -MERMAID—BUYING OUT MY RIVAL—RUNNING OPPOSITION TO MYSELF—ABOLISHING -THEATRICAL NUISANCES—NO CHECKS AND NO BAR—THE -MUSEUM—MY MANIA—MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES S. STRATTON—GENERAL -TOM THUMB IN NEW YORK—RE-ENGAGEMENT—AN APT PUPIL—FREE -FROM DEBT—THE PROFITS OF TWO YEARS—IN SEARCH OF A NEW -FIELD—STARTING FOR LIVERPOOL—THE GOOD SHIP “YORKSHIRE”—MY -PARTY—ESCORT TO SANDY HOOK—THE VOYAGE—A TOBACCO TRICK—A -BRAGGING JOHN BULL OUTWITTED—ARRIVAL AT LIVERPOOL—A GENTLEMAN -BEGGAR—MADAME CELESTE—CHEAP DWARFS—TWO-PENNY SHOWS—EXHIBITION -OF GENERAL TOM THUMB IN LIVERPOOL—FIRST-CLASS ENGAGEMENT -FOR LONDON,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_156">156</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAP. XI.—GENERAL TOM THUMB IN ENGLAND.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">ARRIVAL IN LONDON—THE GENERAL’S DEBUT IN THE PRINCESS’S THEATRE—ENORMOUS -SUCCESS—MY MANSION AT THE WEST END—DAILY LEVEES -FOR THE NOBILITY AND GENTRY—HON. EDWARD EVERETT—HIS INTEREST -IN THE GENERAL—VISIT TO THE BARONESS ROTHSCHILD—OPENING -IN EGYPTIAN HALL, PICCADILLY—MR. CHARLES MURRAY, MASTER OF THE -QUEEN’S HOUSEHOLD—AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE BY COMMAND OF HER -MAJESTY—A ROYAL RECEPTION—THE FAVORABLE IMPRESSION MADE BY -THE GENERAL—AMUSING INCIDENTS OF THE VISIT—BACKING OUT—FIGHT -WITH A POODLE—COURT JOURNAL NOTICE—SECOND VISIT TO THE -QUEEN—THE PRINCE OF WALES AND PRINCESS ROYAL—THE QUEEN OF -THE BELGIANS—THIRD VISIT TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE—KING LEOPOLD, -OF BELGIUM—ASSURED SUCCESS—THE BRITISH PUBLIC EXCITED—EGYPTIAN -HALL CROWDED—QUEEN DOWAGER ADELAIDE—THE GENERAL’S -WATCH—NAPOLEON AND THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON—DISTINGUISHED -FRIENDS,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_173">173</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAP. XII.—IN FRANCE.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">GOING OVER TO ARRANGE PRELIMINARIES—PREVIOUS VISIT TO PARIS—ROBERT -HOUDIN—WONDERFUL MECHANICAL TOYS—THE AUTOMATON LETTER-WRITER—DION -BOUCICAULT—TAX ON NATURAL CURIOSITIES—HOW I COMPROMISED—THE -GENERAL AND PARTY IN PARIS—FIRST VISIT TO KING -LOUIS PHILIPPE—A SPLENDID PRESENT—DIPLOMACY—I ASK A FAVOR AND -GET IT—LONG CHAMPS—THE GENERAL’S EQUIPAGE—THE FINEST ADVERTISEMENT -EVER KNOWN—ALL PARIS IN A FUROR—OPENING OF THE LEVEES—“TOM -POUCE” EVERYWHERE—THE GENERAL AS AN ACTOR—“PETIT -POUCET”—SECOND AND THIRD VISITS AT THE TUILERIES—INVITATION TO -ST. CLOUD—THE GENERAL PERSONATING NAPOLEON BONAPARTE—ST. DENIS—THE -INVALIDES—REGNIER—ANECDOTE OF FRANKLIN—LEAVING PARIS—TOUR -THROUGH FRANCE—DEPARTURE FOR BRUSSELS,<a name="page_016" id="page_016"></a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_186">186</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAP. XIII.—IN BELGIUM.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">CROSSING THE FRONTIER—PROFESSOR PINTE—QUALIFICATIONS OF A GOOD -SHOWMAN—“SOFT SUP”—GENEROUS DISTRIBUTION OF MEDALS—PRINCE -CHARLES STRATTON—AT BRUSSELS—PRESENTATION TO KING LEOPOLD AND -HIS QUEEN—THE GENERAL’S JEWELS STOLEN—THE THIEF CAUGHT—RECOVERY -OF THE PROPERTY—THE FIELD OF WATERLOO—MIRACULOUSLY -MULTIPLIED RELICS—CAPTAIN TIPPITIWITCHET OF THE CONNECTICUT -FUSILEERS—AN ACCIDENT—GETTING BACK TO BRUSSELS IN A CART—STRATTON -SWINDLED—LOSING AN EXHIBITION—TWO HOURS IN THE RAIN -ON THE ROAD—THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY—A STRICT CONSTRUCTIONIST—STRATTON’S -HEAD SHAVED—“BRUMMAGEM” RELICS—HOW THEY ARE -PLANTED AT WATERLOO—WHAT LYONS SAUSAGES ARE MADE OF—FROM -BRUSSELS TO LONDON,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_208">208</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAP. XIV.—IN ENGLAND AGAIN.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">LEVEES IN EGYPTIAN HALL—UNDIMINISHED SUCCESS—OTHER ENGAGEMENTS—“UP -IN A BALLOON”—PROVINCIAL TOUR—TRAVELLING BY POST—GOING -TO AMERICA—A. T. STEWART—SAMUEL ROGERS—AN EXTRA TRAIN—AN -ASTONISHED RAILWAY SUPERINTENDENT—LEFT BEHIND AND LOCKED UP—SUNDAYS -IN LONDON—BUSINESS AND PLEASURE—ALBERT SMITH—A DAY -WITH HIM AT WARWICK—STRATFORD ON AVON—A POETICAL BARBER—WARWICK -CASTLE—OLD GUY’S TRAPS—OFFER TO BUY THE LOT—THREAT -TO BURST THE SHOW—ALBERT SMITH AS A SHOWMAN—LEARNING THE -BUSINESS FROM BARNUM—THE WARWICK RACE’S RIVAL DWARFS—MANUFACTURED -GIANTESSES—THE HAPPY FAMILY—THE ROAD FROM WARWICK -TO COVENTRY—PEEPING TOM—THE YANKEE GO-AHEAD PRINCIPLE—ALBERT -SMITH’S ACCOUNT OF A DAY WITH BARNUM,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_223">223</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAP. XV.—RETURN TO AMERICA.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">THE WIZARD OF THE NORTH—A JUGGLER BEATEN AT HIS OWN TRICKS—SECOND -VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES—REVEREND DOCTOR ROBERT BAIRD—CAPTAIN -JUDKINS THREATENS TO PUT ME IN IRONS—VIEWS WITH REGARD -TO SECTS—A WICKED WOMAN—THE SIMPSONS IN EUROPE—REMINISCENCES -OF TRAVEL—SAUCE AND “SASS”—TEA TOO SWEET—A UNIVERSAL -LANGUAGE—ROAST DUCK—SNOW IN AUGUST—TALES OF TRAVELLERS—SIMPSON -NOT TO BE TAKEN IN—HOLLANDERS IN BRUSSELS—WHERE ALL -THE DUTCHMEN COME FROM—THREE YEARS IN EUROPE—WARM PERSONAL -FRIENDS—DOCTOR C. S. BREWSTER—HENRY SUMNER—GEORGE S. AND LORENZO -DRAPER—GEORGE P. PUTNAM—OUR LAST PERFORMANCE IN DUBLIN—DANIEL -O’CONNELL—END OF OUR TOUR—DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA—ARRIVAL -IN NEW YORK,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_239">239</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAP. XVI.—AT HOME.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">RENEWING THE LEASE OF THE MUSEUM BUILDING—TOM THUMB IN AMERICA—TOUR -THROUGH THE COUNTRY—JOURNEY TO CUBA—BARNUM A CURIOSITY—RAISING -TURKEYS—CEASING TO BE A TRAVELLING SHOWMAN—RETURN -TO BRIDGEPORT—ADVANTAGES AND CAPABILITIES OF THAT CITY—SEARCH -FOR A HOME—THE FINDING—BUILDING AND COMPLETION OF IRANISTAN—GRAND -HOUSE-WARMING—BUYING THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM—OPENING THE -PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM—CATERING FOR QUAKERS—THE TEMPERANCE -PLEDGE AT THE THEATRE—PURCHASING PEALE’S PHILADELPHIA COLLECTION—MY -AGRICULTURAL AND ARBORCULTURAL DOINGS—“GERSY BLEW” -CHICKENS—HOW I SOLD MY POTATOES—HOW I BOUGHT OTHER PEOPLES’ -POTATOES—CUTTING OFF GRAFTS—MY DEER PARK—MY GAME-KEEPER—FRANK -LESLIE—PLEASURES OF HOME,<a name="page_017" id="page_017"></a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_255">255</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAP. XVII.—THE JENNY LIND ENTERPRISE.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">GRAND SCHEME—CONGRESS OF ALL NATIONS—A BOLD AND BRILLIANT ENTERPRISE—THE -JENNY LIND ENGAGEMENT—MY AGENT IN EUROPE—HIS INSTRUCTIONS—CORRESPONDENCE -WITH MISS LIND—BENEDICT AND BELLETTI—JOSHUA -BATES—CHEVALIER WYCKOFF—THE CONTRACT SIGNED—MY RECEPTION -OF THE NEWS—THE ENTIRE SUM OF MONEY FOR THE ENGAGEMENT -SENT TO LONDON—MY FIRST LIND LETTER TO THE PUBLIC—A POOR -PORTRAIT—MUSICAL NOTES IN WALL STREET—A FRIEND IN NEED,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_270">270</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAP. XVIII.—THE NIGHTINGALE IN NEW YORK.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">FINAL CONCERTS IN LIVERPOOL—DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA—ARRIVAL OFF -STATEN ISLAND—MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH JENNY LIND—THE TREMENDOUS -THRONG AT THE WHARF—TRIUMPHAL ARCH—“WELCOME TO AMERICA”—EXCITEMENT -IN THE CITY—SERENADE AT THE IRVING HOUSE—THE -PRIZE ODE—BAYARD TAYLOR THE PRIZEMAN—“BARNUM’S PARNASSUS”—“BARNUMOPSIS”—FIRST -CONCERT IN CASTLE GARDEN—A NEW AGREEMENT—RECEPTION -OF JENNY LIND—UNBOUNDED ENTHUSIASM—BARNUM CALLED -OUT—JULIUS BENEDICT—THE SUCCESS OF THE ENTERPRISE ESTABLISHED—TWO -GRAND CHARITY CONCERTS IN NEW YORK—DATE OF THE FIRST -REGULAR CONCERT,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_286">286</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAP. XIX.—SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">HEAD-WORK AND HAND-WORK—MANAGING PUBLIC OPINION—CREATING A -FUROR—THE NEW YORK HERALD—JENNY LIND’S EVIL ADVISERS—JOHN -JAY—MISS LIND’S CHARITIES—A POOR GIRL IN BOSTON—THE NIGHTINGALE -AT IRANISTAN—RUMOR OF HER MARRIAGE TO P. T. BARNUM—THE STORY -BASED ON OUR “ENGAGEMENT”—WHAT IRANISTAN DID FOR ME—AVOIDING -CROWDS—IN PHILADELPHIA AND BALTIMORE—A SUBSTITUTE FOR MISS -LIND—OUR ORCHESTRA—PRESIDENT FILLMORE, CLAY, FOOTE, BENTON, -SCOTT, CASS, AND WEBSTER—VISIT TO MT. VERNON—CHRISTMAS PRESENTS—NEW -YEAR’S EVE—WE GO TO HAVANA—PLAYING BALL—FREDERIKA -BREMER—A HAPPY MONTH IN CUBA,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_301">301</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAP. XX.—INCIDENTS OF THE TOUR.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">PROTEST AGAINST PRICES IN HAVANA—THE CUBANS SUCCUMB—JENNY LIND -TAKES THE CITY BY STORM—A MAGNIFICENT TRIUMPH—COUNT PENALVER—A -SPLENDID OFFER—MR. BRINCKERHOFF—BENEFIT FOR THE HOSPITALS—REFUSING -TO RECEIVE THANKS—VIVALLA AND HIS DOG—HENRY BENNETT—HIS -PARTIAL INSANITY—OUR VOYAGE TO NEW ORLEANS—THE -EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK HERALD ON BOARD—I SAVE THE LIFE OF -JAMES GORDON BENNETT—ARRIVAL AT THE CRESCENT CITY—CHEATING -THE CROWD—A DUPLICATE MISS LIND—A BOY IN RAPTURES—A MAMMOTH -HOG—UP THE MISSISSIPPI—AMUSEMENTS ON BOARD—IN LEAGUE WITH -THE EVIL ONE—AN AMAZED MULATTO,<a name="page_018" id="page_018"></a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_319">319</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">CHAP. XXI.—JENNY LIND.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">ARRIVAL AT ST. LOUIS—SURPRISING PROPOSITION OF MISS LIND’S SECRETARY—HOW -THE MANAGER MANAGED—READINESS TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT—CONSULTATION -WITH “UNCLE SOL.”—BARNUM NOT TO BE HIRED—A “JOKE”—TEMPERANCE -LECTURE IN THE THEATRE—SOL. SMITH—A COMEDIAN, -AUTHOR, AND LAWYER—UNIQUE DEDICATION—JENNY LIND’S CHARACTER -AND CHARITIES—SHARP WORDS FROM THE WEST—SELFISH ADVISERS—MISS -LIND’S GENEROUS IMPULSES—HER SIMPLE AND CHILDLIKE CHARACTER—CONFESSIONS -OF A MANAGER—PRIVATE REPUTATION AND PUBLIC RENOWN—CHARACTER -AS A STOCK IN TRADE—LE GRAND SMITH—MR. DOLBY—THE -ANGELIC SIDE KEPT OUTSIDE—MY OWN SHARE IN THE PUBLIC BENEFITS—JUSTICE -TO MISS LIND AND MYSELF,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_334">334</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">CHAP. XXII.—CLOSE OF THE CAMPAIGN.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">PENITENT TICKET PURCHASERS—VISIT TO THE “HERMITAGE”—“APRIL-FOOL” -FUN—THE MAMMOTH CAVE—SIGNOR SALVI—GEORGE D. PRENTICE—PERFORMANCE -IN A PORK HOUSE—RUSE AT CINCINNATI—ANNOYANCES AT -PITTSBURGH—LE GRAND SMITH’S GRAND JOKE—RETURN TO NEW YORK—THE -FINAL CONCERTS IN CASTLE GARDEN AND METROPOLITAN HALL—THE -ADVISERS APPEAR—THE NINETY-THIRD CONCERT—MY OFFER TO CLOSE -THE ENGAGEMENT—MISS LIND’S LETTER ACCEPTING MY PROPOSITION—STORY -ABOUT AN “IMPROPER PLACE”—JENNY’S CONCERTS ON HER OWN -ACCOUNT—HER MARRIAGE TO MR. OTTO GOLDSCHMIDT—CORDIAL RELATIONS -BETWEEN MRS. LIND GOLDSCHMIDT AND MYSELF—AT HOME AGAIN—STATEMENT -OF THE TOTAL RECEIPTS OF THE CONCERTS,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_344">344</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAP. XXIII.—OTHER ENTERPRISES.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">ANOTHER VENTURE—“BARNUM’S GREAT ASIATIC CARAVAN, MUSEUM, AND -MENAGERIE”—HUNTING ELEPHANTS—GENERAL TOM THUMB—ELEPHANT -PLOWING IN CONNECTICUT—CURIOUS QUESTIONS FROM ALL QUARTERS—THE -PUBLIC INTEREST IN MY NOVEL FARMING—HOW MUCH AN ELEPHANT -CAN REALLY “DRAW”—SIDE-SHOWS AND VARIOUS ENTERPRISES—OBSEQUIES -OF NAPOLEON—THE CRYSTAL PALACE—CAMPANALOGIANS—AMERICAN -INDIANS IN LONDON—AUTOMATON SPEAKER—THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON—ATTEMPT -TO BUY SHAKESPEARE’S HOUSE—DISSOLVING VIEWS—THE CHINESE -COLLECTION—WONDERFUL SCOTCH BOYS—SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF -DOUBLE SIGHT—THE BATEMAN CHILDREN—CATHERINE HAYES—IRANISTAN -ON FIRE—MY ELDEST DAUGHTER’S MARRIAGE—BENEFITS FOR THE BRIDGEPORT -LIBRARY AND THE MOUNTAIN GROVE CEMETERY,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_358">358</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAP. XXIV.—WORK AND PLAY.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">ALFRED BUNN, OF DRURY LANE THEATRE—AMUSING INTERVIEW—MR. LEVY, -OF THE LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH—VACATIONS AT HOME—MY PRESIDENCY -OF THE FAIRFIELD COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY—EXHIBITING A PICKPOCKET—PHILOSOPHY -OF HUMBUG—A CHOP-FALLEN TICKET-SELLER—A -PROMPT PAYMASTER—BARNUM IN BOSTON—A DELUDED HACK-DRIVER—PHILLIPS’S -FIRE ANNIHILATOR—HONORABLE ELISHA WHITTLESEY—TRIAL -OF THE ANNIHILATOR IN NEW YORK—PEQUONNOCK BANK OF BRIDGEPORT—THE -ILLUSTRATED NEWS—THE WORLD’S FAIR IN NEW YORK—MY PRESIDENCY -OF THE ASSOCIATION—ATTEMPT TO EXCITE PUBLIC INTEREST—MONSTER -JULLIEN CONCERTS—RESIGNATION OF THE CRYSTAL PALACE PRESIDENCY—FAILURE -OF THE CONCERN,<a name="page_019" id="page_019"></a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_371">371</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">CHAP. XXV.—THE JEROME CLOCK COMPANY ENTANGLEMENT.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">THE EAST BRIDGEPORT ENTERPRISE—W. H. NOBLE—PLANS FOR A NEW CITY—DR. -TIMOTHY DWIGHT’S TESTIMONY—INVESTING A FORTUNE—SELLING -CITY LOTS—MONEY-MAKING A SECONDARY CONSIDERATION—CLOCK COMPANY -IN LITCHFIELD—THE “TERRY AND BARNUM MANUFACTURING COMPANY”—THE -JEROME CLOCK COMPANY—BAITING FOR BITES—FALSE REPRESENTATIONS—HOW -I WAS DELUDED—WHAT I AGREED TO DO—THE COUNTER -AGREEMENT—NOTES WITH BLANK DATES—THE LIMIT OF MY RESPONSIBILITY—HOW -IT WAS EXCEEDED—STARTLING DISCOVERIES—A RUINED -MAN—PAYING MY OWN HONEST DEBTS—BARNUM DUPED—MY FAILURE—THE -BARNUM AND JEROME CLOCK BUBBLE—MORALISTS MAKING USE OF MY -MISFORTUNES—WHAT PREACHERS, PAPERS, AND PEOPLE SAID ABOUT ME—DOWN -IN THE DEPTHS,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_384">384</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAP. XXVI.—CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">FRIENDS TO THE RESCUE—MONEY OFFERS REFUSED—BENEFITS DECLINED—MAGNIFICENT -OFFER OF PROMINENT NEW YORK CITIZENS—WILLIAM E. -BURTON—LAURA KEENE—WILLIAM NIBLO—GENERAL TOM THUMB—EDITORIAL -SYMPATHY—“A WORD FOR BARNUM” IN BOSTON—LETTER FROM -“MRS. PARTINGTON”—CITIZENS’ MEETING IN BRIDGEPORT—RESOLUTIONS -OF RESPECT AND CONDOLENCE—MY LETTER ON THE SITUATION—TENDER -OF FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS—MAGNITUDE OF THE DECEPTION PRACTICED -UPON ME—PROPOSITION OF COMPROMISE WITH MY CREDITORS—A TRAP -LAID FOR ME IN PHILADELPHIA—THE SILVER LINING TO THE CLOUD—THE -BLOW A BENEFIT TO MY FAMILY—THE REV. DR. E. H. CHAPIN—MY -DAUGHTER HELEN—A LETTER WORTH TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS—OUR NEW -HOME IN NEW YORK,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_395">395</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAP. XXVII.—REST, BUT NOT RUST.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">SALE OF THE MUSEUM COLLECTION—SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS OF MY -CREDITORS—EXAMINATIONS IN COURT—BARNUM AS A BAR TENDER—PERSECUTION—THE -SUMMER SEASON ON LONG ISLAND—THE MUSEUM MAN ON -SHOW—CHARLES HOWELL—A GREAT NATURAL CURIOSITY—VALUE OF A -HONK—PROPOSING TO BUY IT—A BLACK WHALE PAYS MY SUMMER’S -BOARD—A TURN IN THE TIDE—THE WHEELER AND WILSON SEWING MACHINE -COMPANY—THEIR REMOVAL TO EAST BRIDGEPORT—THE TERRY -AND BARNUM CLOCK FACTORY OCCUPIED—NEW CITY PROPERTY LOOKING -UP—A LOAN OF $5,000—THE CAUSE OF MY RUIN PROMISES TO BE MY REDEMPTION—SETTING -SAIL FOR ENGLAND—GENERAL TOM THUMB—LITTLE -CORDELIA HOWARD,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_406">406</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAP. XXVIII.—ABROAD AGAIN.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">OLD FRIENDS IN OLD ENGLAND—ALBERT SMITH AS A SHOWMAN—HIS ASCENT -OF MONT BLANC—POPULARITY OF THE ENTERTAINMENT—THE GARRICK -CLUB—“PHINEAS CUTECRAFT”—THE ELEVEN THOUSAND VIRGINS OF COLOGNE—UTILIZING -INCIDENTS—SUBTERRANEAN TERRORS—A PANIC—EGYPTIAN -DARKNESS IN EGYPTIAN HALL—WILLIAM M. THACKERAY—HIS TWO -VISITS TO AMERICA—FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH THE NOVELIST—I LOSE -HIS SYMPATHY—HIS WARM REGARD FOR HIS AMERICAN FRIENDS—OTTO -GOLDSCHMIDT AND JENNY LIND GOLDSCHMIDT—TENDER OF THEIR AID—THE -FORGED LIND LETTER—BENEDICT AND BELLETTI—GEORGE AUGUSTUS -SALA—CHARLES KEAN—EDMUND YATES—HORACE MAYHEW—GEORGE PEABODY—MR. -BUCKSTONE—MY EXHIBITIONS IN ENGLAND—S. M. PETTINGILL—MR. -LUMLEY,<a name="page_020" id="page_020"></a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_419">419</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAP. XXIX.—IN GERMANY.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">FROM LONDON TO BADEN-BADEN—TROUBLE IN PARIS—STRASBOURG—SCENE -IN A GERMAN CUSTOM-HOUSE—A TERRIBLE BILL—SIX CENTS WORTH OF -AGONY—GAMBLING AT BADEN-BADEN—SUICIDES—GOLDEN PRICES FOR -THE GENERAL—A CALL FROM THE KING OF HOLLAND—THE GERMAN SPAS—HAMBURG, -EMS AND WIESBADEN—THE BLACK FOREST ORCHESTRION -MAKER—AN OFFERED SACRIFICE—THE SEAT OF THE ROTHSCHILDS—DIFFICULTIES -IN FRANKFORT—A POMPOUS COMMISSIONER OF POLICE—RED-TAPE—AN -ALARM—HENRY J. RAYMOND—CALL ON THE COMMISSIONER—CONFIDENTIAL -DISCLOSURES—HALF OF AN ENTIRE FORTUNE IN AN AMERICAN -RAILWAY—ASTOUNDING REVELATIONS—DOWN THE RHINE—DEPARTURE -FOR HOLLAND,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_430">430</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">CHAP. XXX.—IN HOLLAND.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">THE FINEST AND FLATTEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD—SUPER-CLEANLINESS—HABITS -AND CUSTOMS—“KREMIS”—THE ALBINO FAMILY—THE HAGUE—AUGUST -BELMONT—JAPANESE MUSEUM—MANUFACTURED FABULOUS ANIMALS—A -GENEROUS OFFER—VALUABLE PICTURES—AN ASTONISHED SUPERINTENDENT—BACK -TO ENGLAND—EXHIBITIONS IN MANCHESTER—I RETURN -AGAIN TO AMERICA—FUN ON THE VOYAGE—MOCK TRIALS—BARNUM AS A -PROSECUTOR AND AS A PRISONER—COLD SHOULDERS IN NEW YORK—PREPARING -TO MOVE INTO MY OLD HOME—CARELESS PAINTERS AND CARPENTERS—IRANISTAN -BURNED TO THE GROUND—NEXT TO NO INSURANCE—SALE -OF THE PROPERTY—ELIAS HOWE, JR.,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_441">441</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXI">CHAP. XXXI.—THE ART OF MONEY GETTING.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">BACK ONCE MORE TO ENGLAND—TOUR THROUGH SCOTLAND AND WALES—HOW -I CAME TO LECTURE—ADVICE OF MY FRIENDS—MY LECTURE—HOW -TO MAKE MONEY AND HOW TO KEEP IT—WHAT THE PAPERS SAID ABOUT -ME—PRAISE OF THE LONDON PRESS—LECTURING IN THE PROVINCES—PERFORMANCES -AT CAMBRIDGE—CALL FOR JOICE HETH—EXTRAORDINARY -FUN AT OXFORD—THE AUDIENCE AND LECTURER TAKING TURNS—A UNIVERSITY -BREAKFAST—MAGNIFICENT OFFER FOR A COPYRIGHT—SUCCESS -OF MY ENTERPRISE—MORE MONEY FOR THE CLOCK CREDITORS,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_456">456</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXII">CHAP. XXXII.—AN ENTERPRISING ENGLISHMAN.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">AN ENGLISH YANKEE—MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH HIM—HIS PLANS BASED -ON BARNUM’S BOOK—ADVERTISING FOR PARTNERS—HOW MY RULES MADE -HIM RICH—METHOD IN MADNESS—THE “BARNUM” OF BURY—DINNER TO -TOM THUMB AND COMMODORE NUTT—MY AGENT IN PARIS—MEASURING A -MONSTER—HOW GIANTS AND DWARFS STRETCH AND CONTRACT—AN UNWILLING -FRENCHMAN—A PERSISTENT MEASURER—A GIGANTIC HUMBUG—THE -STEAM-ENGINES “BARNUM” AND “CHARITY”—WHAT “CHARITY” DID -FOR “BARNUM”—SELLING THE SAME GOODS A THOUSAND TIMES—THE -GREAT CAKES—SIMNAL SUNDAY—THE SANITARY COMMISSION FAIR,<a name="page_021" id="page_021"></a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_506">506</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIII">CHAP. XXXIII.—RICHARD’S HIMSELF AGAIN.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">AT HOME—EXTINGUISHMENT OF THE CLOCK DEBTS—A RASCALLY PROPOSITION—BARNUM -ON HIS FEET AGAIN—RE-PURCHASE OF THE MUSEUM—A -GALA DAY—MY RECEPTION BY MY FRIENDS—THE STORY OF MY -TROUBLES—HOW I WADED ASHORE—PROMISES TO THE PUBLIC—THE PUBLIC -RESPONSE—MUSEUM VISITORS—THE RECEIPTS DOUBLED—HOW THE -PRESS RECEIVED THE NEWS OF RESTORATION—THE SYCOPHANTS—OLD -AND FAST FRIENDS—ROBERT BONNER—CONSIDERATION AND COURTESY OF -CREDITORS—THE BOSTON SATURDAY EVENING GAZETTE AGAIN—ANOTHER -WORD FOR BARNUM,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_516">516</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIV">CHAP. XXXIV.—MENAGERIE AND MUSEUM MEMORANDA.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">A REMARKABLE CHARACTER—OLD GRIZZLY ADAMS—THE CALIFORNIA MENAGERIE—TERRIBLY -WOUNDED BY BEARS—MY UP-TOWN SHOW—EXTRAORDINARY -WILL AND VIGOR—A LESSON FOR MUNCHAUSEN—THE CALIFORNIA -GOLDEN PIGEONS—PIGEONS OF ALL COLORS—PROCESS OF THEIR CREATION—M. -GUILLAUDEU—A NATURALIST DECEIVED—THE MOST WONDERFUL BIRDS -IN THE WORLD—THE CURIOSITIES TRANSFERRED TO THE MENAGERIE—OLD -ADAMS TAKEN IN—A CHANGE OF COLOR—MOTLEY THE ONLY WEAR—OLD -GRIZZLY UNDECEIVED—TOUR OF THE BEAR-TAMER THROUGH THE COUNTRY—A -BEAUTIFUL HUNTING SUIT—A LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLE FOR A -WAGER—OLD ADAMS WINS—HIS DEATH—THE LAST JOKE ON BARNUM—THE -PRINCE OF WALES VISITS THE MUSEUM—I CALL ON THE PRINCE IN -BOSTON—STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS—“BEFORE AND AFTER” IN A BARBER SHOP—HOW -TOM HIGGINSON “DID” BARNUM—THE MUSEUM FLOURISHING,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_529">529</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXV">CHAP. XXXV.—EAST BRIDGEPORT.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">ANOTHER NEW HOME—LINDENCROFT—PROGRESS OF MY PET CITY—THE -CHESTNUT WOOD FIRE—HOW IT BECAME OLD HICKORY—INDUCEMENTS TO -SETTLERS—MY OFFER—EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE-OWNER—WHISKY -AND TOBACCO—RISE IN REAL-ESTATE—PEMBROKE LAKE—WASHINGTON -PARK—GREAT MANUFACTORIES—WHEELER AND WILSON—SCHUYLER, HARTLEY -AND GRAHAM—HOTCHKISS, SON AND COMPANY—STREET NAMES—MANY -THOUSAND SHADE TREES—BUSINESS IN THE NEW CITY—UNPARALLELED -GROWTH AND PROSPERITY—PROBABILITIES IN THE FUTURE—SITUATION -OF BRIDGEPORT—ITS ADVANTAGES AND PROSPECTS—THE SECOND, IF -NOT THE FOREMOST CITY IN CONNECTICUT,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_549">549</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVI">CHAP. XXXVI.—MORE ABOUT THE MUSEUM.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">ANOTHER RE-OPENING—A CHERRY-COLORED CAT—THE CAT LET OUT OF THE -BAG—MY FIRST WHALING EXPEDITION—PLANS FOR CAPTURE—SUCCESS -OF THE SCHEME—TRANSPORTING LIVING WHALES BY LAND—PUBLIC EXCITEMENT—THE -GREAT TANK—SALT WATER PUMPED FROM THE BAY TO -THE MUSEUM—MORE WHALES—EXPEDITION TO LABRADOR—THE FIRST -HIPPOPOTAMUS IN AMERICA—TROPICAL FISH—COMMODORE NUTT AND HIS -FIRST “ENGAGEMENT”—THE TWO DROMIOS—PRESIDENT LINCOLN SEES -COMMODORE NUTT—WADING ASHORE—A QUESTION OF LEGS—SELF-DECEPTION—THE -GOLDEN ANGEL FISH—ANNA SWAN, THE NOVA SCOTIA GIANTESS—THE -TALLEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD—INDIAN CHIEFS—EXPEDITION -TO CYPRUS—MY AGENT IN A PASHA’S HAREM,<a name="page_022" id="page_022"></a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_560">560</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVII">CHAP. XXXVII.—MR. AND MRS. GENERAL TOM THUMB.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">MISS LAVINIA WARREN—A CHARMING LITTLE LADY—SUPPOSED TO BE THE -$30,000 NUTT IN DISGUISE—HER WARDROBE AND PRESENTS—STORY OF A -RING—THE LITTLE COMMODORE IN LOVE—TOM THUMB SMITTEN—RIVALRY -OF THE DWARFS—JEALOUSY OF THE GENERAL—VISIT AT BRIDGEPORT—THE -GENERAL’S STYLISH TURN-OUT—MISS WARREN IMPRESSED—CALL OF -THE GENERAL—A LILLIPUTIAN LOVE SCENE—TOM THUMB’S INVENTORY OF -HIS PROPERTY—HE PROPOSES AND IS ACCEPTED—ARRIVAL OF THE COMMODORE—HIS -GRIEF—EXCITEMENT OVER THE ENGAGEMENT—THE WEDDING -IN GRACE CHURCH—REVEREND JUNIUS WILLEY—A SPICY LETTER -BY DOCTOR TAYLOR—GRAND RECEPTION OF MR. AND MRS. STRATTON—THE -COMMODORE IN SEARCH OF A GREEN COUNTRY GIRL,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_582">582</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVIII">CHAP. XXXVIII.—POLITICAL AND PERSONAL.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">MY POLITICAL PRINCIPLES—REASONS FOR MY CHANGE OF PARTIES—KANSAS -AND SECESSION—WIDE-AWAKES—GRAND ILLUMINATION OF LINDENCROFT—JOKE -ON A DEMOCRATIC NEIGHBOR—PEACE MEETINGS—THE STEPNEY EXCITEMENT—TEARING -DOWN A PEACE FLAG—A LOYAL MEETING—RECEPTION -IN BRIDGEPORT—DESTRUCTION OF THE “FARMER” OFFICE—ELIAS -HOWE, JR.—SAINT PETER AND SALTPETRE—DRAFT RIOTS—BURGLARS AT -LINDENCROFT—MY ELECTION TO THE LEGISLATURE—BEGINNING OF MY -WAR ON RAILROAD MONOPOLIES—WIRE-PULLING—THE XIV. AMENDMENT -TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION—STRIKING THE WORD “WHITE” -FROM THE CONNECTICUT CONSTITUTION—MY SPEECH,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_609">609</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIX">CHAP. XXXIX.—THE AMERICAN MUSEUM IN RUINS.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">A TERRIBLE LOSS—HOW I RECEIVED THE NEWS—BURNING OF THE AMERICAN -MUSEUM—DETAILS OF THE DISASTER—FAITH IN HERRING’S SAFES—BAKED -AND BOILED WHALES—THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE ON THE DESTRUCTION OF -THE MUSEUM—A PUBLIC CALAMITY—SYMPATHY OF THE LEADING EDITORS—AMOUNT -OF MY LOSS—SMALL INSURANCE—MY PROPERTY—INTENTION TO -RETIRE TO PRIVATE LIFE—HORACE GREELEY ADVISES ME TO GO A-FISHING—BENEFIT -TO THE MUSEUM EMPLOYEES AT THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC—MY -SPEECH—WHAT THE NEW YORK SUN SAID ABOUT IT—THE NEW UP-TOWN -MUSEUM—OPENING THE ESTABLISHMENT TO THE PUBLIC,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_638">638</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XL">CHAP. XL.—MY WAR ON THE RAILROADS.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">SCENES IN THE LEGISLATURE—SHARP-SHOOTING—PROPOSITIONS FOR A NEW -CAPITAL OF CONNECTICUT—THE RIVALRY OF CITIES—CULMINATION OF -THE RAILROAD CONTROVERSY—EXCITEMENT AMONG THE LOBBYISTS—A -BILL FOR THE BENEFIT OF COMMUTERS—PEOPLE PROTECTED FROM THE -PLUNDERERS—HOW SETTLERS ARE DRAWN INTO A STATE AND THEN -CHEATED BY THE RAILROAD COMPANIES—EQUAL RIGHTS FOR COMMUTERS -AND TRANSIENT PASSENGERS—WHAT COMMODORE VANDERBILT DID—WHAT -THE NEW YORK AND NEW HAVEN RAILROAD COMPANY WANTED TO DO—EXPOSURE -OF THEIR PLOT—CONSTERNATION OF THE CONSPIRATORS—MY -VICTORY—AGAIN ELECTED TO THE LEGISLATURE—UNITED STATES SENATOR -FERRY—EX-GOVERNOR W. A. BUCKINGHAM—THEODORE TILTON—GOVERNOR -HAWLEY—FRIENDS AT LINDENCROFT—NOMINATED FOR CONGRESS AND -DEFEATED,<a name="page_023" id="page_023"></a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_649">649</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XLI">CHAP. XLI.—BENNETT AND THE HERALD.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">THE AMERICAN MUSEUM LEASE—ITS VALUE—BENNETT OF THE HERALD BUYS -IT FOR $200,000—HE PURCHASES THE PROPERTY—OVERESTIMATE OF ITS -WORTH—MAX MARETZEK—MISS CLARA LOUISE KELLOGG’S ESTIMATE OF -CERTAIN PEOPLE—THE POWER BEHIND THE HERALD THRONE—THE HERALD’S -INFLUENCE—AND HARD EXPERIENCE—HIS LAWYER INSISTS -UPON MY TAKING BACK THE MUSEUM LEASE—I DECLINE—BENNETT REFUSES -MY ADVERTISEMENTS—INTERVIEW WITH MR. HUDSON—WAR OF THE -MANAGERS UPON THE HERALD—BENNETT HUMBLED—LOSS OF THE HERALD’S -PRESTIGE—MONEY DAMAGE TO BENNETT’S ESTABLISHMENT—THE EDITOR -SUED—PEACE BETWEEN THE HERALD AND THE MANAGERS,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_665">665</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XLII">CHAP. XLII.—PUBLIC LECTURING.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">MY TOUR AT THE WEST—THE CURIOSITY EXHIBITOR HIMSELF A CURIOSITY—BUYING -A FARM IN WISCONSIN—HELPING THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES—A -RIDE ON A LOCOMOTIVE—PUNCTUALITY IN MY ENGAGEMENTS—TRICKS -TO SECURE SEATS IN THE LADIES’ CAR—I SUDDENLY BECAME FATHER TO -A YOUNG MARRIED COUPLE—MY IDENTITY DENIED—PITY AND CHARITY—REVEREND -DOCTOR CHAPIN PULLS THE BELL—TEMPERANCE—HOW I BECAME -A TEETOTALER—MODERATE DRINKING AND ITS DANGERS—DOCTOR CHAPIN’S -LECTURE IN BRIDGEPORT—MY OWN EFFORTS IN THE TEMPERANCE -CAUSE—LECTURING THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY—NEWSPAPER ARTICLES—THE -STORY OF VINELAND, IN NEW JERSEY,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_676">676</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XLIII">CHAP. XLIII.—THE NEW MUSEUM.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">A GIGANTIC AMUSEMENT COMPANY—IMMENSE ADDITIONS TO THE NEW COLLECTION—CURIOSITIES -FROM EVERYWHERE—THE GORDON CUMMINGS’ COLLECTION -FROM AFRICA—THE GORILLA—WHAT THE PAPERS SAID ABOUT -THE MONSTER—MY PRIVATE VIEW OF THE ANIMAL—AMUSING INTERVIEW -WITH PAUL DU CHAILLU—A SUPERB MENAGERIE—THE NEW THEATRE—PROJECT -FOR A FREE NATIONAL INSTITUTION—MESSRS. E. D. MORGAN, -WILLIAM C. BRYANT, HORACE GREELEY AND OTHERS FAVOR MY PLAN—PRESIDENT -JOHNSON INDORSES IT—DESTRUCTION OF MY SECOND MUSEUM -BY FIRE—THE ICE-CLAD RUINS—A SAD, YET SPLENDID SPECTACLE—OUT -OF THE BUSINESS—FOOT RACES AT THE WHITE MOUNTAINS—HOW I WAS -NOT BEATEN—OPENING OF WOOD’S MUSEUM IN NEW YORK—MY ONLY -INTEREST IN THE ENTERPRISE,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_692">692</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XLIV">CHAP. XLIV.—CURIOUS COINCIDENCES.—NUMBER THIRTEEN.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS—UNLUCKY FRIDAY—UNFORTUNATE SATURDAY—RAINY -SUNDAYS—TERRIBLE THIRTEEN—THE BRETTELLS OF LONDON—INCIDENTS -OF MY WESTERN TRIP—SINGULAR FATALITY—NUMBER THIRTEEN -IN EVERY HOTEL—NO ESCAPE FROM THE FRIGHTFUL FIGURE—ADVICE OF -A CLERICAL FRIEND—THE THIRTEEN COLONIES—THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER -OF CORINTHIANS—THIRTEEN AT MY CHRISTMAS DINNER PARTY—THIRTEEN -DOLLARS AT A FAIR—TWO DISASTROUS DAYS—THE THIRTEENTH -DAY IN TWO MONTHS—THIRTEEN PAGES OF MANUSCRIPT,<a name="page_024" id="page_024"></a></td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_708">708</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XLV">CHAP. XLV.—A STORY CHAPTER.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">“EVERY MAN TO HIS VOCATION” AND “NATURE WILL ASSERT HERSELF”—REST -BY THE WAYSIDE—A HALF-SHAVED PARTY—CONSTERNATION OF A -CLERGYMAN—NATIVES IN NEW YORK—DOCTORING A CORN-DOCTOR—RELIGIOUS -RAILWAYS—THE BRIGHTON BUGLE BUSINESS—CASH AND CONSCIENCE—CASTLES -IN THE AIR—A DELUDED ANTIQUARIAN—GAMBLING AND POLITICS—IRISH -WIT—ABOUT CONDUCTORS—DR. CHAPIN AS A PUNSTER—FOWL -ATTEMPTS—A PAIR O’ DUCKS—CUTTING A SICK FRIEND—REV. RICHARD -VARICK DEY—HIS CRIME AND ITS CONSEQUENCES—FOREORDINATION—PRACTICAL -JOKING BY MY FATHER—A VALUABLE RACE-HORSE—HOW HE -WAS LET AND THEN KILLED—AGONY OF THE HORSE-KILLER—THE FINAL -“SELL”—FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC FRENCH—COCKNEYISM—WICKED WORDS -IN EXETER HALL,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_718">718</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XLVI">CHAP. XLVI.—SEA-SIDE PARK.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">INTEREST IN PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS—OLD PARK PROJECTS—OPPOSITION OF -OLD FOGIES—THE SOUND SHORE AT BRIDGEPORT—INACCESSIBLE PROPERTY—THE -EYE OF FAITH—TALKING TO THE FARMERS—REACHING THE -PUBLIC THROUGH THE PAPERS—HOW THE LAND WAS SECURED FOR A -GREAT PLEASURE-GROUND—GIFTS TO THE PEOPLE—OPENING OF SEA-SIDE -PARK—THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GROUND BETWEEN NEW YORK AND BOSTON—MAGNIFICENT -DRIVES—THE ADVANTAGES OF THE LOCATION—MUSIC FOR -THE MILLION—BY THE SEA-SIDE—FUTURE OF THE PARK—A PERPETUAL -BLESSING TO POSTERITY,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_758">758</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th><a href="#CHAPTER_XLVII">CHAP. XLVII.—WALDEMERE.</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang2">MY PRIVATE LIFE—PLANS FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT IN BRIDGEPORT—OPENING -AVENUES—PLANTING SHADE-TREES—OLD FOGIES—CONSERVATISM A -CURSE TO CITIES—BENEFITING BARNUM’s PROPERTY—SALE OF LINDENCROFT—LIVING -IN A FARM-HOUSE—BY THE SEA-SHORE—ANOTHER NEW -HOME—WALDEMERE—HOW IT CAME TO BE BUILT—MAGIC AND MONEY—WAVEWOOD -AND THE PETREL’S NEST—MY FARM—THE HOLLAND BLANKET -CATTLE—MY CITY RESIDENCE—COMFORTS OF CITY LIFE—BEGGING LETTERS—MY -FAMILY—RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS—MY FIFTY-NINTH BIRTHDAY—THE -END OF THE RECORD,</td><td align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_768">768</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><a name="page_025" id="page_025"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.<br /><br /> -<small>EARLY LIFE.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">MY BIRTH—FIRST PROPERTY—FARMER-BOY LIFE—GOING TO SCHOOL—EARLY -ACQUISITIVENESS—A HOLIDAY PEDDLER—FIRST VISIT TO NEW -YORK—LEARNING TO “SWAP”—MISERIES FROM MOLASSES CANDY—“IVY -ISLAND”—ENTERING UPON MY ESTATE—CLERKSHIP IN A COUNTRY -STORE—TRADING MORALS—THE BETHEL MEETING-HOUSE—STOVE -QUESTION—SUNDAY SCHOOL AND BIBLE CLASS—MY COMPOSITION—THE ONE -THING NEEDFUL.</p></div> - -<p>I <small>WAS</small> born in the town of Bethel, in the State of Connecticut, July 5, -1810. My name, Phineas Taylor, is derived from my maternal grandfather, -who was a great wag in his way, and who, as I was his first grandchild, -gravely handed over to my mother at my christening a gift-deed, in my -behalf, of five acres of land situated in that part of the parish of -Bethel known as the “Plum Trees.” I was thus a real estate owner almost -at my very birth; and of my property, “Ivy Island,” something shall be -said anon.</p> - -<p>My father, Philo Barnum, was the son of Ephraim Barnum, of Bethel, who -was a captain in the revolutionary war. My father was a tailor, a -farmer, and sometimes a tavern-keeper, and my advantages and -disadvantages were such as fall to the general run of farmers’ boys. I -drove cows to and from the pasture, shelled corn, weeded the garden; as -I grew larger, I rode horse for ploughing, turned and raked hay; in due -time I handled the shovel and the hoe, and when I could do so I went to -school.<a name="page_026" id="page_026"></a></p> - -<p>I was six years old when I began to go to school, and the first date I -remember inscribing upon my writing-book was 1818. The ferule, in those -days, was the assistant school-master; but in spite of it, I was a -willing, and, I think, a pretty apt scholar; at least, I was so -considered by my teachers and schoolmates, and as the years went on -there were never more than two or three in the school who were deemed my -superiors. In arithmetic I was unusually ready and accurate, and I -remember, at the age of twelve years, being called out of bed one night -by my teacher who had wagered with a neighbor that I could calculate the -correct number of feet in a load of wood in five minutes. The dimensions -given, I figured out the result in less than two minutes, to the great -delight of my teacher and to the equal astonishment of his neighbor.</p> - -<p>My organ of “acquisitiveness” was manifest at an early age. Before I was -five years of age, I began to accumulate pennies and “four-pences,” and -when I was six years old my capital amounted to a sum sufficient to -exchange for a silver dollar, the possession of which made me feel far -richer and more independent than I have ever since felt in the world.</p> - -<p>Nor did my dollar long remain alone. As I grew older I earned ten cents -a day for riding the horse which led the ox team in ploughing, and on -holidays and “training days,” instead of spending money, I earned it. I -was a small peddler of molasses candy (of home make), ginger-bread, -cookies and cherry rum, and I generally found myself a dollar or two -richer at the end of a holiday than I was at the beginning. I was always -ready for a trade, and by the time I was twelve years old, besides other -property, I was the owner of<a name="page_027" id="page_027"></a> a sheep and a calf, and should soon, no -doubt, have become a small Crœsus, had not my father kindly permitted -me to purchase my own clothing, which somewhat reduced my little store.</p> - -<p>When I was nearly twelve years old I made my first visit to the -metropolis. It happened in this wise: Late one afternoon in January, -1822, Mr. Daniel Brown, of Southbury, Connecticut, arrived at my -father’s tavern, in Bethel, with some fat cattle he was driving to New -York to sell. The cattle were put into our large barnyard, the horses -were stabled, and Mr. Brown and his assistant were provided with a warm -supper and lodging for the night. After supper I heard Mr. Brown say to -my father that he intended to buy more cattle, and that he would be glad -to hire a boy to assist in driving the cattle. I immediately besought my -father to secure the situation for me, and he did so. My mother’s -consent was also gained, and at daylight next morning, after a slight -breakfast, 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. But he considerately permitted me to ride behind -him on his horse; and, indeed, did so most of the way to New York, where -we arrived in three or four days.</p> - -<p>We put up at the Bull’s Head Tavern, where we were to stay a week while -the drover was disposing of his cattle, and we were then to return home -in a sleigh. 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. My first outlay<a name="page_028" id="page_028"></a> was for oranges which I was told -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 -barkeeper, 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.</p> - -<p>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:</p> - -<p>“There, you little greenhorn, see if that will teach you better than to -explode your infernal fire crackers in my house again.”</p> - -<p>The lesson was sufficient if not entirely satisfactory. I deposited the -balance of the torpedoes with my gun,<a name="page_029" id="page_029"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>I doubt not that in these first wanderings about the city I often passed -the corner of Broadway and Ann Street—never dreaming of the stir I was -destined at a future day to make in that locality as proprietor and -manager of the American Museum.</p> - -<p>After wandering, gazing and wondering, for a week, Mr. Brown took me in -his sleigh and on the evening of the following day we arrived in Bethel. -I had a<a name="page_030" id="page_030"></a> thousand questions to answer, and then and for a long time -afterwards I was quite a lion among my mates because I had seen the -great metropolis. My brothers and sisters, however, were much -disappointed at my not bringing them something from my dollar, and when -my mother examined my wardrobe and found two pocket handkerchiefs and -one pair of stockings missing she whipped me and sent me to bed. Thus -ingloriously terminated my first visit to New York.</p> - -<p>Previous to my visit to New York, I think it was in 1820, when I was ten -years of age, I made my first expedition to my landed property, “Ivy -Island.” This, it will be remembered, was the gift of my grandfather, -from whom I derived my name. From the time when I was four years old I -was continually hearing of this “property.” My grandfather always spoke -of me (in my presence) to the neighbors and to strangers as the richest -child in town, since I owned the whole of “Ivy Island,” one of the most -valuable farms in the State. My father and mother frequently reminded me -of my wealth and hoped I would do something for the family when I -attained my majority. The neighbors professed to fear that I might -refuse to play with their children because I had inherited so large a -property.</p> - -<p>These constant allusions, for several years, to “Ivy Island” excited at -once my pride and my curiosity and stimulated me to implore my father’s -permission to visit my property. At last, he promised I should do so in -a few days, as we should be getting some hay near “Ivy Island.” The -wished for day at length arrived and my father told me that as we were -to mow an adjoining meadow, I might visit my<a name="page_031" id="page_031"></a> 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:</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Yonder, at the north end of this meadow, where you see those beautiful -trees rising in the distance.”</p> - -<p>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 -misstep brought me up to my middle in water. 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<a name="page_032" id="page_032"></a> the morass, I found -myself half-drowned, hornet-stung, mud-covered, and out of breath, on -comparatively dry land.</p> - -<p>“Never mind, my boy,” said Edmund, “we have only to cross this little -creek, and ye’ll be upon your own valuable property.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>This was my first, and, I need not say, my last visit to “Ivy Island.” -My father asked me “how I liked my property?” and I responded that I -would sell it pretty cheap. My grandfather congratulated me upon my -visit to my property as seriously as if it had been indeed a valuable -domain. My mother hoped its richness had fully equalled my -anticipations. The neighbors desired to know if I was not now glad I was -named Phineas, and for five years forward I was frequently reminded of -my wealth in “Ivy Island.”</p> - -<p>As I grew older, my settled aversion to manual labor, farm or other -kind, was manifest in various ways, which were set down to the general -score of laziness. In despair of doing better with me, my father -concluded to<a name="page_033" id="page_033"></a></p> - -<p><a name="MY_PROPERTY_AND_MY_TENANT" id="MY_PROPERTY_AND_MY_TENANT"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p032_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p032_sml.jpg" width="542" height="362" alt="MY PROPERTY AND MY TENANT." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">MY PROPERTY AND MY TENANT.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">make a merchant of me. He erected a building in Bethel, and with Mr. -Hiram Weed as a partner, purchased a stock of dry goods, hardware, -groceries, and general notions and installed me as clerk in this country -store.</p> - -<p>Of course I “felt my oats.” It was condescension on my part to talk with -boys who did out-door work. I stood behind the counter with a pen over -my ear, was polite to the ladies, and was wonderfully active in waiting -upon customers. We kept a cash, credit and barter store, and I drove -some 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, axe-helves, hats, and other commodities for -tenpenny nails, molasses, or New England rum. But it was a drawback upon -my dignity that I was obliged to take down the shutters, sweep the -store, and make the fire. I received a small salary for my services and -the perquisite of what profit I could derive from purchasing candies on -my own account to sell to our younger customers, and, as usual, my -father stipulated that I should clothe myself.</p> - -<p>There is a great deal to be learned in a country store, and principally -this—that sharp trades, tricks, dishonesty, and deception are by no -means confined to the city. More than once, in cutting open bundles of -rags, brought to be exchanged for goods, and warranted to be all linen -and cotton, I have discovered in the interior worthless woolen trash and -sometimes stones, gravel or ashes. Sometimes, too, when measuring loads -of oats, corn or rye, declared to contain a specified number of bushels, -say sixty, I have found them four or five bushels short. In such cases, -some one else was always to blame, but these happenings<a name="page_034" id="page_034"></a> were frequent -enough to make us watchful of our customers. In the evenings and on wet -days trade was always dull, and at such times the story-telling and -joke-playing wits and wags of the village used to assemble in our store, -and from them I derived considerable amusement, if not profit. After the -store was closed at night, I frequently joined some of the village boys -at the houses of their parents, where, with story-telling and play, a -couple of hours would soon pass by, and then as late, perhaps, as eleven -o’clock, I went home and slyly crept up stairs so as not to awaken my -brother with whom I slept, and who would be sure to report my late -hours. He made every attempt, and laid all sorts of plans to catch me on -my return, but as sleep always overtook him, I managed easily to elude -his efforts.</p> - -<p>Like most people in Connecticut in those days, I was brought up to -attend church regularly on Sunday, and long before I could read I was a -prominent scholar in the Sunday school. My good mother taught me my -lessons in the New Testament and the Catechism, and my every effort was -directed to win one of those “Rewards of Merit,” which promised to pay -the bearer one mill, so that ten of these prizes amounted to one cent, -and one hundred of them, which might be won by faithful assiduity every -Sunday for two years, would buy a Sunday school book worth ten cents. -Such were the magnificent rewards held out to the religious ambition of -youth.</p> - -<p>There was but one church or “meeting-house” in Bethel, which all -attended, sinking all differences of creed in the Presbyterian faith. -The old meeting-house had neither steeple nor bell and was a plain<a name="page_035" id="page_035"></a> -edifice, comfortable enough in summer, but my teeth chatter even now -when I think of the dreary, cold, freezing hours we passed in that place -in winter. A stove in a meeting-house in those days would have been a -sacrilegious innovation. The sermons were from an hour and one half to -two hours long, and through these the congregation would sit and shiver -till they really merited the title the profane gave them of “blue -skins.” Some of the women carried a “foot-stove” consisting of a small -square tin box in a wooden frame, the sides perforated, and in the -interior there 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.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_036" id="page_036"></a> 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. After the -benediction, an old deacon rose and requested the congregation to -remain, and called upon them to witness that he had from the first -raised his voice against the introduction of a stove into the house of -the Lord; but the majority had been against him and he had submitted; -now, if they <i>must</i> have a stove, he insisted upon having a large one, -since the present one did not heat the whole house, but drove the cold -to the back outside pews, making them three times as cold as they were -before! In the course of the week, this deacon was made to comprehend -that, unless on unusually severe days, the stove was sufficient to warm -the house, and, at any rate, it did not drive all the cold in the house -into one corner.</p> - -<p>During the Rev. Mr. Lowe’s ministrations at Bethel, he formed a Bible -class, of which I was a member. We 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, I -remember, I 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.” -<i>Question</i>, “What is the one thing needful?” My answer was nearly as -follows:</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_037" id="page_037"></a> 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 engaged 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 fellow-man, 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.”</p> - -<p>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 I had the satisfaction of hearing Mr. Lowe say -that it was a well written and truthful answer to the question, “What is -the one thing needful?”<a name="page_038" id="page_038"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /><br /> -<small>INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">DEATH OF MY GRANDMOTHER—MY FATHER—HIS CHARACTER—HIS -DEATH—BEGINNING THE WORLD BAREFOOTED—GOING TO GRASSY PLAINS—THE -TIN WARE AND GREEN BOTTLE LOTTERY—“CHAIRY” HALLETT—OUR FIRST -MEETING—EVENING RIDE TO BETHEL—A NOVEL FUR TRADE—OLD “RUSHIA” -AND YOUNG “RUSHIA”—THE BUYER SOLD—COUNTRY STORE EXPERIENCES—OLD -“UNCLE BIBBINS”—A TERRIBLE DUEL BETWEEN BENTON AND BIBBINS—FALL -OF BENTON—FLIGHT OF BIBBINS.</p></div> - -<p>I<small>N</small> the month of August, 1825, my maternal grandmother met with an -accident in stepping on the point of a rusty nail, and, though the -matter was at first considered trivial, it resulted in her death. -Alarming symptoms soon made her sensible that she was on her death-bed; -and while she was in full possession of her faculties, the day before -she died she sent for her grandchildren to take final leave of them. I -shall never forget the sensations I experienced when she took me by the -hand and besought me to lead a religious life, and especially to -remember that I could in no way so effectually prove my love to God as -by loving all my fellow-beings. The impressions of that death-bed scene -have ever been among my most vivid recollections, and I trust they have -proved in some degree salutary. A more exemplary woman, or a more -sincere Christian than my grandmother, I have never known.</p> - -<p>My father, for his time and locality, was a man of much enterprise. He -could, and actually did, “keep a hotel”; he had a livery stable and ran, -in a small way,<a name="page_039" id="page_039"></a> what in our day would be called a Norwalk Express; and -he also kept a country store. With greater opportunities and a larger -field for his efforts and energies, he might have been a man of mark and -means. Not that he was successful, for he never did a profitable -business; but I, who saw him in his various pursuits, and acted as his -clerk, caught something of his enterprising spirit, and, perhaps without -egotism, I may say I inherited that characteristic. My business -education was as good as the limited field afforded, and I soon put it -to account and service.</p> - -<p>On the 7th of September, 1825, my father, who had been sick since the -month of March, died at the age of forty-eight years. My mother was left -with five children, of whom I, at fifteen years of age, was the eldest, -while the youngest was but seven. It was soon apparent that my father -had provided nothing for the support of his family; his estate was -insolvent, and it did not pay fifty cents on the dollar. My mother, by -economy, industry, and perseverance, succeeded in a few years afterwards -in redeeming the homestead and becoming its sole possessor; but, at the -date of the death of my father, the world looked gloomy indeed; the few -dollars I had accumulated and loaned to my father, holding his note -therefor, were decided to be the property of a minor, belonging to the -father and so to the estate, and my small claim was ruled out. I was -obliged to get trusted for the pair of shoes I wore to my father’s -funeral. I literally began the world with nothing, and was barefooted at -that.</p> - -<p>Leaving Mr. Weed, I went to Grassy Plain, a mile northwest of Bethel, -and secured a situation as clerk in the store of James S. Keeler & Lewis -Whitlock at<a name="page_040" id="page_040"></a> six dollars a month and my board. I lived with Mrs. Jerusha -Wheeler and her daughters, Jerusha and Mary, and found an excellent -home. I chose my uncle, Alanson Taylor, as my guardian. I did my best to -please my employers and soon gained their confidence and esteem and was -regarded by them as an active clerk and a ‘cute trader. They afforded me -many facilities for making money on my own account and I soon entered -upon sundry speculations and succeeded in getting a small sum of money -ahead.</p> - -<p>I made 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 considerably “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.</p> - -<p>As my mother continued to keep the village tavern at Bethel, I usually -went home on Saturday night and stayed till Monday morning, going to -church with my mother on Sunday. This habit was the occasion of an<a name="page_041" id="page_041"></a> -experience of momentous consequence to me. One Saturday evening, during -a violent thunder shower, Miss Mary Wheeler, a milliner, sent me word -that there was a girl from Bethel at her house, who had come up on -horseback to get a new bonnet; that she was afraid to go back alone; and -if I was going to Bethel that evening she wished me to escort her -customer. I assented, and went over to “Aunt Rushia’s” where I was -introduced to “Chairy” (Charity) Hallett, a fair, rosy-cheeked, buxom -girl, with beautiful white teeth. I assisted her to her saddle, and -mounting my own horse, we trotted towards Bethel.</p> - -<p>My first impressions of this girl as I saw her at the house were -exceedingly favorable. As soon as we started I began a conversation with -her and finding her very affable I regretted that the distance to Bethel -was not five miles instead of one. A flash of lightning gave me a -distinct view of the face of my fair companion and then I wished the -distance was twenty miles. During our ride I learned that she was a -tailoress, working with Mr. Zerah Benedict, of Bethel. We soon arrived -at our destination and I bid her good night and went home. The next day -I saw her at church, and, indeed, many Sundays afterwards, but I had no -opportunity to renew the acquaintance that season.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Jerusha Wheeler, with whom I boarded, and her daughter Jerusha were -familiarly known, the one as “Aunt Rushia,” and the other as “Rushia.” -Many of our store customers were hatters, and among the many kinds of -furs we 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. I sold him -several kinds, including “beaver” and “cony,” and he then<a name="page_042" id="page_042"></a> asked for -some “Russia.” We had none, and, as I wanted to play a joke upon him, I -told him that Mrs. Wheeler had several hundred pounds of “Russia.”</p> - -<p>“What on earth is a woman doing with ‘Russia?’ ” said he.</p> - -<p>I could not answer, but I 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 I could not say. Off he started to make the purchase and -knocked at the door. Mrs. Wheeler, the elder, made her appearance.</p> - -<p>“I want to get your Russia,” said the hatter.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Wheeler asked him to walk in and be seated. She, of course, -supposed that he had come for her daughter “Rushia.”</p> - -<p>“What do you want of Rushia?” asked the old lady.</p> - -<p>“To make hats,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“To trim hats, I suppose you mean?” responded Mrs. Wheeler.</p> - -<p>“No, for the outside of hats,” replied the hatter.</p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t know much about hats,” said the old lady, “but I will -call my daughter.”</p> - -<p>Passing into another room where “Rushia” the younger was at work, she -informed her that a man wanted her to make hats.</p> - -<p>“Oh, he means sister Mary; probably. I suppose he wants some ladies’ -hats,” replied Rushia, as she went into the parlor.</p> - -<p>“This is my daughter,” said the old lady.</p> - -<p>“I want to get your Russia,” said he, addressing the young lady.</p> - -<p>“I suppose you wish to see my sister Mary; she is our milliner,” said -young Rushia.<a name="page_043" id="page_043"></a></p> - -<p>“I wish to see whoever owns the property,” said the hatter.</p> - -<p>Sister Mary was sent for, and as she was introduced, the hatter informed -her that he wished to buy her “Russia.”</p> - -<p>“Buy Rushia!” exclaimed Mary in surprise; “I don’t understand you.”</p> - -<p>“Your name is Miss Wheeler, I believe,” said the hatter, who was annoyed -by the difficulty he met with in being understood.</p> - -<p>“It is, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! very well. Is there old and young Russia in the house?”</p> - -<p>“I believe there is,” said Mary, surprised at the familiar manner in -which he spoke of her mother and sister, who were present.</p> - -<p>“What is the price of old Russia per pound?” asked the hatter.</p> - -<p>“I believe, sir, that old Rushia is not for sale,” replied Mary -indignantly.</p> - -<p>“Well, what do you ask for young Russia?” pursued the hatter.</p> - -<p>“Sir,” said Miss Rushia the younger, springing to her feet, “do you come -here to insult defenceless females? If you do, sir, we will soon call -our brother, who is in the garden, and he will punish you as you -deserve.”</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_044" id="page_044"></a> 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.”</p> - -<p>“Mother, open the door and let this man go out; he is undoubtedly -crazy,” said Miss Mary.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Business! poor man!” said Mary soothingly, approaching the door.</p> - -<p>“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 -Plains 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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Who sent you here?” asked sister Mary.</p> - -<p>“The clerk at the opposite store,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“He is a wicked young fellow for making all this trouble,” said the old -lady; “he has been doing this for a joke.”</p> - -<p>“A joke!” exclaimed Dibble, in surprise. “Have you no Russia, then?”</p> - -<p>“My name is Jerusha, and so is my daughter’s,” said Mrs. Wheeler, “and -that, I suppose, is what he meant by telling you about old and young -Rushia.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Dibble bolted through the door without another word and made -directly for our store. “You young<a name="page_045" id="page_045"></a> scamp!” said he as he entered; “what -did you mean by sending me over there to buy Russia?”</p> - -<p>“I did not send you to <i>buy</i> Rushia; I supposed you were either a -bachelor or widower and wanted to <i>marry</i> Rushia,” I replied, with a -serious countenance.</p> - -<p>“You lie, you young dog, and you know it; but never mind, I’ll pay you -off some day”; and taking his furs, he departed with less ill-humor than -could have been expected under the circumstances.</p> - -<p>Among our customers were three or four old Revolutionary pensioners, who -traded out the amounts of their pensions before they were due, leaving -their papers as security. One of these pensioners was old Bevans, -commonly known as “Uncle Bibbins,” a man who loved his glass and was -very prone to relate romantic Revolutionary anecdotes and adventures, in -which he, of course, was conspicuous. At one time he was in our debt, -and though we held his pension papers, it would be three months before -the money could be drawn. It was desirable to get him away for that -length of time, and we hinted to him that it would be pleasant to make a -visit to Guilford, where he had relations, but he would not go. Finally, -I hit upon a plan which “moved” him.</p> - -<p>A journeyman hatter, named Benton, who was fond of a practical joke, was -let into the secret, and was persuaded to call “Uncle Bibbins” a coward, -to tell him that he had been wounded in the back, and thus to provoke a -duel, which he did, and at my suggestion “Uncle Bibbins” challenged -Benton to fight him with musket and ball at a distance of twenty yards. -The challenge was accepted, I was chosen second by “Uncle Bibbins,” and -the duel was to come off immediately.<a name="page_046" id="page_046"></a> My principal, taking me aside, -begged me to put nothing in the guns but blank cartridges. I assured him -it should be so, and therefore that he might feel perfectly safe. This -gave the old man extra courage; he declared that he had not been so long -in bloody battles “for nothing,” and that he would put a bullet through -Benton’s heart at the first shot.</p> - -<p>The ground was measured in the lot at the rear of our store, and the -principals and seconds took their places. At the word given both parties -fired. “Uncle Bibbins,” of course, escaped unhurt, but Benton leaped -several feet into the air, and fell upon the ground with a dreadful -yell, as if he had been really shot. “Uncle Bibbins” was frightened. As -his second, I ran to him, told him I had neglected to extract the bullet -from his gun (which was literally true, as there was no bullet in it to -extract), and he supposed, of course, he had killed his adversary. I -then whispered to him to go immediately to Guilford, to keep quiet, and -he should hear from me as soon as it would be safe to do so. He started -up the street on a run, and immediately quit the town for Guilford, -where he kept himself quiet until it was time for him to return and sign -his papers. I then wrote him that “he could return in safety; that his -adversary had recovered from his wound, and now forgave him all, as he -felt himself much to blame for having insulted a man of his known -courage.”</p> - -<p>“Uncle Bibbins” returned, signed the papers, and we obtained the pension -money. A few days thereafter he met Benton.</p> - -<p>“My brave old friend,” said Benton, “I forgive you my terrible wound and -long confinement on the brink of the grave, and I beg you to forgive me -also. I insulted you without a cause.”<a name="page_047" id="page_047"></a></p> - -<p>“I forgive you freely,” said “Uncle Bibbins”; “but,” he added, “you must -be careful next time how you insult a dead shot.”</p> - -<p>Benton promised to be more circumspect in future, and “Uncle Bibbins” -supposed to the day of his death that the duel, wound, danger, and all, -were matters of fact.<a name="page_048" id="page_048"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /><br /> -<small>IN BUSINESS FOR MYSELF.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">MY CLERKSHIP IN BROOKLYN—UNEASINESS AND DISSATISFACTION—THE SMALL -POX—GOING HOME TO RECRUIT—“CHAIRY” HALLETT AGAIN—BACK TO -BROOKLYN—OPENING A PORTER-HOUSE—SELLING OUT—MY CLERKSHIP IN NEW -YORK—MY HABITS—OBSERVANCE OF SUNDAY—IN BETHEL ONCE -MORE—BEGINNING BUSINESS ON MY OWN ACCOUNT—OPENING DAY—LARGE -SALES AND GREAT PROFITS—THE LOTTERY BUSINESS—VIEWS THEREON—ABOUT -A POCKET-BOOK—WITS AND WAGS—SWEARING OUT A FINE—FIRST APPEARANCE -AT THE BAR—SECURING “ARABIAN”—A MODEL LOVE-LETTER.</p></div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Oliver Taylor</span> removed from Danbury to Brooklyn, Long Island, where -he kept a grocery store and also had a large comb factory and a comb -store in New York. In the fall of 1826 he offered me a situation as -clerk in his Brooklyn store, and I accepted it. I soon became conversant -with the routine of my employer’s business and before long he entrusted -to me the purchasing of all goods for his store. I bought for cash -entirely, going into the lower part of New York City in search of the -cheapest market for groceries, often attending auctions of teas, sugars, -molasses, etc., watching the sales, noting prices and buyers, and -frequently combining with other grocers to bid off large lots, which we -subsequently divided, giving each of us the quantity wanted at a lower -rate than if the goods had passed into other hands, compelling us to pay -another profit.</p> - -<p>Situated as I was, and well treated as I was by my employer, who -manifested great interest in me, still I was dissatisfied. A salary was -not sufficient for me. My disposition was of that speculative character -which<a name="page_049" id="page_049"></a> refused to be satisfied unless I was engaged in some business -where my profits might be enhanced, or, at least, made to depend upon my -energy, perseverance, attention to business, tact, and “calculation.” -Accordingly, as I had no opportunity to speculate on my own account, I -became uneasy, and, young as I was, I began to talk of setting up for -myself; for, although I had no capital, several men of means had offered -to furnish the money and join me in business. I was in that uneasy, -transitory state between boyhood and manhood when I had unbounded -confidence in my own abilities, and yet needed a discreet counsellor, -adviser and friend.</p> - -<p>In the following summer, 1827, I was taken down with the small-pox and -was confined to the house for several months. This sickness made a sad -inroad upon my means. When I was sufficiently recovered, I started for -home to recruit, taking passage on board a sloop for Norwalk, but the -remaining passengers were so frightened at the appearance of my face, -which still bore the marks of the disease, that I was obliged to go -ashore again, which I did, stopping at Holt’s, in Fulton Street, going -to Norwalk by steamboat next morning, and arriving at Bethel in the -afternoon.</p> - -<p>During my convalescence at my mother’s house, I visited my old friends -and neighbors and had the opportunity to slightly renew my acquaintance -with the attractive tailoress, “Chairy” Hallett. A month afterwards, I -returned to Brooklyn, where I gave Mr. Taylor notice of my desire to -leave his employment; and I then opened a porter-house on my own -account. In a few months I sold out to good advantage and accepted a -favorable offer to engage as clerk in a similar establishment, kept by -Mr. David Thorp, 29 Peck Slip,<a name="page_050" id="page_050"></a> New York. It was a great resort for -Danbury and Bethel comb makers and hatters and I thus had frequent -opportunities of seeing and hearing from my fellow-townsmen. I lived in -Mr. Thorp’s family and was kindly treated. I was often permitted to -visit the theatre with friends who came to New York, and, as I had -considerable taste for the drama, I soon became, in my own opinion, a -discriminating critic—nor did I fail to exhibit my powers to my -Connecticut friends who accompanied me to the play. Let me gratefully -add that my habits were not bad. Though I sold liquors to others, I do -not think I ever drank a pint of liquor, wine, or cordials before I was -twenty-two years of age. I always had a Bible, which I frequently read, -and I attended church regularly. These habits, so far as they go, are in -the right direction, and I am thankful to-day that they characterized my -early youth. However worthy or unworthy may have been my later years, I -<i>know</i> that I owe much of the better part of my nature to my youthful -regard for Sunday and its institutions—a regard, I trust, still strong -in my character.</p> - -<p>In February, 1828, I returned to Bethel and opened a retail fruit and -confectionery store in a part of my grandfather’s carriage-house, which -was situated on the main street, and which was offered to me rent free -if I would return to my native village and establish some sort of -business. This beginning of business on my own account was an eventful -era in my life. My total capital was one hundred and twenty dollars, -fifty of which I had expended in fitting up the store, and the remaining -seventy dollars purchased my stock in trade. I had arranged with fruit -dealers whom I knew in New York, to receive my orders, and I decided to -open my establishment<a name="page_051" id="page_051"></a> on the first Monday in May—our “general -training” day.</p> - -<p>It was a “red letter” day for me. The village was crowded with people -from the surrounding region and the novelty of my little shop attracted -attention. Long before noon I was obliged to call in one of my old -schoolmates to assist in waiting upon my numerous customers and when I -closed at night I had the satisfaction of reckoning up sixty-three -dollars as my day’s receipts. Nor, although I had received the entire -cost of my goods, less seven dollars, did the stock seem seriously -diminished; showing that my profits had been large. I need not say how -much gratified I was with the result of this first day’s experiment. The -store was a fixed fact. I went to New York and expended all my money in -a stock of fancy goods, such as pocket-books, combs, beads, rings, -pocket-knives, and a few toys. These, with fruit, nuts, etc., made the -business good through the summer, and in the fall I added stewed oysters -to the inducements.</p> - -<p>My grandfather, who was much interested in my success, advised me to -take an agency for the sale of lottery tickets, on commission. In those -days, the lottery was not deemed objectionable on the score of morality. -Very worthy people invested in such schemes without a thought of evil, -and then, as now, churches even got up lotteries, with this -difference—that then they were called lotteries, and now they go under -some other name. While I am very glad that an improved public sentiment -denounces the lottery in general as an illegitimate means of getting -money, and while I do not see how any one, especially in or near a New -England State, can engage in a lottery without feeling a reproach<a name="page_052" id="page_052"></a> which -no pecuniary return can compensate; yet I cannot now accuse myself for -having been lured into a business which was then sanctioned by good -Christian people, who now join with me in reprobating enterprises they -once encouraged. But as public sentiment was forty years ago, I obtained -an agency to sell lottery tickets on a commission of ten per cent, and -this business, in connection with my little store, made my profits quite -satisfactory.</p> - -<p>I used to have some curious customers. On one occasion a young man -called on me and selected a pocket-book which pleased him, asking me to -give him credit for a few weeks. I told him that if he wanted any -article of necessity in my line, I should not object to trust him for a -short time, but it struck me that a pocket-book was a decided -superfluity for a man who had no money; I therefore declined to trust -him as I did not see the necessity for his possessing such an article -till he had something to put into it. Later in life I have been credited -with the utterance of some sagacious remarks, but this with regard to -the pocket-book, trivial as the matter is in itself, seems to me quite -as deserving of note as any of my ideas which have created more -sensation.</p> - -<p>My store had much to do in giving shape to my future character as well -as career, in that it became a favorite resort; the theatre of village -talk, and the scene of many practical jokes. For any excess of the -jocose element in my character, part of the blame must attach to my -early surroundings as a village clerk and merchant. In that true resort -of village wits and wags, the country store, fun, pure and simple, will -be sure to find the surface. My Bethel store<a name="page_053" id="page_053"></a> was the scene of many most -amusing incidents, in some of which I was an immediate participant, -though in many, of course, I was only a listener or spectator.</p> - -<p>The following scene 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 a man of property, and 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.</p> - -<p>Crofut responded immediately with an oath, that he did not care a d—n -for the Connecticut blue-laws.</p> - -<p>“That will make two dollars,” said Mr. Seelye.</p> - -<p>This brought forth another oath.</p> - -<p>“Three dollars,” said the sturdy justice.</p> - -<p>Nothing but oaths were given in reply, until Esquire Seelye declared the -damage to the Connecticut laws to amount to fifteen dollars.</p> - -<p>Crofut took out a twenty-dollar bill, and handed it to the justice of -the peace, with an oath.</p> - -<p>“Sixteen dollars,” said Mr. Seelye, counting out four dollars to hand to -Mr. Crofut, as his change.</p> - -<p>“Oh, keep it, keep it,” said Crofut, “I don’t want any change, I’ll d—d -soon swear out the balance.” He did so, after which he was more -circumspect in his<a name="page_054" id="page_054"></a> conversation, remarking that twenty dollars a day -for swearing was about as much as he could stand.</p> - -<p>On another occasion, a man arrested for assault and battery was to be -tried before my grandfather; who was a justice of the peace. A young -medical student named Newton, volunteered to defend the prisoner, and -Mr. Couch, the grand-juryman, came to me and said that as the prisoner -had engaged a pettifogger, the State ought to have some one to represent -its interests and he would give me a dollar to present the case. I -accepted the fee and proposition. The fame of the “eminent counsel” on -both sides drew quite a crowd to hear the case. As for the case itself, -it was useless to argue it, for the guilt of the prisoner was -established by evidence of half a dozen witnesses. However, Newton was -bound to display himself, and so, rising with much dignity, he addressed -my grandfather with, “May it please the honorable court,” etc., -proceeding with a mixture of poetry and invective against Couch, the -grand-juryman whom he assumed to be the vindictive plaintiff in this -case. After alluding to him as such for the twentieth time, my -grandfather stopped Newton in the midst of his splendid peroration and -informed him that Mr. Couch was not the plaintiff in the case.</p> - -<p>“Not the plaintiff! Then may it please your honor I should like to know -who is the plaintiff?” inquired Newton.</p> - -<p>He was quietly informed that the State of Connecticut was the plaintiff, -whereupon Newton dropped into his seat as if he had been shot. -Thereupon, I rose with great confidence, and speaking from my notes, -proceeded to show the guilt of the prisoner from the evidence; that -there was no discrepancy in the testimony;<a name="page_055" id="page_055"></a> that none of the witnesses -had been impeached; that no defence had been offered; that I was -astonished at the audacity of both counsel and prisoner in not pleading -guilty at once; and then, soaring aloft on general principles, I began -to look about for a safe place to alight, when my grandfather -interrupted me with—</p> - -<p>“Young man, will you have the kindness to inform the court which side -you are pleading for—the plaintiff or the defendant?”</p> - -<p>It was my turn to drop, which I did amid a shout of laughter from every -corner of the court-room. Newton, who had been very downcast, looked up -with a broad grin and the two “eminent counsel” sneaked out of the room -in company, while the prisoner was bound over to the next County Court -for trial.</p> - -<p>While my business in Bethel continued to increase beyond my -expectations, I was also happy in believing that my suit with the fair -tailoress, Charity Hallett, was duly progressing. Of all the young -people with whom I associated in our parties, picnics, and sleigh-rides, -she stood highest in my estimation and continued to improve upon -acquaintance.</p> - -<p>How I managed at one of our sleigh rides is worth narrating. My -grandfather would, at any time, let me have a horse and sleigh, always -excepting his new sleigh, the finest in the village, and a favorite -horse called “Arabian.” I especially coveted this turnout for one of our -parties, knowing that I could eclipse all my comrades, and so I asked -grandfather if I could have “Arabian” and the new sleigh.</p> - -<p>“Yes, if you have twenty dollars in your pocket,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>I immediately showed the money, and, putting it<a name="page_056" id="page_056"></a> back in my pocket, said -with a laugh: “you see I have the money. I am much obliged to you; I -suppose I can have ‘Arab’ and the new sleigh?”</p> - -<p>Of course, he meant to deny me by making what he thought to be an -impossible condition, to wit: that I should hire the team, at a good -round price, if I had it at all, but I had caught him so suddenly that -he was compelled to consent, and “Chairy” and I had the crack team of -the party.</p> - -<p>There was a young apprentice to the tailoring trade in Bethel, whom I -will call John Mallett, whose education had been much neglected, and who -had been paying his addresses to a certain “Lucretia” for some six -months, with a strong probability of being jilted at last. On a Sunday -evening she had declined to take his arm, accepting instead the arm of -the next man who offered, and Mallett determined to demand an -explanation. He accordingly came to me the Saturday evening following, -asking me, when I had closed my store, to write a strong and -remonstratory “love-letter” for him. I asked Bill Shepard, who was -present, to remain and assist, and, in due time, the joint efforts of -Shepard, Mallett, and myself resulted in the following production. I -give the letter as an illustrative chapter in real life. In novels such -correspondence is usually presented in elaborate rhetoric, with studied -elegance of phrase. But the true language of the heart is always nearly -the same in all time and in all tongues, and when the blood is up the -writer is far more intent upon the matter than the manner, and aims to -be forcible rather than elegant. The subjoined letter is certainly not -after the manner of Chesterfield, but it is such a letter as a -disappointed lover, spurred by</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">The green-eyed monster, which doth mock<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The meat it feeds on,<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><a name="page_057" id="page_057"></a></p> - -<p class="nind">frequently indites. With a demand from Mallett that we should begin in -strong terms, and Shepard acting as scribe, we concocted the following:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Bethel</span>, ——, 18—.<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Miss Lucretia</span>,—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. Shepard 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 Plains, Wildcat, 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<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a>—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 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. Shepard -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:]</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Lucretia, dear, what have I done,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That you should use me thus and so,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To take the arm of Tom Beers’ son,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And let your dearest true-love go?<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Miserable fate, to lose you now,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And tear this bleeding heart asunder!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Will you forget your tender vow?<br /></span> -<span class="i2">I can’t believe it—no, by thunder!<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>[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 <i>softer</i> nature; something, he said, that -would make the tears come, if possible. We then ground out the -following:]</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Lucretia, dear, do write to Jack,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And say with Beers you are not smitten;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And thus to me in love come back,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And give all other boys the mitten.<a name="page_058" id="page_058"></a><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Do this, Lucretia, and till death<br /></span> -<span class="i2">I’ll love you to intense distraction;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I’ll spend for you my every breath,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And we will live in satisfaction.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> These were the euphonious names of localities in the -vicinity of Bethel.</p></div> - -<p>[“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 for ever, 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 for ever 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,</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Jack Mallett</span>,<br /> -</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p class="r"> -J. M.<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>The effect of this letter upon Lucretia, I regret to say, was not as -favorable as could have been desired or expected. 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 Shepard and myself five pounds of carpet rags and twelve yards of -broadcloth “lists,” for our services, owing to his ill success, we -compromised for one-half the amount.<a name="page_059" id="page_059"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /><br /> -<small>STRUGGLES FOR A LIVELIHOOD.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">PLEASURE VISIT TO PHILADELPHIA—LIVING IN GRAND STYLE—THE BOTTOM -OF THE PILE—BORROWING MONEY—MY MARRIAGE—RETURN TO BETHEL—EARLY -MARRIAGES—MORE PRACTICAL JOKING—SECOND APPEARANCE AS -COUNSEL—GOING TO HOUSEKEEPING—SELLING BOOKS AT AUCTION—THE -“YELLOW STORE”—A NEW FIELD—“THE HERALD OF FREEDOM”—MY EDITORIAL -CAREER—LIBEL SUITS—FINED AND IMPRISONED—LIFE IN THE DANBURY -JAIL—CELEBRATION OF MY LIBERATION—POOR BUSINESS AND BAD -DEBTS—REMOVAL TO NEW YORK—SEEKING MY FORTUNE—“WANTS’, IN THE -“SUN”—WM. NIBLO—KEEPING A BOARDING-HOUSE—A WHOLE SHIRT ON MY -BACK.</p></div> - -<p>D<small>URING</small> this season I made arrangements with Mr. Samuel Sherwood, of -Bridgeport, to go on an exploring expedition to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, -where we understood there was a fine opening for a lottery office and -where we meant to try our fortunes, provided the prospects should equal -our expectations. We went to New York where I had an interview with Mr. -Dudley S. Gregory, the principal business man of Messrs. Yates and -McIntyre, who dissuaded me from going to Pittsburg, and offered me the -entire lottery agency for the State of Tennessee, if I would go to -Nashville and open an office. The offer was tempting, but the distance -was too far from a certain tailoress in Bethel.</p> - -<p>As the Pittsburg trip was given up, Sherwood and I went to Philadelphia -for a pleasure excursion and put up at Congress Hall in Chestnut Street -where we lived in much grander style than we had been accustomed to. The -array of waiters and display of dishes were far<a name="page_060" id="page_060"></a> ahead of our former -experiences and for a week we lived in clover. At the end of that time, -however, when we concluded to start for home, the amount of our hotel -bill astounded us. After paying it and securing tickets for New York, -our combined purses showed a balance of but twenty-seven cents.</p> - -<p>Twenty-five cents of this sum went to the boot-black, and as our -breakfast was included in our bill we secured from the table a few -biscuits for our dinner on the way to New York.</p> - -<p>Arriving in New York we carried our own baggage to Holt’s Hotel. The -next morning Sherwood obtained a couple of dollars from a friend, and -went to Newark and borrowed fifty dollars from his cousin, Dr. Sherwood, -loaning me one-half the sum. After a few days’ sojourn in the city we -returned home.</p> - -<p>During our stay in New York, I derived considerable information from the -city managers with regard to the lottery business, and thereafter I -bought my tickets directly from the Connecticut lottery managers at what -was termed “the scheme price,” and also established agencies throughout -the country, selling considerable quantities of tickets at handsome -profits. My uncle, Alanson Taylor, joined me in the business, and, as we -sold several prizes, my office came to be considered “lucky,” and I -received orders from all parts of the country.</p> - -<p>During this time I kept a close eye upon the attractive tailoress, -Charity Hallett, and in the summer of 1829 I asked her hand in marriage. -My suit was accepted, and the wedding day was appointed; I, meanwhile, -applying myself closely to business, and no one but the parties -immediately interested suspecting that<a name="page_061" id="page_061"></a> the event was so near at hand. -Miss Hallett went to New York in October, ostensibly to visit her uncle, -Nathan Beers, who resided at No. 3 Allen Street. I followed in November, -pressed by the necessity of purchasing goods for my store; and the -evening after my arrival, November 8, 1829, the Rev. Dr. McAuley married -us in the presence of sundry friends and relatives of my wife, and I -became the husband of one of the best women in the world. In the course -of the week we went back to Bethel and took board in the family where -Charity Barnum as “Chairy” Hallett had previously resided.</p> - -<p>I do not approve or recommend early marriages. The minds of men and -women taking so important a step in life should be somewhat matured, and -hasty marriages, especially marriages of boys and girls, have been the -cause of untold misery in many instances. But although I was only little -more than nineteen years old when I was married, I have always felt -assured that if I had waited twenty years longer I could not have found -another woman so well suited to my disposition and so admirable and -valuable in every character as a wife, a mother, and a friend.</p> - -<p>My business occupations amply employed nearly all my time, yet so strong -was my love of fun that when the opportunity for a practical joke -presented itself, I could not resist the temptation. On one occasion I -engaged in the character of counsel to conduct a case for an Irish -peddler whose complaint was that one of our neighbors had turned him out -of his house and had otherwise abused him.</p> - -<p>The court was just as “real” as the attorney,—no more,—and consisted -of three judges, one a mason,<a name="page_062" id="page_062"></a> the second a butcher, and the third an -old gentleman of leisure who was an ex-justice of the peace. The -constable was of my own appointment, and my “writ” arrested the culprit -who had turned my client out of house and home. The court was convened, -but as the culprit did not appear, and as it seemed necessary that my -client should get testimonials as to his personal character; the court -adjourned nominally for one week, the client consenting to “stand treat” -to cover immediate expenses.</p> - -<p>I supposed that this was the end of it. But at the time named for the -re-assembling of the “court,” a <i>real</i> lawyer from Newtown put in an -appearance. He had been engaged by the Irishman to assist me in -conducting the case! I saw at once that the joke was likely to prove a -sorry one, and immediately notified the members of the “court,” who were -quite as much alarmed as I was at the serious turn the thing had taken. -I need not say that while the danger threatened we all took precious -good care to keep out of the way. However, the affair was explained to -Mr. Belden, the lawyer, who in turn set forth the matter to the client, -but not in such a manner as to soothe the anger so natural under the -circumstances—in fact, he advised the Irishman to get out of the place -as soon as possible. The Irishman threatened me and my “court” with -prosecution—a threat I really feared he would carry into execution, but -which, to the great peace of mind of myself and my companions, he -concluded not to follow up. Considering the vexation and annoyance of -this Irishman, it was a mitigation to know that he was the party in the -wrong and that he really deserved a severer punishment than my practical -joke had put upon him.<a name="page_063" id="page_063"></a></p> - -<p>In the winter of 1829-30, my lottery business had so extended that I had -branch offices in Danbury, Norwalk, Stamford and Middletown, as well as -agencies in the small villages for thirty miles around Bethel. I had -also purchased from my grandfather three acres of land on which I built -a house and went to housekeeping. My lottery business, which was with a -few large customers, was so arranged that I could safely entrust it to -an agent, making it necessary for me to find some other field for my -individual enterprise.</p> - -<p>So I tried my hand as an auctioneer in the book trade. I bought books at -the auctions and from dealers and publishers in New York, and took them -into the country, selling them at auction and doing tolerably well; only -at Litchfield, Connecticut, where there was then a law school. At -Newburgh, New York, several of my best books were stolen, and I quit the -business in disgust.</p> - -<p>In July, 1831, my uncle, Alanson Taylor, and myself opened a country -store, in a building, which I had put up in Bethel in the previous -spring, and we stocked the “yellow store,” as it was called, with a full -assortment of groceries, hardware, crockery, and “notions”; but we were -not successful in the enterprise, and in October following, I bought out -my uncle’s interest and we dissolved partnership.</p> - -<p>About this time, circumstances partly religious and partly political in -their character led me into still another field of enterprise which -honorably opened to me that notoriety of which in later life I surely -have had a surfeit. Considering my youth, this new enterprise reflected -credit upon my ability, as well as energy,<a name="page_064" id="page_064"></a> and so I may be excused if I -now recur to it with something like pride.</p> - -<p>In a period of strong political excitement, I wrote several -communications for the Danbury weekly paper, setting forth what I -conceived to be the dangers of a sectarian interference which was then -apparent in political affairs. The publication of these communications -was refused and I accordingly purchased a press and types, and October -19, 1831, I issued the first number of my own paper, <i>The Herald of -Freedom</i>.</p> - -<p>I entered upon the editorship of this journal with all the vigor and -vehemence of youth. The boldness with which the paper was conducted soon -excited wide-spread 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 and need not be mentioned -further. The third was sufficiently important to warrant the following -detail:</p> - -<p>A criminal prosecution was brought against me for stating in my paper -that a man in Bethel, prominent in the church, had “been guilty of -taking <i>usury</i> 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<a name="page_065" id="page_065"></a></p> - -<p><a name="MY_DELIVERY_FROM_IMPRISONMENT" id="MY_DELIVERY_FROM_IMPRISONMENT"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p064_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p064_sml.jpg" width="550" height="371" alt="MY DELIVERY FROM IMPRISONMENT" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">MY DELIVERY FROM IMPRISONMENT</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">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.</p> - -<p>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> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“<span class="smcap">P. T. Barnum</span> 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.</p> - -<p>“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 occurred to mar the festivities of the occasion.”</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_066" id="page_066"></a></p> - -<p>My editorial career was one of continual contest. I however published -the 160th number of <i>The Herald of Freedom</i> in Danbury, November 5, -1834, after which my brother-in-law, John W. Amerman, issued the paper -for me at Norwalk till the following year, when the <i>Herald</i> was sold to -Mr. George Taylor.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, I had taken Horace Fairchild into partnership in my -mercantile business, in 1831, and I had sold out to him and to a Mr. -Toucey, in 1833, they forming a partnership under the firm of Fairchild -& Co. So far as I was concerned my store was not a success. Ordinary -trade was too slow for me. I bought largely and in order to sell I was -compelled to give extensive credits. Hence I had an accumulation of bad -debts; and my old ledger presents a long series of accounts balanced by -“death,” by “running away,” by “failing,” and by other similarly -remunerative returns. I had expended money as freely as I had gained it, -for I had already learned that I could make money rapidly and in large -sums, when I set about it with a will, and hence I did not realize the -worth of what I seemed to gain so readily. I looked forward to a future -of saving when I should see the need of accumulation.</p> - -<p>There was nothing more for me to do in Bethel; and in the winter of -1834-5, I removed my family to New York, where I hired a house in Hudson -Street. I had no pecuniary resources, excepting such as might be derived -from debts left for collection with my agent at Bethel, and I went to -the metropolis literally to seek my fortune. I hoped to secure a -situation in some mercantile house, not at a fixed salary, but so as to -derive such portion of the profits as might be due to my individual -tact, energy, and perseverance in the interests of the<a name="page_067" id="page_067"></a> business. But I -could find no such position; my resources began to fail; my family were -in ill health; I must do something for a living; and so I acted as -“drummer” to several concerns which allowed me a small commission on -sales to customers of my introduction.</p> - -<p>Every morning I used to look at the “wants” in the <i>Sun</i> for something -that would suit me; and I had many a wildgoose chase in following up -those “wants.” In some instances success depended upon my advancing from -three hundred to five hundred dollars; in other cases a new patent -life-pill, or a self-acting mouse trap was to make my fortune. An -advertisement announcing “An immense speculation on a small capital! -$10,000 easily made in one year!” turned out to be an offer of Professor -Somebody at Scudder’s American Museum to sell a hydro-oxygen microscope, -offered to me at two thousand dollars—one thousand in cash and the -balance in sixty and ninety days, on good security,—and warranted to -secure an independence after a short public exhibition through the -country. If I had the desire to undertake this exhibition and -experiment, I had not the capital. Other and many similar temptations -were extended, but none of them seemed to open the door of fortune to -me.</p> - -<p>The advertisement in the <i>Sun</i>, of Mr. William Niblo, of Niblo’s Garden, -for a barkeeper first brought me in contact with that gentlemanly and -justly-popular proprietor. He wanted a well-recommended, well-behaved, -trustworthy man to fill a vacant situation, but as he wished him to bind -himself to remain three years, I, who was only seeking the means of -temporary support, was precluded from accepting the position.<a name="page_068" id="page_068"></a></p> - -<p>Nor did all my efforts secure a situation for me during the whole -winter; but, in the spring, I received several hundred dollars from my -agent in Bethel, and finding no better business, May 1, 1835, I opened a -small private boarding-house at No. 52 Frankfort Street. We soon had a -very good run of custom from our Connecticut acquaintances who had -occasion to visit New York, and as this business did not sufficiently -occupy my time, I bought an interest with Mr. John Moody in a grocery -store, No. 156 South Street.</p> - -<p>Although the years of manhood brought cares, anxieties, and struggles -for a livelihood, they did not change my nature and the jocose element -was still an essential ingredient of my being. I loved fun, practical -fun, for itself and for the enjoyment which it brought. During the year, -I occasionally visited Bridgeport where I 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 me, 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 hain’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 I had -anticipated the proposition—in fact I had induced a friend, Mr. Hough, -to put Darrow up to the trick,—and had folded a shirt nicely upon my -back, securing it there with my suspenders. The bar-room was crowded -with customers who thought that if I made the bet I should be nicely -caught, and I<a name="page_069" id="page_069"></a> made pretence of playing off and at the same time -stimulated Darrow to press the bet by saying:</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“A good reason why,” said Darrow, in great glee; “it’s ragged. Come, -I’ll bet you a treat for the whole company you hain’t got a whole shirt -on your b-b-b-back!”</p> - -<p>“I’ll bet my shirt is cleaner than yours,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“That’s nothing to do w-w-with the case; it’s ragged, and y-y-you know -it.”</p> - -<p>“I know it is not,” I replied, with pretended anger, which caused the -crowd to laugh heartily.</p> - -<p>“You poor ragged f-f-fellow, come down here from D-D-Danbury, I’m sorry -for you,” said Darrow tantalizingly.</p> - -<p>“You would not pay if you lost,” I remarked.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I put five dollars in Captain Hinman’s hands, and told him to treat the -company from it if I lost the bet.</p> - -<p>“Remember,” said Darrow, “I b-b-bet you hain’t got a whole shirt on your -b-b-back!”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said I, taking off my coat and commencing to unbutton my -vest. The whole company, feeling sure that I was caught, began to laugh -heartily. Old Darrow fairly danced with delight, and as I laid my coat -on a chair he came running up in front of me, and slapping his hands -together, exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“You needn’t t-t-take off any more c-c-c-clothes, for if it ain’t all on -your b-b-back, you’ve lost it.”<a name="page_070" id="page_070"></a></p> - -<p>“If it is, I suppose you have!” I replied, pulling the whole shirt from -off my back!</p> - -<p>Such a shriek of laughter as burst forth from the crowd I 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:</p> - -<p>“H-H-Hough, you infernal r-r-rascal, to go against your own n-n-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.”</p> - -<p>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.”<a name="page_071" id="page_071"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /><br /> -<small>MY START AS A SHOWMAN.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">THE AMUSEMENT BUSINESS—DIFFERENT GRADES—CATERING FOR THE -PUBLIC—MY CLAIMS, AIMS AND EFFORTS—JOICE HETH—APPARENT -GENUINENESS OF HER VOUCHERS—BEGINNING LIFE AS A SHOWMAN—SUCCESS -OF MY FIRST EXHIBITION—SECOND STEP IN THE SHOW LINE—SIGNOR -VIVALLA—MY FIRST APPEARANCE ON ANY STAGE—AT WASHINGTON—ANNE -ROYALL—STIMULATING THE PUBLIC—CONTESTS BETWEEN VIVALLA AND -ROBERTS—EXCITEMENT AT FEVER HEAT—CONNECTING MYSELF WITH A -CIRCUS—BREAD AND BUTTER DINNER FOR THE WHOLE COMPANY—NARROW -ESCAPE FROM SUFFOCATION—LECTURING AN ABUSIVE CLERGYMAN—AARON -TURNER—A TERRIBLE PRACTICAL JOKE—I AM REPRESENTED TO BE A -MURDERER—RAILS AND LYNCH LAW—NOVEL MEANS FOR SECURING NOTORIETY.</p></div> - -<p>B<small>Y</small> this time it was clear to my mind that my proper position in this -busy world was not yet reached. I had displayed the faculty of getting -money, as well as getting rid of it; but the business for which I was -destined, and, I believe, made, had not yet come to me; or rather, I had -not found that I was to cater for that insatiate want of human -nature—the love of amusement; that I was to make a sensation on two -continents; and that fame and fortune awaited me so soon as I should -appear before the public in the character of a showman. These things I -had not foreseen. I did not seek the position or the character. The -business finally came in my way; I fell into the occupation, and far -beyond any of my predecessors on this continent, I have succeeded.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_072" id="page_072"></a> -world-wide fame which princes well might envy. Such art is merchantable, -and so with the whole range of amusements, from the highest to the -lowest. The old word “trade” as it applies to buying cheap and selling -at a profit, is as manifest here as it is in the dealings at a -street-comer stand or in Stewart’s store covering a whole square. This -is a trading world, and 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.</p> - -<p>Whether I may claim a pre-eminence of grandeur in my career as a -dispenser of entertainment for mankind, I may not say. I have sometimes -been weak enough to think so, but let others judge; and whether I may -assume that on the whole, I have sought to make amusement harmless, and -have succeeded to a very great degree, in eliminating from public -entertainments certain corruptions which have made so many theatrical -“sensations” positively shameful, may safely be left, I think, to the -thousands upon thousands who have known me and the character of my -amusement so long and so well.</p> - -<p>But I shall by no means claim entire faultlessness in my history as a -showman. I confess that I have not always been strong enough to rise out -of the exceptional ways which characterize the art of amusing—not more, -however, than any other art of trade. When, in beginning business under -my own name in Bethel, in 1831, I advertised that I would sell goods “25 -per cent cheaper” than any of my neighbors, I was guilty of a<a name="page_073" id="page_073"></a> trick of -trade, but so common a trick, that very few who saw my promise were -struck with a sense of any particular enormity therein, while, -doubtless, a good many, who claim to be specially exemplary, thought -they were reading one of their own advertisements. And in the show -business I was never guilty of a greater sin than this against -truthfulness and fair dealing.</p> - -<p>The least deserving of all my efforts in the show line was the one which -introduced me to the business; a scheme in no sense of my own devising; -one which had been sometime before the public and which had so many -vouchers for its genuineness that at the time of taking possession of it -I honestly believed it to be genuine; something, too, which, as I have -said, I did not seek, but which by accident came in my way and seemed -almost to compel my agency—such was the “Joice Heth” exhibition which -first brought me forward as a showman.</p> - -<p>In the summer of 1835, Mr. Coley Bartram, of Reading, Connecticut, -informed me that he had owned an interest in a remarkable negro woman -whom he believed to be one hundred and sixty-one years old, and whom he -also believed to have been the nurse of General Washington. He then -showed me a copy of the following advertisement in the <i>Pennsylvania -Inquirer</i>, of July 15, 1835:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Curiosity.</span>—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: <span class="smcap">Joyce Heth</span>, 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.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_074" id="page_074"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>A lady will attend at the hall during the afternoon and evening for -the accommodation of those ladies who may call.</p></div> - -<p>Mr. Bartram further stated that he had sold out his interest to his -partner, R. W. Lindsay, of Jefferson County, Kentucky, who was then -exhibiting Joice Heth in Philadelphia, but was anxious to sell out and -go home—the alleged reason being that he had very little tact as a -showman. As the New York papers had also contained some account of Joice -Heth, I went on to Philadelphia to see Mr. Lindsay and his exhibition.</p> - -<p>Joice Heth 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.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless she was pert and sociable, and would talk as long as people -would converse with her. She was quite garrulous about her <i>protege</i> -“dear little George,” at whose birth she declared she was present, -having been at the time a slave of Elizabeth Atwood, a<a name="page_075" id="page_075"></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.</p> - -<p>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 woman, 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 as she had long been a nurse in the Washington family she was -called in at the birth of George and clothed the new-born 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.”</p> - -<p>Everything seemed so straightforward that I was anxious to become -proprietor of this novel exhibition, which was offered to me at one -thousand dollars, though the price first demanded was three thousand. I -had five hundred dollars, borrowed five hundred dollars more, sold out -my interest in the grocery business to my<a name="page_076" id="page_076"></a> partner, and began life as a -showman. At the outset of my career I saw that everything depended upon -getting people to think, and talk, and become curious and excited over -and about the “rare spectacle.” Accordingly, posters, transparencies, -advertisements, newspaper paragraphs—all calculated to extort -attention—were employed, regardless of expense. My exhibition rooms in -New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Albany and in other large and small -cities, were continually thronged and much money was made. In the -following February, Joice Heth died, literally of old age, and her -remains received a respectable burial in the town of Bethel.</p> - -<p>At a post-mortem examination of Joice Heth by Dr. David L. Rogers, in -the presence of some medical students, it was thought that the absence -of ossification indicated considerably less age than had been assumed -for her; but the doctors disagreed, and this “dark subject” will -probably always continue to be shrouded in mystery.</p> - -<p>I had at last found my true vocation. Indeed, soon after I began to -exhibit Joice Heth, I had entrusted her to an agent and had entered upon -my second step in the show line. The next venture, whatever it may have -been in other respects, had the merit of being, in every essential, -unmistakably genuine. I engaged from the Albany Museum an Italian who -called himself “Signor Antonio” and who performed certain remarkable -feats of balancing, stilt-walking, plate-spinning, etc. He had gone from -England to Canada, and thence to Albany, and had performed in other -American cities. I made terms with him for one year to exhibit anywhere -in the<a name="page_077" id="page_077"></a> United States at twelve dollars a week and expenses, and induced -him to change his stage name to “Signor Vivalla.” I then wrote a notice -of his wonderful qualities and performances, printed it in one of the -Albany papers as news, sent copies to the theatrical managers in New -York and in other cities, and went with Vivalla to the metropolis.</p> - -<p>Manager William Dinneford, of the Franklin Theatre, had seen so many -performances of the kind that he declined to engage my “eminent Italian -artist”; but I persuaded him to try Vivalla one night for nothing and by -the potent aid of printer’s ink the house was crammed. I appeared as a -supernumerary to assist Vivalla in arranging his plates and other -“properties”; and to hand him his gun to fire while he was hopping on -one stilt ten feet high. This was “my first appearance on any stage.” -The applause which followed Vivalla’s feats was tremendous, and Manager -Dinneford was so delighted that he engaged him for the remainder of the -week at fifty dollars. At the close of the performance, in response to a -call from the house, I made a speech for Vivalla, thanking the audience -for their appreciation and announcing a repetition of the exhibition -every evening during the week.</p> - -<p>Vivalla remained a second week at the Franklin Theatre, for which I -received $150. I realized the same sum for a week in Boston. We then -went to Washington to fulfil an engagement which was far from -successful, since my remuneration depended upon the receipts, and it -snowed continually during the week. I was a loser to such an extent that -I had not funds enough to return to Philadelphia. I pawned my watch and -chain for thirty-five dollars, when fortunately<a name="page_078" id="page_078"></a> Manager Wemyss arrived -on Saturday morning and loaned me the money to redeem my property.</p> - -<p>As this was my first visit to Washington I was much interested 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 <i>The Herald of Freedom</i> 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.</p> - -<p>I went with Vivalla to Philadelphia and opened at the Walnut Street -Theatre. Though his performances were very meritorious and were well -received, theatricals were dull and houses were slim. It was evident -that something must be done to stimulate the public.</p> - -<p>And now that instinct—I think it must be—which can arouse a community -and make it patronize, provided the article offered is worthy of -patronage—an instinct which served me strangely in later years, -astonishing the public and surprising me, came to my relief,<a name="page_079" id="page_079"></a> and the -help, curiously enough, appeared in the shape of an emphatic hiss from -the pit!</p> - -<p>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 $1000 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 St. 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 I should not -insist upon the terms of his published card, and asked 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.</p> - -<p>Public excitement was at fever heat, and on the night of the trial the -pit and upper boxes were crowded to the full; indeed sales of tickets to -these localities were soon stopped, for there were no seats to sell. 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<a name="page_080" id="page_080"></a> and -his subsequent “contests” with Vivalla amused the public and put money -in my purse.</p> - -<p>Vivalla continued to perform for me in various places, including Peale’s -Museum, in New York, and I took him to different towns in Connecticut -and in New Jersey, with poor success sometimes, as frequently the -expenses exceeded the receipts.</p> - -<p>In April, 1836, I connected myself with Aaron Turner’s travelling circus -company as ticket-seller, secretary and treasurer, at thirty dollars a -month and one-fifth of the entire profits, while Vivalla was to receive -a salary of fifty dollars. As I was already paying him eighty dollars a -month, our joint salaries reimbursed me and left me the chance of twenty -per cent of the net receipts. We started from Danbury for West -Springfield, Massachusetts, April 26th, and on the first day, instead of -halting to dine, as I expected, Mr. Turner regaled the whole company -with three loaves of rye bread and a pound of butter, bought at a farm -house at a cost of fifty cents, and, after watering the horses, we went -on our way.</p> - -<p>We began our performances at West Springfield, April 28th, and as our -expected band of music had not arrived from Providence, I made a -prefatory speech announcing our disappointment, and our intention to -please our patrons, nevertheless. The two Turner boys, sons of the -proprietor, rode finely. Joe Pentland, one of the wittiest, best, and -most original of clowns, with Vivalla’s tricks and other performances in -the ring, more than made up for the lack of music. In a day or two our -band arrived and our “houses” improved. My diary is full of incidents of -our summer tour through numerous villages, towns, and cities<a name="page_081" id="page_081"></a> in New -England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, -District of Columbia, Virginia, and North Carolina.</p> - -<p>While we were at Cabotville, Massachusetts, on going to bed one night -one of my room-mates threw a lighted stump of a cigar into a spit-box -filled with sawdust and the result was that about one o’clock T. V. -Turner, who slept in the room, awoke in the midst of a dense smoke and -barely managed to crawl to the window to open it, and to awaken us in -time to save us from suffocation.</p> - -<p>At Lenox, Massachusetts, one Sunday I attended church as usual, and the -preacher denounced our circus and all connected with it as immoral, and -was very abusive; whereupon when he 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 afterwards 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 pretence -of religion, but we<a name="page_082" id="page_082"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>The proprietor of the circus, Aaron Turner, was a self-made man, who had -acquired a large fortune by his industry. He believed that any man with -health and common sense could become rich if he only resolved to be so, -and he was very proud of the fact that he began the world with no -advantages, no education, and without a shilling. Withal, he was a -practical joker, as I more than once discovered to my cost. While we -were at Annapolis, Maryland, he played a trick upon me which was fun to -him, but was very nearly death to me.</p> - -<p>We arrived on Saturday night and as I felt quite “flush” I bought a fine -suit of black clothes. On Sunday morning I dressed myself in my new suit -and started out for a stroll. While passing through the bar-room Turner -called the attention of the company present to me and said:</p> - -<p>“I think it very singular 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 black-coated scoundrel has come down this way.”</p> - -<p>“Why, who is he?” asked half a dozen at once.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you know? Why that is the Rev. E. K. Avery, the murderer of Miss -Cornell!”</p> - -<p>“Is it possible!” they exclaimed, all starting for the door, eager to -get a look at me, and swearing vengeance.</p> - -<p>It was only recently that the Rev. Ephraim K. Avery had been tried in -Rhode Island for the murder of Miss Cornell, whose body was discovered -in a stack-yard, and though Avery was acquitted in court, the general<a name="page_083" id="page_083"></a> -sentiment of the country condemned him. It was this Avery whom Turner -made me represent. I had not walked far in my fine clothes, before I was -overtaken by a mob of a dozen, which rapidly increased to at least a -hundred, and my ears were suddenly saluted with such observations as, -“the lecherous old hypocrite,” “the sanctified murderer,” “the -black-coated villain,” “lynch the scoundrel,” “let’s tar and feather -him,” and like remarks which I had no idea applied to me till one man -seized me by the collar, while five or six more appeared on the scene -with a rail.</p> - -<p>“Come,” said the man who collared me, “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!”</p> - -<p>My surprise may be imagined. “Good heavens!” I exclaimed, as they all -pressed around me, “gentlemen, what have I done?”</p> - -<p>“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 <i>remember the stack-yard</i>!”</p> - -<p>I grew more and more bewildered; I could not imagine what possible -offence I was to suffer for, and I continued to exclaim, “Gentlemen, -what have I done? Don’t kill me, gentlemen, but tell me what I have -done.”</p> - -<p>“Come, make him straddle the rail; well show him how to hang poor -factory girls,” shouted a man in the crowd.</p> - -<p>The man who had me by the collar then remarked, “Come, <i>Mr. Avery</i>, 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.”<a name="page_084" id="page_084"></a></p> - -<p>“My name is <i>not</i> Avery, gentlemen; you are mistaken in your man,” I -exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Come, come, none of your gammon; straddle the rail, Ephraim.”</p> - -<p>The rail was brought and I was about to be placed on it, when the truth -flashed upon me.</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen,” I 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.”</p> - -<p>“If he has we’ll lynch him,” said one of the mob.</p> - -<p>“Well, he has, I’ll assure you, and if you will walk to the hotel with -me, I’ll convince you of the fact.”</p> - -<p>This they reluctantly assented to, keeping, however, a close hand upon -me. As we walked up the main street, the mob received a re-enforcement -of some fifty or sixty, and I was marched like a malefactor up to the -hotel. Old Turner stood on the piazza ready to explode with laughter. I -appealed to him for heaven’s sake to explain this matter, that I 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.”</p> - -<p>The crowd saw the joke and seemed satisfied. My new coat had been half -torn from my back and I 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 me to “get even with him.” -I was very much offended, and when the mob dispersed I asked Turner what -could have induced him to play such a trick upon me.<a name="page_085" id="page_085"></a></p> - -<p><a name="BARNUM_ON_A_RAIL" id="BARNUM_ON_A_RAIL"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p084_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p084_sml.jpg" width="545" height="365" alt="BARNUM ON A RAIL." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">BARNUM ON A RAIL.</span> -</div> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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. We had fine audiences while we remained at Annapolis, -but it was a long time before I forgave Turner for his rascally “joke.”<a name="page_086" id="page_086"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br /><br /> -<small>MY FIRST TRAVELLING COMPANY.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">THREE MEALS AND LODGING IN ONE HOUR—TURNING THE TABLES ON -TURNER—A SON AS OLD AS HIS FATHER—LEAVING THE CIRCUS WITH TWELVE -HUNDRED DOLLARS—MY FIRST TRAVELLING COMPANY—PREACHING TO THE -PEOPLE—APPEARING AS A NEGRO MINSTREL—THREATENED WITH -ASSASSINATION—ESCAPES FROM DANGER—TEMPERANCE—REPORT OF MY ARREST -FOR MURDER—RE-ENFORCING MY COMPANY—“BARNUM’S GRAND SCIENTIFIC AND -MUSICAL THEATRE”—OUTWITTING A SHERIFF—“LADY HAYES’S” MANSION AND -PLANTATION—A BRILLIANT AUDIENCE—BASS DRUM SOLO—CROSSING THE -INDIAN NATION—JOE PENTLAND AS A SAVAGE—TERROR AND FLIGHT OF -VIVALLA—A NONPLUSSED LEGERDEMAIN PERFORMER—A MALE -EGG-LAYER—DISBANDING MY COMPANY—A NEW PARTNERSHIP—PUBLIC -LECTURING—DIFFICULTY WITH A DROVER—THE STEAMBOAT “CERES”—SUDDEN -MARRIAGE ON BOARD—MOBBED IN LOUISIANA—ARRIVAL AT NEW ORLEANS.</p></div> - -<p><span class="smcap">An</span> amusing incident occurred when we were at Hanover Court House, in -Virginia. It rained so heavily that we could not perform there and -Turner decided to start for Richmond immediately after dinner, when he -was informed by the landlord that as our agent had engaged three meals -and lodging for the whole company, the entire bill must be paid whether -we went then, or next morning. No compromise could be effected with the -stubborn landlord and so Turner proceeded to get the worth of his money -as follows:</p> - -<p>He ordered dinner at twelve o’clock, which was duly prepared and eaten. -The table was cleared and re-set for supper at half-past twelve. At one -o’clock we all went to bed, every man carrying a lighted candle to his -room. There were thirty-six of us and we all undressed and tumbled into -bed as if we were going to<a name="page_087" id="page_087"></a> stay all night. In half an hour we rose and -went down to the hot breakfast which Turner had demanded and which we -found smoking on the table. Turner was very grave, the landlord was -exceedingly angry, and the rest of us were convulsed with laughter at -the absurdity of the whole proceeding. We disposed of our breakfast as -if we had eaten nothing for ten hours and then started for Richmond with -the satisfaction that we fairly settled with our unreasonable landlord.</p> - -<p>At Richmond, after performances were over one night, I managed to -partially pay Turner for his Avery trick. A dozen or more of us were -enjoying ourselves in the sitting room of the hotel, telling stories and -singing songs, when some of the company proposed sundry amusing -arithmetical questions, followed by one from Turner, which was readily -solved. Hoping to catch Turner I then proposed the following problem:</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>The company generally saw the catch; but Turner was very much interested -in the problem, and although<a name="page_088" id="page_088"></a> 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 my -arithmetic, though at last he acknowledged that it was a fair offset to -the Avery trick.</p> - -<p>We went from Richmond to Petersburg, and from that place to Warrenton, -North Carolina, where, October 30th, my engagement expired with a profit -to myself of $1,200. I now separated from the circus company, taking -Vivalla, James Sanford, (a negro singer and dancer,) several musicians, -horses, wagons, and a small canvas tent with which I intended to begin a -travelling exhibition of my own. My company started and Turner took me -on the way in his own carriage some twenty miles. We parted reluctantly -and my friend wished me every success in my new venture.</p> - -<p>On Saturday, November 12, 1836, we halted at Rocky Mount Falls, North -Carolina, and on my way to the Baptist Church, Sunday morning, I noticed -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<a name="page_089" id="page_089"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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. I went on in this way, with some scriptural -quotations and familiar illustrations, for three-quarters of an hour. At -the close of my address several persons took me by the hand, expressing -themselves as greatly pleased and desiring to know my name; and I went -away with the feeling that possibly I might have done some good in the -beautiful grove on that charming Sunday morning.</p> - -<p>When we were at Camden, South Carolina, Sanford suddenly left me, and as -I had advertised negro songs<a name="page_090" id="page_090"></a> and none of my company was competent to -fill Sanford’s place, not to disappoint my audience, I blacked myself -and sung the advertised songs, “Zip Coon,” etc., and to my surprise was -much applauded, while two of the songs were encored. One evening after -singing my songs I heard a disturbance outside the tent and going to the -spot found a person disputing with my men. I took part on the side of -the men, when the person who was quarrelling with them drew a pistol and -exclaiming, “you black scoundrel! how dare you use such language to a -white man,” he proceeded to cock it. I saw that he thought I was a negro -and meant to blow my brains out. Quick as thought I rolled my sleeve up, -showed my skin, and said, “I am as white as you are, sir.” He dropped -his pistol in positive fright and begged my pardon. My presence of mind -saved me.</p> - -<p>On four different occasions in my life 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 more than twenty years past, I am glad -to say, I have been a strict “teetotaller.”<a name="page_091" id="page_091"></a></p> - -<p>At Camden I lost one of my musicians, a Scotchman named Cochran, who was -arrested for advising the negro barber who was shaving him to run away -to the Free States or to Canada. I made every effort to effect Cochran’s -release, but he was imprisoned more than six months.</p> - -<p>While I was away from home I generally wrote twice a week to my family -and received letters nearly as often from my wife. One of her letters, -which I received in Columbia, South Carolina, informed me it was -currently reported in Connecticut that I was under sentence of death in -Canada for murder! The story grew out of a rumor about a difficulty in -Canada between some rowdies and a circus company—not Turner’s,—for we -met his troupe at Columbia, December 5, 1836. That company was then to -be disbanded and I bought four horses and two wagons and hired Joe -Pentland and Robert White to join my company. White, as a negro-singer, -would relieve me from that roll, and Pentland, besides being a capital -clown, was celebrated as a ventriloquist, comic singer, balancer, and -legerdemain performer. My re-enforced exhibition was called “Barnum’s -Grand Scientific and Musical Theatre.”</p> - -<p>Some time previously, in Raleigh, North Carolina, I had sold one-half of -my establishment to a man, whom I will call Henry, who now acted as -treasurer and ticket-taker. At Augusta, Georgia, the sheriff served a -writ upon this Henry for a debt of $500. As Henry had $600 of the -company’s money in his possession, I immediately procured a bill of sale -of all his property in the exhibition and returned to the theatre where -Henry’s creditor and the creditor’s lawyer were waiting for me. They -demanded the keys of the stable so as to levy on<a name="page_092" id="page_092"></a> the horses and wagons. -I begged delay till I could see Henry, and they consented. Henry was -anxious to cheat his creditor and he at once signed the bill of sale. I -returned and informed the creditor that Henry refused to pay or -compromise the claim. The sheriff then demanded the keys of the stable -door to attach Henry’s interest in the property. “Not yet,” said I, -showing a bill of sale, “you see I am in full possession of the property -as entire owner. You confess that you have not yet levied on it, and if -you touch my property, you do it at your peril.”</p> - -<p>They were very much taken aback and the sheriff immediately conveyed -Henry to prison. The next day I learned that Henry owed his creditors -thirteen hundred dollars and that he had agreed when the Saturday -evening performance was ended to hand over five hundred dollars (company -money) and a bill of sale of his interest, in consideration of which one -of the horses was to be ready for him to run away with, leaving me in -the lurch! Learning this, I had very little sympathy for Henry and my -next step was to secure the five hundred dollars he had secreted. -Vivalla had obtained it from him to keep it from the sheriff; I received -it from Vivalla, on Henry’s order, as a supposed means of procuring bail -for him on Monday morning. I then paid the creditor the full amount -obtained from Henry as the price of his half interest in the exhibition -and received in return an assignment of five hundred dollars of the -creditor’s claims and a guaranty that I should not be troubled by my -late partner on that score. Thus, promptness of action and good luck -relieved me from one of the most unpleasant positions in which I had -ever been placed.<a name="page_093" id="page_093"></a></p> - -<p>While travelling with our teams and show through a desolate part of -Georgia, our advertiser, who was in advance of the party, finding the -route, on one occasion, too long for us to reach a town at night, -arranged with a poor widow woman named Hayes to furnish us with meals -and let us lodge in her hut and out-houses. It was a beggarly place, -belonging to one of the poorest of “poor whites.” Our horses were to -stand out all night, and a farmer, six miles distant, was to bring a -load of provender on the day of our arrival. Bills were then posted -announcing a performance under a canvas tent near Widow Hayes’s, for, as -a show was a rarity in that region, it was conjectured that a hundred or -more small farmers and “poor whites” might be assembled and that the -receipts would cover the expenses.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, our advertiser, who was quite a wag, wrote back informing us -of the difficulties 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.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_094" id="page_094"></a> 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.”</p> - -<p>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. We laughed heartily -at the trick and were very glad to cross so cheaply.</p> - -<p>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, barefooted old woman, with her sleeves rolled -up to her shoulders, who was washing clothes in front of the door, I -inquired—</p> - -<p>“Hallo! can you tell me where Lady Hayes lives?”</p> - -<p>The old woman raised her head, which was covered with tangled locks and -matted hair, and exclaimed—</p> - -<p>“Hey?”</p> - -<p>“No, Hayes, Lady Hayes; where is her plantation?”</p> - -<p>“This is the place,” she answered; “I’m Widder Hayes and you are all to -stay here to-night.”</p> - -<p>We could not believe our ears or eyes; but after putting the dirty old -woman through a severe cross-examination<a name="page_095" id="page_095"></a> 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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>When the old woman called us to dinner we crept into her hut and found -that she had improvised benches at her table by placing boards upon the -only four chairs in her possession, and at that, some of us were obliged -to stand. The dinner consisted of a piece of boiled smoked bacon, a -large dish of “greens,” and corn bread. Three plates, two knives, and -three forks made up the entire table furniture and compelled a resort to -our jack-knives. “A short horse is soon curried,” and dinner was -speedily despatched. It did not seem possible for an audience to -assemble in that forsaken quarter, and we concluded not to take the -canvas tent out of the wagon.</p> - -<p>By three o’clock, however, at least fifty persons had arrived on the -ground to attend the night show and they reported “more a coming.” -Accordingly we put up the tent and arranged our small stage and -curtains, preparing seats for two hundred people. Those who had already -arrived were mostly women, many of them<a name="page_096" id="page_096"></a> from sixteen to twenty years -old—poor, thin, sallow-faced creatures, wretchedly clad, some of them -engaged in smoking pipes, while the rest were chewing snuff. This latter -process was new to me; each chewer was provided with a short stick, -softened at one end, by chewing it, and this stick was occasionally -dipped into a snuff box and then stuck into the mouth, from whence it -protruded like a cigar. The technical term for the proceeding is -“snuff-dipping.”</p> - -<p>Before night, stragglers had brought the number of people on Lady Hayes’ -plantation up to one hundred, and soon after dark, we opened our -exhibition to an audience of about two hundred. The men were a pale, -haggard set of uncombed, uncouth creatures, whose constantly-moving jaws -and the streams of colored saliva exuding from the corners of their -mouths indicated that they were confirmed tobacco chewers. I never saw a -more stupid and brutish assemblage of human beings. The performance -delighted them; Pentland’s sleight-of-hand tricks astonished them and -led them to declare that he must be in league with the evil one; Signor -Vivalla’s ball-tossing and plate spinning elicited their loudest -applause; and Bob White’s negro songs and break-downs made them fairly -scream with laughter.</p> - -<p>At last, the performance terminated and Pentland stepped forward and -delivered the closing address, which he had repeated, word for word, a -hundred times, and which was precisely as follows:</p> - -<p>“Ladies and Gentlemen: The entertainments of the evening have now come -to a conclusion, and, we hope, to your general satisfaction.”</p> - -<p>But now came a dilemma; the meaning of this<a name="page_097" id="page_097"></a> announcement was quite -above the comprehension of the audience; they had not the remotest idea -that the performance was finished, and they sat like statues.</p> - -<p>With a hearty laugh at Pentland I told him that his language was not -understood in this locality and that he must try again. He was -chagrined, and declared that he would not say another word. Little -Vivalla laughed, danced around like a monkey, and said, in his broken -English:</p> - -<p>“Ah, ha! Signor Pentland; you no speak good Eenglish, hah! These -educated peoples no understand you, eh? By gar what d——d fools. Ah, -Signor Barnum, let me speaks to them; I will make them jump double -queek.”</p> - -<p>I quite enjoyed the fun and said, “Well, Signor, go ahead.”</p> - -<p>The little Italian jumped upon the stage and with a broad grimace and -tremendous gesture exclaimed—</p> - -<p>“Eet is feenish!”</p> - -<p>He then retired behind the curtain, but, of course, the audience did not -understand that he had told them the performance was finished. No one -would have understood him. Hence, the spectators sat still, wondering -what would come next. “By gar,” said Vivalla, losing his temper, “I will -give them a hint,” and he loosened the cord and down fell the curtain on -one side of the stage.</p> - -<p>“Good, good,” cried out an enthusiastic “poor white,” giving his quid a -fresh roll to the other side of his mouth, “now we are going to have -something new.”</p> - -<p>“I reckon they’s totin’ that plunder off to get ready for a dance,” said -a delicate “dipper,” making a lunge into her box for another mouthful of -the dust.<a name="page_098" id="page_098"></a></p> - -<p>Things were becoming serious, and I saw that in order to get rid of -these people they must be addressed in plain language; so, walking upon -the stage, I simply said, making at the same time a motion for them to -go,—</p> - -<p>“It is all over; no more performance; the show is out.”</p> - -<p>This was understood, but they still stood upon the order of their going -and were loth to leave, especially as the, to them, extraordinary -announcements of Pentland and Vivalla had prepared them for something -fresh. Several days before, our band of musicians had left us, reducing -our orchestra to an organ and pipes, ground and blown by an Italian whom -we had picked up on the road. We had, in addition, a large bass drum, -with no one to beat it, and this drum was espied by some of the audience -in going out. Very soon I was waited upon by a masculine committee of -three, who informed me that “the young ladies were very anxious to hear -a tune on the big drum.” Pentland heard the request and replied, “I will -accommodate the young ladies,” and strapping on the drum he took a stick -in each hand and began to pound tremendously. Occasionally he would rap -the sticks together, toss one of them into the air, catching it as it -came down, and then pound away again like mad. In fact, he cut up all -sorts of pranks with that big drum and when he was tired out and -stopped, he was gratified at being told by the “young ladies” that they -had never heard a big drum before, but he “played it splendid,” and they -thought it was altogether the best part of the entire performance!</p> - -<p>The next forenoon we arrived at Macon, and congratulated<a name="page_099" id="page_099"></a> ourselves that -we had again reached the regions of civilization.</p> - -<p>In going from Columbus, Georgia, to Montgomery, Alabama, 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.</p> - -<p>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 Mount 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.</p> - -<p>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” levelled his gun at his -victim, but soon seemed to relent and signified that Vivalla should -turn<a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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-enforced 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.</p> - -<p>We arrived at Montgomery, February 28th, 1837. Here I met Henry Hawley a -legerdemain performer, about forty-five years of age, but as he was -prematurely gray he looked at least seventy, and I sold him one-half of -my exhibition. He had a ready wit, a happy way of localizing his tricks, -was very popular in that part of the country, where he had been -performing for several years, and I never saw him nonplussed but once. -This was when he was performing on one occasion the well-known egg and -bag trick, which he did with his usual success, producing egg after egg -from the bag and<a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a></p> - -<p><a name="THE_COWARD_AND_THE_BRAVE" id="THE_COWARD_AND_THE_BRAVE"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p100_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p100_sml.jpg" width="543" height="364" alt="THE COWARD AND THE “BRAVE.”" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THE COWARD AND THE “BRAVE.”</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">finally breaking one to show that they were genuine. “Now,” said Hawley, -“I will show you the old hen that laid them.” It happened, however, that -the negro boy to whom had been intrusted the duty of supplying the bag -had made a slight mistake which was manifest when Hawley triumphantly -produced, not “the old hen that laid the eggs,” but a rooster! The whole -audience was convulsed with laughter and the abashed Hawley retreated to -the dressing room cursing the stupidity of the black boy who had been -paid to put a hen in the bag.</p> - -<p>After performing in different places in Alabama, Kentucky, and -Tennessee, we disbanded at Nashville in May, 1837, Vivalla going to New -York, where he performed on his own account for a while previous to -sailing for Cuba, Hawley staying in Tennessee to look after our horses -which had been turned out to grass, and I returning home to spend a few -weeks with my family.</p> - -<p>Early in July, returning west with a new company of performers, I -rejoined Hawley and we began our campaign in Kentucky. We were not -successful; one of our small company was incompetent; another was -intemperate—both were dismissed; and our negro-singer was drowned in -the river at Frankfort. Funds were low and I was obliged to leave -pledges here and there, in payment for bills, which I afterwards -redeemed. Hawley and I dissolved in August and making a new partnership -with Z. Graves, I left him in charge of the establishment and went to -Tiffin, Ohio, where I re-engaged Joe Pentland, buying his horses and -wagons and taking him, with several musicians, to Kentucky.</p> - -<p>During my short stay at Tiffin, a religious conversation at the hotel -introduced me to several gentlemen<a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a> who requested me to lecture on the -subjects we had discussed, and I did so to a crowded audience in the -school-house Sunday afternoon and evening. At the solicitation of a -gentleman from Republic, I also delivered two lectures in that town on -the evenings of September 4th and 5th.</p> - -<p>On our way to Kentucky, just before we reached Cincinnati, we met a -drove of hogs and one of the drivers making an insolent remark because -our wagons interfered with his swine, I replied in the same vein, when -he dismounted and pointing a pistol at my breast swore he would shoot me -if I did not apologize. I begged him to permit me to consult with a -friend in the next wagon, and the misunderstanding should be -satisfactorily settled. My friend was a loaded double-barreled gun which -I pointed at him and said:</p> - -<p>“Now, sir, <i>you</i> must apologize, for your brains are in danger. You drew -a weapon upon me for a trivial remark. You seem to hold human life at a -cheap price; and now, sir, you have the choice between a load of shot -and an apology.”</p> - -<p>This led to an apology and a friendly conversation in which we both -agreed that many a life is sacrificed in sudden anger because one or -both of the contending parties carry deadly weapons.</p> - -<p>In our subsequent southern tour we exhibited at Nashville (where I -visited General Jackson, at the Hermitage), Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, -Vicksburg and intermediate places, doing tolerably well. At Vicksburg we -sold all our land conveyances, excepting the band wagon and four horses, -bought the steamboat “Ceres” for six thousand dollars, hired the captain -and crew, and started down the river to exhibit at places on<a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a> the way. -At Natchez our cook left us and in the search for another I found a -white widow who would go, only she expected to marry a painter. I called -on the painter who had not made up his mind whether to marry the widow -or not, but I told him if he would marry her the next morning I would -hire her at twenty-five dollars a month as cook, employ him at the same -wages as painter, with board for both, and a cash bonus of fifty -dollars. There was a wedding on board the next day and we had a good -cook and a good dinner.</p> - -<p>During one of our evening performances at Francisville, Louisiana, a man -tried to pass me at the door of the tent, claiming that he had paid for -admittance. I refused him entrance; and as he was slightly intoxicated -he struck me with a slung shot, mashing my 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 us -to pack up our “traps and plunder” and to get on board our steamboat -within an hour. The big tent speedily came down. No one was permitted to -help us, but the company worked with a will and within five minutes of -the expiration of the hour we were on board and ready to leave. The -scamps who had caused our departure escorted us and our last load, -waving pine torches, and saluted us with a hurrah as we swung into the -stream.</p> - -<p>The New Orleans papers of March 19, 1838, announced the arrival of the -“Steamer Ceres, Captain Barnum, with a theatrical company.” After a -week’s performances, we started for the Attakapas country. At Opelousas -we exchanged the steamer for sugar and molasses; our company was -disbanded, and I started for home, arriving in New York, June 4, 1838.<a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /><br /> -<small>AT THE FOOT OF THE LADDER.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">DISGUST AT THE TRAVELLING BUSINESS—ADVERTISING FOR AN -ASSOCIATE—RUSH OF THE MILLION-MAKERS—COUNTERFEITERS, CHEATS AND -QUACKS—A NEW BUSINESS—SWINDLED BY MY PARTNER—DIAMOND THE -DANCER—A NEW COMPANY—DESERTIONS—SUCCESSES AT NEW ORLEANS—TYRONE -POWER AND FANNY ELLSLER—IN JAIL AGAIN—BACK TO NEW YORK—ACTING AS -A BOOK AGENT—LEASING VAUXHALL—FROM HAND TO MOUTH—DETERMINATION -TO MAKE MONEY—FORTUNE OPENING HER DOOR—THE AMERICAN MUSEUM FOR -SALE—NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE PURCHASE—HOPES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS—THE -TRAIN LAID—SMASHING A RIVAL COMPANY.</p></div> - -<p>I <small>HAVE</small> said that the show business has as many grades of dignity as -trade, which ranges all the way from the mammoth wholesale establishment -down to the corner stand. The itinerant amusement business is at the -bottom of the ladder. I had begun there, but I had no wish to stay -there; in fact, I was thoroughly disgusted with the trade of a -travelling showman, and although I felt that I could succeed in that -line, yet I always regarded it, not as an end, but as a means to -something better.</p> - -<p>Longing now for some permanent respectable business, I advertised for a -partner, stating that I had $2,500 to invest and would add my -unremitting personal attention to the capital and the business. This -advertisement gave me an altogether new insight into human nature. -Whoever wishes to know how some people live, or want to live, let him -advertise for a partner, at the same time stating that he has a large or -small capital to invest. I was flooded with answers to my advertisements -and received no less than ninety-three<a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a> different propositions for the -use of my capital. Of these, at least one-third were from porter-house -keepers. Brokers, pawnbrokers, lottery-policy dealers, patent medicine -men, inventors, and others also made application. Some of my -correspondents declined to specifically state the nature of their -business, but they promised to open the door to untold wealth.</p> - -<p>I had interviews with some of these mysterious million-makers. One of -them was a counterfeiter, who, after much hesitation and pledges of -secrecy showed me some counterfeit coin and bank notes; he wanted $2,500 -to purchase paper and ink and to prepare new dies, and he actually -proposed that I should join him in the business which promised, he -declared, a safe and rich harvest. Another sedate individual, dressed in -Quaker costume, wanted me to join him in an oat speculation. By buying a -horse and wagon and by selling oats, bought at wholesale, in bags, he -thought a good business could be done, especially as people would not be -particular to measure after a Quaker.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean to cheat in measuring your oats?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“O, I should probably make them hold out,” he answered, with a leer.</p> - -<p>One application came from a Pearl street wool merchant, who failed a -month afterwards. Then came a “perpetual motion” man who had a -fortune-making machine, in which I discovered a main-spring slyly hid in -a hollow post, the spring making perpetual motion—till it ran down. -Finally, I went into partnership with a German, named Proler, who was a -manufacturer of paste-blacking, water-proof paste for leather, Cologne -water and bear’s grease. We took the store No. 101½<a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a> Bowery, at a rent -(including the dwelling) of $600 per annum, and opened a large -manufactory of the above articles. Proler manufactured and sold the -goods at wholesale in Boston, Charleston, Cleveland, and various other -parts of the country. I kept the accounts, and attended to sales in the -store, wholesale and retail. For a while the business seemed to -prosper—at least till my capital was absorbed and notes for stock began -to fall due, with nothing to meet them, since we had sold our goods on -long credits. In January, 1840, I dissolved partnership with Proler, he -buying the entire interest for $2,600 on credit, and then running away -to Rotterdam without paying his note, and leaving me nothing but a few -recipes. Proler was a good-looking, plausible, promising—scamp.</p> - -<p>During my connection with Proler, I became acquainted with a remarkable -young dancer named John Diamond. He was one of the first and best of the -numerous negro and “break-down” dancers who have since surprised and -amused the public, and I entered into an engagement with his father for -his services, putting Diamond in the hands of an agent, as I did not -wish to appear in the transaction. In the spring of 1840, I hired and -opened the Vauxhall Garden saloon, in New York, and gave a variety of -performances, including singing, dancing, Yankee stories, etc. In this -saloon Miss Mary Taylor, afterwards so celebrated as an actress and -singer, made her first appearance on the stage. The enterprise, however, -did not meet my expectation and I relinquished it in August.</p> - -<p>What was to be done next? I dreaded resuming the life of an itinerant -showman, but funds were low, I had a family to care for, and as nothing -better presented I<a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a> made up my mind to endure the vexations and -uncertainties of a tour in the West and South. I collected a company, -consisting of Mr. C. D. Jenkins, an excellent singer and delineator of -Yankee and other characters; Master John Diamond, the dancer; Francis -Lynch, an orphan vagabond, fourteen years old, whom I picked up at Troy, -and a fiddler. My brother-in-law, Mr. John Hallett, preceded us as agent -and advertiser, and our route passed through Buffalo, Toronto, Detroit, -Chicago, Ottawa, Springfield, the intermediate places, and St. Louis, -where I took the steamboat for New Orleans with a company reduced by -desertions to Master Diamond and the fiddler.</p> - -<p>Arriving in New Orleans, January 2, 1841, I had but $100 in my purse, -and I had started from New York four months before with quite as much in -my pocket. Excepting some small remittances to my family I had made -nothing more than current expenses; and, when I had been in New Orleans -a fortnight, funds were so low that I was obliged to pledge my watch as -security for my board bill. But on the 16th, I received from the St. -Charles Theatre $500 as my half share of Diamond’s benefit; the next -night I had $50; and the third night $479 was my share of the proceeds -of a grand dancing match at the theatre between Diamond and a negro -dancer from Kentucky. Subsequent engagements at Vicksburg and Jackson -were not so successful, but returning to New Orleans we again succeeded -admirably and afterwards at Mobile. Diamond, however, after extorting -considerable sums of money from me, finally ran away, and, March 12th, I -started homeward by way of the Mississippi and the Ohio.</p> - -<p>While I was in New Orleans I made the acquaintance<a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a> of that genial man, -Tyrone Power, who was just concluding an engagement at the St. Charles -Theatre. In bidding me farewell, he wished me every success and hoped we -should meet again. Alas, poor Power! All the world knows how he set sail -from our shores, and he and his ship were never seen again. Fanny -Ellsler was also in New Orleans, and when I saw seats in the dress -circle sold at an average of four dollars and one-half, I gave her -agent, Chevalier Henry Wyckoff, great credit for exciting public -enthusiasm to the highest pitch and I thought the prices enormous. I did -not dream then that, within twelve years, I should be selling tickets in -the same city for full five times that sum.</p> - -<p>At Pittsburg, where I arrived March 30th, I learned that Jenkins, who -had enticed Francis Lynch away from me at St. Louis, was exhibiting him -at the Museum under the name of “Master Diamond,” and visiting the -performance, the next day I wrote Jenkins an ironical review for which -he threatened suit and he actually instigated R. W. Lindsay, from whom I -hired Joice Heth in Philadelphia in 1835, and whom I had not seen since, -though he was then residing in Pittsburg, to sue me for a pipe of brandy -which, it was pretended, was promised in addition to the money paid him. -I was required to give bonds of $500, which, as I was among strangers, I -could not immediately procure, and I was accordingly thrown into jail -till four o’clock in the afternoon, when I was liberated. The next day I -caused the arrest of Jenkins for trespass in assuming Master Diamond’s -name and reputation for Master Lynch, and he was sent to jail till four -o’clock in the afternoon. Each having had his turn at this amusement, we -adjourned our controversy to New York where<a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a> I beat him. As for Lindsay, -I heard nothing more of his claim or him till twelve years afterwards -when he called on me in Boston with an apology. He was very poor and I -was highly prosperous, and I may add that Lindsay did not lack a friend.</p> - -<p>I arrived in New York, April 23rd, 1841, after an absence of eight -months; finding my family in good health, I resolved once more that I -would never again be an itinerant showman. Three days afterwards I -contracted with Robert Sears, the publisher, for five hundred copies of -“Sears’ Pictorial Illustrations of the Bible,” at $500, and accepting -the United States agency, I opened an office, May 10th, at the corner of -Beekman and Nassau Streets, the site of the present Nassau Bank. I had -had a limited experience with that book in this way: When I was in -Pittsburg, an acquaintance, Mr. C. D. Harker, was complaining that he -had nothing to do, when I picked up a New York paper and saw the -advertisement of “Sears’s Pictorial Illustrations of the Bible, price $2 -a copy.” Mr. Harker thought he could get subscribers, and I bought him a -specimen copy, agreeing to furnish him with as many as he wanted at -$1.37½ a copy, though I had never before seen the work and did not know -the wholesale price. The result was that he obtained eighty subscribers -in two days, and made $50. My own venture in the work was not so -successful; I advertised largely, had plenty of agents, and, in six -months, sold thousands of copies; but irresponsible agents used up all -my profits and my capital.</p> - -<p>While engaged in this business I once more leased Vauxhall saloon, -opening it June 14th, 1841, employing Mr. John Hallett, my -brother-in-law, as<a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a> manager under my direction, and at the close of the -season, September 25th, we had cleared about two hundred dollars. This -sum was soon exhausted, and with my family on my hands and no employment -I was glad to do anything that would keep the wolf from the door. I -wrote advertisements and notices for the Bowery Amphitheatre, receiving -for the service four dollars a week, which I was very glad to get, and I -also wrote articles for the Sunday papers, deriving a fair remuneration -and managing to get a living. But I was at the bottom round of fortune’s -ladder, and it was necessary to make an effort which would raise me -above want.</p> - -<p>I was specially stimulated to this effort by a letter which I received, -about this time, from my esteemed friend, Hon. Thomas T. Whittlesey, of -Danbury. He held a mortgage of five hundred dollars on a piece of -property I owned in that place, and, as he was convinced that I would -never lay up anything, he wrote me that I might as well pay him then as -ever. This letter made me resolve to live no longer from hand to mouth, -but to concentrate my energies upon laying up something for the future.</p> - -<p>While I was forming this practical determination I was much nearer to -its realization than my most sanguine hopes could have predicted. The -road to fortune was close by. Without suspecting it, I was about to -enter upon an enterprise, which, while giving full scope for whatever -tact, industry and pluck I might possess, was to take me from the foot -of the ladder and place me many rounds above.</p> - -<p>As outside clerk for the Bowery Amphitheatre I had casually learned that -the collection of curiosities<a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a> comprising Scudder’s American Museum, at -the corner of Broadway and Ann Street, was for sale. It belonged to the -daughters of Mr. Scudder, and was conducted for their benefit by John -Furzman, under the authority of Mr. John Heath, administrator. The price -asked for the entire collection was fifteen thousand dollars. It had -cost its founder, Mr. Scudder, probably fifty thousand dollars, and from -the profits of the establishment he had been able to leave a large -competency to his children. The Museum, however, had been for several -years a losing concern, and the heirs were anxious to sell it. Looking -at this property, I thought I saw that energy, tact and liberality, were -only needed to make it a paying institution, and I determined to -purchase it if possible.</p> - -<p>“You buy the American Museum!” said a friend, who knew the state of my -funds, “what do you intend buying it with?”</p> - -<p>“Brass,” I replied, “for silver and gold have I none.”</p> - -<p>The Museum building belonged to Mr. Francis W. Olmsted, a retired -merchant, to whom I wrote stating my desire to buy the collection, and -that although I had no means, if it could, be purchased upon reasonable -credit, I was confident that my tact and experience, added to a -determined devotion to business, would enable me to make the payments -when due. I therefore asked him to purchase the collection in his own -name; to give me a writing securing it to me provided I made the -payments punctually, including the rent of his building; to allow me -twelve dollars and a half a week on which to support my family; and if -at any time I failed to meet the instalment due, I would vacate the -premises and forfeit all that might have been paid to that date.<a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a> “In -fact, Mr. Olmsted,” I continued in my earnestness, “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.”</p> - -<p>In reply to this letter, which I took to his house myself, he named an -hour when I could call on him, and as I was there at the exact moment, -he expressed himself pleased with my punctuality. He inquired closely as -to my habits and antecedents, and I frankly narrated my experiences as a -caterer for the public, mentioning my amusement ventures in Vauxhall -Garden, the circus, and in the exhibitions I had managed at the South -and West.</p> - -<p>“Who are your references?” he inquired.</p> - -<p>“Any man in my line,” I 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 <i>Sun</i>.</p> - -<p>“Can you get any of them to call on me?” he continued.</p> - -<p>I told him that I could, and the next day my friend Niblo rode down and -had an interview with Mr. Olmsted, while Mr. Beach and several other -gentlemen also called, and the following morning I waited upon him for -his decision.</p> - -<p>“I don’t like your references, Mr. Barnum,” said Mr. Olmsted, abruptly, -as soon as I entered the room.</p> - -<p>I was confused, and said “I regretted to hear it.”</p> - -<p>“They all speak too well of you,” he added, laughing; “in fact they all -talk as if they were partners of yours, and intended to share the -profits.”<a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a></p> - -<p>Nothing could have pleased me better. 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 an adjoining building, allowing therefor, $500 a year, -making a total rent 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.</p> - -<p>I at once saw Mr. John Heath, the administrator, and his price was -$15,000. I offered $10,000, payable in seven annual instalments, 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 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 farther 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Of course, I immediately informed myself as to the<a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a> 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 join 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.</p> - -<p>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 -<i>Atlas</i>, 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 monkey and gander skins; appealing to the case of the -Zoölogical 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 Crumpet-baking and Punctual Delivery -Company.”</p> - -<p>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 -would not touch the Museum at <i>any</i> price. “Now,” said I, “if you will -agree with me confidentially, that in case these gentlemen do not pay -you on the 26th of<a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>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 documents if -the other parties did not meet their engagement.</p> - -<p>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.<a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /><br /> -<small>THE AMERICAN MUSEUM.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">A TRAP SET FOR ME—I CATCH THE TRAPPERS—I BECOME PROPRIETOR OF THE -AMERICAN MUSEUM—HISTORY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT—HARD WORK AND COLD -DINNERS—ADDITIONS TO THE MUSEUM—EXTRAORDINARY -ADVERTISING—BARNUM’S BRICK-MAN—EXCITING PUBLIC -CURIOSITY—INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES—A DRUNKEN ACTOR—IMITATIONS OF -THE ELDER BOOTH—PLEASING MY PATRONS—SECURING TRANSIENT -NOVELTIES—LIVING CURIOSITIES—MAKING PEOPLE TALK—A WILDERNESS OF -WONDERS—NIAGARA FALLS WITH REAL WATER—THE CLUB THAT KILLED -COOK—SELLING LOUIS GAYLORD CLARK—THE FISH WITH LEGS—THE FEJEE -MERMAID—HOW IT CAME INTO MY POSSESSION—THE TRUE STORY OF THAT -CURIOSITY—JAPANESE MANUFACTURE OF FABULOUS ANIMALS—THE USE I MADE -OF THE MERMAID—WHOLESALE ADVERTISING AGAIN—THE BALCONY -BAND—DRUMMOND LIGHTS.</p></div> - -<p>M<small>Y</small> newspaper squib war against the Peale combination was vigorously kept -up; when one morning, about the first of 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 1, 1842, and -after complimenting me on my ability, the president remarked: “Of -course, Mr. Barnum, we shall have no more of your squibs through<a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a> the -newspapers”—to which I replied that I should “ever try to serve the -interests of my employers,” and I took my leave.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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. -Olmstead’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 despatch the following complimentary note:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">American Museum</span>, <span class="smcap">New York</span>, Dec. 27, 1841.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><i>To the President and Directors of the New York Museum:</i></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Gentlemen:</span>—It gives me great pleasure to inform you that you are -placed upon the Free List of this establishment until further -notice.</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">P. T. Barnum</span>, <i>Proprietor</i>.<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>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<a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a> demanded the $1,000 paid on -his agreement, but he did not prosecute, and he justly forfeited his -deposit money.</p> - -<p>And now that I was proprietor and manager of the American Museum I had -reached a new epoch in my career which I felt was the beginning of -better days, though the full significance of this important step I did -not see. I was still in the show business, but in a settled, substantial -phase of it, that invited industry and enterprise, and called for ever -earnest and ever heroic endeavor. Whether I should sink or swim depended -wholly upon my own energy. I must pay for the establishment within a -stipulated time, or forfeit it with whatever I had paid on account. I -meant to make it my own, and brains, hands and every effort were devoted -to the interests of the Museum.</p> - -<p>The nucleus of this establishment, Scudder’s Museum, was formed in 1810, -the year in which I was born. It was begun in Chatham Street, and was -afterwards 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, I have no doubt that the previous proprietor had actually -expended, as was stated, $50,000 in making the collection. No one could -go through the halls, as they were when they came under my -proprietorship, and see one-half there was worth seeing in a single day; -and then, as I always justly boasted afterwards, no one could visit my -Museum and go away without feeling that he had received the full worth -of his money. In looking over the immense<a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a> collection, the accumulation -of so many years, I saw that it was only necessary to properly present -its merits to the public, to make it the most attractive and popular -place of resort and entertainment in the United States.</p> - -<p>Valuable as the collection was when I bought it, it was only the -beginning of the American Museum as I made it. In my long proprietorship -I considerably more than doubled the permanent attractions and -curiosities of the establishment. In 1842, I bought and added to my -collection the entire contents of Peale’s Museum; in 1850, I purchased -the large Peale collection in Philadelphia; and year after year, I -bought genuine curiosities, regardless of cost, wherever I could find -them, in Europe or America.</p> - -<p>At the very outset, I was determined to deserve success. My plan of -economy included the intention to support my family in New York on $600 -a year, and my treasure of a wife not only gladly assented, but was -willing to reduce the sum to $400, if necessary. Some six months after I -had bought the Museum, Mr. Olmsted happened in at my ticket-office at -noon and found me eating a frugal dinner of cold corned beef and bread, -which I had brought from home.</p> - -<p>“Is this the way you eat your dinner?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“I have not eaten a warm dinner, except on Sundays,” I replied, “since I -bought the Museum, and I never intend to, on a week day, till I am out -of debt.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said he, clapping me on the shoulder, “you are safe, and will pay -for the Museum before the year is out.”</p> - -<p>And he was right, for within twelve months I was in<a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a> full possession of -the property as my own and it was entirely paid for from the profits of -the business.</p> - -<p>In 1865, the space occupied for my Museum purposes was more than double -what it was 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, my 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 afterwards, Wednesday afternoons were devoted to -entertainments and the popularity of the Museum grew so rapidly that I -presently found it expedient and profitable to open the great Lecture -Room every afternoon, as well as every evening, on every week-day in the -year. The first experiments in this direction, more than justified my -expectations, for the day exhibitions were always more thronged than -those of the evening. Of course I made the most of the holidays, -advertising extensively and presenting extra inducements; nor did -attractions elsewhere seem to keep the crowd from coming to the Museum. -On great holidays, I gave as many as twelve performances to as many -different audiences.</p> - -<p>By degrees the character of the stage performances was changed. The -transient attractions of the Museum were constantly diversified, and -educated dogs, industrious fleas, automatons, jugglers, ventriloquists, -living statuary, tableaux, gipsies, Albinoes, fat boys, giants, dwarfs, -rope-dancers, live “Yankees,” pantomime, instrumental music, singing and -dancing in great variety, dioramas, panoramas, models of Niagara, -Dublin,<a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a> 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 Fantoccini, 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.</p> - -<p>I thoroughly understood the art of advertising, not merely by means of -printer’s ink, which I have always used freely, and to which I confess -myself so much indebted for my success, but by turning every possible -circumstance to my account. It was my monomania to make the Museum the -town wonder and town talk. I often seized upon an opportunity by -instinct, even before I had a very definite conception as to how it -should be used, and it seemed, somehow, to mature itself and serve my -purpose. As an illustration, 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.</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a> 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.”</p> - -<p>“What is the object of this?” inquired the man.</p> - -<p>“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 resumé your work.”</p> - -<p>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 -afterwards, 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 afterwards -returning to his round. This was repeated every hour till 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 I had<a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a> -imparted my object, complained that the obstruction of the sidewalk by -crowds had become so serious that I must call in my “brick man.” This -trivial incident excited considerable talk and amusement; it advertised -me; and it materially advanced my purpose of making a lively corner near -the Museum.</p> - -<p>I am tempted to relate some of the incidents and anecdotes which -attended my career as owner and manager of the Museum. The stories -illustrating merely my introduction of novelties would more than fill -this book, but I must make room for a few of them.</p> - -<p>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, I 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! Calling an -assistant, we took La Rue between us, 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 we 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 me that he should be able to -give his imitations “to a charm.”</p> - -<p>“You drunken brute,” said I, “if you fail, and disappoint my audience, I -will throw you out of the window.”</p> - -<p>He declared that he was “all right,” and I led him behind the scenes, -where I waited with considerable trepidation to watch his movements on -the stage. He began by saying:<a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a></p> - -<p>“Ladies and gentlemen: I will now give you an imitation of Mr. Booth, -the eminent tragedian.”</p> - -<p>His tongue was thick, his language somewhat incoherent, and I had great -misgivings as he proceeded; but as no token of disapprobation came from -the audience, I 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. I lost all patience, and going on the stage and -taking the drunken fellow by the collar, I apologized to the audience, -assuring them that he should not appear before them again. I was about -to march him off, when he stepped to the front, and said:</p> - -<p>“Ladies and gentlemen: Mr. Booth 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.”</p> - -<p>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. I 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 I was forced to lead the actor off. It was his last -appearance on my stage.<a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a></p> - -<p>From the first, it was my study to give my patrons a superfluity of -novelties, and for this I make no special claim to generosity, for it -was strictly a business transaction. To send away my visitors more than -doubly satisfied, was to induce them to come again and to bring their -friends. I meant to make people talk about my Museum; to exclaim over -its wonders; to have men and women all over the country say: “There is -not another place in the United States where so much can be seen for -twenty-five cents as in Barnum’s American Museum.” It was the best -advertisement I could possibly have, and one for which I could afford to -pay. I knew, too, that it was an honorable advertisement, because it was -as deserved as it was spontaneous. And so, in addition to the permanent -collection and the ordinary attractions of the stage, I labored to keep -the Museum well supplied with transient novelties; I exhibited such -living curiosities as a rhinoceros, giraffes, grizzly bears, -ourang-outangs, great serpents, and whatever else of the kind money -would buy or enterprise secure.</p> - -<p>Knowing that a visit to my varied attractions and genuine curiosities -was well worth to any one three times the amount asked as an entrance -fee, I confess that I was not so scrupulous, as possibly I should have -been, about the methods used to call public attention to my -establishment. The one end aimed at was to make men and women think and -talk and wonder, and, as a practical result, go to the Museum. This was -my constant study and occupation.</p> - -<p>It was the world’s way then, as it is now, to excite the community with -flaming posters, promising almost everything for next to nothing. I -confess that I took no pains to set my enterprising fellow-citizens a -better example.<a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a> I fell in with the world’s way; and if my “puffing” was -more persistent, my advertising more audacious, my posters more glaring, -my pictures more exaggerated, my flags more patriotic and my -transparencies more brilliant than they would have been under the -management of my neighbors, it was not because I had less scruple than -they, but more energy, far more ingenuity, and a better foundation for -such promises. In all this, if I cannot be justified, I at least find -palliation in the fact that I presented a wilderness of wonderful, -instructive and amusing realities of such evident and marked merit that -I have yet to learn of a single instance where a visitor went away from -the Museum complaining that he had been defrauded of his money. Surely -this is an offset to any eccentricities to which I may have resorted to -make my establishment widely known.</p> - -<p>Very soon after introducing my extra exhibitions, I purchased for $200, -a curiosity which had much merit and some absurdity. It was a model of -Niagara Falls, in which the merit was that the proportions of the great -cataract, the trees, rocks, and buildings in the vicinity were -mathematically given, while the absurdity was in introducing “real -water” to represent the falls. Yet the model served a purpose in making -“a good line in the bill”—an end in view which was never neglected—and -it helped to give the Museum notoriety. One day I was summoned to appear -before the Board of Croton Water Commissioners, and was informed that as -I paid only $25 per annum for water at the Museum, I must pay a large -extra compensation for the supply for my Niagara Falls. I begged the -board not to believe all that appeared in the papers, nor to interpret -my show-bills too literally, and assured them that a<a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a> single barrel of -water, if my pump was in good order, would furnish my falls for a month.</p> - -<p>It was even so, for the water flowed into a reservoir behind the scenes, -and was forced back with a pump over the falls. On one occasion, Mr. -Louis Gaylord Clark, the editor of the <i>Knickerbocker</i>, came to view my -museum, and introduced himself to me. As I was quite anxious that my -establishment should receive a first-rate notice at his hands, I took -pains to show him everything of interest, except the Niagara Falls, -which I feared would prejudice him against my entire show. But as we -passed the room the pump was at work, warning me that the great cataract -was in full operation, and Clark, to my dismay, insisted upon seeing it.</p> - -<p>“Well, Barnum, I declare, this is quite a new idea; I never saw the like -before.”</p> - -<p>“No?” I faintly inquired, with something like reviving hope.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Clark, “and I hope, with all my heart, I never shall again.”</p> - -<p>But the <i>Knickerbocker</i> spoke kindly of me, and refrained from all -allusions to “the Cataract of Niagara, with real water.” Some months -after, Clark came in breathless one day, and asked me if I had the club -with which Captain Cook was killed? As I had a lot of Indian war clubs -in the collection of aboriginal curiosities, and owing Clark something -on the old Niagara Falls account, I told him I had the veritable club -with documents which placed its identity beyond question, and I showed -him the warlike weapon.</p> - -<p>“Poor Cook! poor Cook!” said Clark, musingly. “Well, Mr. Barnum,” he -continued, with great gravity,<a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a> at the same time extending his hand and -giving mine a hearty shake, “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.”</p> - -<p>A few weeks afterwards, I wrote to Clark that if he would come to my -office I was anxious to consult him on a matter of great importance. He -came, and I said:</p> - -<p>“Now, I don’t want any of your nonsense, but I want your sober advice.”</p> - -<p>He assured me that he would serve me in any way in his power, and I -proceeded to tell him about a wonderful fish from the Nile, offered to -me 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.</p> - -<p>“Is it possible!” asked the astonished Clark.</p> - -<p>I assured him that there was no doubt of it.</p> - -<p>Thereupon he advised me 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. I told him that I thought well -of the speculation, only I did not like the name of the fish.</p> - -<p>“That makes no difference whatever,” said Clark; “what is the name of -the fish?”</p> - -<p>“Tadpole,” I replied with becoming gravity, “but it is vulgarly called -‘pollywog.’<a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a> ”</p> - -<p>“Sold, by thunder!” exclaimed Clark, and he left.</p> - -<p>A curiosity, which in an extraordinary degree served my ever-present -object of extending the notoriety of the Museum was the so-called “Fejee -Mermaid.” It has been supposed that this mermaid was manufactured by my -order, but such is not the fact. I was known as a successful showman, -and strange things of every sort were brought to me from all quarters -for sale or exhibition. In the summer of 1842, Mr. Moses Kimball, of the -Boston Museum, came to New York and showed me what purported to be a -mermaid. He had bought it from a sailor whose father, a sea captain, had -purchased it in Calcutta, in 1822, from some Japanese sailors. I may -mention here that this identical preserved specimen was exhibited in -London in 1822, as I fully verified in my visit to that city in 1858, -for I found an advertisement of it in an old file of the London <i>Times</i>, -and a friend gave me a copy of the <i>Mirror</i>, published by J. Limbird, -335 Strand, November 9, 1822, containing a cut of this same creature and -two pages of letter-press describing it, together with an account of -other mermaids said to have been captured in different parts of the -world. The <i>Mirror</i> stated that this specimen was “the great source of -attraction in the British metropolis, and three to four hundred people -every day pay their shilling to see it.”</p> - -<p>This was the curiosity which had fallen into Mr. Kimball’s hands. I -requested my naturalist’s opinion of the genuineness of the animal and -he said he could not conceive how it could have been manufactured, for -he never saw a monkey with such peculiar teeth, arms, hands, etc., and -he never saw a fish with such peculiar fins; but he did not believe in -mermaids. Nevertheless,<a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a> I concluded to hire this curiosity and to -modify the general incredulity as to the possibility of the existence of -mermaids, and to awaken curiosity to see and examine the specimen, I -invoked the potent power of printer’s ink.</p> - -<p>Since Japan has been opened to the outer world it has been discovered -that certain “artists” in that country manufacture a great variety of -fabulous animals, with an ingenuity and mechanical perfection well -calculated to deceive. No doubt my mermaid was a specimen of this -curious manufacture. I used it mainly to advertise the regular business -of the Museum, and this effective indirect advertising is the only -feature I can commend, in a special show of which, I confess, I am not -proud. I might have published columns in the newspapers, presenting and -praising the great collection of genuine specimens of natural history in -my exhibition, and they would not have attracted nearly so much -attention as did a few paragraphs about the mermaid which was only a -small part of my show. Newspapers throughout the country copied the -mermaid notices, for they were novel and caught the attention of -readers. Thus was the fame of the Museum, as well as the mermaid, wafted -from one end of the land to the other. I was careful to keep up the -excitement, for I knew that every dollar sown in advertising would -return in tens, and perhaps hundreds, in a future harvest, and after -obtaining all the notoriety possible by advertising and by exhibiting -the mermaid at the Museum, I sent the curiosity throughout the country, -directing my agent to everywhere advertise it as “From Barnum’s Great -American Museum, New York.” The effect was immediately felt; money -flowed<a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a> in rapidly and was readily expended in more advertising.</p> - -<p>While I expended money liberally for attractions for the inside of my -Museum, and bought or hired everything curious or rare which was offered -or could be found, I was prodigal in my outlays to arrest or arouse -public attention. When I became proprietor of the establishment, there -were only the words: “American Museum,” to indicate the character of the -concern; there was no bustle or activity about the place; no posters to -announce what was to be seen;—the whole exterior was as dead as the -skeletons and stuffed skins within. My experiences had taught me the -advantages of advertising. I printed whole columns in the papers, -setting forth the wonders of my establishment. Old “fogies” opened their -eyes in amazement at a man who could expend hundreds of dollars in -announcing a show of “stuffed monkey skins”; but these same old fogies -paid their quarters, nevertheless, and when they saw the curiosities and -novelties in the Museum halls, they, like all other visitors, were -astonished as well as pleased, and went home and told their friends and -neighbors and thus assisted in advertising my business.</p> - -<p>For other and not less effective advertising,—flags and banners, began -to adorn the exterior of the building. I kept a band of music on the -front balcony and announced “Free Music for the Million.” People said, -“Well, that Barnum is a liberal fellow to give us music for nothing,” -and they flocked down to hear my outdoor free concerts. But I took pains -to select and maintain the poorest band I could find—one whose -discordant notes would drive the crowd into the Museum, out of earshot -of my outside orchestra. Of course,<a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a> the music was poor. When people -expect to get “something for nothing” they are sure to be cheated, and -generally deserve to be, and so, no doubt, some of my out-door patrons -were sorely disappointed; but when they came inside and paid to be -amused and instructed, I took care to see that they not only received -the full worth of their money, but were more than satisfied. Powerful -Drummond lights were placed at the top of the Museum, which, in the -darkest night, threw a flood of light up and down Broadway, from the -Battery to Niblo’s, that would enable one to read a newspaper in the -street. These were the first Drummond lights ever seen in New York, and -they made people talk, and so advertise my Museum.<a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br /><br /> -<small>THE ROAD TO RICHES.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">THE MOST POPULAR PLACE OF AMUSEMENT IN THE WORLD—THE MORAL -DRAMA—REFORMING THE ABUSES OF THE STAGE—FAMOUS ACTORS AND -ACTRESSES AT THE MUSEUM—ADDING TO THE SALOONS—AFTERNOON AND -HOLIDAY PERFORMANCES—FOURTH OF JULY FLAGS—THE MUSEUM CONNECTED -WITH ST. PAUL’S—VICTORY OVER THE VESTRYMEN—THE EGRESS—ST. -PATRICK’S DAY IN THE MORNING—A WONDERFUL ANIMAL, THE -“AIGRESS”—INPOURING OF MONEY—ZOOLOGICAL ERUPTION—THE CITY -ASTOUNDED—BABY SHOWS, AND THEIR OBJECT—FLOWER, BIRD, DOG AND -POULTRY SHOWS—GRAND FREE BUFFALO HUNT IN HOBOKEN—N. P. -WILLIS—THE WOOLLY HORSE—WHERE HE CAME FROM—COLONEL BENTON -BEATEN—PURPOSE OF THE EXHIBITION—AMERICAN INDIANS—P. T. BARNUM -EXHIBITED—A CURIOUS SPINSTER—THE TOUCHING STORY OF CHARLOTTE -TEMPLE—SERVICES IN THE LECTURE ROOM—A FINANCIAL VIEW OF THE -MUSEUM—AN “AWFUL RICH MAN.”</p></div> - -<p>T<small>HE</small> American Museum was the ladder by which I rose to fortune. Whenever -I cross Broadway at the head of Vesey Street, and see the <i>Herald</i> -building and that gorgeous pile, the Park Bank, my mind’s eye recalls -that less solid, more showy edifice which once occupied the site and was -covered with pictures of all manner of beasts, birds and creeping -things, and in which were treasures that brought treasures and notoriety -and pleasant hours to me. The Jenny Lind enterprise was more audacious, -more immediately remunerative, and I remember it with a pride which I do -not attempt to conceal; but instinctively I often go back and live over -again the old days of my struggles and triumphs in the American Museum.</p> - -<p>The Museum was always open at sunrise, and this was so well known -throughout the country that strangers<a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a> coming to the city would often -take a tour through my halls before going to breakfast or to their -hotels. I do not believe there was ever a more truly popular place of -amusement. I frequently compared the annual number of visitors with the -number officially reported as visiting (free of charge), the British -Museum in London, and my list was invariably the larger. Nor do I -believe that any man or manager ever labored more industriously to -please his patrons. I furnished the most attractive exhibitions which -money could procure; I abolished all vulgarity and profanity from the -stage, and I prided myself upon the fact that parents and children could -attend the dramatic performances in the so-called Lecture Room, and not -be shocked or offended by anything they might see or hear; I introduced -the “Moral Drama,” producing such plays as “The Drunkard,” “Uncle Tom’s -Cabin,” “Moses in Egypt,” “Joseph and His Brethren,” and occasional -spectacular melodramas produced with great care and at considerable -outlay.</p> - -<p>Mr. Sothern, who has since attained such wide-spread celebrity at home -and abroad as a character actor, was a member of my dramatic company for -one or two seasons. Mr. Barney Williams also began his theatrical career -at the Museum, occupying, at first, quite a subordinate position, at a -salary of ten dollars a week. During the past twelve or fifteen years, I -presume his weekly receipts, when he has acted, have been nearly $3,000. -The late Miss Mary Gannon also commenced at the Museum, and many more -actors and actresses of celebrity have been, from time to time, engaged -there. What was once the small Lecture Room was converted into a -spacious and beautiful theatre, extending over<a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a> the lots adjoining the -Museum, and capable of holding about three thousand persons. The saloons -were greatly multiplied and enlarged, and the “egress” having been made -to work to perfection, on holidays I advertised Lecture Room -performances every hour through the afternoon and evening, and -consequently the actors and actresses were dressed for the stage as -early as eleven o’clock in the morning, and did not resume their -ordinary clothes till ten o’clock at night. In these busy days the meals -for the company were brought in and served in the dressing-rooms and -green-rooms, and the company always received extra pay.</p> - -<p>Leaving nothing undone that would bring Barnum and his Museum before the -public, I often engaged some exhibition, knowing that it would directly -bring no extra dollars to the treasury, but hoping that it would incite -a newspaper paragraph which would float through the columns of the -American press and be copied, perhaps, abroad, and my hopes in this -respect were often gratified.</p> - -<p>I confess that I liked the Museum mainly for the opportunities it -afforded for rapidly making money. Before I bought it, I weighed the -matter well in my mind, and was convinced that I could present to the -American public such a variety, quantity and quality of amusement, -blended with instruction, “all for twenty-five cents, children half -price,” that my attractions would be irresistible, and my fortune -certain. I myself relished a higher grade of amusement, and I was a -frequent attendant at the opera, first-class concerts, lectures, and the -like; but I worked for the million, and I knew the only way to make a -million from my patrons was to give them abundant and wholesome -attractions for a small sum of money.<a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a></p> - -<p>About the first of July, 1842, I began to make arrangements for extra -novelties, additional performances, a large amount of extra advertising, -and an outdoor display for the “Glorious Fourth.” Large particolored -bills were ordered, transparencies were prepared, the free band of music -was augmented by a trumpeter, and columns of advertisements, headed with -large capitals, were written and put on file.</p> - -<p>I wanted to run out a string of American flags across the street on that -day, for I knew there would be thousands of people passing the Museum -with leisure and pocket-money, and I felt confident that an unusual -display of national flags would arrest their patriotic attention, and -bring many of them within my walls. Unfortunately for my purpose, St. -Paul’s Church stood directly opposite, and there was nothing to which I -could attach my flag-rope, unless it might be one of the trees in the -church-yard. I went to the vestrymen for permission to so attach my flag -rope on the Fourth of July, and they were indignant at what they called -my “insulting proposition”; such a concession would be “sacrilege.” I -plied them with arguments, and appealed to their patriotism, but in -vain.</p> - -<p>Returning to the Museum I gave orders to have the string of flags made -ready, with directions at daylight on the Fourth of July to attach one -end of the rope to one of the third story windows of the Museum, and the -other end to a tree in St. Paul’s churchyard. The great day arrived, and -my orders were strictly followed. The flags attracted great attention, -and before nine o’clock I have no doubt that hundreds of additional -visitors were drawn by this display into the Museum. By half-past nine -Broadway was thronged, and about that time two<a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a> gentlemen in a high -state of excitement rushed into my office, announcing themselves as -injured and insulted vestrymen of St. Paul’s Church.</p> - -<p>“Keep cool, gentlemen,” said I; “I guess it is all right.”</p> - -<p>“Right!” indignantly exclaimed one of them, “do you think it is right to -attach your Museum to our Church? We will show you what is ‘right’ and -what is law, if we live till to-morrow; those flags must come down -instantly.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” I said, “but let us not be in a hurry. I will go out with -you and look at them, and I guess we can make it all right.”</p> - -<p>Going into the street I remarked: “Really, gentlemen, these flags look -very beautiful; they do not injure your tree; I always stop my balcony -music for your accommodation whenever you hold week-day services, and it -is but fair that you should return the favor.”</p> - -<p>“We could indict your ‘music,’ as you call it, as a nuisance, if we -chose,” answered one vestryman, “and now I tell you that if these flags -are not taken down in ten minutes, <i>I</i> will cut them down.”</p> - -<p>His indignation was at the boiling point. The crowd in the street was -dense, and the angry gesticulation of the vestryman attracted their -attention. I saw there was no use in trying to parley with him or coax -him, and so, assuming an angry air, I rolled up my sleeves, and -exclaimed, in a loud tone,—</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a> down the stars and -stripes on this great birth-day of American freedom!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Throngs of excited, exasperated men crowded around, and the vestryman, -seeing the effect of my ruse, smiled faintly and said, “Oh, of course it -is all right,” and he and his companion quietly edged out of the crowd. -The flags remained up all day and all night. The next morning I sought -the vanquished vestrymen and obtained formal permission to make this use -of the tree on following holidays, in consideration of my willingness to -arrest the doleful strains of my discordant balcony band whenever -services were held on week days in the church.</p> - -<p>On that Fourth of July, at one o’clock, P. M., my Museum was so densely -crowded that we could admit no more visitors, and we were compelled to -stop the sale of tickets. I pushed through the throng until I reached -the roof of the building, hoping to find room for a few more, but it was -in vain. Looking down into the street it was a sad sight to see the -thousands of people who stood ready with their money to enter the -Museum, but who were actually turned away. It was exceedingly harrowing -to my feelings. Rushing down stairs, I told my carpenter and his -assistants to cut through the partition and floor in the rear and to put -in a temporary flight of stairs so as to let out people by that egress -into Ann Street. By three o’clock the egress<a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a></p> - -<p><a name="VICTORY_OVER_VESTRYMEN" id="VICTORY_OVER_VESTRYMEN"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p137_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p137_sml.jpg" width="541" height="361" alt="VICTORY OVER VESTRYMEN." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">VICTORY OVER VESTRYMEN.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">was opened and a few people were passed down the new stairs, while a -corresponding number came in at the front. But I lost a large amount of -money that day by not having sufficiently estimated the value of my own -advertising, and consequently not having provided for the thousands who -had read my announcements and seen my outside show, and had taken the -first leisure day to visit the Museum. I had learned one lesson, -however, and that was to have the egress ready on future holidays.</p> - -<p>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 17”; 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?</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“What does this mean?” I inquired; “surely thousands of people have been -all over the Museum since they came in.”</p> - -<p>“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.”<a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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 pass by these rear stairs -into Ann Street and thus avoid all danger.”</p> - -<p>“Sure,” replied the woman, indignantly, “an’ I’m not going out at all, -at all, nor the children aither, for we’ve brought our dinners and we -are going to stay all day.”</p> - -<p>Further, investigation showed that pretty much all of my 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 meanwhile 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—</p> - -<p class="c"> -☞TO THE EGRESS.”<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind">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.”</p> - -<p>“The Aigress,” said others, “sure: that’s an animal we haven’t seen,” -and the throng began to pour down<a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding my continual outlays for additional novelties and -attractions, or rather I might say, because of these outlays, money -poured in upon me so rapidly that I was sometimes actually embarrassed -to devise means to carry out my original plan for laying out the entire -profits of the first year in advertising. I meant to sow first and reap -afterwards. I finally hit upon a plan which cost a large sum, and that -was to prepare large oval oil paintings to be placed between the windows -of the entire building, representing nearly every important animal known -in zoology. These paintings were put on the building in a single night, -and so complete a transformation in the appearance of an edifice is -seldom witnessed. When the living stream rolled down Broadway the next -morning and reached the Astor House corner, opposite the Museum, it -seemed to meet with a sudden check. I never before saw so many open -mouths and astonished eyes. Some people were puzzled to know what it all -meant; some looked as if they thought it was an enchanted palace that -had suddenly sprung up; others exclaimed, “Well, the animals all seem to -have ‘broken out’ last night,” and hundreds came in to see how the -establishment survived the sudden eruption. At all events, from that -morning the Museum receipts took a jump forward of nearly a hundred -dollars a day, and they never fell back again. Strangers would look at -this great pictorial magazine and argue that an establishment<a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a> with so -many animals on the outside must have something on the inside, and in -they would go to see. Inside, I took particular pains to please and -astonish these strangers, and when they went back to the country, they -carried plenty of pictorial bills and lithographs, which I always -lavishly furnished, and thus the fame of Barnum’s Museum became so -wide-spread, that people scarcely thought of visiting the city without -going to my establishment.</p> - -<p>In fact, the Museum had become an established institution in the land. -Now and then some one would cry out “humbug” and “charlatan,” but so -much the better for me. It helped to advertise me, and I was willing to -bear the reputation—and I engaged queer curiosities, and even -monstrosities, simply to add to the notoriety of the Museum.</p> - -<p>Dr. Valentine will be remembered by many as a man who gave imitations -and delineations of eccentric characters. He was quite a card at the -Museum when I first purchased that establishment, and before I -introduced dramatic representations into the “Lecture Room.” His -representations were usually given as follows: A small table was placed -in about the centre of the stage; a curtain reaching to the floor -covered the front and two ends of the table; under this table, on little -shelves and hooks, were placed caps, hats, coats, wigs, moustaches, -curls, cravats, and shirt collars, and all sorts of gear for changing -the appearance of the upper portion of the person. Dr. Valentine would -seat himself in a chair behind the table, and addressing his audience, -would state his intention to represent different peculiar characters, -male and female, including the Yankee tin peddler; “Tabitha Twist,” a -maiden lady; “Sam Slick,<a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a> Jr.,” the precocious author; “Solomon -Jenkins,” a crusty old bachelor, with a song; the down-east -school-teacher with his refractory pupils, with many other characters; -and he simply asked the indulgence of the audience for a few seconds -between each imitation, to enable him to stoop down behind the table and -“dress” each character appropriately.</p> - -<p>The Doctor himself was a most eccentric character. He was very nervous, -and was always fretting lest his audience should be composed of persons -who would not appreciate his “imitations.” During one of his engagements -the Lecture Room performances consisted of negro minstrelsy and Dr. -Valentine’s imitations. As the minstrels gave the entire first half of -the entertainment, the Doctor would post himself at the entrance to the -Museum to study the character of the visitors from their appearance. He -fancied that he was a great reader of character in this way, and as most -of my visitors were from the country, the Doctor, after closely perusing -their faces, would decide that they were not the kind of persons who -would appreciate his efforts, and this made him extremely nervous. When -this idea was once in his head, it took complete possession of the poor -Doctor, and worked him up into a nervous excitement which it was often -painful to behold. Every country-looking face was a dagger to the -Doctor, for he had a perfect horror of exhibiting to an unappreciative -audience. When so much excited that he could stand at the door no -longer, the disgusted Doctor would come into my office and pour out his -lamentations in this wise:</p> - -<p>“There, Barnum, I never saw such a stupid lot of country bumpkins in my -life. I shan’t be able to get a<a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a> smile out of them. I had rather be -horse-whipped than attempt to satisfy an audience who have not got the -brains to appreciate me. Sir, mine is a highly intellectual -entertainment, and none but refined and educated persons can comprehend -it.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I think you will make them laugh some, Doctor,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“Laugh, sir, laugh! why, sir, they have no laugh in them, sir; and if -they had, your devilish nigger minstrels would get it all out of them -before I commenced.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t get excited, Doctor,” I said; “you will please the people.”</p> - -<p>“Impossible, sir! I was a fool to ever permit my entertainment to be -mixed up with that of nigger singers.”</p> - -<p>“But you could not give an entire entertainment satisfactorily to the -public; they want more variety.”</p> - -<p>“Then you should have got something more refined, sir. Why, one of those -cursed nigger break-downs excites your audience so they don’t want to -hear a word from me. At all events, I ought to commence the -entertainment and let the niggers finish up. I tell you, Mr. Barnum, I -won’t stand it! I would rather go to the poor-house. I won’t stay here -over a fortnight longer! It is killing me!”</p> - -<p>In this excited state the Doctor would go upon the stage, dressed very -neatly in a suit of black. Addressing a few pleasant words to the -audience, he would then take a seat behind his little table, and with a -broad smile covering his countenance would ask the audience to excuse -him a few seconds, and he would appear as “Tabitha Twist,” a literary -spinster of fifty-five. On<a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a> these occasions I was usually behind the -scenes, standing at one of the wings opposite the Doctor’s table, where -I could see and hear all that occurred “behind the curtain.” The moment -the Doctor was down behind the table, a wonderful change came over that -smiling countenance.</p> - -<p>“Blast this infernal, stupid audience! they would not laugh to save the -city of New York!” said the Doctor, while he rapidly slipped on a lady’s -cap and a pair of long curls. Then, while arranging a lace handkerchief -around his shoulders, he would grate his teeth and curse the Museum, its -manager, the audience and everybody else. The instant the handkerchief -was pinned, the broad smile would come upon his face, and up would go -his head and shoulders showing to the audience a rollicking specimen of -a good-natured old maid.</p> - -<p>“How do you do, ladies and gentlemen? You all know me, Tabitha Twist, -the happiest maiden in the village; always laughing. Now, I’ll sing you -one of my prettiest songs.”</p> - -<p>The mock maiden would then sing a lively, funny ditty, followed by faint -applause, and down would bob the head behind the table to prepare for a -presentation of “Sam Slick, junior.”</p> - -<p>“Curse such a set of fools” (off goes the cap, followed by the curls). -“They think it’s a country Sunday school” (taking off the lace -handkerchief). “I expect they will hiss me next, the donkeys” (on goes a -light wig of long, flowing hair). “I wish the old Museum was sunk in the -Atlantic” (puts on a Yankee round-jacket, and broadbrimmed hat). “I -never will be caught in this infernal place, curse it;” up jump head -and<a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a> shoulders of the Yankee, and Sam Slick, junior, sings out a merry—</p> - -<p>“Ha! ha! why, folks, how de dew. Darn glad to see you, by hokey; I came -down here to have lots of fun, for you know I always believe we must -laugh and grow fat.”</p> - -<p>After five minutes of similar rollicking nonsense, down would bob the -head again, and the cursing, swearing, tearing, and teeth-grating would -commence, and continue till the next character appeared to the audience, -bedecked with smiles and good-humor.</p> - -<p>On several occasions I got up “Baby shows,” at which I paid liberal -prizes for the finest baby, the fattest baby, the handsomest twins, for -triplets, and so on. I always gave several months’ notice of these -intended shows and limited the number of babies at each exhibition to -one hundred. Long before the appointed time, the list would be full and -I have known many a fond mother to weep bitterly because the time for -application was closed and she could not have the opportunity to exhibit -her beautiful baby. These shows were as popular as they were unique, and -while they paid in a financial point of view, my chief object in getting -them up was to set the newspapers to talking about me, thus giving -another blast on the trumpet which I always tried to keep blowing for -the Museum. Flower shows, dog shows, poultry shows and bird shows, were -held at intervals in my establishment and in each instance the same end -was attained as by the baby shows. I gave prizes in the shape of medals, -money and diplomas and the whole came back to me four-fold in the shape -of advertising.</p> - -<p>There was great difficulty, however, in awarding the<a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a></p> - -<p><a name="SQUALLS_AND_BREEZES" id="SQUALLS_AND_BREEZES"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p146_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p146_sml.jpg" width="540" height="363" alt="SQUALLS AND BREEZES." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SQUALLS AND BREEZES.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">principal prize of $100 at the baby shows. Every mother thought her own -baby the brightest and best, and confidently expected the capital prize.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">For where was ever seen the mother<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Would give her baby for another?<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Not foreseeing this when I first stepped into the expectant circle and -announced in a matter of fact way that a committee of ladies had decided -upon the baby of Mrs. So and So as entitled to the leading prize, I was -ill-prepared for the storm of indignation that arose on every side. -Ninety-nine disappointed, and as they thought, deeply injured, mothers -made common cause and pronounced the successful little one the meanest, -homeliest baby in the lot, and roundly abused me and my committee for -our stupidity and partiality. “Very well, ladies,” said I in the first -instance, “select a committee of your own and I will give another $100 -prize to the baby you shall pronounce to be the best specimen.” This was -only throwing oil upon flame; the ninety-nine confederates were deadly -enemies from the moment and no new babies were presented in competition -for the second prize. Thereafter, I took good care to send in a written -report and did not attempt to announce the prize in person.</p> - -<p>At the first exhibition of the kind, there was a vague, yet very current -rumor, that in the haste of departure from the Museum several young -mothers had exchanged babies (for the babies were nearly all of the same -age and were generally dressed alike) and did not discover the mistake -till they arrived home and some such conversation as this occurred -between husband and wife:</p> - -<p>“Did our baby take the prize?”</p> - -<p>“No! the darling was cheated out of it.”<a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a></p> - -<p>“Well, why didn’t you bring home the same baby you carried to the -Museum?”</p> - -<p>I am glad to say that I could not trace this cruel rumor to an authentic -source.</p> - -<p>In June 1843, a herd of yearling buffaloes was on exhibition in Boston. -I 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—I was careful not to state -their age—and that August 31st there would be a “Grand Buffalo Hunt” on -the Hoboken race course—all persons to be admitted free of charge.</p> - -<p>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 my balcony band, which I also furnished “free,” and then started for -New York, little dreaming who was the author of this sensation, or what -was its object.</p> - -<p>Mr. N. P. Willis, then editor of the <i>Home Journal</i>, 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<a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>After the public had enjoyed a laugh for several days over the Hoboken -“Free Grand Buffalo Hunt,” I permitted it to be announced that the -proprietor of the American Museum was responsible for the joke, thus -using the buffalo hunt as a sky-rocket to attract public attention to my -Museum. The object was accomplished and although some people cried out -“humbug,” I had added to the notoriety which I so much wanted and I was -satisfied. As for the cry of “humbug,” it never harmed me, and I was in -the position of the actor who had much rather be roundly abused than not -to be noticed at all. I ought to add, that the forty-eight thousand -sixpences—the usual fare—received for ferry fares, less what I paid -for the charter of the boats on that one day, more than remunerated me -for the cost of the buffaloes and the expenses of the “hunt,” and the -enormous gratuitous advertising of the Museum must also be placed to my -credit.</p> - -<p>With the same object—that is, advertising my Museum,—I purchased, for -$500, in Cincinnati, Ohio, a “Woolly Horse” I found on exhibition in -that city. It was a well formed, small sized horse, with no mane,<a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a> and -not a particle of hair on his tail, while his entire body and legs were -covered with thick, fine hair or wool, which curled tight to his skin. -This horse was foaled in Indiana, and was a remarkable freak of nature, -and certainly a very curious looking animal.</p> - -<p>I had not the remotest idea, when I bought this horse, what I should do -with him; but when the news came that Colonel John C. Fremont (who was -supposed to have been lost in the snows of the Rocky Mountains) was in -safety, the “Woolly Horse” was exhibited in New York, and was widely -advertised as a most remarkable animal that had been captured by the -great explorer’s party in the passes of the Rocky Mountains. The -exhibition met with only moderate success in New York, and in several -Northern provincial towns, and the show would have fallen flat in -Washington, had it not been for the over-zeal of Colonel Thomas H. -Benton, then a United States Senator from Missouri. He went to the show, -and then caused the arrest of my agent for obtaining twenty-five cents -from him under “false pretences.” No mention had been made of this -curious animal in any letter he had received from his son-in-law, -Colonel John C. Fremont, and therefore the Woolly Horse had not been -captured by any of Fremont’s party. The reasoning was hardly as sound as -were most of the arguments of “Old Bullion,” and the case was dismissed. -After a few days of merriment, public curiosity no longer turned in that -direction, and the old horse was permitted to retire to private life. My -object in the exhibition, however, was fully attained. When it was -generally known that the proprietor of the American Museum was also the -owner of the famous “Woolly Horse,” it caused yet more talk about me<a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a> -and my establishment, and visitors began to say that they would give -more to see the proprietor of the Museum than to view the entire -collection of curiosities. As for my ruse in advertising the “Woolly -Horse” as having been captured by Fremont’s exploring party, of course -the announcement neither added to nor took from the interest of the -exhibition; but it arrested public attention, and it was the only -feature of the show that I now care to forget.</p> - -<p>It will be seen that very much of the success which attended my many -years proprietorship of the American Museum was due to advertising, and -especially to my odd methods of advertising. Always claiming that I had -curiosities worth showing and worth seeing, and exhibited “dog cheap” at -“twenty-five cents admission, children half price”—I studied ways to -arrest public attention; to startle, to make people talk and wonder; in -short, to let the world know that I had a Museum.</p> - -<p>About this time, I engaged a band of Indians from Iowa. They had never -seen a railroad or steamboat until they saw them on the route from Iowa -to New York. Of course they were wild and had but faint ideas of -civilization. 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<a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a> 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, we had a high rope barrier -placed between them and the savages on the front of the stage.</p> - -<p>After they had been a week in the Museum, 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 woollen 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.</p> - -<p>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.<a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a></p> - -<p>One of the beautiful squaws named Do-humme died in the Museum. She had -been a great favorite with many ladies,—among whom I can especially -name Mrs. C. M. Sawyer, wife of the Rev. Dr. T. J. Sawyer. 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>It was sometimes very amusing to hear the remarks of strangers who came -to visit my Museum. One afternoon a prim maiden lady from Portland, -Maine, walked into my private office, where I was busily engaged in -writing, and taking a seat on the sofa she asked:</p> - -<p>“Is this Mr. Barnum?”</p> - -<p>“It is,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“Is this Mr. P. T. Barnum, the proprietor of the Museum?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“The same,” was my answer.</p> - -<p>“Why, really, Mr. Barnum,” she continued, “you look much like other -common folks, after all.”</p> - -<p>I remarked that I presumed I did; but I could not help it, and I hoped -she was not disappointed at my appearance.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,” she said; “I suppose I have no right to be disappointed, but I -have read and heard so much about you and your Museum that I was quite -prepared to be astonished.”<a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a></p> - -<p>I asked her if she had been through the establishment.</p> - -<p>“I have,” she replied; “I came in immediately after breakfast; I have -been here ever since, and, I can say I think with the Queen of Sheba, -that ‘the half had not been told me.’ But, Mr. Barnum,” she, continued, -“I have long felt a desire to see you; I wanted to attend when you -lectured on temperance in Portland, but I had a severe cold and could -not go out.”</p> - -<p>“Do you like my collection as well as you do the one in the Boston -Museum?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“Dear me! Mr. Barnum,” said she, “I never went to any Museum before, nor -to any place of amusement or public entertainment, excepting our school -exhibitions; and I have sometimes felt that they even may be wicked, for -some parts of the dialogues seemed frivolous; but I have heard so much -of your ‘moral drama’ and the great good you are doing for the rising -generation that I thought I must come here and see for myself.”</p> - -<p>“We represent the pathetic story of ‘Charlotte Temple’ in the Lecture -Room to-day,” I remarked, with an inward chuckle at the peculiarities of -my singular visitor, who, although she was nearly fifty years of age, -had probably never been in an audience of a hundred persons, unless it -might be at a school exhibition, or in Sunday school, or in church.</p> - -<p>“Indeed! I am quite familiar with the sad history of Miss Temple, and I -think I can derive great consolation from witnessing the representation -of the touching story.”</p> - -<p>At this moment the gong sounded to announce the opening of the Lecture -Room, and the crowd passed on<a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a> in haste to secure seats. My spinster -visitor sprang to her feet and anxiously inquired:</p> - -<p>“Are the services about to commence?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” I replied, “the congregation is now going up.”</p> - -<p>She marched along with the crowd as demurely as if she was going to a -funeral. After she was seated, I watched her, and in the course of the -play I noticed that she was several times so much overcome as to be -moved to tears. She was very much affected, and when the “services” were -over, without seeking another interview with me, she went silently and -tearfully away.</p> - -<p>One day, two city boys who had thoroughly explored the wonders of the -Museum, on their way out passed the open door of my private office, and -seeing me sitting there, one of them exclaimed to his companion:</p> - -<p>“There! That’s Mr. Barnum.”</p> - -<p>“No! is it?” asked the other, and then with his mind full of the glories -of the stuffed gander-skins, and other wealth which had been displayed -to his wondering eyes in the establishment, he summed up his views of -the vastness and value of the whole collection, and its fortunate -proprietor in a single sentence:</p> - -<p>“Well, he’s an awful rich old cuss, ain’t he!”</p> - -<p>Those boys evidently took a strictly financial view of the -establishment.<a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.<br /><br /> -<small>ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SPECULATION.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">PEALE’S MUSEUM—MYSTERIOUS MESMERISM—YANKEE HILL—HENRY -BENNETT—THE RIVAL MUSEUMS—THE ORPHEAN AND ORPHAN FAMILIES—THE -FUDGEE MERMAID—BUYING OUT MY RIVAL—RUNNING OPPOSITION TO -MYSELF—ABOLISHING THEATRICAL NUISANCES—NO CHECKS AND NO BAR—THE -MUSEUM MY MANIA—MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES S. -STRATTON—GENERAL TOM THUMB IN NEW YORK—RE-ENGAGEMENT—AN APT -PUPIL—FREE FROM DEBT—THE PROFITS OF TWO YEARS—IN SEARCH OF A NEW -FIELD—STARTING FOR LIVERPOOL—THE GOOD SHIP “YORKSHIRE”—MY -PARTY—ESCORT TO SANDY HOOK—THE VOYAGE—A TOBACCO TRICK—A -BRAGGING JOHN BULL OUTWITTED—ARRIVAL AT LIVERPOOL—A GENTLEMAN -BEGGAR—MADAME CELESTE—CHEAP DWARFS—TWO-PENNY SHOWS—EXHIBITION -OF GENERAL TOM THUMB IN LIVERPOOL—FIRST-CLASS ENGAGEMENT FOR -LONDON.</p></div> - -<p>T<small>HE</small> president and directors of the “New York Museum Company” not only -failed to buy the American Museum as they confidently expected to do, -but, after my newspaper squib war and my purchase of the Museum, they -found it utterly impossible to sell their stock. By some arrangement, -the particulars of which I do not remember, if, indeed, I ever cared to -know them, Mr. Peale was conducting Peale’s Museum which he claimed was -a more “scientific” establishment than mine, and he pretended to appeal -to a higher class of patrons. Mesmerism was one of his scientific -attractions, and he had a subject upon whom he operated at times with -the greatest seeming success, and fairly astonished his audiences. But -there were times when the subject was wholly unimpressible and then -those who had paid their money to see the woman put into the mesmeric -state cried out “humbug,” and the reputation of the establishment -seriously suffered.<a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a></p> - -<p>It devolved upon me to open a rival mesmeric performance, and -accordingly I engaged a bright little girl who was exceedingly -susceptible to such mesmeric influences as I could induce. That is, she -learned her lesson thoroughly, and when I had apparently put her to -sleep with a few passes and stood behind her, she seemed to be duly -“impressed” as I desired; raised her hands as I willed; fell from her -chair to the floor; and if I put candy or tobacco into my 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.</p> - -<p>That point was reached, when leaving the girl “asleep,” I 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 my “passes” would -not put any man in the mesmeric state; at the end of three minutes he -was as wide awake as ever.</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” I would say, looking at my 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.” I would then take out my knife and -feel of the edge, and when I turned around to the girl whom I 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.</p> - -<p>“Why! where’s my little girl?” I asked with feigned astonishment.<a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a></p> - -<p>“Oh! she ran away when you began to talk about cutting off fingers.”</p> - -<p>“Then she was wide awake, was she?”</p> - -<p>“Of course she was, all the time.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I kept up this performance for several weeks, till I quite killed -Peale’s “genuine” mesmerism in the rival establishment. After Peale, -“Yankee” Hill undertook the management of that Museum, but in a little -while he failed. It was then let to Henry Bennett, who reduced the -entrance price to one shilling,—a half price which led me to -characterize his concern as “cheap and nasty,”—and he began a serious -rivalry with my Museum. His main reliances were burlesques and -caricatures of whatever novelties I was exhibiting; thus, when I -advertised an able company of vocalists, well-known as the Orphean -Family, Bennett announced the “Orphan Family;” my Fejee Mermaid he -offset with a figure made of a monkey and codfish joined together and -called the “Fudg-ee Mermaid.” These things created some laughter at my -expense, but they also served to advertise my Museum.</p> - -<p>When the novelty of this opposition died away, Bennett did a decidedly -losing business. I used to send a man with a shilling to his place every -night and I knew exactly how much he was doing and what were his -receipts. The holidays were coming and might tide him over a day or two, -but he was at the very bottom and I said to him, one day:</p> - -<p>“Bennett, if you can keep open one week after New Year’s I will give you -a hundred dollars.”<a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a></p> - -<p>He made every effort to win the money, and even went to the landlord and -offered him the entire receipts for a week if he would only let him stay -there; but he would not do it, and the day after New Year’s, January 2, -1843, Bennett shut up shop, having lost his last dollar and even failing -to secure the handsome premium I offered him.</p> - -<p>The entire collection fell into the hands of the landlord for arrearages -of rent, and I privately purchased it for $7,000 cash, hired the -building, and secretly engaged Bennett as my agent. We ran a very -spirited opposition for a long time and abused each other terribly in -public. It was very amusing when actors and performers failed to make -terms with one of us and went to the other, carrying from one to the -other the price each was willing to pay for an engagement. We thus used -to hear extraordinary stories about each other’s “liberal terms,” but -between the two we managed to secure such persons as we wanted at about -the rates at which their services were really worth. While these people -were thus running from one manager to the other, supposing we were -rivals, Bennett said to me one day:</p> - -<p>“You and I are like a pair of shears; we seem to cut each other, but we -only cut what comes between.”</p> - -<p>I ran my opposition long enough to beat myself. It answered every -purpose, however, in awakening public attention to my Museum, and was an -advantage in preventing others from starting a genuine opposition. At -the end of six months, the whole establishment, including the splendid -gallery of American portraits, was removed to the American Museum and I -immediately advertised the great card of a “Double attraction” and “Two -Museums in One,” without extra charge.<a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a></p> - -<p>A Museum proper obviously depends for patronage largely upon country -people who visit the city with a worthy curiosity to see the novelties -of the town. As I had opened a dramatic entertainment in connection with -my curiosities, it was clear that I must adapt my stage to the wants of -my country customers. While I was disposed to amuse my provincial -patrons, I was determined that there should be nothing in my -establishment, where many of my visitors would derive their first -impressions of city life, that could contaminate or corrupt them. At -this period, it was customary to tolerate very considerable license on -the stage. Things were said and done and permitted in theatres that -elsewhere would have been pronounced highly improper. The public seemed -to demand these things, and it is an axiom in political economy, that -the demand must regulate the supply. But I determined, at the start, -that, let the demand be what it might, the Museum dramatic -entertainments should be unexceptionable on the score of morality.</p> - -<p>I have already mentioned some of the immediate reforms I made in the -abuses of the stage. I went farther, and, at the risk of some pecuniary -sacrifice, I abolished what was common enough in other theatres, even -the most “respectable,” and was generally known as the “third tier.” Nor -was a bar permitted on my premises. To be sure, I had no power to -prevent my patrons from going out between the acts and getting liquor if -they chose to do so, and I gave checks, as is done in other theatres, -and some of my city customers availed themselves of the opportunity to -go out for drinks and return again. Practically, then, it was much the -same as if I had kept a bar in the Museum, and so<a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a> I abolished the check -business. There was great reason to apprehend that such a course would -rob me of the patronage of a considerable class of play-goers, but I -rigidly adhered to the new rule, and what I may have lost in money, I -more than gained in the greater decorum which characterized my -audiences.</p> - -<p>The Museum became a mania with me and I made everything possible -subservient to it. On the eve of elections, rival politicians would ask -me for whom I was going to vote, and my answer invariably was, “I vote -for the American Museum.” In fact, at that time, I cared very little -about politics, and a great deal about my business. Meanwhile the Museum -prospered wonderfully, and everything I attempted or engaged in seemed -at the outset an assured success.</p> - -<p>The giants whom I exhibited from time to time were always literally -great features in my establishment, and they oftentimes afforded me, as -well as my 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 called his ‘study’—meaning, I suppose, the place where he -intends to study his spelling-book!”</p> - -<p>I 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<a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a> -other, and of the attention the rival received, or the notice he -attracted. One day they quarrelled, 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 my 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 <i>attaches</i> to the spot, and these men threw themselves between -the gigantic combatants. Hearing the disturbance, I ran from my private -office to the duelling ground, and said:</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>This proposition, made in apparent earnest, so delighted the giants that -they at once burst into a laugh, shook hands, and quarrelled no more.</p> - -<p>I now come to the details of one of the most interesting, as well as -successful, of all the show enterprises in which I have engaged—one -which not only taxed all my ingenuity and industry, but which gave -unqualified<a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a></p> - -<p><a name="BATTLE_OF_THE_GIANTS" id="BATTLE_OF_THE_GIANTS"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p162_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p162_sml.jpg" width="365" height="544" alt="BATTLE OF THE GIANTS." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">BATTLE OF THE GIANTS.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">delight to thousands of people on two continents and put enormous sums -of money into many pockets besides my own.</p> - -<p>In November, 1842, I was in Albany on business, and as the Hudson River -was frozen over, I returned to New York by the Housatonic Railroad, -stopping one night at Bridgeport, Connecticut, with my brother, Philo F. -Barnum, who at that time kept the Franklin Hotel. I had heard of a -remarkably small child in Bridgeport, and, at my request, my brother -brought him to the hotel. He was not two feet high; he weighed less than -sixteen pounds, and was the smallest child I ever saw that could walk -alone; but 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.</p> - -<p>But as he was only five years of age, to exhibit him as a “dwarf” might -provoke the inquiry “How do you know he is a dwarf?” Some liberty might -be taken with the facts, but even with this license, I felt that the -venture was only an experiment, and I engaged him for four weeks at -three dollars a week, with all travelling and boarding charges for -himself and his mother at my expense. They came to New York, -Thanksgiving day, December 8, 1842, and Mrs. Stratton was greatly -surprised to see her son announced on my Museum bills as “General Tom -Thumb.”</p> - -<p>I took the greatest pains to educate and train my<a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a> diminutive prodigy, -devoting many hours to the task by day and by night, and I was very -successful, for he was an apt pupil with a great deal of native talent, -and a keen sense of the ludicrous. He made rapid progress in preparing -himself for such performances as I wished him to undertake and he became -very much attached to his teacher.</p> - -<p>When the four weeks expired, I 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 I was to -pay all travelling expenses. He speedily became a public favorite, and, -long before the year was out, I voluntarily increased his weekly salary -to twenty-five dollars, and he fairly earned it. Sometimes I exhibited -him for several weeks in succession at the Museum, and when I wished to -introduce other novelties I sent him to different towns and cities, -accompanied by my friend, Mr. Fordyce Hitchcock, and the fame of General -Tom Thumb soon spread throughout the country.</p> - -<p>Two years had now elapsed since I bought the Museum and I had long since -paid for the entire establishment from the profits; I had bought out my -only rival; I was free from debt, and had a handsome surplus in the -treasury. The business had long ceased to be an experiment; it was an -established success and was in such perfect running order, that it could -safely be committed to the management of trustworthy and tried agents.</p> - -<p>Accordingly, looking for a new field for my individual efforts, I -entered into an agreement for General<a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a> Tom Thumb’s services for another -year, at fifty dollars a week and all expenses, with the privilege of -exhibiting him in Europe. I proposed to test the curiosity of men and -women on the other side of the Atlantic. Much as I hoped for success, in -my most sanguine moods, I could not anticipate the half of what was in -store for me; I did not foresee nor dream that I was shortly to be -brought in close contact with kings, queens, lords and illustrious -commoners, and that such association, by means of my exhibition, would -afterwards introduce me to the great public and the public’s money, -which was to fill my coffers. Or, if I saw some such future, it was -dreamily, dimly, and with half-opened eyes, as the man saw the “trees -walking.”</p> - -<p>After arranging my business affairs for a long absence, and making every -preparation for an extended foreign tour, on Thursday, January 18, 1844, -I went on board the new and fine sailing ship “Yorkshire,” Captain D. G. -Bailey, bound for Liverpool. Our party included General Tom Thumb, his -parents, his tutor, and Professor Guillaudeu, the French naturalist. We -were accompanied by several personal friends, and the City Brass Band -kindly volunteered to escort us to Sandy Hook.</p> - -<p>My name has been so long associated with mirthful incidents that I -presume many persons do not suppose I am susceptible of sorrowful, or -even sentimental emotions; but when the bell of the steamer that towed -our ship down the bay announced the hour of separation, and then -followed the hastily-spoken words of farewell, and the parting grasp of -friendly hands, I confess that I was very much in the “melting mood,” -and when the band played “Home, Sweet Home,” I was moved to tears.<a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a></p> - -<p>A voyage to Liverpool is now an old, familiar story, and I abstain from -entering into details, though I have abundant material respecting my own -experiences of my first sea-voyage in the first two of a series of one -hundred letters which I wrote in Europe as correspondent of the New York -<i>Atlas</i>. But some of the incidents and adventures of my voyage on the -“Yorkshire” are worth transcribing in these pages of my personal -history.</p> - -<p>Occasional calms and adverse winds protracted our passage to nineteen -days, but a better ship and a more competent captain never sailed. I was -entirely exempt from sea-sickness, and enjoyed the voyage very much. -Good fellowship prevailed among the passengers, the time passed rapidly, -and we had a good deal of fun on board.</p> - -<p>Several of the passengers were English merchants from Canada and one of -the number, who reckoned himself “A, No. 1,” and often hinted that he -was too ‘cute for any Yankee, boasted so much of his shrewdness that a -Yankee friend of mine confederated with me to test it. I thought of an -old trick and arranged with my friend to try it on the boastful John -Bull. Coming out of my state-room, with my hand to my face, and -apparently in great pain, I asked my fellow passengers what was good for -the tooth-ache. My friend and confederate recommended heating tobacco, -and holding it to my face. I therefore borrowed a little tobacco, and -putting it in a paper of a peculiar color, placed it on the stove to -warm. I then retired for a few minutes, during which time the Yankee -proposed playing a trick on me by emptying the tobacco, and filling the -paper with ashes, which our smart Englishman<a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a> thought would be a very -fine joke, and he himself made the substitution, putting ashes into the -paper and throwing the tobacco into the fire.</p> - -<p>I soon reappeared and gravely placed the paper to my face to the great -amusement of the passengers and walked up and down the cabin as if I was -suffering terribly. At the further end of the cabin I slyly exchanged -the paper for another in my pocket of the same color and containing -tobacco and then walked back again a picture of misery. Whereupon, the -Merry Englishman cried out:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, what have you got in that paper?”</p> - -<p>“Tobacco,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“What will you bet it is tobacco?” said the Englishman.</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t bother me,” said I; “my tooth pains me sadly; I know it is -tobacco, for I put it there myself.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll bet you a dozen of champagne that it is not tobacco,” said the -Englishman.</p> - -<p>“Nonsense,” I replied, “I will not bet, for it would not be fair; I know -it is tobacco.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll bet you fifty dollars it is not,” said John Bull, and he counted -ten sovereigns upon the table.</p> - -<p>“I’ll not bet the money,” I replied, “for I tell you I know it is -tobacco; I placed it there myself.”</p> - -<p>“You dare not bet!” he rejoined.</p> - -<p>At last, merely to accommodate him, I bet a dozen of champagne. The -Englishman fairly jumped with delight, and roared out:</p> - -<p>“Open the paper! open the paper!”</p> - -<p>The passengers crowded round the table in great glee to see me open the -paper, for all but the Yankee thought I was taken in. I quietly opened -the paper, and remarked:<a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a></p> - -<p>“There, I told you it was tobacco—how foolish you were to suppose it -was not—for, as I told you, I put it there myself.”</p> - -<p>The passengers, my confederate excepted, were amazed and the Englishman -was absolutely astounded. It was the biter bitten. But he told the -steward to bring the champagne, and turning to my confederate who had so -effectually assisted in “selling” him, he pronounced the affair “a -contemptible Yankee trick.” It was several days before he recovered his -good humor, but he joined at last with the rest of us in laughing at the -joke, and we heard no more about his extraordinary shrewdness.</p> - -<p>On our arrival at Liverpool, quite a crowd had assembled at the dock to -see Tom Thumb, for it had been previously announced that he would arrive -in the “Yorkshire,” but his mother managed to smuggle him ashore -unnoticed, for she carried him, as if he was an infant, in her arms. We -went to the Waterloo Hotel, and, after an excellent dinner, walked out -to take a look at the town. While I was viewing the Nelson monument a -venerable looking, well-dressed old gentleman volunteered to explain to -me the different devices and inscriptions. I looked upon him as a -disinterested and attentive man of means who was anxious to assist a -stranger and to show his courtesy; but when I gave him a parting bow of -thanks, half ashamed that I had so trespassed on his kindness, he put -out the hand of a beggar and said that he would be thankful for any -remuneration I saw fit to bestow upon him for his trouble. I was -certainly astonished, and I thrust a shilling into his hand and walked -rapidly away.</p> - -<p>In the evening of the same day, a tall, raw-boned<a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a> man came to the hotel -and introduced himself to me as a brother Yankee, who would be happy in -pointing out the many wonders in Liverpool that a stranger would be -pleased to see.</p> - -<p>I asked him how long he had been in Liverpool, and he replied, “Nearly a -week.” I declined his proffered services abruptly, remarking that if he -had been there only a week, I probably knew as much about England as he -did.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” said he, “you are mistaken. I have been in England before, though -never till recently in Liverpool.”</p> - -<p>“What part of England?” I inquired.</p> - -<p>“Opposite Niagara Falls,” he replied; “I spent several days there with -the British soldiers.”</p> - -<p>I laughed in his face, and reminded him that England did not lie -opposite Niagara Falls. The impudent fellow was confused for a moment, -and then triumphantly exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“I didn’t mean England. I know what country it is as well as you do.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what country is it?” I asked, quite assured that he did not know.</p> - -<p>“Great Britain, of course,” he replied.</p> - -<p>It is needless to add that the honor of his company as a guide in -Liverpool was declined, and he went off apparently in a huff because his -abilities were not appreciated.</p> - -<p>Later in the evening, the proprietor of a cheap wax-works show, at three -ha’ pence admission, called upon me. He had heard of the arrival of the -great American curiosity, and he seized the earliest opportunity to make -the General and myself the magnificent offer of<a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a> ten dollars a week if -we would join ourselves to his already remarkable and attractive -exhibition. I could not but think, that dwarfs must be literally at a -“low figure” in England, and my prospects were gloomy indeed. I was a -stranger in the land; my letters of introduction had not been delivered; -beyond my own little circle, I had not seen a friendly face, nor heard a -familiar voice. I was “blue,” homesick, almost in despair. Next morning, -there came a ray of sunshine in the following note:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Madame <span class="smcap">Celeste</span> presents her compliments to Mr. Barnum, and begs to -say that her private box is quite at his service, any night, for -himself and friends.</p> - -<p>“Theatre Royal, Williamson Square.”</p></div> - -<p>This polite invitation was thankfully accepted, and we went to the -theatre that evening. Our party, including the General, who was partly -concealed by his tutor’s cloak, occupied Celeste’s box, and in the box -adjoining sat an English lady and gentleman whose appearance indicated -respectability, intelligence and wealth. The General’s interest in the -performance attracted their attention, and the lady remarked to me:</p> - -<p>“What an intelligent-looking child you have! He appears to take quite an -interest in the stage.”</p> - -<p>“Pardon me, madam,” said I, “this is not a child. This is General Tom -Thumb.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed!” they exclaimed. They had seen the announcements of our visit -and were greatly gratified at an interview with the pigmy prodigy. They -at once advised me in the most complimentary and urgent manner to take -the General to Manchester, where they resided, assuring me that an -exhibition in that place would be highly remunerative. I thanked my new<a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a> -friends for their counsel and encouragement, and ventured to ask them -what price they would recommend me to charge for admission.</p> - -<p>“The General is so decidedly a curiosity,” said the lady, “that I think -you might put it as high as tuppence!” (two-pence.)</p> - -<p>She was, however, promptly interrupted by her husband, who was evidently -the economist of the family: “I am sure you would not succeed at that -price,” said he; “you should put admission at one penny, for that is the -usual price for seeing giants and dwarfs in England.”</p> - -<p>This was worse than the ten dollars a week offer of the wax-works -proprietor, but I promptly answered “Never shall the price be less than -one shilling sterling and some of the nobility and gentry of England -will yet pay gold to see General Tom Thumb.”</p> - -<p>My letters of introduction speedily brought me into friendly relations -with 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 -“head-quarters,” 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.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a> 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.<a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br /><br /> -<small>GENERAL TOM THUMB IN ENGLAND.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">ARRIVAL IN LONDON—THE GENERAL’S DEBUT IN THE PRINCESS’S -THEATRE—ENORMOUS SUCCESS—MY MANSION AT THE WEST END—DAILY LEVEES -FOR THE NOBILITY AND GENTRY—HON. EDWARD EVERETT—HIS INTEREST IN -THE GENERAL—VISIT TO THE BARONESS ROTHSCHILD—OPENING IN EGYPTIAN -HALL, PICCADILLY—MR. CHARLES MURRAY, MASTER OF THE QUEEN’S -HOUSEHOLD—AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE BY COMMAND OF HER MAJESTY—A ROYAL -RECEPTION—THE FAVORABLE IMPRESSION MADE BY THE GENERAL—AMUSING -INCIDENTS OF THE VISIT—BACKING OUT—FIGHT WITH A POODLE—COURT -JOURNAL NOTICE—SECOND VISIT TO THE QUEEN—THE PRINCE OF WALES AND -PRINCESS ROYAL—THE QUEEN OF THE BELGIANS—THIRD VISIT TO -BUCKINGHAM PALACE—KING LEOPOLD, OF BELGIUM—ASSURED SUCCESS—THE -BRITISH PUBLIC EXCITED—EGYPTIAN HALL CROWDED—QUEEN DOWAGER -ADELAIDE—THE GENERAL’S WATCH—NAPOLEON AND THE DUKE OF -WELLINGTON—DISTINGUISHED FRIENDS.</p></div> - -<p>I<small>MMEDIATELY</small> after our arrival in London, the General came out at the -Princess’s Theatre, and made so decided a “hit” that it was difficult to -decide who was best pleased, the spectators, the manager, or myself. The -spectators were delighted because they could not well help it; the -manager was satisfied because he had coined money by the engagement; and -I was greatly pleased because I now had a visible guaranty of success in -London. I was offered far higher terms for a re-engagement, but my -purpose had been already answered; the news was spread everywhere that -General Tom Thumb, an unparalleled curiosity, was in the city; and it -only remained for me to bring him before the public, on my own account -and in my own time and way.</p> - -<p>I took a furnished mansion in Grafton Street, Bond Street, West End, in -the very centre of the most fashionable<a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a> locality. The house had -previously been occupied for several years by Lord Talbot, and Lord -Brougham and half a dozen families of the aristocracy and many of the -gentry were my neighbors. From this magnificent mansion, I sent letters -of invitation to the editors and several of the nobility, to visit the -General. Most of them called, and were highly gratified. The word of -approval was indeed so passed around in high circles, that uninvited -parties drove to my door in crested carriages, and were not admitted.</p> - -<p>This procedure, though in some measure a stroke of policy, was neither -singular nor hazardous, under the circumstances. I had not yet announced -a public exhibition, and as a private American gentleman, it became me -to maintain the dignity of my position. I therefore instructed my -liveried servant to deny admission to see my “ward,” excepting to -persons who brought cards of invitation. He did it in a proper manner, -and no offence could be taken, though I was always particular to send an -invitation immediately to such as had not been admitted.</p> - -<p>During our first week in London, the Hon. Edward Everett, the American -Minister, to whom I had letters of introduction, called and was highly -pleased with his diminutive though renowned countryman. We dined with -him the next day, by invitation, and his family loaded the young -American with presents. Mr. Everett kindly promised to use influence at -the Palace in person, with a view to having Tom Thumb introduced to Her -Majesty Queen Victoria.</p> - -<p>A few evenings afterwards the Baroness Rothschild sent her carriage for -us. Her mansion is a noble structure in Piccadilly, surrounded by a high -wall, through<a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a> the gate of which our carriage was driven, and brought up -in front of the main entrance. Here we were received by half a dozen -servants, and were ushered up the broad flight of marble stairs to the -drawing-room, where we met the Baroness and a party of twenty or more -ladies and gentlemen. In this sumptuous mansion of the richest banker in -the world, we spent about two hours, and when we took our leave a -well-filled purse was quietly slipped into my hand. The golden shower -had begun to fall, and that it was no dream was manifest from the fact -that, very shortly afterwards, a visit to the mansion of Mr. Drummond, -another eminent banker, came to the same golden conclusion.</p> - -<p>I now engaged the “Egyptian Hall,” in Piccadilly, and the announcement -of my unique exhibition was promptly answered by a rush of visitors, in -which the wealth and fashion of London were liberally represented. I -made these arrangements because I had little hope of being soon brought -to the Queen’s presence, (for the reason before mentioned,) but Mr. -Everett’s generous influence secured my object. I breakfasted at his -house one morning, by invitation, in company with Mr. Charles Murray, an -author of creditable repute, who held the office of Master of the -Queen’s Household. In the course of conversation, Mr. Murray inquired as -to my plans, and I informed him that I intended going to the Continent -shortly, though I should be glad to remain if the General could have an -interview with the Queen—adding that such an event would be of great -consequence to me.</p> - -<p>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,<a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a> brought me 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 me 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.</p> - -<p>Determined to make the most of the occasion, I 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.”</p> - -<p>On arriving at the Palace, the Lord in Waiting put me “under drill” as -to the manner and form in which I should conduct myself in the presence -of royalty. I was to answer all questions by Her Majesty through him, -and in no event to speak directly to the Queen. In leaving the royal -presence I was to “back out,” keeping my face always towards Her -Majesty, and the illustrious lord kindly gave me a specimen of that sort -of backward locomotion. How far I profited by his instructions and -example, will presently appear.</p> - -<p>We were conducted through a long corridor to a broad flight of marble -steps, which led to the Queen’s magnificent picture gallery, where Her -Majesty and Prince Albert, the Duchess of Kent, and twenty or thirty of -the nobility were awaiting our arrival. They were standing at the -farther 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<a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a> remarkable specimen of humanity so much -smaller than they had evidently expected to find him.</p> - -<p>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!”</p> - -<p>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, we were permitted to -depart.</p> - -<p>Before describing the process and incidents of “backing out,” I must -acknowledge how sadly I broke through the counsel of the Lord in -Waiting. While Prince Albert and others were engaged with the General, -the Queen was gathering information from me in regard to his history, -etc. Two or three questions were put and answered through the process -indicated in my drill. It was a round-about way of doing business not at -all to my liking, and I suppose the Lord in Waiting was seriously -shocked, if not outraged, when I entered directly into conversation with -Her Majesty. She, however, seemed not disposed to check my boldness, for -she immediately spoke directly to me in obtaining the information which -she sought. I felt entirely at<a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 the 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 offence 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.</p> - -<p>This was near the door of exit. We had scarcely passed into the -ante-room, when one of the Queen<a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a>’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!</p> - -<p>The courtesies of the Palace were not yet exhausted, for we were -escorted to an apartment in which refreshments had been provided for us. -We did ample justice to the viands, though my mind was rather looking -into the future than enjoying the present. I was anxious that the “Court -Journal” of the ensuing day should contain more than a mere line in -relation to the General’s interview with the Queen, and, on inquiry, I -learned that the gentleman who had charge of that feature in the daily -papers was then in the Palace. He was sent for 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 afterwards, that he had inserted my -notice <i>verbatim</i>.</p> - -<p>This notice of my visit to the Queen wonderfully increased the -attraction of my exhibition and compelled me to obtain a more commodious -hall for my exhibition. I accordingly removed to the larger room in the -same building, for some time previously occupied by our countryman, Mr. -Catlin, for his great Gallery of Portraits of American Indians and -Indian Curiosities, all of which remained as an adornment.</p> - -<p>On our second visit to the Queen, we were received in what is called the -“Yellow Drawing-Room,” a magnificent apartment, surpassing in splendor -and gorgeousness anything of the kind I had ever seen. It is on the -north side of the gallery, and is entered from that<a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a> 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 modern patterns, and 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.</p> - -<p>We 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.”</p> - -<p>The Queen smilingly took him by the hand, and said she hoped he was very -well.</p> - -<p>“Yes, ma’am,” he replied, “I am first rate.”</p> - -<p>“General,” continued the Queen, “this is the Prince of Wales.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>The Queen then introduced the Princess Royal, and the General -immediately led her to his elegant little sofa, which we took with us, -and with much politeness sat himself 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—<a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a>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?</p> - -<p>“To Paris,” he replied.</p> - -<p>“Whom do you expect to see there?” she continued.</p> - -<p>Of course all expected he would answer, “the King of the French,” but -the little fellow replied:</p> - -<p>“I shall see Monsieur Guillaudeu in Paris.”</p> - -<p>The two Queens looked inquiringly to me, and when I informed them that -M. Guillaudeu was my French naturalist, who had preceded me to Paris, -they laughed most heartily.</p> - -<p>On our 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.</p> - -<p>“Yankee Doodle,” was the prompt reply.</p> - -<p>This answer was as unexpected to me as it was to the royal party. When -the merriment it occasioned somewhat subsided, the Queen good-humoredly -remarked, “That is a very pretty song, General. Sing it if you please.” -The General complied, and soon afterwards we retired. I ought to add, -that after each of our three visits to Buckingham Palace, a very -handsome sum was sent to me, of course by the Queen’s command. This, -however, was the smallest part of the advantage derived from these -interviews, as will be at once apparent to all who consider the force of -Court example in England.</p> - -<p>The British public were now fairly excited. Not<a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a> to have seen General -Tom Thumb was decidedly unfashionable, and from March 20th until July -20th, the levees of the little General at Egyptian Hall were continually -crowded, the receipts averaging during the whole period about five -hundred dollars per day, and sometimes going considerably beyond that -sum. At the fashionable hour, between fifty and sixty carriages of the -nobility have been counted at one time standing in front of our -exhibition rooms in Piccadilly.</p> - -<p>Portraits of the little General were published in all the pictorial -papers of the time. Polkas and quadrilles were named after him, and -songs were sung in his praise. He was an almost constant theme for the -London <i>Punch</i>, which served up the General and myself so daintily that -it no doubt added vastly to our receipts.</p> - -<p>Besides his three public performances per day, the little General -attended from three to four private parties per week, for which we were -paid eight to ten guineas each. Frequently we 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, bag-wig, cocked hat, and a dress sword.</p> - -<p>“Why, General,” said the Queen Dowager, “I think you look very smart -to-day.”</p> - -<p>“I guess I do,” said the General complacently.</p> - -<p>A large party of the nobility were present. The old Duke of Cambridge -offered the little General a pinch of<a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>“Dear little General,” said the kind-hearted Queen, taking him upon her -lap, “I see you have got no watch. Will you permit me to present you -with a watch and chain?”</p> - -<p>“I would like them very much,” replied the General, his eyes glistening -with joy as he spoke.</p> - -<p>“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 we 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. The little fellow was delighted, and scarcely knew how -sufficiently to express his thanks. The good Queen gave him some -excellent advice in regard to his morals, which he strictly promised to -obey.</p> - -<p>After giving his performances, we withdrew from the royal presence, and -the elegant little watch presented by the hands of Her Majesty the Queen -Dowager was not only duly heralded, but was also 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 turquoise, presented -by his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, and many<a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a> other costly gifts of the -nobility and gentry, added greatly to the attractions 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. I 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.</p> - -<p>While we were in London the Emperor Nicholas, of Russia, visited Queen -Victoria, and I saw him on several public occasions. I was present at -the grand review of troops in Windsor Park in honor of and before the -Emperor of Russia and the King of Saxony.</p> - -<p>General Tom Thumb had visited the King of Saxony and also Ibrahim Pacha -who was then in London. At the different parties we attended, we met, in -the course of the season, nearly all of the nobility. I do not believe -that a single 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 may be mentioned 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, Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Bates, of the firm of Baring -Brothers &<a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a></p> - -<p><a name="THE_GREAT_DUKE_AND_THE_LITTLE_GENERAL" id="THE_GREAT_DUKE_AND_THE_LITTLE_GENERAL"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p184_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p184_sml.jpg" width="543" height="362" alt="THE GREAT DUKE AND THE LITTLE GENERAL." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THE GREAT DUKE AND THE LITTLE GENERAL.</span> -</div> - -<p>Co., and many other persons of distinction. We had the free entrée 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 was a particular friend of mine. He 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. Our visit in London and tour through the provinces -were enormously successful, and after a brilliant season in Great -Britain I made preparations to take the General to Paris.<a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br /><br /> -<small>IN FRANCE.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">GOING OVER TO ARRANGE PRELIMINARIES—PREVIOUS VISIT TO -PARIS—ROBERT HOUDIN—WONDERFUL MECHANICAL TOYS—THE AUTOMATON -LETTER-WRITER—DION BOUCICAULT—TALK ON NATURAL CURIOSITIES—HOW I -COMPROMISED—THE GENERAL AND PARTY IN PARIS—FIRST VISIT TO KING -LOUIS PHILIPPE—A SPLENDID PRESENT—DIPLOMACY—I ASK A FAVOR AND -GET IT—LONG CHAMPS—THE GENERAL’S EQUIPAGE—THE FINEST -ADVERTISEMENT EVER KNOWN—ALL PARIS IN A FUROR—OPENING OF THE -LEVEES—“TOM POUCE” EVERYWHERE—THE GENERAL AS AN ACTOR—“PETIT -POUCET”—SECOND AND THIRD VISITS AT THE TUILERIES—INVITATION TO -ST. CLOUD—THE GENERAL PERSONATING NAPOLEON BONAPARTE—ST. -DENIS—THE INVALIDES—REGNIER—ANECDOTE OF FRANKLIN—LEAVING -PARIS—TOUR THROUGH FRANCE—DEPARTURE FOR BRUSSELS.</p></div> - -<p>B<small>EFORE</small> taking the little General and party to Paris, I went over alone -to arrange the preliminaries for our campaign in that city. Paris was -not altogether a strange place to me. Months before, when I had -successfully established my exhibition in London, I ran over to Paris to -see what I could pick up in the way of curiosities for my Museum in New -York, for during my whole sojourn abroad, and amid all the excitements -of my new career, I never forgot the interests of my many and generous -patrons at home. The occasion which first called me to France was the -“quinquennial exposition” in Paris. At that time, there was an -assemblage, every five years, of inventors and manufacturers who -exhibited specimens of their skill, especially in articles of curious -and ingenious mechanism, and I went from London mainly to attend this -exposition.<a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a></p> - -<p>There I met and became well acquainted with Robert Houdin, the -celebrated conjurer. He was a watchmaker by trade, but very soon -displayed a wonderful ability and ingenuity which he devoted with so -much assiduity to the construction of a complicated machine, that he -lost all mental power for a considerable period. When he recovered, he -employed himself with great success in the manufacture of mechanical -toys and automata which attracted much attention, and afterwards he -visited Great Britain and other countries, giving a series of juggling -exhibitions which were famous throughout Europe.</p> - -<p>At this quinquennial exposition which I attended, he received a gold -medal for his automata, and the best figure which he had on exhibition I -purchased at a good round price. It was an automaton writer and artist, -a most ingenious little figure, which sat at a table, and readily -answered with the pencil certain questions. For instance: if asked for -an emblem of fidelity, the figure instantly drew a correct picture of a -handsome dog; the emblem of love was shown in an exquisite drawing of a -little Cupid; the automaton would also answer many questions in writing. -I carried this curious figure to London and exhibited it for some time -in the Royal Adelaide Gallery, and then sent it across the Atlantic to -the American Museum.</p> - -<p>During my very brief visit to Paris, Houdin was giving evening -performances in the Palais Royale, in legerdemain, and I was frequently -present by invitation. Houdin also took pains to introduce me to other -inventors of moving figures which I purchased freely, and made a -prominent feature in my Museum attractions. I managed, too, during my -short stay, to see<a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a> something of the surface of the finest city in the -world.</p> - -<p>And now, going to Paris the second time, I was very fortunate in making -the acquaintance of Mr. Dion Boucicault, who was then temporarily -sojourning in that city, and who at once kindly volunteered to advise -and assist me in regard to numerous matters of importance relating to -the approaching visit of the General. He spent a day with me in the -search for suitable accommodations for my company, and by giving me the -benefit of his experience, he saved me much trouble and expense. I have -never forgotten the courtesy extended to me by this gentleman.</p> - -<p>I stopped at the Hotel Bedford, and securing an interpreter, began to -make my arrangements. The first difficulty in the way was the government -tax for exhibiting natural curiosities, which was no less than -one-fourth of the gross receipts, while theatres paid only eleven per -cent. This tax was appropriated to the benefit of the city hospitals. -Now, I knew from my experience in London, that my receipts would be so -large as to make twenty-five per cent of them a far more serious tax -than I thought I ought to pay to the French government, even for the -benefit of the admirable hospitals of Paris. Accordingly, I went to the -license bureau and had an interview with the chief. I told him I was -anxious to bring a “dwarf” to Paris, but that the percentage to be paid -for a license was so large as to deter me from bringing him; but letting -the usual rule go, what should I give him in advance for a two months’ -license?</p> - -<p>“My dear sir,” he answered, “you had better not come at all; these -things never draw, and you will do<a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a> nothing, or so little that the -percentage need not trouble you.”</p> - -<p>I expressed my willingness to try the experiment and offered one -thousand francs in advance for a license. The chief would not consent -and I then offered two thousand francs. This opened his eyes to a chance -for a speculation and he jumped at my offer; he would do it on his own -account, he said, and pay the amount of one-quarter of my receipts to -the hospitals; he was perfectly safe in making such a contract, he -thought, for he had 15,000 francs in bank.</p> - -<p>But I declined to arrange this with him individually, so he called his -associates together and presented the matter in such a way that the -board took my offer on behalf of the government. I paid down the 2,000 -francs and received a good, strong contract and license. The chief was -quite elated and handed me the license with the remark:</p> - -<p>“Now we have made an agreement, and if you do not exhibit, or if your -dwarf dies during the two months you shall not get back your money.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” thought I; “if you are satisfied I am sure I have every -reason to be so.” I then hired at a large rent, the Salle Musard, Rue -Vivienne, in a central and fashionable quarter close by the boulevards, -and engaged an interpreter, ticket-seller, and a small but excellent -orchestra. In fact, I made the most complete arrangements, even to -starting the preliminary paragraphs in the Paris papers; and after -calling on the Honorable William Rufus King, the United States Minister -at the Court of France—who assured me that after my success in London -there would be no difficulty whatever in my presentation to King Louis -Philippe and family—I returned to England.<a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a></p> - -<p>I went back to Paris with General Tom Thumb and party some time before I -intended to begin my exhibitions, and on the very day after my arrival I -received a special command to appear at the Tuileries on the following -Sunday evening. It will be remembered that Louis Philippe’s daughter, -the wife of King Leopold, of Belgium, had seen the General at Buckingham -Palace—a fact that had been duly chronicled in the French as well as -English papers, and I have no doubt that she had privately expressed her -gratification at seeing him. With this advantage, and with the prestige -of our receptions by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, we went to the -Tuileries with full confidence that our visit and reception would be -entirely satisfactory.</p> - -<p>At the appointed hour the General and I, arrayed in the conventional -court costume, were ushered into a grand saloon of the palace where we -were introduced to the King, the Queen, Princess Adelaide, the Duchess -d’Orleans and her son the Count de Paris, Prince de Joinville, Duke and -Duchess de Nemours, the Duchess d’Aumale, and a dozen or more -distinguished persons, among whom was the editor of the official -<i>Journal des Debats</i>. The court circle entered into conversation with us -without restraint, and were greatly delighted with the little General. -King Louis Philippe was minute in his inquiries about my country and -talked freely about his experiences when he wandered as an exile in -America. He playfully alluded to the time when he earned his living as a -tutor, and said he had roughed it generally and had even slept in Indian -wigwams. General Tom Thumb then went through with his various -performances to the manifest pleasure of all who were present, and at -the close the King presented to him a<a name="page_191" id="page_191"></a> large emerald brooch set with -diamonds. The General expressed his gratitude, and the King, turning to -me, said: “you may put it on the General, if you please,” which I did, -to the evident gratification of the King as well as the General.</p> - -<p>King Louis Philippe was so condescending and courteous that I felt quite -at home in the royal presence, and ventured upon a bit of diplomacy. The -Longchamps celebration was coming—a day once devoted to religious -ceremony, but now conspicuous for the display of court and fashionable -equipages in the Champs Élysées and the Bois de Boulogne, and as the -King was familiarly conversing with me, I ventured to say that I had -hurried over to Paris to take part in the Longchamps display and I asked -him if the General’s carriage could not be permitted to appear in the -avenue reserved for the court and the diplomatic corps, representing -that the General’s small but elegant establishment, with its ponies and -little coachman and footman, would be in danger of damage in the general -throng unless the special privilege I asked was accorded.</p> - -<p>The King smilingly turned to one of the officers of his household and -after conversing with him for a few moments he said to me:</p> - -<p>“Call on the Prefect of Police to-morrow afternoon and you will find a -permit ready for you.”</p> - -<p>Our visit occupied two hours, and when we went away the General was -loaded with fine presents. The next morning all the newspapers noticed -the visit, and the <i>Journal des Debats</i> gave a minute account of the -interview and of the General’s performances, taking occasion to say, in -speaking of the character parts, that “there was one costume which the -General wisely kept<a name="page_192" id="page_192"></a> at the bottom of his box.” That costume, -however,—the uniform of Bonaparte—was once exhibited, by particular -request, as will be seen anon.</p> - -<p>Longchamps day arrived, and among the many splendid equipages on the -grand avenue, none attracted more attention than the superb little -carriage with four ponies and liveried and powdered coachman and -footman, belonging to the General, and conspicuous in the line of -carriages containing the Ambassadors to the Court of France. Thousands -upon thousands rent the air with cheers for “General Tom Pouce.” There -never was such an advertisement; the journals next day made elaborate -notices of the “turnout,” and thereafter whenever the General’s carriage -appeared on the boulevards, as it did daily, the people flocked to the -doors of the cafés and shops to see it pass.</p> - -<p>Thus, before I opened the exhibition all Paris knew that General Tom -Thumb was in the city. The French are exceedingly impressible; and what -in London is only excitement, in Paris becomes furor. Under this -pressure, with the prestige of my first visit to the Tuileries and the -numberless paragraphs in the papers, I opened my doors to an eager -throng. The élite of the city came to the exhibition; the first day’s -receipts were 5,500 francs, which would have been doubled if I could -have made room for more patrons. There were afternoon and evening -performances and from that day secured seats at an extra price were -engaged in advance for the entire two months. The season was more than a -success, it was a triumph.</p> - -<p>It seemed, too, as if the whole city was advertising me. The papers were -profuse in their praises of the General and his performances. <i>Figaro</i>, -the <i>Punch</i> of<a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a></p> - -<p><a name="ROYAL_HONORS_TO_THE_GENERAL" id="ROYAL_HONORS_TO_THE_GENERAL"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p192_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p192_sml.jpg" width="545" height="363" alt="ROYAL HONORS TO THE GENERAL." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ROYAL HONORS TO THE GENERAL.</span> -</div> - -<p>Paris, gave a picture of an immense mastiff running away with the -General’s carriage and horses in his mouth. Statuettes of “Tom Pouce” -appeared in all the windows, in plaster, Parian, sugar and chocolate; -songs were written about him and his lithograph was seen everywhere. A -fine café on one of the boulevards took the name of “Tom Pouce” and -displayed over the door a life-size statue of the General. In Paris, as -in London, several eminent painters expressed their desire to paint his -portrait, but the General’s engagements were so pressing that he found -little time to sit to artists. All the leading actors and actresses came -to the General’s levees and petted him and made him many presents. -Meanwhile, the daily receipts continued to swell, and I was compelled to -take a cab to carry my bag of silver home at night.</p> - -<p>The official, who had compromised with me for a two months’ license at -2,000 francs, was amazed as well as annoyed at the success of my -“dwarf.” He came, or sent a man, to the levees to take account of the -receipts and every additional thousand francs gave him an additional -twinge. He seriously appealed to me to give him more money; but when I -reminded him of the excellent bargain he supposed he was making, -especially when he added the conditional clause that I should forfeit -the 2,000 francs if I did not exhibit or if the General died, he smiled -faintly and said something about a “Yankee trick.” I asked him if he -would renew our agreement for two months more on the same terms; and he -shrugged his shoulders and said:</p> - -<p>“No, Monsieur Barnum; you will pay me twenty-five per cent of your -receipts when the two months of our contract expires.”<a name="page_194" id="page_194"></a></p> - -<p>But I did not; for I appealed to the authorities, claiming that I should -pay only the ordinary theatrical tax, since the General’s exhibition -consisted chiefly of character imitations in various costumes, and he -was more attractive as an actor than as a natural curiosity. My view of -the case was decided to be correct, and thereafter, in Paris and -throughout France, with few exceptions, I paid only the eleven per cent -theatrical tax.</p> - -<p>Indeed, in Paris, the General made a great hit as an actor and was -elected a member of the French Dramatic Society. Besides holding his -levees, he appeared every night at the Vaudeville Theatre in a French -play, entitled “Petit Poucet,” and written expressly for him, and he -afterwards repeated the part with great success in other cities. The -demands upon our time were incessant. We were invited everywhere to -dinners and entertainments, and as many of these were understood to be -private performances of the General, we were most liberally remunerated -therefor. M. Galignani invited us to a soiree and introduced us to some -of the most prominent personages, including artists, actors and editors, -in Paris. The General was frequently engaged at a large price to show -himself for a quarter of an hour at some fancy or charitable fair, and -much money was made in this way. On Sundays, he was employed at one or -another of the great gardens in the outskirts, and thus was seen by -thousands of working people who could not attend his levees. All classes -became acquainted with “Tom Pouce.”</p> - -<p>We were commanded to appear twice more at the Tuileries, and we were -also invited to the palace on the King’s birthday to witness the display -of fireworks in honor of the anniversary. Our fourth and last visit to<a name="page_195" id="page_195"></a> -the royal family was by special invitation at St. Cloud. On each -occasion we met nearly the same persons, but the visit to St. Cloud was -by far the most interesting of our interviews. On this one occasion, and -by the special request of the King, the General personated Napoleon -Bonaparte in full costume. Louis Philippe had heard of the General in -this character, and particularly desired to see him; but the affair was -quite “on the sly,” and no mention was made of it in the papers, -particularly in the <i>Journal des Debats</i>, which thought, no doubt, that -costume was still “at the bottom of the General’s box.” We remained an -hour, and at parting, each of the royal company gave the General a -splendid present, almost smothered him with kisses, wished him a safe -journey through France, and a long and happy life. After bidding them -adieu, we retired to another portion of the palace to make a change of -the General’s costume, and to partake of some refreshments which were -prepared for us. Half an hour afterwards, as we were about leaving the -palace, we went through a hall leading to the front door, and in doing -so passed the sitting-room in which the royal family were spending the -evening. The door was open, and some of them happening to espy the -General, called out for him to come in and shake hands with them once -more. We entered the apartment, and there found the ladies sitting -around a square table, each provided with two candles, and every one of -them, including the Queen, was engaged in working at embroidery, while a -young lady was reading aloud for their edification. I am sorry to say, I -believe this is a sight seldom seen in families of the aristocracy on -either side of the water. At the church fairs in Paris, I had frequently -seen pieces of<a name="page_196" id="page_196"></a> embroidery for sale, which were labelled as having been -presented and worked by the Duchess d’Orleans, Princess Adelaide, -Duchess de Nemours, and other titled ladies.</p> - -<p>We also visited, by invitation, the Napoleon School for young ladies, -established by the First Napoleon, at St. Denis, five miles north of -Paris, and the General greatly delighted the old pensioners at the -Invalides by calling upon them, and shaking many of them by the hand. If -the General could have been permitted to present to these survivors of -Waterloo his representation of their chief and Emperor, he would have -aroused their enthusiasm as well as admiration.</p> - -<p>On the Fourth of July, 1844, I was in Grenelle, outside the barriers of -Paris, when I remembered that I had the address of Monsieur Regnier, an -eminent mechanician, who lived in the vicinity. Wishing to purchase a -variety of instruments such as he manufactured, I called at his -residence. He received me very politely, and I soon was deeply -interested in this intelligent and learned man. He was a member of many -scientific institutions, was “Chevalier of the Legion of Honor,” etc.</p> - -<p>While he was busy in making out my bill, I was taking a cursory view of -the various plates, drawings, etc., which adorned his walls, when my -eyes fell on a portrait which was familiar to me. I was certain that I -could not be mistaken, and on approaching nearer it proved to be, as I -expected, the engraved portrait of Benjamin Franklin. It was placed in a -glazed frame, and on the outside of the glass were arranged thirteen -stars made of metal, forming a half circle round his head.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” I exclaimed, “I see you have here a portrait of my -fellow-countryman, Dr. Franklin.”<a name="page_197" id="page_197"></a></p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied M. Regnier, “and he was a great and an excellent man. -When he was in Paris in ’98, he was honored and respected by all who -knew him, and by none more so than by the scientific portion of the -community. At that time, Dr. Franklin was invited by the President of -the Society of Emulation to decide upon the merits of various works of -art submitted for inspection, and he awarded my father, for a -complicated lock, the prize of a gold medal.</p> - -<p>“While my father was with him at his hotel, a young Quaker called upon -the Doctor. He was a total stranger to Franklin, but at once proceeded -to inform him that he had come to Paris on business, had unfortunately -lost all his money, and wished to borrow six hundred francs to enable -him to return to his family in Philadelphia. Franklin inquired his -family name, and upon hearing it immediately counted out the money, gave -the young stranger some excellent advice, and bade him adieu. My father -was struck by the generosity of Dr. Franklin, and as soon as the young -man had departed, he told the Doctor that he was astonished to see him -so free with his money to a stranger; that people did not do business in -that way in Paris; and what he considered very careless was, that -Franklin took no receipt, not even a scratch of a pen from the young -man. Franklin replied that he always felt a duty and pleasure in -relieving his fellow-men, and especially in this case, as he knew the -family; and they were honest and worthy persons. My father, himself a -generous man,” continued M. Regnier, “was affected nearly to tears, and -begged the Doctor to present him with his portrait. He did so, and this -is it. My father has been dead some years. He bequeathed the<a name="page_198" id="page_198"></a> portrait -to me, and there is not money enough in Paris to buy it.”</p> - -<p>I need not say that I was delighted with this recital. I remarked to M. -Regnier that he should double the number of stars, as we now (in 1844) -had twenty-six States instead of thirteen, the original number.</p> - -<p>“I am aware of that,” he replied; “but I do not like to touch the work -which was left by my father. I hold it sacred; and,” added he, “I -suppose you are not aware of the uses we make of these stars?” Assuring -him in the negative—“Those stars,” said he, “are made of steel, and on -the night of every anniversary of American Independence (which is this -night), it was always the practice of my father, and will always be -mine, to collect our family and children together, darken the room, and -by means of electricity, these stars, which are connected, are lighted -up, and the portrait illuminated by electricity, Franklin’s favorite -science—thus forming a halo of glory about his head, and doing honor to -the name of a man whose fame should be perpetuated to eternity.”</p> - -<p>In continuing the conversation, I found that this good old gentleman was -perfectly acquainted with the history of America, and he spoke feelingly -of what he believed to be the high and proud destiny of our republic. He -insisted on my remaining to supper, and witnessing his electrical -illumination. Need I say that I accepted the invitation? Could an -American refuse?</p> - -<p>We partook of a substantial supper, upon which the good old gentleman -invoked the blessing of our Father in Heaven, and at the conclusion he -returned hearty thanks. At nine o’clock the children and family of M. -Regnier and his son-in-law were called in, the room was<a name="page_199" id="page_199"></a> darkened, the -electrical battery was charged, and the wire touched to one of the outer -stars. The whole thirteen became instantly bright as fire, and a -beautiful effect was produced. What more simple and yet beautiful and -appropriate manner could be chosen to honor the memory of Franklin? And -what an extraordinary coincidence it was that I, a total stranger in -Paris, should meet such a singular man as M. Regnier at all, and more -especially on that day of days, the anniversary of our Independence! At -ten o’clock I took my leave of this worthy family, but not till we had -all joined in the following toast proposed by M. Regnier:</p> - -<p>“Washington, Franklin, and Lafayette—heroes, philosophers, patriots, -and honest men: May their names stand brightest on the list of earthly -glory, when, in after ages, this whole world shall be one universal -republic, and every individual under Heaven shall acknowledge the truth -that man is capable of self-government.”</p> - -<p>It will not be considered surprising that I should feel at home with -Monsieur Regnier. Both the day and the man conspired to excite and -gratify my patriotism; and the presence of Franklin, my love of my -native land.</p> - -<p>During my stay in Paris, a Russian Prince, who had been living in great -splendor in that city, suddenly died, and his household and personal -effects were sold at auction. I attended the sale for several days in -succession, buying many articles of vertu, and, among others, a -magnificent gold tea-set, and a silver dining-service, and many rare -specimens of Sevres china. These articles bore the initials of the -family name of the Prince, and his own, “P. T.,” thus damaging the -articles, so that the silver and gold were sold for their weight value<a name="page_200" id="page_200"></a> -only. I bought them, and adding “B.” to the “P. T.,” had a very fine -table service, still in my possession, and bearing my own initials, “P. -T. B.”</p> - -<p>While dining one day with my friend, Dr. Brewster, in Paris, all the -company present were in raptures over some very fine “Lafitte” wine on -the table, and the usual exclamations, “delicious!” and “fruity!” were -heard on all sides. When I went to the south of France, the Doctor gave -me a letter of introduction to Lafitte’s agent, Mr. Good, at Bordeaux, -and I was shown through the extensive cellar of the establishment. The -agent talked learnedly, almost affectionately, about the choice and -exclusive vineyards of the establishment, and how the stones in the -ground retailed the warmth derived from the sun during the day -throughout the night, thus mellowing and maturing the grapes, and -resulting in the production of a peculiar wine which was possible to no -other plot of ground in the entire grape country.</p> - -<p>I afterwards learned, however, that this exclusive establishment bought -up the entire wine product of all the vineyards in the region round -about—it was like the celebrated “Cabana” cigars in Havana. One day a -friend was dining with me in Bordeaux and I called for a bottle of -“Lafitte,” which, purchased on the very ground of its manufacture, was -of course genuine and deliciously “fruity.” It was very old wine of some -famous year, and the bottle as brought up from the bin was covered with -cobwebs and dust. But while we were sipping the wine and exclaiming -“fruity” at proper intervals, I happened to take out my knife and quite -inadvertently cut off a bit of the label. The next day when my friend -was again dining with me I called for another bottle of the peculiar -Lafitte which had so delighted us yesterday.<a name="page_201" id="page_201"></a> It came cobwebbed and -dust-covered and was duly discussed and pronounced deliciously “fruity.” -But horrors! all at once, something caught my attention and I exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“Do you see that cut label? That is the very bottle which held the rare -old wine of yesterday; there is the ‘ear-mark’ which I left with my -knife on the bottle”—and I summoned the landlord and thus addressed -him:</p> - -<p>“What do you mean, you scoundrel, by putting your infernal <i>vin -ordinaire</i> into old bottles, and passing it off upon us as genuine -‘Lafitte?’ ”</p> - -<p>He protested that such a thing was impossible; we were at the very -fountain head of the wine, and no one would dare to attempt such a -fraud, especially upon experienced wine-tasters like ourselves. But I -showed him my careless but remembered mark on the bottle, and proved by -my friend that we had the same bottle for our wine of the day before. -This was shown so conclusively and emphatically that the landlord -finally confessed his fraud, and said that though he had sold thousands -of bottles of so-called “Lafitte” to his guests, he never had two dozen -bottles of the genuine article in his possession in his life!</p> - -<p>Every one who has been in the wine district knows that the wine is -trodden from the grapes by the bare feet of the peasants, and while I -was there, desiring a new experience, I myself trod out a half barrel or -so with my own naked feet, dancing vigorously the while to the sound of -a fiddle.</p> - -<p>In spite of the extraordinary attention and unbounded petting the little -General received at the hands of all classes, he was in no sense a -“spoiled child,” but retained throughout that natural simplicity of -character<a name="page_202" id="page_202"></a> and demeanor which added so much to the charm of his -exhibitions. He was literally the pet of Paris, and after a protracted -and most profitable season we started on a tour through France. The -little General’s small Shetland ponies and miniature carriage would be -sure to arouse the enthusiasm of the “Provincials,” so I determined to -take them along with us. We went first to Rouen, and from thence to -Toulon, visiting all the intermediate towns, including Orleans, Nantes, -Brest, Bordeaux,—where I witnessed a review by the Dukes de Nemours and -d’Aumale, of 20,000 soldiers who were encamped near the city. From -Bordeaux we went to Toulouse, Montpellier, Nismes, Marseilles, and many -other less important places, holding levees for a longer or shorter -time. While at Nantes, Bordeaux and Marseilles the General also appeared -in the theatres in his French part of “Petit Poucet.”</p> - -<p>Very soon after leaving Paris for our tour through France, I found that -there were many places where it would be impossible to proceed otherwise -than by post. General Tom Thumb’s party numbered twelve persons, and -these, with all their luggage, four little ponies, and a small carriage, -must be transported in posting vehicles of some description. I therefore -resolved that as posting in France was as cheap, and more independent -than any other method of travel, a purchase of posting vehicles should -be made for the sole use of the renowned General Tom Thumb and suite. -One vehicle, however large, would have been insufficient for the whole -company and “effects,” and, moreover, would have been against the -regulations. These regulations required that each person should pay for -the use of one horse, whether using it or not, and I therefore made the -following<a name="page_203" id="page_203"></a> arrangements: I purchased a post-chaise to carry six persons, -to be drawn by six horses; a vehicle on springs, with seats for four -persons, and room for the General’s four ponies and carriage, to be -drawn by four horses; and lastly, a third vehicle for conveying the -baggage of the company, including the elegant little house and furniture -set on the stage in the General’s performances of “Petit Poucet” at the -theatres, the whole drawn by two horses.</p> - -<p>With such a retinue the General “cut quite a swell” in journeying -through the country, travelling, indeed, in grander style than a Field -Marshal would have thought of doing in posting through France. All this -folly and expense, the uninitiated would say, of employing twelve horses -and twelve persons, to say nothing of the General’s four ponies, in -exhibiting a person weighing only fifteen pounds! But when this retinue -passed along the roads, and especially when it came into a town, people -naturally and eagerly inquired what great personage was on his travels, -and when told that it was “the celebrated General Tom Thumb and suite,” -everybody desired to go and see him. It was thus the best advertising we -could have had, and was really, in many places, our cheapest and in some -places, our only mode of getting from point to point where our -exhibitions were to be given.</p> - -<p>During most of the tour I was a week or two ahead of the company, making -arrangements for the forthcoming exhibitions, and doing my entire -business without the aid of an interpreter, for I soon “picked up” -French enough to get along very well indeed. I did not forget that -Franklin learned to speak French when he was seventy years of age, and I -did not consider myself too old<a name="page_204" id="page_204"></a> to learn, what, indeed, I was obliged -to learn in the interests of my business. As for the little General, who -was accompanied by a preceptor and translator, he very soon began to -give his entire speaking performances in French, and his piece “Petit -Poucet” was spoken as if he were a native.</p> - -<p>In fact, I soon became the General’s <i>avant courier</i>, though not doing -the duties of an <i>avant courier</i> to an ordinary exhibition, since these -duties generally consist in largely puffing the “coming man” and -expected show, thus endeavoring to create a public appetite and to -excite curiosity. My duties were quite different; after engaging the -largest theatre or saloon to be found in the town, I put out a simple -placard, announcing that the General would appear on such a day. -Thereafter, my whole energies were directed, apparently, to keeping the -people quiet; I begged them not to get excited; I assured them through -the public journals, that every opportunity should be afforded to permit -every person to see “the distinguished little General, who had delighted -the principal monarchs of Europe, and more than a million of their -subjects,” and that if one exhibition in the largest audience room in -the town would not suffice, two or even three would be given.</p> - -<p>This was done quietly, and yet, as an advertisement, effectively, for, -strange as it may seem, people who were told to keep quiet, would get -terribly excited, and when the General arrived and opened his -exhibitions, excitement would be at fever heat, the levees would be -thronged, and the treasury filled!</p> - -<p>Numerous were the word battles I had with mayors, managers of theatres, -directors of hospitals, and others, relative to what I -considered—justly, I think—the outrageous<a name="page_205" id="page_205"></a> imposition which the laws -permitted in the way of taxes upon “exhibitions.” Thus the laws -required, for the sake of charity, twenty-five per cent of my gross -receipts for the hospitals; while to encourage a local theatre, or -theatres, which might suffer from an outside show, twenty per cent more -must be given to the local managers.</p> - -<p>Of course this law was nearly a dead letter; for, to have taken -forty-five per cent of my gross receipts at every exhibition would soon -have driven me from the provinces, so the hospitals were generally -content with ten per cent, and five or ten francs a day satisfied the -manager of a provincial theatre. But at Bordeaux the manager of the -theatre wished to engage the General to appear in his establishment, and -as I declined his offer, he threatened to debar me from exhibiting -anywhere in town, by demanding for himself the full twenty per cent the -law allowed, besides inducing the directors of the hospitals to compel -me to pay them twenty-five per cent more.</p> - -<p>Here was a dilemma! I must yield and take half I thought myself entitled -to and permit the General to play for the manager, or submit to legal -extortion, or forego my exhibitions. I offered the manager six per cent -of my receipts and he laughed at me. I talked with the hospital -directors and they told me that as the manager favored them, they felt -bound to stand by him. I announced in the public journals that the -General could not appear in Bordeaux on account of the cupidity and -extortionate demands of the theatre manager and the hospital directors. -The people talked and the papers denounced; but manager and directors -remained as firm as rocks in their positions. Tom Thumb was to arrive<a name="page_206" id="page_206"></a> -in two days and I was in a decided scrape. The mayor interceded for me, -but to no avail; the manager had determined to enforce an almost -obsolete law unless I would permit the General to play in his theatre -every night. My Yankee “dander” was up and I declared that I would -exhibit the General gratis rather than submit to the demand. Whereupon, -the manager only laughed at me the more to think how snugly he had got -me.</p> - -<p>Now it happened that, once upon a time, Bordeaux, like most cities, was -a little village, and the little village of Vincennes lay one mile east -of it. Bordeaux had grown and stretched itself and thickly settled far -beyond Vincennes, bringing the latter nearly in the centre of Bordeaux; -yet, strange to say, Vincennes maintained its own identity, and had its -own Mayor and municipal rights quite independent of Bordeaux. I could -scarcely believe my informant who told me this, but I speedily sought -out the Mayor of Vincennes, found such a personage, and cautiously -inquired if there was a theatre or a hospital within his limits? He -assured me there was not. I told him my story, and asked:</p> - -<p>“If I open an exhibition within your limits will there be any -percentages to pay from my receipts?”</p> - -<p>“Not a sou,” replied the Mayor.</p> - -<p>“Will you give me a writing to that effect?”</p> - -<p>“With the greatest pleasure,” replied the Mayor, and he did so at once.</p> - -<p>I put this precious paper in my pocket, and in a few moments I hired the -largest dancing saloon in the place, a room capable of holding over -2,000 people. I then announced, especially to the delighted citizens of -Bordeaux,<a name="page_207" id="page_207"></a> that the General would open his exhibitions in Vincennes, -which he soon did to an overflowing house. For thirteen days we -exhibited to houses averaging more than 3,000 francs per day, and for -ten days more at largely increased receipts, not one sou of which went -for taxes or percentages. The manager and directors, theatre and -hospital, got nothing, instead of the fair allowance I would willingly -have given them. Oh, yes! they got something,—that is, a lesson,—not -to attempt to offset French Shylockism against Yankee shrewdness.</p> - -<p>We were in the South of France in the vintage season. Nothing can -surpass the richness of the country at that time of the year. We -travelled for many miles where the eye could see nothing but vineyards -loaded with luscious grapes and groves of olive trees in full bearing. -It is literally a country of wine and oil. Our remunerative and -gratifying round of mingled pleasure and profit, brought us at last to -Lille, capital of the department of Nord, and fifteen miles from the -Belgian frontier, and from there we proceeded to Brussels.<a name="page_208" id="page_208"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br /><br /> -<small>IN BELGIUM.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">CROSSING THE FRONTIER—PROFESSOR PINTE—QUALIFICATIONS OF A GOOD -SHOWMAN—“SOFT SUP”—GENEROUS DISTRIBUTION OF MEDALS—PRINCE -CHARLES STRATTON—AT BRUSSELS—PRESENTATION TO KING LEOPOLD AND HIS -QUEEN—THE GENERAL’S JEWELS STOLEN—THE THIEF CAUGHT—RECOVERY OF -THE PROPERTY—THE FIELD OF WATERLOO—MIRACULOUSLY MULTIPLIED -RELICS—CAPTAIN TIPPITIWITCHET OF THE CONNECTICUT FUSILEERS—AN -ACCIDENT—GETTING BACK TO BRUSSELS IN A CART—STRATTON -SWINDLED—LOSING AN EXHIBITION—TWO HOURS IN THE RAIN ON THE -ROAD—THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY—A STRICT -CONSTRUCTIONIST—STRATTON’S HEAD SHAVED—“BRUMMAGEM” RELICS—HOW -THEY ARE PLANTED AT WATERLOO—WHAT LYONS SAUSAGES ARE MADE OF—FROM -BRUSSELS TO LONDON.</p></div> - -<p>I<small>N</small> crossing the border from France into Belgium, Professor Pinte, our -interpreter and General Tom Thumb’s preceptor, discovered that he had -left his passport behind him—at Lille, at Marseilles, or elsewhere in -France, he could not tell where, for it was a long time since he had -been called upon to present it. I was much annoyed and indignantly told -him that he “would never make a good showman, because a good showman -never forgot anything.” I could see that my allusion to him as a -“showman” was by no means pleasant, which leads me to recount the -circumstances under which I was first brought in contact with the -Professor.</p> - -<p>He was really a “Professor” and teacher of English in one of the best -educational establishments in Paris. Very soon after opening my -exhibitions in that city, I saw the necessity of having a translator who -was qualified to act as a medium between the General and the<a name="page_209" id="page_209"></a> highly -cultivated audiences that daily favored us at our levees. I had begun -with a not over-cultivated interpreter, who, when the General personated -Cupid, for instance, would cry out “Coopeed,” to which some one would be -sure to respond “Stoopeed,” to the annoyance of myself and the amusement -of the audience. I accordingly determined to procure the best -interpreter I could find and I was directed to call upon Professor -Pinte. I saw him and briefly stated what I wanted, in what capacity I -proposed to employ him, and what salary I would pay him. He was highly -indignant and informed me that he was “no showman,” and had no desire to -learn or engage in the business.</p> - -<p>“But, my dear sir,” said I, “it is not as a showman that I wish to -employ your valuable services, but as a preceptor to my young and -interesting ward, General Tom Thumb, whom I desire to have instructed in -the French language and in other accomplishments you are so competent to -impart. At the same time, I should expect that you would be willing to -accompany my ward and your pupil and attend his public exhibitions for -the purpose of translating, as may be necessary, to the cultivated -people of your own class who are the principal patrons of our -entertainments.”</p> - -<p>This seemed to put an entirely new face upon the matter, especially as I -had offered the Professor a salary five times larger, probably, than he -was then receiving. So he rapidly revolved the subject in his mind and -said:</p> - -<p>“Ah! while I could not possibly accept a situation as a showman, I -should be most happy to accept the terms and the position as preceptor -to your ward.”</p> - -<p>He was engaged, and at once entered upon his duties, not only as -preceptor to the General, but as the efficient<a name="page_210" id="page_210"></a> and always excellent -interpreter at our exhibitions, and wherever we needed his services on -the route. As he had lost his passport, when we came to Courtrai on the -Belgian frontier, I managed to procure a permit for him which enabled -him to proceed with the party. This was but the beginning of -difficulties, for I had all our property, including the General’s ponies -and equipage, to pass through the Custom-house, and among other things -there was a large box of medals, with a likeness of the General on one -side and of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on the other side, which -were sold in large numbers as souvenirs at our exhibitions. They were -struck off at a considerable expense in England, and commanded a ready -sale.</p> - -<p>The Custom-house officers were informed, however, that these medals were -mere advertising cards, as they really were, of our exhibitions, and I -begged their acceptance of as many as they pleased to put in their -pockets. They were beautiful medals, and a few dozen were speedily -distributed among the delighted officials, who forthwith passed our -show-bills, lithographs and other property with very little trouble. -They wanted, however, to charge a duty upon the General’s ponies and -carriage, but when I produced a document showing that the French -government had admitted them duty-free, they did the same. This superb -establishment led these officials to think he must be a very -distinguished man, and they asked what rank he held in his own country.</p> - -<p>“He is Prince Charles Stratton, of the Dukedom of Bridgeport, in the -Kingdom of Connecticut,” said Sherman.</p> - -<p>Whereupon they all reverently raised their hats when<a name="page_211" id="page_211"></a> the General -entered the car. Some of the railway men who had seen the distribution -of medals among the Custom-house officers came to me and begged similar -“souvenirs” of their distinguished passenger, and I gave the medals very -freely, till the applications became so persistent as to threaten a -serious pecuniary loss. At last I handed out a final dozen in one -package, and said: “There, that is the last of them; the rest are in the -box, and beyond my reach.”</p> - -<p>All this while Professor Pinte was brooding over my remark to him about -the loss of his passport; the word “showman” rankled, and he asked me:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, do you consider me a showman?”</p> - -<p>I laughingly replied, “Why, I consider you the eminent Professor Pinte, -preceptor to General Tom Thumb; but, after all, we are all showmen.”</p> - -<p>Finding himself so classed with the rest of us, he ventured to inquire -“what were the qualifications of a good showman,” to which I replied:</p> - -<p>“He must have a decided taste for catering for the public; prominent -perceptive faculties; tact; a thorough knowledge of human nature; great -suavity; and plenty of ‘soft soap.’ ”</p> - -<p>“Soft sup!” exclaimed the interested Professor, “what is ‘soft sup.’ ”</p> - -<p>I explained, as best I could, how the literal meaning of the words had -come to convey the idea of getting into the good graces of people and -pleasing those with whom we are brought in contact. Pinte laughed, and -as he thought of the generous medal distribution, an idea struck him:</p> - -<p>“I think those railway officials must have very dirty hands—you are -compelled to use so much ‘soft sup.’<a name="page_212" id="page_212"></a> ”</p> - -<p>Brussels is Paris in miniature and is one of the most charming cities I -ever visited. We found elegant quarters, and the day after our arrival -by command we visited King Leopold and the Queen at their palace. The -King and Queen had already seen the General in London, but they wished -to present him to their children and to the distinguished persons whom -we found assembled. After a most agreeable hour we came away—the -General, as usual, receiving many fine presents.</p> - -<p>The following day, I opened the exhibition in a beautiful hall, which on -that day and on every afternoon and evening while we remained there, was -crowded by throngs of the first people in the city. On the second or -third day, in the midst of the exhibition, I suddenly missed the case -containing the valuable presents the General had received from kings, -queens, noblemen and gentlemen, and instantly gave the alarm; some thief -had intruded for the express purpose of stealing these jewels, and, in -the crowd, had been entirely successful in his object.</p> - -<p>The police were notified, and I offered 2,000 francs reward for the -recovery of the property. A day or two afterwards a man went into a -jeweller’s shop and offered for sale, among other things, a gold -snuff-box, mounted with turquoises, and presented by the Duke of -Devonshire to the General. The jeweller, seeing the General’s initials -on the box, sharply questioned the man, who became alarmed and ran out -of the shop. An alarm was raised, and the man was caught. He made a -clean breast of it, and in the course of a few hours the entire property -was returned, to the great delight of the General and myself. Wherever -we exhibited afterwards, no matter how respectable the audience, the -case of presents was always carefully watched.<a name="page_213" id="page_213"></a></p> - -<p>While I was in Brussels I could do no less than visit the battle-field -of Waterloo, and I proposed that our party should be composed of -Professor Pinte, Mr. Stratton, father of General Tom Thumb, Mr. H. G. -Sherman, and myself. Going sight-seeing was a new sensation to Stratton, -and as it was necessary to start by four o’clock in the morning, in -order to accomplish the distance (sixteen miles) and return in time for -our afternoon performance, he demurred.</p> - -<p>“I don’t want to get up before daylight and go off on a journey for the -sake of seeing a darned old field of wheat,” said Stratton.</p> - -<p>“Sherwood, do try to be like somebody, once in your life, and go,” said -his wife.</p> - -<p>The appeal was irresistible, and he consented. We engaged a coach and -horses the night previous, and started punctually at the hour appointed. -We stopped at the neat little church in the village of Waterloo, for the -purpose of examining the tablets erected to the memory of some of the -English who fell in the contest. Thence we passed to the house in which -the leg of Lord Uxbridge (Marquis of Anglesey) was amputated. A neat -little monument in the garden designates the spot where the shattered -member had been interred. In the house is shown a part of the boot which -is said to have once covered the unlucky leg. The visitor feels it but -considerate to hand a franc or two to the female who exhibits the -monument and limb. I did so, and Stratton, though he felt that he had -not received the worth of his money, still did not like to be considered -penurious, so he handed over a piece of silver coin to the attendant. I -expressed a desire to have a small piece of the boot to exhibit in my -Museum; the lady cut off, without<a name="page_214" id="page_214"></a> hesitation, a slip three inches long -by one in width. I handed her a couple more francs, and Stratton -desiring, as he said, to “show a piece of the boot in old Bridgeport,” -received a similar slip, and paid a similar amount. I could not help -thinking that if the lady was thus liberal in dispensing pieces of the -“identical boot” to all visitors, this must have been about the -ninety-nine thousandth boot that had been cut as the “Simon pure” since -1815.</p> - -<p>With the consoling reflection that the female purchased all the cast-off -boots in Brussels and its vicinity, and rejoicing that somebody was -making a trifle out of that accident besides the inventor of the -celebrated “Anglesey leg,” we passed on towards the battle-field, lying -about a mile distant.</p> - -<p>Arriving at Mont Saint Jean, a quarter of a mile from the ground, we -were beset by some eighteen or twenty persons, who offered their -services as guides, to indicate the most important localities. Each -applicant professed to know the exact spot where every man had been -placed who had taken part in the battle, and each, of course, claimed to -have been engaged in that sanguinary contest, although it had occurred -thirty years before, and some of these fellows were only, it seemed, -from twenty-five to twenty-eight years of age! We accepted an old man, -who, at first declared that he was killed in the battle, but perceiving -our looks of incredulity, consented to modify his statement so far as to -assert that he was horribly wounded, and lay upon the ground three days -before receiving assistance.</p> - -<p>Once upon the ground, our guide, with much gravity, pointed out the -place where the Duke of Wellington took his station during a great part -of the action; the<a name="page_215" id="page_215"></a> locality where the reserve of the British army was -stationed; the spot where Napoleon placed his favorite guard; the little -mound on which was erected a temporary observatory for his use during -the battle; the portion of the field at which Blucher entered with the -Prussian army; the precise location of the Scotch Greys; the spot where -fell Sir Alexander Gordon, Lieut. Col. Canning, and many others of -celebrity. I asked him if he could tell me where Captain Tippitiwichet, -of the Connecticut Fusileers, was killed. “Oui, Monsieur,” he replied, -with perfect confidence, for he felt bound to know, or to pretend to -know, every particular. He then proceeded to point out exactly the spot -where my unfortunate Connecticut friend had breathed his last. After -indicating the locations where some twenty more fictitious friends from -Coney Island, New Jersey, Cape Cod and Saratoga Springs, had given up -the ghost, we handed him his commission and declined to give him further -trouble. Stratton grumbled at the imposition as he handed out a couple -of francs for the information received.</p> - -<p>Upon quitting the battle-field we were accosted by a dozen persons of -both sexes with baskets on their arms or bags in their hands, containing -relics of the battle for sale. These consisted of a great variety of -implements of war, pistols, bullets, etc., besides brass French eagles, -buttons, etc. I purchased a number of them for the Museum, and Stratton -was equally liberal in obtaining a supply for his friends in “Old -Bridgeport.” We also purchased maps of the battle-ground, pictures of -the triumphal mound surmounted by the colossal Belgic Lion in bronze, -etc., etc. These frequent and renewed taxations annoyed Stratton very -much, and as he handed<a name="page_216" id="page_216"></a> out a five franc piece for a “complete -guide-book,” he remarked, that “he guessed the battle of Waterloo had -cost a darned sight more since it was fought than it did before!”</p> - -<p>But his misfortunes did not terminate here. When we had proceeded four -or five miles upon our road home, crash went the carriage. We alighted, -and found that the axle-tree was broken. It was now a quarter past one -o’clock. The little General’s exhibition was advertised to commence in -Brussels at two o’clock, and could not take place without us. We were -unable to walk the distance in double the time at our disposal, and as -no carriage was to be got in that part of the country, I concluded to -take the matter easy, and forego all idea of exhibiting before evening. -Stratton, however, could not bear the thought of losing the chance of -taking in six or eight hundred francs, and he determined to take matters -in hand, in order, if possible, to get our party into Brussels in time -to save the afternoon exhibition. He hastened to a farm-house, -accompanied by the interpreter, Professor Pinte, Sherman and myself -leisurely bringing up the rear. Stratton asked the old farmer if he had -a carriage. He had not. “Have you no vehicle?” he inquired.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I have that vehicle,” he replied, pointing to an old cart filled -with manure, and standing in his barnyard.</p> - -<p>“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 get to Brussels in time.</p> - -<p>“What will you ask to drive us to Brussels in three-quarters of an -hour?” demanded Stratton.<a name="page_217" id="page_217"></a></p> - -<p><a name="MANURE_CART_EXPRESS" id="MANURE_CART_EXPRESS"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p216_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p216_sml.jpg" width="539" height="363" alt="MANURE CART EXPRESS." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">MANURE CART EXPRESS.</span> -</div> - -<p>“It is impossible,” replied the farmer; “I should want two hours for my -horse to do it in.”</p> - -<p>“But ours is a very pressing case, and if we are not there in time we -lose more than five hundred francs,” said Stratton.</p> - -<p>The old farmer pricked up his ears at this, and agreed to get us to -Brussels in an hour, for eighty francs. Stratton tried to beat him down, -but it was of no use.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“But I have already spent about ten dollars for nonsense,” said -Stratton, “and we shall have to pay for the broken carriage besides.”</p> - -<p>“But what can you do better?” chimed in Professor Pinte.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“It is the custom of the country,” said Professor Pinte, “and we must -submit to it.”</p> - -<p>By the way, this was a favorite expression of the Professor’s. Whenever -we were imposed upon, or felt that we were not used right, Pinte would -always endeavor to smooth it over by informing us it was “the custom of -the country.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it’s a thundering mean custom, any how,” said Stratton, “and I -wont stand such an imposition.”</p> - -<p>“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.”<a name="page_218" id="page_218"></a></p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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 we had left Brussels in a coach, and -the morning had promised us a pleasant day, we had omitted our -umbrellas. We were soon soaked to the skin. We “grinned and bore it” -awhile without grumbling. At length Stratton, who was almost too angry -to speak, desired Mr. Pinte to ask the red-haired<a name="page_219" id="page_219"></a> boy if he expected to -walk his horse all the way to Brussels.</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” replied the boy; “he is too big and fat to do any thing but -walk. We never trot him.”</p> - -<p>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 our backs.</p> - -<p>At two o’clock, the time appointed for our exhibition, we 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 our 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.”</p> - -<p>“But your father agreed to get us there in an hour,” answered Stratton.</p> - -<p>“I know it,” responded the boy, “but he knew it would take more than -two.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll sue him for damage, by thunder,” said Stratton.</p> - -<p>“Oh, there would be no use in that,” chimed in Mr. Pinte, “for you could -get no satisfaction in this country.”</p> - -<p>“But I shall lose more than a hundred dollars by being two hours instead -of one,” said Stratton.</p> - -<p>“They care nothing about that; all they care for is your eighty francs,” -remarked Pinte.</p> - -<p>“But they have lied and swindled me,” replied Stratton.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you must not mind that, it is the custom of the country.”<a name="page_220" id="page_220"></a></p> - -<p>Stratton gave “the country,” and its “customs,” another cursing.</p> - -<p>All things will finally have an end, and our party did at length -actually arrive in Brussels, cart and all, in precisely two hours and a -half from the time we left the farmers house. Of course we were too late -to exhibit the little General. Hundreds of visitors had gone away -disappointed.</p> - -<p>With feelings of utter desperation, Stratton started for a barber’s -shop. He had a fine, black, bushy head of hair, of which he was a little -proud, and every morning he submitted it to the curling-tongs of the -barber. His hair had not been cut for several weeks, and after being -shaved, he desired the barber to trim his flowing locks a little. The -barber clipped off the ends of the hair, and asked Stratton if that was -sufficient. “No,” he replied, “I want it trimmed a little shorter; cut -away, and I will tell you when to stop.”</p> - -<p>Stratton had risen from bed at an unusual hour, and after having passed -through the troubles and excitements of the unlucky morning, he began to -feel a little drowsy. This feeling was augmented by the soothing -sensations of the tonsorial process, and while the barber quietly -pursued his avocation, Stratton as quietly fell asleep. The barber went -entirely over his head, cutting off a couple of inches of hair with -every clip of his scissors. He then rested for a moment; expecting his -customer would tell him that it was sufficient; but the unconscious -Stratton uttered not a word, and the barber, thinking he had not cut the -hair close enough, went over the head again. Again did he wait for an -answer, little thinking that his patron was asleep. Remembering that -Stratton had told him to “cut away, and he would tell him<a name="page_221" id="page_221"></a> when to -stop,” the innocent barber went over the head the third time, cutting -the hair nearly as close as if he had shaved it with a razor! Having -finished, he again waited for orders from his customer, but he uttered -not a word. The barber was surprised, and that surprise was increased -when he heard a noise which seemed very like a snore coming from the -nasal organ of his unconscious victim.</p> - -<p>The poor barber saw the error that he had committed, and in dismay, as -if by mistake, he hit Stratton on the side of the head with his -scissors, and woke him. He started to his feet, looked in the glass, and -to his utter horror saw that he was unfit to appear in public without a -wig! He swore like a trooper, but he could not swear the hair back on to -his head, and putting on his hat, which dropped loosely over his eyes, -he started for the hotel. His despair and indignation were so great that -it was some time before he could give utterance to words of explanation. -His feelings were not allayed by the deafening burst of laughter which -ensued. He said it was the first time that he ever went a sight-seeing, -and he guessed it would be the last!</p> - -<p>Several months subsequent to our visit to Waterloo, I was in Birmingham, -and there made the acquaintance of a firm who manufactured to order, and -sent to Waterloo, barrels of “relics” every year. At Waterloo these -“relics” are planted, and in due time dug up, and sold at large prices -as precious remembrances of the great battle. Our Waterloo purchases -looked rather cheap after this discovery.</p> - -<p>While we were in Brussels, Mrs. Stratton, the mother of the General, -tasted some sausages which she declared the best things she had eaten in -France or Belgium; in<a name="page_222" id="page_222"></a> fact, she said “she had found little that was fit -to eat in this country, for every thing was so Frenchified and covered -in gravy, she dared not eat it; but there was something that tasted -natural about these sausages; she had never eaten any as good, even in -America.” She sent to the landlady to inquire the name of them, for she -meant to buy some to take along with her. The answer came that they were -called “saucisse de Lyon,” (Lyons sausages,) and straightway Mrs. -Stratton went out and purchased half a dozen pounds. Mr. Sherman soon -came in, and, on learning what she had in her package, he remarked: -“Mrs. Stratton, do you know what Lyons sausages are made of?”</p> - -<p>“No,” she replied; “but I know that they are first-rate!”</p> - -<p>“Well,” replied Sherman, “they may be good, but they are made from -donkeys!” which is said to be the fact. Mrs. Stratton said she was not -to be fooled so easily—that she knew better, and that she should stick -to the sausages.</p> - -<p>Presently Professor Pinte entered the room. “Mr. Pinte,” said Sherman, -“you are a Frenchman, and know every thing about edibles; pray tell me -what Lyons sausages are made of.”</p> - -<p>“Of asses,” replied the inoffensive professor.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Stratton seized the package, the street window was open, and, in -less than a minute, a large brindle dog was bearing the “Lyons sausages” -triumphantly away.</p> - -<p>There were many other amusing incidents during our brief stay at -Brussels, but I have no space to record them. After a very pleasant and -successful week, we returned to London.<a name="page_223" id="page_223"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br /><br /> -<small>IN ENGLAND AGAIN.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">LEVEES IN EGYPTIAN HALL—UNDIMINISHED SUCCESS—OTHER -ENGAGEMENTS—“UP IN A BALLOON”—PROVINCIAL TOUR—TRAVELLING BY -POST—GOING TO AMERICA—A. T. STEWART—SAMUEL ROGERS—AN EXTRA -TRAIN—AN ASTONISHED RAILWAY SUPERINTENDENT—LEFT BEHIND AND LOCKED -UP—SUNDAYS IN LONDON—BUSINESS AND PLEASURE—ALBERT SMITH—A DAY -WITH HIM AT WARWICK—STRATFORD ON AVON—A POETICAL BARBER—WARWICK -CASTLE—OLD GUY’S TRAPS—OFFER TO BUY THE LOT—THREAT TO BURST THE -SHOW—ALBERT SMITH AS A SHOWMAN—LEARNING THE BUSINESS FROM -BARNUM—THE WARWICK RACES—RIVAL DWARFS—MANUFACTURED -GIANTESSES—THE HAPPY FAMILY—THE ROAD FROM WARWICK TO -COVENTRY—PEEPING TOM—THE YANKEE GO-AHEAD PRINCIPLE—ALBERT -SMITH’S ACCOUNT OF A DAY WITH BARNUM.</p></div> - -<p>I<small>N</small> London the General again opened his levees in Egyptian Hall with -undiminished 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.</p> - -<p>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 -Zoölogical Gardens, under the direction of the proprietor, my particular -friend 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<a name="page_224" id="page_224"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>In addition to other engagements, the General frequently performed in -Douglass’s Standard Theatre, in the city, in the play “Hop o’ my Thumb,” -which was written for him by my friend, Albert Smith, whom I met soon -after my first arrival in London and with whom I became very intimate. -After my arrival in Paris, seeing the decided success of “Petit Poucet,” -it occurred to me that I should want such a play when I returned to -England and the United States. So I wrote to Mr. Albert Smith, inviting -him to make me a visit in Paris, intending to have him see this play and -either translate or adapt it, or write a new one in English. He came and -stayed with me a week, visiting the Vaudeville Theatre to see “Petit -Poucet” nearly every night, and we compared notes and settled upon a -plan for “Hop o’ my Thumb.” He went back to London and wrote the play -and it was very popular indeed.</p> - -<p>During our stay of three months, at this time, in Egyptian Hall, we made -occasional excursions and gave exhibitions at Brighton, Bath, -Cheltenham, Leamington and other watering places and fashionable -resorts. It was at the height of the season in these places,<a name="page_225" id="page_225"></a> and our -houses were very large and our profits in proportion.</p> - -<p>In October, 1844, I made my first return visit to the United States, -leaving General Tom Thumb in England, in the hands of an accomplished -and faithful agent, who continued the exhibitions during my absence. One -of the principal reasons for my return at this time, was my anxiety to -renew the Museum building lease, although my first lease of five years -had still three years longer to run. I told Mr. Olmsted that if he would -not renew my lease on the same terms, for at least five years more, I -would immediately put up a new building, remove my Museum, close his -building during the last year of my lease, and cover it from top to -bottom with placards, stating where my new Museum was to be found. -Pending an arrangement, I went to Mr. A. T. Stewart, who had just -purchased the Washington Hall property, at the corner of Broadway and -Chambers Street, intending to erect a store on the site, and proposed to -join him in building, he to take the lower floor of the new store for -his business, and I to own and occupy the upper stories for my Museum. -He said he would give me an answer in the course of a week. Meanwhile, -Mr. Olmsted gave me the additional five years lease I asked, and I so -notified Mr. Stewart. Seeing the kind of building that Mr. Stewart -erected on his lots, I do not know if he seriously entertained my -proposition to join him in the enterprise; but he was by no means the -great merchant then he afterwards became, and neither of us then -thought, probably, of the gigantic enterprises we were subsequently to -undertake, and the great things we were to accomplish. Having completed -my business arrangements in New York, I returned to England with my wife -and daughters,<a name="page_226" id="page_226"></a> and hired a house in London. My house was the scene of -constant hospitality which I extended to my numerous friends in return -for the many attentions shown to me. It seemed then as if I had more and -stronger friends in London than in New York. I had met and had been -introduced to “almost everybody who was anybody,” and among them all, -some of the best soon became to me much more than mere acquaintances.</p> - -<p>Among the distinguished people whom I met, I was introduced to the -poet-banker, Samuel Rogers. I saw him at a dinner party at the residence -of the American Minister, the Honorable Edward Everett. The old banker -was very feeble, but careful nursing and all the appliances that -unbounded wealth could bring, still kept the life in him and he managed, -not only to continue to give his own celebrated breakfasts, but to go -out frequently to enjoy the hospitality of others. As we were going in -to dinner, I stepped aside, so that Mr. Rogers who was tottering along -leaning on the arm of a friend, could go in before me, when Mr. Rogers -said:</p> - -<p>“Pass in, Mr. Barnum, pass in; I always consider it an honor to follow -an American.”</p> - -<p>When our three months’ engagement at Egyptian Hall had expired, I -arranged for a protracted provincial tour through Great Britain. I had -made a flying visit to Scotland before we went to Paris—mainly to -procure the beautiful Scotch costumes, daggers, etc., which were -carefully made for the General at Edinburgh, and to teach the General -the Scotch dances, with a bit of the Scotch dialect, which added so much -to the interest of his exhibitions in Paris and elsewhere. My second -visit to Scotland, for the purpose of giving exhibitions, extended as -far as Aberdeen.<a name="page_227" id="page_227"></a></p> - -<p>In England we went to Manchester, Birmingham, and to almost every city, -town, and even village of importance. We travelled by post much of the -time—that is, I had a suitable carriage made for my party, and a van -which conveyed the General’s carriage, ponies, and such other “property” -as was needed for our levees,—and we never had the slightest difficulty -in finding good post horses at every station where we wanted them. This -mode of travelling was not only very comfortable and independent, but it -enabled us to visit many out of the way places, off from the great lines -of travel, and in such places we gave some of our most successful -exhibitions. We also used the railway lines freely, leaving our -carriages at any station, and taking them up again when we returned.</p> - -<p>I remember once making an extraordinary effort to reach a branch-line -station, where I meant to leave my teams and take the rail for Rugby. I -had a time-table, and knew at what hour exactly I could hit the train; -but unfortunately the axle to my carriage broke, and as an hour was lost -in repairing it, I lost exactly an hour in reaching the station. The -train had long been gone, and I must be in Rugby, where we had -advertised a performance. I stormed around till I found the -superintendent, and told him “I must instantly have an extra train to -Rugby.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Is that all?” I asked; “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!”<a name="page_228" id="page_228"></a></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“General Tom Thumb.”</p> - -<p>We reached Rugby in time to give our performance, as announced, and our -receipts were £160, which quite covered the expense of our extra train -and left a handsome margin for profit.</p> - -<p>When we 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 handsful, vexed at the delay which was -preventing a crowd of ladies and gentlemen from buying tickets, Mr. -Stratton lost his temper and cried out:</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>At Cambridge, some of the under-graduates pretended to take offence -because our check-taker would not permit them to smoke in the exhibition -hall, and one of them managed to involve him in a quarrel which ended -with a challenge from the student to the check-taker, who was<a name="page_229" id="page_229"></a> sure he -must fight a duel at sunrise the next morning, and as he expected to be -shot, he suffered the greatest mental agony. About midnight, however, -after he had been sufficiently scared, I brought him the gratifying -intelligence that I had succeeded in settling the dispute. His gratitude -at the relief thus afforded, knew no bounds.</p> - -<p>Mr. Stratton was a genuine Yankee, and thoroughly conversant with the -Yankee vernacular, which he used freely. In exhibiting the General, I -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:</p> - -<p>“Are you really the father of General Tom Thumb?”</p> - -<p>“Wa’al,” replied Stratton, “I have to support him!”</p> - -<p>This evasive method of answering is common enough in New England, but -the literal dowager had her doubts, and promptly rejoined:</p> - -<p>“I rather think he supports you!”</p> - -<p>In my journeyings through England, I always tried to get back to London -Saturday night, so as to pass Sunday with my family, and to meet the -friends whom we invited to dine with us on the only day in the week when -I could be at home. The railway facilities are so excellent in England, -that, no matter how far I might be from London, I could generally reach -that city by Sunday morning, and yet do a full week’s work in the -provinces. This, however, necessitated travel Saturday night, and while -I travelled I must sleep. Sleeping cars were, and, I believe, still are -unknown in that country; but I travelled so much, and was, by this time, -so well<a name="page_230" id="page_230"></a> known to the guards on the leading lines, that I could -generally secure one of the compartments in a first-class “coach” to -myself, and my method for obtaining a good night’s sleep, was to lay the -seat-cushions on the floor of the car, thus, with my blanket to cover -me, making a tolerable bed.</p> - -<p>On one of these Saturday night excursions, I lay down on my extemporized -couch, with the expectation of arriving at London at five o’clock in the -morning. When I awoke the car was standing still, and the sun was well -up in the heavens. Thinking we were very much behind time, and wondering -why the train did not go on, at last I got up and looked out of the -window, and, to my utter amazement, I found my car locked up in a yard, -surrounded by a high fence. Espying a man who seemed to have charge of -the premises, I shouted to him to come and let me out of the car, which -was also locked. It instantly flashed across my mind that at this -station, the guard, seeing no person sitting on the seats in the car, -and concluding that it was empty, had detached it from the train, and -switched it off into the yard. The astonished man whom I summoned to my -assistance, informed me that I was sixty miles from London, and that -there would not be another train to the city till evening. It was ten -o’clock, and I was to have been home at five. I raised a great row, and -demanded as my right an extra train to carry me to London, to meet the -friends whom it was all-important I should see that day. I had to wait, -however, till evening, and I arrived home at seven or eight o’clock, -long after my friends had gone, though to the great gratification of my -family, who thought some serious accident must have happened to me.<a name="page_231" id="page_231"></a></p> - -<p>It must not be supposed that during my protracted stay abroad I confined -myself wholly to business or limited my circle of observation with a -golden rim. To be sure, I ever had “an eye to business,” but I had also -two eyes for observation and these were busily employed in leisure -hours. I made the most of my opportunities and saw, hurriedly, it is -true, nearly everything worth seeing in the various places which I -visited. All Europe was a great curiosity shop to me and I willingly -paid my money for the show.</p> - -<p>While in London, my friend Albert Smith, a jolly companion, as well as a -witty and sensible author, promised that when I reached Birmingham he -would come and spend a day with me in “sight-seeing,” including a visit -to the house in which Shakespeare was born.</p> - -<p>Early one morning in the autumn of 1844, my friend Smith and myself took -the box-seat of an English mail-coach, and were soon whirling at the -rate of twelve miles an hour over the magnificent road leading from -Birmingham to Stratford. The distance is thirty miles. At a little -village four miles from Stratford, we found that the fame of the bard of -Avon had travelled thus far, for we noticed a sign over a miserable -barber’s shop, “Shakespeare hair-dressing—a good shave for a penny.” In -twenty minutes more we were set down at the door of the Red Horse Hotel, -in Stratford. The coachman and guard were each paid half a crown as -their perquisites.</p> - -<p>While breakfast was preparing, we called for a guide-book to the town, -and the waiter brought in a book, saying that we should find in it the -best description extant of the birth and burial place of Shakespeare. I -was not a little proud to find this volume to be no other<a name="page_232" id="page_232"></a> than the -“Sketch-Book” of our illustrious countryman, Washington Irving; and in -glancing over his humorous description of the place, I discovered that -he had stopped at the same hotel where we were then awaiting breakfast.</p> - -<p>After examining the Shakespeare House, as well as the tomb and the -church in which all that is mortal of the great poet rests, we ordered a -post-chaise for Warwick Castle. While the horses were harnessing, a -stage-coach stopped at the hotel, and two gentlemen alighted. One was a -sedate, sensible-looking man; the other an addle-headed fop. The former -was mild and unassuming in his manners; the latter was all talk, without -sense or meaning—in fact, a regular Charles Chatterbox. He evidently -had a high opinion of himself, and was determined that all within -hearing should understand that he was—somebody. Presently the sedate -gentleman said:</p> - -<p>“Edward, this is Stratford. Let us go and see the house where -Shakespeare was born.”</p> - -<p>“Who the devil is Shakespeare?” asked the sensible young gentleman.</p> - -<p>Our post-chaise was at the door; we leaped into it, and were off, -leaving the “nice young man” to enjoy a visit to the birth-place of an -individual of whom he had never before heard. The distance to Warwick is -fourteen miles. We went to the Castle, and approaching the door of the -Great Hall, were informed by a well-dressed porter that the Earl of -Warwick and family were absent, and that he was permitted to show the -apartments to visitors. He introduced us successively into the “Red -Drawing-Room,” “The Cedar Drawing-Room,” “The Gilt Room,” “The State -Bed-Room,”<a name="page_233" id="page_233"></a> “Lady Warwick’s Boudoir,” “The Compass Room,” “The Chapel,” -and “The Great Dining-Room.” As we passed out of the Castle, the polite -porter touched his head (he of course had no hat on it) in a style which -spoke plainer than words, “Half a crown each, if you please, gentlemen.” -We responded to the call, and were then placed in charge of another -guide, who took us to the top of “Guy’s Tower,” at the bottom of which -he touched his hat a shilling’s worth; and placing ourselves in charge -of a third conductor, an old man of seventy, we proceeded to the -Greenhouse to see the Warwick Vase—each guide announcing at the end of -his short tour: “Gentlemen, I go no farther,” and indicating that the -bill for his services was to be paid. The old gentleman mounted a -rostrum at the side of the vase, and commenced a set speech, which we -began to fear was interminable; so tossing him the usual fee, we left -him in the middle of his oration.</p> - -<p>Passing through the porter’s lodge on our way out, under the impression -that we had seen all that was interesting, the old porter informed us -that the most curious things connected with the Castle were to be seen -in his lodge. Feeling for our coin, we bade him produce his relics, and -he showed us a lot of trumpery, which, he gravely informed us, belonged -to that hero of antiquity, Guy, Earl of Warwick. Among these were his -sword, shield, helmet, breast-plate, walking-staff, and tilting-pole, -each of enormous size—the horse armor nearly large enough for an -elephant, a large pot which would hold seventy gallons, called “Guy’s -Porridge Pot,” his flesh-fork, the size of a farmer’s hay-fork, his -lady’s stirrups, the rib of a mastodon which the porter pretended -belonged to the great “Dun Cow,” which,<a name="page_234" id="page_234"></a> according to tradition, haunted -a ditch near Coventry, and after doing injury to many persons, was slain -by the valiant Guy. The sword weighed nearly 200 pounds, and the armor -400 pounds.</p> - -<p>I told the old porter he was entitled to great credit for having -concentrated more lies than I had ever before heard in so small a -compass. He smiled, and evidently felt gratified by the compliment.</p> - -<p>“I suppose,” I continued, “that you have told these marvellous stories -so often, that you believe them yourself?”</p> - -<p>“Almost!” replied the porter, with a grin of satisfaction that showed he -was “up to snuff,” and had really earned two shillings.</p> - -<p>“Come now, old fellow,” said I, “what will you take for the entire lot -of those traps? I want them for my Museum in America.”</p> - -<p>“No money would buy these valuable historical mementos of a by-gone -age,” replied the old porter with a leer.</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” I exclaimed; “I’ll have them duplicated for my Museum, so -that Americans can see them and avoid the necessity of coming here, and -in that way I’ll burst up your show.”</p> - -<p>Albert Smith laughed immoderately at the astonishment of the porter when -I made this threat, and I was greatly amused, some years afterwards, -when Albert Smith became a successful showman and was exhibiting his -“Mont Blanc” to delighted audiences in London, to discover that he had -introduced this very incident into his lecture, of course, changing the -names and locality. He often confessed that he derived his very first -idea of becoming a showman from my talk about the business<a name="page_235" id="page_235"></a> and my -doings, on this charming day when we visited Warwick.</p> - -<p>The “Warwick races” were coming off that day, within half a mile of the -village, and we therefore went down and spent an hour with the -multitude. There was very little excitement regarding the races, and we -concluded to take a tour through the “penny shows,” the vans of which -lined one side of the course for the distance of a quarter of a mile. On -applying to enter one van, which had a large pictorial sign of -giantesses, white negro, Albino girls, learned pig, big snakes, etc., -the keeper exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“Come, Mister, you is the man what hired Randall, the giant, for -‘Merika, and you shows Tom Thumb; now can you think of paying less than -sixpence for going in here?”</p> - -<p>The appeal was irresistible; so, satisfying his demands, we entered. -Upon coming out, a whole bevy of showmen from that and neighboring vans -surrounded me, and began descanting on the merits and demerits of -General Tom Thumb.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” says one, “I knows two dwarfs what is better ten times as Tom -Thumb.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” says another, “there’s no use to talk about Tom Thumb while Melia -Patton is above the ground.”</p> - -<p>“Now, I’ve seen Tom Thumb,” added a third, “and he is a fine little -squab, but the only ‘vantage he’s got is he can chaff so well. He chaffs -like a man; but I can learn Dick Swift in two months, so that he can -chaff Tom Thumb crazy.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” added a fourth, “I’ve got a chap training what you none on -you knows, what’ll beat all the ‘thumbs’ on your grapplers.”<a name="page_236" id="page_236"></a></p> - -<p>“No, he can’t,” exclaimed a fifth, “for Tom Thumb has got the name, and -you all know the name’s everything. Tom Thumb couldn’t never shine, even -in my van, ‘long side of a dozen dwarfs I knows, if this Yankee hadn’t -bamboozled our Queen,—God bless her—by getting him afore her half a -dozen times.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, yes,—that’s the ticket,” exclaimed another; “our Queen patronizes -everything foreign, and yet she wouldn’t visit my beautiful wax-works to -save the crown of Hingland.”</p> - -<p>“Your beautiful wax-works!” they all exclaimed, with a hearty laugh.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and who says they haint beautiful?” retorted the other; “they was -made by the best Hitalian hartist in this country.”</p> - -<p>“They was made by Jim Caul, and showed all over the country twenty years -ago,” rejoined another; “and arter that they laid five years in pawn in -old Moll Wiggin’s cellar, covered with mould and dust.”</p> - -<p>“Well, that’s a good ’un, that is!” replied the proprietor of the -beautiful wax-works, with a look of disdain.</p> - -<p>I made a move to depart, when one of the head showmen exclaimed, “Come, -Mister, don’t be shabby; can you think of going without standing treat -all round?”</p> - -<p>“Why should I stand treat?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“ ‘Cause ’tain’t every day you can meet such a bloody lot of jolly -brother-showmen,” replied Mr. Wax-works.</p> - -<p>I handed out a crown, and left them to drink bad luck to the “foreign -wagabonds what would bamboozle their Queen with inferior dwarfs, -possessing no advantage over the ‘natyves’ but the power of chaffing.”</p> - -<p>While in the showmen’s vans seeking for acquisitions<a name="page_237" id="page_237"></a> to my Museum in -America, I was struck with the tall appearance of a couple of females -who exhibited as the “Canadian giantesses, each seven feet in height.” -Suspecting that a cheat was hidden under their unfashionably long -dresses, which reached to the floor and thus rendered their feet -invisible, I attempted to solve the mystery by raising a foot or two of -the superfluous covering. The strapping young lady, not relishing such -liberties from a stranger, laid me flat upon the floor with a blow from -her brawny hand. I was on my feet again in tolerably quick time, but not -until I had discovered that she stood upon a pedestal at least eighteen -inches high.</p> - -<p>We returned to the hotel, took a post-chaise, and drove through -decidedly the most lovely country I ever beheld. Since taking that tour, -I have heard that two gentlemen once made a bet, each, that he could -name the most delightful drive in England. Many persons were present, -and the two gentlemen wrote on separate slips of paper the scene which -he most admired. One gentleman wrote, “The road from Warwick to -Coventry;” the other had written, “The road from Coventry to Warwick.”</p> - -<p>In less than an hour we were set down at the outer walls of Kenilworth -Castle, which Scott has greatly aided to immortalize in his celebrated -novel of that name. This once noble and magnificent castle is now a -stupendous ruin, which has been so often described that I think it -unnecessary to say anything about it here. We spent half an hour in -examining the interesting ruins, and then proceeded by post-chaise to -Coventry, a distance of six or eight miles. Here we remained four hours, -during which time we visited St. Mary’s Hall, which has attracted the -notice of many<a name="page_238" id="page_238"></a> antiquaries. We also took our own “peep” at the effigy -of the celebrated “Peeping Tom,” after which we visited an exhibition -called the “Happy Family,” consisting of about two hundred birds and -animals of opposite natures and propensities, all living in harmony -together in one cage. This exhibition was so remarkable that I bought it -and hired the proprietor to accompany it to New York, and it became an -attractive feature in my Museum.</p> - -<p>We took the cars the same evening for Birmingham, where we arrived at -ten o’clock, Albert Smith remarking, that never before in his life had -he accomplished a day’s journey on the Yankee go-ahead principle. He -afterwards published a chapter in <i>Bentley’s Magazine</i> entitled “A Day -with Barnum,” in which he said we 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 -<i>would</i> stick his head above the ruins of Kenilworth, and the Warwick -Vase appeared in Coventry.<a name="page_239" id="page_239"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.<br /><br /> -<small>RETURN TO AMERICA.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">THE WIZARD OF THE NORTH—A JUGGLER BEATEN AT HIS OWN TRICKS—SECOND -VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES—REVEREND DOCTOR ROBERT BAIRD—CAPTAIN -JUDKINS THREATENS TO PUT ME IN IRONS—VIEWS WITH REGARD TO SECTS—A -WICKED WOMAN—THE SIMPSONS IN EUROPE—REMINISCENCES OF -TRAVEL—SAUCE AND “SASS”—TEA TOO SWEET—A UNIVERSAL -LANGUAGE—ROAST DUCK—SNOW IN AUGUST—TALES OF TRAVELLERS—SIMPSON -NOT TO BE TAKEN IN—HOLLANDERS IN BRUSSELS—WHERE ALL THE DUTCHMEN -COME FROM—THREE YEARS IN EUROPE—WARM PERSONAL FRIENDS—DOCTOR C. -S. BREWSTER—HENRY SUMNER—GEORGE SAND—LORENZO DRAPER—GEORGE P. -PUTNAM—OUR LAST PERFORMANCE IN DUBLIN—DANIEL O’CONNELL—END OF -OUR TOUR—DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA—ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK.</p></div> - -<p>W<small>HILE</small> I was at Aberdeen, in Scotland, I met Anderson, the “Wizard of the -North.” I had known him for a long time, and we were on familiar terms. -The General’s exhibitions were to close on Saturday night, and Anderson -was to open in the same hall on Monday evening. He came to our -exhibition, and at the close we went to the hotel together to get a -little supper. After supper we were having some fun and jokes together, -when it occurred to Anderson to introduce me to several persons who were -sitting in the room, as the “Wizard of the North,” at the same time -asking me about my tricks and my forthcoming exhibition. He kept this up -so persistently that some of our friends who were present, declared that -Anderson was “too much for me,” and, meanwhile, fresh introductions to -strangers who came in, had made me pretty generally<a name="page_240" id="page_240"></a> known in that -circle as the “Wizard of the North,” who was to astonish the town in the -following week. I accepted the situation at last, and said:</p> - -<p>“Well, gentlemen, as I perform here for the first time, on Monday -evening, I like to be liberal, and I should be very happy to give orders -of admission to those of you who will attend my exhibition.”</p> - -<p>The applications for orders were quite general, and I had written thirty -or forty, when Anderson, who saw that I was in a fair way of filling his -house with “dead-heads,” cried out—</p> - -<p>“Hold on! I am the ‘Wizard of the North.’ I’ll stand the orders already -given, but not another one.”</p> - -<p>Our friends, including the “Wizard” himself, began to think that I had -rather the best of the joke.</p> - -<p>During our three years’ stay abroad, I made a second hasty visit to -America, leaving the General in England in the hands of my agents. I -took passage from Liverpool on board a Cunard steamer, commanded by -Captain Judkins. One of my fellow passengers was the celebrated divine, -Robert Baird. I had known him as the author of an octavo volume, -“Religion in America”; and while that work had impressed me as -exhibiting great ability and an outspoken honesty of purpose, it had -also given me the notion that its author must be very rigid and -intolerant as a sectarian. Still I was happy to make his acquaintance on -board the steamship, and soon regarded with favor the venerable -Presbyterian divine.</p> - -<p>Dr. Baird had been for some time a missionary in Sweden. He was now -paying a visit to his native land. I found him a shrewd, well-informed -Christian gentleman, and I took much pleasure in hearing him converse.<a name="page_241" id="page_241"></a> -One night it was storming furiously. The waves, rolling high, afforded a -sight of awful grandeur, to witness which I was tempted to put on a -pea-jacket, go upon the deck, and lash myself to the side of the ship. -After I had been there nearly an hour, wrapt in meditation and wonder, -not unmixed with awe, Dr. Baird came up in the darkness, feeling his way -cautiously along the deck. As he came where I was, I hailed him; and he -asked what I was doing so long up there.</p> - -<p>“Listening to the preaching, Doctor,” I replied; “and I think it beats -even yours, although I have never had the pleasure of hearing you.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” he replied, “none of us can preach like this. How humble and -insignificant we all feel in the presence of such a display of the -Almighty power; and how grateful we should be to remember that infinite -love guides this power.”</p> - -<p>The Sunday following, divine service was held as usual in the large -after cabin. Of course it was the Episcopal form of worship. The captain -conducted the services, assisted by the clerk and the ship’s surgeon. A -dozen or two of the sailors, shaved, washed, and neatly dressed, were -marched into the cabin by the mate; most of the passengers were also -present.</p> - -<p>Those who have witnessed this service, as conducted by Captain Judkins, -need not be reminded that he does it much as he performs his duties on -deck. He speaks as one having authority; and a listener could hardly -help feeling that there would be some danger of a “row” if the petitions -(made as a sort of command) were not speedily answered.</p> - -<p>After dinner I asked Dr. Baird if he would be willing<a name="page_242" id="page_242"></a> to preach to the -passengers in the forward cabin. He said he would cheerfully do so if it -was desired. I mentioned it to the passengers, and there was a -generally-expressed wish among them that he should preach. I went into -the forward cabin, and requested the steward to arrange the chairs and -tables properly for religious service. He replied that I must first get -the captain’s consent. Of course, I thought this was a mere matter of -form; so I went to the captain’s office, and said:</p> - -<p>“Captain, the passengers desire to have Dr. Baird conduct a religious -service in the forward cabin. I suppose there is no objection.”</p> - -<p>“Decidedly there is,” replied the captain, gruffly; “and it will not be -permitted.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” I asked, in astonishment.</p> - -<p>“It is against the rules of the ship.”</p> - -<p>“What! to have religious services on board?”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“Captain,” I 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?”</p> - -<p>“That, sir, is exactly what I say. So, now, let me hear no more about -it.”</p> - -<p>By this time a dozen passengers were crowding around his door, and -expressing their surprise at his conduct. I was indignant, and used -sharp language.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said I, “this is the most contemptible thing I ever heard of on -the part of the owners of a public<a name="page_243" id="page_243"></a></p> - -<p><a name="PUT_ME_IN_IRONS" id="PUT_ME_IN_IRONS"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p242_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p242_sml.jpg" width="365" height="540" alt="PUT ME IN IRONS." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">PUT ME IN IRONS.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">passenger ship. Their meanness ought to be published far and wide.”</p> - -<p>“You had better ‘shut up,’ ” said Captain Judkins, with great sternness.</p> - -<p>“I will not ‘shut up,’ ” I 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!”</p> - -<p>Captain Judkins turned red in the face; and, no doubt feeling that he -was “monarch of all he surveyed,” exclaimed, in a loud voice:</p> - -<p>“If you repeat such language, I will put you in irons.”</p> - -<p>“Do it, if you dare,” said I, feeling my 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.”</p> - -<p>The captain made no reply; and, at the request of friends, I walked to -another part of the ship. I told the Doctor how the matter stood, and -then, laughingly, said to him:</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_244" id="page_244"></a> me into -solitary confinement. But I am not prejudiced, and I like fair play.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>The captain and myself had no further intercourse for five or six days; -not until a few hours before our arrival in New York. Being at dinner, -he sent his champagne bottle to me, and asked to “drink my health,” at -the same time stating that he hoped no ill-feeling would be carried -ashore. I was not then, as I am now, a teetotaler; so I accepted the -proffered truce, and I regret that I must add I “washed down” my wrath -in a bottle of Heidsick—a poor example, which I hope never to repeat. -We have frequently met since, and always with friendly greetings; but I -have ever felt that his manners were unnecessarily coarse and offensive -in carrying out an arbitrary and bigoted rule of the steamship company.</p> - -<p>Though I have never lacked definite opinions, or hesitated to exhibit -decided preferences in regard to the different religious creeds, I have -never been so sectarian as to imagine that any one of the denominations -is without any truth, or exists for no good purpose. On the contrary, I -hold that every faith has somewhat of truth; and that each sect, in its -way, does a work which perhaps no one of the other sects can do as well. -I was strongly confirmed in this general belief by an impromptu -utterance of Dr. Baird, during one of our conversations, which, under -the circumstances, was not a little amusing, as it certainly evinced a -good deal of insight into human nature. It is well known that the old -Doctor was very rigid in his theological views, and<a name="page_245" id="page_245"></a> in his career never -spared either the Methodists or the people of the so-called liberal -opinions. During our passage across the Atlantic, we very naturally had -considerable tilting in regard to opinions which divided us, though in a -thoroughly good-natured way. At last I recalled the case of a woman, -somewhat noted among her neighbors for coarseness of speech, including -profanity, making her altogether such a person as needed the refining -influence of religious teaching. Describing the very unpromising -condition of this woman, I said:</p> - -<p>“Well, Doctor, if you can do anything with your creed to improve that -woman, I should be glad to see you undertake the job.”</p> - -<p>I was at once struck with the business air in which he considered the -exigencies of what was undoubtedly a hard case. It was clear that he had -dropped the character of the sectarian, and was taking a common-sense -view of the problem. The problem was soon solved, and he replied:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, it is of no use for you, with your opinions, to attempt to -do anything for that sort of a person; and it is equally useless for me, -with my views, to attempt it either. But, if you could contrive a way to -set some fiery, rousing Methodist to work upon her, why, he is just the -man to do it!”</p> - -<p>There were a number of pretty wild young men among our passengers, and -on several occasions they tried their wits upon Dr. Baird. But he was a -man of sterling common sense, and with that, very quick at repartee; and -they never made anything out of him. On one occasion, at dinner, they -were in great glee, and, for a “lark,” they sent him their champagne -bottle to drink a glass of wine with them. They, of course, supposed<a name="page_246" id="page_246"></a> he -was a teetotaler, as, indeed, I believe he was; but when the waiter -handed him the bottle, he quietly poured a spoonful or two into his -glass, and, gracefully bowing to the young gentlemen, placed it to his -lips, but not tasting it. Of course, they could say nothing.</p> - -<p>Early one morning, several of these youths came upon deck, and, meeting -the Doctor there, one of them exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“It is cold as hell this morning, ain’t it, Doctor?”</p> - -<p>“I am unable to state the exact height of the thermometer in that -locality,” said he, gravely; “but I am afraid you will know all about it -some time, if you are not careful.”</p> - -<p>The laugh was decidedly against the young man; but one of his -companions, who thought considerably of himself, seemed anxious to take -up the cudgel, and he remarked:</p> - -<p>“Dr. Baird, your brother clergymen are making a great ado in New York -about the state of crime there; and they have got a smelling-committee, -who go about and smell out all filthy places there, and report them to -the public. Indeed, they do say that several of the clergy, and some -laymen of the Arthur Tappan stripe, have got a book in which they have -written down a list of all the bad houses in New York. I should like to -see that book. Ha! ha! I wonder if they have really got one?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know how that is,” replied Doctor Baird; “but,” casting his -eyes heavenward, “I can assure you there is a book in which all such -places are recorded, as well as the names of those who occupy or visit -them; and in due time it will be opened to public gaze.”</p> - -<p>The young man looked cowed, and extending his hand to Doctor Baird, -said:<a name="page_247" id="page_247"></a></p> - -<p>“Sir, I confess I have made too light of a serious matter. I sincerely -beg your pardon, if I have offended you.”</p> - -<p>“You have not offended me,” said the Doctor, with a benignant smile; -“but I am rejoiced to perceive that you have offended your own sense of -propriety and morality. I trust you will not forget it.”</p> - -<p>This was the last attempt on board that ship to try a lance with Doctor -Baird.</p> - -<p>Several years later, when I was engaged in the Jenny Lind enterprise, -Doctor Baird called upon me. Having been so long a missionary in Sweden, -the native land of the great songstress, he had a special desire to make -her acquaintance and listen to her singing. I introduced him to her, and -gave him the <i>entrée</i> to her concerts. He improved the opportunity, and -he also made frequent calls upon her. She became much interested in him. -Indeed, on several occasions she contributed liberally to the charitable -institutions he had recommended to her favorable notice.</p> - -<p>During my residence in London I made the acquaintance of an American, -whom I will call Simpson, and his wife. They had originally been poor, -and accustomed to pretty low society. Their opportunities for education -had been limited, and they were what we should term vulgar, ignorant, -common people. But by a turn of Fortune’s wheel they became suddenly -rich, and like some other fools who know nothing of their own country, -they must rush to make the tour of Europe.</p> - -<p>Mr. Simpson was an ignorant, good-natured fellow, fond of sporting large -amounts of jewelry; was very social with Englishmen; always bragging of -our “glorious<a name="page_248" id="page_248"></a> country”; and was particularly given to boasting that he -was once poor and now he was rich. Whenever he met Americans he was -delighted, and insisted on the privilege of “standing treats” to all -around, familiarly slapping on the back, and treating as an old chum, -any American gentleman, however refined, whom he might come in contact -with.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Simpson was a coarse woman, yet always studying politeness, and -particularly the proper pronunciation of words. She was ever trying to -appear refined; and she prided herself upon understanding all the rules -of etiquette and fashion. She was continually purchasing new dresses and -fashionable articles of apparel. She loaded herself down with diamonds -and tawdry jewelry, and would frequently appear in the streets with six -or eight different dresses in a day. But, strange to say, with all her -pride and vanity with regard to being considered the perfection of -refinement, she had an awful habit of using profane language! She really -seemed to think this an evidence of good breeding. Perhaps she thought -it a luxury which rich people were entitled to enjoy. This peculiarity -occasionally led to most ludicrous scenes.</p> - -<p>The Simpsons were from New England; and in their conversation they had -the nasal Yankee twang, and the peculiar pronunciation of the illiterate -class of the New England people.</p> - -<p>Those who have heard John E. Owens in “Solon Shingle,” are aware that -preserved fruits are in New England called “sauce,” by the vulgar -pronounced “sass.” But when Mrs. Simpson heard the word in England -pronounced sauce, she was very anxious that John, her husband, should -adopt the new pronunciation.<a name="page_249" id="page_249"></a> He tried hard to learn, but would -frequently forget himself and say “sass.” Mrs. Simpson would lose her -patience on such occasions, and reprove her husband sharply. Indeed, if -he escaped without receiving some profane epithet from the lips of his -would-be fashionable wife, it was a wonder.</p> - -<p>On one occasion I happened to meet them at dinner with an English family -in London, to whom I had, in the way of business, introduced them a few -weeks previously. We had scarcely taken our seats at the table before -Simpson happened to discover a dish of sweetmeats at the further corner -of the table. Turning to the servant he said:</p> - -<p>“Please pass me that sass.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Simpson’s eyes flashed indignantly, and she angrily exclaimed, -almost in a scream:</p> - -<p>“Say sauce; don’t say ‘sass.’ I’d rather hear you say h—l a d—d -sight!”</p> - -<p>That our English hostess was amazed and shocked it is needless to say, -although she preserved her equanimity better than could be expected. As -for myself, I confess I could not refrain from laughing, which, of -course, served only to increase the wrath of Mrs. Simpson.</p> - -<p>Fourteen years subsequent to this event, I called on this English lady -in company with an American friend. In the course of conversation, I -happened to ask her if she remembered about Mrs. Simpson’s “sass.” She -took from a drawer her memorandum book, and showed us the above -expression verbatim, which, she said, she wrote down the same day it was -uttered; and she added she had never been able to think of it since -without laughing.<a name="page_250" id="page_250"></a></p> - -<p>I met Simpson and his wife at a hotel in Marseilles, France, in the -summer of 1845. Mrs. Simpson said she and Simpson had almost determined -not to go to France at all when they “heard it was necessary to hire an -interpreter to tell what folks said.” Said she, “I told Simpson I didn’t -want to go among a set of folks who were such cussed fools they couldn’t -speak English! But of course we must go to France just for the speech of -the people when we get home, so here we are. For my part,” she -continued, “I speak English to these Frenchmen anyhow, and if they can’t -understand me they can go without understanding. The other morning, I -told the waiter my tea was too sweet. I found afterwards that too sweet -(<i>toute de suite</i>) was French for ‘very quick.’ ”</p> - -<p>“ ‘Oui, madame,’ he replied, ‘oui, oui, que voulez vous?’ (what will you -have?)”</p> - -<p>“ ‘Too sweet, too sweet,’ I repeated, ‘too sweet, too sweet.’ Then I -pointed to my tea, and said again, ‘Too sweet, d—n your stupid head, -can’t you understand too sweet?’ The fool jumped around like a hen with -her head cut off, and kept saying, ‘Oui, oui, madame, too sweet, qu’est -ceque c’est? (What is it?)’ Finally an English gentleman asked me what -was the matter, and when I told him, he explained by telling me that -<i>too sweet</i> (toute de suite) in French meant quick, very quick, and that -was what made the stupid waiter jump around so.”</p> - -<p>“But d—n the French waiters,” she continued, “I have got quit of them -finally, for I have found out a language we both understand.</p> - -<p>“The same day my tea was too sweet, Simpson was out at dinner time; and -I went to the table alone. I<a name="page_251" id="page_251"></a> called for soup, and the sap-heads brought -me some sort of preserves. I then called for fish, and the fools could -not understand me. Then I said, ‘Bring me some chicken,’ and d—n ’em, -they danced about in a quandary till I thought I should starve to death. -But finally I thought of roast duck. I am dreadfully fond of duck, and I -knew they always had stuffed ducks at dinner time. So I called to the -waiter once more, and pointed to my plate and said, ‘<i>quack</i>, <i>quack</i>, -<i>quack</i>, now do you understand?’ and the fool began to laugh, and said, -‘Oui, madame, oui, oui,’ and off he ran, and soon brought me the nicest -piece of duck you ever saw. So now every day at dinner, I say ‘<i>quack</i>, -<i>quack</i>,’ and I always get some first-rate duck.”</p> - -<p>I congratulated her on having discovered a universal language.</p> - -<p>The same day, I met a young Englishman in the hotel, who had been -travelling in Spain. During our conversation we were summoned to dinner. -At the table d’hote, Simpson happened to be seated exactly opposite us. -As we continued our conversation, Simpson heard it, and his attention -was particularly arrested—it being something of a novelty to meet a -stranger in these parts, who spoke our native tongue. The English -gentleman mentioned that he ascended the Pyrenees the week previous.</p> - -<p>“I should like to have been with you,” I remarked, “but I am almost too -fat and lazy to climb high mountains. I suppose you found it pretty hard -work.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we had to rough it some; we encountered considerable snow,” he -replied.</p> - -<p>“Snow!” exclaimed Simpson, in astonishment.</p> - -<p>The Englishman looked with surprise at this interruption;<a name="page_252" id="page_252"></a> for he did -not know Simpson, nor had he ever heard him speak before. However, he -quietly replied, “Yes, sir, snow.”</p> - -<p>“Not by a d—d sight, you didn’t,” replied Simpson, emphatically. “That -wont go down. Snow in August wont do. I have seen snow myself in -Connecticut, the last of September, but it wont do in August, by a -thundering sight.”</p> - -<p>The Englishman sprang to his feet, but I hit him a nudge, and said, “It -is all right. Excuse me; let me introduce my friend, Mr. Simpson, from -America. He has travelled some, and it is pretty hard to take him in -with big stories.”</p> - -<p>He comprehended the matter instantly and sat down.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” remarked Simpson, “I have heard travellers before, but -August is a leetle too early for snow.”</p> - -<p>“But suppose I should say it was not this year’s snow?” said the -Englishman, who was ready now to carry on the joke.</p> - -<p>“Worse and worse,” exclaimed Simpson, with a triumphant laugh; “if it -would not melt in August, when in thunder would it melt! You might as -well say it would lay all the year round.”</p> - -<p>“I give it up,” said the Englishman, “you are too sharp for me.”</p> - -<p>Simpson was delighted, and took special pains for several days to inform -the interpreters in the neighboring hotels and billiard saloons, that he -had “took down” an impudent John Bull, who had tried to stuff him with -the idea that he had seen snow in August.</p> - -<p>I met the Simpsons afterwards in Brussels, and the head of the family, -who had heard nothing but French spoken, outside of his own circle, for -a long time, called<a name="page_253" id="page_253"></a> me in great glee to the door, to see and hear some -Dutchmen, who were conversing together in the street.</p> - -<p>“There!” exclaimed Simpson, “those fellows are Dutchmen; I know by their -talk.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said I, “how far do you suppose those Dutchmen are from -their native place?”</p> - -<p>“Why,” replied Simpson, “I suppose they came from Western Pennsylvania; -that’s where I have always seen ’em.”</p> - -<p>With the exception of the brief time passed in making two short visits -to America, I had now passed three years with General Tom Thumb in Great -Britain and on the Continent. The entire period had been a season of -unbroken pleasure and profit. I had immensely enlarged my business -experiences and had made money and many friends. Among those to whom I -am indebted for special courtesies while I was abroad are Dr. C. S. -Brewster, whose prosperous professional career in Russia and France is -well known, and Henry Sumner, Esq., who occupied a high position in the -social and literary circles of Paris and who introduced me to George -Sand and to many other distinguished persons. To both these gentlemen, -as well as to Mr. John Nimmo, an English gentleman connected with -<i>Galignani’s Messenger</i>, Mr. Lorenzo Draper, the American Consul, and -Mr. Dion Boucicault, I was largely indebted for attention. In London, -two gentlemen especially merit my warm acknowledgments for many valuable -favors. I refer to the late Thomas Brettell, publisher, Haymarket; and -Mr. R. Fillingham, Jr., Fenchurch Street. I was also indebted to Mr. G. -P. Putnam, at that time a London publisher, for much useful -information.<a name="page_254" id="page_254"></a></p> - -<p>We had visited nearly every city and town in France and Belgium, all the -principal places in England and Scotland, besides going to Belfast and -Dublin, in Ireland. I had several times met Daniel O’Connell in private -life and in the Irish capital I heard him make an eloquent and powerful -public Repeal speech in Conciliation Hall. In Dublin, after exhibiting a -week in Rotunda Hall, our receipts on the last day were £261, or $1,305, -and the General also received £50, or $250, for playing the same evening -at the Theatre Royal. Thus closing a truly triumphant tour, we set sail -for New York, arriving in February 1847.<a name="page_255" id="page_255"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br /><br /> -<small>AT HOME.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">RENEWING THE LEASE OF THE MUSEUM BUILDING—TOM THUMB IN -AMERICA—TOUR THROUGH THE COUNTRY—JOURNEY TO CUBA—BARNUM A -CURIOSITY—RAISING TURKEYS—CEASING TO BE A TRAVELLING -SHOWMAN—RETURN TO BRIDGEPORT—ADVANTAGES AND CAPABILITIES OF THAT -CITY—SEARCH FOR A HOME—THE FINDING—BUILDING AND COMPLETION OF -IRANISTAN—GRAND HOUSE-WARMING—BUYING THE BALTIMORE -MUSEUM—OPENING THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM—CATERING FOR QUAKERS—THE -TEMPERANCE PLEDGE AT THE THEATRE—PURCHASING PEALE’S PHILADELPHIA -COLLECTION—MY AGRICULTURAL AND ARBORICULTURAL DOINGS—“GERSY BLEW” -CHICKENS—HOW I SOLD MY POTATOES—HOW I BOUGHT OTHER PEOPLE’S -POTATOES—CUTTING OFF GRAFTS—MY DEER PARK—MY GAME-KEEPER—FRANK -LESLIE—PLEASURES OF HOME.</p></div> - -<p>O<small>NE</small> of my main objects in returning home at this time, was to obtain a -longer lease of the premises occupied by the American Museum. My lease -had still three years to run, but Mr. Olmsted, the proprietor of the -building, was dead, and I was anxious to make provision in time for the -perpetuity of my establishment, for I meant to make the Museum a -permanent institution in the city, and if I could not renew my lease, I -intended to build an appropriate edifice on Broadway. I finally -succeeded, however, in getting the lease of the entire building, -covering fifty-six feet by one hundred, for twenty-five years, at an -annual rent of $10,000 and the ordinary taxes and assessments. I had -already hired in addition the upper stories of three adjoining -buildings. My Museum receipts were more in one day, than they formerly -were in an entire week, and the establishment<a name="page_256" id="page_256"></a> had become so popular -that it was thronged at all hours from early morning to closing time at -night.</p> - -<p>On my return, I promptly made use of General Tom Thumb’s European -reputation. He immediately appeared in the American Museum, and for four -weeks 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. The receipts, -amounting to several hundred dollars, were presented to the Bridgeport -Charitable Society. The Bridgeporters were much delighted to see their -old friend, “little Charlie,” again. They little thought, when they saw -him playing about the streets a few years previously, that he was -destined to create such a sensation among the crowned heads of the old -world; and now, returning with his European reputation, he was, of -course, a great curiosity to his former acquaintances, as well as to the -public generally. His Bridgeport friends found that he had not increased -in size during the four and a half years of his absence, but they -discovered that he had become sharp and witty, “abounding in foreign -airs and native graces”; in fact, that he was quite unlike the little, -diffident country fellow whom they had formerly known.</p> - -<p>“We never thought Charlie much of a phenomenon when he lived among us,” -said one of the first citizens of the place, “but now that he has become -‘Barnumized,’ he is a rare curiosity.”</p> - -<p>But there was really no mystery about it; the whole change made by -training and travel, had appeared to me by degrees, and it came to the -citizens of Bridgeport<a name="page_257" id="page_257"></a> suddenly. The terms upon which I first engaged -the lad showed that I had no over-sanguine expectations of his success -as a “speculation.” When I saw, however, that he was wonderfully -popular, I took the greatest pains to engraft upon his native talent all -the instruction he was capable of receiving. He was an apt pupil, and I -provided for him the best of teachers. Travel and attrition with so many -people in so many lands did the rest. The General left America three -years before, a diffident, uncultivated little boy; he came back an -educated, accomplished little man. He had seen much, and had profited -much. He went abroad poor, and he came home rich.</p> - -<p>On January 1, 1845, my engagement with the General at a salary ceased, -and we made a new arrangement by which we were equal partners, the -General, or his father for him, taking one-half of the profits. A -reservation, however, was made of the first four weeks after our arrival -in New York, during which he was to exhibit at my Museum for two hundred -dollars. When we returned to America, the General’s father had acquired -a handsome fortune, and settling a large sum upon the little General -personally, he placed the balance at interest, secured by bond and -mortgage, excepting thirty thousand dollars, with which he purchased -land near the city limits of Bridgeport, and erected a large and -substantial mansion, where he resided till the day of his death, and in -which his only two daughters were married, one in 1850, the other in -1853. His only son, besides the General, was born in 1851. All the -family, except “little Charlie,” are of the usual size.</p> - -<p>After spending a month in visiting his friends, it was<a name="page_258" id="page_258"></a> determined that -the General and his parents should travel through the United States. I -agreed to accompany them, with occasional intervals of rest at home, for -one year, sharing the profits equally, as in England. We proceeded to -Washington city, where the General held his levees in April, 1847, -visiting President Polk and lady at the White House—thence to Richmond, -returning to Baltimore and Philadelphia. Our receipts in Philadelphia in -twelve days were $5,594.91. The tour for the entire year realized about -the same average. The expenses were from twenty-five dollars to thirty -dollars per day. From Philadelphia we went to Boston, Lowell, and -Providence. Our receipts on one day in the latter city were $976.97. We -then visited New Bedford, Fall River, Salem, Worcester, Springfield, -Albany, Troy, Niagara Falls, Buffalo, and intermediate places, and in -returning to New York we stopped at the principal towns on the Hudson -River. After this we visited New Haven, Hartford, Portland, Me., and -intermediate towns.</p> - -<p>I was surprised to find that, during my long absence abroad, I had -become almost as much of a curiosity to my patrons as I was to the -spinster from Maine who once came to see me and to attend the “services” -in my Lecture Room. 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<a name="page_259" id="page_259"></a> 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!</p> - -<p>In November, 1847, we started for Havana, taking the steamer from New -York to Charleston, where the General exhibited, as well as at Columbia, -Augusta, Savannah, Milledgeville, Macon, Columbus, Montgomery, Mobile -and New Orleans. At this latter city we remained three weeks, including -Christmas and New Year’s. We arrived in Havana by the schooner Adams -Gray, in January, 1848, and were introduced to the Captain-General and -the Spanish nobility. We remained a month in Havana and Matanzas, the -General proving an immense favorite. In Havana he was the especial pet -of Count Santovania. In Matanzas we were very much indebted to the -kindness of a princely American merchant, Mr. Brinckerhoff. Mr. J. S. -Thrasher, the American patriot and gentleman, was also of great -assistance to us, and placed me under deep obligations.</p> - -<p>The hotels in Havana are not good. An American who is accustomed to -substantial living, finds it difficult to get enough to eat. We stopped -at the Washington House, which at that time was “first-rate bad.” It was -filthy, and kept by a woman who was drunk most of the time. Several -Americans boarded there who were regular gormandizers. One of them, -seeing a live turkey on a New Orleans vessel, purchased and presented it -to the landlady. It was a small one, and when it was carved, there was -not enough of it to “go round.” An American, (a large six-footer and a -tremendous<a name="page_260" id="page_260"></a> eater,) who resided on a sugar plantation near Havana, -happened to sit near the carver, and seeing an American turkey so near -him, and feeling that it was a rare dish for that latitude, kept helping -himself, so that when the carving was finished, he had eaten about one -half of the turkey. Unfortunately the man who bought it was sitting at -the further end of the table, and did not get a taste of the coveted -bird. He was indignant, especially against the innocent gormandizer from -the sugar plantation, who, of course, was not acquainted with the -history of the turkey. When they arose from the table, the planter -smacked his lips, and patting his stomach, remarked, “That was a -glorious turkey. I have not tasted one before these two years. I am very -fond of them, and when I go back to my plantation I mean to commence -raising turkeys.”</p> - -<p>“If you don’t raise one before you leave town, you’ll be a dead man,” -said the disappointed poultry purchaser.</p> - -<p>From Havana we went to New Orleans, where we remained several days, and -from New Orleans we proceeded to St. Louis, stopping at the principal -towns on the Mississippi river, and returning <i>via</i> Louisville, -Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh. We reached the latter city early in May, -1848. From this point it was agreed between Mr. Stratton and myself, -that I should go home and henceforth travel no more with the little -General. I had 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<a name="page_261" id="page_261"></a> 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. I was fully determined that no pecuniary temptation should -again induce me to forego the enjoyments to be secured only in the -circle of home. I reached my residence in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in -the latter part of May, rejoiced to find my family and friends in good -health, and delighted to find myself once more at home.</p> - -<p>My new home, which was then nearly ready for occupancy, was the -well-known Iranistan. More than two years had been employed in building -this beautiful residence. In 1846, finding that fortune was continuing -to favor me, I began to look forward eagerly to the time when I could -withdraw from the whirlpool of business excitement and settle down -permanently with my family, to pass the remainder of my days in -comparative rest.</p> - -<p>I wished to reside within a few hours of New York. I had never seen more -delightful locations than there are upon the borders of Long Island -Sound, between New Rochelle, New York, and New Haven, Connecticut; and -my attention was therefore turned in that direction. Bridgeport seemed -to be about the proper distance from the great metropolis. It is -pleasantly situated at the terminus of two railroads, which traverse the -fertile valleys of the Naugatuck and Housatonic rivers. The New York and -New Haven Railroad runs through the city, and there is also daily -steamboat communication with New York. The enterprise which -characterized the city, seemed to mark it as destined to become the -first in the State in size and opulence; and<a name="page_262" id="page_262"></a> I was not long in -deciding, with the concurrence of my wife, to fix our future residence -in that vicinity.</p> - -<p>I accordingly purchased seventeen acres of land, less than a mile west -of the city, and fronting with a good view upon the Sound. Although -nominally in Bridgeport, my property was really in Fairfield, a few rods -west of the Bridgeport line. In deciding upon the kind of house to be -erected, I determined, first and foremost, to consult convenience and -comfort. I cared little for style, and my wife cared still less; but as -we meant to have a good house, it might as well, at the same time, be -unique. In this, I confess, I had “an eye to business,” for I thought -that a pile of buildings of a novel order might indirectly serve as an -advertisement of my Museum.</p> - -<p>In visiting Brighton, in England, I had been greatly pleased with the -Pavilion erected by George IV. It was 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. New and magnificent avenues were<a name="page_263" id="page_263"></a></p> - -<p><a name="IRANISTAN" id="IRANISTAN"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p263_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p263_sml.jpg" width="491" height="352" alt="IRANISTAN." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">IRANISTAN.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">opened in the vicinity of my property. The building progressed slowly, -but surely and substantially. 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. All -I cared to know was that it suited me, and that would have been a small -consideration with me if it had not also suited my family.</p> - -<p>The whole was finally completed to my satisfaction. My family removed -into the premises, and, on the fourteenth of November, 1848, nearly one -thousand invited guests, including the poor and the rich, helped us in -the old-fashioned custom of “house-warming.”</p> - -<p>When the name “Iranistan” was announced, a waggish New York editor -syllabled it, I-ran-i-stan, and gave as the interpretation, that “I ran -a long time before I could stan’!” Literally, however, the name -signifies, “Eastern Country Place,” or, more poetically, “Oriental -Villa.”</p> - -<p>The plot of ground upon which Iranistan was erected, was at the date of -my purchase, in March 1846, a bare field. But I transplanted many -hundreds of fruit and forest trees, some of the latter of very large -growth when they were moved, and thus in a few years my premises were -adorned with what, in the ordinary process of growth, would have -required a whole generation. I have never waited for my trees to grow, -if money would transplant them of nearly full growth at the start.</p> - -<p>The years 1848 and 1849 were mainly spent with<a name="page_264" id="page_264"></a> my family, though I went -every week to New York to look after the interests of the American -Museum. While I was in Europe, in 1845, my agent, Mr. Fordyce Hitchcock, -had bought out for me the Baltimore Museum, a fully-supplied -establishment, in full operation, and I placed it under the charge of my -uncle, Alanson Taylor. He died in 1846, and I then sold the Baltimore -Museum to the “Orphean Family,” by whom it was subsequently transferred -to Mr. John E. Owens, the celebrated comedian. After my return from -Europe, I opened, in 1849, a Museum in Dr. Swain’s fine building, at the -corner of Chestnut and Seventh streets, in Philadelphia.</p> - -<p>This was in all respects a first-class establishment. It was elegantly -fitted up, and contained, among other things, a dozen fine large -paintings, such as “The Deluge,” “Cain and his Family,” and other -similar subjects which I had ordered copied, when I was in Paris, from -paintings in the gallery of the Louvre. There was also a complete and -valuable collection of curiosities and I sent from New York, from time -to time, my transient novelties in the way of giants, dwarfs, fat boys, -animals and other attractions. There was a lecture room and stage for -dramatic entertainments; but I was catering for a Quaker population, and -was careful to introduce or permit nothing which could possibly be -objectionable. While the Museum contained such wax-works as “The -Temperate Family,” “The Intemperate Family,” and Mrs. Pelby’s -representation of “The Last Supper,” the theatre presented “The -Drunkard” and other moral dramas. The most respectable people in the -city patronized the Museum and attended the theatre. “The Drunkard” was -exceedingly well played and it made a<a name="page_265" id="page_265"></a> great impression. There was a -temperance pledge in the box-office, which was signed by thousands -during the run of the piece. Almost every hour during the day and -evening, women could be seen bringing their husbands to the Museum to -sign the pledge.</p> - -<p>I stayed in Philadelphia long enough to identify myself with this Museum -and to successfully start the enterprise and then left it in the hands -of different managers who profitably conducted it till 1851, when, -finding that it occupied too much of my time and attention, I sold it to -Mr. Clapp Spooner for $40,000. At the end of that year, the building and -contents were destroyed by fire. The loss was a serious one to -Philadelphia, and the people were very desirous that Mr. Spooner should -rebuild the establishment; but a highly profitable business connection -with the Adams Express Company prevented him from doing so.</p> - -<p>While my Philadelphia Museum was in full operation, Peale’s Museum ran -me a strong opposition at the Masonic Hall. That enterprise proved -disastrous, and I purchased the collection at sheriff’s sale, for five -or six thousand dollars, on joint account of my friend Moses Kimball and -myself. The curiosities were equally divided, one-half going to his -Boston Museum and the other half to my American Museum in New York.</p> - -<p>In 1848 I was elected President of the Fairfield County Agricultural -Society in Connecticut. Although not practically a farmer, I had -purchased about one hundred acres of land in the vicinity of my -residence, and felt and still feel a deep interest in the cause of -agriculture. I had begun by importing some blood stock for Iranistan, -and, as I was at one time attacked<a name="page_266" id="page_266"></a> by the “hen fever,” I erected -several splendid poultry-houses on my grounds. These were built for me -by a carpenter who wrote an application for a situation, sending me a -frightfully mis-spelled letter, in which he said that he was “youste” to -hard work. I thought if his work was as strong as his spelling, he was -the man I wanted, and I employed him. When the time came to prepare for -our agricultural fair in the fall, he made a series of gorgeous cages in -which to exhibit my shanghaes, bantams, and other fancy fowls. I went -out to see them before they were sent away, and was horrified to find -that he had marked the cages in his own peculiar style, describing my -“Jersey Blues,” for instance, in startling capitals as “Gersy Blews.” I -called for a jack-plane to remove every mark on the cages and told the -astonished carpenter that he might do anything in the world for me, -except to spell.</p> - -<p>In 1849 it was determined by the Society that I should deliver the -annual address. I begged to be excused on the ground of incompetency, -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 is still to come. My potatoes were all -gone before March, and I<a name="page_267" id="page_267"></a> 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!</p> - -<p>A friend of mine, Mr. James D. Johnson, lived in a fine house a quarter -of a mile west of Iranistan, and as I owned several acres of land at the -corner of two streets directly adjoining his homestead, I surrounded the -ground with high pickets, and introducing a number of Rocky Mountain -elk, reindeer, and American deer, I converted it into a deer park. -Strangers passing by would naturally suppose that it belonged to -Johnson’s estate, and to render the illusion more complete, his -son-in-law, Mr. S. H. Wales, of the Scientific American, placed a sign -in the park, fronting on the street, and reading:</p> - -<div class="blockquott"><p>“<span class="smcap">All persons are forbid trespassing on these grounds, or disturbing -the deer. <span style="margin-left: 4em;">J. D. Johnson.</span></span>”</p></div> - -<p>I “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 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<a name="page_268" id="page_268"></a> words, “Game-keeper to P. T. Barnum.” His friends, as soon as -they understood the joke, enjoyed it mightily, but it was said that -neighbor Johnson laughed out of “the wrong side of his mouth.”</p> - -<p>Thereafter, Mr. Johnson was known among his friends and acquaintances as -“Barnum’s game-keeper.” Sometime afterwards when I was President of the -Pequonnock Bank, it was my custom every year to give a grand dinner at -Iranistan to the directors, and in making preparations I used to send to -certain friends in the West for prairie chickens and other game. On one -occasion a large box, marked “P. T. Barnum, Bridgeport; Game,” was lying -in the express office, when Johnson seeing it, and espying the word -“game,” said:</p> - -<p>“Look here! I am ‘Barnum’s game-keeper,’ and I’ll take charge of this -box.”</p> - -<p>And “take charge” of it he did, carrying it home and notifying me that -it was in his possession, and that as he was my game-keeper he would -“keep” this, unless I sent him an order for a new hat. He knew very well -that I would give fifty dollars rather than be deprived of the box, and -as he also threatened to give a game dinner at his own house, I speedily -sent the order for the hat, acknowledged the good joke, and my own -guests enjoyed the double “game.”</p> - -<p>During the year 1848, Mr. Frank Leslie, since so widely known as the -publisher of several illustrated journals, came to me with letters of -introduction from London, and I employed him to get up for me an -illustrated catalogue of my Museum. This he did in a splendid manner, -and hundreds of thousands of copies were sold and distributed far and -near, thus adding greatly to the renown of the establishment.<a name="page_269" id="page_269"></a></p> - -<p>I count these two years—1848 and 1849—among the happiest of my life. I -had enough to do in the management of my business, and yet I seemed to -have plenty of leisure hours to pass with my family and friends in my -beautiful home of Iranistan.<a name="page_270" id="page_270"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br /><br /> -<small>THE JENNY LIND ENTERPRISE.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">GRAND SCHEME—CONGRESS OF ALL NATIONS—A BOLD AND BRILLIANT -ENTERPRISE—THE JENNY LIND ENGAGEMENT—MY AGENT IN EUROPE—HIS -INSTRUCTIONS—CORRESPONDENCE WITH MISS LIND—BENEDICT AND -BELLETTI—JOSHUA BATES—CHEVALIER WYCKOFF—THE CONTRACT SIGNED—MY -RECEPTION OF THE NEWS—THE ENTIRE SUM OF MONEY FOR THE ENGAGEMENT -SENT TO LONDON—MY FIRST LIND LETTER TO THE PUBLIC—A POOR -PORTRAIT—MUSICAL NOTES IN WALL STREET—A FRIEND IN NEED.</p></div> - -<p>M<small>ANY</small> of my most fortunate enterprises have fairly startled me by the -magnitude of their success. When my sanguine hopes predicted a steady -flow of fortune, I have been inundated; when I calculated upon making a -curious public pay me liberally for a meritorious article, I have often -found the same public eager to deluge me with compensation. Yet, I never -believed in mere luck and I always pitied the simpleton who relies on -luck for his success. Luck is in no sense the foundation of my fortune; -from the beginning of my career I planned and worked for my success. To -be sure, my schemes often amazed me with the affluence of their results, -and, arriving at the very best, I sometimes “builded better” than “I -knew.”</p> - -<p>For a long time I had been incubating a plan for an extraordinary -exhibition which I was sure would be a success and would excite -universal attention and commendation in America and abroad. This was -nothing<a name="page_271" id="page_271"></a> less than a “Congress of Nations”—an assemblage of -representatives of all the nations that could be reached by land or sea. -I meant to secure a man and woman, as perfect as could be procured, from -every accessible people, civilized and barbarous, on the face of the -globe. I had actually contracted with an agent to go to Europe to make -arrangements to secure “specimens” for such a show. Even now, I can -conceive of no exhibition which would be more interesting and which -would appeal more generally to all classes of patrons. As it was, and -while positively preparing for such a congress, it occurred to me that -another great enterprise could be undertaken at less risk, with far less -real trouble, and with more remunerative results.</p> - -<p>And now I come to speak of an undertaking which my worst enemy will -admit was bold in its conception, complete in its development, and -astounding in its success. It was an enterprise never before or since -equalled in managerial annals. As I recall it now, I almost tremble at -the seeming temerity of the attempt. That I am proud of it I freely -confess. It placed me before the world in a new light; it gained me many -warm friends in new circles; it was in itself a fortune to me—I risked -much but I made more.</p> - -<p>It was in October 1849, that I conceived the idea of bringing Jenny Lind -to this country. I had never heard her sing, inasmuch as she arrived in -London a few weeks after I left that city with General Tom Thumb. Her -reputation, however, was sufficient for me. I usually jump at -conclusions, and almost invariably find that my first impressions are -correct. It struck me, when I first thought of this speculation, that if -properly managed it must prove immensely profitable, provided I could<a name="page_272" id="page_272"></a> -engage the “Swedish Nightingale” on any terms within the range of -reason. As it was a great undertaking, I considered the matter seriously -for several days, and all my “cipherings” and calculations gave but one -result—immense success.</p> - -<p>Reflecting that very much would depend upon the manner in which she -should be brought before the public, I saw that my task would be an -exceedingly arduous one. It was possible, I knew, that circumstances -might occur which would make the enterprise disastrous. “The public” is -a very strange animal, and although a good knowledge of human nature -will generally lead a caterer of amusements to hit the people, they are -fickle, and ofttimes perverse. A slight misstep in the management of a -public entertainment, frequently wrecks the most promising enterprise. -But I had marked the “divine Jenny” as a sure card, and to secure the -prize I began to cast about for a competent agent.</p> - -<p>I found in Mr. John Hall Wilton, an Englishman who had visited this -country with the Sax-Horn Players, the best man whom I knew for that -purpose. A few minutes sufficed to make the arrangement with him, by -which I was to pay but little more than his expenses if he failed in his -mission, but by which also he was to be paid a large sum if he succeeded -in bringing Jenny Lind to our shores, on any terms within a liberal -schedule which I set forth to him in writing.</p> - -<p>On the 6th of November, 1849, I furnished Wilton with the necessary -documents, including a letter of general instructions which he was at -liberty to exhibit to Jenny Lind and to any other musical notables whom -he thought proper, and a private letter, containing hints<a name="page_273" id="page_273"></a> and -suggestions not embodied in the former. I also gave him letters of -introduction to my bankers, Messrs. Baring Brothers & Co., of London, as -well as to many friends in England and France.</p> - -<p>The sum of all my instructions, public and private, to Wilton amounted -to this: He was to engage her on shares, if possible. I, however, -authorized him to engage her at any rate, not exceeding one thousand -dollars a night, for any number of nights up to one hundred and fifty, -with all her expenses, including servants, carriages, secretary, etc., -besides also engaging such musical assistants, not exceeding three in -number, as she should select, let the terms be what they might. If -necessary, I should place the entire amount of money named in the -engagement in the hands of London bankers before she sailed. Wilton’s -compensation was arranged on a kind of sliding scale, to be governed by -the terms which he made for me—so that the farther he kept below my -utmost limits, the better he should be paid for making the engagements. -He proceeded to London, and opened a correspondence with Miss Lind, who -was then on the Continent. He learned from the tenor of her letters, -that if she could be induced to visit America at all, she must be -accompanied by Mr. Julius Benedict, the accomplished composer, pianist, -and musical director, and also she was impressed with the belief that -Signor Belletti, the fine baritone, would be of essential service. -Wilton therefore at once called upon Mr. Benedict and also Signor -Belletti, who were both then in London, and in numerous interviews was -enabled to learn the terms on which they would consent to engage to -visit this country with Miss Lind. Having obtained the information -desired, he proceeded to<a name="page_274" id="page_274"></a> Lubeck, in Germany, to seek an interview with -Miss Lind herself. Upon arriving at her hotel, he sent his card, -requesting her to specify an hour for an interview. She named the -following morning, and he was punctual to the appointment.</p> - -<p>In the course of the first conversation, she frankly told him that -during the time occupied by their correspondence, she had written to -friends in London, including my friend Mr. Joshua Bates, of the house of -Baring Brothers, and had informed herself respecting my character, -capacity, and responsibility, which she assured him were quite -satisfactory. She informed him, however, that at that time there were -four persons anxious to negotiate with her for an American tour. 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, a person who had conducted a successful -speculation some years previously by visiting America in charge of the -celebrated danseuse, Fanny Ellsler. Several of these parties had called -upon her personally, and Wyckoff upon hearing my name, attempted to -deter her from making any engagement with me, by assuring her that I was -a mere showman, and that, for the sake of making money by the -speculation, I would not scruple to put her into a box and exhibit her -through the country at twenty-five cents a head.</p> - -<p>This, she confessed, somewhat alarmed her, and she wrote to Mr. Bates on -the subject. He entirely disabused her mind, by assuring her that he -knew me personally, and that in treating with me she was not<a name="page_275" id="page_275"></a> dealing -with an “adventurer” who might make her remuneration depend entirely -upon the success of the enterprise, but I was able to carry out all my -engagements, let them prove never so unprofitable, and she could place -the fullest reliance upon my honor and integrity.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said she to Mr. Wilton, “I am perfectly satisfied on that point, -for I know the world pretty well, and am aware how far jealousy and envy -will sometimes carry persons; and as those who are trying to treat with -me are all anxious that I should participate in the profits or losses of -the enterprise, I much prefer treating with you, since your principal is -willing to assume all the responsibility, and take the entire management -and chances of the result upon himself.”</p> - -<p>Several interviews ensued, during which she learned from Wilton that he -had settled with Messrs. Benedict and Belletti, in regard to the amount -of their salaries, provided the engagement was concluded, and in the -course of a week, Mr. Wilton and Miss Lind had arranged the terms and -conditions on which she was ready to conclude the negotiations. As these -terms were within the limits fixed in my private letter of instructions, -the following agreement was duly drawn in triplicate, and signed by -herself and Wilton, at Lubeck, January 9, 1850; and the signatures of -Messrs. Benedict and Belletti were affixed in London a few days -afterwards:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Memorandum</span> 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 <span class="smcap">Phineas T. Barnum</span>, of New -York, in the United States of North America, of the one part, and -Mademoiselle <span class="smcap">jenny Lind</span>, Vocalist, of Stockholm in Sweden, of the -other part, wherein the said Jenny Lind doth agree:</p></div> - -<p>1st. To sing for the said Phineas T. Barnum in one hundred and fifty -concerts, including oratorios, within<a name="page_276" id="page_276"></a> (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.</p> - -<p>2d. 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.</p> - -<p>3d. 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 shall 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<a name="page_277" id="page_277"></a> its current reduction, -by her services in the concerts or oratorios.</p> - -<p>4th. 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 unnecessary, 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.</p> - -<p>5th. And the said John Hall Wilton, agent for the said Phineas T. -Barnum, at the request of the said<a name="page_278" id="page_278"></a> 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 (£5,000) 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.</p> - -<p>6th. 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, -baritone 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 (£2,500) sterling, -to be satisfactorily secured to him previous to his departure from -Europe, in addition to all his hotel and travelling expenses.</p> - -<p>7th. 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, she, the said Jenny Lind, consulting with the said -Phineas T. Barnum with a view to mutually agreeing<a name="page_279" id="page_279"></a> 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 -whereever it shall appear against the interests of the said Phineas T. -Barnum.</p> - -<p>8th. 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.</p> - -<p>9th. 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.</p> - -<p>10th. 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.</p> - -<p>In witness hereof to the within written memorandum of agreement we set -hereunto our hand and seal.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="left">[L. S.] John Hall Wilton, Agent for Phineas T. Barnum, of New York, U. S.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">[L. S.] Jenny Lind.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">[L. S.] Julius Benedict.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">[L. S.] Giovanni Belletti.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="hang">In the presence of <span class="smcap">C. Achilling</span>, Consul of His Majesty the King of -Sweden and Norway.<a name="page_280" id="page_280"></a></p> - -<div class="blockquott"> -<p class="hang"><i>Extract from a Letter addressed to John Hall Wilton by</i> <span class="smcap">Phineas T. -Barnum</span>, <i>and referred to in paragraph No. 4 of the annexed agreement.</i></p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">New York</span>, <i>November 6, 1849</i>.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<span class="smcap">Mr. J. Hall Wilton</span>:<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Sir</span>:—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.</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Phineas T. Barnum.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>I certify the above to be a true extract from the letter.</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">J. H. Wilton.</span><br /> -</p></div> - -<p>I was at my Museum in Philadelphia when Wilton arrived in New York, -February 19, 1850. He immediately telegraphed to me, in the cipher we -had agreed upon, that he had signed an engagement with Jenny Lind, by -which she was to commence her concerts in America in the following -September. I was somewhat<a name="page_281" id="page_281"></a> startled by this sudden announcement; and -feeling that the time to elapse before her arrival was so long that it -would be policy to keep the engagement private for a few months, I -immediately telegraphed him not to mention it to any person, and that I -would meet him the next day in New York.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The next morning I started for New York. On arriving at Princeton we met -the New York cars, and purchasing the morning papers, I was surprised to -find in them a full account of my engagement with Jenny Lind. However, -this premature announcement could not be recalled, and I put the best -face on the matter. Anxious to learn how this communication would strike -the public mind, I informed the conductor, whom I well knew, that I had -made an engagement with Jenny Lind, and that she would surely visit this -country in the following August.</p> - -<p>“Jenny Lind! Is she a dancer?” asked the conductor.<a name="page_282" id="page_282"></a></p> - -<p>I informed him who and what she was, but his question had chilled me as -if his words were ice. Really, thought I, if this is all that a man in -the capacity of a railroad conductor between Philadelphia and New York -knows of the greatest songstress in the world, I am not sure that six -months will be too long a time for me to occupy in enlightening the -public in regard to her merits.</p> - -<p>I had an interview with Wilton, and learned from him that, in accordance -with the agreement, it would be requisite for me to place the entire -amount stipulated, $187,500, in the hands of the London bankers. I at -once resolved to ratify the agreement, and immediately sent the -necessary documents to Miss Lind and Messrs. Benedict and Belletti.</p> - -<p>I then began to prepare the public mind, through the newspapers, for the -reception of the great songstress. How effectually this was done, is -still within the remembrance of the American public. As a sample of the -manner in which I accomplished my purpose, I present the following -extract from my first letter, which appeared in the New York papers of -February 22, 1850:</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_283" id="page_283"></a> includes Havana), she expressly reserves the -right to give charitable concerts whenever she thinks proper.</p> - -<p>“Since her <i>débût</i> 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.”</p> - -<p>The people soon began to talk about Jenny Lind, and I was particularly -anxious to obtain a good portrait of her. Fortunately, a fine -opportunity occurred. One day, while I was sitting in the office of the -Museum, a foreigner approached me with a small package under his arm. He -informed me in broken English that he was a Swede, and said he was an -artist, who had just arrived from Stockholm, where Jenny Lind had kindly -given him a number of sittings, and he now had with him the portrait of -her which he had painted upon copper. He unwrapped the package, and -showed me a beautiful picture of the Swedish Nightingale, inclosed in an -elegant gilt frame, about fourteen by twenty inches. It was just the -thing I wanted; the price was fifty dollars, and I purchased it at once. -Upon showing it to an artist friend the same day, he quietly assured me -that it was a cheap lithograph pasted on a tin back, neatly varnished, -and made to appear like a fine oil painting. The intrinsic value of the -picture did not exceed thirty-seven and one half cents!</p> - -<p>After getting together all my available funds for the purpose of -transmitting them to London in the shape of United States bonds, I found -a considerable sum still lacking to make up the amount. I had some -second<a name="page_284" id="page_284"></a> mortgages which were perfectly good, but I could not negotiate -them in Wall Street. Nothing would answer there short of first mortgages -on New York or Brooklyn city property.</p> - -<p>I went to the president of the bank where I had done all my business for -eight years. I offered him, as security for a loan, my second mortgages, -and as an additional inducement, I proposed 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 three thousand dollars per night, and appropriate them -towards 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 three thousand dollars 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.</p> - -<p>After disposing of several pieces of property for cash, I footed up the -various amounts, and still discovered myself five thousand dollars -short. I felt that it was indeed “the last feather that breaks the -camel’s back.” Happening casually to state my desperate case<a name="page_285" id="page_285"></a> 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.<a name="page_286" id="page_286"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /><br /> -<small>THE NIGHTINGALE IN NEW YORK.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">FINAL CONCERTS IN LIVERPOOL—DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA—ARRIVAL OFF -STATEN ISLAND—MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH JENNY LIND—THE TREMENDOUS -THRONG AT THE WHARF—TRIUMPHAL ARCHES—“WELCOME TO -AMERICA”—EXCITEMENT IN THE CITY—SERENADE AT THE IRVING HOUSE—THE -PRIZE ODE—BAYARD TAYLOR THE PRIZEMAN—“BARNUM’S -PARNASSUS”—“BARNUMOPSIS”—FIRST CONCERT IN CASTLE GARDEN—A NEW -AGREEMENT—RECEPTION OF JENNY LIND—UNBOUNDED ENTHUSIASM—BARNUM -CALLED OUT—JULIUS BENEDICT—THE SUCCESS OF THE ENTERPRISE -ESTABLISHED—TWO GRAND CHARITY CONCERTS IN NEW YORK—DATE OF THE -FIRST REGULAR CONCERT.</p></div> - -<p>A<small>FTER</small> the engagement with Miss Lind was consummated, she declined -several liberal offers to sing in London, but, at my solicitation, gave -two concerts in Liverpool, on the eve of her departure for America. My -object in making this request was, to add the <i>éclat</i> of that side to -the excitement on this side of the Atlantic, which was already nearly up -to fever heat.</p> - -<p>The first of the two Liverpool concerts was given the night previous to -the departure of the Saturday steamer for America. My agent had procured -the services of a musical critic from London, who finished his account -of this concert at half past one o’clock the following morning, and at -two o’clock my agent was overseeing its insertion in a Liverpool morning -paper, numbers of which he forwarded to me by the steamer of the same -day. The republication of the criticism in the American papers, -including an account of the enthusiasm which attended and followed this -concert,—her trans-Atlantic,—had the desired effect.<a name="page_287" id="page_287"></a></p> - -<p>On Wednesday morning, August 21, 1850, Jenny Lind and Messrs. Benedict -and Belletti, set sail from Liverpool in the steamship Atlantic, in -which I had long before engaged the necessary accommodations, and on -board of which I had shipped a piano for their use. They were -accompanied by my agent, Mr. Wilton, and also by Miss Ahmansen and Mr. -Max Hjortzberg, cousins of Miss Lind, the latter being her Secretary; -also by her two servants, and the valet of Messrs. Benedict and -Belletti.</p> - -<p>It was expected that the steamer would arrive on Sunday, September 1, -but, determined to meet the songstress on her arrival whenever it might -be, I went to Staten Island on Saturday, and slept at the hospitable -residence of my friend, Dr. A. Sidney Doane, who was at that time the -Health Officer of the Port of New York. A few minutes before twelve -o’clock, on Sunday morning, the Atlantic hove in sight, and immediately -afterwards, through the kindness of my friend Doane, I was on board the -ship, and had taken Jenny Lind by the hand.</p> - -<p>After a few moments’ conversation, she asked me when and where I had -heard her sing.</p> - -<p>“I never had the pleasure of seeing you before in my life,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“How is it possible that you dared risk so much money on a person whom -you never heard sing?” she asked in surprise.</p> - -<p>“I risked it on your reputation, which in musical matters I would much -rather trust than my own judgment,” I replied.</p> - -<p>I may as well state, that although I relied prominently upon Jenny -Lind’s reputation as a great musical<a name="page_288" id="page_288"></a> <i>artiste</i>, I also took largely -into my estimate of her success with all classes of the American public, -her character for extraordinary benevolence and generosity. Without this -peculiarity in her disposition, I never would have dared make the -engagement which I did, as I felt sure that there were multitudes of -individuals in America who would be prompted to attend her concerts by -this feeling alone.</p> - -<p>Thousands of persons covered the shipping and piers, and other thousands -had congregated on the wharf at Canal Street, to see her. The wildest -enthusiasm prevailed as the steamer approached the dock. So great was -the rush on a sloop near the steamer’s berth, that one man, in his zeal -to obtain a good view, accidentally tumbled overboard, amid the shouts -of those near him. Miss Lind witnessed this incident, and was much -alarmed. He was, however, soon rescued, after taking to himself a cold -duck instead of securing a view of the Nightingale. A bower of green -trees, decorated with beautiful flags, was discovered on the wharf, -together with two triumphal arches, on one of which was inscribed, -“Welcome, Jenny Lind!” The second was surmounted by the American eagle, -and bore the inscription, “Welcome to America!” These decorations were -not produced by magic, and I do not know that I can reasonably find -fault with those who suspected I had a hand in their erection. My -private carriage was in waiting, and Jenny Lind was escorted to it by -Captain West. The rest of the musical party entered the carriage, and -mounting the box at the driver’s side, I directed him to the Irving -House. I took that seat as a legitimate advertisement, and my presence -on the outside of the carriage aided those who filled the windows and<a name="page_289" id="page_289"></a></p> - -<p><a name="WELCOME_TO_JENNY_LIND" id="WELCOME_TO_JENNY_LIND"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p288_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p288_sml.jpg" width="542" height="363" alt="JENNY LIND." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">JENNY LIND.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">sidewalks along the whole route, in coming to the conclusion that Jenny -Lind had arrived.</p> - -<p>A reference to the journals of that day will show, that never before had -there been such enthusiasm in the City of New York, or indeed in -America. Within ten minutes after our arrival at the Irving House, not -less than twenty thousand persons had congregated around the entrance in -Broadway, nor was the number diminished before nine o’clock in the -evening. At her request, I dined with her that afternoon, and when, -according to European custom, she prepared to pledge me in a glass of -wine, she was somewhat surprised at my saying, “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 your -health and happiness in a glass of cold water.”</p> - -<p>At twelve o’clock that night, she was serenaded by the New York Musical -Fund Society, numbering, on that occasion, two hundred musicians. They -were escorted to the Irving House by about three hundred firemen, in -their red shirts, bearing torches. There was a far greater throng in the -streets than there was even during the day. The calls for Jenny Lind -were so vehement that I led her through a window to the balcony. The -loud cheers from the crowds lasted for several minutes, before the -serenade was permitted to proceed again.</p> - -<p>I have given the merest sketch of but a portion of the incidents of -Jenny Lind’s first day in America. For weeks afterwards the excitement -was unabated. Her rooms were thronged by visitors, including the -magnates of the land in both Church and State. The carriages of the -wealthiest citizens could be seen in front of her<a name="page_290" id="page_290"></a> hotel at nearly all -hours of the day, and it was with some difficulty that I prevented the -“fashionables” from monopolizing her altogether, and thus, as I -believed, sadly marring my interests by cutting her off from the warm -sympathies she had awakened among the masses. Presents of all sorts were -showered upon her. Milliners, mantua-makers, and shopkeepers vied with -each other in calling her attention to their wares, of which they sent -her many valuable specimens, delighted if, in return, they could receive -her autograph acknowledgment. Songs, quadrilles and polkas were -dedicated to her, and poets sung in her praise. We had Jenny Lind -gloves, Jenny Lind bonnets, Jenny Lind riding hats, Jenny Lind shawls, -mantillas, robes, chairs, sofas, pianos—in fact, every thing was Jenny -Lind. Her movements were constantly watched, and the moment her carriage -appeared at the door, it was surrounded by multitudes, eager to catch a -glimpse of the Swedish Nightingale.</p> - -<p>In looking over my “scrap-books” of extracts from the New York papers of -that day, in which all accessible details concerning her were duly -chronicled, it seems almost incredible that such a degree of enthusiasm -should have existed. An abstract of the “sayings and doings” in regard -to the Jenny Lind mania for the first ten days after her arrival, -appeared in the London <i>Times</i> of Sept. 23, 1850, and although it was an -ironical “showing up” of the American enthusiasm, filling several -columns, it was nevertheless a faithful condensation of facts which at -this late day seem even to myself more like a dream than reality.</p> - -<p>Before her arrival I had offered $200 for a prize ode, “Greeting to -America,” to be sung by Jenny Lind at<a name="page_291" id="page_291"></a> her first concert. Several -hundred “poems” were sent in from all parts of the United States and the -Canadas. The duties of the Prize Committee, in reading these effusions -and making choice of the one most worthy the prize, were truly arduous. -The “offerings,” with perhaps a dozen exceptions, were the merest -doggerel trash. The prize was awarded to Bayard Taylor for the following -ode:</p> - -<p class="c">GREETING TO AMERICA.</p> - -<p class="c"><small>WORDS BY BAYARD TAYLOR—MUSIC BY JULIUS BENEDICT.</small></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">I <small>GREET</small> with a full heart the Land of the West,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Whose Banner of Stars o’er a world is unrolled;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Whose empire o’ershadows Atlantic’s wide breast,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And opens to sunset its gateway of gold!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The land of the mountain, the land of the lake,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And rivers that roll in magnificent tide—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Where the souls of the mighty from slumber awake,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And hallow the soil for whose freedom they died!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Thou Cradle of Empire! though wide be the foam<br /></span> -<span class="i2">That severs the land of my fathers and thee,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">I hear, from thy bosom, the welcome of home,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">For Song has a home in the hearts of the Free!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And long as thy waters shall gleam in the sun,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And long as thy heroes remember their scars,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Be the hands of thy children united as one,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And Peace shed her light on thy Banner of Stars!<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>This award, although it gave general satisfaction, yet was met with -disfavor by several disappointed poets, who, notwithstanding the -decision of the committee, persisted in believing and declaring their -own productions to be the best. This state of feeling was doubtless, in -part, the cause which led to the publication, about this time, of a -witty pamphlet entitled “Barnum’s Parnassus; being Confidential -Disclosures of the Prize Committee on the Jenny Lind song.”</p> - -<p>It gave some capital hits in which the committee, the enthusiastic -public, the Nightingale, and myself, were<a name="page_292" id="page_292"></a> roundly ridiculed. The -following is a fair specimen from the work in question:</p> - -<p class="c">BARNUMOPSIS.</p> - -<p class="c"><small><small>A RECITATIVE.</small></small></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">W<small>HEN</small> to the common rest that crowns his days,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Dusty and worn the tired pedestrian goes,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">What light is that whose wide o’erlooking blaze<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A sudden glory on his pathway throws?<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">’Tis not the setting sun, whose drooping lid<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Closed on the weary world at half-past six;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">’Tis not the rising moon, whose rays are hid<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Behind the city’s sombre piles of bricks.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">It is the Drummond Light, that from the top<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of Barnum’s massive pile, sky-mingling there,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Darts its quick gleam o’er every shadowed shop,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And gilds Broadway with unaccustomed glare.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">There o’er the sordid gloom, whose deep’ning tracks<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Furrow the city’s brow, the front of ages,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thy loftier light descends on cabs and hacks,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And on two dozen different lines of stages!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">O twilight Sun, with thy far darting ray,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Thou art a type of him whose tireless hands<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Hung thee on high to guide the stranger’s way,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Where, in its pride, his vast Museum stands.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Him, who in search of wonders new and strange,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Grasps the wide skirts of Nature’s mystic robe<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Explores the circles of eternal change,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And the dark chambers of the central globe.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">He, from the reedy shores of fabled Nile,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Has brought, thick-ribbed and ancient as old iron,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That venerable beast the crocodile,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And many a skin of many a famous lion.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Go lose thyself in those continuous halls,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Where strays the fond papa with son and daughter<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And all that charms or startles or appals,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Thou shalt behold, and for a single quarter!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Far from the Barcan deserts now withdrawn,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">There huge constrictors coil their scaly backs;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">There, cased in glass, malignant and unshorn,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Old murderers glare in sullenness and wax.<a name="page_293" id="page_293"></a><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">There many a varied form the sight beguiles,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In rusty broadcloth decked and shocking hat,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And there the unwieldy Lambert sits and smiles,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In the majestic plenitude of fat.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Or for thy gayer hours, the orang-outang<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Or ape salutes thee with his strange grimace,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And in their shapes, stuffed as on earth they sprang,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Thine individual being thou canst trace!<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And joys the youth in life’s green spring, who goes<br /></span> -<span class="i2">With the sweet babe and the gray-headed nurse,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To see those Cosmoramic orbs disclose<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The varied beauties of the universe.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And last, not least, the marvellous Ethiope,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Changing his skin by preternatural skill,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Whom every setting sun’s diurnal slope<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Leaves whiter than the last, and whitening still.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">All that of monstrous, scaly, strange and queer,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Has come from out the womb of earliest time,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Thou hast, O Barnum, in thy keeping here,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Nor is this all—for triumphs more sublime<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Await thee yet! I, Jenny Lind, who reigned<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Sublimely throned, the imperial queen of song,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Wooed by thy golden harmonies, have deigned<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Captive to join the heterogeneous throng.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Sustained by an unfaltering trust in coin,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Dealt from thy hand, O thou illustrious man,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Gladly I heard the summons come to join<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Myself the innumerable caravan.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Besides the foregoing, this pamphlet contained eleven poems, most of -which abounded in wit. I have room for but a single stanza. The poet -speaks of the various curiosities in the Museum, and representing me as -still searching for further novelties, makes me address the Swedish -Nightingale as follows:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“So Jenny, come along! you’re just the card for me,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And quit these kings and queens, for the country of the free;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">They’ll welcome you with speeches, and serenades, and rockets,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And you will touch their hearts, and I will tap their pockets;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And if between us both the public isn’t skinned,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Why, my name isn’t Barnum, nor your name Jenny Lind!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><a name="page_294" id="page_294"></a></p> - -<p>Various extracts from this brochure were copied in the papers daily, and -my agents scattered the work as widely as possible, thus efficiently -aiding and advertising my enterprise and serving to keep up the public -excitement.</p> - -<p>Among the many complimentary poems sent in, was the following, by Mrs. -<span class="smcap">L. H. Sigourney</span>, which that distinguished writer enclosed in a letter to -me, with the request that I should hand it to Miss Lind:</p> - -<p class="c">THE SWEDISH SONGSTRESS AND HER CHARITIES.</p> - -<p class="c"><small>BY MRS. L. H. SIGOURNEY.</small></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">B<small>LEST</small> must their vocation be<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who, with tones of melody,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Charm the discord and the strife<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And the railroad rush of life,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And with Orphean magic move<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Souls inert to life and love.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But there’s one who doth inherit<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Angel gift and angel spirit,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Bidding tides of gladness flow<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Through the realms of want and woe;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">’Mid lone age and misery’s lot,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Kindling pleasures long forgot,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Seeking minds oppressed with night,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And on darkness shedding light.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">She the seraph’s speech doth know,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">She hath done their deeds below:<br /></span> -<span class="i0">So, when o’er this misty strand<br /></span> -<span class="i0">She shall clasp their waiting hand,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">They will fold her to their breast,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">More a sister than a guest.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Jenny Lind’s first concert was fixed to come off at Castle Garden, on -Wednesday evening, September 11th, and most of the tickets were sold at -auction on the Saturday and Monday previous to the concert. John N. -Genin, the hatter, laid the foundation of his fortune by purchasing the -first ticket at $225. It has been extensively reported that Mr. Genin -and I are brothers-in-law,<a name="page_295" id="page_295"></a> but our only relations are those of business -and friendship. The proprietors of the Garden saw fit to make the usual -charge of one shilling to all persons who entered the premises, yet -three thousand people were present at the auction. One thousand tickets -were sold on the first day for an aggregate sum of $10,141.</p> - -<p>On the Tuesday after her arrival I informed Miss Lind that I wished to -make a slight alteration in our agreement. “What is it?” she asked in -surprise.</p> - -<p>“I am convinced,” I replied, “that our enterprise will be much more -successful than either of us anticipated. I wish, therefore, to -stipulate that you shall receive not only $1,000 for each concert, -besides all the expenses, as heretofore agreed on, but after taking -$5,500 per night for expenses and my services, the balance shall be -equally divided between us.”</p> - -<p>Jenny looked at me with astonishment. She could not comprehend my -proposition. After I had repeated it, and she fully understood its -import, she cordially grasped me by the hand, and exclaimed, “Mr. -Barnum, you are a gentleman of honor: you are generous; it is just as -Mr. Bates told me; I will sing for you as long as you please; I will -sing for you in America—in Europe—anywhere!”</p> - -<p>Upon drawing the new contract which was to include this entirely -voluntary and liberal advance on my part, beyond the terms of the -original agreement, Miss Lind’s lawyer, Mr. John Jay, who was present -solely to put in writing the new arrangement between Miss Lind and -myself, insisted upon intruding the suggestion that she should have the -right to terminate the engagement at the end of the sixtieth concert, if -she should choose to do so. This proposition was so persistently and -annoyingly<a name="page_296" id="page_296"></a> pressed that Miss Lind was finally induced to entertain it, -at the same time offering, if she did so, to refund to me all moneys -paid her up to that time, excepting the $1,000 per concert according to -the original agreement. This was agreed to, and it was also arranged -that she might terminate the engagement at the one-hundredth concert, if -she desired, upon paying me $25,000 for the loss of the additional fifty -nights.</p> - -<p>After this new arrangement was completed, I said: “Now, Miss Lind, as -you are directly interested, you must have an agent to assist in taking -and counting the tickets”; to which she replied, “Oh, no! Mr. Barnum; I -have every confidence in you and I must decline to act upon your -suggestion”; but I continued:</p> - -<p>“I never allow myself, if it can be avoided, when I have associates in -the same interests, to be placed in a position where I must assume the -sole responsibility. I never even permitted an actor to take a benefit -at my Museum, unless he placed a ticket-taker of his own at the door.”</p> - -<p>Thus urged, Miss Lind engaged Mr. Seton to act as her ticket-taker, and -after we had satisfactorily arranged the matter, Jay, knowing the whole -affair, had the impudence to come to me with a package of blank printed -affidavits, which he demanded that I should fill out, from day to day, -with the receipts of each concert, and swear to their correctness before -a magistrate!</p> - -<p>I told him that I would see him on the subject at Miss Lind’s hotel that -afternoon, and going there a few moments before the appointed hour, I -narrated the circumstances to Mr. Benedict and showed him an affidavit -which I had made that morning to the effect that I would never directly -or indirectly take any advantage<a name="page_297" id="page_297"></a> whatever of Miss Lind. This I had made -oath to, for I thought if there was any swearing of that kind to be done -I would do it “in a lump” rather than in detail. Mr. Benedict was very -much opposed to it, and arriving during the interview, Jay was made to -see the matter in such a light that he was thoroughly ashamed of his -proposition, and, requesting that the affair might not be mentioned to -Miss Lind, he begged me to destroy the affidavit. I heard no more about -swearing to our receipts.</p> - -<p>On Tuesday, September 10th, I informed Miss Lind that, judging by -present appearances, her portion of the proceeds of the first concert -would amount to $10,000. She immediately resolved to devote every dollar -of it to charity; and, sending for Mayor Woodhull, she acted under his -and my advice in selecting the various institutions among which she -wished the amount to be distributed.</p> - -<p>My arrangements of the concert room were very complete. The great -<i>parterre</i> and gallery of Castle Garden were divided by imaginary lines -into four compartments, each of which was designated by a lamp of a -different color. The tickets were printed in colors corresponding with -the location which the holders were to occupy, and one hundred ushers, -with rosettes and bearing wands tipped with ribbons of the several hues, -enabled every individual to find his or her seat without the slightest -difficulty. Every seat was of course numbered in color to correspond -with the check, which each person retained after giving up an entrance -ticket at the door. Thus, tickets, checks, lamps, rosettes, wands, and -even the seat numbers were all in the appropriate colors to designate -the different departments. These arrangements<a name="page_298" id="page_298"></a> were duly advertised, and -every particular was also printed upon each ticket. In order to prevent -confusion, the doors were opened at five o’clock, while the concert did -not commence until eight. The consequence was, that although about five -thousand persons were present at the first concert, their entrance was -marked with as much order and quiet as was ever witnessed in the -assembling of a congregation at church. These precautions were observed -at all the concerts given throughout the country under my -administration, and the good order which always prevailed was the -subject of numberless encomiums from the public and the press.</p> - -<p>The reception of Jenny Lind on her first appearance, in point of -enthusiasm, was probably never before equalled in the world. As Mr. -Benedict led her towards the foot-lights, 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 by far 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 <i>scena</i> was concluded, she was as calm as if she was in -her own drawing-room. Towards the last portion of the <i>cavatina</i>, 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<a name="page_299" id="page_299"></a> called for, and was obliged to appear three times -before the audience could be satisfied. They then called vociferously -for “Barnum,” and I reluctantly responded to their demand.</p> - -<p>On this first night, Mr. 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 American -people, to the end of his career in this country.</p> - -<p>It would seem as if the Jenny Lind mania had reached its culminating -point before she appeared, and I confess that I feared the anticipations -of the public were too high to be realized, and hence that there would -be a reaction after the first concert; but I was happily disappointed. -The transcendent musical genius of the Swedish Nightingale was superior -to all that fancy could paint, and the furor did not attain its highest -point until she had been heard. The people were in ecstasies; the powers -of editorial acumen, types and ink, were inadequate to sound her -praises. The Rubicon was passed. 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. So elated was I -with my success, in spite of all obstacles and false prophets, that I do -not think half a million of dollars would have tempted me to relinquish -the enterprise.<a name="page_300" id="page_300"></a></p> - -<p>Upon settling the receipts of the first concert, they were found to be -somewhat less than I anticipated. The sums bid at the auction sales, -together with the tickets purchased at private sale, amounted to more -than $20,000. It proved, however, that several of the tickets bid off at -from $12 to $25 each, were not called for. In some instances, probably -the zeal of the bidders cooled down when they came out from the scene of -excitement, and once more breathed the fresh sea-breeze which came -sweeping up from “the Narrows,” while perhaps, in other instances, bids -were made by parties who never intended to take the tickets. I can only -say, once for all, that I was never privy to a false bid, and was so -particular upon that point, that I would not permit one of my employees -to bid on, or purchase a ticket at auction, though requested to do so -for especial friends.</p> - -<p>The amount of money received for tickets to the first concert was -$17,864.05. As this made Miss Lind’s portion too small to realize the -$10,000 which had been announced as devoted to charity, I proposed to -divide equally with her the proceeds of the first two concerts, and not -count them at all in our regular engagement. Accordingly, the second -concert was given September 13th, and the receipts, amounting to -$14,203.03, were, like those of the first concert, equally divided. Our -third concert, but which, as between ourselves, we called the “first -regular concert,” was given Tuesday September 17, 1850.<a name="page_301" id="page_301"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.<br /><br /> -<small>SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">HEAD-WORK AND HAND-WORK—MANAGING PUBLIC OPINION—CREATING A -FUROR—THE NEW YORK HERALD—JENNY LIND’S EVIL ADVISERS—JOHN -JAY—MISS LIND’S CHARITIES—A POOR GIRL IN BOSTON—THE NIGHTINGALE -AT IRANISTAN—RUMOR OF HER MARRIAGE TO P. T. BARNUM—THE STORY -BASED ON OUR “ENGAGEMENT”—WHAT IRANISTAN DID FOR ME—AVOIDING -CROWDS—IN PHILADELPHIA AND BALTIMORE—A SUBSTITUTE FOR MISS -LIND—OUR ORCHESTRA—PRESIDENT FILLMORE, CLAY, FOOTE, BENTON, -SCOTT, CASS, AND WEBSTER—VISIT TO MT. VERNON—CHRISTMAS -PRESENTS—NEW YEAR’S EVE—WE GO TO HAVANA—PLAYING BALL—FREDERIKA -BREMER—A HAPPY MONTH IN CUBA.</p></div> - -<p>N<small>O</small> one can imagine the amount of head-work and hand-work which I -performed during the first four weeks after Jenny Lind’s arrival. -Anticipating much of this, I had spent some time in August at the White -Mountains to recruit my energies. Of course I had not been idle during -the summer. I had put innumerable means and appliances into operation -for the furtherance of my object, and little did the public see of the -hand that indirectly pulled at their heart-strings, preparatory to a -relaxation of their purse-strings; and these means and appliances were -continued and enlarged throughout the whole of that triumphal musical -campaign.</p> - -<p>The first great assembly at Castle Garden was not gathered by Jenny -Lind’s musical genius and powers alone. She was effectually introduced -to the public before they had seen or heard her. She appeared in the -presence of a jury already excited to enthusiasm<a name="page_302" id="page_302"></a> in her behalf. She -more than met their expectations, and all the means I had adopted to -prepare the way were thus abundantly justified.</p> - -<p>As a manager, I worked by setting others to work. Biographies of the -Swedish Nightingale were largely circulated; “Foreign Correspondence” -glorified her talents and triumphs by narratives of her benevolence; and -“printer’s ink” was invoked in every possible form, to put and keep -Jenny Lind before the people. I am happy to say that the press generally -echoed the voice of her praise from first to last. I could fill many -volumes with printed extracts which are nearly all of a similar tenor to -the following unbought, unsolicited editorial article, which appeared in -the <i>New York Herald</i> of Sept. 10, 1850 (the day before the first -concert given by Miss Lind in the United States):</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“<span class="smcap">Jenny Lind and the American People.</span>—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.</p> - -<p>“Jenny Lind, the most remarkable phenomenon in musical art which -has for the last century flashed across the horizon of the old -world, is now among us, and will make her <i>début</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“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 -<i>début</i> 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<a name="page_303" id="page_303"></a> 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 <i>Casta Diva</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>“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 and power of Jenny -Lind—will far surpass all past expectation. Jenny Lind is a -wonder, and a prodigy in song—and no mistake.”</p></div> - -<p>As usual, however, the <i>Herald</i> very soon “took it all back” and roundly -abused Miss Lind and persistently attacked her manager. As usual, too, -the public paid no attention to the <i>Herald</i> and doubled their patronage -of the Jenny Lind concerts.</p> - -<p>After the first month the business became thoroughly systematized, and -by the help of such agents as my faithful treasurer, L. C. Stewart, and -the indefatigable Le Grand Smith, my personal labors were materially -relieved; but from the first concert on the 11th of September, 1850, -until the ninety-third concert on the 9th of June, 1851, a space of nine -months, I did not know a waking moment that was entirely free from -anxiety.</p> - -<p>I could not hope to be exempted from trouble and perplexity in managing -an enterprise which depended altogether on popular favor, and which -involved great consequences to myself; but I did not expect the numerous -petty annoyances which beset me, especially in the early period of the -concerts. Miss Lind did not dream, nor did any one else, of the -unparalleled enthusiasm that would greet her; and the first immense -assembly at Castle Garden somewhat prepared her, I suspect, to listen to -evil advisers. It would seem that the terms of our revised contract were -sufficiently liberal<a name="page_304" id="page_304"></a> to her and sufficiently hazardous to myself, to -justify the expectation of perfectly honorable treatment; but certain -envious intermeddlers appeared to think differently. “Do you not see, -Miss Lind, that Mr. Barnum is coining money out of your genius?” said -they; of course she saw it, but the high-minded Swede despised and -spurned the advisers who recommended her to repudiate her contract with -me at all hazards, and take the enterprise into her own hands—possibly -to put it into theirs. I, however, suffered much from the unreasonable -interference of her lawyer, Mr. John Jay. Benedict and Belletti behaved -like men, and Jenny afterwards expressed to me her regret that she had -for a moment listened to the vexatious exactions of her legal -counsellor.</p> - -<p>To show the difficulties with which I had to contend thus early in my -enterprise, I copy a letter which I wrote, a little more than one month -after Miss Lind commenced her engagement with me, to my friend Mr. -Joshua Bates, of Messrs. Baring, Brothers & Co., London:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">New York</span>, Oct. 23, 1850.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<span class="smcap">Joshua Bates Esq.</span>:<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>,—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 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,’ exhibitor of Tom Thumb, etc., etc.</p> - -<p>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 at 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<a name="page_305" id="page_305"></a> 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 continual backbitings, if listened to by her, will, by and -by, produce a feeling of distrust or regret, which will lead to -unpleasant results.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span style="margin-right: 8em;">Sincerely and gratefully, yours,</span><br /> -<span class="smcap">P. T. Barnum</span>.<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>It is not my purpose to enter into full details of all of the Lind -concerts, though I have given elsewhere a transcript from the account -books of my treasurer, presenting a table of the place and exact -receipts of each concert. This will gratify curiosity, and at the same -time indicate our route of travel. Meanwhile, I devote a few pages to -interesting incidents connected with Miss Lind’s visit to America.</p> - -<p>Jenny Lind’s character for benevolence became so generally known, that -her door was beset by persons asking charity, and she was in the -receipt, while in the principal cities, of numerous letters, all on the -same subject. Her secretary examined and responded favorably to some of -them. He undertook at first to answer them all, but finally abandoned -that course in despair. I knew of many instances in which she gave sums -of money to applicants, varying in amount from $20, $50, $500, to -$1,000, and in one instance she gave $5,000 to a Swedish friend.</p> - -<p>One night, while giving a concert in Boston, a girl<a name="page_306" id="page_306"></a> approached the -ticket-office, and laying down $3 for a ticket, remarked, “There goes -half a month’s earnings, but I am determined to hear Jenny Lind.” Miss -Lind’s secretary heard the remark, and a few minutes afterwards coming -into her room, he laughingly related the circumstance. “Would you know -the girl again?” asked Jenny, with an earnest look. Upon receiving an -affirmative reply, she instantly placed a $20 gold-piece in his hand, -and said, “Poor girl! give her that with my best compliments.” He at -once found the girl, who cried with joy when she received the -gold-piece, and heard the kind words with which the gift was -accompanied.</p> - -<p>The night after Jenny’s arrival in Boston, a display of fireworks was -given in her honor, in front of the Revere House, after which followed a -beautiful torchlight procession by the Germans of that city.</p> - -<p>On her return from Boston to New York, Jenny, her companion, and Messrs. -Benedict and Belletti, stopped at Iranistan, my residence in Bridgeport, -where they remained until the following day. The morning after her -arrival, she took my arm and proposed a promenade through the grounds. -She seemed much pleased, and said, “I am astonished that you should have -left such a beautiful place for the sake of travelling through the -country with me.”</p> - -<p>The same day she told me in a playful mood, that she had heard a most -extraordinary report. “I have heard that you and I are about to be -married,” said she; “now how could such an absurd report ever have -originated?”</p> - -<p>“Probably from the fact that we are ‘engaged,’ ” I replied. She enjoyed a -joke, and laughed heartily.<a name="page_307" id="page_307"></a></p> - -<p>“Do you know, Mr. Barnum,” said she, “that if you had not built -Iranistan, I should never have come to America for you?”</p> - -<p>I expressed my surprise, and asked her to explain.</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“That, then, fully pays me for building it,” I replied; “for I intend -and expect to make more by this musical enterprise than Iranistan cost -me.”</p> - -<p>“I really hope so,” she replied; “but you must not be too sanguine, you -know, ‘man proposes but God disposes.’ ”</p> - -<p>Jenny Lind always desired to reach a place in which she was to sing, -without having the time of her arrival known, thus avoiding the -excitement of promiscuous crowds. As a manager, however, I knew that the -interests of the enterprise depended in a great degree upon these -excitements. Although it frequently seemed inconceivable to her how so -many thousands should have discovered her secret and consequently -gathered together to receive her, I was not so much astonished, inasmuch -as my agent always had early telegraphic<a name="page_308" id="page_308"></a> intelligence of the time of -her anticipated arrival, and was not slow in communicating the -information to the public.</p> - -<p>On reaching Philadelphia, a large concourse of persons awaited the -approach of the steamer which conveyed her. With difficulty we pressed -through the crowd, and were followed by many thousands to Jones’s Hotel. -The street in front of the building was densely packed by the populace, -and poor Jenny, who was suffering from a severe headache, retired to her -apartments. I tried to induce the crowd to disperse, but they declared -they would not do so until Jenny Lind should appear on the balcony. I -would not disturb her, and knowing that the tumult might prove an -annoyance to her, I placed her bonnet and shawl upon her companion, Miss -Ahmansen, and led her out on the balcony. She bowed gracefully to the -multitude, who gave her three hearty cheers and quietly dispersed. Miss -Lind was so utterly averse to any thing like deception, that we never -ventured to tell her the part which her bonnet and shawl had played in -the absence of their owner.</p> - -<p>Jenny was in the habit of attending church whenever she could do so -without attracting notice. She always preserved her nationality, also, -by inquiring out and attending Swedish churches wherever they could be -found. She gave $1,000 to a Swedish church in Chicago.</p> - -<p>While in Boston, a poor Swedish girl, a domestic in a family at Roxbury, -called on Jenny. She detained her visitor several hours, talking about -home, and other matters, and in the evening took her in her carriage to -the concert, gave her a seat, and sent her back to Roxbury in a -carriage, at the close of the performances. I<a name="page_309" id="page_309"></a> have no doubt the poor -girl carried with her substantial evidences of her countrywoman’s -bounty.</p> - -<p>My eldest daughter, Caroline, and her friend, Mrs. Lyman, of Bridgeport, -accompanied me on the tour from New York to Havana, and thence home, -<i>via</i> New Orleans and the Mississippi.</p> - -<p>We were at Baltimore on the Sabbath, and my daughter, accompanying a -friend, who resided in the city, to church, took a seat with her in the -choir, and joined in the singing. A number of the congregation, who had -seen Caroline with me the day previous, and supposed her to be Jenny -Lind, were yet laboring under the same mistake, and it was soon -whispered through the church that Jenny Lind was in the choir! The -excitement was worked to its highest pitch when my daughter rose as one -of the musical group. Every ear was on the alert to catch the first -notes of her voice, and when she sang, glances of satisfaction passed -through the assembly. Caroline, quite unconscious of the attention she -attracted, continued to sing to the end of the hymn. Not a note was lost -upon the ears of the attentive congregation. “What an exquisite singer!” -“Heavenly sounds!” “I never heard the like!” and similar expressions -were whispered through the church.</p> - -<p>At the conclusion of the services, my daughter and her friend found the -passage way to their carriage blocked by a crowd who were anxious to -obtain a nearer view of the “Swedish Nightingale,” and many persons that -afternoon boasted, in good faith, that they had listened to the -extraordinary singing of the great songstress. The pith of the joke is -that we have never discovered that my daughter has any extraordinary -claims as a vocalist.<a name="page_310" id="page_310"></a></p> - -<p>Our orchestra in New York consisted of sixty. When we started on our -southern tour, we took with us permanently as the orchestra, twelve of -the best musicians we could select, and in New Orleans augmented the -force to sixteen. We increased the number to thirty-five, forty or -fifty, as the case might be, by choice of musicians residing where the -concerts were given. On our return to New York from Havana, we enlarged -the orchestra to one hundred performers.</p> - -<p>The morning after our arrival in Washington, President Fillmore called, -and left his card, Jenny being out. When she returned and found the -token of his attention, she was in something of a flurry. “Come,” said -she, “we must call on the President immediately.”</p> - -<p>“Why so?” I inquired.</p> - -<p>“Because he has called on me, and of course that is equivalent to a -command for me to go to his house.”</p> - -<p>I assured her that she might make her mind at ease, for whatever might -be the custom with crowned heads, our Presidents were not wont to -“command” the movements of strangers, and that she would be quite in -time if she returned his call the next day. She did so, and was charmed -with the unaffected bearing of the President, and the warm kindnesses -expressed by his amiable wife and daughter, and consented to spend the -evening with them in conformity with their request. She was accompanied -to the “White House” by Messrs Benedict, Belletti and myself, and -several happy hours were spent in the private circle of the President’s -family.</p> - -<p>Mr. Benedict, who engaged in a long quiet conversation with Mr. -Fillmore, was highly pleased with the interview. A foreigner, accustomed -to court etiquette, is generally surprised at the simplicity which -characterizes<a name="page_311" id="page_311"></a> the Chief Magistrate of this Union. In 1852 I called on -the President with my friend the late Mr. Brettell, of London, who -resided in St. James Palace, and was quite a worshipper of the Queen, -and an ardent admirer of all the dignities and ceremonies of royalty. He -expected something of the kind in visiting the President of the United -States, and was highly pleased with his disappointment.</p> - -<p>Both concerts in Washington were attended by the President and his -family, and every member of the Cabinet. I noticed, also, among the -audience, Henry Clay, Benton, Foote, Cass and General Scott, and nearly -every member of Congress. On the following morning, Miss Lind was called -upon by Mr. Webster, Mr. Clay, General Cass, and Colonel Benton, and all -parties were evidently gratified. I had introduced Mr. Webster to her in -Boston. Upon hearing one of her wild mountain songs in New York, and -also in Washington, Mr. Webster signified his approval by rising, -drawing himself up to his full height, and making a profound bow. Jenny -was delighted by this expression of praise from the great statesman. -When I first introduced Miss Lind to Mr. Webster, at the Revere House, -in Boston, she was greatly impressed with his manners and conversation, -and after his departure, walked up and down the room in great -excitement, exclaiming: “Ah! Mr. Barnum, that is a man; I have never -before seen such a man!”</p> - -<p>We visited the Capitol while both Houses were in session. Miss Lind took -the arm of Hon. C. F. Cleveland, representative from Connecticut, and -was by him escorted into various parts of the Capitol and the grounds, -with all of which she was much pleased.<a name="page_312" id="page_312"></a></p> - -<p>While I was in Washington an odd reminiscence of my old show-days in the -South came back to me in a curious way. Some years before, in 1836, my -travelling show company had stopped at a hotel in Jackson, Mississippi, -and, as the house was crowded, soon after I went to bed five or six men -came into the room with cards and a candle and asked permission, as -there was no other place, to sit down and play a quiet game of “brag.” I -consented on condition that I might get up and participate, which was -permitted and in a very little while, as I knew nothing whatever of the -game, I lost fifty dollars. Good “hands” and good fortune soon enabled -me to win back my money, at which point one of the players who had been -introduced to me as “Lawyer Foote” said:</p> - -<p>“Now the best thing you can do is to go back to bed; you don’t know -anything about the game, and these fellows do, and they’ll skin you.”</p> - -<p>I acted upon his advice. And now, years afterwards, when Senator Foote -called upon Miss Lind the story came back to me, and while I was talking -with him I remarked:</p> - -<p>“Fifteen years ago, when I was in the South, I became acquainted with a -lawyer named Foote, at Jackson, Mississippi.”</p> - -<p>“It must have been me,” said the Senator, “I am the only ‘lawyer Foote, -of Jackson, Mississippi.’ ”</p> - -<p>“Oh! no, it could not have been you,” and I told him the story.</p> - -<p>“It was me,” he whispered in my ear, and added, “I used to gamble like -h—l in those days.”</p> - -<p>During the week I was invited with Miss Lind and her immediate friends, -to visit Mount Vernon, with Colonel<a name="page_313" id="page_313"></a> Washington, the then proprietor, -and Mr. Seaton, ex-Mayor of Washington, and Editor of the -<i>Intelligencer</i>. Colonel Washington chartered a steamboat for the -purpose. We were landed a short distance from the tomb, which we first -visited. Proceeding to the house, we were introduced to Mrs. Washington, -and several other ladies. Much interest was manifested by Miss Lind in -examining the mementoes of the great man whose home it had been. A -beautiful collation was spread out and arranged in fine taste. Before -leaving, Mrs. Washington presented Jenny with a book from the library, -with the name of Washington written by his own hand. She was much -overcome at receiving this present, called me aside, and expressed her -desire to give something in return. “I have nothing with me,” she said, -“excepting this watch and chain, and I will give that if you think it -will be acceptable.” I knew the watch was very valuable, and told her -that so costly a present would not be expected, nor would it be proper. -“The expense is nothing, compared to the value of that book,” she -replied, with deep emotion; “but as the watch was a present from a dear -friend, perhaps I should not give it away.” Jenny Lind, I am sure, never -forgot the pleasurable emotions of that day.</p> - -<p>At Richmond, half an hour previous to her departure, hundreds of young -ladies and gentlemen had crowded into the halls of the house to secure a -glimpse of her at parting. I informed her that she would find difficulty -in passing out. “How long is it before we must start?” she asked. “Half -an hour,” I replied. “Oh, I will clear the passages before that time,” -said she, with a smile; whereupon she went into the upper hall, and -informed the people that she wished to take the hands<a name="page_314" id="page_314"></a> of every one of -them, upon one condition, viz: they should pass by her in rotation, and -as fast as they had shaken hands, proceed down stairs, and not block up -the passages. They joyfully consented to the arrangement, and in fifteen -minutes the course was clear. Poor Jenny had shaken hands with every -person in the crowd, and I presume she had a feeling remembrance of the -incident for an hour or two at least. She was waited on by many members -of the Legislature while in Richmond, that body being in session while -we were there.</p> - -<p>The voyage from Wilmington to Charleston was an exceedingly rough and -perilous one. We were about thirty-six hours in making the passage, the -usual time being seventeen. There was really great danger of our steamer -being swamped, and we were all apprehensive that we should never reach -the Port of Charleston alive. Some of the passengers were in great -terror. Jenny Lind exhibited more calmness upon this occasion than any -other person, the crew excepted. We arrived safely at last, and I was -grieved to learn that for twelve hours the loss of the steamer had been -considered certain, and had even been announced by telegraph in the -Northern cities.</p> - -<p>We remained at Charleston about ten days, to take the steamer “Isabella” -on her regular trip to Havana. Jenny had been through so much excitement -at the North, that she determined to have quiet here, and therefore -declined receiving any calls. This disappointed many ladies and -gentlemen. One young lady, the daughter of a wealthy planter near -Augusta, was so determined upon seeing her in private, that she paid one -of the servants to allow her to put on a cap and white apron, and carry -in the tray for Jenny’s tea. I<a name="page_315" id="page_315"></a> afterwards told Miss Lind of the joke, -and suggested that after such an evidence of admiration, she should -receive a call from the young lady.</p> - -<p>“It is not admiration—it is only curiosity,” replied Jenny, “and I will -not encourage such folly.”</p> - -<p>Christmas was at hand, and Jenny Lind determined to honor it in the way -she had often done in Sweden. She had a beautiful Christmas tree -privately prepared, and from its boughs depended a variety of presents -for members of the company. These gifts were encased in paper, with the -names of the recipients written on each.</p> - -<p>After spending a pleasant evening in her drawing-room, she invited us -into the parlor, where the “surprise” awaited us. Each person commenced -opening the packages bearing his or her address, and although every -individual had one or more pretty presents, she had prepared a joke for -each. Mr. Benedict, for instance, took off wrapper after wrapper from -one of his packages, which at first was as large as his head, but after -having removed some forty coverings of paper, it was reduced to a size -smaller than his hand, and the removal of the last envelope exposed to -view a piece of cavendish tobacco. One of my presents, choicely wrapped -in a dozen coverings, was a jolly young Bacchus in Parian marble, -intended as a pleasant hit at my temperance principles!</p> - -<p>The night before New Year’s day was spent in her apartment with great -hilarity. Enlivened by music, singing, dancing and story-telling, the -hours glided swiftly away. Miss Lind asked me if I would dance with her. -I told her my education had been neglected in that line, and that I had -never danced in my life, “That is all the better,” said she; “now dance -with<a name="page_316" id="page_316"></a> me in a cotillion. I am sure you can do it.” She was a beautiful -dancer, and I never saw her laugh more heartily than she did at my -awkwardness. She said she would give me the credit of being the poorest -dancer she ever saw!</p> - -<p>About a quarter before twelve, Jenny suddenly checked Mr. -Burke,—formerly celebrated as the musical prodigy, “Master Burke,”—who -was playing on the piano, by saying, “Pray let us have quiet; do you -see, in fifteen minutes more, this year will be gone forever!”</p> - -<p>She immediately took a seat, and rested her head upon her hand in -silence. We all sat down, and for a quarter of an hour the most profound -quiet reigned in the apartment. The remainder of the scene I transcribe -from a description written the next day by Mrs. Lyman, who was present -on the occasion:</p> - -<p>“The clock of a neighboring church struck the knell of the dying year. -All were silent—each heart was left to its own communings, and the -bowed head and tearful eye told that memory was busy with the Past. It -was a brief moment, but thoughts and feelings were crowded into it, -which render it one never to be forgotten. A moment more—the last -stroke of the clock had fallen upon the ear—the last faint vibration -ceased; another period of time had passed forever away—a new one had -dawned, in which each felt that they were to live and act. This thought -recalled them to a full consciousness of the present, and all arose and -quietly, but cordially, presented to each other the kind wishes of the -season. As the lovely hostess pressed the hands of her guests, it was -evident that she, too, had wept,—she, the gifted, the admired, the -almost idolized one.<a name="page_317" id="page_317"></a> Had she, too, cause for tears? Whence were -they?—from the overflowings of a grateful heart, from tender -associations, or from sad remembrances? None knew, none could ask, -though they awakened deep and peculiar sympathy. And from one heart, at -least, arose the prayer, that when the dial of time should mark the last -hour of her earthly existence, she should greet its approach with joy -and not with grief—that to her soul spirit-voices might whisper, ‘Come, -sweet sister! come to the realms of unfading light and love—come, join -your seraphic tones with ours, in singing the praises of Him who loved -us, and gave himself for us’—while she, with meekly-folded hands and -faith-uplifted eye, should answer, ‘Yes, gladly and without fear I come, -for I know that my Redeemer liveth.’ ”</p> - -<p>I had arranged with a man in New York to transport furniture to Havana, -provide a house, and board Jenny Lind and our immediate party during our -stay. When we arrived, we found the building converted into a -semi-hotel, and the apartments were any thing but comfortable. Jenny was -vexed. Soon after dinner, she took a volante and an interpreter, and -drove into the suburbs. She was absent four hours. Whither or why she -had gone, none of us knew. At length she returned and informed us that -she had hired a commodious furnished house in a delightful location -outside the walls of the city, and invited us all to go and live with -her during our stay in Havana, and we accepted the invitation. She was -now freed from all annoyances; her time was her own, she received no -calls, went and came when she pleased, had no meddlesome advisers about -her, legal or otherwise, and was as merry as a cricket. We had a large -court-yard in the rear of the house, and here she<a name="page_318" id="page_318"></a> would come and romp -and run, sing and laugh, like a young school-girl. “Now, Mr. Barnum, for -another game of ball,” she would say half a dozen times a day; -whereupon, she would take an india-rubber ball, (of which she had two or -three,) and commence a game of throwing and catching, which would be -kept up until, being completely tired out, I would say, “I give it up.” -Then her rich, musical laugh would be heard ringing through the house, -as she exclaimed, “Oh, Mr. Barnum, you are too fat and too lazy; you -cannot stand it to play ball with me!”</p> - -<p>Her celebrated countrywoman, Miss Frederika Bremer, spent a few days -with us very pleasantly, and it is difficult to conceive of a more -delightful month than was passed by the entire party at Jenny Lind’s -house in the outskirts of Havana.<a name="page_319" id="page_319"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.<br /><br /> -<small>INCIDENTS OF THE TOUR.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">PROTEST AGAINST PRICES IN HAVANA—THE CUBANS SUCCUMB—JENNY LIND -TAKES THE CITY BY STORM—A MAGNIFICENT TRIUMPH—COUNT PENALVER—A -SPLENDID OFFER—MR. BRINCKERHOFF—BENEFIT FOR THE -HOSPITALS—REFUSING TO RECEIVE THANKS—VIVALLA AND HIS DOG—HENRY -BENNETT—HIS PARTIAL INSANITY—OUR VOYAGE TO NEW ORLEANS—THE -EDITOR OF THE NEW YORK HERALD ON BOARD—I SAVE THE LIFE OF JAMES -GORDON BENNETT—ARRIVAL AT THE CRESCENT CITY—CHEATING THE CROWD—A -DUPLICATE MISS LIND—A BOY IN RAPTURES—A MAMMOTH HOG—UP THE -MISSISSIPPI—AMUSEMENTS ON BOARD—IN LEAGUE WITH THE EVIL ONE—AN -AMAZED MULATTO.</p></div> - -<p>S<small>OON</small> after arriving in Havana, I discovered that a strong prejudice -existed against our musical enterprise. I might rather say that the -Habaneros, not accustomed to the high figure which tickets had commanded -in the States, were determined on forcing me to adopt their opera -prices, whereas I paid one thousand dollars per night for the Tacon -Opera House, and other expenses being in proportion, I was determined to -receive remunerating prices, or give no concerts. This determination on -my part annoyed the Habaneros, who did not wish to be thought penurious, -though they really were so. Their principal spite, therefore, was -against me; and one of their papers politely termed me a “Yankee -pirate,” who cared for nothing except their doubloons. They attended the -concert, but were determined to show the great songstress no favor. I -perfectly understood this feeling in advance, but studiously kept all<a name="page_320" id="page_320"></a> -knowledge of it from Miss Lind. I went to the first concert, therefore, -with some misgivings in regard to her reception. The following, which I -copy from the Havana correspondence of the <i>New York Tribune</i>, gives a -correct account of it:</p> - -<p class="c">* * * * * * * * </p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“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 if 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 eye 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 lip; -their ladies, however, and most of the audience began to look -surprised. The gushing melody flowed on increasing in beauty and -glory. The <i>caballeros</i>, the <i>senoras</i> and <i>senoritas</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“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. ‘<i>Encore! encore! encore!</i>’ 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.”</p></div> - -<p>I cannot express what my feelings were as I watched this scene from the -dress circle. Poor Jenny! I deeply<a name="page_321" id="page_321"></a> sympathized with her when I heard -that first hiss. I indeed observed the resolute bearing which she -assumed, but was apprehensive of the result. When I witnessed her -triumph, I could not restrain the tears of joy that rolled down my -cheeks; and rushing through a private box, I reached the stage just as -she was withdrawing after the fifth encore. “God bless you, Jenny, you -have settled them!” I exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Are you satisfied?” said she, throwing her arms around my neck. She, -too, was crying with joy, and never before did she look so beautiful in -my eyes as on that evening.</p> - -<p>One of the Havana papers, notwithstanding the great triumph, continued -to cry out for low prices. This induced many to absent themselves, -expecting soon to see a reduction. It had been understood that we would -give twelve concerts in Havana; but when they saw, after the fourth -concert, which was devoted to charity, that no more were announced, they -became uneasy. Committees waited upon us requesting more concerts, but -we peremptorily declined. Some of the leading Dons, among whom was Count -Penalver, then offered to guarantee us $25,000 for three concerts. My -reply was, that there was not money enough on the island of Cuba to -induce me to consent to it. That settled the matter, and gave us a -pleasant opportunity for recreation.</p> - -<p>We visited, by invitation, Mr. Brinckerhoff, the eminent American -merchant at Matanzas, whom I had met at the same place three years -previously, and who subsequently had visited my family in Connecticut. -The gentlemanly host did everything in his power to render our stay -agreeable; and Miss Lind was so delighted with his attentions and the -interesting details of sugar<a name="page_322" id="page_322"></a> and coffee plantations which we visited -through his kindness, that as soon as she returned to Havana, she sent -on the same tour of pleasure Mr. Benedict, who had been prevented by -illness from accompanying us.</p> - -<p>I found my little Italian plate-dancer, Vivalla, in Havana. He called on -me frequently. He was in great distress, having lost the use of his -limbs on the left side of his body by paralysis. He was thus unable to -earn a livelihood, although he still kept a performing dog, which turned -a spinning-wheel and performed some curious tricks. One day, as I was -passing him out of the front gate, Miss Lind inquired who he was. I -briefly recounted to her his history. She expressed deep interest in his -case, and said something should be set apart for him in the benefit -which she was about to give for charity. Accordingly, when the benefit -came off, Miss Lind appropriated $500 to him, and I made the necessary -arrangements for his return to his friends in Italy. At the same benefit -$4,000 were distributed between two hospitals and a convent.</p> - -<p>A few mornings after the benefit our bell was rung, and the servant -announced that I was wanted. I went to the door and found a large -procession of children, neatly dressed and bearing banners, attended by -ten or twelve priests, arrayed in their rich and flowing robes. I -inquired their business, and was informed that they had come to see Miss -Lind, to thank her in person for her benevolence. I took their message, -and informed Miss Lind that the leading priests of the convent had come -in great state to see and thank her. “I will not see them,” she replied; -“they have nothing to thank me for. If I have done good, it is no more -than my duty, and it is my pleasure. I do not deserve their<a name="page_323" id="page_323"></a> thanks, and -I will not see them.” I returned her answer, and the leaders of the -grand procession went away in disappointment.</p> - -<p>The same day Vivalla called, and brought her a basket of the most -luscious fruit that he could procure. The little fellow was very happy -and extremely grateful. Miss Lind had gone out for a ride.</p> - -<p>“God bless her! I am so happy; she is such a good lady. I shall see my -brothers and sisters again. Oh, she is a very good lady,” said poor -Vivalla, overcome by his feelings. He begged me to thank her for him, -and give her the fruit. As he was passing out of the door, he hesitated -a moment, and then 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 wheel for her? She is such a good lady, -I wish to please her very much.” I smiled, and told him she would not -care for the dog; that he was quite welcome to the money, and that she -refused to see the priests from the convent that morning, because she -never received thanks for favors.</p> - -<p>When Jenny came in I gave her the fruit, and laughingly told her that -Vivalla wished to show her how his performing dog could turn a -spinning-wheel.</p> - -<p>“Poor man, poor man, do let him come; it is all the good creature can do -for me,” exclaimed Jenny, and the tears flowed thick and fast down her -cheeks. “I like that, I like that,” she continued; “do let the poor -creature come and bring his dog. It will make him so happy.”</p> - -<p>I confess it made me happy, and I exclaimed, for my heart was full, “God -bless you, it will make him cry for joy; he shall come to-morrow.”<a name="page_324" id="page_324"></a></p> - -<p>I saw Vivalla the same evening, and delighted him with the intelligence -that Jenny would see his dog perform the next day, at four o’clock -precisely.</p> - -<p>“I will be punctual,” said Vivalla, in a voice trembling with emotion; -“but I was <i>sure</i> she would like to see my dog perform.”</p> - -<p>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 us all up 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.</p> - -<p>Poor Vivalla! He was probably never so happy before, but his enjoyment -did not exceed that of Miss Lind. That scene alone would have paid me -for all my labors during the entire musical campaign. A few months -later, however, the Havana correspondent of the<a name="page_325" id="page_325"></a> <i>New York Herald</i> -announced the death of Vivalla and stated that the poor Italian’s last -words were about Jenny Lind and Mr. Barnum.</p> - -<p>When Captain Rawlings, of the Steamer “Isabella” made his next return -trip from Charleston, he brought a fine lot of game and invited Messrs. -Benedict, Belletti and myself to a breakfast on board, where we met Mr. -John Howard, of the Irving House, New York, Mr. J. B. Monnot, of the New -York Hotel, Mr. Mixer, of the Charleston Hotel, and Mr. Monroe of one of -the Havana hotels. The breakfast was a very nice one, and was -accompanied by some “very fine old Madeira,” which received the highest -encomiums of the company.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said Captain Rawlings, “you must break your rule once, Mr. -Barnum, and wash down your game with a glass or two of this choice -Madeira. It is very old and fine, as smooth as oil, and the game is -hardly game without it. Do take some.”</p> - -<p>I positively declined, saying I did not doubt that he had the genuine -article for once, but that most of what was offered and sold as wine did -not contain a single drop of the juice of the grape. This led to a -general talk about the impositions practised, even in the best hotels, -in serving customers with “fine old wines and liquors” at the bar and at -the table, and some very curious and amusing stories were told and -confessions made. But there could be no mistake about this Madeira; it -was rich, rare, old, oily, and genuine in flavor and quality; all the -connoisseurs at the table were unanimous in their verdict.</p> - -<p>But when the breakfast was over and we were going ashore, as I was -sitting next the captain in his own boat, he said to me:<a name="page_326" id="page_326"></a></p> - -<p>“Barnum, that fine old Madeira is the real ‘game’ of my game breakfast; -I wanted to test those experienced tasters, and I gave them some wine -which I bought for a dollar and a half a gallon at a corner grocery in -Charleston.”</p> - -<p>In the party which accompanied me to Havana, was Mr. Henry Bennett, who -formerly kept Peale’s Museum in New York, afterwards managing the same -establishment for me when I purchased it, and he was now with me in the -capacity of a ticket-taker. He was as honest a man as ever lived, and a -good deal of a wag. I remember his going through the market once and -running across a decayed actor who was reduced to tending a market -stand; Bennett hailed him with “Hallo! what are you doing here; what are -you keeping that old turkey for?”</p> - -<p>“O! for a profit,” replied the actor.</p> - -<p>“Prophet, prophet!” exclaimed Bennett, “patriarch, you mean!”</p> - -<p>With all his waggery he was subject at times to moods of the deepest -despondency, bordering on insanity. Madness ran in his family. His -brother, in a fit of frenzy, had blown his brains out. Henry himself had -twice attempted his own life while in my employ in New York. Some time -after our present journey to Havana, I sent him to London. He conducted -my business precisely as I directed, writing up his account with me -correctly to a penny. Then handing it to a mutual friend with directions -to give it to me when I arrived in London the following week, he went to -his lodgings and committed suicide.</p> - -<p>While we were in Havana, Bennett was so despondent at times that we were -obliged to watch him<a name="page_327" id="page_327"></a></p> - -<p><a name="J_G_BENNET_AN_HI_MONKEY" id="J_G_BENNET_AN_HI_MONKEY"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p337_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p337_sml.jpg" width="523" height="350" alt="J. G. BENNETT AND HIS MONKEY." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">J. G. BENNETT AND HIS MONKEY.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">carefully, lest he should do some damage to himself or others. When we -left Havana for New Orleans, on board the steamer “Falcon,” Mr. James -Gordon Bennett, editor of the <i>New York Herald</i>, 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. There was an estrangement, no new thing, between the editor -and myself. The <i>Herald</i>, in its desire to excite attention, has a habit -of attacking public men and I had not escaped. I was always glad to get -such notices, for they served as inexpensive advertisements to my -Museum, and brought custom to me free of charge.</p> - -<p>Ticket-taker Bennett, however, took much to heart the attacks of Editor -Bennett upon Jenny Lind, and while in New York he threatened to cowhide -his namesake, as so many men have actually done in days gone by, but I -restrained him. When Editor Bennett came on board the “Falcon,” he had -in his arms a small pet monkey belonging to his wife, and the animal was -placed in a safe place on the forward deck. When Henry Bennett saw the -editor he said to a bystander:</p> - -<p>“I would willingly be drowned if I could see that old scoundrel go to -the bottom of the sea.”</p> - -<p>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 to -another fate.”</p> - -<p>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:<a name="page_328" id="page_328"></a></p> - -<p>“Old Bennett has gone forward alone in the dark to feed his monkey, and -d—n him, I am going to throw him overboard.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Ridiculous! you would not do such a thing.”</p> - -<p>“I swear I will,” was his savage reply. I expostulated with him, and -several of our party joined me.</p> - -<p>“Nobody will know it,” muttered the maniac, “and I shall be doing the -world a favor.”</p> - -<p>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 namesake -and drop him overboard. The matter was too serious for a joke, and we -made little mention of it; but more than one of my 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.”</p> - -<p>This incident has long been known to several of my intimate friends, and -when Mr. Bennett learns the fact from this volume, he may possibly be -somewhat mollified over his payment to me, fifteen years later, of -$200,000 for the unexpired lease of my Museum, concerning which some -particulars will be given anon.<a name="page_329" id="page_329"></a></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, I am sure I can never get through that crowd,” said she, in -despair.</p> - -<p>“Leave that to me. Remain quiet for ten minutes, and there shall be no -crowd here,” I replied.</p> - -<p>Taking my daughter on my arm, she threw her veil over her face, and we -descended the gangway to the dock. The crowd pressed around. I had -beckoned for a carriage before leaving the ship.</p> - -<p>“That’s Barnum, I know him,” called out several persons at the top of -their voices.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“Don’t crowd her, if you please, gentlemen,” I exclaimed, and by dint of -pushing, squeezing and coaxing, we reached the carriage, and drove for -the Montalba buildings, where Miss Lind’s apartments had been prepared, -and the whole crowd came following at our heels. In a few minutes -afterwards, Jenny and her companion came quietly in a carriage, and were -in the house before the ruse was discovered. In answer to incessant -calls, she appeared a moment upon the balcony, waved her handkerchief, -received three hearty cheers, and the crowd dispersed.</p> - -<p>A poor blind boy, residing in the interior of Mississippi, a -flute-player, and an ardent lover of music, visited New Orleans -expressly to hear Jenny Lind.<a name="page_330" id="page_330"></a> A subscription had been taken up among -his neighbors to defray the expenses. This fact coming to the ears of -Jenny, she sent for him, played and sang for him, gave him many words of -joy and comfort, took him to her concerts, and sent him away -considerably richer than he had ever been before.</p> - -<p>A funny incident occurred at New Orleans. Our concerts were given in the -St. Charles Theatre, then managed by my good friend, the late Sol. -Smith. In the open lots near the theatre were exhibitions of mammoth -hogs, five-footed horses, grizzly bears, and other animals.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I liked the music better than I expected,” said he to me 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<a name="page_331" id="page_331"></a> him!” said the father, who, loving a joke, -could not help laughing at the ludicrous incident.</p> - -<p>Some months afterwards, I was relating this story at my own table to -several guests, among whom was a very matter-of-fact man who had not the -faintest conception of humor. After the whole party had laughed heartily -at the anecdote, my matter-of-fact friend gravely asked:</p> - -<p>“And was it a very large hog, Mr. Barnum?”</p> - -<p>I made arrangements with the captain of the splendid steamer “Magnolia,” -of Louisville, to take our party as far as Cairo, the junction of the -Mississippi and Ohio rivers, stipulating for sufficient delay in -Natchez, Mississippi, and in Memphis, Tennessee, to give a concert in -each place. It was no unusual thing for me to charter a steamboat or a -special train of cars for our party. With such an enterprise as that, -time and comfort were paramount to money.</p> - -<p>The time on board the steamer was whiled away in reading, viewing the -scenery of the Mississippi, and other diversions. One day we had a -pleasant musical festival in the ladies’ saloon for the gratification of -the passengers, at which Jenny volunteered to sing without ceremony. It -seemed to us she never sang so sweetly before. I also did my best to -amuse my fellow passengers with anecdotes and the exhibition of sundry -legerdemain tricks which I had been obliged to learn and use in the -South years before and under far different circumstances than those -which attended the performance now. Among other tricks, I caused a -quarter of a dollar to disappear so mysteriously from beneath a card, -that the mulatto barber on board came to the conclusion that I was in -league with the devil.</p> - -<p>The next morning I seated myself for the operation<a name="page_332" id="page_332"></a> of shaving, and the -colored gentleman ventured to dip into the mystery. “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?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes,” was my reply, “that is the bargain between us.”</p> - -<p>“How long did you agree for?” was the question next in order.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Beg pardon, Mr. Barnum, but where is my money? Can you get it?”</p> - -<p>“I do not want your money,” was the quiet answer. “It is safe.”<a name="page_333" id="page_333"></a></p> - -<p>“Yes, I know it is safe—ha! ha!—it is in the iron safe in the clerk’s -office—safe enough from you!”</p> - -<p>“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!</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<p>Of course, I had a confederate, but the mystification of that mulatto -was immense.<a name="page_334" id="page_334"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.<br /><br /> -<small>JENNY LIND.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">ARRIVAL AT ST. LOUIS—SURPRISING PROPOSITION OF MISS LIND’S -SECRETARY—HOW THE MANAGER MANAGED—READINESS TO CANCEL THE -CONTRACT—CONSULTATION WITH “UNCLE SOL.”—BARNUM NOT TO BE HIRED—A -“JOKE”—TEMPERANCE LECTURE IN THE THEATRE—SOL. SMITH—A COMEDIAN, -AUTHOR, AND LAWYER—UNIQUE DEDICATION—JENNY LIND’S CHARACTER AND -CHARITIES—SHARP WORDS FROM THE WEST—SELFISH ADVISERS—MISS LIND’S -GENEROUS IMPULSES—HER SIMPLE AND CHILDLIKE CHARACTER—CONFESSIONS -OF A MANAGER—PRIVATE REPUTATION AND PUBLIC RENOWN—CHARACTER AS A -STOCK IN TRADE—LE GRAND SMITH—MR. DOLBY—THE ANGELIC SIDE KEPT -OUTSIDE—MY OWN SHARE IN THE PUBLIC BENEFITS—JUSTICE TO MISS LIND -AND MYSELF.</p></div> - -<p>A<small>CCORDING</small> to agreement, the “Magnolia” waited for us at Natchez and -Memphis, and we gave profitable concerts at both places. The concert at -Memphis was the sixtieth in the list since Miss Lind’s arrival in -America, and the first concert in St. Louis would be the sixty-first. -When we reached that city, on the morning of the day when our first -concert was to be given, Miss Lind’s secretary came to me, commissioned, -he said, by her, and announced that as sixty concerts had already taken -place, she proposed to avail herself of one of the conditions of our -contract, and cancel the engagement next morning. As this was the first -intimation of the kind I had received, I was somewhat startled, though I -assumed an entirely placid demeanor, and asked:</p> - -<p>“Does Miss Lind authorize you to give me this notice?”<a name="page_335" id="page_335"></a></p> - -<p>“I so understand it,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>I immediately reflected that if our contract was thus suddenly -cancelled, Miss Lind was bound to repay to me all I had paid her over -the stipulated $1,000 for each concert, and a little calculation showed -that the sum thus to be paid back was $77,000, since she had already -received from me $137,000 for sixty concerts. In this view, I could not -but think that this was a ruse of some of her advisers, and, possibly, -that she might know nothing of the matter. So I told her secretary that -I would see him again in an hour, and meanwhile I went to my old friend -Mr. Sol. Smith for his legal and friendly advice.</p> - -<p>I showed him my contract and told him how much I had been annoyed by the -selfish and greedy hangers-on and advisers, legal and otherwise, of -Jenny Lind. I talked to him about the “wheels within wheels” which moved -this great musical enterprise, and asked and gladly accepted his advice, -which mainly coincided with my own views of the situation. I then went -back to the secretary and quietly told him that I was ready to settle -with Miss Lind and to close the engagement.</p> - -<p>“But,” said he, manifestly “taken aback,” “you have already advertised -concerts in Louisville and Cincinnati, I believe.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” I replied; “but you may take my contracts for halls and printing -off my hands at cost.” I further said that he was welcome to the -assistance of my agent who had made these arrangements, and, moreover, -that I would cheerfully give my own services to help them through with -these concerts, thus giving them a good start “on their own hook.”<a name="page_336" id="page_336"></a></p> - -<p>My liberality, which he acknowledged, emboldened him to make an -extraordinary proposition:</p> - -<p>“Now suppose,” he asked, “Miss Lind should wish to give some fifty -concerts in this country, what would you charge as manager, per -concert?”</p> - -<p>“A million dollars each, not one cent less,” I replied. I was now -thoroughly aroused; the whole thing was as clear as daylight, and I -continued:</p> - -<p>“Now we might as well understand each other; I don’t believe Miss Lind -has authorized you to propose to me to cancel our contract; but if she -has, just bring me a line to that effect over her signature and her -check for the amount due me by the terms of that contract, some $77,000, -and we will close our business connections at once.”</p> - -<p>“But why not make a new arrangement,” persisted the Secretary, “for -fifty concerts more, by which Miss Lind shall pay you liberally, say -$1,000 per concert?”</p> - -<p>“Simply because I hired Miss Lind, and not she me,” I replied, “and -because I never ought to take a farthing less for my risk and trouble -than the contract gives me. I have voluntarily paid Miss Lind more than -twice as much as I originally contracted to pay her, or as she expected -to receive when she first 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 go to her for it to-morrow morning.”</p> - -<p>I met the secretary soon after breakfast next morning and asked him if -he had a written communication for me from Miss Lind? He said he had not -and that the whole thing was a “joke.” He merely wanted, he added, to -see what I would say to the proposition. I<a name="page_337" id="page_337"></a> asked him if Miss Lind was -in the “joke,” as he called it? He hoped I would not inquire, but would -let the matter drop. I went on, as usual, and gave four more concerts in -St. Louis, and followed out my programme as arranged in other cities for -many weeks following; nor at that time, nor at any time afterwards, did -Miss Lind give me the slightest intimation that she had any knowledge of -the proposition of her secretary to cancel our agreement or to employ me -as her manager.</p> - -<p>During our stay at St. Louis, I delivered a temperance lecture in the -theatre, and at the close, among other signers, of the pledge, was my -friend and adviser, Sol. Smith. “Uncle Sol,” as every one called him, -was a famous character in his time. He was an excellent comedian, an -author, a manager and a lawyer. For a considerable period of his life, -he was largely concerned in theatricals in St. Louis, New Orleans and -other cities, and acquired a handsome property. He died at a ripe old -age, in 1869, respected and lamented by all who knew him. I esteem it an -honor to have been one of his intimate friends.</p> - -<p>A year or two before he died, he published a very interesting volume, -giving a full account of the leading incidents in his long and varied -career as an actor and manager. He had previously, in 1854, published an -autobiographical work, comprising an account of the “second seven years -of his professional life,” together with sketches of adventure in after -years, and entitled “The Theatrical Journey-Work and Anecdotical -Recollections of Sol. Smith, Comedian, Attorney at Law,” etc. This -unique work was preceded by a dedication which I venture to copy. It was -as follows:<a name="page_338" id="page_338"></a></p> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="c">“TO PHINEAS T. BARNUM, PROPRIETOR OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM, ETC.</p> - -<p>“<i>Great Impressario</i>: Whilst you were engaged in your grand Jenny Lind -speculation, the following conundrum went the rounds of the American -newspapers:</p> - -<p>“ ‘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.’</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_339" id="page_339"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>“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.’</p> - -<p>“Of all your speculations—from the negro centenarina, 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!</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_340" id="page_340"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>“As a small instalment 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,</p> - -<p>“Your friend, and affectionate uncle,</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">Sol. Smith</span>.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="hang"> -“<span class="smcap">Chouteau Avenue, St. Louis</span>,<br /> -“Nov. 1, 1854.”<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>“Uncle” Sol. Smith must be held solely responsible for his extravagant -estimate of P. T. Barnum, and for his somewhat deprecatory view of the -attributes of the “divine Jenny.” It is true that he derived many of his -impressions of Miss Lind from the annoying circumstances<a name="page_341" id="page_341"></a> that compelled -me to seek his professional advice and assistance in St. Louis, when -Jenny Lind’s secretary came to me with an assumed authorization from her -to abruptly close our engagement. But when Sol. Smith’s dedication was -first published, there were plenty of people and papers throughout the -land that were eager to catch up and indorse this new view of Miss -Lind’s character. The Athenians were sometimes sick, no doubt, of -hearing Aristides always called “the Just.” Yet, some of the sharp -things which Sol. Smith means to say about Miss Lind, apply rather to -the selfish persons who, unfortunately, were more in her confidence than -I ever aspired to be, and who assumed to advise her and thus easily -perverted her better judgment.</p> - -<p>With all her excellent and even extraordinarily good qualities, however, -Jenny Lind was human, though the reputation she bore in Europe for her -many charitable acts led me to believe, till I knew her, that she was -nearly perfect. I think now that her natural impulses were more simple, -childlike, pure and generous than those of almost any other person I -ever met. But she had been petted, almost worshipped, so long, that it -would have been strange indeed if her unbounded popularity had not in -some degree affected her to her hurt, and it must not be thought -extraordinary if she now and then exhibited some phase of human -weakness.</p> - -<p>Like most persons of uncommon talent, she had a strong will which, at -times, she found ungovernable; but if she was ever betrayed into a -display of ill-temper she was sure to apologize and express her regret -afterwards. Le Grand Smith, who was quite intimate with her, and who was -my right-hand man during the entire Lind engagement, used sometimes to -say to me:<a name="page_342" id="page_342"></a></p> - -<p>“Well, Mr. Barnum, you have managed wonderfully in always keeping -Jenny’s ‘angel’ side outside with the public.”</p> - -<p>More than one Englishman—I may instance Mr. Dolby, Mr. Dickens’s agent -during his last visit to America—expressed surprise at the confirmed -impression of “perfection” entertained by the general American public in -regard to the Swedish Nightingale. These things are written with none -but the kindest feelings towards the sweet songstress, and only to -modify the too current ideas of superhuman excellence which cannot be -characteristic of any mortal being.</p> - -<p>As I have before intimated in giving details of my management of the -enterprise, believing, as I did when I engaged her, in her “angelic” -reputation, I am frank enough to confess that I considered her private -character a valuable adjunct, even in a business point of view, to her -renown as a singer. I admit that I took her charities into account as -part of my “stock in trade.” Whenever she sang for a public or private -charity, she gave her voice, which was worth a thousand dollars to her -every evening. At such times, I always insisted upon paying for the -hall, orchestra, printing, and other expenses, because I felt able and -willing to contribute my full share towards the worthy objects which -prompted these benefits.</p> - -<p>This narration would be incomplete if I did not add the following:</p> - -<p>We were in Havana when I showed to Miss Lind a paper containing the -conundrum on “for-getting” and “for-giving,” at which she laughed -heartily, but immediately checked herself and said:</p> - -<p>“O! Mr. Barnum, this is not fair; you know that<a name="page_343" id="page_343"></a> you really give more -than I do from the proceeds of every one of these charity concerts.”</p> - -<p>And it is but just to her to say that she frequently remonstrated with -me and declared that the actual expenses should be deducted and the thus -lessened sum devoted to the charity for which the concert might be -given; but I always laughingly told her that I must do my part, give my -share, and that if it was purely a business operation, “bread cast upon -the waters,” it would return, perhaps, buttered; for the larger her -reputation for liberality, the more liberal the public would surely be -to us and to our enterprise.</p> - -<p>I have no wish to conceal these facts; and I certainly have no desire to -receive a larger meed of praise than my qualified generosity merits. -Justice to myself and to my management, as well as to Miss Lind, seems -to permit, if not to demand, this explanation.<a name="page_344" id="page_344"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII.<br /><br /> -<small>CLOSE OF THE CAMPAIGN.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">PENITENT TICKET PURCHASERS—VISIT TO THE “HERMITAGE”—“APRIL FOOL” -FUN—THE MAMMOTH CAVE—SIGNOR SALVI—GEORGE D. -PRENTICE—PERFORMANCE IN A PORK HOUSE—RUSE AT -CINCINNATI—ANNOYANCES AT PITTSBURG—LE GRAND SMITH’S GRAND -JOKE—RETURN TO NEW YORK—THE FINAL CONCERTS IN CASTLE GARDEN AND -METROPOLITAN HALL—THE ADVISERS APPEAR—THE NINETY-THIRD -CONCERT—MY OFFER TO CLOSE THE ENGAGEMENT—MISS LIND’S LETTER -ACCEPTING MY PROPOSITION—STORY ABOUT AN “IMPROPER PLACE”—JENNY’S -CONCERTS ON HER OWN ACCOUNT—HER MARRIAGE TO MR. OTTO -GOLDSCHMIDT—CORDIAL RELATIONS BETWEEN MRS. LIND GOLDSCHMIDT AND -MYSELF—AT HOME AGAIN—STATEMENT OF THE TOTAL RECEIPTS OF THE -CONCERTS.</p></div> - -<p>A<small>FTER</small> five concerts in St. Louis, we went to Nashville, Tennessee, where -we gave our sixty-sixth and sixty-seventh concerts in this country. At -the first ticket auction in that city, the excitement was considerable -and the bidding spirited, as was generally the case. After the auction -was over, one of my men, happening in at a dry-goods store in the town, -heard the proprietor say, “I’ll give five dollars to any man who will -take me out and give me a good horse-whipping! I deserve it, and am -willing to pay for having it done. To think that I should have been such -a fool as to have paid forty-eight dollars for four tickets for my wife, -two daughters, and myself, to listen to music for only two hours, makes -me mad with myself, and I want to pay somebody for giving me a -thundering good horse-whipping!” I am not sure that others have not -experienced a somewhat similar feeling, when they became cool and -rational, and the excitement of novelty and competition had passed -away.<a name="page_345" id="page_345"></a></p> - -<p>While at Nashville, Jenny Lind, accompanied by my daughter, Mrs. Lyman, -and myself, visited “the Hermitage,” the late residence of General -Jackson. On that occasion, for the first time that season, we heard the -wild mocking-birds singing in the trees. This gave Jenny Lind great -delight, as she had never before heard them sing except in their -wire-bound cages.</p> - -<p>The first of April occurred while we were in Nashville. I was -considerably annoyed during the forenoon by the calls of members of the -company who came to me under the belief that I had sent for them. After -dinner I concluded to give them all a touch of “April fool.” The -following article, which appeared the next morning in the Nashville -<i>Daily American</i>, my amanuensis having imparted the secret to the -editor, will show how it was done:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“A series of laughable jokes came off yesterday at the Veranda in -honor of All Fools’ Day. Mr. Barnum was at the bottom of the -mischief. He managed in some mysterious manner to obtain a lot of -blank telegraphic despatches and envelopes from one of the offices -in this city, and then went to work and manufactured ‘astounding -intelligence’ for most of the parties composing the Jenny Lind -suite. Almost every person in the company received a telegraphic -despatch written under the direction of Barnum. Mr. Barnum’s -daughter 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.</p> - -<p>“One married gentleman in Mr. Barnum’s suite 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.</p> - -<p>“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.<a name="page_346" id="page_346"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>“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.’ At a late hour last night the secret -had not got out, and we presume that many of the victims will first -learn from our columns that they have been taken in by <span class="smcap">Barnum</span> and -All Fools’ Day!”</p></div> - -<p>From Nashville, Jenny Lind and a few friends went by way of the Mammoth -Cave to Louisville, while the rest of the party proceeded by steamboat.</p> - -<p>While in Havana, I engaged Signor Salvi for a few months, to begin about -the 10th of April. He joined us at Louisville, and sang in the three -concerts there, with great satisfaction to the public. Mr. George D. -Prentice, of the Louisville <i>Journal</i>, and his beautiful and -accomplished lady, who had contributed much to the pleasure of Miss Lind -and our party, accompanied us to Cincinnati.</p> - -<p>A citizen of Madison had applied to me on our first arrival in -Louisville, for a concert in that place. I replied that the town was too -small to afford it, whereupon he offered to take the management of it -into his own hands, and pay me $5,000 for the receipts. The last concert -at Louisville, and the concerts at Natchez and Wheeling were given under -a similar agreement, though with better pecuniary results than at -Madison. As the steamer from Louisville to Cincinnati would arrive at -Madison about sundown, and would wait long enough for us to give a -concert, I agreed to his proposition.</p> - -<p>We were not a little surprised to learn upon arriving, that the concert -must be given in a “pork house”—a capacious shed which had been fitted -up and decorated for the occasion. We concluded, however, that if the<a name="page_347" id="page_347"></a> -inhabitants were satisfied with the accommodations, we ought not to -object. The person who had contracted for the concert came $1,300 short -of his agreement, which I consequently lost, and at ten o’clock we were -again on board the fine steamer “Ben Franklin” bound for Cincinnati.</p> - -<p>The next morning the crowd upon the wharf was immense. I was fearful -that an attempt to repeat the New Orleans ruse with my daughter would be -of no avail, as the joke had been published in the Cincinnati papers; so -I gave my arm to Miss Lind, and begged her to have no fears, for I had -hit upon an expedient which would save her from annoyance. We then -descended the plank to the shore, and as soon as we had touched it, Le -Grand Smith called out from 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.”</p> - -<p>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 me to pass with the lady -whom they supposed to be my 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. -The crowd remained an hour on the wharf before they would be convinced -that the person whom they took for my daughter was in fact the veritable -Swede. When this was discovered, a general laugh followed the -exclamation from one of the victims, “Well, Barnum has humbugged us -after all!”<a name="page_348" id="page_348"></a></p> - -<p>In passing up the river to Pittsburg, the boat waited four hours to -enable us to give a concert in Wheeling. It was managed by a couple of -gentlemen in that city, who purchased it for five thousand dollars in -advance, by which they made a handsome profit for their trouble. The -concert was given in a church.</p> - -<p>At Pittsburg, the open space surrounding the concert room became crowded -with thousands of persons, who, foolishly refusing to accommodate each -other by listening to the music, disturbed the concert and determined us -to leave the next morning for Baltimore, instead of giving a second -concert that had been advertised.</p> - -<p>Le Grand Smith here paid me off for my “April fool” joke. He induced a -female of his acquaintance to call on me and reveal an arrangement which -she pretended accidentally to have overheard between some scoundrels, -who were resolved to stop our stage coach on the Alleghany mountains and -commit highway robbery. The story seemed incredible, and yet the woman -related it with so much apparent sincerity, that I swallowed the bait, -and remitting to New York all the money I had, except barely enough to -defray our expenses to Baltimore, I purchased several revolvers for such -members of the company as were not already provided, and we left -Pittsburg armed to the teeth! Fortunately, Jenny Lind and several of the -company had left before I made this grand discovery, and hence she was -saved any apprehensions on the subject. It is needless to say we found -no use for our firearms.</p> - -<p>We reached New York early in May, 1851, and gave fourteen concerts in -Castle Garden and Metropolitan Hall. The last of these made the -ninety-second regular<a name="page_349" id="page_349"></a> concert under our engagement. Jenny Lind had now -again reached the atmosphere of her legal and other “advisers,” and I -soon discovered the effects of their influence. I, however, cared little -what course they advised her to pursue. I indeed wished they would -prevail upon her to close with her hundredth concert, for I had become -weary with constant excitement and unremitting exertions. I was -confident that if she undertook to give concerts on her own account, she -would be imposed upon and harassed in a thousand ways; yet I felt it -would be well for her to have a trial at it, if she saw fit to credit -her advisers’ assurance that I had not managed the enterprise as -successfully as it might have been done.</p> - -<p>At about the eighty-fifth concert, therefore, I was most happy to learn -from her lips that she had concluded to pay the forfeiture of -twenty-five thousand dollars, and terminate the concerts with the one -hundredth.</p> - -<p>We went to Philadelphia, where I had advertised the ninety-second, -ninety-third, and ninety-fourth concerts, and had engaged the large -National Theatre on Chestnut Street. It had been used for equestrian and -theatrical entertainments, but was now thoroughly cleansed and fitted up -by Max Maretzek for Italian opera. It was a convenient place for our -purpose. One of her “advisers,” a subordinate in her employ, who was -already itching for the position of manager, made the selection of this -building a pretext for creating dissatisfaction in the mind of Miss -Lind. I saw the influences which were at work, and not caring enough for -the profits of the remaining seven concerts, to continue the engagement -at the risk of disturbing the friendly feelings which had hitherto -uninterruptedly existed between<a name="page_350" id="page_350"></a> that lady and myself, I wrote her a -letter offering to relinquish the engagement, if she desired it, at the -termination of the concert which was to take place that evening, upon -her simply allowing me a thousand dollars per concert for the seven -which would yet remain to make up the hundred, besides paying me the sum -stipulated as a forfeiture for closing the engagement at the -one-hundredth concert. Towards evening I received the following reply:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="nind"> -“<span class="smcap">To P. T. Barnum, Esq.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">My Dear Sir:</span>—I accept your proposition to close our contract -to-night, at the end of the ninety-third concert, on condition of -my paying you seven thousand dollars, in addition to the sum I -forfeit under the condition of finishing the engagement at the end -of one hundred concerts.</p> - -<p class="c"> -“I am, dear Sir, yours truly,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">Jenny Lind</span>,<br /> -</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Philadelphia,</span> 9th of June, 1851.”</p></div> - -<p>I met her at the concert in the evening, and she was polite and friendly -as ever. Between the first and second parts of the concert, I introduced -General Welch, the lessee of the National Theatre, who informed her that -he was quite willing to release me from my engagement of the building, -if she did not desire it longer. She replied, that upon trial, she found -it much better than she expected, and she would therefore retain it for -the remainder of the concerts.</p> - -<p>In the mean time, her advisers had been circulating the story that I had -compelled her to sing in an improper place, and when they heard she had -concluded to remain there, they beset her with arguments against it, -until at last she consented to remove her concerts to a smaller hall.</p> - -<p>I had thoroughly advertised the three concerts, in the newspapers within -a radius of one hundred miles from Philadelphia, and had sent admission -tickets to the editors.<a name="page_351" id="page_351"></a> On the day of the second concert, one of the -new agents, who had indirectly aided in bringing about the dissolution -of our engagement, refused to recognize these tickets. I urged upon him -the injustice of such a course, but received no satisfaction. I then -stated the fact to Miss Lind, and she gave immediate orders that these -tickets should be received. Country editors’ tickets, which were offered -after I left Philadelphia, were however refused by her agents (contrary -to Miss Lind’s wish and knowledge), and the editors, having come from a -distance with their wives, purchased tickets, and I subsequently -remitted the money to numerous gentlemen, whose complimentary tickets -were thus repudiated.</p> - -<p>Jenny Lind gave several concerts with varied success, and then retired -to Niagara Falls, and afterwards to Northampton, Massachusetts. While -sojourning at the latter place, she visited Boston and was married to -Mr. Otto Goldschmidt, a German composer and pianist, to whom she was -much attached, and who had studied music with her in Germany. He played -several times in our concerts. He was a very quiet, inoffensive -gentleman, and an accomplished musician.</p> - -<p>I met her several times after our engagement terminated. She was always -affable. On one occasion, while passing through Bridgeport, she told me -that she had been sadly harassed in giving her concerts. “People cheat -me and swindle me very much,” said she, “and I find it very annoying to -give concerts on my own account.”</p> - -<p>I was always 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<a name="page_352" id="page_352"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>“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 I have all the money which I shall ever need.” Pursuant to this -resolution, the larger portion of the concerts which this noble lady has -given since her return to Europe, have been for objects of benevolence.</p> - -<p>If she consents to sing for a charitable object in London, for instance, -the fact is not advertised at all, but the tickets are readily disposed -of in a private quiet way, at a guinea and half a guinea each.</p> - -<p>After so many months of anxiety, labor and excitement, in the Jenny Lind -enterprise, it will readily be believed that I desired tranquility. I -spent a week at Cape May, and then came home to Iranistan, where I -remained during the entire summer.<a name="page_353" id="page_353"></a></p> - -<p class="c">JENNY LIND CONCERTS.</p> - -<p class="c">TOTAL RECEIPTS, EXCEPTING OF CONCERTS DEVOTED TO CHARITY.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:90%;"> - -<tr><td align="right">—</td><td align="right">—</td><td align="right">New York,</td><td align="right">$17,864 05</td><td rowspan="49" valign="top">No.</td><td align="right">46.</td><td align="right">Havana,</td><td align="right">$2,931 95</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">—</td><td align="right">—</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">14,203 03</td><td align="right">47.</td><td align="right">New Orleans,</td><td align="right">12,599 85</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right"> </td><td align="right">————</td><td align="right">48.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">10,210 42</td></tr> - -<tr><td rowspan="46" valign="top">No.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">1.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">12,519 59</td><td align="right">49.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">8,131 15</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">2.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">14,266 09</td><td align="right">50.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,019 85</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">3.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">12,174 74</td><td align="right">51.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,644 00</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">4.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">16,028 39</td><td align="right">52.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">9,720 80</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">5.</td><td align="left">Boston,</td><td align="right">16,479 50</td><td align="right">53.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">7,545 50</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">6.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">11,848 62</td><td align="right">54.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,053 50</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">7.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">8,639 92</td><td align="right">55.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">4,850 25</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">8.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">10,169 25</td><td align="right">56.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">4,495 35</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">9.</td><td align="left">Providence,</td><td align="right">6,525 54</td><td align="right">57.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,630 35</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">10.</td><td align="left">Boston,</td><td align="right">10,524 87</td><td align="right">58.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">4,745 10</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">11.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">5,240 00</td><td align="right">59.</td><td align="left">Natchez,</td><td align="right">5,000 00</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">12.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">7,586 00</td><td align="right">60.</td><td align="left">Memphis,</td><td align="right">4,539 56</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">13.</td><td align="left">Philadelphia,</td><td align="right">9,291 25</td><td align="right">61.</td><td align="left">St. Louis,</td><td align="right">7,811 85</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">14.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">7,547 00</td><td align="right">62.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">7,961 92</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">15.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">8,458 65</td><td align="right">63.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">7,708 70</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">16.</td><td align="left">New York,</td><td align="right">6,415 90</td><td align="right">64.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">4,086 50</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">17.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">4,009 70</td><td align="right">65.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">3,044 70</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">18.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">5,982 00</td><td align="right">66.</td><td align="left">Nashville,</td><td align="right">7,786 30</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">19.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">8,007 10</td><td align="right">67.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">4,248 00</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">20.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,334 20</td><td align="right">68.</td><td align="left">Louisville,</td><td align="right">7,833 90</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">21.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">9,429 15</td><td align="right">69.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,595 60</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">22.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">9,912 17</td><td align="right">70.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">5,000 00</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">23.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">5,773 40</td><td align="right">71.</td><td align="left">Madison,</td><td align="right">3,693 25</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">24.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">4,993 50</td><td align="right">72.</td><td align="left">Cincinnati,</td><td align="right">9,339 75</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">25.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,670 15</td><td align="right">73.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">11,001 50</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">26.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">9,840 33</td><td align="right">74.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">8,446 30</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">27.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">7,097 15</td><td align="right">75.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">8,954 18</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">28.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">8,263 30</td><td align="right">76.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,500 40</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">29.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">10,570 25</td><td align="right">77.</td><td align="left">Wheeling,</td><td align="right">5,000 00</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">30.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">10,646 45</td><td align="right">78.</td><td align="left">Pittsburg,</td><td align="right">7,210 58</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">31.</td><td align="left">Philadelphia,</td><td align="right">5,480 75</td><td align="right">79.</td><td align="left">New York,</td><td align="right">6,858 42</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">32.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">5,728 65</td><td align="right">80.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">5,453 00</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">33.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">3,709 88</td><td align="right">81.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">5,463 70</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">34.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">4,815 48</td><td align="right">82.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">7,378 35</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">35.</td><td align="left">Baltimore,</td><td align="right">7,117 00</td><td align="right">83.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">7,179 27</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">36.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">8,357 05</td><td align="right">84.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,641 00</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">37.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">8,406 50</td><td align="right">85.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,917 13</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">38.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">8,121 33</td><td align="right">86.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,642 04</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">39.</td><td align="left">Washington City,</td><td align="right">6,878 55</td><td align="right">87.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">3,738 75</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">40.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">8,507 05</td><td align="right">88.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">4,335 28</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">41.</td><td align="left">Richmond,</td><td align="right">12,385 21</td><td align="right">89.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">5,339 23</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">42.</td><td align="left">Charleston,</td><td align="right">6,775 00</td><td align="right">90.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">4,087 03</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">43.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">3,653 75</td><td align="right">91.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">5,717 00</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">44.</td><td align="left">Havana,</td><td align="right">4,666 17</td><td align="right">92.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">9,525 80</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">45.</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">2,837 92</td><td align="right">93.</td><td align="left">Philadelphia,</td><td align="right">3,852 75</td></tr> -</table> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Charity Concerts.</span>—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.</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_354" id="page_354"></a></p> - -<p class="c"> -RECAPITULATION.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:90%;"><tr><td>New York</td><td align="right">35</td><td align="right">Concerts.</td><td align="right">Receipts,</td><td align="right">$286,216 64</td><td align="right">Average,</td><td align="right">$8,177 50</td></tr> -<tr><td>Philadelphia</td><td align="right">8</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">48,884 41</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,110 55</td></tr> -<tr><td>Boston</td><td align="right">7</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">70,388 16</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">10,055 45</td></tr> -<tr><td>Providence</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,525 54</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,525 54</td></tr> -<tr><td>Baltimore</td><td align="right">4</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">32,101 88</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">8,000 47</td></tr> -<tr><td>Washington</td><td align="right">2</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">15,385 60</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">7,692 80</td></tr> -<tr><td>Richmond</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">12,385 21</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">12,385 21</td></tr> -<tr><td>Charleston</td><td align="right">2</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">10,428 75</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">5,214 37</td></tr> -<tr><td>Havana</td><td align="right">3</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">10,436 04</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">3,478 68</td></tr> -<tr><td>New Orleans</td><td align="right">12</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">87,646 12</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">7,303 84</td></tr> -<tr><td>Natchez</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">5,000 00</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">5,000 00</td></tr> -<tr><td>Memphis</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">4,539 56</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">4,539 56</td></tr> -<tr><td>St. Louis</td><td align="right">5</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">30,613 67</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,122 73</td></tr> -<tr><td>Nashville</td><td align="right">2</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">12,034 30</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,017 15</td></tr> -<tr><td>Louisville</td><td align="right">3</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">19,429 50</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">6,476 50</td></tr> -<tr><td>Madison</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">3,693 25</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">3,693 25</td></tr> -<tr><td>Cincinnati</td><td align="right">5</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">44,242 13</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">8,848 43</td></tr> -<tr><td>Wheeling</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">5,000 00</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">5,000 00</td></tr> -<tr><td>Pittsburg</td><td align="right">1</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">7,210 58</td><td align="center">“</td><td align="right">7,210 58</td></tr> -<tr><td>Total</td><td align="right" class="bt">95</td> -<td align="right">Concerts.</td><td align="right">Receipts,</td> -<td align="right" class="bt">$712,161 34</td> -<td align="right">Average,</td> -<td align="right" class="bt">$7,496 43</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="c">JENNY LIND’S RECEIPTS.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1" summary="" -style="margin:auto auto;max-width:80%;"> - -<tr><td colspan="2" class="hang">From the Total Receipts of Ninety-five Concerts</td><td align="right" valign="bottom">$712,161 34</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="hang">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</td><td align="right" valign="bottom">32,067 08</td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2">Total Receipts of Concerts from No. 1 to No. 93</td><td align="right" valign="bottom" class="bt">$680,094 26</td></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang">Deduct the receipts of the 28 Concerts, -each of which fell short of $5,500</td><td align="right" valign="bottom">$123,311 15</td><td> </td></tr> - -<tr><td class="hang">Also deduct $5,500 for each of the -remaining 65 Concerts</td><td align="right" valign="bottom">357,500 00 -</td><td align="right" valign="bottom">480,811 15</td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="1"> Leaving the total excess, as above</td><td class="bt"> </td><td align="right" class="bt" valign="bottom">$199,283 11</td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="3">Being equally divided, Miss Lind’s portion was</td><td align="right" valign="bottom">$99,641 55</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="3">I paid her $1,000 for each of the 93 Concerts</td><td align="right" valign="bottom">93,000 00</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="3">Also one half the receipts of the first two Concerts</td><td align="right" valign="bottom">16,033 54</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="3"> Amount paid to Jenny Lind</td><td align="right" valign="bottom" class="bt">$208,675 09</td></tr> - -<tr><td colspan="2" class="hang">She refunded to me as forfeiture, per contract, in case she withdrew after the 100th Concert</td><td valign="bottom" align="right">$25,000</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="hang">She also paid me $1,000 each for the seven Concerts relinquished</td><td align="right">7,000</td><td valign="bottom" align="right">32,000 00</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2" class="hang"><span class="smcap">Jenny Lind’s</span> net avails of 95 Concerts</td><td class="bt"> </td><td valign="bottom" align="right" class="bt">$176,675 09</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="3" class="hang">P. T. Barnum’s gross receipts, after paying Miss Lind</td><td valign="bottom" align="right">535,486 25</td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="3"> <span class="smcap">Total Receipts</span> of 95 Concerts</td><td valign="bottom" align="right" class="bt">$712,161 34</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="smcap">Price of Tickets.</span>—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. I cannot now recall the names of the last two. 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.<a name="page_355" id="page_355"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.<br /><br /> -<small>OTHER ENTERPRISES.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">ANOTHER VENTURE—“BARNUM’S GREAT ASIATIC CARAVAN, MUSEUM AND -MENAGERIE”—HUNTING ELEPHANTS—GENERAL TOM THUMB—ELEPHANT PLOWING -IN CONNECTICUT—CURIOUS QUESTIONS FROM ALL QUARTERS—THE PUBLIC -INTEREST IN MY NOVEL FARMING—HOW MUCH AN ELEPHANT CAN REALLY -“DRAW”—COMMODORE VANDERBILT—DAN DREW—SIDE SHOWS AND VARIOUS -ENTERPRISES—OBSEQUIES OF NAPOLEON—THE CRYSTAL -PALACE—CAMPANALOGIANS—AMERICAN INDIANS IN LONDON—AUTOMATON -SPEAKER—THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON—ATTEMPT TO BUY SHAKESPEARE’S -HOUSE—DISSOLVING VIEWS—THE CHINESE COLLECTION—WONDERFUL SCOTCH -BOYS—SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF DOUBLE SIGHT—THE BATEMAN -CHILDREN—CATHERINE HAYES—IRANISTAN ON FIRE—MY ELDEST DAUGHTER’S -MARRIAGE—BENEFITS FOR THE BRIDGEPORT LIBRARY AND THE MOUNTAIN -GROVE CEMETERY.</p></div> - -<p>W<small>HILE</small> I was managing the Lind concerts, in addition to the American -Museum I had other business matters in operation which were more than -enough to engross my entire attention and which, of course, I was -compelled to commit to the hands of associates and agents.</p> - -<p>In 1849 I had projected a great travelling museum and menagerie, and, as -I had neither time nor inclination to manage such a concern, I induced -Mr. Seth B. Howes, justly celebrated as a “showman,” to join me, and -take the sole charge. Mr. Sherwood E. Stratton, father of General Tom -Thumb, was also admitted to partnership, the interest being in thirds.</p> - -<p>In carrying out a portion of the plan, we chartered the ship “Regatta,” -Captain Pratt, and despatched her, together with our agents, Messrs. -June and Nutter, to Ceylon. The ship left New York in May, 1850, and was -absent one year. Their mission was to procure,<a name="page_356" id="page_356"></a> either by capture or -purchase, twelve or more living elephants, besides such other wild -animals as they could secure. In order to provide sufficient drink and -provender for a cargo of these huge animals, we purchased a large -quantity of hay in New York. Five hundred tons were left at the Island -of St. Helena, to be taken on the return trip of the ship, and staves -and hoops of water-casks were also left at the same place.</p> - -<p>As our agents were unable to purchase the required number of elephants, -either in Columbo or Kandy, the principal towns of the island, (Ceylon,) -they took one hundred and sixty native assistants, and plunged into the -jungles, where, after many most exciting adventures, they succeeded in -securing thirteen elephants of a suitable size for their purpose, with a -female and her calf, or “baby” elephant, only six months old. In the -course of the expedition, Messrs. Nutter and June killed large numbers -of the huge beasts, and had numerous encounters of the most terrific -description with the formidable animals, one of the most fearful of -which took place near Anarajah Poora, while they were endeavoring, by -the aid of the natives and trained elephants, to drive the wild herd of -beasts into an Indian kraal.</p> - -<p>They arrived in New York in 1851 with ten of the elephants, and these, -harnessed in pairs to a chariot, paraded up Broadway past the Irving -House, while Jenny Lind was staying at that hotel, on the occasion of -her second visit to New York. Messrs. Nutter and June also brought with -the elephants a native who was competent to manage and control them. We -added a caravan of wild animals and many museum curiosities,<a name="page_357" id="page_357"></a> the entire -outfit, including horses, vans, carriages, tent, etc., costing $109,000, -and commenced operations, with the presence and under the “patronage” of -General Tom Thumb, who travelled nearly four years as one of the -attractions of “Barnum’s Great Asiatic Caravan, Museum and Menagerie,” -returning us immense profits.</p> - -<p>At the end of that time, after exhibiting in all sections of the -country, we sold out the entire establishment—animals, cages, chariots -and paraphernalia, excepting one elephant, which I retained in my own -possession two months for agricultural purposes. It occurred to me that -if I could put an elephant to plowing for a while on my farm at -Bridgeport, it would be a capital advertisement for the American Museum, -which was then, and always during my proprietorship of that -establishment, foremost in my thoughts.</p> - -<p>So I sent him to Connecticut in charge of his keeper, whom I dressed in -Oriental costume, and keeper and elephant were stationed on a six-acre -lot which lay close beside the track of the New York and New Haven -Railroad. The keeper was furnished with a time-table of the road, with -special instructions to be busily engaged in his work whenever passenger -trains from either way were passing through. Of course, the matter soon -appeared in the papers and went the entire rounds of the press in this -country and even in Europe, and it was everywhere announced that P. T. -Barnum, “Proprietor of the celebrated American Museum in New York”—and -here is where the advertisement came in—had introduced elephants upon -his farm, to do his plowing and heavy draft work. Hundreds of people -came many miles to witness the novel spectacle. Letters poured in upon -me from the secretaries of hundreds of State and<a name="page_358" id="page_358"></a> County agricultural -societies throughout the Union, stating that the presidents and -directors of such societies had requested them to propound to me a -series of questions in regard to the new power I had put in operation on -my farm. These questions were greatly diversified, but the “general run” -of them were something like the following:</p> - -<p>1. “Is the elephant a profitable agricultural animal?”</p> - -<p>2. “How much can an elephant plow in a day?”</p> - -<p>3. “How much can he draw?”</p> - -<p>4. “How much does he eat?”—this question was invariably asked, and was -a very important one.</p> - -<p>5. “Will elephants make themselves generally useful on a farm?” I -suppose some of my inquirers thought the elephant would pick up chips, -or even pins as they have been taught to do, and would rock the baby and -do all the chores, including the occasional carrying of a trunk, other -than his own, to the depot.</p> - -<p>6. “What is the price of an elephant?”</p> - -<p>7. “Where can elephants be purchased?”</p> - -<p>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. I began to be alarmed -lest some one should buy an elephant, and so share the fate of the man -who drew one in a lottery, and did not know what to do with him. I -accordingly 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<a name="page_359" id="page_359"></a></p> - -<p><a name="ELEPHANTINE_AGRICULTURE" id="ELEPHANTINE_AGRICULTURE"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p358_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p358_sml.jpg" width="538" height="357" alt="ELEPHANTINE AGRICULTURE." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ELEPHANTINE AGRICULTURE.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">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 even 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.</p> - -<p>Newspaper reporters came from far and near, and wrote glowing accounts -of the elephantine performances. One of them, taking a political view of -the matter, stated that the elephant’s sagacity showed that he knew more -than did any laborer on the farm, and yet, shameful to say, he was not -allowed to vote. Another said that Barnum’s elephant built all the stone -wall on the farm; made all the rail fences; planted corn with his trunk, -and covered it with his foot; washed my windows and sprinkled the walks -and lawns, by taking water from the fountain-basin with his trunk; -carried all the children to school, and put them to bed at night, -tucking them up with his trunk; fed the pigs; picked fruit from branches -that could not otherwise be reached; turned the fanning mill and -corn-sheller; drew the mowing machine, and turned and cocked the hay -with his trunk; carried and brought my letters to and from the -post-office (it was a male elephant); and did all the chores about the -house, including milking the cows, and bringing in eggs. Pictures of -Barnum’s plowing elephant appeared in illustrated papers at home and -abroad, and as the cars passed the scene of the performance, passengers’ -heads were out of every window, and among many and varied exclamations, -I heard of one man’s saying:<a name="page_360" id="page_360"></a></p> - -<p>“Well, I declare! That is certainly a real elephant and any man who has -so many elephants that he can afford to work them on his farm, must have -lots of wild animals and curious ‘critters’ in his Museum, and I am -bound to go there the first thing after my arrival in New York.”</p> - -<p>The six acres were plowed over at least sixty times before I thought the -advertisement sufficiently circulated, and I then sold the elephant to -Van Amburgh’s Menagerie.</p> - -<p>A substantial farmer friend of mine, Mr. Gideon Thompson, called at -Iranistan during the elephant excitement and asked me to accompany him -to the field to let him see “how the big animal worked.” I knew him to -be a shrewd, sharp man and a good farmer, and I tried to excuse myself, -as I did not wish to be too closely questioned. Indeed, for the same -reason, I made it a point at all times to avoid being present when the -plowing was going on. But the old farmer was a particular friend and he -refused to take “no” for an answer; so I went with him “to see the -elephant.”</p> - -<p>Arriving at the field, Mr. Thompson said nothing, but stood with folded -arms and sedately watched the elephant for at least fifteen minutes. -Then he walked out on to the plowed ground, and found it so mellow that -he sank nearly up to his knees; for it had already been plowed over and -over many times. As usual, several spectators were present. Mr. Thompson -walked up to where I was standing, and, looking me squarely in the eyes, -he asked with much earnestness:</p> - -<p>“What is your object, sir, in bringing that great Asiatic animal on to a -New England farm?”</p> - -<p>“To plow,” I replied very demurely.<a name="page_361" id="page_361"></a></p> - -<p>“To plow!” said Thompson; “don’t talk to me about plowing! I have been -out where he has plowed, and the ground is so soft I thought I should go -through and come out in China. No, sir! You can’t humbug me. You have -got some other object in bringing that elephant up here; now what is -it?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you see for yourself that I am plowing with him?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“Nonsense,” said Thompson “that would never pay; I have no doubt he eats -more than he earns every day; you have some other purpose in view, I am -sure you have.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps he does not eat so much as you think,” I replied; “and you see -he draws nobly—in fact, I expect he will be just the animal by and by, -to draw saw logs to mill, and do other heavy work.”</p> - -<p>But Uncle Gid., was not to be put aside so easily so he asked very -sharply:</p> - -<p>“How much does he eat in a day?”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” I replied carelessly, “not more than a quarter of a ton of hay and -three or four bushels of oats.”</p> - -<p>“Exactly,” said Thompson, his eyes glistening with delight; “that is -just about what I expected. He can’t draw so much as two pair of my oxen -can, and he costs more than a dozen pair.”</p> - -<p>“You are mistaken, friend Thompson,” I replied with much gravity; “that -elephant is a powerful animal; he can draw more than forty yoke of oxen, -and he pays me well for bringing him here.”</p> - -<p>“Forty yoke of oxen!” contemptuously replied the old farmer; “I don’t -want to tell you I doubt your word, but I would just like to know what -he can draw.”<a name="page_362" id="page_362"></a></p> - -<p>“He can draw the attention of twenty millions of American citizens to -Barnum’s Museum,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you can make him pay in that way, of course,” responded the old -farmer.</p> - -<p>“None but a greenhorn could ever have expected he would pay in any other -way,” I replied.</p> - -<p>The old man gave a hearty laugh, and said, “Well, I give it up. I have -been a farmer thirty-five years, and I have only just discovered that an -elephant is a very useful and profitable animal on a farm—provided the -farmer also owns a museum.”</p> - -<p>In 1851 I became a part owner of the steamship “North America.” Our -intention in buying it was to run it to Ireland as a passenger and -freight ship. The project was, however, abandoned, and Commodore -Cornelius Vanderbilt bought one half of the steamer, while the other -half was owned by three persons, of whom I was one. The steamer was sent -around Cape Horn to San Francisco, and was put into the Vanderbilt line.</p> - -<p>After she had made several trips I called upon Mr. Vanderbilt, at his -office, and introduced myself, as this was the first time we had met.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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,<a name="page_363" id="page_363"></a> blowing -off steam, and crying out “all aboard that’s going.”</p> - -<p>“Instead of which,” replied Mr. Vanderbilt, “I suppose you have come to -ask me, ‘to walk up to the Captain’s office and settle.’ ”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>A few months subsequent to this, I sold out my share in the steamship to -Mr. Daniel Drew. The day after closing with Mr. Drew, I discovered an -error of several hundred dollars (a matter of interest on some portion -of the purchase money, which had been overlooked). I called on Mr. Drew, -and asked him to correct it, but could get no satisfaction. I then wrote -him a threatening letter, but received no response. I was on the eve of -suing him for the amount due me, when the news came that the steamship -“North America” was lying at the bottom of the Pacific. It turned out -that she was sunk several days before I sold out, and as the owners were -mulcted in the sum of many thousands of dollars damages by their -passengers, besides suffering a great loss in their steamship, I said no -more to the millionnaire Drew about the few hundreds which he had -withheld from the showman.</p> - -<p>Some reference to the various enterprises and “side shows” connected -with and disconnected from my Museum, is necessary to show how -industriously I have catered for the public’s amusement, not only in -America<a name="page_364" id="page_364"></a> but abroad. When I was in Paris in 1844, in addition to the -purchase of Robert Houdin’s ingenious automaton writer, and many other -costly curiosities for the Museum, I ordered, at an expense of $3,000, a -panoramic diorama of the obsequies of Napoleon. Every event of that -grand pageant, from the embarkation of the body at St. Helena, to its -entombment at the Hotel des Invalides, amid the most gorgeous parade -ever witnessed in France, was wonderfully depicted. This exhibition, -after having had its day at the American Museum, was sold, and -extensively and profitably exhibited elsewhere. While I was in London, -during the same year, I 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.</p> - -<p>As a compensation to England for the loss of the Bell Ringers, I -despatched an agent to America for a party of Indians, including squaws. -He proceeded to Iowa, and returned to London with a company of sixteen. -They were exhibited by Mr. Catlin on our joint account, and were finally -left in his sole charge.</p> - -<p>On my first return visit to America from Europe, I engaged Mr. Faber, an -elderly and ingenious German, who had constructed an automaton speaker. -It was of life-size, and when worked with keys similar to those of a -piano, it really articulated words and sentences with surprising -distinctness. My agent exhibited it for several months in Egyptian Hall, -London, and also in the provinces. This was a marvellous piece of -mechanism,<a name="page_365" id="page_365"></a> though for some unaccountable reason it did not prove a -success. The Duke of Wellington visited it several times, and at first -he thought that the “voice” proceeded from the exhibitor, whom he -assumed to be a skillful 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 exhibitor’s autograph book, and -certified that the “Automaton Speaker” was an extraordinary production -of mechanical genius.</p> - -<p>During my first visit to England I obtained, verbally, through a friend, -the refusal of the house in which Shakespeare was born, designing to -remove it in sections to my Museum in New York; but the project leaked -out, British pride was touched, and several English gentlemen interfered -and purchased the premises for a Shakespearian Association. Had they -slept a few days longer, I should have made a rare speculation, for I -was subsequently assured that the British people, rather than suffer -that house to be removed to America, would have bought me off with -twenty thousand pounds. I did not hesitate to engage, or attempt to -secure anything, at any expense, to please my patrons in the United -States, and I made an effort to transfer Madame Tussaud’s world-wide -celebrated wax-work collection entire to New York. The papers were -actually drawn up for this engagement, but the enterprise finally fell -through.</p> - -<p>The models of machinery exhibited in the Royal Polytechnic Institution -in London, pleased me so well that I procured a duplicate; also -duplicates of the “Dissolving Views,” the Chromatrope and Physioscope, -including<a name="page_366" id="page_366"></a> many American scenes painted expressly to my order, at an -aggregate cost of $7,000. After they had been exhibited in my Museum, -they were sold to itinerant showmen, and some of them were afterwards on -exhibition in various parts of the United States.</p> - -<p>In June 1850, I added the celebrated Chinese Collection to the -attractions of the American Museum. I also engaged the Chinese Family, -consisting of two men, two “small-footed” women and two children. My -agent exhibited them in London during the World’s Fair. It may be stated -here, that I subsequently sent to London the celebrated artist De Lamano -to paint a panorama of the Crystal Palace, in which the World’s Fair was -held, and Colonel John S. Dusolle, an able and accomplished editor, whom -I sent with De Lamano, wrote an accompanying descriptive lecture. Like -most panoramas, however, the exhibition proved a failure.</p> - -<p>The giants whom I sent to America were not the greatest of my -curiosities, though the dwarfs might have been the least. The “Scotch -Boys” were interesting, not so much on account of their weight, as for -the mysterious method by which one of them, though blindfolded, answered -questions put by the other respecting 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:</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_367" id="page_367"></a> 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. This is the key -to all exhibitions of what is called “second sight.”</p> - -<p>In 1850, the celebrated Bateman children acted for several weeks at the -American Museum and in June of that year I 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 very head -of her profession.</p> - -<p>In October, 1852, having stipulated with Mr. George A. Wells and Mr. -Bushnell that they should share in the enterprise and take the entire -charge, I engaged Miss Catherine Hayes and Herr Begnis to give a series -of sixty concerts in California, and the engagement was fulfilled to our -entire satisfaction. Mr. Bushnell afterwards went to Australia with Miss -Hayes and they were subsequently married. Both of them are dead.</p> - -<p>Before setting out for California, Miss Catherine Hayes, her mother and -sister spent several days at Iranistan and were present at the marriage -of my eldest daughter, Caroline, to Mr. David W. Thompson. The wedding -was to take place in the evening, and in the afternoon I was getting -shaved in a barber-shop in<a name="page_368" id="page_368"></a> Bridgeport, when Mr. Thompson drove up to -the door in great haste and exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, Iranistan is in flames!”</p> - -<p>I ran out half-shaved, with the lather on my face, jumped into his wagon -and bade him drive home with all speed. I was greatly alarmed, 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 that he had seen the flames bursting from the roof and it seemed -to me that there was little hope of saving the building.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_369" id="page_369"></a></p> - -<p><a name="MOUNTAIN_GROVE_CEMETERY" id="MOUNTAIN_GROVE_CEMETERY"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p368_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p368_sml.jpg" width="375" height="545" alt="MOUNTAIN GROVE CEMETERY." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">MOUNTAIN GROVE CEMETERY.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">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.</p> - -<p>While Miss Hayes was in Bridgeport I induced her to give a concert for -the benefit of the “Mountain Grove Cemetery,” and the large proceeds -were devoted to the erection of the beautiful stone tower and gateway at -the entrance of that charming ground. The land for this cemetery, about -eighty acres, had been bought by me, years before, from several farmers. -I had often shot over the ground while hunting a year or two before, and -had then seen its admirable capabilities for the purpose to which it was -eventually devoted. After 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 my own substantial granite monument, the -family monuments of Harral, Bishop, Hubbell, Lyon, Wood, Loomis, Wordin, -Hyde, and others, and General Tom Thumb has 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<a name="page_370" id="page_370"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>Some time afterwards, when Mr. Dion Boucicault visited me at Bridgeport, -at my solicitation he gave a lecture for the benefit of this cemetery. I -may add that on several occasions I have secured the services of General -Tom Thumb and others for this and equally worthy objects in Bridgeport. -When the General first returned with me from England, he gave -exhibitions for the benefit of the Bridgeport Charitable Society. -September 28, 1867, I induced him and his wife, with Commodore Nutt and -Minnie Warren to give their entertainment for the benefit of the -Bridgeport Library, thus adding $475 to the funds of that institution; -and on one occasion I lectured to a full house in the Methodist Church, -and the entire receipts were given to the library, of which I was -already a life member, on account of previous subscriptions and -contributions.<a name="page_371" id="page_371"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.<br /><br /> -<small>WORK AND PLAY.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">ALFRED BUNN, OF DRURY LANE THEATRE—AMUSING INTERVIEW—MR. LEVY, OF -THE LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH—VACATIONS AT HOME—MY PRESIDENCY OF THE -FAIRFIELD COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY—EXHIBITING A -PICKPOCKET—PHILOSOPHY OF HUMBUG—A CHOP-FALLEN TICKET-SELLER—A -PROMPT PAYMASTER—BARNUM IN BOSTON—A DELUDED HACK -DRIVER—PHILLIPS’S FIRE ANNIHILATOR—HONORABLE ELISHA -WHITTLESEY—TRIAL OF THE ANNIHILATOR IN NEW YORK—PEQUONNOCK BANK -OF BRIDGEPORT—THE ILLUSTRATED NEWS—THE WORLD’S FAIR IN NEW -YORK—MY PRESIDENCY OF THE ASSOCIATION—ATTEMPT TO EXCITE PUBLIC -INTEREST—MONSTER JULLIEN CONCERTS—RESIGNATION OF THE CRYSTAL -PALACE PRESIDENCY—FAILURE OF THE CONCERN.</p></div> - -<p>I<small>N</small> the summer, I think, of 1853, I saw it announced in the newspapers -that Mr. Alfred Bunn, the great ex-manager of Drury Lane Theatre, in -London, had arrived in Boston. Of course, I knew Mr. Bunn by reputation, -not only from his managerial career, but from the fact that he made the -first engagement with Jenny Lind to appear in London. This engagement, -however, Mr. Lumley, of Her Majesty’s Theatre, induced her to break, he -standing a lawsuit with Mr. Bunn, and paying heavy damages. I had never -met Mr. Bunn, but he took it for granted that I had seen him, for one -day after his arrival in this country, a burly Englishman abruptly -stepped into my private office in the Museum, and assuming a theatrical -attitude, addressed me:</p> - -<p>“Barnum, do you remember me?”<a name="page_372" id="page_372"></a></p> - -<p>I was confident I had never seen the man before, but it struck me at -once that no Englishman I ever heard of would be likely to exhibit more -presumption or assumption than the ex-manager of Drury Lane, and I -jumped at the conclusion:</p> - -<p>“Is not this Mr. Bunn?”</p> - -<p>“Ah! Ah! my boy!” he exclaimed, slapping me familiarly on the back, “I -thought you would remember me. Well, Barnum, how have you been since I -last saw you?”</p> - -<p>I replied in a manner that would humor his impression that we were old -acquaintances, and during his two hours’ visit we had much gossip about -men and things in London. He called upon me several times, and it -probably never entered into his mind that I could possibly have been in -London two or three years without having made the personal acquaintance -of so great a lion as Alfred Bunn.</p> - -<p>I met Mr. Bunn again in 1858, in London, at a dinner party of a mutual -friend, Mr. Levy, proprietor of the London Daily Telegraph. Of course, -Bunn and I were great chums and very old and intimate acquaintances. At -the same dinner, I met several literary and dramatic gentlemen.</p> - -<p>In 1851, 1852, and 1853, I spent much of my time at my beautiful home in -Bridgeport, going very frequently to New York, to attend to matters in -the Museum, but remaining in the city only a day or two at a time. I -resigned the office of President of the Fairfield County Agricultural -Society in 1853, but the members accepted my resignation, only on -condition that it should not go into effect until after the fair of -1854. During my administration, the society held six fairs and<a name="page_373" id="page_373"></a> -cattle-shows,—four in Bridgeport and two in Stamford,—and the interest -in these gatherings increased from year to year.</p> - -<p>Pickpockets are always present at these country fairs, and every year -there were loud complaints of the depredations of these operators. In -1853 a man was caught in the act of taking a pocket-book from a country -farmer, nor was this farmer the only one who had suffered in the same -way. The scamp was arrested, and proved to be a celebrated English -pickpocket. As the Fair would close the next day, and as most persons -had already visited it, we expected our receipts would be light.</p> - -<p>Early in the morning the detected party was legally examined, plead -guilty, and was bound over for trial. I obtained consent from the -sheriff that the culprit should be put in the Fair room for the purpose -of giving those who had been robbed an opportunity to identify him. For -this purpose he was handcuffed, and placed in a conspicuous position, -where of course he was “the observed of all observers.” I then issued -handbills, stating that as it was the last day of the Fair, the managers -were happy to announce that they had secured extra attractions for the -occasion, and would accordingly exhibit, safely handcuffed, and without -extra charge, a live pickpocket, who had been caught in the act of -robbing an honest farmer the day previous. Crowds of people rushed in -“to see the show.” Some good mothers brought their children ten miles -for that purpose, and our treasury was materially benefited by the -operation.</p> - -<p>At the close of my presidency in 1854, I was requested to deliver the -opening speech at our County Fair, which<a name="page_374" id="page_374"></a> was held at Stamford. As I was -not able to give agricultural advice, I delivered a portion of my -lecture on the “Philosophy of Humbug.” The next morning, as I 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.</p> - -<p>“What kind of a house did you have last night?” asked one of the -gentlemen in waiting.</p> - -<p>“Oh, first-rate, of course. Barnum always draws a crowd,” was the reply -of the ticket-seller, to whom I was not known.</p> - -<p>Most of the gentlemen present, however, knew me, and they found much -difficulty in restraining their laughter.</p> - -<p>“Did Barnum make a good speech?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Barnum must be a curious chap,” I remarked.</p> - -<p>“Well, I guess he is up to all the dodges.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know him?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“Not personally,” he replied; “but I always get into the Museum for -nothing. I know the doorkeeper, and he slips me in free.”</p> - -<p>“Barnum would not like that, probably, if he knew it,” I remarked.</p> - -<p>“But it happens he don’t know it,” replied the ticket-seller, in great -glee.</p> - -<p>“Barnum was on the cars the other day, on his way to Bridgeport,” said -I, “and I heard one of the passengers<a name="page_375" id="page_375"></a> 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.”</p> - -<p>“I should think so, too,” said the ticket-seller.</p> - -<p>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 chap-fallen that I did not pretend to recognize -him as the hero of the joke in the barber’s shop.</p> - -<p>This incident reminds me of numerous similar ones which have occurred at -various times. On one occasion—it was in 1847—I was on board the -steamboat from New York to Bridgeport. As we approached the harbor of -the latter city, a stranger desired me to point out “Barnum’s house” -from the upper deck. I did so, whereupon a bystander remarked, “I know -all about that house, for I was engaged in painting there for several -months while Barnum was in Europe.” He then proceeded to say that it was -the meanest and most ill-contrived house he ever saw. “It will cost old -Barnum a mint of money, and not be worth two cents after it is -finished,” he added.</p> - -<p>“I suppose old Barnum don’t pay very punctually,” I remarked.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, he pays punctually every Saturday night—there’s no trouble -about that; he has made half a million by exhibiting a little boy whom -he took from Bridgeport,<a name="page_376" id="page_376"></a> and whom we never considered any great shakes -till Barnum took him and trained him.”</p> - -<p>Soon afterwards one of the passengers told him who I was, whereupon he -secreted himself, and was not seen again while I remained on the boat.</p> - -<p>On another occasion, 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.</p> - -<p>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;</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_377" id="page_377"></a> time -this week, it will be as much as I have a right to expect.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“What Barnum is it?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“The Museum and Jenny Lind man,” he replied.</p> - -<p>The compliment and the shave both having been intended for me, I was of -course mollified, and replied, “You are mistaken, my friend, <i>I</i> am -Barnum.”</p> - -<p>“Coachee” was thunderstruck, and offered all sorts of apologies.</p> - -<p>“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.” -I had to be satisfied.</p> - -<p>Late in August, 1851, I was visited at Bridgeport by a gentleman who was -interested in an English invention patented in this country, and known -as Phillips’ Fire Annihilator. He showed me a number of certificates -from men of eminence and trustworthiness in England, setting forth the -merits of the invention in the highest terms. The principal value of the -machine seemed to consist in its power to extinguish flame, and thus -prevent the spread of fire when it once broke out. Besides, the steam or -vapor generated in the Annihilator was not prejudicial to human life. -Now, as water has no effect whatever upon flame, it was obvious that the -Annihilator would at the least prove a great <i>assistant</i> in -extinguishing<a name="page_378" id="page_378"></a> conflagrations, and that, especially in the incipient -stage of a fire, it would extinguish it altogether, without damage to -goods or other property, as is usually the case with water.</p> - -<p>Hon. Elisha Whittlesey, First Comptroller of the United States Treasury -at Washington, was interested in the American patent, and the gentleman -that called upon me desired that I should also take an interest in it. I -had no disposition to engage in any speculation; but, believing this -might prove a beneficent invention, and be the means of saving a vast -amount of human life as well as property, I visited Washington City for -the purpose of conferring with Mr. Whittlesey, Hon. J. W. Allen and -other parties interested.</p> - -<p>I was there shown numerous certificates of fires having been -extinguished by the machine in Great Britain, and property to the amount -of many thousands of pounds saved. I also saw that Lord Brougham had -proposed in Parliament that every Government vessel should be compelled -to have the Fire Annihilator on board. Mr. Whittlesey expressed his -belief in writing, that “if there is any reliance to be placed on human -testimony, it is one of the greatest discoveries of this most -extraordinary age.” I fully agreed with him, and have never yet seen -occasion to change that opinion.</p> - -<p>I agreed to join in the enterprise. Mr. Whittlesey was elected -President, and I was appointed Secretary and General Agent of the -Company. I opened the office of the Company in New York, and sold and -engaged machines and territory in a few months to the amount of -$180,000. I refused to receive more than a small portion of the purchase -money until a public experiment had tested the powers of the machine, -and<a name="page_379" id="page_379"></a> I voluntarily delivered to every purchaser an agreement, signed by -myself, in the following words:</p> - -<p>“If the public test and demonstration are not perfectly successful, I -will at any time when demanded, within ten days after the public trial, -refund and pay back every shilling that has been paid into this office -for machines or territory for the sale of the patent.”</p> - -<p>The public trial came off in Hamilton Square on the 18th December, 1851. -It was an exceedingly cold and inclement day. Mr. Phillips, who -conducted the experiment, was interfered with and knocked down by some -rowdies who were opposed to the invention, and the building was ignited -and consumed after he had extinguished the previous fire. Subsequently -to this unexpected and unjust opposition, I refunded every cent which I -had received, sometimes against the wishes of those who had purchased, -for they were willing to wait the result of further experiments; but I -was utterly disgusted with the course of a large portion of the public -upon a subject in which they were much more deeply interested than I -was.</p> - -<p>The arrangements of the Annihilator Company with Mr. Phillips, the -inventor, predicated all payments which he was to receive on <i>bona fide</i> -sales which we should actually make; therefore he really received -nothing, and the entire losses of the American Company, which were -merely for advertising and the expense of trying the experiments, hire -of an office, etc., amounted to nearly $30,000, of which my portion was -less than $10,000.</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1851 the Connecticut Legislature chartered the -Pequonnock Bank of Bridgeport, with a capital of two hundred thousand -dollars. I had no<a name="page_380" id="page_380"></a> interest whatever in the charter, and did not even -know that an application was to be made for it. More banking capital was -needed in Bridgeport in consequence of the great increase of trade and -manufactures in that growing and prosperous city, and this fact -appearing in evidence, the charter was granted as a public benefit. The -stock-books were opened under the direction of State Commissioners, -according to the laws of the Commonwealth, and nearly double the amount -of capital was subscribed on the first day. The stock was distributed by -the Commissioners among several hundred applicants. Circumstances -unexpectedly occurred which induced me to accept the presidency of the -bank, in compliance with the unanimous vote of its directors. Feeling -that I could not, from my many avocations, devote the requisite personal -attention to the duties of the office, C. B. Hubbell, Esq., then Mayor -of Bridgeport, was at my request appointed Vice-President of the -institution.</p> - -<p>In the fall of 1852 a proposition was made by certain parties to -commence the publication of an illustrated weekly newspaper in the City -of New York. The field seemed to be open for such an enterprise, and I -invested twenty thousand dollars in the concern, as special partner, in -connection with two other gentlemen, who each contributed twenty -thousand dollars, as general partners. Within a month after the -publication of the first number of the <i>Illustrated News</i>, which was -issued on the first day of January, 1853, our weekly circulation had -reached seventy thousand. Numerous and almost insurmountable -difficulties, for novices in the business, continued however to arise, -and my partners becoming weary and disheartened with constant -over-exertion, were anxious to wind up the enterprise at the end of<a name="page_381" id="page_381"></a> the -first year. The good-will and the engravings were sold to <i>Gleasons -Pictorial</i>, in Boston, and the concern was closed without loss.</p> - -<p>In 1851, when the idea of opening a World’s Fair in New York was first -broached, I was waited upon by Mr. Riddell and the other originators of -the scheme, and invited to join in getting it up. I declined, giving as -a reason that such a project was, in my opinion, premature. I felt that -it was following quite too closely upon its London prototype, and -assured the projectors that I could see in it nothing but certain loss. -The plan, however, was carried out, and a charter obtained from the New -York Legislature. The building was erected on a plot of ground upon -Reservoir Square, leased to the association, by the City of New York, -for one dollar per annum. The location, being four miles distant from -the City Hall, was enough of itself to kill the enterprise. The stock -was readily taken up, however, and the Crystal Palace opened to the -public in July, 1853. Many thousands of strangers were brought to New -York, and however disastrous the enterprise may have proved to the -stockholders, it is evident that the general prosperity of the city has -been promoted far beyond the entire cost of the whole speculation.</p> - -<p>In February, 1854, numerous stockholders applied to me to accept the -Presidency of the Crystal Palace, or, as it was termed, “The Association -for the Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations.” I utterly declined -listening to such a project, as I felt confident that the novelty had -passed away, and that it would be difficult to revive public interest in -the affair.</p> - -<p>Shortly afterwards, however, I was waited upon by numerous influential -gentlemen, and strongly urged to<a name="page_382" id="page_382"></a> allow my name to be used. I repeatedly -objected to this, and at last consented, much against my own judgment. -Having been elected one of the directors, I was by that body chosen -President. I accepted the office conditionally, reserving the right to -decline if I thought, upon investigation, that there was no vitality -left in the institution. Upon examining the accounts said to exist -against the Association, many were pronounced indefensible by those who -I supposed knew the facts in the case, while various debts existing -against the concern were not exhibited when called for, and I knew -nothing of their existence until after I accepted the office of -President. I finally accepted it, only because no suitable person could -be found who was willing to devote his entire time and services to the -enterprise, and because I was frequently urged by directors and -stockholders to take hold of it for the benefit of the city at large, -inasmuch as it was well settled that the Palace would be permanently -closed early in April, 1854, if I did not take the helm.</p> - -<p>These considerations moved me, and I entered upon my duties with all the -vigor which I could command. To save it from bankruptcy, I advanced -large sums of money for the payment of debts, and tried by every -legitimate means to create an excitement and bring it into life. By -extraneous efforts, such as the Re-inauguration, the Monster Concerts of -Jullien, the Celebration of Independence, etc., it was temporarily -galvanized, and gave several life-like kicks, generally without material -results, except prostrating those who handled it too familiarly; but it -was a corpse long before I touched it, and I found, after a thorough -trial, that my first impression was correct, and that so far as my -ability was concerned,<a name="page_383" id="page_383"></a> “the dead could not be raised.” I therefore -resigned the presidency and the concern soon went into liquidation.</p> - -<p>In 1854, my esteemed friend, Reverend Moses Ballou, wrote, and Redfield, -of New York, published a volume entitled “The Divine Character -Vindicated” in which he reviewed some of the principal features of a -work by the Rev. E. Beecher, brother of Henry Ward Beecher, “The -Conflict of Ages; or, the Great Debate on the Moral Relations of God and -Man.” The dedication in Rev. Mr. Ballou s volume was as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="nind"> -To <span class="smcap">P. T. Barnum, Esq., Iranistan</span>.<br /> -</p> - -<p><i>My Dear B.</i>:—I am more deeply indebted to you for personal favors -than to any other living man, and I feel that it is but a poor -acknowledgment to beg your acceptance of this volume. Still, I know -that you will value it somewhat, not only for the sake of our -personal friendship, but because it is an advocate of that -interpretation of Christianity of which you have ever been a most -generous and devoted patron. With renewed assurances of my best -regards,</p> - -<p class="c"> -I am, yours, always,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="r"> -M. B.<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Bridgeport</span>, January 22, 1854.</p></div> - -<p>The following trifling incident which occurred at Iranistan in the -winter of 1852, has been called to my mind by a lady friend from -Philadelphia, who was visiting us at the time. The poem was sent to me -soon after the occurrence, but was lost and the subject forgotten until -my Philadelphia friend recently sent it to me with the wish that I -should insert it in the present volume:</p> - -<p class="c">WINTER BOUQUETS.</p> - -<p class="c"><small><span class="smcap">An Incident in the life of an American Citizen.</span></small></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">The</span> poor man’s garden lifeless lay<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Beneath a fall of snow;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But Art in costly greenhouses,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Keeps Summer in full glow.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And Taste paid gold for bright bouquets,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The parlor vase that drest,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That scented Fashion’s gay boudoir,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Or bloomed on Beauty’s breast.<a name="page_384" id="page_384"></a><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">A rich man sat beside the fire,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Within his sculptured halls;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Brave heart, clear head, and busy hand,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Had reared those stately walls.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He to his gardener spake, and said<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In tone of quiet glee—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“I want a hundred fine bouquets—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Canst make them, John, for me?”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">John’s eyes became exceeding round,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">This question when he heard;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He gazed upon his master,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And he answered not a word.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Well, John,” the rich man laughing said,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">“If these too many be,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">What sayest to half the number, man?<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Canst fifty make for me?”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Now John prized every flower, as ’twere<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A daughter or a son;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And thought, like Regan—“what the need<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of fifty, or of one?”<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But keeping back the thought, he said,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">“I think, sir, that I might;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But it would leave my lady’s flowers<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In very ragged plight.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Well, John, thy vegetable pets<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Must needs respected be;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">We’ll halve the number once again—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Make twenty-five for me.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And hark ye, John, when they are made<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Come up and let me know;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And I’ll give thee a list of those<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To whom the flowers must go.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">The twenty-five bouquets were made,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And round the village sent;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And to whom thinkest thou, my friend,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">These floral jewels went?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Not to the beautiful and proud—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Not to the rich and gay—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who, Dives-like, at Luxury’s feast<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Are seated every day.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">An aged Pastor, on his desk<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Saw those fair preachers stand;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A Widow wept upon the gift,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And blessed the giver’s hand.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Where Poverty bent o’er her task,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">They cheered the lonely room;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And round the bed where Sickness lay,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">They breathed Health’s fresh perfume.<a name="page_385" id="page_385"></a><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Oh! kindly heart and open hand—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Those flowers in dust are trod,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">But they bloom to weave a wreath for thee,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">In the Paradise of God.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Sweet is the Minstrel’s task, whose song<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Of deeds like these may tell;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And long may he have power to give,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Who wields that power so well!<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Mrs. Anna Bache.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Philadelphia.</span><a name="page_386" id="page_386"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a>CHAPTER XXV.<br /><br /> -<small>THE JEROME CLOCK COMPANY ENTANGLEMENT.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">THE EAST BRIDGEPORT ENTERPRISE—W. H. NOBLE—PLANS FOR A NEW -CITY—DR. TIMOTHY DWIGHT’S TESTIMONY—INVESTING A FORTUNE—SELLING -CITY LOTS—MONEY MAKING A SECONDARY CONSIDERATION—CLOCK COMPANY IN -LITCHFIELD—THE “TERRY AND BARNUM MANUFACTURING COMPANY”—THE -JEROME CLOCK COMPANY—BAITING FOR BITES—FALSE REPRESENTATIONS—HOW -I WAS DELUDED—WHAT I AGREED TO DO—THE COUNTER AGREEMENT—NOTES -WITH BLANK DATES—THE LIMIT OF MY RESPONSIBILITY—HOW IT WAS -EXCEEDED—STARTLING DISCOVERIES—A RUINED MAN—PAYING MY OWN HONEST -DEBTS—BARNUM DUPED—MY FAILURE—THE BARNUM AND JEROME CLOCK -BUBBLE—MORALISTS MAKING USE OF MY MISFORTUNES—WHAT PREACHERS, -PAPERS, AND PEOPLE SAID ABOUT ME—DOWN IN THE DEPTHS.</p></div> - -<p>I <small>NOW</small> come to a series of events which, all things considered, -constitute one of the most remarkable experiences of my life—an -experience which brought me much pain and many trials; which humbled my -pride and threatened me with hopeless financial ruin; and yet, -nevertheless, put new blood in my veins, fresh vigor in my action, -warding off all temptation to rust in the repose which affluence -induces, and developed, I trust, new and better elements of manliness in -my character. This trial carried me through a severe and costly -discipline, and now that I have passed through it and have triumphed -over it, I can thank God for sending it upon me, though I feel no -special obligations to the human instruments employed in the severe -chastening.<a name="page_387" id="page_387"></a></p> - -<p>When the blow fell upon me, I thought that I could never recover; the -event has shown, however, that I have gained both in character and -fortune, and what threatened, for years, to be my ruin, has proved one -of the most fortunate happenings of my career. The “Bull Run” of my -life’s battle was a crushing defeat, which, unknown to me at the time, -only presaged the victories which were to follow.</p> - -<p>In my general plan of presenting the facts and incidents of my life in -chronological order, I shall necessarily introduce in the history of the -next seven years, an account of my entanglement in the “Jerome Clock -Company,”—how I was drawn into it, how I got out of it, and what it did -to me and for me. The great notoriety given to my connection with this -concern—the fact that the journals throughout the country made it the -subject of news, gossip, sympathy, abuse, and advice to and about me, my -friends, my persecutors, and the public generally—seems to demand that -the story should be briefly but plainly told. The event itself has -passed away and with it the passions and excitements that were born of -it; and I certainly have no desire now to deal in personalities or to go -into the question of the motives which influenced those who were -interested, any farther than may be strictly essential to a fair and -candid statement of the case.</p> - -<p>It is vital to the narrative that I should give some account of the new -city, East Bridgeport, and my interests therein, which led directly to -my subsequent complications with the Jerome Clock Company.</p> - -<p>In 1851, I purchased from Mr. William H. Noble, of Bridgeport, the -undivided half of his late father’s homestead, consisting of fifty acres -of land; lying on the east<a name="page_388" id="page_388"></a> side of the river, opposite the City of -Bridgeport. We intended this as the nucleus of a new city, which we -concluded could soon be built up, in consequence of many natural -advantages that it possesses.</p> - -<p>Before giving publicity to our plans, however, we purchased one hundred -and seventy-four acres contiguous to that which we already owned, and -laid out the entire property in regular streets, and lined them with -trees, reserving a beautiful grove of six or eight acres, which we -inclosed, and converted into a public park. We then commenced selling -alternate lots, at the same price which the land cost us by the acre. -Our sales were always made on the condition that a suitable -dwelling-house, store, or manufactory should be erected upon the land, -within one year from the date of purchase; that every building should be -placed at a certain distance from the street, in a style of architecture -approved by us; that the grounds should be enclosed with acceptable -fences, and kept clean and neat, with other conditions which would -render the locality a desirable one for respectable residents, and -operate for the mutual benefit of all persons who should become settlers -in the new city.</p> - -<p>This entire property consists of a beautiful plateau of ground, lying -within less than half a mile of the centre of Bridgeport city. -Considering the superiority of the situation, it is a wonder that the -City of Bridgeport was not originally founded upon that side of the -river. The late Dr. Timothy Dwight, for a long time President of Yale -College, in his “Travels in New England in 1815,” says of the locality:</p> - -<p>“There is not in the State a prettier village than the borough of -Bridgeport. In the year 1783, there were<a name="page_389" id="page_389"></a> scarcely half a dozen houses -in this place. It now contains probably more than one hundred, built on -both sides of Pughquonnuck (Pequonnock) river, a beautiful mill-stream, -forming at its mouth the harbor of Bridgeport. The situation of this -village is very handsome, particularly on the eastern side of the river. -A more cheerful and elegant piece of ground can scarcely be imagined -than the point which stretches between the Pughquonnuck and the old -mill-brook; and the prospects presented by the harbors at the mouths of -these streams, the Sound, and the surrounding country, are, in a fine -season, gay and brilliant, perhaps without a parallel.”</p> - -<p>This “cheerful and elegant piece of ground,” as Dr. Dwight so truly -describes it, had only been kept from market by the want of means of -access. A new foot-bridge was built, connecting this place with the City -of Bridgeport, and a public toll-bridge which belonged to us was thrown -open to the public free. We also obtained from the State Legislature a -charter for erecting a toll-bridge between the two bridges already -existing, and under that charter we put up a fine covered draw-bridge at -a cost of $16,000 which also we made free to the public for several -years. We built and leased to a union company of young coach makers a -large and elegant coach manufactory, which was one of the first -buildings erected there, and which went into operation on the first of -January, 1852, and was the beginning of the extensive manufactories -which were subsequently built in East Bridgeport.</p> - -<p>Besides the inducement which we held out to purchasers to obtain their -lots at a merely nominal price, we advanced one half, two-thirds, and -frequently all<a name="page_390" id="page_390"></a> the funds necessary to erect their buildings, permitting -them to repay us in sums as small as five dollars, at their own -convenience. This arrangement enabled many persons to secure and -ultimately pay for homes which they could not otherwise have obtained. -We looked for our profits solely to the rise in the value of the -reserved lots, which we were confident must ensue. Of course, these -extraordinary inducements led many persons to build in the new city, and -it began to develop and increase with a rapidity rarely witnessed in -this section of the country. Indeed, our speculation, which might be -termed a profitable philanthropy, soon promised to be so remunerative, -that I offered Mr. Noble for his interest in the estate, $60,000 more -than the prime cost, which offer he declined.</p> - -<p>It will thus be seen that, in 1851, my pet scheme was to build up a city -in East Bridgeport. I had made a large fortune and was anxious to be -released from the harassing cares of active business. But I could not be -idle, and if I could be instrumental in giving value to land -comparatively worthless; if I could by the judicious investment of a -portion of my capital open the way for new industries and new homes, I -should be of service to my fellow men and find grateful employment for -my energies and time. I saw that in case of success there was profit in -my project, and I was enough like mankind in general to look upon the -enlargement of my means as a consummation devoutly and legitimately to -be wished.</p> - -<p>Yet, I can truly say that mere money-making was a secondary -consideration in my scheme. I wanted to build a city on the beautiful -plateau across the river; in the expressive phrase of the day, I “had -East<a name="page_391" id="page_391"></a> Bridgeport on the brain.” Whoever approached me with a project -which looked to the advancement of my new city, touched my weak side and -found me an eager listener. The serpent that beguiled me was any -plausible proposition that promised prosperity to East Bridgeport, and -it was in this way that the coming city connected me with that source of -so many annoyances and woes, the Jerome Clock Company.</p> - -<p>There was a small clock manufactory in the town of Litchfield, -Connecticut, in which I became a stockholder to the amount of six or -seven thousand dollars, and my duties as a director in the company -called me occasionally to Litchfield and made me somewhat acquainted -with the clock business. Thinking of plans to forward my pet East -Bridgeport enterprise, it occurred to me that if the Litchfield clock -concern could be transferred to my prospective new city, it would -necessarily bring many families, thus increasing the growth of the place -and the value of the property. Negotiations were at once commenced and -the desired transfer of the business was the result. A new stock company -was formed under the name of the “Terry & Barnum Manufacturing Company,” -and in 1852 a factory was built in East Bridgeport.</p> - -<p>In 1855, I received a suggestion from a citizen of New Haven, that the -Jerome Clock Company, then reputed to be a wealthy concern, should be -removed to East Bridgeport, and shortly afterwards I was visited at -Iranistan by Mr. Chauncey Jerome, the President of that company. The -result of this visit was a proposition from the agent of the company, -who also held power of attorney for the president, that I should lend my -name as security for $110,000 in aid of the Jerome Clock<a name="page_392" id="page_392"></a> Company, and -the proffered compensation was the transfer of this great manufacturing -concern, with its seven hundred to one thousand operatives, to my -beloved East Bridgeport. It was just the bait for the fish; I was all -attention; yet I must do my judgment the justice to say that I called -for proofs, strong and ample, that the great company deserved its -reputation as a substantial enterprise that might safely be trusted.</p> - -<p>Accordingly, I was shown an official report of the directors of the -company, exhibiting a capital of $400,000, and a surplus of $187,000, in -all, $587,000. The need for $110,000 more, was on account of a dull -season, and the market glutted with the goods, and immediate money -demands which must be met. I was also impressed with the pathetic tale -that the company was exceedingly loth to dismiss any of the operatives, -who would suffer greatly if their only dependence for their daily food -was taken away.</p> - -<p>The official statement seemed satisfactory, and I cordially sympathized -with the philanthropic purpose of keeping the workmen employed, even in -the dull season. 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.” So wealthy and so widely-known a -company would surely be a grand acquisition to my city.<a name="page_393" id="page_393"></a></p> - -<p>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 concern, and much satisfaction that I -contemplated giving temporary aid which would keep so many workmen and -their families from suffering, and perhaps starvation. I had not, at the -time, the slightest suspicion that my voluntary correspondent had any -interest in the transfer of the Jerome Company from New Haven to East -Bridgeport, though I was subsequently informed that the bank, of which -my correspondent was the cashier, was almost the largest, if not the -largest, creditor of the clock company.</p> - -<p>Under all the circumstances, and influenced by the rose-colored -representations made to me, not less than by my mania to push the growth -of my new city, I finally accepted the proposition and consented to an -agreement that I would lend the clock company my notes for a sum not to -exceed $50,000, and accept drafts to an amount not to exceed $60,000. It -was thoroughly understood that I was in no case to be responsible for -one cent in excess of $110,000. I also received the written guaranty of -Chauncey Jerome that in no event should I lose by the loan, as he would -become personally responsible for the repayment. I was willing that my -notes, when taken up, should be renewed, I cared not how often, provided -the stipulated maximum of $110,000 should never be exceeded. I was weak -enough, however, under the representation that it was impossible to say -exactly when it would be necessary to use the notes, to put my name to -several notes for $3,000, $5,000, and $10,000, leaving the date of -payment blank; but it was agreed that the<a name="page_394" id="page_394"></a> blanks should be filled to -make the notes payable in five, ten, or even sixty days from date, -according to the exigencies of the case, and I was careful to keep a -memorandum of the several amounts of the notes.</p> - -<p>On the other side it was agreed that the Jerome Company should exchange -its stock with the Terry & Barnum stockholders and thus absorb that -company and unite the entire business in East Bridgeport. It was -scarcely a month before the secretary wrote me that the company would -soon be in condition to “snap its fingers at the banks.”</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, three months after the consolidation of the companies, a -reference to my memoranda showed that I had already become responsible -for the stipulated sum of $110,000. I was then called upon in New York -by the agent who wanted five notes of $5,000 each and I declined to -furnish them, unless I should receive in return an equal amount in my -own cancelled notes, since he assured me they were cancelling these -“every week.” The cancelled notes were brought to me next day and I -renewed them. This I did frequently, always receiving cancelled notes, -till finally my confidence in the company became so established that I -did not ask to see the notes that had been taken up, but furnished new -accommodation paper as it was called for.</p> - -<p>By and by I heard that the banks began to hesitate about discounting my -paper, and knowing that I was good for $110,000 several times over, I -wondered what was the matter, till the discovery came at last that my -notes had not been taken up as was represented, and that some of the -blank date notes had been made payable in twelve, eighteen, and -twenty-four months. Further investigation revealed the frightful fact -that I had endorsed for<a name="page_395" id="page_395"></a> the clock company to the extent of more than -half a million dollars, and most of the notes had been exchanged for old -Jerome Company notes due to the banks and other creditors. My agent who -made these startling discoveries came back to me with the refreshing -intelligence that I was a ruined man!</p> - -<p>Not quite; I had the mountain of Jerome debts on my back, but I found -means to pay every claim against me at my bank, all my store and shop -debts, notes to the amount of $40,000, which banks in my neighborhood, -relying upon my personal integrity, had discounted for the Clock -Company, and then I—failed!</p> - -<p>What a dupe had I been! Here was a great company pretending to be worth -$587,000, asking temporary assistance to the amount of $110,000, coming -down with a crash, so soon as my helping hand was removed, and sweeping -me down with it. It failed; and even after absorbing my fortune, it paid -but from twelve to fifteen per cent of its obligations, while, to cap -the climax, it never removed to East Bridgeport at all, notwithstanding -this was the only condition which ever prompted me to advance one dollar -to the rotten concern!</p> - -<p>If at any time my vanity had been chilled by the fear that after my -retirement from the Jenny Lind enterprise the world would forget me, -this affair speedily reassured me; I had notice enough to satisfy the -most inordinate craving for notoriety. All over the country, and even -across the ocean, “Barnum and the Jerome Clock Bubble” was the great -newspaper theme. I 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<a name="page_396" id="page_396"></a> sensation-loving world could put -me. Well! I was now in training, in a new school, and was learning new -and strange lessons.</p> - -<p>Yet, these new lessons conveyed the old, old story. There were those who -had fawned upon me in my prosperity, who now jeered at my adversity; -people whom I had specially favored, made special efforts to show their -ingratitude; papers which, when I had the means to make it an object for -them to be on good terms with me, overloaded me with adulation, now -attempted to overwhelm me with abuse; and then the immense amount of -moralizing over the “instability of human fortunes,” and especially the -retributive justice that is sure to follow “ill-gotten gains,” which my -censors assumed to be the sum and substance of my honorably acquired and -industriously worked for property. I have no doubt that much of this -kind of twaddle was believed by the twaddlers to be sincere; and thus my -case was actual capital to certain preachers and religious editors who -were in want of fresh illustrations wherewith to point their morals.</p> - -<p>As for myself, I was in the depths, but I did not despond. I was -confident that with energetic purpose and divine assistance I should, if -my health and life were spared, get on my feet again; and events have -since fully justified and verified the expectation and the effort.<a name="page_397" id="page_397"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXVI.<br /><br /> -<small>CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">FRIENDS TO THE RESCUE—MONEY OFFERS REFUSED—BENEFITS -DECLINED—MAGNIFICENT OFFER OF PROMINENT NEW YORK CITIZENS—WILLIAM -E. BURTON—LAURA KEENE—WILLIAM NIBLO—GENERAL TOM THUMB—EDITORIAL -SYMPATHY—“A WORD FOR BARNUM” IN BOSTON—LETTER FROM “MRS. -PARTINGTON”—CITIZENS’ MEETING IN BRIDGEPORT—RESOLUTIONS OF -RESPECT AND CONDOLENCE—MY LETTER ON THE SITUATION—TENDER OF FIFTY -THOUSAND DOLLARS—MAGNITUDE OF THE DECEPTION PRACTISED UPON -ME—PROPOSITION OF COMPROMISE WITH MY CREDITORS—A TRAP LAID FOR ME -IN PHILADELPHIA—THE SILVER LINING TO THE CLOUD—THE BLOW A BENEFIT -TO MY FAMILY—THE REV. DR. E. H. CHAPIN—MY DAUGHTER HELEN—A -LETTER WORTH TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS—OUR NEW HOME IN NEW YORK.</p></div> - -<p>H<small>APPILY</small>, there is always more wheat than there is chaff. While my -enemies and a few envious persons and misguided moralists were abusing -and traducing me, my very misfortunes revealed to me hosts of hitherto -unknown friends who tendered to me something more than mere sympathy. -Funds were offered to me in unbounded quantity for the support of my -family and to re-establish me in business. I declined these tenders -because, on principle, I never accepted a money favor, unless I except -the single receipt of a small sum which came to me by mail at this time -and anonymously so that I could not return it. Even this small sum I at -once devoted to charity towards one who needed the money far more than I -did.</p> - -<p>The generosity of my friends urged me to accept “benefits” by the score, -the returns of which would<a name="page_398" id="page_398"></a> have made me quite independent. There was a -proposition among leading citizens in New York to give a series of -benefits which I felt obliged to decline though the movement in my favor -deeply touched me. To show the class of men who sympathized with me in -my misfortunes and also the ground which I took in the matter I venture -to copy the following correspondence which appeared in the New York -papers of the day:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">New York</span>, June 2, 1856.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<span class="smcap">Mr. P. T. Barnum:</span><br /> -</p> - -<p><i>Dear Sir</i>,—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.</p> - -<p>Freeman Hunt, E. K. Collins, Isaac Y. Fowler, James Phalen, -Cornelius Vanderbilt, F. B. Cuting, 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.</p></div> - -<p>To this gratifying communication I replied as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Long Island</span>, Tuesday, June 3, 1856.<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Gentlemen</span>,—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.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_399" id="page_399"></a> theatres for one evening. -Mr. Gough volunteered the 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.</p> - -<p>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, <span class="smcap">P. T. Barnum</span>.</p> - -<p>To Messrs. <span class="smcap">Freeman Hunt</span>, <span class="smcap">E. K. Collins,</span> and others.</p></div> - -<p>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:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Jones’ Hotel</span>, <span class="smcap">Philadelphia</span>, May 12, 1856.<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Mr. Barnum</span>,—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 doorkeeper 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 my small way, can -be useful. Put me into any “heavy” work, if you like. Perhaps I -cannot 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,</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Gen. Tom Thumb</span>.<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>Even this generous offer from my little friend I felt compelled to -refuse. But kind words were written and spoken which I could not -prevent, nor did I desire to do so, and which were worth more to me than -money. I should fail to find space, if I wished it, to copy <a name="page_400" id="page_400"></a>one-tenth -part of the cordial and kind articles and paragraphs that appeared about -me in newspapers throughout the country. The following sentence from an -editorial article in a prominent New York journal was the key-note to -many similar kind notices in all parts of the Union: “It is a fact -beyond dispute that Mr. Barnum’s financial difficulties have accumulated -from the goodness of his nature; kind-hearted and generous to a fault, -it has ever been his custom to lend a helping hand to the struggling; -and honest industry and enterprise have found his friendship prompt and -faithful.” The <i>Boston Journal</i> dwelt especially upon the use I had made -of my money in my days of prosperity in assisting deserving laboring men -and in giving an impulse to business in the town where I resided. It -seems only just that I should make this very brief allusion to these -things, if only as an offset to the unbounded abuse of those who -believed in kicking me merely because I was down; nor can I refrain from -copying the following from the <i>Boston Saturday Evening Gazette</i>, of May -3, 1856:</p> - -<p class="c">BARNUM REDIVIVUS.</p> - -<p class="c"><small>A WORD FOR BARNUM.</small></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Barnum</span>, your hand! Though you are “down,”<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And see full many a frigid shoulder,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Be brave, my brick, and though they frown,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Prove that misfortune makes you bolder.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">There’s many a man that sneers, my hero,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And former praise converts to scorning,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Would worship—when he fears—a Nero,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And bend “where thrift may follow fawning.”<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">You humbugged us—that we have seen,<br /></span> -<span class="i2"><i>We got our money’s worth</i>, old fellow,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And though you thought our <i>minds</i> were <i>green</i>,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">We never thought your <i>heart</i> was <i>yellow</i>.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">We knew you liberal, generous, warm,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Quick to assist a falling brother,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And, with such virtues, what’s the harm<br /></span> -<span class="i2">All memories of your faults to smother?<a name="page_401" id="page_401"></a><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">We had not heard the peerless Lind,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">But for your spirit enterprising,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">You were the man to raise the wind,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And make a <i>coup</i> confessed surprising.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">You’re reckoned in your native town<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A friend in need, a friend in danger,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">You ever keep the latchstring down,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And greet with open hand the stranger.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Stiffen your upper lip. You know<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Who are your friends and who your foes now;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">We pay for knowledge as we go;<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And though you get some sturdy blows now,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">You’ve a fair field,—no favors crave,—<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The storm once passed will find you braver,—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In virtue’s cause long may you wave,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And on the right side, never waver.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Desirous of knowing who was the author of this kindly effusion, I wrote, -while preparing this autobiography, to Mr. B. P. Shillaber, one of the -editors of the journal, and well known to the public as “Mrs. -Partington.” In reply, I received the following letter in which it will -be seen that he makes sympathetic allusion to the burning of my last -Museum, only a few weeks before the date of his letter:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Chelsea</span>, April 25, 1868.<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">My Dear Mr. Barnum</span>:—The poem in question was written by A. Wallace -Thaxter, associate editor with Mr. Clapp and myself, on the -<i>Gazette</i>—since deceased, a glorious fellow—who wrote the 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.</p> - -<p class="c"> -Yours, very truly,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">B. P. Shillaber</span>.<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>But the manifestations of sympathy which came to me from Bridgeport, -where my home had been for more than ten years, were the most gratifying -of all, because they showed unmistakably that my best friends, those who -were most constant in their friendship and most emphatic in their -esteem, were my neighbors and associates<a name="page_402" id="page_402"></a> who, of all people, knew me -best. With such support I could easily endure the attacks of traducers -elsewhere. The <i>New York Times</i>, April 25, 1856, under the head of -“Sympathy for Barnum,” published a full report of the meeting of my -fellow-citizens of Bridgeport, the previous evening, to take my case -into consideration.</p> - -<p>In response to a call headed by the mayor of the city, and signed by -several hundred citizens, this meeting was held in Washington Hall “for -the purpose of sympathizing with P. T. Barnum, Esq., in his recent -pecuniary embarrassments, and of giving some public expression to their -views in reference to his financial misfortunes.” It was the largest -public meeting which, up to that time, had ever been held in Bridgeport. -Several prominent citizens made addresses, and resolutions were adopted -declaring “that respect and sympathy were due to P. T. Barnum in return -for his many acts of liberality, philanthropy and public spirit,” -expressing unshaken confidence in his integrity, admiration for the -“fortitude and composure with which he has met reverses into which he -has been dragged through no fault of his own except a too generous -confidence in pretended friends,” and hoping that he would “yet return -to that wealth which he has so nobly employed, and to the community he -has so signally benefited.” During the evening the following letter was -read:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">New York</span>, Thursday, April 24, 1856.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<span class="smcap">Wm. H. Noble</span>, Esq.,<br /> -</p> - -<p><i>Dear Sir</i>:—I have just received a slip containing a call for a -public meeting of the citizens of Bridgeport to sympathize with me -in my troubles. It is headed by His Honor the Mayor, and is signed -by most of your prominent citizens, as well as by many men 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 comforts which years of diligent labor had -acquired. It is due to truth to say that I knew nothing of this -movement until your letter informed me of it.<a name="page_403" id="page_403"></a></p> - -<p>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 imparts to me 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.</p> - -<p>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 fellow-men, and -that I never turned empty away those whom I had the power to -assist.</p> - -<p>My poor sick wife, who needs the bracing air which our own dear -home (made beautiful by her willing hands) 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 of recruiting my own constitution, which, through the -excitements of the last few months, has most seriously failed me.</p> - -<p>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 neighbors 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 din, strife and turmoil, excitements and struggles -of this money-worshipping 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 land, 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—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“When the devil was sick,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The devil a saint would be.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But when the devil got well,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The devil a saint was he.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>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 those I love, and from where I had fondly -supposed I was to end my days, and where I had lavished time, -money, 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.</p> - -<p>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 offer 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.<a name="page_404" id="page_404"></a></p> - -<p>Wherever my future lot may be cast, I shall ever fondly cherish the -kindness which I have always received from the citizens of -Bridgeport.</p> - -<p class="c"> -I am, my dear Sir, truly yours,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="r"> -P. T. BARNUM.<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>Shortly after this sympathetic meeting, a number of gentlemen in -Bridgeport offered me a loan of $50,000 if that sum would be -instrumental in extricating me from my entanglement. I could not say -that this amount would meet the exigency; I could only say, “wait, wait, -and hope.”</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, my eyes were fully opened to the entire magnitude of the -deception that had been practised upon my too confiding nature. I not -only discovered that my notes had been used to five times the amount I -stipulated or expected, but that they had been applied, not to relieving -the company from temporary embarrassment after my connection with it, -but almost wholly to the redemption of old and rotten claims of years -and months gone by. To show the extent to which the fresh victim was -deliberately bled, it may be stated that I was induced to become surety -to one of the New Haven banks in the sum of $30,000 to indemnify the -bank against future losses it might incur from the Jerome company after -my connection with it, and by some legerdemain this bond was made to -cover past obligations which were older even than my knowledge of the -existence of the company. In every way it seemed as if I had been -cruelly swindled and deliberately defrauded.</p> - -<p>As the clock company had gone to pieces and was paying but from twelve -to fifteen per cent for its paper, I sent two of my friends to New Haven -to ask for a meeting of the creditors and I instructed them to say in -substance for me as follows:<a name="page_405" id="page_405"></a></p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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. It was -necessary to liquidation that my property should go into the hands of -assignees; I therefore at once turned over my Bridgeport property to -Connecticut assignees and I removed my family to New York, where I also -made an assignment of all my real and personal estate, excepting what -had already been transferred in Connecticut.</p> - -<p>About this time I received a letter from Philadelphia proferring $500 in -case my circumstances were such that I really stood in need of help. The -very wording of the letter awakened the suspicion in my mind that it was -a trick to ascertain whether I really had any property, for I knew that -banks and brokers in that city held some of my Jerome paper which they -refused to compound or compromise. So I at once wrote that I did need -$500, and, as I expected, the money did not<a name="page_406" id="page_406"></a> come, nor was my letter -answered; but, as a natural consequence, the Philadelphia bankers who -were holding the Jerome paper for a higher percentage at once acceded to -the terms which I had announced myself able and willing to pay.</p> - -<p>Every dollar which I honestly owed on my own account I had already paid -in full or had satisfactorily arranged. For the liabilities incurred by -the deliberate deception which had involved me I offered such a -percentage as I thought my estate, when sold, would eventually pay; and -my wife, from her own property, advanced from time to time money to take -up such notes as could be secured upon these terms. It was, however, a -slow process. More than one creditor would hold on to his note, which -possibly he had “shaved” at the rate of two or three per cent a month, -and say:</p> - -<p>“Oh! you can’t keep Barnum down; he will dig out after a while; I shall -never sell my claim for less than par and interest.”</p> - -<p>Of course, I knew very well that if all the creditors took this view I -should never get out of the entanglement in which I had been involved by -the old creditors of the Jerome Company, who had so ingeniously managed -to make me take their place. All I could do was to take a thorough -survey of the situation, and consider, now that I was down, how I could -get up again.</p> - -<p>“Every cloud,” says the proverb, “has a silver lining,” and so I did not -despair. “This blow,” I thought “may be beneficial to my children, if -not to me.” They had been brought up in luxury; accustomed to call on -servants to attend to every want; and almost unlimited in the -expenditure of money. My daughter Helen,<a name="page_407" id="page_407"></a> especially, was naturally -extravagant. She was a warm-hearted, generous girl, who knew literally -nothing of the value of money and the difficulty of acquiring it. At -this time she was fifteen years old, and was attending a French boarding -school in the City of Washington. A few days after the news of my -failure was published in the papers, my friend, the Rev. Dr. E. H. -Chapin, of New York, was at my house. He had long been intimate with my -family, and was well acquainted with the extravagant ideas and ways of -my daughter Helen. One morning, I received a letter from her, filled -with sympathy and sorrow for my misfortunes. She told me how much -shocked she was at hearing of my financial disasters, and added: “Do -send for me immediately, for I cannot think of remaining here at an -expense which my parents cannot afford. I have learned to play the piano -well enough to be able to take some little girls as pupils, and in this -way I can be of some assistance in supporting the family.”</p> - -<p>On reading this I was deeply affected; and, handing the letter to Dr. -Chapin, I said: “There, sir, is a letter which is worth ten thousand -dollars.”</p> - -<p>“Twenty thousand, at the least!” was the exclamation of the Doctor when -he had read it.</p> - -<p>We were now living in a very frugal manner in a hired furnished house in -Eighth Street, near Sixth Avenue, in New York, and our landlady and her -family boarded with us. At the age of forty-six, after the acquisition -and the loss of a handsome fortune, I was once more nearly at the bottom -of the ladder, and was about to begin the world again. The situation was -disheartening, but I had energy, experience, health and hope.<a name="page_408" id="page_408"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXVII.<br /><br /> -<small>REST, BUT NOT RUST.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">SALE OF THE MUSEUM COLLECTION—SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEEDINGS OF MY -CREDITORS—EXAMINATIONS IN COURT—BARNUM AS A BAR -TENDER—PERSECUTION—THE SUMMER SEASON ON LONG ISLAND—THE MUSEUM -MAN ON SHOW—CHARLES HOWELL—A GREAT NATURAL CURIOSITY—VALUE OF A -HONK—PROPOSING TO BUY IT—A BLACK WHALE PAYS MY SUMMER’S BOARD—A -TURN IN THE TIDE—THE WHEELER AND WILSON SEWING MACHINE -COMPANY—THEIR REMOVAL TO EAST BRIDGEPORT—THE TERRY AND BARNUM -CLOCK FACTORY OCCUPIED—NEW CITY PROPERTY LOOKING UP—A LOAN OF -$5,000—THE CAUSE OF MY RUIN PROMISES TO BE MY REDEMPTION—SETTING -SAIL FOR ENGLAND—GENERAL TOM THUMB—LITTLE CORDELIA HOWARD.</p></div> - -<p>I<small>N</small> the summer of 1855, previous to my financial troubles, feeling that I -was independent and could retire from active business, I sold the -American Museum collection and good will to Messrs. John Greenwood, -Junior, and Henry D. Butler. They paid me double the amount the -collection had originally cost, giving me notes for nearly the entire -amount secured by a chattel mortgage, and hired the premises from my -wife, who owned the Museum property lease, and on which, by the -agreement of Messrs. Greenwood and Butler, she realized a profit of -$19,000 a year. The chattel mortgage of Messrs. Greenwood and Butler, -was, of course, turned over to the New York assignee with the other -property.</p> - -<p>And now there came to me a new sensation which was at times terribly -depressing and annoying. My wides-pread reputation for shrewdness as a -showman had<a name="page_409" id="page_409"></a> induced the general belief that my means were still ample, -and certain outside creditors who had bought my clock notes at a -tremendous discount and entirely on speculation, made up their minds -that they must be paid at once without waiting for the slow process of -the sale of my property by the assignees.</p> - -<p>They therefore took what are termed “supplementary proceedings,” which -enabled them to haul me any day before a judge for the purpose, as they -phrased it, of “putting Barnum through a course of sprouts,” and which -meant an examination of the debtor under oath, compelling him to -disclose everything with regard to his property, his present means of -living, and so on.</p> - -<p>I repeatedly answered all questions on these points; and reports of the -daily examinations were published. Still another and another, and yet -another creditor would haul me up; and his attorney would ask me the -same questions which had already been answered and published half a -dozen times. This persistent and unnecessary annoyance created -considerable sympathy for me, which was not only expressed by letters I -received daily from various parts of the country, but the public press, -with now and then an exception, took my part, and even the Judges, -before whom I appeared, said to me on more than one occasion, that as -men they sincerely pitied me, but as judges of course they must -administer the law. After a while, however, the judges ruled that I need -not answer any question propounded to me by an attorney, if I had -already answered the same question to some other attorney in a previous -examination in behalf of other creditors. In fact, one of the judges, on -one occasion, said pretty sharply to an examining attorney:<a name="page_410" id="page_410"></a></p> - -<p>“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 to not answer one interrogatory which he has -replied to under any previous inquiries.”</p> - -<p>These things gave me some heart, so that at last, I went up to the -“sprouts” with less reluctance, and began to try to pay off my -persecutors in their own coin.</p> - -<p>On one occasion, a dwarfish little lawyer, who reminded me of “Quilp,” -commenced his examination in behalf of a note-shaver who held a thousand -dollar note, which it seemed he had bought for seven hundred dollars. -After the oath had been administered the little “limb of the law” -arranged his pen, ink and paper, and in a loud voice, and with a most -peremptory and supercilious air, asked:</p> - -<p>“What is your name, sir?”</p> - -<p>I answered him, and his next question, given in a louder and more -peremptory tone, was:</p> - -<p>“What is your business?”</p> - -<p>“Attending bar,” I meekly replied.</p> - -<p>“Attending bar!” he echoed, with an appearance of much surprise; -“Attending bar! Why, don’t you profess to be a temperance man—a -teetotaler?”</p> - -<p>“I do,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“And yet, sir, do you have the audacity to assert that you peddle rum -all day, and drink none yourself?”</p> - -<p>“I doubt whether that is a relevant question,” I said in a low tone of -voice.</p> - -<p>“I will appeal to his honor the judge, if you don’t answer it -instantly,” said Quilp in great glee.<a name="page_411" id="page_411"></a></p> - -<p>“I attend bar, and yet never drink intoxicating liquors,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“Where do you attend bar, and for whom?” was the next question.</p> - -<p>“I attend the bar of this court, nearly every day, for the benefit of -two-penny, would-be lawyers and their greedy clients,” I answered.</p> - -<p>A loud tittering in the vicinity only added to the vexation which was -already visible on the countenance of my interrogator, and he soon -brought his examination to a close.</p> - -<p>On another occasion, a young lawyer was pushing his inquiries to a great -length, when, in a half laughing, apologetic tone, he said:</p> - -<p>“You see, Mr. Barnum, I am searching after the small things; I am -willing to take even the crumbs which fall from the rich man’s table!”</p> - -<p>“Which are you, Lazarus, or one of the dogs?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“I guess a blood-hound would not smell out much on this trail,” he said -good-naturedly, adding that he had no more questions to ask.</p> - -<p>I still continued to receive many offers of pecuniary assistance, which, -whenever proposed in the form of a gift, I invariably refused. In a -number of instances, personal friends tendered me their checks for $500, -$1,000, and other sums, but I always responded in substance: “Oh, no, I -thank you; I do not need it; my wife has considerable property, besides -a large income from her Museum lease. I want for nothing; I do not owe a -dollar for personal obligations that is not already secured, and when -the clock creditors have fully investigated and thought over the matter, -I think they will be<a name="page_412" id="page_412"></a> content to divide my property among themselves and -let me up.”</p> - -<p>Just after my failure, and on account of the ill-health of my wife, I -spent a portion of the summer with my family in the farmhouse of Mr. -Charles Howell, at Westhampton, on Long Island. The place is a mile west -of Quogue, and was then called “Ketchebonneck.” The thrifty and -intelligent farmers of the neighborhood were in the habit of taking -summer boarders, and the place had become a favorite resort. Mr. -Howell’s farm lay close upon the ocean and I found the residence a cool -and delightful one. Surf bathing, fishing, shooting and fine roads for -driving made the season pass pleasantly and the respite from active life -and immediate annoyance from my financial troubles was a very great -benefit to me.</p> - -<p>Our landlord was an eccentric character, who took great pleasure in -showing me to his friends and neighbors as “the Museum man,” and -consequently, as a great curiosity; for in his estimation, the American -Museum was chief among the institutions of New York. He was in a habit -of gathering shells and such rarities as came within his reach, which he -took to the city and disposed of at the Museum. He often spoke of -certain phenomena in his neighborhood, which he thought would take well -with the public, if they were properly brought out. One day he said:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, I am going to Moriches this morning, and I want you to go -along with me and see a great curiosity there is there.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“It is a man who has got a natural ‘honk’ ” replied Howell, “and it is -worth fifty dollars a year to him.”<a name="page_413" id="page_413"></a></p> - -<p>“A what?” I inquired.</p> - -<p>“A honk! a honk! a perfectly natural honk! he makes fifty dollars a year -out of it,” Howell reiterated.</p> - -<p>I could not comprehend what a “honk” was, but concluded that if it was -worth fifty dollars a year among the Long Island fishermen and farmers -who could hardly be expected to pay much for mere sight-seeing, it would -be much more valuable to exhibit in the Museum. So I remarked that as I -was authorized by Messrs. Greenwood and Butler to purchase curiosities -for them, I would go with him and buy the honk from its possessor if I -could get it at a reasonable price.</p> - -<p>“Buy it!” exclaimed Howell; “I guess you can’t buy it! You don’t seem to -understand me; the man has got a natural honk, I tell you; that is, he -honks exactly like a wild goose; when flocks are flying over he goes out -and honks and the geese, supposing that some goose has settled and is -honking for the rest of the flock to come down and feed, all fly towards -the ground and he ‘lets into ’em’ with his gun, thus killing a great -many, and in this way his honk is worth fifty dollars a year to him, and -perhaps more.”</p> - -<p>I decided not to attempt to buy the “honk,” but my eagerness to do so -and my entire ignorance of the character of the curiosity furnished food -for laughter to Howell and his neighbors for a long time.</p> - -<p>One morning we discovered that the waves had thrown upon the beach a -young black whale some twelve feet long. It was dead, but the fish was -hard and fresh and I bought it for a few dollars from the men who had -taken possession of it. I sent it at once to the Museum, where it was -exhibited in a huge refrigerator for a few days, creating considerable -excitement,<a name="page_414" id="page_414"></a> the general public considering it “a big thing on ice,” and -the managers gave me a share of the profits, which amounted to a -sufficient sum to pay the entire board bill of my family for the season.</p> - -<p>This incident both amused and amazed my Long Island landlord. “Well, I -declare,” said he, “that beats all; you are the luckiest man I ever -heard of. Here you come and board for four months with your family, and -when your time is nearly up, and you are getting ready to leave, out -rolls a black whale on our beach, a thing never heard of before in this -vicinity, and you take that whale and pay your whole bill with it! I -wonder if that ain’t ‘providential’? Why, that beats the ‘natural honk’ -all to pieces!” This was followed by such a laugh as only Charles Howell -could give, and like one of his peculiar sneezes, it resounded, echoed, -and re-echoed through the whole neighborhood.</p> - -<p>Soon after my return to New York, something occurred which I foresaw, I -thought, at the time, was likely indirectly to lead me out of the -wilderness into a clear field again, and, indeed, it eventually did so. -Strange to say, my new city which had been my ruin was to be my -redemption, and dear East Bridgeport which plunged me into the slough -was to bring me out again. “Dear” as the place had literally proved to -me, it was to be yet dearer, in another and better sense, hereafter.</p> - -<p>The now gigantic Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Machine Company was then doing -a comparatively small, yet rapidly growing business at Watertown, -Connecticut. The Terry & Barnum clock factory was standing idle, almost -worthless, in East Bridgeport, and Wheeler & Wilson saw in the empty -building, the situation, the ease<a name="page_415" id="page_415"></a> 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. It -is enough to say here, that the clock factory was sold for a trifle and -the Wheeler & Wilson Company moved into it and speedily enlarged it. I -felt then that this was providential; the fact that the empty building -could be cheaply purchased was the main motive for the removal of this -Watertown enterprise to East Bridgeport, and was one of the first -indications that my failure might prove a “blessing in disguise.” It was -a fresh impulse towards the building up of the new city and the -consequent increase of the value of the land belonging to my estate. -Many persons did not see these things in the same light in which they -were presented to me, but I had so long pondered upon the various means -which were to make the new city prosperous, that I was quick to catch -any indication which promised benefit to East Bridgeport.</p> - -<p>This important movement of the Wheeler and Wilson Company gave me the -greatest hope, and moreover, Mr. Wheeler kindly offered me a loan of -$5,000, without security, and as I was anxious to have it used in -purchasing the East Bridgeport property, when sold at public auction by -my assignees, and also in taking up such clock notes as could be bought -at a reasonable percentage, I accepted the offer and borrowed the -$5,000. This sum, with many thousand dollars more belonging to my wife, -was devoted to these purposes.</p> - -<p>It seemed as if I had now got hold of the thread which would eventually -lead me out of the labyrinth of financial difficulty in which the Jerome -entanglement<a name="page_416" id="page_416"></a> had involved me. Though the new plan promised relief, and -actually did succeed, even beyond my most sanguine expectations, -eventually putting more money into my pocket than the Jerome -complication had taken out—yet I also foresaw that the process would -necessarily be very slow. In fact, two years afterwards I had made very -little progress. But I concluded to let the new venture work out itself -and it would go on as well without my personal presence and attention, -perhaps even better. Growing trees, money at interest, and rapidly -rising real estate, work for their owners all night as well as all day, -Sundays included, and when the proprietors are asleep or away, and with -the design of coöperating in the new accumulation and of saving -something to add to the amount, I made up my mind to go to Europe again. -I was anxious for a change of scene and for active employment, and -equally desirous of getting away from the immediate pressure of troubles -which no effort on my part could then remove. While my affairs were -working out themselves in their own way and in the speediest manner -possible, I might be doing something for myself and for my family.</p> - -<p>Accordingly, leaving all my business affairs at home in the hands of my -friends, early in 1857 I set sail once more for England, taking with me -General Tom Thumb, and also little Cordelia Howard and her parents. This -young girl had attained an extended reputation for her artistic -personation of “Little Eva,” in the play of “Uncle Tom,” and she -displayed a precocious talent in her rendering of other juvenile -characters. With these attractions, and with what else I might be able -to do myself, I determined to make as much money as I could, intending -to remit the same to my wife’s friends,<a name="page_417" id="page_417"></a> for the purpose of repurchasing -a portion of my estate, when it was offered at auction, and of redeeming -such of the clock notes as could be obtained at reasonable rates.<a name="page_418" id="page_418"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII.<br /><br /> -<small>ABROAD AGAIN.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">OLD FRIENDS IN OLD ENGLAND—ALBERT SMITH AS A SHOWMAN—HIS ASCENT -OF MONT BLANC—POPULARITY OF THE ENTERTAINMENT—THE GARRICK -CLUB—“PHINEAS CUTECRAFT”—THE ELEVEN THOUSAND VIRGINS OF -COLOGNE—UTILIZING INCIDENTS—SUBTERRANEAN TERRORS—A -PANIC—EGYPTIAN DARKNESS IN EGYPTIAN HALL—WILLIAM M. -THACKERAY—HIS TWO VISITS TO AMERICA—FRIENDLY RELATIONS WITH THE -NOVELIST—I LOSE HIS SYMPATHY—HIS WARM REGARD FOR HIS AMERICAN -FRIENDS—OTTO GOLDSCHMIDT AND JENNY LIND GOLDSCHMIDT—TENDER OF -THEIR AID—THE FORGED LIND LETTER—BENEDICT AND BELLETTI—GEORGE -AUGUSTUS SALA—CHARLES KEAN—EDMUND YATES—HORACE MAYHEW—GEORGE -PEABODY—MR. BUCKSTONE—MY EXHIBITIONS IN ENGLAND—S. M. -PETTINGILL—MR. LUMLEY.</p></div> - -<p>O<small>N</small> arriving at Liverpool, I found that my old friends, Mr. and Mrs. -Lynn, of the Waterloo Hotel, had changed very little during my ten -years’ absence from England. Even the servants in the hotel were mainly -those whom I left there when I last went away from Liverpool—which -illustrates, in a small way, how much less changeable, and more -“conservative” the English people are than we are. The old head-waiter, -Thomas, was still head-waiter, as he had been for full twenty years. His -hair was more silvered, his gait was slower, his shoulders had rounded, -but he was as ready to receive, as I was to repeat, the first order I -ever gave him, to wit: “Fried soles and shrimp sauce.”</p> - -<p>And among my many friends in Liverpool and London, but one death had -occurred, and with only two exceptions they all lived in the same -buildings, and pursued<a name="page_419" id="page_419"></a> the same vocations as when I left them in 1847. -When I reached London, I found one of these exceptions to be Mr. Albert -Smith, who, when I first knew him, was a dentist, a literary hack, a -contributor to <i>Punch</i>, and a writer for the magazines,—and who was now -transformed to a first-class showman in the full tide of success, in my -own old exhibition quarters in Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly.</p> - -<p>A year or two before, he had succeeded in reaching the top of Mont -Blanc, and after publishing a most interesting account, which was -re-published and translated into several languages, the whole world -over, he concluded to make further use of his expedition by adapting it -to a popular entertainment. He therefore illustrated his ascent by means -of a finely painted and accurate panorama, and he accompanied the -exhibition with a descriptive lecture full of amusing and interesting -incidents, illustrative of his remarkable experiences in accomplishing -the difficult ascent. He also gave a highly-colored and exciting -narrative of his entire journey from London to Switzerland, and back -again, including his trip up and down the Rhine, and introducing the -many peculiar characters of both sexes, he claimed to have met at -different points during his tour. These he imitated and presented in so -life-like a manner, as to fairly captivate and convulse his audiences.</p> - -<p>It was one of the most pleasing and popular entertainments ever -presented in London, and was immensely remunerative to the -projector,—resulting, indeed, in a very handsome fortune. The -entertainments were patronized by the most cultivated classes, for -information was blended with amusement, and in no exhibition then in -London was there so much genuine fun. Two<a name="page_420" id="page_420"></a> or three times Albert Smith -was commanded to appear before the Queen at Buckingham Palace, and at -Windsor, and as he gave his entertainment with great success on these -occasions, spite of the fact that he could not take his panorama with -him, it can readily be imagined that the frame was quite as good as the -picture, and that the lecture as compared with the panorama, admirable -as both were, was by no means the least part of the “show.”</p> - -<p>Calling upon Albert Smith, I found him the same kind, cordial friend as -ever, and he at once put me on the free list at his entertainment, and -insisted upon my dining frequently with him at his favorite club, the -Garrick.</p> - -<p>The first time I witnessed his exhibition he gave me 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 was narrating the -story of the ashes and bones of 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:</p> - -<p>“Old fellow, what will you take for that hull lot of bones? I want them -for my Museum in America!”</p> - -<p>When the question had been interpreted to the old German, he exclaimed -in horror, according to Albert Smith:</p> - -<p>“Mine Gott! it is impossible! We will never sell the Virgins’ bones!”<a name="page_421" id="page_421"></a></p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>This always excited the heartiest laughter; but Mr. Smith knew very well -that I would at once recognize it as a paraphrase of the scene wherein -he had figured with me in 1844 at the porter’s lodge of Warwick Castle. -In the course of the entertainment, 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.</p> - -<p>When we went to the Garrick club that day, Albert Smith introduced me to -several of his acquaintances as his “teacher in the show business.” As -we were quietly dining together, he remarked that I must have recognized -several old acquaintances in the anecdotes at his entertainment. Upon my -answering that I did, “indeed,” he remarked, “you are too old a showman -not to know that in order to be popular, we must snap up and localize -all the good things which we come across.” 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.</p> - -<p>At one of the Egyptian Hall matinees, Albert Smith, espying me in the -audience, sent an usher to me with a note of invitation to dine with him -and a number of friends immediately after the close of the -entertainment. To this invitation he added the request that as soon as -he concluded his lecture I should at once come to him through the small -door under the stage at the end of<a name="page_422" id="page_422"></a> the orchestra, and by thus getting -ahead of the large crowd of ladies and gentlemen composing the audience -we should save time and reach the club at an hour for an early dinner.</p> - -<p>As soon as he uttered the last word of his lecture, I pushed for the -little door, the highly distinguished audience, which on this occasion -was mainly made up of ladies, meanwhile slowly progressing towards the -exits, while the orchestra was “playing them out” with selections of -popular music. Closing the stage door behind me, I instantly found -myself enveloped in that Egyptian darkness which was peculiar, I -suppose, if not appropriate, to that part of Egyptian Hall. I could hear -Smith and his assistants walking on the stage over my head, but I dare -not call out lest some nervous Duchess or Countess should faint under -the apprehension that the hall was on fire, or that some other severe -disaster threatened.</p> - -<p>Groping my way blindly and hitting my head several times against sundry -beams, at last, to my joy, I reached the knob of the door which led me -into this hole, but to my dismay it had been locked from the outside! In -feeling about, however, I discovered a couple of bell pulls, both of -which I desperately jerked and heard a faint tinkling in two opposite -directions. Next, I heard the heavy canvas drop-curtain roll down -rapidly till it struck the stage with a thud. Then the music in the -orchestra suddenly ceased, and I could readily understand by the shrieks -of the women and the loud protestations of masculine voices that the gas -had been turned off and the whole house left in darkness. This was -followed by hurried and heavy footsteps on the stage, the imprecations -of stage carpenters and<a name="page_423" id="page_423"></a> gasmen, jargon of foreign musicians in the -orchestra, and the earnest voice of my friend Smith excitedly -exclaiming: “Who rung those bells? why are we all left in the dark? -Light up here at once; bless my soul! what does all this mean?”</p> - -<p>I was amazed, yet amused and half alarmed. What to do, I did not know, -so I sat still on a box which I had stumbled over, as well as upon, -afraid to move or put out my hand lest I might touch some machinery -which would give the signal for thunder and lightning, or an earthquake, -or more likely, a Mont Blanc avalanche. Restored tranquillity overhead -assured me that the gas had been relighted. I knew Smith must be -anxiously awaiting me, for he was not a man to be behind time when so -important a matter as dinner was the motive of the appointment. -Something desperate must be done; so I carefully groped my way to the -stage door again and with a strong effort managed to wrench it open. -Covered with dust and perspiration I followed behind the rear of the -out-going audience and found Smith, to whom I narrated my under-ground -experiences.</p> - -<p>Brushes, water and towels soon put me once more in presentable condition -and we went to the Garrick Club where we dined with several gentlemen of -note. Smith could not refrain from relating my mishaps and their -consequences in my search for him under difficulties, and worse yet, -under his stage, and great was the merriment over the idea that an old -manager like myself should so lose his reckoning in a place with which -he might well be supposed to be perfectly familiar.</p> - -<p>When the late William M. Thackeray made his first visit to the United -States, I think in 1852, he called on<a name="page_424" id="page_424"></a> me at the Museum with a letter of -introduction from our mutual friend Albert Smith. He spent an hour with -me, mainly for the purpose of asking my advice 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. I gave -him the best advice I could as to management, and the cities he ought to -visit, for which he was very grateful and he called on me whenever he -was in New York. I also saw him repeatedly when he came to America the -second time with his admirable 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 these lectures to audiences in Great Britain. My -relations with this great novelist, I am proud to say, were cordial and -intimate; and now, when I called upon him, in 1857, at his own house he -grasped me heartily by the hand and said:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, I admire you more than ever. I have read the accounts in -the papers of the examinations you underwent in the 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.”</p> - -<p>I thanked him for his compliment, and he continued:</p> - -<p>“But tell me, Barnum, are you really in need of present assistance? for -if you are you must be helped.”</p> - -<p>“Not in the least,” I 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 £30,000 or -£40,000.”<a name="page_425" id="page_425"></a></p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>During my stay in London, I met Thackeray several times, and on one -occasion I dined with him. He was a most genial, noble-hearted -gentleman. In our conversations he spoke with the warmest appreciation -of America, and of his numerous friends in this country, and he -repeatedly expressed his obligations to me for the advice and assistance -I had given him on the occasion of his first lecturing visit to the -United States.</p> - -<p>The late Charles Kean, then manager of the Princess’s Theatre, in -London, was also exceedingly polite and friendly to me. He placed a box -at my disposal at all times, and took me through his theatre to show me -the stage, dressing rooms, and particularly the valuable “properties” he -had collected. Among other things, he had twenty or more complete suits -of real armor and other costumes and appointments essential to the -production of historical plays, in the most complete and authentic -manner. In the mere matter of stage-setting, Charles Kean has never been -surpassed.</p> - -<p>Otto Goldschmidt, the husband of Jenny Lind, also called on me in -London. He and his wife were then living in Dresden, and he said the -first thing his wife desired him to ask me was, whether I was in want. I -assured him that I was not, although I was managing to live in an -economical way and my family would soon come over to reside in London. -He then advised me to take them to Dresden, saying that living was very -cheap there; and, he added, “my wife will gladly look up a proper house -for you to live in.” I thankfully declined<a name="page_426" id="page_426"></a> his proffered kindness, as -Dresden was too far away from my business. A year subsequent to this, a -letter was generally published in the American papers, purporting to -have been written to me by Jenny Lind, and proffering me a large sum of -money. I immediately pronounced the letter a forgery, and I soon -afterwards received a communication from a young reporter in -Philadelphia acknowledging himself as the author, and saying that he -wrote it from a good motive, hoping it would benefit me. On the contrary -it annoyed me exceedingly.</p> - -<p>My old friends Julius Benedict and Giovanni Belletti, called on me and -we had some very pleasant dinners together, when we talked over -incidents of their travels in America. Among the gentlemen whom I 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 countrymen Mr. George Peabody, Mr. J. M. -Morris, the manager, Mr. Bates, of Baring, Brothers & Co., Mr. Oxenford, -dramatic critic of the London <i>Times</i>, Dr. Ballard, the American -dentist, and many other eminent persons.</p> - -<p>I had numerous offers from professional friends on both sides of the -Atlantic who supposed me to be in need of employment. Mr. Barney -Williams, who had not then acted in England, proposed in the kindest -manner to make me his agent for a tour through Great Britain, and to -give me one-third of the profits which he and Mrs. Williams might make -by their acting. Mr. S. M. Pettengill, of New York, the newspaper -advertising agent, offered me the fine salary of $10,000 a year to -transact business for him in Great Britain. He<a name="page_427" id="page_427"></a> wrote to me: “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, I was obliged to decline.</p> - -<p>Mr. Lumley, manager of Pier Majesty’s Theatre, used to send me an order -for a private box for every opera night, and I frequently availed myself -of his courtesy. I had an idea that much money might be made by -transferring his entire opera company, which then included Piccolomini -and Titjiens to New York for a short season. The plan included the -charter of a special steamer for the company and the conveyance of the -entire troup, including the orchestra, with their instruments, and the -chorus, costumes, scores, and properties of the company. It was a -gigantic scheme, which would no doubt have been pecuniarily successful, -and Mr. Lumley and I went so far as to draw up the preliminaries of an -arrangement, in which I was to share a due proportion of the profits for -my assistance in the management; but after a while, and to the evident -regret of Mr. Lumley, the scheme was given up.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, I 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 me out of debt, and, if possible, to save some portion of my real -estate. Of course, it was not generally<a name="page_428" id="page_428"></a> known that I had any interest -whatever in either of these exhibitions; if it had been, possibly some -of the clock creditors would have annoyed me; but I busied myself in -these and in other ways, working industriously and making much money, -which I constantly remitted to my trusty agent at home.<a name="page_429" id="page_429"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXIX.<br /><br /> -<small>IN GERMANY.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">FROM LONDON TO BADEN-BADEN—TROUBLE IN PARIS—STRASBOURG—SCENE IN -A GERMAN CUSTOM-HOUSE—A TERRIBLE BILL—SIX CENTS WORTH OF -AGONY—GAMBLING AT BADEN-BADEN—SUICIDES—GOLDEN PRICES FOR THE -GENERAL—A CALL FROM THE KING OF HOLLAND—THE GERMAN SPAS—HAMBURG, -EMS AND WIESBADEN—THE BLACK FOREST ORCHESTRION MAKER—AN OFFERED -SACRIFICE—THE SEAT OF THE ROTHSCHILDS—DIFFICULTIES IN -FRANKFORT—A POMPOUS COMMISSIONER OF POLICE—RED-TAPE—AN -ALARM—HENRY J. RAYMOND—CALL ON THE COMMISSIONER—CONFIDENTIAL -DISCLOSURES—HALF OF AN ENTIRE FORTUNE IN AN AMERICAN -RAILWAY—ASTOUNDING REVELATIONS—DOWN THE RHINE—DEPARTURE FOR -HOLLAND.</p></div> - -<p>A<small>FTER</small> a pleasant and successful season of several weeks in London and in -the provinces, I took the little General into Germany, going from London -to Paris and from thence to Strasbourg and Baden-Baden. I had not been -in Paris since the times of King Louis Philippe, and while I noticed -great improvements in the city, in the opening of the new boulevards and -the erection of noble buildings, I could see also with sorrow that there -was less personal liberty under the Emperor Napoleon III., than there -was under the “Citizen King.” The custom-house officials were -overbearing and unnecessarily rigid in their exactions; the police were -over-watchful and intolerant; the screws were turned on everywhere. I -had a lot of large pictorial placards of General Tom Thumb, which were -merely <i>in transitu</i>, as I wished only to forward them to Germany to be -used as advertisements of the forthcoming exhibitions.<a name="page_430" id="page_430"></a> These the French -custom-house officers determined to examine in detail, and when they -discovered that one of the pictures represented the General in the -costume of the First Napoleon, the whole of the bills were seized and -sent to the Prefecture of Police. I was compelled to stay three days in -Paris before I could convince the Prefect of Police that there was no -treason in the Tom Thumb pictures. I was very glad to get out of Paris -with my baggage and taking a seat in the express train on the Paris and -Strasbourg railway I soon forgot my custom-house annoyances.</p> - -<p>One would suppose that by this time I had had enough to do with clocks -to last me my lifetime, but passing one night and a portion of a day at -Strasbourg, I did not forget or fail to witness the great church clock -which is nearly as famous as the cathedral itself. At noon precisely a -mechanical cock crows; the bell strikes; figures of the twelve apostles -appear and walk in procession; and other extraordinary evidences of -wonderful mechanical art are daily exhibited by this curious old clock.</p> - -<p>From Strasbourg we went to Baden-Baden. I had been abroad so much that I -could understand and manage to speak French, but I had never been in -Germany and I did not know six words of the language of that country. As -a consequence, I dreaded to pass the custom-house at Kehl, nearly -opposite Strasbourg, and the first town on the German border at that -point. When the diligence stopped at this place I fairly trembled. I -knew 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. This<a name="page_431" id="page_431"></a> was the -package which had given me so much trouble in Paris, and 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 almost distracted, when an English gentleman who spoke -German, kindly offered to act as my interpreter.</p> - -<p>“Please to tell him,” said I, “that those bills and lithographs are not -articles of commerce; that they are simply advertisements.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_432" id="page_432"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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 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.</p> - -<p>He took the bill, and examining it, burst into a loud laugh. “Why, it is -but fifteen kreutzers!” he said.</p> - -<p>“How much is that?” I asked, feeling for the golden sovereigns in my -pocket.</p> - -<p>“Sixpence!” was the reply.</p> - -<p>I was astonished and delighted, and as I handed out the money, I begged -him to tell the officials that<a name="page_433" id="page_433"></a></p> - -<p><a name="THE_CUSTOMS_OF_THE_COUNTRY" id="THE_CUSTOMS_OF_THE_COUNTRY"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p432_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p432_sml.jpg" width="542" height="363" alt="THE “CUSTOMS” OF THE COUNTRY." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THE “CUSTOMS” OF THE COUNTRY.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">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.</p> - -<p>I found Baden a delightful little town, cleaner and neater than any city -I had ever visited. I learned afterwards that Mr. Benazet, the lessee of -the kurasal and gambling house, was compelled annually to expend large -sums for keeping the streets and public places clean. Indeed, he could -well afford to do so, as one would readily perceive upon witnessing the -vast amounts of money which were daily lost by the men and women of -nearly all nations, upon his tables of roulette and <i>rouge et noir</i>.</p> - -<p>The town has all the characteristics and accompaniments of a first-class -watering-place,—a theatre, public library, and several very fine -hotels. The springs are presumed to be the inducements which draw -hundreds of invalids to Baden-Baden every summer, but the gaming tables -are the real attractions to thousands of far weaker persons who spend -the entire season in gambling. It is no unusual thing to see ladies -sitting around these gaming tables, betting their silver and gold -pieces, until they lose five hundred or a thousand dollars, while men -frequently “invest” many times these amounts. If they happen to be -winners, they are very sure to be tempted to try again; and thus in the -long run succumb to the “advantage” which is given in the game to the -bankers over the “betters.”</p> - -<p>The games open at eleven o’clock every morning, Sundays included, and -close at eleven o’clock at night. Players have been known to sit at the -table, without once rising, even to eat or to drink, through the entire<a name="page_434" id="page_434"></a> -day and night session. Very early in the day, however, many a player -finds himself penniless, and, in such case, if he does not step to some -quiet place and blow his brains out, the proprietor of the “hell” will -present to him money enough to carry him at least fifty miles from -Baden-Baden.</p> - -<p>A few days before my arrival, a young lady hung herself. Indeed, several -suicides occur in all the German spas every year from the one -cause—ruin by gambling; but so callous do the players, as well as the -card-dealers become, that I can easily credit a story told me at -Homburg, the greatest gambling place in Europe: A Frenchman, sitting at -the table where scores of others were betting their money, lost his last -sou, and immediately drew a razor from his pocket and cut his throat. -The circumstance was scarcely sufficient to induce the players to raise -their eyes from the cards;—it was a mere incident, an episode in -matters more important. A sheet was thrown over the body, and as the -servants quietly removed the corpse, some one slipped into the vacated -chair, the dealer crying out in French, “make your bets, gentlemen,” and -the play went on as usual.</p> - -<p>In due time, when our preliminary arrangements were completed, the -General’s attendants, carriage, ponies and liveried coachman and footmen -arrived at Baden-Baden and were soon seen in the streets. The excitement -was intense and increased from day to day. Several crowned heads, -princes, lords and ladies who were spending the season at Baden-Baden, -with a vast number of wealthy pleasure seekers and travellers, crowded -the saloon in which the General exhibited during the entire time we -remained in the place. The charges<a name="page_435" id="page_435"></a> for admission were much higher than -had been demanded in any other city.</p> - -<p>Some time before I left America I received several letters from a young -man residing in the Black Forest in regard to a wonderful orchestrion -which he was building and which he wished to sell or send to me for -exhibition. When he saw the accounts of my arrival with Tom Thumb at -Baden-Baden, he announced his willingness to bring his orchestrion and -set it up in that place so that I could see and hear it. His letter was -forwarded to me at Frankfort and I replied that my engagements were made -many days in advance, that my time was invaluable, but that if he would -have his orchestrion set up and in perfect order at such a time on such -a day I would be there promptly to see it. Arriving at the appointed -time, I found that he had not completed his work. The beautiful case was -up, but the interior was unfinished. I was much disappointed, but not -nearly so much so as was the orchestrion builder.</p> - -<p>“Oh! Mr. Barnum,” said he, “I have worked with my men all last night and -all to-day and I will work all night again and have it in readiness -to-morrow morning. If you will only stay, I will go down on my knees to -you; yes, Mr. Barnum, I will cut off one of my fingers for you, if you -will only wait.”</p> - -<p>But I could not wait, even under this strong and certainly extraordinary -inducement, and was obliged to return to my engagements without hearing -the orchestrion, which, I afterwards learned, was sold and set up in St. -Petersburg.</p> - -<p>From Baden-Baden we went to other celebrated German Spas, including Ems, -Homburg and Weisbaden. These are all fashionable gambling as well as -watering<a name="page_436" id="page_436"></a> places, and during our visits they were crowded with visitors -from all parts of Europe. Our exhibitions were attended by thousands who -paid the same high prices that were charged for admission at -Baden-Baden, and at Wiesbaden, among many distinguished persons, the -King of Holland came to see the little General. These exhibitions were -among the most profitable that had ever been given, and I was able to -remit thousands of dollars to my agents in the United States to aid in -re-purchasing my real estate and to assist in taking up such clock notes -as were offered for sale. A short but very remunerative season at -Frankfort-on-the-Maine, the home and starting-place of the great house -of the Rothschilds, assisted me largely in carrying out these purposes.</p> - -<p>There was the greatest difficulty, however, in getting permission to -hold our exhibitions in Frankfort. When I applied for a permit at the -office of the Commissary of Police, I was told that office hours were -ended for the day, and that the chief official, who alone could give me -the permit, had gone home to dinner. As I was in a great hurry to begin, -I went to the residence of the Commissary, where I was met at the door -by a gorgeously arrayed flunkey, to whom I stated my business, and who -informed me that I could on no account see the distinguished official -till dinner was over.</p> - -<p>I waited one hour and a half by my watch for that mighty man to dine, -and then he condescended to admit me to his presence. When I had stated -my business, he demanded to know why I had not applied to him at his -office in the proper hours, declaring that he would do no business with -me at his house, and that I must<a name="page_437" id="page_437"></a> come to him to-morrow. I went, and -after a great deal of questioning and delay, I received the sought-for -license to exhibit; but I have never seen more red-tape wound up on a -single reel. All my men, all Tom Thumb’s attendants, the General and -myself, in addition to showing our passports, were obliged to register -our names, ages, occupations, and what not, in a huge book, and to -answer all sorts of questions. At last we were permitted to go, and we -opened our doors to the throng that came to see the General.</p> - -<p>But a day or two after our exhibitions began, came a messenger with a -command that I should appear before the Commissary of Police. I was very -much frightened, I confess; I was sure that some of my men had been -doing or saying something which had offended the authorities, and -although I was conscious that my own conduct had been circumspect, I -started for the police office in fear and trembling. On the way, I met -Mr. Henry J. Raymond, editor of the <i>New York Times</i>, who was in company -with a gentleman from Ohio, to whom he introduced me, and thereupon I -stated my trouble, and my opinion that I was about to be fined, -imprisoned, possibly beheaded,—I knew not what.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be alarmed,” said Mr. Raymond, “we will keep an eye on the -proceedings, and if you get into trouble we will try to get you out.”</p> - -<p>Arriving at head-quarters, I was solemnly shown into the private office -of the Commissary who asked me to be seated, and then rose and locked -the door. This movement was by no means calculated to calm my agitation, -and I at once exclaimed, in the best French I could summon:</p> - -<p>“Sir, I demand an interpreter.”<a name="page_438" id="page_438"></a></p> - -<p>“We do not need one,” he replied; “I can understand your French, and you -can understand mine; I wish to consult you confidentially on a very -private matter, and one that concerns me deeply.”</p> - -<p>Somewhat reassured at this remarkable announcement, I begged him to -proceed, which he did as follows:</p> - -<p>“Do not be uneasy, sir, as this matter wholly affects me; I must state -to you in entire secrecy that the half of my whole fortune is invested -in the bonds of one of your American railways (giving me the name of the -road), and as I have received no interest for a long time I am naturally -alarmed for the safety of my property. I wish to know if the road is -good for anything, and if so, why the interest on the bonds is not -paid.”</p> - -<p>I was happy to tell him that I had met that very morning a gentleman -from Ohio who was well acquainted with the condition of this road, which -was in his vicinity at home, and that I would speedily derive from him -the desired information. The Commissary overwhelmed me with profuse -thanks, adding: “Remember, the half of my entire fortune is at stake.”</p> - -<p>Impressed with the magnitude of the loss he might be called upon to -suffer, I ventured, as I was going out, to ask him the amount of his -investment.</p> - -<p>“Four thousand dollars,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>When I thought of his liveried lackeys, his house, his style, his -dignity, and his enormous consequence, I could not but smile to think -that all these things were supported on his small salary and an “entire” -fortune of $8,000, one-half of which was invested in the bonds of a -doubtful American railway company.</p> - -<p>We exhibited at Mayence and several other places in the vicinity, -reaping golden harvests everywhere, and<a name="page_439" id="page_439"></a> then went down the Rhine to -Cologne. The journey down the river was very pleasant and we duly “did” -the scenery and lions on the way. The boats were very ill-provided with -sleeping accommodations, and one night, as I saw our party must sit up, -I suggested that we should play a social game of euchre if we could get -the cards. The clerk of the boat was prompt in affording the gratifying -intelligence that he had cards to sell and I bought a pack, paying him a -good round price. Immediately thereafter, the clerk, pocketing the -money, stated that “it was nine o’clock and according to the regulations -he must turn out all the lights”—which he did, leaving us to play -cards, if we wished to, in the dark.</p> - -<p>The slowness of the boat was a great annoyance and on one occasion I -said to the captain:</p> - -<p>“Look here! confound your slow old boat. I have a great mind to put on -an opposition American line and burst up your business.”</p> - -<p>He knew me, and knew something of Yankee enterprise, and he was -evidently alarmed, but a thought came to his relief:</p> - -<p>“You cannot do it,” he triumphantly exclaimed; “the government will not -permit you to run more than nine miles an hour.”</p> - -<p>We remained at Cologne only long enough to visit the famous cathedral -and to see other curiosities and works of art, and then pushed on to -Rotterdam and Amsterdam.<a name="page_440" id="page_440"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX"></a>CHAPTER XXX.<br /><br /> -<small>IN HOLLAND.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">THE FINEST AND FLATTEST COUNTRY IN THE -WORLD—SUPER-CLEANLINESS—HABITS AND CUSTOMS—“KREMIS”—THE ALBINO -FAMILY—THE HAGUE—AUGUST BELMONT—JAPANESE MUSEUM—MANUFACTURED -FABULOUS ANIMALS—A GENEROUS OFFER—VALUABLE PICTURES—AN -ASTONISHED SUPERINTENDENT—BACK TO ENGLAND—EXHIBITIONS IN -MANCHESTER—I RETURN AGAIN TO AMERICA—FUN ON THE VOYAGE—MOCK -TRIALS—BARNUM AS A PROSECUTOR AND AS A PRISONER—COLD SHOULDERS IN -NEW YORK—PREPARING TO MOVE INTO MY OLD HOME—CARELESS PAINTERS AND -CARPENTERS—IRANISTAN BURNED TO THE GROUND—NEXT TO NO -INSURANCE—SALE OF THE PROPERTY—ELIAS HOWE, JR.</p></div> - -<p>H<small>OLLAND</small> gave me 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<a name="page_441" id="page_441"></a> -there is a vast amount of wealth in the country—live with great -frugality, though all of the people live well.</p> - -<p>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 white-washed -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.</p> - -<p>The reason, I think, why our exhibitions were not more successful in -Rotterdam and Amsterdam, is that the people are too frugal to spend much -money for amusement, 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<a name="page_442" id="page_442"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>On the first day of my visit to this museum, I 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<a name="page_443" id="page_443"></a> in the American -Museum. There were serpents two yards long, with a head and 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” I easily divined from whence the Fejee -mermaid originated.</p> - -<p>While I was standing near this remarkable cabinet the superintendent of -the Museum came, and, introducing himself to me, asked me from what -country I came and how I liked the Museum. I told him that I was an -American and that the collection was interesting and remarkable, adding:</p> - -<p>“You seem to have a great variety of mermaids here.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” he replied; “the Japanese exercise great ingenuity in -manufacturing fabulous animals, especially mermaids; and by the way,” he -added, “your great showman, Barnum, is said to have succeeded in -humbugging the Americans to a very considerable extent, by means of what -he claimed to be a veritable mermaid.”</p> - -<p>I said that such was the story, though I believed that Barnum only used -the mermaid as an advertisement for his Museum.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps so,” responded the superintendent, “but he is a shrewd and -industrious manager. We have had frequent applications from his European -agents for duplicates from our collection and have occasionally sold -some to them to be sent to America.”</p> - -<p>The superintendent then politely asked me to go into his office, as he -had something to offer me, which, as an American gentleman, he was sure -I would prize<a name="page_444" id="page_444"></a> highly; but the business was of a strictly confidential -character. He asked me to be seated, and cautiously locking the door and -drawing his chair near to mine, he informed me in a tone scarcely above -a whisper that he was the executor of the estate of a wealthy gentleman, -recently deceased, with power to dispose of the property, which included -a large number of exceedingly valuable ancient and modern paintings.</p> - -<p>“You must be well aware,” he continued, “that my countrymen would be -extremely unwilling to permit these precious specimens of art to leave -Holland, but,” and here he gave my hand a slight but most friendly -squeeze, “I have such a high respect, I might almost say reverence for -your great republic that I am only too happy in the opportunity now -afforded me of allowing you to take a very few of these fine paintings -to America at an unprecedentedly low price.”</p> - -<p>I thought he was a little too generous, and I gave him what the Irishman -called an “evasive answer;” but this only seemed to stimulate him to -further efforts to effect a sale,—so he turned to his memorandum book -and pointed out the names of gentlemen from Boston, Philadelphia, -Baltimore, and New Orleans, who had ordered one or more cases from this -large gallery of paintings. This exhibition was conclusive, and I at -once said that I would not decide to purchase till I returned from -Amsterdam. I quite understood the whole thing; but not to leave my -anxious friend too long in suspense I quietly handed my card to him, -remarking, “Perhaps you have heard of that name before.”</p> - -<p>His cheeks were fairly crimson; “surely,” said he, “you are not Mr. -Barnum, of the New York Museum?”<a name="page_445" id="page_445"></a></p> - -<p>“Nobody else,” I replied with a laugh.</p> - -<p>He stammered out an apology for his mermaid remarks, but I patted him on -the shoulder in a friendly way, telling him it was “all right,” and that -I considered it a capital joke. This re-assured him and we then had a -very pleasant half-hour’s conversation, in which he gave me several -valuable hints of curiosities to be procured at the Hague and elsewhere -in Holland, and we parted good friends.</p> - -<p>A week afterwards, a young gentleman from Boston introduced himself to -me at Amsterdam and remarked that he knew I was there for he had been so -informed by the museum superintendent at the Hague. “And, by the by,” he -added, “as soon as this superintendent discovered I was from America, he -told me if I would go into his office he would show me the greatest -curiosity in the Museum. I went, and he pointed to the card of ‘P. T. -Barnum’ which he had conspicuously nailed up over his desk; he then told -me about your visit to the museum last week.”</p> - -<p>“Did he sell you any paintings?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“No,” was the reply; “but he informed me that as executor of an estate, -including a fine gallery, he could sell me a few cases at a very low -price, mainly on account of his high regard for the great republic to -which I belonged.”</p> - -<p>I have no doubt that this estate is still unsettled, and that a few of -the valuable paintings, if cheap Dutch artists keep up the supply, are -still for sale to the public generally, and to representatives of the -revered republic especially. Undoubtedly this kind of business will -continue so long as Waterloo relics are manufactured at Birmingham, and -are sent to be<a name="page_446" id="page_446"></a> plowed in and dug up again on the memorable field where -Wellington met Napoleon. And how many very worthy persons there are, -like the superintendent of the Hague Museum, who have been terribly -shocked at the story of the Fejee Mermaid and the Woolly Horse!</p> - -<p>After a truly delightful visit in Holland, we went back to England; and, -proceeding to Manchester, opened our exhibition. For several days the -hall was crowded to overflowing at each of the three, and sometimes -four, entertainments we gave every day. By this time, my wife and two -youngest daughters had come over to London, and I hired furnished -lodgings in the suburbs where they could live within the strictest -limits of economy. It was necessary now for me 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 my absence, I set my -face once more towards home and the west, and took steamer at Liverpool -for New York.</p> - -<p>The trip, like most of the passages which I have made across the -Atlantic, was an exceedingly pleasant one. These frequent voyages were -to me the rests, the reliefs from almost unremitting industry, anxiety, -and care, and I always managed to have more or less fun on board ship -every time I crossed the ocean. During the present trip, for amusement -and to pass away the time, the passengers got up a number of mock trials -which afforded a vast deal of fun. A judge was selected, jurymen drawn, -prisoners arraigned, counsel employed, and all the formalities of a -court established. I have the vanity to think that if my good fortune -had<a name="page_447" id="page_447"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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 defence, which was granted. -Meanwhile, seats were arranged to accommodate the court and spectators, -and extra settees were placed for<a name="page_448" id="page_448"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>He testified to having visited the prisoner’s Museum, and of being -humbugged by the Fejee 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.</p> - -<p>“Oh! yes, I saw thousands of other things.”</p> - -<p>“Were they curious?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly; many of them very astonishing.”</p> - -<p>“Did you witness a dramatic representation in the Museum?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, a very good one.”</p> - -<p>“What did you pay for all this?”</p> - -<p>“Twenty-five cents.”<a name="page_449" id="page_449"></a></p> - -<p>“That will do, sir; you can step down.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“How did you live there?” asked one of the counsel for the prosecution.</p> - -<p>“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 little 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.”</p> - -<p>Of course this elicited much mirth. The first question put on the -cross-examination was this:</p> - -<p>“Are you a naturalist, sir?”</p> - -<p>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 question, the witness seemed a little bewildered, and the -counsel for the prosecution looked puzzled.</p> - -<p>The question was repeated with some emphasis.</p> - -<p>“No, sir!” replied the witness, hesitatingly, “I am not a naturalist.”<a name="page_450" id="page_450"></a></p> - -<p>“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)—“and if they were humbugs, I suppose that -even the learned counsel opposed to me, will not claim that they were -out of place?”</p> - -<p>“They may have been humbugs,” replied the witness.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be alarmed, sir, we have got one, and we will now introduce him,” -replied the counsel.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“What evidence have you,” I inquired, “that this was the same donkey -which you sold to me?”</p> - -<p>“The fact that the animal recognized me, as was evident from his braying -as soon as he saw me.”<a name="page_451" id="page_451"></a></p> - -<p>“Are you a naturalist, sir?”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 me, in consideration of the amusement I had intentionally and -unintentionally furnished to the passengers during the voyage.</p> - -<p>After my arrival in New York, oftentimes in passing<a name="page_452" id="page_452"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>Mr. James D. Johnson, of Bridgeport, one of my assignees, who had -written to me that my personal presence might facilitate a settlement of -my affairs, told me soon after my arrival that there was no probability -of disposing of Iranistan at present, and that I might as well move my -family into the house. I had arrived in August and my family followed me -from London in September, and October 20, 1857, my second daughter, -Helen, was married in the house of her elder sister, Mrs. D. W. -Thompson, in Bridgeport, to Mr. Samuel H. Hurd.</p> - -<p>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 me 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<a name="page_453" id="page_453"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>I was staying at the Astor House, in New York, when, on the morning of -December 18, 1857, I received a telegram from my brother Philo F. -Barnum, dated at Bridgeport and informing me 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. My beautiful Iranistan was gone! This was not only a -serious loss to my estate, for it had probably cost at least $150,000, -but it was generally regarded as a public calamity. It was the only -building in its peculiar style of architecture, of any pretension, in -America, and many persons visited Bridgeport every year expressly to see -Iranistan. The insurance on the mansion had usually been about $62,000, -but I 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.</p> - -<p>Subsequently, my assignees sold the grounds and out-houses of Iranistan -to the late Elias Howe, Jr., the celebrated<a name="page_454" id="page_454"></a> inventor of the needle for -sewing-machines. The property brought $50,000, which, with the $28,000 -insurance, went into my 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. The -estate (in 1869) was to be divided among Mr. Howe’s three children and -in all probability three houses will be built upon the beautiful -grounds.<a name="page_455" id="page_455"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXI" id="CHAPTER_XXXI"></a>CHAPTER XXXI.<br /><br /> -<small>THE ART OF MONEY GETTING.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">BACK ONCE MORE TO ENGLAND—TOUR THROUGH SCOTLAND AND WALES—HOW I -CAME TO LECTURE—ADVICE OF MY FRIENDS—MY LECTURE—HOW TO MAKE -MONEY AND HOW TO KEEP IT—WHAT THE PAPERS SAID ABOUT ME—PRAISE OF -THE LONDON PRESS—LECTURING IN THE PROVINCES—PERFORMANCES AT -CAMBRIDGE—CALL FOR JOICE HETH—EXTRAORDINARY FUN AT OXFORD—THE -AUDIENCE AND LECTURER TAKING TURNS—A UNIVERSITY -BREAKFAST—MAGNIFICENT OFFER FOR A COPYRIGHT—SUCCESS OF MY -ENTERPRISE—MORE MONEY FOR THE CLOCK CREDITORS.</p></div> - -<p>S<small>EEING</small> the necessity of making more money to assist in extricating me -from my financial difficulties, and leaving my affairs in the hands of -Mr. James D. Johnson—my wife and youngest daughter, Pauline, boarding -with my eldest daughter, Mrs. Thompson, in Bridgeport—early in 1858, I -went back to England, and took Tom Thumb to all the principal places in -Scotland and Wales, giving many exhibitions and making much money which -was remitted, as heretofore, to my agents and assignees in America.</p> - -<p>Finding, after a while, that my personal attention was not needed in the -Tom Thumb exhibitions and confiding him almost wholly to agents who -continued the tour through Great Britain, under my general advice and -instruction, I turned my individual attention to a new field. At the -suggestion of several American gentlemen, resident in London, I prepared -a lecture on “The Art of Money-Getting.” I told my friends that, -considering my clock complications, I<a name="page_456" id="page_456"></a> thought I was more competent to -speak on “The Art of Money Losing”; but they encouraged me by reminding -me that I could not have lost money, if I had not previously possessed -the faculty of making it. They further assured me that my name having -been intimately associated with the Jenny Lind concerts and other great -money-making enterprises, the lecture would be sure to prove attractive -and profitable.</p> - -<p>The old clocks ticked in my ear the reminder that I should improve every -opportunity to “turn an honest penny,” and my lecture was duly announced -for delivery in the great St. James’ Hall, Regent Street, Piccadilly. It -was thoroughly advertised—a feature I never neglected—and, at the -appointed time, the hall, which would hold three thousand people, was -completely filled, at prices of three and two shillings, (seventy-five -and fifty cents,) per seat, according to location. It was the evening of -December 29, 1858. Since my arrival in Great Britain the previous -spring, I had spent months in travelling with General Tom Thumb, and now -I was to present myself in a new capacity to the English public as a -lecturer. I could see in my audience all my American friends who had -suggested this effort; all my theatrical and literary friends; and as I -saw several gentlemen whom I knew to be connected with the leading -London papers, I felt sure that my success or failure would be duly -chronicled next morning. There was, moreover, a general audience that -seemed eager to see the “showman” of whom they had heard so much, and to -catch from his lips the “art” which, in times past, had contributed so -largely to his success in life. Stimulated by these things, I tried to -do my best, and I think I did it. The following is the lecture -substantially as<a name="page_457" id="page_457"></a> it was delivered, though it was interspersed with many -anecdotes and illustrations which are necessarily omitted; and I should -add, that the subjoined copy being adapted to the meridian in which it -has been repeatedly delivered, contains numerous local allusions to men -and matters in the United States, which, of course, did not appear in -the original draft prepared for my English audiences:</p> - -<p class="chead">THE ART OF MONEY GETTING.</p> - -<p>In the United States, where we have more land than people, it is not at -all difficult for persons in good health to make money. In this -comparatively new field there are so many avenues of success open, so -many vocations which are not crowded, that any person of either sex who -is willing, at least for the time being, to engage in any respectable -occupation that offers, may find lucrative employment.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_458" id="page_458"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>True economy is misapprehended, and people go through life without -properly comprehending what that principle is. Some say, “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 two pence 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 two pence, 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<a name="page_459" id="page_459"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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. This is an illustration of Dr. Franklin’s “saving -at the spigot and wasting at the bung-hole”; “penny wise and pound -foolish.” <i>Punch</i> in speaking of this “one-idea” class of people says -“they are like the man who bought a penny herring for his family’s -dinner and then hired a coach and four to take it home.” I never knew a -man to succeed by practising this kind of economy.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_460" id="page_460"></a> 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. Dr. Franklin says “it is the eyes of others and not our own eyes -which ruin us. If all the world were blind except myself I should not -care for fine clothes or furniture.” It is the fear of what Mrs. Grundy -may say that keeps the noses of many worthy families to the grindstone. -In America many persons like to repeat “we are all free and equal,” but -it is a great mistake in more senses than one.</p> - -<p>That we are born “free and equal” is a glorious truth in one sense, yet -we are not all born equally rich, and we never shall be. One may say, -“there is a man who has an income of fifty thousand dollars per annum, -while I have but one thousand dollars; I knew that fellow when he was -poor like myself;<a name="page_461" id="page_461"></a> now he is rich and thinks he is better than I am; I -will show him that I am as good as he is; I will go and buy a horse and -buggy;—no, I cannot do that but I will go and hire one and ride this -afternoon on the same road that he does, and thus prove to him that I am -as good as he is.”</p> - -<p>My friend, you need not take that trouble, you can easily prove that you -are “as good as he is”; you have only to behave as well as he does, but -you cannot make anybody believe that you are as rich as he is. Besides, -if you put on these “airs,” and waste your time and spend your money, -your poor wife will be obliged to scrub her fingers off at home, and buy -her tea two ounces at a time, and everything else in proportion, in -order that you may keep up “appearances,” and after all, deceive nobody. -On the other hand, Mrs. Smith may say that her next-door neighbor -married Johnson for his money, and “everybody says so.” She has a nice -one thousand dollar camel’s hair shawl, and she will make Smith get her -an imitation one and she will sit in a pew right next to her neighbor in -church, in order to prove that she is her equal.</p> - -<p>My good woman you will not get ahead in the world, if your vanity and -envy thus take the lead. In this country, where we believe the majority -ought to rule, we ignore that principle in regard to fashion, and let a -handful of people, calling themselves the aristocracy, run up a false -standard of perfection, and in endeavoring to rise to that standard, we -constantly keep ourselves poor; all the time digging away for the sake -of outside appearances. How much wiser to be a “law unto ourselves” and -say, “we will regulate our out-go by our income, and lay up something -for a rainy day.” People<a name="page_462" id="page_462"></a> ought to be as sensible on the subject of -money-getting as on any other subject. Like causes produce like effects. -You cannot accumulate a fortune by taking the road that leads to -poverty. It needs no prophet to tell us that those who live fully up to -their means, without any thought of a reverse in this life, can never -attain a pecuniary independence.</p> - -<p>Men and women accustomed to gratify every whim and caprice, will find it -hard, at first, to cut down their various unnecessary expenses, and will -feel it a great self denial to live in a smaller house than they have -been accustomed to, with less expensive furniture, less company, less -costly clothing, fewer servants, a less number of balls, parties, -theatre goings, carriage ridings, pleasure excursions, cigar smokings, -liquor drinkings, and other extravagances; but, after all, if they will -try the plan of laying by a “nest-egg,” or in other words, a small sum -of money, at interest or judiciously invested in land, they will be -surprised at the pleasure to be derived from constantly adding to their -little “pile,” as well as from all the economical habits which are -engendered by this course.</p> - -<p>The old suit of clothes, and the old bonnet and dress, will answer for -another season; the Croton or spring water will taste better than -champagne; a cold bath and a brisk walk will prove more exhilarating -than a ride in the finest coach; a social chat, an evening’s reading in -the family circle, or an hour’s play of “hunt the slipper” and “blind -man’s buff,” will be far more pleasant than a fifty or a five hundred -dollar party, when the reflection on the difference in cost is indulged -in by those who begin to know the pleasures of saving. Thousands of men -are kept poor, and tens of thousands<a name="page_463" id="page_463"></a> are made so after they have -acquired quite sufficient to support them well through life, in -consequence of laying their plans of living on too broad a platform. -Some families expend twenty thousand dollars per annum, and some much -more, and would scarcely know how to live on less, while others secure -more solid enjoyment frequently on a twentieth part of that amount. -Prosperity is a more severe ordeal than adversity, especially sudden -prosperity. “Easy come, easy go,” is an old and true proverb. A spirit -of pride and vanity, when permitted to have full sway, is the undying -canker worm which gnaws the very vitals of a man’s worldly possessions, -let them be small or great, hundreds or millions. Many persons, as they -begin to prosper, immediately expand their ideas and commence expending -for luxuries, until in a short time their expenses swallow up their -income, and they become ruined in their ridiculous attempts to keep up -appearances, and make a “sensation.”</p> - -<p>I know a gentleman of fortune who says, that when he first began to -prosper, his wife would have a new and elegant sofa. “That sofa,” he -says, “cost me thirty thousand dollars!” When the sofa reached the -house, it was found necessary to get chairs to match; then side-boards, -carpets and tables “to correspond” with them, and so on through the -entire stock of furniture; when at last it was found that the house -itself was quite too small and old-fashioned for the furniture, and a -new one was built to correspond with the new purchases; “thus,” added my -friend, “summing up an outlay of thirty thousand dollars caused by that -single sofa, and saddling on me, in the shape of servants, equipage, and -the necessary expenses attendant upon keeping<a name="page_464" id="page_464"></a> up a fine -‘establishment,’ a yearly outlay of eleven thousand dollars, and a tight -pinch at that; whereas, ten years ago, we lived with much more real -comfort, because with much less care, on as many hundreds. The truth -is,” he continued, “that sofa would have brought me to inevitable -bankruptcy, had not a most unexampled tide of prosperity kept me above -it, and had I not checked the natural desire to ‘cut a dash.’ ”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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 flame 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<a name="page_465" id="page_465"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Young lads regret that they are not men; they<a name="page_466" id="page_466"></a> would like to go to bed -boys and wake up men; and to accomplish this they copy the bad habits of -their seniors. Little Tommy and Johnny see their fathers or uncles smoke -a pipe and they say, “If I could only do that I would be a man too; -uncle John has gone out and left his pipe of tobacco, let us try it.” -They take a match and light it, and then puff away. “We will learn to -smoke; do you like it Johnny?” That lad dolefully replies: “Not very -much; it tastes bitter”; by and by he grows pale, but he persists, and -he soon offers up a sacrifice on the altar of fashion; but the boys -stick to it and persevere until at last they conquer their natural -appetites and become the victims of acquired tastes.</p> - -<p>I speak “by the book,” for I have noticed its effects on myself, having -gone so far as to smoke ten or fifteen cigars a day, although I have not -used the weed during the last fourteen years, and never shall again. The -more a man smokes, the more he craves smoking; the last cigar smoked, -simply excites the desire for another, and so on incessantly.</p> - -<p>Take the tobacco-chewer. In the morning when he gets up, he puts a quid -in his mouth and keeps it there all day, never taking it out except to -exchange it for a fresh one, or when he is going to eat; oh! yes, at -intervals during the day and evening, many a chewer takes out the quid -and holds it in his hand long enough to take a drink, and then pop it -goes back again. This simply proves that the appetite for rum is even -stronger than that for tobacco. When the tobacco chewer goes to your -country seat and you show him your grapery and fruit house and the -beauties of your garden, when you offer him some fresh, ripe fruit, and -say, “My friend,<a name="page_467" id="page_467"></a> I have got here the most delicious apples and pears -and peaches and apricots; I have imported them from Spain, France and -Italy,—just see those luscious grapes; there is nothing more delicious -nor more healthy than ripe fruit, so help yourself; I want to see you -delight yourself with these things,” he will roll the dear quid under -his tongue and answer, “No, I thank you, I have got tobacco in my -mouth.” His palate has become narcotized by the noxious weed, and he has -lost, in a great measure, the delicate and enviable taste for fruits. -This shows what expensive, useless and injurious habits men will get -into. I speak from experience. I have smoked until I trembled like an -aspen leaf, the blood rushed to my head, and I had a palpitation of the -heart which I thought was heart disease, till I was almost killed with -fright. When I consulted my physician, he said “break off tobacco -using.” I was not only injuring my health and spending a great deal of -money, but I was setting a bad example. I obeyed his counsel. No young -man in the world ever looked so beautiful, as he thought he did, behind -a fifteen cent cigar or a meerschaum!</p> - -<p>These remarks apply with ten-fold 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<a name="page_468" id="page_468"></a> 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.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Don’t Mistake your Vocation.</span>—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 watch-making is a nice, genteel business; I think I will -make you a goldsmith.” He does this regardless of Sam’s natural -inclinations, or genius.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_469" id="page_469"></a> 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 up -hill and seizing every excuse for leaving his work and idling away his -time. Watch making is repulsive to him.</p> - -<p>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 the 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.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Select the Right Location.</span>—After securing the right vocation, you must -be careful to select the proper<a name="page_470" id="page_470"></a> location. You may have been cut out for -a hotel keeper, and they say it requires a genius to “know how to keep a -hotel.” You might conduct a hotel like clockwork, and provide -satisfactorily for five hundred guests every day; yet, if you should -locate your house in a small village where there is no railroad -communication or public travel, the location would be your ruin. It is -equally important that you do not commence business where there are -already enough to meet all demands in the same occupation. I remember a -case which illustrates this subject. When I was in London in 1858, I was -passing down Holborn with an English friend and came to the “penny -shows.” They had immense cartoons outside, portraying the wonderful -curiosities to be seen “all for a penny.” Being a little in the “show -line” myself, I said “let us go in here.” We soon found ourselves in the -presence of the illustrious showman, and he proved to be the sharpest -man in that line I had ever met. He told us some extraordinary stories -in reference to his bearded ladies, his Albinos, and his Armadillos, -which we could hardly believe, but thought it “better to believe it than -look after the proof.” He finally begged to call our attention to some -wax statuary, and showed us a lot of the dirtiest and filthiest wax -figures imaginable. They looked as if they had not seen water since the -Deluge.</p> - -<p>“What is there so wonderful about your statuary?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“I beg you not to speak so satirically,” he replied, “Sir, these are not -Madam Tussaud’s wax figures, all covered with gilt and tinsel and -imitation diamonds, and copied from engravings and photographs. Mine, -sir, were taken from life. Whenever you look upon one of<a name="page_471" id="page_471"></a> those figures, -you may consider that you are looking upon the living individual.”</p> - -<p>Glancing casually at them, I saw one labelled “Henry VIII.,” and feeling -a little curious upon seeing that it looked like Calvin Edson, the -living skeleton, I said:</p> - -<p>“Do you call that ‘Henry the Eighth’?”</p> - -<p>He replied, “Certainly, sir; it was taken from life at Hampton Court by -special order of his majesty, on such a day.”</p> - -<p>He would have given the hour of the day if I had insisted; I said -“everybody knows that ‘Henry VIII,’ was a great stout old king, and that -figure is lean and lank; what do you say to that?”</p> - -<p>“Why,” he replied, “you would be lean and lank yourself, if you sat -there as long as he has.”</p> - -<p>There was no resisting such arguments. I said to my English friend, “Let -us go out; do not tell him who I am; I show the white feather; he beats -me.”</p> - -<p>He followed us to the door, and seeing the rabble in the street he -called out, “ladies and gentlemen, I beg to draw your attention to the -respectable character of my visitors,” pointing to us as we walked away. -I called upon him a couple of days afterwards; told him who I was, and -said:</p> - -<p>“My friend, you are an excellent showman, but you have selected a bad -location.”</p> - -<p>He replied, “This is true, sir; I feel that all my talents are thrown -away; but what can I do?”</p> - -<p>“You can go to America,” I replied. “You can give full play to your -faculties over there; you will find plenty of elbow room in America; I -will engage you for two years; after that you will be able to go on your -own account.”<a name="page_472" id="page_472"></a></p> - -<p>He accepted my offer and remained two years in my New York Museum. He -then went to New Orleans and carried on a travelling show business -during the summer. To-day he is worth sixty thousand dollars, simply -because he selected the right vocation and also secured the proper -location. The old proverb says, “Three removes are as bad as a fire,” -but when a man is in the fire, it matters but little how soon or how -often he removes.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Avoid Debt.</span>—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.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Beecher advised young men to get in debt if they could to a small -amount in the purchase of land in<a name="page_473" id="page_473"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Money is in some respects like fire—it is a very<a name="page_474" id="page_474"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>I was born in the blue law State of Connecticut, where the old Puritans -had laws so rigid that it was said, “they fined a man for kissing his -wife on Sunday.” Yet these rich old Puritans would have thousands of -dollars at interest, and on Saturday night would be worth a certain -amount; on Sunday they would go to church and perform all the duties of -a Christian. On waking up on Monday morning, they would find themselves -considerably richer than the Saturday night previous, simply because -their money placed at interest had worked faithfully for them all day -Sunday, according to law!</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Persevere.</span>—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:<a name="page_475" id="page_475"></a></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“This thing remember, when I am dead,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Be sure you are right, then go ahead.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>It is, no doubt, often true, as Shakespeare says:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“There is a tide in the affairs of men,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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 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.” You will see this -illustrated in any sphere of life.<a name="page_476" id="page_476"></a></p> - -<p>Take two Generals; both understand military tactics, both educated at -West Point, if you please, both equally gifted; yet one, having this -principle of perseverance, and the other lacking it, the former will -succeed in his profession, while the latter will fail. One may hear the -cry, “the enemy are coming, and they have got cannon.”</p> - -<p>“Got cannon?” says the hesitating General.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Then halt every man.”</p> - -<p>He wants time to reflect; his hesitation is his ruin. The enemy passes -unmolested, or overwhelms him. The General of pluck, perseverance and -self reliance goes into battle with a will, and amid the clash of arms, -the booming of cannon, and the shrieks of the wounded and dying, you -will see this man persevering, going on, cutting and slashing his way -through with unwavering determination, and if you are near enough, you -will hear him shout, “I will fight it out on this line if it takes all -summer.”</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Whatever you do, do with all your might.</span>—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 <i>now</i>. 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.</p> - -<p>Fortune always favors the brave, and never helps a man who does not help -himself. It won’t do to spend<a name="page_477" id="page_477"></a> 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:</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“But,” was the response, “if everybody was like you, it would be spent -in two months, and what would you do then?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! divide again; keep dividing, of course!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Depend upon your own personal exertions.</span>—The eye of the employer is -often worth more than the hands of a dozen employees. In the nature of -things, an agent cannot be so faithful to his employer as to himself. -Many who are employers will call to mind instances<a name="page_478" id="page_478"></a> where the best -employees have overlooked important points which could not have escaped -their own observation as a proprietor. No man has a right to expect to -succeed in life unless he understands his business, and nobody can -understand his business thoroughly unless he learns it by personal -application and experience. A man may be a manufacturer; he has got to -learn the many details of his business personally; he will learn -something every day, and he will find he will make mistakes nearly every -day. And these very mistakes are helps to him in the way of experiences -if he but heeds them. He will be like the Yankee tin-peddler, who, -having been cheated as to quality in the purchase of his merchandise, -said: “All right, there’s a little information to be gained every day; I -will never be cheated in that way again.” Thus a man buys his -experience, and it is the best kind if not purchased at too dear a rate.</p> - -<p>I hold that every man should, like Cuvier, the French naturalist, -thoroughly know his business. So proficient was he in the study of -natural history, that you might bring to him the bone or even a section -of a bone of an animal which he had never seen described, and reasoning -from analogy, he would be able to draw a picture of the object from -which the bone had been taken. On one occasion his students attempted to -deceive him. They rolled one of their number in a cow skin and put him -under the Professor’s table as a new specimen. When the philosopher came -into the room, some of the students asked him what animal it was. -Suddenly the animal said “I am the devil and I am going to eat you.” It -was but natural that Cuvier should desire to classify this creature, and -examining it intently, he said,<a name="page_479" id="page_479"></a> “Divided hoof; graminivorous! it cannot -be done.”</p> - -<p>He knew that an animal with a split hoof must live upon grass and grain, -or other kind of vegetation, and would not be inclined to eat flesh, -dead or alive, so he considered himself perfectly safe. The possession -of a perfect knowledge of your business is an absolute necessity in -order to insure success.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>There is no such thing in the world as luck. There never was a man who -could go out in the morning and<a name="page_480" id="page_480"></a> 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.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Use the best tools.</span>—Men in engaging employees should be careful to get -the best. Understand, you cannot have too good tools to work with, and -there is no tool you should be so particular about as living tools. If -you get a good one, it is better to keep him, than keep changing. He -learns something every day, and you are benefited by the experience he -acquires. He is worth more to you this year than last, and he is the -last man to part with, provided his habits are good and he continues -faithful. If, as he gets more valuable, he demands an exorbitant -increase of salary on the supposition that you can’t do without him, let -him go. Whenever I have such an employee, I always discharge him; first, -to convince him that his place may be supplied, and second, because he -is good for nothing if he thinks he is invaluable and cannot be spared.</p> - -<p>But I would keep him, if possible, in order to profit from the result of -his experience. An important element in an employee is the brain. You -can see bills up, “Hands Wanted,” but “hands” are not worth a great deal -without “heads.” Mr. Beecher illustrates this, in this wise:</p> - -<p>An employee offers his services by saying, “I have a pair of hands and -one of my fingers thinks.” “That is very good,” says the employer. -Another man comes<a name="page_481" id="page_481"></a> along, and says “he has two fingers that think.” “Ah! -that is better.” But a third calls in and says that “all his fingers and -thumbs think.” That is better still. Finally another steps in, and says, -“I have a brain that thinks; I think all over; I am a thinking as well -as a working man!” “You are the man I want,” says the delighted -employer.</p> - -<p>Those men who have brains and experience are therefore the most valuable -and not to be readily parted with; it is better for them, as well as -yourself, to keep them, at reasonable advances in their salaries from -time to time.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Don’t get above your business.</span>—Young men after they get through their -business training, or apprenticeship, instead of pursuing their -avocation and rising in their business, will often lie about doing -nothing. They say, “I have learned my business, but I am not going to be -a hireling; what is the object of learning my trade or profession, -unless I establish myself?”</p> - -<p>“Have you capital to start with?”</p> - -<p>“No, but I am going to have it.”</p> - -<p>“How are you going to get it?”</p> - -<p>“I will tell you confidentially; I have a wealthy old aunt, and she will -die pretty soon; but if she does not, I expect to find some rich old man -who will lend me a few thousands to give me a start. If I only get the -money to start with I will do well.”</p> - -<p>There is no greater mistake than when a young man believes he will -succeed with borrowed money. Why? Because every man’s experience -coincides with that of Mr. Astor, who said, ‘it was more difficult for -him to accumulate his first thousand dollars, than all the succeeding -millions that made up his colossal fortune.<a name="page_482" id="page_482"></a>’ Money is good for nothing -unless you know the value of it by experience. Give a boy twenty -thousand dollars and put him in business and the chances are that he -will lose every dollar of it before he is a year older. Like buying a -ticket in the lottery, and drawing a prize, it is “easy come, easy go.” -He does not know the value of it; nothing is worth anything, unless it -costs effort. Without self denial and economy, patience and -perseverance, and commencing with capital which you have not earned, you -are not sure to succeed in accumulating. Young men instead of “waiting -for dead men’s shoes” should be up and doing, for there is no class of -persons who are so unaccommodating in regard to dying as these rich old -people, and it is fortunate for the expectant heirs that it is so. Nine -out of ten of the rich men of our country to-day, started out in life as -poor boys, with determined wills, industry, perseverance, economy and -good habits. They went on gradually, made their own money and saved it; -and this is the best way to acquire a fortune. Stephen Girard started -life as a poor cabin boy, and died worth nine million dollars. A. T. -Stewart was a poor Irish boy; now he pays taxes on a million and a half -dollars of income, per year. John Jacob Astor was a poor farmer boy, and -died worth twenty millions. Cornelius Vanderbilt began life rowing a -boat from Staten Island to New York; now he presents our government with -a steamship worth a million of dollars, and he is worth fifty millions.</p> - -<p>“There is no royal road to learning,” says the proverb, and I may say it -is equally true, “there is no royal road to wealth.” But I think there -is a royal road to both. The road to learning is a royal one; the road -that<a name="page_483" id="page_483"></a> enables the student to expand his intellect and add every day to -his stock of knowledge, until, in the pleasant process of intellectual -growth, he is able to solve the most profound problems, to count the -stars, to analyze every atom of the globe, and to measure the -firmament—this is a regal highway, and it is the only road worth -travelling.</p> - -<p>So in regard to wealth. Go on in confidence, study the rules, and above -all things, study human nature; for “the proper study of mankind is -man,” and you will find that while expanding the intellect and the -muscles, your enlarged experience will enable you every day to -accumulate more and more principal, which will increase itself by -interest and otherwise, until you arrive at a state of independence. You -will find, as a general thing, that the poor boys get rich and the rich -boys get poor. For instance, a rich man at his decease, leaves a large -estate to his family. His eldest sons, who have helped him earn his -fortune, know by experience the value of money, and they take their -inheritance and add to it. The separate portions of the young children -are placed at interest, and the little fellows are patted on the head, -and told a dozen times a day, “you are rich; you will never have to -work, you can always have whatever you wish, for you were born with a -golden spoon in your mouth.” The young heir soon finds out what that -means; he has the finest dresses and playthings; he is crammed with -sugar candies and almost “killed with kindness,” and he passes from -school to school, petted and flattered. He becomes arrogant and -self-conceited, abuses his teachers, and carries everything with a high -hand. He knows nothing of the real value of money, having never earned -any; but he knows all about the<a name="page_484" id="page_484"></a> “golden spoon” business. At college, he -invites his poor fellow-students to his room where he “wines and dines” -them. He is cajoled and caressed, and called a glorious good fellow, -because he is so lavish of his money. He gives his game suppers, drives -his fast horses, invites his chums to fêtes and parties, determined to -have lots of “good times.” He spends the night in frolics and -debauchery, and leads off his companions with the familiar song, “we -won’t go home till morning.” He gets them to join him in pulling down -signs, taking gates from their hinges and throwing them into back yards -and horse-ponds. If the police arrest them, he knocks them down, is -taken to the lock-up, and joyfully foots the bills.</p> - -<p>“Ah! my boys,” he cries, “what is the use of being rich, if you can’t -enjoy yourself?”</p> - -<p>He might more truly say, “if you can’t make a fool of yourself”; but he -is “fast,” hates slow things, and don’t “see it.” Young men loaded down -with other people’s money are almost sure to lose all they inherit, and -they acquire all sorts of bad habits which, in the majority of cases, -ruins them in health, purse and character. In this country, one -generation follows another, and the poor of to-day are rich in the next -generation, or the third. Their experience leads them on, and they -become rich, and they leave vast riches to their young children. These -children, having been reared in luxury, are inexperienced and get poor; -and after long experience another generation comes on and gathers up -riches again in turn. And thus “history repeats itself,” and happy is he -who by listening to the experience of others avoids the rocks and shoals -on which so many have been wrecked.<a name="page_485" id="page_485"></a></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Learn something useful.</span>—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.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Let hope predominate, but be not too visionary.</span>—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.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Do not scatter your powers.</span>—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 engaging 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.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Be systematic.</span>—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.<a name="page_486" id="page_486"></a> By introducing system into -all your transactions, doing one thing at a time, always meeting -appointments with punctuality, you 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. Dickens’ “Circumlocution -Office,”—all theory and no result.</p> - -<p>When the “Astor House” was first started in New York City, it was -undoubtedly the best hotel in the country. The proprietors had learned a -good deal in Europe regarding hotels, and the landlords were proud of -the rigid system which pervaded every department of their great -establishment. When twelve o’clock at night had arrived and there were a -number of guests around, one of the proprietors would say, “Touch that -bell, John”; and in two minutes sixty servants with a water bucket in -each hand, would present themselves in the hall. “This,” said the -landlord, addressing his guests, “is our fire bell; it will show you we -are quite safe here; we do everything systematically.” This was before -the Croton water was introduced into the city. But they sometimes -carried their system too far. On one occasion when the hotel was -thronged with guests, one of the waiters was suddenly indisposed, and -although there were fifty waiters in the hotel, the landlord<a name="page_487" id="page_487"></a> thought he -must have his full complement, or his “system” would be interfered with. -Just before dinner time he rushed down stairs and said, “There must be -another waiter, I am one waiter short, what can I do?” He happened to -see “Boots” the Irishman. “Pat,” said he, “wash your hands and face; -take that white apron and come into the dining room in five minutes.” -Presently Pat appeared as required, and the proprietor said: “Now Pat, -you must stand behind these two chairs and wait on the gentlemen who -will occupy them; did you ever act as a waiter?”</p> - -<p>“I know all about it sure, but I never did it.”</p> - -<p>Like the Irish pilot, on one occasion when the captain, thinking he was -considerably out of his course, asked, “Are you certain you understand -what you are doing?”</p> - -<p>Pat replied, “Sure and I knows every rock in the channel.”</p> - -<p>That moment “bang” thumped the vessel against a rock.</p> - -<p>“Ah! be jabers, and that is one of ’em,” continued the pilot. But to -return to the dining-room. “Pat,” said the landlord, “here we do -everything systematically. You must first give the gentlemen each a -plate of soup, and when they finish that, ask them what they will have -next.”</p> - -<p>Pat replied, “Ah! an’ I understand parfectly the vartues of shystem.”</p> - -<p>Very soon in came the guests. The plates of soup were placed before -them. One of Pat’s two gentlemen ate his soup, the other did not care -for it. He said “Waiter, take this plate away and bring me some fish.” -Pat looked at the untasted plate of soup, and remembering<a name="page_488" id="page_488"></a> the -injunctions of the landlord in regard to “system,” replied:</p> - -<p>“Not till ye have ate yer supe!”</p> - -<p>Of course that was carrying “system” entirely too far.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Read the newspapers.</span>—Always take a trustworthy newspaper and thus keep -thoroughly posted in regard to the transactions of the world. He who is -without a newspaper is cut off from his species. In these days of -telegraphs and steam, many important inventions and improvements in -every branch of trade are being made, and he who don’t consult the -newspapers will soon find himself and his business left out in the cold.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Beware of “outside operations.”</span>—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 syren voices. He says:</p> - -<p>“I will put in twenty thousand dollars. I have been lucky, and my good -luck will soon bring me back sixty thousand dollars.”</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_489" id="page_489"></a> 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 -Sampson when shorn of his locks,—his strength has departed, and he -becomes like other men.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Don’t indorse without security.</span>—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:</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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,<a name="page_490" id="page_490"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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 losers), and like other -speculators, he “looks for his money where he loses it.” He tries again. -Indorsing his notes has become chronic with you, and at every loss he<a name="page_491" id="page_491"></a> -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.”</p> - -<p>So with the young man starting in business; let him understand the value -of money by earning it. When he does understand its value, then grease -the wheels a little in helping him to start business, but remember men -who get money with too great facility cannot usually succeed. You must -get the first dollars by hard knocks, and at some sacrifice, in order to -appreciate the value of those dollars.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Advertise your business.</span>—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<a name="page_492" id="page_492"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>You may advertise a spurious article, and induce many people to call and -buy it once, but they will denounce you as an imposter and swindler, and -your business will gradually die out, and leave you poor. This is<a name="page_493" id="page_493"></a> -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.”</p> - -<p>I replied, “My friend, there may be exceptions to a general rule. But -how do you advertise?”</p> - -<p>“I put it in a weekly newspaper three times, and paid a dollar and a -half for it.”</p> - -<p>I replied: “Sir, advertising is like learning—‘a little is a dangerous -thing.’ ”</p> - -<p>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. You are like the fellow who told the -gentleman if he would give him ten cents it would save him a dollar. -“How can I help you so much with so small a sum?” asked the gentleman in -surprise. “I started out this morning (hiccupped the fellow) with the -full determination to get drunk, and I have spent my only dollar to -accomplish the object, and it has not quite done it. Ten cents worth -more of whiskey would just do it, and in this manner I should save the -dollar already expended.”</p> - -<p>So a man who advertises at all must keep it up until the public know who -and what he is, and what his<a name="page_494" id="page_494"></a> business is, or else the money invested in -advertising is lost.</p> - -<p>Some men have a peculiar genius for writing a striking advertisement, -one that will arrest the attention of the reader at first sight. This -tact, of course, gives the advertiser a great advantage. Sometimes a man -makes himself popular by an unique sign or a curious display in his -window. Recently I observed a swing sign extending over the sidewalk in -front of a store, on which was the inscription, in plain letters,</p> - -<p class="chead">“DON’T READ THE OTHER SIDE.”</p> - -<p>Of course I did, and so did everybody else, and I learned that the man -had made an independence by first attracting the public to his business -in that way and then using his customers well afterwards.</p> - -<p>Genin, the hatter, bought the first Jenny Lind ticket at auction for two -hundred and twenty-five dollars, because he knew it would be a good -advertisement for him. “Who is the bidder?” said the auctioneer, as he -knocked down that ticket at Castle Garden. “Genin, the hatter,” was the -response. Here were thousands of people from the Fifth Avenue, and from -distant cities in the highest stations in life. “Who is ‘Genin,’ the -hatter?” they exclaimed. They had never heard of him before. The next -morning the newspapers and telegraph had circulated the facts from Maine -to Texas, and from five to ten millions of people had read that the -tickets sold at auction for Jenny Lind’s first concert amounted to about -twenty thousand dollars, and that a single ticket was sold at two -hundred and twenty-five dollars, to “Genin, the hatter.” Men throughout -the<a name="page_495" id="page_495"></a> country involuntarily took off their hats to see if they had a -“Genin” hat on their heads. At a town in Iowa it was found that in the -crowd around the Post Office, there was one man who had a “Genin” hat, -and he showed it in triumph, although it was worn out and not worth two -cents. “Why,” one man exclaimed, “you have a real ‘Genin’ hat; what a -lucky fellow you are.” Another man said “Hang on to that hat, it will be -a valuable heir-loom in your family.” Still another man in the crowd, -who seemed to envy the possessor of this good fortune, said, “come, give -us all a chance; put it up at auction!” He did so, and it was sold as a -keepsake for nine dollars and fifty cents! What was the consequence to -Mr. Genin? He sold ten thousand extra hats per annum, the first six -years. Nine-tenths of the purchasers bought of him, probably, out of -curiosity, and many of them, finding that he gave them an equivalent for -their money, became his regular customers. This novel advertisement -first struck their attention, and then as he made a good article, they -came again.</p> - -<p>Now, I don’t say that everybody should advertise as Mr. Genin did. But I -say if a man has got goods for sale, and he don’t advertise them in some -way, the chances are that some day the sheriff will do it for him. Nor -do I say that everybody must advertise in a newspaper, or indeed use -“printers’ ink” at all. On the contrary, although that article is -indispensable in the majority of cases, yet doctors and clergymen, and -sometimes lawyers and some others can more effectually reach the public -in some other manner. But it is obvious, they must be known in some way, -else how could they be supported?</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Be polite and kind to your customers.</span> Politeness<a name="page_496" id="page_496"></a> and civility are the -best capital ever invested in business. Large stores, gilt signs, -flaming advertisements, will all prove unavailing if you or your -employees treat your patrons abruptly. The truth is, the more kind and -liberal a man is, the more generous will be the patronage bestowed upon -him. “Like begets like.” The man who gives the greatest amount of goods -of a corresponding quality for the least sum (still reserving to himself -a profit) will generally succeed best in the long run. This brings us to -the golden rule, “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to -them,” and they will do better by you than if you always treated them as -if you wanted to get the most you could out of them for the least -return. Men who drive sharp bargains with their customers, acting as if -they never expected to see them again, will not be mistaken. They never -will see them again as customers. People don’t like to pay and get -kicked also.</p> - -<p>One of the ushers in my Museum once told me he intended to whip a man -who was in the lecture room as soon as he came out.</p> - -<p>“What for?” I inquired.</p> - -<p>“Because he said I was no gentleman,” replied the usher.</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” I replied, “he pays for that, and you will not convince -him you are a gentleman by whipping him. I cannot afford to lose a -customer. If you whip him, he will never visit the Museum again, and he -will induce friends to go with him to other places of amusement instead -of this, and thus, you see, I should be a serious loser.”</p> - -<p>“But he insulted me,” muttered the usher.</p> - -<p>“Exactly,” I replied, “and if he owned the Museum,<a name="page_497" id="page_497"></a> and you had paid him -for the privilege of visiting it, and he had then insulted you, there -might be some reason in your resenting it, but in this instance he is -the man who pays, while we receive, and you must, therefore, put up with -his bad manners.”</p> - -<p>My usher laughingly remarked, that this was undoubtedly the true policy, -but he added that he should not object to an increase of salary if he -was expected to be abused in order to promote my interests.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Be charitable.</span>—Of course men should be charitable, because it is a duty -and a pleasure. But even as a matter of policy, if you possess no higher -incentive, you will find that the liberal man will command patronage, -while the sordid, uncharitable miser will be avoided.</p> - -<p>Solomon says: “There is that scattereth and yet increaseth; and there is -that withholdeth more than meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” Of course -the only true charity is that which is from the heart.</p> - -<p>The best kind of charity is to help those who are willing to help -themselves. Promiscuous almsgiving, without inquiring into the -worthiness of the applicant, is bad in every sense. But to search out -and quietly assist those who are struggling for themselves, is the kind -that “scattereth and yet increaseth.” But don’t fall into the idea that -some persons practise, of giving a prayer instead of a potato, and a -benediction instead of bread, to the hungry. It is easier to make -Christians with full stomachs than empty.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Don’t blab.</span>—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,<a name="page_498" id="page_498"></a> 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.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Preserve your integrity.</span>—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<a name="page_499" id="page_499"></a> -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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_500" id="page_500"></a> 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.”</p> - -<p>Nearly every paper in London had something to say about my lecture, and -in almost every instance the matter and manner of the lecturer were -unqualifiedly approved. Indeed, the profusion of praise quite -overwhelmed me. The London <i>Times</i>, December 30, 1858, concluded a -half-column criticism with the following paragraph:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“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.”</p></div> - -<p>The London <i>Morning Post</i>, the <i>Advertiser</i>, the <i>Chronicle</i>, the -<i>Telegraph</i>, the <i>Herald</i>, the <i>News</i>, the <i>Globe</i>, the <i>Sun</i>, and other -lesser journals of the same date, all contained lengthy and favorable -notices and criticisms of my lecture. My own lavish advertisements were -as nothing to the notoriety which the London newspapers voluntarily and -editorially gave to my new enterprise.<a name="page_501" id="page_501"></a> The weekly and literary papers -followed in the train; and even <i>Punch</i>, which had already done so much -to keep Tom Thumb before the public, gave me a half-page notice, with an -illustration, and thereafter favored me with frequent paragraphs. The -city thus prepared the provinces to give me a cordial reception.</p> - -<p>During the year 1859, I delivered this lecture nearly one hundred times -in different parts of England, returning occasionally to London to -repeat it to fresh audiences, and always with pecuniary success. Every -provincial paper had something to say about Barnum and “The art of Money -Getting,” and I was never more pleasantly or profusely advertised. The -tour, too, made me acquainted with many new people and added fresh and -fast friends to my continually increasing list. My lecturing season is -among my most grateful memories of England.</p> - -<p>Remembering my experiences, some years before, with General Tom Thumb at -Oxford and Cambridge, and the fondness of the undergraduates for -practical joking, I was quite prepared when I made up my mind to visit -those two cities, to take any quantity of “chaff” and lampooning which -the University boys might choose to bring. I was sure of a full house in -each city, and as I was anxious to earn all the money I could, so as to -hasten my deliverance from financial difficulties, I fully resolved to -put up with whatever offered—indeed, I rather liked the idea of an -episode in the steady run of praise which had followed my lecture -everywhere, and I felt, too, in the coming encounter that I might give -quite as much as I was compelled to take.</p> - -<p>I commenced at Cambridge, and, as I expected, to an overflowing house, -largely composed of undergraduates<a name="page_502" id="page_502"></a>. Soon after I began to speak, one of -the young men called out: “Where is Joice Heth?” to which I very coolly -replied:</p> - -<p>“Young gentleman, please to restrain yourself till the conclusion of the -lecture, when I shall take great delight in affording you, or any others -of her posterity, all the information I possess concerning your deceased -relative.”</p> - -<p>This reply turned the laugh against the youthful and anxious inquirer -and had the effect of keeping other students quiet for a half hour. -Thereafter, questions of a similar character were occasionally -propounded, but as each inquirer generally received a prompt Roland for -his Oliver, there was far less interruption than I had anticipated. The -proceeds of the evening were more than one hundred pounds sterling, an -important addition to my treasury at that time. At the close of the -lecture, several students invited me to a sumptuous supper where I met, -among other undergraduates, a nephew of Lord Macaulay, the historian. -This young gentleman insisted upon my breakfasting with him at his rooms -next morning, but as I was anxious to take an early train for London, I -only called to leave my card, and after his “gyp” had given me a strong -cup of coffee, I hastened away, leaving the young Macaulay, whom I did -not wish to disturb, fast asleep in bed.</p> - -<p>At Oxford the large hall was filled half an hour before the time -announced for the lecture to begin and the sale of tickets was stopped. -I then stepped upon the platform, and said: “Ladies and Gentlemen: As -every seat is occupied and the ticket-office is closed, I propose to -proceed with my lecture now, and not keep you waiting till the -advertised hour.”<a name="page_503" id="page_503"></a></p> - -<p>“Good for you, old Barnum,” said one; “Time is money,” said another; -“Nothing like economy,” came from a third, and other remarks and -exclamations followed which excited much laughter in the audience. -Holding up my hand as a signal that I was anxious to say something so -soon as silence should be restored, I thus addressed my audience:</p> - -<p>“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.’ ”</p> - -<p>My auditors were in the best of humor from the beginning, and my -frankness pleased them. “Good for you, old Barnum,” cried their leader; -and I went on with my lecture for some fifteen minutes, when a voice -called out:</p> - -<p>“Come, old chap! you must be tired by this time; hold up now till we -sing ‘Yankee Doodle,’ ” whereupon they all joined in that pleasing air -with a vigor which showed that they had thoroughly prepared themselves -for the occasion, and meanwhile I took a chair and sat down to show them -that I 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.”<a name="page_504" id="page_504"></a></p> - -<p>I looked at my watch and quietly remarked, “Oh! there is time for lots -of fun yet; we have nearly forty minutes of the hour remaining,” and I -proceeded with my lecture, or rather a lecture, for I began to adapt my -remarks to the audience and the occasion. At intervals of ten minutes, -or so, came interruptions which I, as my audience saw, fully enjoyed as -much as the house did. When this miscellaneous entertainment was -concluded, and I stopped short at the end of the hour, crowds of the -young men pressed forward to shake hands with me, declaring that they -had had a “jolly good time,” while the leader said: “Stay with us a -week, Barnum, and we will dine you, wine you, and give you full houses -every night.” But I was announced to lecture in London the next evening -and I could not accept the pressing invitation, though I would gladly -have stayed through the week. They asked me all sorts of questions about -America, the Museum, my various shows and successes, and expressed the -hope that I would come out of my clock troubles all right.</p> - -<p>At least a score of them pressed me to breakfast with them next morning, -but I declined, till one young gentleman put it on this purely personal -ground: “My dear sir, you must breakfast with me; I have almost split my -throat in screaming here to-night and it is only fair that you should -repay me by coming to see me in the morning.” This appeal was -irresistible, and at the appointed time I met him and half a dozen of -his friends at his table and we spent a very pleasant hour together. -They complimented me on the tact and equanimity I had exhibited the -previous evening, but I replied: “Oh! I was quite inclined to have you -enjoy your fun, and came fully prepared for it.”<a name="page_505" id="page_505"></a></p> - -<p>But they liked better, they said, to get the party angry. A fortnight -before, they told me, my friend Howard Paul had left them in disgust, -because they insisted upon smoking while his wife was on the stage, -adding that the entertainment was excellent and that Howard Paul could -have made a thousand pounds if he had not let his anger drive him away. -My new-found friends parted with me at the railway station, heartily -urging me to come again, and my ticket seller returned £169 as the -immediate result of an evening’s good-natured fun with the Oxford boys.</p> - -<p>After delivering my lecture many times in different places, a prominent -publishing house in London, offered me £1,200 ($6,000,) for the -copyright. This offer I declined, not that I thought the lecture worth -more money, but because I had engaged to deliver it in several towns and -cities, and I thought the publication would be detrimental to the public -delivery of my lecture. It was a source of very considerable emolument -to me, bringing in much money, which went towards the redemption of my -pecuniary obligations, so that the lecture itself was an admirable -illustration of “The Art of Money Getting.”<a name="page_506" id="page_506"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXII" id="CHAPTER_XXXII"></a>CHAPTER XXXII<br /><br /> -<small>AN ENTERPRISING ENGLISHMAN.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">AN ENGLISH YANKEE—MY FIRST INTERVIEW WITH HIM—HIS PLANS BASED ON -BARNUM’S BOOK—ADVERTISING FOR PARTNERS—HOW MY RULES MADE HIM -RICH—METHOD IN MADNESS—THE “BARNUM” OF BURY—DINNER TO TOM THUMB -AND COMMODORE NUTT—MY AGENT IN PARIS—MEASURING A MONSTER—HOW -GIANTS AND DWARFS STRETCH AND CONTRACT—AN UNWILLING FRENCHMAN—A -PERSISTENT MEASURER—A GIGANTIC HUMBUG—THE STEAM-ENGINES “BARNUM” -AND “CHARITY”—WHAT “CHARITY” DID FOR “BARNUM”—SELLING THE SAME -GOODS A THOUSAND TIMES—THE GREAT CAKES—SIMNEL SUNDAY—THE -SANITARY COMMISSION FAIR.</p></div> - -<p>W<small>HILE</small> visiting Manchester, in 1858, I was invited by Mr. Peacock, the -lessee, to deliver a lecture in “Free Trade Hall.” I gave a lecture, the -title of which I now forget; but I well remember it contained numerous -personal reminiscences. The next day a gentleman sent his card to my -room at the hotel where I was stopping. I requested the servant to show -the gentleman up at once, and he soon appeared and introduced himself. -At first he seemed somewhat embarrassed, but gradually broke the ice by -saying he had been pleased in listening to my lecture the previous -evening, and added that he knew my history pretty well, as he had read -my autobiography. As his embarrassment at first meeting with a stranger -wore away, he informed me that he was joint proprietor with another -gentleman in a “cotton-mill” in Bury, near Manchester, “although,” he -modestly added, “only a few years ago I was working as a journeyman, and -probably should have been at this time,<a name="page_507" id="page_507"></a> had it not been for your book.” -Observing my surprise at this announcement, he continued:</p> - -<p>“The fact is, Mr. Barnum, upon reading your autobiography, I thought I -perceived you tried to make yourself out something 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 horse-jockey 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.”<a name="page_508" id="page_508"></a></p> - -<p>Of course, I was pleased and surprised at this revelation, and, feeling -that my new friend, whom I will call Mr. Wilson,<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a> had somewhat -exaggerated the results of my labors as influencing his own, I said:</p> - -<p>“Your statement is certainly very flattering, 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 good time if -I had never written a book.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> By his consent I state that his name is John Fish.</p></div> - -<p>This singular yet gratifying interview led to several others, and from -that time a warm personal friendship sprung up between us. In our -conversations, my enthusiastic friend would often quote entire pages -from my autobiography, which I had almost forgotten; and, after he had -frequently visited me by appointment where I happened to be stopping in -different parts of Great Britain, he would write me letters, often -quoting scraps of my conversation, and extolling what he called the -“wisdom” of these careless remarks. I laughed at him, and told him he -was about half Barnum-crazy. “Well,” he replied, “then there is method -in my madness, for whenever I follow the Barnum rules I am always -successful.”</p> - -<p>On one occasion, when General Tom Thumb exhibited in Bury, Mr. Wilson -closed his mill, and gave each of his employés a ticket to the -exhibition; out of respect, as he said, to Barnum. On a subsequent<a name="page_509" id="page_509"></a> -occasion, when the little General visited England the last time, Mr. -Wilson 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; and several -interesting incidents occurred on that pleasant occasion, which the -miniature guests will never cease to remember with gratitude. When I was -about to leave England for home, in 1859, my friend Wilson made an -appointment to come to Liverpool to see me off. He came the day before I -sailed, and brought his little daughter, some twelve years old, with -him. We had a remarkably pleasant and social time, and I did not part -with them until the tug was almost dropping off from the steamer in the -river Mersey. It was a very reluctant parting. We waved our -handkerchiefs until we could no longer distinguish each other; and up to -the present writing we have never again met. To my numerous invitations -to him and his family, to visit me in America, he sends but one -response,—that, as yet, his business will not permit him to leave home. -I hope ere long to receive a different answer. Our correspondence has -been regularly kept up ever since we parted.</p> - -<p>My friend Wilson expressed himself extremely anxious to do any service -for me which might at any time be in his power. Soon after I arrived in -America, I read an account of a French giant, then exhibiting in Paris, -and said to be over eight feet in height. As this was a considerably -greater altitude than any specimen of the <i>genus homo</i> within my -knowledge had attained, I wrote to my friend to take a trip to Paris for -me, secure an interview with this modern Anak, and by actual measurement -obtain for me his exact height. I<a name="page_510" id="page_510"></a> enclosed an offer for this giant’s -services, arranging the price on a sliding scale, according to what his -height should actually prove to be,—commencing at eight feet, and -descending to seven feet two inches; and if he was not taller than the -latter figure, I did not want him at all.</p> - -<p>Mr. Wilson, placing an English two-foot rule in his pocket, started for -Paris; and, after much difficulty and several days’ delay in trying to -speak with the giant, who was closely watched by his exhibitor, Mr. -Wilson succeeded, by the aid of an interpreter, in exchanging a few -words with him, and appointing an interview at his own (the giant’s) -lodgings. And now came a trouble which required all the patience and -diplomacy which my agent could command. Mr. Wilson, arriving at the -place of rendezvous, told the giant who he was, and the object of his -visit. In fact, he showed him my letter, and read the tempting offers -which I made for his services, provided he measured eight feet, or even -came within six inches of that height.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I measure over eight feet in height,” said the giant. “Very -likely,” replied my faithful agent, “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 that peculiar muscular -knack which giants and dwarfs exercise when they desire to extend or -diminish their apparent stature. “No doubt you are right,” persisted the -agent; “but you see that is not according to orders.” “Well, stand -alongside of me; see, the top of your hat don’t come to my shoulder,” -said the giant, as he swung his arm completely over Mr. Wilson’s head, -hat and all.</p> - -<p>But my wary agent happened just then to be watching<a name="page_511" id="page_511"></a></p> - -<p><a name="THE_LONG_AND_SHORT_OF_IT" id="THE_LONG_AND_SHORT_OF_IT"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p510_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p510_sml.jpg" width="538" height="360" alt="“THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT.”" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">“THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT.”</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">the giant’s feet and knees, and he thought he saw a movement around the -“understandings” that materially helped the elevation of the -“upperworks.” “It is all very well,” said Mr. Wilson; “but I tell you I -have brought a two-foot rule from England, and, if I am not permitted to -measure your height with that, I shall not engage you.” My offer had -been very liberal; in fact, provided he was eight feet high, it was more -than four times the amount the giant was then receiving; it was -evidently a great temptation to his “highness,” and quite as evidently -he did not want to be fairly measured. “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 and every muscle in his -body a severe stretch:) “just measure the height of that door.” My -English friend plainly saw that the giant felt that he could not come up -to the mark, and he laughed at this last <i>ruse</i>. “Oh, I don’t want to -measure the door; I prefer to measure you,” said Mr. Wilson, coolly. The -giant was now desperate, and, stretching himself up to the highest -point, he exclaimed: “Well, be quick! put your rule down to my feet and -measure me; no delay, if you please.”</p> - -<p>The giant knew he could not hold himself up many seconds to the few -extra inches he had imparted to his extended muscles; but his remark had -drawn Mr. Wilson’s attention to his feet, and from the feet to the -boots, and he began to open his eyes. “Look here, Monsieur,” he -exclaimed with much earnestness, “this sort of thing wont do, you know. -I don’t understand this contrivance around the soles of your boots, but -it seems to me you have got a set of springs in there which materially -aids your altitude a few inches when you desire it. Now, I<a name="page_512" id="page_512"></a> shall stand -no 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; there you -will have no purchase, and you may stretch as much as you like; and for -every inch you fairly measure above seven feet two inches you know what -I am authorized to give you.” The giant grumbled and talked about his -word being doubted and his honor assailed, but Mr. Wilson calmly -persisted, until at length he slowly took off his coat and gradually got -down on the floor. Stretched upon his back, he made several vain efforts -to extend his natural height. Mr. Wilson carefully applied his English -two-foot rule, the result of the measurement causing him much -astonishment and the giant more indignation, the giant measuring exactly -seven feet one and one half inches. So he was not engaged, and my agent -returned to England and wrote me a most amusing letter, giving the -particulars of the gigantic interview.</p> - -<p>On the occasion of the erection of a new engine in his mill, Mr. Wilson -proposed naming it after his daughter, but she insisted it should be -christened “Barnum,” and it was so done, with considerable ceremony. -Subsequently he introduced a second engine into his enlarged mill, and -named this, after my wife, “Charity.”</p> - -<p>A short time since, I wrote informing him that I desired to give some of -the foregoing facts in my book, and asked him to give me his consent, -and also to furnish me some particulars in regard to the engines, and -the capacity of his mill. He wrote in return a modest letter, which is -so characteristic of my whole-souled friend that I cannot forbear making -the following extracts from it:<a name="page_513" id="page_513"></a></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Had I made a fortune of £100,000 I should have been proud of such a -place in your book as Albert Smith has 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.</p> - -<p>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 £12 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.</p></div> - -<p>Mr. Wilson 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.</p> - -<p>The great fair of the Sanitary Commission, held in New York during the -war, affords one of the most interesting chapters in American history. -It meant cordial for the sick and suffering in the hospitals, and balm -and relief for the wounded in the field. None of those who visited the -Fair will forget, in the multiplicity of offerings to put money into the -treasury of the<a name="page_514" id="page_514"></a> Commission, two monster cakes, which were as strange in -shape and ornament as they were fairly mammoth in their proportions. One -of these great cakes was covered with miniature forts, ships of war, -cannon, armies, arms of the whole “panoply of war,” and it excited the -attention of all visitors. This strange cake was what is called in Bury, -England, where name, cake and custom originated, a “Simnel cake,” and an -interesting history pertains to it.</p> - -<p>There is an anniversary in Bury, and I believe only in that place in -England, called “Simnel Sunday.” Like many old observances, its origin -is lost in antiquity; but on the fourth Sunday in Lent, which is Simnel -Sunday, everybody in Bury eats Simnel cake. It is a high day for the -inhabitants, and the streets are thronged with people. During the -preceding week, the shop windows of the confectioners exhibit a plethora -of large, flat cakes, of a peculiar pattern and of toothsome -composition. Every confectioner aims to outdo his rivals in the bigness -of the one show-cake which nearly fills his window, and in the moulding -and ornamental accessories. A local description, giving the requisite -characteristics, says: “The great Simnel must be rich, must be big, and -must be novel in ornamentation.” Such is the Simnel cake, the specialty -of Simnel Sunday, in the town of Bury, in Old England.</p> - -<p>And such was the monster cake, with its warlike emblems, which attracted -so much attention at the Fair, and added considerably to the receipts -for the Sanitary Commission. It was sent to me expressly for this Fair, -by my friend Wilson, and, while it was in itself a generous gift, it was -doubly so as coming from an English manufacturer who had suffered by the -war. The second<a name="page_515" id="page_515"></a> great Simnel cake which stood beside it in the Fair was -sent to me personally by Mr. Wilson; but with his permission I took much -pleasure in contributing it, with his own offering, for the benefit of -our suffering soldiers.</p> - -<p>It may thus be seen that my friend Wilson is not only “an enterprising -Englishman,” but that he is also a generous, noble-hearted man,—one who -in a great struggle like the late civil war in America, could sincerely -sympathize with suffering humanity, notwithstanding, as he expressed it, -“the American war has made sad havoc in our trade.” His soul soars above -“pounds, shillings and pence”; and I take great pleasure in expressing -admiration for a gentleman of such marked enterprise, philanthropy and -integrity.<a name="page_516" id="page_516"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXXIII.<br /><br /> -<small>RICHARD’S HIMSELF AGAIN.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">AT HOME—EXTINGUISHMENT OF THE CLOCK DEBTS—A RASCALLY -PROPOSITION—BARNUM ON HIS FEET AGAIN—RE-PURCHASE OF THE MUSEUM—A -GALA DAY—MY RECEPTION BY MY FRIENDS—THE STORY OF MY TROUBLES—HOW -I WADED ASHORE—PROMISES TO THE PUBLIC—THE PUBLIC RESPONSE—MUSEUM -VISITORS—THE RECEIPTS DOUBLED—HOW THE PRESS RECEIVED THE NEWS OF -RESTORATION—THE SYCOPHANTS—OLD AND FAST FRIENDS—ROBERT -BONNER—CONSIDERATION AND COURTESY OF CREDITORS—THE BOSTON -SATURDAY EVENING GAZETTE AGAIN—ANOTHER WORD FOR BARNUM.</p></div> - -<p>I<small>N</small> 1859 I returned to the United States. During my last visit abroad I -had secured many novelties for the Museum, including the Albino Family, -which I engaged at Amsterdam, and Thiodon’s mechanical theatre, which I -found at Southampton, beside purchasing many curiosities. These things -all afforded me a liberal commission, and thus, by constant and earnest -effort, I made much money, besides what I derived from the Tom Thumb -exhibitions, my lectures, and other enterprises. All of this money, as -well as my wife’s income and a considerable sum raised by selling a -portion of her property, was faithfully devoted to the one great object -of my life at that period—my extrication from those crushing clock -debts. I worked and I saved. When my wife and youngest daughter were not -boarding in Bridgeport, they lived frugally in the suburbs, in a small -one-story house which was hired at the rate of $150 a year. I had now -been struggling about four years with the difficulties of my one great -financial mistake, and the end<a name="page_517" id="page_517"></a> still seemed to be far off. I felt that -the land, purchased by my wife in East Bridgeport at the assignees’ -sale, would, after a while, increase rapidly in value; and on the -strength of this expectation more money was borrowed for the sake of -taking up the clock notes, and some of the East Bridgeport property was -sold in single lots, the proceeds going to the same object.</p> - -<p>At last, in March 1860, all the clock indebtedness was satisfactorily -extinguished, excepting some $20,000 which I had bound myself to take up -within a certain number of months, my friend, James D. Johnson, -guaranteeing my bond to that effect. Mr. Johnson was by far my most -effective agent in working me through these clock troubles, and in -aiding to bring them to a successful conclusion. Another man, however, -who pretended to be my friend, and whom I liberally paid to assist in -bringing me out of my difficulties, gained my confidence, possessed -himself of a complete knowledge of the situation of my affairs, and then -coolly proposed to Mr. Johnson to counteract all my efforts to get out -of debt, and to divide between them what could be got out of my estate. -Failing in this, the scoundrel, taking advantage of the confidence -reposed in him, slyly arranged with the owners of clock notes to hold on -to them, and share with him whatever they might gain by adopting his -advice, he assuming that he knew all my secrets and that I would soon -come out all right again. Thus I had to contend with foes from within as -well as without; but the “spotting” of this traitor was worth something, -for it opened my eyes in relation to former transactions in which I had -intrusted large sums of money to his hands, and it put me on guard for -the future. But I bear no malice towards him; I only pity him, as I do<a name="page_518" id="page_518"></a> -any man who knows so little of the true road to contentment and -happiness as to think that it lies in the direction of dishonesty.</p> - -<p>I need not dwell upon the details of what I suffered from the doings of -those heartless, unscrupulous men who fatten upon the misfortunes of -others. It is enough to say that I triumphed over them and all my -troubles. I was once more a free man. At last I was able to make -proclamation that “Richard’s himself again”; that Barnum was once more -on his feet. The Museum had not flourished greatly in the hands of -Messrs. Greenwood & Butler, and so, when I was free, I was quite willing -to take back the property upon terms that were entirely satisfactory to -them. I had once retired from the establishment a man of independent -fortune; I was now ready to return, to make, if possible, another -fortune.</p> - -<p>On the 17th of March, 1860, Messrs. Butler & Greenwood signed an -agreement to sell and deliver to me on the following Saturday, March -24th, their good will and entire interest in the Museum collection. This -fact was thoroughly circulated and it was everywhere announced in -blazing posters, placards and advertisements which were headed, “Barnum -on his feet again.” It was furthermore stated that the Museum would be -closed, March 24th, for one week for repairs and general renovation, to -be re-opened, March 31st, under the management and proprietorship of its -original owner. It was also announced that on the night of closing I -would address the audience from the stage.</p> - -<p>The American Museum, decorated on that occasion, as on holidays, with a -brilliant display of flags and<a name="page_519" id="page_519"></a> banners, was filled to its utmost -capacity, and I experienced profound delight at seeing hundreds of old -friends of both sexes in the audience. I lacked but four months of being -fifty years of age; but I felt all the vigor and ambition that fired me -when I first took possession of the premises twenty years before; and I -was confident that the various experiences of that score of years would -be valuable to me in my second effort to secure an independence.</p> - -<p>At the rising of the curtain and before the play commenced, I stepped on -the stage and was received by the large and brilliant audience with an -enthusiasm far surpassing anything of the kind I had ever experienced or -witnessed in a public career of a quarter of a century. Indeed, this -tremendous demonstration nearly broke me down, and my voice faltered and -tears came to my eyes as I thought of this magnificent conclusion to the -trials and struggles of the past four years. Recovering myself, however, -I bowed my grateful acknowledgments for the reception, and addressed the -audience as follows:</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Ladies and Gentlemen</span>: 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<a name="page_520" id="page_520"></a> -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 towards 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.<a name="page_521" id="page_521"></a> 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 and Butler, subject to my wife’s separate interest in -the lease, and she has received more than eighty thousand dollars 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.’</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_522" id="page_522"></a> 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 -indeed,’ for he has been truly a ‘friend in need.’</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_523" id="page_523"></a>’s gone;’ but I shall more frequently cherish the memory of -this moment, when I am permitted to announce that ‘Richard’s himself -again.’</p> - -<p>“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 metre, that ‘Barnum was a fool.’ I can only -reply that I never made pretensions to the sharpness of a pawn-broker, -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.</p> - -<p>“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 and 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 towards 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.<a name="page_524" id="page_524"></a></p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_525" id="page_525"></a> kind welcome, -I bid you, till the re-opening, ‘an affectionate adieu.’ ”</p> - -<p>This off-hand speech was received with almost tumultuous applause. At -nearly fifty years of age, I was now once more before the public with -the promise to put on a full head of steam, to “rush things,” to give -double or treble the amount of attractions ever before offered at the -Museum, and to devote all my own time and services to the enterprise. In -return, I asked that the public should give my efforts the patronage -they merited, and the public took me at my word. The daily number of -visitors at once more than doubled, and my exertions to gratify them -with rapid changes and novelties never tired.</p> - -<p>The announcement that “Richard’s himself again”—that I was at last out -of the financial entanglement—was variously received in the community. -That portion of the press which had followed me with abuse when I was -down, under the belief that my case was past recovery, were chary in -allusions to the new state of things, or passed them over without -comment. The sycophants always knew I would get up again, “and said so -at the time;” the many and noble journals which had stood by me and -upheld me in my misfortunes, were of course rejoiced, and their words of -sincere congratulation gave me a higher satisfaction than I have power -of language to acknowledge. Letters of congratulation came in upon me -from every quarter. Friendly hands that had never been withheld during -the long period of my misfortune were now extended with a still heartier -grip. I never knew till now the warmth and number of my friends.</p> - -<p>My editorial friend, Mr. Robert Bonner, of the New York <i>Ledger</i>, -sincerely congratulated me upon my full<a name="page_526" id="page_526"></a> and complete restoration. I had -some new plays which were adapted from very popular stories which had -been written for Mr. Bonner’s paper, and I went to him to purchase, if I -could, the large cuts he had used to advertise these stories in his -street placards. He at once generously offered to lend them to me as -long as I wished to use them and tendered me his services in any way. -Mr. Bonner was the boldest of advertisers, following me closely in the -field in which I was the pioneer, and to his judicious use of printers’ -ink, he owes the fine fortune which he so worthily deserves and enjoys.</p> - -<p>Nor must I neglect to state that a large number of my creditors who held -the clock notes, proved very magnanimous in taking into consideration -the gross deception which had put me in their power. Not a few of them -said to me in substance: “you never supposed you had made yourself -liable for this debt; you were deluded into it; it is not right that it -should be held over you to keep you hopelessly down; take it, and pay me -such percentage as, under the circumstances, it is possible for you to -pay.” But for such men and such consideration I fear I should never have -got on my feet again; and of the many who rejoiced in my bettered -fortune, not a few were of this class of my creditors.</p> - -<p>My old friend, the Boston <i>Saturday Evening Gazette</i>, which printed a -few cheering poetical lines of consolation and hope when I was down, now -gave me the following from the same graceful pen, conveying glowing -words of congratulation at my rise again:</p> - -<p class="c">ANOTHER WORD FOR BARNUM.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Barnum, your hand! The struggle o’er,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">You face the world and ask no favor;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">You stand where you have stood before,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The old salt hasn’t lost its savor.<a name="page_527" id="page_527"></a><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">You now can laugh with friends, at foes,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ne’er heeding Mrs. Grundy’s tattle;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">You’ve dealt and taken sturdy blows,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Regardless of the rabble’s prattle.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Not yours the heart to harbor ill<br /></span> -<span class="i2">’Gainst those who’ve dealt in trivial jesting;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">You pass them with the same good will<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Erst shown when they their wit were testing.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">You’re the same Barnum that we knew,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">You’re good for years, still fit for labor,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Be as of old, be bold and true,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Honest as man, as friend, as neighbor.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>At about this period, the following poem was published in a Pottsville, -Pa., paper, and copied by many journals of the day:</p> - -<p class="c">A HEALTH TO BARNUM.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Companions! fill your glasses round,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And drink a health to one<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who has few coming after him,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To do as he has done;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who made a fortune for himself,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Made fortunes, too, for many,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Yet wronged no bosom of a sigh,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">No pocket of a penny.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Come! shout a gallant chorus,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">And make the glasses ring,—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Here’s health and luck to Barnum!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The Exhibition King.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Who lured the Swedish Nightingale<br /></span> -<span class="i2">To Western woods to come?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who prosperous and happy made<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The life of little Thumb?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who oped Amusement’s golden door<br /></span> -<span class="i2">So cheaply to the crowd,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And taught Morality to smile<br /></span> -<span class="i2">On all <i>his</i> stage allowed?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Come! shout a gallant chorus,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Until the glasses ring,—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Here’s health and luck to Barnum!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The Exhibition King.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">And when the sad reverses came,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">As come they may to all,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who stood a Hero, bold and true,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Amid his fortune’s fall?<a name="page_528" id="page_528"></a><br /></span> -<span class="i0">Who to the utmost yielded up<br /></span> -<span class="i2">What Honor could not keep,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then took the field of life again<br /></span> -<span class="i2">With courage calm and deep?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Come! shout a gallant chorus,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Until the glasses dance,—<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Here’s health and luck to Barnum,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The Napoleon of Finance.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Yet, no—<i>our</i> hero would not look<br /></span> -<span class="i2">With smiles on such a cup;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Throw out the wine—with water clear,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Fill the pure crystal up.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Then rise, and greet with deep respect,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">The courage he has shown,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And drink to him who well deserves<br /></span> -<span class="i2">A seat on Fortune’s throne.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Here’s health and luck to Barnum!<br /></span> -<span class="i2">An <i>Elba</i> he has seen,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And never may his map of life<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Display a <i>St. Helene</i>!<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Mrs. Anna Bache.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<span class="smcap">Philadelphia.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_529" id="page_529"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXXIV.<br /><br /> -<small>MENAGERIE AND MUSEUM MEMORANDA.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">A REMARKABLE CHARACTER—OLD GRIZZLY ADAMS—THE CALIFORNIA -MENAGERIE—TERRIBLY WOUNDED BY BEARS—MY UP-TOWN -SHOW—EXTRAORDINARY WILL AND VIGOR—A LESSON FOR MUNCHAUSEN—THE -CALIFORNIA GOLDEN PIGEONS—PIGEONS OF ALL COLORS—PROCESS OF THEIR -CREATION—M. GUILLAUDEU—A NATURALIST DECEIVED—THE MOST WONDERFUL -BIRDS IN THE WORLD—THE CURIOSITIES TRANSFERRED TO THE -MENAGERIE—OLD ADAMS TAKEN IN—A CHANGE OF COLOR—MOTLEY THE ONLY -WEAR—OLD GRIZZLY UNDECEIVED—TOUR OF THE BEAR-TAMER THROUGH THE -COUNTRY—A BEAUTIFUL HUNTING SUIT—A LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLE FOR A -WAGER—OLD ADAMS WINS—HIS DEATH—THE LAST JOKE ON BARNUM—THE -PRINCE OF WALES VISITS THE MUSEUM—I CALL ON THE PRINCE IN -BOSTON—STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS—“BEFORE AND AFTER” IN A BARBER -SHOP—HOW TOM HIGGINSON “DID” BARNUM—THE MUSEUM FLOURISHING.</p></div> - -<p>I <small>WAS</small> now fairly embarked on board the good old ship American Museum, to -try once more my skill as captain, and to see what fortune the voyage -would bring me. Curiosities began to pour into the Museum halls, and I -was eager for enterprises in the show line, whether as part of the -Museum itself, or as outside accessories or accompaniments. Among the -first to give me a call, with attractions sure to prove a success, was -James C. Adams, of hard-earned, grizzly-bear fame. This extraordinary -man was eminently what is called “a character.” 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<a name="page_530" id="page_530"></a> 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 I had re-purchased the Museum, he 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 Sampson,” 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Adams called on me 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<a name="page_531" id="page_531"></a></p> - -<p><a name="GRIZZLY_ADAMS_AND_HIS_FAMILY" id="GRIZZLY_ADAMS_AND_HIS_FAMILY"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p530_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p530_sml.jpg" width="539" height="357" alt="GRIZZLY ADAMS AND HIS FAMILY." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">GRIZZLY ADAMS AND HIS FAMILY.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">the old bear-hunter. During our conversation, Grizzly Adams took off his -cap, and showed me 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. I remarked that I thought it was a dangerous wound and might -possibly prove fatal.</p> - -<p>“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. The -immediate object of “old Adams” in calling upon me was this; I had -purchased, a week previously, one-half interest in his California -menagerie, from a man who had come by way of the Isthmus from -California, and who claimed to own an equal interest with Adams in the -show. Adams declared that the man had only advanced him some money, and -did not possess the right to sell half of the concern. However, the man -held a bill of sale for half of the “California Menagerie,” and old -Adams finally consented to accept me as an equal partner in the -speculation, saying that he guessed I could do the managing part, and he -would show up the animals. I obtained a canvas tent, and erecting it on -the present site of Wallack’s Theatre, Adams there opened his novel -California Menagerie. On the morning of opening, a band of music -preceded a procession of animal cages down Broadway and up the<a name="page_532" id="page_532"></a> 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:</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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,<a name="page_533" id="page_533"></a> 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 demi-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.</p> - -<p>Old Adams liked to astonish others, as he often did, with his astounding -stories, but no one could astonish him; he had seen everything and knew -everything, and I was anxious to get a chance of exposing this weak -point to him. A fit occasion soon presented itself. One day, while -engaged in my office at the Museum, a man with marked Teutonic features -and accent approached the door and asked if I would like to buy a pair -of living golden pigeons.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” I 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.”</p> - -<p>“You shall see some golden pigeons alive,” he replied, at the same time -entering my office, and closing the door after him. He then removed the -lid from a small basket which he carried in his hand, 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.</p> - -<p>I confess I 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 my German visitor, as he replied in a slow, guttural tone -of voice:<a name="page_534" id="page_534"></a></p> - -<p>“What you think yourself?”</p> - -<p>Catching his meaning, I quickly replied:</p> - -<p>“I think it is a humbug.”</p> - -<p>“Of course, I know you will say so; because you ‘forstha’ such things; -so I shall not try to humbug you; I have color them myself.”</p> - -<p>On further inquiry I learned that this German was a chemist, and that he -possessed the art of coloring birds any hue desired, and yet retain a -natural gloss on the feathers, which gave every shade the appearance of -reality.</p> - -<p>“I can paint a green pigeon or a blue pigeon, a gray pigeon or a black -pigeon, a brown pigeon or a pigeon half blue or half green,” said the -German; “and if you prefer it, I can paint them pink or purple, or give -you a little of each color, and make you a rainbow pigeon.”</p> - -<p>The “rainbow pigeon” did not strike me as particularly desirable; but -thinking here was a good chance to catch “Grizzly Adams,” I bought the -pair of golden pigeons for ten dollars, and sent them up to the “Happy -Family” (where I knew Adams would soon see them), marked, “Golden -Pigeons, from California.” Mr. Taylor, the great pacificator, who had -charge of the Happy Family, soon came down in a state of excitement.</p> - -<p>“Really, Mr. Barnum,” said he, “I could not think of putting those -elegant golden pigeons into the Happy Family,—they are too valuable a -bird, and they might get injured; they are by far the most beautiful -pigeons I ever saw; and as they are so rare, I would not jeopardize -their lives for anything.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said I, “you may put them in a separate cage, properly -labelled.”</p> - -<p>Monsieur Guillaudeu, the naturalist and taxidermist<a name="page_535" id="page_535"></a> of the Museum, had -been attached to that establishment since the year it was founded, in -1810. He is a Frenchman, and has read nearly everything upon natural -history that was ever published in his own or in the English language. -When he saw the “Golden Pigeons from California,” he was considerably -astonished. He examined them with great delight for half an hour, -expatiating upon their beautiful color and the near resemblance which -every feature bore to the American ruff-necked pigeon. He soon came to -my office, and said:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, these golden pigeons are superb, but they cannot be from -California. Audubon mentions no such bird in his work upon American -Ornithology.”</p> - -<p>I told him he had better take Audubon home with him that night, and -perhaps by studying him attentively he would see occasion to change his -mind.</p> - -<p>The next day, the old naturalist called at my office and remarked:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, those pigeons are a more rare bird than you imagine. They -are not mentioned by Linnæus, Cuvier, Goldsmith, or any other writer on -natural history, so far as I have been able to discover. I expect they -must have come from some unexplored portion of Australia.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” I replied, “we may get more light on the subject, perhaps, -before long. We will continue to label them ‘California Pigeons’ until -we can fix their nativity elsewhere.”</p> - -<p>The next morning, “Old Grizzly Adams,” passed through the Museum when -his eyes fell on the “Golden California Pigeons.” He looked a moment and -doubtless admired. He soon after came to my office.<a name="page_536" id="page_536"></a></p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum,” said he, “you must let me have those California pigeons.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t spare them,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Adams, they are too rare and valuable a bird to be hawked about in -that manner.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“But why did you not think of it?” I asked, with a suppressed smile.</p> - -<p>“Because they are so common there,” said Adams, “I did not think they -would be any curiosity here. I have eaten them in pigeon-pies hundreds -of times, and have shot them by the thousands!”</p> - -<p>I was ready to burst with laughter to see how readily Adams swallowed -the bait, but maintaining the most rigid gravity, I replied:</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said Adams, “I will send over to a friend in San Francisco, -and you shall have them here in a couple of months.”</p> - -<p>I told Adams that, for certain reasons, I would prefer to have him -change the label so as to have it read: “Golden Pigeons from Australia.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I will call them what you like,” said Adams;<a name="page_537" id="page_537"></a> “I suppose they are -probably about as plenty in Australia as they are in California.”</p> - -<p>Six or eight weeks after this incident, I was in the California -Menagerie, and noticed that the “Golden Pigeons” had assumed a -frightfully mottled appearance. Their feathers had grown out and they -were half white. Adams had been so busy with his bears that he had not -noticed the change. I called him up to the pigeon cage, and remarked:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Adams, I fear you will lose your Golden Pigeons; they must be very -sick; I observe they are turning quite pale.”</p> - -<p>Adams looked at them a moment with astonishment, then turning to me, and -seeing that I could not suppress a smile, he indignantly exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“Blast the Golden Pigeons! You had better take them back to the Museum. -You can’t humbug me with your painted pigeons!”</p> - -<p>This was too much, and “I laughed till I cried,” to witness the mixed -look of astonishment and vexation which marked the grizzly features of -old Adams.</p> - -<p>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 all 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 to me and said: “Well, Mr. Barnum, -you must buy me out.” He named his price for his half of the “show,” and -I accepted his offer. We had arranged to exhibit the<a name="page_538" id="page_538"></a> bears in -Connecticut and Massachusetts during the summer, in connection with a -circus, and Adams insisted that I should hire him to travel for the -season and exhibit the bears in their curious performances. He offered -to go for $60 per week and travelling expenses of himself and wife. I -replied that I would gladly engage him as long as he could stand it, but -I advised him to give up business and go to his home in Massachusetts; -“for,” I remarked, “you are growing weaker every day, and at best cannot -stand it more than a fortnight.”</p> - -<p>“What will you give me extra if I will travel and exhibit the bears -every day for ten weeks?” added old Adams, eagerly.</p> - -<p>“Five hundred dollars,” I replied, with a laugh.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I 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 I was then to -hand him, or his wife, $500 extra.</p> - -<p>“You have lost your $500!” exclaimed Adams on taking the contract; “for -I am bound to live and earn it.”</p> - -<p>“I hope you may, with all my heart, and a hundred years more if you -desire it,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“Call me a fool if I don’t earn the $500!” exclaimed Adams, with a -triumphant laugh.</p> - -<p>The “show” started off in a few days, and at the end of a fortnight I -met it at Hartford, Connecticut.<a name="page_539" id="page_539"></a></p> - -<p>“Well,” said I, “Adams, you seem to stand it pretty well. I hope you and -your wife are comfortable?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” he replied, with a laugh; “and you may as well try to be -comfortable, too, for your $500 is a goner.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” I replied, “I hope you will grow better every day.”</p> - -<p>But I saw by his pale face and other indications that he was rapidly -failing. In three weeks more, I met him again at New Bedford, -Massachusetts. It seemed to me, then, that he could not live a week, for -his eyes were glassy and his hands trembled, but his pluck was as great -as ever.</p> - -<p>“This hot weather is pretty bad for me,” he said, “but my ten weeks are -half expired, and I am good for your $500, and, probably, a month or two -longer.”</p> - -<p>This was said with as much bravado as if he was offering to bet upon a -horse-race. I offered to pay him half of the $500 if he would give up -and go home; but he peremptorily declined making any compromise -whatever. I met him the ninth week in Boston. He had failed considerably -since I last saw him, but he still continued to exhibit the bears -although he was too weak to lead them in, and he chuckled over his -almost certain triumph. I laughed in return, and sincerely congratulated -him on his nerve and probable success. I remained with him until the -tenth week was finished, and handed him his $500. He took it with a leer -of satisfaction, and remarked, that he was sorry I was a teetotaler, for -he would like to stand treat!</p> - -<p>Just before the menagerie left New York, I had paid $150 for a new -hunting suit, made of beaver skins, similar to the one which Adams had -worn. This I intended<a name="page_540" id="page_540"></a> for Herr Driesbach, the animal tamer, who was -engaged by me to take the place of Adams, whenever he should be -compelled to give up. Adams, on starting from New York, asked me to loan -this new dress to him to perform in once in a while in a fair day, where -he had a large audience, for his own costume was considerably soiled. I -did so, and now when I handed him his $500, he remarked:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, I suppose you are going to give me this new hunting dress?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,” I replied, “I got that for your successor, who will exhibit -the bears to-morrow; besides, you have no possible use for it.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>I could not refuse the poor old man anything, and I therefore replied:</p> - -<p>“Well, Adams, I will lend you the dress; but you will send it back to -me?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, when I have done with it,” he replied, with an evident chuckle of -triumph.</p> - -<p>I thought to myself, he will soon be done with it, and replied: “That’s -all right.”</p> - -<p>A new idea evidently struck him, for, with a brightening look of -satisfaction, he said:</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Of course, I knew that in a few days at longest, he would be “done” with -this world altogether,<a name="page_541" id="page_541"></a> and, to gratify him, I cheerfully drew and -signed the paper.</p> - -<p>“Come, old Yankee, I’ve got you this time—see if I haint!” exclaimed -Adams, with a broad grin, as he took the paper.</p> - -<p>I smiled, and said:</p> - -<p>“All right, my dear fellow; the longer you live the better I shall like -it.”</p> - -<p>We parted, and he went to Neponset, a small town near Boston, 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.” His -wife assured him that his request should be complied with. He then sent -for the clergyman and they spent several hours in communing together.</p> - -<p>Adams, who, rough and untutored, had nevertheless, a natural eloquence, -and often put his thoughts in good language, said to the clergyman, that -though he had told some pretty big stories about his bears, he had -always endeavored to do the straight thing between man and man. “I have -attended preaching every day, Sundays and all,” said he, “for the last -six years. Sometimes an old grizzly gave me the sermon, sometimes it was -a panther; often it was the thunder and lightning,<a name="page_542" id="page_542"></a> the tempest, or the -hurricane on the peaks of the Sierra Nevada, or in the gorges of the -Rocky Mountains; but whatever preached to me, it always taught me the -majesty of the Creator, and revealed to me the undying and unchanging -love of our kind Father in heaven. Although I am a pretty rough -customer,” continued the dying man, “I fancy my heart is in about the -right place, and look with confidence for that rest which I so much -need, and which I have never enjoyed upon earth.” He then desired the -clergyman to pray with him, after which he took him by the hand, thanked -him for his kindness, and bade him farewell. In another hour his spirit -had taken its flight. It was said by those present, that his face -lighted into a smile as the last breath escaped him, and that smile he -carried into his grave. Almost his last words were: “Won’t Barnum open -his eyes when he finds I have humbugged him by being buried in his new -hunting dress?” That dress was indeed the shroud in which he was -entombed.</p> - -<p>And that was the last on earth of “Old Grizzly Adams.”</p> - -<p>After the death of Adams, the grizzly bears and other animals were added -to the collection in my Museum, and I employed Herr Driesbach, the -celebrated lion-tamer, as an exhibitor. Some time afterwards the bears -were sold to a menagerie company, but I kept “old Neptune,” the -sea-lion, for several years, sending him occasionally for exhibition in -other cities, as far west as Chicago. This noble and ferocious animal -was a very great curiosity and attracted great attention. He was kept in -a large tank, which was supplied with salt water every day from the Fall -River steamboats, whose deck hands filled my barrels on every passage to -the<a name="page_543" id="page_543"></a></p> - -<p><a name="THE_PRINCE_IN_THE_MUSEUM" id="THE_PRINCE_IN_THE_MUSEUM"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p542_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p542_sml.jpg" width="537" height="356" alt="THE PRINCE IN THE MUSEUM." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THE PRINCE IN THE MUSEUM.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">city with salt water from the deepest part of Long Island Sound. On his -tours through the country the sea-lion lived very well in fresh water.</p> - -<p>It was at one time my serious intention to engage in an American Indian -Exhibition on a stupendous scale. I proposed to secure at the far West -not less than one hundred of the best specimens of full-blood Indians, -with their squaws and papooses, their paint, ponies, dresses, and -weapons, for a general tour throughout the United States and Europe. The -plan comprehended a grand entry at every town and city where the Indians -were to exhibit—the Indians in all the glory of paint and feathers, -beads and bright blankets, riding on their ponies, followed by tame -buffaloes, elks and antelopes; then an exhibition on a lot large enough -to admit of a display of all the Indian games and dances, their method -of hunting, their style of cooking, living, etc. Such an exhibition is -perfectly practicable now to any one who has the capital and tact to -undertake it, and a sure fortune would follow the enterprise.</p> - -<p>On the 13th of October, 1860, the Prince of Wales, then making a tour in -the United States, in company with his suite, visited the American -Museum. This was a very great compliment, since it was the only place of -amusement the Prince attended in this country. Unfortunately, I was in -Bridgeport at the time, and the Museum was in charge of my manager, Mr. -Greenwood. Knowing that the name of the American Museum was familiar -throughout Europe, I was quite confident of a call from the Prince, and -from regard to his filial feelings I had, a day or two after his arrival -in New York, ordered to be removed to a dark closet a frightful wax -figure of his royal mother, which, for<a name="page_544" id="page_544"></a> nineteen years, had excited the -admiration of the million and which bore a placard with the legend, “An -exact likeness of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, taken from life.” Mr. -Greenwood, who was an Englishman, was deeply impressed with the -condescension of the Prince, and backed his way through the halls, -followed by the Prince, the Duke of Newcastle, and other members of the -royal suite, and he actually trembled as he attempted to do the -reception honors.</p> - -<p>Presently they arrived in front of the platform on which were exhibited -the various living human curiosities and monstrosities. The tall giant -woman made her best bow; the fat boy waddled out and kissed his hand; -the “negro turning white” showed his ivory and his spots; the dwarfs -kicked up their heels, and like the clown in the ring, cried “here we -are again”; the living skeleton stalked out, reminding the Prince, -perhaps, of the wish of Sidney Smith in a hot day that he could lay off -his flesh and sit in his bones; the Albino family went through their -performances; the “What is it?” grinned; the Infant Drummer-boy beat a -tattoo; and the Aztec children were shown and described as specimens of -a remarkable and ancient race in Mexico and Central America. The Prince -and his suite seemed pleased, and Greenwood was duly delighted. He was, -however, quite overwhelmed with the responsibility of his position, -especially whenever the Prince addressed him, and leading the way to the -wax figure hall he called attention to the figures of the Siamese Twins -and the Quaker Giant and his wife.</p> - -<p>“I suppose,” said the Prince, “these figures are representatives of -different living curiosities exhibited from time to time in your -Museum?”<a name="page_545" id="page_545"></a></p> - -<p>“Yes, your Royal Highness, all of them,” replied the confused Greenwood, -and as “all of them” included very fair figures of the Emperors Nicholas -and Napoleon, the Empress Eugenie, and other equally distinguished -personages, the Prince must have thought that the Museum had contained, -in times past, some famous “living curiosities.” On leaving the Museum, -the Prince asked to see Mr. Barnum, and when he was told that I was out -of town, he remarked: “We have missed the most interesting feature of -the establishment.” A few days afterwards, when the Prince was in -Boston, happening to be in that city, I sent my card to him at the -Revere House, and was cordially received. He smiled when I reminded him -that I had seen him when he was a little boy, on the occasion of one of -my visits to Buckingham Palace with General Tom Thumb. The Prince told -me that he was much pleased with his recent inspection of my Museum, and -that he and his suite had left their autographs in the establishment, as -mementos of their visit.</p> - -<p>When I arrived in Boston, by the by, on this visit, the streets were -thronged with the military and citizens assembled to receive the Prince -of Wales, and I had great difficulty, in starting from the depot to the -Revere House, in getting through the assembled crowd. At last, a -policeman espied me, and taking me for Senator Stephen A. Douglas, he -cried out, at the top of his voice: “Make way there for Judge Douglas’s -carriage.” The crowd opened a passage for my carriage at short notice, -and shouted out “Douglas, Douglas, hurrah for Douglas.” I took off my -hat and bowed, smiling from the windows on each side of my carriage; the -cheers and enthusiasm increased as I advanced, and all the way to<a name="page_546" id="page_546"></a> the -Revere House I continued to bow Judge Douglas’s grateful acknowledgments -for the enthusiastic reception. There must have been at least fifty -thousand people who joined in this spontaneous demonstration in honor of -Judge Douglas.</p> - -<p>When Douglas ran for the presidency in 1860, my democratic friend, J. D. -Johnson, bet me a hat that the Judge would be elected. Douglas passed -through Bridgeport on his electioneering tour down East, and made a -brief speech from the rear platform of the car, to the people assembled -at the depot. The next day Mr. Johnson met me in a crowded barber shop -and asked me if I had ever seen Douglas? I answered that I had, and -Johnson then asked what sort of a looking man he was. Remembering our -hat bet, and knowing that Johnson expected a pretty hard description of -his favorite candidate, I said:</p> - -<p>“He is a red-nosed, blear-eyed, dumpy, swaggering chap, looking like a -regular bar-room loafer.”</p> - -<p>“I thought as much,” said Johnson, “for here is the New Haven paper of -this morning, which says that he is the very image, in personal -appearance, of P. T. Barnum.”</p> - -<p>When the roar that followed subsided, I told Johnson I must have had -some other man in my mind’s eye, when I answered his question.</p> - -<p>One day I went out of the Museum in great haste to Tom Higginson’s -barber shop, in the Park Hotel, where my daily tonsorial operations were -performed, and finding a rough-looking Hibernian just ahead of me, I -told him that if he would be good enough to give me his “turn,” I would -pay his bill; to which he consented, and taking his turn and my own -shave, I speedily departed,<a name="page_547" id="page_547"></a> saying to Tom, as I went out: “Fix out this -man, and for whatever he has done I will pay the bill.”</p> - -<p>Two or three clerks and reporters, who were in the shop, and who knew -me, put their freshly-dressed heads together and suggested to Tom that -here was an opportunity to perpetrate a practical joke on Barnum, and -they explained the plan, in which Higginson readily acquiesced.</p> - -<p>“Now,” says one of them to the Irishman, “get everything done which you -like, and it will cost you nothing; it will be charged to the gentleman -to whom you gave your turn.”</p> - -<p>“Sure and a liberal gintleman he must be,” said Pat.</p> - -<p>“Will you take a bath?” asked the barber.</p> - -<p>“That indade I will, if the gintleman pays,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>When he came out of the bath he was asked if he would be shampooed. “And -what is that?” asked the bewildered Hibernian. The process was explained -and he consented to go through with the operation. Thereafter, moved and -instigated thereto by the barber and his confederates, Pat permitted -Higginson to dye his red hair and whiskers a beautiful brown, and then -to curl them. When all was done, the son of Erin looked in the mirror -and could scarcely believe the evidence of his own eyes. A more thorough -transformation could scarcely be conceived, and as he went out of the -door he said to Higginson:</p> - -<p>“Give the generous gintleman me best complements and tell him he can -have my turn ony day on the same terms.”</p> - -<p>One of the newspaper reporters, who assisted in the<a name="page_548" id="page_548"></a> joke, published the -whole story the next day, and when I called at the barber shop a bill -for $1.75 was presented, which, of course, I could do no less than to -pay. The joke went the rounds of the papers; and after a few months, an -English friend sent me the whole story in a copy of the London <i>Family -Herald</i>—a publication that issues about half a million of copies -weekly. Mr. Currier, the lithographer, put the joke into pictorial form, -representing the Irishman as he appeared before, also as he appeared -after the “barbar-ous” operations. After all, it was a good -advertisement for me, as well as for Higginson; and it would have been -pretty difficult to serve me up about these times in printers’ ink in -any form that I should have objected to.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, the Museum flourished better than ever; and I began to make -large holes in the mortgages which covered the property of my wife in -New York and in Connecticut. Still, there was an immense amount of debts -resting upon all her real estate, and nothing but time, economy, -industry and diligence would remove the burdens.<a name="page_549" id="page_549"></a></p> - -<p><a name="EAST_BRIDGEPORT" id="EAST_BRIDGEPORT"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p549_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p549_sml.jpg" width="519" height="347" alt="EAST BRIDGEPORT." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">EAST BRIDGEPORT.</span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXV" id="CHAPTER_XXXV"></a>CHAPTER XXXV.<br /><br /> -<small>EAST BRIDGEPORT.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">ANOTHER NEW HOME—LINDENCROFT—PROGRESS OF MY PET CITY—THE -CHESTNUT WOOD FIRE—HOW IT BECAME OLD HICKORY—INDUCEMENTS TO -SETTLERS—MY OFFER—EVERY MAN HIS OWN HOUSE-OWNER—WHISKEY AND -TOBACCO—RISE IN REAL-ESTATE—PEMBROKE LAKE—WASHINGTON PARK—GREAT -MANUFACTORIES—WHEELER AND WILSON—SCHUYLER, HARTLEY AND -GRAHAM—HOTCHKISS, SON AND COMPANY—STREET NAMES—MANY THOUSAND -SHADE TREES—BUSINESS IN THE NEW CITY—UNPARALLELED GROWTH AND -PROSPERITY—PROBABILITIES IN THE FUTURE—SITUATION OF -BRIDGEPORT—ITS ADVANTAGES AND PROSPECTS—THE SECOND, IF NOT THE -FOREMOST CITY IN CONNECTICUT.</p></div> - -<p>F<small>OR</small> nearly five years my family had been knocked about, the sport of -adverse fortune, without a settled home. Sometimes we boarded, and at -other times we lived in a small hired house. Two of my daughters were -married, and my youngest daughter, Pauline, was away at boarding school. -The health of my wife was much impaired, and she especially needed a -fixed residence which she could call “home.” Accordingly, in 1860, I -built a pleasant house adjoining that of my daughter Caroline, in -Bridgeport, and one hundred rods west of the grounds of Iranistan. I had -originally a tract of twelve acres, but half of it had been devoted to -my daughter, and on the other half I now proposed to establish my own -residence. To prepare the site it was necessary to cart in several -thousands of loads of dirt to fill up the hollow and to make the broad, -beautiful lawn, in the centre of which I erected the new house, and -after supplying the place<a name="page_550" id="page_550"></a> with fountains, shrubbery, statuary and all -that could adorn it, I named my new home “Lindencroft.” It was, in -truth, a very delightful place, complete and convenient in all respects, -and there is scarcely a more beautiful residence in Bridgeport now.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, my pet city, East Bridgeport, was progressing with giant -strides. The Wheeler and Wilson Sewing Machine manufactory had been -quadrupled in size, and employed about a thousand workmen. Numerous -other large factories had been built, and scores of first-class houses -were erected, besides many neat, but smaller and cheaper houses for -laborers and mechanics. That piece of property, which, but eight years -before, had been farm land, with scarcely six houses upon the whole -tract, was now a beautiful new city, teeming with busy life, and looking -as neat as a new pin. The greatest pleasure which I then took, or even -now take, was in driving through those busy streets, admiring the -beautiful houses and substantial factories, with their thousands of -prosperous workmen, and reflecting that I had, in so great a measure, -been the means of adding all this life, bustle and wealth to the City of -Bridgeport. And reflection on this subject only confirmed in my mind the -great doctrine of compensations. How plain was it in my case, that an -“apparent evil” was a “blessing in disguise!” How palpable was it now, -that, had it not been for the clock failure, this prosperity could not -have existed here. An old citizen of Bridgeport used to say to me, when, -a few years before, he had noticed my zeal in trying to build up the -east side:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, your contemplated new city is like a fire made with -chestnut wood; it burns so long as you keep blowing it, and when you -stop, it goes out!”<a name="page_551" id="page_551"></a></p> - -<p>I like, now-a-days to laugh at him about his “chestnut wood fire.” Of -course, I did blow the fire in all possible ways, but the result proved -that the wood which fed the fire was not chestnut, but the best and -soundest old hickory. The situation was everything that could be -desired, and I knew that in order to induce manufacturers to establish -their business in the new city, a prime requisite was the advantage I -could offer to employers, agents and workmen, to secure good and cheap -homes in the vicinity of their place of labor. To show the method I -adopted to secure this end, I copy from the files of the Bridgeport -<i>Standard</i>, an offer which I made, and the editorial comment thereon. -This offer, I may add, was not so much for the purpose of blowing the -fire, which was already fairly roaring with a lively blaze, as for the -sake of helping those who were willing to help themselves, and, at the -same time, contribute to my happiness, as well as their own, by -forwarding the growth of the new city.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="c">“NEW HOUSES IN EAST BRIDGEPORT.</p> - -<p class="c">“EVERY MAN TO OWN THE HOUSE HE LIVES IN.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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,<a name="page_552" id="page_552"></a> 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> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">P. T. Barnum.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>“February 16, 1864.”</p></div> - -<p>The editor of the <i>Standard</i> printed the following upon my announcement:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“<span class="smcap">An Advantageous Offer.</span>—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 mean time, -he can be making such inexpensive improvements in his property as -would greatly improve 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.”</p></div> - -<p>Quite a number of men at once availed themselves of my offer, and -eventually succeeded in paying for their homes without much effort. I am -sorry to add, that rent is still paid, month after month, by many men -who would long ago have owned neat homesteads, free from all -incumbrances, if they had accepted my proposals and had signed and kept -the temperance pledge, and given up the use of tobacco. The money they -have since expended for whiskey and tobacco, would have given them a -house of their own, if the money had been devoted to that object, and -their positions, socially and morally, would have been far better than -they are<a name="page_553" id="page_553"></a> to-day. 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!</p> - -<p>I built a number of houses to let, in order to accommodate those who -were unable to buy. I find this the most unpleasant part of my -connection with the new city. The interest on the investment, the taxes, -repairs, wear and tear, and insurance render tenant-houses the most -unprofitable property to own; besides which the landlord is often looked -upon by the tenants as an overbearing, grasping man and one whose -property it is their highest duty to injure as much as possible; for all -concerned therefore, it is much better that every person should somehow -manage to own the roof he sleeps under. Men are more independent and -feel happier who live in their own houses; they keep the premises in -neater order, and they make better citizens. Hence I always encourage -poor people to become householders if possible, for I find that -oftentimes when they have lived long in one of my houses they think it -very hard if the property is not given to them. They argue that the -landlord is rich and would never feel the loss of one little place, not -stopping to consider that the aggregate of a great many “little places” -thus given away would make the landlord poor,—nor would the tenants be -benefited so much by homes that were given to them as they would by -homes that were the fruits of their own industry and economy.</p> - -<p>The land in East Bridgeport was originally purchased by me at from $50 -to $75, and from those sums to $300 per acre; and the average cost of -all I bought on that side of the river was $200 per acre. Some<a name="page_554" id="page_554"></a> portions -of this land are now assessed in the Bridgeport tax-list at from $3,000 -to $4,000 per acre. At the time I joined Mr. Noble in this enterprise, -the site we purchased was not a part of the City of Bridgeport. It is -now, however, a most important section of the city, and the three -bridges connecting the two banks of the river, and originally chartered -as toll-bridges, have been bought by the city and thrown open as free -highways to the public. A horse railroad, in which I took one-tenth part -of the stock, connects the two portions of the city, extending westerly -beyond Iranistan and Lindencroft, while a branch road runs to the -beautiful “Sea-side Park” on the Sound shore.</p> - -<p>The eastern line of East Bridgeport, when I first purchased so large a -portion of the property, was bounded by a long, narrow swale or valley -of salt meadow, through which a small stream passed, and which was -flooded with salt water at every tide. At considerable expense, I -erected a dam at the foot of this meadow, and thus converted this -heretofore filthy, repulsive, mosquito-inhabited and malaria-breeding -marsh into a charming sheet of water, which is now known as Pembroke -Lake. If this improvement had not been made, in all probability the -eastern portion of my property would never have been devoted to dwelling -houses; as it is, Barnum Street has been extended by means of a bridge -across the lake, and the eastern shore is already studded with houses. -The land on that side of the lake lies in the town of Stratford, and the -growth of the new settlement promises to be as rapid as that of East -Bridgeport.</p> - -<p>General Noble, in laying out the first portion of our new city, named -several streets after members<a name="page_555" id="page_555"></a> of his own family, and also of mine. -Hence, we have a “Noble” Street—and a noble street it is; a “Barnum” -Street; while other streets are named “William,” from Mr. Noble; -“Harriet,” the Christian name of Mrs. Noble; “Hallett,” the maiden name -of my wife; and “Caroline,” “Helen,” and “Pauline,” the names of my -three daughters. There is also the “Barnum School District” and -school-house; so that it seems as if, for a few scores of years at -least, posterity would know who were the founders of the new, -flourishing and beautiful city. We have yet another enduring and -ever-growing monument in the many thousands of trees which we set out -and which now line and gratefully shade the streets of East Bridgeport.</p> - -<p>Figures can scarcely give an appreciable idea of the rapid growth and -material prosperity of this important portion of the City of Bridgeport; -but the city records show that my first purchase of land on that side of -the river was appraised in the Bridgeport assessment list, in October, -1851, at $36,000, while in July, 1859, the same real estate, with -improvements, less the Washington Park, the Public School lot in Barnum -District, the land for streets, and four church lots, was valued in the -city assessment list at $1,200,000. When we bought the property there -were but six old farm houses on the entire tract, when the centre bridge -was built and opened. Now there are on the same land hundreds of -dwelling-houses, some of them as fine as any in the State. Three -handsome churches, Methodist, Episcopal and Congregational, front on the -beautiful Washington Park of seven acres, which Mr. Noble and myself -presented to the city, and which would be worth $100,000 to-day for -building lots. This pleasant park<a name="page_556" id="page_556"></a> is enclosed by a substantial iron -fence, and contains a fine, natural grove of full-grown trees, while the -surrounding streets are lined with charming residences, and, on one or -more evenings in the week during the summer, the city band, or the -Wheeler & Wilson band, plays in the Park for the amusement and benefit -of the citizens of East Bridgeport.</p> - -<p>Some of the largest and most prosperous manufactories in the United -States are located in the new city. Among these are the Wheeler & Wilson -Sewing Machine Manufactories, which cover four entire squares, with -fire-proof buildings, are rapidly extending, and employ more than one -thousand operators; the Howe Sewing Machine Factory is also an immense -edifice, employing nearly the same number of men; Schuyler, Hartley, -Graham & Company’s great cartridge and ammunition works, almost supply -the armies of the world with the means of destruction; besides these, -the Winchester Arms Manufactory for making the “twenty-shooter -breech-loader”; a large brass manufactory; an immense hat manufactory; -and Hotchkiss, Sons & Company’s Hardware Manufactory, are among the more -prominent establishments, and other and like concerns are constantly -adding. Indeed, at this time (1869) one-fourth of the population and -three-fourths of the manufacturing capital and business of Bridgeport -are located on the east side within limits which, in 1850, contained -only six old farm houses.</p> - -<p>The following details respecting the business of some of the largest -establishments will give an idea of the manufacturing industries of East -Bridgeport. The Wheeler and Wilson Manufacturing Company employ more -than $4,000,000 in their business. Their<a name="page_557" id="page_557"></a> employees number ten hundred, -and they manufacture an average of three hundred sewing machines per -day; the total number of machines manufactured up to July 1, 1869, is -over four hundred thousand, and the factories cover six and one-half -acres of ground. The Union Metallic Cartridge Company, Messrs. Schuyler, -Hartley, Graham & Co., have a capital of $350,000, employ two hundred -and fifty men, and manufacture cartridges and primers of Berdan’s patent -military and sporting caps, and elastic gun waddings, at the rate of -1,000,000 cartridges, 720,000 primers, and 720,000 caps per week, and to -July 1, 1869, they had manufactured 50,000,000 cartridges. The -Bridgeport Brass Company employ two hundred men, have a capital of -$150,000, and manufacture rolled brass wire and tubing, kerosene -burners, lamp goods, corset steels, oil cans, etc., and roll and use in -these goods 1,000,000 pounds of brass a year. The Winchester Arms -Company have a capital of $450,000, employ three hundred men, and -manufacture the Winchester rifle, cartridges and ammunition. The Howe -Machine Company have a capital of $300,000, employ five hundred men, and -manufacture sewing machines at the rate of one hundred and fifty per -day. Messrs. Hotchkiss and Sons, with a capital of $162,500, and one -hundred and twenty-five men, manufacture hardware, currycombs, game -traps, and harness snaps to the amount of $20,000 per month. The -Bridgeport Manufacturing Company, with fifty men, and a capital of -$300,000, manufacture the American submerged pump. The Odorless Rubber -Company, with fifty men, and $200,000 capital, manufacture soft rubber -goods, hose, clothing, etc. The American Silver Steel Company, -manufacture steel from the Mine Hill, Roxbury,<a name="page_558" id="page_558"></a> Connecticut, Spathic -ore, and employ two hundred and fifty men, and a capital of $500,000. -Messrs. Glover Sanford and Sons, employ two hundred and fifty men, and -manufacture two hundred and fifty dozen wool hats per day. The New York -Tap and Die Company, with a capital of $150,000, and one hundred men, -manufacture taps, dies, drills, bits, etc. These companies thus employ -about six and one-half millions in capital, and nearly twenty-seven -hundred men, and expend more than $2,000,000 a year in wages to the -operatives.</p> - -<p>In addition, there are several substantial brick blocks devoted to -business; there are book stores, drug stores, dry goods stores, jewelry -stores, boot and shoe shops and stores, tailoring and furnishing -establishments, more than twenty grocery stores, six meat markets, three -fish markets, coal, wood, lumber and brick yards, steam flouring mills, -and a large brick hotel. The water and gas supplies are the same as -those afforded on the other side of the river. It is quite within the -bounds of probability that in the course of twenty years, the east side -will contain the larger proportion of the inhabitants. A post-office and -a railway station will soon be built on that side of the river. A new -iron bridge is about to connect the two parts of the city, affording -additional facilities for inter-communication. In 1868, March 2, a -special committee of the Common Council reported the census of the City -of Bridgeport as follows: First ward, 7,397; Second ward, 4,237; Third -ward, East Bridgeport, 5,497; total, 17,131. In this enumeration, our -new city contained nearly one-third of the entire population, and its -increase since has been far more rapid than that of any other part of -Bridgeport.<a name="page_559" id="page_559"></a></p> - -<p>The entire City of Bridgeport is advancing in population and prosperity -with a rapidity far beyond that of any other city in Connecticut, and -everything indicates that it will soon take its proper position as the -second, if not the first, city in the State. Its situation as the -terminus of the Naugatuck and the Housatonic railways, its accessibility -to New York, with its two daily steamboats to and from the metropolis, -and its dozen daily trains of the New York and Boston and Shore Line -railways, are all elements of prosperity which are rapidly telling in -favor of this busy, beautiful and charming city.<a name="page_560" id="page_560"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXXVI.<br /><br /> -<small>MORE ABOUT THE MUSEUM.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">ANOTHER RE-OPENING—A CHERRY-COLORED CAT—THE CAT LET OUT OF THE -BAG—MY FIRST WHALING EXPEDITION—PLANS FOR CAPTURE—SUCCESS OF THE -SCHEME—TRANSPORTING LIVING WHALES BY LAND—PUBLIC EXCITEMENT—THE -GREAT TANK—SALT WATER PUMPED FROM THE BAY TO THE MUSEUM—MORE -WHALES—EXPEDITION TO LABRADOR—THE FIRST HIPPOPOTAMUS IN -AMERICA—TROPICAL FISH—COMMODORE NUTT AND HIS FIRST -“ENGAGEMENT”—THE TWO DROMIOS—PRESIDENT LINCOLN SEES COMMODORE -NUTT—WADING ASHORE—A QUESTION OF LEGS—SELF-DECEPTION—THE GOLDEN -ANGEL FISH—ANNA SWAN, THE NOVA SCOTIA GIANTESS—THE TALLEST WOMAN -IN THE WORLD—INDIAN CHIEFS—EXPEDITION TO CYPRUS—MY AGENT IN A -PASHA’S HAREM.</p></div> - -<p>O<small>N</small> the 13th of October, 1860, the American Museum was the scene of -another re-opening, which was, in fact, the commencement of the fall -dramatic season, the summer months having been devoted to pantomime. A -grand flourish of trumpets in the way of newspaper advertisements and -flaming posters drew a crowded house. Among other attractions, it was -announced that Mr. Barnum would introduce a mysterious novelty never -before seen in that establishment. I appeared upon the stage behind a -small table, in front of which was nailed a white sack, on which was -inscribed, in large letters, “The cat let out of the bag.” I then stated -that, having spent two of the summer months in the country, leaving the -Museum in charge of Mr. Greenwood, he had purchased a curiosity with -which he was not satisfied; but, for my part, I thought he had received -his money’s worth, and I proposed to exhibit<a name="page_561" id="page_561"></a> it to the audience, for -the purpose of getting their opinion on the subject. I stated that a -farmer came in from the country, and said he had got a “cherry-colored -cat” at home which he would like to sell; that Mr. Greenwood gave him a -writing promising to pay him twenty-five dollars for such a cat -delivered in good health, provided it was not artificially colored; and -that the cat was then in the bag in front of the table, ready for -exhibition. Whereupon, my assistant drew from the bag a common black -cat, and I informed the audience that when the farmer brought his -“cherry-colored cat,” he quietly remarked to Mr. Greenwood, that, of -course, he meant “a cat of the color of black cherries.” The laughter -that followed this narration was uproarious, and the audience -unanimously voted that the “cherry-colored cat,” all things considered, -was well worth twenty-five dollars. The cat, adorned with a collar -bearing the inscription, “The Cherry-colored Cat,” was then placed in -the cage of the “Happy Family,” and the story getting into the -newspapers, it became another advertisement of the Museum.</p> - -<p>In 1861, I learned that some fishermen at the mouth of the St. Lawrence -had succeeded in capturing a living white whale, and I was also informed -that a whale of this kind, if placed in a box lined with sea-weed and -partially filled with salt water, could be transported by land to a -considerable distance, and be kept alive. It was simply necessary that -an attendant, supplied with a barrel of salt water and a sponge, should -keep the mouth and blow-hole of the whale constantly moist. It seemed -incredible that a living whale could be “expressed” by railroad on a -five days’ journey, and although I knew nothing of the white whale or -its habits,<a name="page_562" id="page_562"></a> since I had never seen one, I determined to experiment in -that direction. Landsman as I was, I believed that I was quite as -competent as a St. Lawrence fisherman to superintend the capture and -transportation of a live white whale.</p> - -<p>When I had fully made up my mind to attempt the task, I made every -provision for the expedition, and took precaution against every -conceivable contingency. I determined upon the capture and transport to -my Museum of at least two living whales, and prepared in the basement of -the building a brick and cement tank, forty feet long, and eighteen feet -wide, for the reception of the marine monsters. When this was done, -taking two trusty assistants, I started upon my whaling expedition. -Going by rail to Quebec, and thence by the Grand Trunk Railroad, ninety -miles, to Wells River, where I chartered a sloop to Elbow Island (Isle -au Coudres), in the St. Lawrence River, and found the place populated by -Canadian French people of the most ignorant and dirty description. They -were hospitable, but frightfully filthy, and they gained their -livelihood by farming and fishing. Immense quantities of maple-sugar are -made there, and in exploring about the island, we saw hundreds of -birch-bark buckets suspended to the trees to catch the sap. After -numerous consultations, extending over three whole days, with a party of -twenty-four fishermen, whose gibberish was almost as untranslatable as -it was unbearable, I succeeded in contracting for their services to -capture for me, alive and unharmed, a couple of white whales, scores of -which could at all times be discovered by their “spouting” within sight -of the island. I was to pay these men a stipulated price per day for -their labor, and if they secured the whales, they were to have a liberal -bonus.<a name="page_563" id="page_563"></a></p> - -<p><a name="CAPTURING_WHITE_WHALES" id="CAPTURING_WHITE_WHALES"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p563_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p563_sml.jpg" width="541" height="362" alt="CAPTURING WHITE WHALES." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">CAPTURING WHITE WHALES.</span> -</div> - -<p>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, my 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 the 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.</p> - -<p>All this was simple enough “on paper”; but several days elapsed before a -single spout was seen inside the kraal, though scores of whales were -constantly around and near it. In time, it became exceedingly -aggravating to see the whales glide so near the trap without going into -it, and our patience was sorely tried. One day a whale actually went -into the kraal, and the fishermen proposed to capture it; but I wanted -another, and while we waited for number two to go in, number one knowing -the proverb, probably, and having an eye to his own interests, went out. -Two days afterwards, I was awakened at daylight by a great noise, and -amid the clamor of many voices, I caught the cheering news that two -whales were even then within the kraal, and hastily dressing myself, I -took a boat for the exciting scene. The real difficulty, which was to -get the whales into the trap, was now over, and the details of capture -and transportation could safely be left to my trusty assistants and<a name="page_564" id="page_564"></a> the -fishermen. What they were to do until the tide went out and thereafter -was once more fully explained; and after depositing money enough to pay -the bill, if the capture was successful, I started at once for Quebec. -There I learned by telegraph that both whales had been caught, boxed, -and put on board sloop for the nearest point where they could be -transhipped in the cars. I had made every arrangement with the railway -officials, and had engaged a special car for the precious and curious -freight.</p> - -<p>Elated as I was at the result of this novel enterprise, I had no idea of -hiding my light under a bushel, and I immediately wrote a full account -of the expedition, its intention, and its success, for publication in -the Quebec and Montreal newspapers. I also prepared a large number of -brief notices which I left at every station on the line, instructing -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 I thus secured a tremendous -advertisement, seven hundred miles long, for the American Museum.</p> - -<p>When I arrived in New York, a dozen despatches had come from the -“whaling expedition,” and they continued to come every few hours. These -I bulletined in front of the Museum and sent copies to the papers. The -excitement was intense, and, when at last, these marine monsters arrived -and were swimming in the tank<a name="page_565" id="page_565"></a> that had been prepared for them, anxious -thousands literally rushed to see the strangest curiosities ever -exhibited in New York.</p> - -<p>Thus was my first whaling expedition a great success; but I did not know -how to feed or to take care of the monsters, and, moreover, they were in -fresh water, and this, with the bad air in the basement, may have -hastened their death, which occurred a few days after their arrival, but -not before thousands of people had seen them. Not at all discouraged, I -resolved to try again. My plan now was to connect the water of New York -bay with the basement of the Museum by means of iron pipes under the -street, and a steam engine on the dock to pump the water. This I -actually did at a cost of several thousand dollars, with an extra -thousand to the aldermanic “ring” for the privilege, and I constructed -another tank in the second floor of the building. This tank was built of -slate and French glass plates six feet long, five feet broad, and one -inch thick, imported expressly for the purpose, and the tank, when -completed, was twenty-four feet square, and cost $4,000. It was kept -constantly supplied with what would be called Hibernically, “fresh” salt -water, and inside of it I soon had two white whales, caught, as the -first had been, hundreds of miles below Quebec, to which city they were -carried by a sailing vessel, and from thence were brought by railway to -New York.</p> - -<p>Of this whole enterprise, I confess I was very proud that I had -originated it and brought it to such successful conclusion. It was a -very great sensation, and it added thousands of dollars to my treasury. -The whales, however, soon died—their sudden and immense popularity was -too much for them—and I then despatched<a name="page_566" id="page_566"></a> agents to the coast of -Labrador, and not many weeks thereafter I had two more live whales -disporting themselves in my monster aquarium. Certain envious people -started the report that my whales were only porpoises, but this petty -malice was turned to good account, for Professor Agassiz, of Harvard -University, came to see them, and gave me a certificate that they were -genuine white whales, and this indorsement I published far and wide.</p> - -<p>The tank which I had built in the basement served for a yet more -interesting exhibition. On the 12th of August, 1861, I began to exhibit -the first and only genuine hippopotamus that had ever been seen in -America, and for several weeks the Museum was thronged by the curious -who came to see the monster. I advertised him extensively and -ingeniously, as “the great behemoth of the Scriptures,” giving a full -description of the animal and his habits, and thousands of cultivated -people, biblical students, and others, were attracted to this novel -exhibition. There was quite as much excitement in the city over this -wonder in the animal creation as there was in London when the first -hippopotamus was placed in the zoölogical collection in Regent’s Park.</p> - -<p>Having a stream of salt water at my command at every high tide, I was -enabled to make splendid additions to the beautiful aquarium, which I -was the first to introduce into this country. I not only procured living -sharks, porpoises, sea horses, and many rare fish from the sea in the -vicinity of New York, but in the summer of 1861, I despatched a fishing -smack and crew to the Island of Bermuda and its neighborhood, whence -they brought scores of specimens of the beautiful<a name="page_567" id="page_567"></a> “angel fish,” and -numerous other tropical fish of brilliant colors and unique forms. These -fish were a great attraction to all classes, and especially to -naturalists and others, who commended me for serving the ends of science -as well as amusement. But as cold weather approached, these tropical -fish began to die, and before the following spring, they were all gone. -I, therefore, replenished this portion of my aquaria during the summer, -and for several summers in succession, by sending a special vessel to -the Gulf for specimens. These operations were very expensive, but I -really did not care for the cost, if I could only secure valuable -attractions.</p> - -<p>In the same year, I bought out the Aquarial Gardens in Boston, and soon -after removed the collection to the Museum. I had now the finest -assemblage of fresh as well as salt water fish ever exhibited, and with -a standing offer of one hundred dollars for every living brook-trout, -weighing four pounds or more, which might be brought to me, I soon had -three or four of these beauties, which trout-fishermen from all parts of -the country came to New York to see. But the trout department of my -Museum required so much care, and was attended with such constant risks, -that I finally gave it up.</p> - -<p>In December, 1861, I made one of my most “palpable hits.” 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, 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<a name="page_568" id="page_568"></a> farmer, of Manchester, New Hampshire. I was not long in -despatching 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 mean -time, 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 <i>fac-simile</i> 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 I was trying to play “Mrs. Gamp” with my “Mrs. -Harris”; that there was, in fact, no such person as “Commodore Nutt”; -and that I was exhibiting my old friend Tom Thumb under a new name. The -mistake was very natural, and to me it was very laughable, for the more -I tried to convince people of their error, the more they winked and -looked wise, and said, “It’s pretty well done, but you can’t take me -in.”<a name="page_569" id="page_569"></a></p> - -<p>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. After he had been in the Museum a few weeks, I took the -Commodore to Bridgeport to spend a couple of days by way of relaxation. -Many of the citizens of Bridgeport, who had known Tom Thumb from his -birth, would salute the Commodore as the General Tom Thumb. The little -fellow would return these salutes, for he delighted in keeping up the -illusion.</p> - -<p>Going into a crowded barber-shop one morning with the little Commodore, -we met my friend Mr. Gideon Thompson, who was sitting there, and who -called out:</p> - -<p>“Good morning, Charley; how are you? When did you get home?”</p> - -<p>“I’m quite well, thank you, and I arrived last night,” responded the -Commodore, with due gravity.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got a horse now that will beat yours,” said Mr. Thompson.</p> - -<p>“He must be pretty fast, then.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Charley, I’ll drive out by your mother’s the first fine day, and -give you a trial.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said little Nutt, “but you had better not wager too much on -your fast horse, for you know mine is some pumpkins.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Uncle Gid.,” I exclaimed, “you are ‘had’ this time; this little -gentleman is not General Tom Thumb, but Commodore Nutt.”</p> - -<p>“What!” roared friend Gid.; “do you think I am an infernal fool? Why, I -knew Charley Stratton years before you ever saw him, didn’t I, General?”</p> - -<p>No one in the room suspected that my little friend<a name="page_570" id="page_570"></a> was any other than -General Tom Thumb, till Mr. William Bassett, the General’s -brother-in-law, came in and remarked the “wonderful resemblance to our -little Charley, as he looked years ago.”</p> - -<p>“Is not this the General?” inquired half a dozen astonished men, who -were speedily assured he was not, but was quite another person. This -gave rise to a proposition to exhibit the Commodore to the General’s -mother, and a coach was procured, and Mr. Bassett, the Commodore, and I -went to Mrs. Stratton’s house. When we arrived, the Commodore shouted -out:</p> - -<p>“How are you, mother?”</p> - -<p>But the mother, of all persons in Bridgeport, was not to be deceived, -though she expressed her astonishment at the very striking likeness the -Commodore bore to her son as he once looked. Mrs. Bassett concurred in -the testimony and said the Commodore looked so much like her brother -that she was loth to let him go. It is no wonder that other people were -deceived by the resemblance.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_571" id="page_571"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>As an illustration—the “Australian Golden Pigeons” which deceived Old -Adams were the occasion of another ludicrous incident. A shrewd lady, -one of my neighbors in Connecticut, was visiting the Museum, and after -inspecting the “Golden Angel Fish” swimming in one of the aquaria, she -abruptly addressed me:</p> - -<p>“You can’t humbug me, Mr. Barnum; that fish is painted!”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense!” said I, with a laugh; “the thing is impossible.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t care, I know it is painted; it is as plain as can be.”</p> - -<p>“But, my dear Mrs. H., paint would not adhere to a fish in the water; -and if it would, it would kill him.”</p> - -<p>She left the Museum not more than half convinced, and in the afternoon -of the same day I met her in the California Menagerie. She knew I was -part proprietor in the establishment, and seeing me in conversation with -Old Adams, she came to me, her eyes glistening with excitement, and -exclaimed—</p> - -<p>“Oh, Mr. Barnum, I never saw anything so beautiful as those elegant -“Golden Pigeons”; you must give me some of their eggs for my own pigeons -to hatch; I should prize them beyond measure.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you don’t want ‘Golden Pigeons,’ ” I said; “they are painted.”<a name="page_572" id="page_572"></a></p> - -<p>“No, they are not painted,” said she, with a laugh, “but I half think -the ‘Angel Fish’ is.”</p> - -<p>I could scarcely control my laughter as I explained: “Now, Mrs. H., I -never spoil a good joke, even when the exposure betrays a Museum secret. -I assure you, upon honor, that the “Australian Golden Pigeons,” as they -are labelled, are really painted; I bought them for the sole purpose of -giving Old Adams a lesson; in their natural state they are nothing more -than common white ruff-neck pigeons.” She was convinced, and to this day -she blushes whenever any allusion is made to the “Angel Fish” or the -“Golden Pigeons.”</p> - -<p>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:</p> - -<p>“I suppose you are the gentleman who is spending so much of Uncle Sam’s -money?”</p> - -<p>“No, indeed,” said Secretary of War Stanton, very promptly: “I am -spending the money.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Commodore Nutt, “it is in a good cause, anyhow, and I guess -it will come out all right.”</p> - -<p>His apt remark created much amusement. Mr. Lincoln then bent down his -long, lank body, and taking Nutt by the hand, he said:<a name="page_573" id="page_573"></a></p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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:</p> - -<p>“I guess Mr. President, you could do that better than I could.”</p> - -<p>Commodore Nutt and the Nova Scotia giantess, Anna Swan, illustrate the -old proverb sufficiently to show how extremes occasionally met in my -Museum. He was the shortest of men and she was the tallest of women. I -first heard of her through a quaker who came into my office one day and -told me of a wonderful girl, seventeen years of age, who resided near -him at Pictou, Nova Scotia, and who was probably the tallest girl in the -world. I asked him to obtain her exact height, on his return home, which -he did and sent it to me, and I at once sent an agent who in due time -came back with Anna Swan. She was an intelligent and by no means -ill-looking girl, and during the long period while she was in my employ -she was visited by thousands of persons. After the burning of my second -Museum, she went to England where she attracted great attention.</p> - -<p>For many years I had been in the habit of engaging parties of American -Indians from the far West to exhibit at the Museum, and had sent two or -more Indian companies to Europe, where they were regarded as very great -“curiosities.” In 1864, ten or twelve chiefs of as many different -tribes, visited the President of the United States at Washington. By a<a name="page_574" id="page_574"></a> -pretty liberal outlay of money, I succeeded in inducing the interpreter -to bring them to New York, and to pass some days at my 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.”</p> - -<p>On their arrival at the Museum, therefore, I took them upon the stage -and personally introduced them to the public. The Indians liked this -attention from me, as they had been informed that I was the proprietor -of the great establishment in which they were invited and honored -guests. My patrons were of course pleased to see these old chiefs, as -they knew they were the “<i>real</i> thing,” and several of them were known -to the public, either as being friendly or cruel to the whites. After -one or two appearances upon the stage, I 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<a name="page_575" id="page_575"></a> predecessors -hanging on the walls of the Governor’s room.</p> - -<p>On another occasion, I 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.”</p> - -<p>On other occasions, I took them to ride in Central Park, and through -different portions of the city. At every street corner which we 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, between each of these outside visits I 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.”</p> - -<p>As they regarded me as their host, they did not hesitate to trespass -upon my hospitality. Whenever their eyes rested upon a glittering shell -among my specimens of conchology, especially if it had several brilliant -colors, one would take off his coat, another his shirt, and insist that -I should exchange my shell for their garment. When I declined the -exchange, but on the contrary presented them with the coveted article, I -soon found I had established a dangerous precedent. Immediately, they -all commenced to beg for everything in my vast collection, which they -happened to take a liking to. This cost me many valuable specimens, and<a name="page_576" id="page_576"></a> -often “put me to my trumps” for an excuse to avoid giving them things -which I could not part with.</p> - -<p>The chief of one of the tribes one day discovered an ancient shirt of -chain-mail which hung in one of my cases of antique armor. He was -delighted with it, and declared he must have it. I tried all sorts of -excuses to prevent his getting it, for it had cost me 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 told me 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. I remained inexorable until he -finally brought me a new buckskin Indian suit, which he insisted upon -exchanging. I felt compelled to accept his proposal; and never did I see -a man more delighted than he 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!”</p> - -<p>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, -blood-thirsty savage, who would think no more of<a name="page_577" id="page_577"></a> 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 me, and although not speaking or understanding a word -of our language, would try to convince me that he loved me dearly.</p> - -<p>In exhibiting these Indian warriors on the stage, I explained to the -large audiences the names and characteristics of each. When I came to -Yellow Bear I would pat him familiarly upon the shoulder, which always -caused him to look up to me with a pleasant smile, while he softly -stroked down my arm with his right hand in the most loving manner. -Knowing that he could not understand a word I said, I pretended to be -complimenting him to the audience, while I was really saying something -like the following:</p> - -<p>“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 I patted him on the head, and he, supposing I was sounding his -praises, would smile, fawn upon me, and stroke my arm, while I -continued: “If the blood-thirsty 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<a name="page_578" id="page_578"></a> 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 I gave him another -patronizing pat on the head, and he, with a pleasant smile, bowed to the -audience, as much as to say that my words were quite true, and that he -thanked me very much for the high encomiums I had so generously heaped -upon him.</p> - -<p>After they had been about a week at the Museum, one of the chiefs -discovered that visitors paid money for entering. This information he -soon communicated to the other chiefs, and I heard an immediate murmur -of discontent. Their eyes were opened, and no power could induce them to -appear again upon the stage. Their dignity had been offended, and their -wild, flashing eyes were anything but agreeable. Indeed, I hardly felt -safe in their presence, and it was with a feeling of relief that I -witnessed their departure for Washington the next morning.</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1864, the United States Consul at Larnica, Island of -Cyprus, Turkish Dominions, wrote me a letter, declaring that he and the -English Consul, an American physician, resident in the island, and a -large company of Europeans as well as natives, had seen the most -remarkable object, no doubt, in the world,—a <i>lusus naturæ</i>, a feminine -phenomenon. This woman was represented to have “four cornicles on her -head, and one large horn, equal in size to an ordinary ram’s horn, -growing out of the side of her head”; and the consistency of the horns -was represented to be similar to that of cows’ or goats’ horns. This -singular story continued: “These horns have been growing for ten or -twelve years, and were carefully concealed by the<a name="page_579" id="page_579"></a> woman until a few -weeks since, when a vision appeared in the person of an old man, and -warned her to remove the veil she wore, or God would punish her. She -sent to the Greek priest (she being of that persuasion), and confessed -to him, and was ordered to uncover her head, which she at once did.” She -was subsequently seen by the entire population, and the French consul, -in company with others, offered her fifty thousand piastres to go to -Paris for exhibition. The English consul, I was further informed, had -pronounced this woman to be “worth her weight in gold”; and I was -assured that if I wished to add her to my “wonderful Museum, and present -to the American public the most remarkable object yet exhibited,” I had -only to “send an agent immediately to secure the prize.”</p> - -<p>Informing myself of the trustworthiness of my correspondent (who also -wrote a similar account to the New York <i>Observer</i>), I was not long in -making up my mind to secure this freak of nature; and I despatched Mr. -John Greenwood, Jr., in the steamer “City of Baltimore,” for Liverpool, -April 30, 1864. He went to London and Paris, and thence to Marseilles, -where he took a Syrian and Egyptian steamer to Palermo, and from thence -proceeded to Cyprus. On arriving, if he could have seen the woman at -once, he could have re-embarked on the steamer, which sailed again in a -few hours for other islands; but unfortunately, the woman was a few -miles in the interior, and poor Greenwood was detained a month on the -island before he could take another steamer to get away. Worse yet, the -woman, spite of the impression she had made upon so many and such -respectable witnesses, was really no curiosity after all, as it proved -upon examination, that<a name="page_580" id="page_580"></a> her “horns” were not horns at all, but fleshy -excrescences, which may have been singularly shaped tumors, or wens. It -is needless to add that my agent did not engage her; and after a month -of discomfort and hard living, he succeeded in getting away, and sailed -for Constantinople, mainly to see what could be done in the way of -securing one or more Circassian women for exhibition in my Museum.</p> - -<p>On his way through the Mediterranean, he had the following adventure: On -board the steamer, the harem of a Turkish Pasha occupied one side of the -quarter deck, which was divided off from the rest by a hurdle fence run -longitudinally through the middle of the deck. Greenwood was one day -sitting in an easy chair with his back to these women and their -attendants, when, feeling his chair move, he turned and saw one of the -Pasha’s wives getting over the hurdle, and as there was scarcely room -for her to squeeze herself between the chairs in which passengers were -sitting, he moved his own chair out of the way and rising, offered his -hand to assist the woman over the fence. She indignantly jumped back, -and Greenwood was immediately seized by two of the Pasha’s attendants, -violently shaken, and taken to task in Turkish for daring to offer to -touch the hand of one of his Excellency’s women. Greenwood had that day -formed the acquaintance of a fellow-passenger, a young Greek from Scio, -who was going to Beyrout to act as clerk for a merchant in that place. -He spoke good English, and seeing Greenwood in trouble among the Turks, -and knowing that he could speak neither Greek nor Arabic, he went to the -rescue, and demanded an explanation of the difficulty.</p> - -<p>Upon hearing what was the trouble, he informed the<a name="page_581" id="page_581"></a></p> - -<p><a name="TROUBLE_IN_A_TURKISH_HAREM" id="TROUBLE_IN_A_TURKISH_HAREM"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p580_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p580_sml.jpg" width="538" height="363" alt="TROUBLE IN A TURKISH HAREM." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">TROUBLE IN A TURKISH HAREM.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">turbulent fellows that Greenwood had no motive in his act beyond simple -common courtesy. The prisoner, however, was still detained in the grasp -of the Turks, till the will of the insulted Pasha could be known. On -deck soon came the irate Pasha, in company with an old gentleman who was -said to have been tutor, formerly, to the present Sultan of Turkey. When -the two heard the charge and the explanation, and had consulted together -a little while, Greenwood was released. But for the friendly -interposition of the Greek, he might have been bastinadoed, or even -bowstrung.</p> - -<p>During the remainder of the voyage he was closely watched, but he was -very careful to be guilty of no act of “politeness,” and he went on -shore at Constantinople without so much as saying good-by to the Pasha. -In Constantinople he had some very singular adventures. To carry out his -purpose of getting access to the very interior of the slave-marts, he -dressed himself in full Turkish costume, learned a few words and phrases -which would be necessary in his assumed character as a slave-buyer, and, -as the Turks are a notably reticent people, he succeeded very well in -passing himself off for what he appeared, though he ran a risk of -detection many times every day. In this manner, he saw a large number of -Circassian girls and women, some of them the most beautiful beings he -had ever seen, and after a month in Constantinople and in other Turkish -cities, he sailed for Marseilles, then went to Paris, picking up many -treasures for my Museum, and returned to New York, after a journey of -13,112 miles.<a name="page_582" id="page_582"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXXVII<br /><br /> -<small>MR. AND MRS. GENERAL TOM THUMB.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">MISS LAVINIA WARREN—A CHARMING LITTLE LADY—SUPPOSED TO BE THE -$30,000 NUTT IN DISGUISE—HER WARDROBE AND PRESENTS—STORY OF A -RING—THE LITTLE COMMODORE IN LOVE—TOM THUMB SMITTEN—RIVALRY OF -THE DWARFS—JEALOUSY OF THE GENERAL—VISIT AT BRIDGEPORT—THE -GENERAL’S STYLISH TURN-OUT—MISS WARREN IMPRESSED—CALL OF THE -GENERAL—A LILIPUTIAN LOVE SCENE—TOM THUMB’S INVENTORY OF HIS -PROPERTY—HE PROPOSES AND IS ACCEPTED—ARRIVAL OF THE -COMMODORE—HIS GRIEF—EXCITEMENT OVER THE ENGAGEMENT—THE WEDDING -IN GRACE CHURCH—REVEREND JUNIUS WILLEY—A SPICY LETTER BY DOCTOR -TAYLOR—GRAND RECEPTION OF MR. AND MRS. STRATTON—THE COMMODORE IN -SEARCH OF A GREEN COUNTRY GIRL.</p></div> - -<p>I<small>N</small> 1862 I heard of an extraordinary dwarf girl, named Lavinia Warren, -who was residing with her parents at Middleboro’, Massachusetts, and I -sent an invitation to her and her parents to come and visit me at -Bridgeport. They came, and I found her to be a most intelligent and -refined young lady, well educated, and an accomplished, beautiful and -perfectly-developed woman in miniature. I succeeded in making an -engagement with her for several years, during which she contracted—as -dwarfs are said to have the power to do—to visit Great Britain, France, -and other foreign lands.</p> - -<p>Having arranged the terms of her engagement, I took her to the house of -one of my daughters in New York, where she remained quietly, while I was -procuring her wardrobe and jewelry, and making arrangements for her -début. As yet, nothing had been said in the papers about this -interesting young lady, and one day as I was<a name="page_583" id="page_583"></a> taking her home with me to -Bridgeport, I met in the cars the wife of a wealthy menagerie -proprietor, who introduced me to her two daughters, young ladies of -sixteen and eighteen years of age, and then said:</p> - -<p>“You have disguised the little Commodore very nicely.”</p> - -<p>“That is not Commodore Nutt,” I replied, “it is a young lady whom I have -recently discovered.”</p> - -<p>“Very well done, Mr. Barnum,” replied Mrs. B., with a look of self -satisfaction.</p> - -<p>“Really,” I repeated, “this <i>is</i> a young lady.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Mr. Barnum, but I know Commodore Nutt in whatever costume -you put him; and I recognized him the moment you brought him into the -car.”</p> - -<p>“But, Mrs. B.,” I replied, “Commodore Nutt is now exhibiting in the -Museum, and this is a little lady whom I hope to bring before the public -soon.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum,” she replied, “you forget that I am a showman’s wife, -conversant with all the showman’s tricks, and that I cannot be -deceived.”</p> - -<p>Seeing there was no prospect of convincing her, I replied in a -confidential whisper, for such chance for a joke was not to be lost:</p> - -<p>“Well, I see you are too sharp for me, but I beg you not to mention it, -for you are the only person on board this train who suspects it is the -Commodore.”</p> - -<p>“I will say nothing,” she replied, “but do please bring the little -fellow over here, for my daughters have never seen him.”</p> - -<p>I stepped and told Lavinia the joke and asked her to help carry it out. -I then took her over where she got a seat in the midst of the three -ladies.<a name="page_584" id="page_584"></a></p> - -<p>“Ah, Commodore,” whispered Mrs. B., “you have done it pretty well, but -bless you, I knew those eyes and that nose the moment I saw you.”</p> - -<p>“Your eyes must be pretty sharp, then,” replied Lavinia.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you see people in our line understand these things, and are never -deceived by appearances; but let me introduce you to these two young -ladies, my daughters.”</p> - -<p>“We are happy to see you, sir,” said one of the young ladies. They then -enjoyed a very animated conversation, in the course of which they asked -the “Commodore” all about his family, and Lavinia managed to answer the -questions in such a way as to avoid suspicion. The ladies then informed -the “Commodore” that there was a sweet little lady living in their town -only sixteen years old, and if he would visit them, they would introduce -him; that her family was highly respectable, and she would make him a -capital wife! Lavinia thanked them and promised to visit them if it -should be convenient. As the ladies left the car, they shook hands with -Lavinia, kissed her, and in a whisper said “good morning, sir.” Meeting -the husband of the lady, some weeks afterwards, I told him the joke, and -he enjoyed it so highly that he will probably never let his wife and -daughters hear the last of it.</p> - -<p>I purchased a very splendid wardrobe for Miss Warren, including scores -of the richest dresses that could be procured, costly jewels, and in -fact everything that could add to the charms of her naturally charming -little person. She was then placed on exhibition at the Museum and from -the day of her <i>débût</i> she was an extraordinary success. Commodore Nutt -was on exhibition<a name="page_585" id="page_585"></a> with her, and although he was several years her -junior he evidently took a great fancy to her. One day I presented to -Lavinia a diamond and emerald ring, and as it did not exactly fit her -finger, I told her I would give her another one and that she might -present this one to the Commodore in her own name. She did so, and an -unlooked-for effect was speedily apparent; the little Commodore felt -sure that this was a love-token, and poor Lavinia was in the greatest -trouble, for she considered herself quite a woman, and regarded the -Commodore only as a nice little boy. But she did not like to offend him, -and while she did not encourage, she did not openly repel his -attentions. Miss Lavinia Warren, however, was never destined to be Mrs. -Commodore Nutt.</p> - -<p>It was by no means an unnatural circumstance that I should be suspected -of having instigated and brought about the marriage of Tom Thumb with -Lavinia Warren. Had I done this, I should at this day have felt no -regrets, for it has proved, in an eminent degree, one of the “happy -marriages.” I only say, what is known to all of their immediate friends, -that from first to last their engagement was an affair of the heart—a -case of “love at first sight”—that the attachment was mutual, and that -it only grows with the lapse of time. But I had neither part nor lot in -instigating or in occasioning the marriage. And as I am anxious to be -put right before the public, and so to correct whatever of false -impression may have gained ground, I have procured the consent of all -the parties to a sketch of the wooing, winning and nuptials. Of course I -should not lay these details before the public, except with the sanction -of those most interested. In this they consent to pay the<a name="page_586" id="page_586"></a> penalty of -distinction. And if the wooings of kings and queens must be told, why -not the courtship and marriage of General and Mrs. Tom Thumb? The story -is an interesting one, and shall be told alike to exonerate me from the -suspicion named, and to amuse those—and they count by scores of -thousands—who are interested in the welfare of the distinguished -couple.</p> - -<p>In the autumn of 1862, when Lavinia Warren was on exhibition at the -Museum, Tom Thumb had no business engagement with me; in fact, he was -not on exhibition at the time at all; he was taking a “vacation” at his -house in Bridgeport. Whenever he came to New York he naturally called -upon me, his old friend, at the Museum. He happened to be in the city at -the time referred to, and one day he called, quite unexpectedly to me, -while Lavinia was holding one of her levees. Here he now saw her for the -first time, and very naturally made her acquaintance. He had a short -interview with her, after which he came directly to my private office -and desired to see me alone. Of course I complied with his request, but -without the remotest suspicion as to his object. I closed the door, and -the General took a seat. His first question let in the light. He -inquired about the family of Lavinia Warren. I gave him the facts, which -I clearly perceived gave him satisfaction of a peculiar sort. He then -said, with great frankness, and with no less earnestness:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, that is the most charming little lady I ever saw, and I -believe she was created on purpose to be my wife! Now,” he continued, -“you have always been a friend of mine, and I want you to say a good -word for me to her. I have got plenty of money, and I want to marry and -settle down in life, and I really feel as if I must marry that young -lady.”<a name="page_587" id="page_587"></a></p> - -<p>The little General was highly excited, and his general manner betrayed -the usual anxiety, which, I doubt not, most of my readers will -understand without a description. I could not repress a smile, nor -forget my joke; and I said:</p> - -<p>“Lavinia is engaged already.”</p> - -<p>“To whom—Commodore Nutt?” asked Tom Thumb, with much earnestness, and -some exhibition of the “green-eyed monster.”</p> - -<p>“No, General, to me,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” said the General, laughing, “you can exhibit her for a -while, and then give up the engagement; but I do hope you will favor my -suit with her.”</p> - -<p>I told the General that this was too sudden an affair; that he must take -time to think of it; but he insisted that years of thought would make no -difference, for his mind was fully made up.</p> - -<p>“Well, General,” I replied, “I will not oppose you in your suit, but you -must do your own courting. I tell you, however, the Commodore 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 can succeed in winning -her affections.”</p> - -<p>The General thanked me, and promised to be very discreet. A change now -came suddenly over him in several particulars. He had been (much to his -credit) very fond of his country home in Bridgeport, where he spent his -intervals of rest with his horses, and especially with his yacht, for -his fondness for the water was his great passion. But now he was -constantly having occasion to visit the city, and horses and yachts were -strangely neglected. He had a married sister in New<a name="page_588" id="page_588"></a> York, and his -visits to her multiplied, for, of course, he came to New York “to see -his sister!” His mother, who resided in Bridgeport, remarked that -Charles had never before shown so much brotherly affection, nor so much -fondness for city life.</p> - -<p>His visits to the Museum were very frequent, and it was noticeable that -new relations were being established between him and Commodore Nutt. The -Commodore was not exactly jealous, yet he strutted around like a bantam -rooster whenever the General approached Lavinia. One day he and the -General got into a friendly scuffle in the dressing-room, and the -Commodore threw the General upon his back in “double quick” time. The -Commodore is lithe, wiry, and quick in his movements, but the General is -naturally slow, and although he was considerably heavier than the -Commodore, he soon found that he could not stand before him in a -personal encounter. Moreover, the Commodore is naturally quick-tempered, -and when excited, he brags about his knowledge of “the manly art of -self-defence,” and sometimes talks about pistols and bowie knives, etc. -Tom Thumb, on the contrary, is by natural disposition decidedly a man of -peace; hence, in this, agreeing with Falstaff as to what constituted the -“better part of valor,” he was strongly inclined to keep his distance, -if the little Commodore showed any belligerent symptoms.</p> - -<p>In the course of several weeks the General found numerous opportunities -to talk with Lavinia, while the Commodore was performing on the stage, -or was otherwise engaged; and, to a watchful discerner, it was evident -he was making encouraging progress in the affair of the heart. He also -managed to meet Lavinia on Sunday afternoons and evenings, without the -knowledge<a name="page_589" id="page_589"></a> of the Commodore; but he assured me he had not yet dared to -suggest matrimony.</p> - -<p>He finally returned to Bridgeport, and privately begged that on the -following Saturday I would take Lavinia up to my house, and also invite -him.</p> - -<p>His immediate object in this was, that his mother might get acquainted -with Lavinia, for he feared opposition from that source whenever the -idea of his marriage should be suggested. I could do no less than accede -to his proposal, and on the following Friday, while Lavinia and the -Commodore were sitting in the green-room, I said:</p> - -<p>“Lavinia, you may go up to Bridgeport with me to-morrow morning, and -remain until Monday.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” she replied; “it will be quite a relief to get into the -country for a couple of days.”</p> - -<p>The Commodore immediately pricked up his ears, and said:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, <i>I</i> should like to go to Bridgeport to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“What for?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“I want to see my little ponies; I have not seen them for several -months,” he replied.</p> - -<p>I whispered in his ear, “you little rogue, <i>that</i> is the pony you want -to see,” pointing to Lavinia.</p> - -<p>He insisted I was mistaken. When I remarked that he could not well be -spared from the Museum, he said:</p> - -<p>“Oh! I can perform at half past seven o’clock, and then jump on to the -eight o’clock evening train, and go up by myself, reaching Bridgeport -before eleven, and return early Monday morning.”</p> - -<p>I feared there would be a clashing of interests between the rival -pigmies; but wishing to please him,<a name="page_590" id="page_590"></a> I consented to his request, -especially as Lavinia also favored it. I wished I could then fathom that -little woman’s heart, and see whether she (who must have discovered the -secret of the General’s frequent visits to the Museum) desired the -Commodore’s visit in order to stir up the General’s ardor, or whether, -as seemed to me the more likely, she was seeking in this way to prevent -a <i>denouement</i> which she was not inclined to favor. Certain it is, that -though I was the General’s confidant, and knew all his desires upon the -subject, no person had discovered the slightest evidence that Lavinia -Warren had ever entertained the remotest suspicion of his thoughts -regarding marriage. If she had made the discovery, as I assume, she kept -the secret well. In fact, I assured Tom Thumb that every indication, so -far as any of us could observe, was to the effect that his suit would be -rejected. The little General was fidgety, but determined; hence he was -anxious to have Lavinia meet his mother, and also see his possessions in -Bridgeport, for he owned considerable land and numerous houses there.</p> - -<p>The General met us at the depot in Bridgeport, on Saturday morning, and -drove us to my house in his own carriage—his coachman being tidily -dressed, with a broad velvet ribbon and silver buckle placed upon his -hat expressly for the occasion. Lavinia was duly informed that this was -the General’s “turn out”; and after resting half an hour at Lindencroft, -he took her out to ride. He stopped a few moments at his mother’s house, -where she saw the apartments which his father had built expressly for -him, and filled with the most gorgeous furniture—all corresponding to -his own diminutive size. Then he took her to East Bridgeport,<a name="page_591" id="page_591"></a> and -undoubtedly took occasion to point out in great detail all of the houses -which he owned, for he depended much upon having his wealth make some -impression upon her. They returned, and the General stayed to lunch. I -asked Lavinia how she liked her ride; she replied:</p> - -<p>“It was very pleasant, but,” she added, “it seems as if you and Tom -Thumb owned about all of Bridgeport!”</p> - -<p>The General took his leave and returned at five o’clock to dinner, with -his mother. Mrs. Stratton remained until seven o’clock. She expressed -herself charmed with Lavinia Warren; but not a suspicion passed her mind -that little Charlie was endeavoring to give her this accomplished young -lady as a daughter-in-law. The General had privately asked me to invite -him to stay over night, for, said he, “If I get a chance, I intend to -‘pop the question’ before the Commodore arrives.” So I told his mother I -thought the General had better stop with us over night, as the Commodore -would be up in the late train, adding that it would be more pleasant for -the little folks to be together. She assented, and the General was -happy.</p> - -<p>After tea Lavinia and the General sat down to play backgammon. As nine -o’clock approached, I remarked that it was about time to retire, but -somebody would have to sit up until nearly eleven o’clock, in order to -let in the Commodore. The General replied:</p> - -<p>“I will sit up with pleasure, if Miss Warren will remain also.”</p> - -<p>Lavinia carelessly replied, that she was accustomed to late hours, and -she would wait and see the Commodore. A little supper was placed upon -the table for the Commodore, and the family retired.<a name="page_592" id="page_592"></a></p> - -<p>Now it happened that a couple of mischievous young ladies were visiting -at my house, one of whom was to sleep with Lavinia. They were suspicious -that the General was going to propose to Lavinia that evening, and, in a -spirit of ungovernable curiosity, they determined, notwithstanding its -manifest impropriety, to witness the operation, if they could possibly -manage to do so on the sly. Of course this was inexcusable, the more so -as so few of my readers, had they been placed under the same temptation, -would have been guilty of such an impropriety! Perhaps I should hesitate -to use the testimony of such witnesses, or even to trust it. But a few -weeks after, they told the little couple the whole story, were forgiven, -and all had a hearty laugh over it.</p> - -<p>It so happened that the door of the sitting room, in which the General -and Lavinia were left at the backgammon board, opened into the hall just -at the side of the stairs, and these young misses, turning out the -lights in the hall, seated themselves upon the stairs in the dark, where -they had a full view of the cosy little couple, and were within easy -ear-shot of all that was said.</p> - -<p>The house was still. The General soon acknowledged himself vanquished at -backgammon, and gave it up. After sitting a few moments, he evidently -thought it was best to put a clincher on the financial part of his -abilities; so he drew from his pocket a policy of insurance, and handing -it to Lavinia, he asked her if she knew what it was.</p> - -<p>Examining it, she replied, “It is an insurance policy. I see you keep -your property insured.”</p> - -<p>“But the beauty of it is, it is not my property,” replied<a name="page_593" id="page_593"></a> 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.”</p> - -<p>“That is a very wise way, I should think,” remarked Lavinia.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The explanation seemed satisfactory to Lavinia, and the General’s -courage began to rise. Drawing his chair a little nearer to hers, he -said:</p> - -<p>“So you are going to Europe, soon?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied Lavinia, “Mr. Barnum intends to take me over in a couple -of months.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_594" id="page_594"></a> countries which we may visit. -Oh! I shall like that, it will be so new to me.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“No, I think there is no danger of that, for friends will accompany me,” -was the reply.</p> - -<p>“I wish I was going over, for I know all about the different countries, -and could explain them all to you,” remarked Tom Thumb.</p> - -<p>“That would be very nice,” said Lavinia.</p> - -<p>“Do you think so?” said the General, moving his chair still closer to -Lavinia’s.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“I should like it first rate, if Mr. Barnum would engage me,” said the -General.</p> - -<p>“I thought you remarked the other day that you had money enough, and was -tired of travelling,” said Lavinia, with a slightly mischievous look -from one corner of her eye.</p> - -<p>“That depends upon my company while travelling,” replied the General.</p> - -<p>“You might not find my company very agreeable.”</p> - -<p>“I would be glad to risk it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, perhaps Mr. Barnum would engage you, if you asked him,” said -Lavinia.</p> - -<p>“Would you really like to have me go?” asked the<a name="page_595" id="page_595"></a> General, quietly -insinuating his arm around her waist, but hardly close enough to touch -her.</p> - -<p>“Of course I would,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>The little General’s arm clasped the waist closer as he turned his face -nearer to hers, and said:</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think it would be pleasanter if we went as man and wife?”</p> - -<p>The little fairy quickly disengaged his arm, and remarked that the -General was a funny fellow to joke in that way.</p> - -<p>“I am not joking at all,” said the General, earnestly, “it is quite too -serious a matter for that.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder why the Commodore don’t come?” said Lavinia.</p> - -<p>“I hope you are not anxious for his arrival, for I am sure <i>I</i> am not,” -responded the General, “and what is more, I do hope you will say ‘yes,’ -before he comes at all!”</p> - -<p>“Really, Mr. Stratton,” said Lavinia, with dignity, “if you are in -earnest in your strange proposal, I must say I am surprised.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I hope you are not <i>offended</i>,” replied the General, “for I was -never more in earnest in my life, and I hope you will consent. The first -moment I saw you I felt that you were created to be my wife.”</p> - -<p>“But this is so sudden.”</p> - -<p>“Not so very sudden; it is several months since we first met, and you -know all about me, and my family, and I hope you find nothing to object -to in me.”</p> - -<p>“Not at all; on the contrary, I have found you very agreeable, in fact I -like you very much as a friend, but I have not thought of marrying, -and—”</p> - -<p>“And what? my dear,” said the General, giving her<a name="page_596" id="page_596"></a> a kiss. “Now, I beg -of you, don’t have any ‘buts’ or ‘ands’ about it. You say you like me as -a friend, why will you not like me as a husband? You ought to get -married; I love you dearly, and I want you for a wife. Now, deary, the -Commodore will be here in a few minutes, I may not have a chance to see -you again alone; do say that we will be married, and I will get Mr. -Barnum to give up your engagement.”</p> - -<p>Lavinia hesitated, and finally said:</p> - -<p>“I think I love you well enough to consent, but I have always said I -would never marry without my mother’s consent.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! I’ll ask your mother. May I ask your mother? Come, say yes to that, -and I will go and see her next week. May I do that, pet?”</p> - -<p>Then there was a sound of something very much like the popping of -several corks from as many beer bottles. The young eaves-droppers had no -doubt as to the character of these reports, nor did they doubt that they -sealed the betrothal, for immediately after they heard Lavinia say:</p> - -<p>“Yes, Charles, you may ask my mother.” Another volley of reports -followed, and then Lavinia said, “Now, Charles, don’t whisper this to a -living soul; let us keep our own secrets for the present.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said the General, “I will say nothing; but next Tuesday I -shall start to see your mother.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps you may find it difficult to obtain her consent,” said Lavinia.</p> - -<p>At that moment a carriage drove up to the door, and immediately the bell -was rung, and the little Commodore entered.<a name="page_597" id="page_597"></a></p> - -<p>“<i>You</i> here, General?” said the Commodore, as he espied his rival.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Lavinia, “Mr. Barnum asked him to stay, and we were waiting -for you; come, warm yourself.”</p> - -<p>“I am not cold,” said the Commodore; “where is Mr. Barnum?”</p> - -<p>“He has gone to bed,” remarked the General, “but a nice supper has been -prepared for you.”</p> - -<p>“I am not hungry, I thank you; I am going to bed. Which room does Mr. -Barnum sleep in?” said the little bantam, in a petulant tone of voice.</p> - -<p>His question was answered; the young eaves-droppers scampered to their -sleeping apartments, and the Commodore soon came to my room, where he -found me indulging in the foolish habit of reading in bed.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, does Tom Thumb board here?” asked the Commodore, -sarcastically.</p> - -<p>“No,” said I, “Tom Thumb does not <i>board</i> here. I invited him to stop -over night, so don’t be foolish, but go to bed.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s no affair of mine. I don’t care anything about it; but I -thought he had taken up his board here,” replied the Commodore, and off -he went to bed, evidently in a bad humor.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes afterwards Tom Thumb came rushing into my room, and closing -the door, he caught hold of my hand in a high state of excitement and -whispered:</p> - -<p>“We are engaged, Mr. Barnum! we are engaged! we are engaged!” and he -jumped up and down in the greatest glee.</p> - -<p>“Is that possible?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, indeed it is; but you must not mention it,” he responded; “we -agreed to tell nobody, so please<a name="page_598" id="page_598"></a> don’t say a word. I must tell <i>you</i>, -of course, but ‘mum is the word.’ I am going, Tuesday, to get her -mother’s consent.”</p> - -<p>I promised secrecy, and the General retired in as happy a mood as I ever -saw him. Lavinia also retired, but not a hint did she give to the young -lady with whom she slept regarding the engagement. Indeed, our family -plied her upon the subject the next day, but not a breath passed her -lips that would give the slightest indication of what had transpired. -She was quite sociable with the Commodore, and as the General concluded -to go home the next morning, the Commodore’s equanimity and good -feelings were fully restored. The General made a call of half an hour -Sunday evening, and managed to have an interview with Lavinia. The next -morning she and the Commodore returned to New York in good spirits, I -remaining in Bridgeport.</p> - -<p>The General called on me Monday, however, bringing a very nice letter -which he had written to Lavinia’s mother. He had concluded to send this -letter by his trusty friend, Mr. George A. Wells, instead of going -himself, and he had just seen Mr. Wells, who had consented to go to -Middleborough with the letter the following day, and to urge the -General’s suit, if it should be necessary.</p> - -<p>The General went to New York on Wednesday, and was there to await Mr. -Wells’ arrival. On Wednesday morning the General and Lavinia walked into -my office, and after closing the door, the little General said:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, I want somebody to tell the Commodore that Lavinia and I -are engaged, for I am afraid there will be a ‘row’ when he hears of it.”</p> - -<p>“Do it yourself, General,” I replied.<a name="page_599" id="page_599"></a></p> - -<p>“Oh,” said the General, almost shuddering, “I would not dare to do it, -he might knock me down.”</p> - -<p>“I will do it,” said Lavinia; and it was at once arranged that I should -call the Commodore and Lavinia into my office, and either she or myself -would tell him. The General, of course, “vamosed.”</p> - -<p>When the Commodore joined us and the door was closed, I said:</p> - -<p>“Commodore, do you know what this little witch has been doing?”</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t,” he answered.</p> - -<p>“Well, she has been cutting up one of the greatest pranks you ever heard -of,” I replied. “She almost deserves to be shut up, for daring to do it. -Can’t you guess what she has done?”</p> - -<p>He mused a moment, and then looking at me, said in a low voice, and with -a serious looking face, “Engaged?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said I, “absolutely engaged to be married to General Tom Thumb. -Did you ever hear of such a thing?”</p> - -<p>“Is that so, Lavinia?” asked the Commodore, looking her earnestly in the -face.</p> - -<p>“That is so,” said Lavinia; “and Mr. Wells has gone to obtain my -mother’s consent.”</p> - -<p>The Commodore turned pale, and choked a little, as if he was trying to -swallow something. Then, turning on his heel, he said, in a broken -voice:</p> - -<p>“I hope you may be happy.”</p> - -<p>As he passed out of the door, a tear rolled down his cheek.</p> - -<p>“That is pretty hard,” I said to Lavinia.</p> - -<p>“I am very sorry,” she replied, “but I could not help<a name="page_600" id="page_600"></a> it. That diamond -and emerald ring which you bade me present in my name, has caused all -this trouble.”</p> - -<p>Half an hour after this incident, the Commodore came to my office, and -said:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, do you think it would be right for Miss Warren to marry -Charley Stratton if her mother should object?”</p> - -<p>I saw that the little fellow had still a slight hope to hang on, and I -said:</p> - -<p>“No, indeed, it would not be right.”</p> - -<p>“Well, she says she shall marry him any way; that she gives her mother -the chance to consent, but if she objects, she will have her own way and -marry him,” said the Commodore.</p> - -<p>“On the contrary,” I replied, “I will not permit it. She is engaged to -go to Europe for me, and I will not release her, if her mother does not -fully consent to her marrying Tom Thumb.”</p> - -<p>The Commodore’s eyes glistened with pleasure, as he replied:</p> - -<p>“Between you and me, Mr. Barnum, I don’t believe she will give her -consent.”</p> - -<p>But the next day dissipated his hopes. Mr. Wells returned, saying that -Lavinia’s mother at first objected, for she feared it was a contrivance -to get them married for the promotion of some pecuniary advantage; but, -upon reading the letter from the General, and one still more urgent from -Lavinia, and also upon hearing from Mr. Wells that, in case of their -marriage, I should cancel all claims I had upon Lavinia’s services, she -consented.</p> - -<p>After the Commodore had heard the news, I said to him:<a name="page_601" id="page_601"></a></p> - -<p>“Never mind, Commodore, Minnie Warren is a better match for you; she is -a charming little creature, and two years younger than you, while -Lavinia is several years your senior.”</p> - -<p>“I thank you, sir,” replied the Commodore, pompously, “I would not marry -the best woman living; I don’t believe in women, any way.”</p> - -<p>I then suggested that he should stand with little Minnie, as groom and -bridesmaid, at the approaching wedding.</p> - -<p>“No, sir!” replied the Commodore, emphatically; “I won’t do it!”</p> - -<p>That idea was therefore abandoned. A few weeks subsequently, when time -had reconciled the Commodore, he told me that Tom Thumb had asked him to -stand as groom with Minnie, at the wedding, and he was going to do so.</p> - -<p>“When I asked you, a few weeks ago, you refused,” I said.</p> - -<p>“It was not your business to ask me,” replied the Commodore, pompously. -“When the proper person invited me I accepted.”</p> - -<p>Of course the approaching wedding was announced. It created an immense -excitement. Lavinia’s levees at the Museum were crowded to suffocation, -and her photographic pictures were in great demand. For several weeks -she sold more than three hundred dollars’ worth of her <i>cartes de -visite</i> each day. And the daily receipts at the Museum were frequently -over three thousand dollars. I engaged the General to exhibit, and to -assist her in the sale of pictures, to which his own photograph, of -course, was added. I could afford to give them a fine wedding, and I did -so.<a name="page_602" id="page_602"></a></p> - -<p>The little couple made a personal application to Bishop Potter to -perform the nuptial ceremony, and obtained his consent; but the matter -became public, and outside pressure from some of the most squeamish of -his clergy was brought to bear upon the bishop, and he rescinded his -engagement.</p> - -<p>This fact of itself, as well as the opposition that caused it, only -added to the notoriety of the approaching wedding, and increased the -crowds at the Museum. The financial result to me was a piece of good -fortune, which I was, of course, quite willing to accept, though in this -instance the “advertisement,” so far as the fact of the betrothal of the -parties with its preliminaries were concerned, was not of my seeking, as -the recital now given shows. But seeing the turn it was taking in -crowding the Museum, and pouring money into the treasury, I did not -hesitate to seek continued advantage from the notoriety of the -prospective marriage. Accordingly, I offered the General and Lavinia -fifteen thousand dollars if they would postpone the wedding for a month, -and continue their exhibitions at the Museum.</p> - -<p>“Not for fifty thousand dollars,” said the General, excitedly.</p> - -<p>“Good for you, Charley,” said Lavinia, “only you ought to have said not -for a <i>hundred thousand</i>, for I would not!”</p> - -<p>They both laughed heartily at what they considered my discomfiture, and -such, looked at from a business point of view, it certainly was. The -wedding day approached and the public excitement grew. For several days, -I might say weeks, the approaching marriage of Tom Thumb was the New -York “sensation.” For proof of this I did not need what, however, was<a name="page_603" id="page_603"></a></p> - -<p><a name="MARRIAGE_IN_MINIATURE" id="MARRIAGE_IN_MINIATURE"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p602_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p602_sml.jpg" width="543" height="363" alt="MARRIAGE IN MINIATURE." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">MARRIAGE IN MINIATURE.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">ample, the newspaper paragraphs. A surer index was in the crowds that -passed into the Museum, and the dollars that found their way into the -ticket office.</p> - -<p>It was suggested to me that a small fortune in itself could be easily -made out of the excitement. “Let the ceremony take place in the Academy -of Music, charge a big price for admission, and the citizens will come -in crowds.” I have no manner of doubt that in this way twenty-five -thousand dollars could easily have been obtained. But I had no such -thought. I had promised to give the couple a genteel and graceful -wedding, and I kept my word.</p> - -<p>The day arrived, Tuesday, February 10, 1863. The ceremony was to take -place in Grace Church, New York. The Rev. Junius Willey, Rector of St. -John’s Church in Bridgeport, assisted by the late Rev. Dr. Taylor, of -Grace Church, was to officiate. The organ was played by Morgan. I know -not what better I could have done, had the wedding of a prince been in -contemplation. The church was comfortably filled by a highly select -audience of ladies and gentlemen, none being admitted except those -having cards of invitation. Among them were governors of several of the -States, to whom I had sent cards, and such of those as could not be -present in person were represented by friends, to whom they had given -their cards. Members of Congress were present, also generals of the -army, and many other prominent public men. Numerous applications were -made from wealthy and distinguished persons for tickets to witness the -ceremony, and as high as sixty dollars was offered for a single -admission. But not a ticket was sold; and Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren -were pronounced “man and wife” before witnesses.<a name="page_604" id="page_604"></a></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">To the Rev. Dr. Taylor.</span>—<i>Sir</i>: 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.</p> - -<p class="c"> -Respectfully, your obedient servant,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="r"> -W*** S***<br /> -</p></div> - -<hr style="width: 15%;" /> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">804 Broadway, New York</span>, Feb. 16, 1863.<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. W*** S***</span>—<i>Dear Sir</i>: 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.</p> - -<p>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 your 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.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_605" id="page_605"></a> 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 clergymen 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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”!</p> - -<p class="c"> -Respectfully submitted, by your obedient servant,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Thomas House Taylor</span>.<br /> -</p></div> - -<p><a name="page_606" id="page_606"></a></p> - -<p>Several thousand persons attended the reception of Mr. and Mrs. Tom -Thumb the same day at the Metropolitan Hotel. After this they started on -a wedding tour, taking Washington in their way. They visited President -Lincoln at the White House. After a couple of weeks they returned, and, -as they then supposed, retired to private life.</p> - -<p>Habit, however, is indeed second nature. The General and his wife had -been accustomed to excitement, and after a few months’ retirement they -again longed for the peculiar pleasures of a public life, and the public -were eager to welcome them once more. They resumed their public career, -and have since travelled several years in Europe, and considerably in -this country, holding public exhibitions more than half the time, and -spending the residue in leisurely viewing such cities and portions of -the country as they may happen to be in. Commodore Nutt and Minnie -Warren, I should add, usually travel with them.</p> - -<p>I met the little Commodore last summer, after his absence in Europe of -three years, and said:</p> - -<p>“Are you not married yet, Commodore?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir; my fruit is plucked,” he replied.</p> - -<p>“You don’t mean to say you will never marry,” I remarked.</p> - -<p>“No, not exactly,” replied the Commodore, complacently, “but I have -concluded not to marry until I am thirty.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose you intend to marry one of your size?” I said.</p> - -<p>“I am not particular in that respect,” but seeing my jocose mood, he -continued, with a comical leer, “I think I should prefer marrying a -good, green country girl, to anybody else.”<a name="page_607" id="page_607"></a></p> - -<p>This was said with a degree of nonchalance, which none can appreciate -who do not know him.</p> - -<p>To make sure that a lack of memory has not misled me as to any of the -facts in regard to the courtship and wedding of Tom Thumb and Lavinia -Warren, I will here say that, after writing out the story, I read it to -the parties personally interested, and they give me leave to say that, -in all particulars, it is a correct statement of the affair, except that -Lavinia remarked:</p> - -<p>“Well, Mr. Barnum, your story don’t lose any by the telling”; and the -Commodore denies the “rolling tear,” when informed of the engagement of -the little pair.</p> - -<p>In June 1869, the report was started, for the third or fourth time, in -the newspapers, that Commodore Nutt and Miss Minnie Warren were -married—this time at West Haven, in Connecticut. The story was wholly -untrue, nor do I think that such a wedding is likely to take place, for, -on the principle that people like their opposites, Minnie and the -Commodore are likely to marry persons whom they can literally “look up -to”—that is, if either of them marries at all it will be a tall -partner.</p> - -<p>Soon after the wedding of General Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren, a lady -came to my office and called my attention to a little six-paged pamphlet -which she said she had written, entitled “Priests and Pigmies,” and -requested me to read it. I glanced at the title, and at once estimating -the character of the publication, I promptly declined to devote any -portion of my valuable time to its perusal.</p> - -<p>“But you had better look at it, Mr. Barnum; it deeply interests you, and -you may think it worth your while to buy it.”<a name="page_608" id="page_608"></a></p> - -<p>“Certainly, I will buy it, if you desire,” said I, tendering her a -sixpence, which I supposed to be the price of the little pamphlet.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>I lay back in my chair and fairly roared at this exceedingly feeble -attempt at black-mail.</p> - -<p>“But,” persisted the lady, “suppose it says that your Museum and Grace -Church are all one, what then?”</p> - -<p>“My dear madam,” I 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.<a name="page_609" id="page_609"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXXVIII.<br /><br /> -<small>POLITICAL AND PERSONAL.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">MY POLITICAL PRINCIPLES—REASONS FOR MY CHANGE OF PARTIES—KANSAS -AND SECESSION—WIDE-AWAKES—GRAND ILLUMINATION OF LINDENCROFT—JOKE -ON A DEMOCRATIC NEIGHBOR—PEACE MEETINGS—THE STEPNEY -EXCITEMENT—TEARING DOWN A PEACE FLAG—A LOYAL MEETING—RECEPTION -IN BRIDGEPORT—DESTRUCTION OF THE “FARMER” OFFICE—ELIAS HOWE, -JR.—SAINT PETER AND SALTPETRE—DRAFT RIOTS—BURGLARS AT -LINDENCROFT—MY ELECTION TO THE LEGISLATURE—BEGINNING OF MY WAR ON -RAILROAD MONOPOLIES—WIRE-PULLING—THE XIV. AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED -STATES CONSTITUTION—STRIKING THE WORD “WHITE” FROM THE CONNECTICUT -CONSTITUTION—MY SPEECH.</p></div> - -<p>I <small>BEGAN</small> my political life as a Democrat, and my newspaper, the <i>Herald -of Freedom</i>, was a Jackson-Democratic journal. While always taking an -active interest in political matters, I had no desire for personal -preferment, and, up to a late period, steadily declined to run for -office. Nevertheless, in 1852 or 1853, prominent members of the party -with which I voted, urged the submission of my name to the State -Convention, as a candidate for the office of Governor, and although the -party was then in the ascendancy, and a nomination would have been -equivalent to an election, I peremptorily refused; in spite of this -refusal, which was generally known, several votes were cast for me in -the Convention. The Kansas strifes, in 1854, shook my faith in my party, -though I continued to call myself a Democrat, often declaring that if I -thought there was a drop of blood in me that was not democratic, I would -let it out if I had to cut the jugular vein. When,<a name="page_610" id="page_610"></a> however, secession -threatened in 1860, I thought it was time for a “new departure,” and I -identified myself with the Republican party.</p> - -<p>During the active and exciting political campaign of 1860, which -resulted in Mr. Lincoln’s first election to the presidency, it will be -remembered that “Wide-Awake” associations, with their uniforms, torches -and processions, were organized in nearly every city, town and village -throughout the North. Arriving at Bridgeport from New York at five -o’clock one afternoon, I was informed that the Wide-Awakes were to -parade that evening and intended to march out to Lindencroft. So I -ordered two boxes of sperm candles, and prepared for a general -illumination of every window in the front of my house. Many of my -neighbors, including several Democrats, came to Lindencroft in the -evening to witness the illumination and see the Wide-Awake procession. -My nearest neighbor, Mr. T., was a strong Democrat, and before he came -to my house, he ordered his servants to stay in the basement, and not to -show a light above ground, thus intending to prove his Democratic -convictions and conclusions by the darkness of his “premises”; and so, -while Lindencroft was all ablaze with a flood of light, the next house -was as black as a coal-hole.</p> - -<p>My neighbor, Mr. James D. Johnson, was also a Democrat, but I knew he -would not spoil a good joke for the sake of politics, and I asked him to -engage the attention of Mr. and Mrs. T., and to keep their faces turned -towards Bridgeport and the approaching procession, the light of whose -torches could already be seen in the distance, while another Democratic -friend, Mr. George A. Wells, and I, ran over and illuminated Mr<a name="page_611" id="page_611"></a> T.’s -house. This we did with great success, completing our work five minutes -before the procession arrived. As the Wide-Awakes turned into my grounds -and saw that the house of Mr. T. was brilliantly illuminated, they -concluded that he had become a sudden convert to Republicanism, and gave -three rousing cheers for him. Hearing his name thus cheered and -wondering at the cause, he happened to turn and see that his house was -lighted up from basement to attic, and uttering a single profane -ejaculation, he rushed for home. He was not able, however, to put out -the lights till the Wide-Awakes had gone on their way rejoicing under -the impression that one more Republican had been added to their ranks.</p> - -<p>When the rebellion broke out in 1861, I was too old to go to the field, -but I supplied four substitutes, and contributed liberally from my means -for the cause of the Union. After the defeat at Bull Run, July 21, 1861, -“peace meetings” began to be held in different parts of the Northern -States, and especially in Fairfield and Litchfield Counties, in -Connecticut. It was usual in these assemblages to display a white flag, -bearing the word “Peace” above the National flag, and to make and listen -to harangues denunciatory of the war. One of these meetings was -advertised to be held, August 24th, at Stepney, ten miles north of -Bridgeport. On the morning of that day, I met Elias Howe, Jr., who -proposed to me that we should drive up to Stepney, attend the Peace -meeting, and hear for ourselves whether the addresses were disloyal or -not. We agreed to meet at the post-office, at twelve o’clock at noon, -and I went home for my carriage. On the way I met several gentlemen to -whom I communicated my intention, asking<a name="page_612" id="page_612"></a> them to go also; and as Mr. -Howe invited several of his friends to accompany us, when we met at -noon, at least twenty gentlemen were at the place of rendezvous with -their carriages, ready to start for Stepney. I am quite confident that -not one of us had any other intention in going to this meeting, than to -quietly listen to the harangues, and if they were found to be in -opposition to the government, and calculated to create disturbance or -disaffection in the community, and deter enlistments, it would be best -to represent the matter to the government at Washington, and ask that -measures might be taken to suppress such gatherings.</p> - -<p>As we turned into Main Street, we discovered two large omnibuses filled -with soldiers, who were at home on furlough, and who were going to -Stepney. Our lighter carriages outran them, and so arrived at Stepney in -time to see the white peace flag run up over the stars and stripes, when -we quietly stood in the crowd while the meeting was organized. It was a -very large gathering, and some fifty ladies were on the seats in front -of the platform, on which were the officers and speakers of the meeting. -A “preacher,”—Mr. Charles Smith,—was invited to open the proceedings -with prayer, and “The Military and Civil History of Connecticut, during -the War of 1861-65,” by W. A. Croffut and John M. Morris, thus continues -the record of this extraordinary gathering:</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_613" id="page_613"></a> 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.”</p> - -<p>On our way back to Bridgeport, the soldiers threatened a descent upon -the <i>Farmer</i> office, but I strongly<a name="page_614" id="page_614"></a> appealed to them to refrain from -such a riotous proceeding, telling them that as law-abiding citizens -they should refrain from acts of violence and especially should make no -appeal to the passions of a mob. So confident was I that the day’s -proceedings had ended with the reception of the soldiers on their return -from Stepney, that in telegraphing a full account of the facts to the -New York papers, I added that there was no danger of an attack upon the -<i>Farmer</i> office, since leading loyal citizens were opposed to such -action as unnecessary and unwise. But the enthusiasm with which the -soldiers had been received, and the excitement of the day, prompted them -to break through their resolutions, and, half an hour after my telegram -had been sent to New York, they rushed into the <i>Farmer</i> office, tumbled -the type into the street, and broke the presses. I did not approve of -this summary suppression of the paper, and offered the proprietors a -handsome subscription to assist in enabling them to renew the -publication of the <i>Farmer</i>. One of the editors of this paper went -South, and connected himself with a journal in Augusta, Georgia; the -remaining proprietor shortly afterwards re-issued the <i>Farmer</i>, but the -peace meetings which had been advertised for different towns were never -held; the gathering at Stepney was the last of the kind.</p> - -<p>Elias Howe, Jr., although he was a man of wealth and well advanced in -years, enlisted as a private in the Seventeenth regiment of Connecticut -volunteers and served in the Army of the Potomac. Once when his -fellow-soldiers, not having been paid off, were in need of money, he -advanced $13,000 due them, and when his regiment was disbanded and -discharged from service, he<a name="page_615" id="page_615"></a> chartered, at his own expense, a special -train to bring them from New Haven to Bridgeport, where they had a -public reception.</p> - -<p>Mr. Howe, like all men of his reputed wealth and liberality, was -constantly besieged by solicitors for all sorts of charities, nor was he -free from such applications when he was serving as a common soldier in -Virginia. On one occasion a worthy priest came to him and asked for a -subscription to a church which was then building. “Who is it,” exclaimed -Howe, “that talks of building churches in this time of war?” The priest -ventured to say that he was trying to build in his parish a church which -was to be known as St. Peter’s.</p> - -<p>“St. Peter’s is it?” asked Howe; “well, St. Peter was, in his way, a -fighting man; he drew a sword once and cut off a man’s ear; on the -whole, I think,” he added, as he gave a handsome sum of money to the -priest, “I must do something for St. Peter, though about these days I am -devoting my attention and money mainly to saltpetre.”</p> - -<p>After the draft riots in New York and in other cities, in July, 1863, -myself and other members of the “Prudential Committee” which had been -formed in Bridgeport were frequently threatened with personal violence, -and rumors were especially rife that Lindencroft would some night be -mobbed and destroyed. On several occasions, soldiers volunteered as a -guard and came and stayed at my house, sometimes for several nights in -succession, and I was also provided with rockets, so that in case of an -attempted attack I could signal to my friends in the city and especially -to the night watchman at the arsenal, who would see my rockets at -Lindencroft and give the alarm. Happily these signals were never<a name="page_616" id="page_616"></a> -needed, but the rockets came in play, long afterwards, in another way.</p> - -<p>My house was provided with a magnetic burglar-alarm and one night the -faithful bell sounded. I was instantly on my feet and summoning my -servants, one ran and rung the large bell on the lawn which served in -the day time to call my coachman from the stable, another turned on the -gas, while I fired a gun out of the window and I then went to the top of -the house and set off several rockets. The whole region round about was -instantly aroused; dogs barked, neighbors half-dressed, but armed, -flocked over to my grounds, every time a rocket went up, and I was by no -means sparing of my supply; the whole place was as light as day, and in -the general glare and confusion we caught sight of two retreating -burglars, one running one way, the other another way, and both as fast -as their legs could carry them; nor do I believe that the panic-stricken -would-be plunderers stopped running till they reached New York.</p> - -<p>It always seemed to me that a man who “takes no interest in politics” is -unfit to live in a land where the government rests in the hands of the -people. Consequently, whether I expressed them or not, I always had -pronounced opinions upon all the leading political questions of the day, -and no frivolous reason ever kept me from the polls. Indeed, on one -occasion, I even hastened my return from Europe, so that I could take -part in a presidential election. I was a party man, but not a partisan, -nor a wire-puller, and I had never sought or desired office, though it -had often been tendered to me. This was notoriously true, among all who -knew me, up to the year 1865, when I accepted<a name="page_617" id="page_617"></a></p> - -<p><a name="ALARM_AT_LINDENCROFT" id="ALARM_AT_LINDENCROFT"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p616_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p616_sml.jpg" width="538" height="357" alt="ALARM AT LINDENCROFT." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">ALARM AT LINDENCROFT.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">from the Republican party a nomination to the Connecticut legislature -from the town of Fairfield, and I did this because I felt that it would -be an honor to be permitted to vote for the then proposed amendment to -the Constitution of the United States to abolish slavery forever from -the land.</p> - -<p>I was elected, and on arriving at Hartford the night before the session -began, I found the wire-pullers at work laying their plans for the -election of a Speaker of the House. Watching the movements closely, I -saw that the railroad interests had combined in support of one of the -candidates, and this naturally excited my suspicion. I never believed in -making State legislation a mere power to support monopolies. I do not -need to declare my full appreciation of the great blessings which -railroad interests and enterprises have brought upon this country and -the world. But the vaster the enterprise and its power for good, the -greater its opportunity for mischief if its power is perverted. The time -was when a whole community was tied to the track of one or two railway -companies, and it was too truthful to be looked upon as satire to call -New Jersey the “State of Camden and Amboy.” A great railroad company, -like fire, is a good servant, but a bad master; and when it is -considered that such a company, with its vast number of men dependent -upon it for their daily bread, can sometimes elect State officers and -legislatures, the danger to our free institutions from such a force may -well be feared.</p> - -<p>Thinking of these things, and seeing in the combination of railroad -interests to elect a speaker, no promise of good to the community at -large, I at once consulted with a few friends in the legislature, and we -resolved to<a name="page_618" id="page_618"></a> defeat the railroad “ring,” if possible, in caucus. I had -not even seen either of the candidates for the speakership, nor had I a -single selfish end in view to gratify by the election of one candidate -or the other; but I felt that if the railroad favorite could be -defeated, the public interest would be subserved. We succeeded; their -candidate was not nominated, and the railroad men were taken by -surprise. They had had their own way in every legislature since the -first railroad was laid down in Connecticut, and to be beaten now fairly -startled them.</p> - -<p>Immediately after the caucus, I 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 that office for several -successive years, and who was, in fact, the great railroad factotum in -the State. He complied with my request, and he soon found how important -it was to check the strong and growing monopoly; for, as he said, the -“outside pressure” from personal friends in both political parties, to -secure the appointment of the person to whom I had objected, was -terrible.</p> - -<p>Though I had not foreseen nor thought of such a thing until I reached -Hartford, I soon found that a battle with the railroad commissioners -would be necessary, and my course was shaped accordingly. It was soon -discovered that a majority of the railroad commissioners were mere tools -in the hands of the railroad companies, and that 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 railroad -commissioners permitted most of the accidents which occurred on that -road to be taken<a name="page_619" id="page_619"></a> charge of and reported upon by the paid lobby agent of -that railroad. This was so manifestly destructive to the interests of -all parties who might suffer from accidents on the road, or have any -controversy therefor with the company, that I succeeded in enlisting the -farmers and other true men on the side of right; and we defeated the -chairman of the railroad commissioners, who was a candidate for -re-election, and elected our own candidate in his place. I also carried -through a law that no person who was in the employ of any railroad in -the State should serve as railroad commissioner.</p> - -<p>But the great struggle which lasted nearly 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 at -distances of from 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 compelled to submit to the extortion. Commodore -Vanderbilt was a large shareholder in the New York and New Haven road; -indeed, subsequent elections showed that he had a controlling interest, -and it seemed evident to me that the same practice would be put in -operation on the New Haven Railroad, that commuters were groaning under -on the two other roads. I enlisted as many as I could in an effort to -strangle this outrage before it became too strong to grapple with. -Several lawyers in the Assembly had promised me their aid, but long -before the final struggle came, every lawyer except one in that body was -enlisted in favor of the railroads!<a name="page_620" id="page_620"></a></p> - -<p>What potent influence had been at work with these legal gentlemen could -only be surmised. 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 and desires, the chances looked slim in favor of -those members of the legislature who had no pecuniary interest in the -matter, but were struggling simply for justice and the protection of the -people. But “Yankee stick-to-it-iveness” was always a noted feature in -my character. Every inch of the 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, aided me -personally in the investigations which took place. But he was a host in -himself, and we left not a stone unturned; we succeeded by our -persistence, in letting in considerable light upon a dark subject. The -man whom I had prevented from being made chairman, succeeded in becoming -a member of the railroad committee; but, from the mouths of unwilling -witnesses, I exhibited his connection with railroad reports, railroad -laws, and railroad lobbyings, in such a light that he took to his bed -some ten days before the end of the session, and actually remained -there, “sick,” as he said, till the legislature adjourned.</p> - -<p>The speaker offered me the chairmanship of any one of several -committees, and I selected that of the Agricultural committee, because -it would occupy but little of my time, and give me the opportunity I so -much desired to devote my attention to the railway combinations. The -Republicans had a majority in both branches of the legislature; the -Democrats, however, were watchful<a name="page_621" id="page_621"></a> and energetic. The amendment to the -United States Constitution, abolishing slavery, met with but little open -opposition; but the proposed amendment to the State Constitution, -striking out the word “white” from that clause which defined the -qualifications of voters, 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 offering the -contemplated amendment, and in reply to this, I spoke, May 26, 1865, as -follows:</p> - -<p class="chead">SPEECH OF P. T. BARNUM,</p> - -<p class="c">ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Speaker</span>:—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 <i>keep</i> 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.<a name="page_622" id="page_622"></a>” 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.</p> - -<p>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. If I thought I had one drop of blood in my -veins which was not democratic, in the light of this definition, I would -have it out, no matter at what trouble or sacrifice. It was the -repudiation by the southern democracy of this great democratic doctrine -of majority rule which opened the rebellion.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_623" id="page_623"></a> moral character, <i>who are able to read</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_624" id="page_624"></a> 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 saviors 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The only safe inhabitants of a free country are educated<a name="page_625" id="page_625"></a> citizens who -vote. The gentleman from Milford lives near the old Washington -toll-bridge, which spans the Housatonic River, and he doubtless -remembers, as I do, when the Boston and New York stages crossed that -bridge, and the coachman would always denounce the “infernal bridge -monopoly” which compelled him to pay a dollar every time the stage -crossed. The passengers would generally laugh and say: “Let him pay, -it’s nothing to us; we are only passengers.” Some twenty years ago, one -of the gentlemen accustomed to travel in that stage, was crossing the -Atlantic in a steamship. At the hour of midnight, when nearly all were -wrapt in sleep, the fearful cry of “fire” rang through the ship. There -were the poor passengers, threatened by the devouring element, and only -a plank between them and death. Our passenger, not half awake, rubbed -his eyes and probably fancying he was in the old stage-coach, cried out: -“Fire away, I am only a passenger!” Fortunately, it was a false alarm; -but when the gentleman was wide awake, he discovered that there could be -no disinterested passengers on board a burning ship.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_626" id="page_626"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_627" id="page_627"></a> -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 until 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 joyful 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.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_628" id="page_628"></a> -eyes, and you may be 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<a name="page_629" id="page_629"></a> York -Central Park was eclipsed by the Bois de Bologne and the Champs Elysées -of Paris, or Hyde or Regent Park of London, to say nothing of the great -Phœnix Park at Dublin.</p> - -<p>“They have introduced a couple of Venetian gondolas on the large pond in -Central Park,” remarked a friend.</p> - -<p>“All very well,” replied the verdant traveller, “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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_630" id="page_630"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“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 afterwards she was -brought to a sick bed by the small-pox, 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.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_631" id="page_631"></a> 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 re-instating 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.</p> - -<p>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?<a name="page_632" id="page_632"></a> 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.”</p> - -<p>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 shillelagh? 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.</p> - -<p>“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 name="page_633" id="page_633"></a> 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 “whiskey -scrimmage” one of the lost arts restored? We all know how the “artists” -of both political parties 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.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Speaker: I repeat that I am a friend to the Irishman. I have -travelled 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.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_634" id="page_634"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>I have repeatedly travelled 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 -portion 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.</p> - -<p>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, travelling every year to -New Orleans, Nashville, and even to Cincinnati, to dispose of their -master’s crops. The free 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.</p> - -<p>Gentlemen of the opposition, I beseech you to<a name="page_635" id="page_635"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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:</p> - -<p>“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<a name="page_636" id="page_636"></a> 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!”</p> - -<p>Mr. Speaker: I am no politician, I came to this legislature simply -because I wished 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<a name="page_637" id="page_637"></a> watching you with -such intense interest, will hail us as their saviors. 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 not trench upon the -claims of manhood or American citizenship.<a name="page_638" id="page_638"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXXIX.<br /><br /> -<small>THE AMERICAN MUSEUM IN RUINS.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">A TERRIBLE LOSS—HOW I RECEIVED THE NEWS—BURNING OF THE AMERICAN -MUSEUM—DETAILS OF THE DISASTER—FAITH IN HERRING’S SAFES—BAKED -AND BOILED WHALES—THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE ON THE DESTRUCTION OF THE -MUSEUM—A PUBLIC CALAMITY—SYMPATHY OF THE LEADING EDITORS—AMOUNT -OF MY LOSS—SMALL INSURANCE—MY PROPERTY—INTENTION TO RETIRE TO -PRIVATE LIFE—HORACE GREELEY ADVISES ME TO GO A-FISHING—BENEFIT TO -THE MUSEUM EMPLOYEES AT THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC—MY SPEECH—WHAT THE -NEW YORK SUN SAID ABOUT IT—THE NEW UP-TOWN MUSEUM—OPENING THE -ESTABLISHMENT TO THE PUBLIC.</p></div> - -<p>O<small>N</small> the thirteenth day of July, 1865, I was speaking in the Connecticut -Legislature, in session at Hartford, against the railroad schemes, when -a telegram was handed to me from my son-in-law, S. H. Hurd, my assistant -manager in New York, stating that the American Museum was in flames and -that its total destruction was certain. I glanced over the despatch, -folded it, laid it on my desk, and calmly continued my speech as if -nothing had happened. At the conclusion of my remarks, the bill I had -been advocating was carried, and the House adjourned. I then handed the -telegram, announcing my great loss in New York, to my friend and -fellow-laborer, Mr. William G. Coe, of Winsted, who immediately -communicated the intelligence to several members. Warm sympathizers at -once crowded around me, and Mr. Henry B. Harrison, of New Haven, my -strongest railroad opponent, pushing forward, seized me by the hand, and -said:<a name="page_639" id="page_639"></a></p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, I am really very sorry to hear of your great misfortune.”</p> - -<p>“Sorry,” I replied, “why, my dear sir, I shall not have time to be -‘sorry’ in a week! It will take me that length of time before I can get -over laughing at having whipped you all so nicely in this attempted -railroad imposition.”</p> - -<p>The Speaker of the House and my fellow-members all testified that -neither my face nor my manner betrayed the slightest intimation when I -read the telegram that I had received unpleasant intelligence. One of -the local journals, speaking of this incident, two days after the fire, -said:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>In the midst of Mr. Barnum’s speech a telegram was handed to him, -announcing that his Museum was in flames, with no hope of saving -any portion of his cherished establishment. Without the slightest -evidence of agitation, he laid the telegram upon his desk and -finished his speech. When he went next day to New York he saw only -a pile of black, smouldering ruins.</p></div> - -<p>Immediately after adjournment that afternoon, I took the cars for -Bridgeport, spending the night quietly at home, and the following -morning I went to New York to see the ruins of my Museum, and to learn -the full extent of the disaster. When I arrived at the scene of the -calamity and saw nothing but the smouldering debris of what a few hours -before was the American Museum, the sight was sad indeed. Here were -destroyed, almost in a breath, the accumulated results of many years of -incessant toil, my own and my predecessors, in gathering from every -quarter of the globe myriads of curious productions of nature and -art—an assemblage of rarities which a half million of dollars could not -restore, and a quarter of a century could not collect. In addition to -these there were many Revolutionary relics and<a name="page_640" id="page_640"></a> other links in our -national history which never could be duplicated. Not a thousand dollars -worth of the entire property was saved; the destruction was complete; -the loss was irreparable, and the total amount of insurance was but -forty thousand dollars.</p> - -<p>The fire probably originated in the engine room, where steam was -constantly kept up to pump fresh air into the water of the aquaria and -to propel the immense fans for cooling the atmosphere of the halls. The -flames burst through into the manager’s office, and rapidly extended to -all parts of the building. The desk of my son-in-law, Mr. Hurd, was -already in flames when he opened it and took out several thousands of -dollars in bank bills, and reflecting upon the risk he might incur in -carrying it through the surging crowd outside, with remarkable presence -of mind, and faith in Herring’s safes, he hastily thrust this money with -the account books into my safe, which already held many thousand -dollars, and locking the door, left the whole with entire confidence to -the flames. Buttoning his coat, he safely made his way out of the -burning building and through the excited throng in the streets.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hurd’s faith in Herring was well founded; for, when the safe was -recovered from the ruins, its contents were discovered to be in perfect -preservation. Of the curiosities and other contents of the establishment -nothing was saved. When I first gazed upon the ruins, I saw, down in the -depths, the remains of the two white whales, which had arrived only a -week before, and which were swimming in the great glass tank when the -fire broke out. I had never seen these monsters alive, but the -half-consumed carcasses presented to my mind the worst specimens of -baked and boiled fish that could<a name="page_641" id="page_641"></a> be conceived of. 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 <i>Tribune</i>, 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”:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>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:</p> - -<p>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 lion’s 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 sight-seeing 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.</p> - -<p>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<a name="page_642" id="page_642"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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 -farmyard. 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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, mocking birds, 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<a name="page_643" id="page_643"></a> -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 toward 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 <i>Herald</i> was sitting in his private office with his back to the -open window, calmly discussing with a friend the chances that the -<i>Herald</i> establishment would escape the conflagration, which at -that time was threateningly advancing up Ann Street, toward 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.</p> - -<p>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 toward 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-shirted 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 quarrelled over<a name="page_644" id="page_644"></a> 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 a -curiosity-seeking policeman was garroting Benjamin Franklin, with -the idea of abducting him, a small monkey, flung from the -window-sill 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 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 reclining 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 Lucretia Borgia on the other. The next moment the -advancing flames compelled us to retire.</p> - -<p>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 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.</p> - -<p>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, siezed 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.</p> - -<p>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 despatched 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 <i>World</i> and <i>News</i> 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<a name="page_645" id="page_645"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>After the fire several high-art epicures grouping 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.</p></div> - -<p>All the New York journals, and many more in other cities, editorially -expressed their sympathy with my misfortune, and their sense of the loss -the community had sustained in the destruction of the American Museum. -The following editorial is from the <i>New York Tribune</i>, of July 14, -1865:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>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 -Woolly 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<a name="page_646" id="page_646"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p></div> - -<p>As already stated, my insurance was but $40,000, while the collection, -at the lowest estimate, was worth $400,000, and as my premium was five -per cent I had paid the insurance companies more than they returned to -me. When the fire occurred, my summer pantomime season had just begun -and the Museum was doing an immensely profitable business. My first -impulse, after reckoning up my losses, was to retire from active life -and from all business occupation beyond what my large real estate -interests in Bridgeport, and my property in New York would compel. I -felt that I had still a competence and that after a most active and busy -life, at fifty-five years, I was entitled to retirement, to comparative -rest for the remainder of my days. I called on my old friend, the editor -of the <i>Tribune</i>, for advice on the subject.</p> - -<p>“Accept this fire as a notice to quit, and go a-fishing,” said Mr. -Greeley.</p> - -<p>“A-fishing!” I exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Yes, a-fishing; I have been wanting to go a-fishing<a name="page_647" id="page_647"></a> for thirty years, -and have not yet found time to do so,” replied Mr. Greeley.</p> - -<p>I really felt that his advice was good and wise, and had I consulted -only my own ease and interest I should have acted upon it. But, two -considerations moved me to pause: First, one hundred and fifty -employees, many of whom depended upon their exertions for their daily -bread, were thrown out of work at a season when it would be difficult -for them to get engagements elsewhere. Second: I felt that a large city -like New York needed a good Museum, and that my experience of a quarter -of a century in that direction, afforded extraordinary facilities for -founding another establishment of the kind, and so I took a few days for -reflection.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, the Museum employees were tendered a benefit at the Academy -of Music, at which most of the dramatic artists in the city volunteered -their services. I was called out, and made some off-hand remarks in -which I stated that nothing which I could utter in behalf of the -recipients of that benefit, could plead for them half so eloquently as -the smoking ruins of the building where they had so long earned their -support by their efforts to gratify the public. At the same time I -announced that, moved by the considerations I have mentioned, I had -concluded to establish another Museum, and that in order to give present -occupation to my employees, I had engaged the Winter Garden Theatre for -a few weeks, and I hoped to open a new establishment of my own in the -ensuing fall.</p> - -<p>The <i>New York Sun</i> commented upon the few remarks which I was suddenly -and quite unexpectedly called upon to make, in the following flattering -manner:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>One of the happiest impromptu oratorial efforts that we have heard -for some time, was that made by Barnum at the benefit performance -given for his employees<a name="page_648" id="page_648"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p></div> - -<p>I very soon secured by lease the premises, numbers 535, 537 and 539 -Broadway, seventy-five feet front and rear, by two hundred feet deep, -and known as the Chinese Museum buildings. In less than four months, I -succeeded in converting this building into a commodious Museum and -lecture room, and meanwhile I sent agents through America and Europe to -purchase curiosities. Besides hundreds of small collections, I bought up -several entire museums, and with many living curiosities and my old -company of actors and actresses, I opened to the public, November 13, -1865, “Barnum’s New American Museum,” thus beginning a new chapter in my -career as a manager and showman.<a name="page_649" id="page_649"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XL" id="CHAPTER_XL"></a>CHAPTER XL.<br /><br /> -<small>MY WAR ON THE RAILROADS.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">SCENES IN THE LEGISLATURE—SHARP-SHOOTING—PROPOSITIONS FOR A NEW -CAPITAL OF CONNECTICUT—THE RIVALRY OF CITIES—CULMINATION OF THE -RAILROAD CONTROVERSY—EXCITEMENT AMONG THE LOBBYISTS—A BILL FOR -THE BENEFIT OF COMMUTERS—PEOPLE PROTECTED FROM THE PLUNDERERS—HOW -SETTLERS ARE DRAWN INTO A STATE AND THEN CHEATED BY THE RAILROAD -COMPANIES—EQUAL RIGHTS FOR COMMUTERS AND TRANSIENT -PASSENGERS—WHAT COMMODORE VANDERBILT DID—WHAT THE NEW YORK AND -NEW HAVEN RAILROAD COMPANY WANTED TO DO—EXPOSURE OF THEIR -PLOT—CONSTERNATION OF THE CONSPIRATORS—MY VICTORY—AGAIN ELECTED -TO THE LEGISLATURE—UNITED STATES SENATOR FERRY—EX-GOVERNOR W. A. -BUCKINGHAM—THEODORE TILTON—GOVERNOR HAWLEY—FRIENDS AT -LINDENCROFT—NOMINATED FOR CONGRESS AND DEFEATED.</p></div> - -<p>D<small>URING</small> my membership in the Connecticut Legislature of 1865, I made -several new friends and agreeable acquaintances, and many things -occurred, sometimes in the regular proceedings, and sometimes as -episodes, which made the session memorable. 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 -<i>sine die</i>.</p> - -<p>I replied, that the larger the number of representatives, the more -difficult it would be to tamper with<a name="page_650" id="page_650"></a> 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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“According to the gentleman’s own theory,” I 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.</p> - -<p>The State House at Hartford was a disgrace to Connecticut; the Hall of -Representatives was too small; there were no committee rooms, and the -building was utterly unfit for the purposes to which it was devoted. The -State House at New Haven was very little better, and I made a strong -effort to secure the erection of new edifices in both cities. I was -chairman of the committee on new State Houses, and during our -investigations it was ascertained that Bridgeport, Middletown and -Meriden would each be willing to erect a State House at its own cost, if -the city should be selected as the new capital of the State. These -movements aroused the jealousy of Hartford and New Haven, which at once -appointed committees to wait upon us. The whole matter, however, finally -went by default, and the question was never submitted to the people. It -is quite<a name="page_651" id="page_651"></a> possible, however, that ere long the citizens of Bridgeport or -Meriden will offer to build a capitol, and that one of these two cities -with the entire consent of the rest of the State, including the -inhabitants of Hartford and New Haven, will become the capital of -Connecticut.</p> - -<p>As the session drew near its close, the railroad controversy culminated -by my introduction of a bill to amend the act for the regulation of -railroads by the interpolation of the following:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Section 508.</span> 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.</p></div> - -<p>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. My motives were attacked, and the most foolish -slanders were circulated. Not only every legal man in the house was -arrayed against me, 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 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<a name="page_652" id="page_652"></a> could be equally -successful with the house. At last it was known that the final debate -would take place and the vote be taken on the morning of July 13.</p> - -<p>When the day arrived the excitement was intense. The passages leading to -the hall were 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. Henry B. 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.</p> - -<p>On closing the debate, I endeavored to state briefly the gist of the -case,—that, only a few years before, 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. I urged<a name="page_653" id="page_653"></a> 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 our -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.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>And now, 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.</p> - -<p>The interests of the State, as well as commuters, demand this law; -for if it is once fixed by statute that the prices of commutation -are not to be increased,<a name="page_654" id="page_654"></a> 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.</p></div> - -<p>It was at this point in my remarks when I received the telegram from my -son-in-law in New York, announcing the burning of the American Museum. -Reading the despatch, and laying it on my desk without further -attention, I continued:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>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 -interests 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.</p></div> - -<p>I then drew from my 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 my bill became a law they -could get ahead of me. I continued:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Now, Mr. Speaker, I know that these despatches 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 despatches 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,”<a name="page_655" id="page_655"></a> -the words “as it existed on the first 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.</p></div> - -<p>The opposition were astounded at the revelation and the previous -question was ordered. The bill as amended was carried almost with a -“hurrah.” It is now an act in the statute book of the State, and it -annually adds many dollars to the assessment roll of Connecticut, since -the protection afforded to commuters against the extortions practised by -railway companies elsewhere is a strong inducement to permanent settlers -along the lines of Connecticut railways.<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a></p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> The New York and New Haven Railroad Company never forgave -me for thus securing a righteous law for the protection of its -commuters. Even as lately as 1871, the venders of books on the trains -were prohibited from selling to passengers this book which exposes their -cupidity. A parallel railroad from New York to New Haven would be good -paying stock, and would materially disturb, if not destroy, the present -railroad and express monopolies.</p></div> - -<p>In the spring of 1866, I was again elected to represent the town of -Fairfield in the Connecticut Legislature. I had not intended to accept a -nomination for that office a second time, but one of the directors of -the New York and New Haven Railroad, who was a citizen of Fairfield and -had been a zealous lobby member of the preceding legislature, had -declared that I should not represent the town again. As the voters of -Fairfield seemed to think that the public interests were of more -importance than the success of railroad conspiracies, combinations, and -monopolies, I accepted their nomination.</p> - -<p>Almost the only exciting question before that legislature was the -election of an United States Senator. President Johnson had begun to -show disaffection towards the Republican party which elected him, and -the zealous members of that party were watching with anxious hearts the -actions of those who offered themselves as candidates for offices of -trust and responsibility. One of the Republican United States Senators<a name="page_656" id="page_656"></a> -had already abandoned the party and affiliated with Johnson. The other -Senator was a candidate for re-election. He had been a favorite -candidate with me, but when I became convinced that he sympathized with -the recreant Senator and President Johnson, no importunities of -political friends or any other inducement could change my determination -to defeat him, if possible. I devoted days and nights to convincing some -of my fellow numbers that the interests of the State and the country -demanded the election of Hon. O. S. Ferry to that important office.</p> - -<p>Excitement ran high. Ex-Governor Wm. A. Buckingham was also a candidate. -I knew he would make an excellent Senator but he had filled the -gubernatorial chair for eight years; and as the present senator had held -his office twelve years, and he was from the same city as Governor -Buckingham, I urged that Norwich should not carry off all the honors; -that Fairfield County was entitled to the office; and both before and at -the Republican nominating caucus I set forth, so far as I was able, what -I considered the merits and peculiar claims of Mr. Ferry. I suggested -that Mr. Buckingham might rest on his laurels for a couple of years and -be elected to fill the place of the next retiring senator in 1868. Mr. -Ferry started in the ballotings with a very small vote indeed, and it -required the most delicate management to secure a majority for him in -that caucus. But it was done; and as the great strife was between the -two other rival candidates, Mr. Ferry had scarcely a hope of the -nomination and was much surprised the next morning to hear of his -success. He was elected for the term beginning March 4, 1866, and one of -his opposing candidates in the caucus ex-Governor<a name="page_657" id="page_657"></a> William A. -Buckingham, was elected, two years afterwards, for the senatorial term -commencing March 4, 1869.</p> - -<p>I was again chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, and on the whole -the session at New Haven, in 1866, was very agreeable to me; there were -many congenial spirits in the House and our severer labors were -lightened by some very delightful episodes.</p> - -<p>During the summer, Governor Hawley, Hon. David Gallup, Speaker of the -House, Hon. O. S. Ferry, U. S. Senator, Mr. W. G. Coe, of Winsted, Mr. -A. B. Mygatt, of New Milford, Mr. Theodore Tilton, editor of the New -York <i>Independent</i>, Mr. George Pratt, of Norwich, Mr. S. H. Wales, of -the <i>Scientific American</i>, Mr. David Clark, of Hartford, Mr. A. H. -Byington, of Norwalk, and many other gentlemen of distinction were -occasional guests at Lindencroft. Several times we had delightful sails, -dinners, and clam-bakes at Charles Island, eight miles east of -Bridgeport, a most cool and charming spot in the warm summer days. The -health of my wife, which had been poor since 1855, prevented many -occasions of festivity for which I had all other facilities; for -Lindencroft was indeed a charming residence, and it afforded every -requisite for the entertainment of large numbers of friends.</p> - -<p>During the summer Governor Hawley appointed me a commissioner to the -Paris Exposition, but I was unable to attend.</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1867, I received from the Republican convention in the -Fourth District in Connecticut the nomination for Congress. As I have -already remarked, politics were always distasteful to me. I possess -naturally too much independence of mind, and too strong a<a name="page_658" id="page_658"></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 State election went democratic, although the -republican State ticket was elected. 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, although -the State itself was republican again by a considerable majority.</p> - -<p>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,<a name="page_659" id="page_659"></a> the fidelity, treachery, -meanness and manliness, which by turns exhibited themselves in the -exciting scenes preceding the election, were novel to me, and were so -far interesting. My personal efforts in the canvass were mainly confined -to the circulation of documents, and I did not spend a dollar to -purchase a vote.</p> - -<p>Shortly after my opponent was nominated, I sent him the following -letter, which was also published in the Bridgeport <i>Standard</i>:</p> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Bridgeport, Conn.</span>, Feb. 21, 1867.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<span class="smcap">W. H. Barnum</span>, Esq., Salisbury, Conn.<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>: Observing that the democratic party has nominated you for -Congress from this district, I desire to make you a proposition.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.<a name="page_660" id="page_660"></a></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Please favor me with an early answer, and oblige,</p> - -<p class="c"> -Truly yours,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">P. T. Barnum</span>.<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>To this letter Mr. William H. Barnum replied, declining to accept my -proposition to go before the people of the district, and discuss the -political questions of the day.</p> - -<p>During the canvass I received the following letter, which, together with -my reply, was published in the Bridgeport <i>Standard</i> and in the New York -<i>Tribune</i>:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Litchfield Co.</span>, Conn., Feb. 20, 1867.<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">P. T. Barnum.</span>—<i>Dear Sir</i>: Although Fairfield County was entitled -to the nomination of the copperhead candidate for Congress from the -Fourth District, and under ordinary circumstances it would have -been given to William F. Taylor, of Danbury, you are, perhaps, -aware that they have changed their tactics and nominated a wealthy -namesake of yours, simply for the purpose of using his money -against you. A democratic ex-Congressman is said to be preparing a -tariff of prices to be paid for votes, and they boast that their -candidate will expend $50,000 to secure his election. Already, I am -credibly informed, the greenbacks<a name="page_661" id="page_661"></a> are being freely circulated by -his friends. I write to ask what your intentions are in regard to -counteracting this effort of the copperhead party. Do you intend to -fight fire with fire? The day of election is fast approaching, and -we are confident of success, as all our friends are wide awake.</p> - -<p class="r"> -Respectfully yours, —— ——<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>The New York <i>Tribune</i>, commenting upon the correspondence, said:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Mr. P. T. Barnum, Union candidate for Congress in the Fourth -District of Connecticut, was lately solicited by a friend to spend -money in a manner deemed objectionable by Mr. Barnum, and he -responded as became a patriot.</p></div> - -<p>The following was my reply to the above letter:</p> - -<div class="blockquott"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Bridgeport</span>, Feb. 23, 1867.<br /> -</p> - -<p>—— <span class="smcap">Esq.</span>—<i>Dear Sir</i>: Your kind letter of the 20th inst. has -caused me painful emotions. I now wish to say, once for all, that -under no conceivable circumstances will I permit a dollar of mine -to be used to purchase a vote, or to induce a voter to act contrary -to his honest convictions.</p> - -<p>The idea that the intelligent reading men of New England can be -bought like sheep in the shambles, and that the sacred principles -which have so far guided them in the terrible struggle between -liberty and slavery can now, in this eventful hour of national -existence, be set up at auction and knocked down to the highest -bidder, seems to me as preposterous as it is shameful and -humiliating. But if it is possible that occasionally a degraded -voter can thus be induced to “sell his birthright for a mess of -pottage,” God grant that I may be a thousand times defeated sooner -than permit one grain of gold to be accursed by using it so basely!</p> - -<p>I will not believe that American citizens can lend themselves to -the contemptible meanness of sapping the very life-blood of our -noble institutions by encouraging a fatal precedent, which ignores -all principle,<a name="page_662" id="page_662"></a> and would soon prevent any honest man, however -distinguished for his intelligence and loyalty, from representing -his district in our national councils. None could then succeed -except unprincipled vagabonds, who, by the lavish expenditure of -money, would debauch and degrade the freemen whose votes they -coveted.</p> - -<p>No, sir! Grateful as I am for the distinguished honor of receiving -a unanimous nomination for Congress from the loyal Union party in -my district, I have no aspiration for that high position if it is -only to be attained by bringing into disgrace the noble privilege -of the <i>free elective franchise</i>. Think for a moment what a deadly -weapon is being placed in the hands of tyrants throughout the -civilized world, with which to destroy such apostles of liberty as -John Bright and Garibaldi, if it can be said with truth that -American citizens have become so corrupt and degraded, so lost to a -just estimate of the value and true nobility of the ballot, that it -is bought and sold for money.</p> - -<p>My dear sir, any party that can gain a temporary ascendancy by such -atrocious means, not only poisons the body politic of a free and -impartial government, but is also sure to bring swift destruction -upon itself. And so it should be.</p> - -<p>I am unaccustomed to political life, and know but little of the -manner of conducting a campaign like the present. I believe, -however, it is customary for the State Central Committee to assess -candidates, in order that they shall defray a proper portion of the -expenses incurred for speakers and documents to <i>enlighten</i> the -voters upon the political issues of the day. To that extent I am -willing and anxious to be taxed; for “light<a name="page_663" id="page_663"></a> and knowledge” are -always desired by the friends of human rights and of public order.</p> - -<p>But I trust that all money used for any other purpose, in the -pending election will come from the pockets of those who now (as -during the rebellion) are doing their utmost to aid traitors, and -who, still unrepenting, are vindictively striving to secure at the -ballot-box what their Southern allies failed to accomplish on the -field of battle. If any of our friends misapprehend my true -sentiments upon the subject of bribery, corruption and fraud, I -hope you will read them this letter.</p> - -<p class="c"> -Truly yours,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">P. T. BARNUM</span>.<br /> -</p> - -<p>P. S.—The following is the law of Connecticut on the bribery of -electors:</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Section 64.</span> No person shall offer or receive any money, or other -thing, by way of gift, fee or reward, for giving, or refusing to -give, a vote for electing members of the General Assembly, or any -officer chosen at an electors’ meeting, nor promise, procure, or in -any way confer, any gratuity, reward or preferment, for any vote -given or to be given, in any election; and every person guilty of -so doing shall forfeit the sum of $17, one-half to him who shall -prosecute to effect, and the other half to the treasury of the town -where the offence is committed, and every person who shall be -convicted a second time of a like offence shall be disfranchised.</p></div> - -<p>That section commends itself to the obedience of every law-abiding -voter, and I shall be the last to consent to its violation.</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">P. T. B.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>When Congress met, I was surprised to see by the newspapers that the -seat of my opponent was to be contested on account of alleged bribery, -fraud and corruption in securing his election. This 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<a name="page_664" id="page_664"></a> 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.<a name="page_665" id="page_665"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLI" id="CHAPTER_XLI"></a>CHAPTER XLI.<br /><br /> -<small>BENNETT AND THE HERALD.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">THE AMERICAN MUSEUM LEASE—ITS VALUE—BENNETT OF THE HERALD BUYS IT -FOR $200,000—HE PURCHASES THE PROPERTY—OVERESTIMATE OF ITS -WORTH—MAX MARETZEK—MISS CLARA LOUISE KELLOGG’S ESTIMATE OF -CERTAIN PEOPLE—THE POWER BEHIND THE HERALD THRONE—THE HERALD’S -INFLUENCE—BENNETT KICKED AND COWHIDED—HIS LAWYER INSISTS UPON MY -TAKING BACK THE MUSEUM LEASE—I DECLINE—BENNETT REFUSES MY -ADVERTISEMENTS—INTERVIEW WITH MR. HUDSON—WAR OF THE MANAGERS UPON -THE HERALD—BENNETT HUMBLED—LOSS OF THE HERALD’S -PRESTIGE—MONEY—DAMAGE TO BENNETT’S ESTABLISHMENT—THE EDITOR -SUED—PEACE BETWEEN THE HERALD AND THE MANAGERS.</p></div> - -<p>W<small>HEN</small> the old American Museum burned down, and while the ruins were still -smoking, I had numerous applications for the purchase of the lease of -the two lots, fifty-six by one hundred feet, which had still nearly -eleven years to run. It will be remembered that in 1847 I came back from -England, while my second lease of five years had yet three years more to -run, and renewed that lease for twenty-five years from 1851 at an annual -rental of $10,000. It was also stipulated that in case the building was -destroyed by fire the proprietor of the property should expend -twenty-four thousand dollars towards the erection of a new edifice, and -at the end of the term of lease he was to pay me the appraised value of -the building, not to exceed $100,000. Rents and real estate values had -trebled since I took this twenty-five years’ lease, and hence the -remaining term was very valuable. I engaged an experienced and competent -real estate broker in Pine Street to examine the<a name="page_666" id="page_666"></a> terms of my lease, and -in view of his knowledge of the cost of erecting buildings and the -rentals they were commanding in Broadway, I enjoined him to take his -time, and make a careful estimate of what the lease was worth to me, and -what price I ought to receive if I sold it to another party. At the end -of several days, he showed me his figures, which proved that the lease -was fully worth $275,000. As I was inclined to have a museum higher up -town, I did not wish to engage in erecting two buildings at once, so I -concluded to offer my museum lease for sale. Accordingly, I put it into -the hands of Mr. Homer Morgan, with directions to offer it for $225,000, -which was $50,000 less than the value at which it had been estimated.</p> - -<p>The next day I met Mr. James Gordon Bennett, who told me that he desired -to buy my lease, and at the same time to purchase the fee of the museum -property, for the erection thereon of a publication building for the New -York <i>Herald</i>. I said I thought it was very fitting the <i>Herald</i> should -be the successor of the Museum; and Mr. Bennett asked my price.</p> - -<p>“Please to go or send immediately to Homer Morgan’s office,” I replied, -“and you will learn that Mr. Morgan has the lease for sale at $225,000. -This is $50,000 less than its estimated value; but to you I will deduct -$25,000 from my already reduced price, so you may have the lease for -$200,000.”</p> - -<p>Bennett replied that he would look into the affair closely; and the next -day his attorney sent for my lease. He kept it several days, and then -appointed an hour for me to come to his office. I called according to -appointment. Mr. Bennett and his attorney had thoroughly examined the -lease. It was the property of my wife.<a name="page_667" id="page_667"></a> Bennett concluded to accept my -offer. My wife assigned the lease to him, and his attorney handed me Mr. -Bennett’s check on the Chemical Bank for $200,000. That same day I -invested $50,000 in United States bonds; and the remaining $150,000 was -similarly invested on the following day. I learned at that time that -Bennett had agreed to purchase the fee of the property for $500,000. He -had been informed that the property was worth some $350,000 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 -before paid 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.</p> - -<p>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 me off also, and -get back the money he had paid me.</p> - -<p>At this time Bennett was ruling the managers of the theatres and other -amusements with a rod of iron. He<a name="page_668" id="page_668"></a> had established a large job printing -office in connection with the <i>Herald</i> office; and woe to the manager -who presumed to have his bills printed elsewhere. Any manager who dared -to decline employing Bennett’s job office to print his small bills and -posters, at Bennett’s exorbitant prices, was ignored in the <i>Herald</i>; -his advertisements were refused, and generally, he and his establishment -were black-balled and blackguarded in the columns of the <i>Herald</i>. Of -course most of the managers were somewhat sensitive to such attacks, and -therefore submitted to his impositions in the job office, his double -price for newspaper advertisements, and any other overbearing conditions -the <i>Herald</i> might choose to dictate. The advertisements of the Academy -of Music, then under the direction of Mr. Max Maretzek, had been refused -on account of some dissatisfaction in the <i>Herald</i> office in regard to -free boxes, and also because the prima donna, Miss Clara Louise Kellogg, -had certain ideas of her own with regard to social intercourse with -certain people, as Miss Jenny Lind had with regard to the same people, -when she was under my management, and to some degree under my advice, -and these ideas were not particularly relished by the power behind the -<i>Herald</i> throne.</p> - -<p>For my own part, I thoroughly understood Bennett and his concern, and I -never cared one farthing for him or his paper. I had seen for years, -especially as Bennett’s enormously overestimated “influence” applied to -public amusements, that whatever the <i>Herald</i> praised, sickened, -drooped, and if the <i>Herald</i> persisted in praising it, finally died; -while whatever the <i>Herald</i> attacked prospered, and all the more, the -more it was abused. It was utterly impossible for Bennett to injure me, -unless he had some more potent weapon than his <i>Herald</i>.<a name="page_669" id="page_669"></a> And that this -was the general opinion was quite evident from the fact that several -years had elapsed since gentlemen were in the almost daily habit of -cuffing, kicking and cowhiding Bennett in the streets and other public -places for his scurrilous attacks upon them, or upon members of their -families. It had come to be seen that what the <i>Herald</i> said, good or -bad, was, like the editor himself, literally of “no account.”</p> - -<p>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 -<i>Herald</i>, Bennett thought he had but to crack his whip, in order to keep -any and all of us within the traces. The great Ogre of the <i>Herald</i> -supposed he could at all times frighten the little managerial boys into -any holes which might be left open for them to hide in. 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<a name="page_670" id="page_670"></a> desired, and after a few pleasant commonplace -remarks about the weather, and other trifles, the attorney said:</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Are you in earnest?” I asked with surprise.</p> - -<p>“Certainly, quite so,” he answered.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“It will be better for you to take back the lease,” said the attorney -seriously.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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 <i>Herald</i>. The next morning I observed that -the advertisement of my entertainments with my Museum Company at Winter -Garden was left out of the <i>Herald</i> columns. I went directly to the -editorial rooms of the <i>Herald</i>; and learning that Bennett was not in, I -said to Mr. Hudson, then managing editor:</p> - -<p>“My advertisement is left out of the <i>Herald</i>; is there a screw loose?”</p> - -<p>“I believe there is,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“What is the matter?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“You must ask the Emperor,” said Mr. Hudson, meaning of course Bennett.<a name="page_671" id="page_671"></a></p> - -<p>“When will the ‘Emperor’ be in?” I inquired; “next Monday,” was the -answer.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“I will not,” Mr. Hudson peremptorily replied.</p> - -<p>“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 <i>Herald</i> 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.</p> - -<p>One of the managers immediately made a motion that the entire -association should stop their advertising and bill printing at the -<i>Herald</i> 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 <i>Herald</i> office to call on Mr. -Bennett.<a name="page_672" id="page_672"></a></p> - -<p>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 <i>Herald</i>. The committee, however, -coolly insisted upon a direct answer to their question.</p> - -<p>Bennett then answered: “I will not publish Barnum’s advertisement; I do -my business as I please, and in my own way.”</p> - -<p>“So do we,” replied one of the managers, and the committee withdrew.</p> - -<p>The next day the Managers’ Association met, heard the report, and -unanimously resolved to withdraw their advertisements from the <i>Herald</i>, -and their patronage from the <i>Herald</i> job establishment, and it was -done. Nevertheless, the <i>Herald</i> for several days continued to print -gratuitously the advertisements of Wallack<a name="page_673" id="page_673"></a>’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 <i>Herald</i>, 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 <i>Herald</i>. Thereupon, the managers headed -their advertisements in all the other New York papers with the line, -“This Establishment does not advertise in the New York <i>Herald</i>,” and -for many months this announcement was kept at the top of every -theatrical advertisement and on the posters and playbills.</p> - -<p>The <i>Herald</i> then began to abuse and vilify the theatrical and opera -managers, their artists and their performances, and by way of contrast -profusely praised Tony Pastor’s Bowery show, and Sundry entertainments -of a similar character, thereby speedily bringing some of these -side-shows to grief and shutting up their shops. Meanwhile, the -first-class theatres prospered amazingly under the abuse of Bennett. -Their receipts were never larger, and their houses, never more thronged. -The public took sides in the matter with the managers and against the -<i>Herald</i>, 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 <i>Herald</i> 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 -<i>Herald’s</i> 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<a name="page_674" id="page_674"></a> 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 <i>Herald</i> daily poured out upon the -theatres.</p> - -<p>But the more Bennett raved the more the people laughed, and the more -determined did they seem to patronize the managers. Many people came to -the Museum, who said they came expressly to show us that the public were -with us and against the <i>Herald</i>. The other managers stated their -experience to be the same in this respect. In fact, it was a subject of -general remark, that, without exception, the associated managers never -had done such a thriving business as during the two years in which they -gave the <i>Herald</i> the cold shoulder.</p> - -<p>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. That lien still exists against the <i>Herald</i> -property.<a name="page_675" id="page_675"></a></p> - -<p>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. As it was, Bennett was badly -beaten on every side, and especially by the managers, who forever -established the fact that the <i>Herald’s</i> abuse was profitable, and its -patronage fatal to any enterprise; and who taught Mr. Bennett personally -the lesson of his own insignificance, as he had not learned it since the -days when gentlemen used to kick and cowhide him up and down the whole -length of Nassau Street. 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 -<i>Herald</i>. I was then associated with the Van Amburgh Company in my new -Museum, and we concluded that the cost of advertising in the <i>Herald</i> -was more than it was worth, and so we did not enter into the new -arrangement made by the Managers’ Association.<a name="page_676" id="page_676"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLII" id="CHAPTER_XLII"></a>CHAPTER XLII.<br /><br /> -<small>PUBLIC LECTURING.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">MY TOUR AT THE WEST—THE CURIOSITY EXHIBITOR HIMSELF A -CURIOSITY—BUYING A FARM IN WISCONSIN—HELPING THOSE WHO HELP -THEMSELVES—A RIDE ON A LOCOMOTIVE—PUNCTUALITY IN MY -ENGAGEMENTS—TRICKS TO SECURE SEATS IN THE LADIES’ CAR—I SUDDENLY -BECAME FATHER TO A YOUNG MARRIED COUPLE—MY IDENTITY DENIED—PITY -AND CHARITY—REVEREND DOCTOR CHAPIN PULLS THE BELL—TEMPERANCE—HOW -I BECAME A TEETOTALER—MODERATE DRINKING AND ITS DANGERS—DOCTOR -CHAPIN’S LECTURE IN BRIDGEPORT—MY OWN EFFORTS IN THE TEMPERANCE -CAUSE—LECTURING THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY—NEWSPAPER ARTICLES—THE -STORY OF VINELAND, IN NEW JERSEY.</p></div> - -<p>D<small>URING</small> the summer of 1866, Mr. Edwin L. Brown, Corresponding Secretary -of the “Associated Western Literary Societies,” opened a correspondence -with me relative to delivering, in the ensuing season, my lecture on -“Success in Life,” before some sixty lyceums, Young Men’s Christian -Associations, and Literary Societies belonging to the union which Mr. -Brown represented. The scheme embraced an extended tour through -Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and Iowa, and -I was to receive one hundred dollars for every repetition of my lecture, -with all my travelling expenses on the route. Agreeing to these terms, I -commenced the engagement at the appointed time, and, averaging five -lectures a week, I finished the prescribed round just before New Year’s. -Before beginning this engagement, however, I gave the lecture for other -associations at Wheeling, Virginia, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, -Kentucky. I also delivered the lecture in Chicago, for<a name="page_677" id="page_677"></a> Professor -Eastman, who at that time had one of his Business Colleges in that city. -He engaged the celebrated Crosby Opera House for the occasion, and I -think, with, perhaps, two exceptions, I never spoke before so large and -intelligent an audience as was there assembled. It was estimated that -from five to six thousand ladies and gentlemen were gathered in that -capacious building; and nearly as many more went away unable to obtain -admission. I was glad to observe by the action of the audience, and by -the journals of the following day, that my efforts on that occasion were -satisfactory. Indeed, though it is necessarily egotistical, I may truly -say that with this lecture I always succeeded in pleasing my hearers. I -may add, that I have invariably, as a rule, devoted to charitable -purposes every penny I ever received for lecturing, except while I was -under the great Jerome Clock cloud in England, when I needed all I could -earn.</p> - -<p>My western tour was delightful; indeed it was almost an ovation. I -found, in fact, that when I had strayed so far from home, the curiosity -exhibitor himself became quite a curiosity. On several occasions, in -Iowa, I was introduced to ladies and gentlemen who had driven thirty -miles in carriages to hear me. I insisted, however, that it was more to -see than to hear; and I asked them if that was not really the case. In -several instances they answered in the affirmative. In fact, one quaint -old lady said: “Why, to tell you the truth, Mr. Barnum, we have read so -much about you, and your Museum and your queer carryings-on, that we -were not quite sure but you had horns and cloven feet, and so we came to -satisfy our curiosity; but, la, me! I don’t see but what you look a good -deal like other folks, after all.”<a name="page_678" id="page_678"></a></p> - -<p>While at the West, I visited my sister, Mrs. Minerva Drew, and her -family, at Bristol, Wisconsin, where they reside on a farm which I -presented to her about twenty years ago. Her children having grown up -and married, all except her son, Fairchild B. Drew, who had just -attained his majority, his father (Ezekiel Drew) wished to retain his -services on the farm. Fairchild, however, felt that the farm was not -quite large enough for his aspirations. I found also that he coveted a -neighboring farm, which, with its stock, was for sale for less than five -thousand dollars. I bought it for him, on condition that he should -continue the care of the old farm, and that the two should be worked -together. I trust that the arrangement will prove beneficial to all -concerned; for there is great pleasure in helping others who try to help -themselves; without such effort on their part, all good offices in their -favor are thrown away,—it is simply attempting to make a sieve hold -water.</p> - -<p>On my tour, in attempting to make the connection from Cleveland, Ohio, -to Fort Wayne, Indiana, via Toledo, I arrived at the latter city at one -o’clock, <small>P.M.</small>, which was about two hours too late to catch the train in -time for the hour announced for my lecture that evening. I went to Mr. -Andrews, the superintendent of the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railway, -and told him I wanted to hire a locomotive and car to run to Fort Wayne, -as I must be there at eight o’clock at night.</p> - -<p>“It is an impossibility,” said Mr. Andrews; “the distance is ninety-four -miles, and no train leaves here till morning. The road is much occupied -by freight trains, and we never run extra trains in this part of the -country, unless the necessity is imperative.”<a name="page_679" id="page_679"></a></p> - -<p>I suppose I looked astonished, as well as chagrined. I knew that if I -missed lecturing in Fort Wayne that evening, I could not appoint another -time for that purpose, for every night was engaged during the next two -months. I also felt that a large number of persons in Fort Wayne would -be disappointed, and I grew desperate. Drawing my wallet from my pocket, -I said:</p> - -<p>“I will give two hundred dollars, and even more, if you say so, to be -put into Fort Wayne before eight o’clock to-night; and, really, I hope -you will accommodate me.”</p> - -<p>The superintendent looked me thoroughly over in half a minute, and I -fancied he had come to the conclusion that I was a burglar, a -counterfeiter, or something worse, fleeing from justice. My surmise was -confirmed, when he slowly remarked:</p> - -<p>“Your business must be very pressing, sir.”</p> - -<p>“It is indeed,” I replied; “I am Barnum, the museum man, and am engaged -to speak in Fort Wayne to-night.”</p> - -<p>He evidently did not catch the whole of my response, for he immediately -said:</p> - -<p>“Oh, it is a show, eh? Where is old Barnum himself?”</p> - -<p>“I am Barnum,” I replied, “and it is a lecture which I am advertised to -give to-night; and I would not disappoint the people for anything.”</p> - -<p>“Is this P. T. Barnum?” said the superintendent, starting to his feet.</p> - -<p>“I am sorry to say it is,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“Well, Mr. Barnum,” said he, earnestly, “if you can stand it to ride to -Fort Wayne in the caboose of a freight train, your well-established -reputation for punctuality<a name="page_680" id="page_680"></a> in keeping your engagements shall not suffer -on account of the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railroad.”</p> - -<p>“Caboose!” said I, with a laugh, “I would ride to Fort Wayne astride of -the engine, or boxed up and stowed away in a freight car, if necessary, -in order to meet my engagement.”</p> - -<p>A freight train was on the point of starting for Fort Wayne; all the -cars were at once ordered to be switched off, except two, which the -superintendent said were necessary to balance the train; the freight -trains on the road were telegraphed to clear the track, and the polite -superintendent pointing to the caboose, invited me to step in. I drew -out my pocket-book to pay, but he smilingly shook his head, and said: -“You have a through ticket from Cleveland to Fort Wayne; hand it to the -freight agent on your arrival, and all will be right.” I was much moved -by this unexpected mark of kindness, and expressing myself to that -effect, I stepped into the caboose, and we started.</p> - -<p>The excited state of mind which I had suffered while under the -impression that the audience in Fort Wayne must be disappointed now -changed, and I felt as happy as a king. In fact, I enjoyed a new -sensation of imperial superiority, in that I was “monarch of all I -surveyed,” emperor of my own train, switching all other trains from the -main track, and making conductors all along the line wonder what grand -mogul had thus taken complete possession and control of the road. -Indeed, as we sped past each train, which stood quietly on a side track -waiting for us to pass, I could not help smiling at the glances of -excited curiosity which were thrown into our car by the agent and -brakemen of the train which had been so peremptorily ordered to clear<a name="page_681" id="page_681"></a></p> - -<p><a name="THE_GREAT_UNKNOWN" id="THE_GREAT_UNKNOWN"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p680_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p680_sml.jpg" width="540" height="360" alt="THE GREAT UNKNOWN." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">THE GREAT UNKNOWN.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">the track; and always stepping at the caboose door, I raised my hat, -receiving in return an almost reverent salute, which the occupants of -the waiting train thought due, no doubt, to the distinguished person for -whom they were ordered by special telegram to make way.</p> - -<p>I now began to reflect that the Fort Wayne lecture committee, upon -discovering that I did not arrive by the regular passenger train, would -not expect me at all, and that probably they might issue small bills -announcing my failure to arrive. I therefore prepared the following -telegram which I despatched to them on our arrival at Napoleon, the -first station at which we stopped:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Lecture Committee, Fort Wayne:—Rest perfectly tranquil. I am to be -delivered at Fort Wayne by contract by half-past seven -o’clock—special train.</p></div> - -<p>At the same station I received a telegram from Mr. Andrews, the -superintendent, asking me how I liked the caboose. I replied:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The springs of the caboose are softer than down; I am as happy as a -clam at high water; I am being carried towards Fort Wayne in a -style never surpassed by Cæsar’s triumphal march into Rome. Hurrah -for the Toledo and Wabash Railroad!</p></div> - -<p>At the invitation of the engineer, I took a ride of twenty miles upon -the locomotive. It fairly made my head swim. I could not reconcile my -mind to the idea that there was no danger; and intimating to the -engineer that it would be a relief to get where I could not see ahead, I -was permitted to crawl back again to the caboose.</p> - -<p>I reached Fort Wayne in ample time for the lecture; and as the committee -had discreetly kept to themselves the fact of my non-arrival by the -regular train, probably not a dozen persons were aware of the trouble I -had taken to fulfil my engagement, till in the course of my lecture, -under the head of “perseverance,” I recounted my day’s adventures, as an -illustration of exercising that<a name="page_682" id="page_682"></a> quality when real necessity demanded. -The Fort Wayne papers of the next day published accounts of “Barnum on a -Locomotive,” and “A Journey in a Caboose”; and as I always had an eye to -advertising, these articles were sent marked to newspapers in towns and -cities where I was to lecture, and of course were copied,—thus -producing the desired effects, first, of informing the public that the -“showman” was coming, and next, assuring the lecture committee that -Barnum would be punctually on hand as advertised, unless prevented by -“circumstances over which he had no control.”</p> - -<p>The managers of railroads running west from Chicago pretty rigidly -enforce a rule excluding from certain reserved cars all gentlemen -travelling without ladies. As I do not smoke, I avoided the smoking -cars; and as the ladies’ car was sometimes more select and always more -comfortable than the other cars, I tried various expedients to smuggle -myself in. If I saw a lady about to enter the car alone, I followed -closely, hoping thus to elude the vigilance of the brakeman, who -generally acted as door-keeper. But the car Cerberus is pretty well up -to all such dodges, and I did not always succeed. On one occasion, -seeing a young couple, evidently just married, and starting on a bridal -tour, about to enter the car, I followed closely, but was stopped by the -door-keeper, who called out:</p> - -<p>“How many gentlemen are with this lady.”</p> - -<p>I have always noticed that young newly-married people are very fond of -saying “my husband” and “my wife;” they are new terms which sound -pleasantly to the ears of those who utter them; so in answer to the -peremptory inquiry of the door-keeper, the bridegroom promptly -responded:</p> - -<p>“I am this lady’s husband.”<a name="page_683" id="page_683"></a></p> - -<p>“And I guess you can see by the resemblance between the lady and -myself,” said I to Cerberus, “that I am her father.”</p> - -<p>The astounded husband and the blushing bride were too much “taken aback” -to deny their newly-discovered parent, but the brakeman said, as he -permitted the young couple to pass into the car:</p> - -<p>“We can’t pass all creation with one lady.”</p> - -<p>“I hope you will not deprive me of the company of my child during the -little time we can remain together,” I said with a demure countenance. -The brakeman evidently sympathized with the fond “parient” whose -feelings were sufficiently lacerated at losing his daughter through her -finding a husband, and I was permitted to pass. I immediately apologized -to the young bride and her husband, and told them who I was, and my -reasons for the assumed paternity, and they enjoyed the joke so heartily -that they called me “father” during our entire journey together. Indeed, -the husband privately and slyly hinted to me that the first boy should -be christened “P. T.” My friend the Rev. Dr. Chapin, by the by an -inveterate punster, is never tired of ringing the changes on the names -in my family; he says that my wife and I are the most sympathetic couple -he ever saw, since she is “Charity” and I am “Pity” (P. T.) On one -occasion, at my house in New York, he called my attention to the -monogram, P. T. B., on the door and said, “I did it,” “Did what,” I -asked: “Why that,” replied the doctor, “P. T. B.,—Pull The Bell, of -course,” thus literally ringing a new change on my initials.</p> - -<p>At another time during my western lecturing trip, I was following -closely in the wake of a lady who was entering the favorite car, when -the brakeman exclaimed;<a name="page_684" id="page_684"></a> “You can’t go in there, sir!”</p> - -<p>“I rather guess I can go in with a lady,” said I, pointing to the one -who had just entered.</p> - -<p>“Not with that lady, old fellow; for I happen to know her, and that is -more than you do; we are up to all these travellers’ tricks out here; -it’s no go.”</p> - -<p>I saw indeed that it was “no go,” and that I must try something else; -“Look here, my dear fellow,” said I; “I am travelling every day on the -railroads, on a lecturing tour throughout the West, and I really hope -you will permit me to take a seat in the ladies’ car. I am Barnum, the -Museum man from New York.”</p> - -<p>Looking sharply at me for an instant, the altogether too wide-awake -brakeman exclaimed: “Not by a d—n sight you ain’t! I know Barnum!”</p> - -<p>I could not help laughing; and pulling several old letters from my -pocket, and showing him the directions on the envelopes, I replied:</p> - -<p>“Well, you may know him, but the ‘old fellow’ has changed in his -appearance, perhaps. You see by these letters that I am the ‘crittur.’ ”</p> - -<p>The brakeman looked astonished, but finally said: “Well, that is a fact -sure enough. I know you when I come to look again, but really I did not -believe you at first. You see we have all sorts of tricks played on us, -and we learn to doubt everybody. You are very welcome to go in, Mr. -Barnum, and I am glad to see you,” and as this conversation was heard -throughout the car, “Barnum, the showman,” was the subject of general -observation and remark.</p> - -<p>I fulfilled my entire engagement, which covered the lecturing season, -and returned to New York greatly pleased with my Western tour. Public -lecturing was<a name="page_685" id="page_685"></a> by no means a new experience with me; for, apart from my -labors in that direction in England, and occasional addresses before -literary and agricultural associations at home, I had been prominently -in the field for many years as a lecturer on temperance. My attention -was turned to this subject in the following manner:</p> - -<p>In the fall of 1847, while exhibiting General Tom Thumb at Saratoga -Springs, where the New York State Fair was then being held, I saw so -much intoxication among men of wealth and intellect, filling the highest -positions in society, that I began to ask myself the question, What -guarantee is there that <i>I</i> may not become a drunkard? and I forthwith -pledged myself at that time never again to partake of any kind of -spirituous liquors as a beverage. True, I continued to partake of wine, -for I had been instructed, in my European tour, that this was one of the -innocent and charming indispensables of life. I however regarded myself -as a good temperance man, and soon began to persuade my friends to -refrain from the intoxicating cup. Seeing need of reform in Bridgeport, -I invited my friend, the Reverend Doctor E. H. Chapin, to visit us, for -the purpose of giving a public temperance lecture. I had never heard him -on that subject, but I knew that on whatever topic he spoke, he was as -logical as he was eloquent.</p> - -<p>He lectured in the Baptist Church in Bridgeport. His subject was -presented in three divisions: The liquor-seller, the moderate drinker, -and the indifferent man. It happened, therefore, that the second, if not -the third clause of the subject, had a special bearing upon me and my -position. The eloquent gentleman overwhelmingly proved that the -so-called respectable<a name="page_686" id="page_686"></a> liquor-seller, in his splendid saloon or hotel -bar, and who sold only to “gentlemen,” inflicted much greater injury -upon the community than a dozen common groggeries—which he abundantly -illustrated. He then took up the “moderate drinker,” and urged that he -was the great stumbling-block to the temperance reform. He it was, and -not the drunkard in the ditch, that the young man looked at as an -example when he took his first glass. That when the drunkard was asked -to sign the pledge, he would reply, “Why should I do so? What harm can -there be in drinking, when such men as respectable Mr. A, and moral Mr. -B drink wine under their own roof?” He urged that the higher a man stood -in the community, the greater was his influence either for good or for -evil. He said to the moderate drinker: “Sir, you either do or you do not -consider it a privation and a sacrifice to give up drinking. Which is -it? If you say that you can drink or let it alone, that you can quit it -forever without considering it a self-denial, then I appeal to you as a -man, to do it for the sake of your suffering fellow-beings.” He further -argued that if it was a self-denial to give up wine-drinking, then -certainly the man should stop, for he was in danger of becoming a -drunkard.</p> - -<p>What Doctor Chapin said produced a deep impression upon my mind, and -after a night of anxious thought, I rose in the morning, took my -champagne bottles, knocked off their heads, and poured their contents -upon the ground. I then called upon Doctor Chapin, asked him for the -teetotal pledge, and signed it. He was greatly surprised in discovering -that I was not already a teetotaler. He supposed such was the case, from -the fact that I had invited him to lecture, and he<a name="page_687" id="page_687"></a> little thought, at -the time of his delivering it, that his argument to the moderate drinker -was at all applicable to me. I felt that I had now a duty to -perform,—to save others, as I had been saved, and on the very morning -when I signed the pledge, I obtained over twenty signatures in -Bridgeport. I talked temperance to all whom I met, and very soon -commenced lecturing upon the subject in the adjacent towns and villages. -I spent the entire winter and spring of 1851-2 in lecturing through my -native State, always travelling at my own expense, and I was glad to -know that I aroused many hundreds, perhaps thousands, to the importance -of the temperance reform. I also lectured frequently in the cities of -New York and Philadelphia, as well as in other towns in the neighboring -States.</p> - -<p>While in Boston with Jenny Lind, I was earnestly solicited to deliver -two temperance lectures in the Tremont Temple, where she gave her -concerts. I did so; and though an admission fee was charged for the -benefit of a benevolent society, the building on each occasion was -crowded. In the course of my tour with Jenny Lind, I was frequently -solicited to lecture on temperance on evenings when she did not sing. I -always complied when it was in my power. In this way I lectured in -Baltimore, Washington, Charleston, New Orleans, Cincinnati, St. Louis, -and other cities, also in the ladies’ saloon of the steamer Lexington, -on Sunday morning. In August, 1853, I lectured in Cleveland, Ohio, and -several other towns, and afterwards in Chicago, Illinois, and in -Kenosha, Wisconsin. An election was to be held in Wisconsin in October, -and the friends of prohibition in that State solicited my services for -the ensuing month, and I could not refuse them. I therefore<a name="page_688" id="page_688"></a> hastened -home to transact some business which required my presence for a few -days, and then returned, and lectured on my way in Toledo, Norwalk, -Ohio, and Chicago, Illinois. I made the tour of the State of Wisconsin, -delivering two lectures per day for four consecutive weeks, to crowded -and attentive audiences.</p> - -<p>My lecture in New Orleans, when I was in that city, was in the great -Lyceum Hall, in St. Charles Street, and I lectured by the invitation of -Mayor Crossman and several other influential gentlemen. The immense hall -contained more than three thousand auditors, including the most -respectable portion of the New Orleans public. I was in capital humor, -and had warmed myself into a pleasant state of excitement, feeling that -the audience was with me. While in the midst of an argument illustrating -the poisonous and destructive nature of alcohol to the animal economy, -some opponent called out, “How does it affect us, externally or -internally?”</p> - -<p>“<i>E</i>-ternally,” I replied.</p> - -<p>I have scarcely ever heard more tremendous merriment than that which -followed this reply, and the applause was so prolonged that it was some -minutes before I could proceed.</p> - -<p>On the first evening when I lectured in Cleveland, Ohio, (it was in the -Baptist Church,) I commenced in this wise: “If there are any ladies or -gentlemen present who have never suffered in consequence of the use of -intoxicating drinks as a beverage, either directly, or in the person of -a dear relative or friend, I will thank them to rise.” A man with a -tolerably glowing countenance arose. “Had you never a friend who was -intemperate?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“Never!” was the positive reply.<a name="page_689" id="page_689"></a></p> - -<p>A giggle ran through the opposition portion of the audience. “Really, my -friends,” I said, “I feel constrained to make a proposition which I did -not anticipate. I am, as you are all aware, a showman, and I am always -on the lookout for curiosities. This gentleman is a stranger to me, but -if he will satisfy me to-morrow morning that he is a man of credibility, -and that no friend of his was ever intemperate, I will be glad to engage -him for ten weeks at $200 per week, to exhibit him in my American Museum -in New York, as the greatest curiosity in this country.”</p> - -<p>A laugh that was a laugh followed this announcement.</p> - -<p>“They may laugh, but it is a fact,” persisted my opponent with a look of -dogged tenacity.</p> - -<p>“The gentleman still insists that it is a fact,” I replied. “I would -like, therefore, to make one simple qualification to my offer, I made it -on the supposition that, at some period of his life, he had friends. Now -if he never had any friends, I withdraw my offer; otherwise, I will -stick to it.”</p> - -<p>This, and the shout of laughter that ensued, was too much for the -gentleman, and he sat down. I noticed throughout my speech that he paid -strict attention, and frequently indulged in a hearty laugh. At the -close of the lecture he approached me, and extending his hand, which I -readily accepted, he said, “I was particularly green in rising to-night. -Having once stood up, I was determined not to be put down, but your last -remark fixed me!” He then complimented me very highly on the -reasonableness of my arguments, and declared that ever afterwards he -would be found on the side of temperance.<a name="page_690" id="page_690"></a></p> - -<p>Among the most gratifying incidents of my life have been several of a -similar nature to the following: After a temperance speech in -Philadelphia, a man about thirty years of age came forward, signed the -teetotal pledge, and then, giving me his hand, he said, “Mr. Barnum, you -have this night saved me from ruin. For the last two years I have been -in the habit of tippling, and it has kept me continually under the -harrow. This gentleman (pointing to a person at his side) is my partner -in business, and I know he is glad I have signed the pledge to-night.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed I am, George, and it is the best thing you ever did,” -replied his partner, “if you’ll only stick to it.”</p> - -<p>“That will I do till the day of my death; and won’t my dear little wife -Mary cry for joy to-night, when I tell her what I have done!” he -exclaimed in great exultation. At that moment he was a happy man, but he -could not have been more so than I was.</p> - -<p>Sir William Don—who came to this country and acted in several theatres, -afterwards going to Australia, and dying, I believe, soon after his -return to England—once heard me lecture, and immediately afterwards -came forward and signed the pledge. He kept it for a short period only, -although when he signed, he said that strong drink was the bane of his -life. It is the one bane of too many brilliant men, who but for this one -misfortune might attain almost every desirable success in life.</p> - -<p>I may add, that I have lectured in Montreal, Canada, and many towns and -cities in the United States, at my own expense. One of the greatest -consolations I now enjoy is that of believing I have carried happiness -to<a name="page_691" id="page_691"></a> the bosom of many a family. In the course of my life I have written -much for newspapers, on various subjects, and always with earnestness, -but in none of these have I felt so deep an interest as in that of the -temperance reform. Were it not for this fact, I should be reluctant to -mention, that besides numerous articles for the daily and weekly press, -I wrote a little tract on “The Liquor Business,” which expresses my -practical view of the use and traffic in intoxicating drinks. In every -one of my temperance lectures since the beginning of the year 1869, I -have regularly read the following report, made by Mr. T. T. Cortis, -Overseer of the Poor in Vineland, New Jersey:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>Though we have a population of 10,000 people, for the period of six -months no settler or citizen of Vineland has required relief at my -hands as Overseer of the Poor. Within seventy days, there has only -been one case among what we call the floating population, at the -expense of $4.00. During the entire year, there has only been but -one indictment, and that a trifling case of assault and battery, -among our colored population. So few are the fires in Vineland, -that we have no need of a fire department. There has only been one -house burnt down in a year, and two slight fires, which were soon -put out. We practically have no debt, and our taxes are only one -per cent on the valuation. The police expenses of Vineland amount -to $75.00 per year, the sum paid to me; and our poor expenses a -mere trifle. I ascribe this remarkable state of things, so nearly -approaching the golden age, to the industry of our people, and the -absence of King Alcohol. Let me give you, in contrast to this, the -state of things in the town from which I came, in New England. The -population of the town was 9,500—a little less than that of -Vineland. It maintained forty liquor shops. These kept busy a -police judge, city marshal, assistant marshal, four night watchmen, -six policemen. Fires were almost continual. That small place -maintained a paid fire department, of four companies, of forty men -each, at an expense of $3,000.00 per annum. I belonged to this -department for six years, and the fires averaged about one every -two weeks, and mostly incendiary. The support of the poor cost -$2,500.00 per annum. The debt of the township was $120,000.00. The -condition of things in this New England town is as favorable in -that country as that of many other places where liquor is sold.</p></div> - -<p>It seems to me that there is an amount of overwhelming testimony and -unanswerable argument in this one brief extract, that makes it in itself -one of the most perfect and powerful temperance lectures ever written.<a name="page_692" id="page_692"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLIII" id="CHAPTER_XLIII"></a>CHAPTER XLIII.<br /><br /> -<small>THE NEW MUSEUM.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">A GIGANTIC AMUSEMENT COMPANY—IMMENSE ADDITIONS TO THE NEW -COLLECTION—CURIOSITIES FROM EVERYWHERE—THE GORDON CUMMINGS -COLLECTION FROM AFRICA—THE GORILLA—WHAT THE PAPERS SAID ABOUT THE -MONSTER—MY PRIVATE VIEW OF THE ANIMAL—AMUSING INTERVIEW WITH PAUL -DU CHAILLU—A SUPERB MENAGERIE—THE NEW THEATRE—PROJECT FOR A FREE -NATIONAL INSTITUTION—MESSRS. E. D. MORGAN, WILLIAM C. BRYANT, -HORACE GREELEY AND OTHERS FAVOR MY PLAN—PRESIDENT JOHNSON INDORSES -IT—DESTRUCTION OF MY SECOND MUSEUM BY FIRE—THE ICE-CLAD RUINS—A -SAD, YET SPLENDID SPECTACLE—OUT OF THE BUSINESS—FOOT RACES AT THE -WHITE MOUNTAINS—HOW I WAS NOT BEATEN—OPENING OF WOOD’S MUSEUM IN -NEW YORK—MY ONLY INTEREST IN THE ENTERPRISE.</p></div> - -<p>M<small>Y</small> new Museum on Broadway was liberally patronized from the start, but I -felt that still more attractions were necessary in order to insure -constant success. I therefore made arrangements with the renowned Van -Amburgh Menagerie Company to unite their entire collection of living -wild animals with the Museum. The new company was known as the “Barnum -and Van Amburgh Museum and Menagerie Company,” and as such was chartered -by the Connecticut Legislature, the New York Legislature having refused -us a charter unless I would “see” the “ring” a thousand dollars’ worth, -which I declined. I owned forty per cent and the Van Amburgh Company -held the remaining sixty per cent in the new enterprise, which -comprehended a large travelling menagerie through the country in summer, -and the placing of the wild animals in the Museum<a name="page_693" id="page_693"></a> in winter. The -capital of the company was one million of dollars, with the privilege of -doubling the amount. As one of the conditions of the new arrangement, it -was stipulated that I should withdraw from all active personal attention -to the Museum, but should permit my name to be announced as General -Manager, and I was also elected President of the company. This -arrangement gave me the comparative tranquillity which I now began to -desire. I spent most of my time in Bridgeport, except in winter, when I -resided in New York. I usually visited the Museum about once a week, but -sometimes was absent for several months.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, immense additions were made to the curiosity departments of -the new Museum. Every penny of the profits of this Museum and of the two -immense travelling menageries of wild animals was expended in procuring -additional attractions for our patrons. Among other valuable novelties -introduced in this establishment was the famous collection made by the -renowned lion-slayer, Gordon Cummings. This was purchased for me by my -faithful friend, Mr. George A. Wells, who was then travelling in Great -Britain with General Tom Thumb. The collection consisted of many -hundreds of skins, tusks, heads and skeletons of nearly every species of -African animal, including numerous rare specimens never before exhibited -on this continent. It was a great Museum in itself, and as such had -attracted much attention in London and elsewhere, but it was a mere -addition to our Museum and Menagerie; and was exhibited without extra -charge for admission.</p> - -<p>In the summer of 1867, I saw in several New York papers a thrilling -account of an immense gorilla, which had arrived from Africa in charge -of Barnum’s agent,<a name="page_694" id="page_694"></a> for the Barnum and Van Amburgh Company. The accounts -described the removal of the savage animal in a strong iron cage from -the ship, and his transportation up Broadway to the museum. His cries -and roarings were said to have been terrible, and when he was taken into -the menagerie, he was reported to have bent the heavy iron bars of his -cage, and in his rage to have seized a poker which was thrust at him, -and to have twisted it as if it had been a bit of wire. Nothing so -startlingly sensational in the line of zoölogical description had -appeared since the <i>Tribune’s</i> famous report of the burning of the -American Museum, in 1865.</p> - -<p>For several years I had been trying to secure such an animal, and -several African travellers had promised to do their best to procure one -for me; and I had offered as high as $20,000 for the delivery in New -York of a full-grown, healthy gorilla. From the minute description now -given by the reporters, I was convinced that, at last, the long-sought -prize had been secured. I was greatly elated, and at once wrote from -Bridgeport to our manager, Mr. Ferguson, advising him how to exhibit the -valuable animal, and particularly how to preserve its precious life as -long as might be possible. I have owned many ourang-outangs, and all of -them die ultimately of pulmonary disease; indeed, it is difficult to -keep specimens of the monkey tribe through the winter in our climate, on -account of their tendency to consumption. I therefore advised Mr. -Ferguson to have a cage so constructed that no draught of air could pass -through it, and I further instructed him in methods of guarding against -the gorilla’s taking cold.</p> - -<p>A few days later I went to New York expressly to see the gorilla, and on -visiting the Museum, I was vexed<a name="page_695" id="page_695"></a> beyond measure to find that the animal -was simply a huge baboon! He was chained down, so that he could not -stand erect, nor turn his back to visitors. His keeper could easily -irritate him, and when the animal was excited, he would seize the iron -bars with both hands, and, uttering horrid screams, would shake the cage -so fiercely that it could be heard and “felt” in the adjoining saloons. -No doubt many of the visitors recalled Du Chaillu’s accounts of the -genuine gorilla, and were convinced that the veritable animal was before -them. But I had been too long in the business to be caught by such -chaff, and approaching the keeper, I asked him why he did not lengthen -the chain, so that the animal could stand up?</p> - -<p>“Because, if I do, he will show his tail,” the keeper confidentially -whispered in my ear.</p> - -<p>The imposition was so silly and transparent that I did not care how soon -it was exposed. As usual, however, I looked at the funny side of the -matter, and immediately enclosed a ticket to my friend Mr. Paul Du -Chaillu, who was then stopping at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, at the same -time writing to the great African traveller, that, much as he had done; -the Barnum and Van Amburgh Company had done more, since he had only -killed gorillas, while we had secured a living one, and brought the -monster safely from Africa to America. I informed him, moreover, that -all the gorillas he had seen and described were tailless, while our far -more remarkable specimen had a tail full four feet long!</p> - -<p>Mr. Du Chaillu came into the Museum that afternoon, in great glee, with -my open letter in his hand.</p> - -<p>“Ah, Mr. Barnum,” he exclaimed, “this is the funniest letter I ever -received. Of course, you know your<a name="page_696" id="page_696"></a> gorilla’ is no gorilla at all, but -only a baboon. I will not look at him, for when people ask me about -‘Barnum’s gorilla,’ I prefer to be able to say that I have not seen -him.”</p> - -<p>“On the contrary,” said I, “I particularly desire that you should see -the animal, and expose it. The imposition is too ridiculous.”</p> - -<p>“True; but I think your letter is more curious than your animal.”</p> - -<p>“Then I give you full leave to read the letter to all who ask you about -the ‘gorilla.’ ”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” said Du Chaillu, “and I wish you would let me read it in my -lectures at the West, where I am soon going on a tour.”</p> - -<p>I consented that he should do so, and I afterwards heard that he was -delighting as well as enlightening western audiences on the subject of -Manager Ferguson’s management of the great “gorilla” in the Barnum and -Van Amburgh Museum and Menagerie.</p> - -<p>The menagerie of living animals was superior in extent to any other -similar collection in America, embracing, as it did, almost every -description of wild animal ever exhibited, including the smallest -African elephant, and the only living giraffe then in the United States. -The collection of lions and royal Bengal tigers was superb. There was a -cage full of young lions that attracted great attention, and the whole -menagerie was an exceedingly valuable one. When I say that to these -attractions was added an able dramatic company, which performed every -afternoon and evening, and that the admission to the entire -establishment was but thirty cents, with no extra charge, except for a -few front seats and private boxes, it is no wonder that this immense<a name="page_697" id="page_697"></a> -building, five stories high, and covering ground seventy-five by two -hundred feet in area, was thronged “from sunrise to ten P. M.,” and from -top to bottom, with country and city visitors, of both sexes and all -ages. The public was soon thoroughly convinced of the facts; first, that -never before was such an outlay made for so great an assemblage of -useful and amusing attractions, combining instruction with amusement, -and thrown open to the people at so small a charge for admission; and -second, that the surest way of deriving the greatest profit, in the long -run, is to give people as much as possible for their money. That these -facts were fully impressed upon our patrons is instanced in the monthly -returns made to the United States Collector of Internal Revenue for the -district, which showed that our receipts were larger than those of -Wallack’s Theatre, Niblo’s Garden, or any other theatre or place of -amusement in New York, or in America.</p> - -<p>Anxious to gather curiosities from every quarter of the globe, I sent -Mr. John Greenwood, junior, (who went for me to the isle of Cyprus and -to Constantinople, in 1864,) on the “Quaker City” excursion, which left -New York June 8, 1867, and returned in the following November. During -his absence Mr. Greenwood travelled 17,735 miles, and brought back -several interesting relics from the Holy Land, which were duly deposited -in the Museum.</p> - -<p>Very soon after entering upon the premises, I built a new and larger -lecture room, which was one of the most commodious and complete theatres -in New York, and I largely increased the dramatic company. Our -collection swelled so rapidly that we were obliged to extend our -premises by the addition of another building, forty by<a name="page_698" id="page_698"></a> one hundred -feet, adjoining the Museum. This addition gave us several new halls, -which were speedily filled with curiosities. The rapid expansion of the -establishment, and the immense interest excited in the public mind led -me to consider a plan I had long contemplated, of taking some decided -steps towards the foundation of a great free institution, which should -be similar to and in some respects superior to the British Museum in -London. “The Barnum and Van Amburgh Museum and Menagerie Company,” -chartered with a capital of $2,000,000 had, in addition to the New York -establishment, thirty acres of land in Bridgeport, whereon it was -proposed to erect suitable buildings and glass and wire edifices for -breeding and acclimating rare animals and birds, and training such of -them as were fit for public performances. In time, a new building in New -York, covering a whole square, and farther up town, would be needed for -the mammoth exhibition, and I was not with out hopes that I might be the -means of establishing permanently in the city an extensive zoölogical -garden.</p> - -<p>It was also my intention ultimately to make my Museum the nucleus of a -great free national institution. When the American Museum was burned, -and I turned my attention to the collection of fresh curiosities, I felt -that I needed other assistance than that of my own agents in America and -Europe. It occurred to me that if our government representatives abroad -would but use their influence to secure curiosities in the respective -countries to which they were delegated, a free public Museum might at -once be begun in New York, and I proposed to offer a part of my own -establishment rent-free for the deposit and exhibition of such rarities -as might be collected in this way. Accordingly, a week after the<a name="page_699" id="page_699"></a> -destruction of the American Museum, a memorial was addressed to the -President of the United States, asking him to give his sanction to the -new effort to furnish the means of useful information and wholesome -amusement, and to give such instructions to public officers abroad as -would enable them, without any conflict with their legitimate duties, to -give efficiency to this truly national movement for the advancement of -the public good, without cost to the government. This memorial was dated -July 20, 1865, and was signed by Messrs. E. D. Morgan, Moses Taylor, -Abram Wakeman, Simeon Draper, Moses H. Grinnell, Stephen Knapp, Benjamin -R. Winthrop, Charles Gould, Wm. C. Bryant, James Wadsworth, Tunis W. -Quick, John A. Pitkin, Willis Gaylord, Prosper M. Wetmore, Henry Ward -Beecher, and Horace Greeley. This memorial was in due time presented, -and was indorsed as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C.</span><br /> -<br /> -April 27, 1866.<br /> -</p> - -<p>The purpose set forth in this Memorial is highly approved and -commended, and our Ministers, Consuls and commercial agents are -requested to give whatever influence in carrying out the object -within stated they may deem compatible with the duties of their -respective positions, and not inconsistent with the public -interests.</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">Andrew Johnson.</span>”<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>I went to Washington myself, and had interviews with the President, -Secretaries Seward, McCulloch and Welles, and also with Assistant -Secretary of the Navy, G. V. Fox, who gave me several muskets and other -“rebel trophies.” During my stay at the capital I had a pleasant -interview with General Grant, who told me he had lately visited my -Museum with one of his sons, and had been greatly gratified. Upon my -mentioning, among other projects, that I had an idea of collecting the -hats of distinguished individuals, he at once offered to send an orderly -for the hat he had worn during his<a name="page_700" id="page_700"></a> principal campaigns. All these -gentlemen cordially approved of my plan for the establishment of a -National Museum in New York.</p> - -<p>But before this plan could be put into effective operation, an event -occurred which is now to be narrated: The winter of 1867-68 was one of -the coldest that had been known for years, and some thirty severe -snowstorms occurred during the season. On Tuesday morning, March 3d, -1868, it was bitter cold. A heavy body of snow was on the ground, and as -I sat at the breakfast table with my wife and an esteemed lady guest, -the wife of my excellent friend Rev. A. C. Thomas, I read aloud the -general news from the morning papers. Leisurely turning to the local -columns, I said, “Hallo! Barnum’s Museum is burned.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said my wife, with an incredulous smile, “I suspect it is.”</p> - -<p>“It is a fact,” said I, “just listen; ‘Barnum’s Museum totally destroyed -by fire.’ ”</p> - -<p>This was read so coolly, and I showed so little excitement, that both of -the ladies supposed I was joking. My wife simply remarked:</p> - -<p>“Yes, it was totally destroyed two years ago, but Barnum built another -one.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and that is burned,” I replied; “now listen,” and I proceeded very -calmly to read the account of the fire. Mrs. Thomas, still believing -from my manner that it was a joke, stole slyly behind my chair, and -looking over my shoulder at the newspaper, she exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“Why, Mrs. Barnum, the Museum is really burned. Here is the whole -account of it in this morning’s paper.”</p> - -<p>“Of course it is,” I remarked, with a smile, “how could you think I -could joke on such a serious subject!”<a name="page_701" id="page_701"></a></p> - -<p>It was indeed too true, and the subject was no doubt “serious” enough; -in fact the pecuniary blow was perhaps even heavier than the loss of the -other Museum, especially as there was probably no Bennett around who -would give me $200,000 for a lease! But during my whole life I had been -so much accustomed to operations of magnitude for or against my -interests, that large losses or gains were not apt to disturb my -tranquillity. Indeed, my second daughter calling in soon after, and -seeing how coolly I took the disaster, said that her husband had -remarked that morning, “Your father wont care half so much about it as -he would if his pocket had been picked of fifty dollars. That would have -vexed him, but he will take this heavier loss as simply the fortune of -war.”</p> - -<p>And this was very nearly the fact. Yet the loss was a large one, and the -complete frustration of our plans for the future was a serious -consideration. But worse than all were the sufferings of the poor wild -animals which were burned to death in their cages. A very few only of -these animals were saved. Even the people who were sleeping in the -building barely escaped with their lives, and next to nothing else, so -sudden was the fire and so rapid its progress. The papers of the -following morning contained full accounts of the fire; and editorial -writers, while manifesting much sympathy for the proprietors, also -expressed profound regret that so magnificent a collection, especially -in the zoölogical department, should be lost to the city.</p> - -<p>The cold was so intense that the water froze almost as soon as it left -the hose of the fire engines; and when at last everything was destroyed, -except the front granite wall of the Museum building, that and the -ladder,<a name="page_702" id="page_702"></a> signs, and lamp-posts in front, were covered in a gorgeous -frame-work of transparent ice, which made it altogether one of the most -picturesque scenes imaginable. Thousands of persons congregated daily in -that locality in order to get a view of the magnificent ruins. By -moonlight the ice-coated ruins were still more sublime; and for many -days and nights the old Museum was “the observed of all observers,” and -photographs were taken by several artists.</p> - -<p>When the Museum was burnt, I was nearly ready to bring out a new -spectacle, for which a very large extra company had been engaged, and on -which a considerable sum of money had been expended in scenery, -properties, costumes, and especially in enlarging the stage. I had -expended altogether some $78,000 in building the new lecture-room, and -in refitting the saloons. The curiosities were inventoried by the -manager, Mr. Ferguson, at $288,000. I bought the real estate only a -little while before the fire, for $460,000, and there was an insurance -on the whole of $160,000; and in June, 1868, I sold the lots on which -the building stood for $432,000. The cause of the fire was a defective -flue in a restaurant in the basement of the building.</p> - -<p>Thus by the destruction of Iranistan, and two Museums, about a million -of dollars’ worth of my property had been destroyed by fire, and I was -not now long in making up my mind to follow Mr. Greeley’s advice on a -former occasion, to “take this fire as a notice to quit, and go -a-fishing.”</p> - -<p>We all know how difficult it is for a person to stop when he is engaged -in business, and how seldom it is that we find a man who thinks he has -accumulated money enough, and is willing to cease trying to make<a name="page_703" id="page_703"></a></p> - -<p><a name="AFTER_THE_FIRE" id="AFTER_THE_FIRE"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p702_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p702_sml.jpg" width="541" height="363" alt="AFTER THE FIRE" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">AFTER THE FIRE</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">more. An active business life, like everything else, becomes a habit, -and the strife for success in business, through all the changes of -fortune, and ups and downs of trade, becomes an infatuation akin to that -which spurs the gambler. Hence, men often pursue their money-getting -occupations long after the necessity therefor has ceased. Of course, by -wedding themselves to this one ambition they forego many of the higher -pleasures of life, and though they have a vague idea of that “good time -coming,” when they are going to take things easy and enjoy themselves, -that time never comes. Men who are entirely idle are the most miserable -creatures in the world; but when by arduous toil they have secured a -competence, and especially when they have reached a point in life where -they are conscious of a waning of their vital energies, we must admit -that they are unwise if they do not slip out of active business, and -devote a large portion of their time to intellectual pursuits, social -enjoyments, and, if they have not done so through life, to serious -reflections on the ends and aims of human existence.</p> - -<p>It is, perhaps, possible that notwithstanding the active life I have -led, I have after all a lazy streak in my composition; at all events, I -confess it was with no small degree of satisfaction that by this last -burning of the Museum, notwithstanding the serious pecuniary loss it -proved to me, I discovered a way open through which I could retire to a -more quiet and tranquil mode of life. I therefore at once dissolved with -the Van Amburgh Company, and sold out to them all my interest in the -personal property of the concern. I was, however, beset on every side to -start another Museum, and men of capital offered to raise a million of -dollars if necessary,<a name="page_704" id="page_704"></a> for that purpose, provided I would undertake its -management. My constant reply was, “lead me not into temptation.” I felt -that I had enough to live on, and I earnestly believed the doctrine laid -down in my lecture on “Money Getting,” in regard to the danger of -leaving too much property to children.</p> - -<p>As I now had something like real leisure at my disposal, in the summer -of 1868 I made my third visit to the White Mountains. To me, the -locality and scene are ever fresh and ever wonderful. From the top of -Mount Washington, one can see on every side within a radius of forty -miles peaks piled on peaks, with smiling valleys here and there between, -and, on a very clear day, the Atlantic Ocean off Portland, Maine, is -distinctly visible—sixty miles away. Beauty, grandeur, sublimity, and -the satisfaction of almost every sense combine to remind one of the -ejaculation of that devout English soul who exclaims: “Look around with -pleasure, and upward with gratitude.”</p> - -<p>At the Profile House, near the Notch, in the Franconia range, I met many -acquaintances, some of whom had been there with their families for -several weeks. When tired of scenery-hunting and hill-climbing, and -thrown entirely upon their own resources, they had invented a “sell” -which they perpetrated upon every new-comer. Naturally enough, as I was -considered a capital subject for their fun, before I had been there half -an hour they had made all the arrangements to take me in. The “sell” -consisted in getting up a footrace in which all were to join, and at the -word “go” the contestants were to start and run across the open space in -front of the hotel to a fence opposite, while the last man who should -touch the rail must treat the crowd.<a name="page_705" id="page_705"></a></p> - -<p><a name="BARNUM_FIVE_SECONDS_AHEAD" id="BARNUM_FIVE_SECONDS_AHEAD"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p705_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p705_sml.jpg" width="523" height="354" alt="BARNUM FIVE SECONDS AHEAD" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">BARNUM FIVE SECONDS AHEAD</span> -</div> - -<p>Of course, no one touched the rail at all, except the victim. I -suspected no trick, but tried to avoid the race, urging in excuse that I -was too old, too corpulent, and besides, as they knew, I was a -teetotaler and would not drink their liquor.</p> - -<p>“Oh, drink lemonade, if you like,” they said, “but no backing out; and -as for corpulence, here is Stephen, our old stage-driver, who weighs -three hundred, and he shall run with the rest.”</p> - -<p>And in good truth, Stephen, in a warm day especially, would be likely to -“run” with the best of them; but I did not know then that Stephen was -the stool-pigeon whom they kept to entrap unwary and verdant youths like -myself; so looking at his portly form I at once agreed that if Stephen -ran I would, as I knew that for a stout man I was pretty quick on my -feet. Accordingly, at the word “go,” I started and ran as if the -traditional enemy of mankind were in me or after me, but before I had -accomplished half the distance, I wondered why at least, one or two of -the crowd had not outstripped me, for, in fact, Stephen was the only one -whom I expected to beat. Looking back and at once comprehending the -“sell,” I decided not to be sold. A correspondent of the New York <i>Sun</i> -told how I escaped the trick and the penalty, and how I subsequently -paid off the tricksters, in a letter from which I quote the following:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Barnum threw up his hands before arriving at the railing, and did -not touch it at all! It was acknowledged on all sides that the -‘biters were bit.’ ‘But you ran well,’ said those who intended the -‘sell.’ ‘Yes,’ replied Barnum in high glee, ‘I ran better than I -did for Congress; but I was not green enough to touch the rail!’ Of -course a roar of laughter followed, and the ‘sellers’ resolved to -try the game the next morning on some other new-comer; but their -luck had evidently deserted them, for the next man also ‘smelt a -rat,’ and holding up his hands refused to touch the rail. The two -successive failures dampened the ardor of the “sellers,” and they -relinquished that trick as a bad job. But the way Barnum sold -nearly the whole crowd of ‘sellers,’ in detail, on the following -afternoon, by the old ‘sliver trick,’ was a caution to sore sides. -So much laughing<a name="page_706" id="page_706"></a> in one day was probably never before done in that -locality. One after another succeeded in extracting from the palm -of Barnum’s hand what each at first supposed was a tormenting -‘sliver,’ but which turned out to be a ‘broom splinter’ a foot long -which was hidden up B.’s sleeve, except the small point which -appeared from under the end of his thumb, apparently protruding -from under the skin of his palm. One ‘weak brother’ nearly fainted -as he saw come forth some twelve inches of what he at first -supposed was a ‘sliver,’ but which he was now thoroughly convinced -was one of the nerves from Barnum’s arm. Mr. O’Brien, the Wall -Street banker, was the first victim. When asked what he thought -upon seeing such a long ‘sliver’ coming from Barnum’s hand, he -solemnly replied, ‘I thought he was a dead man!’ It was -acknowledged by all that Barnum gave them a world of ‘fun,’ and -that he and his friends left the Profile House with flying colors.”</p></div> - -<p>During the year, Mr. George Wood, a most successful and enterprising -manager, had been engaged in enlarging and refitting Banvard’s building, -at the corner of Broadway and Thirteenth Street, for a Museum and -theatre; and wishing to avoid my competition in the business, he -proposed, that for a consideration, to be governed to some degree by the -receipts, I should bind myself to have no other interest in any Museum -or place of amusement in New York, and that I should give him the -benefit of my experience, influence and information, and thus aid in -advancing his interests and in building up and carrying out his -enterprise. His proposition fully met my views, and I accepted it. -Without incurring risk or responsibility, I could occupy portions of my -time, which otherwise, perhaps, might drag heavily on my hands; my mind -especially would be employed in matters with which I was familiar, and I -might gratify my desire to assist in catering to the healthful, -wholesome amusement of the rising generation and the public. I should -not rust out; and, moreover, the new museum would afford me a pleasant -place to drop into when I felt inclined to do so. Nothing in this -arrangement compelled my presence in New York, or even in the United -States; I could go when and where I<a name="page_707" id="page_707"></a> chose, and could continue to be, as -I hope to be for the rest of my life, “a man of leisure,” which in my -case, and according to my construction, is far from being a man of -idleness.</p> - -<p>While I was at the White Mountains, I received a telegram from Mr. -George Wood, stating that he could not consider his list of curiosities -complete unless I would consent to be present at the opening of his -Museum, and I accordingly waived all my chances in any intended foot -races, and hastened to New York, making at Mr. Wood’s request the -opening address in his new establishment, August 31, 1868.<a name="page_708" id="page_708"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLIV" id="CHAPTER_XLIV"></a>CHAPTER XLIV.<br /><br /> -<small>CURIOUS COINCIDENCES.—NUMBER THIRTEEN.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS—UNLUCKY FRIDAY—UNFORTUNATE SATURDAY—RAINY -SUNDAYS—TERRIBLE THIRTEEN—THE BRETTELLS OF LONDON—INCIDENTS OF -MY WESTERN TRIP—SINGULAR FATALITY—NUMBER THIRTEEN IN EVERY -HOTEL—NO ESCAPE FROM THE FRIGHTFUL FIGURE—ADVICE OF A CLERICAL -FRIEND—THE THIRTEEN COLONIES—THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OF -CORINTHIANS—THIRTEEN AT MY CHRISTMAS DINNER PARTY—THIRTEEN -DOLLARS AT A FAIR—TWO DISASTROUS DAYS—THE THIRTEENTH DAY IN TWO -MONTHS—THIRTEEN PAGES OF MANUSCRIPT.</p></div> - -<p>I<small>N</small> the summer of 1868, a lady who happened to be at that time an inmate -of my family, upon hearing me say that I supposed we must remove into -our summer residence on Thursday, because our servants might not like to -go on Friday, remarked:</p> - -<p>“What nonsense that is! It is astonishing that some persons are so -foolish as to think there is any difference in the days. I call it rank -heathenism to be so superstitious as to think one day is lucky and -another unlucky”; and then, in the most innocent manner possible, she -added: “I would not like to remove on a Saturday myself, for they say -people who remove on the last day of the week don’t stay long.”</p> - -<p>Of course this was too refreshing a case of undoubted superstition to be -permitted to pass without a hearty laugh from all who heard it.</p> - -<p>I suppose most of us have certain superstitions, imbibed in our youth, -and still lurking more or less faintly in our minds. Many would not like -to acknowledge<a name="page_709" id="page_709"></a> that they had any choice whether they commenced a new -enterprise on a Friday or on a Monday, or whether they first saw the new -moon over the right or left shoulder. And yet, perhaps, a large portion -of these same persons will be apt to observe it when they happen to do -anything which popular superstition calls “unlucky.” It is a common -occurrence with many to immediately make a secret “wish” if they happen -to use the same expression at the same moment when a friend with whom -they are conversing makes it; nevertheless these persons would protest -against being considered superstitious,—indeed, probably they are not -so in the full meaning of the word.</p> - -<p>Several years ago an old lady who was a guest at my house, remarked on a -rainy Sunday:</p> - -<p>“This is the first Sunday in the month, and now it will rain every -Sunday in the month; that is a sign which never fails, for I have -noticed it many a time.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” I remarked, smiling, “watch closely this time, and if it rains -on the next three Sundays I will give you a new silk dress.”</p> - -<p>She was in high glee, and replied:</p> - -<p>“Well, you have lost that dress, as sure as you are born.”</p> - -<p>The following Sunday it did indeed rain.</p> - -<p>“Ah, ha!” exclaimed the old lady, “what did I tell you? I knew it would -rain.”</p> - -<p>I smiled, and said, “all right, watch for next Sunday.”</p> - -<p>And surely enough the next Sunday it did rain, harder than on either of -the preceding Sundays.</p> - -<p>“Now, what do you think?” said the old lady, solemnly. “I tell you that -sign never fails. It wont do to doubt the ways of Providence,” she added -with a<a name="page_710" id="page_710"></a> sigh, “for His ways are mysterious and past finding out.”</p> - -<p>The following Sunday the sun rose in a cloudless sky, and not the -slightest appearance of rain was manifested through the day. The old -lady was greatly disappointed, and did not like to hear any allusion to -the subject; but two years afterwards, when she was once more my guest, -it again happened to rain on the first Sunday in the month, and I heard -her solemnly predict that it would, every succeeding Sunday in the -month, for, she remarked, “it is a sign that never fails.” She had -forgotten the failure of two years before; indeed, the continuance and -prevalence of many popular superstitions is due to the fact that we -notice the “sign” when it happens to be verified, and do not observe it, -or we forget it, when it fails. Many persons are exceedingly -superstitious in regard to the number “thirteen.” This is particularly -the case, I have noticed, in Catholic countries I have visited, and I -have been told that superstition originated in the fact of a thirteenth -apostle having been chosen, on account of the treachery of Judas. At any -rate, I have known numbers of French persons who had quite a horror of -this fatal number. Once I knew a French lady who had taken passage in an -ocean steamer, and who, on going aboard, and finding her assigned -state-room to be “No. 13,” insisted upon it that she would not sail in -the ship at all; she had rather forfeit her passage money, though -finally she was persuaded to take another room. And a great many people, -French, English, and American will not undertake any important -enterprise on the thirteenth day of the month, nor sit at table with the -full complement of thirteen persons. With regard to this<a name="page_711" id="page_711"></a> number to -which so many superstitions cling, I have some interesting experiences -and curious coincidences, which are worth relating as a part of my -personal history.</p> - -<p>When I was first in England with General Tom Thumb, I well remember -dining one Christmas day with my friends, the Brettells, in St. James’s -Palace, in London. Just before the dinner was finished (it is a wonder -it was not noticed before) it was discovered that the number at table -was exactly thirteen.</p> - -<p>“How very unfortunate,” remarked one of the guests; “I would not have -dined under such circumstances for any consideration, had I known it!”</p> - -<p>“Nor I either,” seriously remarked another guest.</p> - -<p>“Do you really suppose there is any truth in the old superstition on -that subject?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“Truth!” solemnly replied an old lady. “Truth! Why I myself have known -three instances, and have heard of scores of others, where thirteen -persons have eaten at the same table, and in every case one of the -number died before the year was out!”</p> - -<p>This assertion, made with so much earnestness, evidently affected -several of the guests, whose nerves were easily excited. I can -truthfully state, however, that I dined at the Palace again the -following Christmas, and although there were seventeen persons present, -every one of the original thirteen who dined there the preceding -Christmas, was among this number, and all in good health; although, of -course, it would have been nothing very remarkable if one had happened -to have died during the last twelve months.</p> - -<p>While I was on my Western lecturing tour in 1866, long before I got out -of Illinois, I began to observe<a name="page_712" id="page_712"></a> that at the various hotels where I -stopped my room very frequently was No. 13. Indeed, it seemed as if this -number turned up to me as often as four times per week, and so before -many days I almost expected to have that number set down to my name -wherever I signed it upon the register of the hotel. Still, I laughed to -myself, at what I was convinced was simply a coincidence. On one -occasion I was travelling from Clinton to Mount Vernon, Iowa, and was to -lecture in the college of the latter place that evening. Ordinarily, I -should have arrived at two o’clock P. M.; but owing to an accident which -had occurred to the train from the West, the conductor informed me that -our arrival in Mount Vernon would probably be delayed until after seven -o’clock. I telegraphed that fact to the committee who were expecting me, -and told them to be patient.</p> - -<p>When we had arrived within ten miles of that town it was dark. I sat -rather moodily in the car, wishing the train would “hurry up”; and -happening for some cause to look back over my left shoulder, I -discovered the new moon through the window. This omen struck me as a -coincident addition to my ill-luck, and with a pleasant chuckle I -muttered to myself, “Well, I hope I wont get room number thirteen -to-night, for that will be adding insult to injury.”</p> - -<p>I reached Mount Vernon a few minutes before eight, and was met at the -depot by the committee, who took me in a carriage and hurried to the -Ballard House. The committee told me the hall in the college was already -crowded, and they hoped I would defer taking tea until after the -lecture. I informed them that I would gladly do so, but simply wished to -run to my room a moment for a wash. While wiping my face I<a name="page_713" id="page_713"></a> happened to -think about the new room, and at once stepped outside of my bed-room -door to look at the number. It was “number thirteen.”</p> - -<p>After the lecture I took tea, and I confess that I began to think -“number thirteen” looked a little ominous. There I was, many hundreds of -miles from my family; I left my wife sick, and I began to ask myself -does “number thirteen” portend anything in particular? Without feeling -willing even now to acknowledge that I felt much apprehension on the -subject, I must say I began to take a serious view of things in general.</p> - -<p>I mentioned the coincidence of my luck in so often having “number -thirteen” assigned to me to Mr. Ballard, the proprietor of the hotel, -giving him all the particulars to date.</p> - -<p>“I will give you another room if you prefer it,” said Mr. Ballard.</p> - -<p>“No, I thank you,” I replied with a semi-serious smile; “If it is fate, -I will take it as it comes; and if it means anything I shall probably -find it out in time.” That same night before retiring to rest I wrote a -letter to a clerical friend, then residing in Bridgeport, telling him -all my experiences in regard to “number thirteen.” I said to him in -closing: “Don’t laugh at me for being superstitious, for I hardly feel -so; I think it is simply a series of ‘coincidences’ which appear the -more strange because I am sure to notice every one that occurs.” Ten -days afterwards I received an answer from my reverend friend, in which -he cheerfully said: “It’s all right; go ahead and get ‘number thirteen’ -as often as you can. It is a lucky number,” and he added:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Unbelieving and ungrateful man! What is thirteen but the -traditional ‘baker’s dozen,’ indicating ‘good measure, pressed -down, shaken together, and<a name="page_714" id="page_714"></a> running over,’ as illustrated in your -triumphal lecturing tour? By all means insist upon having room No. -13 at every hotel; and if the guests at any meal be less than that -charmed complement, send out and compel somebody to come in.</p> - -<p>“What do you say respecting the Thirteen Colonies? Any ill luck in -the number? Was the patriarch Jacob afraid of it when he adopted -Ephraim and Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph, so as to complete the -magic circle of thirteen?</p> - -<p>“Do you not know that chapter thirteen of First Corinthians is the -grandest in the Bible, with verse thirteen as the culmination of -all religious thought? And can you read verse thirteen of the Fifth -chapter of Revelation without the highest rapture?”</p></div> - -<p>But my clerical friend had not heard of a certain curious circumstance -which occurred to me after I had mailed my letter to him and before I -received his answer.</p> - -<p>On leaving Mount Vernon for Cedar Rapids the next morning, the landlord, -Mr. Ballard, drove me to the railroad depot. As I was stepping upon the -cars, Mr. Ballard shook my hand, and with a laugh exclaimed: “Good-by, -friend Barnum, I hope you wont get room number thirteen at Cedar Rapids -to-day.” “I hope not!” I replied earnestly, and yet with a smile. I -reached Cedar Rapids in an hour. The lecture committee met and took me -to the hotel. I entered my name, and the landlord immediately called out -to the porter:</p> - -<p>“Here John, take Mr. Barnum’s baggage, and show him to ‘number -thirteen!’ ”</p> - -<p>I confess that when I heard this I was startled. I remarked to the -landlord that it was certainly very singular, but was nevertheless true, -that “number thirteen” seemed to be about the only room that I could get -in a hotel.</p> - -<p>“We have a large meeting of Railroad directors here at present,” he -replied, “and ‘number thirteen’ is the only room unoccupied in my -house.”</p> - -<p>I proceeded to the room, and immediately wrote to<a name="page_715" id="page_715"></a> Mr. Ballard at Mount -Vernon, assuring him that my letter was written in “number thirteen,” -and that this was the only room I could get in the hotel. During the -remainder of my journey, I was put into “number thirteen” so often in -the various hotels at which I stopped that it came to be quite a matter -of course, though occasionally I was fortunate enough to secure some -other number. Upon returning to New York, I related the foregoing -adventures to my family, and told them I was really half afraid of -“number thirteen.” Soon afterwards, I telegraphed to my daughter who was -boarding at the Atlantic House in Bridgeport, asking her to engage a -room for me to lodge there the next night, on my way to Boston. “Mr. -Hale,” said she to the landlord, “father is coming up to-day; will you -please reserve him a comfortable room?” “Certainly,” replied Mr. Hale, -and he instantly ordered a fire in “room thirteen!” I went to Boston and -proceeded to Lewiston, Maine, and thence to Lawrence, Massachusetts, and -the hotel register there has my name booked for “number thirteen.”</p> - -<p>My experience with this number has by no means been confined to -apartments. In 1867 a church in Bridgeport wanted to raise several -thousand dollars in order to get freed from debt. I subscribed one -thousand dollars, by aid of which they assured me they would certainly -raise enough to pay off the debt. A few weeks subsequently, however, one -of the “brethren” wrote me that they were still six hundred dollars -short, with but little prospect of getting it. I replied that I would -pay one-half of the sum required. The brother soon afterwards wrote me -that he had obtained the other half, and I might forward him my -subscription of “thirteen<a name="page_716" id="page_716"></a>” hundred dollars. During the same season I -attended a fair in Franklin Hall, Bridgeport, given by a temperance -organization. Two of my little granddaughters accompanied me, and -telling them to select what articles they desired, I paid the bill, -twelve dollars and fifty cents. Whereupon I said to the children, “I am -glad you did not make it thirteen dollars, and I will expend no more -here to-night.” We sat awhile listening to the music, and finally -started for home, and as we were going, a lady at one of the stands near -the door, called out: “Mr. Barnum, you have not patronized me. Please -take a chance in my lottery.” “Certainly,” I replied; “give me a -ticket.” I paid her the price (fifty cents), and after I arrived home, I -discovered that in spite of my expressed determination to the contrary, -I had expended exactly “thirteen” dollars!</p> - -<p>I invited a few friends to a “clam-bake” in the summer of 1868, and -being determined the party should not be thirteen, I invited fifteen, -and they all agreed to go. Of course, one man and his wife were -“disappointed,” and could not go—and my party numbered thirteen. At -Christmas, in the same year, my children and grandchildren dined with -me, and finding on “counting noses,” that they would number the -inevitable thirteen, I expressly arranged to have a high chair placed at -the table, and my youngest grandchild, seventeen months old, was placed -in it, so that we should number fourteen. After the dinner was over, we -discovered that my son-in-law, Thompson, had been detained down town, -and the number at dinner table, notwithstanding my extra precautions, -was exactly thirteen.</p> - -<p>Thirteen was certainly an ominous number to me in<a name="page_717" id="page_717"></a> 1865, for on the -thirteenth day of July, the American Museum was burned to the ground, -while the thirteenth day of November saw the opening of “Barnum’s New -American Museum,” which was also subsequently destroyed by fire.</p> - -<p>Having concluded this veritable history of superstitious coincidences in -regard to thirteen, I read it to a clerical friend, who happened to be -present; and after reading the manuscript, I paged it, when my friend -and I were a little startled to find that the pages numbered exactly -thirteen.<a name="page_718" id="page_718"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLV" id="CHAPTER_XLV"></a>CHAPTER XLV.<br /><br /> -<small>A STORY-CHAPTER.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">“EVERY MAN TO HIS VOCATION” AND “NATURE WILL ASSERT HERSELF”—REST -BY THE WAYSIDE—A HALF-SHAVED PARTY—CONSTERNATION OF A -CLERGYMAN—NATIVES IN NEW YORK—DOCTORING A CORN-DOCTOR—RELIGIOUS -RAILWAYS—THE BRIGHTON BUGLE BUSINESS—CASH AND CONSCIENCE—CASTLES -IN THE AIR—A DELUDED ANTIQUARIAN—GAMBLING AND POLITICS—IRISH -WIT—ABOUT CONDUCTORS—DR. CHAPIN AS A PUNSTER—FOWL ATTEMPTS—A -PAIR O’ DUCKS—CUTTING A SICK FRIEND—REV. RICHARD VARICK DEY—HIS -CRIME AND ITS CONSEQUENCES—FORE-ORDINATION—PRACTICAL JOKING BY MY -FATHER—A VALUABLE RACE-HORSE—HOW HE WAS LET AND THEN -KILLED—AGONY OF THE HORSE-KILLER—THE FINAL “SELL”—FOREIGN AND -DOMESTIC FRENCH—COCKNEYISM—WICKED WORDS IN EXETER HALL.</p></div> - -<p>A<small>ND</small> now as a traveller, when almost home, sits down by the wayside to -rest, and meanwhile discourses to his companion about minor matters -relating to the journey, or revives reminiscenses of home and foreign -lands, so I stop to sum up in this chapter some of the incidents and -anecdotes which seem pertinent to my story.</p> - -<p>The old adages, “Every man to his vocation,” and “Nature will assert -herself” are oftentimes amusingly illustrated. Every one knows the fable -of the man who prayed to Jupiter to convert his cat into a woman, and -Jupiter kindly gratified him and the man married the woman. This was -well enough, till one night the feline female heard a mouse scratching -at the door, when she jumped out of bed and began a vigorous hunt, to -the consternation of her husband, if not of the mouse. Something almost -as absurd and quite as illustrative of<a name="page_719" id="page_719"></a> “instinct,” or “nature” occurred -during my management of the Museum.</p> - -<p>I had brought out a play entitled “The Patriot Fathers,” or something of -the sort; it was patriotic at any rate, and required a great many -people, who had very little to do excepting to dress, group themselves, -and go on and off the stage at the proper times demanded by the -incidents or situations of the play. One night I suddenly found myself -short of supernumeraries to do these subordinate parts, so I sent up to -Centre Market for a supply of young men who were willing to be soldiers, -Indians, or anything else which the exigencies of Revolutionary times -not less than my own immediate necessities demanded.</p> - -<p>Now, it fortunately happened that an engine company near by, the famous -“Forty” of by-gone days, had just returned from a fire, and my messenger -proposed to these men to come down and help me out of my difficulty. The -boys wanted no better fun. At least thirty of them came headed by their -foreman, Mr. William Racey. They were soon dressed, one as a woman, a -mother of the Revolution; others as Indians, British soldiers, Hessian -grenadiers, and Continentals. A very little drilling sufficed to put -these new recruits in order for presentation on the stage, for they had -little to do but to follow directions as to where they must stand, and -when they must go on and off. Numbers, not talent, were needed. They -were apt pupils, and did excellently well from the start.</p> - -<p>But in the very midst of one of those convulsions which threatened the -fate of the struggle for Independence, the City Hall bell sounded out -the alarm for fire. That was enough. Racey shouted out on the stage:<a name="page_720" id="page_720"></a></p> - -<p>“Boys, there’s a fire in the Seventh! Put for ‘Forty’ ”; and the thirty -incontinently fled in post haste for “Forty,” and soon after appeared in -the street, followed by a jeering, cheering crew, the most motley -company that ever dragged a fire engine through the streets of New York. -They were in full costume as they left the Museum. The red-coated -British troops, the Hessians in their tall bear-skin caps, the Indians -in their paint and feathers, and even the “woman” helped to drag the -machine, and at the fire these strange people, including the woman, -helped to “man” the brakes. It is unnecessary to say that they succeeded -in creating in the street, what I hoped they would have done on the -stage, a positive sensation.</p> - -<p>I confess that I am fond of story-telling as well as fun, and I inherit -this I think from my maternal grandfather, whom I have already -chronicled in these pages as a “practical joker of the old school.” One -of the best illustrations of his peculiar fondness for this amusement -appears in the following:</p> - -<p>Danbury and Bethel were and still are manufacturing villages. Hats and -combs were the principal articles of manufacture. The hatters and comb -makers had occasion to go to New York every spring and fall, and they -generally managed to go in parties, frequently taking in a few -“outsiders,” who merely wished to visit the city for the fun of the -thing. They usually took passage on board a sloop at Norwalk, and the -length of their passage depended entirely upon the state of the wind. -Sometimes the run would be made in eight hours, and at other times -nearly as many days were required. It, however, made little difference -with the passengers. They went in for a “spree,” and were sure<a name="page_721" id="page_721"></a></p> - -<p><a name="A_GROTESQUE_FIRE_COMPANY" id="A_GROTESQUE_FIRE_COMPANY"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p720_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p720_sml.jpg" width="361" height="537" alt="A GROTESQUE FIRE COMPANY." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">A GROTESQUE FIRE COMPANY.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">to have a jolly time whether on land or water. They were all fond of -practical jokes, and before starting they usually entered into a solemn -compact, that any man who got angry at a practical joke should forfeit -and pay the sum of twenty dollars. This agreement frequently saved much -trouble; for occasionally an unexpected and rather severe trick would be -played off, and sadly chafe the temper of the victim.</p> - -<p>Upon one of these occasions a party of fourteen men started from Bethel -on a Monday morning for New York. Among the number were my grandfather, -Capt. Noah Ferry, Benjamin Hoyt, Esq., Uncle Samuel Taylor, (as he was -called by everybody,) Eleazer Taylor, and Charles Dart. Most of these -were proverbial jokers, and it was doubly necessary to adopt the -stipulation in regard to the control of temper. It was therefore done in -writing, duly signed.</p> - -<p>They arrived at Norwalk Monday afternoon. The sloop set sail the same -evening, with a fair prospect of reaching New York early the next -morning. Several strangers took passage at Norwalk, among the rest a -clergyman. He soon found himself in jolly company, and attempted to keep -aloof. But they informed him it was of no use, they expected to reach -New York the next morning, and were determined to “make a night of it,” -so he might as well render himself agreeable, for sleep was out of the -question. His “reverence” remonstrated at first, and talked about “his -rights”; but he soon learned that he was in a company where the rights -of “the majority” were in the ascendant; so he put a smooth face upon -affairs, and making up his mind not to retire that night, he soon -engaged in conversation with several of his fellow-passengers.<a name="page_722" id="page_722"></a></p> - -<p>The clergyman was a slim, spare man, standing over six feet high in his -stockings; of light complexion, sandy hair, and wearing a huge pair of -reddish-brown whiskers. Some of the passengers joked him upon the -superfluity of hair upon his face, but he replied that nature had placed -it there, and although he thought proper, in accordance with modern -custom, to shave off a portion of his beard, he considered it neither -unmanly nor unclerical to wear whiskers. It seemed to be conceded that -the clergyman had the best of the argument, and the subject was changed.</p> - -<p>Expectation of a speedy run to New York was most sadly disappointed. The -vessel appeared scarcely to move, and through long weary hours of day -and night, there was not a ripple on the surface of the water. -Nevertheless there was merriment on board the sloop, each voyager -contributing good humor to beguile the tediousness of time.</p> - -<p>Friday morning came, but the calm continued. Five days from home, and no -prospect of reaching New York! We may judge the appearance of the beards -of the passengers. There was but one razor in the company; it was owned -by my grandfather, and he refused to use it, or to suffer it to be used. -“We shall all be shaved in New York,” said he.</p> - -<p>On Saturday morning “all hands” appeared upon deck, and the sloop was -becalmed opposite Sawpits (now Port Chester)!</p> - -<p>This tried the patience of the passengers sadly.</p> - -<p>“I expected to start for home to-day,” said one.</p> - -<p>“I supposed all my combs would have been sold at auction on Wednesday, -and yet here they are on board,” said another.<a name="page_723" id="page_723"></a></p> - -<p>“I intended to have sold my hats surely this week, for I have a note to -pay in New-Haven on Monday,” added a third.</p> - -<p>“I have an appointment to preach in New York this evening and -to-morrow,” said the clergyman, whose huge sandy whiskers overshadowed a -face now completely covered with a bright red beard a quarter of an inch -long.</p> - -<p>“Well, there is no use crying, gentlemen,” replied the captain; “it is -lucky for us that we have chickens and eggs on freight, or we might have -to be put upon allowance.”</p> - -<p>After breakfast the passengers, who now began to look like barbarians, -again solicited the loan of my grandfather’s razor.</p> - -<p>“No, gentlemen,” he replied; “I insist that shaving is unhealthy and -contrary to nature, and I am determined neither to shave myself nor loan -my razor until we reach New York.”</p> - -<p>Night came, and yet no wind. Sunday morning found them in the same -position. Their patience was well nigh exhausted, but after breakfast a -slight ripple appeared. It gradually increased, and the passengers were -soon delighted in seeing the anchor weighed and the sails again set. The -sloop glided finely through the water, and smiles of satisfaction forced -themselves through the swamps of bristles which covered the faces of the -passengers.</p> - -<p>“What time shall we reach New York if this breeze continues?” was the -anxious inquiry of half a dozen passengers.</p> - -<p>“About two o’clock this afternoon,” replied the good-natured captain, -who now felt assured that no calm would further blight his prospects.<a name="page_724" id="page_724"></a></p> - -<p>“Alas! that will be too late to get shaved,” exclaimed several -voices—“the barber shops close at twelve.”</p> - -<p>“And I shall barely be in time to preach my afternoon sermon,” responded -the red-bearded clergyman. “Mr. Taylor, do be so kind as to loan me your -shaving utensils,” he continued, addressing my grandfather.</p> - -<p>The old gentleman then went to his trunk, and unlocking it, he drew -forth his razor, lather-box and strop. The passengers pressed around -him, as all were now doubly anxious for a chance to shave themselves.</p> - -<p>“Now, gentlemen,” said my grandfather, “I will be fair with you. I did -not intend to lend my razor, but as we shall arrive too late for the -barbers, you shall all use it. But it is evident we cannot all have time -to be shaved with one razor before we reach New York, and as it would be -hard for half of us to walk on shore with clean faces, and leave the -rest on board waiting for their turn to shave themselves, I have hit -upon a plan which I am sure you will all say is just and equitable.”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” was the anxious inquiry.</p> - -<p>“It is that each man shall shave one half of his face, and pass the -razor over to the next, and when we are all half shaved we shall go on -in rotation and shave the other half.”</p> - -<p>They all agreed to this except the clergyman. He objected to appearing -so ridiculous upon the Lord’s day, whereupon several declared that any -man with such enormous reddish whiskers must necessarily always look -ridiculous, and they insisted that if the clergyman used the razor at -all he should shave off his whiskers.</p> - -<p>My grandfather assented to this proposal, and said: “Now, gentlemen, as -I own the razor, I will begin, and as our reverend friend is in a hurry -he shall be next—<a name="page_725" id="page_725"></a>but off shall come one of his whiskers on the first -turn, or he positively shall not use my razor at all.”</p> - -<p>The clergyman seeing there was no use in parleying, reluctantly agreed -to the proposition.</p> - -<p>In the course of ten minutes one side of my grandfather’s face and chin, -in a straight line from the middle of his nose, was shaved as close as -the back of his hand, while the other looked like a thick brush fence in -a country swamp. The passengers burst into a roar of laughter, in which -the clergyman irresistibly joined, and my grandfather handed the razor -to the clerical gentleman.</p> - -<p>The clergyman had already well lathered one half of his face and passed -the brush to the next customer. In a short time the razor had performed -its work, and the clergyman was denuded of one whisker. The left side of -his face was as naked as that of an infant, while from the other cheek -four inches of a huge red whisker stood out in powerful contrast. -Nothing more ludicrous could well be conceived. A deafening burst of -laughter ensued, and the poor clergyman slunk quietly away to wait an -hour until his turn should arrive to shave the other portion of his -face.</p> - -<p>The next man went through the same operation, and all the rest followed; -a new laugh breaking forth as each customer handed over the razor to the -next in turn. In the course of an hour and a quarter every passenger on -board was half shaved. It was then proposed that all should go upon deck -and take a drink before operations were commenced on the other side of -their faces. When they all gathered upon the deck, the scene was most -ludicrous. The whole party burst again into loud merriment, each man -being convulsed by the ridiculous appearance of the rest.<a name="page_726" id="page_726"></a></p> - -<p>“Now, gentlemen,” said my grandfather, “I will go into the cabin and -shave off the other side. You can all remain on deck. As soon as I have -finished, I will come up and give the clergyman the next chance.”</p> - -<p>“You must hurry or you will not all be finished when we arrive,” -remarked the captain; “for we shall touch Peck Slip wharf in half an -hour.”</p> - -<p>My grandfather entered the cabin, and in ten minutes he appeared upon -deck, razor in hand. He was smoothly shaved.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said the clergyman, “it is my turn.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” said my grandfather. “You are next, but wait a moment, let -me draw the razor across the strop once or twice.”</p> - -<p>Putting his foot upon the side rail of the deck, and placing one end of -the strop upon his leg, he drew the razor several times across it. Then, -as if by mistake, the razor flew from his hand, and dropped into the -water! My grandfather, with well-feigned surprise, exclaimed in a voice -of terror, “Good heavens! the razor has fallen overboard!”</p> - -<p>Such a picture of consternation as covered one-half of all the -passengers’ faces, was never before witnessed. At first they were -perfectly silent as if petrified with astonishment. But in a few minutes -murmurs began to be heard, and soon swelled into exclamations. “An -infernal hog!” said one. “The meanest thing I ever knew,” remarked -another. “He ought to be thrown overboard himself,” cried several -others; but all remembered that every man who got angry was to pay a -fine of twenty dollars, and they did not repeat their remarks. Presently -all eyes were turned upon the clergyman. He was the most forlorn picture -of despair that could be imagined.<a name="page_727" id="page_727"></a></p> - -<p><a name="HALF-SHAVED" id="HALF-SHAVED"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p726_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p726_sml.jpg" width="366" height="545" alt="HALF-SHAVED." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">HALF-SHAVED.</span> -</div> - -<p>“Oh, this is dreadful!” he drawled, in a tone which seemed as if every -word broke a heart-string.</p> - -<p>This was too much, and the whole crowd broke into another roar. -Tranquillity was restored! The joke, though a hard one, was swallowed. -The sloop soon touched the dock. The half-shaved passengers now agreed -that my grandfather, who was the only person on board who appeared like -a civilized being, should take the lead for the Walton House, in -Franklin Square, and all the rest should follow in “Indian file.” He -reminded them that they would excite much attention in the streets, and -enjoined them not to smile. They agreed, and away they started. They -attracted a crowd of persons before they reached the corner of Pearl -Street and Peck Slip, but they all marched with as much solemnity as if -they were going to the grave. The door of the Walton House was open. Old -Backus, the landlord, was quietly enjoying his cigar, while a dozen or -two persons were engaged in reading the papers, etc. In marched the file -of nondescripts, with the rabble at their heels. Mr. Backus and his -customers started to their feet in astonishment. My grandfather marched -solemnly up to the bar—the passengers followed, and formed double rows -behind him. “Santa Cruz rum for nineteen,” exclaimed my grandfather to -the barkeeper. The astonished liquor-seller produced bottles and -tumblers in double-quick time, and when Backus discovered that the -nondescripts were old friends and customers, he was excited to -uncontrollable merriment.</p> - -<p>“What in the name of decency has happened,” he exclaimed, “that you -should all appear here half shaved?”<a name="page_728" id="page_728"></a></p> - -<p>“Nothing at all, Mr. Backus,” said my grandfather, with apparent -seriousness. “These gentlemen choose to wear their beards according to -the prevailing fashion in the place they came from; and I think it is -very hard that they should be stared at and insulted by you Yorkers -because <i>your</i> fashion happens to differ a trifle from theirs.”</p> - -<p>Backus half believed my grandfather in earnest, and the bystanders were -quite convinced such was the fact, for not a smile appeared upon one of -the half-shaved countenances.</p> - -<p>After sitting a few minutes the passengers were shown to their rooms, -and at tea-time every man appeared at the table precisely as he came -from the sloop. The ladies looked astonished, the waiters winked and -laughed, but the subjects of this merriment were as grave as judges. In -the evening they maintained the same gravity in the bar-room, and at ten -o’clock they retired to bed with all due solemnity. In the morning, -however, bright and early, they were in the barber’s shop, undergoing an -operation that soon placed them upon a footing with the rest of mankind.</p> - -<p>It is hardly necessary to explain that the clergyman did not appear in -that singular procession of Sunday afternoon. He tied a handkerchief -over his face, and taking his valise in his hand, started for Market -Street, where it is presumed he found a good brother and a good razor in -season to fill his appointment.</p> - -<p>Let me give an illustration of a “practical joke,” which is quite -professional as well as practical with the operator, and in nine cases -out of ten, no doubt, profitable withal. When I was in Paris in 1845, -there came one day to my room in the Hotel Bedford, where I was<a name="page_729" id="page_729"></a> -staying, a smart little Frenchman with a case of instruments under his -arm. He announced himself as a chiropodist who could instantly remove -the worst corns, not only without pain, but he promised by means of a -mysterious liniment in his possession to immediately heal the spot from -which he removed the corn.</p> - -<p>Now I had not a corn on my feet, but willing to test his wonderful -powers, I told him to examine my left foot, and to remove a troublesome -corn on the little toe. Surely enough he did remove and exhibit such a -corn as I am sure would have prevented my walking, had I known that I -was so grievously afflicted. He then poured some of his red oil on the -toe and triumphantly showed me that the place had already entirely -healed. Pretending to be delighted with his skill, I held out another -toe for “operation,” and watching him carefully I saw him slip a -manufactured corn into his oil bottle, which, after fumbling awhile and -pretending to pare the unoffending toe, he “extracted.” More delighted -than ever, I rang the bell, and told the servant to send up the -landlord, as I wished him to witness the extraordinary skill of the -corn-doctor. The landlord arrived, and, after a few words of eulogy upon -the chiropodist, I submitted another healthy toe, and forth came another -monstrous corn; for the same process of extraction, with the same -results, could have been performed on the foot of a marble statue.</p> - -<p>It was now my turn, to “operate,” so I rose and bolted the door and took -off my coat, telling the “doctor” that I greatly admired his gold -mounted instruments and the brazen impudence with which he swindled the -public, but that this time he had “caught a Tartar,” and that he could -not leave the room till he had been searched.<a name="page_730" id="page_730"></a></p> - -<p>The quack bristled up in grand style at what he termed my ungentlemanly -behavior, and threatened if I touched him to bring me before the -“Tribunal.” I remarked that I rather thought the “Tribunal” was the last -place on earth at which he desired to appear, and then assuring the -landlord that the fellow was an arrant imposter, and that if he would -assist me in searching him I would prove it and warrant that no harm -should come to the searchers, he consented, and collared the -chiropodist. The fellow seeing that we were resolved, quietly submitted. -We first searched his pockets and found nothing; but upon examining his -morocco instrument case, we discovered a drawer in which were eighty -ready-made corns and a small piece of horn which furnished the raw -material for the manufacture! Fortunately, my right foot was not bare, -and I forthwith gave the chiropodist a lesson in the shape of a warm -visitation of shoe-leather, which sent him flying down stairs, where the -dose was doubled by an attentive servant till the chiropodist reached -the street. He did not call at the Hotel Bedford again during my stay.</p> - -<p>I was a good deal amused when I was in Brighton, England, during the -same year, to see how some people manage to reconcile cash and -conscience. Every one knows that Brighton is a fashionable -watering-place, frequented by all sorts of people; but the actual -residents, many of whom are very wealthy, are supposed to be quite -removed from the fashionable and other follies of the visitors from -abroad during the “season.” The millionnaires of Brighton, when I was -there, were great church-goers, and at the same time were extensive -owners in the stock of the railway which brought so many visitors to the -place. It was therefore for their interest<a name="page_731" id="page_731"></a> that trains should run on -Sundays, as well as on other days, but as such a course would clash with -their religious professions, it was necessary that some plan should be -devised by which a compromise could be effected between profits and -profession, cash and conscience,—for the idea of ever sacrificing -interest to principle never enters the minds of those whose religion may -be in their heads while it never reaches their hearts. The compromise -between the duty and the dividends of the Brighton railway shareholders -was effected as follows:</p> - -<p>After a great deal of talk <i>pro</i> and <i>con</i> on the subject, the trains on -Sunday were permitted to arrive and depart on the following conditions. -But little noise and confusion was manifest and there were fewer porters -employed about the station than on week-days, obliging the arriving and -departing passengers not only to look after, but to lift their baggage, -and as bell-ringing, that is, locomotive bell-ringing, would disturb the -sanctity of the Sabbath, a bugle gave notice of the incoming and -outgoing of the trains. But even this was not enough; it was expressly -stipulated that the bugle-player should play nothing but sacred music! -Thus trains came in to “Old Hundred,” or some similar Psalm tune, and -went out to the air of “Dismission” common to the hymn commencing, -“Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing.” I do not know that this custom is -still kept up at Brighton, but it certainly was so when I was there in -1845; and it was gravely recommended to others who favored a very strict -observance of Sunday, and yet liked their dividends, or were eager for -Sunday mails. In common phrase, it was whipping the Evil One round the -stump in a curious way.</p> - -<p>It reminded me of the good old deacon in Connecticut<a name="page_732" id="page_732"></a> who was in the -habit of selling milk to his neighbors on all days in the week. One -Sunday, however, his parson came home with him to tea, and while they -were at the table a little girl came in for a quart of milk. The deacon -was afraid of being scandalized in the presence of the parson, and so he -told the girl he did not sell milk on Sunday. The girl, who had been -accustomed to buy on that day as on other days, was much surprised and -turned to go away, when the sixpence in her hand was too much of a -temptation for the deacon, who called out:</p> - -<p>“Here, little girl! you can leave the money now, and call and get the -milk to-morrow!”</p> - -<p>During my journeyings abroad I was not wholly free from the usual -infirmity of travellers, viz, a desire to look at the old castles of -feudal times, whether in preservation or in ruins; but there was one of -our party, Mr. H. G. Sherman, who had a peculiar and irresistible taste -for the antique. He gathered trunks full of stone and timber mementos -from every place of note which we visited; and, if there was anything -which he admired more than all else, it was an old castle. He spent many -hours in clambering the broken walls of Kenilworth, in viewing the -towers and dungeons of Warwick, and climbing the precipices of -Dumbarton. When travelling by coach, Sherman always secured an outside -seat, and, if possible, next to the coachman, so as to be able to make -inquiries regarding everything which he might happen to see.</p> - -<p>On our journey from Belfast to Drogheda, Sherman occupied his usual seat -beside the driver, and asked him a thousand questions. The coachman was -a regular wag, with genuine Irish wit, and he determined to have<a name="page_733" id="page_733"></a> a -little bit of fun at the expense of the inquisitive Yankee. As we came -within eight miles of Drogheda, the watchful eye of Sherman caught the -glimpse of a large stone pile, appearing like a castle, looming up among -some trees in a field half a mile from the roadside.</p> - -<p>“Oh, look here! what do you call that?” exclaimed Sherman, giving the -coachman an elbowing in the ribs which was anything but pleasant.</p> - -<p>“Faith,” replied the coachman, “you may well ask what we call that, for -divil a call do we know what to call it. That is a castle, sir, beyond -all question the oldest in Ireland; indade, none of the old books nor -journals contain any account of it. It is known, however, that Brian -Borrhoime inhabited it some time, though it is supposed to have been -built centuries before his day.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll give you half-a-crown to stop the coach long enough for me to run -and bring a scrap of it away,” said Sherman.</p> - -<p>“Sure, and isn’t this the royal mail coach? and I would not dare detain -it for half the Bank of Ireland,” replied the honest coachman.</p> - -<p>“How far is it to Drogheda?” inquired Sherman.</p> - -<p>“About eight miles, more or less,” answered the coachman.</p> - -<p>“Stop your coach, and let me down then,” replied Sherman; “I’ll walk to -Drogheda, and would sooner walk three times the distance than not have a -nearer view, and carry off a portion of the oldest castle in Ireland.”</p> - -<p>With that Sherman dismounted, and, raising his umbrella to protect him -from the cold rain which was falling in torrents, he marched off in the -mud, calling<a name="page_734" id="page_734"></a> out to me that I might expect him in Dublin by the next -train to that which would take us from Drogheda, the railroad being then -completed only to that point from Dublin.</p> - -<p>We arrived in Dublin about five o’clock, cold and uncomfortable; but -warm apartments and good fires were in waiting for us, and in a few -hours we had partaken of an excellent supper, and were as happy as -lords. About nine o’clock in the evening, the door of our parlor was -opened, and who should come in but poor Sherman, drenched to the skin -with cold rain,—the legs of his boots pulled over the bottoms of his -pantaloons, and covered with thick mud to the very tops, and himself -looking like a half-famished, weary and frozen traveller.</p> - -<p>“For Heaven’s sake, let me get to the fire!” exclaimed Sherman, and we -were too much struck with his suffering appearance not to heed it.</p> - -<p>“Well, Sherman,” I remarked, “that must have been a tedious walk for -you,—eight long Irish miles through the rain and mud.”</p> - -<p>“I guess you would have thought so if you had walked it yourself,” -replied Sherman, doggedly.</p> - -<p>“I hope you have brought away trophies enough from the castle to pay you -for all this trouble,” I continued.</p> - -<p>“Oh, curse the castle!” exclaimed Sherman.</p> - -<p>“What do you mean by that?” I asked, in astonishment.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you need not look surprised,” replied Sherman; “for I have no doubt -that you and that bog-trotting Irish coachman have had fun enough at my -expense before this time.”</p> - -<p>I assured him that I positively had not heard the<a name="page_735" id="page_735"></a> coachman speak on the -subject, and begged him to tell me what had occurred to vex him in this -manner.</p> - -<p>“Why, if you don’t already know,” replied Sherman, “I would not have you -know for twenty pounds, for you would be sure to publish it. However, -now your curiosity is excited, you would be certain to find it all out, -if you had to hire a post-chaise, and ride there on purpose; so I may as -well tell you.”</p> - -<p>“Do tell me,” I replied, “for I confess my curiosity is excited, and I -am unable to guess why you are so angry; for I know you love to see -castles, and that pleasure you surely have enjoyed, for I caught a -glimpse of one myself.”</p> - -<p>“No, you have not seen a castle to-day, nor I either!” exclaimed -Sherman.</p> - -<p>“What on earth was it, then?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“A thundering old lime-kiln!” exclaimed Sherman; “and I only wish I -could pitch that infernal Irish coachman into it while it was under full -blast!”</p> - -<p>It was many a long day before Sherman heard the last of the lime-kiln; -in fact, this trick of the Irish coachman rendered him cautious in -making inquiries of strangers.</p> - -<p>One day we rode to Donnybrook, the place so much celebrated for its -fairs and its black eyes; for it would be quite out of character for Pat -to attend a fair without having a flourish of the shillelah, and a -scrimmage which would result in a few broken heads and bloody noses.</p> - -<p>Near Donnybrook we saw something on the summit of a hill which appeared -like a round stone tower. It was probably sixty feet in circumference -and twenty-five feet high.<a name="page_736" id="page_736"></a></p> - -<p>“I would like to know what that is,” said Sherman.</p> - -<p>I advised him to inquire of the first coachman that came along, but, -with a forced smile, he declined my advice.</p> - -<p>“It can’t be a lime-kiln, at any rate,” continued Sherman; “it must be a -castle of some description.”</p> - -<p>The more we looked at it the more mysterious did it appear to us, and -Sherman’s castle-hunting propensities momentarily increased. At last he -exclaimed: “A man who travels with a tongue in his head is a fool if he -don’t use it; and I am not going within a hundred rods of what may be -the greatest curiosity in Ireland, without knowing it.”</p> - -<p>With that he turned our horse’s head towards a fine-looking mansion on -our right, where we halted. Sherman jumped from the carriage, opened the -small gate, proceeded up the alley of the lawn fronting the house, and -rang the bell. A servant appeared at the door; but Sherman, knowing the -stupidity of Irish servants, was determined to apply at head-quarters -for the information he so much desired.</p> - -<p>“Is your master in?” asked Sherman.</p> - -<p>“I will see, sir. What name, if you plaze?”</p> - -<p>“A stranger from the United States of America!” replied Sherman.</p> - -<p>The servant departed, and in a minute returned and invited Sherman to -enter the parlor. He found the gentleman of the mansion sitting by a -pleasant fire, near which were also his lady and several visitors and -members of the family. Sherman was not troubled with diffidence. Being -seated, he hoped he would be excused for having called without an -invitation; but the fact was, he was an American traveller, desirous of -picking<a name="page_737" id="page_737"></a> up all important information that might fall in his way.</p> - -<p>The gentleman politely replied that no apology was necessary, that he -was most happy to see him, and that any information which he could -impart regarding that or any other portion of the country should be -given with pleasure.</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” replied Sherman; “I will not trouble you except on a single -point. I have seen all that is important in Dublin and its vicinity, and -in and about Donnybrook; there is but one thing respecting which I want -information, and that is the stone tower or castle which we see standing -on the hill, about a quarter of a mile south of your house. If you could -give me the name and history of that pile, I shall feel extremely -obliged.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, nothing is easier,” replied the gentleman, with a smile. “That -‘pile,’ as you call it, was built some forty years ago by my father; and -it was a lucky ‘pile’ for him, for it was the only windmill in these -parts, and always had plenty to do: but a few years ago a hurricane -carried off the wings of the mill, and ever since that it has stood as -it now does, a memorial of its former usefulness. Is there any other -important information that I can give you?” asked the gentleman, with a -smile.</p> - -<p>“Not any,” replied Sherman, rising to depart: “but perhaps I can give -you some; and that is, that Ireland is, beyond all dispute, the meanest -country I ever travelled in. The only two objects worthy of note that I -have seen in all Ireland are a lime-kiln and the foundation for a -windmill!”</p> - -<p>Upon resuming his seat in the carriage, Sherman<a name="page_738" id="page_738"></a> laughed immoderately, -although he evidently felt somewhat chagrined by this second mistake in -searching for ancient castles.</p> - -<p>Calling one day in one of the principal hotels in Dublin, I noticed -among the “rules” framed and hung in the coffee-room for the warning, -instruction, or entertainment of the guests of the house, the following:</p> - -<p>“No Gambling or Politics will be allowed to <i>take place</i> in this house, -by any parties whatever.”</p> - -<p>How politics could “take place” in an Irish hotel, or elsewhere, would -have been a mystery to me, if I did not remember that the “scrimmages” -and rows, which often follow the mere discussion of politics, seemed to -warrant the landlord in classing politics with gambling, or any other -dangerous amusement which might take place in the coffee-room of an -Irish inn.</p> - -<p>Speaking of Irishmen, I am reminded of an illustration of ready Irish -wit, which is located on the line of the Boston and Fitchburg Railroad. -Some years ago, the Reverend Thomas Whittemore, a wealthy Universalist -minister, who was a large stockholder in the road, was appointed -president of the company; and, as he was exceedingly conscientious in -the discharge of his duty, he once took upon himself to walk over every -foot of the route, to see if every part of the road was in complete -order. Walking along in this way and alone, he came to a place where a -loose rail lay alongside of the track; and, seeing an Irishman near by, -who was apparently employed on the road, Mr. Whittemore called out to -him:</p> - -<p>“Here, Pat, pick up this rail, and lay it alongside of the fence out of -the way, till it is wanted.”</p> - -<p>It never occurred to Mr. Whittemore that every man<a name="page_739" id="page_739"></a> whom he met did not -know him and his official position; but Pat, not dreaming that his -virtual employer, the president of the railroad company, was giving him -an order, sharply answered:</p> - -<p>“Jist go to the divil, will ye?”</p> - -<p>“My dear friend,” said the smiling Whittemore, who instantly -comprehended “the situation”—that is, that Pat did not know him, and no -particular wonder, either—“ ‘go to the devil?’ why, that is the last -place I should desire to go to!”</p> - -<p>“An’ faith, an’ I think it’s the last place you <i>will</i> be goin’ to,” -responded Pat.</p> - -<p>Of railroads and railroad travel and employees I have heard and told no -end of stories; but one of the latest and best, I think, is told of a -man in a town “down East,” who had some difficulty with a conductor, and -vowed that not another cent of his money should ever go into the -treasury of that company.</p> - -<p>“But,” said the conductor of the road, “you own property in one place on -the line, and do business in another place, and are obliged to go back -and forth almost every day: how are you going to help paying something -to the company?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! hereafter I shall pay my fare to you in the cars,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>It may be a joke, but conductors themselves, that is, some of them, are -more or less facetious on the subject of what in the vernacular is known -as “knocking down.” Soon after the conductors on the New York and New -Haven Railroad were put in costume while on duty, and were obliged to -wear a badge bearing the initials of the company, my friend Rev. Dr. -Chapin was accompanying me over the road to my Bridgeport home, when -along<a name="page_740" id="page_740"></a> came a conductor, whom we both knew well, to collect our fares.</p> - -<p>“Ah, I see,” said Dr. Chapin, pointing to the letters on the new badge, -“N. H., N. Y.,—‘Neither Here, Nor Yonder.”</p> - -<p>“No,” whispered the conductor confidentially in the Doctor’s ear; “it -means, ‘New House, Next Year.’ ”</p> - -<p>It is scarcely necessary to tell the thousands who know Dr. Chapin that -he is a man of most ready wit, and an inveterate punster. One day, when -we were dining together, I was carving a chicken, which the Doctor -pronounced a “hen-ous offence,” when, having some difficulty with a -tough wing, I exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“How shall I get the thing off, anyhow?”</p> - -<p>“Pullet,” gravely answered the Doctor.</p> - -<p>“Eggsactly,” said I.</p> - -<p>Then began what the Doctor called a “battle of the spurs,”—I trying to -“crow” over the Doctor, and he endeavoring to upset my “cackle-ations”; -urging me meanwhile to “scratch away,” till at last I told him, if he -made another pun on that “lay,” he would knock me off the roost.</p> - -<p>“Oh, then,” said the Doctor, finally feathering his nest, “Sha’n’t I -clear?!”</p> - -<p>An equally fowl pun of the Doctor’s was perpetrated in cold blood, or -rather in very cold water, down at Rockport, Massachusetts. Thither -every summer season were wont to congregate, for their vacation, such -celebrated clergymen as Starr King, Dr. Chapin, and others, mainly for -the fine sea-bathing there. One season Dr. Chapin arrived at least a -fortnight behind the rest; and, when they went down bathing together, -the acclimated visitors pronounced the water to be “delightful,” “just -right,” and so on.<a name="page_741" id="page_741"></a></p> - -<p>“But isn’t it cold?” asked Dr. Chapin.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,” replied Starr King; “you have only to go down and up twice, -and you are warm enough.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, I see how it is,” said Dr. Chapin, who tried the experiment and -came up half frozen; “you are warm after down and up twice? Why, that’s -a pair o’ ducks!”</p> - -<p>Fowls naturally suggest the market, and this brings to mind a neighbor -of mine in New York who keeps two things,—a boarding-house, and “bad -hours.” His wife justly suspected him of gambling; but he generally -managed to get in before midnight, and always had money enough in his -pocket to go to market with in the morning. On one occasion, however, -after gambling all night, he did not come home till six o’clock in the -morning, when, after a sound scolding from his wife for staying out all -night and “gambling,” as she insisted, he was sent to market to get -something for breakfast. Returning, he was again berated by his wife for -gambling, he protesting all the while that he had been “spending the -night with a sick friend.”</p> - -<p>His wife might have believed him, if he had not sat down at the head of -the table, half asleep, and solemnly passed the bread to the nearest -boarder with the exclamation,—</p> - -<p>“Cut!”</p> - -<p>“<i>That’s</i> your ‘sick friend!’ ” exclaimed the wife, while a general roar -around the table woke the host to the fact that he was passing bread, -and not a pack of cards.</p> - -<p>This story-telling carries me back to my boyhood days at Bethel, and -brings to mind an old clerical acquaintance whom I knew long before I -met Dr. Chapin. The Rev. Richard Varick Dey, who resided at Greenfield,<a name="page_742" id="page_742"></a> -Connecticut, was in the habit of coming to Bethel to preach on Sabbath -evenings. He was a very eloquent preacher, and an eccentric man. He -possessed fine talents; his sermons were rich in pathos and wit; and he -was exceedingly popular with the world’s people. The more -straight-laced, however, were afraid of him. His remarks both in and out -of the pulpit would frequently rub hard against some popular dogma, or -knock in the head some favorite religious tenet. Mr. Dey was therefore -frequently in hot water with the church, and was either “suspended,” or -about to be brought to trial for some alleged breach of ministerial -duty, or some suspected heresy. While thus debarred from preaching, he -felt that he must do something to support his family. With this view he -visited Bethel, Danbury, and other towns, and delivered “Lectures,” at -the termination of which, contributions for his benefit were taken up. I -remember his lecturing in Bethel on “Charity.” This discourse overflowed -with eloquence and pathos, and terminated in a contribution of more than -fifty dollars.</p> - -<p>It was said that on one occasion Mr. Dey was about to be tried before an -ecclesiastical body at Middletown. There being no railroads in those -days, many persons travelled on horseback. Two days before the trial was -to take place, Mr. Dey started for Middletown alone, and on horseback. -His valise was fastened behind the saddle; and, putting on his large -great-coat surmounted with a half a dozen broad “capes,” as was the -fashion of that period, and donning a broad-brimmed hat, he mounted his -horse and started for the scene of trial.</p> - -<p>On the second day of his journey, and some ten miles before reaching -Middletown, he overtook a brother clergyman, also on horseback, who was -wending his way to the Consociation.<a name="page_743" id="page_743"></a></p> - -<p>He was a man perhaps sixty years of age, and his silvered locks stood -out like porcupine quills. His iron visage, which seemed never to have -worn a smile, his sinister expression, small, keen, selfish-looking -eyes, and compressed lips, convinced Mr. Dey that he had no hope of -mercy from that man as one of his judges. The reverend gentlemen soon -fell into conversation. The sanctimonious clergyman gave his name and -residence, and inquired those of Mr. Dey.</p> - -<p>“My name is Mr. Richard,” replied Rev. Richard V. Dey, “and my residence -is Fairfield.” (Greenfield is a parish in the town of Fairfield.)</p> - -<p>“Ah,” exclaimed the other clergyman; “then you live near Mr. Dey: do you -know him?”</p> - -<p>“Perfectly well,” responded the eccentric Richard.</p> - -<p>“Well, what do you think of him?” inquired the anxious brother.</p> - -<p>“He is a wide-awake, cunning fellow, one whom I should be sorry to -offend, for I would not like to fall into his clutches; but, if -compelled to do so, I could divulge some things which would astonish our -Consociation.”</p> - -<p>“Is it possible? Well, of course your duty to the Church and the -Redeemer’s cause will prompt you to make a clean breast of it, and -divulge everything you know against the accused,” responded the excited -clergyman.</p> - -<p>“It is hard to destroy a brother’s reputation and break up the peace of -his family,” answered the meek Mr. Richard.</p> - -<p>“It is the duty of the elect to expose and punish the reprobates,” -replied the sturdy Puritan.</p> - -<p>“But had I not better first tell our brother his fault,<a name="page_744" id="page_744"></a> and give him an -opportunity to confess and be forgiven?”</p> - -<p>“Our brother, as you call him, is undoubtedly a heretic, and the true -faith is wounded by his presence amongst us. The Church must be purged -from unbelief. We must beware of those who would introduce damnable -heresies.”</p> - -<p>“Are you sure that Mr. Dey is an unbeliever?” inquired the modest Mr. -Richard.</p> - -<p>“I have heard that he throws doubt upon the Trinity,—shrugs his -shoulders at some portions of the Saybrook Platform, and has said that -even reprobates may sincerely repent, pray for forgiveness, and be -saved; ay, that he even doubts the damnation of unregenerate infants!”</p> - -<p>“Horrible!” ejaculated Mr. Richard.</p> - -<p>“Yes, horrible indeed! But I trust that our Consociation will -excommunicate him at once and forever. But what do you know concerning -his belief?”</p> - -<p>“I know nothing specially against his belief,” responded Mr. Richard; -“but I have witnessed some of his acts, which I should be almost sorry -to expose.”</p> - -<p>“A mistaken charity. It is your duty to tell the Consociation all you -know regarding the culprit, and I shall insist upon your doing so.”</p> - -<p>“I certainly desire to do that which is right and just; and, as I am but -young in the ministry, I shall defer to your judgment, founded on age -and experience. But I would prefer at first to state to you what I know, -and then will be guided by your advice in regard to giving my testimony -before the Consociation.”</p> - -<p>“A very proper course. You can state the facts to me, and I will give -you my counsel. Now what do you know?”<a name="page_745" id="page_745"></a></p> - -<p>“I know that on more than one occasion I have caught him in the act of -kissing my wife,” replied the injured Mr. Richard.</p> - -<p>“I am not at all astonished,” responded the clergyman; “such conduct -coincides exactly with the opinion I had formed of the man. I -commiserate you, sir, but I honor your sense of duty in divulging such -important facts, even at the expense of exposing serious troubles in -your domestic relations. But, sir, justice must have its course. These -facts must be testified to before the Consociation. Do you know anything -else against the delinquent?”</p> - -<p>“I know something more; but it is of a nature so delicate, and concerns -me personally so seriously, that I must decline divulging it.”</p> - -<p>“Sir, you cannot do that. I will not permit it, but will insist on your -telling the whole truth before our Consociation, though your -heart-strings were to break in consequence. I repeat, sir, that I -sympathize with you personally, but personal feelings must be swallowed -up in the promotion of public good. No sympathy for an individual can be -permitted to clash with the interests of the true Church. You had better -tell me, sir, all you know.”</p> - -<p>“Since you say that duty requires it, I will do so. I have caught him, -under very suspicious circumstances, in my wife’s bedroom,” said the -unfortunate Mr. Richard.</p> - -<p>“Was your wife in bed?” inquired the man with the iron face.</p> - -<p>“She was,” faintly lisped the almost swooning Mr. Richard.</p> - -<p>“Enough, enough,” was the response. “Our Consociation will soon dispose -of the Rev. Richard V. Dey.”<a name="page_746" id="page_746"></a></p> - -<p>The two clergymen had now arrived at Middletown. The Rev. Mr. -Vinegarface rode to the parsonage while Mr. Dey, <i>alias</i> “Mr. Richard,” -went to a small and obscure inn.</p> - -<p>The Consociation commenced the next day. This ecclesiastical body was -soon organized, and, after disposing of several minor questions, it was -proposed to take up the charges of heresy against the Rev. Mr. Dey. The -accused, with a most demure countenance, was conversing with his quondam -travelling companion of the day previous, who upon hearing this -proposition instantly sprang to his feet, and informed the reverend -Chairman that providentially he had been put in possession of facts -which must necessarily result in the immediate expulsion of the culprit -from the Church, and save the necessity of examining testimony on the -question of heresy. “In fact,” continued he, “I am prepared to prove -that the Rev. Richard V. Dey has frequently kissed the wife of one of -our brethren, and has also been caught in a situation which affords -strong evidence of his being guilty of the crime of adultery!”</p> - -<p>A thrill of horror and surprise ran through the assembly. Every eye was -turned to Mr. Dey, who was seated so closely to the last speaker that he -touched him as he resumed his seat. Mr. Dey’s countenance was as placid -as a May morning, and it required keen vision to detect the lurking -smile of satisfaction that peeped from a corner of his eye. A few -minutes of dead silence elapsed.</p> - -<p>“Produce your witnesses,” finally said the Chairman, in an almost -sepulchral voice.</p> - -<p>“I call on the Rev. Mr. Richard, of Fairfield, to corroborate under oath -the charges which I have made,” responded the hard-visaged Puritan.<a name="page_747" id="page_747"></a></p> - -<p>Not a person moved. Mr, Dey looked as unconcerned as if he was an utter -stranger to all present, and understood not the language which they were -speaking.</p> - -<p>“Where is the Rev. Mr. Richard?” inquired the venerable Chairman.</p> - -<p>“Here he is,” responded the accuser, familiarly tapping Mr. Dey on the -shoulder.</p> - -<p>The whole audience burst into such a roar of laughter as probably never -was heard in a like Consociation before.</p> - -<p>The accuser was almost petrified with astonishment at such inconceivable -conduct on the part of that sedate religious assembly.</p> - -<p>Mr. Dey alone maintained the utmost gravity.</p> - -<p>“That, sir, is the Rev. Richard V. Dey,” replied the Chairman, when -order was restored.</p> - -<p>The look of utter dismay which instantly marked the countenance of the -accuser threw the assembly into another convulsion of laughter, during -which Mr. Dey’s victim withdrew, and was not seen again in Middletown. -The charges of heresy were then brought forward. After a brief -investigation, they were dismissed for want of proof, and Mr. Dey -returned to Greenfield triumphant.</p> - -<p>I have often heard Mr. Dey relate the following anecdote. A young couple -called on him one day at his house in Greenfield. They informed him that -they were from the southern portion of the State, and desired to be -married. They were well dressed, made considerable display of jewelry, -and altogether wore an air of respectability. Mr. Dey felt confident -that all was right, and, calling in several witnesses, he proceeded to -unite them in the holy bonds of wedlock.<a name="page_748" id="page_748"></a></p> - -<p>After the ceremonies were concluded, Mr. Dey invited the happy pair (as -was usual in those days) to partake of some cake and wine. They thus -spent a social half-hour together, and, on rising to depart, the -bridegroom handed Mr. Dey a twenty-dollar bank note; remarking that this -was the smallest bill he had, but, if he would be so good as to pay -their hotel bill (they had merely dined and fed their horse at the -hotel), he could retain the balance of the money for his services. Mr. -Dey thanked him for his liberality, and went at once to the hotel with -the lady and gentleman, and informed the landlord that he would settle -their bill. They proceeded on their journey, and the next day it was -discovered that the bank-note was a counterfeit, and that Mr. Dey had to -pay nearly three dollars for the privilege of marrying this loving -couple.</p> - -<p>The newspapers in various parts of the State subsequently published -facts which showed that the affectionate pair got married in every town -they passed through,—thus paying their expenses and fleecing the -clergymen by means of counterfeits.</p> - -<p>One of the deacons of Mr. Dey’s church asked him if he usually kissed -the bride at weddings. “Always,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“How do you manage when the happy pair are negroes?” was the deacon’s -next question. “In all such cases,” replied Mr. Dey, “the duty of -kissing is appointed to the deacons.”</p> - -<p>My grandfather was a Universalist, and for various reasons, fancied or -real, he was bitterly opposed to the Presbyterians in doctrinal views, -though personally some of them were his warmest and most intimate -friends. Being much attached to Mr. Dey, he induced that gentleman<a name="page_749" id="page_749"></a> to -deliver a series of Sunday evening sermons in Bethel; and my grandfather -was not only on all these occasions one of the most prominent and -attentive hearers, but Mr. Dey was always his guest. He would generally -stop over Monday and Tuesday with my grandfather, and, as several of the -most social neighbors were called in, they usually had a jolly time of -it. Occasionally “mine host” would attack Mr. Dey good-naturedly on -theological points, and would generally come off second best; but he -delighted, although vanquished, to repeat the sharp answers with which -Mr. Dey met his objections to the “Confession of Faith.”</p> - -<p>One day, when a dozen or more of the neighbors were present, and -enjoying themselves in passing around the bottle, relating anecdotes, -and cracking jokes, my grandfather called out in a loud tone of voice, -which at once arrested the attention of all present:</p> - -<p>“Friend Dey, I believe you pretend to believe in foreordination?”</p> - -<p>“To be sure I do,” replied Mr. Dey.</p> - -<p>“Well, now, suppose I should spit in your face, what would you do?” -inquired my grandfather.</p> - -<p>“I hope that is not a supposable case,” responded Mr. Dey, “for I should -probably knock you down.”</p> - -<p>“That would be very inconsistent,” replied my grandfather, exultingly; -“for if I spat in your face it would be because it was foreordained I -should do so: why then would you be so unreasonable as to knock me -down?”</p> - -<p>“Because it would be foreordained that I should knock you down,” replied -Mr. Dey, with a smile.</p> - -<p>The company burst into a laugh, in which my grandfather heartily -joined.<a name="page_750" id="page_750"></a></p> - -<p>My father, as well as my grandfather, was very fond of a practical joke, -and he lost no occasion which offered for playing off one upon his -friends and neighbors. In addition to his store, tavern, and -freight-wagon business to Norwalk, he kept a small livery-stable; and on -one occasion, a young man named Nelson Beers applied to him for the use -of a horse to ride to Danbury, a distance of three miles. Nelson was an -apprentice to the shoe-making business, nearly out of his time, was not -over-stocked with brains, and lived a mile and a half east of our -village. My father thought that it would be better for Nelson to make -his short journey on foot than to be at the expense of hiring a horse, -but he did not tell him so.</p> - -<p>We had an old horse named “Bob.” Having reached an age beyond his teens, -he was turned out in a bog lot near our house to die. He was literally a -“living skeleton,”—much in the same condition of the Yankee’s nag, -which was so weak his owner had to hire his neighbor’s horse to help him -draw his last breath. My father, in reply to Nelson’s application, told -him that the livery horses were all out, and he had none at home except -a famous “race-horse,” which he was keeping in low flesh in order to -have him in proper trim to win a great race soon to come off.</p> - -<p>“Oh, do let me have him, Uncle Phile” (my father’s name was Philo; but, -as it was the custom in that region to call everybody uncle, or aunt, or -squire, or deacon, or colonel, or captain, my father’s general title -among his acquaintances was “Uncle Phile”). “I will ride him very -carefully, and not injure him in the least; besides, I will have him -rubbed down and fed in Danbury,” said Nelson Beers.<a name="page_751" id="page_751"></a></p> - -<p>“He is too valuable an animal to risk in the hands of a young man like -you,” responded my father.</p> - -<p>Nelson continued to importune, and my father to play off, until it was -finally agreed that the horse could be had on the condition that he -should in no case be ridden faster than a walk or slow trot, and that he -should be fed four quarts of oats at Danbury.</p> - -<p>Nelson started on his Rosinante, looking for all the world as if he was -on a mission to the carrion crows; but he felt every inch a man, for he -fancied himself astride of the greatest race-horse in the country, and -realized that a heavy responsibility was resting on his shoulders, for -the last words of my father to him were: “Now, Nelson, if any accident -should happen to this animal while under your charge, you could not pay -the damage in a lifetime of labor.”</p> - -<p>Old “Bob” was duly oated and watered at Danbury, and at the end of -several hours Mr. Beers mounted him and started for Bethel. He concluded -to take the “great pasture” road home, that being the name of a new road -cut through swamps and meadows as a shorter route to our village. -Nelson, for the nonce forgetting his responsibility, probably tried the -speed of his race-horse and soon broke him down. At all events something -occurred to weaken old Bob’s nerves, for he came to a stand-still and -Nelson was forced to dismount. The horse trembled with weakness and -Nelson Beers trembled with fright. A small brook was running through the -bogs at the roadside, and Beers, thinking that perhaps his “race-horse” -needed a drink, led him into the stream. Poor old “Bob” stuck fast in -the mud, and, not having strength to withdraw his feet, quietly closed -his eyes, and, like a patriarch as he was, he<a name="page_752" id="page_752"></a> dropped into the soft bed -that was awaiting him, and died without a single kick.</p> - -<p>No language can describe the consternation of poor Beers. He could not -believe his eyes, and vainly tried to open those of his horse. He placed -his ear at the mouth of poor old Bob, but took it away again in utter -dismay. The breath had ceased.</p> - -<p>At last Nelson, groaning as he thought of meeting my father, and -wondering whether eternity added to time would be long enough for him to -earn the value of the horse, took the bridle from the “dead-head,” and -unbuckling the girth, drew off the saddle, placed it on his own back, -and trudged gloomily towards our village.</p> - -<p>It was about sundown when my father espied his victim coming up the -street with the saddle and bridle thrown across his shoulders, his face -wearing a look of the most complete despair. My father was certain that -old Bob had departed this life, and he chuckled inwardly and quietly, -but instantly assumed a most serious countenance. Poor Beers approached -more slowly and mournfully than if he was following a dear friend to the -grave.</p> - -<p>When he came within hailing distance my father called out, “Why, Beers, -is it possible you have been so careless as to let that race-horse run -away from you?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, worse than that,—worse than that, Uncle Phile,” groaned Nelson.</p> - -<p>“Worse than that! Then he has been stolen by some judge of valuable -horses. Oh, what a fool I was to intrust him to anybody!” exclaimed my -father, with well-feigned sorrow.</p> - -<p>“No, he ain’t stolen, Uncle Phile,” said Nelson.</p> - -<p>“Not stolen! Well, I am glad of that, for I shall<a name="page_753" id="page_753"></a> recover him again; -but where is he? I am afraid you have lamed him.”</p> - -<p>“Worse than that,” drawled the unfortunate Nelson.</p> - -<p>“Well, what is the matter? where is he? what ails him?” asked my father.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I can’t tell you,—I can’t tell you!” said Beers with a groan.</p> - -<p>“But you must tell me,” returned my father.</p> - -<p>“It will break your heart,” groaned Beers.</p> - -<p>“To be sure it will if he is seriously injured,” replied my father; “but -where is he?”</p> - -<p>“He is dead!” said Beers, as he nerved himself up for the announcement, -and then, closing his eyes, sank into a chair completely overcome with -fright.</p> - -<p>My father groaned in a way that started Nelson to his feet again. All -the sensations of horror, intense agony, and despair were depicted to -the life on my father’s countenance.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Uncle Phile, Uncle Phile, don’t be too hard with me; I wouldn’t -have had it happen for all the world,” said Beers.</p> - -<p>“You can never recompense me for that horse,” replied my father.</p> - -<p>“I know it, I know it, Uncle Phile; I can only work for you as long as I -live, but you shall have my services till you are satisfied after my -apprenticeship is finished,” returned Beers.</p> - -<p>After a short time my father became more calm, and, although apparently -not reconciled to his loss, he asked Nelson how much he supposed he -ought to owe him.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I don’t know; I am no judge of the value of blood horses, but I -have been told they are worth fortunes sometimes,” replied Beers.<a name="page_754" id="page_754"></a></p> - -<p>“And mine was one of the best in the world,” said my father, “and in -such perfect condition for running,—all bone and muscle.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, I saw that,” said Beers, despondingly, but with a frankness -that showed he did not wish to deny the great claims of the horse and -his owner.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said my father, with a sigh, “as I have no desire to go to law -on the subject, we had better try to agree upon the value of the horse. -You may mark on a slip of paper what sum you think you ought to owe me -for him, and I will do the same; we can then compare notes, and see how -far we differ.”</p> - -<p>“I will mark,” said Beers, “but, Uncle Phile, don’t be too hard with -me.”</p> - -<p>“I will be as easy as I can, and endeavor to make some allowance for -your situation,” said my father; “but, Nelson, when I think how valuable -that horse was, of course I must mark something in the neighborhood of -the amount of cash I could have received for him. I believe, however, -Nelson, that you are an honest young man, and are willing to do what you -think is about right. I therefore wish to caution you not to mark down -one cent more than you really think, under the circumstances, you ought -to pay me when you are able, and for which you are now willing to give -me your note of hand. You will recollect that I told you, when you -applied for the horse, that I did not wish to let him go.”</p> - -<p>Nelson gave my father a grateful look, and assented to all he said. At -least a dozen of our joke-loving neighbors were witnessing the scene -with great apparent solemnity. Two slips of paper were prepared; my -father marked on one, and after much hesitation, Beers wrote on the -other.<a name="page_755" id="page_755"></a></p> - -<p>“Well, let us see what you have marked,” said my father.</p> - -<p>“I suppose you will think it is too low,” replied Beers, handing my -father the slip of paper.</p> - -<p>“Only three hundred and seventy-five dollars!” exclaimed my father, -reading the paper; “well, there is a pretty specimen of gratitude for -you!”</p> - -<p>Nelson was humbled, and could not muster sufficient courage to ask my -father what <i>he</i> had marked. Finally one of our neighbors asked my -father to show his paper—he did so. He had marked, “<i>Six and a quarter -cents</i>.” Our neighbor read it aloud, and a shock of mirth ensued, which -fairly lifted Beers to his feet. It was some time before he could -comprehend the joke, and when he became fully aware that no harm was -done, he was the happiest fellow I have ever seen.</p> - -<p>I might fill a volume with these reminiscences of my younger days, but -turning once more to my foreign notebooks, I find material there which -seems to claim a place in this story-chapter. I am never tired of -telling and laughing at some of my mishaps and adventures in trying to -use the French language, when I first went abroad. It was no unusual -thing to travel half a day in a “diligence,” or in the cars, with some -Englishman, as I would afterwards discover, both of us doing our best to -make ourselves intelligible to each other in French, till at last, in -despair, one or the other would utter the conventional conundrum:</p> - -<p>“<i>Parlez-vous Anglais?</i>”</p> - -<p>“Why, of course; I am an American” (or an Englishman); and then a mutual -roar would follow.</p> - -<p>American, or English, or Dutch French is generally quite a different -thing from “French French.” Thus<a name="page_756" id="page_756"></a> I could always understand the Dutchmen -who spoke to me in French in Amsterdam, and I may add, they could -perfectly understand me. We spoke the same <i>patois</i>. I wrote to my wife, -I remember, from Amsterdam, that I found they spoke much purer French in -that city than in Paris!</p> - -<p>Once on arriving in Paris at the station of the Northern Railway, I, -with other passengers, was in the room devoted to the examination of -baggage. Among the rest, was a party consisting of a New York merchant -and his wife, with their daughter, a young lady of eighteen, who was at -once volatile and voluble. Undoubtedly, she had spoken the best -Madison-Avenue school French for five years or more; and with this she -fairly overwhelmed the official interpreter who was present. After -hearing her for full five minutes, the interpreter gravely asked:</p> - -<p>“Do you speak English, Miss?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“Well, speak English then, if you please, for I can understand your -English better than I can your French.”</p> - -<p>I was one evening at the house of my friend, Mr. John Nimmo, in Paris, -and while waiting for him and his family to return from the theatre, was -entertained for an hour or more by two very agreeable young ladies, to -whom I made such reply in French, from time to time, as I could. At last -came the inevitable inquiry as to the capacity of the young ladies in -the English language:</p> - -<p>“Why, bless us, Mr. Barnum,” was the reply; “we are Scotch governesses, -who are here in Paris simply to learn French!”<a name="page_757" id="page_757"></a></p> - -<p>The last time I went from France to England, arriving late at night, I -stopped in Dover, at the hotel nearest the custom-house, so as to look -after my luggage next day. Ringing my bell early in the morning, for -shaving-water, half asleep I called out to the serving-maid for “<i>l’eau -chaude</i>.”</p> - -<p>“Please, sir,” was the reply, “I do not speak French.”</p> - -<p>“Nor I, either,” said I, promptly; “just bring me some hot water, if you -please.”</p> - -<p>But some of the English have a queer way of speaking their own language, -and the cockney’s management of what he would call the “haspirate” is -sufficiently familiar. Crowding into Exeter Hall, London, at an -entertainment, one evening, I heard the usher just before me shouting -out seats, as he looked at the checks, in this fashion:</p> - -<p>“Letter Ha, first row; letter Hef, sixth row; letter He, fifth row; -letter Hi, ninth row”; and so on. Seeing that my own check was “L,” I -showed it to him, and quietly inquired:</p> - -<p>“Where do I go to, usher?”</p> - -<p>“You go to Hell,” was the prompt response; which was not intended to be -either profane or impolite.</p> - -<p>But I must bring this story-telling chapter—an episode in the narrative -of graver events in my autobiography—to a close, and discourse of -Sea-side Park and Waldemere.<a name="page_758" id="page_758"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLVI" id="CHAPTER_XLVI"></a>CHAPTER XLVI.<br /><br /> -<small>SEA-SIDE PARK.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">INTEREST IN PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS—OLD PARK PROJECTS—OPPOSITION OF -OLD FOGIES—THE SOUND SHORE AT BRIDGEPORT—INACCESSIBLE -PROPERTY—THE EYE OF FAITH—TALKING TO THE FARMERS—REACHING THE -PUBLIC THROUGH THE PAPERS—HOW THE LAND WAS SECURED FOR A GREAT -PLEASURE-GROUND—GIFTS TO THE PEOPLE—OPENING OF SEA-SIDE PARK—THE -MOST BEAUTIFUL GROUND BETWEEN NEW YORK AND BOSTON—MAGNIFICENT -DRIVES—THE ADVANTAGES OF THE LOCATION—MUSIC FOR THE MILLION—BY -THE SEA-SIDE—FUTURE OF THE PARK—A PERPETUAL BLESSING TO -POSTERITY.</p></div> - -<p>F<small>ROM</small> the time when I first settled in Bridgeport and turned my attention -to opening and beautifying new avenues, and doing whatever lay in my -power to extend and improve that charming city, I was exceedingly -anxious that public parks should be established, especially one where -good drive-ways, and an opportunity for the display of the many fine -equipages for which Bridgeport is celebrated, could be afforded. Mr. -Noble and I began the movement by presenting to the city the beautiful -ground in East Bridgeport now known as Washington Park,—a most -attractive promenade and breathing place and a continual resort for -citizens on both sides of the river, particularly in the summer -evenings, when one of the city bands is an additional attraction to the -pleasant spot. Thus our new city was far in advance of Bridgeport proper -in providing a prime necessity for the health and amusement of the -people.</p> - -<p>Our park projects in the city date as far back as the<a name="page_759" id="page_759"></a></p> - -<p><a name="SEA_SIDE_PARK" id="SEA_SIDE_PARK"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p758_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p758_sml.jpg" width="535" height="356" alt="SEA-SIDE PARK" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">SEA-SIDE PARK</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">year 1850. At that time, by an arrangement with Deacon David Sherwood, -who lived in Fairfield, a few rods west of the Bridgeport line, and who -owned land adjoining mine, we agreed to throw open a large plot of -ground free to the public, provided State Street, in Bridgeport, was -continued west so as to pass through this land. But a few “old fogies” -through whose land the street would pass, thereby improving their -property thousands of dollars in value, stupidly opposed the project in -the Fairfield town-meeting, and the measure was defeated. Seventeen -years afterwards, in 1867, after a long sleep, these same old fogies -managed to awake, as did the citizens of Fairfield generally, and then -State Street was extended without opposition; but property, to some -extent, had changed hands and had largely increased in value, so that -the chance of having a free park in that locality was forever lost, and -the town was actually obliged to pay Deacon Sherwood for the privilege -of continuing the highway through his land. How many similar -opportunities for benefiting the public and posterity in all coming time -are carelessly thrown away in every town, through the mere stupidity of -mole-eyed land-owners, who stand as stumbling-blocks not only in the way -of public improvements, but directly in opposition to their individual -interests, and thus for scores of years rob the community of the -pleasures to be derived from broad avenues lined with shade-trees and -from open and free public grounds.</p> - -<p>Up to the year 1865, the shore of Bridgeport west of the public wharves, -and washed by the waters of Long Island Sound, was inaccessible to -carriages, or even to horsemen, and almost impossible for pedestrianism. -The shore edge in fact was strewn with rocks and boulders,<a name="page_760" id="page_760"></a> which made -it, like “Jordan” in the song, an exceedingly “hard road to travel.” A -narrow lane reaching down to the shore enabled parties to drive near to -the water for the purpose of clamming, and occasionally bathing; but it -was all claimed as private property by the land proprietors, whose farms -extended down to the water’s edge. On several occasions at low tide, I -endeavored to ride along the shore on horseback for the purpose of -examining “the lay of the land,” in the hope of finding it feasible to -get a public drive along the water’s edge. On one occasion, in 1863, I -succeeded in getting my horse around from the foot of Broad Street in -Bridgeport to a lane over the Fairfield line, a few rods west of -“Iranistan Avenue,” a grand street which I have since opened at my own -expense, and through my own land. From the observations I made that day, -I was satisfied that a most lovely park and public drive might be, and -ought to be opened along the whole water-front as far as the western -boundary line of Bridgeport, and even extending over the Fairfield line.</p> - -<p>Foreseeing that in a few years such an improvement would be too late, -and having in mind the failure of the attempt in 1850 to provide a park -for the people of Bridgeport, I immediately began to agitate the subject -in the Bridgeport papers, and also in daily conversations with such of -my fellow-citizens as I thought would take an earnest and immediate -interest in the enterprise. I urged that such an improvement would -increase the taxable value of property in that vicinity many thousands -of dollars, and thus enrich the city treasury; that it would improve the -value of real estate generally in the city; that it would be an -additional attraction to<a name="page_761" id="page_761"></a> strangers who came to spend the summer with -us, and to those who might be induced from other considerations to make -the city their permanent residence; that the improvement would throw -into market some of the most beautiful building-sites that could be -found anywhere in Connecticut; and I dwelt upon the absurdity, almost -criminality, that a beautiful city like Bridgeport, lying on the shore -of a broad expanse of salt water, should so cage itself in, that not an -inhabitant could approach the beach. With these and like arguments and -entreaties I plied the people day in and day out, till some of them -began to be familiarized with the idea that a public park close upon the -shore of the Sound was at least a possible if not probable thing.</p> - -<p>But certain “conservatives,” as they are called, said: “Barnum is a -hair-brained fellow, who thinks he can open and people a New-York -Broadway through a Connecticut wilderness”; and the “old fogies” added: -“Yes, he is trying to start another chestnut-wood fire for the city to -blow forever; but the city or town of Bridgeport will not pay out money -to lay out or to purchase public parks. If people want to see green -grass and trees, they have only to walk or drive half a mile either way -from the city limits, and they will come to farms where they can see -either or both for nothing; and, if they are anxious to see salt water, -and to get a breath of the Sound breeze, they can take boats at the -wharves, and sail or row till they are entirely satisfied.”</p> - -<p>Thus talked the conservatives and the “old fogies,” who unhappily, even -if they are in a minority, are always a force in all communities. I soon -saw that it was of no use to expect to get the city to pay for a park. -The next thing was to see if the land could not be procured<a name="page_762" id="page_762"></a> free of -charge, or at a nominal cost, provided the city would improve and -maintain it as a public park. I 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.’ Such trials of -patience as I underwent in a twelvemonth, in the endeavor to carry this -point, few persons who have not undertaken like almost hopeless labor -can comprehend. At last I enlisted the attention of Messrs. Nathaniel -Wheeler, James Loomis, Francis Ives, Frederick Wood, and a few more -gentlemen, and persuaded them to walk with me over the ground, which to -me seemed in every way practicable for a park. These gentlemen, who were -men of taste as well as of enterprise and public spirit, very soon -coincided in my ideas as to the feasibility of the plan and the -advantages of the site; and some of them went with me to talk with the -land-owners, adding their own pleas to the arguments I had already -advanced. At last, after much pressing and persuading, we 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 the small Mallett 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<a name="page_763" id="page_763"></a> was for sale,—and, to -overcome the difficulty in the way of its transfer for the public -benefit, I bought it for about $12,000, and then presented the required -front to the park. I did not want this land or any portion of it for my -own purposes or profit, and I offered a thousand dollars to any one who -would take my place in the transaction; but no one accepted, and I was -quite willing to contribute so much of the land as was needed for so -noble an object. Indeed, besides this, I gave $1,400 towards purchasing -other land and improving the park; and, after months of persistent and -personal effort, I 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 I had the pleasure of naming this new -and great public improvement, “Sea-side Park.”</p> - -<p>Public journals are generally exponents of public opinion; and how the -people viewed the new purchase, now their own property, may be judged by -the following extracts from the leading local newspapers, when the land -for the new enterprise was finally secured:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="c">OUR SEA-SIDE PARK.</p> - -<p class="c">[<i>From the “Bridgeport Standard,” August 21, 1865.</i>]</p> - -<p>Bridgeport has taken another broad stride of which she may well be -proud. The Sea-side Park is a fixed fact. Yesterday Messrs. P. T. -Barnum, Captain John Brooks, Mr. George Bailey, Captain Burr Knapp, -and Henry Wheeler generously donated to this city sufficient land -for the Park, with the exception of seven or eight acres, which -have been purchased by private subscriptions. Last night the Common -Council appointed excellent Park Commissioners, and work on the -sea-wall and the avenues surrounding the Park will be commenced at -once. Besides securing the most lovely location for a park to be -found between New York and Boston, which for all time will be a -source of pride to our city and State, there is no estimating the -pecuniary advantage which this great improvement will eventually -prove to our citizens. Plans are on foot and enterprises are -agitated in regard to a park hotel, sea-side cottages, horse -railroad branch, and other features, which, when consummated, will -serve to amaze our citizens to think that such a delightful -sea-side frontage has been permitted to lie so long unimproved. To -Mr. P. T. Barnum, we believe, is awarded the credit of originating<a name="page_764" id="page_764"></a> -this beautiful improvement, and certainly to his untiring, -constant, and persevering personal efforts are we indebted for its -being finally consummated. Hon. James C. Loomis was the first man -who heartily joined with Barnum in pressing the plan of a sea-side -park upon the attention of our citizens, but it is due to our -citizens themselves to say that, with an extraordinary unanimity, -they have not only voted to appropriate $10,000 from the city -treasury to making the avenues around the Park, and otherwise -improving it, but they have also generously aided by private -contributions in purchasing such land as was not freely given for -the Park. Of course, we shall not only, at an early day, publish -the names of such citizens as have subscribed money for this -purpose, but they will also be handed down to posterity, as they -will richly deserve, in the publication of the Park Commissioners.</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="c">[<i>From the “Bridgeport Standard,” August 21, 1865.</i>]</p> - -<p>The names of P. T. Barnum, Capt. John Brooks, Mr. George Bailey, -Capt. Burr Knapp and Henry Wheeler have gone into history as the -generous contributors to the best enterprise ever attempted for the -benefit of our city; and the city has accepted the trust with the -most commendable promptness, and appointed its commissioners, who -have already entered upon their duties. We shall watch now with -eager interest the unfolding and development of such a park as can -nowhere be found on either side of the Sound, and one which shall -be “a thing of beauty and a joy forever” to our city.</p> - -<p>It needs but the hand of skilful art, assisted by a proper public -spirit, to render the Sea-side Park a charmed spot of delightful -resort for public drives or private walks. The commissioners chosen -to superintend the inauguration of the laying out and improvements -of the grounds are men of correct taste, of good judgment and of -liberal and comprehensive views as to the wants and demands of a -growing city like Bridgeport. They understand that Nature is here -to be made so attractive by Art, that all classes shall be drawn -hither not merely for the pleasure of enjoying a favorite resort -but also for the profit which comes to the nobler impulses of our -nature, by the contemplation of cunning handicraft upon the -landscape, as God left it for man to adorn and beautify. Here will -be planted trees of every variety that will endure the temperature -of this latitude, and flowers of every hue and perfume; here will -walks serpentine through shady groves, and anon lead out to behold -the broad expanse of the beautiful Sound.</p> - -<p>Some one has aptly said, that one work of art was worth a thousand -lectures on art. Here, then, let the statues of the artist be -placed, to educate the masses by their silent teachings, and win -them to higher ideas and better views of life by their mute -eloquence. One feature of American parks is especially worthy of -mention: they are essentially and emphatically democratic. They are -made for the people, and are in turn appreciated by the people. -They are open alike to the millionnaire with his coach-and-six, and -the poor pedestrian without a penny. The advantages possessed by -Bridgeport as a manufacturing city are becoming daily more and more -appreciated by business-men from various portions of the country. -There is no city in the State which can compare with ours in the -recent erection of large and permanent manufacturing -establishments. This fact brings into our midst a large industrial -population, for which, even now, the supply of dwellings is -inadequate to the demand. This population, commingling and -combining with our own, and possessing energy, enterprise, business -tact and intelligence, will rapidly develop the resources of our -city and its surroundings for mechanical pursuits, and the -productions of the various manufacturing establishments<a name="page_765" id="page_765"></a> already -erected, or in process of erection. To such a class, the benefits -of a Park, possessing such facilities for recreation and -improvement as the Sea-side Park will present, will be -incalculable, in fostering the health, promoting the happiness, and -elevating the taste of all who can avail themselves of its -beneficial influences.</p> - -<p>To the public-spirited gentlemen who have so generously donated to -the city the land for the Sea-side Park, Bridgeport owes a debt of -gratitude which she can never repay. Their names will descend to -posterity, and be remembered with pride and exultation as among the -noblest of public benefactors, so long as the flowers bloom and the -waves wash the margin of the Sea-side Park. No citizen of -Bridgeport, identified with her growth and prosperity, and having -the future welfare of the city at heart, should fail to contribute, -in such a manner as best he may, to such a grand improvement. Let -our citizens take hold of this noble enterprise with that large and -liberal spirit in which it has been conceived and thus far -consummated, and Bridgeport will ere long possess an attraction -which will draw hither for permanent residence much of the wealth -and intelligence, refinement and virtue of the great metropolis, -which now sequesters itself along the banks of the Hudson, or among -the sand-knolls of New Jersey.</p></div> - -<p>Thus was my long-cherished plan at length fulfilled; nor did my efforts -end here, for I aided and advised in all important matters in the laying -out and progress of the new park; and in July, 1869, I gave to the city -several acres of land, worth at the lowest valuation $5,000, which were -added to and included in this public pleasure-ground, and now make the -west end of the park.</p> - -<p>At the beginning, the park on paper and the park in reality were two -quite different things. The inaccessibility of the site was remedied by -approaches which permitted the hundreds of workmen to begin to grade the -grounds, and to lay out the walks and drives. The rocks and boulders -over which I had more than once attempted to make my way on foot and on -horseback were devoted to the building of a substantial sea-wall, under -the able superintendence of Mr. David W. Sherwood. Paths were opened, -shade-trees were planted; and fortunately there was in the very centre -of the ground a beautiful grove of full growth, which is one of the most -attractive features of this now charming spot; and a broad and -magnificent drive follows the curves of the shore and<a name="page_766" id="page_766"></a> encircles the -entire park. Although work is constantly going on and much remains to be -done, yet a considerable portion of the park presents a finished -appearance: a large covered music-stand has been built; and, on a rising -piece of the ground, a substantial foundation has been built for a -Soldiers’ Monument. The corner-stone of this monument was laid with -impressive ceremonies and a military display, in the presence of a large -concourse of citizens and soldiers, among whom were Major-General Alfred -H. Terry, U. S. A.; Major-General and Governor Joseph H. Hawley; -Adjutant-General Charles T. Stanton; Quartermaster-General Julius S. -Gilman; Surgeon-General Philo G. Rockwell; Paymaster-General William B. -Wooster; Aides-de-Camp and Colonel John H. Burnham, Alford P. Rockwell, -William H. Mallory, Charles M. Coit, General S. W. Kellogg, of the First -Brigade; Colonel S. E. Merwin, jr., Colonel Crawford, and other officers -of the Governor’s staff, and of the Connecticut State Militia.</p> - -<p>The branch horse-railroad already reaches one of the main entrances, and -brings down crowds of people every day and evening, and especially on -the evenings in which the band plays. At such times the avenues are not -only thronged with superb equipages and crowds of people, but the whole -harbor is alive with row-boats, sail-boats and yachts. The views on all -sides are charming. In the rear is the city, with its roofs and spires; -Black Rock and Stratford lights are in plain sight; to the eastward and -southward stretches “Old Long Island’s sea-girt shore”; and between lies -the broad expanse of the salt water, with its ever “fresh” breezes, and -the perpetual panorama of sails and steamers. I do not believe that a -million dollars to-day would compensate<a name="page_767" id="page_767"></a> the city of Bridgeport for the -loss of what is confessed to be the most delightful public -pleasure-ground between New York and Boston.</p> - -<p>For these magnificent results, accomplished in so short a time, the -people of Bridgeport are indebted to the park commissioners, and -especially to Mr. Nathaniel Wheeler, whose untiring energy and exquisite -taste have been mainly instrumental in bringing this work forward to its -present state of completion.</p> - -<p>There is easy and cheap access to this ground by means of the -horse-railroad from East Bridgeport and Fairfield, and numerous avenues -open directly upon the park from Bridgeport. It is the daily resort of -thousands, who go to inhale the salt sea-air; and the main drive is -already, on a lesser scale, to the citizens of Bridgeport, what the -grand avenue in Central Park is to the people of New York; with this -priceless advantage, however, in favor of Sea-side Park, of a frontage -on the Sound, and a shore on which the waves are ever breaking, and -sounding the grand, unending story of the mysteries of the great deep.</p> - -<p>On the western and northern margins of this public ground, in sight of -the Sound and in full view of every part of the park, will hereafter be -built the villas and mansions of the wealthiest citizens, and, when the -hand that now pens these lines is stilled forever, and thousands look -from these sea-side residences across the water to Long-Island shore, -and over the groves and lawns and walks and drives of the beautiful -ground at their feet, it may be a source of gratification and pride to -my posterity to hear the expressions of gratitude that possibly will be -expressed to the memory of their ancestor who secured to all future -generations the benefits and blessings of Sea-side Park.<a name="page_768" id="page_768"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XLVII" id="CHAPTER_XLVII"></a>CHAPTER XLVII.<br /><br /> -<small>WALDEMERE.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">MY PRIVATE LIFE—PLANS FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT IN -BRIDGEPORT—OPENING AVENUES—PLANTING SHADE-TREES—OLD -FOGIES—CONSERVATISM A CURSE TO CITIES—BENEFITING BARNUM’S -PROPERTY—SALE OF LINDENCROFT—LIVING IN A FARM-HOUSE—BY THE -SEA-SHORE—ANOTHER NEW HOME—WALDEMERE—HOW IT CAME TO BE -BUILT—MAGIC AND MONEY—WAVEWOOD AND THE PETREL’S NEST—MY -FARM—THE HOLLAND BLANKET CATTLE—MY CITY RESIDENCE—COMFORTS OF -CITY LIFE—BEGGING LETTERS—MY FAMILY—RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS—MY -FIFTY-NINTH BIRTHDAY—THE END OF THE RECORD.</p></div> - -<p>W<small>HAT</small> I can call, without undue display of egotism or vanity, my “public -life,” may be said to have closed with my formal and final retirement -from the managerial profession, when my second Museum was destroyed by -fire, March 3, 1868. But he must have been a careless reader of these -pages, which record the acts and aspirations of a long and industrious -career, who does not see that what, in opposition to my “public life,” -may be considered my “private life,” has also been largely devoted to -the comfort, convenience, and permanent prosperity of the community with -which so many of my hopes and happiest days are thoroughly identified. I -speak of these things, I trust, with becoming modesty, and yet with less -reluctance than I should do, if my fellow-citizens of Bridgeport had not -generally and generously awarded me sometimes, perhaps, more than my -need of praise for my unremitting and earnest efforts to<a name="page_769" id="page_769"></a></p> - -<p><a name="WALDEMERE" id="WALDEMERE"></a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/p768_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p768_sml.jpg" width="545" height="376" alt="WALDEMERE." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">WALDEMERE.</span> -</div> - -<p class="nind">promote whatever would conduce to the growth and improvement of our -charming city.</p> - -<p>When I first selected Bridgeport as a permanent residence for my family, -its nearness to New York and the facilities for daily transit to and -from the metropolis were present and partial considerations only in the -general advantages the location seemed to offer. Nowhere, 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.</p> - -<p>Consequently, and quite naturally, when I projected and established my -first residence in Bridgeport, I was exceedingly desirous that all the -surroundings of Iranistan should accord with the beauty and completeness -of that place. I was never a victim to that mania which possesses many -men of even moderate means to “own everything that joins them,” and I -knew that Iranistan would so increase the value of surrounding property -that none but first-class residences would be possible in the vicinity. -But there was other work to do, which, while affording advantageous -approaches to my property, would at the same time be a lasting benefit -to the public;<a name="page_770" id="page_770"></a> and so I opened Iranistan Avenue, and other broad and -beautiful streets, through land which I freely purchased and as freely -gave to the public, and these highways are now the most convenient as -well as charming in the city.</p> - -<p>To have opened all these new avenues, in their entire length, at my own -cost, and through my own ground, would have required a confirmation of -Miss Lavinia Warren’s opinion, that what little of the city of -Bridgeport and the adjacent town of Fairfield was not owned by General -Tom Thumb, belonged to P. T. Barnum. It is true that, apart from my East -Bridgeport property, I became a very large owner of real estate on the -other side of the river, in Bridgeport proper and in Fairfield, my -purchases in Fairfield lying on and so near to the boundary -line—Division Street—as virtually to be in Bridgeport. Everywhere -through my own lands I laid out and threw open to the public, streets of -the generous width which distinguished the old “King’s roads” in the -colonies, before grasping farmers and others encroached upon, and fenced -in as private property, land that really belonged to the public forever; -and on both sides of every avenue I laid out and planted a profusion of -elms and other trees. In this way, I have opened miles of new streets, -and have planted thousands of shade-trees in Bridgeport; for I think -there is much wisdom in the advice of the Laird of Dumbiedikes, in -Scott’s “Heart of Mid-Lothian,” who sensibly says: “When ye hae naething -else to do, ye may be aye sticking in a tree; it will be growing when -ye’re sleeping.” But, in establishing new streets, too often, when I had -gone through my own land, the project came literally to an end; some -“old fogy” blocked the way,—my way,<a name="page_771" id="page_771"></a> his own way, and the highway,—and -all I could do would be to jump over his field, and continue my new -street through land I might own on the other side, till I reached the -desired terminus in the end or continuation of some other street; or -till, unhappily, I came to a dead stand-still at the ground of some -other “old fogy,” who, like the original owners of what is now the -shore-front of Sea-side Park, “did not believe there was money to be -made by giving away their property.”</p> - -<p>And this is the manner in which these old fogies talked: “We don’t -believe in these improvements of Barnum’s. What’s the use of them? We -can get to the city by the old road or street, as we have done for forty -years. The new street will cut the pasture or mowing-lot in two, and -make a checkerboard of the farm. It was bad enough to have the railroad -go through, and we would have prevented that if we could; but this new -street business is all bosh!” And then, singularly enough, every old -fogy would wind up with: “I declare, I believe the whole thing is only -to benefit Barnum, so that he can sell land, which he bought anywhere -from sixty to two hundred dollars an acre, at the rate of five thousand -dollars an acre in building-lots, as he is actually doing to-day.”</p> - -<p>It is strange indeed that these men, who could see the benefit to -“Barnum’s property” by opening new streets which would immediately -convert cheap farm and pasture land into choice and high-priced -building-lots, should not see that precisely the same thing would -proportionately increase the value of their own property. Conservatism -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<a name="page_772" id="page_772"></a> 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 annoyances 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.</p> - -<p>In the summer of 1867, the health of my wife continuing to decline, her -physician directed that she should remove nearer to the sea-shore; and, -as she felt that the care of a large establishment like Lindencroft was -more than she could bear, I sold that place. I have already spoken of my -building of this residence. It<a name="page_773" id="page_773"></a> was emphatically a labor of love. All -that taste and money could do was fairly lavished upon Lindencroft; so -that, when all was finished, it was not only a complete house in all -respects, but it was a perfect home. And a home I meant it to be, in -every and the best sense of the word, for my declining years. -Consequently, from basement to attic, everything was constructed, by -days’ work, in the most perfect manner possible. Convenience and comfort -were first consulted, and thereafter, with no attempt at ostentation, -elegance, pure and simple, predominated and permeated everywhere. No -first-class house in the metropolis was more replete with all that goes -to constitute a complete dwelling-place. Under this new roof I gathered -my library, my pictures, my souvenirs of travel in other lands, and -assembled my household “gods”; while the surrounding grounds, adorned -with statuary and fountains, displayed also, in the walks, the arbors, -the lawns, the garden, the piled-up rocks even, the profusion of trees -and shrubbery, and the wealth of rare and beautiful flowers, my wife’s -exquisite taste, which in times past had made the grounds of our loved -and lost Iranistan so celebrated as well as charming. It was hard indeed -to tear ourselves from this fascinating spot, but there are times when -even the charms of home must be sacrificed to the claims of health.</p> - -<p>Lindencroft was sold July 1, 1867, and we immediately removed for a -summer’s sojourn to a small farm-house adjoining Sea-side Park. During -the hot days of the next three months we found the delightful sea-breeze -so bracing and refreshing that the season passed like a happy dream, and -we resolved that our future summers should be spent on the very shore of -Long Island Sound. I did not, however, perfect my arrangements<a name="page_774" id="page_774"></a> in time -to prepare my own summer residence for the ensuing season; and during -the hot months of 1868 we resided in a new and very pretty house I had -just completed on State Street, in Bridgeport, and which I subsequently -sold, as I intended doing when I built it. But, towards the end of the -summer, I added by purchase to the Mallett farm, adjoining Sea-side -Park, a large and beautiful hickory grove, which seemed to be all that -was needed to make the site exactly what I desired for a summer -residence. It will be remembered that I bought this Mallett farm, not -for myself, but so that a portion of it could be devoted to the public -park; and, a generous slice having been thus given away, there were -several acres remaining which were admirably adapted to one or more -residences, and the purchase of the grove property made the location -nearly perfect.</p> - -<p>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. I planned a house which -should combine the greatest convenience with the highest comfort, -keeping in mind always that houses are 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 my own 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<a name="page_775" id="page_775"></a> -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 we moved into the completed house in June following, in 1869.</p> - -<p>It required a regiment of faithful laborers and mechanics, and a very -considerable expenditure of money, to accomplish so much in so short a -space of time. Those who saw a comparatively barren waste thus suddenly -converted to a blooming garden, and, by the successful transplanting and -judicious placing of very large and full-grown forest trees, made to -seem like a long-settled place, considered the creation of my new summer -home almost a work of magic; but there is no magic when determination -and dollars combine to achieve a work. When we moved into this new -residence, we formally christened the place “Waldemere,”—literally, but -not so euphoniously, “Waldammeer,” “Woods-by-the-Sea,”—for I preferred -to give this native child of my own conception an American name of my -own creation.</p> - -<p>On the same estate, and fronting the new avenue I opened between my own -property and the public park, I built at the same time two beautiful -cottages, one of which is known as the “Petrel’s Nest,” and the other, -occupied by my eldest daughter, Mrs. Thompson, and my youngest daughter, -Mrs. Seeley, as a summer residence, is called “Wavewood.” From the east -front of Waldemere, across the sloping lawn, and through the reaches of -the grove, these cottages are in sight, and before the three residences -stretches the broad Sound,<a name="page_776" id="page_776"></a> with nothing to cut off the view, and -nothing intervening but the western portion of Sea-side Park. Sea-side -and sea-breezes, however, do not include the sum of rural felicities in -summer; and so I still keep possession of the fine farm which, years -ago, was the scene of the elephant-plowing feats. On this property, -which is in charge of a judicious farmer, I have some very fine imported -stock, including several head of the celebrated white-blanket “Dutch -cattle,” which excite the curiosity and attract the attention of all who -see them. These cattle are black, with a distinctly defined white -“blanket” around their bodies, giving them a very unique appearance; and -when they struck my fancy in Holland, some years ago, I imported several -of them: nor is their singular appearance their best recommendation, for -they are excellent milkers, and my dairy and farm products keep my table -constantly supplied with fresh fruits and vegetables, poultry, and that -choicest of country luxuries, pure cream.</p> - -<p>Amid such comforts, advantages, and luxuries the summer months speed -swiftly and sweetly by. My well-supplied stables afford the means of -enjoying the numberless delightful drives which abound in the vicinity; -and my salt-water-loving friend, Mr. George A. Wells, is always ready to -minister to the pleasure of myself or my guests by tendering the use of -anything in his Sound fleet, from a row-boat to a yacht. The five months -in the year which I devote to rural rest seem all too short for the -enjoyment which is necessarily compressed in the twenty weeks. But I can -feel at the end of the season that it is a consolidation as well as -compression, not only of pleasure, but of capital, in the way of health -and vigor for the winter’s campaign of city living and metropolitan -excitement.<a name="page_777" id="page_777"></a></p> - -<p>For, at my time of life, and especially for a man who has had so much to -do with the metropolitan million as I have done, I am convinced that the -city is the most congenial residence during the cooler season of the -year. No matter how active may have been one’s life, as a man grows -older, if he does not become a little lazy, he at least learns to crave -for comfortable ease and seeks for quiet. To such a man, the city in -winter extends numberless pleasures. There is a sense of satisfaction -even in the well-cleared sidewalks after a snow-storm, and an almost -selfish happiness in looking out upon a storm from a well-warmed library -or parlor window. One loves to find the morning papers, fresh from the -press, lying upon the breakfast-table; and the city is the centre of -attractions in the way of operas, concerts, picture-galleries, -libraries, the best music, the best preaching, the best of everything in -æsthetical enjoyments. Having made up my mind to spend seven months of -every year in the city, in the summer of 1867 I purchased the elegant -and most eligibly situated mansion, No. 438 Fifth Avenue, corner of -Thirty-ninth Street, at the crowning point of Murray Hill, in New York, -and moved into it in November. My residence therein in the winter season -has fully confirmed my impressions in its favor. The house is replete -with all that can constitute a pleasant home, and the location is so -near to Central Park that we spend hours of every fine day in that great -pleasure-ground. While I am in town, it is scarcely more than once or -twice a week that I take pains to ascertain by personal observation that -I am living on the edge of a toiling, excited city of a million -inhabitants. My pecuniary interests in Connecticut and in New York -occupy my attention sufficiently to<a name="page_778" id="page_778"></a> keep me from <i>ennui</i>, and an -extended correspondence—for which I do not yet feel the need of a -private secretary—employs an hour or more of every day. I have had -letters from New Zealand, and other remote quarters of the globe, -respecting curiosities, and addressed simply to “Mr. Barnum, America,” -and the post-office officials, knowing of no other Barnum who would be -likely to receive letters from such out-of-the-way places, regularly put -these vaguely addressed letters in my New York box.</p> - -<p>Yet I suppose that not less than two-thirds of all the letters I receive -are earnest petitions for pecuniary aid. This begging-letter business -began to persecute me as long ago as the time of the Jenny Lind -engagement, and even before. Many of these letters ask money as a free -gift, and some of them demand assistance; while others request temporary -loans, or invite me to furnish the capital for enterprises which are -certain to bring the richest returns to all concerned therein. When I -was travelling with Jenny Lind, I received a letter from a woman in -Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, who informed me that she had named her -just-born boy-and-girl twins “P. T. Barnum” and “Jenny Lind,” coolly -adding that we might send $5,000 for their immediate wants, and make -such provision for their future education and support as might be -determined upon at the proper time! In some of these letters, the -amusement afforded by the orthography and grammar was almost a -compensation for the annoyance and impudence of the requests. One very -bad speller, referring me to a former employer of the letter-writer, -wrote: “I Can rePhurr you too Him”; another, urging his petition, -declared; “god Nose I am Poore”; and not long ago I received a -communication<a name="page_779" id="page_779"></a> from an old man who claimed to be too decrepid to earn a -support, but he urged that he was a religious man, and added: “I tak -grait pleshur in Readin my bibel, speshily the Proffits”; and it did -look a little as if he had a sharp eye to the “Proffits.”</p> - -<p>I have said but little in these pages of the immediate circle which is -nearest and dearest to me. My wife, with whom I have lived so many happy -years, and who has been my support in adversity and my solace in -prosperity, still survives. Our children are all daughters: Caroline C., -the eldest, was married to Mr. David W. Thompson, October 19, 1852; -Helen M., my second daughter, was married to Mr. Samuel H. Hurd, October -20, 1857; Frances J., the third daughter, was born May 1, 1842, and died -April 11, 1844; and Pauline T., the fourth daughter, was married on her -birthday, March 1, 1866, to Mr. Nathan Seeley. For my eldest daughter I -built and furnished a beautiful house on ground near Iranistan, and she -moved into it immediately after her marriage, though of late years she -has resided in New-York in winter and in Bridgeport in summer. For Helen -and Pauline, I bought and furnished handsome houses in Lexington Avenue, -in New-York, within a short distance of my own city residence in Fifth -Avenue. A fine young rising generation of my grandchildren is growing up -around them and me.</p> - -<p>I have written as little as might be, too, about my religious principles -and profession, because I agree with the man who, in answer to the -pressing inquiry, declared that he had “no religion to <i>speak</i> of”; and -I believe with him that true religion is more a matter of work than of -words. When I am in the city, I regularly attend the services and -preaching of the Rev. Dr. E. H.<a name="page_780" id="page_780"></a> Chapin, and I usually go to the -meetings of the same denomination in Bridgeport. “He builds too low who -builds beneath the skies”; and I can truly say that I have always felt -my entire dependence upon Him who is the dispenser of all adversity, as -well as the giver of all good. With a natural proclivity to look upon -the bright side of things, I am sure that under some of the burdens—the -Jerome entanglement, for instance—which have borne so heavily upon me, -I should have been tempted, as others have been, to suicide, if I had -supposed that my troubles were brought upon me by mere blind chance. I -knew that I deserved what I received; I had placed too much confidence -in mere money and my own personal efforts; I was too much concerned in -material prosperity; and I felt that the blow was wisely intended for my -ultimate benefit,—a chastening, which, like the husks to the prodigal -son, should cause me to “come to myself,” and teach me the lesson that -there is something infinitely better than money or position or worldly -prosperity in our “Father’s house.”</p> - -<p>And I should be ungrateful indeed, if on my birthday, this fifth of -July, 1869, when I enter upon my sixtieth year in full health and vigor, -with the possibility of many happy days to come, I did not reverently -recognize the beneficent Hand that has crowned me with so many comforts, -and surrounded me with so many blessings. It is on this day, in my own -beautiful home of Waldemere, that I write these concluding lines, which -record a long and busy career, with the sincere hope that my -experiences, if not my example, will benefit my fellow-men.</p> - -<p class="c">(844th page, including engravings.)<a name="page_845" id="page_845"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="APPENDIX" id="APPENDIX"></a>APPENDIX.<br /><br /> -<small>REST ONLY FOUND IN ACTION.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">A NEW EXPERIENCE—“DOING NOTHING” A FAILURE—EXCITEMENT -DEMANDED-VISIT OF ENGLISH FRIENDS—I SHOW THEM OUR COUNTRY—NIAGARA -FALLS—WE VISIT CUBA—NEW ORLEANS—MAMMOTH -CAVE—WASHINGTON—“CASTLE THUNDER”—TRIP TO CALIFORNIA—SALT LAKE -CITY—I OFFER BRIGHAM YOUNG TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO “SHOW” -HIM “DOWN EAST”—AM “INTERVIEWED” AT SACRAMENTO AND SAN -FRANCISCO—THE CHINESE—SEA LIONS—THE GEYSERS—MARIPOSA—THE BIG -TREES—INSPIRATION POINT—YOSEMITE VALLEY—THE REMARKABLE TOWN OF -GREELEY, IN COLORADO—QUEBEC—SAGINAW RIVER—SARATOGA—ALICE -CARY—WILD BUFFALO HUNT IN KANSAS—MY GREAT TRAVELLING SHOW—THE -WINTER EXHIBITION IN NEW YORK—THE EMPIRE RINK—SUCCESS OF THE -SHOW—OPINIONS OF THE PRESS—CURIOSITIES FROM CALIFORNIA—MY -IMITATORS—ATTEMPTS TO DECEIVE AND SWINDLE THE PUBLIC.</p></div> - -<p>E<small>VERY</small> one knows the story of the Emperor Charles the Fifth. His ambition -gratified to satiety in the conquest of kingdoms, and the firm -establishment of his empire, he craved rest. He abdicated his throne, -“retired from business,” content to live on his laurels in the peaceful -shades of the Cloister at Yustee. The tradition is that here he forgot -the world without, withdrew in thought as in person from the cares and -turmoils of state, and found rest and cheerfulness by alternating his -devotions with the tinkering of clocks. Perhaps every one is not so -familiar with the somewhat recent correction by Mr. Stirling of this -romantic story. In fact, the Emperor was never so restless as when he -was taking rest; was never so full of the perplexities of empire as -when, in “due form,” he had shaken them off. In the Cloister he was the -same man that he was in the Camp and the Court, and when he sought to -repress his energies, they simply tormented him.</p> - -<p>Not denying that my egotism is equal to a good deal, I must beg my -readers not to suppose that I assume for my own history a very extended -similarity to that of the greatest monarch of his time. In fact, the -points of difference are quite as striking as those of resemblance. It -is true, we both tried the “clock business;” but I must claim that my -tinkering in that way throws that of the Emperor entirely in the shade. -I was not, however, fool enough to go into a cloister. Let not an -illustration any more than a parable “run on all fours.” But I want a -royal illustration; and the history of Charles the Fifth, in the -particular of abdicating for rest, I find very pertinent to my own -experience. I took a formal, and as I then<a name="page_846" id="page_846"></a> supposed, a last adieu of my -readers on my fifty-ninth birth-day. I was, as I had flattered myself, -through with travel, with adventure, and with business, save so far as -the care of my competence would require my attention. My book closed -without a suspicion that in any subsequent edition “more of the same -sort” would make possible an <span class="smcap">Additional Chapter</span>. It is with a sense of -surprise, and withal a feeling akin to the ludicrous, that in this new -edition, I cannot bring my career up to my sixty-second year, without -filling a few more pages, in their contents not unlike in kind to those -which make the bulk of my book.</p> - -<p>As stated on page 768, my final retirement from the managerial -profession closed with the destruction of my Museum by fire, March 3, -1868. But when I wrote that sentence I had not learned by a three years’ -cessation of business, how utterly fruitless it is to attempt to chain -down energies which are peculiar to my nature. No man not similarly -situated can imagine the <i>ennui</i> which seizes such a nature after it has -lain dormant for a few months. Having “nothing to do,” I thought at -first was a very pleasant, as it was to me an entirely new sensation.</p> - -<p>“I would like to call on you in the summer, if you have any leisure, in -Bridgeport,” said an old friend.</p> - -<p>“I am a man of leisure and thankful that I have nothing to do; so you -cannot call amiss,” I replied with an immense degree of -self-satisfaction.</p> - -<p>“Where is your office down-town when you live in New York?” asked -another friend.</p> - -<p>“I have no office,” I proudly replied. “I have done work enough, and -shall play the rest of my life. I don’t go down-town once a week; but I -ride in the Park every day, and am at home much of my time.”</p> - -<p>I am afraid that I chuckled often, when I saw rich merchants and bankers -driving to their offices on a stormy morning, while I, looking -complacently from the window of my cozy library, said to myself, “Let it -snow and blow, there’s nothing to call <i>me</i> out to-day.” But Nature -<i>will</i> assert herself. Reading is pleasant as a pastime; writing without -any special purpose soon tires; a game of chess will answer as a -condiment; lectures, concerts, operas, and dinner parties are well -enough in their way; but to a robust, healthy man of forty years’ active -<i>business</i> life, something else is needed to satisfy. Sometimes like the -truant school-boy I found all my friends engaged, and I had no -play-mate. I began to fill my house with visitors, and yet frequently we -spent evenings quite alone. Without really perceiving what the matter -was, time hung on my hands, and I was ready to lecture gratuitously for -every charitable cause that I could benefit.</p> - -<p>Then I, who had travelled so many years, that almost all cities seemed -to me as the same old brick and mortar, began now to think I would like -to travel. In the autumn of 1869, after my family had moved for the -winter from Bridgeport to our New York residence, an English friend came -with his eldest daughter to America especially to visit me. This friend -was Mr. John Fish, and he is an old friend of the reader also, for he is -the enterprising cotton-mill proprietor, of Bury, England, fully -described in chapter xxxii<a name="page_847" id="page_847"></a> of this book, in which he is mentioned as -“Mr. Wilson.” When I was writing that chapter, I had no authority to -append his real name to the faithful photograph of the man; but Mr. Fish -gives me his consent to use it now. I need not say how pleased I was to -see my friend, and how happy I was to show a representative Englishman -whatever was worth seeing in the metropolis and elsewhere in the United -States.</p> - -<p>After enjoying the Christmas and New Year’s festivities in New York; -taking numerous drives in our beautiful Central Park, including several -sleigh-rides, which, to them, were real novelties; going the rounds of -the metropolitan amusements; and “doing” the city in general and in -detail, my English friends wanted to see more of the “New World,” and I -was just in the humor to act as the exhibitor. In fact, I now resumed my -old business of systematically organizing an extensive travelling -expedition, and, almost unconsciously, became a showman of “natural -curiosities” on a most magnificent scale.</p> - -<p>We first went to Niagara Falls, going by the Hudson River and Central -Railroads; and returned by way of the Erie. I saw these scenes through -the eyes of my English friends, and took a special pleasure in -witnessing their surprise and delight. As they extolled the beautiful -Hudson, that stream looked lovelier than ever; the Catskill Mountains -were higher to me than ever before; for the same reason Albany, -Syracuse, and Rochester were more lively than usual; the mammoth -International Hotel at Niagara Falls looked capacious enough to bag the -entire islands of Great Britain; and the immense Cataract seemed large -enough to drown all the inhabitants thereof. The Palace cars of the Erie -Railroad astonished my friends and gave me great satisfaction. The -contagion of their enthusiasm opened my eyes to marvels in spectacles -which I had long dismissed as commonplace.</p> - -<p>They wanted to go to Cuba. I had been there twice; yet I readily agreed -to accompany them. We took steamer from New York in January, 1870. We -had a smooth, pleasant voyage, and did not even know when we passed Cape -Hatteras. In three days we had doffed all winter clothing and arrayed -ourselves in white linen. Three weeks were most truly enjoyed among the -novel scenes of Havana and the peculiar attractions of -Mantanzas,—including a visit to the new and beautiful Cave a few miles -from that city. We made a charming visit to a coffee plantation and -orange orchard; another to a sugar plantation, where my English friends, -as well as myself, were shocked to see the negro slaves, male and -female, boys and girls, cutting and carrying the sugar cane under the -lash of the mounted, booted, and spurred Spanish overseer.</p> - -<p>But riding in our charming volantes from that plantation to the -exceedingly beautiful valley of the Yumurri caused us almost to forget -the sad scene we had witnessed. We all agreed as we stood on the east -side of this almost celestial valley and witnessed the sun dropping -behind the hill, on whose summit the royal palms were holding up their -beautiful plumes, that the valley below, interspersed with its cottages -and streamlets,<a name="page_848" id="page_848"></a> and its rich tropical trees, shrubs and flowers, was a -scene of surpassing loveliness; and I was not surprised to see the tears -of joy and gratitude roll down the cheeks of the young English lady. I -enjoyed the scene hugely; but as one evidence that this pleasure was -derived from the enjoyment it afforded my trans-Atlantic friends, I will -say that when I was in Cuba with Jenny Lind in 1851, I witnessed the -same scene without emotion, so absorbed was I in business at that time. -And this is a fitting opportunity for saying that in order to enjoy -travelling, and indeed almost anything else, it is of the very first -importance that it be done without care and with congenial companions.</p> - -<p>We feasted upon oranges, pine apples, bananas, and other tropical -fruits, and enjoyed the warm, mild days. The enjoyment was no doubt -enhanced or at least better appreciated, by our reading of the freezing -condition of our New York friends. The quaint buildings, and the novel -manners and customs of a nation speaking a different language from our -own, of course are interesting for a short time.</p> - -<p>We went to New Orleans by steamer. We stopped a few days at the St. -Charles Hotel; “did” the city; and then took passage for Memphis on a -steamer which was so capacious and commodious that my English friends -declared that people at “home” would scarce believe it was a steamer. A -few days sail up the broad Mississippi was a real treat. The -conversations which my English friend held with the Southern planters, -and their manumitted slaves, caused him to somewhat change his opinions -in regard to the merits of our late civil war.</p> - -<p>From Memphis we went by rail to the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky; thence to -Louisville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Harrisburgh, Baltimore and -Washington. A few days’ sojourn at the best hotel in the world, “The -Arlington,” a visit to all the attractions in and around our national -Capital including attendance at Mrs. President Grant’s levee and a talk -with the President, and with numerous Senators and Members of Congress, -terminated our visit. We then proceeded to Richmond; for my friend Fish -had a great desire to see the Confederate Capital, and especially Libby -Prison, and “Castle Thunder.” He was almost indignant when he discovered -that the latter institution was a tobacco warehouse, instead of being a -great castellated fortress, such as his imagination had pictured it. -From Richmond we visited Baltimore and Philadelphia, and returned to New -York.</p> - -<p>In April we made up a small, congenial party of ladies and gentlemen, -and visited California <i>via</i> the Union and Central Pacific Railroads. -And here let me say that this trip is one of the most delightful I ever -made. The Pullman Palace Cars are so convenient and comfortable that -ladies and gentlemen can make the trip to California, a distance of -3,000 miles, with no more real fatigue than they will experience in -their own drawing rooms. They can dress in <i>dishabille</i>, read, lounge, -write, converse, play a social game, sleep, or do what they choose, -while a great portion of the route affords a constant succession of -novel and delightful scenes, to be<a name="page_849" id="page_849"></a> witnessed nowhere else on the face -of the earth. I say emphatically, that for every person who can afford -it, the trip to California is one that ought by all means to be made. -Like a thing of beauty it will prove “a joy forever.”</p> - -<p>When our party arrived at San Francisco, they all agreed in saying that -if they were compelled to return home the next day, they should feel -that they were well paid for their journey. In view of the strange and -interesting scenes we witnessed in Salt Lake City,—a place in many -respects unlike any other in the world; and in fresh remembrance of the -wild, bold, rocky mountain scenery, the vast plains, the wild antelope, -buffalo, and wolves, the mining districts, the curious snow sheds, and -many other scenes and peculiar things brought to our notice,—I think my -friends were right in their conclusions.</p> - -<p>We took our journey leisurely. I lectured in Council Bluffs, in Omaha, -and in Salt Lake City. We stopped several days in this celebrated Mormon -city; and as I wished without prejudice to examine into the habits, -customs, and opinions of the Mormons, we put up at the Townsend House—a -very excellent hotel kept by Mr. Townsend, a New England Mormon with -three or more wives. One of the principal Mormons, an Alderman and an -Apostle, had visited me in New York. He devoted his time to our party -for several successive days; and through his courtesy and influence we -were furnished facilities for obtaining information that not one -stranger in a thousand ever enjoys. We not only visited the Tabernacle -and all the institutions, civil and religious, but were introduced into -the families of several of the dignitaries. In turn, we were visited at -our hotel by all the principal church officers. Without stopping to -discuss their great error—a plurality of wives,—I must say that all of -our party agreed that the Mormons of Salt Lake City were an industrious, -quiet, seemingly conscientious, peaceable, God-fearing people. A serious -defection has taken place in their church. The portion called the -“Liberals” have renounced polygamy for the future; and this example, -together with their rejection of certain theological superstitions, is -giving them great influence and respect. This branch of the Mormons is -growing rapidly; and I have no doubt that their influence, aided by the -great influx of Gentiles caused by the Pacific Railroad, will soon serve -in exterminating the plurality wife system—unless, unhappily, fanatics -and fools give this system renewed strength by recklessly persecuting -its devotees to martyrdom.</p> - -<p>I lectured in the Salt Lake Theatre—a large and commodious building -belonging to the Mormons. A dozen or so of Brigham Young’s wives, and -scores of his children, were among the audience. As I came out of the -theatre one of the Apostles introduced me to five of his wives in -succession! The Mormon wives whom I visited in company of their -husbands, expressed themselves pleased with their positions; but I -confess I doubt their sincerity on this point. All with whom our party -conversed (and some of our ladies talked with these Mormon wives in -secret), expressed their solemn conviction, that polygamy was the only -true domestic system<a name="page_850" id="page_850"></a> sanctioned by the Almighty, although they -confessed they wished it was right for a man to have but one wife.</p> - -<p>I was introduced by her father to a girl of seventeen, named Barnum. The -old man was an original Mormon. He had moved from Illinois with Brigham -Young and his disciples, when they were driven out and compelled to make -that wonderful and fearful journey over the plains. The daughter was -born in Salt Lake City, and of course knew nothing of any other -religion. I asked her laughingly if she expected to have the fifth part -of a man for her husband?</p> - -<p>“I expect I shall. I believe it is right,” she replied.</p> - -<p>My apostolic friend took me to Brigham Young’s house early in the -morning. Mr. Young had gone to Ogden to accompany some Bishops whom he -was sending abroad. I left my card with his Secretary, and said I would -call at four o’clock. But before noon a servant from President Young -brought a message for me to call on him at one o’clock. At the hour -designated I called with my friends. Brigham Young was standing in front -of one of his houses—the “Bee Hive,” in which was his reception room. -He received us with a smile and invited us to enter. He was very -sociable, asked us many questions, and promptly answered ours. Finally -he said with a chuckle:</p> - -<p>“Barnum, what will you give to exhibit me in New York and the Eastern -cities?”</p> - -<p>“Well, Mr. President,” I replied, “I’ll give you half the receipts, -which I will guarantee shall be $200,000 per year, for I consider you -the best show in America.”</p> - -<p>“Why did you not secure me some years ago when I was of no consequence?” -he continued.</p> - -<p>“Because, you would not have ‘drawn’ at that time,” I answered.</p> - -<p>Brigham smiled and said, “I would like right well to spend a few hours -with you, if you could come when I am disengaged.” I thanked him, and -told him I guessed I should enjoy it; but visitors were crowding into -his reception room, and we withdrew.</p> - -<p>I subsequently met him in the street driving his favorite pair of mules -attached to a nice carriage. He raised his hat and bowed, which -salutation I, of course, returned. I hope that Brigham’s declining years -will prompt him to receive a new “revelation,” commanding a -discontinuance of the wife plurality feature of the Mormon religion.</p> - -<p>Arriving at Sacramento, where the train stopped for half an hour, I was -“interviewed” for the first time in my life by a newspaper reporter. On -the same evening, in the excellent Cosmopolitan Hotel, in San Francisco, -I was again “interviewed” by the chief editor of a morning paper, -accompanied by his reporter. By this time I had become accustomed to -this business, and when the gentlemen informed me they wanted to -interview me, I asked them to be seated, pulled up an extra chair, on -which to rest my feet, and said:</p> - -<p>“Go ahead, gentlemen; I am ready.”<a name="page_851" id="page_851"></a></p> - -<p>Well, they did “go ahead,” asking me every conceivable question, on -every conceivable subject. I felt jolly and “spread myself.” The -consequence was, three columns of “Barnum Interviewed” appeared next -morning with a “To be continued” at the bottom; and the succeeding -morning appeared three columns more. This conspicuous advertisement -prepared the way for a lecture I gave in Pratt’s large hall, which was -well attended.</p> - -<p>It took us a week to “do” San Francisco, with its suburbs, including -Oakland, Woodward’s celebrated and beautiful Gardens, and “Seal Rock.” -When I saw that small rocky island lying only ten rods off, covered with -sea lions weighing from eight hundred to two thousand pounds, the “show -fever” began to rise. I offered fifty thousand dollars to have ten of -the large sea lions delivered to me alive in New York, so that I could -fence in a bit of the East River near Jones’ Wood, and give such an -exhibition to citizens and strangers in that city. I little thought at -that time that I should subsequently expend half that sum in procuring -these marine monsters and transport them through the country in huge -water-tanks as a small item in a mammoth travelling show.</p> - -<p>The Chinese quarters,—where were their shops, restaurants and -laundries, their Joss House, and the Chinese Theatre,—gave us a new -sensation, and were quite sufficient to quench a lingering desire I had -long felt to visit China and Japan. The Chinese servants and laborers -are diligent, peaceable, clean, and require no watching. When I -remembered how many thousands of dollars I had paid to “eye servants” -for not doing what I had hired them to do, I did not feel sorry that -there was a prospect of the “Celestials” extending their travels to the -Eastern States.</p> - -<p>While I was in San Francisco, a German named Gabriel Kahn brought to me -his little son—literally a little one, for he is a dwarf more -diminutive in stature than General Tom Thumb was when I first found him. -The parents of this liliputian were anxious that I should engage and -exhibit him. Several showmen had made them very liberal offers, but they -had set their hearts on having “Barnum” bring him out and present him to -the public.</p> - -<p>Of course I felt the compliment, but was inclined to say “no,” as I had -given up the exhibition business and was a man of leisure. But the -marvelous manikin was such a handsome, well-formed, intelligent little -fellow, speaking fluently both English and German, and withal was so -pert and so captivating, that I was induced to engage him for a term of -years and gave him the soubriquet of “Admiral Dot.” Indeed he was but a -“dot”—or as the New York <i>Evening Post</i> put it, the small boy of the -“period”—at any rate, in the matter of growth, at a very early age he -came to a “full stop;” though further, in the matter of punctuation, he -compels an “exclamation” on the part of all who see him, and occasions -numerous “interrogations.”</p> - -<p>I dressed the little fellow in the complete uniform of an Admiral, and -invited the editors of the San Francisco journals and also a number of -ladies and gentlemen to the parlors of the Cosmopolitan Hotel to visit -him.<a name="page_852" id="page_852"></a> All were astonished and delighted. The newspapers stated as “news” -the facts, and gave interesting details with regard to Barnum’s -“discovery” of this wonderful curiosity who had been living so long -undiscovered under their very noses. It was the old story of Charles -Stratton, (Tom Thumb,) of Bridgeport, over again, with a new liliputian -and a new locality.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, I told the parents of the Admiral that personally I should -not exhibit their son till I returned to New York; but advised them to -give the San Franciscans the opportunity to see him during the remaining -few weeks of my stay in the Golden State. My friend Woodward, of -Woodward’s Gardens, engaged the Admiral for three weeks, duly -advertising the curious discovery by Barnum of this valuable “nugget,” -further stating that as he would depart for the East in three weeks the -only opportunity for the San Francisco public to see him was then -offered at the Gardens.</p> - -<p>Immediately there was an immense <i>furore</i>—thousands of ladies and -children, as well as men, daily thronged the Gardens, saw the little -wonder, and purchased his <i>carte de visite</i>. During the short period he -remained there, little “Dot,” as dots are apt to do, “made his mark,” -pocketed more than a thousand dollars for himself, besides drawing more -than twice that sum for Mr. Woodward. Moreover, the extended and -enthusiastic notices of the entire San Francisco press gave the Admiral -a prestige and start which would favorably introduce him wherever he -might show himself throughout the United States. Thus originated the -public exhibition of one of the handsomest, most accomplished, and most -diminutive dwarfs of whom there is any history, and the fame of the -little Admiral already is rapidly spreading all over the world.</p> - -<p>Speaking of dwarfs, it may be mentioned here, that notwithstanding my -announced retirement from public life I still retained business -connections with my old friend, the well-known General Tom Thumb. In -1869, I joined that celebrated dwarf in a fresh enterprise which -proposed an exhibition tour of him and a party of twelve, with a -complete outfit, including a pair of ponies and a carriage, entirely -around the world.</p> - -<p>This party was made up of General Tom Thumb and his wife (formerly -Lavinia Warren), Commodore Nutt and his brother Rodnia, Miss Minnie -Warren, Mr. Sylvester Bleeker and his wife, and Mr. B. S. Kellogg, -besides an advertising agent and musicians. Mr. Bleeker was the manager, -and Mr. Kellogg acted as treasurer. In the Fall of 1869, this little -company went by the Union Pacific Railway to San Francisco, stopping on -the way to give exhibitions at Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and other -places on the route, with great success. In San Francisco Pratt’s Hall, -which the company occupied, was crowded day and evening for several -weeks. Every one went to see them. The exhibition was profusely -hand-billed and posted in Chinese as well as in English, and crowds of -Celestials went to see the smallest specimens of “Mellicans” known in -that region, for Admiral Dot living in San Francisco had not then been -“discovered” by Barnum.<a name="page_853" id="page_853"></a></p> - -<p>After a prolonged and most profitable series of exhibitions in San -Francisco, the company visited several leading towns in California and -then started for Australia. On the way they stopped at the Sandwich -Islands and exhibited in Honolulu. From there they went to Japan, -exhibiting in Yeddo, Yokohama and other principle places, and afterwards -at Canton and elsewhere in China. They next made the entire tour of -Australia, drawing immense houses at Sydney, Melbourne, and in other -towns, but they did not go to New Zealand. They then proceeded to the -East Indies, giving exhibitions in the larger towns and cities, -receiving marked attentions from Rajahs and other distinguished -personages. Afterwards they went by the way of the Suez Canal to Egypt, -and gave their entertainments at Cairo; and thence to Italy, exhibiting -at all available points, and arrived in Great Britain in the summer of -1871. Notwithstanding the enormous expenses attending the transportation -of this company around the world, it was one of the few instances of -profitably “swinging round the circle.” The enterprise was a pecuniary -success, and, of course, the opportunity for sight-seeing enjoyed by the -little General and his party was fully appreciated. They travelled to -see as well as to be seen. Fortunately they all preserved the best of -health and met with no accident during the extended tour. My name did -not publicly appear in connection with this enterprise—the exhibition -was conducted under the auspices of “Thumb,” but I had a large “finger -in the pie.” Mr. Sylvester Bleeker, the manager, wrote me from Dublin, -December 6, 1871, a letter from which I extract the following:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“If any person will perform the feat of travelling with such a -company 48,946 miles, (29,900 miles by sea,) give 1,284 -entertainments in 407 different cities and towns, in all climates -of the world, without losing a single day, or missing a single -performance through illness or accident, let him show his vouchers -and I will give him the belt.”</p></div> - -<p>While I am about it, I may as well confess my connection, <i>sub rosa</i>, -with another little speculation during my three years’ “leisure.” I -hired the well-known Siamese Twins, the giantess, Anna Swan, and a -Circassian lady, and, in connection with Judge Ingalls, I sent them to -Great Britain where, in all the principal places, and for about a year, -their levees were continually crowded. In all probability the great -success attending this enterprise was much enhanced, if not actually -caused by extensive announcements in advance, that the main purpose of -Chang-Eng’s visit to Europe was to consult the most eminent medical and -surgical talent with regard to the safety of separating the twins.</p> - -<p>Eminent surgeons in London and in Edinburgh examined these physiological -phenomena and generally coincided in the declaration that their lives -would be jeopardized and probably be forfeited if surgery should -separate them. Of course, the “Reports” of these examinations were duly -and officially made in all the leading medical and surgical journals, as -well as the reports of lectures delivered by surgeons who had given -their personal attention to the case of the twins, and these accounts in -English and American journals were also translated and were widely -circulated throughout Europe.<a name="page_854" id="page_854"></a></p> - -<p>As “this establishment did not advertise in the New York <i>Herald</i>,” I -was not a little amused to see several columns of editorial matter in -that sheet published a few weeks before the Siamese Twins sailed for -Europe, giving elaborate scientific reasons why no attempt to separate -them should be made. I quite coincided with my quondam friend Bennett in -his conclusions, as a proof of which I may state that I purchased and -mailed marked copies of his editorial to all the leading newspapers and -magazines abroad, in most of which the matter was republished, thereby -affording the best of advertising and greatly increasing the receipts of -the Twin treasury for many months.</p> - -<p>But to return to my California trip. We visited “the Geysers,” and when -we witnessed the bold mountain scenery through which we passed to get -there, and then saw and heard the puffing, steaming, burning, bubbling -acres of hot springs emitting liquids of a dozen different minerals, and -of as many different colors, we said, “This would pay for coming all the -way from New York, if we saw nothing else,”—and it would.</p> - -<p>In returning from the Geysers to Calistoga we fell into the hands of the -celebrated stage driver, Foss. He had been “laying” for me several days, -and had said he would “give Barnum a specimen of stage driving that -would astonish him.” He did it! Foss is by far the greatest stage driver -of modern times. The way he handles the reins seems marvellous; and -although he dashes his six-horse team, under full gallop, down the most -precipitous mountain roads, making one’s hair continually to stand on -end, his horses are as docile as lambs, and they know every tone of -Foss’ voice and obey accordingly. I suppose that this New Hampshire Jehu -is, after all, as safe a driver as ever held the ribbons.</p> - -<p>Calistoga lies chiefly on made ground. Dig down five feet and you find -water wherein an egg will boil hard in five minutes. A Japanese tea -plantation is started here with prospects of success.</p> - -<p>We devoted a fortnight to visiting the great Yo Semite Valley. We went -by way of Mariposa where we saw the Mariposa grove of “big trees,” -whence I sent to New York a piece of bark thirty-one inches thick! That -bark was taken from a tree 102 feet in circumference, over three hundred -feet high, and according to its annual layers, 837 years old. The Yo -Semite has been so often and so well described that I shall not attempt -a new description. Suffice it to say it is one of those great and real -things in nature that goes in reality far beyond any previous -conception. From the moment I got a bird’s eye view of this wonderful -valley from “Inspiration Point,” until a week afterwards, when we -mounted our horses to emerge from it, I could not help oft repeating, -“Wonderful, wonderful, sublime, indescribable, incomprehensible; I never -before saw anything so truly and appallingly grand; it pays me a hundred -times over for visiting California.”</p> - -<p>On returning to Stockton, I lectured for a Methodist church pursuant to -agreement made to that effect when I left for the Yo Semite twelve days -before.<a name="page_855" id="page_855"></a></p> - -<p>On our return home we stopped at Cheyenne and took the Branch Railroad -to Denver, Colorado, afterwards going fifty miles by stage to the mines -at Georgetown, Golden City, Central City, and other notable places.</p> - -<p>Returning from Denver, we stopped at the truly wonderful town of -Greeley, where when we left home in April not ten persons resided, but -where was now settled the “Union Colony.” This company then numbered six -hundred. Greeley is now a city, two years old, containing thousands of -inhabitants and increasing at a rate totally unexampled. There is no -community of interests here except in such public works as the -irrigating canals and the school-houses. Each inhabitant owns whatever -lands and buildings he or she pays for; and real estate and other -property rises in value according to the increase in the number of -inhabitants. Here are millions of acres of rich valley land, which -needed only the irrigation that the Cache de Poudre River is giving -through the canals of the Union Colony. This model town of Greeley will -ever have peace and prosperity within its borders; for no title can -inhere to any land or building where intoxicating drinks are permitted -to be sold. It is a “city of refuge” from the curse of strong drink; and -to it for generations to come will whole families congregate as their -paradise guarded by flaming swords of sobriety and order where they can -live rationally, happily, and prosperously.</p> - -<p>From Greeley we returned to New York, and my family removed to our -Summer quarters in Bridgeport the last of June. Here we were visited by -numerous noble friends. The late Alice Cary spent several weeks with us -at Waldemere, and although her health was feeble she enjoyed the cool -breezes as well as the fine drives, clam-bakes, etc., for which -Bridgeport is specially renowned. Indeed, my own house was the last -which this good and gifted lady ever entered except her own in New York, -to which I accompanied her from Bridgeport. Her sister Phœbe, who so -quickly followed Alice to the other world, was also my guest at -Waldemere.</p> - -<p>But the restless spirit of an energetic man of leisure prompted me again -to travel. I went with friends to Montreal, Quebec, the Saginaw River, -and the regions round about. Returning by way of Saratoga Springs, my -English friends again had occasion to open their eyes at the large Union -Hotel, and Congress Hall, where fifteen hundred persons dine at one -time, and two thousand lodge under a single roof without crowding.</p> - -<p>“Well, this is a big country, and you Americans do everything on a big -scale, that’s a fact,” was the expression for the thousandth time of my -Anglo-Saxon companions.</p> - -<p>In September, I made up a party of ten, including my English friend, and -we started for Kansas on a grand buffalo hunt. General Custar, -commandant at Fort Hayes, was apprized in advance of our anticipated -visit, and he received us like princes. He fitted out a company of fifty -cavalry, furnishing us with horses, arms and ammunition. We were taken -to an immense herd of buffaloes, quietly browsing on the open plain. We -charged on them, and during an exciting chase of a couple of hours, we<a name="page_856" id="page_856"></a> -slew twenty immense bull buffaloes. We might have killed as many more -had we not considered it wanton butchery.</p> - -<p>My friend George A. Wells, of Bridgeport, who is a great hunter, was one -of the party, and although he had slain two buffaloes, and had lost -himself on the prairie, not only to his own dismay, but to the great -terror for four mortal hours of all his companions, he was by no means -satisfied. He wanted to camp out and hunt buffaloes for several days -longer. Another Bridgeport huntsman, Mr. James Wilson, was of the same -mind. But when the question was put to vote, my English friend, John -Fish, who had made himself sore by hard riding; Mr. Charles B. -Hotchkiss, a Bridgeport bank president, who was quite content with -killing one buffalo; my right bower, David W. Sherwood, who with a -single shot dropped an immense bull (as indeed he now and then has done -with no other weapon than his tongue); David M. Read, a Bridgeport -merchant; another Bridgeporter, Theodore W. Downs—each credited with -one or two carcases on the field; and I who had brought down two and had -half killed another buffalo,—all voted that we had done enough and were -in favor of returning home. Whereupon Wells indignantly exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“I was invited out here for a hunt, but you have made it a race.”</p> - -<p>But every man had killed his buffalo, some had killed two, and we were -satisfied. We had plenty of buffalo and antelope meat, and on the whole -our ten days’ sport afforded another “sensation,”—a feeling so -necessary to one in my state. But “sensations” cannot be made to order -every day. I am, therefore, taught by an experience of three years’ -“retirement” from business, that it is better to be moderately engaged -in some legitimate occupation so long as health and energy permit. If a -man is regularly in “harness,” though he may do but a small portion of -the drawing, he will at least so far occupy his mind as not to need -spasmodic excitements.</p> - -<p>Hence, although my worldly possessions—trivial indeed in comparison -with the wealth of some of America’s millionaires—were yet as ample as -I cared to acquire, nevertheless from the very necessity of my active -nature, in the Autumn of 1870 I began to prepare a great show -enterprise, requiring five hundred men and horses to transport and -conduct it through the country. Selecting as manager of this gigantic -enterprise Mr. William C. Coup, whom I had favorably known for some -years as a capital showman and a man of good judgment, integrity, and -excellent executive ability, we spent several weeks in blocking out and -perfecting our course of action. As one project after another, involving -the outlay of thousands upon thousands of dollars, was laid before -Manager Coup, he began to open his eyes pretty widely, and before we had -been three weeks in consultation, he exclaimed:</p> - -<p>“Why, Mr. Barnum, such a show as you are projecting after a while would -ruin the richest man in America, for the expenses would double the -receipts every day!”</p> - -<p>I begged Mr. Coup not to be alarmed, reminding him that I was not wholly -inexperienced in the show business, and that, in any event, I was to<a name="page_857" id="page_857"></a> -“foot the bills.” It is true that the enormous expense of this vast -scheme involved a greater risk than any showman had ever before dared to -assume. My main object in setting on foot this great travelling -exhibition was to open a safety valve for my pent up energies, and I -felt far more anxious to put before the public a grand and triumphant -show than I did to add a penny to my competence.</p> - -<p>When my plans were made public, the proprietors of the travelling shows -throughout the country, with scarcely an exception, declared that my -exhibition necessarily must prove a failure, for, they said, “No -travelling show in the world ever took in one-half so much money per day -as Barnum’s daily expenses will be.” I knew that this was nearly true; -but in reply to their ill-omened prognostications, I only said: “Well, -but you see, no show that has travelled ever drew out one-half of the -people; I expect to attract all of them.” I confess I felt that my -reputation for always giving my patrons more than their money’s worth, -and also for scrupulously excluding from my exhibitions everything -objectionable to the refined and moral, would inevitably draw out large -numbers of people who are not in the habit of attending ordinary -travelling shows. With these views, I had confidence in my undertaking -from the start, and I expended money like water in order fully to carry -out my intentions and desires.</p> - -<p>Previous business arrangements prevented my opening, at the first, in -New York; but I did the next best thing by going to the next best place -for the benefit and convenience of my numerous New York friends and -patrons, and opened in Brooklyn April 10, 1871. At the outset the -exhibition was truly a mammoth one. It embraced a museum, menagerie, -caravan and hippodrome—all first-class and unsurpassed in previous -shows—and Dan. Costello’s celebrated circus was added. It was an -exhibition absolutely colossal, exhaustive, and bewilderingly various as -the most liberal expenditure and years of experience could possibly make -it. My motto through life has been: “Get the best, regardless of -expense.” My aim was to combine in the several shows more startling and -entirely novel wonders of creation than were ever before seen in one -collection anywhere in the world, and to furnish my patrons with -wholesome instruction and innocent amusement, without the taint of -anything that should seem immoral or exceptionable. In all this I fully -succeeded, and I declare with pride that this grand combination has -proved to be the crowning success of my managerial life.</p> - -<p>My canvas covered about three acres of ground, and would hold nearly ten -thousand people, yet from the start in Brooklyn, and throughout the -entire Summer tour, it was of daily occurrence that from one thousand to -three thousand people were turned away. After an extraordinarily -successful week in Brooklyn, I visited all the leading places in the -immediate vicinity; then the principal towns in Connecticut; next -through Rhode Island to Boston. How the great combination was received -and appreciated<a name="page_858" id="page_858"></a> in “the Athens of America” is well set forth in the -following extracts from a two-column article in the Boston <i>Journal</i>:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The arrival in Boston last Monday of Barnum’s new enterprise, -comprising a museum, menagerie, caravan and hippodrome, to which is -gratuitously added Dan. Costello’s mammoth circus, has produced a -sensation in this city never before equalled by any amusement -enterprise known to New England. We have had our anniversaries, -reviews, parades, the Odd Fellows, and to-day shall have Fisk’s -famous “Ninth.” But after all, nothing seems to equal or eclipse -the great Barnum and his immense amusement enterprise, which is the -theme of universal comment and observation here, as elsewhere. -“Have you seen Barnum?” is the question that is heard in the -streets, counting houses, stores and shops, the public being as -anxious to see the veteran Show King as they are to visit his big -show. We confess that Barnum is a curiosity, and always has been -for the last thirty years, during which time he has figured -prominently before the American people, until the fame of him is as -familiar to both worlds as household words. Verily, who has not -heard of P. T. Barnum and the famous American Museum? We don’t mean -that as a specimen of the <i>genus homo</i> Barnum is very different -from other specimens who have gained notoriety and success; but -simply as an embodiment of the very best representative type of a -shrewd, enterprising, wide awake American, who has achieved an -immense success in his specialty as the greatest amusement caterer -of the nineteenth century. Through two disastrous conflagrations -his immense museum collection in New York, however, the -accumulations of half a century, were in a single day almost -entirely swept out of existence. This was a serious loss to the -public, as it was to Mr. Barnum, although he is said to have taken -it as coolly and imperturbably as the apple woman round the corner -would the loss of a Roxbury russet. Already advancing in years, and -thinking, no doubt, he had served the public long enough, Mr. -Barnum concluded, after the loss of his museum, to retire -permanently from the show business, and, taking Horace Greeley’s -advice, go a fishing or seek the shades of a more quiet and private -life for the balance of his days. A man, however, like P. T. -Barnum, who has spent a whole life amid scenes of bustle and -excitement, with a constant tension of muscle and brain, catering -for the ever recurring demands of a curious public, naturally fond -of amusements, especially the marvellous and sensational, is rarely -satisfied to withdraw suddenly, like the tortoise, within his own -shell, and let the outside world “wag” without taking an active -interest in passing events. Thus Mr. Barnum’s retirement, although -surrounded by every luxury that money could furnish, became the -veriest prison to every element, nervous, physical and -intellectual, of his being, and it is no wonder, under these -circumstances, that he became absolutely “restive under rest.” His -ambition, like ancient “Utica,” he felt to be too much “pent up,” -and as “volcanoes bellow ere they disembogue,” so “smoke betrays -the wild consuming fire.” Like Dan. Costello’s famous gymnasts his -vaulting ambition has fairly o’erleapt itself, for by a single -bound he comes before the public in a new role, having on his hands -an “elephant” more ponderous and expensive to manage than the -famous quadruped that used to be seen “plowing” on his Bridgeport -farm, not for agricultural purposes exactly, but as a “rocket -thrown up to attract public attention to my Broadway American -Museum.” About a year ago Mr. Barnum, desirous to do good in his -day and generation, instituted and put on wheels his present -mammoth enterprise, at a cost of nearly three-quarters of a million -dollars, which has met with a success unparalleled in the annals of -the show business. This success is so sudden and complete as to -astonish everybody, and none more so than professionals themselves. -Knowing the interest the public feels in all that pertains to P. T. -Barnum, and especially his “last great effort,” (Barnum himself -calls it his last great “splurge,” which we readily grant in -deference to his known modesty,) we sent one of our reporters to -interview the whole affair, and as his injunctions were imperative -to “stick to facts” (<i>fiat justitia ruat codum</i>), our readers will -be able to judge of the big show as it appeared. One thing is very -evident. Since starting from New York, Barnum’s show has been -patronized by the largest concourse of people ever known in New -England. His transit across the country has been like “Sherman’s -March to the Sea,” while his entertainments have been visited by -the great masses, including eminent clergymen and their families, -and the most respectable of all persuasions—in fact, by everybody, -“without reference to race, color, or previous condition,” etc. -Barnum’s great procession, which made its first appearance in the -streets last Monday, is one of the grandest and most magnificent -pageants of the kind that ever appeared in Boston. The great -cortege is varied and almost interminable in length. The cages, -chariots, carriages and vans—no two being painted or finished -alike—are of unique workmanship, elaborate design and gorgeously -painted and gilded. The mottoes inscribed on the cages are -peculiarly curt and Barnamish. The massively carved chariot, called -the Temple of Juno, which, in construction, is somewhat telescopic, -that is, lets up and down to the extent of thirty feet or more, by -means of machinery, is of solid carved work, gilt all over with the -precious metals and studded profusely with plated mirrors, which -give to the tableau a truly gorgeous and magnificent effect. Upon -an elevated seat, just beneath a rich and unique oriental canopy of -the most elaborate finish, sits, in perfect nonchalance, the -representative Queen, surrounded by gods and goddesses in -mythological costume, giving a striking picture of an oriental -pageant, as seen in the days of the Roman Emperors. This gorgeous -car, built in London expressly for Barnum, is forty feet high, and -is rendered picturesque in effect by the team of elephants, camels -and dromedaries which lead or escort the van. The entire procession -is the longest and most varied ever witnessed here, and consisted -of about seventy cages, wagons and chariots, and 250 horses. But -let us follow<a name="page_859" id="page_859"></a> this grand street demonstration to the grounds -selected for the great exposition, for we are a little anxious to -know what becomes of so many horses, wagons, housings, traps and -paraphernalia in general. The lot on which the three colossal tents -are pitched presents a really novel and interesting sight. From two -to three acres of land are required for all the purposes of -exhibition, hotel caravansary, ecurie, horse tents, etc. -Immediately after returning from the pageant the cages containing -the living wild animals, and all the museum curiosities, are driven -under the spacious tents and arranged in regular order, those -containing the animals being arranged in the caravan and menagerie, -while the others are classified in the museum department. The -horses are detached from the cages, dens and chariots by -experienced grooms and immediately removed to eight long rows of -horse tents, which are located in a separate lot, containing about -thirty horses each, these being principally draft and baggage -horses, as the ring stock is conveyed to hotel and livery stables. -Of the 245 people connected with this varied show, two-thirds were -employed in getting their breakfast. The establishment is equipped -with portable stoves and accomplished cooks. The meals are served -in large tents, and in this way all the attaches but the artists -are fed. Everything connected with the enterprise is first class—a -fact which strikes one, turn which way he will. Not only is -everything done for the comfort and convenience of the people -engaged with it, but the same thoughtfulness is manifested in -behalf of the horses, whether used for draught purposes, or as -accessories to the arenic performances. The tents in which the -horses are kept are large, and ample room is assigned each animal. -In fact they are complete stables with patent mangers and all the -modern stable appointments. The best rye straw is used for bedding, -and never were horses better provided with the little notions which -certainly contribute to their comfort, and which are probably in -exact accordance with a horse’s idea of good living. A veterinary -surgeon is regularly employed, and the health of the horses is, we -have reason to believe, much closer looked after than the health of -many people is by their family physician. The wagons used for the -conveyance of baggage when the company is moving are converted into -sleeping rooms at night, by letting down shelves, which, when -equipped with bedding and blankets form very comfortable berths. -Each wagon accommodates twelve persons. Another feature worthy of -notice is the manner in which the baggage is carried. If each -person carried a “Saratoga,” of course it would require some fifty -wagons to carry the trunks. To obviate this difficulty, the -clothing and other personal effects of the employees are kept in -one large wagon. The possessions of each one are numbered. This -wagon is in charge of a clerk, who has reduced his business to a -science, and with the same skill that a photographer picks out your -old “negative” from among a thousand others, when you order an -additional dozen <i>cartes de visite</i>, this gentleman can produce the -article called for at a moment’s notice. Having satisfied ourselves -that Barnum’s numerous employees know how to groom their stock, as -well as how to “keep a hotel,” we will now take our readers with us -to the great show, the doors of which are by this time opened (of -course they must buy their own tickets, for the management are not -in the habit of “papering” their house rather than play to empty -benches), and we shall see whether Phineas has kept faith with the -public, for we have a glimmering recollection that he promised not -long ago to make this last great effort the “crowning success of -his managerial life,” which we are of course bound to believe, -although we have also a sort of inquisitive penchant to “look for -the proofs.” Already the masses of curious sight-seers are -occupying every foot of available ground, the three ticket wagons -being literally besieged, from which the necessary cards of -admission are being rapidly distributed at fifty cents per head for -adults, children half price, and very soon the three colossal tents -are full to overflowing with anxious spectators. The first -impression that one receives on entering is that of bewilderment, -such is the magnitude, extent, variety and uniqueness of the -combination. Here in almost endless variety we see gathered -together from all parts of the earth a miniature representation of -the wonder world, that nobody but Barnum would ever have thought of -securing for a travelling exhibition.</p></div> - -<p>Then follows in the same article a detailed account of the leading -attractions, which want of space precludes me from copying. The notice -concludes as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>With all these unique and bewildering attractions our faith has -been wonderfully increased, and we shall no longer doubt why it is -that P. T. Barnum is the happiest and most successful show -proprietor that ever came before the American public, and no man -more than he deserves, as he is constantly receiving, their -unstinted and unprecedented patronage. The great show is now on its -triumphant tour through Northern New England, and will no doubt be -visited by myriads everywhere, as it has been here and elsewhere.</p></div> - -<p>From Boston my exhibition went through New Hampshire and into Maine as -far as Waterville. Why the show did not go to towns beyond in the State -is fully and amusingly explained in the following, which appeared in the -New York <i>Tribune</i>, August 19, 1871:<a name="page_860" id="page_860"></a></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="chead">BARNUM’S MENAGERIE AND CIRCUS.</p> - -<p>One of the greatest successes ever achieved in the annals of the -sawdust ring has been accomplished the present season by P. T. -Barnum’s Museum, Menagerie and Circus. From the inception of the -enterprise success has crowned its efforts. Mr. Barnum’s name in -itself has been a tower of strength, and to his direction and -general control its success is due. There are few men that have the -courage to invest nearly $500,000 in so precarious a business, and -to run it at a daily expense of nearly $2,500. But Mr. Barnum had -faith that the public would respond liberally to his appeal. One -great secret of his success has been ever to give the public a -great deal for their money, and to fix the prices of admission at -popular rates. But we doubt if he expected so great a success as -has recently, in the State of Maine, been showered upon him. It is -worthy of being recorded as equal to Jenny Lind’s triumphal -American tour. It had originally been the intention to make a tour -with the great show as far east as Bangor, Me., and it was so -announced, but subsequently they found that there were many bridges -over which it was impossible for the large chariots to pass, and -that the show would be obliged to make stands at several small -towns en route which could not possibly pay the running expenses -even if every inhabitant attended, consequently it was decided that -Lewiston, Me., should be the terminus of their eastern tour. The -following letter, dated Winthrop, Me., July 30, from a -correspondent, will best convey the idea of the great interest and -enthusiasm there manifested by the people:</p> - -<p>“The business in Maine has been immense, contrary to the -predictions of showmen generally. Since entering the State, except -at Brunswick, where it rained hard all day, they have been -compelled to show three times daily to accommodate the vast crowds -that flocked from every direction. While exhibiting at Gardiner and -Augusta persons came all the way from Bangor. When they reached -Waterville, a scene occurred which has never been equaled in this -or any other country. The village was crowded with people who had -come from the surrounding country, many of them travelling a -distance of seventy-five miles, and all the morning crowds were -pouring in from all points of the compass in carriages, wagons, -ox-carts, and on foot. Near the circus tents, in an adjoining -field, were several large tents pitched, which had served to -shelter the people the previous night who had come long distances -and encamped there. The authorities of the village had taken the -precaution to stop the sale of all spiritous liquors during that -day, and had caused barrels of water and plenty of ice to be placed -at the street corners, for the free use of all. Carts were provided -at the expense of the village to constantly replenish the barrels. -The early morning performance was commenced and it was found that -they could not accommodate a tithe part of their patrons, and ere -its close an excursion train of twenty-seven cars, crowded in every -part, came in from Bangor, closely followed by another of seventeen -cars from Belfast. Seeing this vast accession to the already large -numbers of visitors, the manager was somewhat puzzled how to -accommodate them. Finally, it was decided to give a continuous -exhibition, giving an act in the circus department every few -moments. This style of performance was kept up without cessation -until nine o’clock in the evening, when a heavy shower of rain -falling, afforded the manager an excuse to close the exhibitions. -The men and horses were completely exhausted, and their next drive -being forty-eight miles to Lewiston, where they were to exhibit -three times, they shipped all the ring horses by railroad, to give -them an opportunity for much needed rest. On driving out of -Augusta, on July 29, they narrowly escaped an accident similar to -the one which happened in New Jersey. One of the passenger wagons, -with twelve passengers and having four horses attached, had driven -down a steep hill, when suddenly they came upon a locomotive -crossing the road immediately in front of them. The driver, with -great presence of mind, suddenly pulled the horses to the right, -making an abrupt turn, which overturned the wagon, breaking the arm -of Mr. Summerfield, one of the business men, bruising several -others, and injuring somewhat severely Josephe, the French giant, -who was compelled to remain behind the show for a couple of days.”</p></div> - -<p>From Maine we went across Vermont, exhibiting in the more important -places, to Albany and Troy. At Albany it was impossible to secure a -suitable locality for the exhibition short of a distance of two miles -from the city; yet here distance seemed literally to “lend enchantment -to the view,” for every exhibition was thronged, and here as everywhere, -thousands were turned away who were unable to find room.</p> - -<p>Our route from Albany was along the line of the New York Central -Railroad to Buffalo, and back by the Erie Railway to the Hudson River, -exhibiting nearly everywhere, and after exhibitions at Catskill, -Poughkeepsie and Newburg, returning to New York. Our tour through the -country was more than a carnival—it was a perfect ovation; and best of -all, the public and the press, with one accord, pronounced the -exhibition even better and greater than I had advertised.<a name="page_861" id="page_861"></a></p> - -<p>At the close of the travelling season I desired to exhibit my great show -to my New York patrons, and to return again to the metropolis where, in -days gone by, the children, the parents, and the grandparents of the -present generation have flocked in millions to my museum. Accordingly I -secured the Empire Rink immediately after the close of the American -Institute Fair, and opened in that building November 13, 1871. At least -ten thousand people were present, and in response to an enthusiastic -welcoming call, I made a few remarks, the report of which I copy from -the next morning’s New York <i>World</i>:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“A popular Eastern poet has said the noblest art a human being can -acquire is the power of giving happiness to others. I sincerely -hope this is true, for my highest ambition during the last thirty -years has been to make the public happy. When I introduced the -Swedish nightingale, Jenny Lind, to the American public in 1851, a -thrill of pleasure was felt throughout the land by our most refined -and intellectual citizens, as well as by every lover of melody in -the humblest walks of life. As a museum proprietor for nearly -thirty years I catered successfully to the pleasures of many -millions of persons. Nor have my efforts been confined to this -continent. As a public exhibitor I have appeared before kings, -queens and emperors in the Old World, and have given gratification -to many millions of their devoted subjects. Fifty years ago some -moralists taught that it was wicked to laugh, but all divines of -the present day have abandoned that untenable and austere position, -and now almost universally agree that laughter is not only -conducive to health, but very proper and to be encouraged, for, as -the bard of Avon justly says: ‘With mirth and laughter let old -wrinkles come.’ In fact, Mr. Beecher permits laughing in his -church, holding that it is as right to laugh as to cry. It has been -said that I have caused more people to laugh than any other man on -this continent. Ten years ago one of our first families in Fifth -avenue were conversing regarding the duties, responsibilities, and -trials of this life. Their little daughter of seven was present. -The father remarked that it was a pretty hard world to live -in—full of struggles, labors, toils and disappointments. The -mother added that there was much poverty and suffering in the -world, etc., but the little girl chirped in, ‘Well, I think it is a -beautiful and pleasant world. I have my dear mamma and papa, and my -good grandma there, besides I have Barnum’s Museum to go to, and -surely I don’t want a happier world than this.’ My great object has -been to elevate the standard of amusements, to render them -instructive as well as amusing, to divest them of all vulgar and -immoral tendencies, and to make all my exhibitions worthy the -patronage of the best and most respectable families. Finally, my -great desire has been to give my patrons ten times the worth of -their money, and in this my last crowning effort to overshadow and -totally eclipse all other exhibitions in the world.”</p></div> - -<p>And the metropolitan press, people and patronage combined, only repeated -with more emphasis, the universal testimony of the country as to the -extent and merits of this great show. Want of space permits me to copy -only two or three of the favorable articles which appeared from day to -day during the entire exhibition in the columns of the New York press. -The following is from the Baptist <i>Union</i>:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="chead">RARE CURIOSITIES.</p> - -<p>Mr. P. T. Barnum has organized at the Empire Rink a very large -exhibition, combining a Museum, Menagarie, International Zoölogical -Garden, Polytechnic Institute and Hippodrome. Having examined the -various departments of this vast combination, we do not hesitate to -recommend our friends to go with their families to visit it, and -they will enjoy a treat seldom offered in a lifetime. The -department of natural history is especially excellent and -interesting, and embraces the largest and rarest collection of wild -animals ever exhibited together in this or probably in any other -country. Everything connected with the entertainments admirably -harmonizes with the good taste and respectability which give to all -of Mr. Barnum’s enterprises a refinement and morality which commend -them to the most scrupulous. The great Hippodrome Pageant, in which -appear so many elephants, camels, dromedaries, horses and ponies, -with men, women and children in costumes representing the Arabs and -Bedouins of the desert, Roman knights, heralds, warriors, kings, -princes and bashaws of the olden time, is truly interesting and -grand, and is worth going a long distance to see.</p></div> - -<p>That popular religious journal, the New York <i>Christian Leader</i>, edited -by the Rev. G. H. Emerson, speaks as follows:<a name="page_862" id="page_862"></a></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="chead">A GOOD SERMON FOR SHOWMEN.</p> - -<p>The success which everywhere attends Barnum’s great show ought to -be evidence to the managers who furnish amusement to the public -that profanity and indecency of speech and gesture—all of which -Mr. Barnum excludes by promptly and indignantly discharging the -offender—are not of the nature of supply meeting a popular demand. -If a man is coarse and vulgar himself, he usually has manhood -enough left not to take his wife and children where coarseness and -vulgarity are sure to be witnessed. Mr. Barnum’s combination is now -doing for canvas what his Jenny Lind enterprise did for public -halls. Its patrons are not individuals, but communities. For -example, the factories of Paterson, N. J., were compelled to -suspend, the operative population having left, <i>en masse</i> for the -show. But this swimming and unsurpassed success would come to a -full stop in one day if profanity and indecency, instead of being -rigorously forbidden, were encouraged. The community at large -respects decency. The show, bewildering, various and mammoth beyond -a precedent, is now on its way through New England, in one sense, -like “Sherman’s march to the sea,” and a patronage never before -anticipated is organized in advance. It is big, and, better still, -it is clean—clean to the eye and to the moral sense.</p></div> - -<p>“Nym Crinkle,” the Dramatic Critic of the New York <i>World</i>, wrote a very -entertaining column about the show for that journal, and “Trinculo” -copied it in full in the “Amusements Gossip” of the New York <i>Leader</i>. -The following is extracted from the article:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="chead">BARNUM’S UNIVERSAL SHOW.</p> - -<p>Barnum, who long ago beat all creation, is now exhibiting his -spoils at the Rink. Animated nature and animated art make a -stunning combination, especially when the combination is all in -active operation, as it generally is about two o clock in the -afternoon and eight o’clock in the evening. Then one can enjoy the -howls of the animals, the rush and scurry of the arena, the -rattlebang of the band, and the delight of ten thousand people, -without stopping to discriminate. It is something for the veteran -showman to say he has been able to stir the metropolis with his -caravan as other and less indifferent villages are stirred by -smaller shows. The combination, as shows are rated, is really an -extraordinary one, and when it arrives at an average Western city -it doubles the population for them, contributing of its own -multitudinous teamsters, tricksters, and stirrers-up about three -hundred people, with as many more ravening beasts thrown in.</p> - -<p>The first living curiosity that one meets at the Rink is Barnum -himself uncaged. He still holds to the notion that it is worth -fifty cents to look at him, and one dollar to read his life; and as -nearly everybody has looked at him and read his life, we presume -the rest of the world agrees with him. Still it is curious to -observe how the healthy and hearty world, thronging to see the -monkeys and the mermaids, mingle awe with their admiration of the -greatest curiosity of all. They are subdued by a sense of the -showman’s power. They skirt carefully round the edges of his -greatness, so as not to attract too much of his attention, for who -could tell at what moment, if he so chose, he would exhibit them. -We say the healthy and hearty world, for of course the unhealthy -and deformed world, which we all know was made to be exhibited, -throngs as of old in supplicating procession after him. -Three-legged women and four-legged men, and double-headed children -may be seen at all hours congregating on the Third avenue in the -vicinity of the Rink, seeking audience of the great showman. -Indeed, the observant traveller on this great thoroughfare will -know, hours before he gets to the Rink, that he is approaching -Barnum, by the strange monstrosities, woolly horses, Albino -children, and living skeletons that will be observed wending their -way from all parts of the world to the great show in hope of -getting engagements. Of course, all this adds to the excitement and -interest of the eager multitude. But the animals and curiosities -inside constitute the real attraction to the public; and a very -fine collection of animals it is. The eight or ten royal Abyssinian -and Babylonian lions roar less like sucking doves than any that -have had their jaws stretched among us since Van Amburgh’s time. As -for the rhinoceros, he deserves especial attention, because, as the -card on his cage informs us, he is the unicorn of Scripture. But he -doesn’t look a bit like the agile fellow that fought for the crown -on his hind legs, (ah, he was an artist,) for he eats too much hay, -and nothing can be more absurd and contrary to the revolutionary -character of the unicorn dear to heraldry than this iron-clad -monster eating hay with the demureness of a cow. Still there is -danger in his cage, the keeper informs us, and he ought to know, -for he probably lived there at some time with him in order to find -him out. And he further assures us that the reason Mr. Barnum -employs him to take care of the beast is that he is an old sailor, -nobody else being able to go round his horn. Time, however would -not suffice to relate the wonders of the yak and guayga and the -wart hog, none of which are popular pets, nor to tell of the -infinite variety of the feline tribe, from <i>felis leo</i> himself to -the tiniest cougar. This collection of animals makes what is called -the Zoölogical Garden, a distinct apartment of the show. There is a -collection of camels—about forty—and several elephants, eating -peanuts with singularly disproportioned taste, at the east end, and -here, we observe, is the menagerie. The camels, each with his hump -tastefully covered with a camel’s hair shawl, wait with meek -patience for the ring-master to call them, and they all slide out -on their cushioned feet like dusty spectres. It would be well to -visit the collection of wild animals after this, and then inspect -the exhibition of animated nature, reserving the caravan till the<a name="page_863" id="page_863"></a> -last. But the conscientious visitor has the hippodrome, the -hippotheatron, the circus, the arena and the ring to inspect, and -unless he hurries up, he will not get through in time. We have -found it in our experience that the best plan is to cut the arena, -the hippodrome, and the hippotheatron, and stick to the circus. The -circus will be found worthy of the carefulest study. It will be -found to have a largeness that is new, and certainly it would be -difficult to find more performers or have them do more. The Rink, -thanks to Barnum, is a popular resort. We forget how many miles of -promenade there are through the zoölogical department of the -menagerie, but we know that thousands of people may be seen there -of a pleasant afternoon, adding a biological interest to the -zoölogical exhibit that is well worth noting.</p></div> - -<p>The following is from the New York <i>Daily Standard</i> of Dec. 28, 1871:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="chead">UNBOUNDED ENTERPRISE.</p> - -<p>Mr. P. T. Barnum is the only man in the show-business who -thoroughly comprehends the demands of the public, and is willing to -satisfy them at any expenditure of time and means. His projects are -conceived on a gigantic scale, very far in advance of the -conservatism so characteristic of even liberal managers. His -expensive expeditions to Labrador, some years ago, to capture white -whales for the American Museum, and another expedition to South -Africa, in 1859, which secured the first and only living -hippopotamus ever seen on this continent, involved an outlay -sufficient to organize and completely furnish a first-class show. A -third even more hazardous expedition was sent to the North Pacific -to capture seals, sea lions, and other marine monsters, which were -transported thousands of miles in immense water tanks. These are -but a few in many instances of that large and comprehensive -liberality that distinguishes all of Mr. Barnum’s enterprises, and -is the source of his managerial triumphs and the foundation of his -financial success. Obstacles, that to others seem insurmountable, -only spur him on to greater effort. No article of real novelty or -merit which will enhance the attractions of his exhibitions is -suffered to escape for lack of energy, or for want of liberal -expenditure of money. It is this spirit that has enabled Mr. Barnum -to combine in one exhibition the most complete and colossal -collection of animate and inanimate curiosities ever assembled in -the world.</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1871, when the great show was about to enter upon -its first campaign, complete as it seemed to the manager and to -other experts, Mr. Barnum thought a most valuable feature might be -added. He telegraphed to the whaling ports of New England, and sent -messages to San Francisco and Alaska, to know if a group of sea -lions and other specimens of the phocine tribe could be secured. -Finally, through his agents in San Francisco, he organized an -expedition to Alaska. By the first of July, several fine specimens -of seals and sea lions, some of the latter weighing more than 1,000 -pounds each, were brought in tanks over the Union Pacific Railway, -were safely landed at Bridgeport, and, thereafter, were forwarded -to the show, then on its travels through New England. As these -delicate animals are likely to die, arrangements have been made to -keep good the supply, and December 16, 1871, Mr. Barnum received a -telegram from San Francisco that six more sea lions had just -arrived at that port for him. Two of these will be sent, by -arrangement, to the Zoölogical Gardens, in Regent’s Park, London, -and the rest, with several seals captured in the same expedition, -will be added to Barnum’s show next spring.</p> - -<p>Mr. Barnum’s active and enterprising agents are in Europe, Asia, -Africa, South America, and elsewhere in the world, wherever -anything rare and valuable—bird, beast, reptile, or other animate -or inanimate curiosity—can be secured, which will add to the -interest of the exhibition. In the menagerie, and the hippodrome -also, experts are constantly engaged in training elephants, camels, -performing horses, and other animals, and are thus preparing new -and attractive features, some of which will be as novel to the show -profession as they will be new and attractive to the public.</p></div> - -<p>I might fill hundreds of pages with the notices of the New York papers -during the protracted exhibition at the Empire Rink. Every day, almost, -the journals had something new to say about the show, from the simple -fact that nearly every day the addition of some new animal or -attraction, or fresh features in the ring performances compelled new -notices. The exhibition continued with unabated success and patronage -till after the holidays, when necessary preparations for the spring -campaign, including the repainting of all the wagons, compelled me to -close.</p> - -<p>I must make mention merely of two genuine curiosities from -California—the one a section of one of the big trees, and the other a -bright young Digger Indian, who was my guide through the Yosemite -Valley. I little thought when I saw the big trees that I should soon -secure for exhibition in New York a gigantic section of one of them, -with the bark, which,<a name="page_864" id="page_864"></a> set up as it enclosed the tree, enclosed, on one -occasion, at the Empire Rink, two hundred children from the Howard -Mission. The Digger was equally a curiosity in his way. One day when the -baboon escaped from his cage, and defied all the efforts of the keepers -to capture him, my Digger Indian lassooed him, and brought him down with -a run and a rope in less than no time. His services in, and with, this -“line” on other occasions were more memorable.</p> - -<p>I cannot close this additional narrative without warning my readers, and -the public generally, that the enormous success of my great combination -has stimulated unscrupulous smaller showmen to feeble imitations, which, -in some instances, are, and are intended to be, downright frauds upon -the public. Nearly every circus and menagerie in the country has lately -added what is called a “museum,” and in some cases they have employed a -man named, or supposed to be named, Barnum, intending to advertise under -the title of “Barnum’s Show,” thereby deceiving and swindling the -public. The trick is very transparent, and can be successful, if at all, -only in very rural regions, where the newspapers fail to penetrate. The -so-called “Museums” may embrace a stuffed animal or two, and a small -show of wax-works. Indeed, some of these minor managers have bought -cast-off curiosities from me, and cheap rubbish from old museums, with -which to set up the “new features” in their circuses or menageries. The -whole public knows that there is but one P. T. Barnum, and but one show -in the country of sufficient importance to bear his name. I trust to my -name and my long-worked-for and well-earned reputation to insure the -public against imposition from the attempts of my imitators, who are as -unprincipled as they will be unsuccessful in their efforts to defraud me -and to delude the public.<a name="page_865" id="page_865"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="CONCLUSION" id="CONCLUSION"></a>CONCLUSION.</h2> - -<p>In sending these last pages to the printer in March, 1872, I may say -that my manager, Mr. Coup, his assistants, and myself, have been busy -ever since New Year’s in reorganizing our great travelling show, -building new wagons and cages, and painting, gilding and repairing the -others. One of the great carved, mirrored and gilded chariots, from -England, used by me in 1871, is a grand affair, made telescopic, and -when extended to its full height reaches an altitude of forty feet, on -the top of which, in our street processions, we place a young lady, -costumed to personate the Goddess of Liberty. The re-gilding of this one -vehicle preparatory to opening our spring campaign cost about five -thousand dollars—enough to build a nice house in the country. The -wintering of my horses and wild animals, salaries of employees and -expense of fitting up properly for the next season, cost over $50,000. -During the winter my agents abroad have shipped me many interesting and -expensive curiosities. Indeed, ship after ship has brought me so many -rare animals and works of art that I have sometimes been puzzled to find -places to store them.</p> - -<p>Two beautiful Giraffes, or Camelopards, were despatched to me, but one -died on the Atlantic, making three of these tender and valuable animals -that I have lost within a year. The only one on this continent at this -present writing is mine. He is a beauty. I own another, which is now in -the Royal Zoölogical Gardens, Regent’s Park, London, ready to be shipped -at any moment should I unfortunately be obliged to send a message by the -Atlantic Cable announcing the death of my present pet.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 197px;"> -<a href="images/p865_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p865_sml.jpg" width="197" height="203" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Other managers gave up trying to import Giraffes several years ago, -owing to the great cost and care attending them. No Giraffe has ever -lived two years in America. These very impediments, however, incited me -to always have a living Giraffe on hand, at whatever cost—for, of -course, their scarcity enhances their attraction and value as -curiosities. I hear that my example has stimulated the manager of a -small show to try and obtain a Giraffe. I<a name="page_866" id="page_866"></a> am educating the public -curiosity and taste to demand so much that is rare and valuable, that -many managers will soon give up the show business, as several have this -spring, while others must be more liberal and enterprising if they -succeed.</p> - -<p>Hitherto many small showmen who could raise cash and credit to the -amount of $20,000, would get half a dozen cages of cheap animals, two or -three fourth-rate circus riders, a few acrobats or tumblers, a clown, -and three or four broken down “ring horses;” then buying some ready -printed dashy show-bills <i>mis</i>-representing their show, they would -announce a great menagerie and circus, and perhaps clear the cost of -their show the first season; for there are some persons who are bound to -go to “the show” whatever may be its merits. But the public are -generally getting sick of this same old story, and as my Broadway -American Museum years ago served to reform or extinguish “one horse -shows,” so I trust that the immensity of my travelling show will serve -to elevate and extend public expectations and improve public -exhibitions.</p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 187px;"> -<a href="images/p866_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p866_sml.jpg" width="187" height="190" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Several immense Sea Lions and Barking Seals have also been captured by -my agents at Alaska and are added to the “innumerable caravan.” Some of -these marine monsters weigh a thousand pounds each, and each consumes -from sixty to a hundred pounds of fish per day. It is very curious to -see them floundering in and out of the immense water tanks in which I -transport them through the country. Their tremendous roar may often be -heard the distance of a mile.</p> - -<p>Among my equestrian novelties is an Italian Goat taught in Europe to -ride on horseback, leap through hoops and over banners, alighting on his -feet on the back of the horse while at full speed. I named him “Alexis” -in honor of the Russian Prince. He appeared at Niblo’s Garden, New York, -in February, and created much enthusiasm.</p> - -<p>Numerous artists in different parts of Europe have been engaged all -winter in making for my show extraordinary Musical and other Automatons -and Moving Tableaux, so marvelous in their construction as to seem -enchanted or to be possessed of life.</p> - -<p>But perhaps the most rare and curious addition to my great show, and -certainly the most difficult to obtain, is a company of four wild <span class="smcap">Fiji -Cannibals</span>! I have tried in vain for years to secure specimens of these -“man-eaters.” At last the opportunity came. Three of these Cannibals<a name="page_867" id="page_867"></a> -having fallen into the hands of their Royal enemy, who was about to -execute, and perhaps to eat them, the missionaries and my agent -prevailed upon the copper-colored king to accept a large sum in gold on -condition of his majesty’s granting them a reprieve and leave of absence -to America for three years, my agent also leaving a large sum with the -American Consul to be forfeited if they were not returned within the -time stipulated. Accompanying them is a half-civilized Cannibal woman, -converted and educated by the Methodist missionaries. She reads fluently -and very pleasantly from the Bible printed in the Fijian language, and -she already exerts a powerful moral influence over these savages. They -take a lively interest in hearing her read the history of our Saviour. -They earnestly declare their convictions that eating human flesh is -wrong, and faithfully promise never again to attempt it. They are -intelligent and docile. Their characteristic war dances and rude -marches, as well as their representations of Cannibal manners and -customs, are peculiarly interesting and instructive. It is perhaps -needless to add that the bonds for their return will be forfeited. They -are already learning to speak and read our language, and I hope soon to -put them in the way of being converted to Christianity, even if by so -doing the title of “Missionary” be added to the many already given me by -the public.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 208px;"> -<a href="images/p867_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img class="enlargeimage" -src="images/enlarge-image.jpg" -alt="" -width="18" -height="14" /> -<br /> -<img src="images/p867_sml.jpg" width="208" height="222" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>The following happy hit is from the pen of Rev. <span class="smcap">Henry Ward Beecher</span> as it -appeared in that excellent paper of which he is editor, the N. Y. -<i>Christian Union</i> of Feb. 28th, 1872:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Should not a paternal government set some limit to the enterprise -of Brother Barnum; with reference, at least, to the considerations -of public safety? Here, upon our desk, lies an indication of his -last perilous venture. He invites us “and one friend”—no -conditions as to “condition” specified—to a private exhibition of -<i>four living cannibals</i>, which he has obtained from the Fiji -Islands, for his travelling show. We have beaten up, in this -office, among the lean and tough, and those most easily spared in -an emergency, for volunteers to visit the Anthropophagi, and -report; but never has the retiring and self-distrustful disposition -of our employees been more signally displayed. This establishment -was not represented at that exposition. If Barnum had remembered to -specify the “Feeding-time,” we might have dropped in, in a friendly -way, at some other period of the day.”</p></div> - -<p>I may add that at the above exhibition several editors brought their -daughters. These blooming young ladies refused to sit on the front seat, -in the fear of being eaten; but I remarked that there was more danger of -some of the young gentlemen swallowing them alive, than there was from -the cannibals. The belles subsided and were safe.<a name="page_868" id="page_868"></a></p> - -<p>And now comes a joke so huge and ludicrous that I laugh over it daily, -although there is a serious aspect to it. Every shipment of curiosities -that has arrived from abroad this winter has served to put my worthy -Manager Coup in great agony.</p> - -<p>“I tell you, Mr. Barnum, you are getting this show too big,” has been -repeated by my perplexed manager a hundred times since New Year’s.</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” I reply, “we ought to have a <i>big</i> show—the public expect -it, and will appreciate it.”</p> - -<p>“So here must go six thousand dollars more for a Giraffe wagon and the -horses to draw it,” says Coup, “and this makes more than seventy -additional horses that your importations since last fall have rendered -necessary.”</p> - -<p>“Well, friend Coup, we have the <i>only</i> Giraffe in America,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, that is all very well, but no country can support such an -expensive show as you are putting on the road.”</p> - -<p>And that is poor Coup’s doleful complaint continually.</p> - -<p>But now comes a more serious side, and here is where the joke comes in. -I had wintered about five hundred horses, and was preparing to add at -least another hundred to my retinue. I induced my son-in-law, Mr. S. H. -Hurd, to sell out his business, take stock in the show, and become its -treasurer and assistant manager. Hurd is clear-headed, but he moves -cautiously, and “looks before he leaps.” On a cold, clear morning in -February, 1872, Mr. Coup, Mr. Hurd, and several of our leading -assistants and counsellors called at my house. Their countenances were -solemn, not to say lugubrious; their jaws seemed firmly set, and -altogether I discovered something ominous in their appearance. I saw -that there was solid business ahead, but I said with a smile:</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen, I am right glad to see you. I confess you don’t look very -jolly, but never mind, unbosom yourselves, and tell me what is up.”</p> - -<p>Manager Coup opened the ball.</p> - -<p>“I am very sorry to say, Mr. Barnum,” said that honest, good-hearted -manager, “that our business here is important and serious. Although we, -of course, like to bow to your decisions, and are ready to acknowledge -that your experience is greater than ours, we have had a long and -serious consultation this morning, and have unanimously concluded that -your show is more than twice too large to succeed; that you will lose -nearly four hundred thousand dollars if you try to drag it all through -the country, and that your only chance of success is to sell off more -than half of your curiosities and horses and wagons, or else divide them -into three, or certainly two distinct shows.”</p> - -<p>“Is this a <i>mutiny</i>, gentlemen?” I asked, with a feeling and countenance -far from solemn.</p> - -<p>“By no means a mutiny, father,” said Hurd, “but really it is a very -serious affair. We have been making a careful and close calculation.” -Here he drew from his pocket a sheet of paper covered with figures, and -read from it: “The expenses of your exhibitions, including nearly a -thousand men and horses, the printing, board, salaries, &c., will -average more than $4,000 per day. But call it $4,000. You show thirty -weeks—<a name="page_869" id="page_869"></a>180 days. Thus your expenses for the tenting season, besides -wear and tear and general depreciation, will be at least $720,000. This -is about twice as much as any show ever took in one season, except your -own, last year. This is the year of the presidential election, which, on -account of political excitement and mass meetings, always injures -travelling shows. We have carefully looked over the towns which you will -be able to touch this summer, not going west of Ohio, for you cannot get -beyond that State in a single season, and we compute your receipts at -not over $350,000, which would leave you a loser of $370,000.”</p> - -<p>“Are you not a little mistaken in some of your estimates?” I asked.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum, figures never lie,” exclaimed Mr. Coup, with great -earnestness, and, pulling a pocket-map from his breast pocket, he opened -it, and I saw that he was set down for the next spokesman.</p> - -<p>“Our teams cannot travel with heavy loads more than an average of twenty -miles per day,” continued Coup; “now please follow the lines marked on -this map, and you will find that we are compelled to make seventy-one -stands where there are not people enough within five miles to give us an -average of $1,000 per day. That will involve a loss of $213,000, and, I -tell you, that taking accidents, storms, and other risks, the season -will be ruinous if you don’t reduce the show more than one-half.”</p> - -<p>“Coup,” I replied, “did not thousands of people come fifty, sixty, a -hundred miles last year, by railroad excursions, to see my show?”</p> - -<p>He confessed that they did.</p> - -<p>“Well,” I replied, “if you have lost faith in the discernment of the -public, I have not, and I propose to prove it.” Then, laughing heartily, -I added:</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen, I thank you for your advice; but I won’t reduce the show a -single hair or feather; on the contrary, I will add five or six hundred -dollars per day to my expenses!”</p> - -<p>My assembled “cabinet” rolled their eyes in astonishment.</p> - -<p>“Father, are you crazy?” asked Hurd, with a look of despair.</p> - -<p>“Not much,” I replied.</p> - -<p>“Now,” I continued, “I see the show is too big to drag from village to -village by horse power, and I have long suspected it would be, and have -laid my plans accordingly. I will immediately telegraph to all the -principal railroad centres between here and Omaha, Nebraska, and within -five days I will tell you what it will cost to transport my whole show, -taking leaps of a hundred miles or more in a single night when -necessary, so as to hit good-sized towns every day in the season. If I -can do this with sixty or seventy freight cars, six passenger cars and -three engines, within such a figure as I think it ought to be done for, -I will do it.”</p> - -<p>The “cabinet” adjourned for five days, and it was worth something to see -how astonished, and apparently pleased, the various members looked as -they withdrew.</p> - -<p>At the appointed time all met again. The railroad telegrams were -generally favorable, and we, then and there, resolved to transport the<a name="page_870" id="page_870"></a> -entire Museum, Menagerie and Hippodrome, all of the coming season, by -rail, enlisting a power which, if expended on traversing common wagon -roads, would be equivalent to <i>two thousand men and horses</i>.</p> - -<p>If life and health are spared me till another spring, I will report the -result of thus setting on foot a mighty “army with banners.” But if it -is wisely appointed that some other hand shall record it, I confidently -trust that the American public will bear witness that I found great -pleasure in contributing to their rational enjoyment.</p> - -<p class="r"> -P T B<br /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_871" id="page_871"></a></p> - -<h2><a name="APPENDIX_II" id="APPENDIX_II"></a>APPENDIX II.</h2> - -<p class="c"><span class="smcap">Written up to February, 1873.</span></p> - -<p class="c">A REMARKABLE CAMPAIGN.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>RECORD OF EVENTS—IMMENSE BUSINESS—RETROGRADING NOT MY -NATURE—TREASURER’S REPORT—SURPRISED AT LAST—EXCITEMENT IN THE -RURAL DISTRICTS—CAMPING OUT—“SEEING BARNUM”—AN “INCIDENT OF -TRAVEL”—DOWN THE BANK—A TERRIBLE NIGHT—A TEMPERANCE CREW—CLOSE -OF THE TENTING SEASON—WESTWARD HO!—FREE LECTURES—WALDEMERE—A -FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLAR DOOR-YARD—VISIT OF HORACE GREELEY—TRIP TO -COLORADO—MY NEW ENTERPRISE—FOURTEENTH STREET HIPPODROME—GRAND -OPENING—A BRILLIANT AUDIENCE—DEPARTURE FOR THE SOUTH—NEW ORLEANS -IN WINTER—NEWS OF THE CONFLAGRATION—“BUSINESS BEFORE -PLEASURE”—EN ROUTE FOR HOME—SPEECH AT THE ACADEMY—SEASON OF -1873—CONCLUSION.</p></div> - -<p>R<small>EADERS</small> of the preceding pages will expect in this Appendix a brief -resumé of events relating to my Great Travelling World’s Fair for the -season of 1872. Connected as I have been with so many gigantic -undertakings, and the subject of so many and varied experiences, it can -hardly be thought strange if I have taught myself not to be surprised at -anything in the way of business results. The idea of attempting to -transport by rail any company or combination requiring sixty-five -cars—to be moved daily from point to point—was an experiment of such -magnitude that railroad companies could not supply my demands, and I was -compelled to purchase and own all the cars. Up to this time in life, my -record is clear for never retrograding after once embarking in any -undertaking, and I did not propose to establish a contrary precedent at -this late day, so, at the appointed time, the great combination moved -westward by rail: The result is known. It visited the States of New -Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, -Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, -Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. In order to exhibit only in large -towns, it was frequently necessary to travel one hundred miles in a -single night, arriving in season to give three exhibitions and the usual -street pageant at 8 o’clock <small>A.M.</small> By means of cheap excursion trains, -thousands of strangers attended daily from along the lines of the -various railroads, for a distance of fifty, seventy-five and even a -hundred miles. Other thousands came in wagons, on horse-back and by -every means of conveyance that could be pressed into service, until by -10 o’clock—the hour for the morning exhibition—the streets, sidewalks -and stores were filled with strangers. It was universally conceded that -the money invested by these country customers, who took this opportunity -to visit the town and make purchases, exceeded by many thousands of -dollars the amount I took away. Indeed, my own expenditures at each -point where we exhibited, averaged one-half my gross receipts.<a name="page_872" id="page_872"></a></p> - -<p>Some idea of the excitement throughout the country, may be formed from -the fact that, upon arriving at daylight, we usually found wagon loads -of rural strangers—men, women and children—who had come in during the -night, and “pitched camp.” They had arrived at a most unseasonable hour -for pleasure, but this nocturnal experience was no barrier when they had -the ultimatum of “seeing Barnum.” Notwithstanding our transportation was -necessarily done at night, under all the disadvantages of darkness and -usually by three trains, it is gratifying to look back upon the great -railroad campaign of 1872 as entirely free from serious accident. A few -minor casualties occurred. At 1 o’clock on the morning of June 8, -several of our cars and cages were precipitated down an embankment at -Erie, Penn., by the gross carelessness of a switchman, and the utter -recklessness of two locomotive engineers. The accident resulted in no -loss of life, but the crushed cages, the roaring of the animals, the -general excitement, coupled with the fact that the night was one of -Egyptian darkness, all combined to form an “incident of travel” long to -be remembered. It is also a source of satisfaction to record that -nothing like riotous conduct, quarreling or disturbing elements of any -nature have annoyed us during the tenting season. I attribute this to -one fact, <i>viz.</i>, that my employees are <i>teetotalers</i> and of gentlemanly -behavior; that they fully appreciate the wisdom of my forty years’ -motto—“<span class="smcap">We Study to Please</span>”—and consequently make every effort to -preserve decorum, and make visitors as happy as possible during the few -hours they are with us.</p> - -<p>With wonderful unanimity the public and the press acknowledged that I -exhibited much more than I advertised, and that no combination of -exhibitions that ever travelled had shown a tithe of the instructive and -amusing novelties that I had gathered together. This universal -commendation is, to me, the most gratifying feature of the campaign, for -not being compelled to do business merely for the sake of profit, my -highest enjoyment is to delight my patrons. The entire six months’ -receipts of the Great Travelling World’s Fair exceeded one million -dollars. The expenses of 156 days were nearly $5,000 per day, making -about $780,000, besides the interest on a million dollars capital, and -the wear and tear of the whole establishment. Although these daily -expenses were more than double the receipts of any other show ever -organized in any country, the financial result surprised every one, and -even I, who had anticipated so much, was a little “set back” when my -treasurer made his final report. It will be remembered that it was the -year of a heated presidential campaign, when factional strife and -political ambition might be expected to monopolize public attention to -the serious detriment of amusements generally. I think I may with truth -say that no other man in America would have dared to assume such risk. -All well known showmen agree that without <i>my name</i>, which is recognized -as the synonym of “<span class="smcap">Old Reliable</span>—always giving my patrons thrice the -worth of their money,” the enormous outlay I incurred would have swamped -any other proprietor of this vast collection of novelties, requiring the -services of 1,000 men and 300 horses. The tenting season proper, closed -at Detroit<a name="page_873" id="page_873"></a> October 30th, when we were patronized by the largest -concourse of people ever assembled in the State of Michigan.</p> - -<p>During this season of unparalleled prosperity, I made it my custom to be -present at all large cities and prominent points, and superintend in -person the gigantic combination. Frequently I was invited by leaders in -the temperance cause or by the “Young Men’s Christian Associations” to -lecture on temperance, which invitation I accepted when in my power, but -always upon conditions that the lecture should be free and open to all. -As a matter of fact I may be permitted to say that upon these occasions -more people were turned away than gained admission, but whether these -crowds were attracted by an interest in the temperance cause, or from a -desire to get a glimpse of the old showman, I have never been fully -satisfied. My manager and assistants insist that the latter is true, and -that my free lectures, especially in the large cities, result to my -pecuniary disadvantage, as fully satisfying many who otherwise would -patronize the exhibition to gratify their curiosity. However, as our -immense pavilions are always crowded, I can see no real cause for -complaint. At my stage of life I confess to a deeper interest in the -noble cause of temperance than I ever had in the largest audience ever -assembled under canvas. If but one-half the people who have signed the -pledge at these lectures keep it through life, I shall feel that my -labors in this direction will not have been devoid of valuable and -beneficent results.</p> - -<p>Early in the presidential canvass I published a general invitation -offering the free use of my immense Hippodrome pavilion to either of the -great political parties, for holding mass meetings. No building in the -West would accommodate the masses seeking admission upon these -occasions, and “open air” gatherings were at a discount, even with -enthusiastic politicians. My immense circus canvas had a seating -capacity of 12,000, and was proof against ordinary storms. My offer gave -the free use of this immense tent between the hours of 4 and 6 <small>P.M.</small> The -invitation was accepted in some instances where the exhibition and the -political gathering were billed for the same day.</p> - -<p>When not with the company I spent most of my time at my ideal -home—Waldemere. To me who have travelled so far and seen so much, and -whose life seems destined to be an eventful one, this delightful summer -retreat is invested with new charms at each successive visit. The -beautiful groves seem still more beautiful, the foliage more green, the -entire scenery more picturesque and the broad expanse of water—with the -Long Island shore visible in the mazy background—sparkles in the -sunlight with additional brilliancy. Possibly my affection for Waldemere -is due in some degree to the fact that I can here look upon thriving -shade trees and spacious drives of my own creation, and that wherever -art has beautified nature, it has but utilized plans and carried out -suggestions of my own. In 1871 I attached to Waldemere a new building -for a library. Its architecture was so beautiful and unlike the main -edifice that after expending $10,000 on it, I was obliged to lay out -$30,000 on the house to make it “correspond!” It was the old story of -the man’s new sofa over again. When the building was enlarged, the lawn -on the east side appeared too narrow, so I purchased a<a name="page_874" id="page_874"></a> slip of land -(seven acres) on that side for $50,000. The land is worth it for -building lots at present prices, but I could not help half agreeing with -a neighboring farmer who said, “well, that Barnum is the queerest man I -ever saw. He’s gone and spent $50,000 for a little potato patch to put -on his door-yard.” The past season my summer home was made still more -attractive by the frequent presence of distinguished personal friends, -whom I took delight in entertaining. Their sojourn I endeavored to make -agreeable, and in after years their recollections of Waldemere will, I -trust, be pleasing reminiscences of a quiet visit and unfeigned -hospitality. In August I received a visit from my esteemed friend, the -late Horace Greeley. Mine was one of the few private residences he -visited during the campaign, and the last, I think, which he sought for -relaxation or pleasure. I have every reason to believe that he spoke the -true sentiment of his heart when he assured me of his enjoyment while at -my house, and never did a careworn journalist, and him too the very -central figure of a heated political campaign, stand more in need of -repose and perfect freedom from mental excitement than did Mr. Greeley -at this time. I arranged an old-fashioned clam bake, at which were -present congenial spirits from home and abroad. Mr. Greeley laid aside -all restraint. He mingled freely with the guests, and his native genial -humor and ready wit contributed greatly to the enjoyment. The keenest -observer could have detected nothing like care or anxiety upon his -countenance, and the stranger would have pointed him out as a quiet -farmer enjoying a day at the sea-side.</p> - -<p>Although not much of a politician I have my political preferences. Mr. -Greeley was my life-long personal friend. I gave him my support. Once I -ventured my opinion that his election was doubtful. He replied that a -more important result than his election would be, that, running upon so -liberal a platform as that adopted at Cincinnati, would compel all -parties to recognize a higher standard regarding public justice and the -rights of others. “My chief concern,” he added, “is to do nothing in -this canvass that I shall look back upon with an unapproving -conscience.”</p> - -<p>In October I visited Colorado accompanied by my English friend John -Fish, and a Bridgeport gentleman who has an interest with me in a -stock-raising ranche in the southern part of that Territory. We took the -Kansas Pacific Railroad to Denver, seeing many thousands of wild -buffalo—our train sometimes being stopped to let them pass. The weather -was delightful. We spent several days in the new and flourishing town of -Greeley. I gave a temperance lecture there; also at Denver. At the -latter city, in the course of my remarks, I told them I never saw so -many disappointed people as at Denver. The large audience looked -surprised, but were relieved when I added, “half the inhabitants came -invalids from the East, expecting to die, and they find they cannot do -it. Your charming climate will not permit it!” And it is a fact. I am -charmed with Colorado, the scenery and delightful air, and particularly -would I recommend as a place of residence to those who can afford it, -the lively, thriving city of Denver. To those who have their fortunes -yet to make, I say “go to Greeley.”<a name="page_875" id="page_875"></a></p> - -<p>We took the narrow gauge road from Denver to Pueblo, stopping at -Colorado Springs and the “Garden of the gods.” The novel scenery here -amply paid us for our visit. From Pueblo I proceeded forty miles by -carriage to our cattle ranche, and spent a couple of days there very -pleasantly. We have several thousand head of cattle there, which thrive -through the winter without hay or fodder of any kind.</p> - -<p>At the close in Detroit of the great Western railroad tour, I equipped -and started South a Museum, Menagerie and Circus, which, while it made -no perceptible diminution in the main body, was still the largest and -most complete travelling expedition ever seen in the Southern States. -Louisville was designated as the rendezvous and point of consolidation -of the various departments, and the new expedition gave its initial -exhibition in the Falls City, November 4th. Much of the menagerie -consisted of animals of which I owned the duplicate, and hence could -easily spare them without injuring the variety in my zoölogical -collection. I was aware also that many of the rare specimens would -thrive better in a warmer climate, and as the expense of procuring them -had been enormous, I coupled my humanitarian feelings with my pecuniary -interests and sent them South.</p> - -<p>And now in this routine of events for 1872, I record one important -project with mingled feelings of pleasure and pain. In August I -purchased of Mr. L. B. Lent the building and lease in Fourteenth street, -New York, known as the Hippotheatron. One purpose was to open a Museum, -Menagerie and Hippodrome that would give employment to two hundred of my -people who otherwise would be idle during the winter. Another and main -object was to take the inaugural steps toward the foundation of a -permanent establishment, where the higher order of arenic entertainments -could be witnessed under all the advantages of a thoroughly equipped, -refined and moral dramatic entertainment. My project combined not only a -circus, but a museum of the world’s wonders and a menagerie that should -equal in extent and variety the great zoölogical collection of London. I -realized the importance of an establishment in New York where old and -young could seek innocent amusement, and where Christian parents could -take their children and feel that the exhibition contributed not only to -their enjoyment but to their instruction. The press generally had kindly -acknowledged the success of my efforts in bringing the modern arena up -to its proper standard among the fashionable amusements of the day. By -divesting the ring of all objectionable features, and securing the -highest talent of both hemispheres, my circus had become popularized -among the better classes, for whose good opinion it has ever been my -fortune to cater. At an expense of $60,000 I enlarged and remodeled the -building, so as to admit my valuable collection of animals, museum of -life-size automatons, and living curiosities. The entire edifice was so -thoroughly built over as to leave but little to remind the visitor of -the original structure. The amphitheatre had a seating capacity of -2,800. It consisted of parquette and balcony, each completely encircling -the ring, and the former luxuriously fitted up with cushioned arm-chairs -and sofa seats. The grand opening took place Monday evening, November -18th. In theatrical parlance, the house was<a name="page_876" id="page_876"></a> crowded from “pit to dome.” -The leading citizens of the metropolis were present, many of whom on -that occasion patronized an equestrian entertainment for the first time. -Viewed from the center of the ring, the vast amphitheatre presented a -scene of bewildering beauty. The dazzling lights, the delightful music -of the orchestra, the gorgeous surroundings, and the brilliant -audience—filling the numerous circles of seats which rose one above -another to the most remote outskirts of the building—all formed a -picture so unlike anything ever before seen in New York, as to bring out -detailed and eulogistic editorials from the press of the following -morning. Being recognized among the audience, I was called into the -ring, when I briefly thanked my friends for their generous appreciation. -From this date the establishment was open daily from 11 <small>A.M.</small> to 10 <small>P.M.</small>, -with hippodrome performances afternoon and evening.</p> - -<p>On December 16th, four weeks after the inauguration of the new -Fourteenth street building, I started for New Orleans, to visit my -southern show. I found the Crescent City luxuriating in its usual winter -rains, and paddling through its regular rations of mud and slush—happy -in its very dreariness. The contentment of the native population of New -Orleans reaches the sublime. The average citizen accepts rain and its -kindred elements as special attractions indigenous to that climate; and -unless the levee breaks and the turbulent Mississippi overflows the -city, they see no occasion to murmur. During the brief intervals of -sunshine I rode through the principal streets, met several old -acquaintances, and renewed friendships formed many years ago. Changes I -found, it is true, but they are changes resulting from nature rather -than from human hands. The ravages of time and natural decay seem to -offset all the thrift of which New Orleans can boast. No Northerner—no -matter how frequent his visits—fulfills his destiny until he drives to -the suburbs and plucks his fill of oranges. Upon the occasion of my -visit political dissensions monopolized public attention. What with the -continual skirmishing between the municipal, State and general -governments, the city was in a most disagreeable turmoil; and one -retired at night quite uncertain as to what administration would be in -power in the morning. Once I had occasion to inquire for the governor’s -address, and my companion innocently asked, “Which one?” Compared to the -civic and military imbroglio in New Orleans in December, the political -situation of Mexico was one of placid serenity.</p> - -<p>It was while quietly seated at the breakfast table, at the St. Louis -Hotel, in the Crescent City, on Tuesday, December 24th, that the waiter -handed me a telegram. I had been reading in the morning papers of the -flooding of my show grounds on Canal street, and of the change of -location my manager had been forced to make. These annoyances had -prepared me when I read the despatch to fully appreciate Longfellow’s -words,</p> - -<p class="c"> -“So disasters come not singly.”<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind">It was as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">New York</span>, Dec. 24.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<i>To</i> <span class="smcap">P. T. Barnum</span>, <i>New Orleans</i>:<br /> -</p> - -<p>About 4 <small>A.M.</small> fire discovered in boiler-room of circus building; -everything destroyed except 2 elephants, 1 camel.</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">S. H. Hurd</span>, Treasurer.<br /> -</p> - -<p><a name="page_877" id="page_877"></a></p> - -<p>Calling for pen, ink and paper, I then and there cabled my European -agents to send duplicates of all animals lost, with positive -instructions to have everything shipped in season to reach New York -by the middle of March. They were further directed to procure at -any cost specimens never seen in America, and through sub-agents to -purchase and forward curiosities—animate and inanimate—from all -parts of the globe. Cable dispatches were also sent to the -celebrated inventors and manufacturers of automatons, in Paris, to -lose no time in making and purchasing everything new and wonderful -in the way of mechanical effects. This feature of my great -exhibition had proved so attractive that I determined at once not -only to duplicate it, but to enlarge this department to double its -original size. I then dispatched the following to my son-in-law:</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">New Orleans</span>, Dec. 24.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<i>To</i> <span class="smcap">S. H. Hurd</span>, <i>New York</i>:<br /> -</p> - -<p>Tell editors I have cabled European agents to expend half million -dollars for extra attractions; will have new and more attractive -travelling show than ever early in April.</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">P. T. Barnum.</span><br /> -</p></div> - -<p>These details attended to, I could see no further occasion for delaying -breakfast and taking a calm view of the situation.</p> - -<p>The total destruction of this beautiful building and its valuable -contents, was an item of news for which I was ill prepared, and the -extent of which calamity I could scarcely comprehend. I could realize in -a measure a vast conflagration, with its excitement and contingent -incidents, but I could not think without a shudder of the terrible -sufferings of one hundred wild beasts, in their frantic, howling efforts -to escape the flames. For a moment I was disposed to censure my agents -and employees for permitting such a wholesale destruction of these poor -animals. Then I remembered the reliable men I employed, and could not -but feel assured that everything in their power had been done. The four -beautiful giraffes—the only ones in the United States, and which alone -cost $80,000—were lost in the general sacrifice. I learned afterwards -that every effort was made to rescue them, but the poor innocent pets -were utterly paralyzed with fear, and could not be made to move, even -after the lattice inclosure had been torn away. Had they escaped the -burning building, the terrible cold night would doubtless have killed -them before they could have been sheltered from the weather. No -pecuniary compensation could satisfy me for the loss of these and many -other rare animals.</p> - -<p>Returning to New York I learned that my loss on building and property -amounted to the neighborhood of $300,000. To meet this I held insurance -polices to the amount of $90,000. My equestrian company, in which I took -great pride, and which I had hoped to give employment during the winter, -was of course left idle until the opening of the summer season. The -members lost their entire wardrobe, a loss of which can only be -appreciated by professionals. I was pleased to see a disposition -manifested to render them some assistance, and encouraged it so far as -lay in my power. A benefit was arranged under the auspices of the -Equestrian Benevolent Association of the<a name="page_878" id="page_878"></a> United States. The order has -for its object the relief of unfortunate members, and, as in the present -case, its broad mantle of charity includes worthy professionals not -members of the Association. The affair came off at the Academy of Music, -Tuesday, January 7, 1873, afternoon and evening. Many stars in the -Equestrian, Dramatic and Musical firmament volunteered for the occasion, -and the two entertainments were largely attended. Being called upon to -“define my position,” I stepped upon the stage and made a few off-hand -remarks, which were reported in the morning papers as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Ladies and Gentlemen</span>: I have catered for so many years for the -amusement of the public, that the beneficiaries on this occasion -seem to have thought that the showman himself ought to be a part of -the show; and, at their request, I come before you. I sincerely -thank you, in their behalf, for your patronage on this occasion. -How much they need your substantial sympathy, the ashes across the -street can tell you more eloquently than human tongue could utter. -Those ashes are the remnants of “all the worldly goods” of some who -appeal to you to-day.</p> - -<p>For myself, I have been burned out so often, I am like the singer -who was hissed on the stage; “Hiss away,” said he, “I am used to -it.” My pecuniary loss is very serious, and occurring as it did, -just before the holidays, it is all the more disastrous.</p> - -<p>It may perhaps gratify my friends to know, however, that I am still -enabled to invest another half million of dollars without -disturbing my bank account. The public will have amusements, and -they ought to be those of an elevating and an unobjectionable -character. For many years it has been my pleasure to provide a -class of instructive and amusing entertainments, to which a refined -Christian mother can take her children with satisfaction.</p> - -<p>I believe that no other man in America possesses the desire and -facilities which I have in this direction. I have, therefore, taken -steps, through all my agents in Europe and this country, which will -enable me to put upon the road, early in April, the most gigantic -and complete travelling museum, menagerie and hippodrome ever -organized.</p> - -<p>It has been asked whether I will build up a large museum and -menagerie in New York. Well, I am now nearly sixty-three years of -age. I can buy plenty of building sites and get plenty of leased -lots for a new museum; but I cannot get a new lease of life.</p> - -<p>Younger members of my family desire me to erect in this city an -establishment worthy of New York and of myself. It will be no small -undertaking; for if I erect such an establishment, it will possess -novel and costly features never before attempted. I have it under -consideration, and within a month shall determine whether or not I -shall make another attempt; of one thing, however, you may be -assured, ladies and gentlemen, although conflagrations may, for the -present, disconcert my plans, yet while I have life and health no -fire can burn nor water quench my ambition to gratify my patrons at -whatever cost of money or of effort. I shall never lend my name -where my labors and heart do not go with it, and the public shall -never fail to find at any of my exhibitions their money’s worth ten -times told.</p></div> - -<p>The following paragraph from the New York <i>Tribune</i> of January 16, 1873, -will give an inkling of what I am about, as I send these last pages to -press:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="chead">BARNUM AND THE AUTOMATON TALKER.</p> - -<p>Mr. Phineas T. Barnum, the genial showman, contributes a good deal -to our amusement, and all New Yorkers have a kindly side for him. -Here is <i>The Philadelphia Press’s</i> account of his latest -achievement:</p> - -<p>“Early yesterday morning Prof. Faber received a call, at the Girard -House, from the renowned showman, P. T. Barnum, who is now on a -visit to Philadelphia in pursuit of wonders for his great -travelling show. Within two hours Prof. Faber had given notice to -the Emperor of Austria of his forfeiture of £200 for not exhibiting -his talking machine at the Vienna Exposition next summer, and a -contract was signed by Mr. Barnum, agreeing to pay $20,000 for the -services of Mr. and Mrs. Faber and their wonderful automaton talker -during the tenting season of 1873. No more marvelous exhibition was -ever seen in a travelling tent. It is the most wonderful -achievement of ingenuity that this age of new inventions has yet -witnessed. Although it looks no more like a talking machine than an -old-fashioned weaver’s loom, or a modern sewing machine, it -converses plainly and distinctly in all languages, giving every -intonation of the human voice to extraordinary perfection. Mr. -Barnum says that 10,000,000 of visitors will hear this wonderful -wooden conversationalist during the coming Summer.”</p></div> - -<p>It is amusing to witness the difference in men’s dispositions. I arrived -in New York from New Orleans the night before New Year’s, just a week -after the fire. I found my manager, Mr. Coup, and my son-in-law, Mr. -Hurd, in rather low spirits. I laughed at them and called them my -deacons, but begged them not to go into mourning.<a name="page_879" id="page_879"></a></p> - -<p>“It’s astonishing how you can laugh when you know our museum building -and all of our rare animals are burned up, and we cannot get more in -time for the spring show,” drawled the lugubrious Coup, in an injured -tone.</p> - -<p>“If the fire had waited ten days till the holidays were over, we should -have been $50,000 dollars better off,” chimed in the chop-fallen Hurd.</p> - -<p>“If the skies had fallen we should have caught larks,” I replied; “but -as the skies did not fall, let us be content with what is still left -us.”</p> - -<p>“As for you, Coup,” I continued, “you talk about what we <i>cannot</i> do; -now, have I not told you often enough, the word ‘<i>can’t</i>’ is not in my -dictionary?”</p> - -<p>“But you can’t help the fire, can you?” retorted Coup.</p> - -<p>“I shall not try, but I can restore all it has destroyed, and much -more,” I replied; “and I will do it within three months at furthest.”</p> - -<p>“That is easier said than done,” responded Coup with a sigh.</p> - -<p>“Surely, Father, you don’t think we can get a new show upon the road -before July, do you?” asked Mr. Hurd.</p> - -<p>“I repeat that I see nothing to prevent our exhibiting the largest and -best show on this earth, three months from to-day,” I replied; “all that -is required are energy, pluck, courage, and a liberal outlay of money. -All our golden chariots and cages, our horses, harness, canvas tents and -wagons are saved, besides which we have thirty new cages nearly -finished. Telegraphs, Atlantic cables and our agents abroad, can supply -us all the curiosities and animals we want, before the last of March -next, if we will supply them with money enough.”</p> - -<p>But my advisers thought I was too sanguine, and they said as much. Coup -even proposed to lie still a year, and start our show again in 1874. But -I replied that my “years” were too few and too precious to be wasted in -that way; and although I would never put a show upon the road that did -not exceed in magnitude and merit that which we had lost, I felt every -confidence in accomplishing this before April, if we would all work -hard.</p> - -<p>Strange enough, before we parted on that evening of December 31st, I -received a cable message from my trusty agent, Robert Fillingham of -London, saying he had purchased for me a pair of giraffes or camelopards -and a full supply of lions, tigers and other animals. He added: “All the -Governmental Zoölogical Gardens here and on the continent sympathize -with you, and are ready to dispose of any animals you wish. The -mechanicians of Paris and Geneva are at work on automatons and other -attractions for your travelling museum.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t that electricity beat the world?” exclaimed Mr. Coup with great -delight.</p> - -<p>“Just put a little of it into your blood,” I replied, “and we will beat -the world.”</p> - -<p>The spirits of my associates were thoroughly revived, and at this -present writing, on the 20th day of February, I have already received -more rare wild animals and other curiosities than I ever had before at -one time, with promise<a name="page_880" id="page_880"></a> of many more within a month, and Messrs. Hurd -and Coup are in high feather.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barnum,” said Coup this morning, “this new show of ours, got up in -so short a time, is the <i>miracle</i> of the age.”</p> - -<p>“Well, my dear fellow,” I replied, “the public like miracles; keep -performing them and you are sure of success. You can never do so much -for the public, but they will do more for you in return. Give them the -best show possible, at whatever cost; keep it free from objectionable -features, and never fear; your efforts will surely be appreciated, and -you will receive a generous support. Remember, ‘Excelsior’ is our -motto.”</p> - -<p>These are the feelings which inspire us as we energetically prepare for -our third campaign, and although I see plenty of hard work ahead, I also -see bright skies, smiling faces, and assured success.</p> - -<p class="chead">FINIS.</p> - -<p>In concluding this brief resumé of the last year’s events, I would seem -ungrateful did I fail to acknowledge my heartfelt thankfulness to the -public and the press, for the generous and unqualified expressions of -sympathy on account of the great calamity of December 24th. Editors -throughout the United States and Europe have written of this -conflagration, and of those which preceded it, and have attributed to me -a degree of perseverance I fear beyond my deserts. If the fiery ordeal -has had any visible effect, it has been to increase my desire to -identify my name with a class of entertainments at once moral, amusing -and instructive. Colossal as was the Great Travelling World’s Fair of -1872, that of 1873 will surpass it.</p> - -<p>With full confidence in that just discrimination which recognizes and -rewards true merit, I remain, as ever, the public’s obedient servant.</p> - -<p class="r"> -P. T. B.<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">February, 1873.</span></p> - -<p><a name="transcrib" id="transcrib"></a></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="padding:2%;border:3px dotted gray;"> -<tr><th align="center">Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:</th></tr> -<tr><td align="center">MONSTER JULIEN CONCERTS=> MONSTER JULLIEN CONCERTS {pg 18}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">EMS AND WEISBADEN=> EMS AND WIESBADEN {pg 20}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">GUILLADEU=> GUILLAUDEU {pg 21}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">A TERIBLE DUEL BETWEEN BENTON AND BIBBINS=> A TERRIBLE DUEL BETWEEN BENTON AND BIBBINS {pg 38}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the opporunity for a practical joke=> the opportunity for a practical joke {pg 61}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">all such occacasions=> all such occasions {pg 399}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">By using my microsope=> By using my microscope {pg 449}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">road runs to the beatiful=> road runs to the beautiful {pg 554}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">offered for a singe admission=> offered for a single admission {pg 603}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">which ber bulky frame=> which her bulky frame {pg 644}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the oldest man, the fatest=> the oldest man, the fattest {pg 646}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">tolerably glowing counnance=> tolerably glowing countenance {pg 688}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">my meed of praise=> my need of praise {pg 468}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">thoroughly indentified=> thoroughly identified {pg 468}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">bowed, which salutatation=> bowed, which salutation {pg 850}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">prospect of the the “Celestials”=> prospect of the “Celestials” {pg 851}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">in in days gone by=> in days gone by {pg 861}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">attrractive features=> attractive features {pg 863}</td></tr> -<tr><td align="center">the interest of the the exhibition=> the interest of the exhibition {pg 863}</td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Struggles amd Triumphs: or, Forty -Years' Recollections of P.T. 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